CHAPTER 52 - CLEAR AND FOGGY
LUKE HODGES
Upon opening the door, I was met with multiple people who I hadn't either seen in a while or never in my time here.
Aya and Alea gave me disappointed head movement as I walked forward.
Confused by their sudden head shaking, an object had fallen. A black stick–something like a cane–was responsible for the sound. It was Dawn's Ballad that had fallen to the ground meaning that the owner had seen something.
Slowly, my point of view turned to the person above the weapon. It was a boy with auburn hair and a mask whose design was a note from a musical message.
"L-Luke?" The owner of Dawn's Ballad said, seeing his azure eyes wide in a flabbergasted state.
Shocked by the sudden name leaving his mouth. I checked my face, spreading my hands all over my face hoping for my mask to be on. Yet I was wrong, I didn't know where my mask was.
Finally, I gave up seeing as there was no solution to this. "H-Hey…" I awkwardly said, giving a wry smile with a light wave. "It's been a while…"
Arthur didn't speak while he walked towards me, his movements were not readable, or maybe I was too tired to do so. Being depleted in mana wasn't an easy task, especially walking to the guild without mana was tiring.
I must leave a mental note for my future self on not using the damn power unless it's needed.
Being the same height as the main protagonist had its perks, like fighting stability and maybe even understanding his fighting style of King Grey. Also… for brotherly hugs.
I was stunned. Arthur Leywin who would become an Ascender in the future for the Alacryan version of adventurers who would cold heartedly kill people would be hugging me. "T-This is a surprise. Is this really the Arthur Leywin I know?" I teasingly said, hugging back my childhood friend.
When Arthur heard me, he took a moment to let go and punched me in the ribs, where I was aware there was an internal injury. "What was that for!?"
"For not being in contact for three years. Also I found your family."
"W-Wha…"
My surprise for the mention of my family brought everyone to turn their attention to me.
"They live in the Helstea estate. So go see them after this, yeah?" Arthur stretched out a fist to me. "They, like us, worry about you."
"Yeah…" I hit his knuckles before seeing him sit down with Jasmine and Elijah who Arthur introduced to me. Of course, I already knew who they were, everyone who was in this room, I knew them all.
We catched up with the little time we were given, since I still had to give my side of the story to Kaspian. I told him everything, ignoring Argona but not Cadell, him. I needed this continent to know about Cadell and to be wary of him.
I spoke about how there was someone in need of help, someone who perhaps was an adventurer who had lost his or her team during a raid. But by the looks that the lances gave me, it meant that it was solely a trap. Moments later I told them about the horde or Elderwood Guardians and their leader, which in time were defeated and the rest of them vanished from me.
Not leaving anything out, I only pushed information that came from the wrong source but correct information.
After taking into account that there was a Demon on the Beasts Galdes, Kaspian told the lances and I to retire as adventurers. Well, more like to take a break before starting another dungeon raid, which I agreed on and so did the elves.
Leaving the office of the guild leader, Arthur and I continued to talk about the events during these past years.
Then, Arthur took out an object from his dimension ring. The giant bright green orb was regarded as a mana core, the same one that came from the one he defeated. "Is this the mana core from the S-class mana beast I defeated?"
I nodded.
"Everything that was on Samantha's body was mine, but is it really okay for me to take this and not give it to her family?" A tone of guilt and sadness came across his voice. "I mean she died because I wasn't able to use my beast will sooner and…"
He stopped himself from speaking any more than he needed to. I knew that he was cautious about using his beast will out in the open like that to people he just met. However, it wasn't him who killed or caused the death of a character whose fate was different in the novel.
"If it were me, I would be grateful that you'd use those items. After all, me sacrificing myself for some items means that they were important in some way. Right?"
"You might be right…"
I put my arm around him, saying in a proud tone, "I'm always right. Now, don't you have something to do after?"
Something clicked in his mind, he had forgotten just like the rest of them. "You are right!" Note said, forming a fist and hitting his palm like he had gotten an idea.
"Well then I'm off to this bs trial. We will see each other right?"
I felt my face relax, a small smile of genuine joy forming. "Yes. Soon enough."
Before long, we parted ways.
There were things I still needed to do, important things. One of them was in Elenoir, two people for specific reasons.
