It was morning, a few days after the feast. I was reading in my cabin within the House Sturm airship. After saying our goodbyes, Leroy and I returned to the airship the day after the feast, with Lorelei and Corrie in tow. The former because she earned Mother's approval and became her student. The latter because she wanted to keep her friend company.

House Sturm also sent a shipment of Ice elemental crystals with us. I couldn't help but grin when I saw it. With this, I would have enough Ice elemental crystals to support Aurora's cultivation, and thus my own, for the foreseeable future. Plus, I never had to worry about running out since House Icefall would ship Ice elemental crystals to Sturm Manor on a regular basis.

My parents gave me questioning looks when they saw the shipment, but they understood when I explained the matter to them. After making a contract with Aurora, my cultivation would slow down going forward. I intended to make up for that loss with the Ice elemental crystals. However, that would have to wait until Aurora…Well, until Aurora finished with whatever was going on with her.

After everyone was on board, the House Sturm airship lifted off and headed south towards the Solarian Imperial Academy. The past few days had been rather nice. I spent more time with my parents, building a better relationship with them. With this, I hoped to overcome the mistakes of the past, though things were still a little awkward between us.

Leroy and I also spent some time with Lorelei and Corrie. Despite the friction between us in the past, I rather enjoyed their company. Leroy, in particular, liked spending time with Corrie. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but I sensed a blossoming romance between the two. Time would tell.

Of course, my mind often went to Anna and the night we spent together. Whenever that happened, I always needed a moment or two to regain my composure. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I hungered for more.

I almost resented Anna for making me go through this. She gave me a taste of heaven, only to take it away. A part of me hoped she felt the same way.

When I wasn't spending time with my parents or Lorelei and Corrie, I was studying. In addition to the Ice elemental crystals that House Icefall sent me, Clan Frostheart sent me several tomes and scrolls. They contained insights into Ice and how to incorporate the element into martial arts. Reading them gave me several ideas.

When I made the contract with Aurora, I gained an affinity for Ice. However, I put it aside at the time since I was busy dealing with, well, everything. Now that I had some free time on my hands, I intended to rectify this oversight.

This was how I planned on overcoming my previous limits and surpassing Brandon Norwood. I knew several techniques that utilized Air, Water, and Lightning. Adding Ice techniques would give me a significant boost. This would also increase my strength in the short-term, while cultivation would increase my strength in the long-term.

At the moment, I was studying manuals that described the basics of Clan Frostheart's fighting style: the Frozen Fist style. Practitioners of this style encased their fists in ice in order to increase their offensive power. At the higher levels, they could also encase their entire body in ice to form armor.

While I specialized in the sword, and my hand to hand skills were mediocre at best, I figured it was still worthwhile to study the Frozen Fist style. If nothing else, I was tempted by the idea of creating armor out of ice. It was similar to a wizard's ability to create magic barriers. I focused on speed and aggression, so my defensive abilities were always lacking. This would make up for that.

After studying the basics of the Frozen Fist fighting style, I decided to put it into practice. I took the first stance of the style, before going through each stance. While I couldn't use Ice just yet, going through the motions gave me a feel for the style. It helped me understand its essence.

Once I finished one set, I began another. I repeated this, over and over again. With each set, I gained a better understanding of the Frozen Fist style. I realized that its practitioners didn't just encase their fists in ice. Rather, they imbued each of their strikes with the power of Ice. This slowed down their opponents' movements, even if they just hit air.

I thought over the implications and realized that at the higher levels, this allowed the practitioners of the Frozen Fist style to freeze their opponents. If I could adapt this for the sword, then that would give me a significant boost. I could already imbue my strikes with the power of Lightning, but that was mostly effective against demons and such. Ice would help me fight other kinds of creatures.

Best of all, what if I combined Lightning and Ice? The possibilities were endless.

As I was going through another set of stances, I heard a yawning in my head, followed by a voice I hadn't heard in a while.

'That was a good nap.' Aurora said, sounding sleepy.

'Aurora!' I said through our bond, unable to contain my excitement. 'You're back!'

Aurora let out a yelp.

'What's wrong with you?' She asked in an annoyed tone. 'Why are you shouting at me when I just woke up from my nap?'

A nap? That's what she was doing? She was taking a nap?

'Of course I'm shouting.' I scolded. 'Do you know how worried I was? You just stopped talking to me for some reason, and I didn't know why. No matter how much I tried, you refused to respond. I thought something happened to you! Instead, you were taking a nap! If it weren't for our bond, I would've gone crazy!'

Aurora didn't respond right away. Instead, I felt her embarrassment and sheepishness through our bond. She crawled out of my chest and jumped onto my bed.

"Sorry." Aurora said out loud. She hung her head, putting on a pitiful performance. "I felt tired for some reason and fell asleep. Please don't be angry with me. I won't do it again."

My anger disappeared when I saw her acting like this. I sighed, before I crouched down in front of her.

