Limits

Yater quickly tapped a few times on the cart, and said "This is truly bad. We have to get out of here as soon as possible". I asked "Why? We didn't do anything". Nathan replied "We didn't, but Elysians will still blame us. The Moonlight Swallow should not interact with outsiders. They will not be happy about that, even though we did nothing". Yater nodded and said, "That is why I don't care anymore. Using our skills is fine. I blocked the Information Relay Formations, which is the exact reason why we are able to talk right now. They will figure out we broke the law soon, but that is much better than being questioned by those crazy old monsters".

Irwin nodded, and added "Yea, you don't want to meet them. It's something else. Although Elysian Empire is small, their military powers are comparable, if not better than Endrosian Empire's. The three of us, could only die in the face of such enemy". I nodded, and asked "Why would the Moonlight Swallow actually do this?". The other two also looked at Yater. He knew much more about them, then any of us. He shook his head and replied, "I have no idea. This has never happened before. Moonlight Swallows wouldn't even do that to Elysians. Do you have something special on you?".

'Yea, I have something…' I thought and answered "No". Nathan looked at me suspiciously. He knew I was lying, he could read people much better than me. I sighed, and replied "There is something, but I don't know if that's the reason". Yater asked "What is it?". I extended my right arm, and replied "This". Nathan said "I know your arm is not that of a Human, but why do you have it exactly?". I replied after a long sight. "Believe it or not, this is my arm".

They looked at each other in disbelief. Nathan muttered "He didn't lie", while Irwin asked "What do you mean then?". I continued "This is my arm, it changed because of something". They gave me a look spelling "Get on with it", so I told them. "I have, or had… I don't know anymore. Anyway, I found a weird lizard in the North. We made a Blood Pact, and the lizard was able to enter my arm. In the past, there used to be a tattoo on my arm, but now…". I realised something. It seemed the three masters also realised something.

We all exclaimed at the same time "Tattoo!". "You said that the tattoo simply appeared?", Nathan asked. I nodded and replied, "Yes. When Frosty entered my arm, it would change into a tattoo. The tattoo would disappear, when Frosty left". They thought about it for a while, until Yater said "Maybe it was this. I was surprised at first, because I thought you somehow got a tattoo just like Elysians. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Your parents were not Elysians?". I shook my head, and replied "No, they both came from Endrosian Empire. I'm sure of this".

Yater continued "Perhaps it is due to that Frosty you spoke of. Animals will be animals. Who knows what that lizard is, especially since it's able to change your arm like that". I replied "I don't know if Frosty exists anymore. I haven't seen it for many years now. Maybe it fused with my arm forever". Yater replied "Hmmm... I can check it, if you want". I looked at him in disbelief, and asked "You can do stuff like this?". He replied, "Well, I'm a master in the Art of Stealth, but I also studied Formations. I'm no master, but I know a thing or two about Formations".

I nodded, and said "Great, let's check if Frosty is still there. What do I do?". Yater replied "Nothing. Just extend your arm, and let me handle the rest". I nodded, and extended my arm. Yater draw some stuff in air, and then touched my right arm. As soon as he touched it though, his hand froze, while shock appeared on his face. The other two were as stunned as Yater, and looked at my arm with shock.

Yater quickly used his Aura to melt the ice, while I retrieve some medicine for him. Irwin asked "Why did you freeze his arm?". But before I could reply, Yater said, "It wasn't Nex. Your lizard is still there. That is all I can say". I was happy, but confused at the same time. I asked "Why?". He shook his head, and even when the other two looked at him, he just stayed quiet. 'The good news is, Frosty is still there. The next question is, why doesn't it want to go out at all? It's not like Frosty is angry at me or anything…' I thought.

I looked at my arm, and then through the back window of the cart. "Oi, oi! No one told me they can do shit like that", and pointed at the back window. The other three were confused at first, but then realised what I meant. There were some Elysian Warriors running, actually running towards us. Yater said "Due to all that stuff, I didn't even realise we were chased". I asked "Chased? They run faster than the stupid cart!". Nathan shook his head, and said "No, we are slowing down". Another question escaped my mouth "They can slow us down too?".

Nathan grabbed me, and said "No time for questions. We need to leave". We burst out of the cart, and ran along the track. The three masters were fast, really fast. If I ran myself, they would leave me in a cloud of dust. This was not the end of our problems though. The cart that was slowing down, suddenly sped up. Yater smirked, and said "Don't worry, they fell for it". I had no idea what he was on about, until the cart stopped all of a sudden, and the Elysians walked out, falling straight to the ground.

I could only guess it was Yater's illusion. There were no other pursuers behind us, but we didn't slow down at all. We soon made it to the Ancient Mountain, but through a different path. The three jumped off the track before we arrived, and used the forest to run towards the border. 'They are searching for us' I thought, when I saw lights in the forest. We did nothing wrong, and they chased us as if we killed the Emperor himself.

Fortunately, I was together with the three master of the Forbidden Arts. They couldn't catch us so easily. At the border, we saw many Elysian Warriors waiting already, but we were able to leave without any bloodshed. While we ran through the forest of the Endrosian Empire's territory, Yater said "If we killed any of them, we wouldn't be able to return at all. At least this way, we can still visit in the future. You Nex, you need to wait a bit longer. It would be best to master your Arts, before going there again". I nodded, and didn't plan on returning fast. Elysians were crazy, and although the sights as well as the whole Empire was interesting, I valued my life. It was certainly more precious than some sights.

We ran back to Yater's place in silence. We had our share of events past those few days, and we didn't need any more. It took us a few days to return, and only then did we take a proper rest. The next day, my usual training would commerce again. Did I regret going to Elysian Empire? Not at all. Would I go there again? I would when I was strong. Strong to the point where Elysians could kiss my ass with their rules.