Chapter 41:
The Two Mentors and a Dream
Roxas and I made our way to the outskirts of Zant Port.
As we walked away from the heart of the city where the luxury hotels and finely decorated stores were, I eyed the lively nature of the city itself. Its architecture couldn't be more different for a port town so similar to Wind Port. Homes were made out of brick, rooftops painted a bright, boisterous blue—and goodness, the splashes of green were extremely appreciated after having spent how long I did in the Demon Continent. If all it took was a single ocean to change the landscape this much, I only wondered how life in other places worldwide was. The Divine Continent, for example, was someplace I hoped to one day visit. Though, maybe when I wasn't so preoccupied with other things.
Ah, speaking of being preoccupied with other things, I'd finally remembered to do something I'd been meaning to do for a while. When I was sitting scribbling away in my journal late at night, something that'd come prepared with the room on the desk caught my eye. Sitting under a glimmering paperweight was a finely stacked pile of letter paper. I thought to myself, teenager me would have freaked out at a set-up like this. I wasn't into creative writing much as I was before, but it really drew me back into the mood.
I'd glanced out of the window to gauge the time—I didn't want to stay up too late—and found myself staring at the sky, head brimming with inspiration. Though directionless, it was there, and now I was probably too roused up to go to sleep anytime soon. I reached out for the hell of it and brought a paper to where I was writing, and started at the top. And then, I realized that the letter paper was, in fact, letter paper.
It hit me.
"I should really send a letter to my dear old dad, shouldn't I?"
And so I got straight to writing, slightly ashamed that it'd taken me this long to think of this idea, but hey, I was getting to it now, wasn't that good enough? Besides, our party had moved pretty fast as far as adventuring parties went in the Demon Continent, so I doubted that a messenger with a lot less urgency would arrive at Paul before we could.
I wasn't ashamed to admit that there were more than a few pauses where I'd stopped to worry about how to word some things and what to say. But, I was happy with the finished product.
Dear Father,
I hope this letter reaches you well. It's been over a year since I last saw you, and I hope to meet with you as soon as I can. Or rather, we can. I've joined up with a few of your buddies, Elinalise and Talhand. They sure are full of stories about you, Dad. None too flattering, to say the least. On that note, they teamed up with Roxas once they realized that all three of them came together with the same goal in mind, to search the Demon Continent for our family. I've put your birthday present to good use out there in the Demon Continent, where we just so happened to be unlucky enough to be booted. Long story short, I met someone who agreed to help me escort me back to you and Mom. That person happens to be North God Kalmann the Third, Aleksander Ryback. Don't let the title intimidate you, he's a good person. A little childish, maybe, but still a rock for the party to lean on.
I also met a guy named Ares, a swordsman who's just as good at the sword as he is at being reliable. He's about two years older than me, and he's Intermediate rank at the North God Style, you know, the one you stubbornly refused to show me all that time ago. Oh, well, I guess it's all good now. I know how to counter a swordsman like him now, thankfully.
We're in Wind Port as of writing this, which is a decently fast travel speed if I do say so myself. So, I think it's safe to say things are going along smoothly. Smoothly enough, in fact, we've managed to narrow the search down to a few key places. Thanks to bribery and a little help from the Demon Emperor herself, Kishirika Kishirisu (I'll be sure to tell you all about it later.), we've found the locations of everyone in the family. Even Lilia, since she's practically a sister to Mom, to begin with.
Everyone's alive and well, from the looks of it. Mom is still a bit of a mystery, but we can talk a lot more about everything when we meet. As of writing this, I've turned eleven years old! The food here is great, and the vistas are even better. It's been stressful, sure, but maybe it's not so bad compared to what you've had to go through. You've been alone, right? Well, keep holding on, dad. We'll be there soon.
As for everything that happened before this whole mess happened? It's been on my mind for quite a while. But, mostly, I want to apologize to Mom for parting the way we did. It was a stupid, petty reason to argue. I can't excuse myself, especially not now, a year later. I just want to see her again. At all costs. I'd save her, even if it killed me. Anything to be able to apologize to my angel of a mother.
