Many years have passed since that day, if you had to ask how many I wouldn't be able to give you a clear number. The amount of downfalls the kingdom's faced, the sight of civilians panic, the painful memories of loving families dying before my eye still haunts me, the shrilling screams still echo through my mind every time I recall that day, I hardly remember the last time I slept.
Within the castle library, my hand hovered over my arm as a calm, rejuvenating green light radiated from my arm. The clawed marks on my arm slowly faded away as if they were never there. Once the marks vanished I took the vial upon my desk, within it were a few pills. I chewed down on the pill and gulped it down my throat. The taste was unbearable and the I felt my body wince with every chew. "Ngh!" I grunted in agony as the pill took effect. I banged my fist on the table as I felt my body sting and my ears ring from the effects
Once the effects settled down, all traces of my insomnia dissipated and I felt a slight increase in adrenaline. My breathing was still labored as I caught my breath. For the time being I only focused on my body and the new coursing energy. Suddenly the door creaked open, and I quickly scrambled to hide the vial containing the pill. A castle maid stuck her head through the crevice of the door. "Greetings sir, the king wants to inform you, that it's time." She said.
"Understood, inform the king that I'll be there shortly" I responded with a fake smile stretched upon my face. The maid noticed my plastered smile. "Master Al, I haven't been here all that long, but I can tell you're obviously hurting." The maid said with a concerned expression etched across her face.
"I appreciate your concern but I assure you, I'm doing just fine." I assured the maid. I subtly shoved the vial further into my pocket. "Now, may you please inform the king of my arrival." I said with the same façade. The maid nodded her head and closed the door behind her.
As her footsteps echoed further into the distance, I sighed in relief and my heart relaxed. "I can't keep doing this…" I muttered to myself. My hand was still clenching the empty vial.
I rised onto my feet and grabbed my robe of the rack. I wore my robe and fixed my appearance to appear more presentable. My gaze was fixed onto my broken staff, it's wooden base had marks that imprinted onto it, the emerald gem was dark and powerless, the full staff itself was now in twain.
My smile slowly faded at the sight. My mind raced back to the countless tragedies I'd faced but I quickly brushed off the intruding thoughts. As I left the library, I took a look at my reflection through the pane castle window.
One look at my appearance and I could already see the massive changes, my once vibrant eyes had dark circles around them, skin was slightly pale from the trauma, my hair was now disheveled and lastly my very own smile was as fake as my very own façade. My very own reflection was so difficult to look at.
I suppressed my own disgust and headed forth towards the throne room, passing by my many servants with a plastered smile spread across my face. Once within the throne room, I felt a pang of disappointment and hatred as I faced the king. He appeared as young as he did all those years ago.
"Al, it's a pleasure to meet you once again" the king said with false sincerity. I bowed before the king and took my position before him. "Your majesty, may I commence the ritual?" I asked. My fake smile grew wider almost becoming unperceivable. The king nodded in response.
In a practiced position, I brought my hands over my chest. I focused all my mana towards my hand. An arcane circle appeared before my palm, it's golden hue shone brighter than before, the runes and glyphs all formed an intricate pattern. The magical circle before my palm replicated onto the very floor before me. I stared at the magical circle with a bored expression etched onto my face.
I lost count over the amount of times I'd performed the same spell. The entire ritual felt like second hand nature at this point. Problem is who would I summon this time. Multiple heroes of different shapes, sizes, gender, and surprisingly species.
A bright light engulfed the room once again and the silhouette of a single hero emerged. But something felt different the hero radiated an intimidating amount of energy.
In the aftermath, the new hero had stood before the throne. Through my eyes she appeared just like any other human, I could no longer view people the same as before… I could only view others as mere puppets. No one excited me, meeting and communicating with others felt like chore rather than a moment of leisure.
The new hero stood before, but something was off… this new hero was oddly calm about this, like they had experienced this before. I couldn't help but find this new hero alluring and yet all round suspicious. For now though, I'd ought to keep surveillance on her.
