Chapter 44: Alchemical Formula

"Where… am I…?" A groggy Lucas started to wake up. His eyelids slightly opened but his vision was blurry from being asleep.

Slowly, he managed to regain his full sight and sat up from the small bed he was laying on.

"Hm, white sheets, white pillow, white blankets?" He looked around and saw the specific items. He turned his head to the right and saw a half-opened glass window with a plant pot sitting to the side. There were a lot of flowers and they looked like they were recently watered.

"So, I'm in a hospital. I wonder what happened?" Lucas tried to think back to the last thing he remembered.

"The Third Eye… Licht. A lot of Magic Knights were there too… Asta, the captains, Daisy…", he scratched his head. "Oh, yeah! I think I lost consciousness back there and now I'm here. I wonder how long it's been?" He stared out of the window towards the setting sun.

"You were out for about two weeks".

"Wha…?!" Lucas jumped. He turned his head to the left and saw a well-presented teenager sitting on a stool, reading a notebook on his lap. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Well, I'm the one that's been tending to your wounds as well as your… rather odd magical makeup", the person replied. He adjusted his dark-orange glasses and put the notebook back in his large bag he had put down on the bedside table.

"Two weeks?! How has it been that long? Sorry, I think I'm still out of it… but, you did say you helped me recover so I appreciate the help". Lucas relaxed back slightly and shook his head in confusion.

The teenager stood up and brushed off his greenish-yellow collared shirt and khaki pants. There were a few creases in them from the notebook suggesting he was sat there for a long time. He flicked his side bang back from his light-green eyes and it sat on top of his dirty blonde hair for a few seconds before falling back to the side again.

"Are you… going somewhere?" Lucas asked, seeing that the person was ready to go.

"I thought you didn't want me around with that reaction", he replied with a slight undertone of annoyance.

"No… uh, that's not it. I was just surprised to see someone I didn't know. You said you looked after me so I'd like to hear more if that's okay with you!" Lucas bowed his head as he sat on the side of his white hospital bed.

The dirty blonde-haired person stepped back a bit with Lucas's response. "Um, uh… no, it's fine. You don't need to bow your head or anything. Honestly, what is it with people doing that? I was just asked to help you so I did", his eyes shook with an interested glance at the mage. "… Fine. I'll sit here for a few more minutes. It's not like I have much to do".

Lucas raised his head up and saw the boy sit down on the brown stool in front of him. He smiled and started talking to him. "So, what's your name?"

"My name… it's Cyrus. Cyrus Sharandale". He replied with a slight smile and raised his head. As he did it revealed a small burn mark under his left eye.

Lucas tilted his head. "Cyrus… Sharandale? I think I've heard that name before… when was it…?" He wondered.

Cyrus gasped slightly. "You've heard my name? Perhaps it was from one of your Magic Knight comrades in your squad?"

"No, I don't think it was… oh that's right!" Lucas clapped and pointed his finger up. "I think Daisy spoke about you briefly. She said you were her best friend!"

Cyrus replied seriously. "Daisy wouldn't have spoken about me like that…", his eyes wandered away from Lucas as he stared outside the window.

"Is he upset? I can tell with Ki that it's not something I should really ask about, though…", Lucas analysed. "She did speak about you briefly. Maybe it was brought up randomly".

"Could be. Anyway, speaking about Daisy. She was the one that got in contact with me after you came back from your mission. Usually there's a doctor called Owen who treats all the patients but he's out for some business and they needed someone urgently. The next thing you know, Daisy was at my door…", Cyrus started to explain.


FLASHBACK – TWO WEEKS AGO:

The sound of door knocking could be heard inside House Sharandale. A large, brown door separated the person who knocked and the person who was being requested for.

"Come in", Cyrus answered and went back to his large array of books that he kept on his desk. His right hand was stained with black ink, as well as his clothes, as it looked like he was writing a ton of information down.

"There's too much going on right now. Just a few days ago, there was a break in and a few documents of ours were stolen. I just don't get it, and I have no idea what was missing since it was all a mess. There was also that zombie invasion… My parents are never here either and always on business trips so it's really just me…", he sighed to himself.

The door opened and one of the maids started to speak.