I miss you, dad. I hope you're doing okay, and let's catch up when we meet next. I'll be counting the days until this rainy season ends so we can get to Milishion and find where you are.
I'll be seeing you.
Love, Lumina Greyrat.
Sure, I'd gotten a little sentimental at the end, but it was what I felt. I doubted anyone in this world would be able to understand the gravity of how it felt to luck into another chance at life and make this sort of mistake with your parents; ones who were nothing like the ones in my previous life.
I loved my parents. To me, they were just as much my parents as the ones in my old life.
With that checked off the list, I was able to fall asleep with an ardent fervor, one to continue the search for my family. But for now, all I could do was wait patiently.
And what better thing to do to pass the time than with some good old-fashioned magic lessons with Roxas? Only, this time, it was a little different. I was the one who was going to be doing the teaching, and Roxas would be my diligent student. Ah, it filled me with joy just thinking about it. Part of me just wanted to be praised by him still, but I was a little too old for that… right? Jeez, would it be too much to ask?
Enough of that. After internally shaking my head to clear myself of those distracting thoughts, I refocused on the fact that we'd made it to one of the rolling hills that sat at the edge of Zant Port. There was abundant foliage around, which made it perfect for demonstrating to Roxas.
The purpose of today's outing, you may ask? Roxas was still curious about the nature of Curse Magic, so today I was going to try to teach him how to do it, but mostly focus on experimentation.
I went into my well-practiced stature of a high–strung lady with triangular glasses and began to speak to Roxas.
"From what I've been able to discover so far, Curse Magic has two types. First up is Rot. The only downside of this is that it doesn't work on any undead, for whatever reason." I motioned to a bellflower, softly whispered an apology to it, and cast Rot on it. A point of blackened, rapidly expanding muck bloomed throughout the whole flower, which was quickly becoming too unhealthy to support its weight and crumbled to the ground in sad, shriveled-up motes.
Roxas seemed almost disturbed while watching the whole process unfold. For good reason, of course. It was, even by my world's standards, quite the biological weapon. With it in my arsenal, I could probably demolish much of anything organic, which had some worrying implications.
"H-Have… Have you ever tried this on a person before?" Roxas seemed equally as concerned as I was.
"Of course not! Not even on an animal! It's powerful, sure, but using it against anything other than a monster is a bit…" I trailed off. I didn't want to imagine being forced to use it on a living person.
Roxas regained his composure but kept the same stiff expression on his face. "Lumina, just how on earth did you manage to learn something like this?"
Roxas being so bewildered is practically a guarantee that Curse Magic is a new concept to this world. He learned at the Ranoa University, after all. He's gotta be more knowledgeable than your average mage.
"I had a lot of off time when I was traveling in the Demon Continent, Mister," I responded. That didn't seem to sate his curiosity, though.
"If time was all that someone needed, I'd have discovered how to go back to the past by now," he sighed. "If there's any point of comparison you have, that'd be a great help."
Ever the scholar, Roxas. "Hm. If I really had to say, I'd go with something like the reverse of Detoxification Magic, on the opposite side of the spectrum."
That comparison hadn't come out of nowhere. The first time I prototyped the first iteration of Curse Magic back in Buena Village, it was because of my trial and error with Detoxification Magic.
"Reverse of Detoxification…? Now, I'm not super big on Recovery magic, but the gist of it is that it's mana interference, correct?"
"What do you mean by that?" That was the first magical theory I'd heard coming from anyone other than myself. And even then, they weren't really theories per se and more along the lines of assumptions with a lack of any real evidence.
"You're disrupting the mana within someone else's body to speed up the regenerative processes. That's what I got from the University of Magic, at least. Haven't ya come up with your own hypothesis before?" He looked almost expectant, but not in an overly strict way.
"Now that you're saying that, I don't think so. I remember thinking I'd delve into that sort of thing when I made it to Ranoa, so it was kind of on the back burner for the longest time. But it is interesting to hear that interpretation."
