-Chapter Five-

The Trinity - Part Two

“I’ll kill you,” Mercy’s voice was ladened with apathy.

Andrew stared back at her sourly with narrowed eyes.

“Who is he?” he growled again.

Mercy sighed, before turning to look into Taylor’s purple eyes.

“The whole time I spent chasing after the shadow, I also felt like I was being led by the nose the whole time, and I definitely didn’t like it. Even the fact that he slipped away from you, somehow, and has been escaping Aira’s advanced tracking spells, makes me feel like we’re just puppets being pulled by strings. But Taylor…” she pursed her lips together. “He can’t possibly have anything to do with Antithese or what they’re trying to achieve. I swear this.”

“On what? What logic are you going off, to assume he’s safe?” Andrew pressed on.

“He’s my…” she looked to him with uncertainty and her face went red. “He’s my spouse.”

What does spouse mean? Taylor wondered when Aira spun around and gazed at him.

“That’s obvious from your shared eye colours.”

Now that Aira mentioned it, Taylor noticed that her and Andrew shared the same iris colour of sky blue.

“Same eye colour?” Taylor wondered and looked at Mercy’s glowing purple eyes. “Nah, my eyes are brown, what are you talking about?” he asked, confused.

“Yeah, I know he’s your fucking spouse,” Andrew cut in. “That doesn’t mean he’s not Antithese though. My exact problem is that you got led here and ended up signing a fucking Life Mete spell with a Successor you just met. God, Mercy, what the hell happened?” he asked in frustration.

A Life Mete spell? Taylor wondered, narrowing his eyes. He vaguely recalls Mercy using that on him while he was unconscious earlier that day.

“A lot happened,” Mercy sighed, with her gaze still rested on Taylor. “But he’s definitely not Antithese. Because he’s a local, who was a Pureblood.”

Taylor didn’t know what Pureblood meant, but judging from the dead silence that had just overcome the other three Magicians, Mercy must’ve just said something very serious.

Taylor waited for them to continue but nobody did, so he slowly raised his hand instead.

“Uh… what’s Pureblood mean?” he asked.

“Taylor… do you know anything about Magic?” Aira asked.

“Well… I guess not? It seems pretty complex. Even earlier, I don’t even know how I did any of that,” Taylor answered truthfully, and Aira covered her face with her free hand, leaning on her staff.

“Mercy… oh dear…”

Was Pureblood their way of referring to normal people?

“He was dying, okay? What was I meant to do!?” Mercy shouted at the couple.

“Obviously… you were supposed to let him die!” Andrew yelled back in anger.

“He doesn’t deserve something like that!” Mercy irked back in response.

“So what? He’s probably still some dumbass seed planted by Antithese.” Andrew snorted.

“I literally met him by coincidence, and he was a Pureblood, Andrew! Not just Antithese, nobody has the power to set up something like that! That’s on the same level as messing with like… Causality itself or something,” Mercy grumbled.

“Hey! I don’t know what the fuck you guys are fighting about, but don’t shout at Mercy, okay? She’s had a fucking shit day, okay!?” Taylor jumped in. “Quit all your fighting!”

“Fuck you,” Andrew spat at him. “You think you’re some hot shit, just cause you’re a Successor?” He took a threatening step forward.

“I don’t give a fuck about any of that. We should be getting the fuck out of here now that this is all over, and go find somewhere to rest. Especially Mercy, she’s been put through a hell of a day today,” Taylor looked at the wound on her side with disdain.

Though Aira had healed it, her uniform was still torn, and she was no doubt freezing.

“Fuck… where’s my blazer…” Taylor mumbled, looking around them for it. Mercy’s eyes were anchored to his, and after a long moment, she finally chuckled, her mood lightening up.

“Taylor’s right. Listen, Andrew. I get that you’re on edge. But this whole thing with Taylor, I’ll sort it out. So thank you for coming to help. It’s unlucky we couldn’t catch the escapee. You can head back and rest now, I’ll do the same. Aira, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Aira silently nodded, before turning around to face the air.

