Chapter 116: You Don’t Need to Return

The insignia was finally his.

Zishan turned the small piece of metal between his fingers while leaving the administrative building, looking at it for far longer than he probably needed to.

’Captain.’

It was official now.

His records had been updated, his Mana Affinities had caused half the people inside the office to stare at him like he had grown another head, and every Resonance test had ended in Gold.

Under normal circumstances, this should have been the end of his business in the capital.

He had only come here because Elinox wanted his promotion entered into the permanent military registry and because he needed to receive the insignia attached to his new rank. Once that was done, Zishan had expected to return to the Eastern Battlefield.

That plan changed before he could even start preparing for the trip.

Crown Marshal Ernest Holmes had other ideas. "You don’t need to return to the Eastern Battlefield yet."

Zishan looked at the enormous man sitting across from him. "I don’t need to return there? Why?"

They had moved into a private room inside the military compound after the testing ended. Elinox sat nearby with Ollie, while Silvy had reclaimed her usual place on top of Zishan’s head.

Ernest folded his arms. "Your promotion already gives you more freedom than you had as an ordinary soldier. I can arrange for you to remain in the capital for some time. You can use the military training facilities, meditation rooms, comprehension chambers, and anything available to someone of your rank."

Zishan raised an eyebrow.

That did not sound bad at all. He had already been interested in several of those facilities while Elinox was showing him around.

Ernest continued, "You also need experience outside ordinary military combat."

"What kind?"

"Folds."

Zishan got intrigued.

He had heard about them many times since arriving in Cyrune, and some of the people around him spoke about entering Folds as casually as someone from Earth might talk about visiting another city.

But Zishan had yet to enter one himself.

Ernest leaned slightly against the chair. "There are several Guilds in the capital that regularly organize expeditions into Folds throughout the Sumwear Region. I know one that can arrange for you to join some of them."

Zishan’s interest grew. "Folds?"

"You’ve never entered one before, correct?"

Zishan shook his head.

Ernest nodded. "Then don’t start by walking into whichever one sounds interesting. Folds have different levels of danger, and the creatures inside don’t necessarily stay within some convenient range for you."

Zishan scratched his cheek. "So you’re saying I might enter one and run into something that can crush me?"

"Exactly." Ernest looked at him. "You’re Level 99 and still Unascended. You’re strong for your Level, absurdly so from what I’ve heard, but that doesn’t mean I should throw you into a Fold without knowing what you’re walking into."

Zishan nodded slowly. "Fair."

"The Guild keeps information on the Folds they regularly enter. I’ll have them arrange something appropriate for your first expedition."

Zishan could not argue with that.

What he did not know was that Ernest’s offer had very little to do with simply developing another promising young soldier. Ever since he uncovered those records, the same details had refused to leave his mind: Zishan was nineteen years old, had no confirmed origin before House Walker, no verifiable birth record, and had supposedly been found somewhere within Sumwear.

And now Zishan had appeared in front of him with more than five Mana Affinities, Gold Resonance across every single one of them, and growth that made very little sense even when Ernest compared him to the greatest talents he had met throughout his life.

Years ago, four people had searched across Sumwear because of a divination from the Central Continent.

Ernest. Fadrieth. Noxelle. And the woman Ernest had later married.

They had even searched through Folds during those years, yet the person from the divination had never appeared before them. Years passed, their lives moved on, and eventually the search became something buried beneath everything that came after.

Ernest had lost his wife since then, and now, after all those years, the person they had once failed to find might have been sitting right in front of him without realizing any of it.

He was not about to send Zishan back to some distant battlefield before he understood what that meant.

Zishan, completely unaware of the direction Ernest’s thoughts had taken, nodded. "Sure. I want to see a Fold anyway."

Ernest studied him for a moment before giving a small nod. "Then, we’ll arrange it."

Somehow, less than an hour later, Zishan found himself walking through one of the busier streets of the capital beside the Crown Marshal himself.

He still did not completely understand how things had moved this fast. One moment Ernest had been talking about Guilds and Folds. The next, the man had told everyone they were leaving.

Zishan looked at him from the side.

If someone had shown him this man without any explanation, he would never have guessed that he was looking at the Crown Marshal of Olmost’s Military.

Ernest had removed his military uniform and hidden every insignia that could identify his position. Plain clothes covered his enormous frame, and a simple mask hid enough of his face that people passing by had no reason to stare for long.

The terrifying Crown Marshal had somehow transformed into a very large uncle taking his family outside.

Zishan almost laughed when that thought entered his head.

Elinox had changed as well.

Her military uniform was gone, replaced by clothes that would not look unusual among the people moving through the capital. Her long silver-blue hair still made her difficult to ignore, but she had arranged it differently and covered part of it beneath a hood.

Even dressed like that, Zishan doubted she could truly pass as ordinary. ’Commoner disguise my ass. She’s still too beautiful.’

Elinox glanced toward him.

Zishan avoided her gaze and looked ahead.

Ollie was the only one who had not needed to change anything.

The boy walked beside them wearing the same kind of clothes he usually wore and seemed more interested in the food stalls lining the street than whatever strange reason had caused a Crown Marshal and High General to disguise themselves.

Silvy had also refused to change her preferred position.

She was still sitting on top of Zishan’s head. Her tiny wings were folded against her back while her large silver-gray eyes moved across the capital streets.

Ernest had been watching her for several minutes.

And eventually, his curiosity won. "Who’s this little one on top of your head?"

Zishan reached up and touched one of Silvy’s little feet.

"Oh? Her? This is Silvy." He smiled. "Why do you ask? She’s my child."

Ernest slowed slightly and looked from Zishan to Silvy, then back again. Even with the mask covering part of his face, the change in his expression was obvious enough that Zishan immediately realized how his words must have sounded.

He coughed. "Well, not exactly my child. She calls me Papa, but I didn’t..." Zishan made a vague gesture with one hand before deciding not to finish that sentence. "You know."

Elinox quietly turned her face away.

Zishan cleared his throat and continued, "I hatched her from an egg. Perhaps you’ve already seen my records. The egg was one of the rewards I received."

That caught Ernest’s attention.

’A reward...’

The possibility he had been entertaining since reading Zishan’s records suddenly felt harder to dismiss. His absurd growth had already been strange enough, and now the boy was casually telling him that a newly hatched dragon had come from one of his rewards.

’It really might be him. An anomaly...’