The Devil That Dreamt Of Paradise

by Yamishika

As the will for freedom goes deeper than you'd ever know. (Dark Jellal-Centric Story) Tags : Pre-Canon to Eventual Canon , Heavy Backstory , Distressing Themes , Gritty , Twisted , Psychological Drama , Questioning Morality , Very Slow Build Up , Eventual Jerza , Freedom Obsession , Childhood to Adulthood , Eventual Yandere Jellal...(53/63 Completed)

53. The Mystery Thickens (Part 1)

Morning had arrived once again, and the young Fernandes was on his way to begin what had become his usual routine. Having woken up alongside the cool morning sun and listened to the sounds of the robins greeting the new day, he sat up on his bed as his focus faded in and out until reality became solid.

"It's morning again…."

He mumbled to himself with a sleepy tone, lazily looking around with a half-open left eye before a yawn broke through him. The entering rays of the winter sun refreshed him a little as they washed over his skin and brightened his vision.

"Mmm…"

He blinked to himself a few times, trying to shake away the drowsiness from his sight. Once that was done, he followed up by using his small fingers to rub away any residue that had built up around his eyes during his sleep.

After that, he was more present in the world.

Not completely,

But he was getting there.

"I need to get up…."

He groaned before using his hand to scratch the back of his head as another yawn left his lips. He could feel his azure waves tickling the sides of his face and the tip of his nose from how unkempt they had become through his tossing and turning in the night.

He probably looked like some sort of blue bush now.

Reluctantly, he threw off the warm bedding from his body. Not because he didn't want to — but because the warmth built up between them was something he already knew he would miss. Especially when he could feel the day was cold, to begin with.

With a sigh, Jellal left his bed. He instantly felt the temperature drop from his soft, toasty covers to the hard stone under his feet. He couldn't help but shiver because of it.

Dragging himself to get his new set of clothing, he chose a pair of clothes that were decent in his eyes for the coming day: just some dark trousers and a long sleeve. Nothing new, nor was it anything not becoming tatters. Yet he needed a change of clothes after neglecting himself for so long.

Considering he regained some energy to do that now, he wasn't going to waste it.

Wordlessly the boy started to strip himself out of his days-old clothing whilst still in a haze. Thankfully, there wasn't much odour built up in the old clothes despite how long he had worn them. Must have been due to the fact he barely did anything and the colder weather being in his favour.

He shivered again as he exposed more skin than he was comfortable with while changing his garments. As he was doing so, he couldn't help but notice that his clothing felt a little baggier than he remembered it to be.

'I've lost some weight.'

He thought to himself as he pinched the front of his shirt to determine how much looser it was now. It wasn't swamping him, but it sure did feel roomier than he remembered. Weird, considering before all this, he was growing quite a bit and getting fuller.

Seems like that was reversing again.

As he noted this apparent change, he wondered what else might have altered about him through all this passing time.

Letting out another rough sigh, Jellal stood in front of the mirror hung onto his bedroom wall to see what the case was with his appearance.

Just like he expected, he did indeed look like a bush. His hair volume had doubled, with azure waves jutting out in all directions. It looked a little silly, even if he did say so himself, but he was going to fix it.

Using his fingers, he started to comb through his poking strands. Trying his best to untangle the knots but occasionally got stuck in some, which made him wince. He continued to do so until the hair started to take a more uniform shape and look somewhat put together.

It wasn't perfect though. There were still remnants of obvious bedhead and knots that hurt too much to untangle on his own. His hair volume didn't calm down as he expected it would either. But there was only so much fingers could do.

They could not compare to a brush.

As he ran his fingers through what he unravelled of his knotted hair, he remembered how the brunette stone-faced lady used to comb his hair out at times. It made him remember when she would cut it too. So it wouldn't get too long and prone to tangling. Or look too unkempt.

His eyes shifted downwards.

That wasn't the case anymore.

What she did wasn't to make him look good or anything, but some part of him missed it. Maybe because her 'care' for him was the closest thing he had alike to care from a guardian, even with how strange it was. And all the circumstances that came with it.

A bitter smile lined his lips.

He didn't think he would ever miss the company of the stone-faced ladies.

Irose with her out-of-place behaviour and awkwardness.

Or even Mika with her strictness.

But, with the days that passed without seeing them anymore, he noticed how much quieter life was.

Without Irose's fumbling to change his clothes and fix his hair. Or Mika's stern words as she would watch over him without him realising. And the food she used to make him. And how she would get him cleaned up when he would get messy one way or another.

All of that was gone now.

And he couldn't help but realise it was so different.

A heavy sigh hung from his lips as he started straightening out his clothing how he remembered when it used to be done for him. By patting down any apparent creases and making sure not to be too harsh with his touches on the fabric lest it should tear.

Because if it were to, no one would stitch it up again for him now.

Vera and Alika wouldn't.

They never did any things like that.

And he had no reason to believe they would start now, which was a problem. As if they didn't do it, he didn't exactly have the skills to fix anything himself either…

So with that in mind, he wanted to avoid causing any damage in what way he could.

Thankfully though, the clothing remained intact as he finished patting himself down. There wasn't any need for stitching to be done this time around. So he was glad there was no problems there.

After he was content with the look of his garments, his visage glanced at the mirror in front again. The boy's dark eyes gradually widened as he became aware of the changes his appearance had undergone once more.

His skin wasn't as bronzed as he remembered it to be. Due to the colder season, it was taking on a lighter, ivory tone again. But. Compared to when his skin would usually turn paler for the year, it didn't look as creamy as before.

Instead, it was nearly sickly looking.

Even almost sallow…

Jellal stared at his dull complexion with equally dull eyes before he realised his hair was starting to get long again too. It had grown a good few inches since its last cut, now nearly reaching his shoulders. Using his fingers he held a limp piece of hair framing his face as he felt the texture. Dry & brittle. So not only did it look bad, it didn't feel the best either.

He let out a sigh again, somewhat heavier than last time, before looking at what else had changed.

His attention went to his eyes. He remembered them once shining with brightness and curiosity. He remembered them also looking lively with a changing array of tones, such as bronze or gold, with rings of olive green that surfaced around the edge as the light hit them.

Now they didn't really look like that.

Rather, their colour was like a faded, ugly brown, which only got duller to look at the more he watched them. He could see the spark in them trying to light. And then just fail every time. Leaving his eyes with less life than they had to begin with. It was such a strange sight.

It didn't help he had some darkness built up around them too, which made his muted eyes stand out even more on his washed-out features unpleasantly. The darkness showed more than normal too. Contrasting harsh enough against his paler complexion to give him a haggard look.

The only things that brought a form of colour to his face now were the darkness built up around his eyes and that inky tattoo staining his right side.

'Is this how I look now….?'

The boy thought to himself as he gently touched his face whilst watching his mirror image. Almost as if he was trying to confirm if the boy in the mirror and him were truly the same.

They were.

That realisation felt a bit strange…

He didn't know why.

It just did.

But.

Even with that being said,

There was something else he could say.

That even though these evident changes weren't the best for his appearance, he was somewhat surprised he didn't look worse. Of course, it still stood that he looked fairly drained, but…It was nothing haunting like he had been imagining.

'The sleep I've been getting recently must have helped a lot then….'

It may have been weird but…Ever since he had seen his mother's peaceful countenance…Sleep came to him easier.

Ever since he saw her smile.

His mother's smile.

After so long.

He knew it was from that night onwards that his mind was less disturbed and disrupted. He knew it was from that night on he felt he could rest a little easier. He knew it was all from that night alone. But he didn't know why.

It's possible that seeing his mother in such a calm state must have given him a semblance of peace that his mind had been deprived of.

And even with everything going on and all the worries he had…

Seeing her like that somehow helped.

A lot.

From seeing her in peace,

It gave him peace too.

It calmed his heart.

Though there was the question niggling in his mind as to 'why' she was like that in the first place, he believed it had to do something with that man he saw that night.

The Man in Black.

Someone who he still could not figure out the identity of. And whenever he tried to demystify what surrounded him, he found himself getting nowhere or just more confused with what he barely knew.

He truly was an enigma.

From the way he looked.

To the way he acted.

Even to the way he smelt.

It was weird.

But in the same breath…

It wasn't bad.

As the man didn't hurt him. Nor did the man look at him like those other vile rats he encountered. And, also, he believed he helped his mom in some way.

So that man couldn't be bad.

Really, more than something fearsome, he saw that man like a miracle.

Not because of what happened between the two of them. But because of what change he caused for his mother.

