"𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.
𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧: 𝙉𝙤 𝙀𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙."
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"𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘺? 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘭?"
"𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
"𝘞𝘩𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦?"
"𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦."
"𝘞��� 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴: 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙩."
-----
Kryva snapped out of her concentration, her breathing uneven.
What had just happened? What was that she just saw?
The last time she saw a vision was just half a week ago. Were they memories?
If so, whose memories were these? If it was the future...whose future did it belong to?
But most of all, why was she seeing these events in her dreams? Was it a side effect of gaining the Eye of Delusion?
Now that she thought about it, hadn't the Supreme Oracle been too silent? He only appeared to tell the noble world about the quest to attain the Sacred Artifact, Aurora Diemque.
But no news of anything after five weeks.
What was the point of all of this dramatic quest if there was essentially nothing to help them? She knew next to nothing about Luna seeing as she had never asked Houvdon or Zylaorfier about her, and she was sure the nobles knew that she herself had never left her manor before that day.
Did the Greater Beings really want to send out a small group of mages to find a weapon that will be able to change the course of fate itself?
Houvdon said that all six Sacred Artifacts were powerful, each one holding a specific unparalleled power. He had told her Aurora Diemque was able to advert fate, essentially being given the ability to create miracles...
Would it also be able to manifest the miracle that Houvdon once wished for, and the one that she desired?
-----
The ice magic of the mages from Nihlahim rained down atop of the Knights that were attacking his own group. Water magic also came downwards, freezing from the cold atmosphere. This frozen water was frozen in such a way that they became naked blades of ice, raining down alongside the already crafted ice from the Frost mages.
He heard screams of pain as the flesh of Verilius's Knights were ripped apart, their armor doing nothing to protect themselves from the rain of frozen blades.
Only a single minute had passed by since the Knights had unleashed their first volley of arrows.
He blinked. Or was it two minutes? He had lost count somewhere in between and was only estimating now.
He breathed outwards, his boiling rage calming as his core relaxed just slightly. Even with this relaxation, his magic core hummed in anticipation, ready to be used at his own disposal.
The last of the arrows struck the barrier as Verilius's army changed from offensive magic into defensive magic. Multiple large barriers formed around them, protecting them from Houvdon's counterattack.
His own group's barrier faded and not a single second after it disappeared from in front of him, Houvdon stretched his hand out, his eyes glowing brightly.
A dozen blades were summoned in front of him, each one glowing with enough power to completely decimate a small house.
By his own will, all twelve shot at a rapid pace, aiming directly for who he can easily identify as Verilius due to the uniqueness of his armor compared to the rest of the bodies around him.
The tides turned. He was able to hear the physical manifestation of their magic, their barriers, crack under the pressure of his own attack.
He looked up, meeting the eyes of Zylaorfier despite being so far away from each other. They were able to simply know what the other was thinking.
They nodded at each other, understanding what was going to happen next. Even without speaking a single word, and being right in front of each other, the powerful duo had already taken the next step in his counterattack.
Two pairs of eyes, blue and gold, glowed with such intensity it can only be compared to the brightness of the Sun itself.
Power erupted from three different individuals at the same time.
The first was from Houvdon Archelio, his golden glow illuminating the entire valley that was bathed in darkness due to the scorching heat of the attacks exchanged between the two sides.
The second was from Zylaorfier Pentajis, his cold aura covering each individual blade of grass and every surface of the dirt with frost.
The third was from Verilius, the Vice-Commander himself. He had finally bothered to use his own power, the last two minutes he had spent watching his own Knights protect him and themselves. His power could only be compared to a lesser Sun as he drew a blade from his side, holding it above his head as aura covered the blade.
Except that blade from his side never should have been there, his waist never holding any sheath or sword. It was as if he drew it from an invisible sheathe.
Both Houvdon and Zylaorfier released their power together, winds of a blizzard pushing the Knights to the side with little difficulty as the valley's shape amplified the force of the winds. From Houvdon's open palm did an unseen force leave him. He manipulated nature itself, using the natural light from the Sun for himself.
His affinity was Light, it was only natural he was able to control the purest of all light.
Through the power of only two mages, did a snowstorm full of golden luminance begin. The harsh blizzard completely overpowered the shields of the army, each flake of snow enhanced with Houvdon's Light. Every individual flake held the power to pierce through the shields of the army, who were clearly used to being the one on the offensive.
Yet, it could not pierce through the shield of Verilius, who covered the remainder of his knights with his own protection.
"Interesting. You truly are interesting Retainer."
His voice was clear as day, not even straining under the stress of having to create a shield strong enough to resist the blizzard yet still big enough to cover the hundreds of knights he had with him.
"You came under the guise of a fair fight, hence why I only brought this small amount of my army. Turns out, you did take advantage of my kindness."
He turned silent, his covered head turning sideways, as if he were observing the icy wind that attempted to pierce the shield. Houvdon did not say any words back to him, concentrating entirely on powering the blizzard with his Light, just as Zylaorfier continued to keep the ice storm ongoing.
"You are indeed worthy of my time. Until our next meeting."
Houvdon furrowed his brow at Verilius words. After mere minutes of what can barely even be considered a fight, did he intend to-
Before the thought even finished in his mind, Verilius had already vanished alongside the fallen and standing Knights.
The only sign there was even a battle was the scorched and liquefied ground.
-----
"Cheers!"
The mages cheered as they tapped their wine jars together.
They celebrated their victory. It was rare for mages to drink two days in a row, with the Festival the previous day, to the celebration after the battle today.
Yet, to be able to win versus an unknown enemy they didn't even know about since a couple days ago?
That was an achievement.
Especially considering their group had only been together for mere hours.
Kryva lowered herself beside Houvdon, who sat alone in front of a fire.
