Chapter 48: Chapter 48 – Immortality, Auctions, and Very Questionable Teachers

Eternia had reached a very important conclusion.

Godfrey Sinclair was terrible at explaining things.

Not slightly bad.

Not occasionally unclear.

Terrible.

Catastrophically terrible.

The kind of terrible that should be studied by scholars.

The kind of terrible that could turn a simple greeting into a three-hour philosophical debate.

At this exact moment, she was standing in the middle of Godfrey’s private training grounds, covered in sweat, bruises, and enough dust to qualify as part of the scenery.

Across from her stood Godfrey.

Calm.

Unmoving.

Emotionless.

Annoyingly emotionless.

The old monster pointed toward a training dummy.

"To train the sword, one must first become one with the sword."

Silence.

Eternia stared at him.

Godfrey stared back.

More silence.

Eternia slowly tilted her head.

Then she made a face.

A very specific face.

The face people made when someone explained absolutely nothing while pretending they had explained everything.

Godfrey noticed.

"...What?"

Eternia pointed at him.

"That."

"What?"

"That thing you just said."

Godfrey blinked.

"What about it?"

"It doesn’t explain anything."

"It explains everything."

"It explains nothing."

"It explains enough."

"It explains less than nothing."

Godfrey looked genuinely confused.

Which somehow made Eternia even more frustrated.

The old man actually believed he had given a proper explanation.

Eternia rubbed her forehead.

"Please."

She pointed dramatically.

"Explain it like I’m not a hundred-year-old sword master who spent thirty years meditating under a waterfall."

Godfrey thought for a moment.

Then nodded.

"Train with your weapon until you feel a new power."

Eternia froze.

Then stared.

Then stared harder.

Then stared even harder.

"..."

"..."

"...You could have just said that from the beginning."

Godfrey didn’t answer.

Which meant he believed both explanations were equally useful.

Eternia suddenly felt exhausted.

Not physically.

Mentally.

Emotionally.

Spiritually.

Possibly cosmically.

She looked at the heavens.

"Why do strong people always talk like this?"

No answer came.

Apparently even the heavens were tired of it.

Eternia sighed heavily.

Then looked at Godfrey with tired eyes.

"Can I rest first?"

"No."

Before she could protest—

Godfrey picked her up.

Like luggage.

Again.

Eternia flailed.

"Put me down!"

"No."

"Respectfully."

"No."

"Disrespectfully?"

"No."

Godfrey carried her toward the training dummy.

Then deposited her in front of it.

Spear included╰(*°▽°*)╯

Eternia looked at the weapon.

Then the dummy.

Then Godfrey.

Then the weapon again.

Then the dummy again.

Then Godfrey again.

"...You really aren’t joking."

"No."

Eternia sighed.

Of course he wasn’t.

Godfrey suddenly spoke.

"Becoming Awakened isn’t merely about power."

Eternia paused.

That sounded important.

Godfrey continued.

"It means you stop aging."

Silence.

Everything stopped.

The wind stopped.

The birds stopped.

Time itself nearly stopped.

Eternia slowly turned toward him.

Her eyes sparkled.

Literally sparkled.

Like stars.

Like treasure.

Like every merchant who had ever seen gold.

"...What?"

Godfrey repeated calmly.

"Awakened individuals cease aging."

Eternia’s jaw dropped.

Then slowly rose.

Then dropped again.

Then rose again.

Her brain was working overtime.

Because suddenly—

Everything changed.

Everything.

She had already wanted strength.

She had already wanted freedom.

She had already wanted to explore the world.

But now?

Now there was immortality involved.

That changed things.

A lot.

A ridiculous amount.

Eternia immediately began imagining things.

Huge things.

Wonderful things.

Amazing things.

The future.

An immortal future.

A future where she could spend centuries perfecting magic.

Centuries exploring continents.

Centuries discovering ancient ruins.

Centuries learning.

Growing.

Building.

Her eyes widened.

Wait.

Building.

A magic academy.

A real magic academy.

Not one controlled by nobles.

Not one restricted to bloodlines.

Not one hidden behind family secrets.

A real academy.

Open to everyone.

Commoners.

Merchants.

Farmers.

Anyone talented enough to learn.

The idea hit her like lightning.

Because she remembered.

Shatter remembered.

Her previous life remembered.

The countless villages where talented children never learned magic.

The countless people who never received opportunities.

The nobles guarded magical knowledge like dragons guarding treasure.

And because of that—

Entire generations were wasted.

Eternia tightened her grip on the spear.

If she became immortal...

Then time wasn’t a problem anymore.

She could spend decades building foundations.

Centuries building institutions.

Millennia improving them.

Suddenly becoming Awakened felt much more important.

Much.

Much more important.

Eternia nodded firmly.

"Okay."

Godfrey raised an eyebrow.

"Okay?"

"I’m motivated now."

"Good."

"No, seriously."

She pointed dramatically.

"You should’ve started with the immortality part."

Godfrey looked confused.

Again.

Which was becoming a recurring problem.

Eternia ignored him.

She began swinging her spear.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

Again.

Again.

Again.

While practicing, another question appeared.

Actually several questions appeared.

The biggest one escaped her lips immediately.

"Then why haven’t I met any immortals?"

Godfrey answered without hesitation.

"You have."

Eternia blinked.

"What?"

Godfrey pointed at himself.

"You are standing in front of one."

Eternia froze.

"..."

"..."

"...You look thirty."

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t a compliment."

Godfrey ignored her.

Again.

Of course.

He continued.

