-7-

"We used to blast the Savage Babes with a fire ball or two, do you remember that?" the trail of blackness spoke. "I actually spent the entire month correcting your aim, can you believe it?"

What? Did that thing actually talk? What in the name of the Dark Lord is happening?

The wizard in black seemed to have no recollection of what he had just done. Etched deep in mind, the blackness was the only object he could recognise. He was not sure if it even was an object in the first place. It could all be an illusion on his part. Wiping his sweaty palms on his robe, he studied the swirling waves of blue and red around him. It reminded him of a storm of icy fire, but of course, it was too pictorial to be realistic. He did not even feel any of the two extremes.

"Savage Babes? You are saying…?"

A voice came from within the distinctive cloud of blackness billowing in the surrounding. It sounded close to a deep chuckle, yet the wizard was still ill at ease. What is a Savage Babe?

The wizard clad in black robes suddenly felt empty. To be exact, his hands were empty. He felt around him desperately, even reaching behind his back, but grabbed air. The Staff of Soul was gone, so did the faint coursing of magic in his blood. Once again, he felt like he was a novice all over again. He would definitely make it a point to cherish every single bit of it, if he could seize it back somehow. Right now, it seemed as if everything that he lost lay in the mastermind behind the voice.

"It would help to identify yourself, whoever you are. This is but a childish game," the black wizard said, so calmly that he surprised even himself. The mastermind had to be quite a somebody; stripping him of his magic was a big feat. The intense combustion around him began to give him an oppressive sensation. What on Rune-Midgart is this place? I've never seen any place so rich in colour other than the Lutie Christmas House.

"It doesn't need to be so fanciful in colour, Sagis. It's all in the mind." The area shifted to a gloomy greyish-black, second to a sky during a tempest. The black wizard barely stopped himself from drawing a sudden breath. First, he lost his magic to that hide-and-seek host, and now, he was not able to confine his thoughts to himself. Naked was the word that summarised everything that he was feeling. Never in his life he felt so defenceless. Hours seemed to have passed, yet he failed to unravel anything from this virtual chaos.

For a moment he managed to notice some viscous fluid oozing from his robes, despite the spinning in his head and the darkening swirl. He dipped a finger on the thick wetness and realised sullenly that it was fresh blood. It did not come from him, he knew. There was no gaping wound on his torso, as far as he knew. Nothing here was tangible, much less making sense. "Wha -"

"Blood of your nation, Sagis. And the blood of the dead, too. People are dying fast, and for me I wouldn't care less if it is a renegade or not. We need salvation," the voice spoke out. It was hard to determine if it was a plea or a demand. It was devoid of any emotion.

The questions to ask were aplenty, in fact, so many that he could not remember the previous few he intended. He wanted to know how the mastermind knew his name. He wanted to know the face behind the voice. He wanted to know if he could get his magic back. Most of all, he wanted to know what each sentence meant. To his band of guild mates, his head contained a great many things. Usually, he knew things that they hardly understood, and they respected him. Apparently, that was not the case now. If he knew anything, it was running away from here in one piece.

Running away… in one piece.

"Do not forget this, Sagis. I do hope you don't take on the perspective of what you're branded as. Don't forget your origins and leave the three hundred year legacy ruined like the god-forsaken rubble that it is. Remember that, son of Djorekthelas." The voice faded, as did the black cloud. This could be the chance…

The darkness flared into the blinding mix of blue and red before, but this time he felt the alternating heat and chill of it. He screamed silently as it engulfed him…

- - -

Reality solidified through hazy stages, revealing a bearded face creased with worry. Murmurs broke the silence the moment he opened his eyes, and he only managed to catch abridged versions of the conversation. The place he lay in had not registered on him yet.

"You're up, finally," the voice behind the bearded man sounded clear and articulate beside him. I'm up? How long was I out and what just happened? My magic!

"Stay down, Sagis. You're still under observation. I cannot believe I was still having a chat with Smith while you tried to kill yourself in the fire!" the bearded man added. All past events seemed to compress into his mind all at once, replaying in his head in second-quick flashes. The fire incident stood out among the rest, that being the closest shave with death. Behind it, the strange blackness perturbed him no little. That thing was living and breathing.

"Mister Wizard! We saw it –"

A brief flash of fire erupted before the speaker's face, eliciting a strangled yelp and a crash into the equipment stand. My magic! It is still intact!

Shouts exploded in all directions, nearly putting him back into oblivion. The throbbing in his head aggravated to the extent that he had to put pressure on his temples. "Ugh! Cerberus! Silence them… silence them!"

Sagis had not the faintest idea how he knew, but somehow the bearded face brought some recognition at the final moment. He was not sure if the fire damaged his brains as well.

