The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1600

The merman laughed a little hard at his choice of words.

"Hahaha! He said the same thing- this must be for you then!" he said handing Hao Xuan the wine bottle and a glass carved out of sparkling eternal ice.

Hao Xuan inspected the bottle curiously before looking at the merman with a questioning gaze.

"It's my best work yet," the merman proudly responded, "The dissolution went swimmingly well! Hahaha, get it??" he laughed to himself while flailing his tentacles around as if he were underwater.

Thankfully a bunch of other patrons quickly ran up while Vlitgar was still away to get their refills, keeping the merman busy and away from him.

Hao Xuan sniffed the cork but couldn't pick up any peculiar scents so he popped it open and poured himself half a glass.

It had an earthy aroma like that of a dry ground after a light shower. He took a sip and swirled it around, mimicking all the countless characters he had seen drinking in movies and shows back on earth.

It was light and airy, coating his throat in a spicy mix that made his blood flow.

"Ohh, that's REALLY good," Hao Xuan muttered to himself.

Meanwhile within the Attainment Chamber Vlitgar was standing in front of the mirror once again trying to show his singed forearm to Malka. She craned her neck left and right trying to get a look from every possible angle before speaking up.

"You are certain it was a Hindering Spell?"

"No. But it 'felt' like one, it...was odd," Vlitgar began mumbling while recalling the details, "There were no runes or spell symbols in sight but the flow of magic was...it was comparable to the work of Warlocks."

Malka immediately stood at attention, "The Warlocks?!"

Vlitgar gave a somber nod, "That much I am sure of."

She began pacing to and fro along the mirror's length, "Warlocks...last I saw the demons had taken control over most of the unconscripted Warlocks within the lower layers by corrupting the nearby Umbral Planes with demonic energy, turning them into Hell Priests. The ones who didn't join their ranks were hunted down and destroyed. You said the boy we saw earlier was at the center of this spell?"

"Mhm."

"Then they must be after him, I can find no other explanation. That or he stumbled into the territory of a powerful warlock and was attacked as a result but...the chances of that happening are far too inconsequential. Pray tell- has he any gifts that could provoke the ire of the Hell Priests?"

Vlitgar hesitated for a second too long which did not go under Malka's radar.

"So there IS something. Out with it, what have you discovered?"

"He is 'gifted' with the arts."

She immediately connected the dots from their last conversation.

"So the moonstone was to test him. What did you discover? What rank is he? Tell me he is at least a Delta rank, I badly need another assistant!" she joked but Vlitgar was in no mood.

He found her gaze within the mirror and locked eyes with her reflection.

"He was stronger than you- MUCH stronger. Too strong to even be considered human! This- It has to be a trick-"

"Shush," she silenced him with a single gesture.

Her voice was rife with melancholy as she gently scolded Vlitgar.

"I am not the same timid little girl you needed to protect all those years ago. Why did you hide this from me?"

"I didn't," he swiftly clarified, "I thought- I KNOW it to be a trick of the demonkin, the timing is far too good for it to be a mere coincidence. How could such a powerful mystic cross paths with me all the way out here? And in a position where I could help him?? That is-"

"Stop!" she yelled through her teeth trying to contain her anger.

"You ALWAYS do this! Not everything is a trap- not EVERYTHING is a conspiracy! Sometimes- believe it or not- good things happen! Tell me, have you ANY evidence that this child is not who he says he is?"

But despite her outrage he was not willing to back down without a fight.

"I told you, it cannot be a coincidence! What are the chances I meet someone with the mark of the Father all the way out here? His skills have been honed in battle with the demonkin themselves and if that wasn't enough, HE was the one who found the chosen and protected him from these royal wretches!"

Malka suddenly reached out, bending the mirror in the shape of her arm to slap him across the face. He couldn't see her face but it was obvious she was holding back tears.

"You- You were so quick to abandon the only person that ever loved you to answer this call of duty- going on nothing but blind faith for nearly a century but now...now you do not have enough faith to believe that perhaps he was put in your path to help you? To aid in this unaccomplishable goal of changing our destinities? Have you really so little faith left in our cause??"