With a hand behind my back I discreetly casted a spell. Once the spell was cast a tiny orb hovered over my hand. I placed the orb within my hand and placed it within my pocket.
"Greetings new hero!" The king greeted once again. The speech was all the same, I had grown tired of the same dialogue being used over and over again. But I couldn't let my true emotions show so I continued to suppress them all.
The hero still remained calm about this situation, it was very confusing and I couldn't help but wonder. Who was she? Was she really human? What was she hiding? Whatever it may be I had to find out.
Once the king had finished his introduction, I was tasked with leading the hero to her chambers. As the hero followed me, curiously glancing at the surroundings. "You also crave freedom as well, ay?" she asked. I furrowed my brow at her random question.
She wasn't wrong I did crave for salvation from this tiresome role, but I couldn't say that to her. I simply remained silent and continued guiding her. Once we arrived at her designated room. "This will serve as your room for the remainder of your stay." I said. "Don't be afraid to inquire the servants for anything" I further on stated.
The girl waltzed around the room humming a melody a some sort. I subtly reached into my pocket and reached for the small orb. While the hero was distracted I subtly dropped it on the floor and rolled across the room underneath the bed.
Once the orb was hidden from sight I brought my attention towards the hero. "I'm afraid I have important matters to address." I said. "Okay, go on ahead" The girl dismissively said. I nodded my head and left the room.
As I left the room I brought my fingertips towards my ears and using my magic I linked my hearing towards the orb. I studied this form of surveillance magic incase I'd be asked to spy on the demon king's generals.
As the following day had arrived, I was in my room and sleep deprived, so far after a full night of listening in on the hero, I'd found nothing that may suggest her true nature. I sat in my desk and massaged the bridge of my nose. "Ugh…" I groaned. My hand reaching for the vial placed within my pocket. I popped open the lid and started my day taking another dose of my pills. I winced again from both the taste and the effects.
Moments later, after bathing and breakfast I joined the hero down the castle garden to train her in magic usage. As she appeared before me, escorted by a maid, I quickly plastered on a fake smile. "Greetings young hero, I'll be your personal magic instructor." I cheerfully announced. "I understand this experience may be new to you but I assure you, if you have any questions please don't be afraid to ask."
She continued to stand there with a neutral expression, her face held no reaction. None of this seemed to surprise and she didn't even seem excited. She stood there, remaining deathly quiet.
I took the liberty of commencing her training. "Well, using magic is somewhat difficult at first because you need to be able to sense and control the mana residing within your body." I explained towards the heroes. "As such, Today's training involves controlling your mana flow." I said.
"Hey, and why can't you just teach me how to use a spell?" She asked with an exasperated expression. Another hero who asked me the same question, where do these heroes learn such info. "Might I ask, your world doesn't have magic, right?" I asked.
"Yes?" She responded.
"Okay, now I must ask, how are you so knowledgeable about magic?" I asked, I hint of genuine interest seeping in. "In my world magic is no more than a myth, we're only knowledgeable about it because it's commonly used in books." She explained.
Immediately everything ticked, I finally understood what they were talking about. I brought my attention back towards the heroes original question. "To answer your question, no, you can't learn magic by just replicating what you see." I stated.
"Then might you demonstrate?" She enquired. This hero seems awfully insistent on magic, I still don't understand her angle, but for the time being, I'll entertain her curiosity. As I raised my hand in the air, a magic circle appeared before my palm. With an internal chant, I sent forth a fire ball, firing it off in the distance until it lost its flame.
"Satisfied?" I asked. The hero gave a simple nod in genuine awe. An actual reaction I had been waiting for. I felt a small wave of relief, but I still remained guarded. "Now, moving on to the lesson. In order to control your mana flow, you need to imagine a wave of energy coursing through your body, and-" As I was carefully instructing, my eyes widened at the event before me.
In the palm of her hand was a fireball, spawned directly above her hand. I understand that heroes are blessed with a higher rate at learning magic, but no hero could learn this fast. My suspicion only rose as I my mind already begun to see her more as an enemy or rather a spy, but I had inform the king about this.
