CHAPTER 1064: ANOTHER SIDE OF MARKET

Jessica and Conrad entered the infirmary again, the air filled with the faint scent of disinfectant and medicine like always.

Their steps were steady, their eyes also looking sharp, both of them heading straight to the far corner where Marcus Vollen lay on his bed.

The man lay with his chest rising and falling slowly. His eyes were closed and his face was calm as if he were in nothing more than a deep sleep.

So far, nothing seemed wrong with him.

But Jessica and Conrad both knew better.

From what Erend and Adrius had told them Marcus was not just another candidate.

They knew that his talent was extraordinary from the start and that potential could turn into something dangerous if the unknown threat lurking within these experiments reached him. They have already prepared for this since the start.

Jessica stopped at the bedside, her gaze fixed on Marcus. Without looking at Conrad, she asked quietly, "Do you feel anything?"

Conrad shook his head, his arms crossed. His own eyes locked on Marcus’s still form. "No. Nothing."

Jessica’s lips pressed together. "You had Magic once, didn’t you? Is it... totally gone now?"

Conrad’s face tightened, and he exhaled slowly through his nose. "Yes," he said at last. "It’s gone. Completely."

The pressure of those words lingered between them.

Inside, Conrad’s heart ached with a familiar sorrow he could never quite escape.

Even after all these years the wound had not closed. He had lost his Magic because of his own past mistakes.

Too many people had died because of him. Erend had defeated him and stripped him of his power. And with that power gone, the link to his Elf lover in the other world had been severed forever.

He hadn’t spoken to her since that time and the silence of her absence still haunted him.

The memories pressed against him everyday even until now, but Conrad said nothing more.

He refused to burden the moment with his regrets and got dragged into another moment of despair right now.

Fortunately Jessica didn’t press him further. Her focus remained on Marcus right now who was the man before them and the potential danger he represented.

"What do you think, Sergeant?" Jessica asked suddenly, her voice filled with unease. "Will we find a solution for this trouble and will this experiment work?"

Conrad let out a long sigh, his eyes narrowing slightly as he weighed his answer.

Part of him wanted to reassure her and say that of course they would win in the end. But deep inside, he knew the truth wasn’t so simple.

This threat was so strange and so profound that even the Dragonborn himself didn’t fully understand it.

That thought gnawed at him, whispering despair into the corners of his mind.

Then he clenched his fists, shaking his head as if to cast the feeling away.

"It’s going to be alright, Major," he said firmly, forcing the words out. And in speaking those words he found himself believing them just enough.

The reassurance steadied Jessica. She gave a small nod, her eyes softening. "Good. Then let’s check on the other candidates as well."

Conrad understood at once. She was worried that Marcus might not be the only one at risk, that the others too could be infected by this unseen unknown threat as well.

"You’re right," Conrad said quietly.

Together they turned from Marcus and approaching the nearest doctors and nurses on duty.

Their voices dropped into clipped and professional tones as they began asking questions, requesting the latest data on all the candidates under their care.

—

Adrius walked with steady steps toward one of the stalls, his eyes sharp and firm as if not leaving any room for argument.

Behind the counter stood a woman cloaked in shadow, her hood drawn low enough to hide most of her face, only the curve of her lips faintly visible beneath the fabric.

Her hands rested lightly on the table before her and in front of her lay strange creatures preserved in glass cases. The creatures look half like sea life and half like humanoids.

Their fins looked jagged and their scales glimmered under the blue lantern light and their eyes—those that still remained—were dull and lifeless.

Erend’s brows furrowed as his gaze lingered on the creatures. A strange prickle stirred at the back of his mind.

"I’ve seen something like this before... but where?"

The memory tugged faintly at him, but slipped away the more he tried to catch it.

His frown deepened, but he said nothing for now because it was not relevant.

Adrius ignored the display entirely. His eyes were fixed on the woman. Then he spoke with a calm voice but heavy with intent. "Do you still have the Fey with a human body?"

The woman’s lips curved faintly beneath her hood.

"That’s a dangerous thing you ask for. Rare. Too rare. I don’t have them anymore." Her voice was low, almost amused.

Adrius’s stare didn’t waver, as if he could peel away the fabric of her words to find the truth beneath.

He reached into his robes and produced a heavy pouch.

Without hesitation, he set it on the counter, the dull clink of coins inside echoing.

"You can have as much gold as you want," Adrius said flatly. "If you give me the Fey."

The woman’s fingers twitched over the pouch but didn’t touch it.

For a moment she seemed to be weighing the danger of refusal against the temptation of the bribe.

The silence stretched long enough for Erend to feel the air grow tense.

Then slowly the woman’s lips curved into a sly smile.

"Follow me," she said softly.

She turned, lifting part of her stall’s curtain and stepping into a narrow passage at its side.

Adrius didn’t hesitate. He stepped in after her.

Erend gave the wares one last look before moving to follow.

The passage sloped downward into a cavern.

The air grew damp and cool, and the light of the market faded behind them, swallowed by the dark ahead.

The woman’s steps echoed lightly against the stone as she led them deeper. Torchlight flickering faintly along the walls.

"There are strange things happening these days, Archimage. Are you aware of them?" The woman suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Adrius asked.

"Something is coming from the other side."

—