Shuoyue Calendar, April 5, 325.
The day after Thor's birthday.
Rhine City had held a celebration yesterday, but Thor, the guest of honor, hadn't shown up at all.
He had completely forgotten his own birthday. Two days before it, he'd conducted a special experiment that left him unable to leave home for several days. It wasn't until the next morning that he found a tiny cake outside his door.
It was shoddy, to say the least—not even any frosting. Just a thin birthday candle stuck in the middle. From the burn marks, it had been lit, but quickly blown out again.
"Is this a cake or a loaf of bread?"
Thor picked up the cake, but there was no one outside. He had no choice but to go back in, finish it in two bites, and then head out again with the results of his recent research.
Since returning from the Wall of Sighs, Thor had focused on two things: trying to get used to having eyes, and urgently studying the Soul-Fixing Needle he'd obtained from Sand.
The Anchor Point that had suddenly appeared in the Storm Sea made Thor feel that time was running short. The Black Tide seemed no longer content with sending a few Rotten Monsters into the Wizard World. It seemed intent on bringing out the most terrifying Pollution Sources from within. The miniature Witchcraft Array on the Soul-Fixing Needle, which could restore people from Alienation, was clearly just as important a defensive and healing measure as the Inertia Formula.
Two days before his birthday, Thor had finally finished analyzing the entire Witchcraft Array.
With the help of his Diary and a great deal of Fate Power, he'd managed to complete an experiment that might otherwise have taken him over a century of research.
With the