Lemiel was confident about his skills when it comes to magic, but not to the point where he is arrogant about it.
He loves magic to the point where he can't help but learn everything he could about it. He was thankful of being born in nobility because it was because of this that he had a chance to have access to books about magic. This was also the reason why he wants to create an equal chance for everyone to dabble with magic.
If he didn't study magic, then he might not have met Myrddin. The barrier that Myrddin had set around the forest behind the imperial palace was a complex one. If one didn't possess much knowledge about such magics, then he wouldn't notice the abnormality that the forest had.
It made one lose their sense of direction rather than being in an illusion. Myrddin had explained the intricacies that it had and how he had made it, but no matter how much Lemiel tried to replicate the spell, he couldn't do it.
It wasn't an unknown magic that he studies. The method was already in front of him, but no matter how much he tried, it all ended in failure. This was only one of the reasons why Myrddin had earned his respect.
At first, it was curiosity. He wanted to find out who could make such undetectable magic so close to a city filled with magicians.
But as Lemiel interacted with Myrddin, he became surprised of how Myrddin always manages to turn what he deemed as a weak magic/spell as something powerful.
Even a weak spell can be powerful if used correctly. Myrddin once said that.
"But wind magic is only useful to those who has either a large mana reserve, or those that have been blessed by a spirit." Lemiel brought up the subject.
"In magic, there is no such thing as weaker or stronger. Most would think that the larger the range of the spell, the better. But bigger doesn't always amount to efficiency." Myrddin had cast a small wind magic on his palm when he said that.
"If you're looking for something that would injure your opponent, or something that would quietly kill someone." The implication made Lemiel shudder. He hadn't thought much about the use of magic as a weapon to kill someone. Others might have, and it did already cross his mind, but that didn't mean he would use magic to kill someone.
"With enough air pressure and spin to this small harmless wind, it could become a frightening weapon." Myrddin knew of how dangerous magic could be because with all the powers he had come across, having magic was one of the overpowered abilities a human could possess. Guns and knives weren't needed in a world where the impossible happens, such weapons would only become a joke when faced with magic that could bend even physics.
Lemiel's eyes widened when the small wind started to spin and form a silhouette of a large needle. Myrddin had threw the spell to the wall of the hut and a hole had appeared to where the wind had gone through. It wasn't that it didn't had a sound, but hearing the small wisp of wind as it moved on an unbelievable speed sent shivers up his spine.
"The same can be applied to the other elements. Though fire will be too eyecatching to be like how wind would be, and water stays visible unlike wind. Some wind spells do produce a green color so I guess there's that." As Myrddin said this he brought put a few wisps of wind, now more visible with the green color it had.
"I found out that this color is produced by wind users subconsciously as to not injure their comrades when using a wide range spell. Wind is naturally colorless, it cannot be seen by humans, only felt. It might be the human subconscious at work on why magicians had normalized wind magic to come out with a green color. The reason being they want others to see their magic, or the user wants to see their magic if its really there."
By the time Myrddin finished speaking, Lemiel had stars in his eyes, looking at the older with admiration of some sort.
"T-That's an amazing theory, Myrddin! As you said, wind has no color! And yet, magicians possessing wind magic always produce wind with green colors! Why? Why indeed!?" Myrddin watched as Lemiel rambled on. In front of him was the future magic emperor. He could see why he was honored of that title.
For a human to be so invested to magic. To be interested in magic. Loving it to the point where you use all your time and resources to study it, then with enough time, that person would understand almost everything about magic. Lemiel was that person. His ambition for equality was a second to his addiction to magic.
"Then, what about water magic?! Nobles had said that water magic isn't that useful for aggressive spells. Saying that its too soft or gentle of an element." Lemiel excitedly asked the question to Myrddin.
Myrddin knew that this was coming, but who could blame him. The kid was so enthusiastic with learning. No matter how many times he had tried to scare off Lemiel, the young boy would be unaffected, only springing up to be more curious than ever. He sucked up knowledge like a sponge, and honestly this made Myrddin happy to see someone willing to listen to his theories.
