Keyra stared intently at Darius, observing him closely. Her eyes did not blink as she stared at Darius. Her expression was flat.
"You called my name. You know who I am. Who are you?" Keyra asked without changing her expression. Actually, her body was still Keyra's body, but she was not Keyra, but someone had possessed her body.
"Forgive my rudeness. I am Darius Adelean, a descendant of Arman Ardelean. Do you... do you recognize that name?"
Bella narrowed her eyes. "Of course, my loyal servant. But I thought he—"
"No, he is still alive after the massacre and lived with Kate, your daughter. Of course you have guessed that your descendants are still alive, because Keyra received the power of the chosen one."
"I thought they died." Bella looked silent and thoughtful. Her head was bowed.
"No, they were alive. And now she needs your help." Keyra lifted her head and looked at Darius with a frown on her forehead. Keyra sat up straight, leaning back in her chair.
"You know that calling me through Keyra will hurt her."
"I know. But this is the only way to communicate with you and also empty her energy." Darius explained.
Bella frowned. "Emptying energy?" she repeated.
"Yes. At first I thought Keyra couldn't master the ancient power because she had never known magic before. However, after I thought about it many times, that wasn't the reason. But because Keyra didn't fully accept the power. Part of her rejected it. That's what made the power not work fully." Darius paused for a moment. Worry was clearly visible on his face. "And…" he continued. "Another reason is that there is too much other energy in her. Emotions, anger, pain, disappointment, surprise affect the energy inside her and Keyra has a lot of emotions like that. I have to erase them." Darius explained.
"Hmm.….." Bella mumbled in understanding Darius' words. "However, emptying energy doesn't mean she will forget it. She will just not feel those emotions, for a while. But when she remembers it again, the emotion will come back and you know the spell will only hold it back not to forget the memory."
"Of course, of course… I have considered it. At least I have to try. Even if I fail at least it won't fail completely. The energy will still decrease even if it's a little." Darius seemed hesitant this time. He knew what he was going to do but he doubted if it was the best way. Because he and the Aeshu didn't have much time. It was the only way that seemed the fastest way to make Keyra ready with her powers.
"Is there anything else?" Bella asked after seeing Darius's face that still looked very worried.
"Grimoire. I know you have your own spell book. You are very good with spells and potions."
"You praise me too much. She will summon it." A faint smile appeared on Bella's lips.
"What do you mean?"
"That book. Only for my descendants. Wherever the book is, Keyra can summon it."
Darius nodded. "I understand."
"But, if the time is right. Keyra will get it." Bella tilted her head while still looking at Darius who was looking at his hands. "Is there anything else?"
Darius looked hesitant. He wanted to mention one thing but he was afraid that he would open old wounds, because Darkness was the one who slaughtered Bella's family. But for Keyra's sake, he had to say it. "You were the one who locked Darkness in a block of eternal ice and surely you know how to release him."
"Of course. Keyra must die first along with the ancient power in order to melt the eternal ice."
"And there is another way. Right?" Darius asked nodding.
"Right. There is one more way. Keyra must touch the eternal ice and read the release spell." Bella sighed. "What a stupidity indeed. I made the confinement spell for years and I also made the spell to break it. That was my biggest mistake. Making a spell that I should never have made. The spell only works if Keyra reads it alongside with her blood. You must not let the Darken kill or make Keyra read the spell. Because when Darkness is free, no one will be able to fight it. The seven of us failed and Keyra is alone now. I am really worried." Bella was silent, looking thoughtful. She was also very worried.
"But you can help her."
Bella smiled. "I am not the chosen one anymore. I am also not in a living form."
"I know. But the ancient power still recognizes you. The proof was when in that house. When you helped Keyra from the Darken attack, you entered Keyra's body and used that power. It seems that the power still works well with you." Darius stared at Bella, full of hope. Bella nodded reassuringly.
"That's true. But it won't always work." Bella answered softly. "As I said, I'm not the chosen one anymore, but Kerya is."
"I know. I also know, the soul of the previous chosen one will be around the current chosen one to guide her during the transition, until the chosen one masters the power. Like you were guided by the previous chosen one." Darius insisted.
