Crimson Twilight: Midnight

Chapter 37: Trenzein Zaisen

Part IV: Answer

"All I need is your alliance. You can be a high wizard if you swear that to me. Once you have the taste of power, we'll see how the deal progresses."

The words rolled from Mephistopheles's mouth glibly. Whether he was lying or not, there was no sure way to tell. Devils were masters of lies and Mephistopheles was a master of devils. Trenzein glanced at Raven Huer out of the corner of his eye and saw no reaction from the white-haired wizard whatsoever. He was on his own here. Raven had brought him to hell because he had asked for it. The choice and the consequences were his to be decided now. For a brief moment, he wondered if Abraxil Sovivor also faced this moment when he made a deal with Orcus.

'High Wizard…isn't that what I've always wanted? If I make this deal, I'd end up serving him for a while but it will come to an end eventually. I would make myself immortal, rescind my alliance and go on with my acquired power. It could take years or even centuries but I can handle it…'

Trenzein clenched his fists tightly, trying to make them to stop trembling. The devil was waiting for an answer.

"I…no…"

The word left Trenzein's lips slowly. For a moment, he wanted to take it back but it quickly passed when the sudden change on the devil's expression told him that it was impossible to take back now. The fires intensified inside the room. They flared up and exploded, surrounding Trenzein in lurid flames.

"You…what?"

Trenzein struggled to remain standing. He felt an urge to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness but he fought it off. He was not going to humiliate himself by being sorry for a decision. Besides, devils don't forgive.

"I refuse it. I've decided that I will not make any deal with you, Mephistopheles. I will become a high wizard or whatever it takes to make a difference in my world's war but I will do it by myself."

Mephistopheles suddenly sat back down. The fury in his voice vanished and the fires receded. Once more, he was the calm lord of the eighth hell. The fires did not decrease though. It was a sign that his calm was merely for appearances. The devil was raging beneath his impassive exterior.

"Then all of this is but a rude gesture then, Mister Trenzein Zaisen. You traveling all the way to my fortress and confronting me. Bringing along "Master" Raven Huer here and wasting his spell. Wasting my time…that would be considered as something of an insult now."

Trenzein flinched slightly. The lord of the eighth layer of hell was likely going to punish him. Still, he would not, could not, tear his pride to shreds as to look to Raven Huer for help. The white-haired wizard would lose all respect for him.

"I assume you are civil enough, "Master" Raven, as to leave this rude fool to my punishment. It would make me a laughing stock among the lords of hell if I simply let him go…"

Mephistopheles looked to Raven briefly and nodded in satisfaction when the white-haired wizard shrugged his shoulders. He folded his hands in front of him and looked at Trenzein shrewdly. Wondering what sort of punishment would be appropriate for this arrogant bastard who thought he could make deals with the mightiest of devils and then go back on them.

'A horrible and disfiguring disease perhaps…he seems the "pretty-boy" type and likely has many female admirers. Then again, he doesn't comb, an indication that he does not care too much about his looks as he does his magic. Something to hurt his pride then…'

Mephistopheles's smile widened as he focused on the green-haired wizard in front of him. Pride was a flaw that most mortals and even immortals shared and this boy had an abundance of it. The best way to hurt him was through whatever he took pride in. It was easy to figure that out if one had the ability to look into the minds of pathetic mortals. This Trenzein Zaisen's mind was in complete confusion right now. It was no feat to peek into his mind and bring his worst fears to life. The archdevil scanned the images that came to him and suppressed a yawn. He had seen so many mortals with the same lives that it was becoming boring. An image suddenly caused him to pause…

'Here is something that can be used…'

Mephistopheles suddenly pointed a finger at Trenzein and spoke a single word of power. Before the green-haired wizard could even react, his eyes dilated and he fell to the ground and lay still. Raven walked over and examined him.

"Microcosm…that's not a spell someone from Rune-Midgard has a chance of countering, Mephistopheles."

The archdevil merely shrugged and leaned back to his throne.

"It's no more than what he deserves, "Master" Raven. It's fitting anyway. If he focuses so much on himself then he should have any problem being stuck inside that imaginary world I placed him in. I'll make a bet with you then. If he survives this then I'll let him off the hook."

Raven's red eyes narrowed. The Microcosm spell attacked the victim's mind and shuts off all conscious control. It then sends false sensations to all the senses so the victim seems transported into another reality but was actually stuck in an imaginary world while his body quickly dies from lack of food and water. It would take tremendous will power for Trenzein to survive the spell.

"You realize that despite his ignorance and prideful strutting, this boy has a powerful sense of self, Mephistopheles. I wouldn't discount the chance of him breaking free from your spell."

The archdevil simply nodded.

