"Well well, so this is what's holding you guys up this whole time…?"

Every one of the otherworlders got out of the compartment when Zeke ordered them to, ensuring that nobody was in the way of Cronus who went ahead to scope out the rune structure for himself.

The moment they did so, the otherworlders realized the vast gap of power between themselves and Cronus. Zeke wasn't surprised that a few of them dropped to their knees, some having their eyes nearly whited out at the sight.

Just his presence alone, the authority of a Master, was enough to break someone of weaker will. Zeke gestured Mark to take care of them, ensuring that this is none other than the Lord of Arcelot, the one in charge as well as the one that let them live here in the first place.

But what shocked Zeke was why he was here all by himself, instead of receiving any type of warning from Alissa. She was away at the moment, but she was here a moment ago, so she should have sent some kind of notice before leaving. If that was the case, either Alissa didn't bother telling them, which was doubtful, or Cronus decided to head here on a whim.

That seemed more likely than the former, Zeke guessed. As Cronus stared at the construct, ideas constantly ran in the back of his head of what to explain, and should he even try to explain about Tir's existence when Alissa was already told about it. After thinking about that set of events, Cronus turned around to face none other than Zeke with that careful cold gaze of his.

"So, you made this?" He simply asked, gesturing at the construct with a thumb.

"W-Well, sort of," Zeke tried to explain, and when Cronus stood silent, he continued. "I had a lot of help. I wasn't able to do this alone without my Mind Construct."

"Ah, yes. Tir, right?" He asked, surprising Zeke a little. He noticed instantly and waved it off. "Alissa told me about him yesterday. Considering how excited she was, I didn't want to mess with her and let her do as she pleases. I also came here just to see what exactly Tir was for myself, but then this happened…"

He turned around, facing the construct again. Zeke felt his heart racing the more Cronus stared at his project as seconds passed.

"Did you know that undertaking a rune project of this scale and caliber can easily notify other mages? Even someone with low Mana Manipulation can sense this massive gout of mana just hurling towards the sky like a beacon."

Zeke, in fact, did not know that. Panic ensued as he thought about what sort of hurdles he just crushed when doing this idea he picked up on a whim. Searching his mind, he silently cleared his throat as he answered.

"That's… I didn't think it would be a big deal," Zeke answered truthfully. "Arcelot is a big city built on magic. So, I thought something like this wouldn't really catch anyone's attention…"

"Is that what you really think? Or is that some poor excuse to say that you messed up?"

Zeke winced before Cronus turned back to him, his cold glare becoming more intense.

"And did you know that I'm not the only one that noticed this? I'm willing to bet my entire city that everyone with a smidge of magical knowledge noticed this and are ready to find out what it is. For all they know, this could be another tower forming, and right now, that's exactly the kind of information I'm trying to avoid getting known around my district, let alone my entire city."

It was there that Zeke stopped caring about the consequences he put for himself. He dreaded that he could have in fact endangered his own people by doing this. If it wasn't just Cronus, but every noble that seemingly wants them killed due to being invaders…

"...I'm sorry," Zeke said, his hands gripping hard into fists. "I didn't know that."

"No, you did not," Cronus answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Now what are we supposed to do, mmh? I'm sure you know how dangerous this is by now. It's not gonna take long for someone to find a strange group of people that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in this random sector of the city, and start connecting the dots. And mages aren't exactly known for 'holding back'."

Zeke's muscles tensed, but this time, it was out of anger. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed the otherworlders whitening and shivering at the mention of people coming after them.

He can understand getting a scolding from Cronus, but why was he antagonizing the otherworlders? There was no point in doing that.

He couldn't find any logic for this, and with Tir currently asleep, he had no other choice but to rely on himself.

So he went by instinct, and at that moment, he wasn't sure that was the right move.

"What are you trying to say?" Zeke demanded.

"I'm saying that you should be more careful," Cronus answered, ignoring his tone.

"Duly noted," Zeke answered with a voice of steel. "But if that's the case, why bother going here yourself? Can't you send somebody else? If you ask me, a Master suddenly visiting this random sector is gonna catch more eyes than this 'beacon'."

Cronus stared for a lot longer, more than average, at Zeke. But rather than cowering, Zeke stood firm and faced Cronus back. After another raw moment passed, he grinned.

