Lucis woke up, feeling different from the night before. Holding his head in his hand, he leaned up against the frame of the bed he had his rest upon and looked around at the room he was in. The room, sparse in its decor, was comfortable in its mood, welcoming him to take as long of a rest as he so desired. But much more was to his concern than the feel of the room around him.
Raphael must have left him.
He remembered little of what had happened the few days prior. Of course, he had memory of waking up on Vitaras and meeting Caelyn and such. But the details, he could not recall the details. The girl seemed quite angry last night, though he knew not the reason. Something had caused that emotion, but exactly what he did not remember. Perhaps he could ask Courtney, a reliable girl, about last night’s events.
Turning to rise from bed, he felt something wooden laying beside him. It was a slender staff from the top, and bottom, view appeared oval. He stared at it, confused why he would have such a thing beside him. But he took it anyway as if left the bed and descended two flights of stairs to where Courtney and Charlotte, along with the others, were sitting around a round table, the center of which a ray of light touched through the open windows. The only one missing was Caelyn. But who was Caelyn, exactly?
He knew, last night, but now he did not. Nor did he know who everyone else around the table was.
“Courtney,” Lucis said, to the girl who he remembered possessed that name, “where is Caelyn?”
“Caelyn?” The girl appeared rather flustered, looking at everyone around the table while her face turned red. “I don’t know. I thought you were the one to have driven her away.”
“Driven her away?” What even happened last night? “Well, I am not really clear on what happened yest… uh, er… last night. Could you remind me?”
With a sigh, Courtney shook her head and left the table, leaving behind an empty seat which Lucis prompt sat down upon. Once getting settled down, he turned to the one named Charlotte. “Can you?”
“Caelyn,” the girl said with a shrug, “I haven’t seen her. She ran away after Courtney defeated the demon. I wonder if she’s okay.”
Lucis leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead to hide his shock. A demon? He could almost remember what a demon was. “So she defeated a demon, huh? How did she do that?”
“Oh, she summoned a spear and killed it.” Charlotte glanced at Courtney, whose back was turned towards them as she looked out the window. “She is so brave.”
“Ah.” The memory was slowly returning. Nighttime, the demon had two bloody blades and was covered with blood. Courtney had fought and used magic against it. But, it wasn’t enough? He himself had done something to defeat it, but what did he do? “Yes, very brave. Say, do you know what this thing does?” He put the staff he had found in his bed and dropped it on the table.
“Oh, that is a Hunter’s Spirit Blade,” said a boy, whose eyes and hair were bright gray, if such a shade existed, “just as how a steel sword can harm the physical body, the spirit blade can harm the spiritual body. I thought you knew.” He looked down and flipped the page of one of the many books strewn around him.
Scratching his head, Lucis looked away in slight embarrassment and said, “Of course, I was simply testing you on what you knew.”
“Oh, and also, you reminded me. Charlotte, remember that question, about who the Demonic One Dolus was. When I heard the word Goetia, I finally remembered. Long ago, a Goetia, which was title for royalty, had came to Sanctuary, his Mark stripped. The Goetia Andras, he was called. Later, he practiced a form of spiritual cultivation that… I do not completely understand the idea of. But, due to this, he was removed from the Sanctuary and later turned into a demon after his death.” He slowly nodded. “An character indeed.”
Lucis, along with Charlotte, blinked at the boy, who had exacerbated his confusion. What was a Goetia? And who was Dolus? “Yes, very interesting,” he said, trying to hide his obvious lack of knowledge. “But, um, the demon Courtney fought was not Andras, right?”
“Of course not. Andras died more than a thousand years ago. If he did manage to escape… a second death, we would all be dead by now. According to the text, the demon held such great might that it took a group of the most skilled hunters in history to defeat it. Even then, the battle took many, many days, almost a month of unstopped fighting. In the end, only one survived.”
“Okay, so we know that yesterday’s demon was not Andras or Dolus. What was it, then?”