"Right, there's probably a lot out there you might be missing, Lumi. But anyway, we've gotten sidetracked. Back to what I was saying. Maybe Curse Magic is more grounded in my understanding of magic than I'd first thought. How exactly do ya cast Rot? By that I mean, what processes do ya go through to achieve that effect?" he prompted.
"That's a difficult question…" I tried to recall my memories of using the spell and squeezed out an answer. "It's like… seizing the mana of another living thing? Let me try using my Demon Eye and see if that helps me visualize anything."
I squatted near another patch of bellflowers and activated my Demon Eye. I adjusted it to the focus ability, and all of the bright lights dulled away in favor of brightening the traces within this one bellflower. It was a faint, golden-yellow glow characteristic of Diffused Mana—what I called the Eye of Indication's physical view of the body's natural emission of mana.
The more I used this eye, the more I realized how similar it was to Ghislaine's Demon Eye. I hadn't heard much about it, but it granted her the ability to visualize mana. Maybe the Eye of Indication was an upgraded version of that? In any case, I focused back on the manner at hand.
I cast a toned-down version of Rot, hoping to be able to see how it worked.
An intense ray of copper light stabbed into the bellflower, and I pushed some more mana into it to prepare the process of the spell that was engraved into my head. I noted then that Curse Magic's mana signature was unlike Released or Diffused Mana. Instead of being golden like Diffused Mana or red like Released Mana, Curse Magic spells had their flagship color, namely copper. Whether that meant it was in its own subclass of mana or not, I had no idea. I put that aside as I noted that I was almost… rooting my mana into the flower, visibly shoving its mana out of the way. This initial step created dark patches where my influence met the weak mana of the flower.
The second step, or the final one, involved me pumping a single, invasive pulse of mana into the spell, completely shattering the internal mana structure of the flower and as a result, visibly rotting it and tearing the life force from it.
I was immediately surprised. I hadn't been able to so much as grasp the feeling of Rot until now, and I was too preoccupied with other things to test something like this out. This Demon Eye was proving to be more and more useful as the days went on.
"What a sight…" I murmured. After a few moments of gathering my thoughts and processing everything, I turned back to Roxas who stood patiently.
"I hope I can explain this well, err…" I relayed most of what I'd just seen and tried my best to express it verbally, to which Roxas thankfully caught on fairly well. He was probably used to my manner of speech at this point.
"That's… absurd… but it's not out of the realm of possibility," Roxas struggled to keep up. "If that's true, then Rot employs a system of mana interference unheard of in everything we know about magic."
"It's okay if you can't wrap your head around it now, we still have Paralysis to go over," I said. I knew how hard it was to pry yourself from your thoughts, but I figured it would be way better for him to have all of the details before trying to connect the dots.
"That's right. Feel free, kiddo," Roxas replied. "I imagine it shouldn't be too different, right?"
"Hmm… in how it feels, not really. Visually, that remains to be seen," I responded. After I moved to cast Paralysis, I realized I was rather underprepared to demonstrate to Roxas. Maybe it was because of the discussion we'd just had, but it'd completely slipped my mind that I needed a live, moving being to properly use Paralysis. There was only vegetation and foliage around, and I'd heard whispers about the wildlife around the area migrating elsewhere to prepare for the rainy season which was in the beginning stages of rolling in.
"I… could cast Paralysis on a plant, but it wouldn't be very effective in terms of trying to figure out what makes the spell tick. The thing with Paralysis is that the effort it takes to cast it scales with how dangerous the recipient of the spell is. For example, I could cast it on a sheepdog and completely immobilize it, probably for as long as I wanted. But when I used it on the Labyrinth Guardian we fought two days ago, I was only able to keep it in place for about a minute, just barely holding on till the end of your spell," I explained.
"That's… curious. If we're assuming that Curse Magic is along the same spectrum that Recovery Magic is, I think Mana has something to do with that. Perhaps, if a creature has enough control of their own mana, they can resist or even counteract your spell completely," Roxas mused.
Jeez. He's really smart, isn't he? If he were a woman, I bet he'd make for a great wife, I nodded fervently.