"I guess you could say that you owe me; again. I went ahead and did you a favor to block the entire thing out of everyone's site. If you didn't notice, watch for yourself."

He lazily pointed up to the sky, and Zeke thought Cronus was just pulling his leg. Considering who he was talking to, he looked up.

His eyes widened to find that a large dome surrounded them, completely covering up the entire section where they were living. What's even more shocking was that Zeke didn't even notice at all. How long was that there? Was it during when Tir was working on it? Was he so distracted that even Tir, someone who had a stronger mental focus, wasn't able to see it form?

Or was Cronus that powerful? Despite the vast amount of power radiating off of Cronus, Zeke didn't even notice a whiff of the barrier that surrounded them.

The otherworlders looked up to see what Cronus was pointing at and just stared in confusion. Even Lyle looked up, his brows furrowing in consternation to find what was there. Janet was the only one who had the same reaction as Zeke, her mouth gaping wide at the sight.

Once again, Zeke was humbled at the absolute monstrosity that was Cronus, who managed to cast such magic without even getting noticed. Was that some sort of skill? Or was that just the authority of a Master? In the end, his words rang true in his head as Zeke lowered his eyes.

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"...You did. And I'm thankful for it."

"You don't sound like it," Cronus added, his smile turning sickening as he continued. "If you owe someone a favor, kindly add in "Master Cronus' and show a gesture of gratitude while you're at it."

Was he serious? Zeke felt sickened just at the thought of a 'gesture' to Cronus. Even if he owed a lot to him for his screw-ups, after everything that happened, including him taking away his barrier and making his life difficult afterwards…

The murmurs of the otherworlders reached his ears, and he shut his eyes tight before lowering his torso, his head facing down as he spoke.

"...Master Cronus, I thank you for your kindness, and I owe you a debt of gratitude for my mistakes."

Hearing the otherworlders murmur again, this time even more so after Zeke lowered his posture, he felt something breaking inside. Was it pride? His ego? He shouldn't care about that at all in his situation.

Yet, somehow, deep inside, he felt that he should've been better than this. He didn't have to do this if he actually predicted this kind of thing would have happened. If he wasn't so enthusiastic about Tir's power. If he was more focused on the ramifications of his actions instead of daydreaming what else Tir could do…

In the end, all he had to blame for was himself. If he was better, he didn't have to be in this humiliating position.

"You are very much welcome, my student," Cronus said, surprising some of the others from that last word. He switched to the compartment, an easy smile now plastered on his face. "Now then, will you do me the honor of showing me your creation?"

Zeke pushed all of his negative emotions deep into the back of his mind. In some cases, it was easy to do as a Journeymen, but somehow his pride was the toughest to snuff out before standing upright to nod at his request.

"Before that!"

The sudden voice caught him by surprise, and it was none other than Mikella who approached the two with a smile. Zeke spent more than enough time with her to see that it was the smile of having a plan in place. She turned to Cronus, bowed slightly but gracefully before speaking up again.

"Master Cronus, can you give us the honor of introducing yourself to our peers from our world?" Mikella said, gesturing at the entire group with her hand. Everyone gasped at the response, but none of them seemed against the idea of learning more about him. "You see, they went through so much stuff that they hadn't had a chance to even get out and enjoy the city! So I figured along with your introduction, you can tell them more about it? All the while, Zeke and I can fix up the place a little to meet your standards. How does that sound?"

Cronus looked at her for a few short seconds, giving no example with his stale expression. Then, as though a light bulb flashed on his face, he beamed before nodding.

"Good idea! Zeke, you should really listen to your wife. She's got the wisdom to back up your stupidity for days."

Before Cronus could say anymore, he went over to the otherworlder group, which also included Lyle and Janet as they haven't been introduced to Cronus either.

Everyone tried to appear formal as Cronus went ahead with the introduction, and clearly he toned down his presence so those of weaker will can at least stand up to face him. It wasn't enough to face him in the eyes, but better enough.

Meanwhile, Zeke turned to Mikella who watched the scene with a placid face.

"Mikky, what's up with that?" He asked. "Why this all of a sudden?"

"You were giving off weird vibes, and I wanted to talk to you about it," Mikella quickly answered, not even bothering to beat around the bush. She turned to him, showing a fierce, but concerned expression. "Are you alright?"

He was taken aback by her, and for a moment he wanted to snap at her, saying that getting worried was pointless.

