Kharon's slowly opened his eyes as they turned a bright shade of purple. As he stood still in the circle, he could hear Aidan and the others cheering. He closed his eyes once more and began going through his new abilities.
'Apart from my tier 5 abilities getting stronger, I have gained three new ones... Fog Creation, pretty self explanatory. But the fog can slightly weaken arcane abilities. That should be useful. Phantom Step, an ability which makes me intangible unless hit by an arcane ability from a higher tier than mine. And finally, Shapeshifting. I can change my physical appearance at will and when paired with my enhanced Erased Presence I can create a false aether signature...'
Walking out of the circle, Kharon began thinking about all the possible applications of his powers. He suddenly thought about what the Hollow King had said and finally understood something.
'So that's why. He must have learnt about my future, or past tier 4 abilities. The Soulbind Token can be fooled with this ability. That will make things more convenient in the future. Once I spend the day with Aidan, I will be able to leave.'
As he was deep in thought, he didn't notice Aidan walking up to him before being pulled into an embrace.
"You did it! I will admit I was a little nervous. But your preparations were quite thorough. I am just glad nothing happened to you."
Kharon slowly raised his hands as he returned the hug.
"I still need to become a tier 1 wielder. I wouldn't die until I have accomplished that goal. Anyways, where are we going to first?"
Aidan stepped back as he said, "The Aetherbloom Conservatory. I am sure you will like it. It has a wide range of plants and exotic fruits from all over. Then we will go to the Lunaris Zoo. At the end of the day, we will go to the Aether Fork and dine with Master Lodge and Dorn."
Staring at Aidan with a puzzled look Kharon asked, "They aren't coming with us to the conservatory or the zoo?"
"No. We are going there alone; unless you want them to join us."
"That's fine, they must be quite busy. Meeting at the Aether Fork is more than enough."
Master Lodge looked at Kharon with visible irritation as he said, "It sounds like you don't want to spend time with us. We worked so hard to make this happen and you act like you hate us. My pupil hates his own teacher, what did I ever do wrong?"
Kharon looking slightly flustered quickly answered, "No! It's not that I hate you. It's just that I know how much work you have to do and I wouldn't want to steal all of your time. And I want to thank you again for doing all of this for me. It means a lot."
Chuckling, Dorn looked at Kharon with a sly grin as he said, "We understand. We will be taking our leave now, wouldn't we Master Lodge? Enjoy yourself. We will meet at the Aether Fork in the evening. Don't be late."
Dorn and Master Lodge quickly made their way through the door, leaving Kharon and Aidan alone. As the pair looked at each other, Aidan suddenly asked, "Are you ready?"
Kharon lips slightly curved up as he answered, "I am. Let's go."
They walked out of the cave and found themselves standing in the small room from before. They locked the door to the cave before leaving the room. As they did, they walked into the crowded corridors as several workers ran around with stacks of papers in their arms. The smell of parchment and ink was fairly weak, but Kharon's heightened senses easily picked up on them.
'This is quite annoying. I can hear the words of all these people quite clearly and keep up with several conversations effortlessly. There has to be a way to suppress my senses, or I might snap from the sensory overload.'
Suddenly, Aidan offered him what seemed to be a cord of sorts.
"This is an arcane bracelet made to weaken the senses of Wielders. It should help you get used to your new senses. You can wear it for a few weeks, but it isn't recommended to use it for too long as your senses could be permanently dulled. Though ascending would fix the problem but it's better to avoid it happening in the first place."
Kharon accepted the bracelet as he muttered words of thanks before putting it on. Almost immediately he stopped hearing the precise words of all those around him. Instead it was replaced by a faint buzz of idle chatter which he could barely make sense it. He and Aidan arrived at the wide doubles before stepping out into the brightly lit street.
Looking up at the sky, Kharon stared at the boundless sky as he thought.
'I remember so much now. But not enough, I still don't remember where I am from but I know I was at least a tier 3 wielder in the past. I wonder why I regressed. Is there a path which can do this? Or was it the doing of a God?'
Kharon shook his head and sighed as he followed Aidan who was walking ahead while humming a melodious tune. It somehow sounded familiar to Kharon but he didn't know why.
"Aidan, where did you learn that tune?"
Aidan scratched his head as he said, "I don't really know. I have just always known it from childhood. Maybe my mother used to hum it and I subconsciously learnt it. Anyways, do you want to get a carriage?"
"That would be a waste of money. We can just walk, the conservatory isn't very far from here. In fact we could just run there. I am a tier 4 wielder now so I can probably keep up with you; atleast to an extent."
"And how do we stop people from noticing our sudden disappearance and appearance?"
"I will use Veiling on both of us. If I was alone then my Erased Presence would be more than enough. I can utilise Veiling to make us slowly vanish without being noticed and once we are close to the location we can walk out of an alley."
Kharon's eyes began turning purple as a faint, dark hue enveloped him and Aidan. As soon as he did this, Aidan suddenly broke into a sprint and Kharon followed suit. In less than a second they had arrived at their destination. Kharon slowly dispelled the illusion as they walked out of an alleyway.
'This speed is incredible. I can move beyond hypersonic speeds so easily... This far eclipses my former level when I was just above the speed of sound. Luckily Veiling cancelled out the effects of breaking the sound barrier several times.'
"Veiling really is an amazing ability. I usually use my aether as a type of medium which dampens the effect of breaking the sound barrier; but that's when I don't have my cloak. Could your Veiling always do that though? I know sound wasn't an issue, but the shockwave however..."
"At tier 5, Veiling was more illusory. But now, it can somewhat affect the world physically. I can create a clone of myself which would feel real to an ordinary person, but a wielder would be able to tell immediately."
Aidan thought for a few seconds as he said, "The name Veiling makes it sound like it's hiding something. But since it can affect the physical world, shouldn't it be called something else?"
"No. Like you said, it hides something but it doesn't have to be literal. The physical consequences of breaking the sound barrier was hidden. The name still applies. It may not have hidden an object, but it still did it's job."
"I understand."
As they finished their conversation, they stopped in front of the large building before them. The towering crystalline structure stood proudly as if looking down at them. Kharon began walking forward as Aidan followed by his side. Kharon stepped into the building with little enthusiasm. But as he stepped through the doors, he was amazed to see myriad of colours surrounding him.
Every inch of the large hall had a type of plant which drew Kharon's attention. There was a mix of different, pleasant scents which all blended together to create an irresistible aroma. Faint chatter could be heard as Kharon saw some people walking around the conservatory with visible awe.
Aidan put his arm around Kharon as he said, "Welcome to paradise Kharon. This is one of the best places in Lunaris Haven. There are many different things you can do here. So what do you want to do?"
"How am I meant to know what to do without knowing the options?"
"Read the board then. It's right there."
Kharon looked around before noticing a wide board which listed out a range of activities which could be done in the conservatory.
"I thought this was a place to admire plants. I didn't expect it to be a sort of holiday retreat. I mean, why name it the AetherBloom Conservatory in the first place if it has any other exotic plants?"
"Originally this place was built to store Aetherblooms as they are extremely rare. But then more and more types of exotic plants were found. People began to come here more frequently so the owner and founder, Lady Orvus had it expanded. This allowed hotels and restaurants to be built in here which made it even more popular."
"Wait a minute, Lady Orvus?!"