I follow the pull of the third signature on my magic sense, scanning my eyes across the clearing, until my gaze lands on...Alto.
I simply stare at her, stunned by the unexpected conclusion.
Alto has scaffold particles? Why? How? Are they more common to sentient beings than I assumed?
I extend my magic sense drastically in every direction, searching for scaffold particle signatures, until I'm sure I've covered the whole Delmura Forest. However, contrary to what I'm expecting, the place doesn't light up like a Christmas tree, even though I know there are supposed to be sentient Fey and probably some random humans in and around the area. Instead, I just see the same signatures from the clearing around me, the Greater Spirits a short distance away, and...a single signature hundreds of kilometers into unexplored forest.
Yet, something about that extra signature, its location, feels faintly...familiar, like I've encountered it before. My eyes widen when I finally remember, and I quickly tweak my magic sense to confirm it.
It's Halzar, the Elder Dragon of Wind.
Of course, this initially only deepens my confusion. The Greater Spirits, Alto, and at least one if not all Elder Dragons...they all have scaffold particles. Why? For what purpose?
I shake my head.
That's the wrong question at this stage of the search for answers. A better question is, what do they have in common? Considering the problem from that perspective, the answer is rather obvious.
They're all nigh-immortals.
Shock, anticipation...fear...I feel all these things from the profound epiphany. Are scaffold particles the source of agelessness? If so...
Could I one day harness them to grant nigh-immortality to others? To Ilina?
I'm not blind to the fact that, no matter how well she hides it, regardless of how distant it seems, her mortality – and Alto's lack of it – is a sore subject. More importantly, despite how young I still am, I can't pretend my new existence doesn't weigh heavily on me at times. The power, the indefinite life, even the very act of calling myself a Nephilim to the people of this world...I feel less human every day, more distant.
That's only exacerbated by my awareness of what's in store for me. Levi and the others in Elmesia, Zara, Teyla, and Percivil...I'm going to watch them all die in a not-so-distant future. Even my longer-lived companions will become a distant memory with time – Alara, Cara, that asshole Xian, Elira...Ilina. I'll watch them die, their children, their grandchildren, and so on, for as long as I can bear living myself. And of course, if I have my own children with Ilina one day, I'll watch them die, too. How human will I feel then? How much of my connection to mortals will I retain?
Such thoughts are sobering in a way I've never really prepared myself for.
Now, though, if the scaffold particle really is what I think it is, could I change all of that? Should I? Then, another thought occurs to me.
Would Azazel even let me?
I take a shaky breath, trying to clear my head. I'm getting ahead of myself. I don't even know if the scaffold particle truly facilitates immortality, much less how to harness it properly. Right now, what I need is more data. Decisions of the life-changing variety can come later.
So, I shift my magic sense into my magic domain, first restricting it to the still dazed-looking Deralt. Immediately, my mind's eye is filled with a dazzling image of branching, interconnected lights floating in space above the clearing. The experience is not unlike beholding scientific diagrams of a human nervous system for the first time. Except, this isn't a branching web of human neurons, this is the fundamental scaffold of Deralt's being, upon which his magical existence is built.
Still enchanted by the overwhelming architecture of scaffold particles within him, I move my magic domain to focus on Alto. The comparison nearly makes my heart stop.
Unlike the natural, chaotic web of scaffold particles within Deralt, the particles within Alto appear like a three-dimensional grid, lines of even thickness penetrating her entire body at regular intervals. It's clean, orderly...artificial. However, that's not what nearly sends me to an early grave.
Instead, my gaze can't help but be drawn past the grid of scaffold particles towards the core of her being. There, floating in unassuming fashion, I see something for the second time in recent days.
Ethereal, glowing runes, situated within Alto as though anchored to her very existence. The same runes I noticed in the cat-kin settlement. The runes that dictate affinities within Azura's system of magic. The runes that Azazel likely designed and placed.
I, of course, wondered before what the nature of the runes I was detecting was. What are they made of? How do they work? Are they connected to a larger system?
Alas, they're the work of a literal god. Azazel could have manufactured their existence out of anything in the infinite cosmos for all I knew. Now, though...
By all accounts, the Greater Spirits are a naturally occurring species, which means scaffold particles represent something fundamental to the natural universe. Something ethereal like magic, yet meaningfully more complicated and energy-dense, if the way I managed to create them is any indication. Now, I find that these very same particles are the basis of the magic system Azazel created, of the immortality he granted Alto, and probably of the abilities of other powerful species like the Elder Dragons.
There can be no question, scaffold particles' true nature is intimately tied to divine power. So, what does that mean, and why does it scare me so much? These scaffold particles I've discovered, what stains all the handiwork of the gods, what I've just learned to sense as a mortal...
It's aether, the source of the gods' power.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
A couple hours later, I'm sitting inside Cara's home office, waiting for her to return from some lingering noble obligations so that we can start the first of our two hour weekly 'dates' that I promised her. Despite that, my mind is elsewhere, still occupied by the revelations of my visit to the spirits.
After realizing what I'd stumbled upon, I was conflicted about how to proceed, to say the least. While Azazel never explicitly told me that tampering with aether, if that's truly what I discovered, would incite his wrath, he did warn me against pursuing its study. He even implied that there are other entities who'd take issue. Who they are, and how much threat they pose, I can't say, but I do know that I'm not ready to unnecessarily entangle others in whatever surprises the study of aether would entail.
So, I deflected, obfuscated. I didn't tell Alto or Deralt the full scope of what I'd realized.
