The bus ride back to base was uneventful, mainly because the bus was nearly empty, and did not include anyone he knew. Wendy and the rest had already returned before him, since his interrogation took longer than everyone else's.
By the time he left the forest behind and returned to the city it was early evening, and though it had been a long day for him, he felt strangely energetic. Or maybe it was restlessness. Try as he might, he could not figure out the reason for him feeling like this, so he merely closed his eyes and began to reflect on the day.
His decision to be forthcoming with Liam was not a mere whim. During their walk back, he had long enough to contemplate the ramifications of his actions. Regardless of whether he shared all the details or not, the organisation behind Henry and the rest would no doubt have him marked as a target now. They tried to enslave him and he successfully resisted.
Following that, he could guess their line of action. Their cover was blown, so they had to either lay low or think of alternative ways to complete their goal.
If the organisation, if it indeed was an organisation rather than a single powerful individual controlling everything or something of the sort, then they would technically have no reason to continue targeting Nero. The only circumstances they should technically consider coming after him is if they wished to silence him so that he could not share what he knew, or if they wanted revenge.
By divulging everything, he eliminated the possibility of silencing him to keep his knowledge secret, though he could do nothing to eliminate the possibility of revenge. Still, it was most likely that they would focus on their ultimate objective rather than focusing on something that could further compromise them in this precarious situation like revenge.
There was still the possibility that they needed him specifically to fulfil some role, but he saw that as unlikely.
That meant his current position was that he had offended someone unknown, but was not in any imminent danger, should things proceed logically.
So, he had done everything based on logic. But there was one more reason he had shared everything. He wanted the organisation caught - he wanted them found, and the identity of the true mastermind behind everything revealed. That's because he wanted revenge!
Maybe Nero was a little too focused on getting revenge for everything, but not only had they threatened his life and tried to enslave him, but they blackmailed him using his friends and family! He absolutely could not just let that go!
Nero suddenly opened his eyes, finally realising why he felt restless. It was because time and time again, when someone wronged him, Nero had no recourse but to tolerate it for the time being until he was in a position of strength. Sure, technically, this time he ended up killing the people who wronged him. But they were merely a tool used by those who were still hidden!
Once he realised the cause, Nero spent the remaining time trying to meditate and calm himself. There was no good solution to this problem right now, so it was best not to dwell on it. By the time he reached the base, finally, he had returned to his normal self.
He was more or less free for the rest of the day, which meant he immediately went and searched for Gabriel, who was sitting in the mess hall with his own team. They were all unfamiliar faces, so Gabriel introduced them to each other and they spent some time talking about how their mission went.
Nero contributed as well, mentioning his numerous encounters with curses, though he mentioned nothing of what happened at night. Eventually, once enough time had passed, he asked for Gabriel to come aside for a small time since he had something private to talk about.
Once they retreated to somewhere they would not be overheard, and Gabriel used a spell to cover them with a sound isolating bubble, Nero got right to the matter at hand.
"So, Anzem, huh?"
Gabriel froze, completely unprepared to be confronted. He was expecting Nero to give him an update on the Henry and Charles situation. Last they talked, back before the missions, Nero briefed him about them and told him that there might be some kind of trouble.
From the look of things, there had been trouble, though he could not tell how exactly that ended up with the revelation of his origin.
Then he sighed. There was no point in denying it, now that it had been revealed.
"Don't assume it means anything all too much. If I had any preferential treatment, I wouldn't have left anyway."
Nero did not respond immediately and only gave him a look that portrayed disbelief.
"Gabriel, such an interesting name, don't you think? It wouldn't have anything to do with Gabriella Anzem, would it?"
Gabriel gave him an irritated and exasperated look, before he sighed and leaned back against the wall as he mentally prepared himself for what was to come.
"She is the sister of my great, great grandfather," Gabriel admitted. "I was named after her. But her last name changed, she…"
"Yes, yes, how could I not know. Gabriella Anzem changed her last name to Kade when she got married to Morphius Kade, shortly before giving birth to Donivan Kade. The lady who is married to one sage, and gave birth to another. How could I not know about her? You know she's taught about in history class in every single year from grade 1 to high school!"
Gabriel rubbed his temples as if massaging away a headache, though it was more theatrics than anything else.
Morpheus Kade was the Chief of Army Staff of Kolar, which meant that not only was he a sage, he was basically the leader of the entire army, and by extension, all of Kolar. He was also known as the strongest Sage in all of Kolar, and some even said in the entire world.
His first son, Donivan Kade, also became a sage, making the Kade family one of the strongest families in the world with two living sages in them! Although little was known about Sage Donivan, it was a fact that he was a sage! If reaching that stage was so easy, all sages would have their kids become sages as well! But such a thing could not be forced!
The lady who married Morpheus, back when he was just a young man with an uncertain future, and later gave birth to Donivan, was from the Anzem family. Although the Anzem family itself technically had no sages, one could also say that they had two sages through Gabriellla.
For Gabriel to be from that family explained why he was so well connected, though Nero could only guess at why he would leave all that behind and come to live in the middle of nowhere.
After all, prior to the ruins that appeared suddenly outside Aetherpeak, it was just one more random city in the country. It was not particularly important, though it was not insignificant either. It was middling at best.
"If you don't want to elaborate then that's fine, but…"
"No, no, now that the cat's out of the bag, there's no point in hiding anything. My position in the family is not so great to begin with, though that's not the issue. The issue is that my cousins are far superior to myself, and while I don't necessarily get suppressed by the family, I don't get any special favours either.
"Moreover, due to my cousin's excellent performance, all special attention and nurturing goes to them. If I stayed in the family, all I would ever amount to is my cousin's assistant or helper - some no name, miscellaneous member of the family with no achievement save for my last name.
"So I decided to venture out on my own. I might be losing out on the special nurturing of the family, but I'm also not getting their special protection. My experiences are my own, and they are all very real. If a safe and nurturing environment is what it took to make a sage, then we'd be flush in sages by now. Instead, it's only by facing dangers and overcoming them that there's a chance for it."
For a moment Nero did not respond, and looked at Gabriel suspiciously.
"Still, I can think of less extreme ways to get your own experiences."
Gabriel sighed once more, making it his third time in this conversation, before he explained.
"My dad became crippled when he was in the Initiate level, and has been depressed ever since. My mother only married my father for the family name and money, and everyone knows it. That's why she named me after Lady Gabriella, hoping it would gain her attention. They're both just… caught up in their own things. Being around them holds me back from being everything I can be, Nero.
I'm going to be the first sage in my family, or I'm going to die trying. I am not satisfied with living a life as pathetic as theirs."
A heavy silence fell between the two until, eventually, Nero sighed.
"Sage should no longer be your target," he said, locking eyes with his depressed friend. "There's going to be a higher level than sages soon, and if we're aiming for something, we should be aiming for the peak."