"I am fully aware of that, "Master" Raven. To be exact, the chances are half against half. I do so love to gamble occasionally. You may leave now, and do take his drooling and mumbling body out of here, he'll stain my floor."

Raven shrugged as well. He picked up Trenzein's body by the collar and hoisted it over his shoulder before leaving. His business was done with Mephistopheles as was any business involving the Nine Hells.

'Just as I expected him to do…I've sent you down the necessary path, Mister Zaisen. For your sake and the huntress's, you'd better survive this spell…'

With another spell, Raven was back in his personal plane. He deposited the body unceremoniously on the stone floor and sat back. The talking and doing part of his role in this Crimson Twilight thing was almost over. Now, all he had to do was wait. He didn't have to wait for long though, Trenzein Zaisen had a few hours of being stuck in Microcosm before his body would completely shut down…

······

'What happened?'

Trenzein looked around him. A moment ago, he was staring at a furious archdevil. Suddenly, Mephistopheles pointed at him and spoke a word for a spell. There was no time to react, as soon as he heard the word, everything had gone dark.

'I deserve this from his point of view…why did I refuse him anyway?'

Trenzein stared at the blackness that surrounded him. It wasn't darkness as he could see his hand in front of him. He was neither hot nor cold and he couldn't hear anything but the sound of his breathing. He wasn't in darkness, he was…nowhere.

'Why did I say no?'

The question repeated itself in Trenzein's mind. The answer had come to him spontaneously, as if it should have been the only answer he had for the archdevil but he did not understand why he would be so quick to say no…

'After all that talk I did in front of Raven Huer, I would back off at the last moment…it's humiliating. I can't be strong by my own way or by Abraxil's. I can't believe I'm stuck like this...'

The void that surrounded Trenzein rippled briefly, as if it was water that had been slightly disturbed. The nothingness suddenly started to fade away, replaced by a familiar background. Once more, Trenzein was back in Prontera…

"Welcome home, Master Zaisen."

Trenzein turned around to see who addressed him. The term "master" immediately alerted him that something was not right here. It was likely a part of the devil's spell…

"Who are you? Why do you call me master?"

Trenzein's eyes narrowed. His first question was unnecessary. He knew who this person was; it was Relkin Cohlm, a high-ranking member of the Geffen Wizard Academy. That only made the second question doubly necessary. It was likely that the high-ranking wizard was mocking him by calling him master.

"I am but a humble follower of yours, Master Zaisen. Just like all of them..."

Relkin gestured behind him. By the main square of Prontera were hundreds of wizards. All of them were bowing humbly in front of Trenzein. No one dared to even look at him out of reverence. Even those who weren't wizards bowed out of respect.

"Welcome home, High Wizard Trenzein Zaisen. Will you return to your abode now?"

Trenzein nodded dumbly. What was going on? Was he a High Wizard? Did Mephistopheles do this? Everything could just be an illusion. Trenzein shook his head and focused. An illusion would be something of a dream; if he concentrated then he could snap out of it. After a few moments, nothing happened. Trenzein frowned and decided to follow Relkin for the meantime. Perhaps he was tired, if he went along with the illusion for a while and rested, he'd have enough strength to break free later.

"We are here, Master Zaisen."

Relkin bowed once again. It seemed almost an unnatural gesture for the old man. Trenzein had always believed that the Academy wizard had a face that was used only to looking down on others. Relkin's beak-like, hooked nose and piercing gaze reminded the green-haired wizard of cranky and old owls. Trenzein shifted his attention to what was supposed to be his home. Instead he found himself staring at a gigantic tower. Arcane symbols line the dark, stone walls of the building. The tower itself was so high that he could not see the top from his position.

'This is…my home?'

Trenzein waved a hand to dismiss Relkin. The gesture surprised him though. He was never the one to issue orders to "underlings" but it had come to him almost naturally. The massive, black iron doors opened at his slightest touch and closed without so much as a clang when he entered. The interior of the tower was even more richly decorated than the outside. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the carpet was a luxurious purple. The stairs to the topmost level seemed to beckon for him to move on though.

'This is what I wanted?'

Trenzein looked around him. Symbols of power were everywhere. Shelves line the walls, even along the staircase. Books of different sizes and thickness filled those shelves. Most of them had a symbol of magic. Finally he reached the top floor. There was a personal study here. It was richly decorated and luxurious in every way. More books lined more shelves here and surrounding the circular room were the spell seeds themselves. There was a door that leads to a balcony. Trenzein surmised that it was for getting a view of the city. From this height, he could probably see all of Prontera as well as the surrounding lands.

"Well that's…arrogant."

