"Okay, let me get this straight. So, both of you are able to read the book that even Andra's program could not decipher, and somehow it contains information about Andra's condition. Is that right?"
The twins nodded while looking at me cautiously, as if afraid that I will not believe them. I just sighed, trying to keep my sanity intact in this complicated situation.
"So, what can you tell me?" They looked surprised, and I cannot help but feel a bit hurt at their distrust of me.
"Look, I can guess what both of you probably think right now. You are wondering, why do I believe your word that seems irrational, right?" They nodded collectively. "To be honest, I am tired of all of this superpower stuff that Sara explained, and I don't know what to believe. But I know for a fact that I can always rely on both of you and Andra, so you can tell me whatever ridiculous thing you read, and I will still believe in you. After all, family always sticks together, right?" They lowered their head, ashamed of their thought, or so I guess.
"Sorry.." I can hear Nina's mumble.
When I lowered my body to face their face, I can see their shoulder shaking, and there are tears in their eyes. Looking at their condition, I feel guilty, because their distrust of me probably grew because I haven't told them anything, even after Mama's death and Andra's collapse. So, I did what I think the best for all of us right now, I hugged them tightly, letting them cry for all of our misfortune this day
"I am sorry too, for not saying anything to you.." I muttered softly, rubbing their back.
They didn't talk and just rested their head on my shoulder. For a few minutes, the only sound that can be heard was the storm outside, raging over the forest. At this moment, even though the storm is raging on, I feel calm, calmer than in any desperate situation that I have ever experienced. After a very long, weird, bad day, a hug from the twins is definitely what I need right now.
After the twins stopped crying, I stared at their bright blue eyes intently. There are traces of tears in their eyes, but they are already putting on a strong face now. Good, they have let their feeling out. This means we can talk about serious matters now.
"Okay, first, I want you to know that while we are in a bad condition, without Mama and Andra, I will always be there for you, to protect you, to teach you, to listen to you, even to scold you. But one thing is for sure, I will always believe in you both. So, you don't have to be afraid that I will ridicule you, alright?" They nodded, secretly wiping the trace of their tears.
"Okay, if you are ready, can you tell me more about Andra's condition that you have read in that book?" I ask, pointing to the Blessing of Magus book. The twins nodded at each other for a moment before Nina speak,
"What Sara explained to you is basically true. But there is something she either didn't tell you or her family didn't know about it. Andra's condition right now is what the book called equilibrium, a coma condition for people who have successfully awakened their magus at a late age."
"This condition happened because people, or in this case, Andra, didn't train to be a mage since the beginning, so his body cannot bear the increasing soul power that Andra experienced after he managed to decipher some part of this book. And yes, you hear it right. The magus is not coming from the heart, it is from your soul, powering your heart, and flowing through your vein."
"And right now, the book is testing Andra's soul if it is worthy enough to gain the book's approval. And in case you are wondering this book has its own consciousness. It tells us that when Magus first created this book, he poured a little bit of his soul into it to test if the future holder is worthy of his power or not."
I closed my eyes, trying to process what the twins said. Honestly, it is getting more and more ridiculous every second. 'Magus? Soul? A book that has its own consciousness? If I keep thinking about it rationally, it will definitely fry my brain, so I better accept it for now,' I thought.
I opened my eyes and took a glance at the book that gives me more headaches than any battlefield I have personally experienced. Then, I turned my attention to the twins who is looking at me intently, waiting for my response.
"How much of the book's content that both of you believe to be true?"
"Honestly, the only thing we can confirm right now is the existence of Magus and Andra's condition. Anything beyond that is something that we need more knowledge and experience to prove. But I think you should just believe the book itself, if not for your sanity." Nina said the last part with a mischievous smile, while Cosma is giggling beside her. I snorted at them, shaking my head at their antics.
"Okay, back to serious business, girls. So, will Andra be okay?" They looked unsure at me before replying,
"We don't know about it. For all we know, the book said Andra is getting trapped in his past. It is the illusion world that the book created to test Andra's will. If he passed the test, then only the sky will be his limit. But if he didn't, he will join the long list of people who died because of this test in the past."
"What about Sara's suggestion? How could her help makes Andra's condition worse in the future?" I cannot help but ask, remembering what the twins said in the beginning.
