Chapter 33: The Time Mages
Disclaimer:
This is Day Five of the 5-Day upload schedule. Thank you, guys, for all the reviews you left and the fact you're enjoying this fanfic a lot. It just makes me want to write more. With that said, I hope you enjoy this one.
The Golden Dawn base was pretty lively this morning with many of the members training and working on their selves. A lot of the Magic Knights had gone off in pairs and trios which is exactly what Lucas did with Yuno.
The day was a clear one with a simple breeze flowing in the air. The beaming sun was high and shone on everything around. This would be one of the last days without Vangeance since Langris had given the briefing that the Captain would be returning in a few days.
"Light Magic: Angelic Strike!" Lucas rushed ahead and surrounded his left arm with a bright, yellow glow and was aiming to attack Yuno.
"Wind Creation Magic: Gale White Bow + Sylph's Breath!" Yuno formed his wind construct had he had been training on for a few days now and along with Bell's power, he managed to shoot out three huge wind arrows with a powerful force which hit the floor in front of Lucas and sent him flying back.
Lucas looked beneath him and realised just how high he was in the air, so he knew he had to break his fall somehow. "Light Creation Magic: Energy Whips!" The mage quickly surrounded his arms with the whips and used its length to hit the ground so he could easily break his fall.
"My turn to go now. Wind Creation Magic: Wind Blade Shower!" Yuno summoned an army of sharp blade constructs that floated above him and shot them at his training partner.
Lucas looked and did something different this time. "It's a good a time as any to try this one out! Light Reinforcement Magic: Flashing Armour Ritual!" The ginger-haired teen crossed his arms together in front of him in an 'X' shape. His left arm generated a strong, yellow light and it passed on to his right arm and then his entire body. After a second or two, his body was glowing brightly and was emitting a high amount of mana.
The wind attack came towards Lucas, and he stood strong. Since he used reinforcement magic, his body was heightened in defence, and it showed since every blade that attacked him simply bounced off and fell to the floor to dissipate.
After the attack was done, Lucas lifted his head to see a surprised Yuno.
"You're good, Yuno and Bell!" Lucas said as he jumped to his feet again, ready for more.
"I did most of it, Bell just puffed a bit", Yuno replied and teased the Wind Spirit.
"Yuno! That's no way to treat a legendary spirit like myself, hmph", she crossed her little arms and turned away from her host with a pout and one eye open to see if Yuno would react.
He did not, and she started to pull at the Wind mage's cheeks and the two got into a little back and forth where they teased one another.
"You two really are made for each other, aren't you?" Lucas walked up and laughed as he saw the antics between them.
Bell floated over to Lucas and sat on his shoulder and stuck her tongue at the black-haired Wind mage. "Well, if you ask me, I could be a better Magic Knight than Yuno ever could", she smirked.
Yuno responded in the exact way that would get a response from Bell. "Tell me how that works for you then, see ya", he turned away. Though, as he had his back to Lucas and Bell, he smiled knowing he had got Bell.
Bell quickly flew over with her wings flapping in a fast motion and apologised to Yuno. "Yuno! I didn't mean it, I'm sorry!" She said as she sat on top of his messy hair.
"Got ya", Yuno smiled again.
"You did all of that on purpose didn't you?" Bell sighed as she felt defeated.
Lucas smiled and repeated what he said. "I guess you two really are made for each other!"
The three enjoyed a minute of joy and laughter and were about to return to train.
"I didn't say this earlier, but you really are something. You seem more… determined lately. Especially after what happened at Letoile's house. It's quite nice to see. That new defence spell of yours caught me off guard", Yuno complimented.
The Light mage scratched his cheek in a slightly embarrassed manner, and he kept diverting his eyes. "Thanks, Yuno. Ever since the Capital attack, I've realised just how much stronger I need to get. My training allowed me to unlock a new spell".
"It's the same for me. I fought an enemy that was too strong for me, so I also know how much more work we have to put in. Besides, I know Asta is getting stronger so it's only right for me to do so as well", Yuno replied, looking into the distance.
"That's right, you're both rivals aiming to become the Wizard King", Lucas replied.