"Master Cyrus. You have a visitor outside and I think you might want to see them", the maid bowed her head. She wore a generic maid outfit which had a large black skirt that hung down below her knees. She wore a white apron over it as well as the symbol of the Sharandale house embroidered in the centre. A puffy black and white hairband sat on top of her head and she wore long, white gloves on her hands. The maid also wore long, white socks with frilly edges on the top and some shiny, black shoes.

"Brenda, if it's one of the other nobles tell them I'm not in. I can't be bothered with their snobby high-status talk today", he waved the maid away and corrected his dark-orange glasses.

"M-Master Cyrus! It's not anyone like that. It's Miss Daisy… yes, the one from seven years ago!" The maid pleaded for the noble to answer.

Cyrus's eyes widened with shock and he dropped his ink pen to the floor, causing it to spill into the dark, mahogany floorboards. He quickly stood up from his chair and left the room to meet the girl outside of the house.

Cyrus opened the door and there was Daisy Calor in front of him. Initially, a wide smile grew on his face as his entire complexion seemed to change from the serious one he had earlier. However, just after a second, it reverted back to one that didn't show emotion.

"H-Hi…", Daisy waved. She put her hand back down and looked away from the person who stood on top of the light-brown stairs in front of her. She closed her eyes.

"Daisy Calor. It has been seven years and now you appear", he replied without greeting her back.

"Not saying hello, are you? I guess it makes sense… considering…". Daisy looked up once again and closed her eyes.

"Um! It's been a while, Cyrus! H-how have you been?" She asked, her voice slightly quivering.

Cyrus sighed and folded his arms. "Look, I know you're not here for a pointless chat between ex friends. What is it that you want?"

That response felt like a dagger to Daisy's chest but it was something she felt like she had coming. After all, she did leave him without notice all those years ago. Considering they used to be best friends; this was the only reaction she felt like she deserved to receive.

"Haha…", she scratched the back of her head and the ends of her green ribbon drooped down to cover her eyes. "We need your help with something. It involves magic and your expertise is something that could work!" She bowed her head.

Cyrus started to become agitated for two reasons. "Don't bow your head to me… You know I hate that. Besides, you really think I'm going to go out of my way for you, let alone someone I don't know? Let me guess, it's some royal or noble that did something they shouldn't and are looking to use me for their benefit?"

Daisy raised her head and stepped forwards. "It's… it's not like that. He's not a royal or a noble. Just a really good friend and I think something is wrong with him!"

This made the noble raise his eyebrow in a slight interest. "He's not one of them so what is he? And you say he's a good friend, hm?" He clenched his fists.

"It's Lucas-san. He was injured badly and something weird is up with his mana. I'm sure it'll interest you anyways, so what do you say? You help him and it works out well for you too!" Daisy pleaded.

"Wait. Did you say Lucas? As in…", he began to speak.

"Yes, yes. It's Lucas. You probably heard about him from the Magic Entrance Exam when he beat some snobby royal. Well, he needs urgent help. Can you help, please?" She pleaded once again.

"N-no that's not- ah, whatever! Fine. I'll help him out. Take me to wherever he is, I guess", the noble walked down from the steps and joined the Ice mage.

The two got on Daisy's broom and they went to the hospital where Lucas was admitted in. Both of them walked up the stairs and were on the floor with Lucas's treatment room, as well as many other rooms that were in use.

"Where's Owen? He's usually here", Cyrus asked.

"We were hoping to see him too but his colleague said that he's out for some business", Daisy replied.

Cyrus walked down the long hallway with the Ice mage walking in front of him. "Here again… I'm usually called to the hospital because of how I work with Recovery Magic and because Owen trusts me", he shook his head as a different thought entered his head. "Seven years and now Daisy decides to reach out to me? Where was she this whole time?!"

"We're here", Daisy mentioned and was about to open the door but it flung open anyway.

The person that emerged was none other than the black-haired Aiden. He started to walk forwards with his hands in the pockets of his brown trousers and his head slightly down. He was looking at the floor until he saw a pair of dark-blue boots. He raised his head and saw who it was.

"Oh, it's you", he said with annoyance. His Purple Orca squad robe flowed as he turned.

"You're definitely not the sight I wanted to see either", Daisy replied in tandem.

It seemed like there was some tension in the air between them and Cyrus definitely felt it.

"Why are you here anyway?" The Ice mage asked rather forcefully.

"I was just around and saw you lot bring in Lucas. He didn't look in the best shape and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do for him", he answered.

