Novius could sense many emotions in Gabriel's voice as he talked about his father. He could sense anger, sadness, and some curiosity as well.
Gabriel didn't know just who his father was or if he was even alive in this world. On one side, he thought that it was better if he wasn't alive since that could explain why he wasn't present in his life and why his mother had to go through all that alone. However, on the other side, he still wanted to know just who that person was...
He let out a tired sigh, changing the topic back to Novius. "What about your father? Was he special?"
"Hahaha, special... I guess you can call him that." Remembering his father brought a smile to his face since he really had lots of fond memories of him.
"My father was the one who taught me most of the things I knew. He was the one who allowed me to chase after my dream of becoming a mage instead of going for the boring routine life of a Prince."
"Prince?" Slightly surprised, Gabriel turned to Novius. This guy... He used to be a Prince?
"Yeah. My full name is Novius Arcadius Arecia, the First Prince of the Arecia Empire and the ex-heir to the throne..." Novius answered.
"Arecia Empire of the East?" Gabriel asked, just to be sure, even though there was only one Arecia Empire. That place was Novius' home?
Novius nodded. "Centuries must've passed in the outside World. I wonder how that place is doing. Since you still know its name, that means it still exists. That's good to know..."
He had been in the Tower for centuries, not knowing what happened in the outside world. Even though he knew that the outside world must've changed a little, it was only when he found out that most of the Dark Mages were wiped did he realize how much the world had truly changed.
Even he was slightly worried if his Empire had also gone extinct in all this, but fortunately, it was there.
"It's really a beautiful place. If you get time, you should visit. I don't know which generation of my family will be on the throne now since so much time has passed, but if they still hold the same values that we did in our time, that place must be really good. Especially the food... If you like the food here, you must try it! That food is the best!"
Novius was so excited as he talked about his Empire since it brought him back to his past, making him remember his past life.
"I will visit it once." Gabriel nodded. If it was really Novius' home and he recommended it so much, Gabriel also wanted to see just what that place was like. He had only heard about the Arecia Empire's name a few times, but not much to give him a general idea as to what that Empire was like.
"That is good... My home..." Novius was already lost in thoughts. His life had been so long that even he had started craving his home. If possible, he wanted to see his home one last time at least.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. He was trapped in the Tower as its guardian, and now, he could only be free through death, but that death was Eternal.
He closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly what his home City used to be like.
"Huh?" Gabriel sat up, noticing a castle coming from the ground near him. More and more structures kept coming out of the ground, forming an entire city... It was the Royal City of the Arecia Empire, as Novius remembered it to be.
Novius opened his eyes. He sat up as well, pointing at the castle. "This is my home."
"You really loved your home, didn't you?"
"Who won't?" Novius asked in response as he stood up, walking toward the castle. "You know, I had three younger sisters and two brothers. Whenever they made a mistake, they used to come to me since they were scared of our father's scolding."
"It still amuses me even to think how those little ones would have a family of their own now... Their own lineages... They would've lived their lives, become grown-ups, had children of their own, and even grandchildren before dying of old age."
Novius brought Gabriel inside the castle and showed him his entire home, reminiscing about his past before he had left home to become a powerful Mage of Darkness.
He knew that it was his last night in this world. Even though he told Gabriel that it wasn't easy to defeat him, after seeing Cylix's death, Novius was already prepared for death as well. His death was going to be the last staircase for Gabriel to reach the next floor as well.
He was also quite similar to Cylix as he also remembered the best memories of his life, feeling nostalgic. He wanted to show Gabriel his life and what his past was like.
Throughout the night, Novius showed Gabriel the castle and then gave him a tour of the Royal City. The beautiful moon in the sky still brightened the night under its luminance, bearing witness to the last night where Gabriel was going to be with Novius.
After showing him around, Novius made the city disappear, returning back to the calm and peaceful night, putting an end to their conversation. It had already been a long time, and he knew Gabriel needed some sleep.
Novius didn't want to extend his time in this world more than he had to... He didn't want to manipulate this world anymore, letting natural courses take place.
The time inside this World finally synced back to the time of the real world. Gabriel eventually fell asleep even though he didn't want to.
Throughout the night, Gabriel was the only person who slept. Novius just remained up, looking at the moon in the sky...
"The last night, huh... It's time..."
****
As the first ray of light fell on Gabriel's face with the arrival of morning, Gabriel opened his eyes, which were also slightly red.
Even though he wanted to sleep, his sleep hadn't been as peaceful as before since he was very uneasy for today... It was the day.
He stood up, noticing Novius was already prepared for the battle. It was also his first time seeing Novius' Magical Staff of Darkness, which was a peak tier Staff! It was just one level below the Ancestral Staffs in terms of Magical Enhancements.
"It seems you're up. Shall we begin?" Novius turned around, hiding so many of his emotions behind a simple staff.
Gabriel also stood up, calling forth his Ancestral Staff of Darkness.
