Crimson Twilight: Midnight

Chapter 27: Priorities

"Leave the Xalascents to their incestuous dealings and concentrate on your magic!"

Raven Huer's words continued to echo inside Trenzein's head even as he staggered back to his home. The end of the battle would have probably signaled the start of his one week. If he failed to create the Antithesis from the spell seeds by that time, he would forfeit with his soul.

'Sei…is she really like that? But why would Raven Huer lie?'

An answer came to Trenzein as soon as he asked himself that question. It was to make him focus on his task of ensuring the Source's existence. Even if he was lying though, Raven Huer had a point. He had to prioritize. Magic had to come first before anything else. Otherwise Prontera was doomed. Besides he was making plenty of headway when it came to developing his magic. The spell seeds widened his horizons beyond all imagining. Compared to that, Sei was…

"Leave me alone, Trenzein Zaisen…"

Trenzein's eyes narrowed. Those words basically summed up their entire relationship if he even dared to presume that they had one. The more he thought about it the more he felt that he had imagined everything. That he had thought that when he teased Sei, when he talked to her, fought by her side and promised to protect her, it meant something. That somehow it got him closer to the beautiful huntress; that his efforts would be rewarded by being allowed past her cold exterior and let him see what Kreizen saw in her. After all, the blacksmith must know a different side of her to be able to treat her like he did. Trenzein was even willing to take on that psycho, Maiha, even though even he was afraid of Malys suddenly piercing his chest and carving out his heart, just so he could see it as well. It turned out that Huer was also right when it came to that one. In the end, it was Seihanine who decided what his efforts meant, and with a frigid shrug, she turned them into nothing. His confidence in his abilities had mistakenly extended to the way he dealt with people. It was too late to find out how wrong he was.

"Hey, wizard."

Trenzein looked up to see who would call him. He was already in front of his house, somewhere by the northern district of the city. It was only a few blocks from Kreizen's workshop, which doubled as a residence for the two Xalascents. The sight of a brown-haired hunter sitting by his doorstep infuriated him.

"Eldrid Xalascent…what do you want now?"

The hunter scowled as he appraised Trenzein. His hands fingered the arbalest that was strapped to his back. His falcon perched silently on his shoulders and stared blankly at the wizard as well.

"I want you to leave Sei alone from now on, wizard. Your intrusion has never been welcome in our clan."

The wizard raised an eyebrow. Behind him, his fist shook and crackled with power.

"Oh? And how did you come up with that, Eldrid?"

The hunter's scowl deepened.

"Seihanine has tried hinting it to you, but apparently you never picked up or perhaps you consciously ignored her. Kreizen's too "nice" to even mention it. I'm not so I'm saying it to you directly. Stay out of our clan's business. We don't need you."

Trenzein's eyes twitched. He fought off the impulse to cast a spell, any spell that would make this bastard hunter dead. The spell seeds were available to him. It was likely that using them without preparation or form would cause serious harm to him. It may even result in the destruction of a large portion of the city. It didn't matter. He was sick of this hunter and everything he represented. He was sick of "Clan Xalascent affairs", of insane assassins, of being pushed into the background and having his efforts wasted, of having to put up with hints of incest and being distracted by jealousy.

'Jealousy? Am I jealous? Of what? This bastardized slug of a hunter?'

More magical energy threatened to erupt from Trenzein's hands. He knew deep down that the images the Dark Lord showed him were false. That Raven Huer was probably inventing the whole incest thing just to push him forward; even his seeing Seihanine and this hunter hugging in the middle of the street was most likely an illusion by either Raven or the Dark Lord. Everyone was a damned meddler in his personal life. It wasn't those obvious things that got him so mad. It was…

"Who gave you the right to butt into my clan's business anyway?"

"Arrogant bastard…"

"What I saw was Kalyx having to distract that orc so you can pull your 'teleport to the same location where I was before' trick."

"You don't have any siblings so I don't expect you to understand."

"Leave me alone, Trenzein Zaisen…"

Bolts of multi-colored energy surged through Trenzein's arms now. The force of the magic made his cloak billow around him. His eyes flashed yellow and slowly turned crimson before returning to yellow again.

"Fine then! I'll leave you alone to your "clan business"!"

Something exploded beside Eldrid before the hunter could even blink in reaction to the wizard's reaction. The explosion was silent and didn't really feel like anything. All he felt was the sudden rush of air, as if it was filling a void that had appeared in a flash. He looked beside him to find a crater merely a few inches away from him. The hole was smooth, as if the material there had simply vanished. His hair stood on end at the presence of the residual energy.

'This wizard…he's unlike anything I've ever seen. He's a match for Abraxil Sovivor himself!'

Eldrid stepped back fearfully. Perhaps it was a mistake to aggravate the wizard like he did. Suddenly he noticed a flash of azure from the corner of his eye. It was his cousin, she was likely about to rush forward and stop things although it was unlikely that the wizard saw her.

'This is the reason why I don't want you near her, Trenzein Zaisen! My cousin has enough problems without worrying about your reckless instability!'

