Chapter 2: Heart of a Monster
When she was young – or rather, before she became a half-mystic – she was always surrounded by books for as long as she could remember. No friends, but at least she had the company of books. Working at her aunt's bookstore was both of a responsibility and respite for her. When business was slow, she secretly poked in and out through the inventory – as carefully as she could handle the delicate pages, since these books were to be sold after all – but that only added to the delight in her love of books. Though she loved fiction, the most fascinating books were about the cultures of other regions – places she wanted to visit after finishing high school. Where she could find her life's calling; her reason to live.
Of course, that was her dream as a human. Now, it was a matter of gaining her humanity back – if it was even possible.
"So ironic, isn't it," murmured Asellus as she turned away from the window beside her seat.
White Rose, who had been reading a magazine offered by one of the ship's attendants, did not hear what her companion had said and looked up in mute concern.
Asellus gently shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing, White Rose. I was just thinking of all the things I wanted as a human."
"Maybe you will still be able to get all those things after all," White Rose placed a sympathetic hand on Asellus' shoulder. "Even if …"
"I know what you're going to say…" interrupted Asellus as she gratefully took her friend's hand. "Even if I stay as a half-mystic … or become a full mystic."
"Let's not give up so quickly now." White Rose heartily squeezed Asellus' hand. "The least we can do is try, and we'll see if Time Lord can help you with your situation."
"A magic that controls time…?" Asellus sighed. "Maybe I'm just being too cynical here… but why do I still have doubts? And White Rose … even if I become human again, I don't want to forget you. You're my true friend."
"Oh, there's no worry about that."
Asellus and White Rose looked up at the same time in confusion.
"The effects of Time Magic have more to do with physical properties, but not so much with emotions or memories of the inhabitants within time. Therefore, while your physical body may be transported backwards in time, it's most likely you will retain memories of your past. At least, that's what the textbooks theorize on that matter."
Asellus' eyes widened. Could this random man be the legendary Time Lord … ?
"How do you know all this?" Asellus brought herself to ask. She tried to hide the excitement in her voice.
In her mind, this man seemed nothing like what she would have expected Time Lord to look like – rather, she assumed he would be a tall, regal mystic like Orlouge or Virgil. Though she did remember how White Rose had once mentioned that this unknown mystic was of middle-rank, that his name 'Lord' was not an actual title.
Nevertheless, this man that sat before them had the familiar aura of a human, something that Asellus was gradually learning to differentiate between mystics and humans. He did not possess the unearthly, supernatural aura that all mystics breathed out – no, but he did have a mysteriously powerful glow to himself – though for reasons she could not think of, his presence somehow seemed lacking and incomplete. Yet those steel-cold blue eyes were as piercing as his stoic, unsmiling facial expression that remained beneath his golden blonde hair, and he had, if not rather handsome, a very fair complexion.
"Apologies. I'm a magician studying different types of magic across the regions." He slightly bowed in politeness from his seat. "I overheard you two talking about Time Magic?"
"Yes, I am hoping to meet with the Time Lord about time travelling. I just need to find the last Arcane tarot before I acquire the Arcane magic gift."
"That's interesting. I myself am searching for the last Rune stone before I acquire the gift for the Rune magic. Though I haven't made up on my mind whether to master Time or Space magic afterwards."
White Rose raised her eyebrows slightly in doubt. "Pardon, you are looking to 'master' the Time Magic? I believe Time Lord is the only one who is capable of doing so. In fact, he is considered the 'founder' of Time Magic."
The man gave a short laugh, though Asellus thought she heard a hint of contempt in his laughter. "Of course."
They sat in awkward silence once more.
Meanwhile, Asellus could not help but marvel at the man's intricate wardrobe in all its embroidered and silken beauty. From what she could remember from a book long ago, there was only one region where they made clothes like this. It was considered their traditional clothing; if any other regional civilians were to obtain these robes, it was either by illegal smuggling or the black market where it was common to find counterfeit designs. Despite his aloofness, he did not seem like someone who would engage in impersonation or buy bootleg merchandise; there was an undeniable sense of authenticity from his presence.
"Are you from the Magic Kingdom?" she found herself wondering out loud.
The man broke into an unexpected smile – a spectacular view; if it was not for his genuine smile, Asellus was ready to pass him off as an unfriendly stranger. His whole demeanor changed instantly.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Born and raised."
Asellus smiled back, hoping this was the beginning of a rapport. She then remembered what the Shadow Magic merchant from Luminous had said before – about a magician from the Magic Kingdom … was he the man in the shadows? The friendly stranger who had helped her and White Rose in Omble?
"Where do you all come from?" He asked.
She was about to answer him when she was suddenly pushed off her seat as the ship came to a violent stop, and everything went black. The ship's emergency lights soon burst on, and a pilot spoke frantically from the intercom, apologizing for the abrupt landing and that they were waiting to hear back from air traffic control for assistance. The ship's door opened, and people gingerly stepped outside into the faint outdoor light.