Heading outside and already close to the portal. A surge of pain rushed over my head, making it into an unbearable headache. I held my head, hoping to use mana, healing magic, to ease the pain but I couldn't do that. It would be ineffective towards me.
I let out a groan as the pain got worse and worse. The sensation of my feet touching the ground through my shoes was fading until I had lost all feeling. I landed on my knees with the hard ground, another pain raised with that fall but not unbearable like my head.
Aya found out first and then Alea. "Luke, are you okay?"
"No… not really. Something is…" I couldn't finish my sentence as another surge of pain washed in like waves of the ocean. Going away but coming back larger and stronger as the wind would as well.
"You are in no condition to portal travel. A healer must be near. Hey–"
My hand, which I had holding my head, raised up and stopped Alea from yelling into the group of adventurers arriving into the Guild section.
"I am capable of sustaining the after effects of portal travel, let us just go to Elenoir and get Gramp's help." I urged, falling into despair of losing consciousness before I even got to speak with Elder Virion or Rinia.
They took a second to act, both of them looked at each other like they were thinking the best for their little sibling. Of course they would, I was like a little brother to both of them and they were like my elder sisters. Perhaps maybe I was the only one thinking this type of way.
"Please… only they can help me while I am like this." I finally said, trying to get them to act before I lost my mind and became insane. This headache wasn't leaving me no matter how much mana I put into my core—
That is when it hit me. I didn't have mana at all. My core was empty.
"We must hurry." I let out, feeling my eyelids get heavier as the seconds passed by. My hands lost the feeling of my muscles, my knees and thighs went numb. Then I lost consciousness.
RINIA DARCASSAN
The silence in the room of guests.
Perhaps twenty-six feet away from the lobby where I was originally supposed to be.
I took a hold of the freshly made tea, took a sip and enjoyed the flavor it gave.
"So why are you here?" Said a grumpy old man next to me, giving me a glare.
I didn't answer him instantly, I never did. There was always a way to avoid his questions and answers. Instead, I looked at the wall, imagining the beautiful night sky that was brought in tonight.
It was like this. All the time.
"The boy will be here at any moment." I stated, still looking at the wall.
Virion gave me a confused look. Taking a long sip of his tea before settling the cup down. It made a clunking sound but it didn't make me flinch or look away.
Finally, I looked away. Watching as I set the cup down gently, the opposite from the old elf.
"What do you mean the boy will be here at any moment? What boy are you talking about?"
Facing the former elf king who was now old like me, I spoke, "Luke. Luke will be back."
The face the Virion released to be was unexpected but highly anticipated in some visions. Not all visions I had in these past three years were all right and wrong. Some parts were right, some were wrong. Not everything came to the letter but it was there.
But out of all those dreams that collected dust in my brain, the one that scared me the most was more into the future, a time where I don't recognize yet.
A boy, no older than thirteen, walking out the forest of Elenoir. Trees begging him and crying over the power that fills them with fear. Mana ran from him like he was a force of destruction. Making a path for him to solely walk on while the instrument of mana followed behind him like people to their king. Despite the fact that mana ran from the boy, he was loved by the vessel of mana. Every single living being in a mile radius either dies or runs from the forest, even beings that live by the rules of the forest until they no longer can feel his presence. Nevertheless, nothing in the forest seemed to matter to the boy and instead had his sights on something higher and valuable to this continent. The floating City. Xyrus City.
Having said all this, what scared me the most were the expressions his eyes made upon seeing the floating city. Coldness embodied his eyes which once were warm and kind. The determination and exhaustion it brought forth was terrifying. It was like he knew what he was going to do and what was going to happen in that city and only he knew how to stop it.
It pained me to see him this way.
That was the worst vision I had in all my life.
I had many questions as to why he would turn out that way, but no visions after that one never gave me the answer no matter how much of my life force I would use.
So I came to a conclusion myself, never letting the boy leave Elenoir when he comes to visit Tessia.
Having read my expression, Virion let out a laugh. "Ha! Why would that brat be back? I suppose he had found his family already, so why would he be back?"
Again, I didn't answer instantly. I only gave him a look of worry and unknowingly a wry smile.