Instead, I told Deralt that I think we might have found a way to create more Greater Spirits, but that I'd need time to think and recover my magic reserves before pursuing it further. Having beared witness to the phenomenon himself, and being patient by nature, he took no issue with that. I left shortly after, promising to return another time to follow up on the attempt with his help. In return, Deralt agreed to take promptly start 'guard duty' over the Elven Royal Palace, while Yona volunteered to protect the Zuki mansion until further notice.
Unfortunately, Alto's focus was less easily subverted, and hiding what I'd learned from her was a far harder decision to make. As soon as we returned to the mansion alone, she was full of questions and theories about our experiment in the Delmura Forest. Unable to outright lie to her, I shared my suspicion that we'd actually managed to produce via magic fusion the scaffold particle necessary for Greater Spirits' existence. However, I also noted that it seemed unstable outside a spirit's body, and I advised caution and further planning before we carelessly attempt to create a spirit, lest we doom another of them to a crippled existence.
That seemed to dampen her inclination towards another spirit experiment...for now.
My worrying is interrupted by the sound of the office door behind me opening with a hushed, hurried touch. Glancing over, I see Cara slinking into the office with a watchful look over her shoulder before closing the door behind her, careful to do so softly, quietly.
I raise my eyebrow at the sight.
Catching my gaze, she smiles sheepishly, and explains in a hushed tone.
"Sorry, I just don't want anyone to know where I am for the moment. They'd seek me out and interrupt us for the most asinine reasons." (Cara)
I simply nod, acknowledging that I can't really relate to the burdens of leadership on the scale she's responsible for. Although, I guess with my newfound station as the Elven Prince, that will soon change.
"Fair enough, I won't ask. So, what do you want to do for the next two hours? You never said." (Mizuki)
If I'm being honest, I've been more than a little nervous about this 'date' since I agreed to it. Or more accurately, since Ilina found out and made me start questioning my own decision to agree to it. Cara hasn't exactly been subtle about her interest in the past, and Ilina's jealousy is at an all time high these days. If I'm not careful with how I set boundaries and navigate our friendship, I could end up ruining one or both relationships. So, as much as I've feigned ignorance or just playfully laughed it off in the past, I know I can't let these visits drift into something flirtier, no matter how harmless I tell myself that it is.
Cara straightens her back, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in her casual, white dress, and gives me an excited smile.
"I want to scout the mountains west of Wellick." (Cara)
I blink, caught off guard. Seeing my expression, she tilts her head, her expression conveying uncertainty.
"What? Were you expecting something else?" (Cara)
I scratch my cheek sheepishly. I can't exactly tell her I'm surprised at how...platonic, downright businesslike, her request is, right? I certainly can't say that I'm surprised she didn't come on to me.
At that thought, my expression slackens in disbelief. Have I...become conceited?
I shake my head, waving off Cara's question.
"Nothing, I just didn't take you for a nature lover. A trip to the mountains sounds fun." (Mizuki)
She gives me a wry grin.
"Well, if I'm being completely honest, this is also a bit work related. There are herbs and large game native to the mountains that we've been unable to cultivate locally. So, I've been contemplating establishing a new settlement there to bolster our supply networks, I just haven't found the time to scout for a suitable area. Rather than take my guards away from their other responsibilities, I figured I'd have you as company instead. Do you mind?" (Cara)
I raise my eyebrows, surprised, but quickly shake my head.
"No, not at all." (Mizuki)
A relieved smile breaks out on her face, and she nods.
"Great, I'm relieved. Shall we go, then? I've got a couple horses waiting for us discretely at the edge of the city." (Cara)
I blink.
"Horses? Wait, how far away are the mountains, exactly?" (Mizuki)
She shrugs helplessly.
"Pretty far. Even riding hard, we'll probably spend most of our two hours just traveling there. Don't worry, though, I don't expect you to stay longer than you promised. I can tie your horse to mine and ride back on my own after I'm done. I'm just happy for the company on the way there." (Cara)
I give her a confused look.
"Uhm...I mean, I love the idea of learning to ride a horse and all, but I don't want to leave you out there alone for so long. Why don't you just let me fly us there, then teleport back when we're done? That way, we'd have almost the full two hours for scouting, and even if you need longer, then I can just teleport to you later and bring you back." (Mizuki)
Her expression turns hesitant.
"Are you sure? You don't mind?" (Cara)
I shake my head.
"I insist, in fact." (Mizuki)
She smiles appreciatively, her hesitance evaporating in an instant.
"Great! Thanks!" (Cara)
Without another word, she walks right up to me, far closer than I'm mentally prepared for, and wraps her arms around my neck, pressing herself against me. Her eyes meet mine as her chin rests against my chest, and she gives me an innocent smile.
"Okay, I'm ready when you are." (Cara)
For a moment, my mind short circuits, distracted by the vague smell of cinnamon I associate with her, and the warm, soft sensation of her hugged against me in this surprisingly thin dress, which I absolutely should not be as aware of as I am.
Soft! Way too soft! Definitely not okay!
I glance at her nervously, trying not to focus on the way that the neckline of her dress hangs loosely from this angle.
"U-uhm, Cara...I don't know if this is okay..." (Mizuki)
She blinks cluelessly.
"I thought you were flying us? Isn't this how you fly with Alto?" (Cara)
That comparison stops me dead in my tracks. She's right, no two ways about it. This is exactly how I'd fly with Alto. I immediately feel a rush of guilt at jumping to conclusions, going so far as to wonder whether she was coming on to me. When I consider it, she's done absolutely nothing but be platonic and friendly so far. Flying was my idea in the first place, and I'm the one treating her differently than I should. Thinking about her differently.
I shake my head internally, determined to not read into these things so much. If I don't make it into a problem, it won't become one.
"You're right, sorry. Let's go." (Mizuki)