"You're full of ideas today, aren't you?" I joked. Roxas was always the inquisitive type, but I was a lot more used to his more casual side. The guy was smart if nothing else.
"Of course, kiddo! This is a whole new branch of magic we're talking about here. I'd have to be insane not to care. Revolutionary stuff, Lumi," Roxas said. "You're a genius for figuring this all out."
"Well, in all the time I've been using it, I haven't been able to come up with a hypothesis for the stuff behind it all. It wouldn't be a bad thing to give yourself some credit, ya know?" I poked him in the chest.
"In the end, they are hypotheses for a reason. We've still gotta test out Paralysis, and we can't do that…" Roxas trailed off, a glint sharpening in his eyes. "But what if we could?"
"As much as I'd like that, I don't see any feasible way that I could demonstrate it. Here, at least. What if we go on a few more tasks together before the rainy season's up?" I suggested. That'd be a good compromise; Roxas would have some more clues as to what Curse Magic was, and I would get to hear his thoughts. Though, I had a sneaking suspicion that Roxas himself had a suggestion of his own.
"What if…?" Surely he wasn't suggesting what I thought he was going to say.
"What if you tried it on me?" Roxas said, his eyes trained on me.
Sigh. There it was. That possibility was always there, of course, but I didn't want to risk having him hurt by the spell. After all, I had no precedent for a human—or in this case, demon—target. It was still something I wanted to try someday, but not on the guy I practically owed this new life to. I was picturing something more along the lines of a thief-bandit-thug type for a guinea pig.
However, I wasn't so naive as to think that I wouldn't be forced to use the less moral spells on people someday since I'd already seen firsthand how easily people are coerced to do borderline evil stuff in this world. But still. Roxas was the man who I couldn't help to look up to. No way was he going to be a lab rat.
"What's with that look?" Roxas asked.
"Do you hear yourself?" I giggled. "If the situation was reversed, would you want to test something like this spell out on me?
"C'mon, that's different," he replied. "And besides, I'd like to think I'm pretty resilient myself. If anything happens to me, I'll only have myself to blame."
"That's precisely why I don't want to do it," I sighed. "What if Paralysis uses the target's mana against it, using up their mana to fuel the spell until it's all drained?"
"Being drained completely isn't necessarily fatal, but…" he sighed, "I'd rather not have to go through that again."
The last time Roxas's mana was drained, he just fell onto my lap. When we got back to the hotel, he didn't wake up for hours. It honestly got a little concerning near the end. And he wasn't exactly a bundle of joy and energy when he did. Doesn't sound like the best of experiences.
"But, even if we can't do Paralysis today, it doesn't mean we can't stop experimenting with Rot," Roxas bounced back, unfazed.
"That's right," I nodded graciously, thankful he'd relented. Roxas's gaze flickered to a neighboring tree, and then back to me.
"Hey, Lumi. What if you tried it on that tree over there?" he asked.
"If I can bring it down, would that make me a lumberjack?" I quipped. Roxas chuckled and sat down on a stump.
"Why not," he grinned.
Poor tree. Well, what's a little deforestation? It's in the pursuit of science!
As I turned to cast a spell on the tree, I had a feeling I was going to be less of a teacher to Roxas here and more akin to a bystander. But hey, they say having two people to bounce ideas off of each other is a great boost to productivity.
If it works, it works.
After a full day of trial and error with Roxas, we concluded that Roxas was more or less hitting close to home with his hypothesis. We couldn't say if he was exactly on the dot—we were still in the early stages of research, after all—but he was getting warmer.
Roxas believed that Rot served as a hyperfast magical affliction that only progressed as I willed it. He used that word—affliction—because he thought 'disease' was a little too unnatural. Not that making something crumble to the ground without so much as a touch was natural , but Roxas was Roxas.
Rot involved heavy interference of mana, where the feeling I'd described as 'rooting' my mana wasn't unlike planting tiny explosives inside a creature, and then detonating them when I strengthened my mana within. That process would then weaken an organism's resistance to Rot, allowing for a quick one-two punch and ultimately resulting in its untimely death.