"What's wrong? Don't think we're not competing with you as well, Lucas. Anyone who wants to become the Wizard King is a rival to me", Yuno looked at his other rival.
Lucas's eyes widened but a smile stretched across his face. "Seriously? I-I'm your r-rival? That's so cool…", he twiddled his fingers together and looked down to the floor.
"Yup. Asta's too. Rivals spur each other on and you want to be better than them. Your dream to be the Wizard King… you're just going to have to beat me and Asta to get it, and vice versa", Yuno added.
Lucas realised he did have a rival, and not even one but two good ones. During the Awards Celebration banquet just before the Royal Capital attack, he felt as if he would never get a rival since everyone else were competing against each other. Yuno just made him realise how wrong he was.
"…BUT… Yuno will be the one that's victorious!" Bell added, putting her hands to her hips, and standing proud.
"You got that right", Yuno high-fived Bell, or rather put his little finger up and she slapped it with her hand.
"We'll see, we'll see!" Lucas replied back, rustling Bell's hair to which she pinched his cheek as a response.
The two were about to carry on training, when another member of the Golden Dawn appeared and handed Lucas a letter which was apparently urgent.
"An urgent letter? You better open it", Yuno said.
"Hm, I wonder what it could be?" Lucas pulled the seal off the envelope and took the letter out.
The letter was quite short with just a few sentences of writing on it but the content of it was perhaps the most important thing he had seen so far.
"T-T-The Wizard K-King wants to see me?!" Lucas shouted. He glued his eyes to the letter again and read it very slowly to make sure he didn't misread or misunderstand it, but he was right the first time. Julius wanted to see the Light mage, but no reason was written.
"Maybe he heard about how you took the bandits down yesterday and wanted to congratulate you in person?" Yuno mentioned.
"That could be it…", Lucas replied. Though he started to think about it more. "Or maybe it's to do with my Time Magic? He's the only one that knows about it", he thought to himself.
Lucas turned to Yuno. "Well, I guess I'll be off. We'll continue training some other time".
"See ya", Yuno replied and then started to walk off with Bell still waving at Lucas.
Some time had passed since Lucas received the summons to him arriving at the Royal Capital where the Wizard King HQ was based. The day was still clear, but it had just turned to the afternoon with the breeze picking up slightly.
"Hm, It's in the same area as when we went to the Awards Ceremony so it shouldn't be too hard to spot", he thought to himself as he put his broom away and started walking.
The mage passed a bunch of expensive-looking shops and market areas where they sold high-end jewellery and clothes, but nothing interested him that much to pause and look.
Eventually, he made it to the entrance of the HQ. Nervous sweat had started to fall from his forehead as the reality of what could happen started to sink in.
"Maybe it is to congratulate me… but I kinda hope he speaks about Time Magic. I can't really speak about it with other people so having someone to relate to might be good. I could also learn some tricks". Lucas walked up the long stairs that lead to two double doors.
Outside the entrance was a man with blue hair and a bowl cut. He looked to be waiting for someone as he kept changing his line of sight but as Lucas came into view, he sighed a breath of relief.
He walked up to Lucas and introduced himself.
"I'm Marx Francois and the adviser to the Wizard King. I assume you're Lucas?" He asked.
"Y-yes, I'm Lucas. Thanks for having me", he replied as he gulped from the nerves he was feeling.
"Great. Now, if you follow me, I'll take you to Master Julius". Marx opened the double doors and ushered the Light mage to follow him inside.
Lucas entered the building and immediately felt many pairs of eyes following his every move. He slowly shifted his eyes to see just who was looking and it turned out that there were a huge amount of security guards that were following his every move.
"Don't mind them, Lucas. We've had to increase security everywhere because of the unfortunate attack. They're only doing their job", Marx explained.
The two walked ahead and Lucas took the entire place in. The place was huge and there were many doors and rooms that lead to many different areas. The floor was a sleek white marble with a royal red rug covering most of it. To walk across it, you would feel like royalty. That was the sort of feeling being there gave everyone.