Trenzein could almost picture himself looking out that balcony. As a High Wizard, he was the strongest spell caster in the whole of Rune-Midgard. With the spell seeds, he could do any spell he wished granted the time. He could raise mountains out of plains or islands out the ocean. He could also shatter or sink them. He could make it rain fire or block out the sun. He could develop the Antithesis just to show Raven Huer that he could.

'Why did I refuse this?'

Trenzein looked around him. This would prove to everyone how strong he really was. It would prove how much they underestimated him or looked down on what he had accomplished. In this illusionary world, he had shown up the Wizards' Academy and they were now groveling fools that were beneath his station. He had reached an untouchable state. Abraxil was likely dead in this world as is the same with any immortal who had opposed him. This was complete victory. Here he was the strongest, the master of Rune-Midgard's magic and the true ruler of Prontera.

'This is what Mephistopheles offered me. All I had to say was yes. I could even keep my soul. Why did I say no?'

Trenzein focused on the spell seeds that surrounded him. He had power here, even though it was illusionary, this could be a reality. He could gain this but…

'It's not what I want…'

The background shimmered again, as if reality was cracking. Trenzein watched the riches…the power. His eyes widened in realization.

"This isn't what I wanted! This isn't why I was so desperate to become stronger! I didn't want to become strong to accumulate all this!"

The background shattered like glass. Once more, Trenzein was in complete void but this time he had the answers to his first questions.

'I refused because what he offered wasn't what I wanted. If I had accepted it then it would have changed my goals. I would have failed miserably even though I looked like I was succeeding.'

Trenzein closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What do I want then? What was I looking for when I came to hell? What do I expect to gain from learning Antithesis? Why do I want the power to defeat the Dark Lord and my other enemies? I wanted…"

"You wanted a spell…"

The voice came out of the void so suddenly that Trenzein nearly fell back. Indignantly he answered back.

"Of course I wanted a spell! Every spell caster wants a spell! I got my spells!"

The voice did not answer again. Everything was quiet as the void began to ripple. Another background was forming. The question inside Trenzein's mind changed. It was true that he wanted a spell but what spell did he want? Why couldn't he be satisfied with what was taught to him in the academy?

Once more, Trenzein found himself somewhere. He was back in his old house in Geffen; a small house that was near the famous Geffen tower. This house served as the home and workplace of the renowned sage, Salnus Zaisen, his wife Erina Zaisen and their only son, Trenzein. The green-haired wizard watched silently as a much younger version of himself stared at his mother. The female wizard was working on some notes by her desk. Normally, her husband would be helping her but not anymore. Trenzein's father was dead; he had heard his mother speak of what happened. There was a group of rebel wizards back then. Separatists who wanted to bring down the academy and create their own. They had been putting pressure on Salnus but he refused to join them. One day, they had ambushed both Zaisens and their good friend, a blacksmith named Rizzed. The odds where overwhelming but Salnus had managed to get his wife to escape; unfortunately, both he and Rizzed were eventually overwhelmed and killed.

"Have you packed your belongings, Trenzein?"

His mother's voice had always sounded so icy ever since that day. Trenzein hated that tone of voice. He often wondered why but he hated it and when he heard it used on him, he hated himself as well.

"Um…no, I haven't yet, mother…"

Trenzein's younger self quickly left the room when his mother didn't answer. He knew what she was going to say anyway. She would have told him to stop dawdling and to ready his belongings. She was going to enroll him in the Geffen Wizards' Academy the following day. As soon as the young boy closed the door to his mother's study though, he put his ear next to the door. His eyes quivered when he heard the stifled sob through the thick wooden door.

'I wanted a spell that…I wanted a spell that could stop that…"

The real Trenzein looked at his hands as the background quivered.

'I wanted a spell that dried eyes. I wanted the spell that could make her stop crying. I wanted a spell that would make her look at me with pride instead of anguishing over my father…'

The background shattered once more. The void did not appear this time. Instead Trenzein found himself in Glastheim. He was beside a familiar blacksmith as they stared at the ruined interior of the Church. He remembered this scene. He had somehow gotten involved in clan Xalascent's hunt for Maiha Il-Xalascent.

"Seihanine, are you alright?"

Kreizen Xalascent rushed to his sister's side just before she collapsed in tears. Her gakkung dropped from her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably. Trenzein's eyes softened as he saw this.

'All my life I was looking for that spell. I never found it. For all its flash and power, my magic was as useless to me as it was for others.'

The background became still. Everything, even the figures of the last two Xalascents, stopped moving. Trenzein's eyes hardened his resolve. He had found his answer. He knew why he rejected the offer.

'I didn't want to be a High Wizard if I had to conform to Mephistopheles's conditions. Abraxil Sovivor's methods can't accomplish what I want. Only I can. To be like them would mean power but even with all that power I would still be useless. I would not be able to stop those tears! I would still be useless!'

