"Your Majesty, I have come bearing knowledge as my gift," spoke the great mage.
"Father, is this truly what you desire?" asked the emperor of his father-in-law.
"I did not doubt it, Your Majesty," he answered, his face showing utmost conviction behind his words.
"Then hear this: I, as the emperor, congratulate the prince on being the first to become a disciple of the last great mage of this empire," the emperor declared.
And the crowd murmured, some showing disbelief while others wore faces laced with disappointment.
One of them noted, "The position was coveted by the most talented people within this empire, and yet even after years, it remained vacant."
"And to add to it, the great mage even rejected his own daughter, the empress, for that position," one of the nobles added.
"What could have changed his mind?" others asked.
"We might never know. The great mage is a mysterious person; even the people inside the Tower of Silence don't have a clue what's on his mind," answered one of the nobles.
Thus, with that, the ceremonies came to a close. The remaining gifts were sent to the prince's room, and some were kept within the imperial treasury.
Before the emperor and empress could depart, Verdinand Basilius blocked Aslan's path.
"Father, did you need anything else? If we could, we would like to depart for the prince's room at this time. I fear the prince might be tired after all those interactions." True, I was kind of tired witnessing all that, Aslan thought.
"Don't be silly. The prince doesn't even look into the nobles' eyes. I'm more concerned with you, my daughter, seeing that you're honestly the one keeping your husband in check," he replied. Well, that's certainly true, Aslan agreed with the great mage.
"Yet that isn't why you're here, is it? Tell me, what's on your mind?" asked the emperor.
"I would love to have a chat with my grandson, if the two of you would allow it," asked the great mage.
"How could we refuse? The one so silent mage, asking for a favor... we ought to fulfill it, aren't we?" the emperor said, approving the great mage's request.
"Make sure to return one hour before the prince's bedtime, then," said the empress.
And so, Aslan was given to the great mage. Oddly enough, the great mage's embrace felt so warm and comfortable, more so than the crib he would sleep in. Perhaps it's one of the mage's spells, but Aslan wouldn't know for sure.
"Thus, the great mage walked out of the ballroom, leaving with his grandson in his embrace. He walked slowly, heading to a different part of the castle. Aslan lay within his embrace, not knowing where they were going.
They walked for a while until they reached a part of the palace in the east. There was nothing there but a circle etched into the floor. It was a place outside of the palace walls, yet it felt desolate, isolated from the palace itself. Before Aslan could process the change of atmosphere, the great mage suddenly muttered a word.
Like before, it wasn't a word, no scripture; it was more of a spell, Aslan thought. And suddenly, from the circle, a blue gate rose, beyond it was fog, preventing Aslan's gaze from looking inside.
Yet the gate shone brightly with an otherworldly glow; it pulsed with magic.
"Fear not, child. This is transportation magic, something we mages use to travel with," the mage spoke, assuring Aslan.
Thus, the mage walked into the mysterious gate with Aslan in his hand.
They had arrived at their destination. The place within the gate was large—no, it was boundless. Around them was space with no end, and yet within it were stars, countless of them, shining brightly as if the canvas of the sky itself were wrapped around them.
"Welcome, my grandson, to the Magic Tower of Silence," the great mage spoke with a smile.
This place...where am I? How can such a beautiful place exist within the realm of mortals? No, how could a mortal construct a place like this? Even with magic as a standard, this is just absurd! thought Aslan, witnessing the absurdity that was the great mage.
"Now, in this place, I could finally talk to you, or perhaps you would be so kind as to introduce yourself to me, 'otherworlder'," said the great mage.
He knows what I am? questioned Aslan in his mind.
"Yes, my child, I am aware," the great mage replied, as if hearing Aslan's thought.
Wait, you hear me? Aslan asked within his mind.
"I could hear every thought, even now," the mage smiled, confirming Aslan's suspicion.
Then what now? Will you tell the empress and the emperor? He asked.
"I need not tell them. You, my child, are indeed not from this world, yet not in the sense that otherworlders usually come with," explained the mage.
Other sense? Aslan asked.
"Yes, another sense. Otherworlders usually come possessing a vacant body, yet you, my grandson, were born into it. Your soul was made for that body. You're not a transmigrator; you are the first, and likely the only, reincarnator."
"Reincarnator? So, you mean to tell me that I was of this world, but at the same time, not?" asked Aslan, still in confusion.
"Yes, and also no. You're in between ours and theirs, and yet that still means that you are of this world," the mage explained. Clearly, even with all the wisdom he possessed, he couldn't completely understand the things that were unraveling before him.
"I could come up with some theories. A soul is a form of energy; it can't be created, nor can it be destroyed. When people die, they simply wander off to the next life, leaving behind their memories of the past one. And yet, you are a different case. You don't forget your past life. It seems there's another being who is part of what you're experiencing. This being blocked the natural process of forgetting, making you remember your past before your soul entered our world," the great mage proposed the idea.