CAERA DENOIR POV:
I stood against the wall of the classroom, absentmindedly staring at the students performing their class routine. My mind was in a mess as several conflicting emotions raged a war against each other, eating away the peace that I had built up in the past few months.
Lenora's words echoed through my mind, threatening to break everything that I have been working...building—with Grey.
'...this is for blood'. "Screw the blood!"
My hands tightly clutched the pendant Grey had given me as I reassured myself that I will do whatever is in my power to keep Grey safe; to keep him by my side.
Suddenly, a voice rung out, snapping me out of my emotional turmoil. Kayden had spoken from the classroom; being his assistant, I was about to react but...I realised that he wasn't calling out to me. No, he wasn't even looking at me.
He was looking outside the classroom, to which I followed his gaze.
Just as I did that...my heart skipped a beat at that sight, as a silent gasp escaped my open mouth.
My eyes widened and my face flushed off colour. A high pitch voice shot out of my mouth, only for me to regret it immediately. "G-Grey? W-What are you doing here?!" I asked as I stared fixedly at his face, ignoring my own blunder.
I was so tempted to glance over his form; his usual white tunic clung to him like a second skin, while the curtain of blond hair looked messy. His brows were slightly furrowed, as he had the face he usually did when he was talking to Regis mentally.
'What happened to him?' I wondered. 'He's supposed to be in his class.'
Soon, his golden eyes turned to me as his face visible relaxed; and I swear in the sovereign's name that his skin gained a bit of colour. My breathing stopped for a good second just as a smile formed on his lips.
It was rare to catch him smiling, so I had always... My thoughts trailed off as a figure shot past me towards Grey.
"Hey, Grey! This is a surprise, for you to visit me that too during the class hours." Kayden said, his voice filled with glee as if he was talking to a lifelong friend. 'How I forget that they have already met...', I thought inwardly. Grey turned his gaze to meet Kayden's as he spoke. "Yes Kayden, and I'm sorry to bother you—" Kayden cut him off before he could finish.
"Don't fret it. What can I do for you? Is this about the secret meeting that I wanted to attend. Are you here to invite me?" Kayden laughed. Grey's lips curved up in an amusing smirk, as he glanced towards my side. I kept my eyes fixed on his, more curious about this 'secret meeting' that Kayden was referring to.
Grey replied back with his usual tone. "Of course not. Because there isn't any meeting to attend to. I'm here to see Caera. If its okay with you, can I borrow her?" Kayden exclaimed in surprise, but he kept his cheerful tone. "Right. No, not at all. Class is about to end anyway. So, get going, you two." He turned his gaze to me, his face flashing a teasing smirk.
Ignoring him, I watched Grey in surprise as he walked towards me. 'Why does he want to see me now? Did he figure it out?', my heart fluttered as millions of thoughts buzzed through my spinning mind. But everything froze in an instant as my focus turned to Grey...his smiling face. It was an awkward smile...one you would flash when you've done or seen something embarrassing. Although which one? I didn't know...
"Hey Caera, I-I need to talk to you." He said with a tone; the one that he uses when something is bothering him. I gave him a stiff nod in return, as my mind raced through all the possible things that he would want to talk to me now.
Just as I moved, the sound of siren rang through the halls indicating that the class was over. Soon the students inside the classroom ran out of the classroom, as if escaping from a S-class monster to keep their lives. Moving myself to the sides, I let the little mongrels pass through. Many greeted me, although mostly boys...their eyes not meeting mine and face lecherous.
Once most of the crowd had left, I shifted my gaze to Grey who was standing outside the classroom casually, looking over at me. This made me want to speed up on my tracks and I moved, while a conversation between some of the boys in my class reached my ears as they walked past me. "Bro, looks like she's taken!" One of the shorter ones said looking over his shoulders at me; while the lankier one next to him replied in a surprisingly spiteful tone, his face crinkled. "But why would she date that guy? He...seems so...weak!"