"Well did you do anything?" Daisy asked.

"Nope, but then again, neither did you", Aiden retorted.

The two started to butt heads together and sparks flew around the hallway. Cyrus was just looking at the peculiar interaction and didn't have anything to say. He could see that the two didn't get along and didn't want to add to it.

Aiden stopped his mental battle with Daisy and saw the person behind. "You're…! That's right, I was with you when the Royal Capital attack took place. Are your parents well? They were quite shocked when they heard about what happened, I assume?"

"Oh, that's right. I remember you being there and helping out with your Flame Magic. Thankfully our house remained intact because of you. You have my gratitude… and as for my parents… well, they haven't been back to the house for a few months so I doubt they really care", Cyrus answered.

Daisy looked at Cyrus and then back to Aiden. "You two seem well acquainted".

"More than you and I that's for sure", Cyrus let out without meaning to. He realised what he said but didn't seem to care at this point.

"Oh, you don't like her either? Makes two of us then. It was a right pain working with her during the zombie attack. It's good Lucas was there to make it work though". Aiden saw the opportunity to annoy Daisy and took it.

However, Daisy didn't reply instantly. She was in a slight shock when she heard what Cyrus said. "… Well, anyways! It's not worth going back over our lack of teamwork. It's not like we'll be together for a fight again so it's not the end of the world". She tried to not let Cyrus's comment sadden her.

"You can say that again. Well, anyway, I wasn't the only one visiting so you might have to wait your turn", Aiden said as he walked off and outside the building.

"Follow me", Daisy ushered the Sharandale and the two headed inside.

They saw a small bed in the middle of the room with two people near it. Lucas was laying on the bed, unconscious, and the other person was Mimosa who was sat on the brown stool next to him. The two also saw Mimosa trying to heal him with her Princess-Healing Flower Robe but it didn't seem to do much other than heal him physically, which he already had been earlier from her.

Mimosa heard the footsteps behind her and turned around. "Oh, hi again. You're Cyrus Sharandale! The one people call 'The Alchemical Wizard'! I'm glad you're here".

"A royal? Ugh, I am not in the mood for this right now", Cyrus thought to himself as he walked forwards.

"Hello. Nice to meet you, Lady Vermillion", the Sharandale bowed. "Tsk. I hate bowing yet I always have to do it for the royals". "I'm happy you've heard of me but I prefer to just do my job rather than accept the rewards that come from it".

"N-no, don't do that for me! Raise your head. Oh, and call me Mimosa. I feel weird when people my age call me by that title!" Mimosa explained, waving her hands, and becoming flustered.

"An odd one", Cyrus thought.

"Yeah, this is Cyrus. I think he'll be able to help out since his magic is really cool and useful!" Daisy assured the Plant mage.

"I hope you're right…", Mimosa said softly. She turned to Cyrus quickly, "d-don't take that in the wrong way! I just meant I hope you can help Lucas!"

"Definitely odd. Though, she's not obnoxious like other royals", he realised.

Cyrus walked towards the unconscious Lucas and looked at him, analysing. "Mimosa, you did a good job healing his physical injuries. There's not a scratch on him at all. Daisy mentioned there was a problem with his mana though? What did that mean?" He asked.

"Well, he uses Light Magic", Mimosa explained.

"That's a rare attribute!" Cyrus raised his voice as the mention of Light Magic added to his interest. He brought out one of his notebooks from his dark-brown bag that he had around him. "Light Magic! I've never met a person with an attribute like that! I mean, the King is there but he's not exactly someone you take an interest in", he wrote down.

"Um…", Mimosa muttered.

Cyrus put away his notebook and pen and apologised. "Sorry about that. When I find things that are of interest then I just have to write them down. It helps me in the long run but I will admit it looks a bit odd to others".

"Haha, that's fine! It's good to widen your knowledge about things", Mimosa smiled.

"So, what's the problem with his Light Magic?" He asked.

Daisy stepped in and explained further. "The thing is, he also uses Time Magic".

Cyrus sat on the floor and had his head in his hands. He covered his face and had his eyes closed as it seemed to be too unbelievable. "Stop joking around with me", he said.

"That's the thing. It does sound like a joke but it's the truth", Daisy added.

