Chapter 18: Echos
A few hours had passed since Ethan had claimed Eldranor. The dust of battle had already settled over the white marble, and the energy pulsing through the veins of the palace seemed to breathe at a calmer rhythm now, almost as if it truly accepted its new master.
Ethan walked through the corridors accompanied by Sinnon, who trailed behind with his hands tucked into his worn cloak, wearing an expression of boredom, as if this place were nothing more than an ordinary ruin. The Guardian followed them a few paces back, silent as a porcelain phantom.
Aeris and Sylfie had left the barrier to report both to the Guild and to the Church.
Ethan had asked Sylfie not to reveal the whole truth to the Guild, but to at least let them know they were still alive.
"You seem less impressed than I expected," Ethan remarked, a lopsided smile on his face.
"I’ve seen kingdoms older than your goddess, boy," Sinnon replied, in a tone mixing sarcasm with a strange melancholy. "But I’ll admit this place... it has a nostalgic scent."
Ethan chose not to press on the "older than your goddess" part. He knew Sinnon was ancient, a primordial vampire bore that title because he was among the very first vampires to ever exist in this world. And the novel said vampires were almost as old as the planet itself.
"I figured as much. And that’s exactly why... there’s something I want from you," Ethan confessed, stopping before a door carved with runes.
Sinnon raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what does the great heir of Eldranor need from an old man like me?"
"The best mana manipulator in this world," Ethan answered without hesitation, looking straight into the vampire’s cold eyes. "I want you to be my master."
Sinnon clicked his tongue, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips that was half amused, half irritated. "Bold brat. Do you know how many have begged for the same over the centuries?"