Stobel's father quickly and politely "chased" Avar - he no longer hired Avar, but generously gifted Avar a remote country estate so that he could continue his research, which even the archmage Santo described as "interesting".

That's a smart choice. Stobel didn't need a teacher who would use him as bait with impunity, but a mage could not be offended in any way.

Stobel had no objection, and he did not have the right to object, but he was inevitably a little disappointed—he liked Avar's almost insane passion, which still shone brightly even if it wasn't for him.

The night before Avar left, he couldn't sleep the night after tossing and turning, so he simply sneaked out.

As he expected, Avar did not rest, and the thin old man stood in the courtyard looking up at the starry sky as usual, showing gentleness and patience that he had never been more gentle and patient than he had ever been with when he came to "disturb" him.

"There's a star there. ”

He took the little boy by the hand and pointed to the sky with the other, "between Angot and Kao." ”

Before Stormbell could find the star, the old man had already pointed to another location: "There's one there, too, to the lower right of Merial—there's more, I'll find more, you can't see them, no one can see them, but there they are...... Always there, they are the souls of the stars, the center and source of everything. ”

Stallbell couldn't even find Merial's star, but that didn't stop him from looking at his teacher with adoring eyes—he could see stars that no one could see.

The old man's hand pointing to the starry sky was clenched into a fist, as if he had grasped all the stars. At that moment, his old and ordinary face was radiant, as if the whole world was in his hands.

That scene was imprinted in the eyes of the little boy, and it has not been forgotten for decades.

But it was also the last time he saw Avar.

Two months later, a fire destroyed the manor where Avar lived, burning all his collections, along with himself, to ashes.

The people of the manor unanimously stated that the fire had been planted by Avar himself.

Over the course of two months, the old man, who had been obsessed with his research, became more and more moody, and he could often be heard screaming and roaring in the room, laughing with ecstasy, and watching him dance or thunder under the stars.

He's crazy - no one has any doubts about it.

Stormel insisted on following his father to the manor, where he met the archmage Santo again.

"I'm here to take back what I lent. ”

The archmage told Stobel's father.

Stobel looked at the charred black, wondering what else could be "taken back" inside.

Then, for the first time in his life, he witnessed firsthand the miracles that magic could create.

Even though he is known as the "Stone Shaper", Santo is clearly good at more than just manipulating the elemental spells. Amid the exclamations of the people, the burned houses, along with everything in them, were restored little by little in the sun.

However, there was no Avar in it.

When the archmage retrieved the star map he had lent out and prepared to leave, Stormel boldly tugged at the mage's robes.

"Can't you get my teacher back too?" he asked him.

“...... No spell can bring back a life that has already passed. The archmage looked down at him and replied gently.

"Why?" said Stobel.

"That's beyond what humans are allowed to do. ”

"Why?" asked the little boy stubbornly.

The archmage smiled and reached out to touch his head.

"When you're a little older," he said, "if you still want to know...... You can come to me. ”

Five years later, Storbel became the last disciple of the Stone Shaper, and it was nearly a decade before he learned not to ask the question.

.

"Balance. Stobel told Ed, "That's the answer I've got." I once asked my teacher if Avar's madness and death were also because he had upset some kind of balance...... Is the answer he is bent on finding, the puzzle he wants to solve, beyond a certain boundary? ”

Stobel has a strong sense of curiosity - like all mages, but at the same time, he is also cautious and disciplined. He didn't go after the answers that even Avar couldn't find, his spells weren't particularly outstanding in any one area, but they were very comprehensive, especially good at working with different spells.

"You may never be the most powerful mage...... But maybe he will survive to the end. ”

That's what Kerman Santo said about him, and Stobel was quite satisfied.

"But I can't completely forget Abel and his passion for burning everything. The mage smiled wryly at Ed, "When I was qualified to enter the vault of the Archmage Tower and look through those precious books, the first thing I looked for was the star map that had been lent to Abel. ”

He didn't find it.

"All the books in the collection are borrowed and returned in detail. The mage's voice lowered, "Some aren't even allowed to be taken out of the chamber at all...... I can find records of the star maps that were borrowed, and I can also find records of when the teacher recovered them from the ashes and returned them...... But they're not there. ”

By that time, Kerman Santo had died. Stobel thought twice and didn't mention it to anyone.

"I haven't actually seen the contents of those star charts. "I only know the oldest of them, and the legend is that it came from the hand of a giant...... The starry sky was not the same as it is now. ”

The only thing he remembered was what Avar had told him, the two stars that no one could see, one between Angot and Kao, and one below the right of Merial.

Legend has it that Anteg and Kao were two elven poets favored by the god of inspiration, and Merial was the elven maiden who was the first snowflake to emerge from the fingertips of the goddess of ice and snow, Carlotti - most of the stories about the stars have nothing to do with humans.

Decades later, Stobel has looked up to find the location of those three stars...... So tonight, when he found out that a star really appeared in the lower right of Meria, the shock in his heart can be imagined.

For a moment he regretted not trying to understand Avar's unfinished research—he didn't even know what it meant for the invisible star to suddenly light up.

But he couldn't sense the danger, and he knew where to find answers.

At this moment, he stared at Ed tightly, with a sincere expression, but Ed could only smile bitterly.

"Scott probably won't tell me. "And I'm sure he has his own reasons." ”

“...... I'm not referring to Scott. The mage replied.

.