Mimosa knelt down and put her hand to Cyrus's shoulder. "Don't worry. I couldn't believe it either when I first heard it but Captain Yami, Finral, Gauche, as well as Daisy all confirmed it was the case", she smiled. "Why did he feel the need to hide it though? Surely, it's not embarrassing or anything, but maybe it's the link to the Diamond Kingdom that might make him feel uneasy? I just wish he trusted us a bit more", she slightly frowned after.

Cyrus took his hands away from his head and looked at Lucas. "Do you guys have any proof?"

"Proof? No, we don't", Mimosa replied.

"Then I still can't believe it", Cyrus informed them.

"You'll just have to! This is Lucas-san we're talking about so we need to help him out now! If you help him then I'm sure he'll show you some of that Time Magic!" Daisy's voice rang throughout the room.

Cyrus stood back up and shook his head. "You have an awful lot of faith that I'll help him. You really shouldn't be putting such trust in a stranger like me".

"A stranger?" Mimosa tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Daisy, I thought you said you were best friends?"

"We w-", Daisy started to reply but was cut off by the Alchemical Wizard.

"Best friends? Let me ask you this, Mimosa. Would a best friend leave one day without telling the other and disappear for seven years?" Cyrus asked seriously.

"U-um... I don't think I should get involved in this. Besides, this is about Lucas!" The Vermillion said.

"Right. My bad for that but please don't assume things that aren't true", he turned to Daisy and looked straight past her, refusing to make eye contact. "What makes you think I'll go through with it?" He asked.

"Simple. I know that you're a good person", Daisy winked. On the surface she seemed fine but one look at her shaking hands showed how hurt she was with what was said.

"Things change in seven years", Cyrus sighed.

"Not about this they don't", she smiled.

"Cyrus, will you help? We're begging you!" Mimosa worried.

"If it's a job to do with magic and healing then you're definitely the go-to!" Daisy joined her hands together as if she was about to pray.

Cyrus shook his head again and corrected his glasses. "Fine. Tell me the details about his two attributes".

A few minutes went by as the two girls explained about both Light Magic and Time Magic. Mimosa mentioned that Lucas's Light Magic is unnaturally slow which is ironic since it's the quickest attribute. Daisy spoke about his Time Magic and how he first used the spell in the cave against Draien. She noticed that every time he used it, he would have to completely shut away his Light Magic since he couldn't use the two at the same time. She also mentioned that he learned Ki which allowed him to use the magic in the first place.

The sun started to rise outside the glass window and the room slightly lit up from its rays. This time Cyrus was on the stool and was bombarded with information, whereas Daisy and Mimosa were both stood up. The Alchemical Wizard had enough information to work with now.

"Okay, I've got it. I just need to ask one thing before I begin". Cyrus turned to the two and looked up at them. "Is it okay if I draw blood from his arm? I need to get a reading on his mana and since it's tied to life force, I can get an accurate look at it".

Daisy and Mimosa looked at each other and then at Cyrus.

"We trust you!" They said together.

"Okay. Well, before I begin, I need to ask you two to leave. You should probably head back to your squads for now as well. I don't work around people… That's just how I am", he explained.

Daisy and Mimosa left the room as they said their goodbyes.

It was just Lucas and Cyrus left in the room and he started to prepare. He reached into his bag and brought out a needle from his alchemy kit and got it ready.

"Light Magic and Time Magic? What a weird combination. Ironic, in fact. But…! This is just something amazing! I wonder how my work will change after I learn what I can?" He clapped to himself. Every time something interested presented itself in front of Cyrus, he couldn't help but act like a little child at first.

The needle was prepared and Cyrus flicked the top of it to make sure it was fine to use. He inserted the tip of the needle in Lucas's arm and took out a few millilitres of blood. After that, he took out the needle and put it back safely in his bag that he had put to the side of the bedside table.

"I've got enough blood to work with. I wonder what it'll show me? Though, the main thing is that I help him out. Even looking at the blood like this shows me there's something odd up with his mana". The dirty blonde-haired teen focused on the needle and saw that the blood was moving quickly on its own without him having to move the needle around.

Cyrus stood up from the stool and left the room.

The noble was outside and looked to the side, seeing the rise of the warm sun in the distance. It was still too early for people to be out so the sight itself was peaceful.

