Chapter Twenty-two: Purple Embodies All
The sorcerers all surrounded the unconscious Walter, all of them cladded in white robes which were as white as snow and as pure as babies. Their faces were calm, exuding serenity and warmth.
For sometime, they stood without saying a word. It was probable that they were saddened about having to purify and kill the Destined One whom they had so waited for. They hadn't expected that Walter was the Destined One so they were aggrieved about ending the young man's life. But then, this was necessary as Walter would be relieved of his ill feelings and allowed to rest in Paradise. They weren't purifying him to remove all forms of evil from him. No, no one can do that as a Destined One was immune to stuffs like that—stuffs which would affect his very nature. Rather, they were purifying him to enable him ascend to Paradise instead of Helluva.
Blessing of Hellenes!
One of them spread his hands apart, taking the initiative to purify Walter. He didn't want to delay as no one knew when an accident would arise capriciously, making them unable to react on time. Destined Ones and Fated Ones were very mysterious.
At that moment, they saw a mirror fly out of nowhere, standing betwixt Walter and them. The mirror was round with golden frames, exuding powerful auras. This mirror was none other than Imaginary Cluster who had been hidden with Walter all along!
"A Mind Spinning mystical item!"
All of them had the same thought as they immediately cast their spells against the Middle Array item.
"Humph," Imaginary Cluster scoffed in sarcasm as its surface reflected all the sorcerers. By doing so, it made their attacks boomerang them.
The sorcerers couldn't help but put on defensive spells as their attacks were amplified and reflected towards them. What a terrifying mirror!
Without wasting time, Imaginary Cluster exchanged the fate of one of the sorcerers and Walter, making the sorcerer unconscious and Walter conscious! Before any of the sorcerers could counterattack, countless stars appeared around Imaginary Cluster and Walter, shrouding them. When everything cleared, the duo were gone.
"An Astrology School mystical item!" the sorcerers shuddered as they stared at the spot where Walter and Imaginary Cluster had been. The mystical item was equal to the Array six, Fate Warlock of the School of Astrology! That explained why they were caught unaware and couldn't react in time!
They weren't disheartened as the mystical item was nothing but an Array six item. Even though it was Mind Spinning Array like them and planetary level, their Arrays were still higher than it as they were Array seven, the peak of Middle Array!
~
Walter and Imaginary Cluster appeared in a lonely spot in Lurchester, somewhere far from the sorcerers.
Walter who was confuse about the whole event took the initiative to ask, "Where am I? How did I get here?"
"Master, I saved you!" Imaginary Cluster said excitedly as a blushing emoji appeared on the mirror.
Master? Walter was surprised that he was called Master by Imaginary Cluster but then he remembered that he was the Destined One and the mystical item had discovered since it was with him since.
"Up till a few moments ago, I never knew you were the Destined One," Imaginary Cluster said in a flattering manner. "Accept my utmost reverence."
Walter was dazed for sometime and then stood up. Looking around, he asked, "Those sorcerers are still at my neck. How do I escape?"
"Escape?" Imaginary Cluster said. "The only way you can escape is leaving Duchy."
"That's not possible with the magical barriers erected around the country!" Walter exclaimed in horror. If he couldn't escape, he would be in a great danger as he knew the sorcerers won't waste anytime in killing him. Now that he had thrown the Book Of Mysteries away and it had mysteriously disappeared, they won't bother listening to his explanation.
"If we can penetrate the magical barriers, we would escape to Knyghtdom and start life afresh. No matter how powerful they are, they won't be able to sense your location due to you being the Destined One—you'd be undiscovered. Also, the seas surrounding the three countries bear mysteries upon mysteries. For an unknown reason, when people are traveling through the seas, it's like they are lost in an endless abyss and are undiscovered. The ships travelling on the sea have routed which they follow to avoid being sucked out of existence on the vast sea. In such a situation, the sorcerers can't locate you."
"I still don't understand why," Walter said, staring at Imaginary Cluster. He was referring to the situation whereby sorcerers cannot locate people on the sea. If Middle Array sorcerers were planetary level, why can't they locate people traveling on the sea? Shouldn't it be an easy piece of cake to spot people?
"Hehe, it is believed infinite dimensions overlap with the vast sea," Imaginary Cluster said. "Attempting to locate people would be akin to searching people through infinite dimensions. That's why the sea is called Sea of Infinity. The reason the ships can sail through the Sea of Infinity and still get to their destinations is because they are Array six items from travelling through dimensions."
"Another mystery," Walter sighed. In just a lite time, he had discovered that almost everything was mysterious (if not everything). Why did the Goddess create things to be mysterious?
"So, how are you sure the sorcerers won't locate us?" Walter asked Imaginary Cluster. He wanted to go into hiding since he couldn't leave Duchy.
"It isn't sure," a voice resonated across the whole surrounding, exuding a powerful aura.
"Cut the crap," Imaginary Cluster said. "I'm not an 'it'."
"..."
Walter couldn't help but shiver. The sorcerers had caught him again! How bent were they on killing him!
He watched as several sorcerers surrounded him, glaring at him. Their eyes were filled with coldness which made Walter's Magical Body to shiver. These were the same sorcerers he had managed to escape from.
"You won't understand," Walter said. "Just let me go. I don't even have the Book Of Mysteries."
He wanted to reason with them so that they would pardon him. He wanted to tell them that stealing the Book Of Mysteries wasn't his choice but he had to do it anyway to save his family. He wanted to explain a lot of things to them.
"We have no reason to understand you," one of the sorcerers said indifferently. "Your act caused the lost of thousands of lives. Your friends died. Even Damien Hastle died."
"..."
