Chapter XXI

“Concentrate. Don’t let your mind wander to anything but the task at hand. Feel the mana flowing through your body and to your fingertips while visualizing exactly what it is you want to do. And as for the pain, you simply need to set it aside and keep it from disrupting your mind.”

Eric listened to Iris’s words as he bit back the agony resulting from a large, bloody cut that ran down the length of his left arm. It was a few hours past sundown, a rather late hour for their lessons, and Eric found himself sitting at his usual desk in Master Iris Mackia’s classroom. The plant-filled room was dimly lit by the firelights hung from the ceiling, giving the room a dim orange tint. Unlike their recent classes, the current one wasn’t about the history of Ijiria or the multiverse, but instead was focused on teaching him nature magic. The specific lesson centered around healing himself, which was why Iris had taken the dagger at her hip and gently sliced open his arm. She wanted him to learn how to heal even under conditions of intense pain.

“Remember, in battle, you could easily suffer wounds far worse than this one,” Iris went on. “So you must be able to pass this first hurdle. If you can’t even heal a surface wound such as this, then your magic won’t be able to save you when you need it most.”

Eric nodded to silently let her know that he was paying attention as he slowly ran his fingers along his arm, muttering “Benedio” as he did so. Iris kept urging him to visualize what he wanted to happen, so he tried to think only of the cut closing. Back in Wilham, he only ever used healing magic for others, so he was unfamiliar with healing himself under any conditions, let alone while enduring the stinging sensation in his arm.

“Benedio,” he repeated, watching the wound gradually closing while the blood began to pull back inside of him. He remained patient until finally, the cut closed completely, freeing him from the pain and returning his forearm to its normal state.

“Very good, Eric,” Iris said with a pleased smile. “You were a little slower than I would have liked but that just means we’ll have to keep working at it. However, I don’t want to overexert you so why don’t we take a teensy little break, yeah?”

The boy nodded, his body still feeling a bit weak as he leaned back in his chair. “Yes, please. Thank you, Master Mackia.”

“Of course,” she replied. The woman then walked across the room to her desk where a small cup of tea was waiting for her. She muttered a soft incantation, which caused her hand to glow red, and seconds later, steam began rising from the cup before she brought it to her lips. “Honestly, you are remarkably talented. When I first tried that spell, I only the wound half-closed. To think you grew up in a magicless realm…”

Eric grinned proudly at her praise. “I appreciate that, but I’m not that talented. The only reason I can do this is because of how often I’ve read my mother’s book. Like I told you and the other Masters, I used to read it every night before I actually acquired magic. So in that sense, you could say I’ve been studying since I was seven.”

Yet, despite his insistence that it wasn’t anything remarkable, the Master just shook her head and laughed. “Give yourself more credit. There is quite a significant difference between knowing what to do and actually being able to do it. You can read about how to cast a spell all you want, but there isn’t a book in the multiverse that could truly convey how hard it is to cast certain spells. That one in particular is easy at its base, but when fighting through pain, it becomes quite challenging.”

“I-I…suppose you have a point,” he admitted softly. “But to be honest, as much as that hurt, I’ve been through worse.”

He shuddered at the memory of how much pain he went through the night Nigreos beat him bloody outside of Lilly’s apartment. He hadn’t had time to heal himself then, so he had to power through it as he struggled to get back to his house. That pain had been a million times worse than a mere cut on his arm.

“Yes, I imagine you went through a lot in Omaruo,” Iris whispered. “And for what it's worth, I am truly sorry you went through what you did. Fate had it out for you, it seems.”

Eric frowned, seeing the distant look in her eyes as she stared down at her tea.

“Can I ask you something, Master?” he began.

She looked back at him, her previous smile quickly returning. “Anything.”

“W-well…” The boy took a second to think about how he could phrase his question without coming across as disrespectful before deciding to just speak his mind. “With all due respect, while they have said that you are a commendable mage, both Ryokumo and Nigreos have warned me that you can be sneaky and manipulative, but…you’ve been nothing but nice to me. In fact, you’ve been nicer than almost anybody except Ryokumo so… Why do they think I should be weary of you?”

Iris stared at him in surprise before bursting out laughing. He felt his cheeks turn red from embarrassment, realizing that even after his pondering, he still phrased the question poorly.