I was taken aback when those words reached me. I didn't know which one to be surprised about. That they think that, Grey and I...are dating. Or the statement that Grey is weak.
Before I could assess their words, the last of the boys bellowed at the two. "You serious? He's the guy who broke the mana shackles with bare hands! You wanna take him on? Besides, I heard my father say that he is quite close to the Highblood Denoir's."—he paused to look around before he spoke in a soft tone—"Maybe he'll marry her too. So, stop trying for something impossible, man. And keep your mouth shut before he hears us and kicks our asses."
I stood there with a stupefied face, unable to digest the words that had been spoken by the boys.
Was I mad at them? Yes, I was. But is it because of what they said? I-I wasn't so sure about that...
My words stuttered even inside my mind, as the thrilling thought made my heart flutter, and my face warm up. I immediately looked up at Grey, who was still standing outside, hoping that he hadn't caught my blush.
I also studied his reaction, curious as to see how he'd react to those words. His left eyebrow twitched as he frowned ever so slightly; his face turned to the one he would make while talking with Regis.
A quick disappointment fell over my face as my shoulder's slumped.
He approached me, as his eyes looked sharply at the boys; the three flinched as they ran away, disappearing from our sight. He walked close, before halting in front of me. "Are you ready?" he asked as he reached out with his arm. Without missing a beat, I lifted mine and slid it inside his; I was inwardly surprised at how easy...and natural it felt, to do so.
I looked up at him, my eyes against his. "Where are we going?" I asked curiously. "I must say that I was really surprised to see you come to me."
His arms slightly jerked at my words, and his face stiffened. Now I was really curious to know why he came here. "I was wondering..." he started. "About...?" I spoke in a rush. His words paused as his eyes locked with mine, studying my face. My breathing stopped, as I felt conscious about my...looks. 'Why is he looking at me like that? Is—Is he going to ki—' my inner thoughts got cut off as my face paled at his next words. "About, what you were going to tell me the other day at the library, before the kids interrupted us."
My steps faltered at his words, making me stumble on my tracks. He quickly grabbed onto me by our interlocked arms and supported me...something he had been doing a lot lately. "Are you okay? What's wrong? Do you feel sick?" a barrage of questions left his mouth as his face showed signs of concern. I was as happy as I was nervous.
Without answering him, I just stared fixedly at his face...much longer for it be normal.
I let out a soft sigh, without breaking my stride.
"And here I thought you missed me, Grey." I said in a causal, almost teasing tone. While inwardly my mind ran circles as to choose my next words. 'What do I say?'
Suddenly I was reminded of the things I had done, while I was with him the last time. The memories making my blush visible from a mile's length.
'By the name of Vritra, why did I do that?! Why did I hug him? I...got overwhelmed. To make things worse, I did the same in the library. Now I'm embarrassed to even look at him. Just kill me.'
His voice grabbed my faltering attention. "Sure... At least Regis did, didn't you buddy?" he asked with a teasing chuckle as he looked down at himself. Suddenly a head of shadow wolf popped out of Grey's torso, its face looking up at me...or rather my—
"Regis", I bellowed, making the wolf look up to my face. "Hey Caera. Guess what?" he asked in a joyful tone, ignoring mine. I was momentarily confused at his reaction, which seemed to break the tension Grey's face and tone had built up earlier. I flicked my face between the professor and his pet, before fixing my eyes on the pet wolf. "I'm really bad at the guessing game. Spit it out, what is it?"
As the wolf spoke, all air left my lungs, and my throat went dry at the two words, that I had so badly wanted to hear from the day we met. "Paint this as your lucky day, cause princess here is going to tell you about his past!"
'...his...past...'
I replayed those words in my mind, for a few hundred—if not a thousand times in what seemed to be a few seconds.
A series of tugs at my arms broke me out of my illusions as I snapped my head to the side to glare at Grey, who seemed to be calling out to me. He flinched at my peering gaze, but I couldn't be bothered by it. "I-Is it true? Is—Is he telling the truth?" I asked, my tone dire as if I just heard the worst news of my life. I couldn't help it, as it was my yearning.