"Most immortals don’t announce themselves."

That made sense.

Actually.

A lot of sense.

Godfrey continued.

"To ordinary people they appear young."

"Normal."

"Unremarkable."

Eternia nodded.

Reasonable.

Then Godfrey added—

"The second reason is that most die."

Eternia paused.

The spear stopped moving.

"...What?"

Godfrey’s expression didn’t change.

"Power attracts conflict."

His voice remained calm.

Almost too calm.

"The majority of immortals die in wars."

"Power struggles."

"Ancient disputes."

"Territorial conflicts."

"Clan feuds."

"Religious conflicts."

He shrugged.

"They die often."

Eternia stared.

Somehow that was both depressing and reassuring.

Apparently immortality wasn’t immunity.

Good to know.

Slightly disappointing.

But good to know.

While she was distracted—

SMACK.

Godfrey hit her head.

Hard.

"Ow!"

"Wrong stance."

"That doesn’t justify violence."

"Correct your stance."

Eternia grumbled.

Then corrected it.

Godfrey nodded.

Better.

Another strike.

Another.

Another.

Hours began passing.

And slowly—

Something changed.

At first it was subtle.

Very subtle.

The spear felt lighter.

Not physically.

Instinctively.

Like her body understood the weapon slightly better.

The movements became smoother.

The transitions cleaner.

The weapon no longer felt foreign.

Godfrey noticed immediately.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

ᓚᘏᗢ

Meanwhile—

Elsewhere in the Sinclair Estate.

Etherius Draven Sinclair was questioning every life decision he had made.

Again.

Apparently this was becoming a family tradition.

He sat across from Nysera inside a private room.

The moment he finished explaining what happened—

Nysera exploded.

"YOU MET SERAPHINE VALECROSS?!"

Etherius winced.

"Lower your voice."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Nysera."

"No."

Etherius sighed.

This was hopeless.

Nysera stood up dramatically.

"You met THE Seraphine."

"The White Warmage."

"The Battle Queen."

"The Commoner Saint."

"The—"

"I know who she is."

"The—"

"I KNOW."

Nysera ignored him.

Entirely.

Like always.

She placed both hands on the table dramatically.

"Do you understand how important this is?"

Etherius deadpanned.

"Considering I literally accepted becoming her disciple..."

"No."

Nysera pointed.

"You don’t understand."

"I assure you I do."

"No."

"I do."

"You don’t."

Etherius considered leaving.

Temporarily.

Forever.

Both options seemed appealing.

Nysera continued enthusiastically.

"I grew up hearing stories about her."

"Every commoner has."

"She’s amazing."

"She’s strong."

"She’s independent lone wolf."

"She defeated nobles."

"She shattered records."

"She became famous despite having no bloodline advantages."

Nysera’s eyes practically sparkled.

Etherius stared blankly.

Then slowly looked away.

He suddenly understood how Leon felt whenever Eternia started talking about ancient magic.

This was painful.

Very painful.

"You’re fan-girling."

Nysera gasped.

"I am not."

"You are."

"I admire her."

"Fan-girling."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Yes...i mean no."

Nysera threw a pillow at him.

Etherius dodged.

Professional experience. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After several more minutes of bickering—

Etherius stood.

The discussion was clearly going nowhere.

He walked toward a nearby wardrobe.

Then removed a dark traveling robe.

Nysera immediately noticed.

"Where are we going?"

Etherius put on the robe.

Then smiled slightly.

A dangerous smile.

The kind Nysera had learned to fear.

"We have work."

Nysera narrowed her eyes.

"Define work."

Etherius tightened his gloves.

"The Black Auction Hall."

Silence.

Then—

"...Oh no."

Etherius ignored her.

The Black Auction Hall.

One of the city’s worst-kept secrets.

Officially it didn’t exist.

Unofficially everyone important knew it existed.

Especially the Sinclair Family.

The underground market operated beneath the city.

Hidden.

Protected.

Profitable.

The Sinclairs didn’t care what happened there.

As long as taxes were paid.

And fees were collected.

Business remained business.

Even illegal business.

Nysera groaned.

"We’re doing something illegal again."

"Technically."

"That’s never a good start."

"It isn’t illegal if nobody catches us."

"That’s literally not how laws work."

Etherius smiled.

"Details."

Nysera sighed.

This was her life now.

Apparently.

Following a future-obsessed noble through increasingly questionable situations.

Etherius adjusted his robe.

Then looked toward the distant city.

Somewhere beneath those streets—

Hidden within darkness—

Waited the final piece.

The final item.

The thing he needed most.

His eyes narrowed.

With Seraphine’s training.

With his future knowledge.

With the item hidden inside the Black Auction Hall—

His progress would accelerate tremendously.

Tenth Circle.

Awakened Rank.

Soul Script.

Everything would come sooner.

Much sooner.

A dangerous smile appeared.

Nysera immediately became concerned.

Because every time Etherius smiled like that—

Someone’s day became significantly worse.

Usually not his.

"You’re planning something."

Etherius nodded.

"Obviously."

"I hate when you say that."

Etherius ignored her.

Because his thoughts were already elsewhere.

Toward the underground city.

Toward hidden treasures.

Toward future power.

Toward a destiny that was rapidly changing.

And deep within the darkness beyond mortal sight—

Something watched.

Something ancient.

Something dreaming.

A presence hidden behind reality itself.

A presence whose gaze lingered briefly upon two siblings.

One carrying a forgotten contract.

The other carrying a forgotten destiny.

The First Dream watched silently.

And smiled.