He wipes some of his tears and laughs, "Haha. Are you like okay? What does that even mean? Like seriously? Hello? I'm right here, Sophia."
"Oh, please. Don't mock me. You're horrible you know? A horrible actor."
"Hm? Acting? I'm being real here. Very real."
"You're emotions they're real. I can believe that. But the real Bradley has to be the Shadow Beast. And if he's the beast, then you must be someone else."
"Oh, and who could I possibly be? You're being ridiculous. I really thought that an apprentice of Cecilia Ipruk would be better than this."
"Better than this? I'm the best! In fact I'm the best person you'll ever meet."
He rolls his eyes.
"You want to know something, 'Bradley'? Do you want to know why I know your parents' love was strained? Does the name, Darmae Farona, mean something to you."
His eye twitches again but he says coldly, "Pfft. That maid? From my childhood? What's she got to do with anything?"
She has everything to do with this! But, he's still not cracking. Not yet. She was hoping he would have a stronger reaction. Sophia tries a different approach.
"Hm. She's here you know? She told me some interesting things. If you were Bradley. You would remember her much more fondly. After all, you loved her a lot. Your cold reaction just now, is very suspicious."
//Might or might not be a lie.//
"You would believe the dead over me?"
Ms. Ipruk thoughtfully responds with, "The dead don't have much to hide after all they've already lost their lives."
"Oh, so you believe the nonsense your pupil's spouting too, Cecilia?
"Of course. I'm her teacher after all." her smile is icy, "Besides little one, there's so much against you here. Sophia's right."
"..."
"There's something that has been bothering me. After hearing your confession, about the barrier, I got to thinking, Gee what a talented young lad. 'Bradley' you said you're almost 30 years old?"
"So?"
"And you've been practicing magic for how long?"
"…a few years."
"Let me tell you something, no amount of talent could make a spell as strong as that. It would have had to be made by someone with a lot more experience."
"Okay, so I didn't make it then."
"No. You did make it. Why? Two reasons. One, you wanted to hide what Mr. Johnson created. If you paid someone else to do it then there would always be that risk of it getting out. Second, the magical energy of the barrier, it's yours. It's your energy. Tell me how that's possible?
"I…"
"You did it. Somehow, you gained years of experience in a short amount of time to make your magic powerful. How is that even possible? Unless, you're not really 'Bradley' after all."
'Bradley' gives a soft smile.
A smile of defeat?
"Yes. You've caught me, Ms. Ipruk. You've always been brilliant. I'm not really Bradley. I'm sorry for lying."
"I wish I could say it's nice to see you again, Mr. Johnson."
Sophia isn't shocked about his true identity but to hear Ms. Ipruk call him that, it's very surreal. She almost can't believe it. But it's the truth, this man, who's supposed to be dead, is very much alive.
//How?//
"I'm assuming you're going to explain why you're possessing your son's body and said son is in a Shadow Beast. Unless…"
"Yes. Yes. Yes. I will. I will make it clear that no, I didn't want this to happen. Not at all. I really did not think that out of everything, I would find myself in this very shitty situation."
Well, that's certainly one way to put it.
"You might want to sit down for this," They don't sit down. He does though, but on the ground instead. "It really started with the fucking accident. If I can even call it that. You see, it was my son's birthday, I asked him what he wanted and he shrugged and said 'I dunno, a dinner with the both of you would be nice for once', so I planned for that. I drove on the safest road and yet…"
"A Shadow Beast attacked you? I presume." Ms. Ipruk finishes for him.
"Yes. Yes. It came from the front but it was so sudden, I couldn't react fast enough… As we flipped over, all I could think to do was put a barrier around us, trying to lessen the impact… My legs were fucked up and everything was so painful but I managed to crawl out from the car and I pulled my wife out with me, just barely but, I was too late. My wife… she didn't make it."
"What about Bradley?"
"He also managed to get out of the car but he was in a worse condition than me. Something punctured his side. I did my best and probably sloppiest healing ever but I was losing him. I could feel his soul slipping from my grasp. I-I..."