Ever since that night he had seen him visit her, she was a lot calmer now.

She barely screamed or shouted. Nothing was thrown much by her. Nor did she cry much either. And it seemed Vera and Alika had an easier time dealing with her.

He couldn't help but be amazed by that.

The woman, who cried and screamed on a frequent basis. Who fought everyone and everything like her life depended on it. Who would erupt into howling and screeching just from the smallest trifling matter.

She was actually becoming tame.

And he had so many questions, the biggest one being,

How?

Her madness had reached heights that even he started to believe she wouldn't come back from it.

Seeing her get injected with substances and beaten to subdue her wild behaviour. And having witnessed her deteriorate day by day from a woman filled with pain to nothing but a child throwing everlasting tantrums.

Not once did he see that alleviate.

It all only got worse with each day that passed.

She only got worse with each day that passed.

The woman he knew to be his mother had faded more from reality as he had to come to terms with the monster that inhabited her. Her sweet and warm memories started to seem more like a cruel dream that haunted him rather than having ever been part of reality. Just because of how different the monster and his mother were.

He didn't want that to be the case.

But it had been getting to the point that he couldn't think otherwise.

Her madness was making him so hopeless with how it dragged on; he feared the image he preserved of her would start to distort with time. That the remembrance of her tenderness would become a distant haze, and the memories of that monster would begin to overlap hers.

Removing the last things he could keep of her from him.

He started to fear…That the only things he had left of his mother would also leave him too…

He'd be left with no memories of comfort or warmth—just pain and horror.

And there would be no way to bring them back.

That's what he was starting to believe.

And if he had to be honest, though the fear wasn't an addressed one, he realised how deeply wormed into him it was when his emotions broke loose that night. When he was able to feel the raw intensity spurn inside him from the possibility of losing his mother.

Then, it was just the fear of losing her physically.

But now he realised it was more than that.

Much more.

After seeing her face change since so long, though there was relief in seeing her smile, part of him had started to believe he would never see it again…And maybe due to that belief, his heart panged more than he expected it to.

It was still incredulous to him that he saw her like that. Not with a scowl etched on her face. Not in pain or misery. Not with tears streaming down her face out of incessant wailing.

But looking like she was at peace.

And it was due to that strange man.

It had to be.

After he came, everything changed.

But how?

And why?

Before even addressing the influence the man in black had on his mother, he questioned how he could even do such a thing without injury.

Because the woman he knew, would fight anything and everything that came near her. Only a handful of guards, those strange powders or those injections she would be forced to take would be able to subdue her. Or some beatings to get her to quieten down. And if not that, then those foul drinks which she would guzzle down and become less of a problem with.

These were all the conditions he knew to be necessary for anyone to be able to come near to his mother.

Yet this man used none of them.

He didn't beat her, when looking over her skin he confirmed that. He didn't inject her either; there wasn't any sort of mark or bruising to tell that. Nor had she smelt of those awful drinks. So she couldn't have been drowning herself in that for him to be able to approach her with ease.

Then what did he do?

How could that man meet his mother without doing any of that, and still come back in one piece?

Well…He couldn't really say that for sure since he couldn't see much of the man due to how thickly covered he was. There was also the fact he smelt bloody too…

But from what he could recall, the blood-tinged scent did not smell…'fresh'.

If that made any sense?

More like old copper that had dried into the fabric for days.

So from that, it didn't seem like it would have been his mother's doing for him to be smelling like that, even though it did make him question why he had such an odour like that in the first place…

But then again there was no way to know, so that was just another mystery of the many surrounding 'The Man in Black'.

Yet...Something he could add to his deduction was the fact that if his mother did hurt him, there would have been some sort of scene in her room.

Whether that would be; bottles had been thrown and smashed, her looking more dishevelled, blood dried down on the floor etc. There would have been something along those lines if he was attacked by her or vice versa.

But there wasn't.

Which simply confused him even more.

There was the possibility that 'The Man In Black' could have visited her whilst she was asleep, but something told him that wasn't it. Not after seeing her smile like that.

Sure, maybe she could have been having a good dream, that was a possibility. But…For some reason, with how tormented she had become before this…That seemed unlikely to him.

And he didn't know why…Something in his heart just told him that wasn't the case. Even though he wasn't there to confirm, he felt like that man and his mother did meet when she was conscious and something happened, and he made her smile.

But what could that have been?

Who could he have been?

And why would he do that?

A grated sigh left the young child as he still could not fathom it. What could that man have done to make his mom happy? How could he bring a smile to her face after what the gods had condemned her to? How could he undo that?

It didn't make sense to him. And the more he thought about 'The Man In Black'; the more questions swarmed his mind on top of the unanswered ones.

That night he met him, didn't seem real.

What he did, didn't seem real.

He didn't even seem real.

But he was.

And all the boy wanted to know now was how?

How, who and why?

How he made his mother happy?

Who he was to make her happy?

Why did he make her happy?

A woman titled a she-devil and that was not approached for any means other than to be abused or used. Why would he come and not treat her like everyone else? Why wouldn't he hurt her? Why wouldn't he use her? Why wouldn't he make her scream or cry? Or leave marks on her? Or say bad things to her?

Why didn't he do any of that?

Who was he?

Another sound of frustration left the boy as the mysteries only served to addle him further.

First Merak.

Then Mika.

Then Irose.

Then that weird guard.

And now,

This Man In Black.

And his mother's change.

It was all so weird. But at least, like the other mysteries, he didn't feel an alarming sense of worry regarding this man and his mom.

Rather…If he had known this man had such an effect on his mother before they had met, he would have wanted to speak to him and ask why.

He would have wanted to ask him who he was and what he did or said to his mom to make her smile.

So then perhaps, he could do the same too, and he would see her happy more.

Actually…If he was to meet that man again, he probably would have a few more questions than that.

Like why was he dressed so heavily, was he cold? Why was he missing two fingers? Did they still hurt? Why was he so big? What did his face look like? Or did he even have a face?

Also, where did he come from?

He'd want to ask that and a lot more.

He didn't know why….The man didn't seem as scary now knowing he helped his mom in a good way. And he didn't hurt him either so that also didn't make him as scary anymore too.

At this point, even though some fear did exist towards the weird man, he was more intrigued rather than terrified of him.

But…Even if they were to meet again….There was no guarantee the man would answer him.

To be honest…

He didn't even know if The Man In Black could speak.

With those guttural sounds he could remember him making, it seemed he struggled to breathe so forget about talking. And the way he sounded didn't seem really normal either…

He couldn't help but wonder why.

But there was no point in ruminating on all these details….That man hadn't come back since then, so he probably shouldn't have given him so much thought. Besides…He had other things he needed to focus on other than him and his mysteries.

'Enough thinking, I need to get outside.'

He pat his face with his palms trying to liven himself up a bit. After doing so, he gave one more glance to himself in the mirror to see if he was ready to go out. Thankfully, he was looking in a much better condition than how he was when he woke up.

Not perfect and still gloomy, but decent enough.

'I think I can go now…'

Satisfied with the results, Jellal walked away from his mirror and smoothed out his clothing once more as he got ready to continue his routine. But, before he was about to make the steps to leave his room, another thought came, which made him go back to his bed.

'I might take a few books out with me today…'

It did get quite boring doing nothing but watching the world in waiting. Even with Hazel and her babies, he needed something to do to pass time. And also…Something to block out Marik's incessant volley of vile words.

Bitterness filled his mouth from that last thought.

Walking over to his bed, the boy crouched down to reach for the dark satchel that still held his books. The leather of the bag had suffered more as the days went by, but thankfully it was still intact. He only hoped it would stay like that and not add to the losses he had incurred recently.

'I think I will take…'

'This book!'

Instead of taking his art book like usual, Jellal settled on taking one of his reading books to keep him company. It wasn't anything long or special, just a book that taught him more about the outside world and nature in great detail. He thought it was fitting since the world was dull again and the colours in the book from the pretty pictures would have been a nice treat for his sight.

With that book, he also packed some other small information books that he had which could also have helped with passing time. But nothing intensive or requiring too much focus, as his brain was a bit too worn out for that. Given all that had been happening…

Having got himself prepared for another day of waiting, Jellal finally made his way out of his room, feeling his tummy grumble a bit as he closed his door on him. He was a bit hungry, but the food still wasn't tasting that great to him, so he didn't really want to get anything at the moment.

Not that it would have been prepared now anyway.

He looked at his bedroom door once more, eyebrows furrowing themselves as he recalled the fact his door was left somewhat open that night he saw the man.