Then he shook his head, dispelling the thought. Something was wrong, now he knew. Why else would he get angry at Mikella for just worrying about him?

"I… I think I'm fine," Zeke said, somehow able to say that without any confidence. "Just that Tir's exhausted so he's taking a nap in my mind."

"Really?"

After explaining a short summary over Tir's condition, Mikella nodded in understanding.

"Gotcha. That's a good idea. But… what about you?"

"...I'm just upset, that's all," Zeke simply said, blowing out air from his lips. "I fucking hate that guy."

"Tell me about it," Mikella shook her head. "He's power-tripping like mad. But he at least did us a favor."

"I know, but…"

"Zeke, even with all that, I think you did great. Tir of course deserves some credit, but you did well. I think Cronus was just messing with you, and wanted to see you break. You didn't."

"Break?" Zeke scoffed. "He humiliated me in front of everyone, even calling me his 'student'. I'm Cloud's student, not his."

Somehow that actually pissed him off more than he thought. The idea of Cronus taking credit over his and Tir's work for the project entered his mind, causing him to see red for a few seconds before returning back to Mikella.

"No, Zeke. I think he was expecting a different kind of break. I think I can tell too."

"What are you talking about?" Zeke asked, now perplexed. "What break are you talking about?"

"I was a little worried when you kept going with this project, thinking that you were just being the same crazy bastard I know and love. But when Cronus showed up, talking his shit, you looked… ready to burst. And that was when I noticed it. Zeke, I think you were going through your own Class Madness."

He took a step back, the news practically hitting him in the gut. He stood there, blanking out at the words, before shaking his head.

"Wait, wait, wait, that can't be right. I was still me. I wasn't going crazy and hurting anyone or anything. I mean, Tir was…"

There, Zeke paused. Was Tir being overworked a consequence of his Class Madness?

"I think if I know Tir as well as you do, he took it too far too. So I'm hoping you learn a lesson about going too far on rune crafting," Mikella placed her hands on her hips, staring hard at Zeke with her usual imposing stature. Zeke withered a little, even if she was shorter than him by a few inches. "But I learned a bit more about Class Madness. It isn't all about losing your mind and hurting people, or going outside your boundaries and pissing people off by calling them names and disrespecting them."

Zeke looked at Mikella, clearly knowing that the second example was all her own. He wanted to console her, but he had a feeling he wasn't in the best spot to do that.

"I don't know what it was, but whatever it is that you had, I think Cronus noticed it too. That's why he was being such a dick."

Finally, he realized it.

"He was putting me down a peg," Zeke muttered, getting Mikella to nod. "Hell, even that barrier was just proof that he was…"

"I think we owe him more than just a simple favor of hiding us from the nobles," Mikella said, her words sounding painful as she grimaced. She didn't like the idea of owing more favors to Cronus than he did. "But I have no idea what a crazy Runist might do, so maybe he was onto something."

"I…" Zeke couldn't even find the words to say. Guilt, embarrassment, anger, dread, sadness–each of those feelings were trying to overcome the other, not knowing which one took precedence.

All the while, Cronus just stood there with a beaming smile as though he loved seeing the youngsters look up to him in adoration and respect. In a way, he was the same. And somehow he hated himself for it.

He could do better. He should have done better.

A hand rested on his cheek, surprising him but also easing him into her gentle touch as Mikella smiled warmly at him.

"No matter what he says, I still think you're the best Runist. Not because you're our only Runist, but because you're my Runist. I know better than anyone that you're always trying your hardest for our sake. And obviously that comes with some flexing. It's okay to do that every once in a while. You know what they say about moderation, right? If you don't show off and flex a little, it's like a bomb ticking in your chest."

Zeke chuckled, her words becoming cold snow to his hot emotions. Her hand became more soothing as he wanted to just tuck himself into her embrace here and now. But it was adult time, and he needed to be one.

"Thanks, I needed that," Zeke whispered, smiling to her. "But that still doesn't excuse you from trying to show off all the time."

She clicked her tongue. "You're always breaking my balls. Lay off of me already–except in bed."

Zeke's cheeks burned hot red, a completely different emotion showing now before he noticed Mikella giving her usual grins at him. Shaking his head, he grabbed her own head and kissed her before turning to the others.

"Let's get this over with and get him out of here," He said, Mikella following right behind him.

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