I begged it to be true.
A look of surprise rose up his face, as his eyes studied mine. He shoved the wolf's head back inside his body, before speaking out loud. "No."
That one word...the one that I never wanted to hear from Grey; the one that I never wanted him to utter from his mouth. It shot through my heart, breaking the bubbling up anticipation as it crumbled into nothingness, leaving a space of empty hollow.
"I-I'm sorry Caera", his voice spoke, trying to fill that space.
I lifted my head up to meet his, my messed-up mind still curious as to see what new excuse the man is going to give me now. "He—Regis...was playing with you. I actually wanted to know—" he stopped his words as his eyes studied my disgruntled expression. I knew what he was going to ask, I was expecting him to repeat the question; the question about why I've been acting differently for the past few days...if not, weeks.
But to my surprise he didn't. "Let's—just go back to my room if it's okay with you? Or we can talk lat—"
"No!" I cut him off before he said those words. "Yes... We can go now..." I gripped my hold on his arm, tighter as we strolled forward.
Outside, my face was calm and impassive as it has ever been; while on the inside, I was...relieved. Relieved that the time hasn't come yet.
After all, I knew what would happen if it ever came out. If I ever tell him that my adoptive parents no longer needed him to serve them, and that I will not be attending the academy with him anymore...
I wasn't so delusional to think that I was of any real value to Grey. He doesn't need my blood's protection; even if he does, my mentor would go for his aid, without any request from the Denoir's or even me.
Why would he need me?
Why would he ever need me, to stay with him?
If I ever tell him the truth about my blood's intentions, he's going to leave me. Or...simply, let me go and, vanish...as if he never existed.
I'm of no use to him.
Then, his words from our past echoed through my mind...
["Have you finally decided not to kill me, Grey?"
"You're no use to me if you're to die..."]
Sudden goosebumps rose up from my back, as my hold around his arm reflexively tightened. He took a peek at me, but I ignored him; ignored everything happening around me, as I focused my thoughts on what to do...what should I do to keep myself useful—no, make him realise that he needs me. To make him understand that I'm worthy of his respect; worthy to stand by his side.
'There's only one way forward. I need to know his past. I need to anchor him to me. It's my time to act, as it's very clear that he isn't going to.' I thought inside, trying to create a clarity inside my messy mind.
As I was thinking this, I felt his arm leave mine. Panic overtook my body, as I reflectively pulled his arm back, closer to mine. A soft laugh from him, made me snap my head towards his. I was initially surprised about his demeanour, but it didn't take me long to understand what had just happened. And his words, hit me like the cold water on a summer day. "Well...we can stand in front of my door all day, if that's what you wish." His tone teasing, as he patted my hand which had pulled him back.
We were in front of his suite.
I quickly lowered my head, down and away from his sight. My voice, soft as a petal. "S-Sorry. I-I was...", I trailed off as my face blushed in embarrassment. Letting his arm go, so that he can unlock his door, I stood there watching him work.
My hands fidgeted in nervousness and my heart thumped in rapid successions as I waited for words to come out of his mouth. "Come on in", he said casually. Walking inside...more thoughts drifted into my mind. 'What if one day I open his room to find him gone? Would I be able to tell any difference?' I wondered, as I looked around his empty room.
Shaking my head off those unnecessary thoughts, I found a chair to sit on. He went inside his bedroom, before coming out in a new tunic; it was black, and it fit his 'lithe form' perfectly; its colour a starkly contrast to his milky white skin. 'You look great', I wanted to tell him but, I held my tongue as I focused on his face, while I waited for him to say something, anything to ease this boiling up frustration inside me.
ARTHUR LEYWIN POV:
Looking at Caera's face, her fidgeting hands...it wasn't difficult to see that something is bothering her from the insides. I wanted to ask her...again, but I was afraid she would get mad at me; or feel offended. At the end of day, she was helping me, while getting nothing in return. We don't go on ascents more often these days, as I have to focus on the academy while unlocking the relic. If it was up to our previous agreement, she should have left already.
