-Chapter Twelve-

Shards - Part One

The address was thankfully close to the hotel. It seems the headmaster purposefully set it up so it was more convenient to get to. The man was definitely accustomed to the Woken World, Taylor thought to himself as he trudged down the city with Mercy’s hand in his.

They came to a highway on a bridge, with a small park built beneath, where a hooded figure waited for them beneath the street-side lamp.

They leant up against it casually, hands in pockets, unmoving as Taylor and Mercy approached.

As they got closer, the figure gestured at them and turned around to lead them around the corner.

When they got there, they found a small backpack in the corner.

The figure gestured to it before turning away again and casually walking down the street, leaving them there.

Mercy approached the bag before she knelt down and unzipped it. As Taylor joined her, they pulled it open and glanced inside to see a dozen and and a half linen bags with cards in them.

Upon opening one, they found Aira’s ID, a note with a username and password, and a bank card.

Another opened out to be Piper’s exactly the same.

Taylor quickly zipped the bag up and pulled it over his shoulder, before silently rising to his feet and stretching his hand to Mercy.

She took it and was pulled to her feet as well, and together, the two left the scene.

When they got back, they began to distribute the little packages to everyone.

As Taylor handed Aira her ID, he read Aira Black on it. Until now, he didn’t know what her family name was.

The packages ended up counting out to thirty-three, the exact number of Trinity Members, including Taylor’s.

Mercy tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to face her when she placed it into his palms, smiling, and then turned away again, continuing to hand out the others.

Taylor took a look at his, and what the headmaster had readied for him.

His fake ID read Taylor Adams, eighteen years old. He smiled to himself as his eyes wandered over the words.

Adams, huh? He thought. So he’s taken Mercy’s surname? It was quite fitting, he supposed. He was basically reborn the day he became a Magician, and his life became intertwined with Mercy’s.

Now he’s back in the world he had been away from for so long. The world he had always hated.

But it was a new him. Will it perhaps be a new world, too?

He continued examining the IDs and came to Andrew and Jason’s packages. He let out a sigh upon seeing them.

They had not come on the trip. He wondered what they were doing right now. If they’ll be okay-… well, they’re Throne class, so he’s sure they’ll be fine.

Nighttime came by in no time, and after everyone learnt how to use their bank cards and bought themselves dinner, they had returned to the hotel, and were hunkering down in their hotel rooms.

“Wow, the view is beautiful,” Mercy said from the window, looking out over the rest of the city.

“City lights, yeah. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a sight like this,” Taylor smiled as he looked out past her at it.

“Do you want to go to the roof? I also feel like some fresh air,” he then said.

She turned to him with a smile and an energetic hop.

“Let’s go!”

They quickly made their way up to the top floor, and then up the stairs to the roof.

Upon pushing open the glass door, Taylor was immediately hit with wind, but quickly began to resist.

He pushed the door completely open and then stepped aside, allowing Mercy to get through and then let it fall shut behind them.

“Whoa, Puria’s here!” Mercy exclaimed to him, and he turned to see her familiar figure standing at the end of the roof, overlooking the city.

Together with Mercy, he approached her. As he drew closer, he saw her crystal ball in her hand.

She glanced past her shoulder at them, and then chanted a termination spell and the light from her ball faded away.

She turned back to them with a smile.

“Night stroll, you two?” she asked.

“Mmhmm. How about you?” Mercy asked.

Puria looked down at her crystal ball, and then back out at the city again.

“I was looking for active Mana. Usually, Mana detection spells can also be detected, though the location can’t be sourced. But with my powers, I can cloak myself completely. Magicians wouldn’t even know they’ve been scanned,” Puria explained.

“That certainly sounds like it falls under judgment,” Mercy remarked and Puria smiled to her.

So her thesis was judgment, Taylor thought.

“How was it? Did you find anyone?” Mercy asked and Puria shook her head.

“No one was using Mana, in this entire city. Not for the last day, nor yesterday. Even up to two months back, there has been no traces of Mana. I can’t see back further than that but it was perplexing. I then moved my search range to some of the other major cities, and they were in the same situation. Either they have counter-measures against my all-seeing eye, or there’s truly been no Mana activity at all in this nation,” Puria responded, perplexed.

Taylor narrowed his eyes, finding it strange.

“If I say, connected to my Atheneum, would that leave a trace?” Taylor asked.

“Well, it should,” Puria responded.

“But we know Antithese are hiding here?” Taylor asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, I’m quite certain that information is correct,” she answered back.

“Then it could very well be likely that they have countermeasures against your detection,” Taylor thought.

“If there’s no way for us to find them…” Puria sighed. “Then all we can do is continue hiding ourselves and lie in waiting.”

“Mmm…” Taylor shook his head. “We can’t take the fight to them, since we don’t know where they are. But we can lure them out to us, right? If they have a countermeasure against your detection spell, then wouldn’t it make sense that they themselves can also detect Mana? That’s the reason you’ve been telling us not to use Mana at all, right?” he asked.