Roxas found it odd how, in normal circumstances, you couldn't control spells inside of a creature's body. It's why you can't just cast a fire spell inside someone's lungs and incinerate their insides. However, Roxas thought that Rot employed some sort of loophole to continue working inside of the body. Most of the mana that is used to be 'detonated' is planted in the initial contact with the spell, and when I shoot more concentrated mana into the spell, it sets off a chain reaction and destroys an organism from within without any direct spellcasting inside of the body.
Roxas worked fast if that wasn't clear enough. It looked like he was craving to have something to use his head for, considering we'd be staying in the city for the next three months. We decided to try out Paralysis the next time we took a task for the Adventurer's Guild and called it a day.
The sun was starting to go down as Roxas and I arrived at the hotel. I could see through the front desk's back windows that there was a certain redhead swinging a sword around in the courtyard.
"Mister, I'm gonna go take a seat out there," I said. Roxas glanced outside and hummed in acknowledgment.
"It's this late and they haven't let up?" Roxas said, almost astonished.
"Swordsmen are seriously something else," I replied. "Especially those two. They'd probably spar if the world was ending."
"Wouldn't surprise me. I mean, it's the North God, sure, but I wasn't expecting his disciple to be so energetic despite him being, what, thirteen? Not in a bad way or anything, but it's seriously impressive stuff," Roxas spoke.
"Ares is one of the most dedicated people I've ever met," I praised. "I couldn't imagine going on the year's journey through the Demon Continent without him. And he's… a wonderful guy to be around. Always watching out for me, keeping me company while I'm sick, all that stuff. It's nice to have him by my side," I said, unabashedly gazing at his swordsmanship that he'd worked so hard to polish.
"Oh, really? Sounds like you really admire the guy," Roxas chuckled. "And by the looks of it, he thinks the same way too."
"Ah… you think?" I tore my gaze from Ares to meet Roxas's.
"Haha, ya haven't noticed? That guy can't go fifteen minutes without glancing at you. Every time you cast a spell, he has this same enraptured look in his eyes, as if it were the first time seeing magic in his life," Roxas spoke, looking at me knowingly.
Maybe he really meant it when he said he wanted to grow alongside me… Not that I'd doubted his words, but hearing it from Roxas was almost confirmation of it. Well, if he admired me, I couldn't just let him catch up to me!
"Good," I smiled. "I'll work just as hard as he is if he thinks that way."
"Well, from what I could tell from that spar, you're certainly picking up a few tricks I haven't seen before," Roxas noted, his hand on his hip.
"Most of them came from my time sparring with Paul, but yeah, that's true. Though, Ares is a little too hot-headed for me to get a decent grasp on a good counter against him," I admitted, lightly scratching at the nape of my neck.
Roxas chuckled. "Both of your fighting styles really complement the other's, you know? I'm sure you'll manage, and he'll do the same."
"That's an interesting way to put it, Mister. Thank you," I met his eyes. He shot me a nod paired with a smile that practically screamed out 'Good luck!', and headed inside.
I made my way to the courtyard and found a bench to perch on to watch Ares and Alek battle it out. They clashed and clashed, Alek's aggression and refusal to let Ares take any lead apparent. It was always such a sight to behold, their swords crossing and their footwork. Even in the dimming courtyard, their swords glimmered against the sky.
Ares was the first to notice me, offering me a brief nod before stepping back into the rhythm of the spar. Though, Alek, to no one's surprise, didn't so much as look my way until their spar was over, Ares's backside on the ground, and Alek only just beginning to work up a sweat.
Guess some things never change, huh?
After only a mildly melodramatic groan on the ground, Ares picked himself up and dusted himself off. After wiping his forehead, he started in my direction.
"Hey, Lumina," he called in between breaths. "Come for a rematch?" he joked, smiling toothily at me.
I shook my head and matched his expression. "Just watching for now. Besides, I've had my share of excitement for the day."
"Excitement?" Ares blanked.
"Really now?" Alek approached and wiped his brow, his usual confidence radiating from his face. "What have you and Roxas been up to, then?"