"You call the Wizard King, Master?" Lucas asked Marx. There was an air of silence and the Light Magic user wanted to break it since it felt a little bit awkward.
Marx kept walking on but replied. "Yes, of course I do. Many call him the Wizard King, as they should, but I call him Master just because I've seen with my own eyes just how much he's done for this kingdom. Being the adviser allows you experience the wonders on a much more personal level than just admiring from afar. Perhaps you can replace me in the future?" He joked.
"Haha, maybe I could! Though, staying as a Magic Knight is the path I want to stay on", Lucas replied.
"That is admirable in itself. I'd say being the adviser has its perks, but…", the blue-haired man stopped himself from carrying on.
Lucas looked at Marx with a questioning expression. "I wonder what he was about to say?"
"We're here, Lucas. Please follow me i-", Marx started but as he opened the door, he was swarmed with a mountainous stack of paper that engulfed him and even Lucas to the point where they became buried in it.
After a few seconds, the two managed to free themselves from the paper stack's clutches. Marx, instead of questioning what happened like Lucas was, immediately went into the room and peered his head through the open window.
"Master Julius, come here right now!" Marx ordered.
He had looked out the window and saw the Wizard King slowly tiptoeing away and was ready to leave but was caught by his own adviser.
"… But Marx!" Julius pouted.
"No buts! I told you to sort those papers out for three days now and you haven't touched them! Besides, you called someone over today. Do you not remember?" Marx shouted and Julius jumped back through the window and sat on his chair.
"Did I…? Oh!" Julius turned to the guest in question which was Lucas who stood awkwardly with his back to the two arguing men.
Julius skipped to Lucas and held his hands with stars in his eyes. "I want to talk about two things with you. Oh, won't you stay?" He pouted once more.
"S-sure…", Lucas sweat dropped. "He called me here in the first place? Why would I leave?" He thought.
After a while of Marx sorting things with the Wizard King, he left the room but kept the stack of papers in Julius's office. Julius agreed that he would sort through the documents after this meeting, but who knows if he even would.
"… Maybe this is what Marx was about to say earlier?" The mage awkwardly smiled.
"So, Lucas! I wanted to congratulate you on your part with helping out House Becquerel. I heard it was a hard incident to get through, but you managed to do it. Well done!" Julius clapped.
"Your squad will be getting plenty of stars from me as usual. Letoile's also part of that squad so I guess that means double since both of you worked so hard", he added.
Lucas smiled and stood proud. The Wizard King was properly acknowledging him, and his achievements and he couldn't like and say he didn't like all the praise.
"Thank you, Wizard King! I'm doing everything I can to become a great Magic Knight", Lucas responded.
"… Are you?" Was all Julius replied back with which confused Lucas at first.
"Hm?" The Light mage wondered.
"Your Time Magic. Have you started to use it?" Julius asked plainly.
"There it is. What I thought this whole meeting was going to be about", Lucas thought. He answered the question after a few seconds. "I… I have started to, yes. Though, I can't use any spells properly yet".
The Wizard King stood up from his chair and walked towards the young mage. There was a feeling of suspense in the room as the two stood in the middle, looking at each other. Lucas stood back a bit not knowing what was about to happen. However, once Julius spoke the first word, that feeling of unease was quickly gone.
"Brilliant! I had gathered that something was holding you back, but it's good you're starting to use it. It would be a shame if you ignored your full potential", the Wizard King patted the mage on his shoulder.
He sat back down in his chair and asked another question. "I have to ask… for my own knowledge, why is it that you have two attributes? I have never heard of any mage having something like this naturally. The Diamond Kingdom is another topic since we know their attributes are coming from experimentation unfortunately".
Lucas sat down as well opposite the Time mage and started to explain what had happened from early on.
"My first, or I guess you could say main, attribute is Light which actually appeared quite early for me. I can't remember anything before I turned five which is frustrating… anyway, that is my main attribute and my Time Magic appeared after I turned five", he explained.
"I see. So, it just manifested naturally? Hm… So, what attributes do your parents have?" Julius asked.
