Transcendence?

***Norfolk, Sarn***

***Sera***

"Did you hear that?” Fergus looks up from his studies and listens intently.

"I heard nothing.” Arran continues to concentrate on the spinning objects in front of him. His training is beginning to show results. He has a firm grasp on telekinesis and can control up to six different objects without loosing the control over them.

“You are stopping your studies for the seventh time now. Can you at least explain how it sounds?” I listen carefully, but the room is completely silent.

“I don't know. It's very muffled and I can't make out from where it comes. But I am sure that someone is crying like a small child. Though the voice sounds older. ” He stops. “There! There it was again! So annoying! I can't concentrate like this. I hope there aren't any ghosts in this spooky mansion! Did you two ever walk along the corridors during night time? I was in need of a toilet yesterday and I almost wet myself on the way there! It feels like something is directly behind you and watching.”

Arran and I throw a meaningful look to each other. Then I turn to Fergus. “It's better if you try to avoid the corridors during the night.”

“Yes. Something lives there. Liandra and Violetta have seen it. And quite a few assassins turned up dead the next morning. They say that if you turn around too often to check your back, it will attack you!” Arran adds a cooked-up story.

Fergus' eyes widen and he raises the book to his chest in a protective manner. “Why didn't you tell me from the beginning! That's important information.”

“Yeah. You tend to forget about it if you live here for a while.” Arran continues his exercise.

“Don't forget about something like that! There! I heard it again! Didn't you hear it?” Fergus looks around the room and searches for the sound.

“I am sorry Fergus, but I am very sure that I heard nothing.” I shrug my shoulders.

“Spiky ears seem to hear far better than round ones.” Arran comments and Fergus glares at him. I can almost imagine a death-ray shooting from his eyes.

Then the solution hits me and I clap my hands together. “Now I know! Could it be that you are hearing the assassin?”

“Which assassin?” Both of them focus their attention on me.

“The one in the basement. Daddy caught him recently when he tried to kill him. Ascathon happens to know more torturing techniques than I can imagine. Probably he is trying to get some information from the guy.” I return to reading my book, but after a few seconds I feel their eyes still on me and I look up.

“Torture is barbaric! And you'll never know if you are really told the truth.” Fergus presses the words through his lips.

“And why do you know of this?” Arran asks with a shocked face.

“Because he teaches me from time to time. Though there wasn't much new material recently. Do you want to go down to learn some things?” I smile. “I know! We can try the spinning wheel! That's a funny one and not bloody at all.”

“Spinning wheel?” Fergus looks doubtful.

“Yes! You chain them to a big wheel, which is partly under water. Then you spin the wheel day and night until they give up.”

“That doesn't sound scary.” Fergus tilts his head.

“But it is! In one of my past lives I was an adventurer and got caught by a demon lord. He used the same technique on me and my party. At first it's no problem, but when you lose the strength to hold your breath it becomes really scary.” Arran informs us. Then he looks at me. “You don't happen to know if your father was a demon lord in one of his past lives?”

Um... Should I tell him? But what if daddy really killed him and his party? “Why don't you ask him? It's a past life anyway. I don't think that he is someone who cares about the past.”

Arran stares at nothing for a moment. Probably he is trying to remember something. “The demon lord back then built strange machines too... Nah! It's not worth the risk to anger my father in law. And the demon lord from that time was a harem guy with one woman at each finger and two on his lap. Your father is completely different, he would never go for someone other than his wife.”

I nod and smile while hoping that the truth will never come out. Daddy... so you went wild in some reincarnations? I'll have to keep an extra eye on you to help mom. Hopefully he will not get a relapse back to those days.

Though mom and dad seem to be happy right now. Maybe I am thinking too much about it.

“After hearing about it, I don't think that I want to watch another intelligent being in such a situation.” Fergus shakes his head.

Arran nods. “I don't want to remember that time. The demon lord in question had some kind of grudge against heroes.”

“AAAAAAAAA”

Fergus straightens and looks at us. “There! Again! That was the loudest one so far! Even you must have heard!”

“I think I heard that one.” Arran nods.

“Daddy must be using one of the special tools, as he calls them. They don't scream like that otherwise.” I nod and smile in triumph.

But Arran's face became pale as soon as I mentioned the special tools. He curls up into a foetus position and starts to shiver.

“Hey Arran what's wrong? Are you sick?” I approach him and shake his shoulder.

“The demon lord also used something which he called a special tool. I just remembered!” Arran starts to sob and buries his face in the cushion he was sitting on.

I pat his shoulder. “It's okay. There is no way that daddy and that demon lord are the same person. You said so yourself.”

“I h... ho... hope!”

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