No matter how much my companions begged me to slow down I didn't. I kept running as fast as my feet would carry me. Shizuka was probably correct there'd been no way I'd believe her if she told me what was happening.
As I turned the last straight before home I'd seen Sir Roland standing outside with Uncle Miura and Sister Schild. Uncle Miura had been holding Sister Schild as she cried in his arms while Lord Sinclair had this frustrated look on his face. Before I knew it I'd been walking toward them. I had to know what was going on inside.
"I wouldn't peer into that abyss child... It's best if you hear it from them..."
For once this malevolent voice was being nice to me. Despite this desire, my Father always taught me to seek out the truth even if I didn't like it.
Sir Roland was the first to see me and he'd begin to lose his grip on his frustration. He turned to me and knelt placing his hand on my shoulder. "It's best if you do not go in there, lad... We should await Auberon."
"Lord Auberon is here?" I asked. He nodded.
"What happened!?"
Sir Roland closed his eyes trying to muster up the courage to speak. He then looked in the eyes and took a deep breath.
"Shortly after you left, your Father's condition worsened. The Sister and I tried giving him some of the finest remedies at our disposal, yet it was not enough. I'm... I'm sorry to say..."
Before he could finish, Lord Auberon exited the house. He'd been carrying someone in his arms wrapped in a white cloth. I'd been the first person he'd seen and it seemed to be too much for him.
"I-I'm sorry... Young man."
I backed away from Sir Roland. The scene before me had been so confusing. I couldn't make sense of anything. Father was supposed to get better, Lord Auberon said so. How in the world could someone... How could a cold do something like... No... No... No no no no no.....
I turned right around and sprinted in the other direction. I barely noticed that my companions had finally caught up with me.
"Wait Ragi!" I heard Rory shout.
"Ragi! Come back! Geru shouted as well.
But I wasn't going to listen. There was no way I wanted to listen. Nothing about that scene was right. I was supposed to return home to Mother and Father. I was supposed to tell them. I didn't know what running would do but maybe just maybe there was a chance that I'd been wrong. Maybe Father was just being taken to a better place to get better.
I couldn't be there right now. Everyone was acting like... They were acting as if...
No, I couldn't say it. There was no way I'd be able to say it. Telling myself that was only going to make it true, which it wasn't.
I'd periodically come to my senses enough to avoid any guards that came my way. Prince Fernando was probably still hunting for me and getting caught would undo Ophelia and Geru's hard work. I didn't know where I wanted to go but I knew I had to leave Rigel for a second. I wasn't going to be safe from the Prince or whatever grotesque lie was happening at my home right now.
It'd be some time before I found myself at Rigel's southern gate. It'd been open and there were two guards posted in front. There were likely some on the other side as well. I could easily outrun two but not four. If I could just get to the forest I could have some time to think. I could settle my thoughts and maybe try and understand what was going on. I checked for any power I might've had left and there wasn't much but a sliver. I tried digging through my brain for a spell that I could use to slip past the guards. Then I remembered.
"Quicken..." I changed and I could feel my body become energized with magic. I then bolted for the gate not thinking of slowing down for a second. The two guards both saw me and armed themselves with their lances. But they wouldn't catch me. As soon as I came out of the gate I headed through the forest path. Stopping to hide would only increase my chances of being found so I kept running.
The spell finally faded some minutes later and by that point, the Guards had given up the pursuit of me. I stopped to rest near a tree and sat down on the ground. It was from here I could finally collect my thoughts. But what was there even to collect? There was nothing. I'd seen the truth right in front of me. But maybe there was a way. Maybe there was something I could do to help. If I'd just stayed and told Sir Roland and Lord Auberon I could use magic I could just get a bit more and use it to save my Father. But I was a buffoon. I'd just run away instead of thinking straight. I'd been so cowardly to get away from something that could've been a sick lie that I'd just left.