"That's true. However, guiding from the side, like whispering it or showing it, not entering the body. That is not allowed because it will hurt and drain the energy of the chosen one."
"I know. But your transition state before and Keyra's transition now are different. She must go through the transition period as soon as possible. There will be war everywhere. All the destruction, only she can handle it and also the Darkness. If she can master her power, she will not be easily killed and influenced by the Darken." Darius took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He calmed his emotions that were starting to explode.
"What I ask is that you can accompany her during the transition and when she is in danger and she can't do anything or she is lost with her own power, I ask that you take over her body and power temporarily to save her and I will help as much as I can from the outside." Darius explained. Bella seemed to understand even though she knew that entering Keyra's body too often would not be good for Keyra. Bella's soul would also be destroyed prematurely. But finally Bella nodded in agreement.
"Okay. I'll try it." Bella finally replied. "Ahh.. and the release spell is in a book that I left with my friend. Keryra will find out later."
"And one more thing." Darius replied. He walked over to Bella who was still tied to her chair. Darius gave her some folded papers that looked very old. Damian read the spell and the ropes that bound Keyra's body opened.
"This is a letter from my great-grandfather, Arman. It seems that he wants to say something. I can't read it because there is no writing on the paper. Only the person it is addressed to will have the writing visible and the paper is addressed to you." Bella took the letter from Darius then opened the letter and sure enough. The writing in the letter appeared when Bella held the letter. Bella stood up and walked away from Darius. She looked very serious reading. But soon she shed tears. Darius really wanted to know the contents of the letter but he knew he wouldn't be able to read it. Darius saw Bella sobbing. Bella wiped her tears and took a deep breath. The letter in Bella's hand suddenly caught fire and nothing was left. Bella looked at Darius who was standing confused.
"Thank you." Bella got out of Keyra's body. Immediately Keyra lay on the floor. Darius went to Keyra's body and read an energy-emptying spell. A white light surrounded Keyra's body for a moment then disappeared.
***
The castle was so dark. Only candles and torches lit the castle corridors. There was a noisy sound in a room in the castle. Everyone had different opinions. Expressing their opinions, not wanting to give in. Only one person had been silent all this time. He stood with his back to them and looked out the window. His eyes and mind wandered far away. There was a plan in his mind, a big plan of course and also evil. After a while of silence, he began to feel irritated by the noisy sound behind him.
"Shut up!!" he said loudly. "Stop talking if you're still arguing." He continued. He sat down and looked at everyone who was now silent. All eyes were on him. Some were afraid, proud, and some didn't really care.
"I told you to find and gather followers. Tell me."
"Mayes, we've gathered as many followers as we can. But some don't want to continue joining, some of them have learned about the rise of the chosen one. They're afraid—." Before the man named Rowen could finish speaking, Mayes interrupted him.
"Then, do they prefer to hide?" Mayes asked. No one answered. Everyone was silent. They knew Mayes would be very angry to hear that. Mayes gritted his jaws in anger.
"Have you told them about the rise of Darkness?" he asked again. Everyone was still silent. Then a rumble was heard in the room. The sound of lightning struck. Mayes stood up and lifted Rowen into the air, the person who had spoken earlier. Rowen struggled but he couldn't do anything. Mayes was stronger than him. Mayes looked at everyone in the room sarcastically.
"I thought we agreed here to be loyal followers of Darkness, or have you forgotten what Darkness did to you and your families? Have you started to become cowards? Or maybe have you turned into followers of that damn Elder?" Mayes started to get angry and threw Rowen to the end of the room and cast a death spell on him. Rowen died instantly and made the people in the room even more afraid. Mayes sat back in his chair and this time he started to calm down.
"So, how many followers have we gathered?" he asked again still with a cold gaze.
"Only about two hundred people, but I'm sure it will increase. We have threatened and terrorized of course, people who don't want to join." Answered one of them named Dimitri with his shrill voice. Mayes nodded and looked a little satisfied.
"Good. Continue to threaten them, terrorize them. If necessary, kidnap or kill their family members if they still refuse to join." Everyone agreed with what Mayes said.
