2. Calista and Arganan


Zael couldn't do much for the rest of the first day. By the time he and Arganan were done discussing the most important objectives, it was already sundown. Arganan suggested setting up camp. The good news was, the two of them were already close enough to the cave-like area where Zael initially woke up in, so they decided to camp there for the night.

Zael had a hard time sleeping in the stone chamber he first woke up in. He examined the odd markings on the walls, tracing them with his fingers. Did Calista make all of these, herself? Or was this chamber prepared since long ago, just in case they expected Zael to be in such critical condition back then?

A hundred years. He'd slept in here a hundred years, and right now, he couldn't sleep. Funny, how fate liked messing with him.

He heard Arganan sigh, and he turned to face the older, dead man, seeing his frown. "As much as I'm sure you're curious about this chamber, you really need some rest. Surely you can sleep one night, in here. Or would you rather take it outside?"

"It's not a matter of sleeping in here or outside." Zael managed, shaking his head. "It's just…" He looked towards the markings on the walls, then towards Arganan. "Can you identify these? Are these magical, or decorative?"

Arganan approached the wall that Zael previously examined, studying it with his one eye. Zael could help but stare at the eyepatch that covered the older man's left side of his face. What was it covering? Scars? Magical markings, like the ones on the walls? Or something else?

"These are the marks of healing magic." Arganan muttered, turning to face the younger man. "It's etched all over these walls. Anyone sleeping in here would be affected by it, but magic this intense is often used for bedridden, ill patients. Or comatose, in your case."

"How much do you know about magic?" Zael couldn't really remember a thing right now.

A groan escaped the older man. "A lot, obviously. I was the Count. Even before I took on my reign, I studied as much as I could."

"Do you specialize in healing magic?"

He saw the other's brow furrow. "Unfortunately, despite my knowledge, my actual proficiency at that skill is…nowhere close." A scowl left Arganan as he shook his head, closing his eye for a good moment. "I wouldn't have been able to pull this off, myself. Calista, more likely. She might've had help from a few surviving healing mages, back then, but…I doubt it. She probably did it by herself, before running off to try to hold off Zangurak in Lazulis Castle."

"Zangurak?" The King of the Gurak, right? Zael recalled Arganan telling him about him. "What is Zangurak like?"

"Horrible." The other's nose wrinkled at that. "Just like all the other bloody Gurak. My goal was to get rid of them all and bring peace to the Empire."

Clearly, Zael thought, the plan didn't work. It was obvious that Arganan had a clear distaste for these Gurak, whatever these beings were. He couldn't help but frown at the older man's goal of absolutely decimating them, though. Something felt off about it. Pushing a few bangs out of his face, he decided to change the subject as he spoke again. "Are there more people like you?"

Arganan stared back at him, raising a brow. "Like me?" He repeated.

"As in," Zael gestured to him, "Dead. Ghostly. Can't touch them, but I can hear and see them."

"Well, there might be one or two for sure." Arganan paused, tilting his head slightly. His gaze softened, but then he shook his head. "I'm sure you probably don't remember them, anyway."

"Who were they?"

Arganan frowned. "Do I have to tell you?"

"What if I told you that the first thing I remembered was the fact that I saw you die?" The words flew out of Zael's mouth before he could stop them. "What about then?"

The wielder of the Outsider's power immediately noticed Arganan swallow, going stiff. His gaze avoided Zael's own, shaking his head a bit, jaw clenching at the memory.

"Out of every bloody thing," The older man finally swore, voice low, "You had to remember that, first?"

"You said that the Outsider was all yours, before you died." Zael swallowed, recalling the memory as best as he could. He remembered Calista's screams for her uncle echo in his ears, the warnings of fellow friends whose names he couldn't remember, trying to escape along with them as they left the Count of Lazulis behind.