“A Goetia, though I don’t know which one. I doubt it was old enough to be recorded in these texts.” The boy—Cain was his name, probably—squinted his eyes to focus on a picture in one of his books. It was of a familiar cubic object, upon which runes were inscribed.
Just then, Lucis reached into his pocket and, from it, retrieved an object similar to what was depicted on the paper. His eyes widened as he held the mysterious object to the light, examining its facets and the runes engraved upon them. “What is this?” he asked, holding it out for Cain to view.
The boy held out his hand, palms up, and made a gesture with his fingers. “Let me see that.”
With a sigh, Lucis dropped the object into the Cain’s palm. The boy held it to his eye, turning it with his fingers.
As it was passed, Charlotte caught a glimpse of it and asked, “Oh, isn’t that what you used to get rid of the blood?”
It was?
“Fascinating,” Cain said, “to see one with my own eyes. You see, at first—”
Lucis yawned and stretched his arms, before rising from his seat and walking towards the door. Usually, he would have be more than interested in whatever long monologue Cain had to say. But, with his own loss of memory and all, the more the boy spoke, the more Lucis got confused. He did not even know who Cain was. So, he strolled out of the house, onto the road and looked up at the sun.
He wanted to speak with Courtney—not for any exact reason, but for a vague belief that she might know something. So, he began taking a look around the town. Who knew, perhaps he could stumble upon Caelyn.
On the other side of the road, in the midst of buildings, seemed to be the remains of a house, or the seeds of one. He decided to look there first, so he crossed the road to get to the other side. As he reached halfway, he remembered that this road was but a part of the Grand Ring, but he knew not what the Grand Ring was beyond the name.
Once he reached the other side, he leisurely strolled past the remains, or the seeds, of the house, for it held not the answers he sought. The town appeared rather peaceful, as if the fight had not occurred the previous night. He could not help but smile.
Oh, Raphael, what a wonderful place to be. He could have not chosen a better place to leave. If only his knowledge remained when he left.
A girl’s grunting could be heard up ahead, so Lucis hurried his pace and turned the corner to see Courtney, trident unveiled, stabbing and slashing at body of, presumably, the demon. She did not notice at first, too concentrated in attacking the unmoving thing. Throwing the demon about, the warrior released a blast that moved the air and ripped the demon apart; its arm falling before Lucis’ feet.
“Impressive,” said Lucis, clapping his hands, “where did you learn how to do such things?”
In a sudden movement, Courtney pointed the trident at Lucis. “Who are you?”
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“Me? I’m Lucis. I think we’ve met before.”
“Don’t pretend.” Her face held no expression, but her eyes, burning with the flames of rage, glared into Lucis’. “You are not on the list. You are not supposed to be here.”
“I don’t understand.” And he did not. Raphael had told him little about the situation. “I don’t know why I am here either. I just woke up on this island like-like everyone else. Please,” he pointed at the trident, “stop pointing that at me, it’s frightening me.”
“This will be the last thing you see if you do not speak right this moment.”
Lucis glanced down at the demon’s arm and backed away. “I promise, I don’t know.”
“You seemed to know much when you questioned me last night about the Goetia’s Mark.”
“Oh, Cain was talking about that before I left. Isn’t it… something regarding royalty?” Lucis looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. He wished he brought that spirit blade instead of leaving it on the table. “I-I should get going, I’m awfully hungry.”
Pain filled his chest as Courtney plunged the trident into Lucis’ flesh. A thin trickle of blood dripped onto the cobblestone. “Caelyn ran away because you revealed the truth,” she said, pulled out the three-pronged spear. “Now everyone else thinks I’m a liar. You ruined everything.” She kicked him back onto the hard stone and raised her trident high, tip pointing down. “Now die, and hope you don’t end up as a tree.”
“Ah!” came a scream from not too far. “Murder. Murder!”
Courtney looked up, alarmed. Footsteps approached and a boy, ignoring the weapon in her hands, pushed her away. He wore a white shirt and pants and once she was a safe distance away, he looked down at Lucis and reached out a hand.