Andrew was grumpily grumbling beneath his breath, when Aira called out to him and he followed her.

“Mercy, you gotta be careful. Or they’ll… the Six…” Andrew’s words fell away, as an expression of horror came over his face.

Aira noticed, before taking his hand and softly consoling him with whispers.

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

Taylor and Mercy remained quiet as Aira drew a line in the air.

“Connect to the Ira Atheneum.” The crystal on her wand began to shine and hum.

“Space Sequence.”

Taylor watched on in interest as the space began to flex like bending transparent plastic. Aira then followed up with another spell.

“Dream path.”

The flexing space suddenly tore open before them, leading into a path that continued on into the darkness.

“Tomorrow, Mercy,” Aira nodded to her friend and, holding Andrew’s hand, pulled him through the space slit.

Behind them, the portal closed, and they were gone for good.

Taylor remained quiet for a moment longer.

He didn’t have the best impression of that guy.

“He clearly has something haunting him. What is it?” Taylor asked Mercy, and she simply shook her head.

“Nobody knows. He doesn’t say. But he’s adamant on us listening to his warnings. Andrew is not someone to be frightened. Whatever it is haunting him, it’s something overwhelming.”

“Does it really exist? He isn’t just crazy?” Taylor asked and Mercy grimaced.

“With Magic, do you think things like psychosis, insanity, dementia, schizophrenia, even cancer, viruses that may take millions of lives… scientific things like that, do you think they best Magic? No Magician is insane. Because that’s just a chemical balance and a rewiring of neural pathways that can be corrected with Magic. So whatever it is haunting Andrew… it’s real.”

Her words gave Taylor a deep sense of foreboding, as he followed her back to the nearby oak tree.

“We have a lot to talk about,” she spun around and told him firmly.

After fixing her uniform, Mercy stashed her wand away and crossed her arms before turning to stare Taylor dead into his eyes.

“You may hate me after what I’m about to tell you, but if that’s the case, so be it.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “Though I hope you won’t, because I’m fond of you.”

Taylor listened on with worry.

“As you know, you’re a Magician now. You used to be a Pureblood, meaning you were a normal human.” Taylor nodded.

“Magicians aren’t allowed to enter human societies. Our races absolutely cannot co-intertwine. What I’ve done today is taboo.”

Taylor raised his eyebrows.

“Right, right. How did I become a Magician?” he asked.

“Just, listen to the end,” she breathed. “Regardless of how it happened, you’re a Magician now, and that means you can’t stay in human society any longer.”

“Wait, I can’t go back?” Taylor asked and Mercy nodded.

“You have to disappear. From now on, the old you no longer exists. You will have to live a new life.”

“As a Magician?” Taylor asked hesitantly, and Mercy nodded.

“So whether you like it or not, you’re going to have to come with me…” her voice trailed off.

“Fuck…” Taylor’s mind flashed through dozens of thoughts about his future.

“And… the worst thing about it, is… I was the one who made you into a Magician,” she said.

“You made me into a Magician? Oh… it must’ve been that Life Mete spell,” Taylor recalled.

“When you were fatally injured, I had to cast healing Magic on you to save you. The only way to do so was by making you into a Magician.”

“To save me…” Taylor thought. “You had to make me into a Magician?” He asked and she nodded.

“Because of the World Binds.”

“Right, you guys were talking a lot about that earlier. What is that?” Taylor asked.

“It’s a spell cast over Earth. One that restricts Magicians. It activates if one of two conditions are violated, and takes out the Magician who does so. The first is that offensive class Magic cannot be cast. Secondly is that Magic cannot be targeted at humans. If I tried to cast healing Magic on you, we both die.”

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“So you chose to save me, instead of letting me die?” Taylor asked, remembering what Andrew had said earlier.

“Yes… though you did die, in a sense, I suppose…” Mercy’s gaze nervously shifted away from him.