Ares twitched, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah, I'd like to know too."
I felt mild murderous intent coming from somewhere, but I shrugged it off in favor of explaining. I internally laughed at how I'd probably made someone get the wrong idea with how I worded it.
I filled them both in on our experiments, not going into any real technical detail—god knows I'd probably zone out if I did—but gave them the gist of it all.
Ares harrumphed. "And how's that supposed to be more exciting than this?"
I poked him in the nose and waved him off. "That's not the point," I laughed. "Two things can be exciting at the same time, ya know?"
Ares folded his arms, but with a certain glimmer in his eyes that practically gave away that there was more than he was letting on. "Sure, if you're into that sorta thing."
Alek tapped him on his shoulder. "Don't be so quick to dismiss it, Ares. Weren't you full of questions about Curse Magic that I couldn't answer just earlier today?"
Ares perked up. "...Ah, well, that's true," he admitted.
"But still!" Jeez. This guy sure doesn't relent, huh? Alek and I shared amused glances before I turned back to Ares.
"Ah, speaking of which, how about you two take a break and we go grab something from the dining hall? I'm practically starving here," I suggested.
Ares brightened up at that. "That I can get behind."
Alek agreed with a nod. "A good meal sounds nice. Let's get going, then."
Hehe. They're more alike than I thought.
...
As we walked to the dining hall, Ares stayed a step behind, his usual energetic yapping noticeably quieter. I glanced back, catching a glimpse of a furrowed brow and a tight jaw.
Something bothering him? I decided to let it slide for now, hoping a good meal would improve his mood.
The dining hall was sort of weird. It was the only place I've been to so far where they operated like this. You'd order your food at the front desk, having been expected to already know what you want without a menu. Then, they'd sit you down in a waiting area with cushioned seats and then call your party over when your food arrived.
Though, it was a pleasant change to be seated at a table that was fully dressed in your food, as if it were waiting for your devouring. Hehe.
"So how's everything, Alek?" I asked. I hadn't had a real conversation with Alek in a good while, so I wanted to catch up with the guy. I owed him a lot, after all.
"You're going to need to be a little more specific, Lumina," Alek said, almost pinching his two index fingers together but leaving them apart.
"Pssh. You know, with the whole hero thing," I clarified. "We've been caught up with a lot lately and you've kinda given off this unsatisfied vibe."
"My name's all over the place now thanks to this party. I'm not quite hero status just yet, but if I can get in a few more repeats of slaying S-rank creatures like the Fenris Wolf I took down back in the Demon Continent, it'll be a good step forward," Alek said, his voice brimming with anticipation.
That was a good sign. He wasn't exactly doing much in that area lately, but maybe he was just waiting for some spare time to get around and find an opportunity. Though, I wasn't sure how exactly he wanted to get that level of fame.
"Does it bother you that you're attached to the Dragon King's Odyssey name?" I asked, just in case.
"Not in the slightest. I do happen to owe you for spurring me to go on this journey to begin with, remember?" Alek said.
"Jeez, you're a big softie for the North God, you know?" My nose crinkled as I laughed.
"Well, you are children," he replied defensively.
"Oh? And how old are you now?" I tried. Somehow I hadn't asked this question before; it never really struck me as important. Immortal demons as far as I knew didn't really change much with their age because of their longevity. The difference between an immortal demon that was 600 years old and one that was 1000 was almost negligible. However, Alek always gave off this childish feeling. My money was somewhere in his late 200s.
"One hundred and seventy-seven years old."
Wuh?
"Seriously?" I replied, eyes widened. I wasn't too far off, you know?!
His lips curled into an amused smile and nodded. "I'm younger than I look, and I like to take pride in that."
Younger than you look? You look thirty! I sighed.
The conversation slowed a little as I began to dig into my scrumptious food. I'd said it before, but this world hadn't progressed enough to be able to afford to experiment with seasonings and the like. It was honestly a tragedy, a burden that only I know about. But it was still passable, if good.
