Ciel and I lie next to each other on the bed, our bodies leaking out sweat as we stare passionately at each other.

Our breathing is heavy, which isn't so surprising, considering the vigorous exercise we have just concluded.

And please, I don't want judgment.

It's not like I wanted to do this. I simply had no choice, since the best way to absorb the antidote is by consuming a lot of Ciel's fluids.

Kissing her only alleviated the problem, but to fully resolve it, we had to exchange even more bodily fluids.

Hence… the sex.

I only did it for pragmatic reasons.

It was… enjoyable, though.

Back to the current situation; the two of us are sleeping on the same bed as we stare at each other in silence.

The war is finally over, with both sides coming to a truce.

We are allies now.

Naturally, this doesn't eliminate all the sadness and rage buried deep within our hearts.

Especially the feeling of loss.

I'm still very upset about the deaths of all those innocent people. At the same time, Ciel has grown extremely sullen regarding the demise of so many Magivores.

The death of her own bonded Magivore has caused a big hole to form in her heart.

Even now, as I stare at her, I can sense her pain.

It runs deep.

'Especially because that is the only Magivore that is passed from person to person in the Sanctuary. The new Vey'lithar Leviathan inherits the old one's Magivore, as is the standard practice…' My thoughts flow seamlessly as I consider the matter.

Since Cadre 6 are so rare, the Sanctuary only had one in their midst. It developed among the Cadre 5 Magivores almost a millennia before now, and has been alive ever since.

Well, until I killed it.

'She can only pray that a new Crimson Direwolf Emperor is born among the surviving Cadre 5 Direwolf Kings…'

"All three of the Direwolf Kings I sent after you died. Right now, we only have two left. I had to preserve them for the future, so I didn't have them join in the fight." Right as I am having my thoughts, Ciel speaks up and finally breaks the silence.

Not only does the sudden emergence of her voice stun me, but the contents of her words leave me in puzzlement as well.

'I… killed all of them?!'

I stare at her, dazed by the impossible reality that accompanies her statement.

My memories regarding that incident are fractured, but I clearly remember being at my wit's end and falling unconscious right before the blast of the Direwolf Kings was about to consume me.

Before Ciel spoke, my working theory was that I somehow triggered Tracing in that moment and vanished.

As for how I came to acquire Golden Dawn, I chalked it up to an uncertainty.

After all, Divine Relics don't just fall from the sky.

"You look surprised…" Ciel mutters after noticing my silence.

"Tell me more." I quickly respond. "How did I—"

"Kill them?" She does it again, responding to my questions before I ask them.

Such are the perks of a Seer.

I nod at her.

"I don't know. I wasn't using Clairvoyance at that moment, but I do know that I lost connection with them at nearly the same period, which means you killed them within the same time frame."

"Unbelievable…"

Could it be that even I am unaware of the depths of my own strength?

"You surprised me a lot in that battle. I didn't expect you to be so strong." Ciel admits, sighing softly as she closes her eyes for a moment, allowing me to see her beautiful face without interruption.

This woman truly is lovely.

To think such a flower could be so scheming and ruthless if it came down to it.

One truly cannot judge others by appearances.

"You're thinking about how pretty I look, aren't you? You find it unbelievable that someone like me could be so venomous…"

"A-ah!" I quickly turn away from her in embarrassment, barely noticing as she amusedly pries her eyes open.

"You constantly using your Conception like that is cheating. Stop it." I cross my arms while frowning lightly.

"Haha…"

Ciel simply giggles at my complaints, shaking her head moderately.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm not even using Prophecy. It's just easy to predict the next move and words of others as a Seeker. It's easier with you because you are quite easy to read…"

'What? Me? Is she implying that I'm a simple man?' A part of me flares up, but I remain calm.

"See? Although you like keeping that stoic expression, your brow twitches whenever you hear something you don't like. You inhale deeply or sigh, and your eyes turn cold. These are things I can observe and translate into words, accurately guessing what is going on in your head."

"Oh, really?" I stare at her, unconvinced.

'Could I really be that predictable? Is that why she was able to trick me so easily?'

"Right now… you are thinking about me tricking you and wondering if you are that predictable, right?"

"W–how did you know? You are definitely using Prophecy! I refuse to buy any other explanation." I yell out.

If she truly isn't using any Conception, then the accuracy is simply too frightening.

Ciel merely giggles even louder.

"I don't care if you believe me or not. It's the truth. Besides, why would I carelessly use my Conception when there is such a price attached to every use?"

'Eh? Price? What price?'

My expression freezes as I hear those words.

Is she referring to the risk of failure? No, Ciel is very particular with her words. If she meant that, she would have used 'risk' rather than 'price.'

Besides, Ciel is at the peak of Rank 1, so I can't imagine any casual use of any of her Conceptions comes with a risk.

So… what exactly does she mean?

