Chapter 12
The storm outside was incredibly exciting. The mage tower, hundreds of yards high, was already the tallest thing on the wasteland, but it looked tiny like a twig in front of the storm. The massive cloud formations in the sky were imposing, giving every witness a clear sense of what "sublime" meant.
The archmage who specifically chose to have their mage tower at the Elemental Gate knew very well that the constant occurrence of the sublime and greatness was a result of the repeated release of elemental forces. Nature freely utilized the power of magic, and the elements followed a few simple and concise rules, creating a natural and wild beauty without embellishment.
Actually, Sylas herself also enjoyed this kind of scenery, but she didn't expect that the little creature would have the same interest.
"Why do you want to go outside?" Xerath asked again.
Sylas said, "They are calling me. I want to go out and play with them. They hardly come to the 'cave'."
Within the chaotic storm, all the elements were reveling. The tidal forces between the realms tore through space, allowing the elements to freely enter and exit between the two realms. Sometimes, the tidal forces were so strong that even an elemental child could fall out. They called out loudly in this revelry, and the archmage could barely hear the blurred voices. These voices were not like the root of the word "ho," which indicated activation in many spells. Perhaps it was a child's joke, but it was already impressive just to be able to sense the elements calling.
Xerath could almost be certain of her meaning: having lived in an underground cave with almost no elements for a long time, Sylas must have felt lonely and lonely. Now she finally saw her playmate from before and must be eager to go out and play. As someone with strong elemental perception from a young age, Xerath deeply understood this kind of loneliness.
She may come from a noble family, and her good upbringing allows her to get along obediently with herself even after experiencing so much hardship.
"I want to go and play with them. Let me go, please?" Sylas suddenly turned her head, her emerald eyes filled with pleading, looking so adorable. Xerath couldn't help but glance outside, where there were flashes of lightning, thunder, and a raging storm. It might rain, or it might not. No normal person would want to go out in such weather, not even Virgil, a rough hunter as tough as a rock, would venture out.
"But it's very dangerous outside, extremely dangerous. No one would go out on a day like this. The mage tower is safe... you can't go out alone."
Sylas turned her head disappointedly, the previously lively feeling gone, and she quietly and longingly looked out the window.
Xerath remembered the scene where she was about to jump from the terrace. She thought that maybe children only learn from pain. She sighed, and the usually quiet Hyectra suddenly said, "Miss, do you really want to go outside?"
"Hyectra, I think I need some thicker clothes." Xerath just informed, and the door of the dressing room opened automatically. Her fingers quickly slid in front of her like flipping through pages of a book, and the clothes on the hangers moved one by one. Xerath added a vest over her shirt, then saw a heavy cloak and draped it over herself. She took off the thin-soled shoes she usually wore at home and replaced them with a pair of high boots. Then she picked out a thick coat from her childhood clothes and put it on Sylas.
Xerath didn't know how long it had been since she had dressed herself. She buttoned her clothes wrongly. She crouched down to eye level with Sylas and carefully adjusted her clothes, while also giving instructions, "You can only go out when I'm watching over you. It's very dangerous, extremely, extremely dangerous. I don't know how many people have lost their lives because of the storm at the Elemental Gate. You can't leave me, remember?"
The little girl nodded, as if she understood.
"Don't misbehave, don't play with them casually, or else I will punish you." She held the little girl's shoulder and looked at her very seriously.
The girl stared at her, and Xerath felt a strange feeling: she wasn't listening, just looking at herself. Frustration made her shake Sylas's shoulder a bit angrily, saying, "Um?"
The little girl flinched as she shook. "Punishment, is this it?" She pointed to her shoulder. Xerath, shocked, let go of her hand, and her collar was pulled open a bit, revealing half of the still fresh burn mark. The skin there was charred black, but the powder of mithril had already mixed into the depths of the skin. The special potion had bonded with the skin, intertwining and becoming proof that the demon beast had been tamed. Xerath unexpectedly felt ashamed - humans should not mark their own kind like this. But the contract had been made, unless she transferred the contract to someone else or was directly killed by the contracting party, they would forever be in a master-servant relationship in reality.
But Sylas probably still didn't understand that she had become someone else's slave in a muddleheaded way.
"I... um, won't punish you easily." But she immediately remembered the reason why she risked her life to take such a small child out, and became firm like she was dealing with an adult. "What mistake did you make for me to punish you?"
Sylas frowned and thought for a moment. "Leave Xerath and play with the elements."
"Alright, good girl." She whispered, "As light as a feather," and then picked up Sylas and walked towards the door.
After being cleaned, the child didn't have any scary smells on them. There was a fresh milk-like scent, which was probably one of the reasons why Xerath didn't resist getting close to her. Of course, the freshness was also one of the reasons. Xerath had never held a child before, and she originally thought she would never have the chance to hold one in her long life.
When she reached the living room floor, she heard a tapping sound coming from the room. She gently called out, "Titus," and the footstool ran happily towards her, swaying its fringes and making a "woo" sound. Xerath couldn't bend down, so she couldn't pet Titus. She could only apologize and say, "Titus, would you like to go out for a walk in this weather?"
Titus paused upon hearing her say this and turned its head skeptically to look through the crack in the door at the sky, which was almost black. Then it turned its head back and made a "woo?" sound from the vicinity of its mouth, which the cushion seemed to be.
The archmage smiled and said, "Even though it's a little dangerous, I will protect you. Oh, is little Titus scared?"
Titus growled fiercely, but its short and stubby appearance made it seem harmless.
Xerath walked ahead, with Titus following behind her. The little girl was perched on Xerath's shoulder and looked with great interest at the stool walking behind them.