But she didn't leave. And my mind couldn't understand why? Why is she still here when she has nothing to gain from me?
'She already thinks that I don't trust her enough...what would she say if I start questioning her motives; her motives for staying with me.' I shook my head and dismissed those thoughts.
'I should let her open up to me.' I decided inwardly, before taking the cylindrical relic out of my dimension rune, to divert my mind.
Walking to my bed, I sat on it as my hand rolled the cylindrical relic to study the patterns. I have already tried everything, imbuing aether, to mana; looking for any records of similar runes at the library. But nothing seemed to work. 'The damn thing won't open.' My eyes studied the lock-shaped pattern for a millionth time, as I tried to find any new insight, if there was ever one.
Soon, I felt a movement out of the corner of eyes, as I noticed Caera standing up from the chair. "Sorry Caera, I was thinking about the reli—", I wanted to apologise for almost ignoring her presence, when she closed in and spoke quickly. "What does it do?", she asked with her eyes glued to the relic in my hand.
"Hm, did I not tell you?", I asked in confusion. She shook her head. "No. You did not. I only heard that the Dragon chief...Drakos, gave it to you. But—"
"Yeah, sorry...I must've forgotten about it." I replied quickly as my hand scratched the back of my neck. "This relic is a map." I started. Her ruby eyes which were sullen till only a few seconds ago, grew wider as they gleamed like two precious gems. Her voice exuded a stark curiosity as she got closer to me. "M-Map? Map to where?"
A soft chuckle escaped my mouth, both at seeing Caera's sudden change in mood and being back to her usual self. I felt glad on the inside for my friend, while I answered her question in a beat, not wanting to let her suffer for answers. "Map that can lead us to the last known hideouts of the Djinns."
Before I could finish off my sentence, a loud gasp escaped Caera's throat as she jerked in surprise. "D-Djinn. Yo-You mean the an-ancient mages?", she stuttered. I opened my mouth to answer, but she kept going. "So they are alive? Where are they hiding? Wait! Are they really hiding, or do they live among us? And why did you not tell me about this sooner?" she sang a short poem, making my head spin when I tried to start answering her questions.
I shook my head in exasperation. 'She's a feisty one, isn't she?' Regis spoke from the inside, his voice filled with surprise and amusement. I stifled a laugh, gaining Caera's peering ruby gaze on to my face. I froze. "What's so funny? Do you not trust me enough to even tell me about this? Is this something personal too?", she asked, her tone more accusing than questioning.
Letting out a soft sigh, I pushed the shadow wolf out of my body. He came out yelling a string of curses, which would have made any normal person bleed from their ears. Caera grimaced her face, as she glared at the shadow wolf. "What the fuck? I was meditating on your core. Why did you push me out?" he yelled out.
Ignoring him, I quickly spoke to Caera, who's face was red and her body brimming with mana as her dress fluttered like she was standing against a cyclone. "It was Regis. Now that he's out, he won't bother us. We can talk. So sit down."
Caera visibly relaxed to my words, as she turned her attention to me; but she didn't sit. "Explain." Was all she said in response.
I quickly explained her about the possibility of ancient mage's survival and how using this relic map we could practically find out ourselves. She almost jumped up in joy, her former demeanour nowhere to be found. 'And she's a scary one. You should watch out, Art. Don't make her angry.' Regis said mentally. 'That's usually your job, Regis. And guess what? You're pretty good at pissing people off.' I shot back. 'And who do I blame for that? Wait! You! Your crappy attitude from your past life is leaking onto my mind space. So if you want to blame someone, then blame yourself princess.' He retorted.