That was another mystery among the many.

Sure he could have possibly left it open when he was going out, but he didn't feel like he did? Maybe the stone-faced ladies had peered through his door to see if he was there or not. But, then they would have called him, no? Since they would have seen he was not there.

There was another possibility though…

The Man In Black.

What if he were the one to leave his door open? But if that were the case….Why would he do that in the first place? Why go into his room? If he was here for his mother, why go there?

He didn't understand any of it.

A sigh left Jellal's lips as he could feel his brain getting restless from all these new details that kept surfacing. This man…He really could not figure out the deal with him at all.

And it seemed,

Everything surrounding him just made the mystery thicken.

'I really want to know who he was….'

'But I don't know anything…'

Shaking his head in defeat, the boy turned on his heel to make his way out of the stony threshold. Though, as he was walking towards the entrance, the sound of a door opening nearby caught his ear.

And soon he saw a sight he didn't expect to see.

Once again, his mother was being escorted out of the washroom. Though this time, Alika was the one helping her. His eyes stilled at the sight as it was eerily reminiscent of what happened before. The time when he was bloody, wet and had smashed a bottle. And had been prepared to do what he couldn't take back.

But then she stopped him.

And then she…

Jellal's eyes looked at the long-haired noirette as her head was facing the ground. He could see she swayed a bit, whether that was due to the influence of the powder or the drink though, he didn't know. But she was quiet, even now.

She didn't look irritated or drained as he had usually seen her. She wasn't even fighting or trying to escape Alika like he knew her to. Rather, she was just going along with the stone-faced ladies' orders.

A burn formed in his throat somehow. Looking at her, though she was not in the serene state he witnessed her be in, the image of her from that quiet night was in his mind now. He probably wasn't going to see her in such a state again, but the memory alone moved him in a way that he couldn't comprehend.

Though, as Jellal was looking at his mother as Alika escorted her out, he felt his body freeze up as he notices his mother's head look up. And turn in his direction.

It was as if she could sense him looking at her. The boy swallowed thickly, having not been prepared to have eye contact with her after so long. He could feel his nerves twitch with anxiety as her faded deep green eyes looked at him longer than he was used to.

'She's looking at me…'

He feared what was going to happen because of that.

The last time she looked at him…She erupted into fury. She started to scream and shout, whilst her face twisted with anger and her sight flashed with hate. The last time she looked at him…She started calling him all sorts of things, saying all sorts of things which made him see the vicious monster he despised in all its deprived measure.

He could feel himself trembling as she continued to look his way.

She might have been quieter now, but that didn't mean she couldn't explode again. And she always exploded because of him. What if….She was to change for the worse because of him now?

Frightened by the possibility, Jellal looked away. Hoping that whatever eye contact they had did not incense her and bring out the mad monster again.

'I need to go…'

'Now…'

Blinking from the surge of his anxiety, the boy shakily adjusted the strap of his satchel across his body as he bit his lip. The sound from the movement helped to give him something else to focus on whilst reclaiming his nerves from the tension.

He sucked in a breath, feeling from the cold breeze entering how clammy his skin had become from this sudden encounter. Not wanting to risk causing any more trouble, Jellal turned himself fully in the direction of the entrance, so he couldn't risk taking a forbidden glance once again and unleashing all hell.

Though…As the boy was about to start making his steps towards the entrance, a sound pricked up in his ears and stopped him in his tracks. It wasn't a big sound, nor was it scary.

Actually, it was more like a soft squeak. He wouldn't have picked it up if it weren't for how quiet the room already was.

But that wasn't what stopped him.

The reason he halted himself, was because the squeak sounded like it didn't just come from nowhere. But from near his mother.

Actually….

It sounded like it came from her directly.

But the sound was weak.

Raspy and soft.

Almost like babble.

Nothing like he knew her to speak like now.

Nothing like the monster.

But still…

He could feel she hadn't stopped watching him yet, even when he turned in a completely different direction so he didn't have to face her. The fact that she was still looking at him and still had to explode scared him. The only thing that was keeping him there waiting was a foolish strand of hope.

But he knew he couldn't cling to that.

No matter how much his heart wanted to do so.

Steeling his heart from those sweet lies and cruel wishes that sought to steal his focus and deceive him once more, the boy started to make his leave.

But…

It was in that moment in time…

He heard it.

He heard what he had been anticipating.

"A-Are…?"

Her voice.

"A-Are y-you…"

His mother's voice.

"G-Going o-out?"

Yet he didn't recognise it as such.

His brain struggled for a bit to comprehend the voice he was actually listening to. And even more than that, who the voice was speaking to. He blinked in uncertainty, unable to make the truth of the tone being spoken to him and who it was by.

The voice sounded like it came from his mother, but it couldn't be. Not when she would always scream and shout whenever she spoke to him. Not when she would ignore his existence entirely. So why would she be trying to speak to him? Why would she try to acknowledge him?

What reason did she have to do that?

Maybe it could have been the calm before the storm…Like she wasn't going to immediately erupt, but the longer their encounter lasted, she'd finally blow. He could make sense of her behaviour if that was the case. As she had no reason to actually change for him, did she?

Not wanting to fool himself with those painful lurching hopes budding in his heart once again, Jellal tried to ignore the soft and gentle tones of her voice that tried to delude him. Still keeping his visage away from anywhere near her sight, he swallowed thickly and tried to focus on going out and not having his presence cause any problems.

But that's when she spoke again.

"T-Take c-care o-of y-yourself."

And this time,

"O-Okay?"

He couldn't ignore her.

"O-Okay J-Jelly?"

His bronze orbs widened as those words were indeed confirmed to be towards him. The name she used…It had his eyes watering from just hearing it.

Jelly.

It wasn't a name he could remember, but it felt familiar to him. Not because of how it sounded, but from the warmth that resonated through. Why was she calling him that? Why was he… hearing her again? Why was she…

Tears hazed his sight as he couldn't keep himself from turning away anymore and finally faced the dark-haired woman across him. They didn't fall down his face, but he could feel such a raw pain from the forgotten emotions alivening in him once more.

His large bronze eyes stilled as he found himself looking at a woman he did not recognise.

Through her falling midnight locks, he could see her face peering through. Her skin was ghostly pale as he remembered, yet now it looked like some colour was coming back to it. Her soft yet drained green orbs were still themselves as they stared at him, and one of them looked cloudy compared to the other. But, instead of flickering with anger or hatred, nothing was there. Almost like her gaze was hollow. Kind of like his own he saw in the mirror.

It was such a strange sight.

The boy also noticed her features were not knitted in a scowl either, even though her lips quivered, and she seemed to have developed a little twitch somehow.

He remained staring at her wordlessly.

Analysing the woman before him as he compared her to the woman he knew.

The face he saw now wasn't as serene as the night he witnessed her, but it didn't look like the monster he had been seeing for years either. Yet, even then…There was something which troubled him whilst looking at her. He didn't know what though.

As he kept his eyes on his mom, he noticed that her expression had become a bit restless. Her eyes shifted from side to side as if she was avoiding his direct gaze. Or even on the look for someone. Her body started to tense too, and he couldn't help but wonder why.

Though before he could make some sort of thought on it, his mother spoke to him again as she looked at him with innocent eyes.

"A-And m-make s-sure…"

"Y-You t-try a-and e-eat?"

"O-Okay?"

He blinked in response to her request. The fact that she was speaking so nice to him was unreal. He literally had to take a few moments to process what was being said to him before he understood what she meant.

She wanted him to take care of himself.

He felt tears glaze over his eyes again from that consideration. The mother who ignored him for years, she was actually asking about him. The mother who said he should have never been born….She was actually acknowledging him.

It was surprising beyond words.

The only thing Jellal managed to do in response to her request was nod weakly. His emotions had choked him up to the point that he couldn't think of anything he could say, so he gave his affirmation to her with what he could.

From receiving his word, the midnight-haired woman's orbs stared at him longingly as tears lined her own eyes. Some form of sadness existed in them. And it swirled as she used her shaky, bruised hands to weakly wave away at him through her trembling body like she was saying some kind of agonising goodbye to him.

Jellal didn't understand what that was meant to be for.

Because he was leaving the house?

He didn't think of it much as his hands mirrored hers without realising. Weakly waving back with his own thin fingers as warm tears dripped down his cheeks whilst looking at her.

The ravenette's eyes softened at the sight of him before her head hung low again and he could see crystalline drops fall from her face and into her hair. Though, the heartfelt moment was soon interrupted by a new sound coming from the same woman as she laughed to herself like the mad woman he knew.