He stared into the sky as he started to walk towards his house. "I forgot I didn't bring my broom. I went with Daisy and she was in a huge rush", he said to himself. After a few seconds his head dropped and some thoughts raced across his mind. "Really… for seven years she didn't even bother to contact me? I know what happened but she didn't even tell me herself. She also completely ghosted me for such a long time is… Ugh, I don't even know. Did I do something wrong? I don't think I did…".

After half an hour of walking, he was finally outside his home. The sun was slightly higher in the sky and people had started to come out of their houses as they began the day. Cyrus opened his door and went to his lab to start work.

The mage put his long, white lab coat on, leaving it unbuttoned and free to hang. His home laboratory was separate from the study in his room since his experiments and research could get extremely dangerous as well as very messy.

The lab was across the hall from his bedroom and it was much larger in size. As you entered, the first thing you saw were huge metal pipes outlining the walls and their being an exhaust fan on the ceiling with access outside. On the side of the room, there were steel cabinets which had all sorts of measuring equipment, chemicals, magical stones, liquids, and gases. On the other side was a huge marble table which stretched from one end to the other and it had all of Cyrus's experimenting apparatuses set up on.

"I still don't like that Brenda essentially forced me to move my lab away from my room. It was so convenient being able to wake up and get started straight away. All she said was…", he thought back.

"You need to leave your room more!"

"You're a Magic Knight!"

"You should take care of the house more!"

A slight smile grew on the Alchemical Wizard's face. "I can't lie, it is a breath of fresh air when she talks to me like that. It makes me feel like an actual person instead of a doll. So many other nobles speak to me like they're afraid of getting my feelings hurt, but Brenda isn't like that. I guess that's one of the reasons I don't stay with my Magic Knight squad anymore", he said to himself. Quickly, he shook his head as he was getting distracted by his own ramblings.

The Sharandale noble brought out the needle with Lucas's blood and set it up in his test tube rack. "Okay, so I need to split his blood into different parts. If I experiment on all of it at once and if I make a mistake then it's all wasted. I should split it so I have room to work in".

He poured the blood into three different test tubes and they were all equal in measurement. The mage put his hand over one of the three test tubes and took a deep breath.

"Alchemy Magic: Basic Transmutation". Cyrus closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them wide. His green eyes had two different symbols etched in them and he projected them in front of him.

"Huh. They really weren't joking around! These are the symbols for Light and Time. I've seen these in some old family documents so I know it's true. This spell lets me change an object, physical or magical, into something else. I just changed it into simple information". He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling above.

"What if I change all of his blood in this one test tube into a single attribute? Right now, it's a mix of Light mana and Time mana, but if I make them the same, then I can create an elixir that will eventually shut his other attribute away", he said to himself. The Alchemy mage scratched his chin and was about to do just that but stopped himself.

"… But I don't think I should choose whether or not he shuts away a magic attribute. With what Daisy told me, he tried very hard to unlock his Time Magic through Ki so I shouldn't fiddle around with his magical anatomy", he corrected his glasses. "They said he has a problem with using them at the same time and that he can't do that. Is there something to fix that?"

Cyrus spent the next few hours going through a lot of magic documents and journals that mentioned how Light and Time Magic worked. After a while, the entire floor of the room was plastered with opened books and papers and Cyrus was laying down in the middle of them.

"I've gone through one test tube already so I only have two tries left to work something out. I don't feel like going to collect more blood anyway since it kind of weirds me out doing something like that", he turned to his side.

"So much information and so much of it is useless right now. The Diamond Kingdom soldiers can use their attributes at the same time, so why can't Lucas? I understand he's not from there but isn't the idea the same? Well, anyway, I can't fix this specific problem but I can make it so his Time Magic doesn't have too much of a drawback effect on his body. The reports on his body showed that he coughed up so much blood during his battle with that enemy group". Cyrus stood up form the pile of papers and walked back to the table.

He added some compounds and gases into an empty bottle and then put his left hand over the top of it. He also put his right hand over the second test tube and concentrated.

"Alchemy Recovery Magic: Healing Elixir", he sighed as he took both of his hands back. "That spell takes a lot out of me but every time I use it, I get to make something that helps someone. I think it's worth the drawback.

Cyrus looked at the bottle he had his left hand over and saw that it was glowing a bright blue and yellow colour. The liquid in the bottle was swirling around quite quickly as well.

"The liquid… it's some of his blood from the second test tube and its settled well. Though, it still has that same tendency to move around even when nothing is happening to it. Is that the Light and Time mana at work? Naturally, those two attributes are two of the quickest so it would make sense what's happening now, I guess".