Puria’s crystal ball faded into nothingness and she crossed her arms sternly.

“If they have a countermeasure against my detection spell, it’s safe to assume they have a countermeasure against my cloaking spell too,” she began to say forebodingly, and looked out to the shining city before them.

“We might already be exposed,” she finished.

Mercy took a step forward with worry.

“Oh no… if that’s true, that means that this area of the city is in danger! If they launch a full assault, the Purebloods here won’t stand a chance to survive!” She said as her eyes frantically scanned around them.

“Shit… What do we do?” Taylor quickly asked.

“…We run with the plan to lure them out, I suppose. Even if this is a populated area… I think I have a plan.” She narrowed her eyes at the mountain range afar.

“Taylor, Mercy, go gather all the Trinity Members here! I’m going to ready a teleport spell!”

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Puria summoned her crystal ball and began to lay down a teleportation formation on the roof around her.

As Taylor and Mercy disappeared around the corner and down the stairs, Puria’s purple ritual circles began to appear on the ground.

After a few minutes, the group had entirely assembled on the roof.

Puria glanced up as Aira approached her.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Puria looked out to the sky and deeply inhaled.

“We may be facing attackers soon. To avoid the city being damaged by Magic, I’m using this teleport spell to move us to a new location. I will leave behind a trail so they can follow us, where there, we will engage in battle. Activating the teleport spell in anticipation to their attack is key in this strategy,” Puria explained and Aira swiftly summoned her staff.

“You will time the teleport so that we will be gone before they cast the attack, yes?” she confirmed and Puria nodded.

“Connect to the Ira Atheneum,” she breathed and Magic circles formed around her body, and began to orbit her. “Astral Telescope.”

She scanned the skies with glowing eyes, gazing intently for any attackers about to attack.

“They may come from ground,” Mercy appeared and remarked, before she cast a detection spell at the roads.

“Now, we remain in stalemate,” Puria spoke.

A long time passed, but no attack ever came.

Puria exhaled deeply, before calling Taylor over.

“We will split into groups. I am casting this teleport spell so it can remain ready to be activated at any time. Send squads out to investigate the surrounding areas,” she told Taylor.

“In the event we have to teleport, we will. The remaining Trinity Members here in the city can either scatter or follow us,” she followed up.

Taylor nodded.

“Report back your findings immediately, if you discover even one attacker.”

Taylor quickly disappeared into the group of students, rallying them and they broke into a few groups and scattered across the rooftops.

Puria exhaled, converting the spell. Now she could relax and wait for the decisive moment.

Taylor returned quickly with the other students after some time.

He said something to Aira and Mercy, and they deactivated their spells, before he came to Puria.

“Something’s weird. We found no sign of anything,” he said.

Puria sharply inhaled.

“Disband!” she called out. The students, in surprise, gradually returned down the stairs to their rooms. Puria turned to Taylor, wearing a frown.

“Antithese has always seemed like they’ve been one step ahead of us.” She bit her thumb. “What if they’re not interested in us, because they already know where we are? And there’s no reason to make a move on us…” she reasoned.

“Really? If I had enemies and I knew where they were, I would make a plan in taking them out,” Taylor responded.

“Antithese want to restore the righteous status as Magicians. Other Magicians are technically not their enemy, even if we are adverse to their cause,” Mercy interjected, appearing at Taylor’s side.

“Could they be aiming for something else?” Aira wondered as she joined them. “If they are lying in wait, anticipating something, what could it be?”

The four stood in thought for a long time.

“They want to restore Magicians righteous status. In other words, they have to break the World Binds, right?” Taylor asked.

“But they clearly already have the power to that,” Puria answered.

“Then everything would have already started by now, right?” Mercy wondered. “Puria said they’ve all infiltrated the Magical Government. Why would they do that if they could already break World Binds?” Mercy wondered.

“What if it’s just one person who is able to?” Taylor asked.

“…But the shadow Mage we fought when we first met, none of his powers should have allowed him to break the World Binds. And there’s no way our intel is wrong on him,” Mercy then answered. “So I just always thought someone made him that way, and that there must be others.”

“Hmm…” Taylor frowned. “He also escaped Andrew’s attack. That’s not normal either. Since Andrew can also break World Binds, but as a Magic King, he should have had overwhelming superiority. Was that shadow guy that strong?” Taylor asked.

“No… if he was, we wouldn’t have been able to escape from him in the first place, like we did…” Mercy inhaled. “He acted like he had some form of specific goal. I always feel like that day I was a puppet on strings whenever I got involved with him.”

Taylor swallowed a gulp of air down in his thoughts.

Did the Six have a hand in their fated meeting? Did the Six use Mercy so he could awaken his Successor element, and then hold her hostage against him?

If that was the case, he should just leave, somewhere far away, right? If it sends reckoning after reckoning at him, like enemy Magicians, couldn’t he just run away?

But why wouldn’t Andrew run away?

He knows they want something.

What could it be? If Antithese were their henchmen, what is it exactly that the Six are trying to achieve?

And would it be something inescapable, if they succeed?

