Chapter 16
Sylas was a little scared, and she held onto Xerath's hand and wouldn't let go. So Xerath had to kneel down halfway to be at the same height as Sylas. Xerath held Sylas's shoulders and asked her kindly -- but still looking serious -- "Sylas, before we went out, we made an agreement, didn't we? If you don't play with the elements randomly and don't run around, I won't...punish you. Right?"
"Yes..." The little girl's eyes started to avoid Xerath's gaze, but she still stood straight.
"But you broke the agreement, didn't you? You called the elements randomly, right?"
"I...uh...I just shook hands with them."
"Shaking hands is a type of calling, right? That's how we define calling, an action that tries to get a response from someone else. Do you understand?" Well...she suddenly felt too serious. These words like "define," "try," "understand" seemed too unfamiliar for a child who had been imprisoned underground for three years since she was six.
Xerath estimated her age based on her height. She was probably around eight or nine years old, which meant she caused the Keatler chaos when she was about six years old.
How could a six-year-old child learn these things?
The archmage racked her brain to think of simpler and more everyday words, but Sylas said, "Yes, I agree."
Great, she knew "agree" and "understand" were synonyms. The archmage's impatience decreased a little.
"So I will punish you."
After hearing this, Sylas's face frowned sadly. Xerath tried to speak slowly and gently, saying, "Although I don't want to treat you like this, but promises must be kept, Sylas. I command you..."
She clearly saw the child tremble, unsure if it was from the pain caused by the contract taking effect, or the fear of the unknown command that would follow. Sylas's emerald eyes were filled with pleading, but along with the pleading, there was also a strong determination to withstand the pain and fight against it.
Xerath sighed and softly touched her head, saying, "I command you to apologize to me."
Sylas froze, but the pain pulsed, and she murmured, "Xerath, I'm sorry."
"Also, I need you to promise not to do something like this again next time, not to run out during a storm, and especially not to call for 'wind' in weather like this." The archmage's expression was serious and earnest, not even her messy hair could diminish the authority of an Elemental King. Sylas looked at her, wanting to say something but stopped. Xerath grew slightly impatient, "If you can't promise, I will command you to promise."
After suffering twice, Sylas completely understood that "command" was like "ho" or something else, a spell that made her uncomfortable. She shrank and said softly, "I promise, not to call for 'wind' in this kind of weather, and not to run out."
"Very well, good child." Her little face probably looked too pitiful, and the archmage's last trace of compassion was evoked, successfully defeating the professional disease of mages not liking to interact with people.
Virgil once said that the most important thing in raising a demon beast as a pet is companionship. Based on the archmage's own judgment, this was the best time for her to be with her companion. She remembered her experience of raising Titus, who had also once laid with her on the chair while she read.
She hugged Sylas tightly and sat down in a rocking chair by the window. Dark clouds rolled outside, and the lightning continued to flash, casting scary shadows from the darkness.
Sylas had experienced the power of lightning up close before and was now curled up on Xerath, feeling a little scared. But Xerath said, "Don't be afraid. One day, you will understand them and learn to control them, and eventually, you will conquer them. Don't be afraid."
Sylas tilted her head and looked at the rolling dark clouds outside. She softly whispered in Xerath's ear, "I'm sorry, Xerath, were you 'almost dead'?"
"Close call."
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Xerath chuckled lightly, and a swirling Son of the Wind appeared out of nowhere, blowing a blanket from the sofa onto them. The fabric, which Sylas couldn't tell if it was made of sheep or camel hair, was very warm and blocked even the slightest breeze coming through the gap in the door. Titus's chubby body also floated up, perfectly matching the light brown rocking chair, completing the furniture set. Xerath took off her shoes and stepped on Titus's back. Titus let out a cute little sound and continued to breathe evenly, seemingly unsuccessful in waking up.
The child's body gradually warmed up. Xerath searched for simple words in her mind to explain the simplicity and complexity of natural forces to Sylas. But halfway through, due to the combined effects of warmth and fatigue, she fell back asleep. Sylas lay on top of her, seemingly influenced by a long-lost softness and warmth, and quickly sank into dreams as well.
The heat woke Xerath up from her comfortable sleep. In fact, it was quite a novel experience for her - sometimes she would fall asleep in the library, which was always a bit cold, so most of the time her awakening would be accompanied by discomforting coldness, not like the heat today.
The sky had turned dark, and the storm had stopped. It was pitch black outside, but the howling wind indicated that the storm was only temporarily paused, not gone.
She took some time to figure out why she woke up in the meeting room at the bottom of the tower, but the soothing sound of breathing reminded her of the crazy storm she had rushed into during the day because of a child's pleading eyes. Xerath sighed and carefully recalled how long it had been since she had done something so crazy in her adventurous career. However, before she could make sense of it all, a gentleman in a deep blue outfit appeared.
Lowering its voice, it asked, "Madam, are you planning to get up?"
Xerath said, "Yes, after dinner, I need to talk to Sylas."
The water lord discovered something. Among the three highly intelligent creatures here, only the archmage insisted on calling this humanoid demon beast by its name for some peculiar reason. The hunter Virgil referred to her as "your newly acquired little demon beast," while the water lord himself was always fond of giving her some unique nickname.
The water lord went upstairs first to have Aimekotes, the fire lord, prepare dinner. Xerath woke up Sylas, told her that it was time to go upstairs and eat, and then lifted her up and placed her on the floor. She took Sylas's hand and led her up the stairs, only to realize that Sylas was huddled, holding onto her own shoulder. Xerath realized she was feeling a bit cold.
The archmage chanted "gentle breeze" but simultaneously traced an unreadable symbol with their hand. The golden symbol condensed for a moment before dispersing like fireworks in the air. A gentle breeze wrapped around Sylas, but soon it turned into a slightly warm wind.