“Well…” Taylor took a deep breath. “I’m glad you didn’t let me die. Even if it’s different, you gave me a second chance at life. So I’m only thankful. I can’t hate you over something like that. Besides, I’m the one who got injured. You didn’t have to do that for me.” Taylor looked out at the lights in the city. “Still, this is a bit unbelievable,” he chuckled.

“Yeah… I’m sure it is…” Mercy chuckled, before grasping his hands. “Thank you. For not blaming me. Still, I will take responsibility for my choice,” she smiled at him.

“No, and you don’t need to blame yourself. I’ll challenge this new life as a Magician.”

“There’s also a few other things,” Mercy said, clearing her throat.

“The whole you becoming a Magician thing,” she pulled away and straightened her hair out on her shoulder nervously. “It’s done through the Life Mete spell… it’s a contract where two partners bind together for life. Through doing that, I shared my Mana source with you. So that means… we probably shouldn’t be apart in the future,” she said unsurely.

“Oh… haha, that’s a relief,” Taylor sheepishly chuckled. “I was wondering what it was you were gonna say, acting so nervous. To be honest, it’s a relief cause I was worried you’d just dump me and I have no idea how to survive outside of human society.”

“Hehe, we’re all humans, silly. But I already told you earlier, didn’t I? That I’d take responsibility for my choice. What type of person do you take me for?” Mercy pouted. “Also… when I say binded together for life… I mean to say… most Magicians that sign the Life Mete spell are in a romantic relationship… they remain so for life.”

“Oh… That kind of life partner,” Taylor realised and his face went red. “Oh… so… what does that mean for us?” he asked.

Mercy was also nervously looking away.

“I don’t know,” she admitted with a shrug her shoulders.

"I know that at the least, we can be good friends. I think our personalities are compatible. But into the future... I don't know."

“Well uh… yeah, we sort of… signed that thing or whatever under really weird circumstances, right? Unlike other Magicians. Either way, we’ll still be bound to each other for life though, right?” Taylor asked and Mercy nodded.

“You might not like that, so I’m worried,” she nervously admitted to him.

“Huh? What, no, don’t be,” Taylor nervously chuckled. “How could you possibly be worried? You’re also bound to me for life. Don’t you regret that?” he asked.

Mercy thought in silence before exhaling.

“It doesn’t change what happened to you. You have a lot of justification for hating me, yet you don’t. I’m just glad that’s the case,” she smiled.

“Regret it or not, you're right. Either way, we’ll remain partners for life. We can talk about it all as we go, so let’s move on. The final thing is that you’re a Successor.”

“Yeah… you guys were calling me that earlier,” Taylor scratched his head. “I have no clue about anything to do with that though.”

“Andrew is also a Successor, like you. It means you’re inherently different to other Magicians. Specifically, in the way that you will have a Mana pool much larger than normal Magicians, that same Mana will be much more potent and at some point in your growth, you will be able to grasp a second Atheneum and thesis,” Mercy said.

“Right. I get the whole Mana thing but whatever you said after that just…” he blinked. “Right over my head.”

Mercy chuckled.

“I’ll explain those other things later. Let’s just get somewhere to sleep.” She quickly glanced around their surroundings.

“Do you have anything you need to get from your home before we leave?” she asked him.

“Are you taking me through one of those weird gates like Aira and Andrew went through?” Taylor asked apprehensively, and Mercy nodded in response.

“Hmm, well, okay… let me think. Do you have clothing stores, wherever it is we’re going? ‘Cause I don’t really have any. Even at home, I just mostly wear my uniform.”

“Ah…” Mercy giggled. “Yes, there’s clothing stores. I’ll take you shopping. I can’t wait to dress you up!” she clapped her hands excitedly.

“Oh lord…” Taylor groaned. “What did I get myself into?”

“It’ll be a shopping date~” Mercy hummed as she waved her wand in the air.

“Heh, I guess it will be,” Taylor chuckled as the air split open before him.

“Let’s go. Once you’re in, there’s no going back. Though, there’s no going back already, right now. Welcome to your new world, Taylor,” Mercy smiled, holding her hand out to him.

