240 Outing [4] "Tools you say?" Silas finally asked with a slightly curious tone before a sneer showed on his face.
"You're wrong. I'm afraid you might be mistaken in so many ways, and you don't even know it. There was a saying back where I came from." He smirked wryly and looked up.
"Power... Real power, does not come to those who are born talented. No. It comes to those who are willing to do anything to achieve it." "What does that have to do with what I'm saying?" Ivy raised a brow while folding her arms. Silas could almost feel the mockery of her stare prickling at his skin.
"You think I didn't realize Nymira could hear us when I spoke earlier?" Silas asked while looking to the side, his stare so dominant that it immediately made Ivy stare at the ground as a shudder crawled down her back like a hundred squirming centipedes.
The sensation of being pushed down upon made her feel fear for the second time since coming to this academy. She didn't know why, but the boy before her seemed more terrifying than anything she had faced in the past.
...
Excluding her own mother, of course.
"That connection you have with Gilea must be useful if you can bend the rules of a contract like that. A normal person would have suffered the backlash... Yet, you." Silas let out a smirk filled with disgust.
"You somehow bent the rules enough to make it seem like I was the one hurting Nymira, not you. You were a simple bystander, after all. Maybe I shouldn't have allowed you to make Gilea your witness when making the contract." Silas rubbed his chin in thought before shrugging
"I guess it doesn't really matter anymore though, does it... What's done is done. Though, I'd say you would be facing the majority of the lasting consequences of such an action. After all, this has all gone to plan." Ivy widened her eyes, yet, other than that, she didn't move an inch. Her body remained in place. Students walked past them, looking at the two of them with raised brows and confused glances.
But Silas didn't care.
"You say that I think of her as a tool; I say I'm teaching her the way of the world. You think of her as an object; I think of her as potential. The people you surround yourself with are a reflection of who you are, and who you will be. Surround yourself with idiots and weaklings, and you'll end up a weakling. Surround yourself with kings, and you'll end up becoming a king." Silas chuckled and began walking. Ivy's feet instinctually began to move again, following behind Silas as if it was an order from him, rather than an action she chose.
After a few seconds, Ivy steeled her nerves and looked up.
"So, the reason you met me here, in the academy, was just a way to add a princess to your circle?" She asked, her voice trembling with both fear and anger. Being played with all the time was getting on her nerves. She was a princess, after all. Most people respected her. Bowed before her the moment she entered a room.
Yet, Silas didn't even bat her an eye. Instead, he used her like a tool.
'Tool...' At that moment, Ivy came to a realization.
"I think you've misunderstood, Miss Song." Silas' smirk extended from the corner of his lips, becoming much wider than before.
"I don't need people around me. Why else would I be so skewed? People need human interaction. They need to have people around them that pick them up from their lowest points. They need people because humans are creatures who thrive on the people around them. I didn't have that growing up. I didn't even have it in my previous life. The closest thing to a friend I had was my dog." Silas chuckled.
"But, this comes back to what I said before. To have true power, you must be ready to do anything to receive it. The only difference in this situation is, I didn't have anyone around me back then. I had nothing to give, therefore, I was willing to give everything. I don't want Nymira to live that life. I don't want Alex to live that life." Silas' smile receded into a melancholic one. "I know what true loneliness feels like. I felt it for so long that I didn't even know what it was before coming to this world." Silas lifted up his hand and clenched it into a fist before relaxing it again.
"I won't be around to babysit them forever. I always leave. That's my only constant. I never stay in the same place for too long, and I need them to be ready before I leave."
Ivy looked at Silas' back with a hint of understanding.
"So, when you said that the people around you reflect the person you are... You weren't talking about yourself, were you? You were talking about them." Ivy's gaze moved to lock onto Alex and Nymira
Silas didn't bother responding. There was no need.
"Then, where do I fit in all of this? Didn't you come to me to have a connection with my family?" She finally asked.
"You think too small. You'll understand your place very soon. " Silas looked up again.
"It will all come together soon." For the rest of the day, Silas and Ivy did not speak a word to one another. They silently walked together, their steps in sync as they quickly reached the rest of the group.
When the sun eventually set below the horizon and, the forest became dark, and they had to set camp for the day.
Tents were quickly set up around the campfires, which began to burn brightly in the middle.
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