“Honestly, I can’t say it surprises me,” she finally said after pulling herself together. “Caeli and Noctis have never really been fond of me. Perhaps they already told you this, but I went to the Academy with them when we were younger. I was in the year below them.”

Eric shook his head. “Well, I don’t talk with Nigreos much, but Ryokumo never told me that. Did you know them well?”

“Oh, not at all,” Iris stated with a wave of her hand. “In fact, I probably spoke a total of ten words to them collectively before I became a Master. Your mother, on the other hand…” The Master of Nature paused, a nostalgic expression crossing her feline features. “I talked to her a lot. You see, she and I were both top of our classes in nature magic, so the headmaster personally requested that Abigail train me a bit.”

“Really?” Eric asked with intrigue. “I didn’t…realize you knew my mom that well.”

Iris shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, I don’t really talk about it much anymore after what happened to her. But yeah, there were plenty of nights I spent just discussing nature magic with her. She was a pioneer in her field, and was admitted to the Academy in the first place for creating a new spell to cure a disease that the Citadel had been struggling with at the time. She taught that one to me personally.”

Eric didn’t say anything, instead content to just let her talk. Any information he could get about his mother was valuable, and his sense told him that anything Iris said would be the truth.

“She was my idol,” the woman went on. “I respected her so much, so it was a little shocking when she suddenly vanished. That was around the time the Kosah-Rei Cult was at its height of power, so a lot of us were afraid she had been killed by them.”

Eric quickly tried to recall the cult she mentioned, which Iris had told him a few weeks prior, was a group of religious fanatics that went rampant around Ijiria while his mother was still in school, causing a lot of death and destruction before their leader was finally killed only a few years ago.

“She was gone for three years of Ijirian time, give or take, before she suddenly returned,” Iris told him. “Though I never found out where she went until after she died, I was just relieved that she was okay. Upon returning, she became Master of Nature, set up the Children of Reiner, and made a real name for herself in this city. During that time, I strived to train enough to become her apprentice, but before I could, the Battle of Noctalus took place and she was killed. Instead of becoming her apprentice, I took her spot as Master of Nature…a spot that I was never certain I deserved.”

Eric nodded, seeing the sudden pain in her eyes, as well as the slight trembling of her teacup. “Well, if it means anything, I think you’re a fantastic Master, and I’m certain my mother would agree.”

Iris’s lips tightened for a moment, but when she looked back at him, he could tell that his words had comforted her. “Thank you, Eric. I like to think so, too, but… Well, her actions in Noctalus just tell me that I didn’t truly understand her.” Iris then shook her head and chuckled. “But I totally just went on a tangent there. You asked why the other Masters say such nasty things about me, yes?”

“I think that is what started this, yeah,” he replied with a laugh of his own.

“As for that, I can’t say I haven’t brought it on myself,” she said. “I like my fair share of pranks and, while they were fun back at the academy, they aren’t as welcome here in the Citadel. I got in a good bit of trouble with the prince when I planted a flower bomb in Master Taurus’s quarters. It blew up all over his face and he smelled like lavender for nearly a month. And something you should know about him is that he doesn’t appreciate jokes.”

Eric smirked, imagining the look on Nigreos and Album’s faces if Iris ever did that to them. Part of him wanted to ask if she had ever pranked the two of them, but she was already going on before he could.

“Though, my pranks aren’t the entire reason. I don’t exactly make it known that I cared for Abi as much as I did. The reason for that is because she is hated by most of the Masters now, and voicing any love for her makes you a target of their scorn. Caeli knows that better than anybody.” Iris shrugged. “I’m the most recent addition to the Masters, and I’ve always wanted them to like me, but unfortunately, it seems I’ve failed that goal. They know I hide things, so they don’t trust me and call me a liar. They dislike my sense of humor, so they call me mischievous. And I think…I’ve started falling into the mold they made for me. Perhaps I have become a manipulative liar.”

Eric exhaled softly and shook his head firmly. “And yet, you’ve sat here and told me all of this. I don’t think you’re either, Master Mackia. Though…I am curious why you would tell me all of this considering how little I’m trusted around here.”

“Well, I suppose it’s the same reason I’m nicer to you than everybody else,” she told him with a sly grin. “We’re peas in a pod, it seems. Everybody mistrusts us so I guess we have to stay together. And of course, well…” Iris set her teacup down, her eyes focused on him. “...you remind me of your mother.”

