Damian and Ian slipped through the tangled alleys of the great city.Ian walked with practiced ease, though her sharp gaze never let down its guard.
"Alright. Time to meet the one who sees the flow,"she said with a cryptic smile.
"The one who sees... what?"Damian tilted his head slightly.
Ian snapped her fingers.
"Not quite a prophet. But they can read patterns. See how this world moves.""Not fortune-telling. More like... understanding the system underneath."
Something about that stirred Damian."Seeing the flow?"It wasn't about predicting the future. It sounded like a power that pierced the very fabric of this world.
Ian led him deeper into a secluded part of the city.But just as they arrived—
Something felt off.
They were ambushed. Enemies emerged from the shadows, and the two were forced to fight their way through crumbling ruins.
Breathing heavily after the battle, Damian knelt to examine the ground.
"Someone's been guiding us here."
Aside from their own footprints, there were other signs—marks from a previous clash.
"Someone else fought here... recently."
A gust of wind blew past.
In the center of the ruins, a faint blue mana shimmered and dissipated.
Standing in the midst of it—a sorceress.
Her fingers still held a fading trace of magic. She studied Damian with a cool gaze.
"…Didn't expect another one to show up."
Her eyes narrowed.She sensed a familiar energy radiating from him—the same as the foes she had just defeated.
"Is he one of them too?"
At the same moment, both of them came to the same conclusion:
"Enemy."
And so—They attacked. Instinctively.
Clash of Blade and Spell
CRACK!Lightning burst from the sorceress's fingertips.
Damian ducked and dodged with practiced reflexes—But her spells weren't just raw energy.
"Binding."
Suddenly, space itself bent—Gravity surged. Damian's body felt unnaturally heavy.
"Gravity magic…?"
But he didn't falter.
With a swift motion, he swung his sword—cutting cleanly through the mana threads.
Slash—
Each strike of his blade disrupted the flow of magic, like he was tearing through the fabric of the spell itself.
"He… cut through magic?"The sorceress blinked, startled.
Damian, too, realized something.
"You mistook me for one of them."
But neither backed down.
"She's never seen my swordwork before—but she's already adapting, countering on the fly.""His strikes carry mana… he's not just a swordsman. Not normal."
Their duel escalated, striking with increasing intensity.Each collision of magic and steel shook the ruins.
And from afar—They were being watched.
Ian Intervenes
From a distance, Ian watched the chaos unfold.
At first, she had no intention of stopping it.But the longer the duel went on, the more uneasy she felt.
"This isn't just a misunderstanding."
She focused—on the sorceress's spellwork, Damian's counters, and the strange tension swirling around them.
And then, she knew:
She was the one they had come here to find.
Flash!The sorceress readied her final strike.
Damian, too, raised his sword for a decisive blow.
But then—Shhk!
Ian moved like a shadow.
Sssff!
In an instant, she slipped between them—redirecting both attacks with deft precision.
Damian's blade cut only air.The sorceress's magic dispersed harmlessly into the wind.
Thump!Ian gently pushed Damian back with a palm.
"Both of you, cool it."
She turned to the sorceress.
"You're the one we came looking for."
The sorceress blinked in surprise.
Ian's gaze burned with conviction.
"And while you two were busy fighting…""We had... an audience."
She pointed to a far-off ruin—where shadowy figures stood.
Damian and the sorceress followed her gaze.
Unnatural presences.They watched with keen interest—then…
Ssshhk—Silently vanished.
The Enemy Is Elsewhere
Ian caught her breath and looked between the two.
"Alright. Now maybe we can actually talk."
The sorceress didn't lower her guard entirely, but her curiosity was piqued.
"So tell me. What do you want with me?"
Damian answered calmly.
"They say you're the one who sees the flow."
The sorceress gave a faint smile.
"Not fate. Just... patterns."
Still, she could sense it—Damian wasn't normal.And the foes she had faced—shared the same scent as those Damian fought.
She pondered a moment. Then—
"One question, then."
"What are you?"
Damian went silent.He didn't have the answer. Not yet.
Ian chuckled, trying to defuse the tension.
"C'mon. Let's take it slow.""We've got bigger problems to worry about."