Trenzein did not see anything other than the brown-haired hunter in front of him. The fool was cowering. It was good. Archery was never a match for the raw power of magic anyway. Nothing compared to magic. Not swords, or faith, or some foolish philosophy that meant nothing in the end. This hunter would disintegrate in less than a second if he put in the tiniest amount of effort in his spell casting. In this state, he could almost understand how Raven Huer must constantly feel. Power was at his fingertips. Anyone who challenged him was as good as dead. He didn't even really need to notice them. All other problems were trivial when it came to advancing his power. All he needed to do was prioritize and he would stand in equal footing with the white-haired, god-like wizard who put him through this in the first place.

"Seihanine Xalascent can die for all I care. If she's so willing to commit suicide by dancing with her crazed half sister in sadomasochistic abandon then why the hell am I wasting my efforts in preventing the inevitable? Your clan can rot in the abyss, hunter. It disgusts me in all its glory. If you're the finest example of your clan and then you probably deserve Maiha. If that's all you have to say to me then get out of my sight and stay out of my property. I have work to do!"

Eldrid Xalascent backed away from the wizard. He had said all that he needed to say anyway. The flash of azure he had seen earlier was gone. It looked like his cousin had vanished. There was no point in getting killed by this berserk wizard. He immediately took out a piece of butterfly wing from his pocket, crushed it and vanished.

Trenzein watched as the hunter disappeared. Only then did he let some of the fury subside. He was tired anyway, but he had so much to do. His door swung open even before he could approach it.

'I hate her…I hate Sei. She's a waste of time, effort and attention. If she wasn't around I could have perfected Jupitel Storm long before this damned war. I could have discovered the spell seeds by myself instead of wasting time traipsing about Rune-Midgard with that ice-blooded huntress!'

Trenzein allowed himself to continue thinking such thoughts. He even encouraged them. Perhaps it was the right state of mind before he began his work. As soon as the distraction was gone, he could go back to perfecting his magic. Then he would see if the Dark Lord would have anything to laugh about.

"Trenzein Zaisen…"

The wizard looked up in alarm. He wasn't expecting anyone inside his house. Instead he found himself staring at the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life. He had seen her before; she was radiant, seemingly made of light back then. Her hair had touched the floor and power suffused her instead of blood. Now her appearance was…suppressed. He hair only reached up to her ankles, although it was still golden in color. Her eyes were golden as well. While this form was less…intimidating, Trenzein knew instinctively that he was staring at The Source once more.

"Source!"

Trenzein fell to his knees. Everything that came from his mouth sounded so rude in the presence of this being.

'This is the being that I've dedicated my whole life to. She should be the focus of all my efforts. No wonder I've been doing so badly before…'

Pale-skinned hands suddenly held the sides of Trenzein's face. The Source lifted his face up and stared directly in his eyes.

"Do I burden you so much, Trenzein Zaisen?"

The wizard's eyes widened.

"Of course not! You would never be a burden!"

The Source's eyes softened as she continued staring at him.

"Perhaps I was too hasty. I was desperate at that time. Fearing for my hold on your world, I wanted someone I could trust. It turned out to be you but I fear my task pains you greatly."

Trenzein shook his head.

"I do not regret being chosen, Source! I am glad to follow your will!"

Sadness crept into the Source's voice. In this form, she sounded almost human. Her voice did not echo in his head like it used to when he first met her.

"Glad? Then why do you shed tears, Trenzein Zaisen?"

The Source's words struck Trenzein like a spell. Was he crying? He never noticed a thing. He was frustrated, angry and stressed but he never noticed a thing until the Source pointed it out to him. After a while he realized the truth. All those things he said and thought earlier. They sounded so wrong even though they seemed to be the best course of action. He didn't want to do them but he felt that if he didn't then he would fail at everything…

"Raven's methods are harsh but his intentions are for the best. I believe you can perform his task in a week, Trenzein. It's what's beyond that week that truly matters."

Trenzein felt the Source's hands slip from his face. He looked up to see her slowly vanishing.

"I will be with you during that time."

The wizard stood up. He was confused and sick at heart. He had no idea what he should be doing but he had to start. Sooner or later he would face the consequences of his actions…or lack of it.

······

"I'm jealous."

Maiha Il-Xalascent propped herself up besides an old statue in Glastheim. She was still badly wounded and the Dark Lord had not moved from his lair ever since the fight in the southern gates. The cuts she received from Kreizen ached wonderfully. Her blood was pooling beneath her, staining the dark grass of Glastheim's courtyard crimson. The loss of blood was making her faint and giddy. She felt herself slipping away and losing consciousness from all the delightful pain.

"With a few words, Zein just hurt and scarred her a lot more than I ever could have with a few hours, Malys, Furie and a bound up Seihanine. That was certainly excellent motivational talk, Eldrid."

The hunter stared warily at his cousin.

"I didn't do that to amuse you, Maiha. You know my price."

The assassin waved a hand dismissively.

"Yes, yes. You want my half sister after I'm done with her. I'll live up to it."

The brown-haired hunter stared at the perpetually dark skies of Glastheim. Despite the minor setbacks and his failure at the southern gates, Abraxil Sovivor's plans were well under way.