Chapter cover: Luminous and Phantom arguing with each other while Freud facepalmed between them.
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In Ellinia, a mage was walking towards his home. It was time, he was supposed to return a day ago but, a certain fancypants stopped him. If it weren't for Phantom's tone of urgency, Luminous would have visited Lania – he missed his home.
It was still dark, there was no light to guide his way, but he knew the path to his home very well. The smell of the morning dew, the soft ground, the damp grass, the overlooking ancient trees – the only difference was the cold – it was almost as freezing as the icy town in El Nath.
Pulling the cloak closer to himself, he exhaled a white puff of smoke. It was cold in Ellinia – as it is winter now in Victoria Island. He rubbed his gloved hands together as he walked. He was shivering, but his quick pace warmed his whole body.
He knew he shouldn't worry about Lania's wellbeing as she is protected by not just a cat, but also a robot he created months before with Vieren's help. Still…Luminous can't help it – especially not after the Black Mage possessed Lania just two months before the twins went missing.
His head pounded – not from the dark mana inside his body, but rather, his never-ending questions. First of all, why that information broker bothered him so much? To top it all, she was almost as similar looking to one of the twins, except for their hair and eye colours. Her choice of weapon was also bugging Luminous – a dagger, instead of a polearm. Worst still, Luminous had a feeling the information broker is not what she seems.
His already grim face darkened at the thought. He accepted Koli's explanation – it sounded logical.
That girl on the other hand…
What exactly is her story? Why…what did their enemy said about her worth to their worst enemy?
Luminous bit his lip in frustration. "This is getting more and more complicated."
Finally, a cottage came to his sight. Unconsciously, Luminous's body relaxed. He never felt so relief right then and there. The chimney was smoking – a good sign, Lania is well and around. The robot guardian was by the stairs by the door, still beeping and kicking. When Luminous approached the cottage, the guardian looked at him, and then ignored Luminous once recognizing he was no threat to Lania.
With a smile on his face, Luminous stood in front of the door, preparing to knock only to find the wooden oak swung towards him. If it weren't for his good reflexes, he would be nursing a broken nose. He jumped back and almost tripped by the stairs – thanks to his poor footing. He grabbed the railings to support himself.
Amused, he looked at Lania's astonished face. "I'm back."
But his smile was wiped off immediately once he heard a young man's voice calling, from inside the cottage: "Food's ready!"
…
…
"Things are always not what they seem, Evan." Phantom said, slapping his cane to the whiteboard with notes.
The boy named Evan was dazed with the overwhelming realization while Mir, an Onyx Dragon scratched its head as best as it could with its claws, only to fall backwards. Its black scales glinted under the soft light and the dragon itself radiated an aura of power. It nudged Evan with its tail, but Evan was still shocked.
Evan was still young, in fact – only 13 for his age. To think he was only 11 when he first had Mir. He was still naïve and innocent – not knowing of death of a person, like any other eleven years old children do but was more observant among them.
Unfortunately, Evan was not as smart as his predecessor – or else he wouldn't be easily tricked and manipulated by the Black Wings. Thanks to the Black Wings – Evan learned an important lesson, but also lost a bit of his childish innocence.
Phantom sighed, massaging his temple. This isn't working. If Phantom was alone, he would be worrying about the wrinkles on his forehead – and apply beauty treatment to his face A.S.A.P.
"Evan," Phantom called the Dragon Master. The brunette's shoulder snapped up with attention.
"Take it slowly. You don't have to force yourself to remember every element – just remember the four main elements – fire, water, earth and air."
"But mister…what about the other imaginary elements?" Evan asked innocently, his powder blue eyes were sparked with interest. Phantom hid a smile behind his hand. It was a good sign to Phantom.
"Like you said, it is called imaginary elements for obvious reasons." Phantom rolled his eyes to the heavens for pointing out the obvious. "It is based on your imagination – for example, time is not categorized under the main elements, but an element on its own."
Evan widened his powder blue eyes, nodding his head in understanding. "How about necromancy?"
Phantom tightened his grip on his weapon at the sound of that magic. "That's under Life – unlike a Bishop's resurrection skill, it is more forceful and a darker type of Life magic. Instead of bringing the original bearer of the…dead body," Phantom took a deep breath. "Necromancy brings not just one soul, but countless soul and places them into another corpse – like skeletons for instance."
He took the nearest dummy and pointed where the heart should be.
"For example, I revive a dead person whose body has rotted a long time ago – then," Phantom used his cane and whacked an orange mushroom doll – a belonging of Marguerite, which he borrowed. "I placed the soul inside the doll. It's simple as that."
Evan let out a huh.
"Hilla's magic." He added darkly under his breath. Evan did an O with his mouth.
Mir's almighty stomach let out a growl. Phantom grinned at the dragon that covered its eyes with its midnight wings from embarrassment.
He pointed at Evan then tapped at the whiteboard. "Concentrate on the lessons, I will be back." Evan looked like he wanted to protest, then, he let out a long groan at the prospect of studying the so-called magecraft. Reluctantly, he did what Phantom asked. Evan stretched his body until his shirt showed his stomach.
Phantom made a mental note to himself: Tailor more clothes for Evan's growing body.
He pivoted his left heel to spin his body around and went out of the training room – specially made for physical exercise, but converted into a study and an exercise room for Evan. He can't deny Empress Cygnus's request to train Evan or at least, enlightened him with the elements of magic. It was a miracle Evan and Mir used elemental magic without any knowledge without rebounds.
Phantom subconsciously touched his old injury, at his right forearm. A training incident long ago, a reminder to him; never try anything out of his boundaries – especially regarding taming imaginary elements.
Before reaching the kitchen, he turned left into another corridor to find Gaston, his butler, on standby. Gaston was holding another file – most likely about Lea – and waving it at Phantom's face. With a sigh, Phantom snatched it away and opened the envelope and peeked inside.
Instead of the usual amount of papers, it was only one much to Phantom's surprise, which explained the paper-thin thickness. He decided to read it later.
"Colette hacked into the Black Wing's record system again." As if reading Phantom's mind, Gaston continued. "Evan's new clothes are almost done, our maids make sure it will last longer, and hopefully fits Evan's growth spurt."
Gaston flashed his master a rare smile. "Take things slowly, at your own pace master – we, the servants will back you up." Gaston gave Phantom a butler's salute – leaving Phantom slightly startled but nonetheless, grateful for their support.
His old master's advice echoed in his mind: 'People will always follow a leader with a good heart.'
Phantom's smile did not reach his eyes, however. "So does the opposite lie true?" Phantom asked the question to the air. Obviously, the air did not answer.
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A/N: Any questions? Review, and I will answer them as best as I could.