At the end of everything, the Six are behind it. Because they hold the power to manipulate fate, right?

“He could’ve been an impersonator,” Taylor said, looking at the ground.

“Someone who was able to use the Shadow mage’s power, but also break World Binds. An expert on Antithese’s side. That’s the only thing that would make sense. And he had an agenda to achieve that day…” Taylor clenched his fists.

“That’s true… an expert like that with the ability to use someone else’s. But what would that agenda be, exactly?” Mercy asked.

“…Who knows?” Taylor shrugged. “It’s all very perplexing.”

“That is,” Puria agreed.

“If Antithese are hiding, and only one of them or a few of them can break World Binds, they still need to find a way for all Magicians to not be affected by them. And there is a way to remove World Binds for all Magicians,” Aira spoke forebodingly.

“Really?” Taylor asked inquisitively. “What is it?”

“The World Binds are maintained by the Wisemen of each generation. If they kill the Wiseman, they succeed. The current Wiseman is old but still fighting strong. The issue arose when his heir, the next inheritor of the Wiseman title, went missing three years ago.”

The group fell quiet.

“They are waiting for the World Binds to be disabled, and then upon being set free, proceed to enslave Purebloods. They will begin by disarming them, and then creating a World Order to govern them,” Aira finished.

“That could very possibly be the case,” Puria exclaimed. “They infiltrated the Government so they can get closer to the Wiseman! Truly, no one has attacked us, because they have all been given orders to wait. I need to go talk to the headmaster immediately!” Puria spun around and swiftly disappeared around the corner and down the stairs.

Taylor scratched his head and looked at the remaining two girls.

“This all turned into quite the spectacle, didn’t it?” he chuckled.

“It did,” Mercy slipped her hand into Taylor’s.

“Let’s go rest, while we wait on Puria’s next orders,” she beamed. “Aira! When is Andrew joining you?” Mercy asked.

“Mmm… he said in three day’s time. Piper said Jason told her the same thing,” she responded with a shrug. “What can you do about lofty men? Someday Taylor will flock the nest just the same.”

Mercy and Taylor’s faced turned red as they made sure to avoid one another’s gaze.

“So cherish it while you can,” Aira smiled. “Goodnight, you two,” she spoke before she disappeared around the corner.

Taylor swallowed as he was left in dead silence with Mercy.

“Let’s… go rest,” he finally said, and began to make his way to the exit.

The corridor was empty, leaving only Taylor and Mercy together alone before their hotel room door.

Nervously, Taylor scanned his card and pushed the door open, before stepping aside to allow Mercy through.

In silence, he shut the door when he heard the sound of someone ruffling through belongings.

He turned back around to see Mercy going through the clothes they bought earlier in the day, wearing a frown on her face.

“What’re you looking for?” Taylor asked as he knelt down beside his suitcase.

“I forgot to buy pajamas today…” Mercy sighed as she fished out a white blouse dress shirt from her stack of clothes.

“I’m turning off the lights, okay? It’s late now, after all,” Mercy said to him before she flicked the switch and then disappeared into the bathroom.

Taylor found himself left alone, and nervously sat down at his side of the bed.

After a moment of contemplation, he slipped off his outer layer of clothing so he was comfortable to sleep, and shuffled into the bed.

He heard the light flick in the bathroom and the door slide open, and the soft patter of Mercy’s footsteps as she made her way across the room to her side of the bed.

There was a bit of sound of the blankets ruffling and he felt it pull, and then a ball of warmth appeared beside him.

Taylor remained silent for some time as she finally got comfortable and went still. He didn’t dear open his eyes, so he wasn’t sure if she was facing him or had her back to him, but he could feel his heart pounding.

The soft and sweet fragrance she always emitted filled his mind and her soft breathing echoed in his ears.

If she only liked him as a friend, would he accept it?

He doesn’t think so.

Instead, he has to accept the truth.

He has to protect her from his enemy. Like Andrew and Jason, no doubt, he has to cherish these moments while he still can, before he dedicates his fullest effort toward defeating the enemy, so he can be with the woman he loves.

Because the future calamity… Taylor’s turn is next.

Taking a deep gulp and then a sharp breath, Taylor reached out and put his arms around Mercy’s waist and then pulled her close.

“Ah!” she quietly squealed in surprise, and Taylor found she had her back to him, and now they were left in a spoon.

“T-Taylor…” her voice softly called from in front of him.

“Yes?” he simply answered, feeling her arms join him.

“T-t-t-t-this is a bit close,” she stammered.

“Is it making you uncomfortable? I’m sorry,” Taylor retraced his arms, sharpling inhaling, and turning himself to face the ceiling.

He couldn’t help but notice Mercy’s deep breathing.

He wondered what was going on through her mind at this moment?

Suddenly, she shuffled and then latched his arm, resting her head close to his and nestling up to him.

“Just stay like this…” she softly hummed. “I’m sorry, but it was a bit of a shock earlier. I didn’t… dislike it…” she admitted, and Taylor gulped.

“A-alright.”