"Master Lucas?" Brenda's voice sounded out from behind the laboratory door.

"Yes, Brenda. Come in", Cyrus replied.

The sound of the bottom of the door scratching the mahogany floorboards filled the room.

"What are you doing?" Cyrus asked, slumped in his chair, and not really caring too much for the floor's health.

"I… I can't get in!" Brenda shouted out. "I think there's something blocking the other side!"

"Oh, right…", Cyrus realised. He got up from his chair and started to clean the area around the door until Brenda had the space to enter the room.

"I've told you time and time again! Don't make things too messy since it's such a pain to clean", Brenda shook her head.

Cyrus smiled as he liked when Brenda was a bit annoyed with him. "Yeah, yeah. I'll remember next time", he leaned on the wall next to her.

"I highly doubt that", she thought to herself. "Anyway! I was going to ask you if you've slept yet since you went out during the night with Miss Daisy. Though, I guess you were focused on your experiments as usual", she smiled.

"Yeah, I got a request to help someone out. It's quite cool though!" He smiled.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Well, the person I'm supposed to help has two magical attributes! Light Magic and Time Magic, isn't that peculiar?" Cyrus turned to Brenda.

Brenda was taken aback for a few seconds. "That's something, alright! But if anyone can help such a person then it's definitely you".

"Thank you", Cyrus replied.

"What happened with you and Miss Daisy then? Did you talk about things? She used to be such a joy to be around!" Brenda abruptly changed the topic of the conversation which slightly startled the Sharandale.

Cyrus shook his head and went back to sit on his chair. "Nothing happened. She abandoned me for seven years and then came back as if it was nothing. I don't want to re-establish any kind of friendship with her", he spoke with sincerity.

The Sharandale maid frowned a bit when she heard the response. "You two were such best friends. We know why she disappeared but surely it's all in the past now", she said.

"It's not all in the past! Not when… not when she was the closest person to me. Now I have no one to call a friend and it's all because of her. She didn't even leave an address of where she would live! I know she's part of the Blue Rose Knights but that doesn't mean anything since I'm hardly a Magic Knight myself", Cyrus sighed.

Brenda paused. "This is really eating away at him". She walked forwards and knelt down beside Cyrus who had his head leaning against his arm. "You might not be with your Magic Knight squad but you're still doing your duties as one, aren't you?"

"How am I? I can't even find the robe the Captain gave me when I first joined them". Cyrus turned away as he was brooding.

"You're helping someone out, aren't you? You sacrificed sleep and as much as you implied you didn't like it, you spent time with Miss Daisy for that one person, right? I'm sure they would be very appreciative towards you when you complete your task", Brenda explained.

"I guess you're right", he turned back and admitted.

Brenda stood up and started to walk outside of the door. "Go to bed now. I'll make your breakfast a bit later so you have enough time to sleep. You need to go help that person out, don't you?" She smiled and turned her head as she walked and closed the door behind her.

"Why are you always right, Brenda?" Cyrus face-palmed.

After a few more days of perfecting his alchemy with Lucas's elixir, he headed back to the hospital on his broom. It was midnight and the moon was at its peak.

"If I go at this time then it's less of a chance of running into her", Cyrus said to himself. He opened the door to the hospital and walked up the flight of stairs to the hallway where Lucas was.

"I did say I didn't want to see anyone, but it's eerily quiet here. I guess everyone is asleep", he thought as he stood outside Lucas's door.

The mage opened the door slowly and walked in, closing it behind him. He looked forwards and saw a singular candle illuminating the area around the sleeping Lucas, as well as a bouquet of flowers on the bedside table.

"I wonder who brought those for him? Maybe the Golden Dawn, or his family? Does his sister even know what's happened?" Cyrus thought for a moment but shook his head. "Ah, why am I even thinking of random things like this? I'm just here to fix him up and I probably won't see him again".

After putting the flowers in the plant pot, he sat down on the brown stool and brought out the manufactured elixir from his bag.

Just like before, it had a bright blue and bright yellow colour and it looked to be glowing in the dimly-lit room. He pulled the cork out and a bitter smell filled the room very quickly as he did.

"Oh, right. I forgot how smelly these things are… Let me just open the window", he stood up again and opened the window before sitting back down. He took the elixir and slowly poured it down the Dual mage's throat.