"Do you know that water can be frightening, much more than fire." Myrddin had said and see Lemiel nod repeatedly as if to urge him to continue.
Myrddin smiled.
It was just another day with an eccentric magic otaku.
"Never mind other magicians, but once you change some of the properties of water then it would become one of those rare snow or ice magic that only some possess." Myrddin yawned as he said that, snapping out Lemiel from his murmurs.
"What??" Lemiel turned his attention to Myrddin, abandoning the several books he had laid out on the ground.
Myrddin shrugged and then made a small water ball. Lemiel watched as the water slowly become a block of ice. He gasped in surprise and awe.
"What? What? What did you do? You're not trying to throw me off with my research again with fake facts again, are you Myrddin? How'd you do it? Please don't say you used both ice and water magic to fool me." Lemiel pleaded as he stuck close to Myrddin.
With the years he had spent with Myrddin, he had long found out that the older had possessed all of the elements and also others that he didn't know of. Which was something he deemed as impossible with all of the research he had done, but whenever he asks Myrddin on why he can use all those elements, Lemiel was always met with a gentle smile and a pat on the head.
"No, I'm not trying to pull your leg in this one. What I did was purely water magic." Myrddin sighed and sat up from his position.
"How'd you do it, Myrddin! You have to tell meeee!!!" This was one of the times that Myrddin saw Lemiel act his age.
The soul felt a headache.
"Explaining it would be a bit hard. Since there's no such this as science in this world..." Myrddin said the last part quietly. He placed a hand on his forehead as his vision started to blur a bit.
"I'll take it! No matter how ridiculous it is this time, I'll try my hardest to find out!!" Lemiel knew that Myrddin sometimes has a hard time explaining something he could do normally. Easily using magic, the different spells and elements it had is what Myrddin's normal is. Lemiel had felt the same when he discusses magic with his family or relatives. Knowing magic and studying about it was normal for Lemiel, but it wasn't for others. That's why whenever he talks about magic with others, they would look at him weird.
"I guess you have to change a single elemeー no uhhh... one of the components??? that the water possesses. Then uh, temperature change might also be a factor, I'm not that sure." Myrddin slowly bent forward as he felt an aching forehead.
Pain. Pain. Pain.
"Myrddin?!" Lemiel was in front of him, so the young boy had managed to catch him, if not then he would have met the ground.
"Well... uuh... my head hurts a bit. I think I need to sleep."
Sleep.
Rest.
"Eh!? Ah!? Sure, but you have to tell me additional information once you wake up." Lemiel laughed as he helped Myrddin lie down on his bed.
"Yeah, yeah. As always, your such a dedicated student." Myrddin said this sarcastically since he doesn't really consider himself as Lemiel's teacher.
"I'm not joking! Just you watch, I might even find out the trick behind that water magic you just did before you could wake up." Lemiel bragged as he heard the teasing tone that Myrddin had when he was called a student.
Before.
You.
Wake.
Up?
"How capable..." Myrddin murmured as he felt the headache grow stronger.
Leave at least a
warning.
We might not even
wake up.
Myrddin's eyes opened wide as he struggled to get up. Because of how silent he was whenever he moved, Lemiel didn't notice him getting up.
Even though he had braced himself to not interact that much with them. No matter how much he tried, their love for them always wins, and at the end, they would always undoubtedly help them.
Lemiel... meeting with you might have been a mistake.
Staying might have been a wrong decision.
But...
Still...
Still... we continue
to love them.
"Lemiel." Myrddin called out, surprising the younger boy out of his research.
"Oh! I thought you needed to sleep?" Lemiel asked, blinking his eyes.
Myrddin chuckled and then collapsed on his knees due to the insurmountable pain he felt. It wasn't even a headache anymore. His whole body was screaming in pain.
"Myrddin?!" Lemiel called out in worry as he saw the other fall down. When he touched the other to support him, Lemiel could feel them trembling. Myrddin's complexion was pale, and he felt cold when Lemiel made contact to his skin.