"I'm not angry with you." I said in a gentle voice. "Rather, I was angry because I was worried about you. I didn't know what was going on, and I feared something bad might've happened." I sighed. "Next time, please tell me before you take a nap. For my sake, if nothing else."

Aurora looked up at me with an uncertain expression on her face.

"Were you really worried about me?" She asked.

I gave her a smile.

"Yes." I said. "I'm not an expert on spirits, so this is all new to me. I would never forgive myself if something bad happened to you."

Aurora nodded.

"Next time, I promise to tell you before I take a nap." She frowned. "If I can. This time, I felt so tired that I fell asleep right away. I don't know why."

I studied Aurora's form.

"I think I know why." I said.

Aurora gave me a questioning look.

"Really? Why?"

I held one palm at the tip of her tail and one at the tip of her nose.

"What are you doing?" Aurora asked.

I showed her the distance between my two palms.

"Right now, you're this big." I shortened the distance a little. "However, you used to be this big."

Aurora's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"You mean I grew bigger?"

I smiled and nodded.

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"A little bit, yes."

Aurora started shaking. At first I was a little worried, but then I realized she was vibrating with excitement.

"I grew bigger!" She started running around the cabin. "Finally! I grew bigger!"

Aurora ran all over the place, including along the walls and ceiling. I chuckled and waited for her to calm down. After a while, Aurora jumped onto my body and crawled up onto my shoulders, before wrapping her body around my neck. It took me a moment to realize that this was her way of hugging. Since she was my spirit companion, I didn't have to worry about her choking me.

"I grew bigger!" Aurora shouted. "Do you know what this means? I can become a proper dragon! Do you know how long I was stuck at that size? Centuries, maybe even millennia!"

She unwrapped herself and settled on my shoulders, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. I reached over to rub the top of her head with my finger.

"I guess that's what you needed," I said, "to make a contract with someone." I paused. "Or rather, to make a contract with someone with dragon blood running through their veins."

"Yes." Aurora said, sounding rather proud of herself. "Picking you as my vessel was the right choice."

I let out an amused snort. However, when I thought back to what Clan Head Charity told me, my amusement faded.

"What's wrong?" Aurora asked. "You feel sad. Why?"

I hesitated before answering.

"I know a little more about what happened to you." I said. "Clan Head Charity told me. However, I didn't want to bring it up since you were in such a good mood."

Aurora sighed.

"Well, you brought it up." She said. "You might as well tell me now."

I told her about the mad wizard and how Clan Frostheart found the Frostheart.

"You mean to tell me that my current state is the result of a madman's experiment!" Aurora said, her voice filled with rage.

"It appears so." I said.

Aurora roared. Despite her current size, it sounded rather intimidating. It was a reminder that she was in fact a dragon.

"I'll kill him!" Aurora shouted. "I'll tear him limb from limb and scatter the pieces to the four corners of the world!"

"That will be difficult, since that wizard is likely long dead by this point." I pointed out.

Aurora snarled.

"Then I'll kill his descendants!"

Right. I needed to redirect her attention.

"Look on the bright side." I said.

"What bright side?" Aurora demanded. "A mad wizard turned me into a spirit. What bright side could there possibly be?"

"If a wizard turned you into a spirit, perhaps it's possible to reverse the process and bring you back to life."

Aurora fell silent for several moments.

"Do you really think so?" She asked in a fragile voice.

"I think it's a possibility worth exploring." I said. An idea popped into my head. "In fact, why don't we consult an expert? We're flying towards the Solarian Imperial Academy, which houses some of the greatest minds in the entire Solarian Empire. Maybe we'll find someone who knows something about your condition."

"Wait, we're flying?"

Oh. Right. Aurora had been napping this entire time. She didn't know what was going on.

"Okay," I said with a chuckle, "let me catch you up on everything you missed."

Several days after Aurora woke up from her long nap, we arrived at the entrance to the Valley of the Lost, the location of the Solarian Imperial Academy. It was a bright and sunny morning, with a few clouds floating in the sky above.

Overall, it took about a week and a half to fly down here from the Icefall region, which was faster than I expected. It would take most other airships much longer to fly the same distance. Then again, House Sturm's airships were a step above the rest when it came to quality and performance.

The House Sturm airship landed at an airship dock, a tower made of metal and stone. Most airship docks were massive edifices, with enough space to house dozens of airships. However, due to House Sturm's status, we had a smaller one all to ourselves.

After we landed, Leroy and I joined the others just before we disembarked. I saw my parents, accompanied by their respective bodyguards, along with a contingent of House Sturm retainers. Lorelei and Corrie were also there.

As Mother's student, Lorelei held a strange place in House Sturm. While she wasn't a full member, she wasn't a stranger or a guest either. As such, the retainers didn't know how to treat her. It didn't help that House Sturm, as a whole, knew nothing about Murim. In the end, everyone decided to regard her as a half-member of House Sturm.