Then what of Mother? My Mother... My sweet sweet Mother. I'd just left her there instead of being by her side. What kind of son was I do to just that?
"Child..."
There was that infernal voice again. Wait... No... That didn't sound right. The voice sounded a bit softer than before. It was almost like Mother's but it wasn't exactly hers.
"This way child... I sense your anger... Your sadness... Come to me."
Unlike with Osirian, this voice didn't compel my actions. I didn't feel sleepy or out of touch with my surroundings. I stood to my feet and began heading in the direction I'd been running before. For a few minutes, I didn't find anything until saw a bluish glow of torches. It was there that I found a temple sitting by itself. There were two Sisters of Faith standing guard with lances at the ready. It wasn't best to approach the temple. The Sisters were not beings to trifle with. But then something peculiar happened. Another Sister, one clad in blue armor mixed with a golden cloth emerged from the temple. She seemed to speak with her sisters for a moment. Then she looked in my direction. My first instinct was to take off in the other direction.
"No child. Do not run. They will not harm you."
It was the malevolent voice again. Trusting it was about as a good idea as running away from home. But the Sisters were more likely to catch me than the guardsmen. So I came out of the forest holding my hands in the air. As they approached me they didn't immediately aim their weapons. Instead, the blue-armored sister knelt next to me and held her hand out.
"Please. Fear not child. We wish to welcome you."
I didn't have any particular reason to distrust the Sister. Sister Schild never laid a finger upon me and to think about it, her daughter even saved me. So I took her hand. She stood and began to guide me into the temple. Once we were inside her fellow sisters continued to stand guard outside.
"You're a long way from home child," she said. "What brings you to our temple."
"I-I... Ran away from home... Something bad happened."
She clicked her tongue. "What a naughty child. You cannot run in the face of negativity. Only face it. What is your name child..."
"Ragi... Ragi Sunai..."
She thought to herself for a moment and something clicked. "The family name sounds familiar. It sounds like a companion of my fellow Sister Superior."
That's probably because it was true. But telling her that would lead her to talk about my Father. I wasn't ready for that yet.
"Well... I'm Sister Superior Olivia. But feel free to call me Sister Olivia or Aunty if you wish."
"Oh... Ok... Well then... Aunty, where are you taking me?"
As we turned to another corridor we passed by more of the sisters. They waved at me and seemed all smiles as we continued forth.
"A very special person wants to meet you. I haven't seen her this excited for decades."
There's someone within a temple of Sisters that wanted to meet all people.
Our small trek through the temple ended at a large set of doors. Standing their sides were two more sisters that held large greatswords. They stood aside for the Sister Superior and me and the doors opened. Inside was a large room that had a small bridge between two fountains. At the other end was a throne and a beautiful woman sat upon it. Her hair was this sapphire blue that looked too alluring much like the gem itself. She wore a ceremonial robe that showed much of herself but was still modest when it came to her more private areas.
But everything I'd been observing became instantly irrelevant when she opened her eyes. Their color... Their radiance. It was the same as mine.
The Sister Superior knelt before the woman and the doors behind us closed tightly. I didn't know what to do so I ended up falling to my knees as well.
"No Child... You needed to bow before me..."
Looking up at the woman she'd been smiling. There was a certain air of grace about her that was otherworldly.
"After all... There's no need for equals to bend the knee to each other."
She stood from her throne and began to approach us. With every step, it seemed like the entire world was shifting. Her mere presence bent everything around her as though she were the sun. What's more, power radiated from her presence. It was just like the same power I wielded not long ago.
As she reached us she held her hand to me. As I took it she pulled me to my feet and then examined my face. Every detail about me came under scrutiny, even down to a strand of hair.
"It is as I feared... You are him. There's no mistaking it."
"U-Um... Excuse me Milady... Who might you be?"
Her eyes widened. She seemed a bit lost hearing my question. But she collected herself and let go of me.