"I'm... okay." Myrddin took a few breaths as he slowly felt his consciousness slipping away.
Before.
We.
Sleep.
"In the future... you would become the magic emperor. The elves, you would meet them... Tetia... your sister would marry Licht." Myrddin let himself rest inside the other's small arms.
"What.. are you saying?" Lemiel was a bit unnerved since he didn't know why Myrddin knew his sister when he didn't even mention her to him yet, or why he was saying this incomprehensible things.
"Listen... listen..." Lemiel saw that usual gentle smile Myrddin gives him whenever he wouldn't answer his questions, and felt the older caress the back of his head.
"Zagred... that devil will possess one of your people at the day of Tetia's wedding... He would cause many... many deaths... He would cause anguish over humans and elves. If I don't wake up by that time, then... please, do everything in your power to stop his plans..."
Sleep.
Sleep.
We need to.
Sleep.
"What are you saying, Myrddin? Devil? Zagred? What is this about you... not waking up." Lemiel started to become scared. A feeling of uneasiness slowly grew in his heart.
"Sorry... I didn't know I would... didn't know... Sorry.. Sorry... I should have..."
Myrddin lost consciousness and Lemiel collapsed with the older man.
We didn't know we would
need to sleep.
We should have killed
that devil when we
had the chance.
Lemiel was still shocked at what happened. It took him a few seconds to snap out of his daze and use his magic to help the older man to the bed. He watched as Myrddin had a tranquil expression as he slept, unlike that pained look he had a few minutes ago.
He watched... because he was left with questions, and an uncomfortable dread inside his heart.
Our love for them always wins.
It always will.
No matter how much we avoid.
No matter how much
we try to ignore.
We simply can't.
Because we can't hate them.
Our hate can't be brought out when
we face them.
When we see them,
we always...
Always...
...get overwhelmed by
the love we feel whenever
we see them.
Myrddin opened his eyes. The pain that he felt was gone and he managed to get up with no problem.
His eyes widened with what he saw.
A familiar looking room.
A room he wouldn't ever forget.
Because this was her room.
The Girl's(Shoujo) room.
"You woke up." That familiar voice snapped out Myrddin from his daze.
By the bed, he saw the person who called out to him. Red and blue eyes, black hair. He wouldn't make a mistake of who it is.
"Qui." As Myrddin said that, Qui smirked as his eyes focused of the screens that floated in front of his face
"Why am I here?" Myrddin asked.
Being called in this room wasn't a good thing. Almost all of the times they come back here was because something bad had occurred.
"An emergency..." Qui said sadly as his smile disappeared.
"Don't tell me, another corrupt woー"
"No, No, no such thing." Qui waved his hand as he had cut off what Myrddin was trying to say. Continuing those words were just bad luck, Qui didn't want to hear those again after what happened to Hikaru.
"Then... why." Myrddin looked down, hus fists clenched. Unlike Qui, though he possessed knowledge from his other lives, he didn't know all like Qui did.
"A slight rejection. The world had produced suspicions on your being even though you were already a god. Being a god is supposed to mean that we, well you, are untouchable by the laws that restrict our movement as humans."
"I wouldn't want that to happen again, so while you're here, I'm going to try and rewrite some things. Even though it's a fantasy world, its being a bit stubborn. A few edits here and there ought to smack it silent." As always, Myrddin knew that Qui had this crass tone of speaking, almost similar to Origin. But he just couldn't get used to it no matter how much he heard it.
"Glad to know that. Ejection is a painful experience. For both you and me." Myrddin walked towards the bed and laid down.
"Yep, you can leave this to me. I'll wake you up when I'm sure that everything is resolved. Just you wait, I'll fucking beat this world consciousness or whatever it is called. Hahahahahahahahahhaha!!!"
Despite the loud cackling that Qui did as he tapped away on his own devices, Myrddin managed to sleep peacefully.
A/N:
Check out my book Origins if you don't know who Shoujo and Qui are.
Also more info on Qui is available in the last chapter of ReStart: Palingenisis.
Idk if this chapter counts as angst because of that ending hahahaha.