CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 59: I WANT MORE POWER

The masked man cast a quick glance at Oliver, then at the others lying stretched on the ground.

Sunlight slipped through the branches and fell faintly across their sleeping faces.

He pulled his shoulders tight and looked straight at Oliver.

"Wake them up. We’re leaving now."

He said it with a firm tone that left no room for discussion, then turned and walked between the trees without looking back.

...

Mist drifted between the tree trunks.

The masked man walked in front, his pace steady while the others followed at a measured distance.

Oliver hurried to catch up, his features filled with curiosity.

"Why did your eyes change color all of a sudden?"

The masked man lifted his gaze toward him for a brief moment and gave him an extremely cold look.

"That’s none of your business, kid."

But Oliver didn’t back off and kept walking behind the masked man.

"Can you change your eye color whenever you want?"

The masked man took a deep breath.

He regretted the moment he ever met Oliver.

He shifted his eyes backward, where Aria was walking silently and watching them.

"Tell your hybrid companion to leave now. Her presence among us is unacceptable."

Aria stopped walking for a second, then stepped toward them with calm steps, her back straight and her eyes unblinking.

"Do you remember when we agreed that you would make him help me when I asked?" She looked directly at Oliver. "Now it’s time to carry out the agreement. I need him to help me get out of the forest without anyone harming me, and to find a safe place for me outside it."

The masked man turned toward her.

"And you actually think I’m going to do that?"

Oliver stepped forward, obviously trying to control his voice so he wouldn’t sound pleading, even though he clearly was.

"Can you just do this for me?"

"No." The masked man said it without hesitation. "This is your problem, not mine. And I won’t take responsibility for this hybrid in particular."

Aria gave a short smile that didn’t reach her eyes and gently placed her hand on Oliver’s shoulder.

"I don’t think you have a choice this time." She lifted Oliver’s arm, revealing the glowing mark on his hand. "He made a soul pact with me, and he has to honor it."

When he saw the mark, the masked man stopped walking, then immediately stepped toward Oliver.

"Kid did you make a deal with a mythical creature?"

Oliver looked at the ground.

"Technically... she’s half a mythical creature."

Behind them, the others froze in place.

They exchanged astonished looks. They had always felt something strange about Aria since she appeared, but they never imagined her blood was mixed with mythical creatures.

They had seen her in the Dream City performing certain magical things.

But they assumed it was because of the strange nature of that place, and none of them imagined she was half a mythical creature. Most didn’t even think such a thing was possible at all.

The masked man and Aria exchanged sharp looks.

Oliver felt trapped between them, between the masked man’s look that carried clear threat and Aria’s tone full of confidence.

Aria didn’t blink and the masked man didn’t blink either, and in the end he turned and continued walking without saying anything.

While Aria smiled triumphantly, Oliver stepped back beside Lemur.

The masked man kept walking without looking back. His steps stayed steady, but his eyes narrowed noticeably.

It was obvious the earlier conversation left him deeply irritated, something he was trying to hide.

Even so, he didn’t say a single word. He simply ignored everyone while he pushed deeper into the forest.

Oliver approached Aria again, his features tense.

"Do you think he’ll help you?"

Oliver’s tone was a clear mix of fear and confusion.

To him, the masked man’s sudden withdrawal was a sign of refusal, while Aria’s victorious smile planted a small seed of hope in him, but a very small one.

Aria turned toward him, her expression still carrying that confidence and triumphant smile.

"Don’t worry, little one. Your father won’t abandon you in the end. Seems he’s not as bad as you thought."

Oliver raised his eyebrows in instant irritation.

"For the thousandth time he’s not my father. And by the way wait... you actually thought he might refuse?"

Aria lifted her hand and waved it lightly.

"I just had a few doubts. Nothing more."

"Alright and if he hadn’t agreed, and your doubts were right, what would’ve happened?"

"You’d simply die, little one."

She said it with complete coldness, without the slightest concern.

Oliver’s features tightened with both annoyance and confusion.

"You were actually ready to let me die?"

Aria kept walking without looking back, raising her shoulders lazily.

"Based on what you told me, I was highly confident he’d agree."

"But you had doubts?"

"In everything in life you must have a few doubts."

The conversation stopped there. Oliver didn’t reply. He only looked at the masked man’s back as he continued walking like nothing in the world was worth turning toward.

...

When evening came, and the sun disappeared behind the trees, the masked man ordered them to stop.

After that he lit a small fire, and the others stood around him watching the sparks fly into the air.

When the fire settled, the masked man looked toward them.

"We’ll rest here tonight and continue walking in the morning."

He didn’t wait for a reply. He headed straight toward Oliver and came close enough that their faces were level.

"I want to speak with you alone."

Everyone felt the sharpness in his tone, but no one interfered.

Oliver followed him silently as they walked away from the campsite toward a darker corner, the only light there coming from the moon above.

When they stopped, the masked man turned and looked at him, his eyes narrowed with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"Kid are you stupid?"

Oliver crossed his arms in irritation.

"You called me here just to say that?"

The masked man stepped forward.

"How much stupidity do you need to make a deal with a hybrid?"

Oliver swallowed.

"I didn’t have any other choices. I had to."

The masked man waved his hand in front of his face.

"You’re lucky things ended this way. Do you know what would’ve happened if I decided not to help you?"

Oliver stared at the ground, as if confessing his mistake.

"I didn’t think about that back then."

"Exactly." The masked man pointed at him. "Listen well never make any deal with any creature no matter what. These deals never lead to anything good, understood?"

Oliver stayed silent not just because the masked man was scolding him.

But because the way he said it, that warning tone mixed with protective anger, sounded exactly like Eleanor when she scolded him for doing something foolish.

And then the doubts began forming in his mind. Was Aria telling the truth when she said he was his father? Or was she just saying it to annoy him?

Oliver took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before speaking.

"Are you...?"

The masked man turned toward him and looked directly at his face, his expression unreadable partly because most of his face was already covered.

"Are you what?"

Oliver swallowed again, then said in a voice he tried hard to keep steady.

"Are you... able to teach me how to use mythical creature magic?"

Silence filled the place for a moment. The masked man didn’t answer immediately. He thought about the question.

"You want me to teach you how to use mythical creature magic?"

"Yes." Oliver said it with a slight movement of his shoulders as he tried to make them look steady. "I couldn’t find anyone else who can teach me how to do it."

The masked man tilted his head slightly.

"And what about that hybrid?"

Oliver raised his hand dramatically on purpose and gave his voice an exaggerated tone full of false sadness.

"Her? She won’t help me. You saw how she exploited my ignorance and forced a deal on me without explaining everything."

The masked man gave him a short look.

"And why do you want to learn this magic in particular?"

The movement inside Oliver’s chest calmed. He took half a step forward, and his voice came out more sincere this time, free of the earlier exaggeration.

"I saw the village destroyed the first time and I couldn’t do anything. Then I saw it destroyed again in that place, and I stayed helpless just like before. I don’t want to stay like that. I don’t want to be powerless again."

His eyes trembled for a moment as the memories resurfaced, and although he didn’t want to remember, he had no choice.

The masked man turned away without commenting and lifted his hand, gesturing for him to follow.

"Come with me if you truly want to learn it. But you need to understand that the path won’t be easy."

Oliver’s smile widened naturally, filled with pure relief.

He rushed to follow him between the trees, his face holding a mixture of excitement and anticipation.