In August's room, he sat on his bed with Mayra. They were not far apart from each other and they held each other's hand. Mayra had stopped crying by now, but she still had a sad expression on her face as she began to tell August about her past. August himself had a silent expression on his face as he listened on but did not loosen his grip on her hand as he comforted her.
"Just like I said to you earlier when we were at the office. My real name is Mayra and I am from the Ancient Medusa Clan, one of the 5 ruling families of the Kemono Empire. "
"Just like you already know, the Kemono Empire is a massive behemoth of an empire that occupies about 30% of the Sorcerer Continent. Located in the north, it comprises many lineages that have existed since the dawn of sorcerers. Some of these clans have faded over time due to war, diluted bloodline, among other reasons, but there are have been five major clans that have held the empire in place since its establishment."
"They are the Ancient Dark Crow Clan, Ancient Cyclops Clan, Ancient White Tiger Clan, Ancient Dragon Clan and finally the Ancient Medusa Clan. The leader of all of them is the mighty Ancient Dragon Clan and this hasn't changed since antiquity. Their biggest rival on the continent is the Supremacist Sorcerers Association (SSA) to the west and the Esoteric Sorcerers Guild (ESG) to the south."
"The reason these sorcerer factions, especially the Kemono Empire and the SSA are the hegemons of the Sorcerer World is because among the only three sorcerers to have reached the fabled ninth-rank sorcerer, two of them have come from the two factions."
"Moving away from the geopolitical situation in the Sorcerer world, let us look at the Ancient Medusa Clan. It is an ancient clan that was able to obtain the bloodline of an eight-rank otherworldly creature known as the Medusa Dowager, during the legendary universal war known today as the Antiquity War, which happened 5000 years ago."
"The clan is made up of only females as they have the most compatibility. It comprises an eighth-rank sorcerer, two seventh-rank sorcerers, three sixth-rank sorcerers and one fifth-rank sorcerer. These sorcerers are not in the Sorcerer World right now since a high-grade world such as the Sorcerer World, which has developed consciousness, forcibly ejects fifth-rank sorcerers and above from the world due to their immense destructive power which can pose a threat to maintaining the world's balance and stability."
"Hence these clan sorcerers have residences in outer space and other dimensions."
"Hence, the limit of the power allowed in the sorcerer world is at the level of a fourth-rank sorcerer. For these reasons, the clan's highest authority currently is the two fourth-rank sorcerers: Cleonese and Zeragise, my aunts."
As she said this, August could see a mixture expression of hatred, sadness and helplessness on Mayra's face and squeezed her hand gently. She looked at his kind eyes with a relieved expression on her face as her previous tension faded a bit and smiled faintly as she continued.
"My mother was a talented fourth-rank sorcerer as well and was likely to become a fifth-rank in her lifetime and this was something that her direct rivals, Cleonese and Zeragise did not wish to see. After I was born, it was found that the purity of my bloodline was the best to have appeared in the clan in 1000 years. My bloodline purity was so strong that it was possible for me to advance to at least a sixth-rank sorcerer."
"Competition for status and resources in the ancient clans was very vicious and the Medusa clan was no different. Cleonise's long hatred for my mother pushed her to attempt to steal my bloodline when I was eleven years old and then pass it on to her daughter, Claire, a third-rank sorcerer. Claire's innate bloodline was far inferior to mine and would at most, enable her to reach only the fourth rank."
"When news of this reached my mother, she tried to stop Cleonise but she got outnumbered when Zeragise allied with Cleonise and ambushed my mother. Although my mother managed to escape, she sustained life-threatening injuries and on her last breath, she cast a forbidden sealing sorcery on me she teleported away from the Kemono Empire before self-destructing her sorcerer tower with everything in it, including herself!"
"Before her death, she told me not to be sad and that she foresaw that I would find a person who loved me and protected me from my enemies and so I shouldn't give up on myself and live happily," Mayra couldn't help but clench her fists in anger and sadness as she said this.
"The forbidden sealing sorcery that my mother performed on me sealed away the fluctuations of my bloodline power within me which the two fourth ranks would try to sense in order to locate and capture me. What this means is that I can use my bloodline power and I would still be anonymous unless a fourth-rank sorcerer with a medusa bloodline was in front of me."
"The forbidden sorcery also changed my appearance a bit from my original appearance and hence what you are seeing is not my entirely true appearance."
"However the forbidden sorcery was not without its risks. After consuming the entirety of my mother's lifespan, the forbidden sorcery could only suppress and hide my bloodline fluctuations from Cleonise and Zeragise for 250 years. This means that by then if I am not at least a fourth-rank sorcerer by then, they would immediately detect me and capture me"
"Since the age of eleven, when I first found myself in the Mallevian region of the Eastern continent after the ultra-distance teleportation, I decided to join the Brander clan to further cover my tracks and improve my strength."
"To reduce attention I used a special meditation method to suppress my level from my then intermediate level to the apprentice rank 0 levels. This was done to reduce attention and suspicion from me when it came to my extremely fast cultivation speed due to my very pure Medusa bloodline."
"Also I did not lie to you previously when I said one of the previous intermediate sorcerers used to visit my quarters every night to spend the night with me. What I did not tell you was that he was under my charm every time he came to my room and he was placed under an illusion I created and thought he was making love to me."
"I behaved like I was weak and hid my true power not because it was fun, but because I was afraid of standing out due to my ability. I have had to live in guilt seeing my fellow apprentices die to followers of Black Hands due to my inaction. I hated myself for being a coward."
"That was until you came, August. You dealt with one enemy after another and you were brave, smart, and kind and you are a hero to many people here. I admire that about you. Even as an elite sorcerer I admit that I have not seen many people with your charisma and decisiveness in dealing with any situation
"That's my past in summary. You see what I am talking about now, don't you? My background is dangerous that was why I didn't want you to know. I wanted to enjoy those small moments with you for as long as possible. I didn't want you to get into something you were not prepared for. I'm sorry I did not let you know earlier."
August looked intently into her eyes before looking away, staring into the distance."It is alright, Mayra. I am aware of the risks as well. But my path was always going to be risky from the very start. I want to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. I want to reach the ninth rank and beyond. That is my dream. However, my power is not enough to do this myself. But if I had you by my side, then this dream of mine can become slightly possible to attain. That is why I also need you."
"If I can't save someone I care about from a single predicament then I don't deserve to walk this path. If we are one in this fight, I believe we can resist any foe. No matter how powerful. I also don't plan to die. So I am going to need your trust and support, Mayra."
"I also believe you are special and I don't know why, but I want to trust in your judgment," Mayra stared at him and said softly while placing her head on his chest. "I'm happy I found someone like you that I could lean on, August. Despite my talent, it would be still difficult to take down those fourth-rank sorcerers in the Ancient Medusa Clan. But with your help, maybe we can change our destinies."
"Yeah, that's right. I can assure you that the future would even be brighter than you imagined, trust me."
Mayra raised her head and stared into his golden pupils, feeling lost in their brilliance and after a while, she whispered softly into his ears gently before kissing him.
"Thank you for everything, August."