"What has you all down? Didn't you guys win?"
He curled his hand into a fist, pressing his thumb against his lips as he rested his elbow on his leg. "Yes we did. But...something feels off. He simply disappeared without putting up much of a fight. He has faced my power before, it isn't something to be surprised about."
She sighed as she scooted closer to the Prince, the distance between them turning into a few centimeters. He shifted, but didn't move away from her close proximity.
She didn't say anything else, pondering as to why Houvdon was acting differently now. He was able to hold her drunken self close, but he couldn't even sit next to her sober self.
An idea popped up in her head.
"Mi amor, are you by any chance, shy?" She fought off the smile that threatened to break out on her face.
"I have no interest in such matters." He turned his head away looking off into the distance, his words not even close to answering her question. It was a simple yes, no, or silence.
She took notice of his slightly pink cheeks that others would have mistaken as the reflection of the fire.
She smiled to herself, feeling giddy due to her ability to make the emotionless and cold Houvdon feel awkward and unsure. Her smile grew a little bit wider as she realized that he did not say anything about her calling him love.
She decided to test further, grasping his hand and intertwining her fingers in between his. On the inside, she felt unsure about this bold move of hers, but Houvdon only lowered his head, his ears a light shade of pink.
They sat there without saying another word, both of them faced away from each other, their linked fingers causing them to become shy.
Kryva cursed herself. She was the one who took the step to touch him and now she was feeling even more nervous than him.
"What are you guys doing over here? Oh-"
Kryva widened her eyes as she attempted to pull her hand away from Houvdon's at the same time that he tightened his hold on her fingers.
They gave each other a look, blaming the other for Zylaorfier seeing them.
Houvdon released her hand as he pulled his back to his lap, shifting himself so he put some distance between him and her.
"So..." The Frost mage trailed off looking between the two of them. Houvdon recovered quicker, his red cheeks turning back into its natural color.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." Zylaorfier chirped, handing one of the two wine jars to him. "Just wanted to see what got our Princess and mighty Prince so uncomfortable that you two have just been sitting there awkwardly for ten minutes. Even a blind person would be able to see the tension between the two of you."
"It's none of your business." Houvdon shot down Zylaorfier's inward question that was mixed in with his words. Normally, someone would have seen Houvdon as rude, but the two friends have been together for such a long time, they were able to pick up the other's habits.
Even if they sometimes wondered if the other had a screw loose, they were able to understand the other.
In this specific instance, Zylaorfier was asking Houvdon what had happened that caused both of them to be so flustered despite spending the majority of their week together. In fact, they didn't even spend more than a few hours apart in the entire week total.
The Light mage couldn't find the courage in him to say that he and Kryva were what he suspected were soul-mates.
Zylaorfier tilted his head to raise his eyebrow at Kryva, raising Houvdon's ire. The Princess looked away, fidgeting with her fingers that still held the lingering coldness of Houvdon's hand.
"So..."
"No." Houvdon shot down his friend's second attempt at getting the information about them, this time from the girl in question.
The trio sat in silence, the atmosphere extremely tense due to the teenage shyness between Kryva and Houvdon, and the interest Zylaorfier had in their current relationship status.
He had seen Houvdon willingly hold hands with a girl, something that had never happened.
He expected Luna to be the first one due to her closeness with Houvdon and their long history.
Kryva stood, her face flushed as she excused herself, retreating to any place but the area around the fire that was covered in an awkward atmosphere.
"So...?"
Houvdon gave him a look as he asked for a third time. The Frost mage raised his hands in surrender.
"I don't know. She makes me feel different." Houvdon finally decided to give a small bit to Zylaorfier, who perked up at being given practically scraps of leftovers, the relationship of Kryva and Houvdon so similar to that of a large grand feast.
"Different how?" Zylaorfier practically pressed himself against Houvdon's side, attempting to squeeze out even more information from the little he received.
"You make me feel annoyed, while Kryva makes me feel...lighter." Even the seemingly omniscient Prince found himself struggling to find a word to describe the young Princess that had entered his life so recently.
He could only sigh in disappointment at himself. He held even Zylaorfier and Luna at arms length away from him, yet he could do nothing but hold Kryva in his arms.
He looked up at the stars, pondering in his mind about what had transpired the previous day.
Kryva was interested in him. Her drunken self proved that. Whether it was from her inner desire to sate her youthful lust, or it was a genuine feeling due to their status as soulmates, she wanted to be close with him.
The thoughts ran through his head in a short second, his attention on his and Kryva's situation waning as he turned back to concentrate on his conversation with Zylaorfier.
"She already has such a large impact on you?" Strangely, his voice was quiet. It was quite unlike Zylaorfier to be unsure on what words to say next. Usually it was the other way around, with Houvdon being the one unsure with his words despite knowing what it was he wanted to say.
"I don't know." The Prince of Etherstorm pressed his palm against his face as he gingerly rubbed his eyes out of habit, rather than out of tiredness or frustration. "I'm just...confused."
There just might have been a bit of frustration in his motions.
"I mean, it has been a short time. Around a week? Maybe the thing between you two is nothing but a spur of the moment?" The native Nihlahim attempted to reason, which irritated Houvdon more than he would like, but he understood his friend was just trying to think things through logically.
Houvdon blinked as he felt something within him shiver. He turned his gaze upwards, his body practically vibrating with the sensation he felt.
"Houv-" Zylaorifer never got to finish his friend's name as Houvdon threw his hand upward, power practically exploding out of him in a single burst as he created a barrier over the entire encampment in a single instant. A loud collision sounded, so similar to the one in the valley as something struck the barrier that he had set up hastily.
The Light wielder cursed.
He should've known.
Verilius was back. This time, he was playing their game unfairly just as Houvdon was earlier.
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𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖓𝖉