Murmur of the Future

Luken guided Rowan back to the private training room again after confirming with Gale that there were no further matters to discuss and dumping any leftover or extra miscellaneous work onto the blonde man.

Any venting that the poor man yelled out was conveniently not heard by Luken and Rowan.

"Should I input the same amount of magic energy as last time?"

"Yes, and then wait a few minutes to see if the results are the same or more developed than last time."

After coming to a steadfast agreement, Luken circulated his magical energy through Rowan. Both came to a faint white glow in the dim training room.

They were wrapped in a gentle light for only a minute or so before Luken cut off the supply of magic.

The duo tacitly waited for the results.

A few seconds passed...

Then a minute...

A little more than a few minutes...

As time passed, Rowan could still not smell nor could he taste anything, although it would be weird to have either sense in a mirror form and he didn't exactly know how both would currently work, he still wanted them back. At least, having them back could help Luken and him understand the estimate of how much more magical energy was needed to free him from the mirror body.

The only difference that he managed to feel within him was his own magic pool that expanded as his element absorbed Luken's energy. The familiar warmth was always welcomed as it brought a sense of comfort and security that he usually felt from the platinum-haired man and strengthened that mental connection that was shared between them. Though, he had hoped for different results. Results that would give him his human self back and lead him to be more close to Luken. After all, no matter how much one tried, there would be a sense of distance between a person and someone stuck in an object. At least, that was what Rowan perceived.

Perhaps the road to freedom was a lot less optimistic than he thought. Lost Magic was after all extremely complicated and unknown due to their rarity and being lost in time. Rowan murmured gloomily at the possibly bleak future ahead of him, replanning and rethinking of his path to freedom.

...?

Wait a second-

Luken delightfully exclaimed, "Did you just say something?" This was the first time he had heard Rowan speak without his initiative questioning. Honestly, he had only hoped that Rowan's last two senses would return, however, with the other's independence in speaking back, just imagine the more dynamic conversations they could have!

Rowan could ask him for help, talk about idle things, and ask his own questions, and Luken could be right there by his side, peacefully conversing with just the two of them. Luken had decided to conveniently ignore the existence of his childhood friend, Gale, who could, and would, burst into the middle of the duo's conversation and become essentially a third wheel.

Those thoughts, albeit silly and naive sounding, coincided with Rowan's own intelligent mind. Both had long realized their limits in communication. Luken was accustomed to being cold-faced and being spoken to, while Rowan was restrained from speaking freely. Now, with Rowan's current breakthrough, it would facilitate in talking.

Rowan responded with a hint of joy floating within his melodious voice, "Yes, I was rethinking our plans, however, it seems unnecessary now." Immediately, he fell back into contemplation. He still felt constrained and required to answer questions, he had still not truly regained his free will to speak.

He experimentally murmured again and realized that he could only say, at the very most, ten words, before he felt himself coming to a strange bottleneck that restricted him in adding more words. Still, a little bit was better than nothing at all.

Those minor details could be immediately eliminated for now. His absorbing magic had not yielded any negative consequences, instead, it gave him benefits and hope. Rowan felt excitement for the future, a future with freedom, and a future with Luken.

Before he could share his thoughts on increasing and speeding up the magic absorption, he was interrupted by another robust wave of magical energy. The glow from Luken's light element enveloped both of them, being more brighter and denser than the previous two times, portraying the amount of purity and strength contained within.

Rowan felt something within him flutter when Luken vigorously channeled his energy within him. He did not even express his intentions, and still, Luken managed to see his objectives and carry them through. It could be accredited to the emotional connection they have between them, ever since Rowan absorbed Luken's magic, even so, Rowan felt that there was something more. A tacit understanding that quickly developed between them by merits of Rowan's limitations in a mirror body and Luken's willingness to communicate with the other.

Essentially forcing them to cooperate without words, not that both of them minded. In fact, they had adapted and got along quite well, becoming quite the team.

This must be the power of friendship that Rowan had so often read about in the libraries of Olinthus. He often accidentally eavesdropped on the maids fussing over the latest novels.