"Using the lens too long will leave you doubting every emotional cue you ever see, with or without it."
His gaze fixed on me with an unsettling intensity.
"You may find yourself analyzing every smile, every tear, every gesture for hidden meaning that may not exist at all. And... trusting someone becomes difficult when you can see the messy, contradictory emotions that drive every interaction."
I accepted the monocle with careful hands, feeling the strange weight of it. It felt cold against my palm, and for a moment, I could swear I saw my own emotions reflected in its surface—curiosity, apprehension, excitement, and... unease(?).
...Another useful monocle, huh.
I stored it in my inventory and turned back to Ossian.
"I understand the risks, Senior," I said, though I wondered whether I truly did, "but given who or what we’re facing, the ability to peek into others’ true intentions, even imperfectly, is still invaluable. Rest assured, I will use it well."
"I’m sure you will," Ossian nodded. But... there was something in his expression that made me think that... he knew exactly how this, no, all of these ’gifts’ would affect me over time.
"Hmmm..." He went silent after that, his gaze wandering around the chamber, as if searching for the right item. "Ah, here it is!"
He produced a small jade bracelet, simple and unadorned except for a single rune that seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat.
I observed it carefully, but of course, couldn’t decipher anything. But when I put it on my wrist, a strange sense of... safety washed over me.
I even felt that nothing in the world could ever harm me for a moment.
I slowly took it off, put it in the inventory, and turned to hear Ossian’s explanation.
"That’s the Aegis of Final Sanctuary, one of the relics I used back in the day, one that saved my and my friends’ lives," Ossian chuckled faintly. "You can activate it by breaking it. It will create an impenetrable barrier around you and your allies for exactly one minute. Nothing can breach it - be it physical attack, corruption, mental attack, or any resonance art. You will be completely untouchable."
He paused, letting me and Zephyr digest the info.
"But choose your moment carefully. One minute can be both an eternity and no time at all, depending on the situation. Use it too early, and you’ll still be trapped when it ends. Use it too late, and you might not survive long enough to activate it. And once used, it’s gone forever."
I gave a firm nod, understanding the weight of such a gift. This was quite literally a ’get out of death free’ card, but only once.
I hope we won’t have to use it too soon...
"So," Ossian said, turning his attention back to me with renewed focus, "what is your fifth request? Have you thought about it enough?"
I smiled, meeting his assessing gaze directly. "Please give me what you think I need the most."
Both Ossian and Zephyr stared at me in joint surprise.
Zephyr’s eyes widened as he clearly didn’t expect such a response from me. Well, he quickly recovered, knowing how I have been acting till now.
On the other hand, Ossia’s jaw was slightly dropped. It would have been a comical sight if his appearance... well, this scary, I think.
"Hohoho," Suddenly, he started laughing, without any forced expressions or movements. He must have been really moved by my request.
"Ah, boy!" He exclaimed. "Why weren’t you both born in our era?! With your brave hearts and minds, maybe we could’ve won the war instead of just delaying it."
Zephyr and I exchanged glances for the umpteenth time. And honestly, I think we’re lucky to be born in this era and not in Ossian’s.
"Such wisdom at such a young age... trusting the judgement of experience while maintaining your own strategic mind. Truly remarkable."
He grinned widely, making a terrifying expression.
"What you need the most, huh... not what you want... not what seems the most powerful... but what you actually need..."
We watched as Ossian started floating around the chamber.
Alas, we didn’t know a telepathy technique yet, or else it would have been much easier to do this with Zephyr’s help.
But looking at his expression, although he appears to be curious about what I am doing and thinking, he still trusts my judgement.
...That’s what friends are for, right?
After several minutes had passed, Ossian finally stopped. He turned to us with a strange smile playing at the edges of his jaw.
"I think I found it. The thing that you might need the most."
I nodded in anticipation. Just what could it be?
"I think..." Ossian continued, his weird smile widening, "What you need the most is... foresight."
"...Foresight?" I tilted my head. If he was talking about what I was guessing, then I would need to refuse it. Because I already had it, the Foresight.
"That’s right, foresight," Ossian confirmed. "Listen to my explanation first. You will definitely like it."
I nodded, hoping for the best.
"Here," The air shimmered, and a small, crystalline orb appeared in his obsidian claw. It was perfectly clear, like a bubble of trapped air, but as I observed, tiny motes of light danced within it like imprisoned stars.
"This is called the Probability Shard," he said, his tone a bit hesitant and regretful. "Although I was hesitant to give this to anyone, I think you might be the right person for it."
He held the crystalline orb up to the chamber’s dim light, and the dancing motes within seemed to pulse in rhythm with his words.
"It will show you glimpses of possible futures, not certainties, mind you, but probabilities. Moments of crisis, opportunities that might arise, dangers that could threaten you or your companions."
He held it out to me, but his expression grew more serious than it had for any of the other gifts.
"But understand this, young Lumin, the future is not fixed. What you see are possibilities, not inevitabilities. And sometimes..." he paused, his violet eyes growing distant, "sometimes seeing what might come to pass can be more burden than blessing. The knowledge of what could happen, of what you might be able to prevent or what you might fail to stop... it changes a person."