Kael stumbled forward, catching himself on the edge of the table before he could hit the floor.
Huff. Huff.
His breathing came fast and uneven, like he'd just sprinted for hours without stopping.
He pushed himself upright, then leaned heavily against the back of the chair, eyes locked on the ceiling above.
For a long moment, he didn't move, just stared. Then slowly, he let his gaze fall, settling on Darian across the table.
Darian was silent, his expression unreadable, eyes sharp.
"Acceptable?" Kael asked, his voice low but steady.
Darian didn't respond right away. He sighed, tilting his head down and pressing his fingers against his temples, rubbing slowly as if trying to chase away a headache.
"Yes…" Darian muttered under his breath before continuing, this time clearer. "Yes, it's acceptable, more than acceptable, even. Borderline perfect." He locked eyes with Kael.
"Good."
Kael wiped the sweat from his chin with a quick brush of his shoulder.
After their reunion, Darian had offered Kael a place to stay, and Kael accepted. It was cheap, after all.
Three days had passed since then, and in that time, Kael had asked Darian for a favor: to teach him how to completely suppress his rank two Luminaire aura.
Why Darian?
Simple. The Claymores weren't officially allowed to have Luminaires, though they clearly did, so Kael had made an educated guess, one he was almost certain about, and he'd been right. Darian knew how to suppress his aura. Of course he did.
For a family like the Claymores, concealment wasn't a skill, it was survival. They were some of the best at it, forced to be by politics and pressure, and by the constant threat of being exposed.
"I can't believe you learned something in three days that took me almost a year and a half to master."
This time, it was Darian's turn to stare at the ceiling.
Kael watched him for a moment before replying. "Well, to be fair, I've been trying to figure it out on my own ever since I advanced to rank two. So, technically, I had a head start."
"Right, how could I forget," Darian said, looking down at him with a look of mild disbelief. "And how long ago was that? A few months?"
He shook his head, waving a hand dismissively as he stood up. "Forget it. I'll grab us something to eat before we head out."
Kael watched as Darian walked out of the room toward the kitchen, his thoughts already starting to drift.
'God, it sucks though.'
His jaw tensed slightly as he let go of the suppression on his soul, letting the rank two Luminaire aura flood the room once again. The air grew heavy, saturated with quiet pressure.
'Seems like suppressing your aura gets harder the same way advancing does.'
He exhaled slowly.
Suppressing one's aura was, at its core, the same as suppressing one's soul. It wasn't just uncomfortable, it was exhausting. Mentally draining in a way that built up over time. It made sense now why Darian was in the Luminaire district under an alias. The auction was only part of the reason. More likely, he was just tired of keeping everything bottled up. Of living like that.
'Guess he's done with the Claymore life. Wants to see what the world's got for him instead.'
Kael turned his head to look out the window.
But discomfort wasn't Kael's biggest problem. For him, the real issue was the mental strain. Ever since he learned to split off a sliver of his awareness to stay within his inner realm, he hadn't stopped doing it, not once. And with good reason. It had already saved his life.
If he hadn't left a part of himself watching over the inner realm during that fight with Adam, he might never have caught what the Floating Eye mote was doing.
But he did. He noticed how his thoughts had started to drain and drift, unnaturally slow and hazy. And because of that, he'd changed tactics, pushing into a more aggressive stance than usual, one that ended up being exactly what he needed.
And while the advantages were obvious, the drawbacks were far less so.
Awareness wasn't some limitless, magical resource that came from nothing. Splitting it came at a price, one Kael felt acutely. His senses dulled, his reflexes slowed, his thoughts lost some of their sharpness, and every decision took just a little more effort than it should. In practical terms, his battle strength dropped to about eighty percent of what it could be.
But it was a price he was willing to pay.
Kael lacked any proper defensive motes, especially against mental attacks. To be fair, he lacked defensive motes in general, but that only made him more cautious. He spent a lot of time around people whose abilities he didn't fully understand, and in his mind, precaution was non-negotiable, especially with someone like Syleena around.