"Well, if we are right, Sara's suggestion will have to do with waking Andra up forcefully by injecting magus into his body, slowing his own magus so his body can adapt. Yes, he will survive now with that method. The problem is, by injecting magus from outside of his body, it will also 'pollute' his soul, and in the process, weakened his body. It will be good for him if he can live for at least one year after that." I looked at Andra who didn't move even a little, then make a decision.
"Based on what you explained, I think it is for the best to let Andra's condition happen right now. Knowing it is a test for his will, makes me feel relieved for now. You know how stubborn your brother right? So, you better believe him." They nodded, agreeing with me. "The next problem is, what will we do after this?"
Silence once again filled this room. Then, suddenly, Cosma gives me an idea,
"Well, as we cannot do anything about Andra, why don't you help Sara with her sister? It will be a good cover for you to gain information about this place, and her family will owe us a favor. If they could see Andra is alright, they would have to pay with another method, right? Meanwhile, Nina and I can read the book to search for anything about magus and practice some of it. What do you think?"
I blinked, then look at her with a surprised face. Sometimes I forgot that they grew up with Andra, the smartest manipulative person that I have ever met.
After weighing the option, "Okay, we will go with the plan. Pretend you don't know anything about Andra's condition, and be careful of what you said around Sara. We still don't know if she is trustworthy enough or not. Don't test anything dangerous until you have someone to supervise or we are in a better environment, and if Sara did something dangerous, you have my permission to use your gun, is that clear?"
"Yes, Devin." They rolled their eyes at the same time, amused at me suddenly nagging like how Mama did in the past.
"I will probably go for three days. There is no signal phone here, so if I go, we will not have any communication for several days. Therefore, I want you to look at the book and find a way to communicate with each other like a phone, okay?"
"Devin…" Cosma muttered, her eyes wet again. I frowned, wondering what is wrong with her.
"When you are back and Andra is awake, we will bury Mama together, right?" She whispered softly, soft enough that I almost didn't hear what she said.
But when what she said registered through my ears, I can feel my heart stop beating for a moment. Nina froze at her twin, clearly not expecting her to mention Mama here. I cursed myself inwardly, wondering how could I forget about Mama. Suddenly, I took both of their arms and looked at their face to show my determination.
"Don't worry. After Andra wakes up, we will give Mama the best place to rest, okay?" She nodded without saying anything. Then, I turned my attention to Nina who is holding her sister's hand tightly.
"Okay, Nina. You will be in charge when I leave. Both of you, protect our family, okay?" I smiled as they nodded firmly, then hugged them tight and whispered, "I Love you."
-- Break --
After leaving the twin's room, I am going outside to check the weather. While still raining, the storm is already gone, and the sun is shining shyly behind the cloud. By the look of the sun's position, I can guess this is almost time for lunch. Fortunately, we had a lot of emergency food in our bag, so we didn't have to go hunt or something like that for food.
Then, I walked to the person who I was looking for, the source of our problem, Sara, and said with a cold face, "Tell me anything you know about Amasia and the day you and your sister got kidnapped." She smiles at my question.
"Good, you make a good decision to save your brother." I keep my mouth shut, not agreeing or denying anything.
"Amasia is a small village that opposes the existence of mages. They believe that manipulating magus is something against nature, and nature itself will punish us with a big disaster. If they just believe it, then there would be no problem. But they also decided to be the judge and punish families that have a mage in their rank. They will attack and kidnap its member to force the family to reveal where is their other member before killing them. I believe our family is the third one who was attacked."
"Then, why are you so calm?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"It is because I believe my family will keep looking for Aliyya, and I know you will not hurt me, not when you know that only my family's help will save your brother. So, I don't really need your help. Instead, I am giving you an opportunity to save your brother by gaining favor from my family." Then, a realization came through my head.
'She worded it well enough for me to see as if I am the one who is at the advantage, with her family owes me a favor. The truth is, it is she who will be the one who gains the most, with us owing her a favor for giving us the chance. Clever bastard.'
I clicked my tongue while looking at her carefully. In return, she just gives me her eye smile.
"You will be a good politician." She smiles pleasantly and replied, "Thank you for the compliment. You better not screw this opportunity though. You will not want to face the wrath of fire."
Inwardly, I snorted. Her family name, Agniis, means fire in Sanskrit. What a funny pun joke. But I keep my calm, glancing at her for a while, and decided to threaten her back,
"The same for you. You better not think of betraying us, for only storm will wait to the one who betrays the sky."