"Those are?" Adrian asked as he looked at the light in the sky before turning to a much more mature-looking prince, who was obviously barely holding on.

This was a part the manhwa never showed, but given all that just happened, he was certain that the manhwa was a lot more than that.

"I... don’t know," Avera answered, "all I know is their name and yet, I can’t tell you that, after all, it’d only attract more of them here."

"I see," he answered, still looking at the beings of light before the space reverted back to a white void.

"What I can tell you is that you need to be a lot stronger than you are now," she continued, "if you intend to keep Renelle safe."

Adrian was silent for a while, in other words, Avera was betting on him to keep her safe and the motivation to do so was Renelle.

Well, it was the greatest of motivations though, at least for someone like him.

"I assume you’ll send me back?" He asked.

"Hmm," Avera nodded, "but before that."

She then stood up and grabbed four dolls, three of which were extremely familiar.

No, even the last one was recognizable after all, how would he forget the one that caused his death?

The face was still blurred to him, but he was sure of it,

That was the cult, Master.

One of the dolls resembled Avera, or rather, Isla, the other was of the headmistress whilst the last was of a man Adrian had only seen once.

The founder.

"At this point, you might’ve already encountered these four children," Avera started, "they were supposed to be my pillars."

"Which is why this one," She pointed to the Master’s doll, "recognizes you as an anomaly, though, I never foresaw that he’d try removing you."

Adrian just silently listened looking at the dolls.

"Although he is my precious child," she continued, "he is also one of the triggers to my destruction."

"So you’ll have to remove him," Avera said, her expression turning completely cold as she looked at him, "but I guess I don’t have to tell you that."

She was right, Adrian fully intended on removing the cult Master, after all, he was a threat that much wasn’t known about.

"What about the other three?" He asked, looking at the other dolls.

"Each has a piece that should make you whole," Avera replied with a smile, "one that should prepare you for what’s coming, though, not even they know it just yet."

She paused before looking at the founder’s doll and adding, "Well, except this one."

Avera let out a chuckle, looking at the doll, "This child is quite a stubborn one, but I believe you have a reason convincing enough to get him to give it to you."

"What exactly, do I need from them?" Adrian asked.

"You’ll know in time," she simply answered with a smile which, in other words, meant she couldn’t tell him anything just yet.

"The moment he hands it to you," she continued, "the others should also awaken theirs, so I suggest you search for him first."

"But as a gift for our first meeting, I’ll allow you to use it, this once," she then stood up again and walked closer, "now then, let’s send you back, shall we?"

Before Adrian had the chance to ask anything, Avera tapped his forehead and the next second, he blacked out.

Avera watched his being slowly fade with a small smile on her face and the moment he fully disappeared, she muttered,

"My hope is on you, Adrian, please get stronger, for all our sakes."

***

Darkness once again,

That was the first thing Adrian noticed when his eyes reopened, but this time, he had control over his limbs.

«Welcome back,» a voice suddenly pulled his attention towards it.

Adrian soon spotted the being that had spoken, and he immediately noticed that it was a massive one wearing robes that couldn’t be distinguished from the darkness around.

Though at the same time, its humanoid form could clearly be made out as its glowing white eyes looked directly at him.

"Noctis?" Adrian questioned as he felt the contract within him respond to the being’s presence.

The being was silent for a while before sighing and its form started shrinking until it was back in its cat form.

«It seems you truly didn’t die,» the cat said floating towards him.

"Why?" Adrian asked, "Were you worried?"

«....»

Noctis wisely chose not to respond to that.

"How long has it been?" Adrian asked, switching the topic.

«This dimension is timeless,» it answered, «and I was trapped here from the moment you ’died’, so no time should’ve passed.»

"I see," He nodded, "then let’s return to my lady’s side."

«Before that,» Noctis suddenly spoke up, «it seems we can use ’it’ for a fraction of a moment.»

"What?" Adrian asked in confusion.

«The V@$#,» Noctis said, but all Adrian heard was static causing the cat to sigh.

«Just trust me on this one,» it said, «it should allow us to clean up everything much faster.»

"I see," Adrian nodded.

With how prideful this damn cat was, he hadn’t expected it to ask for trust, and yet, here they were.

"And the cost?" he asked.

Noctis went silent for a while before letting out a sigh and answering, «Since your body is not ready for it just yet, our connection might be temporarily broken.»

In other words, there was a chance that he wouldn’t be able to use his spirit’s abilities for a while.

Adrian closed his eyes as he thought of its words for a while, before recalling the look on Renelle’s face and he immediately came to a decision.

"We’re doing it," he said.

«Good,» it muttered, «then don’t resist.»

Adrian opened his eyes again.

"Resist what—"

He didn’t get to finish the sentence when a wave of energy suddenly filled him, no, that wasn’t quite accurate.

It was more accurate to say that a dam that was holding back an entire ocean had just been shattered.

And Adrian... was standing at the center of it.

***

Renelle watched in horror as Adrian’s body fell to the floor but the next second, an explosion of dark pressure originating from him spread across the hall.

Slowly his body rose and his eyes were revealed to her, causing her to doubt if this really was her butler.

"Adrian?" She hesitantly called out.

The whites in his eyes had disappeared completely, replaced by an endless darkness.

He looked at her for a second and she could’ve sworn he smiled before turning around.

Adrian slightly extended his hand forward before muttering,

[Cease].

With his words, the aura that surrounded him exploded outwards, and suddenly, all the other corrupted human presences disappeared.

A second after, Adrian turned back to her, his eyes back to normal as he said with a smile, "Hey."

Just after his words, Adrian felt his vision blur and the next second, he was once again consumed by darkness.