After a brief few seconds of silence, Seraphine burst out laughing.

  “You’ve been revived by a god? What a great joke! Bloody hell, I wouldn’t have thought of that in a million eons!” she managed between wheezes. Each laugh sent a painful spasm through her aching body.

  Aurelius immediately sobered up from his emotional state. He was now very much looking forward to getting away from this irritating girl. She was laughing at him? Maybe she should try talking to a deity first!

  With his mouth shut, and composing his breathing, he forced himself out from under the girl’s arm, pouting as he started walking down the stairs, escaping the annoying girl

  “Don’t be such an ass Aurelius! Just be honest with the mess you’ve made. You’re almost an adult now, so take responsibility for your actions!” Seraphine yelled out after him as she hobbled down the stairs herself.

  “I just told you what happened, you hag!” Aurelius shot back without slowing down his descent.

  The duo painfully made their way down, and could finally see the corridors of the Academy. The mana lanterns cast a small amount of illumination over the walls, aiding the dying sunlight that shone through the tall windows that lined them.

  As Aurelius and Seraphine finished their descent, they sighed a sigh of immense relief. That was horrible!

  There were few students still outside at this hour, with most having dinner, or finally starting on the work they had procrastinated the whole of the weekend.

  The pair fell silent once more as they noted the end of their ordeal. At least, for now.

  Aurelius relished in his mind the 3 extra days of rest he would get thanks to Dr. Varian. He deserved it for everything that day had put him through!

  “See you around Seraphine. Let’s try not to die together again.” Aurelius was the first to bid farewell to Seraphine, eager to retire to his room and shut off his brain from the stormy possibilities plaguing him.

  He was now much more aware of the deep trouble he was in. He had been corrupted by a deity, having his soul be affected in some way. And every step he took would be scrutinised by Dr. Varian, risking being reported to the Commission.

  A small part of his brain was also considering, rather darkly, what the best way for him to stave off his likely upcoming execution after his eventual capture. He suspected that perhaps confessing to the royals would treat him a little better than going to the Commission.

  After all, he could have some research value to them, given the mystical connection he likely shared with a deity now. Rather than the merciless executions preferred by the Commission, perhaps he could just spend his life imprisoned in one of the kingdom’s Underground Magic Containment Facilities and be experimented on instead.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  As they were about to part ways, a small nose then peeked out from Seraphine’s pockets, and started to speak.

  “Hello Aurelius. Sorry for my contractee’s empty brain,” the mouse spoke with a deep, feminine voice.

  “Despite the amount of studying she manages to do, she’s still rather tactless and stupid.”

  Er… Seraphine’s familiar could talk?

  Most spirits were lesser spirits, whose consciousnesses were a collection of impulses and thoughts rather than a whole, rational consciousness. Most familiars were vessels of these lesser spirits, and were incapable of anything other than basic communication through the soul connection.

  “That’s rare for you, Sylven. You hate talking to strangers,” commented Seraphine.

  “Well, Aurelius has always been quite nice to you, plus what he’s suggesting interests me,” replied the mouse.

  Aurelius immediately turned around to face them.

  “I suppose I’ll introduce myself properly to you. I’m Sylven, the Vibrant Wraith, a remnant of Seraphine’s ancestor, Sylvestrone Dwayne, and an elemental wraith!”

  Aurelius’s eyebrows twitched. That was a high ranking spirit with an honorific name! And a spirit incarnation of a mage? They had to at least an archmage before their death!

  While the Dwayne family was a small magical family only specialising in scholastic work and minor golem-enchanting locally around the smaller central land kingdom of Valentis, they had a rather long history in the region.

  Sylven’s revelation finally brought home to Aurelius the importance of ancestry and history for magical families. Even a minor magic house such as the Dwayne family had access to the powers of a spirit wraith thanks to their history!

  “You say that you’ve been blessed by the god, Quetzalcoatl?” she asked.

  “Yes, the evil god of destruction,” replied Aurelius.

  As the 3 of them made their way back towards the dormitories, Aurelius expanded on what had happened, falling silent whenever a student came too close by on their walk.

  He went over Tiberius’s stupidity, his thoughts in the void, and the silky voice that claimed to be Quetzalcoatl.

  As he spoke, Seraphine smiled less, and looked even more fatigued than before, adding a ghastly hue to her already pale face.

  “Well, the shaman kid actually went and talked to a god,” she muttered sarcastically.

  “He told you His honorific name? And you actually recited it in that strange state? You do understand that such a ridiculous act is insanely dangerous right?” she chided.

  “It’s clear that you’ve been bound to a contract with the deity in exchange for your life! He clearly wants something from you for some reason…”

  “It can’t be Him though… The Holy Church's doctrine states that he left our world after defeating the Dragons, to nurture other worlds and protect them.”

  “Perhaps it’s an impersonator!” Seraphine shouted in revelation.

  “Well, it doesn’t change things much, given that He still had a 6 line honorific name. It’s unlikely for such a specific name that includes his real name not to point solely to him alone,” Aurelius responded.

  “Additionally, it doesn’t change the fact that a malicious entity formed a contract with me!”

  “Aurelius, only the Church of Dragons believe him to be an evil god. They despise him for killing the First Dragons, but even they have no substantial official denunciations of the god,” Sylven interjected wisely.

  “He has not revealed Himself to both the spirit world and the material plane since around 10,000 years ago. If He had returned, there must be a huge, cosmic reason for it.”

  “...And you must be part of His plans…” Seraphine finished.

  Aurelius had no response to her. He was calmer now with the possibility that Quetzalcoatl wasn’t some sort of malicious god through the perspective of a different church, but he was still unsure of his safety and his condition.

  “What is the corruption that you sensed from my soul, honourable spirit familiar, Sylven?” Aurelius asked, now respectful to the familiar’s rank.

  The mouse looked slightly pleased at this, and elaborated kindly.

  “Well, I can’t see it too clearly. It’s a subtle change, and it’s almost intangible, and I wouldn’t have known about it if I wasn’t familiar with your soul-shape through my interactions with you.”

  “From my knowledge and understanding, this… “corruption” seems to be some kind of a… soul-blueprint…”