Inside the deep green forest, where countless branches cover the sky leaving only a few open patches where the light can reach the grass-covered dirt, the mage and the necromancer walk side by side through an almost completely hidden path, but still somewhat visible if one looks close.
"You weren't joking, that's the most boring and plane life story I've ever heard, and as a priestess, there have been many" Ann says picking up a broken branch in the ground and poking Das.
"Told you so" he replies, poking her with his staff, both laughing playfully.
"Das?"
He looks up and sees Drachen, whose sight is enough to immediately yearn for an embrace, for that support he so desperately needs after what he went through. A feeling that his longing stare seems to perfectly tell to the orange fairy as she falls to the ground in her human size and hugs the young archmage tightly.
"I figured this mana was yours" she then looks at Ann, grimacing "and the stench yours" she shakes her head vigorously as she lets go of Das.
"Good morning to you too," Ann says sarcastically trying to poke Drachen with her stick, who lets the bothersome tool go through her.
"I'm glad to see you again," Das says taking a step forward "Is he close?"
"I'm glad too, and yes, only a few minutes more of walking for you, unless you two want to fly there," she says flying above the trees to make her point "we are far away enough from town"
"I don't want to take risks" he replies moving forward, Drachen quickly coming down to float next to him.
"I wondered where had you gotten to," Ann says to Drachen "I always thought fairies didn't care much about mortals"
"Most don't, millennia of meeting people and seeing them go away, tends to dull your reaction to dead...you are immortal yourself right?"
"I suppose I am, although I've never been chopped to pieces or fallen into a pit of lava, it's safe to assume I wouldn't be coming back"
"Aren't you curious to test it out?" Drachen says smiling from ear to ear with her dozen shark teeth.
"No, thank you" she answers back, trying to poke her again with the stick, both chuckling.
Eventually, they reach a hill in the middle of the forest, which is not too large or tall, but it does have at least a dozen of tombstones. Barely recognizable as graves and not mistaken by weirdly shaped stones due to how old and crudely made they are.
In the middle of it, there is only one that can be clearly recognized as a gravestone. It is quite small, the surrounding grass overgrown with flowers, roots, and grass. Das knows that to be unintentional work of Drachen, who like a fairy, has tears that heal and grow life wherever they fall.
"I was hoping you would come, but not so soon" Drachen slowly draws near him "And, I felt great sorrow when I saw you. Did something happen while I was gone?" she places her hand on his shoulder.
"A lot" he replies taking down his hood "But I will tell you about it later, I want to be alone for a moment"
Drachen looks concerned, but nods and turns around, flying up to Ann and immediately pinching her nose "Come stinky" her comment earns a scornful stare from the necromancer, who obliges walking back to the forests "Take your time, we won't be far" she says to Das before disappearing into the woods.
Das watches them vanish, and suddenly it's only him and the faces of unknown souls surrounding his father. After a moment of hesitation, he advances up the hill, it isn't too difficult, but his legs are heavy.
His eyes fall on the grey gravestone of the man with whom he shares blood. And in no time he stands in front of it, looking down the name written, Vater.
Letting his staff float to his side, he takes a deep breath. He stands silently for a moment, looking around, then back at the gravestone, fidgeting like an awkward child that has to speak in front of a big group of people.
"Well, to be honest, I'm at a loss for words" he chuckles "I mean, what am I supposed to say to you? I imagine Drachen must have said all the nice things anyone ever would for a man like you. She loved you"
His eyes see each individual flower that grew due to her tears, they are white, yellow, and blue. So small and fragile.
"And the King was kind enough to allow you this, final wish. Maybe he thought you deserved as much after the genocide you committed. You too really hated mages after all didn't you? Did you ever wonder how I figured it out? How did I discover this secret? You probably remember nothing"
He looks away from the grave and focuses on the woods, his voice rising.
"Locked up in your tower, making me read all those books, you just, told me EVERYTHING. Like if you were reading me a bedtime story. Looking out of the window like a fucking lunatic. But you were insane already weren't you? Ever since the beginning, since you were born"
His eyes fall again on the grave, as his brow deepens and fists clench.
"How many have you killed? even when you were a kid, burning down your village by accident as you told me, trying to teach me that I was dangerous, that I was a menace to everything and everyone I loved. That no matter how much I tried, or how much I was given a chance, in the end, it would all mean nothing. That I was destined to lose it all because of what I am"
He points at the grave, enraged.
"You brought me to this world! I never asked to be born! I never wanted to be locked up in a room, every day drowning in books, or to be taken from my mother by force because you feared I would repeat your mistakes! If I was such a menace why didn't you just, KILLED ME?! I could have been happy! If you had just let me be with my mom when she meant to take me away, away from YOU!"
His eyes turn red as he grows louder and more frantic in his movements. Loud enough for Drachen and Ann to hear the muffled shouts.