Ignoring his strong remark, I looked back at Caera. She had walked closer to where I was sitting in my bed; her upper body bent forward as she studied the relic in my hands. 'Thank God, Regis isn't inside me. He would've made a commotion if he saw this vie—' my thoughts were dismissed when I heard Caera spoke up. "We couldn't find any runes similar to these; even from the library archives. That means, either no possible runes of same type exist...or it means the zones with these types of runes haven't been explored by anyone." She said in a soft voice which seemed like she was speaking to herself rather than to me.
I let her mind wander, hoping she would find something that I couldn't. not wanting to interrupt her thought process, I tapped the opposite of my bed, gesturing her to take a seat. "Sit." I softly whispered. And she sat quietly; her eyes never leaving the relic.
Seeing her undivided attention, my lips curved up as I pushed the relic close to her.
Caera lifted her head up to meet my eyes, but it only lasted a brief second before she grabbed the relic out of my hands. Her ruby eyes studied every inch of the cylindrical relic intently. Her scarlet lips rose and fell like the flower petals against the soft wind, as she murmured inaudibly with a thoughtful face.
'Focus, Arthur.' I said to myself, before dragging my gaze away from her face.
Her slender fingers slowly ran along the length of the cylindrical relic, as she rolled it around her palm of the other hand. Regis laughed inside our mental link, and I didn't have to ask him why. I tried to admonish his lewd thoughts when Caera let out a gasp. Her lips parted away, and her eyes widened. She then looked at me. "You said none of the runes we found were similar to the ones on the relic. What if these runes only exist in the zones that...say, someone like you, could enter? We know that only you were able to enter the dimension where the Djinn projections were. And you have received runes from there, wh—"
"...which means, my own runes that I have gained, might work." I finished for her. I quickly shot up from the bed, as my arms crossed to grab the tip of my tunic. Just as I was about to take it off, Caera yelled. "WAIT! WAIT! WHAT IN THE NAME OF VRITRA ARE YOU DOING?"
I froze.
I realised what I was going to do, so I tried to justify my...slightly inappropriate actions to Caera, who looked red as a rose. "I-I am trying to take a look at my runes. That's what it means, right? Hehe" I laughed awkwardly as my face blushed, matching hers.
Caera opened her mouth to answer but stopped when the sound of laughter from Regis echoed throughout the entire suite.
"Hey, this is his room. So, you should be the one embarrassed here." He said while pointing at Caera. She kept her face unreadable, but the unmistakable redness of her cheeks only grew more. She let out a huff before she spoke up. "You don't have to—take off your clothes...for that." I was initially confused at her words, but soon my eyes grew wider...when she took out a paper from her ring and drew a series of rune symbols before handing it to me.
My runes symbols.
I stared at her flabbergasted. My mind spun around to process what she had done. Regis's loud laughter broke me out of my sudden stupor. "This—This is very interesting. Now, how did you know how his runes looked? I don't remember him showing you. Hell, he never even showed anyone, not even me. I was only able to see it since I'm inside him!" He spoke choking on his own words due to the laughter he was trying hard to hold back.
Caera's face turned red, covering her entire face till her neck. She defensively put her hands in front of her and moved it in a placating manner, while her head dropped down, letting the curtain of navy-blue hair fall over to hide her features. Her soft, meek voice sprung from behind the curtain. "I-I knew it because I drew it and sent it to Scy—my...mentor. Nothing else."—she lifted her face back up and swiftly parted her hair to the sides, as she looked at me shyly—"Remember, when you said I can send whatever I want, to my blood and my mentor, so..." she trailed off as she fidgeted with the paper in her hands.
Regis laughed. "That wasn't what I asked. I asked how did you see—" "Regis, shut up." I cut off my companion and walked close to Caera. "It's okay. Thank you." I said in an apologetic tone, biting back a smile, before taking the paper from her hand.
Caera visibly relaxed as she shrunk back on my bed. She looked like she was about to pass out. "You can lie down...if you want" I said, as she slowly turned her sweating face to my direction. "Just you..." I added, reinforcing my words to paint it appropriate. I was expecting her to retort back, but she kept her silence as she plumped back on to my bed; her hands spread out, in what one could call as very "unladylike". But I kept my mouth shut, feeling that she had already gotten the day's dose of teasing's.