“Are you okay?” the boy asked after Lucis had risen. “Oh my, you are bleeding. Let me help you.” He touched the wound, and the blood stopped flowing.
“Who are you?” asked Courtney, pointing her trident at the two of them.
The boy raised a hand, showing her the mark on the back of his hand. “I am a Vitarian, and so are you. Please, lower the trident and let us talk without any arms between us.”
After hesitating for a moment with a grimace on her face, she let go of her trident and, instead of falling, it vanished. “What is your name?”
“My name is Rafel.” Rafel lowered his hand and tucked it in his pocket. “And you are Courtney Eve, descendant of the Fallen. So, it seems that the rumors are true.” He tucked his other hand into his pocket.
Courtney clenched her jaw, lips pressed together. “I am under orders by the Deus himself.”
“To murder this boy?”
“Yes.”
“Then he is no better than the Fallen.”
“Apologize!” She summoned the trident once more, pointing it at the boy. “Don’t you dare compare him to—to…”
“Your ancestor?” Chuckling, Rafel took a step forward and pressed his chest against the tips of the spear. “Just because you wield a weapon does not mean you are in power. You are helpless, that boy took away the only friends you’ve had in… how many years?”
Courtney backed away, eyes wide. Her hands trembled as her free hand reached for the pendant hung around her neck. She let go of her trident, before turning around and running off.
“I pity her,” said the boy, turning to Lucis. “But to harm someone, and almost kill… well that cannot be so easily forgiven. But hold no grudges against her. If only you felt what she experienced.” He shook her head. “I suppose I was awfully cruel, but I believe such cruelty is justified in such situation.” Wiping the blood on his shirt, which amazingly did not cause any stain, he turned away towards the direction that Courtney had ran off to. “She will return, her duty compels her to. Now, let’s go to the house where the rest are staying.”
As the two of them walked, Lucis tilted his head to get a better look at the Mark on the boy’s hand. "Vitarian? What does that mean?” he asked. “Why do you have that on your hand?”
Rafel raised his hand and held it up for Lucis to see. “This Mark binds me to Vitaras or, more specifically, to the Deus of Vitaras. Thus, I am under his protection and, in times, I can call upon his power, such as when I healed you from that wound the girl had inflicted upon you.”
“Oh,” said Lucis, looking at the back of his own hand, “how does someone get this… Mark?”
“Ah, let that be a mystery.”
The boy walked with a casual stride, as if he had all the time in the world to go from one point to another. Though, it did make him quite a bit more alluring.
“So you live in this town?” Lucis gestured towards the pretty houses that sat beside the road.
“Once,” Rafel said with a nod. “Now we don’t.”
“Oh, where do you live now?”
He pointed towards the mountain that loomed over the little town. “Beneath there, where you are headed I believe.” A small smile showed on his rosy lips. “It is a lovely place, anticipate your arrival there. It is unlike anything you have ever seen in your life.”
“Why come here then?”
“You’ll see.” Rafel put his hands behind his head, as one would do when they rest on the ground. But, he was not resting on ground. A hummed a melodic tune, the type that sounded both familiar and distance simultaneously. Then, after a while, he stopped, putting his hands back into his pockets, before turning his gaze to Lucis. “You confronted Courtney, even though you knew she held anger against you. Why? For what?”
Lucis tilted his head. “It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? Why would you put yourself in harm’s gaze for nothing? Or, is that how much she means to you?”
“I do not know how much she means to me, if we are talking about the same person. I only remember her name and a vague image of her appearance. If she ran away, then… then I will let her be.”
“Even though, without proper knowledge, she could die?”
“I don’t even know if she ran away or not. Who knows, maybe she is just hiding in one of the houses.” Lucis crossed his arms. “I don’t even know who she is. Why should I care about her?” Before crossing the Grand Ring, he looked both ways to see if, maybe, if Caelyn could be found. But, all he found was disappointment.