This was a sensitive subject for Lucas since he had no parents and the people, he once called family turned out to be far from that. "I was adopted. I guess my parents didn't want me or whatever but that happened. I wouldn't know what they had but if I had to guess it would be Light and Time".
"To have both Light and Time mages as parents is very hard to believe since those attributes are exceedingly rare, especially when it comes to the latter. Though, I'll believe it's true since there could be no other way. This also leads me to another question… and you're free to refrain from answering it if you don't want to", Julius warned.
Lucas hesitated for a moment as he didn't know what he was alluding to but once the question was asked, the mage froze for a few seconds and felt sick.
"Why is it that you ignored you Time Magic for so long?" As the Wizard King asked, he felt a slight change in Lucas, and it worried him seeing so withdrawn. "I… I apologise if I went too far", he added.
The Golden Dawn member sat there and contemplated a few things in his head. "Do I reveal what happened and if I do can I trust him? I… I know I can trust him. He didn't tell anyone about my Time Magic, but this is… different".
"Okay, let's conclude the-", the Time Wizard started but was interrupted by the other Time Wizard in front.
"I'll explain…", Lucas breathed in and out.
"As I said, my Time Magic manifested when I was five and I was so excited. I saw I could reverse time in a little flower I found to the point that it was repaired again after I broke it. I went to show my foster parents when…". Lucas breathed in and out a few more times.
As he calmed down, he detailed the abuse he experienced at the hands of the people he once trusted. He said he had no idea why it happened, just that it did happen.
There was silence for a minute or two as Julius took it all in. He looked at the Golden Dawn mage and realised that the scars imprinted on his body were most likely due to what happened to him at a very young age.
"… I see. I thank you for trusting me with this and it will only stay with me for as long as you need it to. No one should have had to relive that, so I apologise for asking. So, you mentally shut your mind to Time and now it won't seem to work, correct?" Julius tried to change the subject to not dwell on it for more than they needed to. He clearly saw how uncomfortable Lucas was.
"Yeah. I can use it very slightly with my Dual Blades and a bit with my Light Magic but that's it. Spells are a different topic on a whole since I can't access them", Lucas explained.
"I wouldn't know how to help. For me, my Time Magic is my only attribute, so I focused on it naturally. Though, with you it's completely different. Why don't you try using it in front of me?" Julius asked. There was a large part of him that wanted to help, but he also wanted to see the same type of magic as his since he never had before.
Lucas got up and sat the chair away from him. He breathed in and out and remembered the feeling and the advice he got from Mimosa about focusing on why he has to improve. "Okay… I'll try again!" Lucas put his right arm up and as he accessed his Time attribute, his arm began to glow a bright blue along with his eyes. He pointed his arm at Julius and, "Time Magic: Heaven's Time!"
The room started to shake ever so slightly which was a complete change from the feeling he had gotten when he trained by himself. However, that was the extent of it as nothing else happened. It was a dud once more and Lucas sighed and sat back down on his chair.
Julius mulled over a bit about what happened and what he thought about it. "Lucas, what do you think about when you use your magic?"
"Hm? Well, since a few days ago I've been focusing on my goal to be the Wizard King. That was some advice I got from Mimosa. Other than that, nothing", Lucas replied.
"I see. Thinking about your goal is important and it's actually what I did when I practiced with my magic. It helps you focus and draws on your latent ability. I… I don't really know what else to say though", the Wizard King apologised as he felt like he was no help.
"That's fine. I think I'll be able to figure it out. Slowly, I have been able to use it for longer periods so I guess using spells will come soon too", the Light mage smiled. Though internally he was frustrated. "I guess this is what I get for ignoring the attribute for so long. It's closed itself off to me…", he clenched his fists.
Julius walked over once more but this time comforted the young teen by patting him on his head and rustling his hair. "Lucas don't get too frustrated about it. You're strong with your Light Magic and you're holding up. Just take it little by little and you'll unlock your powers", he smiled.
Lucas started to tear up but didn't cry. He knew he didn't want to cry but instead wiped them and stood up with a straight face and a look of determination to him. It looked like the short meeting changed something in him since it was the first time, he confided in anyone, other than his sister, about his situation. Just letting that out was good enough for him and gave him a new goal, to unlock his Time power.