"Where are we…" Asellus could hear a passenger moan.
"Something smells funny!" exclaimed a young girl.
"There you are," White Rose squeezed her way through the crowd of passengers towards Asellus. They had lost each other in the commotion. "Something's not right with the ship. I don't believe this is Scrap, let alone an actual region at all."
"Me neither," Asellus pursed her lips as she studied the surroundings. There were walls of what looked like veins and muscles … as if they were inside the body of some giant creature?
"Hey, a ship! What a nice surprise."
The passengers fell silent as some masked men walked onto the scene. They looked up and down, eyeing each frightened passenger as if they were looking for anything valuable to take from them.
"You there," one of them yelled out to an elderly man. "Bring your luggage over here!"
As much as Asellus herself was frightened, she started to feel anger as the masked men started to walk around the crowd, trying to intimidate the passengers into giving up their belongings. She turned to White Rose and the magician. "Who are these people? We should do something!"
Much to Asellus' disappointment, the magician turned away.
"This has nothing to do with me." He coldly replied.
Asellus was still staring at him in dismay when a younger man stepped in front of the elderly man to stop the masked man from getting close. "Don't tell us what to do!"
His remark was answered with a swift punch to the face. The young man stumbled backwards from the impact.
This was the last straw for Asellus.
"Stop it!" she screamed as she ran up to the front before White Rose could stop her. Asellus unsheathed her Asura and defiantly glared at the masked men, her fear now having turned into righteous anger.
"What'd you say, little girl?" they taunted, "C'mon, fight us, why don't you!"
Asellus was ready to strike when she saw a woman approach from behind them.
"Boss," one of the masked men called out to the woman. "These jerkoffs ain't listenin' to us."
The woman took one good look at the young man who was keeled over and holding his face, and then slapped the masked men.
"You idiots," she snapped in a harsh, coarse voice. Turning towards the passengers, she immediately adopted a smoother tone and forced a smile onto her makeup-heavy face. "Sorry for the little misunderstanding here. My men can act like morons, sometimes … " she paused to give another death glare to her men, "but we are in the belly of Tanzer. I didn't believe there was such a creature until it swallowed my own ship recently. We are just trying to make ends meet by scavenging whatever Tanzer eats up. So we'd better move along quickly before he opens up his mouth again." She tried to wave them over to her.
"Wait a minute," another voice called out from the distance. A tall man with a long braid appeared from the opposite corner. "Don't go with her. This is Nomad, the infamous crime boss."
A collective gasp went around the crowd, but the woman seemed undeterred. "Yes, that's true. I am Nomad," she spoke with a certain air of arrogance, "I did some rough stuff when I was on the outside. But I only did all that to survive! And besides, that's all in the past. You're free to go with that man or with me. Take your pick!"
With that, the woman walked away as quickly as she had appeared. As Asellus expected, nobody followed Nomad and her crew.
"Everyone, please remain calm and follow me. My name is Fei-On. I have a temporary safe spot for us to stay, it's too dangerous to remain in this spot." The man motioned to everyone as they gathered their luggage. "If any able hands are available to assist us, we have recently found a ship full of canned goods that we can distribute amongst ourselves."
Along with a few others, Asellus and White Rose volunteered to help.
"How long has it been since you and these people have been staying here?" Asellus looked around the lair as she broke down an empty cardboard box.
Fei-On sighed. "I believe it has been about three months now. Passenger ships are not very common here, but the monster does consume aircrafts with shipping containers every few weeks or so. We've all been living off of whatever we find in those."
"That crime boss lady … does she fight you for your supplies?"
"Indeed she does. Nomad and her gang are dirty, both in and outside of Tanzer. I'm trying to protect the others from her exploits for as long as we end up staying here. Please," Fei-On turned to face them, "can you help me?"
The other passengers murmured in agreement as Asellus smiled back at him. But she felt her smile fading away as she noticed the magician's presence.
"I'm just here for the Vitality Rune," was all he simply said.
"Oh my gosh, he's right," White Rose suddenly whispered into her companion's ear. "This is the legendary monster Tanzer. It's also a rare chance for me to get my Vitality Rune, Asellus."
Fei-On politely nodded at the magician. "I understand we've all got our own problems. If you are looking for the rune, I can take you to the Slime Pool where it's preserved." They both started to walk away when Asellus reached out to stop them.
"Wait. We are coming too for the rune."
Fei-On seemed a little concerned. "The path there won't be very safe for you two. Let me call some of my men to accompany us, then. There are many other hostile monsters ahead. "
Asellus scoffed. "Are you kidding? White Rose and I … we're not about being rescued. We're all about kicking ass! I appreciate the concern, but we'll be just fine with you … and … " Asellus turned towards the magician, as she waited for him to say his name. But he remained silent, only staring indifferently back at her.
