"Something tells me that you don't like your family very much," Maya said.

"In a world devoid of magic, their significance has faded," Erik explained. "All they could do was devote themselves to preserving the legacy of witches and their ancient traditions. Such families are a rarity in our world, and many have lost their faith through the ages. The last eyewitnesses of magic passed away centuries ago."

"So it was a question of faith?" Maya pondered, intrigued.

It was like an entire religion—believing in your ancestors having magic, but you yourself lacked any tangible evidence.

"With faith or not, I didn't have much say in the matter," he said quietly. Perhaps he worried Maya might see him as a religious zealot trying to convert her. But faith wasn't the point of his story. "Maintaining belief in what seemed like a fairy tale wasn't easy, so a strict regime had to be imposed to ensure future generations would continue the legacy."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't answer and continued with his story.

"This way of life may seem very pointless. Many have abandoned the belief over time. There were no benefits, and Mellgrah was a place where you could witness magic firsthand—but it was also where your bloodline would ultimately end. Their determination came from knowing that Anastasia hadn't created this world to be permanent. They believed that someday, Magic would once again be in danger.

'It sounded like harsh conditions were needed to maintain this faith. And if he hailed from one of those rare families that still believed, that means…'

"My family was desperate to reclaim their former glory. For generations, they prepared for this moment. 'Selflessly' contributing to saving Magic would certainly restore meaning to our family name. My mother was especially devoted to this cause—even if it meant potentially offering her only son as a sacrifice."

Maya had to stop for a moment, her breath hitching from the strain of the uphill climb and Erik's revelations. Though his story had been heading in this direction, she still had to take a moment to process what he was saying.

"Infiltrating Mellgrah, given my origin, was an almost insurmountable challenge," Erik continued, filling in the silence. "My family's knowledge and history weren't considered of value here. They wouldn't allow someone to rock things up in this fragile boat. From the moment I was to set foot in here, we knew I would become a target, without anyone backing me up."

His words resonated with a chilling sense of reality, and Maya found herself worrying about him. He was here, and his story was still unravelling. She had a feeling it wouldn't be a happy ending.

"My parents saw no alternative but to mold their own flesh and blood into a devoted servant for their cause," Erik's voice wavered just a touch, betraying the pain he was recalling. "My childhood was taken in order to prepare me for the mission. Raised as a soldier from the cradle, I was assigned one task: to serve the Prima Maga." His tone suggested a desire to detach himself from his past, but the facts were irrefutable. They were about his life. "And, finally, I've found you."

Maya was taken aback. Erik was groomed to serve her from his birth. The dots connected, illuminating his protective demeanour since their initial encounter. Yet, his evident disdain for his family seemed inconsistent with his readiness to fulfil their mission.

"You must resent me…"

"Why would I resent you? None of this is your doing," he responded.

"But your entire existence centred around me, even before you knew I was real?"

"Believe me, you bear no blame in this," he asserted, dismissing the notion that she could be held responsible. "Ironically, I was expected to be a girl. For a family that anticipated a firstborn to uphold the new legacy of witchhood, the arrival of a boy was an unwelcome twist of fate," he mused with a hollow laugh.

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Maya found this strange, considering the historical trend of favouring male offspring. Yet, in Erik's lineage, the roles were reversed. In a world led by witches, a first-born male to harness the most power, was a disappointment.

"Unsure when the next Prima would emerge, they had to make do with what they had."

A sudden realization made Maya tense. Erik could have been sacrificed for a potentially stronger second child, following the dark practice he had described earlier.

"Didn't you say, your family saved Christine's child? How can they not know?" Elena broke her long silence, ready to pounce on any incongruities.

Erik glanced back at her, then continued to move forward.

"We are talking about centuries ago. After Magic was gone, it didn't take many generations for things to muddle. As the child, for its safety, wasn't integrated into our own family but a remote human one, I imagine it wasn't easy to keep a clear track of lineage while simultaneously evading suspicion. Trackers were formulated and quickly became a threat to—"

"So, we are not related?" Maya blurted out, then bit her tongue.

Her hidden concerns about their bond stemming from a potentially close kinship had bubbled to the surface.

"Not in the slightest," he replied, a chuckle escaping him. "Has that been bothering you?"

A wave of embarrassment washed over Maya.

"But you knew her parents' names," Elena persisted.

Erik released a weary sigh. "It's not to say we didn't have our suspicions about certain bloodlines. Those names were among the ones I heard being mentioned. It was just an educated guess."

"So, me being a Prima Maga isn't that unique," Maya was oddly humbled by the thought. "You could've just as easily crossed paths with a distant cousin I'm not even aware of?"

"I wouldn't say it's not special," Erik countered. "For your powers to manifest within your bloodline was still a rarity even back then. And for me to just coincidentally run into you… The likelihood was virtually nil."

Maya's eyes widened in surprise. It appeared Erik, too, believed that a higher power had a hand in arranging their meeting. Had Anastasia not guided Maya's movements that night, had she not pursued Elena, the outcomes would have been drastically different. Maya would have remained ignorant of Erik's existence.

Feeling bored and looking for some excitement, Elena tossed a provocative question into the mix. "If you couldn't keep track of all the bloodlines, who's to say it hasn't blended into your own at some point?"

"If we take that view," Erik replied, "we could conclude that we're all related. We can trace our ancestry back to the same individuals thousands of years ago. So, you see, you do have a family. The entire world is your fucking family. There's no need to feel sad about being an orphan anymore, love." His words were laced with a bitter mockery.

"Fuck you." Elena fired back.

"Erik, that was mean," Maya interjected.

Erik lowered his head, knowing it was a low blow but also reluctant to apologize to a vampire.

"What's so scary about Trackers that you messed up something deemed that significant?" Elena mumbled. "What could they do? Tell on you to a bunch of trapped witches?"

Erik straightened up and continued as if their little scuffle just now had never happened. "True Conquisitors—able to travel between worlds—are few and far between, but anyone can be a Tracker. Humans, witches, zealots, sealed beings… for whatever reason, they may have to continue putting effort into feeding this senseless machine. They are a formidable force. You may have lived your life blissfully oblivious until you were scouted, but we were locked in a cold war against Trackers for hundreds of years."

The journey became increasingly challenging as they ventured further, with their path turning rough and rocky. At last, they reached a high glade where the terrain was relatively even.

The grass, untouched by the shade of trees, grew tall, basking in sunlight. Young saplings, full of life, thrived in these sunlit patches. Caves dotted the landscape ahead, and at the heart of the verdant expanse, an enigmatic mound of rocks was deliberately assembled.

Despite its purpose being unclear, it added a sense of intrigue to the scene. Overcome by the tranquillity, Maya chose to rest amidst this serene grassy opening.

"How much further?" she asked.

"We've arrived," he replied, taking a seat beside her. His voice sounded hollow and he seemed to grow increasingly melancholic the higher they got.

From their elevated position, a breathtaking panorama unfurled before them. The forest sprawled below, its dense canopy stretching toward the horizon like a rippling green sea. Amellan sat nestled against the slope of the nearest jagged hill, its rustic buildings and winding streets clearly visible despite the distance. Maya felt as though she occupied a seat in nature's own amphitheater, with the town perfectly framed as if on stage—both intimate and somehow untouchable from this height.

"Where are we?"

Erik opened his mouth but closed it once again, rethinking his response. "This is the place where my life was forever altered."

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