"You can tell me how you got here..." Klein began in a monotone voice. "But that’s not the question. The question is how you knew I was here."

Jasper did not move a muscle. The high-altitude wind made his hair float around his emaciated face. Even under his blindfold, he gave the impression that his gaze pierced every layer of Klein’s protection.

"Is that really what interests you?" Jasper asked.

His voice was flat, devoid of any surprise. Klein simply shrugged, displaying his usual mocking smile.

"You could say that," he replied.

Jasper let out a breath that almost sounded like a weary sigh.

"Always the same..." he murmured.

He took a few steps on the rocky promontory, his leather boots making no sound on the rough stone. He stopped at a respectable distance, where the pale light from the rift outlined the contours of his athletic silhouette.

"So, can you tell me why you are here," Klein asked, his curiosity getting the better of his caution.

Jasper tilted his head slightly. The silence stretched between them.

"I am aware of the fact that you are Kaiser," Jasper replied.

This time, a genuine smile appeared on Klein’s lips. The secret of his double identity was his most precious asset, but coming from Jasper, this revelation caused him no concern.

"How did you know?" Klein asked, curious to understand the extent of his new powers.

"With my evolved eyes, nothing can escape me," Jasper replied.

He still wore his blindfold, but the energy emanating from it was radically different from that of the Jasper Klein had known at the Academy.

"It looks like you have become extremely powerful," Klein noted while observing the density of his aura.

"So it seems, yes," Jasper agreed. "I had to go to my clan to undergo a rather special training to reach this level."

After saying that, Jasper began to recount what had happened. He thought inwardly that he had had to go through hell to stabilize his Moon Eyes. The Luna clan was not known for its tenderness toward those they considered defective.

---

[Flashback at the time of Kaiser’s death]

The news had hit the continent like a guillotine. Kaiser D. Paragon had died during the attack on the county. For the world, it was the end of a fallen noble with a sulfureous reputation. For Jasper, it was the loss of a friend.

Quickly, he made his decision: he decided to return to Yggdrasil, more precisely to his clan. As soon as he arrived in his clan’s lands, he immediately went to the main residence, a structure of living wood and crystal that seemed to grow directly from the roots of the World Tree. He requested no audience. He walked straight toward the council hall.

His uncle, the Patriarch of the Luna clan, was seated on his mother-of-pearl throne. He was an elf with a majestic appearance, but whose silver eyes reflected an arrogance characteristic of a high-ranking elf.

"I greet the Patriarch," Jasper said, briefly bowing his head and doing the strict minimum required by protocol.

The man raised his eyes from his parchments, scrutinizing him with barely veiled indifference. For him, Jasper was only the "blind" nephew, the one who had to hide his shame behind a blindfold.

"What brings you in this time of trouble?" the Patriarch said.

"I would like to know where my grandmother is," Jasper replied directly.

A heavy silence settled in the room. His uncle straightened up, his fingers nervously tapping the armrest of his throne. A dry, nervous laugh escaped him.

"Ahhh, you would like to meet that old skin..." the Patriarch replied.

He let out a long sigh, as if evoking a particularly unpleasant memory or a task he would have preferred to forget.

"Your grandmother is in the very heart of Yggdrasil. If you want to meet her, you will have to go there yourself." he finally said.

"Thank you..." Jasper said, already turning away.

"Give her my regards," the Patriarch added as he got up to leave, his tone suggesting he did not really expect to see his nephew again.

Jasper set off without further delay. The path to the heart of the Tree was not marked. It was a descent toward the origins of his race, where the mana was so dense it became almost solid. After what seemed like an eternity of walking through galleries of giant roots, he arrived in front of a cavity in the Yggdrasil tree itself.

He entered it. The cavity was dark, but the darkness was not total. Mana fireflies, emerald green, floated in the air, weakly illuminating the polished wooden walls. The air smelled of ancient sap and damp earth. After a few more minutes of walking, he spotted a white light not far away, reminding him that he would soon reach the exit.

He continued until he emerged into a verdant space that no one would have suspected inside a trunk. It was a spiritual enclave. The water of a waterfall flowed into a crystal-blue basin, and a light mist rose from the ground, masking the roots without hindering his perception.

Cautiously, he advanced on the thick moss, his senses alert.

"What is my grandson doing in these places?"

A voice rang out behind him, soft as the murmur of the wind in the leaves, but carried by an authority that made every cell in his body vibrate.

Turning his head slightly, Jasper was dazzled. Perched on a branch of an ancient tree that seemed to be an extension of Yggdrasil, an elf of breathtaking appearance was watching him. She resembled him feature for feature, but her beauty possessed an ethereal, almost divine dimension. Her eyes were closed, her face serene, and she was surrounded by small creatures napping at her side.

"I came to learn from you, grandmother," Jasper replied as he stared at the elf.

She sketched an enigmatic smile, then rose gently without disturbing the creatures around her. Then she descended. As her feet touched the ground, she was already standing next to Jasper.

"You are really weak," the elf murmured in his ear, which surprised Jasper, but at the same time he had only one thought:

If she wanted to, my head would already be rolling on the ground.