“Yeah… thanks, haha,” Taylor took it, and she pulled him up into the space rift.

Taylor’s eyes roamed the shimmering air around them in wonder. It was a colourful show of space itself, dyed a range of all colours from purple to orange.

A narrow white path ran from the side the two entered down to the end, where another hole of light awaited them.

As they traversed the non-space, Mercy glanced at the awe-struck Taylor, and smiled to herself.

“The place we’re going to is the Dreaming World. That’s why this spell is also called Dream Path,” she gestured at the path beneath them. “A path that leads to the Dream.”

Taylor listened on in silence and curiosity.

“The Woken World belongs to the Purebloods. It is sacred for Magicians to never taint the Woken World with this nefarious power that can defy science. Instead, we live in the Dreaming World. An illusion we made for ourselves.”

Mercy took Taylor’s hand and stepped through the light with him.

For a moment, Taylor’s eyes were blinded. He could hear the busy bustle of a city and the chattering of crowds of people. The air felt warm, warm enough to justify wearing a summer uniform.

Taylor’s vision returned to him, showing him the sight of the city laid before them.

It was built in a pit and each level getting closer to the centre fell bit by bit. The buildings were modern and complex, larger than Taylor’s town by worldly amounts.

He took in the scenery with eyes of amazement, as Mercy stood beside him, giggling.

The city continued above them, climbing further until reaching the top of the pit, beyond what Taylor could see.

“Come on, this way,” Mercy pulled him down a nearby flight of concrete steps.

They led down a road-side pathway before the walls opened up into a gigantic building with dozens of people milling in and out of it. It’s large white stone pillars resembled both a railway station and a temple.

Mercy led Taylor in through one of the large openings before they lined up at a queue of people, all filing onto a gray platform one by one, before disappearing into light.

Standing before each platform was an inspector, along with security placed all around the large hall.

“Things are really tense right now thanks to the fact that Antithese has been on the move again,” Mercy mentioned to Taylor offhandedly as she took out her wand and began drawing out a small rectangle in the air.

“What’s that?” Taylor asked as Mercy stuck her tongue out, focusing while writing Taylor’s name down.

“Surname. Ah crap, whatever, just use mine,” she added her surname to his first name and then quickly filled out some nonsensical information about him.

Just as she finished, they arrived at the front of the line where the inspector waited.

“Passports?” he asked and Mercy summoned her’s.

“Oh… Trinity. Okay. What about his?” he pointed to Taylor. Mercy summoned the magical piece of paper she drafted earlier and displayed it to the inspector.

He narrowed his eyes at it for a moment before nodding.

“Okay, what’s your destination,” he asked, summoning a keyboard in the air.

“Lorrensville, northern country.”

“Hmm, okay. Please proceed to the platform. Have a nice trip,” he gestured for Mercy and Taylor to step onto the platform.

As soon as they did, everything flashed around them in white for a split second during which their feet no longer touched any ground.

It only lasted for a moment before Taylor felt his feet hit the ground again, and he looked on in wonder at the new place they had arrived at.

“Man, Magic is really something. So this is how you guys take public transport, huh?”

“Public transport?” Mercy tilted her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is.”

“Oh… that’s okay. Just something in the… Woken World we had,” Taylor answered.

“There are many Magicians capable of casting long distance teleportation, especially between two frequent points. But those spells were put on a ban when the city went into a high alert level. It was in response to Antithese. Anyone caught casting a teleportation spell will be prosecuted. We can only go through official channels for now,” Mercy explained.

“What is Antithese?” he asked while admiring the warm forests and tall trees around him.

The teleport left them by a highway road seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, with trees surrounding all sides.

But as Mercy led him, they came to a side road running down the trees and took the turn.

At the end, a few hundred metres down, stood a large gate and tall mansion behind it.

“Antithese is a terrorist organisation. They seek to break the peace between Magicians and Purebloods. Their religion is that Magicians are superior to Purebloods, and want to return to the rightful land and enslave the Purebloods there.”