But,

Instead of her laugh being harsh, scary and ridiculing…

It was a giggle.

Light, shaky but sounding relieved.

Almost giddy.

Like an innocent child.

Yet there was a depth of pain woven into it.

This made it clear to him that her instability was still there. It was still worming away inside her. But it was a lot less apparent compared to times before.

His eyes blinked again from witnessing the change before him. Though before he could cast any more glances, he became aware of Alika's presence again as the golden-haired lady shook her head in annoyance.

"Gods this woman only gets weirder by the day…"

He heard her mutter as she started to push his mother back to the room that awaited her. And whilst she was, he could hear his mother clapping to herself with her palms as her giggling increased like she was a child with some sort of big secret that no one else knew but her and she weren't going to tell it.

He watched Alika take her away, noticing how every move she made was disoriented. It was like she could barely walk without support, and she would collapse the second she'd be left alone. He saw her thin limbs tremble with each step as her eyes looked around like a newborn owl; looking at everything as if she had never seen it before.

It was strange.

From being so aggressive and violent, she was no less than a star-eyed child now. Actually, probably even less than that, as he was a child, yet he didn't act the way she did.

Was this because of the powders and injections that she had been given, or had she deteriorated that much over time?

A sigh left his chest as she finally left his line of sight and he was left without words from the encounter. He didn't expect his mother to ever speak to him without insults, let alone call him so endearingly.

What could have changed that?

His mind flashed one answer.

That man.

It was only since his appearance that she started to become so different. Different to everyone, and now, even different to him. This made him question even more.

Who was that man?

What did he do to her?

How could he change his mother like this?

How could he change his mother….For him?

Given what he just witnessed now, he felt a sense of gratitude toward The Man In Black. Despite how weird he was, and how scary he seemed, he wanted to thank him. This weird man had done what he had been failing to do for years. This man had done the impossible.

And he was simply in awe because of it.

This man's doings, made his mother talk to him again.

This man's doings, made her be nice to him again.

That being said…She wasn't completely back. He still could see traces of that mad monster still tainting her. But that was okay, as what he saw of her now could have been the first step for him to have his mother back.

After so long.

It could actually happen.

And it was all because of him.

That mysterious man.

Jellal felt his heart race from that possibility. He wouldn't have believed such a thing if he didn't see it with his own eyes. But now…He felt like there was solid hope in the matter.

That his mother was not lost.

That his mother was not gone

And he could see her again.

After all these years…

He used his fingers to wipe his warm tears away as a small smile lined his lips whilst he sniffled to himself. For once he felt that belief in him wasn't just a dead dream.

For once he felt like he could genuinely ask himself without pain…

Was she finally…

Going to become better?

Was she finally…

Going to become his mother again?

---

The young doctor paced to and fro in his study, taking occasional glances at the time on his wall as he anticipated what was to come. A yawn broke out of him for the umpteenth time as he blinked behind his frames to ward away any fatigue trying to creep up on him.

"Today I should get the results…"

He muttered to himself before using his fingers to rub the underneath of his eyes to liven himself up a bit. Whilst he was doing so, another yawn slipped his lips, testifying to the sleep he was neglecting. His lips twisted on themselves before he gave another restless sigh.

"Nine o'clock."

"Nine o'clock is when she will arrive."

The doctor told himself as he count down the mere minutes before his assistant would arrive with the documents he had been waiting for so long. The year was coming to an end and only now was he going to be able to get somewhere with this case. It wasn't ideal, but there wasn't much he could do in that regard. Though, hopefully, the time to just sit down and twiddle thumbs was going to finish once the clock struck the next hour.

"Nine o'clock."

He repeated as he could feel his visage weighing down. It wasn't good. His sleep had been impacted over the span of past nights due to research on his part. And not only that, the mystery surrounding the Fernandes heir kept spinning him around in a mental web that he found himself reluctant to cut away from.

It was honestly doing his head in.

To the point that he couldn't even bring himself to get a good night's rest due to being so impatient over receiving the results from the latest round of blood testing. He must have only got like 1-2 hours of proper sleep without interrupting himself in the meantime. Anything else was just waking up periodically to stare at the darkness as he waited for the arrival of the new day.

It wasn't great.

"Gods…"

Laurus took another glance at the needle of the clock wheel with his darkening eyes before rasping another sigh of impatience. It had barely moved.

Obviously, time wasn't going to pass any quicker doing this. And there was still a good chunk of time before Anha was to arrive with the documents. Watching the clock inch bit by bit, like an impatient child waiting for dismissal was going to do nothing but agitate him further.

With that thought in mind, Laurus took a seat at his study once more as he decided to do something more productive to pass time. Tapping his toes on the wood floor and listening to the reverberating clack, the young doctor took a hold of the large binding of his collated research/theories and evidence again to scour through once more as he knew that would keep his mind awake and alert.

Considering his thoughts now only revolved around the azure-haired boy and solving the mysteries which surrounded him, it seemed most fitting to do.

After splitting open the book, the doctor turned through the pages quietly. Scanning through and occasionally wetting his finger with the tip of his tongue as he read over the different theses and findings he had written about or documented throughout the course of undertaking the case of his most prominent subject: Jellal Fernandes.

It had actually been a year (or even more) since he had been tasked with demystifying the issues that revolved around the boy. And nothing had gotten clearer despite all the time and effort spent to do so.

It was weird.

Each time he thought he was getting a solid footing in his findings, something came up and made him question everything he learned from the start. And this happened so frequently too…The complexity of this case was much more than he could have ever imagined.

Despite all that he had done to try and solve the enigma around the azure-haired Fernandes, he still hadn't come to a theory or belief that he could follow or put his faith in firmly. He still hadn't had the moment when it was all meant to 'click' for him.

Though now he was beginning to wonder,

Was it ever even going to?

It was all proving so damn tedious…

So many sleepless nights, looking over and over through the same reports and writings in the hope there would be some hidden meaning he would suddenly uncover. And it would be the breakthrough he was waiting for. His eureka moment. The moment that would make it all connect and comprehend. And finally, lead him to a clear answer.

Yet that never happened.

Nothing ever happened. It all would amount to nothing. Anything and everything he did. All efforts would be naught. And everything remained as cryptic (or even more) as it had been in the beginning.

It was insane.

Stuck in a sightless path in the midst of a mist as it kept thickening and thinning. Or like a clueless dog that ran around foolishly chasing its own tail. That's how he'd described how this case felt to him. That's what he would have said this case made him feel like.

But.

Even with all the odds stacked against his favour, the one thing that wasn't halted was his building research. Even with the lack of grounding in the case the young doctor still discovered more details which could help broaden his perspective and keep him from being static.

Such as recently, there were a few things he had looked up on that he thought could link to Jellal from a less primary source. One being his father's origins.

Although there was the fact he didn't have any documentation directly analysing Rais's affinity with ethernano in the way he needed, there was something else he could refer to.

The general blood of the man.

Meaning.

It was no mystery that Rais was not of Almetian blood.

Or at least not entirely.

No, the man was mixed of Aramian descent. Coming from a mother who had been brought to the country by his father Raza from the neighbouring nation of Aram - A country that was comprised of unforgivingly hot temperatures, and which was slowly turning barren.

The people of Aram, who were known to generally be desert dwellers, had started to look elsewhere for a place of sustenance. Not all of them, but the majority did not wish to remain in the scalding temperatures any longer. As living was becoming unsustainable by the day and the climate and environmental conditions simply kept worsening.

Interestingly enough, in regard to this stark crisis, Almeta stepped up and became one of the strongest supports for Aramians. A momentous matter really; as when this began, Almeta was still rebuilding itself after leaving the shackles of its own dark past.

But going on from that.

Given the harsh conditions of the neighbouring lands, Almeta couldn't turn a blind eye to the suffering of those separated by sea and had started a scheme which involved taking the inhabitants of Aram and giving them safety and sustenance on the blessed land.

It was something that happened even now from what he knew. Though it was mainly Aramians who were the demographic for this scheme first, now all sorts of immigrants would be brought to the country from less fortunate lands in hope that Almeta would provide and give them the sustenance they needed.

Which honestly was a great kindness on the country's part if he had to admit. But, sadly, the problems didn't end with this agreement.

Foreigners were seen with a hostile eye, to begin with. And in the case of the Aramians who started it all, this prejudice stuck out a lot more since there had once been a world of differences existing between the Almetians and Aramians that caused an unavoidable divide and still was not forgotten.

