A small room greeted him as his eyes finally adjusted to the light. There is nothing much it could offer but a single table paired with a single chair. Placed in the middle of it is a black book; on its side is a dried ink bottle and a quill, covered by dust and cobwebs like the moss lamp on the side.
"That kind of book again," he said, reaching for the book. "Let me guess. It's also blank." He could only beam in awe as his expectations were happily debunked. He found the same pentagram with only one addition: "Emmanuel Gregory, isn't that my great grandfather?" He browsed through the pages and was amazed by the sheer number of drawings of places painted on it, along with a small description of everything. Places he had never seen before nor heard of, as if a treasure of knowledge were buried underneath the dark walls of the castle waiting for him.
As he went deeper and deeper, the words slowly started to glow like before, configuring to create a different kind of text to convey. The radians enveloped the entire room, overwriting the moss lamp.
"If you're reading this, then congratulations. You have found the delusional prince's last testament, and along with it is some news I don't think you'd like," it wrote on the pages.
"And what might that be?" Nicolas asked.
"By the way, this is prewritten and I can't converse with you. I just figured you might try so this is a head's up; don't make a fool of yourself."
Humiliation painted Nicolas in a red hue; he already made himself feel like an idiot trying to converse with the book. Taking a deep breath, it turned to another page.
"Going back on topic, I have some news for you. You might be smiling now, this is cool, isn't it, I think so too when I discovered this mysterious power. Since you're here, chances are you have the same ability as mine. Don't ask me why, I don't know either."
He leaned in closer, taking a close look at the pages as he sat on the chair.
"Thrilling isn't it, but with this power comes with a price. In my case, I lost parts of my memories; there are things my brother told me that I can no longer recall," Nicolas's eyes went wide.
"It's not all bad, though, because in return, I can see a glimpse of the future. Although the problem is, I don't know when exactly it would happen, but one thing is certain: due to this, I wouldn't have that much of a future. Probably you are too since my left-over power granted your entry to this place."
"Enough with the blabber and tell what it is," Nicolas flipped through the later pages, itching to know the answers he was seeking.
"You can't do that, boy, this book is set to tell you everything, no skipping. This is more important than any of your royal classes," The prince is already at the end of his patience, gripping the sides of the book with anger until the book rejected his hands and floated on its own.
"I don't want you to waste your life but Gregoria is not built on solid ground and not even the moat surrounding it would be able to stop its destruction," Nicolas's anger dissipated, thinking he knew where this is going. Holding his breath, he wished that he was wrong, "In my vision, Gregoria will be plunged in a sea of flames. Death will come for our citizens and aspirations, and all of it will be centered to a girl and a prince along our bloodline."
The prince could only stare at the floating book as he faintly laughed. His eyes were wavering as his laughter slowly rose in volume, Not long before his body fell limp onto the chair, it stopped. His gaze blankly staring at the moss lamp before he uttered, "We're too late, Gramps; it already happened and I am powerless to stop it. Alisa, I could not save her," He clenched his fist. Hammering it down the table, it disturbed the stagnant air and dust, making them restless like the beating of his heart.
With his heart more hopeless than when he started to search for answers, the book presented itself to him once again. "As I said, this will be my final testament, or at least when I fail. As much as I don't want my brother to shoulder all of the duties for himself, this is something that only I can do, no, only we can do. This book would have never activated in the first place if I succeeded, and incase my demise had come true, I need your help."
Despite losing the spirit to continue, Nicolas continued to read, "I'm going on a journey to find the reason behind this power. My visions had also shown me places that I had never seen before, but I figured that they could help me understand this mysterious power. Hopefully knowing its source can help prevent our kingdom's downfall."
The prince could only laugh once again: "Liar, your just a coward. A coward who left his duties for your own selfish desires. Freedom, huh? Such extravagance, Lucky you, you had a brother to carry everything."
Pages once again flipped, showing the illustration and explanations etched within them: "Written here are the places I saw and a little bit of descriptions I took note. In case I never come back, I want you to carry on my journey. The decision will still be in your power; I won't be forcing you to do so, but please, I am begging you. This is for the sake of our beloved Gregoria," The book finally fell back to the table.
"This last part has no connection to my request but a message in case my brother is the one who found this book; if not, you can disregard it," Nicolas let it do its job as he noticed the blue light it's emitting is starting to fade. It flipped into the last page of the book, leaving a message in the format of a letter.
To my brother, Immanuel Gregory,
How are you, I'm sure you're having a hard time because of me. For that, I apologize. You must have been angry at me now, suddenly leaving without a word. I don't care if you wish for me to burn in hell or being fed to the crocodiles but please understand your delusional brother. I can't guarantee my return but I am doing this for this is something only I can do.
I know father had always been harsh with the two of us, comparing us with each other all because we are twins, but you don't have to be like me, you don't have to be perfect, you just have to stay as my cute little brother and shut everyone up with your own strengths. Mother will surely cry for my departure so held him tightly for me, okay.
If someday, somehow, we can meet again, I will make up for it even in the afterlife. Take care of my future nephews for me. You know what? If you resent me all you want, you don't have to forgive me. Whatever happens, I will always be grateful that you are my brother.
The delusional prince,
Emmanuel Gregory
With all of contents finally being spelled, the blue light relinquished itself, giving the reign back to the gentle glow of the moss. "Hypocrite, you've left everything for him to shoulder and you think he'd be happy," he slammed the book shut, His eyes finally calmed and quickly shifted to anger. He was just about to lay waste to the table when loud knocks came from above, calling his name.
Upon closer inspection, behind the cobwebs and the dust hides a ladder beside the door he entered earlier. With the knocks getting louder and louder, knocking in an unwanted familiar ensemble. With haste, he quickly climbed the ladder and found a plank blocking the path. He pushed it once, he pushed it twice, and finally, with his third try, it let him pass. Moments later, he found himself swimming with his clothes, trapped behind his cabinet door, as he finally recognized the voice.
"NICOLAS, OPEN THIS DOOR THIS INSTANCE," it was the King, finally cured from the peculiar behavior he was having earlier.
Opening the door and revealing his sweaty face and dirty clothes, Nicolas immediately felt the storm that the big bag wolf had been blowing. "What is it, father, Is something the matter?" he could only hide the book behind him as he asked.
"CLEAN UP YOUR MESS AT THE LIBRARY," Frederick roared before leaving with nothing else to say.
"That's more like it," he thought, "It wouldn't be a normal day without him scolding me for the slightest of things. Just the right amount to keep reminding myself why I hate you," He closed the door and examined the book once again. "This, on the other hand, had already lost it's use," he sighed before angrily throwing the book into the ground. To his annoyance, it stopped a few inches from the floor and hovered for a few seconds before putting itself down gently onto the floor.
With the veins in his head almost popping in irritation, he picked it up again, "You're getting on my nerves; why don't you just—" opening it and preparing to rip it's pages off, his attention was caught by his reflection in the mirror.
Nicolas froze, dropping the damaged, allergic book to hover on the floor as he walked closer to check his reflection. Trembling from head to toe, he lift up his fringe and gets a closer look. His pupils are radiating the same blue hue the book was emitting before. Feeling a chilling wind in his spine, he could only grin.
"Well, would you look at that, gramps. I guess we're both cursed after all."