"Just a little while longer and I'll get the acolyte," the knight said with surety. Sagis heard the knight holler at the disruptive group, who were still all over the man's seared face, so he claimed. Cerberus grimaced at the man who dressed like one of those news mongers roaming around town for the latest tabloids. There was not even a slight hint of blackened skin. News mongers were sure to exaggerate things, aside from their reports.

"Now there's something to write on! He burned my face!"

"Look, I need some words from the wizard! I was told that he handled the fire all by himself and tried to kill himself in it!"

"I saw him raise the ice walls myself. If you would let me conduct…"

"You're Cerberus, am I correct? Why would your friend commit suicide?"

"Come on! My colleague's got a blast right in the face! We need a shot on this!"

It all ended with a resounding "Be gone!" from the knight. The group stood staring at him with gaping mouths, their hearts almost on their tongue tips. Even the "burned" man dropped the act with an assuring hand meaning that he would depart immediately.

Cerberus waited for a long while to make sure they did not mingle outside the infirmary. The wizard beside him was still imbibing water voraciously, producing gurgling noises with each swallow. Resting his removed helm and his twin swords on a stand, Cerberus eyed the wizard darkly. "Tell me, you didn't happen to see an Izludean, did you? You may be well versed in sorcery, and if you haven't realised, the scope of this is definitely going to expose yourself, if there was one."

Sagis set the mug down and stared straight out to the wall before him. One look would determine that he did not owe the knight any explanation, but this was not the time. He ought to tell his companion something, at least something about the voice. If anything, his thoughts were bothering him enough to look like he was miles away. "Izludeans? Perhaps so. Pranks? Perhaps so too. I need to return to where I came from, Cerberus. The voice was real, and it would seem that something bad is befalling me the moment I defied." Cerberus's countenance took for a change, one of incomprehensiveness. "Voice? What is this all about, returning to where you belong? Have you indeed seen someone?"

"Don't give me that look, knight. I'm just as confused myself," Sagis said, finally turning to face Cerberus. "I have absolutely zero knowledge on this, you know that? I doubt I will be staying here any longer than I should, knight. Oh yes, the acolyte?" Cerberus stood up suddenly, forgetting that he was to fetch one. "No, knight. I meant, what did she say?"

Hands on his hips, Cerberus half turned to the wizard. "She insisted that you remain here for the rest of the week. The fire burned you good, Sagis. If it wasn't for the city guards and the mages…"

"Rest of the week! I'm not lying around this sickening potion smelling room till then, letting him haunt me! Tomorrow, at the most. I am not letting some girl force me in here –"

"Listen! Even in here, those mouth-running news mongers were relentless. Trouble never diminishes, Sagis," Cerberus blasted in exasperation. "Prontera is not safe anymore."

Sagis sat on his bed, and for the first time, he realised that his wizard robes had been replaced. He thought it must had been burned whole in the fire, while it was surprising that he did not end up the same way.

Prontera is not safe anymore…

"Then this is war?"

Cerberus nodded slowly, as though unwilling to assimilate this piece of news. Ironically, the holy city had not been at all safe in the first place. If it was, the defenders would not have been at the frontlines time after time. He hardly understood what was it that the occasional invaders sought. "The city guards returned after you were sent to the infirmary, and by the time the mages extinguished the fire it wasn't so difficult to discover an iron cain."

"And?"

"And merchants are saying that it was strange to have seen a few lurkers at the arena when there was no Emperium War going on. No one goes into the arena unauthorised."

There was little musing before the wizard spoke up. "Your brother is a bane to the alliance, knight. As far as I know, the two cities never had stranded ties until today. I've only to say that it's a premonition. With the hundred year alliance broken, you might as well have opened Pandora's Box." Sagis could see that his knight companion did not look too happy about it, which was very much expected. Who would smile in the face of danger?

"Leave me, knight. We've got our own wars to fight, and I need all the rest I get, or I'll be suffocated by the mind games alone."

Cerberus nodded in compliance, then donned his gears once again. Both men looked up when an acolyte made her way silently into the ward with a tray full of potion bottles. As if afraid that her unsteady hands might fault, she moved gingerly to the foot of Sagis's bed and set down a bottle of greenish mix. Eyeing the wizard's arcane staff in the corner warily, she gave a slight bow and left the room.

"I've had doubts when you said you had to 'return to where you came from'. The news mongers are saying that it is reconstructed and reinforced once again, but did you mean Geffen?" asked Cerberus, while strapping his swords to his back.

"I'll know when the time comes, knight," came the swift reply. Sagis heard the fading clank of greaves against the marble flooring as the knight left, as he sloshed down the potion with a sour look. Registration came at a slow pace, but it did send his heart racing. Geffen… it's starting to make sense now.

That had set him pondering, not about the voice this time, but rather on the knight. Sometimes, just sometimes, he thought that Cerberus was no leader of Avenger for nothing.