"You're confused by what I just said? Don't tell me… You really don't know what the price is?" Ciel gasps aloud, a hand covering her lips.

"A-ahem…" I clear my throat, trying to salvage as much of my composure as I can.

"You can tell me about it "

"I thought you knew more about Leviathans than me. Shouldn't you be the one teaching me these things?" She smiles teasingly at me, laughing at the ignorant me's expense.

I blush a little in embarrassment until I can't take it any longer.

"Just tell me!"

"Fine… fine." Ciel's smile begins to fade, and a serious expression dots her features.

After waiting for a few seconds, which felt excruciatingly longer than that, she finally parts her lips and tells me the grim truth.

"The cost is lifespan."

I remain silent.

Her words are too vague.

I need more of an explanation regarding what she means by lifespan.

"It's exactly what it means. You use up your lifespan with every Conception. The rate depends on what Conception is being used and what Pathway you belong to. I don't know all the details, but I know the Seeker Pathway has the least consumption rate, while Casters have the highest. Exemplars and Leapers are somewhere in the high end."

"I see…"

My Conceptions have been consuming my lifespan all this time, and I had no idea.

'How many times have I used my Conception? How much of my life has been consumed? Is there really a way for me to tell?'

To constantly increase my limit, I made it a habit to practice all three of my Fragmented Conceptions daily. I have done this consistently since I became aware of their capabilities.

Even if the Seeker Conception doesn't consume much lifespan and Leaper and Exemplar Conceptions are somewhere in the middle… would these costs not stack up with my continuous use?

It seems I need to be a lot less casual and more intentional about my Leviathan powers.

"The good news is that your lifespan is promoted to a hundred years once you become a Leviathan. You became a Leviathan at 24 years old, right? That means, unless someone or something kills you before that, you would have 76 years left to live."

"Yes. I'm currently 25 years old, which means I would ordinarily have 75 years left. But with the cost of lifespan that my Conceptions use, I will have to assume that the number has reduced."

"Correct." Ciel nods at me. "I don't know the exact way to calculate it, but the general rule is that you have to subtract the time it would have taken you to achieve those tasks without the Conception."

I think I know what Ciel is driving at.

Take my Clairvoyance, for example. If something would take me an hour to get to its exact location to witness it, but I use my Conception to view it from the comfort of my home, I would have used up an hour of lifespan to do so.

And what of Frontflow?

I speed up my time by twenty four to sixty times, so it's only right that my lifespan is expended at such a rate as well.

"Most Leviathans that our Sanctuary has produced have been Seekers, so I mostly know details regarding our Conceptions. The general cost of lifespan is halved when it comes to us. For example, if it takes an hour to have witnessed something, only thirty minutes is shaved from our lifespan. If we see an hour into the past or future, only thirty minutes is shaved off rather than an entire hour."

"T-that is so—"

"Unfair?" Ciel smiles with a raised brow.

"I was going to say disproportional."

"Same difference." She shrugs at me. "I'm also not sure why it's that way, but it must have to do with the fact that Seekers do not physically embody their Conceptions but simply use their senses to observe events. It's different from Tracing, where you appear at another location, or Frontflow, where your body becomes faster than the world."

"I see…"

"That makes sense…"

I didn't consider any of these matters before, but since Ciel comes from a long line of Leviathans, she has a rich history and a wide array of knowledge to share.

It truly was wise to spare her life.

"When I was a child, I was chosen to become the next guardian. That meant I didn't have a bonded Magivore like the other kids, and I was under the constant tutelage of the Mara, the Leviathan before me. It felt so restrictive. I had far less freedom than others, and I resented it at first…" Ciel suddenly starts speaking of her past, causing the space around us to fall into a hush.

The only thing that echoes softly between us is her voice and the steady breathing of the two of us.

"But I grew to appreciate her. To cherish the restriction. To love the responsibility." Ciel smiles at me. "It is said that the world chooses the Pathway that best suits the existence of the Leviathan. It's why most of this Sanctuary's Guardians were Seekers. The world must have known that we were meant to live long and watch over our people. That's what Mara told me."

I don't speak.

Only reaching out to caress her face and nod.

'I read something similar in the Founding Leviathan's journal. He regretted being an Exemplar, though. He wished to be a Seeker or Leaper instead. After meeting Ciel, I can understand why he would desire such a Pathway.'

A lower cost compared to the other Pathways, yet the ability to perceive events of the past, present, and future.

To an ordinary and powerless person, this ability can only take them so far.

After all, what can one achieve with such knowledge if they do not possess the strength?

But… for leaders like Ciel and the Founding Leviathan, such a Pathway is most optimal. It could perhaps be the greatest one in terms of ruling a people and scheming against others.

"I know nothing about your Harbinger Pathway, Javier… but something as special as that will not be without its cost. The ability to switch between multiple Pathways cannot be so easily attained."

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