“That’s…. I guess radical groups exist even here,” Taylor said.

“The shadow we were fighting, which escaped, was a known fugitive of Antithese. Several other incidents have been taking place as well, and there have been attacks on the city. But don’t worry, we should be safe here,” she opened the gate with Magic and led Taylor in, taking him up the steps into the house.

“Am I meeting your family?” Taylor asked nervously.

“Huh? No, haha,” Mercy laughed. “This is where I live, but I don’t live with my family. Don’t worry. They’re somewhere well far away from all of this danger. This on the other hand, is nothing more than a tactical base,” Mercy pulled Taylor onto the pink furnished carpet.

The mansion was mostly made of old oak wood. The insides were a very mild colour, with wallpaper decorated to match the dark brown.

“Who’s back?” A voice came in from the side.

Taylor turned his head to find an opening into a lounge area right to the corridor, where a few people were lazing around on a couch.

“Oh… it’s Mercy. And whoa… you brought a boy home,” the girl with long pink twin-tails suddenly sat up in shock.

Some of the others also sprung up, their eyes glowing like they found prey.

“So that’s what Andrew was talking about,” one of them smirked.

“What’s the meaning of this, Mercy!?” Another male’s voice exclaimed from the other end of the corridor.

Taylor turned to find a buff man with spiky hair staring at him in disbelief.

“Ahem,” Mercy cleared her throat. “Everyone, please meet Taylor. This is my spouse. Due to certain circumstances, he’s staying with us.”

“Mercy… you signed a contract with some rando?” one of the girls raised her eyebrows.

“We’ve had a long day, and I just want to go rest. I’ll speak to you all later,” Mercy sighed, staring to climb the nearby wooden stairs to the second floor when a shout interrupted her.

“Hold on! I don’t care that he’s your spouse or whatever, this skinny carrot,” another boy popped out from behind a corner. “But are you really letting an outsider into the heart of our operations?” he asked.

“What the hell do you mean, Grant…? This is where we sleep.”

“Still, if he is to remain by your side, he will inevitably get caught up in our affairs. My question is simple. Is he worthy?” the boy asked adamantly, shooting daggers into Taylor’s eyes.

Mercy groaned, leaning up against the guard rail.

“Firstly, he’s not an outsider. He’s my spouse. You treat him equally to me. No discrimination please. Secondly, whether he is worthy or not is not something for you to be worrying about. Goodnight.”

She suddenly pulled Taylor up the steps, and stomped her way up to the second floor, upset.

“M-Mercy, wait-” Mercy opened the nearest door, slammed it behind her and cast a barrier over it.

Taylor stood in the centre of her room, glancing around in wonder before Mercy skipped past him and launched herself onto her soft bed in the corner, groaning.

“I’m so mad…” she rolled over. “Sticking their noses into my business like that. Hmph. And they were insulting you.”

“Oh, uhh. Yeah. I’m really sorry to have caused trouble,” Taylor apologetically told her.

“No, no! It’s not your fault!” she insisted. “God… if anyone, I’m the one to blame,” she let out a deep breath and leaned back onto her pillow.

“What was he talking about, exactly? Trinity this, Trinity that,” Taylor asked out of curiosity.

“Ugh, it’s just a name. The Trinity Council, comprised of 32 members, elite students of the Excel Magic Academy. We’re the Headmaster’s dogs, to some degree. To learn and master Magic, we acquire great power. As holders of great power, we have a responsibility to those weaker than us. The Trinity Council resolves all manners of crises, from apprehending fugitives to whatever else you can really think of.”

“Oh. And you’re part of that?” Taylor asked.

“Mmhmm. For the night, just find something warm to sleep in. I’ll figure something better out in the morning,” she murmured sleepily before dozing off.

Taylor looked at her laying in her blanket defencelessly for a long moment, before sighing and striding around the room.

It was clean, and kept neat. She was a very ordered girl.

A spare blanket was stashed in the closet, which Taylor pulled out, wrapped himself in and laid down on the carpet.

What will this new life hold?