Fei-On was not entirely convinced, but because Asellus seemed so adamant he finally gave in. The four of them proceeded out of the lair.
Their journey was not as daunting as Fei-On had made out to be, for many creatures had already been culled extensively by Fei-On's crew during their previous time spent inside Tanzer. Every once in a while, a creature would indeed attack – but it was nothing that Asellus and White Rose could not handle. Of course, it also helped that they had extra assistance from Fei-On, who was a professional martial artist, as well as the nameless, stoic mage, who was surprisingly skilled with the sword and the fist in addition to his various magic abilities.
But as Fei-On announced they were getting closer to the Slime Pool, Asellus could not help but feel that the mage's refrain from socializing was a little more than unnerving, if not rather rude. Many light, general pleasantries was shared on and off between Fei On and the two girls, but at no moment did the mage ever bother speaking.
The question Asellus had meant to ask him before remained on her mind, but she found herself racking her brain on how to bring it about. For some reason, she wondered if he would even bother answering? Or would she be met with an icy silence?
Asellus was deep in thought when she suddenly lost her footing and slipped backwards – only to be caught from behind!
"Um … thank you …?" she struggled to speak as she met White Rose and Fei-On's concerned eyes. That's when she knew …
"You okay?" was all the magician grunted, as he steadied her up.
"Yeah, fine." Asellus gingerly took off her hands from his supportive arms. His eyes remained as icy blue as before, but she found herself blushing under his expressionless gaze. 'Ugh … why do I feel so embarrassed?' Asellus also somehow felt angry with herself for blushing.
"All right," Fei-On interrupted the awkwardness as he motioned towards behind him, "the Vitality Rune is just over inside that cave. It's protected by giant slimes. Are you all ready?"
"Bring it on," Asellus gripped her sword. The magician nodded in silence. White Rose looked a little uncertain, but no one had noticed her expression as they moved forward.
The cave was an enclosure of wet, green walls of flesh and lumpy floors with viscous puddles of orange that were laid out sporadically before them. Asellus held White Rose's hand as they carefully stepped over the puddles, until suddenly!
A great splash of orange rushed upwards from underneath one of Asellus' boots, knocking over both girls.
"Here they come!" Fei-On and Blue rushed over to the girls, who were struggling against the fleshy, moving ground to get back up.
"Gosh, how many are there?" White Rose drew out her Faeblade to absorb one of the slimes, but failing to do so.
"It's hard to say. These slimes are known to reappear even after you destroy it. Stay together now, they won't be too dangerous as long as we stick together." Fei-On ushered White Rose behind him.
Asellus leaped into the air as she sliced her way through a giant slime, only for the bits of orange to gather up into another slime, unharmed and bigger than ever.
"Damn it!" she groaned in pure disappointment. "What's causing them to respawn? This is hopeless! There are too many!"
"Hang on, I got an idea!" The magician suddenly gathered his hands together and fiercely recited a magic spell. Asellus' eyes flashed in recognition at the words, "Vermillion Sands!"
A gigantic ruby gemstone appeared, drawing up all the slimes and slamming them down in a shower of red, sparkling sand. The slimes disappeared for a brief moment – and something in the far corner behind where the slimes previously stood shined forth a brilliant green light.
"There it is! The Vitality Rune!" The gang ran towards it, evading the splashes of orange that were forming into giant slimes again.
"Hurry, before the slimes attack us!"
The magician was the first to touch the shining rune, with Fei-On, Asellus, and White Rose trailing close behind. The giant slimes were still heading towards them, when the magician quickly recited the Vitality spell onto everybody there.
As the sparkling green lights from the magic rained down all around, the giant slimes slowed down until they stopped pursuing the gang. Almost as if they had started to accept them as one of their own …
"It seems that these slimes are manifested from the aftereffects of the Vitality Rune inside Tanzer," the magician explained as he slipped out a small notebook and started to write in it. "Their consistencies are literally made of the Vitality Rune."
"That makes sense why they keep respawning even after we kill it!" exclaimed Asellus with excitement at this new, interesting bit of knowledge.
The magician flashed another unexpected smile. "That is correct."
Asellus smiled back – and this time, she felt confident at smiling back at him. How could she ever forget that Vermillion Sands spell? Though this was the first time for her to witness it in color, that recitation was unmistakably the same as the Good Samaritan's from Omble.
"I think it's safe for us to get back now. The slimes no longer seem to be aggressive." Fei-On took the lead as they headed back, when the ground started to shake.
"Oh gosh … what now?" Asellus grabbed onto White Rose's arms for support.
"I spoke too soon," Fei-On shouted over the growing, rumbling noise, "but I think our scuffle with the slimes caused a shock inside Tanzer. We need to head back and warn the others; if we're lucky, the monster will finally spit us out."