"But what's our next plan, Mayes?" Gallahan asked. Everyone's eyes looked at Mayes with hope.
"We'll awaken Darkness of course." Mayes answered easily. The atmosphere in the room began to get noisy again after hearing Mayes' statement.
"But how?" Brooks asked, making the room quiet again. "How can we break the ice block? While only the chosen one can do it."
"Exactly. There are only two ways, the chosen one dies or we force him to open it." Mayes explained.
"But how can we get the chosen one? The Elder guards her tightly and I heard she's in Disprea. Disprea is very difficult to penetrate, we all know that." One of the others replied and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Not if one of them betrays." Mayes smiled. Everyone looked confused. Mayes felt satisfied.
"How about it Lestrel? Is everyone ready?"
Mayes asked someone sitting on the far right. All eyes were on Lestrel, a man with a muscular body, long hair that almost covered his face.
"It will be finished soon, Mayes." He answered in his deep voice. Mayes smiled slyly.
"Good. Very good. Just a little more." Mayes muttered. "Soon we can attack Disprea. There will be those who betray and we have also prepared a spell with the help of the traitor of course, to destroy the protector of Disprea. So before the spell is finished, we must immediately gather troops from all kinds of supernaturals who will help us attack Disprea. After the spell is finished, we can enter Disprea and we can destroy it and of course don't forget the chosen one." Mayes laughed in satisfaction with his plan. Followed by cheers from his followers in the room.
***
Keyra opened her eyes slowly. A small breeze gently touched her face. The incoming sunlight dazzled her newly opened eyes. Keyra sat up slowly. She looked around. Now she knew where she was. She was in her room at Sabrina's house. Keyra got out of bed and walked slowly out of the room. The cold floor stabbed her feet. Her steps were still limping because her feet still hurt. But strangely only her body felt pain. Her heart and mind that were always full and heavy now became light. There was no more pain, anger, hatred, fear. There was only calm. A voice was heard from the direction of the living room. Keyra went to the voice. Keyra saw Mrs.Nicolau looking for something among the bookshelves.
"Ex-excuse me..." said Bian. Mrs.Nicolau turned her head.
"Keyra... You're awake." Mrs.Nicolau walked over to Keyra. "Does your head hurt?" she asked again. Keyra shook her head.
"No. I'm fine. But.. what happened? Why am I here?" Keyra remembered the last time she was at school.
"Darius brought you here. You've been unconscious for three days."
"T-three days?" Keyra was surprised.
Mrs.Nicolau nodded. There was a knock on the door. Mrs.Nicolau opened the door.
"I want to see if she's awake." A voice
answered from outside the house. Darius' voice.
"She's awake. Please come in." Mrs.Nicolau invited him in. Darius entered and walked towards where Keyra was.
"Keyra... I'm so glad you're finally awake. We've been so worried." Darius smiled. Darius came with a friendly face as usual. Keyra was still silent. "I know I owe you an explanation and apologize. I—"
"No. That can wait." Keyra interrupted. "We can continue the lesson." Darius was surprised as was Mrs.Nicolau. They stared at each other for a moment.
"But honey, you haven't fully recovered yet." Mrs.Nicolau replied.
"No. "I'm fully prepared." Keyra said reassuringly. Darius and Mrs. Nicolau looked at each other again. Three days of unconsciousness was long enough for Keyra. She had wasted time. She had to be able to meet her family soon.
"Okay, if that's what you want." Darius finally said.
Darius and Keyra headed to the next training ground. In Darius's mind, he was still wondering why Keyra didn't want to hear the story from him directly about the incident, about him calling Bella. Keyra didn't need an explanation because Keyra already knew everything. She remembered everything. Even though Bella entered her body, Bian was still fully conscious. Just like the incident at her house during the Darken attack. At that time, Bella possessed her body but Keyra was still conscious. But this time she didn't want to struggle out. She remained silent because she wanted to know what was really going on. Now the more she knew, the more she wanted to quickly master the power. But she chose to remain silent and not tell Darius about her consciousness at that time. Let it be her secret with Bella.
Darius took Keyra walking away from the school. Keyra was confused because the path Darius took was opposite from the school, but for some reason Keyra didn't ask. She just followed Darius silently.
