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The young lady deftly evaded, and deflected his attack with ease, causing Ethan to intensify his efforts.

Nicole frowned after deflecting Ethan\'s latest strike. The next thing she did was to lower her body and do a leg sweep, hitting her opponent, and making him fall on the ground.

"Let\'s stop here," Nicole said, her rapier pointing at the ground.

Her breath was still even, and she hadn\'t even broken a sweat, despite Ethan\'s all-out offensive.

The young man, however, was panting for breath, as he wiped the sweat that was flowing like rivers down his face.

"I can still go on," Ethan insisted. "Let\'s continue."

"No." Nicole shook her head. "If we continue, you will definitely get injured because your mind is elsewhere."

She then returned her rapier to her scabbard and looked down at Ethan with a calm expression on his face.

"Who are you fighting against, Ethan?" Nicole asked. "I can certainly tell that it wasn\'t me."

"What are you talking about?" Ethan replied as he propped himself up from the ground.

"You are exchanging blows with me, and yet, the opponent that is reflected in your eyes isn\'t me," Nicole stated. "Just who are you fighting against? Are you perhaps sparring with me, while thinking of the Wendigo that abducted Luna? I\'m hurt. Do I look like a vile Monster to you?"

Ethan\'s guilt caused him to avert his gaze because what Nicole said was the truth.

He was fighting her with the image of the Wendigo in his mind, and venting out his frustrations for the helplessness that he felt when the monster toyed with him.

"Don\'t do this again, Ethan," Nicole said softly. "If you don\'t look at the opponent in front of you, and see them for who or what they are, you will only get hurt. My fighting style is different from the Wendigo, and one careless mistake might cause you to lose an eye."

After hearing Nicole\'s words, Ethan sighed and looked her in the eye.

"I\'m sorry," Ethan replied. "You\'re right. My mind is in the gutters right now. I feel so lost."

"Is something troubling you?" Nicole asked. "Perhaps I can help."

Ethan smiled before asking her a question.

"What would you do if you woke up one day and realized that everything you believed in wasn\'t real?" Ethan asked.

"I didn\'t know you liked Philosophy, Ethan." Nicole smiled. "But, to answer your question, I\'d probably feel lost and troubled. Why? Are you having some kind of existential crisis right now?"

"Perhaps," Ethan replied. "Thank you for the spar. I\'ll go and cool my head off for now."

Ethan left the training room and rested for a while before taking a cold shower. It had been two days since he had attempted to talk to Emma, but the latter was determined to not meet him.

He even went to Schwartz Manor despite the fact that almost everyone there hated his guts. However, nothing happened, and the people there thought that he was harassing one of their people, forcing him to leave empty handed.

Chloe and Luna also felt that Ethan was not acting like himself for the last two days. Although they wanted to ask him questions, they felt that he needed some time alone, so they kept their distance.

After taking a shower, Ethan decided to wander around the academy with no destination in mind.

Nearly half an hour later, he found himself staring at the island at the center of the lake where He and Luna had done the ceremony to awaken his magical powers.

That was where everything started, and that was the first time that his other half appeared.

While he was feeling melancholic, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"I see a person that is looking for answers, and yet, when the answer is given to him, he refuses to accept it. Such a contradiction. But, that is part of human nature. Still, you being human is debatable."

Ethan didn\'t need to turn around because he didn\'t want to see the chubby black cat, who came and went whenever it felt like it.

Instead, he gave it a piece of his mind.

"Do you think I\'m not human?" Ethan asked as he continued to stare at the lake.

"Like I said, that is debatable," the Chesmire Cat replied as it casually sat beside the young man. "You look like a human, but don\'t smell like one. Maybe you are a halfbreed? Actually, you remind me of an old friend of mine. His name is Merlin, and he was one of, if not the most powerful Wizard during the Age of Myths. That was several hundred years ago mind you."

"Oh?" Ethan finally glanced at the chubby black cat beside him. "Tell me more about this Merlin fellow."

The Chubby Black Cat licked its paws for a few seconds before looking up at the young man, who was waiting for his reply.

"Well for starters, you\'re not him, and you are not related to him in any way possible," the Chesmire Cat said. "Now, where was I? Merlin, right? Um, this guy has a few screws loose in his head. He is a powerful magician, a seer, and shapeshifter. But, not many people know that he was also proficient with the sword.

"This is why during the Age of Myths, those who tried to assassinate that lunatic ended up dying because they thought that if they got close enough, they would be able to kill him. Bunch of idiots, really."

Ethan smiled. "Then, why did you say that I remind you of that Merlin fellow?"

"Because he looked human, and yet, he was not," the Chesmire Cat replied. "And the two of you smell the same."

The smile on Ethan\'s face disappeared as he looked at the chubby black cat that was looking at him with a devilish smile on his face.

"Are you saying I\'m not human?" Ethan inquired.

"You already asked that question earlier, Ethan," the Chesmire Cat smirked. "My answer remains the same. It is debatable. But, I can tell you one thing with certainty. The human part of you is greater than your other half. This much is true.

So, I don\'t think you will be growing wings and horns anytime soon."

After saying those words, the Chesmire Cat laughed before turning invisible. But, before leaving completely, he imparted a few words to the young man, who reminded him of his old friend.

"One last thing, Ethan. Do not let the shadows of your past, darken your future. The present is the point at which time touches eternity. Whether you do good things, or do bad things, the choice will always be in your hands."

Not long after, a gentle breeze caressed Ethan\'s face, as he continued to look at the lake in front of him.

He digested the words that the Chesmire Cat had parted with, and for some reason, he felt that the chubby black cat was right.

What happened in the past, was in the past, and regardless of his origin, he was the one who had the ability to decide what he should do with his life.

Also, the Chesmire Cat had stated that his human part was greater than his other half. He still didn\'t know what the Black Cat was implying, but it was enough for now.

Feeling a bit better, he decided to return to Dud Manor.

There was no use of thinking about things outside of his control. He would just focus on what he could, and wait till the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.