Albrecht resolved to leave before Selene returned but not before extracting more vital information. He intended to fully utilize the Divine Vow he'd established with Heinz.

  "Heinz," Albrecht began carefully, "I believe I still have two questions left."

  A faint smirk appeared on his face. "Go ahead."

  Albrecht paused briefly, thinking about how Heinz had explained the four types of magic earlier, albeit incompletely, thanks to Selene's interruption.

  Still, he'd gotten useful information already, far more than expected.

  "My next question is: Does magic capable of altering memories exist?"

  A flicker of surprise crossed Heinz's eyes, subtle but noticeable.

  "Well, memory alteration isn't common," Heinz said thoughtfully.

  "Historically, the Witch of Morgrek was infamous for corruption magic, including corrupting memories. But since her death, such magic has become extremely rare. Only high-ranking gods or perhaps very precious artifacts are known to have that kind of power."

  Albrecht absorbed the information quietly. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help him too much

  "One more," Heinz reminded him. He seemed impatient to ask his own questions.

  Albrecht nodded slowly, carefully choosing his last question. Thereon had mentioned something called authority, and while he could ask Thereon directly, he didn't want to reveal his ignorance and raise suspicion.

  "What exactly is Authority?"

  Heinz sighed softly, his expression somewhere between amused and annoyed. Yet he explained patiently.

  "Authority is less a skill and more an innate force. Think of it as projecting your will or presence outward like physical pressure, almost akin to gravity. Every person has a certain amount of Authority, though for regular people, it's negligible. But trained Swordsmen, powerful Mages, and even Paladins possess considerable Authority. If there's a significant gap, a stronger individual can use Authority to suppress, intimidate, or even immobilize someone weaker."

  He paused, emphasizing the next point clearly.

  "It's also essential for Realmcasting. Projecting Authority outward allows you to create a space, your own domain or sanctuary, where you control the very nature of reality within. Essentially, Authority forms the foundation of advanced magic and combat techniques."

  Albrecht listened carefully. He didn't regret asking about it.

  "There are also other specialized uses, such as Soulbinding or dragon taming, but that's beyond my expertise," Heinz concluded, clearly waiting to take his own turn now.

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  "Thanks for your help, Heinz," Albrecht said.

  "Don't thank me yet. Now it's my turn, and my question is simple and direct: How exactly did you survive that fatal injury?"

  Albrecht hesitated. Suspicion lingered heavily in his mind, making him wary.

  'I've already revealed more than enough by showing my lack of knowledge. Heinz and Selene clearly know each other. It's too risky to trust either of them entirely.'

  And while he didn't trust Selene, he believed that there was a reason why she didn't want to tell Heinz any information.

  With that thought, Albrecht's answer was clear.

  "I don't know."

  "What?!" Heinz exclaimed. For the first time, he seemed shocked, even stunned.

  "You can't do that. We made a Divine Vow.. you have to give a proper answer," he added, clearly upset.

  Albrecht got up from the bed that he had been lying in since Selene had carried him into the storage room of the inconspicuous flower shop.

  "I don't see what's going to happen. How could some Vow even know what Information I have? I don't know how I survived."

  This was obviously a lie. While he didn't know the full details, he definitely had enough information to tell Heinz a few things, but he simply didn't want to.

  He also thought that there probably were ways to verify information. There were probably ways to check one's heartbeat with magic or maybe even view his memory.

  There was also the possibility that some kind of being or magic spell was always listening to everything, although that seemed more unlikely. Still, it was a magical word, so anything could be possible.

  But all of that didn't even matter to Albrecht simply because he had no reason to be afraid of the consequences.

  Heinz was still in shock, so Albrecht used the opportunity to simply get up and leave.

  "Wait!" Heinz shouted, but it was too late. Albrecht was already stepping out..

  Suddenly, brilliant golden sparks erupted around Albrecht, violently igniting the air.

  The room flashed with blinding light, furniture splintered, flowerpots shattered, and shelves were sent crashing to the floor. Yet, amidst the chaos, Albrecht stood unharmed.

  [Innate Ability - Mirrorbound]

  You can shift any physical damage you receive to another world, causing that realm to bear the impact instead. However, the usage puts a significant strain on your mind.

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  [Innate Ability - Mirrorbound]

  He had taken a significant gamble by acting so boldly. There had been no guarantee Mirrorbound would protect him from Orithiel, the celestial who had sanctioned their Divine Vow.

  Yet Albrecht had carefully considered this risk. Heinz himself had made the distinction between gods and celestials, implying celestials were beings of lower rank.

  Though powerful, they couldn't compare to true gods. At least, that was what he hoped.

  'I mean, what kind of god would bother approving vows between humans? Compared to them, we're nothing.'

  But even so, the attack from Orithiel had been instantaneous. There had barely been time between the appearance of the golden sparks and the violent explosion that followed.

  Without Mirrorbound, Albrecht knew he would have died instantly.

  He could feel the mental strain gnawing at him, threatening to break his concentration, but he couldn't afford to deactivate Mirrorbound yet. He needed to endure, at least until he was certain the danger had truly passed.

  He could hear the angry Heinz shouting something behind him, but it seemed like he was too afraid to go anywhere near Albrecht, afraid of being hit as well.

  When he stepped outside, nothing looked familiar. He hadn't been able to focus while Selene carried him, and now he had no idea where he was.

  The only thing he knew was that he had to find Thereon.