"This… feels very sketchy", he shivered. "Regardless, I did my job and this elixir should take effect in a few days. I'll probably check up on him once more and he should be awake by then".

After leaving the room, Cyrus went back to his house and waited for a few more days before checking up on the sleeping mage again.

FLASHBACK END


"So, that's what happened. If you'll excuse me…", Cyrus stood up from his stool again and turned to leave the room.

With a nervous fluster, Lucas quickly reacted. "No, wait! I'd like to thank you for your help… You don't even know me and went through all of that for a complete stranger! I don't know how to repay you!"

Cyrus stopped as he was about to turn the doorknob to exit the room. He slowly tilted his head and looked back at Lucas who was up from his bed. He was wearing a light-grey hospital outfit.

"I mean… there is something you could do to repay me", the Alchemical Wizard said in a quiet and nervous tone. He twiddled his fingers around each other whilst looking at his notebook and pen in his bag.

"Let me know what it is", Lucas replied.

"Could you show me your Light Magic and your Time Magic at work, please! I don't usually get like this but when there's something so interesting like your case then it really fascinates me! I love finding out new things so could you do this, please?" Cyrus begged. It was unusual for him to be like this but in certain circumstances, his real personality flows out.

"He's quite different now. I didn't get the impression he'd be like this but it's not a bad trait to have", Lucas thought. He smiled and looked at the wondering Cyrus. "I guess my secret is out anyway. I'll have to explain this to my squad but sure, I'll show you some of it", he replied.

Cyrus's light-green eyes flashed as the sun finally set outside. He quickly lit another candle and put it to the side so he'd be able to see the Light-Time Magic at work. In one hand was his notebook and in the other was a pen which he was twirling.

"You really are eager, aren't you? Well, here goes… Light Magic…". Lucas covered his left arm with some Light Magic which made the candle that Cyrus light up seem redundant as the room was completely lit from Lucas.

"Light Magic! It's so cool to see it right in front of me like this", he smiled as he jotted down some notes. "What about your Time Magic?"

"No hesitation, huh?" Lucas smiled. "Time Magic…", with a small sigh he covered his right arm with the blue magic. It mirrored his left arm as he activated it. "Oh? I can manage to use them at the same time now! It's only for a few seconds but it's a huge difference from before! It doesn't seem to hurt as much anymore either. Is this the elixir's effects?"

Lucas looked up and didn't see Cyrus. Instead, when he looked down, the mage was sat on the floor, scribbling a plethora of words down in the blank pages of his white notebook. It seemed like he had already filled out three pages from information about the Time Magic.

He looked up from the floor and didn't realise how his serious persona was invisible at this point. "The colour of your magic is cool and all… but could you prove to me it is Time Magic?" He asked but in his head, he already knew it was. "I just want to see him stop time or something!"

"Uh, I can prove it to you. Do you have something I could drop to the floor?" Lucas extended his arm and asked.

Cyrus rummaged through his bag and picked out an empty test tube. "Will this do?"

"That's fine. Okay, here goes". He opened the palm of his right hand and some waves of blue mana shot out. Lucas's eyes glowed a bright blue and the intensity of his right arm burned brighter. He dropped the test tube from his left hand and used his right hand to stop time to make it so the object was suspended in the air. "How's that?"

"What the heck?! That is so cool! I have never seen Time Magic at all… the Wizard King has it but I haven't been fortunate enough to really see him in action except for a brief moment so I've always been wondering what it's like. Is it really this cool?" Cyrus became even more excited as he burned through his entire notebook.

Lucas chuckled. "My Time Magic is nowhere near the Wizard King's so his is probably much cooler!"

Cyrus finished writing and looked up again. "So? Does it hurt or anything, you know, using the Time Magic?"

"There's a little pinch to it but it definitely feels much better. I'm not coughing up blood anymore so it's a great sign!" The ginger-haired teen laughed.

Cyrus put away his notebook and pen and stood up. "That really was something. Is there anything else that was on your mind?" He asked, now in a more friendlier tone than before.

"Yeah there was something. Did the kids manage to make it back to their houses alright? Did anything else happen while I was here?" Lucas scratched his chin and wondered.

