Chapter 7

The Soul Knight

Dusk was taken aback.

"What the hell was that for?" He exclaimed.

I was just about to explode. How dare this man stab me without my consent? I have put up with a lot of things in my life, but getting stabbed in the stomach without warning and exploding with light was not going to be one of them.

"What the hell was it for? You stabbed me! A knife went into my stomach! Why did you think that would be okay!?" I shouted back.

An awkward smirk lit up Dusk's face, which made me even angrier. I raised my hand in an effort to slap him again, but my wrist was gone by the devilish man.

"Hey! HEY! Wait, look, it was probably not the best way to handle things, I'll be the first to admit that, but, it worked did it not?" Dusk tried to defend himself.

I hesitated. He did have a point; however skewed and wrong it was. If I hadn't gotten stabbed by the knife, I wouldn't haven't met Loke, and I wouldn't have known to use the Astral Origin. I sighed.

"Yes, I guess that's true. But regardless, a little heads up about what you were doing beforehand might've been nice! You pulled a knife out at me halfway through an attack by an undead knight who was trying to kill us! Do you not understand that perhaps that wasn't the best idea?!"

Dusk shrugged, "So, what happened anyway? I have lived through a lot of experiences, but nothing quite compares to that."

They both looked at the now dormant green knight standing before them. It stared back them with its curious yellow eyes, as if eager to see where this conversation would lead.

"After you so rudely stabbed me, I ended up in a dream-like stasis, where one of my spirits, Leo, appeared to me," I answered, turning back to face him.

Dusk eyed me curiously as if I was some puzzle he was trying to solve. Finally, he spoke, "Well, it appears you have far more untapped power than I first realised. The Knife of Unveil quite literally tears at the body's natural ethernano restraint system."

I nodded in response, that was what Loke had said. "Yes, my spirit went over the basics in the dream. It's supposed to release all my concentrated magic at once, right?"

"Well, essentially yes," Dusk responded, surprised. "But what doesn't make sense, is why you aren't unconscious? Draining all of your ethernano at such an alarming rate all at once should have had devastating consequences on your body and magic. But, it's just, not," Dusk remarked.

I stared at him. Unboiling rage started to fill me up again.

"Devastating consequences!?" I shouted as I raised my hand again.

Dusk raised his own hands up in defence, "Hey! You're missing the point!"

"That's quite simple, Lady Lucy. After you purified me of the Decay, I restored all your magic before the extreme effects overtook your body," said a strangely robotic, yet wise voice.

We both froze. We slowly turned to the knight. Its eyes glowed fiercely.

"It is one of the several functions of a Soul Knight," it continued.

Dusk took several steps backwards, utterly gobsmacked.

"You can talk! How-… what-… this should be impossible. This is impossible," Dusk blabbed.

I was in shock myself. This one creature, who had previously tried to annihilate me for an unknown reason due to taking the book out of the library, was now a sentient being capable of restoring one's lost ethernano? The very concept was unheard of.

"I am deeply apologetic for the attack on you earlier. Unfortunately, the Decay clouds my judgement and my will; I had no control. I must thank you heartily for restoring me to my true state," the Soul Knight continued.

Turning to me, Dusk exclaimed, "Just what in the hell did you cast, Lucy?"

I frowned, I didn't really know myself.

"An Astral Origin spell. After you stabbed me, I just sort of, knew it,"I attempted to explain.

"Astral Origin? Listen, Lucy. I've been around on this Earth for quite a while, and in that time I've known several celestial wizards. None of them used anything like what I saw. Not even after I stabbed them with the knife. Something's weird, here," Dusk said, suspicious.

I looked at Dusk, curiously. Just how old was this man? He looked to be no older than 25, yet, he gave an aura of someone much older. More importantly, why had he stabbed so many people!?

Dusk shook his head, "But, I guess, that doesn't matter right now. Can't force you to tell me something, you clearly don't know."

I nodded my head in agreement.

"So, what now?" I asked him.

I had The Stars of Origin, that was my goal after all.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I actually wanted to get to Haven, so, I think this is where we depart ways, my lady," Dusk smirked. His smile, however, hid something else. Some sort of hidden emotion. Sadness? Longing? I didn't know.

"Oh, of course. I guess I should head back to Fairy Tail then," I stuttered.

Looking back at the Knight, we were both unsure of what to do. Were we supposed to leave it there? What would it do?

"I hope you're not going to turn into another Misery Knight on us, are you?" Dusk asked it.

"Unless the Decay makes an unexpected appearance, I shouldn't become corrupt again," the Knight confirmed.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I shall stand here and guard the Lord and Lady's Manor until you return," it continued.

I stared in shock at the suit of armour.

"What do you mean, until we return?" I asked it.

Its helmet turned towards me, it's blazing eyes staring deep into my soul. I shivered.

"Lord and Lady Sigem decreed that whoever is the first of their lineage to find this Manor, that it shall be there's. You are of their kin, Miss Lucy. Therefore, you are the sole heiress of this land," the Soul Knight explained.