To begin with, Aramians had not primarily spoken English. Rather they had their own respective languages, one of the main ones being 'Aramic'. So that was already one barrier that had to be overcome to help Aramians integrate into Almetian society better.

Along with that, Aramians had been astoundingly different in their culture. Their dress wear had been incredibly vibrant and colourful attire with tons of embellishments which would vary in levels of modesty but be nonetheless striking. And obviously uncommon.

It made them stick out a great deal in Almeta when the country first started to take them in. Especially when they were brought in the loads.

Despite this all being done through Almeta's official ordinance, the people did not take a liking to this movement. Almetians were recovering from their own vivid traumas that still felt a little too fresh and this scheme did not put ease in their minds at all. Seeing such people unknown to them and having learned they were going to inhabit their land alongside did incite fearsome and frankly distasteful reactions towards the Aramians.

And it didn't help that Aramians were so vividly different in everything, which made the dislike towards them even more potent. Different in their hair, tone of complexion, clothing, culture, language, food…The list could go on.

It really caused a fractionated world between the two communities.

However.

Despite all these apparent differences, there was something that united the Almetians and Aramians in a cause.

That being,

The reverence of the stars.

Both Almetians and Aramians had a strong respect and near devotion to celestial wonder. With Almetians though, of course, it was due to the tale of Saint Siegrain who was gifted the power of heavenly destruction by the gods. But in the case of Aramians? It wasn't really clear.

Maybe because of the desert outlook? The heavenly plains were a thing of speculation for the people and possibly, they could have grown to revere them. Given how isolated they were from other societies, it was well reasonable.

Alongside that, it was also learned that this wasn't the only thing that Almetians and Aramians had in common. But rather, both societies had been victims of grave destruction upon them.

In the case of Aramians, they had suffered a great tragedy that had left their land in the pieces it was now. Literally. The calamity that hit them had caused the once intact land to split into multiple regions which were nearly all ravaged by unforeseen and violent changes.

Tides had become ravenous, the once lush and stable vegetation had been scorched as the land had been aged with affliction as the growth of heat served to get worse every few years, and the night and day cycles of the country had become a thing of wonder.

What had once been a quiet yet thriving environment of vibrancy and order, had now been reduced to emptiness and devastation. Literal ruins.

And the weirdest thing all about this was…

No one could say how it had happened.

Or even what had happened.

No Aramian could exactly recall the events when such a grave thing occurred. When they had been asked, it seemed each person had a very limited understanding. Extremely vague or in pieces. And some accounts did not match up with others. Like as if all their memories had become a unified haze.

It was strange.

Incredibly.

The extent of trauma they endured must have been so horrible that their minds didn't even wish to recall such a thing in all its details. Something that Almeta could resonate with on a deep level. No wonder the country initiated to help these people.

That being said, Almeta and Aram had those common factors among their nationals. Having suffered stark tragedy and with the people being fervent admirers of the heavenly wonder.

But still…

That mutual connection wasn't enough to completely gloss over the stigmas that had been created.

From what he knew, it did take an ample amount of time for Aramians to integrate well enough into society for problems and complaints towards them to become a rarity. Definitely more than any other immigrants that had been taken in under the country's governance.

But alongside that…

Whilst being finally accepted into the society, a lot of the culture Aramians once held slowly became a thing of the past in the process.

Their vibrance, colours and embellishments became unseen over the years. To the point now it was pretty much near forgotten other than on the occasion of festivity. And with that they took on the tongue and way of life of any other Almetian, abandoning what they once knew for what was more common.

Or really,

What was more accepted.

Though…It wasn't like their identities were completely removed, aspects did exist of their exoticness, even to this day.

But it was fading…

And whatever remained certainly wasn't the same as it had been before they came to the country.

Despite all that was done to try and preserve it.

However…That being said, even with all the effort that was made to help Aramians integrate into the society better and lessen the divide created, there was of course another problem that was inevitable to avoid given the underlying dislike towards outsiders.

That problem being,

Exploitation.

Not just towards Aramians.

But foreigners in general.

It wasn't something they would all face, but since the preconception existed, there were those pitiful souls that would be worked worse than dogs and dehumanised at the hands of their 'masters'.

Or speaking on a more general scale, those who were known 'not to be of the blessed people' would face skewed conditions such as having increased prices for their living expenses compared to the 'true' Almetian, being paid less than their actual labour would earn them, having to adhere to laws more strictly than others and facing harsh punishments if not.

Those were just a few examples he could think of, but he was sure the prejudice affected a lot more than that.

The bias wasn't extremely blatant, but he who knew of both sides of the coin could tell that there was an unnecessary imbalance between the two groups.

And because the immigrants wouldn't know better, they would accept whatever unfairness and treatment they received with gratitude and humility. Complying with whatever was asked of them or asked from them with no inkling of a complaint.

As you wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you, right?

He didn't really have much to say on the matter other than it was pretty grim that these behaviours developed in the first place. But there was no point in mulling over it. It pretty much had become an unwritten law in their society like many others.

And he knew that wouldn't be changing anytime soon.

Anything that was done to try and reduce this problem was either not heeded or there would be ways found to go about with it.

Though it wasn't as prominent of a problem as it had once been, it still existed nonetheless.

It still thrived.

Honestly, it was sad.

But it is what it is.

Though speaking back to the point at hand with Aramians…

They were the ones who were favoured as prime targets to bear the brunt of the social imbalance. Both in a general sense and primarily for hard labour. Since the people had lived and gotten accustomed to harsh conditions, they were more enduring than any other foreigners.

More enduring.

More driven.

More patient.

But alongside all this…

They were most susceptible to prejudice.

It was due to these inherent traits of the Aramians,

That made them the perfect targets for the brunt of exploitation.

And in regards to Rais specifically, as if he wasn't already different enough due to his Aramian blood, his research on the man lead him to find out that he came from a tribe of blue-haired Aramians specifically.

Well, really his mother did.

The tribe was known by the name 'Azrakh'; which in their main language literally translated to the word 'Blue'. It was not clear if this was their official tribe name or something that had been given to them by other Aramians. But either way, it was the name now used to identify them.

The people of Azrakh were known to be the most withstanding of the harsh land they came from. Literally living in the heart of the turbulent conditions of the fractured lands.

Going out primarily during the night for their daily lives as the heat was more often than not unbearable for many. Whereas other Aramians could at least generally manage the heat of the day for their doings.

But still, somehow the Azrakhi people thrived well in comparison to the rest that inhabited the land. Of course, that's not to say they didn't struggle, but they still got by surprisingly decent enough even with all the odds against them.

It was a thing of mystery.

Though alongside that mystery, was the fact there was no known reason as to why this tribe generally had blue hair. Even odder when no other Aramian shared anything alike. Really strange if you think about it…Blue-haired people in the middle of nowhere.

But that was probably just another one of the many mysteries concerning the nation of Aram.

With the Azrakhi people, what else was to be noted, was the fact they lived isolated from other inhabitants of Aram. On the outskirts of general civilisation from what he learned. And some even inhabited further away from that too. Why that could be the case, wasn't too clear to him. But it might have been due to the fact the people of Azrakh faced some sort of alienation from their own people.

Perhaps due to their differing appearance?

From what he knew, along with the dislike towards foreigners in Almeta, the Aramians had a social imbalance in their own circle too. Meaning, that there was a notable dislike or even disgust from general Aramians towards their blue-haired citizens.

Given the remarks that would be made and the glances that would be cast, it was obvious there was some sort of bad blood between these two groups. Why though probably wasn't any of his concern.

So going on from that.

Considering the withstanding nature blue-haired Aramians generally possessed, their striking looks which stuck out like a sore thumb, the conditions he imagined they wanted to be spared from, their isolation and hostility from their own kind along with their lack of understanding outside the land of their own…You could imagine they were a prime target for exploitation.

More than any other immigrant.

More than any other Aramian.

That being said…It wasn't an easy task for one to get to Aram, let alone bring immigrants from there.

Especially not the people of Azrakh.

It was practically a death wish for those who didn't already inhabit the country to set foot on the land. The heat was that punishing. Those who weren't accustomed to it would have collapsed immediately. And only the night was manageable for means of travel.

But even then,

It wasn't easy.

The seas surrounding the land were generally unforgiving too. It was more likely one would end up marooned than get to the country and back in one piece. Or perhaps even suffer a worse fate.

Yet of course, for those who did not care about the impending risks, where there was a will, there was a way.