"Do you mean the kids in Nean? Yeah, they managed to get back fine but there were a few of them with problems concerning their mana. I wanted to help them but I can't exactly make more mana with my magic. This whole incident has been the talk of the street lately and I heard something happened with the Captain's meeting a few days ago. Though, I don't look into the Magic Knight matters anymore", the Alchemy Mage replied.

Lucas breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard about the fate of the children. "That's good. I wish I could help Alice and the others that were effected but...", he frowned and then looked at Cyrus in front of him. "Thanks for the information. I'll head to my base tomorrow morning and learn more about everything that happened".

Cyrus then put his hand out towards the Dual mage. "I don't usually do this, but here… a handshake". He started to fidget and stopped looking Lucas in the eyes.

"A handshake? Oh, do you want to be friends?" Lucas's eyes widened with joy.

"N-no! That's not it. I just wanted to thank you for helping me out with my research and discovery. I didn't know what you'd be like… I already knew about you from before so when I got the chance to actually meet you, I had these expectations and well… let's just say you really helped me out", he nervously smiled.

"He knew about me? Oh, it must have been from the Entrance Exam. I did beat that royal after all", he thought to himself. "It's no problem! If I run into any more trouble regarding my mana, do you think you'd look after me?" Lucas put his hand out as well.

"I guess that would be alright", Cyrus replied as the two shook hands.

Cyrus packed up and headed out of the door. Though, just before he left the hallway, Lucas shouted to him from his door.

"Cyrus! I forgot to ask but what Magic Knight squad are you in?" He asked, cupping his mouth to make his sound travel louder.

"I'm…", he began to answer but thought to something else. "Ah, it doesn't matter! I'll see you some other time!" He left without answering the question.

"Oh", Lucas said to himself.

Cyrus got on his broom and was about to fly back to his house. As he got on, he had to breathe in and out a few times to calm himself. "My squad, huh? I received permission to work by myself but should I return to them?" He asked himself as he flew away.


Lucas closed his door and walked back to the bed. However, just before he was about to sit down, he glanced at the flowers and saw a note beside them.

"A note? Maybe it says who sent them". He walked to the open window and started reading the note that was leaning against the flowerpot. "Let's see… It's from David!"

"Hey rookie! We all heard about your heroics at Nean and the cave with the Eye of the Midnight Sun. You were so cool too, I mean, that's what Mimosa has been saying as well as the shrimp from the Black Bulls. We also heard there was something you wanted to talk to us about but I guess you'll say it when you wake up and return to us! Anyways, hope you find this and come back when you're all fixed up!"

Lucas had a few mixed feelings about the letter but he knew that hiding his Time Magic was never going to happen anymore.

"I'm surprised the captains at the cave didn't relay the message to Captain Vangeance. I wonder what he would think when I tell him about my Time Magic? I wonder how Yuno or Mimosa will feel as well? Should I have told them before? Did I leave it too long?" He asked himself as he stared out towards the moon. "Mimosa would have heard it from Daisy or anyone else in Nean… will she think I didn't trust her? She must have been the one to tell the others that I wanted to talk to them about something... I don't even blame her for this since hiding it has been such a headache". He leaned against the windowsill and yawned.

"I should visit Iris and the others back at home as well. I haven't had the time since everything has been so hectic…", he thought.

Lucas was about to get in bed again when he spotted his grimoire satchel hanging from the bed frame. "I forgot about what was inside! Is it broken? Is it okay?" He rushed through it and picked out what he was frantically worrying about.

He raised his hand with the item dangling from two of his fingers. It was the silver-chained bracelet that he had bought to give Daisy during their day out. The crystal gemstone sparkled underneath the moonlight as he looked at it near the window.

"Phew. It's not broken! I would've thought after the whole incident with the enemy it would've been scratched or something! I'm glad I protected it with some Light Magic as well as having it deep inside the satchel…!" He calmed down but just before he turned, he saw something that annoyed him. "… There is a single scratch on the gemstone… I guess with all that happened I can't be surprised. Here I thought I got extremely lucky! Do I still give it to her?"

Lucas sat on his bed and twirled the bracelet along his palms.


NOTES:

Cyrus Sharandale is an OC that was given to me by KenosDC1! I hope I did the character justice and integrated him well into the story. He will definitely be used more as you may be wondering.

A heavy character-focused chapter but with a new person I think it was warranted.

The relationship and story behind Cyrus and Daisy is a really interesting one and all will be revealed soon enough.