Though, I noticed Ares picking at his food. Odd, seeing as that guy had to go through the nightmare that was having to eat only slave food for an entire month. But he did lighten up a little, joining back into the conversation with his usual enthusiasm. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"So, you find anything interesting with Curse Magic you hadn't realized before?" Ares asked between bites, his tone a bit too casual.
I shrugged, chomping into a piece of hardy meat. "There's a few things here and there, and this Demon Eye really helped out with visualizing things and explaining them to Roxas. He's the one who figured most of the more nuanced stuff out, after all."
Ares's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Roxas, huh? Seems like you two sure are spending a lot of time together."
I caught the weird edge in his voice, subtle but definitely there. "I haven't seen the guy in a while, that's all."
"Just make sure Roxas doesn't push himself too far into his research," Alek interrupted. "He reminds me too much of men I've allied with who'd pour their life into their work only for it to end up backfiring."
Okay, sheesh. That's scary. Note to self, don't let Roxas nerd out.
"Got it!" I spoke with conviction.
...
The rest of the meal was filled with the usual banter between the three of us, just like the good old days.
Jeez, I really do sound like I'm waxing nostalgic. It wasn't even a month ago, for crying out loud!
Though, Ares's earlier tone didn't exactly leave my mind. I wasn't some oblivious protagonist in a trashy show. Okay, maybe a little slow, but not oblivious. Cut me some slack. The thought troubled me, really. There was some resentment that Ares held for Roxas, and I didn't want it to cause any tension.
First of all, because I don't want Ares to be upset, and second, having any sort of conflict between members of the party was almost guaranteed to be bad news. I mean, just look at how my dad's old adventuring party split up! Paul was too caught up in feeling like a 'responsible man' to realize what taking Zenith and retiring would do to the other members.
So it worried me. As I ascended the stairs to my room, I thought about what Roxas had said earlier. Ares admiring me of all people would probably inflate my ego if I wasn't careful about it. But it made me fall into a frenzy. How could he care about me like that? I wasn't the one doing all sorts of things for him, and I wasn't able to properly protect him because he was already so strong. By all means, I was just another party member.
Besides… if he knew what I really am, there's no way he'd want to ever speak to me again.
But it made it all the harder for me to sit idly by and let this feeling of Ares's grow.
Maybe… maybe he viewed Roxas as some sort of rival for my attention? As much as the idea sounded rather self-serving, it wouldn't be particularly out of character for him. He'd been pretty protective of me, so him being jealous wouldn't be strange.
Oh. The thought made me a mix of worried for Ares's emotions and strangely flattered over having someone jealous because of me. I found myself holding my cheeks while staring out the window. Ares…
Okay, as much as it appeals to me, that idea is just an assumption. More likely, he was just untrusting of him, considering Roxas appeared out of nowhere. I couldn't be so blind to say that I was right. I need to talk to him about it soon before it gets any worse.
As I settled into my bed, my thoughts kept drifting and drifting, a certain redhead the only thing on my mind.
Though, as luck would have it, that night I had a dream.
I found myself awake in an endless voidscape of white and gray fog. It took me mere moments for even my groggy mind to realize where I was and what was happening.
I brushed this body's overgrown bangs out of my eyes and looked up at the familiar figure I'd met with just about two-ish weeks ago.
"Hey there!"
Oh. It's you.
Seriously, things were really starting to look good! You're like a walking and talking bad omen.
"Oof! My heart! You wound me."
Tone it down a little, would you? I've got a few questions for you.
"How presumptuous of you to assume that I'll even answer them to begin with. You've been quite rude, surely you realize."
Well, every time you decide to interrupt my beauty rest, you're always asking, asking, asking. Why can't I ask for once?
"Heh heh. So you're willing to reach a compromise, is what you're saying."
…Whatever you want to call it.
"Then, go right ahead. So long as it means you'll hear me out."
Alright. What exactly are you plotting? No, that's not it. What are you trying to achieve by helping me out like this? You singlehandedly led me to the location of my family, and by extension, reunited me with my teacher. There's no way in hell you're just doing this to sate your own boredom.
"Well… if I had to answer you, I'd say that it's because you have potential."