Part of me suspected my ancestral connection to this place, the moment I saw the enigmatic Lyanna Sigem. Blonde celestial wizardry was not a common thing, and when I did come across someone who had these traits, I was usually related to them. Things were coming together. I was supposed to get thrown off that train. I was supposed to be led to this ancient house. I was supposed to fight the Misery Knight and win. However, the one common feature of all these events, was the king of mystery himself, Dusk. Why was he headed to Haven, the exact same location I was? Why did he so happen to sit in my carriage and then take me as a hostage? Something doesn't add up, either he was under the same supernatural influence I was, or he was specifically looking for me; it can't be just a coincidence. I was more suspicious of Dusk than ever.

"I see…" I whispered.

"Hm. That makes a lot of sense, actually. It explains why the anti-will magic didn't affect you at all, while the illusion did. Lyanna must have specifically made it so the magic didn't affect people of her bloodline. What a clever woman," Dusk mused.

"Then how come you aren't affected? Are you related to the Sigems?" I asked, curious.

Dusk laughed, "No, no. Of course not."

I looked at him quizzically, waiting for an explanation. Instead, he looked back at the Soul Knight.

"Well, I must thank you both for this exciting experience, but, I have a client meeting in Haven, and well, I only have a few hours to get there, really. So, I really must be off," Dusk said, a smirk prominent on his face

With a wave of a hand, the floor beneath Dusk turned into what seemed to be a deep purple puddle, and Dusk slipped through, the hole closing behind him.

"What the hell!?" I exclaimed.

"It appears Dusk has, ah, left the premises, my lady," the knight responded.

"That bloody asshole," I cursed.

I was exasperated, how dare the awful man leave me without so much as an explanation. The man aggravated me so much, but simultaneously, his company was somewhat comforting. Despite how much he infuriated me, he made the small time we were together fun, and he was there beside me, through my discoveries. Part of me however, was glad he was gone. Despite his immature ways, he terrified me. The way he so precisely stabbed me, with such assertiveness, made me worried that he could just as easily slide a blade between my ribs, or a dagger across my throat. He knew so much more than he was letting on, about me, and about my whole situation. In this world, knowledge was power, and I felt powerless.

"And you will be leaving too, miss?" The knight asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yes… but I've got one question for you!" I asked it.

"Yes?"

"How the hell do I leave this damn place!?"

Elsewhere

A dark, cloaked figure creeps down the train carriage, no one bothers to look up as he walks past. The few passengers that were onboard were the type of folk to stick mostly to themselves. The individual walks stiffly towards compartment 5-A.

"Dusk," it whispers.

Dusk raises his head as if waking up from a brief sleep and looks at the intruding figure.

"Hello, Mor."

Mor creeps into the carriage, sitting opposite Dusk. He lowers his hood, revealing a deeply scarred face, his onyx eyes staring deep into Dusk's green ones. The very atmosphere was beyond tense and deadly quiet. Dusk daren't move, less he makes the wrong move and anger this powerful mage.

"You missed your arrival in Haven, Dusk. You weren't on the train. We don't tolerate lateness at Siren Heart," Mor breathed. His voice was completely monotonous.

"My appointment got changed to a late time by the client, I had no reason to go to Haven earlier, so I opted to stay in Magnolia," Dusk responded, being completely respectful.

"Such a change was not recorded in the guild records and is unorthodox. It would be unwise to lie to me, Dusk," Mor responded, suspicious.

"Here, I have a signed letter from the client," Dusk said, handing the man an envelope.

Quickly scanning the contents, Mor looked quickly back at Dusk.

"Very well. I shall return to Iltervon and record this change. In future, it would be wise to also contact the guild, so this situation does not repeat."

"Of course," Dusk nodded.

"Also, Dusk. I will neglect to tell Master about your detour to the forest with the fairy girl because I respect you. But let me advise you, leave her alone, you will only get her involved in things that will get her killed."

With that, Mor disappeared in a shroud of black smoke, leaving Dusk very shaken.

"Damn it, Fate you said we had more time. There's so much for Lucy to learn, and the barrier is already gone. It's only a matter time, and I hope we're ready, or else everything we worked for will be destroyed," Dusk breathed.

A silent tear slid town his cheek.

(A/N): Hey, fam! I've formatted this a bit differently, and I find it very aesthetically pleasing, so I guess it's finally time to make all of my chapters consistent. Huge shout out to Never Ending Song of Insanity for the loveliest review, it motivated me so much to keep writing! And what wonder it did, I uploaded like 2 days after the last chapter, not three months! Miracles do happen. This chapter was a little dialogue heavy, so I apologise for that if you're not the biggest fan of dialogue. Regardless, I had such a nice time writing this chapter, I absolutely adore writing the dynamic between Lucy and Dusk, and I was finally able to give some more background on Dusk, as well. Wow, this is a long author's note, so I'll leave it here. Please review, guys! It really motivates me, and I can't improve if people don't tell me what they do/don't like about it! Anway thanks to all who follow & favourite, much love!
- StingIsNotHere