A mind-pathway genius. The type of person who could crack someone open like a book if they weren't careful.
Kael's thoughts shattered as Darian stepped back into the living room.
"You know, Kael, you're really starting to piss me off."
He held two plates steady as he made his way over, balancing them with ease.
"Not only did you learn to suppress your aura in just a few days, but what the hell do you mean you also advanced to rank two the same time I did, and without a tutor?"
His voice carried irritation, but it wasn't aimed at Kael exactly. It was just frustration at the situation, like the universe had handed someone else the cheat codes.
"Oh, and let's not forget you were basically number one at the fight club too."
He set the plate down in front of Kael, then sank into the chair across from him, sliding into place with a defeated sigh.
"Goddammit…"
The word came out low, muttered more to himself than anyone else.
They spent the next few minutes eating, keeping the conversation lighthearted before stepping out of the house and onto the street.
Kael's eyes swept over the scenery.
The sun hung high overhead, casting its light over the bustling streets of the Luminaire district. The crowds were thick, there was barely space to walk without brushing shoulders. Stalls that weren't normally there had appeared along the roads, packed tightly with vendors locked in lively negotiations, voices rising as they pitched their goods to potential buyers.
'Wonder how much money each city makes when the auction's held there?'
Kael didn't waste any time and started moving, Darian following close behind.
Though cities had to invest quite a bit to prepare, cleaning the streets, setting up events, organizing permits, it was undeniably profitable. And exhausting. Still, any city would jump at the chance to host the auction.
Each stall was taxed daily, often costing several mindstones just to stay open. Restaurants were overflowing, every extra plate sold adding to the Valthorne family's coffers. There was no doubt about it, this event was big money.
"We should pick up the pace if we don't want to miss the auction."
Kael gave Darian a firm nod in response.
'Hope my luck's better this time.'
His eyes narrowed slightly at the thought.
Though most of his time had gone into practicing how to suppress his Luminaire aura, neither he nor Darian had skipped a single auction day. It was simply too valuable to pass up. The fact it was being held right here in Velthoria, a place Kael never would've stayed at under normal circumstances, felt almost too perfect.
The auction took place in a large stone building at the city's center, a venue usually reserved for theaters and shows. Space inside was limited, and so were the number of attendees allowed in.
At first, Kael hadn't been sure how he'd even get a spot. But then, like fate playing its hand, he'd run into Darian again. And while Darian was moving through the city under an alias, his connections still ran deep. With almost laughable ease, he'd secured spots for both of them in the VIP section every time the auction was held.
The two of them sank into a pair of comfortable armchairs near the upper rows, overlooking the entire hall.
Every seat below was taken, there wasn't a single space left unclaimed.
'My budget's pretty low… but if I need to, I could trade a few motes.'
Kael tapped his finger lightly against the armrest, the rhythm slow and thoughtful.
Thinking about his budget only made him more grateful for the VIP access. Entry to the auction required a fixed number of mindstones, and once it was full, no more seats were sold, at least, that was how it was supposed to work.
Reality, of course, was different.
People with deep pockets would buy up seats just to hold them, not even planning to attend. As the auction filled up, others began to panic, and those same seats would be resold behind closed doors at five, ten, sometimes twenty times the original price. Bribes were exchanged, whispered deals struck in shadowed alleys. Just entering the auction often became its own kind of auction.
'Ironic.'
His finger stilled on the armrest.
The auction was advertised as an event for the "average Luminaire citizen", a chance for the general public to participate in something special. But in the end, only the wealthy or well-connected ever got inside. Most Luminaires had to settle for browsing the outer street stalls, hoping to find scraps of what lay within.
"Ladies and gentlemen—"
The hall fell silent as the voice echoed through it, calm and authoritative.
The auction was about to begin.