Over time some people of Azrakh did come or were brought to Almeta like Rais's mother for a slew of reasons. But they were much more scarce compared to the general Aramian population. Both due to the trouble that had to be endured to get to them and the dislike that would be stirred towards them.

But in regards to the few Azrakhis that were brought to Almeta…With what he knew was sought about them…He didn't think they had come to the country with good intentions.

Though of course, there was no knowing if that was the truth. He was just assuming most of the time.

So who knew if he was on the mark,

Or just being cynical?

Anyway back to the discussion at hand.

About those that came to the country, before being given admittance they had to have their blood tested and analysed.

And this wasn't a practice exclusive to Azrakhis or Aramians.

But all inhabitants of Almeta in general.

Whether you were a foreigner or not.

The country was incredibly strict in this regard. With all the matters that changed and became more relaxed as the nation developed and aged, Almeta always remained particularly austere about this. Though if he had to be honest, he wasn't exactly sure why.

With the immigrants, he could understand, as they needed to be checked so they didn't bring any blood-borne diseases that could spread through the country if they were being allowed to reside and whatnot.

But why with Almetians too?

They were the ones born and brought up here, so what threat could they harbour for the land? He didn't really get the deal with that but of course, it was protocol so all Almetians had to have mandatory blood tests every now and then.

There probably wasn't much to it. Just the country being overly worrisome for its people as always. Hence they took these particular measures more seriously than others.

But with that being said,

Out of all the blood that was tested of foreigners, there was once the word circulating saying Aramians possessed 'special blood'.

Those of Azrakh namely.

This was a surprising allegation as those who were known to have 'special blood' in Almeta were the protectors (namely the most elevated of the 7 bloodlines) and that was due to their ability to bear the remnants of the good saint's power and will through their powerful affinity with magic and enhanced traits.

To hear the claim that Azrakhis could also have such abilities was well shocking.

Though,

Those claims were proven to be nothing but claims.

When the blood of the people of Azrakh was tested and analysed, nothing of interest stood out. Their blood was not anything special or different.

Not in regards to the matters of magic at least.

The ethernano count in Aramians was low, to begin with. And nothing promising with those from Azrakh either. It was practically non-existent actually. Which made sense as the people of Aram were magicless, along with the barren nation itself. So it made no sense for them to possess any affinity to ethernano, let alone a high one.

So he didn't understand where the claim of 'special blood' came from.

For either Aramians or Azrakhis.

That being said,

He did find one thing worth noting about the blood of Azrakhs.

According to the blood reports he looked through, for some reason those Azrakh were said to have a blood structure which differed from any other Aramian or human in general.

Meaning, that their cells were a bit more engorged than they should have been. Weird. As this condition of theirs wasn't life-threatening in the slightest. And it was something present in all those who descended from that tribe. He could confirm that even Jellal's own blood reports showed something similar.

But it probably wasn't anything profound.

Considering the harsh conditions that the tribe had gotten used to living in, their blood must have adapted to living through that difficulty and hence altering on a cellular level.

Perhaps to store more water in the cells hence they were more bloated? There was indeed plausibility in that as the tribe lived in the heart of desert conditions. So this fact probably had nothing to do with what was happening with the boy. There was no logic in his eyes as to how it could.

Allowing a deep yawn to slip from his lips, he thumbed through the end of a page as he looked over the documentation of Rais's mother and her blood tests he collected for evidence. A heavy sigh left him as he came to a final conclusion.

Soraya had nothing exceptional with her blood.

So he had no reason to believe her son would.

Even with everything that was strange about Rais.

He wasn't abnormal in this regard.

If the general consensus and reports about the people of his origin were nothing profound with magic, then it's most likely he wasn't either.

This finding wasn't anything that helped the case, but at least he had some peace of mind now to believe that Rais's affinity with magic might not have anything to do with Jellal's situation. He could at least cross that possibility off his head now.

But that being said,

Just because he narrowed things down with Rais, didn't mean that he completely eliminated him from the equation. Or that he stopped looking for answers at him either.

Because if it wasn't Rais and the blood he passed on to Jellal which could be a factor, his theories turned to the more probable aspect.

The Fernandes Bloodline.

He was sure, that considering what the Fernandes family used to do in order to maintain their stance on power and affinity, it was most likely somewhere there that he could find a clue.

He didn't know how far back he would have to go, but thankfully because of how consistent the records were kept on the lineage, he had more solid documentation in regards to analysing magic rather than leaving it to assumption.

Not even looking a few generations back Laurus found his thoughts proven to be fruitful. There actually had been other members of the Fernandes bloodline who also had incredulous spikes of potential out of nowhere that rivalled adults. Majority of them being youth no older than 10.

So it didn't seem like Jellal was an anomaly in this phenomenon.

However…

That wasn't all the records told in this regard.

From what he read over, it seemed that those who had a high affinity at a premature age also were prone to developing other defects alongside too.

Meaning…

The children who had profound power also had many problems alongside. And the nature of most of these problems was mental.

These ranged from hearing voices trying to talk to them, to constant disturbing and vivid nightmares that were described to be like sleep paralysis, seizures, hallucinations and the like.

It was strange.

Though, what was even stranger, was the case of these children wasn't something that was ever spoken about. Rather they were hidden. Kept in the dark. Like a secret that wasn't wished to be known. He wouldn't have even known himself had he not had the initiative to do some deep diving into the Fernandes Heritage for potential answers. But now he had come across this truth, it made him wonder why?

Well, it didn't take him too long to decipher that. This family clearly had a strong enough obsession with maintaining their image, to the point they would shun their own if they didn't fit what they wanted to project to those that admired them. Common behaviour in families really, regardless of status or background. So it was no surprise the Fernandes were no exception to that.

Their immaculate image would have had to come with a price.

Considering all the bloodline did with its descendants, the repercussions couldn't be hidden forever. And these children were proof of it. These children who were barely mentioned out of the records kept on them. These children who all met untimely ends or disappeared without a trace and no one could even question why…

To him the answer was obvious.

How could it not be?

Though…It still was quite harrowing to know that those young lives who had suffered misfortune, would be regarded as insane and put down without hesitation just because no one knew of them. That was quite a heavy revelation.

Then again Almeta had similar views and practices in general for those deemed mad beyond help and saw it as a mercy to keep them locked up or put them down as it would be better for them all. Both for the one suffering from the ailment, and those who were tied to them.

In this matter, the Fernandes bloodline must have followed suit.

Though the young doctor knew of such protocol, he couldn't help but feel some heaviness knowing that children were subjected to this fate. Children who could have been instrumental in helping the country's research with magic due to their immense power, but had to meet such grisly fates…

But it is what it is, the past couldn't be changed. At least the family did break away from that behaviour as there were no more missing children as of recent.

However, with that being said, there was a case that stood out to him when looking over these young prodigies. Azaire Fernandes . A child that had gained an affinity to a wizard 6x times his age even though he was only around 6 or 7 when it happened.

His case was alike to Jellal's in this respect.

But the thing he read about Azaire, was the child was mute. Whether it was due to a biological defect or just out of choice, he didn't know, but the boy was said to never talk.

And that was only the beginning of the oddities he learned about him.

On top of being mute, Azaire was also a recluse. He was said to have disliked being around anyone, even most of his own family. But when they would meet him, he was almost always in a state that looked tranced or as if he was looking at someone there with him yet there was no one apparent.

And if that wasn't weird enough…

It was written he used to go to all the rooms in the house he resided in and just stare blankly at the wall in solitude. He used to do this on a routine basis, almost like some untold ritual, and he would be completely out of the world when he did so.

The child was strange.

Very strange.

But along with his peculiarity, Azaire had a profound mastery of magic from a very young age. Literally, the child was leagues above anyone he had read about, even in his own bloodline and those who were alike to it. He mastered all of the Heavenly Arts at a fraction of the age expected of him in relation to the other descendants. Along with that, he even started to create his own offshoot of magic without any tutelage. He was truly a child prodigy in all senses of the word!

Though,

There was something else he found out about Azaire.

And it made all that surrounded the child more unsettling.

Azaire used to have a book that he would keep with him. It didn't look like anything profound or important, but there he would write all his thoughts and feelings he didn't (or possibly couldn't) tell. Like a diary of some sort. That's what he initially thought it to be.

But the reality was much graver than that.

In Azaire's book,

Were testaments to his insanity.

Recordings of his own mental defects. Writings of his nightmares in vivid description. What was said when the voices would speak to him and 'told him the secrets of the world'. There were also drawings of ancient symbols and the use of language in his writings that could not be known to him. Along with passages of text that made no sense to the boy's understanding or age and many other things which made the boy seem literally possessed or seriously mentally ill.

