Never in his wildest thoughts would Alaric have guessed the truth: Aether was the real Arcane King. Then again, no one would have suspected it. Stealing someone's power wasn't as simple as it sounded. Even Mortimer had paid the price by being cursed.
'That explains so much… his unusual powers, his arrogance…' Alaric nodded to himself, finally piecing together why Aether's strength had been growing so rapidly, far surpassing expectations. Yet, the question lingered, gnawing at him:
How?
'How could he still grow stronger after supposedly losing his power? It doesn't make sense… What's happening inside that body of his?' Alaric's thoughts spiralled.
"Hello? Alaric?" Aether's cheerful voice broke through Alaric's trance. He waved a hand playfully in front of Alaric's face, tilting his head.
Alaric snapped back to reality, blinking at Aether. After a brief pause, he muttered, "I see..." and nodded before abruptly turning on his heel to walk inside.