Beyond the Codex of Gods

A few hours later.

Wade sat in a luxurious room, as a table filled with delicacies was presented on it.

Marcus sat in front of him, enjoying the fine red wine with a carefree expression on his face.

"Professor, may I know what kind of place Alkwood Ranker Academy is?" Wade inquired, as he had been asking the man all kinds of questions for the past hour.

"It is a place where geniuses of the kingdom are nurtured. All of them are like you, striving for power." Marcus patiently explained.

"What is a Ranker?" Wade asked curiously, even though he already knew it.

"People have all kinds of definitions for Rankers, but the commonly accepted one is the beings that harness the world's energy to ascend beyond their mortality." Marcus spoke with a reminiscing tone.

Wade nodded as he put on an act of listening attentively.

"Is mortality that bad? Why do people strive to become Rankers?" he then suddenly asked a question that shocked Marcus to the point that he choked on his drink.

Marcus looked at Wade as if he were the world's greatest oddity.

"Well…the mortality isn't exactly bad…but some people like to be powerful and reign over this world." Marcus answered, scratching his head, as he had never actually thought of such a question.

"So, only selfish people become Rankers?" Wade asked as his golden eyes shone with understanding.

Seeing that, Marcus was put in a dilemma: was it actually true? That only selfish became Rankers?

'I have never even thought of this. Always going with the world's flow to strive for more power and stand above others…' his thoughts seemed to become fuzzy just from the words of a mere child.

'Is my conviction that hollow?' his heart jolted, as anxiety actually began to overtake him.

He looked down at the glass of swirling red wine, as ugly memories resurfaced in his mind, as well as all the blood that he had made others shed in his life.

Suddenly, Wade began to feel uncomfortable, as an invisible pressure filled the room and then spread to the entire restaurant building, as it began to violently shake.

Wade's pupils shrank…could someone's slight drop of mood affect the real world so violently? Was it power?

"Oh, looks like I got carried away." Marcus chuckled, as the pressure disappeared and the building stopped shaking.

Wade didn't know how to feel about this. A mere thought of this person could end people's lives in a moment, as if they were ants…was this how his Uncle saw of him? An insect that could be crushed at any moment?

Thinking about his Uncle, Wade's fists became tightly clenched, his hatred overflowing.

"What is it, Wade? Is it bad memories again?" Marcus suddenly asked with concern, as with a wave of his hand, a green glow enveloped Wade, gradually calming him down.

However, Wade's heart was still in turmoil. People could so easily influence him with just a wave of their hand, see through his thoughts and resolve everything for him? That made Wade feel powerless, as if he were a mere doll to be toyed with.

This was infinitely more amplified after the torture he had gone through, as his desire for power grew only stronger as time passed.

He wasn't going to take everything lying down…he didn't want others to make decisions for him…he didn't want to go through hell again…he wanted vengeance.

Only through power could he achieve that.

"Memory loss is a tricky thing. Any emotional spike might affect what you recover, but there is also a chance that you will forever lose some, so give it time and everything will return eventually." Marcus said.

Wade also knew this and that he would eventually have to show that his memories had returned, even if partially. So, should he take it to the extreme?

"I understand, but I keep seeing red in my vision. The massacre was gory, but I couldn't do anything. I feel like I would never be able to rest until I avenge my lost family. Even if it means losing my past memories forever." Wade spoke in a determined tone, showing that he wouldn't back down even if it meant he would never be his previous self.

This acting was pre-planned, since he had to show this person that he didn't care about his memories. Moreover, Marcus was a direct connection to that headmaster, who was a close family friend of Frostwalkers.

Wade had to convince the headmaster through Marcus that he now was a different person and there was a high likelihood that he would never regain his past memories. Wade had to create a perfect alibi for himself to truly start over.

There was also the ten-year gap, or rather coma, that he entirely slept through. Plus, his body seemed like it didn't age a day, which truly terrified him as he still vaguely felt his Uncle's shadow watching over him.

He had to get to the bottom of it, but first he needed to grow strong enough to even be qualified to learn about that.