In a colossally sized castle, somewhere in the east of The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes. The black castle was among the lands where the living died, and the dead returned.

In a spacious room, on a huge throne forged of black iron, sat an enchanting girl. She was very tall, had silver hair and eyes as black as the abyss. She wore a black robe with a picture of a white braid.

She smiled smirkily as she looked toward the Glass Forest. Despite the vast distance, she could easily feel those giant energy fluctuations.

The girl bit her lip and said, “Looks like something interesting is starting. We need to fight someone. No, better to destroy some light organization and start a local war!”

…

At the same time, on an island above the clouds. A man in a red robe stood in front of a canvas in a high tower. His robe had a picture of an ebony tree on it, but it was different from all the others.

The tree on his mantle had no roots, and in the center of the trunk of the tree was painted – “0.”

He had thick black hair with bright red tips. He had a serene look and azure eyes.

He held a brush and slowly applied strokes to the canvas. All around him were various paintings, some of which were unfinished. 

The man dipped his brush into the gray paint and muttered, “Not bad.”

…

In Fallen Destiny, on the shore of a small, crystal-clear lake surrounded by dense forest. A tall man sat reading an old, worn-out book in a wooden house.

He turned a page and muttered, “Looks like something unusual happened. I wonder if it will be a problem or a blessing.”

…

After a few hours of unusual flight, Evan saw his tower in the distance. It was the same as before. While Evan was away, no one was trying to break into it. It was obvious, though. Moreover, the vampires would not allow suspicious personalities to approach Darkfil, thus Evan’s tower.

Evan jumped off and entered the tower. He did not give Zith any instructions. Evan decided it would be better if Zith did what he wanted in his spare time. But, the serpent decided to stay by Evan’s side anyway.

Zith had also grown much stronger and had learned a lot since their battle. He needed to understand himself and his new powers better. Moreover, he had no desire to leave Evan alone, at least not yet.

When Evan entered the tower, he was greeted by Zaira and the other girls. But, Evan was in no mood for conversation or other more interesting activities.

He headed silently to the training room, sending Reykar to patrol the area.

Evan was about to get busy training, but suddenly everything blurred in front of his eyes. He tried to come to his senses and stay on his feet, but he collapsed to the ground, exhausted after a couple of seconds.

Two weeks later, Evan woke up in bed. His head was pounding, and he felt terrible. He felt as if he didn’t even have the strength to walk a few meters.

“It couldn’t get any worse. My body has overstretched itself too much during the battle with Zith. I need to get back to normal first before I can train.” Mumbled Evan.

He tried to get out of bed, but Zaira walked into the room at that moment. She looked at Evan in surprise. For more than ten days, he hadn’t woken up, but now he was suddenly awake.

Evan looked at her and said, “You’re just in time. Get me some food.”

Zaira nodded, and a minute later, Evan was happily eating, anything at all in storage. He ate without stopping, trying to satiate his hunger and regain his strength gradually.

“Not bad.” Mumbled Evan and his Spatial Ring glowed.

Evan had a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment paper in his hands. He wrote something on it and then pulled out a pouch filled with gold coins from the ring.

Evan put the first one aside and said loudly, “Reykar!”

A purple raven flew into the room and sat on Evan’s shoulder the next moment.

“Reykar, take this letter and the pouch to Dorlus. He’ll make it quick, I’m sure.”

Caw!

Reykar took the letter and the pouch and quickly flew out of the tower toward Darkfil. Evan left his drop of blood on the letter, which the vampires at the entrance to the city would easily sense. They would let Reykar through and deliver the letter to Dorlus.

Mages with beasts in their charge often took this opportunity when they didn’t have much time. It was much faster to send a beast with a letter than to carry the letter yourself.

Evan didn’t send a beast, but a monster, but that wasn’t the problem. Unlike humans and light mages, vampires wouldn’t attack friendly monsters.

After Evan had had enough and sent Reykar to Darkfil he drank some potions. He regained his energy reserves, but he was still wounded. Outwardly it wasn’t visible, as the upper tissues were already regenerating.

“Zaira, how long have I been unconscious?” Asked Evan looking at the girl.

“About two weeks,” Zaira answered quickly.

When she saw Evan lying on the floor, she was frightened. After all, if Evan died, they would have to go back to Darkfil for the slave market in the very best case scenario. Zaira and the other girls were fine with the role of maids, and they didn’t want to feel the shackles on their bodies again.

“I see, all right, I’ll go practice. The vampires will come here with food, clothes, and other necessities in a little while. I’ve already paid for everything. You’ll have to deal with the supplies. Can you handle it?” Said Evan.

Zaira nodded and said confidently, “Sure, you can count on me.” 

“Great.” Quietly Evan said and headed for the training room.

After he’d had enough to eat and drank a few potions that boosted his regeneration, he felt much better. But, it was still worse than usual.

“Yeah, I should have expected there to be such serious recoil after a battle like that. What’s more, the loss of three hundred years of life is probably affecting. To lose so much life force so abruptly is detrimental to my well-being..” Evan muttered.