"Go on."
"I thought, I can't lose him. I can't lose my son. He's the only person I have left… I-I simply grasped at his soul and forced it back into his body…"
//Forced it back in?!//
"Is that even allowed? Is that even safe!? How in the world…"
Ms. Ipruk nods though, as if she understands perfectly, "That's Spiritual Magic. You used it?"
"Yes. I've been using it for a long time now... But. But. I was too weak myself. The spell, it backfired horribly…"
"So, that's how you found yourself in a different body?"
"Yes. I blacked out for a while probably only a few minutes but when I came to and I saw my own body lying dead in the cold ground. I-I panicked! I was confused. I didn't know what happened to Bradley. I thought I died myself and he disappeared. I tried moving but then I realized that my body… it wasn't mine."
"How did the Shadow Beast come into all of this?"
"Well, after I came to the conclusion that I fucked up immensely, I heard a low growling behind me. I-I braced myself for death, at least I'd join my family, at least I tried saving my son but it didn't attack me. Instead it picked me up and carried me back to safety…" he sighs deeply, "It didn't take me too long to realize that it was Bradley."
Ms. Ipruk and Sophia give each other a look.
Sophia asks this time, "So what exactly bought you back here?"
He looks at her as if she grew two heads, "Ha! Where else would I go?"
"I do not know but, if I was you, going back to my ruined mansion would not be a priority."
"So your assuming I came back here on a whim? Hmph. You saw my room right? That's why I came back. I've been trying so hard to fix Bradley but I haven't had much luck."
Sophia furrows her eyebrows, "You realize that if you do that… where will you go?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as my family's back. I don't care what happens to me. I'll do anything."
//Anything?//
Ms. Ipruk crosses her arms and tilts her head, thinking for a moment. Then she says, "Mr. Johnson, I think my biggest problem with all of this, morals aside, is that you didn't tell us the truth."
"Hm. Would you have believed me so easily, Cecilia. Actually, you probably would have. I guess I just wanted to see if you were trustworthy and legitimate."
Sophia frowns, "What do you mean exactly?"
"You see. I'm stuck. I need help. And only Ms. Cecilia over here can do it. You're smart and clever. From our discussions and your deductions, that much is clear. I can trust that you're capable of fixing Bradley's soul."
"I'm still confused. I mean without a doubt, she is a great wizard! Even then how would she-"
"Um Sophie…"
"She's the founder of Spiritual Magic. If anyone can help me, it's without a doubt, Cecilia Ipruk!"
"Excuse me? EXCUSE ME? MS. IPRUK? IS THAT TRUE!"
Ms. Ipruk deflates under her glare, "Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"Listen, Spiritual Magic was already there. I just gave it a proper name and wrote out… the essential theoretical groundwork for using it… Anonymously."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME! Do you enjoy making me look like a fool?!"
"Of course not dear! I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want to tell anyone. Like I said, the magic, the potential was already there. All I did was write down my theories and hypothesis. The scriptures I wrote I made them anonymous and hard to find. If someone truly wanted to learn how to use that kind of magic based on my ideas, then they would have to work for it, be extremely devoted. It's just too risky to work with if not given the full devotion it needs. I wrote them almost two centuries ago! I was young and naive. I didn't realize that creating theories for a magical system that is already flawed would bring about problems. I met some fellow wizards who began to practice it, and some were successful even with their strained souls but others suffered greatly. This is one of my biggest shames."
"..."
"I'm so sorry dear. I hate hiding my past but I just didn't want you to be in danger."
//Ah. It's always that. You're worse than mother sometimes, treating me like I'm fragile. Ms. Ipruk, you should know that I won't break!//
Before Sophia could say anything, Mr. Johnson interrupts, "I was right! Then, you'll help me? You have to help me! I just want my son back."
"I made a promise to help Bradley and even though I was deceived that promise has not changed."
"Thank you… truly Cecilia, I am in your debt."
"Let's go find him. Right, Sophia?"
Sophia says, "I want to help him but there's something wrong here."