If that wasn't enough,

What attested further to his madness…

Was the fact that…

He was writing in his own blood.

And if that wasn't terrifying already…

The horror didn't end there.

In his book, it had been documented how Azaire wrote about wanting to 'give his body to the voice that spoke with him'.

'Be his vessel so he may live once again'.

'And that the tortured souls could find peace once he helped them transcend.'

'And make the truth that had been forbidden heard to them all.'

If that writing wasn't cryptic enough, it was what was followed that really confounded Laurus.

'Because maybe he'd be the one they were waiting for.'

'And maybe he wouldn't be stopped.'

'And maybe he wouldn't fail.'

'Like all the others.'

….

What the hell was any of that supposed to mean?

He had no idea who 'he', 'they' or the 'others' were meant to be in this context. He had no idea of what any of this was supposed to mean in context! Who would when this was clearly the ramblings of an insane boy? '

The diagnosis that the boy was severely mentally ill was completely sound. After reading all this he could not help but agree with it!

Whatever Azaire wrote was incredibly bizarre.

And frankly terrifying.

But going on from that.

When the knowings of the child's mind were revealed, there were immediate attempts made to exorcise him. In the belief that a wicked spirit was trying to control the boy or make him sacrifice himself.

Needless to say, it failed.

Every single attempt.

Azaire remained as a mystery as ever.

With no sign of healing from his illnesses.

Just stuck to his book.

And when that was taken away,

He started to use the walls and floors around him to write what he had been forbidden with his blood too. The child showed no interest in being healed from his ways or even trying to control them.

Because of that, before his adolescence ended, Azaire had been locked away from the public eye and his own family after being deemed a lost cause. There were no records of what happened to him after that. He just kind of went out of the picture.

Considered Dead.

Whether that be due to his own doings or someone else's though…

Was a mystery that would remain in the past.

Laurus exhaled as his eyes scanned across the details of Azaire Fernandes again. He could only wonder what the boy would have amounted to if he didn't get locked away. As a child of that affinity, there was no denying that he could have been one of the strongest wizards in Almeta. Or maybe even the world!

But that would never come to be.

It did make him wonder though…

For such concerning symptoms to be present in a child (or children) that had a high affinity with magic, was it possible that Jellal experienced the same too? Was he too hearing voices? Was he having similar nightmares? Was he having hallucinations like them also? It wasn't impossible, as the last of his ancestors who were recorded to have such problems were fairly recent. Azaire for example was only a handful of generations before him.

That wasn't too much of a jump, so he didn't rule it out.

But if it was the case Jellal experienced the same as his odd ancestors, why would that be?

Laurus clicked his tongue as he made a note down with a fountain pen to ask the boy direct questions like that. Though of course, that would have to be after seeing what turn his case had taken from the blood results he would get back.

And hopefully, that would be sometime soon now.

As much as it had been interesting to learn about these cases of these children, for the sake of research Laurus also made sure to look in the other direction too. Meaning the descendants of the family who were born literally defective or unfavourable in their magic potential.

Yet oddly enough,

According to his findings, these children wouldn't suffer such harsh fates as their deemed insane counterparts.

Must have been due to the fact their flaws were easier to cover up.

Anyway, in regards to these kinds of defects of the bloodline, there were surprisingly not many of them. There was the odd one that popped up every few generations but it was nothing that was hopeless as there were the means to artificially enhance those with wizard blood of a lower capacity.

Though that being said, an artificially enhanced wizard could never be the same as one that was innate with strong ethernano affinity. As with artificially enhanced wizards, they were a lot less stable in controlling their abilities and had to keep relying on outside means to regulate their power. Whereas natural born wizards could hone their ability with better ease and could transcend levels of power which weren't possible for others.

In recent science, there had been advances in technology to try and make the distinction less apparent. But of course, the difference would always remain.

There would always be an imbalance.

With the Fernandes' bloodline, they were known to do both. For naturally adept wizards to also enhance themselves along with those who weren't as gifted to try and match up to the praises that were sung to the protectors of the past. He could imagine there must have been some level of bitterness or strife due to this difference between descendants.

At least these defects weren't the ones having their lives cut short or being hidden away like a dirty secret. Well, definitely not as much as their counterpart.

Something of interest did come up to him though when reading about the recent members of the bloodline. There had been some defective descendants that had been recorded and they came from around his mother's time period. But not her specifically. Weird. As she came from a mother and father that weren't equally matched in magical affinity.

To elaborate on this, it was the close relatives of the Fernandes' heritage that were not naturally gifted as their predecessors. Must have been due to the fact the family's concentration on magic had watered down as the family extended and the obsession for image and power was lost.

These relatives weren't devoid of magic, but they weren't impressive in it either. So they held the name 'Fernandes' just for the sake of reputation, respect and all the other benefits that came with it. It probably did not matter though as only one person would be appointed as the representative from the lot who was capable in their magical strength.

Of course, the public did not know that and thought it was something directly passed down to the next inheritor. But it was a little bit more elaborate than that.

All in all the capital had the last say on who would be the designated priest/priestess or next-in-line chief/councillor. That's how the successors had been chosen for a while now since so many contenders made it necessary to weed out only the most competent.

It wasn't that bad though as those who didn't make the cut still got the same lavish recognition for being of the 'fabled' blood, even though they were actually doing near nothing for the country to have that admiration.

But of course, he didn't deny there were probably those who had a problem with that.

Though his research on that side of things didn't really point to anything profound, it was nonetheless an interesting discovery to note. But now it was the question of where Jellal resided in the midst of it all.

Was he one of those defects that needed to be artificially enhanced? Though if that was the case, he couldn't see that happening as the country was low on resources as it is, why would they waste it on a child who does not even have the fabled inborn power?

Or was he part of the other kind of his descendants? The ones who were insanely powerful, yet had eventually succumbed to madness? And hence were put down or disappeared without a trace. If that was the case with the azure-haired child, would the capital do the same?

Again the country was suffering, and that level of magical affinity was not one that you could just come across normally. So maybe if it is the case he's like them, they would try to do what they can to make use of him and his possible power, even if he was to become a pitiful and deranged soul like the rest.

Then again there was the possibility that Jellal could have been neither of those cases…What would be done with him then if that were how it was to turn out?

There was no knowing until he had the results to get a clearer diagnosis.

Laurus emit a final sigh from the conclusion he arrived at. Looking up from his papers he glanced at the clock once again, his impatience brimming as he could see the needle was inching closer and closer to the decided time. She'd be here soon and hopefully, he'd know more about the mystery in pursuit.

That being said…

As the young doctor glanced over his findings once again, he couldn't help but question many things he learned about and their connections. All the occurrences that seemed to come up more than enough to suspect they weren't coincidental.

Such as the fact mental illnesses were so prominent with mages of high affinity. Was it possible there was really a correlation between the two? One had to exist for the other? But why would that be? Was there some sort of internal sacrifice needed for mages to access such great power? Or was it an eventual destiny for those who harnessed such power? There seemed to be some connection, but what?

Of course, this was all speculation, nothing had been proven yet. But if by some means he was to actually get some background understanding of the phenomenon…By the gods that would be a whole new breakthrough for the understanding of magic in general!

He could feel himself getting excited by that thought.

He, Dr Wren Laurus, aged 27, being the one to uncover such a big discovery about the esoteric arts that many had failed to understand. Who knew what amount of research that could lead to if his hunch was correct? It would change everything! And he'd certainly have made an unremovable mark in the scholarly world with such deductions.

Something he always aspired for.

However.

Before he could get whisked away in such pleasant dreams, something niggled in the back of his head which quickly caused a crack in his fantasies. And made him realise his the notion he was following may not have been as sound as he wanted it to be. As the only time the hypothesis seemed to hold valid weight was in regards to that one bloodline.

And only that one bloodline.

Fernandes.

And that in turn spurned even more questions.

Because why would that bloodline be the only one to have such problems? There were 7 lineages which the protectors of the country descended from and only the Fernandes were the ones to show such prominent issues with their descendants through their records. Meaning both the severity of the ailments inflicting the descendants and how many times they repeated themselves through generations were greater than any other.

It was strange.

Why was it the Fernandes's had so many 'defects' like this? What were they doing for their children to be so troubled? Sure he knew of the gruelling training and artificial enhancements but they weren't alone in doing that. Others had followed similar but didn't have such outcomes. So why was it so different with this lineage?