Walter was momentarily speechless. He didn't know what had happened since he was giving the mystical item to Castor. He was disheartened hearing that the head of Arcane Safety Department had also died. Everything had happened all because of him.
All because of me, he muttered inwardly as he stared into oblivion. I have cause so many deaths, why should I live again? Why should I continue running with the thought of causing so many deaths? My wife and daughter are dead. My family members are gone. Even my Boss is dead. Everything happened because of me!
He turned to Imaginary Cluster and said, "Do not try to protect me. Just leave and let me die."
"Master..." Imaginary Cluster was shocked. A sad emoji appeared on the mirror as it said, "Master, I'm your servant and must protect you."
The sorcerers watched as the two conversed, relieved that Walter didn't put on a struggle with them. He was willing to be purified and killed so that the evil thought in him won't spring up and corrupt him more than he had been corrupted.
"Hehe," Walter let out a hollow laugher. "This is my destiny and even you can't change it." He then turned to the sorcerers and said, "Just purify me already and make me have peace."
His words were filled with calmness which penetrated the hearts of the sorcerers. They couldn't help but sigh as they stared at the young man who was once a promising Arcane Guard in the Arcane Safety Department. Sadly, they still had to do their jobs. They were about purifying Walter when they felt an impending danger!
At that moment, the whole surrounding turned purple. Everything was clouded in a purple haze, blocking the senses of the sorcerers.
"With purple comes royalty,
everything succumbing to it.
With purple comes power,
everything bending to it.
With purple comes chance,
nothing standing in its way.
Purple embodies all!"
Illusory and melodious voices filled the surrounding, drilling into the ears of the Array Seven sorcerers. They couldn't help but be controlled by the influence of the purple haze, their Magical Bodies weakening for sometime.
Immediately, a crack appeared in the air and a figure stepped out of it. The figure was cladded in a hooded robe, dispelling a powerful demeanor.
"Lex Talionis," the figure said as it nodded at Walter. Its voice was light and soft, obviously feminine. A woman.
"..."
Walter who recognized the voice couldn't help but shudder. With all manner of perplexity he called, "Purple Lady?"
"Hehe," Purple Lady chuckled. "You haven't changed one bit. You're still the same old you, bullied by me the second time."
Before Walter could reply, he and Imaginary Cluster were sucked into the crack. Purple Lady stepped into it and the crack vanished afterwards. Immediately she left, everywhere became normal.
Seeing that Walter had escaped the second time, the sorcerers couldn't help but show their surprise. Walter sure had powerful companions! He had succeeded in escaping twice!
They had to do something once and for all to prevent him from escaping again. They didn't want to let him slip from their fingers, not when he had committed so many atrocities.
~
Southern Border, Duchy
Old Gee stood on the deck of the ship which sat on the blue sea near the harbour. He was waiting for Purple Lady and Walter to turn up so that they could escape from Duchy. For years, he had been building a mystical ship like this which could travel in and out of dimensions using the sea route and he had finally created one. He couldn't help but want to try his hands on it.
Several ships were anchored, the crew and passengers drinking and eating at the bars which were scattered all over the harbour.
Old Gee stared at the sea gulls which encircled the blue sky and a smile lit up on his face, "Like these gulls, I'd had quite an adventure!"
At that moment, everywhere turned purple. A crack appeared in the air, Purple Lady, Walter and Imaginary Cluster coming out of it. Everywhere became normal and the crack closed.
Walter who still had a shock expression plastered across his face became more shocked after seeing Old Gee. What exactly was going on?!
"We meet again," Old Gee said. "I guessed you were the Destined One."
"Why did you save me?" Walter ignored the statement and turned to Purple Lady. Then he turned to Old Gee and asked, "Why am I on a ship?"
"Two questions fired at two people," Imaginary Cluster said. "But why do I have the feeling that I'm left out?"
"I saved you because you're the Destined One," Purple Lady smiled. "People like us who believe in hope won't want to see our hope shattered."
Old Gee, seeing that Purple Lady had answered her question, said, "This ship can travel in and out of dimensions. The magical barriers can't stop us as the ship is ready to sail. Hehe, your escape would be smooth."
Walter who heard the explanations didn't have another question. He just stared at Old Gee, Purple Lady and Imaginary Cluster with narrowed eyes. To him, it seemed everything had been planned from the beginning. He now got why Old Gee sold him Imaginary Cluster for 100$. It was because Old Gee suspected he was the Destined One and wanted to protect him!
"Into the Sea of Infinity we go," Old Gee smiled as he activated the spells on the ship. Immediately the ship began moving, billowing through the waters.
"My real name is Audrey," Purple Lady said with a smile, removing her hood. "And I'm from the School Of Astrology."
Not Thaumaturgy? Walter resisted the urge to frown as he stared at the young woman. He then said, "And I guess he must be from the School Of Alchemy."
"Yup!" Old Gee said. By now the ship had become transparent, entering into another dimension.
"So I'm surrounded by Science Form magic peeps," Walter said. Then he asked weakly, "What next now?"
"We travel to Knyghtdom, you change your identity and start life afresh," Old Gee said.
"Start life afresh," Walter muttered the words with sadness. He stared back at the place he had grown up and lived.
"Now you'd need a disguise as a cold swordsman befitting of your pseudonym as Lex Talionis," Audrey said. At that moment, Walter was transformed into a young man cladded in black leather trenchcoat with a black-hilted sword strapped to his right side.
Walter noticing the transformation couldn't help but stare at Old Gee and Purple Lady Audrey, wondering who between them had casted the spell. Then he sighed, "A new life."
The ship penetrated the magical barrier, entering into the Sea of Infinity. It trudged forward slowly, leaving Duchy. And this may be the last time it would see the shores of Duchy.