In the mage's spacious room, Ness sat in a large chair with cushions, and her whole body was deeply sunk inside. Although the soft chairs were very comfortable, and her new room was several times better than the room of her previous apprentice, Ness felt that everything in the room was so cold and stiff and lifeless at the moment. When she first returned to the Mage Tower two days ago, Rui found an opportunity to tell her everything that happened a few days ago, and insisted that it was her own idea, and Fern was also forced to be helpless, of course, she did not say that Quiai left with Fern.

Etiyesh was very angry about Fern's escape, but he was embarrassed by the status of the Great Sage. It was impossible to say that he didn't suspect Ryana, but Ryu was very cautious and didn't leave any tricks, so the Great Sage couldn't do anything about her. Fern's escape shattered the plans of several old mages, and they had to reconsider alternatives, so for the past two days they left Ness alone to practice the new magic she had learned a few days earlier.

But Ness didn't have the heart to practice magic at all, and she regretted it, very much, and she returned to the Mage Tower full of joy, hoping that the Archmages would give her a day off in the next few days so that she could spend the day with Fern. Will they allow me to waste a day with Fern? No, they won't agree, and I still can't be with Fern even if Fern is here. Ness's vision blurred again, and scenes from the past flipped through her mind.

I don't know how long it took, perhaps tired from crying, Ness's head tilted on the backrest and fell asleep.

"Mage, we've met again, it's been a long time since the last time, and I've missed you a little. A deep voice rang out, as before, without any warning and without any source.

"Who the hell are you, what the hell do you want?" Ness remembered the voice vividly, she had heard it twice.

"Don't worry, mage, you can't give me what I want right now, but sooner or later, you'll meet my needs. There was a smug expression in his voice.

"Go away! I'm not going to do anything for you, I'm doing everything for ......" Ness suddenly stopped shouting, her eyes glazed over, and she fell to her knees. Who am I doing all this for?

The other man began to laugh maniacally, and it took a while to stop. "Why, even you're starting to wonder why those archmages made you do this? well, you finally have some ideas of your own. ”

Ness slowly looked up, looking around at the empty surroundings. "Who the hell are you, why are you following me all the time, I can't give you anything. ”

"You're wrong, mage, you can give me a lot, much more than you think. A deep voice softened, coming from all four directions at once, "Even more than the archmages know, they thought they had everything under control, but they were actually just using me. ”

"Why are you telling me this, aren't you afraid I'll tell Etiyesh what you're saying?" Ness kept turning, but the surrounding area was bright white, and she was dizzy.

"Will you tell them, mage? Will they take your word for it? They have no way out, they have driven themselves to a dead end. The voice was high-pitched.

"What am I going to do, what is right? I don't know what to do! They say I'm the only elemental envoy for hundreds of years, and only I can save Wallis, but I can't do it, I'm just a mage who doesn't know anything!" Ness cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Whatever you do, it's all in vain, and the end is already doomed, it's just that those archmages don't want to admit it. The voice spoke calmly, as if it was just an elder teaching his juniors. "Mage, if you are smart, you should follow me, I will give you infinite power, and even give you eternal life, as long as you serve me, you will be under one man, above ten thousand, I will give you enough rights and freedom, I will not interfere with you too much, as long as you serve me, you will be a good ruler, rule the whole Wallis for me, those ants will eventually be trampled under our feet, even the great sage, you will be able to defeat anyone on Wallis without much effort. ”

Ness looked up in shock, searching in vain for the source of the sound in the white around her. "Who the hell are you? I will not obey you, let alone serve you!"

"We still have time, Mage, I've been waiting for hundreds of years, and what I have is patience. The deep voice faded away. "I will be waiting for you, Mage, in the near future. ”

Ness sat up from her chair suddenly, panting for breath, and she was terrified, and her whole body was trembling. The mage wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, no, it wouldn't be his, how could it be, why did he find me, why did he appear in my dreams?

After thinking about it for a long time, Ness regained her composure, and the mage stood up, pushed open the window, and the fresh air came to her face, and it was already dark, and the whole mage tower fell silent. It's past dinner time, and the mage tower's dining room is closed, but as a mage, Ness can still go to the kitchen and order food, which she didn't have as an apprentice.

But when she reached the kitchen door, Ness suddenly felt that she was not hungry at all, and she suddenly wanted to see her mount, Vernon. The stables are outside the Mage's Tower, and you need to exit the gate and turn left and walk about fifty yards to get there. There were four times as many guards on the first floor as usual, and there were eight guards guarding the gate, who watched Ness warily and repeatedly asked her why she was going to the stables.

"I'm just going to see my horse, isn't that okay?" Ness was a rare outburst, usually she treated anyone in the Mage Tower with enough respect, even the guards, but today, she felt that they were suspecting her of escaping.

"Sorry, we have been ordered that anyone who is going to the stables must be strictly questioned and denied them if necessary. Although the guard was very respectful, he refused to relax at all.

Ness subconsciously began to recite the incantation, then immediately stopped and sighed. "I really just want to see Vernon, my mount, and if you're not at ease, you can send someone to follow me. Seeing that the guards had no intention of letting them go, Ness relented, and she used the method she had learned from Fern to slip a gold coin into the nearest guard. "I promise I won't run away, I don't even have a saddle with me, I just want to see it, you can follow me for a while. ”

The guard glanced at the gold in his hand, then exchanged glances with his companions. "We can understand you, Miss Ness, we heard that the name you gave the mount is similar to that mercenary, we should be able to guess that you just want to miss him, you will never run away, we trust you, but for your safety, there will be two guards following you, they will only wait for you at the door, you can rest assured. ”

Ness nodded silently and walked towards the stable, the mage's robe behind her hanging to the ground, Ferne's method always worked so well.

Vernon stood still in the corner of the stable, looking as if he was asleep, and the sound of Ness approaching alarmed him, and Vernon snorted with some excitement at the sight of his master.

Ness held Vernon's chin with one hand and stroked the smooth fur on its neck with the other. "Fern, I miss you so much, I really miss you, I don't know where you are now, Ray Mage's Tower has sent someone to arrest you, and has informed almost all the mages in Wallis with a raven, I am really afraid that one day you will be captured by them. ”

Vernon listened quietly to Ness's self-talk, as if he could understand. "I know I've broken your heart, I can't let go of the mage tower, I can't let go of the fate that I should face as an elemental envoy, how I wish I was just an ordinary mage, but it's too late, you've already left, the next goodbye is far away, maybe there will never be a chance again. Ness began to sob, and the guards guarding the doorway looked at each other in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Fern, I don't dare to expect you to forgive me, I just hope that you don't forget me, even if it's just to keep me in your heart. Ness's head rested on the bridge of Vernon's nose, tears streaming down its fur. "I will pray for you, every day, until I can't pray, and you must be safe. ”

Vernon seemed to feel his master's grief, and his eyes were wet and he let out a low whimper.

That night, Niss had a dream in which there were no muffled voices, no mage towers, nothing to do with magic. She and Fern were together, the mercenary rode the clouds, she rode Vernon, and with happy smiles on their faces, they rode all the way back to Alice Saintland, the capital of Alesia. Her father was already waiting for her at the gates, behind him were two rows of royal knights. Ness pounced on him hard, hugging her father tightly for a long time. She then introduced Fern to her father, who seemed to be unhappy with the mercenary, but Ness was confident that his father would like him, and no one would dislike Fern, as long as he was given enough time. And she knew that as long as she liked it, her father would not object.

In the dream, everything was so beautiful, and Ness wished she never woke up. She smiled, muttering the mercenary's name. "Fern ......"