Not to mention he found it hard to believe that the more questionable doings of the bloodline to preserve the heritage could be the sole cause for these issues.

It was just weird.

Children that were told to have vivid and disturbing nightmares of unintelligible suffering and torment being depicted? Then some of them would hear things and claim to see things too? And these children seemed to have accounts of the same sort of experiences but it just wasn't clear why…

And that's what he wanted to ask now.

Why the Fernandes only?

Why so many of them?

Why were they hidden?

What were they doing?

What were they hiding?

Before Laurus had the chance to ruminate on the matter further, he was brought out of his mental puzzle by a brief knock. The man's features instantly livened as he abruptly shut his book and darted for the door to let in the assistant with haste.

"Ah!"

His step had a jump, brimming with impatience, as he opened the barrier to the confines of his study. Doing that he revealed the woman he had been waiting for prepped with the documents he needed at hand.

"Doctor Laurus here are the results that you've been expecting."

The assistant noted as she held out the prepared envelope whilst keeping her gaze downwards in respect of her superior.

"Excellent!"

Laurus remarked as he took the envelope from the woman. He could feel his blood rush from the premise of finally getting long-awaited answers that could give him direction.

"Is there anything else that you would be needing today Doctor?"

She asked with a quiet voice to which met the following.

"Nothing at the moment no."

"Thank you for your work Amra."

He told her curtly and was about to dismiss the woman from her duties here when the assistant's features knitted in puzzlement for a split second and her mouth opened to say something. Though when she took a quick glance at the state of the man before her and saw the darkness built up around his eyes and fatigue hazing his vision, she decided against it.

"No problem Doctor."

Anha gave a small bow before her dismissal and once again was Laurus on his own in his privacy. Once he shut the door behind her, his fingers were already fiddling to rip into the envelope and dive into the results like they were some sort of belated present. Well, to be honest, it might have well been at this point with how much significance the man impressed over them.

Unable to wait any longer Laurus thumbed the opening of the envelope until it separated from its glue. Normally he would have used a letter opener, but now he didn't have the patience to find where the hell that was and prolong the matter.

With a held breath, the doctor looked at the neatly packed documents through the envelope's open slit before fishing them out promptly. There were a few other documents that were also within, but he didn't give mind to that as he scoured through the pages to find what he wanted to see the most.

'The child's results.'

Though when he did,

He didn't know what to make of it.

"...What?"

He finally let out as he looked at the writings of ink before him. His tired eyes blinked over and over to make sure that he wasn't reading the figures wrong. Even went as far as taking off his glasses, rubbing his eyes down with the back of his sleeve before slipping them back on.

Yet what was in front of him didn't change.

"...How?"

Or it did.

But not in the way he wanted.

"It's changed again?"

His thin brows knitted together as any fatigue in his system was shot out from this revelation. He just stared in disbelief at the black penned down before giving a sigh of defeat.

"It lowered."

"The ethernano count in his blood lowered."

He muttered to himself, struggling to process the testification from the results in front of him. Somehow yet again, Jellal's results returned as something wholly different than expected. It didn't show any of the promising spike he thought to exist at all.

"How?"

"I don't understand?"

Laurus palmed the side of his face against his hand as he kept his sight lasered on the writings. The figures recorded this time were of a significantly lower value than that which had been present last round. As if all that built-up potential didn't exist or had somehow dissipated in the span of time between each test.

But how could that be?

"My gods…"

The man was honestly confounded.

The addled doctor took a seat on his untucked chair near his study as he kept staring at the paper to see if he could make some sort of sense of the current readings. Or at least try to note something worth taking from them.

"Wait a minute…"

It wasn't long after giving the results document another good read that something stuck out to him.

"It's not completely gone."

The rating was significantly lower, yes. But it wasn't something that would prove unpromising. Not like the first few readings which barely showed anything in terms of traces of ethernano. There was still something there present in his blood. But rather than how the blood had shown a shocking 65% increase with the last testing, here the readings told something more alike to just a bit more than 25%.

Drastically lower than what he saw before.

But not obsolete.

And the doctor couldn't help but question why.

"..."

There had been a different reading each time he took the samples and tested them. And they varied enough to raise questions, yet none of them could even begin to be answered!

How was it possible for a boy who wasn't even 8 years have such a dynamic of ethernano production? This surely wasn't the same with anyone else, not even in his own bloodline, so why was he so different in this regard?

With his muddled thoughts, the doctor broke open his compilation of evidence yet again. Leafing through the pages until he got to where previous results had been bound and started to compare them to what he had just received.

"Hmmmm…"

It was the only thing he could think was worth doing to help him find some kind of correlation as his own intelligence was getting outwitted by how many times this case turned.

"There's definitely something altering his ethernano production…"

"But what?"

The factors he could only account for is what he knew changed each visit.

Nutrition.

Weather.

Season.

Age.

Dosage.

Those were the only things that he knew had been altered at some point for the visits to expect results, yet none of this explained the immense jumps and reductions.

What else could there be?

Was the boy just an anomaly in this regard?

That was the only word Laurus could describe him with at this point considering all the mystery created about him.

Was he really just another enigma that couldn't be understood?

These changes in the numbers really didn't make any sense. With how the ethernano count kept fluctuating, it was almost like it was hiding from him. Deliberately . But how could that be? And where would it even hide In a boy of his age and size? Could magic even be hidden in the body of a mage? Was he even questioning the possible or was his brain trying to make sense of this nonsense in futility?

"Damn it!"

He slammed his fist on the papers before dragging his hands down his face as it all got more tedious. Here he was thinking that these results would help clear the air. How foolish he was for thinking such…

As the doctor continued to stress over the turn of events, a knock on the door came unexpectedly. Laurus was too stuck in his own mind to care about answering it, but he realised soon that wasn't a choice when his name started to be added to the mix.

"Doctor Laurus!"

"Doctor Laurus!"

He grit his teeth as he really did not wish to be disturbed now. But given how insistent the knocks were becoming, he had to eventually give in. Though, he certainly wasn't the happiest for doing so.

"What do you want?!"

"I can't be bothered to be disturbed right now!"

He spat when he opened the door to become face-to-face with his assistant once again. The woman was caught off guard by his displaced anger but he was too frustrated to care to control himself now.

"S-Sorry I…"

"I-I forgot to give you this before I-I left…"

Anha sheepishly admitted as she handed over an envelope with an intricate seal that caught his attention straight away. That design and insignia that was over the paper were one too familiar to him.

"Is this from the…"

"Yes, it is."

From that affirmation, his blood went cold. Why was he getting a letter from the Capital out of nowhere? They weren't the type to write to people specifically unless something urgent had come up…

Had something urgent come up?

Had it actually?

If so then what?!

All the anger in him was swallowed down as he took a hold of the letter with uncertainty. Though his nervousness did not show, he could feel the change from how his burning body had suddenly simmered down at this revelation.

"You are dismissed."

He told her with a quiet voice before she left by giving another respectful bow. Not even a moment after she had turned her back on him, Laurus opened the envelope with nimble fingers that trembled a little from what was to be revealed.

"Dear Wren Laurus…."

"We are writing to inform you that…."

But that tremor stilled when the contents of the unfolded letter became clear to him and his features started to knit in confusion on his face.

"The capital has ordered me to meet them?"

"On such short notice?"

He blinked in disbelief as he read over the letter again before giving a thick swallow as he contemplated what could have caused this. He let out a sparse breath as he looked over the writing commanding him to attend a sudden meeting before holding the side of his head with his hand from his perplexity.

"Why could that be?"

---

Author's Note:

Hi Everyone!

Sorry, it took me so long to get this chapter up, I had some horrible writer's block that just ruined my pace of things but I am hoping it should be better from now on.

I wanted to give a little bit more lore on Almetan society and Jellal's heritage too as the 1st arc of the series is to wrap up soon. Because it all will become a vital reference as it goes on.

Something I want to say in regards to the Aramian society - The name is kind of a play on the word Arabian / Indian since I envision the people of Aram to have a hodgepodge of influence from these two existing cultures mainly. And the language of Aramians differentiates depending on what region of Aram they were from (some will have more Arabic-influenced dialect whilst others would be more influenced by the Sub-continent, the general Aramian has a mixture of both though!).

Hope this was an interesting read and the mystery is still enticing as we come to the finale of this first book soon!

The next chapter will start to make it all intense again (and we are staying intense until the end) so I hope you're ready for that! ^^

Please do take care and thank you so much for being patient with me.

I hope you all stay well : )

Thank you once again! ^^