PART THREE
He'd been searching for them for five years now. In those years he wandered across every known realm of Midgard, searching and searching but he never found so much as the shadows of these people. He was running out resources, and despair had started to sink in. Sometimes, when he rested he took out the sphere and tried shooting it with spells. But it never succeeded.
He walked down the road, his shoulders drooping and his face hidden under the amulet of his Munak Hat. His staff served both as walking stick and channeling device of his powers. Where was he going now? He didn't know…he tried looking everywhere…asked lots of people…but still…nothing…
Sometimes he thought, had he chosen the white sphere, would he be going through all of this? Probably not. He would still have his friends for one. He would still have his sanity. He wouldn't be walking alone, mumbling wildly to himself. But then—breaking the white spear also required difficult things; if not, how come only person has ever conquered it?
Maybe the both the spheres had their different riddles. How long must he seek the answer to his riddle? He needed help—help from someone who had been there. And that's why he's searching…walking down innumerable lonely and deserted roads in the hopes of finding the Dark Sorcerer. One thing he was certain—he would not give up…he will solve this sphere, this persistent ball of nightmares and shadows until it gives him what he wants.
Was he regretting his choice, then? A part of him did so, yes—regretted very deeply. But another part of him wanted to persist—to remain with his choice to the end, until the very last drop of sanity leaves his mind. He missed a lot of things too—his friends, his quiet life as a Wizard—his past.
He fell forward in a faint on the dirt road. He was too weak to move on…he hadn't eaten anything for three days…now that was funny…he actually forgot to eat…
A black cat slinked out of nowhere from the brambles at the side of the road. The cat stopped, its tail raised high, then turned very slowly to face him, blinking its huge yellow eyes at him. He smiled bleakly at the cat—and it approached him cautiously, unblinking, its paws silent as it walked.
The cat stuck out a pink tongue—and started to lick his face. The grainy muscle flicked across his face several times and he let the cat do whatever it wanted to do with him. He was losing the will to live, he knew it. He just wanted to give up…save whatever sanity and clarity of mind that remained in him…
"Haah!"
The cat retreated five steps, still staring unblinkingly at him—and turned into a man. He gasped in amazement as the tail vanished, the face changed—and literally, how the fur turned into the unmistakable robes of a Sorcerer. He felt tears rise to his eyes as he gaped, ultimately dumbfounded.
The Sorcerer straightened up and brushed off dirt from his collar with gloved hands. He knew this Sorcerer—this man…he worshipped him! He knew him, oh my god, knew him so! He had been his inspiration—the very reason why he became one of the Arcana in the first place.
"Get up, boy, the road is not a nice place to sleep in." the Sorcerer spoke in a deep but clipped voice. "What is a Wizard like you doing here?"
He opened his parched lips to speak—he even reached out and touched the frayed hem of the man's robe. "M-master…I've been…searching…five years…you have no idea…oh master…"
His eyes widened. What is this? He could feel overwhelming Dark Energy coming from this man—energy so great that it'd be enough to destroy the whole continent of Amatsu in one outburst! Luck had pitied him at last—and led him to what he really needed—!
"You need help with your sphere, is that it?" the Sorcerer asked as it knelt beside him.
He nodded frantically—wildly. "Master…help…Master Nerva…"
The Sorcerer surveyed him with his piercing glare. "So you chose Darkness too, like the whole lot of them. Did you choose it because it is really what you wanted—what your heart chose for you?"
His lips quivered—and he started to cry like a boy. The Sorcerer's expression softened.
"You all make the same mistakes, don't you?" he said. "You choose something your heart does not want."
"Master…you have no idea…" he sobbed.
The Sorcerer rolled his sharp yellow eyes. "Of course I have. I have every idea you can imagine boy, because I've been there and done that. I guess I have no choice then…I'll have to take you with me."