I walked over to the lonely chair sitting in the room and rested on it. Just as I did that, her soft voice made me lift my head to her side. "Spending my day with you...is very hectic and unnerving to my weak heart. It's like I might pass out and fall down any second." She said softly.
My mouth opened to ask why, but she didn't seem to be finished with hers. "Even though it is just for show, it still shows your rare talent."—she said as she lifted her body off the bed to sit up. Looking at me with a soft gaze, she continued on—"your fake runes, I mean. If your real 'god-runes' were shown off..."—she shook her head as if dismissing that thought—"...imagine if you had your real runes showing off what they can actually do. Like your "Step of God" ability, that you use to teleport yourself and...others. If everyone knew about that ability, if they could figure out what those 'god-runes' actually meant, they might try to find it for themselves, albeit stupidly... They would think that the rune would help them teleport inside the Relictombs from their homes, and not use portals. And if they could actually find those runes....everyone going on ascents would keep the relics they find to themselves. And our continent would have been in chaos." I was taken aback by her words, while my mind deeply pondered at them. "It won't actually happen, right? Because, thankfully, the runes you gained are in the zones that are locked for normal ascenders..." she finally said. "Y-Yea—"
I froze. My mind displayed a sudden clarity, reacting to her words.
"Now I know the answer! Caera, you're a genius!" I shouted out.
Immediately shooting out of the chair, I reached the bed and grabbed the relic that was sitting on Caera's lap.
She eyed me curiously, as I placed it in my palms...
'If anything that can work to open this lock leading to a hidden dimension of the ancient mages, it must be related to the space-branch of aether.'
I thought as I activated my 'Spatium God-rune'; soon the purple sparks from my lower back coarsed through my veins as they reached my palms. Several sparks erupted from it, as tendrils of purple quickly enveloped the cylindrical relic as they slowly moved around its surface.
The three distinct symbols on the relic surface started glowing as my heart started to beat faster at the sight. Soon, the entire lock-like symbol lit up in a bright purple hue before it started to break. My mind panicked at the sight, but it took me a while to understand what was happening.
Once the entire rune symbol was broken off, the relic finally opened.
I held in my breath, not wanting it to affect the already crumpled structure of the now broken relic. Moving my other hand, I was about to part the broken pieces away to study the insides when...the entirety of the scroll-shaped relic turned into what I could see as a blob of purple—aether energy.
It slowly hovered on top of my palms before it started to sink down...sink inside...my hand.
Caera gasped in surprise, but she kept her silence as she understood that this was important and not to be intervened.
I dare not stop flowing the aether from the 'Spatium God-rune', as the sparks coming out of it slowly reacted to the purple lump of energy, as if grabbing it with its tendrils, as they pulled it inside my palms. I felt a warm sensation as the energy that entered through me, buzzing as it travelled forward, before reaching my mind.
A sharp pain erupted from the core of my mind as I clung my hands to the sides of my head and knelt down. Several foreign noises and images prickled through my mind's defences. My eyes squeezed shut, as I tried to focus on the sensation. It didn't seem like it was trying to hurt me or take over my mind.
It felt like the voice was trying to talk to me; to show me something it has always wanted to show.
I felt a hand shake my shoulders and caress my cheeks, while Regis's voice was heard as a distant muffle inside me. But I zoomed it all out as I focused on the settling feelings of the foreign voice, letting all the information it was providing me to sort it out in my mind space. It went on for a few minutes, before I felt normal again, albeit sweating profusely from my head to toe.
Caera's voice rung next to my ear, as I focused on her worried tone. "Grey, what just happened? Why are you sweating like this? What's wrong with your head, does it hurt?" but, I couldn't answer back as my mind was filled with a refreshing thought of accomplishment.
A large grin appeared on my face at that revelation. It then turned into a laughter. Finally...finally, I did it.
I finally understood where the Djinns were.