"You could have stolen some coin and given it to her for us to live far away from everyone in peace, or just, I don't know, DO SOMETHING! Something else than forced me into slavery with that monster who rules this kingdom, why did you have to doom me to follow your fate by spellbinding me to his voice and the voice of his lineage like you did to everyone else?! Didn't I mean SOMETHING to you?! All Sunday's bringing me and Lioth apple pie to eat, you thought I was grateful? You knew I loved mom's pie, you knew I loved the town I grew up in and you knew I hated YOU!"
With each breath and word, fire escaped his mouth, like a dragon.
"I hated you when I first saw your face in the day, I hated you when you pretended to care by bringing me sweets and caring for me when I was sick, I hated you when you told me jokes and taught me simple magic tricks, I hated you, I HATED YOU! I HATE YOU!"
Das hits the grass in front of the gravestone with his feet, stomping and kicking it furiously, soon dropping to his knees and beating it with his fists. Then, he screams, yells filled with anger, with wrath.
Until he ends up breathing heavily in front of the gravestone, the red of his eyes slowly fading away and his voice, weakened and breaking.
"But I hate the most, that you were right...I can't protect anyone, I can't even when I try my best, when I think I'm close to doing something right I fail. Or worse, I hurt them"
His watery eyes close and the image of Ida sends a revolting sensation in his stomach.
"I can't even protect a child, even to her I was a burden. All this magic, all this power, and I can't do something as simple as that, and even then when I can kill a dozen bandits, It's not enough. It's never enough"
He opens them again, and tears fall down as presses his head on the ground, both hands clutching the earth in desperation.
"You always told me to not think too much, because that would drive me insane. But if I don't think I hurt people, but if I do I hurt myself. Now the clock is ticking and I don't know how much I have left. I can't tell Drachen, not now, it would break her heart" His voice is a whisper, a whimper.
He stays there, breathing heavily and erratically, until he calms down a bit and raises his body from the ground, still kneeling, he cleans his hands from the torn grass and dirt.
"I don't know what to do, dad. I don't want to fail them anymore, I don't want people to look at me like a monster when I have done nothing to them, I have never done anything to them" he sits down, his stretched arm holding the weight of his body "I'm tired and I wonder if this was how you felt too. I know you hated mages, all of them, you included and I hate you too...but, did you hate ME?"
He looks up to the clouds in the sky, seeing a few birds fly away in flocks.
"Did you really hate me?" he whispers.
Some time passes and he stands up, cleaning what's left of the salty tears from his face with his cloak.
"I guess it doesn't matter the answer to that question, you can't really give me an answer anyway. I don't know what to believe, a part of me, even if I hate you, wants you to love me, to treat me like your son and not like a mistake...a part of me wants to love you so you aren't as alone as you must have been all those years"
He kneels down one more time, taking one of the badly damaged flowers in his hand, with some energy and light, he heals it, growing in size even. He plants it in the middle of the messed up overgrown surrounding the grave.
"I'm just talking for no reason now...I guess that what I want to say is, rest in peace, wherever you are, dad. I suppose you did your best"
It has grown silent where Drachen and Ann are standing, the orange fairy looks at the ground, her ears pointing down. Until they perk up to catch Das's feet as he walks up to them.
"Das..." she says softly, quickly flying up to him and embracing him in a warm hug.
"It's alright, I'm fine," he says carefully moving her away "I'm sorry if I was too loud, and you heard things you didn't like"
"I know your relationship with your father was complicated at best, and he did do things deserving that disdain, but all that matters to me is that you got some type of closure to it. When people that have marked us leave, no matter if good or bad in our life, we need closure to grow or heal"
They share a silent, loving stare as she embraces him one more time, this time, kissing him many times on his face causing the young archmage to blush and quickly try to break free without success, hearing Ann laugh.
"Let me pamper you before you grow too old!" Drachen exclaims squeezing his face with her hands.
"I'm not a kid anymore" he replies grabbing her hands and moving them away.
"By immortal terms, you are but a toddler!" Drachen smiles widely at him and flies away, going above the trees.
It is then that something happens, something changes in the air that sends every nerve in her on alert and she turns around to look at the faraway town, knowing it comes from there.
Ann's mocking comments and Das's embarrassed replies soon disappear as she concentrates to identify the emotions she is feeling...fear, horror, shock. And that taste in the air, that smell...iron? no, more than that.
"Blood" she whispers "and death"
"Drachen, there is something I have to ask of you..."Das says to her, meaning to ask her help in performing the mind-reading spell when he hears the distant bells of the town "the bells...something is up"
"It's like before!" Drachen says flying down in between him and Ann.
"Before?"
"Like Eversmile. I can smell the same type of magic, necromancy" they lock eyes for a moment, before Das flies up above the trees to look at the town.
He tightened his grip on the staff, his mind running wild with memories and emotions, the sensation of the heat, the smell of the fire, of the burning flesh it all comes back.
"Then that means he is here" Ann says now flying next to him.
The Phantom.