"Hmm... Let's see. How about I answer your question with a question? There are only Twelve beings in all of Polaris that command great power. Their lives are infinite and they have existed before this world even saw light."
I could chill began to run down my spine. My mind couldn't properly process the information that'd been fed to me. I must've looked as though I realized it because the woman place a hand upon her bosom.
"Yes... I am one of the Gods... I am Mana... Goddess of Magic. Ruler of all Sorcery."
I got down on all fours this time prostrating myself before the Immortal. "F-Forgive me Goddess I've been terribly rude to you!!!"
"No, please... I am the one who invited you into my sanctuary. Besides... As I said there isn't a need for you to kneel."
I shook my head, "No... I am not equal to an Immortal. There's no way I could even amount to someone with your wondrous powers."
There was silence for a moment. She then knelt taking her index finger and placing it under my chin. Lifting my face so that our eyes met her smile faded a bit.
"You do not know who you are do you?"
"I-I do... I'm just an orphan that was found in a village. My Mother and Father... They... They..."
Is remembered my Parents at the wrong time. I had to answer the Goddess. But wait maybe... Maybe I could ask.
"Your holiness... My Father. He's very sick, for some reason the others think he's-"
She placed her finger on my lips rending me silent.
"I know of Daedalus... Your Father. I'm sorry to say... But your Father has perished."
"N-No... You're wrong. He's just sick!"
She pulled me close to her and hugged me. She hugged me so tightly there was no way I could get her off. But I didn't even try. I knew exactly what she was saying. There was no hiding from it. No matter how much I begged her to do something about it I knew the one truth of this world. I knew it all too well.
So I cried. I cried as hard as I could. I held onto the Goddess balling my eyes out like a newborn. There was nothing I could do. If the Goddess couldn't save him, then what good could I possibly do?
A few minutes passed and my eyes reddened from how much I'd been crying. Lady Mana and Aunty sat with me until I'd calmed down. I knew I'd have to return at some point. But Lady Mana assured me I could stay as long as I'd liked. I didn't know why but. Allowing her to hold me made me feel so much better. Like I'd been with my Mother.
But now that I'd cried my eyes out I began to ponder everything. The first was why Lady Mana would even invite me into her sanctum.
Sitting up, I looked her in the eyes.
"How did you know about my Father?"
She pointed to her eyes and then held up her hand. A small orb appeared and inside was a view of our home. The angle it displayed was our living room. It was at a high vantage point meaning it had to be Father's staff. No one was home.
"This was the last thing I saw before your Father's life was extinguished. I'm sorry.
Everyone at home was likely looking for me. I'd worried everyone by dashing off into the night. I'd been so ready to return home before. But now I didn't wish to go.
"I was supposed to tell Father I could cast magic... Sure I might've gotten in trouble for using it against the Prince. But it was supposed to be a good thing."
The Goddess rubbed my head and held the orb to me. "That was exciting, wasn't it? Casting spells like your Father."
I nodded.
"There's not a being on Polaris that cannot cast magic, except the Sinclair bloodline. It's just you're a bit of a special case. Take this orb..."
As instructed I'd taken the orb from her. It was relatively light and I could feel the magic racing along my fingertips.
"Absorb the magic into your body. Then try casting a spell."
At first, I hadn't known how to do that. Then I recalled what I did at Concordia. Taking a large bite of the orb I could feel the magic seeping into my body. I became charged with magic once more. But now all I could think of was my Father. The sadness I'd felt began to swirl around in my head.
"Calm yourself, child... Channeling the magic like that will make it Malefic."
I took deep breaths much as Father and Mother taught me. The swirling feeling slowly subsided.
"How did you know I could do that?"
She pursed her lips and sighed. "It is because I know exactly what you are... There are Twelve of us that live among the mortals. Yet at one period in time, there were Thirteen. Your body... Your Mind... They were freed from the sword. You are my precious child who was created to be a weapon against your brethren.
"You are a God. Better known to the world as the Demon God Ragnakhet."