The sorceress looked between the two, still wary.But Ian was right.
They were already being hunted—By a common enemy.
And so—
A path opened.The sorceress—the one who sees the flow—might just become the second companion on this journey.
She hadn't fully sided with Damian yet.
But she could feel it—With him, she might finally uncover the truth she'd been seeking.
Far away, the watchers who had vanished were already making their next move.
They hadn't watched out of idle curiosity.To them, Damian was... far more interesting than expected.
***
Chapter : The One Who Sees Fate
Sorcerers and Wizards: A Fundamental Difference
Sorcerers were not the same as wizards.In fact, calling them the same type of mage was a stretch.
Wizards gained their power through study:years of research, vast stores of knowledge, and rigorously structured incantations.They built their magic upon the foundation of learning.
Sorcerers, by contrast, were born with it.Magic was not something they had to learn.They could use it even before they understood it.
This core distinction was deeply ingrained in how people viewed them.Wizards took pride in their intellectual achievements.Sorcerers, on the other hand, were seen as those who wielded power effortlessly, as if by birthright.
And that, unsurprisingly, bred resentment.
No matter how hard the wizards worked,there were heights they could never reach—yet the sorcerers seemed to be born already standing there.
But the difference went beyond simple envy.
The One Who Sees Fate — An Exception Among Exceptions
Even among sorcerers, the one known as "The One Who Sees Fate" stood out.
His mere existence was the talk of the city.
"He's not just a magic-user.""Does he really... see fate?"
The more people heard of his abilities,the more his influence grew.
Problems that would take wizards months of analysis to interpret—he often solved in a single glance, with an eerie precision.
This only deepened the disdain wizards felt toward him.
"You just get lucky.""You really believe you're seeing fate?"
But despite the contempt, people needed him.
His "research lab"—or perhaps more accurately, his private chambers—was always bustling.Whenever people were lost, or faced a crucial decision,they came to him for guidance.
He wasn't just useful in battle.
His ability to "see fate" had tangible value,and that made him invaluable.
As a result, his earnings were considerable.
Merchant lords came to him for advice before making investments.Nobles sought to retain him as a personal counselor.Even the military tried, on occasion, to enlist his talents.
But he turned down every offer.
He only used his power when he chose to.
Resentment Among the Wizards
This aloofness, paired with his growing fame, only worsened things with the wizards.
They firmly believed:
"All magic must be grounded in knowledge and discipline."
To them, sorcerers were almost an affront to magical academia.
"Power gained without effort is always power without control."
They didn't call him a "genius."They called him a "variable."
Something uncontrollable.Something unstable.
And as for "The One Who Sees Fate"?Their opinions were even harsher.
"Sees fate? Don't make me laugh.""It's all just trickery and guesswork."
Yet, no matter what they said, those who took his advice saw results.
"If I hadn't followed his guidance, I'd be dead.""You think that's just coincidence?"
There was a strange balance in the city—those who trusted him and those who feared him.
And through it all,he remained indifferent.
The Meeting
Damian and Ian made their way through the city toward the sorcerer's lab.
The building looked quiet,though people could occasionally be seen coming and going.
Ian paused.
"You think he's really here?"
Damian looked up at the structure.
"Someone this famous doesn't need to hide."
Ian nodded.
"True. He's well known around the city.But still—very few have actually met him in person."
She had only seen him once before—during that chaotic battle.
Damian stepped up to the door and hesitated a moment before looking inside.
And there he was.The One Who Sees Fate.
Eyes closed, deep in conversation with someone.
But as the door opened—
His eyes slowly lifted.
"…You've arrived."
Ian stepped forward first.
"About what happened last time—"
The sorcerer cut in with a faint smile.
"Ah, that. It was fascinating.A fate I hadn't foreseen."
Ian raised an eyebrow.
"A fate you didn't see?"
"Yes. My visions are never wrong...But that day, something beyond my sight intervened."
He rose slowly to his feet.His gaze fixed on Damian.
"And that something... was you, wasn't it?"
Damian said nothing.
The sorcerer smiled again.
"Perhaps now...I'll finally be able to see your fate."