In the Dark, Stan, who has given up his struggle, sits quietly. Outside the prison door, his protégé Maddie chattered incessantly.

Looking at Maddie like this, Stan couldn't help but sigh secretly - it's over! He had always thought that Maddie was the most promising person to step into the sea of magic with his own strength.

But it was no longer possible, his will had been destroyed.

Just as Stan is feeling remorseful, Maddie suddenly stops chattering and retreats away in horror. Stan realizes that someone is sitting next to him at some point.

"Who?"

The visitor looks like Bran, but the breath is completely different. Isn't this one, what do you want to do?

The man ignored him, but looked at Maddie who was hidden in the darkness, and praised softly: "Not bad!"

"Who are you?"

The visitor still ignored his question, "Do you want to change to a more spacious place?"

"Are you ——, Bran?" Seeing that the other party acquiesced to his guess, Stan tentatively asked, "Is your previous proposal still valid?"

"Jailer? ”

Stan argues, "It's always easier to have one more person to clean up." ”

Bran laughed a few times, "The jailer is too condescending for you. ”

Stan didn't seem to understand the sarcasm, and replied seriously, "Don't give in, make the best use of things." ”

"Heh, what do you think?"

Stan pointed next door, "They've been honest and patient. Before, I despised them. Now, I despise myself. ”

"Oh?"

"I used to think that you would not dare to kill me until death passed me by, just like them. Stan exhaled imperceptibly, "I just want to live now." ”

"You'll live, come with me. Bran got up and walked out.

Stan followed behind him, cautiously asking, "So, Jailer?"

"I said it, it's too condescending. That disciple of yours is just right. ”

Stan sneaks a glance at Bran's back and cautiously asks, "Is my disciple alright? you're not going to eat him, or ......"

As if hearing something funny, Bran couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Do you believe that? It's just a child's play and a scare to scare people." ”

"But, I heard Maddie say ......"

"As I said, it's just a means for children to scare people. ”

Stan shook his head slightly, "I was surprised when I heard him, but I didn't dare to think about it." ”

"Yes, who would have thought that he was already a great wizard, and he was so childish. Bran paused for a moment before continuing, "If I do, I'm the only one who can eat. Don't look at them to scare people, they really let them eat but refuse to eat.

You're in luck, you had an amphibious in your stomach when I caught you. At that time, I thought you tasted good. Now, it's unappetizing to watch. ”

This makes Stan shudder - what a hanging!

He decided that he couldn't continue around eating and asked, "What are you going to do with that kid Maddie?"

"Don't worry about him, there is a need for a jailer here. And on the other side of Winged City, he may still be used. Most importantly, our purpose is not to kill, but to learn. ”

Stan hurriedly answered, "Whatever you want to learn? ”

"Don't worry, we can take our time with these things, after all, observation is also part of learning. Even if you refuse to hand it over, we will not do anything to you.

Just like your disciple, although his strength is a little worse, he seems to have lost his usefulness, but have you thought about it, in fact, being alive is his greatest use. ”

Bran paused, "I don't want you to be suspicious and do your job with peace of mind. ”

"What job?"

"Re-establish your cycle here. Bran tilted his head slightly, "Maybe you'll like it here and never want to go back." ”

Stan was silent for a moment, "What do I need to do?"

"Here we are, here it is. Bran stopped suddenly, "Look, are you satisfied?" I have prepared everything for you, and I will do my best to meet your reasonable requests in the follow-up process. ”

Stan then notices that a large underground plaza has appeared in front of him. But no, the square is too abrupt. He had been paying attention to the changes around him, one moment he was walking in the long corridor, and the next moment he suddenly entered here.

So he was surprised: "Where is this?"

Bran was a little proud, "It's still in the Dark Hell, it's far bigger than you think. ”

Stan noticed that Bran's words were expansive, but had a more concerned question in his mind, "Was that - the power of space?"

"It's not just the power of space, otherwise you're bound to spot anomalies in advance. Bran smiled in his voice, "Don't worry, it's not a place to separate the inside and the outside. If your apprentice still retains a modicum of courage and curiosity, then he will definitely find this place. ”

Stan looked at the empty plaza and sighed, "If you may, can you tell me - your true purpose?"

"Circulation, a larger, all-encompassing cycle. ”

Stan subconsciously asked, "Including us?"

"Yes, including you. Bran raised his hand to the center of the square, "This is just the beginning, and you won't be the only one in the Heller to build a loop." ”

Stan suddenly understood that the boy in front of him wanted to be the whole world.

This made him can't help but take a deep breath, although he doesn't think it will succeed, but what if it succeeds?

Maybe it's really like this teenager said, he's going to love it. Because then the world will be a huge cage. Where and what is the difference?

No, what if it fails, if the cycle between the two sides clash?

A not-so-good feeling rose from his heart, making him a little distracted. But this loss of consciousness lasted only a moment before it was interrupted. Bran's unhurried voice rang in his ears: "From today onwards, this square belongs to you." ”

Seeing that Bran is leaving, Stan hurriedly asks the question that worries him.

"I don't think it's going to fail, because magic will find a way out. Even if we do fail, we will start all over again.

You should have seen these things better than I did. In the endless years of the past, within your cycle, success or failure has been playing out all the time.

Failure, or even death, shouldn't touch you, because they're the most common part of the cycle. ”

......

Bran is gone, and Stan is still staring at the empty plaza.

Failure and death are not the most ordinary components of the cycle, but the most important ones. And they are the nutrients that make the cycle bigger.

Bran doesn't know all this, but Stan takes it for granted, because he's said something similar. To his students, to the humble mortals.