After they finished talking, the meeting ended, and Julius waved goodbye to the Dual mage. As he left, Julius sat in his chair with his head in his hands. "He's a peculiar one but I'm sure he'll be just fine. Vangeance's squad is a good place for him to hone his skills and surely one day…
…he'll be free".
As Lucas returned to his base on his broom. The suns rays shone on another Magic Knight base and the mention of the Light mage was on two people's tongues as they spoke to one another.
"You know, I think I'll invite Lucas-san for a day out tomorrow. I promised him I would show him how to ice skate, but since I need a day to set it up and everything, I'll just invite him out to a café or something". Daisy spoke to her Psychic mage friend who was sat across from her on the flat grass.
The two friends were outside in the middle of their base where the members would commune and socialise. Emilia, who was right next to Daisy, was laying on the grass as she replied back to her Ice mage friend.
"So, you're asking him out on a date?" Emilia replied, trying to tease Daisy.
"Haha, nah. Just an outing as friends. He's the type of guy to work his bones dry with training and whatnot so a day of rest, however it is, would probably be good. I'm from Nean so there's plenty to do", she smiled.
Emilia felt defeated. "This girl just won't fall for my teasing. Is it really true that she has no feelings for Lucas in that way?" She spoke to her again. "You can even give him that bracelet you bought him".
"Great idea! How did I forget that?!" Daisy repeatedly tapped her head to point at her brain.
"Wait, that wasn't why you were gonna ask him out?" Emilia questioned.
"No! I just forgot", Daisy winked
"Well, whatever you say Dais-", Emilia yawned.
"Dais? That's a cute nickname for me!" Daisy laughed. "Wait, you're yawning already? It's barely the evening!"
"Hm, Dais? Oh, I was going to say Daisy, but my yawn stopped me from saying your name fully. I guess I accidentally made you a nickname", she laughed back.
"Whaa? No way you accidentally did that!"
"I did! But thank you I'll be taking the credit for that", Emilia sat up and playfully pushed the Ice mage to the floor in a friendly manner and she started to yawn again.
"You really are tired, aren't you? What were you doing yesterday?" Daisy asked.
"You know I'm a restless sleeper, it was just one of those nights", Emilia answered before getting up. "Come on, let's go see what they're preparing for dinner!" She took the Ice mage by the hand, and they rushed into the cafeteria.
Eventually, the shining sun sunk, and the illuminous moon rose along with the stars to paint the night sky. The breeze was heavier as the trees and leaves became restless along with the winds.
In an undisclosed and shady area of the Common Realm, a shady figure looked outside at the black and starry night. His arms crossed and his eyes reflecting the glow of the moon. He turned around and spoke to the person who bowed before him.
"Did you get the documents from that noble's house?" He asked in a serious tone.
"Yes sir. It took me a while, but I did it without being noticed", the bowing man answered back.
"Good". He turned back to look outside. "The zombie attack on the Capital really put a hold on our investigations. I was so close… but alas, finally we got what we sought for", the taller and shady man said.
"Can you tell me what these documents are ab-!" The man who was bowing was stopped by a shout.
"No", the shady man bellowed. "The contents of these documents are what will change the world. I cannot disclose them to you just yet. You'll have to be a bit more patient, Richard. You can do that, right? I mean, I was the one that saved you after you were disowned by House Kira, so you owe me this much".
The man flinched at hearing his last name. "Y-yes sir! I apologise for my rude request".
"It's fine. Just stick with me and you'll be able to get your revenge on that one mage", the shady man grinned.
Richard Kira was silent, though a grin was also on his face as he heard what his master said. "One day, I will come to enact my revenge on you for that utter humiliation… Lucas!"
NOTES:
The talk between the two Time mages of the Clover Kingdom! It was long overdue, I'd say, and I think it was useful for Lucas, and even Julius to talk things through.
I think you can guess what the next few chapters will be leading in to and I hope you enjoy my take on these events.
Who was this shady guy? We know Richard Kira has turned to him but what are their goals?