Virion stopped. Waving his hand like dismissing a servant who had annoyed him, "Bleh! I still can't understand you Rinia, you are always at the right time, every time. Still I rather not want the boy to come back only for tra—"
Before the former elf king could finish his sentence, a bunch of voices that were laced with concern came up to the room where we had been in. Instantly, I knew where and why there were voices there.
Virion got up first and then I followed calmly.
As we arrived, I noticed multiple faces that were not in the vision or at least noticeable in them. In one of them was the lances, the guards that hangout with the boy while they trained him when the lances weren't here, and lastly the princess of the elven kingdom.
Tessia pushed the guards around the two lances, a worried expression on her face that weighed heavy. "What happened to him?"
The two elven lances didn't dare say a word to the princess until Virion stepped up, using his cold and strict voice he once used as the king of this kingdom.
"What is happening here?!" Both of us got close to the crowd until we could physically touch the human boy. Virion's eyes widened in surprise and horror. This was the second time since Luke has returned unconscious like this. His brown eyes turned to me upon realizing what I had said moments before his arrival, his sharp features had come back just a little more concerning. "Take him to the healers! Now!" He roared with order.
"And you, Rinia, are going to explain what is happening."
***
It was silent, the room where the boy had been left for resting. The healers all said the same thing. 'He was mana depleted and needed some rest before making actions for himself.'
Of course they couldn't see deep into him because he had already tapped into using his life force as fuel for using his power whenever he would run out of mana. Only I knew this, but the first to notice was the lances.
They knew he was getting tired after using his power. Though it was normal for someone like Luke to be fatigued by using so much mana, it was an anomaly that he would run out of mana fast while in that form.
Maybe he was using other types of elemental attributes while using his power but it didn't explain why the depletion of mana was faster than normal.
The two lances, Aya and Alea, stood in front of Virion explaining why the boy was unconscious. While they were occupied with each other, I initiated a sensory spell towards the boy's body.
Mana strived from my core and then swimmed to my hand and finally entered Luke's body, searching for multiple things that were wrong. Going through his mana viens, blood pathways, lungs, stomach, heart, and mind. Until, it reached his mana core.
Since I was using my mana, there was a specific add-on. Vision. It allowed me to see what was inside the body of a person. I've seen many mana cores during my time, but whatever I was seeing was nothing compared to those in the past.
His core was foggy, like it was trying to hide it.
What's more, it showed some blurry color of dark orange. This meant he was in a dark orange stage. This was strange…
From what Master Mordain said about Luke, he would be far greater than a light orange stage or had already entered the yellow stage. So why does it blur dark orange?
Without wasting any more time, I rushed my mana towards the entrance of the fog covered core. I felt a sense of concern and disappointment towards the things I've seen in this boy. Visions of the future and his current decision were different and yet none of those were the best ones.
Before I knew it, I had hit something solid, like a wall. The mana couldn't go through and even if it wasn't something mentally or physically, there wouldn't be anyone who isn't in core stage higher than a—
A strange wave form pushed all of the mana away from the fog covered mana core. Rejecting the mana that could be potentially helping it evolve like it was some royal pushing the commoners away from his sight.
I struggled to contain the concentration needed to command the mana. That was before another wave form, this time with a silhouette of a mana beast.
"This is—!"
Mana spilled from the core like water breaking a dam.
The figure of fog looked at me with its purple eyes narrowed towards me. I felt insignificant before this fog being. If I were to move now, I could end up losing my life.
Having control over the Mana, I took an imaginary bow to the being. Showing it that I wasn't going to cause any harm and that I was already on my way out. That is when it closed its eyes and I came to reality.
I felt the air in my lungs evaporate as I inhaled more air. My body felt empty and cold, like I was sick with a terrible fever. My eyes were widened not because of the aftereffects my spell had for forcibly cutting the connection but because I still felt the fear it had installed in me.
I felt a soft touch on my right shoulder. Instantly, I turned fast, still having that same feeling of terror when I saw Virion.
He was confused. Pulling his hand away from me upon noticing that I was afraid. "Are you okay? You seem pale, Rinia, what did you see?"
"I-I…"
My words didn't want to leave my mouth and I knew why. If I were to say anything about what I saw, things would be changing. My actions here meant the future. "Luke's mana core doesn't seem to be rising in level. He is stuck in the dark orange stage."