“Try, and remember, why don’t you?” Rafel said, as he opened the door into the house. “You first.”
Inside, Cain still sat in the same spot as he did that morning. Diana accompanied him, flipping absent-minded through the pages of her book. Everyone else, Lucis assumed, either retired to their rooms or left the house to take a walk. On the table, along with the cube he gave to the scholar, was one of the broad knives the demon had wielded against them. Cain held the other in his hand, examining the blade and comparing it to a picture in his book. With a sigh, he flipped to the next page.
Once inside, Lucis and Rafel stood there in silence, for neither of those sitting greeted, or otherwise spoke, to the two. To break the stillness, Lucis, while peaking over Cain’s shoulder, asked, “What are you doing?”
“I thought I would look through Charlotte’s book to find anything regarding this blade. They are a good set of blades, a given for royalty. I do wonder about their history and such. Perhaps they could reveal some about the demon that attacked us.” The scholar glanced up at the cube, before flipping past a couple more pages.
“Yes, the demon.” Lucis nodded slowly, trying to recall the memories of last night’s attack to no avail.
Rafel strutting to Lucis’ side and said, “Oh, you are quite unfortunate at making conversation. And you… you appear to be quite a scholar. Ah, a few more pages and you will reach it. You would be excellent at the Academy, you know that? Who knows, you might be the next Cogni the Historian.”
"Cogni?” Cain suddenly looked up, turning his head to face the newcomer. “What do you know about him?”
“About him?” Rafel rubbed his chin. “Yes, I do know about him. He was born a couple years before the war. Since childhood, he showed remarkable talent to think and memorize. Ah yes, he could memorize entire texts by age five. Paimon herself recognized his potential and personally invited him to study at the Academy. By the time the war started, he had already written five books. During the war, he decided to write a detailed account of the war. So, he left the Academy to see, with his very own eyes, everything that happened. He even met with those prominent, on both sides, to get a fuller understanding of the events unfolding. Once he had finished the book, all who read it considered it his masterpiece. It was not the end for him.” He sighed. “It was not the end for him.”
Cain nodded to Rafel's words. “So Cogni the Historian was from this island, from Vitaras.”
“Indeed, he was.”
“Where in the world is Vitaras?”
“Well,” Rafel said, tilting his head pensively, “that is a great question. The answer is rather complicated. You would not understand even if I took my time explaining to you. For now, just understand that Vitaras is not somewhere you can visit on a whim.”
“I see.” Cain flipped to the next page, paused, and then pointed his finger to the picture. “Is this the one?” he asked, gently setting the blade on the table. “Brotherhood.” Looking up from his book, he stared at the wall and froze in thought for a brief moment. “That demon, it had been repeating that word again and again. Brother. Brother. Who is its brother?” He looked back down. “Of Superior Quality and Minimal Attribute. Since its forging, the pair of knives known together as Brotherhood were wielded only by the Goetia Berith, who had created the pair during the Great War.”
“Goetia Berith, a tragic fellow indeed. I assume that the Lock on the table holds him. Though he stood tall among the lesser Goetia, he was insignificant, in the end. Eclipsed by a greater sun, his story is known to few.” Rafel let out a long sigh. “I am weary from the journey here. I hope not to burden you, but please lend me a bed. I will repay you with food.”
Cain closed the book with slow care, before standing to his feet. “You may take any bed besides Theresa’s. Avoid Theresa, she won’t like you. She will think you are a threat.”
“Am I a threat?” asked Rafel, spreading his arms out, grin on his face.
“You have taught me much, today. It will serve me just as well to believe that you are true. But as a warning, if you try to harm any of us, you won’t be shown any mercy. Is that right, Lucis?”
Lucis blinked then nodded. “Y-yes.”
“Very well,” the white-clothed boy said, strolling out of the door, “I will return with food. You are surely hungry.”
Once Rafel had left, Lucis stood there in confusion while Cain put his books away. Much had happened since morning, and he still could not remember who Caelyn was.