"How's the arm?" I asked Leroy while we waited to disembark.

"Much better." He said, flexing his arm to prove his point.

Yesterday, I managed to convince Leroy to let Joanna heal his arm. At first he remained stubborn. However, I pointed out that walking around with an injured bodyguard made me look bad and damaged the reputation of House Sturm. That convinced him in the end.

After our little exchange, we disembarked from the House Sturm airship and boarded three carriages to enter the Valley of the Lost. My parents and their bodyguards rode in the first carriage, while Leroy and I rode with Lorelei and Corrie in the second. The third contained all of our luggage since we were going to stay here for at least two days. The remaining House Sturm retainers escorted us on horseback.

The reason why we were riding carriages instead of flying directly to the Solarian Imperial Academy was because it was forbidden to fly into or over the Valley of the Lost. This was enforced by a powerful magic barrier that encompassed the entire valley. The only way in and out was through a tunnel, which served as the entrance.

We weren't the only House to arrive either. I noticed quite a few House scions heading towards the entrance to the Valley of the Lost. However, only a few arrived in a private airship of their own. The rest flew commercial, so to speak.

As the carriage headed towards the entrance, I looked out the window and took in the landscape. This was my first time here, so it was all new to me. The Valley of the Lost was located within a mountain range called the Giant's Spine. It consisted of tall, steep mountains made of white stone. The area was desolate, with no vegetation or animal life.

I didn't know if the mountain range was an actual giant's spine. However, if it was, the giant must've been massive since the Giant's Spine ran for several hundred miles.

"I don't know why we're even tagging along." Corrie muttered. "We're not members of House Sturm."

I glanced over at her.

"Corrie." Lorelei said with a frown on her face.

"What?" Corrie said, irritated. "It's true. We don't belong here."

Lorelei's frown deepened.

"You're here because Lorelei is my mother's student and you, Corrie, are a guest of House Sturm." I said. "Besides, I'm sure my mother intends to expand your horizons and broaden your worldview."

During the trip down from the Icefall region, Mother grew quite close with Lorelei and Corrie. I didn't know if it was because the former was her student, or if it was because she enjoyed their company. Maybe she wanted Lorelei and Corrie to become friends with Kaylee.

Regardless, Mother began to act as a sort of chaperone/mentor for both young women. Aside from teaching Lorelei martial arts, she also taught both young women etiquette and other skills necessary for interacting with House scions.

"I still don't see the point." Corrie said. "What are we going to do? Stand around like a pair of idiots while a bunch of stuck up, spoiled House brats laugh at us?"

"Corrie," Lorelei said in a gentle voice, "You know that Lady Sturm would never put us through that."

"And if some House brat does cause trouble for you," I said, "feel free to give them trouble right back. You have my backing. That means you don't have to put up with any bullshit if you don't want to."

Both Lorelei and Corrie looked surprised by this. Even Leroy raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why would you go this far?" Corrie asked, an uncertain expression on her face. "We're not exactly close, are we? Lorrie is Lady Sturm's student, so it makes sense for you to watch her back. However, I'm not. I just tagged along to keep Lorrie company. I'm no one special."

I gave her a half-smile.

"You're one of Anna's teammates." I said. "That's enough reason for me to help you."

As I mentioned Anna, I touched the choker she gave me. The rose clasp felt warm to the touch.

"Thank you." Corrie mumbled.

Lorelei smiled and gave her shoulder a brief squeeze.

"I understand how you feel." She said. "I'm a bit scared myself. I've never left the Icefall region before, so I feel out of my depth."

Corrie scoffed.

"Who said I was scared?" She asked.

Despite her bravado, Corrie's act fooled no one.

"This is all new to me, too." I said. "I never attended the Solarian Imperial Academy, so this is uncharted territory for all of us."

Corrie gave me a skeptical look.

"You didn't?" She asked. "I thought all the scions from the big name Houses were supposed to attend the Solarian Imperial Academy."

I shrugged, before looking out the window.

"I never qualified." I said. "While I have the pedigree, my talent in magic was lacking. Nor was my academic acumen good enough." I looked back at Corrie and gave her a wry smile. "Those are the two kinds of people who attend the Solarian Imperial Academy; House scions with sufficient status and talent, or geniuses."

Both Lorelei and Corrie seemed at a loss.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lord Gabriel." Lorelei said.

I shook my head.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary." I said. "I got over it a long time ago." I snorted. "Besides, I prefer martial arts, so it all worked out in the end."

We all fell silent after that. A few moments later, shadows engulfed us as we entered the tunnel leading to the Valley of the Lost. Giant glowstones embedded in the walls provided a modicum of light, so it wasn't completely dark. They almost looked like stars against the night sky.

After traveling like this for several minutes, we emerged from the tunnel and into sunlight once more. I grinned when I saw what lay on the other side.

The Valley of the Lost, home of the Solarian Imperial Academy.

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