A memory suddenly came to Trenzein's mind.

"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!"

Trenzein's eyes widened. The words were so self-absorbed, so uncaring for others that they sounded so alien to him. The completely contradicted what he wanted out of magic so long ago.

'What did I say? Why did I say that? How could I have thought that way?'

The green-haired wizard's fists shook as the void quivered slightly. He was a fool; a great and arrogant fool. He had chosen to blame Seihanine for his own incompetence. He had allowed that worm, Eldrid, to bait him. That was why it sounded so wrong. He had forgotten that everything he had been doing, the spell revision, the spell seeds, the desire to go beyond Rune-Midgard's magic. It was all for her. Not for the power to be stronger than anything but the power to stop those tears she shed when she killed her half-sister and realized that her clan was dead.

"I was such a fool!"

The void shattered like the backgrounds. Trenzein opened his eyes. He found himself lying face-first in Raven Huer's personal plane.

"Welcome back to reality, Trenzein Zaisen. Did you enjoy your imaginary world?"

Raven Huer smiled and raised an eyebrow. The young wizard had just survived a Microcosm spell cast by an archdevil. With a little help of course but it was proof just how much potential he had.

"You did that…"

There was no accusing tone in Trenzein's voice. He was stating a fact, not asking a question or putting the blame on someone. Raven nodded, a looking of amused cunning crossing his face.

"It was Mephistopheles who cast the Microcosm spell, Mister Zaisen, and the bargain was to see if you could survive it. He never said anything about me manipulating the images the spell showed you or the voices you heard while you were in that imaginary world. It was for the better anyway. At least you've remembered your reasons and you've found your answers. It's better than watching you live some pointless erotic fantasy as Mephistopheles would have it. I think it would have amused him watching you giggling like an idiot while you were unconscious."

Trenzein stood up and removed the dust on his gray cloak. He smiled in return and stretched his arms. He felt as if he hadn't used them for a few days. He was also incredibly hungry and thirsty.

"I must thank you then, Master Raven. Now, I have to return to my work."

The smile on Raven Huer's face widened.

"That sounds more like renewed confidence instead of misguided arrogance, Mister Zaisen. It looks like you're among the few people I know who went to hell and back and became a better person because of it."

Trenzein grinned even as his mind returned to the task of creating Antithesis. He would overcome this obstacle and then he would create other spells with the spell seeds like he did with his last battle against Abraxil Sovivor. He had already dubbed that spell as his "Hell Ball", a much more superior spell to the paltry fireball. His goals were clear to him now. He couldn't wait to start over. This time, he would not be distracted. As for Seihanine...

'She is no distraction as I wanted her to be in order to shift the blame. This is what Raven wanted me to understand. I had to focus on the task at hand or I would always be useless to her.'

Raven gestured again, causing another gate to open. Trenzein prepared to step through the portal. When the white-haired wizard stopped him.

"My bargain still stands, Mister Zaisen. You have six more days to complete my spell. Fail and you will lose your soul. I don't see the need to supervise you now. I'll be back by the end of the week to see what you've done. Let me impart this last lesson to you instead."

The white-haired wizard's eyes narrowed.

"You understand now why so many of the "great old wizards" of the past always ended up insane at some point. They had walked the path you walked a day ago. They craved power and nothing else. Power isn't an end, it's a means. You don't just gain power, you gain it for something. These old men go crazy because when they finally achieve the state they want. When people cower before them or the elements bend to their will, they realize that they don't know what it's for or what it was all for. The sudden emptiness catches up with them and they go crazy. You have the gift, Trenzein Zaisen; you could become a high wizard through all sorts of ways. What I had to correct was why you wanted to become a high wizard. The truth of the matter is the test to be a high wizard is not to induct you to the status. A high wizard's true test is whether or not he could keep himself from self-destructing like so many high wizards before him."

Raven let go as Trenzein nodded in understanding.

"You have the talent and now you have the clarity of mind to use it without becoming a self-absorbed fool like Abraxil Sovivor. I have no doubt that you can finish Antithesis by the week's end."

Trenzein's grin did not disappear. He did understand now what Raven had been teaching him from the start. He also saw clearly what he wanted to happen. Now he pitied the poor fool who would try and stop him. Antithesis would be his to cast by the end of the week. The gate shone brighter as he stepped through it. As he saw the image of his own personal laboratory, he knew that his true efforts were about to begin.

Raven Huer sat down once more and produced Lizan's nine hundred year-old wine bottle. There was a little of the liquid remaining. He poured it in a glass and took a sip.

'That boy is practically a high wizard. By the end of this week, I'll personally make him one. If he lives through Abraxil's attack that is…'

The white-haired wizard leaned back and enjoyed his wine. He couldn't wait to see what would happen…