"I died alone." Arganan's gaze snapped into Zael's own, crossed between fury and terror all at once. "I tried to get the Outsider's power. But it was so we could destroy the Gurak with the Lazulis Cannon. Lazulis' half of the Outsider has been used for years, to power that machine. Usually it responded as needed, but that time…" He pushed a few messy bangs out of his face with his metal hand, his brow twitching, "That time, it didn't work. We had no choice but to go down to the Outsider itself. I thought…provoking it would work."

"And it didn't." Zael finally ended.

"No. It didn't. I had the life sucked out of me instead, and it was all for nothing." The older man beat his metal fist straight into the wall, and Zael winced as the impact echoed through the cavernous surroundings. "You have no idea how much it hurt when I died. How many regrets I have. How much unfinished business I'll never get to resolve."

"Like what?" Zael frowned, looking him in the eye. "Seeing the end of the war against the Gurak?"

"How about trying to make up for all the shit I put my niece through?"

Zael froze at that. The memory of Arganan flashed through his head, seeing him slap Calista in the face, calling her by an ugly name, while Zael did nothing but watch. Zael shut his eyes, swallowing. I should've said something back then. I'm sorry, Calista.

He opened his eyes, looking Arganan in the eye. "You hurt her?" He couldn't stop the anger leaking into his voice. How dare this man hurt his own niece! Why would he even do such a thing?

Arganan frowned. "I'm not proud of it. I was doing what I thought I needed to do, to secure Lazulis' future. She didn't like her previous fiancé, whose marriage I arranged for her. She kept running away, every time I tried to keep her in the castle. Even when I tried to get you both married so you would serve me as your knight, she defied me once again. She knew what I meant to do with all of that." He shook his head, leaning back against the wall with a sigh. "What I did was cruel to her. But it was also necessary for Lazulis' future. If you hadn't come along, I would still have her married to Jirall. It was to secure Lazulis' power. And if she ran off, I would've risked losing her to any enemies of Lazulis. And trying to get you and her married to each other, in exchange for you swearing fealty to me, meant that I would secure necessary power for us to win the war against the Gurak, or so I thought at the time."

"Surely there had to be some other way." Zael managed, shaking his head. "Couldn't there be a way for both of you to compromise?"

"I honestly don't know. I suppose I never will." He shook his head. "I should have talked to her more than I did."

It was then that Zael remembered what Arganan told him: Recovering more of his own memories meant less of a reason to trust him. He supposed it made sense now. Who would normally want to work with a man who did nothing but made his niece unhappy, all for the sake of power?

Zael had a feeling that was only one of the few things he'd learn about Arganan that made him less trustworthy. But if he left Arganan now, how would he learn more about his Outsider's power? Just because he worked with someone didn't mean that he had to like them. Zael definitely wanted to find Calista even more, now, and apologize to her for all the times he stood by and let her take any abuse from her uncle. But…

"When we find Calista," Zael managed, "Do you promise to try to be better to her?"

Arganan raised a brow. "You actually think I can get better?"

"You seem like you regret what you did to her." The younger man pointed out. "I don't know how upset she is with you with this even now, but…if there's a chance you're able to talk to me, maybe you can talk to her when we find her. There has to be a reason you're still walking around here, even if you're dead. Maybe making it up to her is the reason."

The older man paused, his good eye widening at that. He looked down at himself, and then up at Zael, his chest rising and falling with a single breath, before he finally spoke.

"Maybe you're right." He paused, and then a chuckle left him at that. "Sorry. I can't help but find it funny."

Zael frowned. "Find what funny?"

"You would've been my nephew-in-law, if you married Calista back then." Arganan managed. A light smile rested on his face at that. "Perhaps you're the voice of reason both she and I needed. And before you ask again, I promise."

Zael wasn't sure about that, but at least Arganan made a promise. And he intended to make sure his almost-uncle-in-law stuck to his word. Zael found it easy to fall asleep, after that.


Author note: That's right, everyone: This fic is being expanded into a full multichapter fic! XD I had so much fun with writing the initial chapter (a oneshot back then) that I figured I might as well continue Zael's journey. I hope that all of you enjoy reading the next chapters!