What's that supposed to mean?
"You're extremely interesting, Lumina. You're eleven years old and yet you've created a magic that could eventually rival even the strongest in the world."
The strongest, you say?
"There isn't much magic in this world that can bypass Battle Aura and paralyze a person's body."
…By Battle Aura you mean Touki, right? Nevertheless, being able to use a bit of weird magic doesn't mean I could win a fight against the strongest. Not that I really know who the strongest are, but my point stands. Probably.
"Oh? In any case, that's the truth. I don't think there's much better entertainment in the world for someone like me. Even gods get bored."
Still on that entertainment thing, huh? Guess I should've expected that from you.
"Whatever suits you, Lumina."
But… thanks. As much as it pains me to admit it, you've helped me out.
"Oh, really? It pleases me to hear that."
Anyway, you said you wanted to ask me something. Hear you out or whatever.
"Ah, right. It's on the smaller scale this time around, so hopefully it shouldn't have any big repercussions."
You mean you don't know? Can't you see the future?
I was completely sure of this. How else would he have guided me to this specific path? And it's obvious that there's a little more to it, as well. Maybe he genuinely was a god… nah, him? No way.
"Even I get my predictions wrong sometimes. But that just makes it more amusing."
Hm. So you're telling me you leave my fate up to chance? That sure makes me confident about listening to you. I harrumphed.
"C'mon, you know I didn't mean it like that . It's just the minor details."
Oh? Like what?
"For starters, you not asking for the location of your beloved childhood friend. I was certain you'd ask."
Ahh… Listen, I—no, I shouldn't make excuses. I blew the one chance I could've found out where she was, and I don't even know if she's okay. I told myself it was alright, but…
"It's in the past now."
…You're right. Regrets like these are just going to weigh me down. I can't believe I keep having to remind myself of the same thing, over and over. I'm here now, and that's what matters.
"Optimistic, aren't you?"
Let me have my damn moment here.
"All right. But I do have some pressing matters to attend to, so do listen to me."
…Sure. What is it now?
"Your party got separated in that labyrinth recently, didn't they?"
I was with Roxas, but yeah. What's your point?
"Remember how I mentioned that you have potential? I wouldn't want to see it all quashed because you got lost once and killed. Wouldn't you agree?"
I think any normal person would agree. Besides, I don't know what the hell I'd do if I died here and left so many things unfinished.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. So, wouldn't it be handy to have something that prevents getting stranded? Something like a magical implement, perhaps?"
You're being weird. Stop being roundabout and tell me straight up, would you?
"You're no fun. Fine then. Go back to the shop named Stuffs and Staffs. Ask that little friend of yours for a favor, a recovery compass. It points to whoever last channeled mana through it, so, from there, you could give it to your party members. All up to you after that."
Huh. You were right. That's pretty tame compared to some of the other stuff you've asked from me.
What's going to happen after this, Mister Man-God?
"Well then, I suppose you have my thanks! They don't usually sell them, but your friend is more likely to give you a price, one you definitely can pay. So, good luck!"
Hey! You're not gonna leave me hanging again, right?
Oi! Oi! I feel like a broken record over here, you know?
As I voiced my frustrations, that wave of drowsiness washed over me again, the one I'd become accustomed to. I gave up resisting once I began tipping over, and my consciousness was whisked away like a candle's flame to a puff of air.
Author's Notes:
Hey again! I'm glad to be able to release this so (relatively) fast after the last one. If all goes well, I plan on speeding up releases as the next chapter shouldn't be too long. But stay tuned, a lot is going to happen and fast. There are still five chapters left in Volume 4, and a lot is going to happen.
Not much to announce this time around, but I'd like to thank my beta readers, Pritchard (Known as Reed_Writes SFW here), Beta Orionis (Betaorionis24), and Paul, the author of that absurdly popular Re:Zero crossover fic and a good friend of mine (MiiPhlet) for taking the time to proofread and comment on the chapters before they're finished.
The next chapter title is: Chapter 42 - Whispers of Her Father
As always, thank you so much for reading!