"In that case, we should hurry. Maybe we can work faster if we split up into groups," White Rose prepared to teleport. "I can travel the quickest with my teleportation, so I will gather the children first."
"Thank you. Then the three of us can get back to the lair and help with the older folks and their belongings." Fei-On turned to Asellus, who nodded with determination.
"What about that lady, Nomad? And her crew of jerks?" grimaced Asellus. "I guess we should warn them too, even though they probably don't deserve any help?" She slightly giggled as she turned to the mage, hoping to joke with him a little.
But he did not return her good-natured glance. His eyes were hidden by the shadows of his blonde, wavy bangs.
"Who cares?" was what Asellus thought she heard from him.
"Don't you care what happens to all these people?" She could not hold back the growing hurt in her voice.
"I have no more business here." With that abrupt reply, he pulled out a worn-out looking map and seemed to be slowly reciting another magic spell. He seemed to be fading away, almost in a similar fashion as White Rose's teleportation ability.
"Wait a minute!" cried out Asellus. She just had to make sure – was this cold, calculative man the person she had met in Omble? "How did you find your shadow before?"
For the first time since their entire interaction, the mage seemed a little surprised. "What are you talking about?"
"Shadow magic! Your gift for the Shadow magic!" Asellus ran over to the mage, somehow hoping to stop him from teleporting away. But it was too late – all she could do was gaze helplessly back at his own confused eyes as his travelling magic spell was already completing itself.
"Gone …" Fei-On was just as confused and bewildered by the magician's swift disappearing act.
Asellus stared at the empty space where the magician had been standing previously, saying nothing. The disappointment was almost too much to bear.
It was not until the ground shook violently once more as a reminder that an important task remained – to gather everybody back onto the ship in case Tanzer spits them out. Fei-On hurried with Asellus back to the lair, where White Rose was waiting with a crowd of people.
"That was a weird adventure …" White Rose yawned as she settled back into her seat.
Asellus nodded silently, and reached for a magazine. She did not want to think too much about what happened.
"Too bad that young man couldn't return with us," murmured White Rose sleepily. "Maybe he was in a rush."
"Maybe," Asellus shrugged as she flipped casually through the pages. "but White Rose … he was kind of mean. Just from the way he talked, and how he didn't seem to care about anything else except getting that Vitality Rune."
"Well, you know that not everybody in the world is a nice person on the inside. I'm sorry you are disappointed though." White Rose laid a sympathetic hand on Asellus's drooping shoulder.
"Disappointed? Hah …" Asellus gently grabbed her friend's hand in gratitude. "I just wanted to thank him for helping us back in Omble. But he left before I could say anything. Those icy blue eyes of his … I don't mean to be so dramatic, but as good-looking as he sorta was, it was like looking into the depths of a coldblooded monster's soul."
"Like the heart of a monster, huh…" White Rose, who rarely paid attention to any details of humans in general, admitted that she too felt that the magician had a peculiar personality. A little one-sided for a human …
"Anyway," continued Asellus, "If I'm disappointed with anybody, it's with myself. For thinking briefly that maybe I had made another friend that I can trust like you, White Rose."
"He really did seem like a nicer person before though, I do agree with you on that. But as the old human adage says, you can't judge a book by its cover. I have to agree with humans on that, haha."
Asellus smiled. "I suppose humans and mystics aren't too different in their way of thinking. When we first met, I bet you thought I would cause you a lot of trouble, right? And I thought you would be a female Ildon, or even worse than him. But I'm so glad you turned out to be a friend."
"Well, the lord did appoint me as your educator and mentor, after all. But … I guess your new-fangled ideas about leaving the castle had grown on me since then," White Rose winked playfully at her young charge. "Besides … I've also often wondered what life is like outside Facinaturu … though I never really cared about pursuing my curiosity for the world before I met you, Lady Asellus."
"Ugh … again with the 'lady'. But, I get it. Thank you, Princess White Rose."
"Come on now … " White Rose's voice faded away into a sound sleep.
Asellus pulled out a blanket and covered up her friend. At least White Rose was by her side. Even if she was to never make another friend, at least she was with White Rose.
She gazed out the window. At least now, she could be more confident in obtaining the next Arcane tarot. And maybe the extra Vitality Rune pebble might come in handy later, even though she knew she could not obtain both the gift of Rune and Arcane Magic. At least she was learning more about the stuff she read about in books from her aunt's store long ago. Experiencing all the things she had been curious about from those books.
Asellus had not realized she had fallen asleep herself, until the pilot's voice rang through the intercom.
"Welcome to Scrap. It is now 11:00am in local time."
End of Chapter 2.
Note: Thank you for reading this far! Please leave a review if you have the time, as this will help me uncover any spelling or grammatical errors, or help explain anything that is confusing. Thank you again!