For the time being I can't let her catch on to my suspicions so I quickly masked my suspicion and replaced it with an impressed expression. "Wow, that was impressive." I said. As the hours went by I continued instructing her on magic usage.
When evening had finally arrived, I had left the hero unattended and free to roam about. I headed forth towards the throne room to address the king about the hero. "Your majesty I have troubling news to delay." I announced. "It's about the he…ro…" Suddenly as my eyes darted upwards to face the king, my eyes widened in shock at the scene before me.
The hero had a sadistic smirk etched upon her face as she held a sharp blade towards the king's neck. "What's going on here!?" I asked. My mind began analyzing the current situation before me. But as if my presence was nonexistent, the hero stood there with a smirk, the guards quickly rushed into the room and surrounded the hero. "I'm really sorry your majesty, but I don't like the secrets you've been keeping from me" the hero said. The cold, sharp blade was pressed firmly to the king's neck.
"You don't want to do this." The king choked out as he sat in his throne. The guards could see the panic coming from the king but they didn't move, knowing that any slight movement could end the king. I on the other hand wasn't so easily deceived, within the king's eyes was a dark glimmer of something sinister but I had no clue what he was planning.
"O'spare me the fake cries, your majesty" The hero said. "I know you're hiding something, so I suggest you tell me now or…" She pressed the blade harder on the kings neck, drawing blood in the process. "… I'll just have to find it out myself." The hero's threat hang heavy in the air.
The king's attention quickly turned to me. "Al! quickly! Take her down!" The king ordered. I snapped out of my daze and prepared to initiate a fire spell but… something held me back. Was it joy at finally seeing the king die? Was it hope for freedom?
I quickly shook my head and focused on the spell. "Well, I tried the easy way king" The hero said. Suddenly the she swiftly removed the blade and in a quick motion she slit the king's throat. Everyone in the room gasped in terror.
The blood from the king's neck gushed out and hit the hero's clothes. The king choked in agony as the pain sinked in, blood spewed from his mouth and neck, the king tried clenching his throat to seize the blood flow but it was all in vain. The guards tried attacking the hero but she swiftly evaded the attack.
"Aww, does the king want me to end this suffering, don't worry I have just the solution." Then the hero brought a hand above her hand and brought forth a ball of fire. "bye, bye." The hero said. Her grin as wide as ever. The fireball hit the king and soon his body was embellished in flames, he tried fighting it but, his body letting out choked screams but all anyone could do was watch the horrific scene.
The scene played out perfectly in my mind At that moment I finally saw things for what they were. Standing a midst the castle hall, the guards were petrified at the sight that befell them. The tension in the air was highly palpable as a girl with hair as dark as night and piercing ruby red eyes, the clothes she wore were covered in the king's blood, and her face which glistened from the single drop of blood. There she stood with an unnerving and unwavering sinister grin spread across her face.
In her view was the sight of the king, his body was charred from intense burning. Amongst his charred body evidence of his throat being slit remained. The girl began laughing at the carnage that laid before her. Her laugh sent chills down my spine, the intimidating aura she radiated was intense and all round terrifying.
All I could do at the time was stare at the distraught scene before me, my mind raced as I processed the events that transpired before me. But something deep within me had awoken, a tiny spark that contained a tiny wave of relief, happiness and satisfaction. The craving that threatened to consume me if I let it roam free.
The girl jerked her head to face me, a felt another chill run down my spine, her eyes contained subtle hints of euphoria. I felt entranced, as if her very soul was reaching out me. The more I continued to resist her gaze the more I found myself meeting her gaze head on.
"Hey, mage" She called out. Her voice was commanding and yet so casual. I tried to respond or attack, but something was holding me back.
"How would you like to join me?" She asked. Her question hanged in the air I wanted to say yes, but before I could even respond the guards surrounded her holding their weapons against up to her. "Freeze!" The guards said. "For being responsible for the king's death, you are hereby under arrest!"