Soon they arrived at a building that looked taller than all the houses here. Darius stepped inside followed by Keyra. Keyra saw that the inside of the room was really like when she entered an office in the ordinary human world. All the objects were there, even the modern ones. She saw some people trying to use some objects. Most of them were wearing modern clothes. The ceiling was so high. Even Bian couldn't see the end of the ceiling of the building. On the right and left there were elevators, three on each side. In front of them was a table like an information desk.
"This building is where all the non-magical items are. I think all these things are extraordinary. We made all of this for a reason. One of them is that we don't want to be out of date, I think that's what ordinary people said. Out of date." Darius continued walking while looking around him. Some people greeted him kindly. Darius smiled back at them.
"Darius."
A call stopped them. From the side appeared a man the same age as Darius and thin wearing a gray suit and his brown hair combed to the side smiled at Darius.
"My old friend..." Darius replied while hugging the man. They hugged as if they had not seen each other for a long time. "Arthur, it's been a long time. Five years I think." Darius released his hug.
"Of course and I think you've changed a lot especially here." The man named Arthur pointed to his own stomach. They both laughed.
"Well I think my wife spoils me too much. Are you visiting?" Darius asked.
"Hmm yes" Arthur nodded. "I'm visiting my family here and I happen to have some business with you of course." Arthur began to look serious. Darius nodded in understanding.
"Of course we'll talk again later. At my house with a cup of tea I guess?" Darius offered.
"Of course Darius, Of course." They laughed again. "Well, I better go. I don't want to see or talk to him." Arthur stared at one person with a look of dislike. His friendly smile disappeared when he saw that person.
"Okay, I understand."
Arthur walked quickly away and out of the building. They were walking separately now.
"Darius." Someone just got out of the elevator called Darius.
"Marvin, nice to meet you. How are you?" Darius replied politely as usual. Marvin was the man Arthur didn't like earlier.
"Of course, as usual." replied the person named Marvin.
"You must have visited the outside world?" Darius guessed.
"Of course." Marvin replied looking proud.
"What's the news there? Good, I think?"
"On the contrary. Everything is getting more chaotic. Vampires and werewolves are everywhere. So is Darken. But stupidly ordinary humans think it's all their fault." Marvin smiled sarcastically.
"They just don't know." Darius replied.
"That's why. Luckily I was born from a witch family. Not from stupid people like ordinary humans or from those disgusting vampires and werewolves." Marvin shook his shoulder-length black hair. Marvin was wearing a modern maroon suit that made him stand out from the others who mostly wore black and gray. Darius just smiled in response.
"What are you doing here? and who is she?" apparently Marvin didn't know Keyra.
"I have something to do here. She's just one of my students." Darius replied. Marvin frowned.
"I didn't know you were teaching anymore." Marvin looked confused.
"Just a few students." Darius explained. Marvin nodded.
"Okay. I think I should go. There's still a lot to take care of. I don't like this city a bit. The traditions are really boring. Why do we have to wear those ugly clothes." Marvin pointed at the clothes Darius was wearing.
"Yes, it is boring." Damian replied with a small smile. Darius seemed relaxed in response to Marvin's words. Marvin was indeed known to be arrogant and haughty to everyone. Including Darius.
"Okay then. Shall we meet again?" Marvin replied. Darius nodded and patted Marvin's back. Marvin walked away while turning to Keyra for a moment then ignoring her.
"Do you see that elevator? That's one way we can enter the ordinary human world. Because of Disprea's protection magic, we can't teleport here. So we use the elevator or the entrance gate. But this elevator is only for elders. Ordinary wizards have to go through the gate."
"Why is that?"
"Because of Disprea's protection, Keyra. They have to be checked first. Meanwhile, Elder has a bracelet like this." Darius showed a bracelet made of white smoke. "This elder bracelet is tied to you, meaning it can't be removed. Young Elder is blue, middle is green and old is white, like me." Keyra nodded in understanding. "You will have it. But yours will be different."
"Because I am the chosen one?"
"Right. Now, are you ready to practice?"
Keyra nodded. "Ready."
"Then let's go."