“Funny,” he murmured. “You’re not the first person to tell me that.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Nigreos, Ryokumo, Reigious, Piura, and even Arisa had all said the same thing to him. He reminded them of the idol that his mother was despite the fact that he knew he could never live up to her majesty. She had become a legend and that wasn’t a role he could ever fill. He knew there would only come a time when he would disappoint those who saw Abigail Reiner in him, and for that, he was sorry.

“I don’t imagine I am,” Iris said. “Especially since I didn’t know her that well compared to Noctis, Luz, and Caeli. Those four were not only famous at the academy for being prodigies, but they were the closest friends you could ever find. They knew her better than anyone, and Abi talked about them with quite a bit of respect.”

Eric felt a twinge of pain hit him at her words. “And yet…she’s gone. I wonder what happened between them. Nigreos killed her…and Album doesn’t even sound like she ever liked her.”

“Luz is lying,” Iris stated simply. “Something interesting about that is…that in some ways, she was closer to her than Noctis and Caeli, and Abi once told me that Luz was like a sister to her.”

The boy sat up straighter, his brow furrowed in surprise. “W-what? Album was? Album Luz?”

“Shocking, isn’t it?” the Master responded. “But it’s the truth. Abi and Luz were best friends, and while I don’t know how they met or what happened between the two of them over the years, I know that your mother absolutely adored her.”

Eric leaned his back up against the chair, his mind suddenly spinning at this new revelation. Between his meeting Arisa Kirisan, his dinner with Nigreos, and now his talk with Iris, he was beginning to get a clearer picture of what his mother was like in Ijiria, and the fascinating thing was that they all had a different perception of her. Ryokumo considered her one of his best friends, Arisa saw her as a mother, she was Iris’s idol, and Nigreos claimed to have fallen in love with her. They were all so different, yet everybody reached the same conclusion: That her rebellion simply failed to make sense. There was something they all were missing.

I had hoped Nigreos would have answers, but at the very least, I don’t think he’s hiding anything. So…is it possible that Album’s the one I have to speak to if I want information.

He grimaced at the thought of the Master of Light, knowing she was his most dangerous enemy within the walls of the Citadel. Should she ever figure out a way to erase him, she could defy Reigious and wipe him from their memories, dealing with him without any consequences. She hated him and he hated her, and yet, she might be his only option. Yet, as he considered what Iris said, he also thought back to what Ryokumo told him about his belief that she might have erased somebody important to him.

And if this person was important to Ryokumo, then they must have known my mother to some extent. Album would know whoever this is, meaning she’s the most likely to know something everybody else doesn't. Perhaps…the time has come to have a little chat with her…

***

Eric took some satisfaction in the confused and inquisitive expression on the face of Album Luz when she opened the door of her quarters to see him standing before her. A multitude of emotions seemed to flash across her eyes, and he was certain they were all negative. The hatred she felt was never more clear than when he was in her presence, and he knew that this conversation was far more likely to deteriorate than the one he had with Nigreos.

But I have to do this. I have to know if she’s hiding anything!

That was why, when his lesson with Iris wrapped up, he headed straight for Album’s quarters rather than his own. He knew that if he took the time to think things over, he might change his mind. So he acted on his impulse and planned to be ready to adapt to whatever happened on the spot.

“What do you want, Reiner?” Album growled finally, her eyes narrowing in disgust.

He made sure to remain calm, not wanting to antagonize her like he did Nigreos. “To talk, that’s all. After two months, I thought it was time we had a little heart-to-heart.”

The Master of Light scoffed. “Is that so? Well, I don’t have any interest in talking with you, so if you would please leave, that would be appreciated.”

With that curt comment, she went to slam the door in his face, but Eric didn’t have any plans to take “no” for an answer.

“Parasis,” he chanted, causing the door to suddenly stop, and no matter how hard she might try, she would be unable to close it without undoing the spell. He was certain she knew how to do that, but he didn’t intend to give her the chance.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, but he ignored her, stalking forward and grabbing her by the shoulder to push her back into the room. She quickly raised her hand and he could tell that she was about to chant something, so he spoke before she could.

“You know you can’t hurt me,” he said challengingly. “Go ahead, Album, hit me with something. Let’s see how you like having two prosthetic arms.”

She froze, her eyes wide in fury. “Are you threatening me?”

“Yes, I am,” he replied sharply. “I just want to talk, so we’re going to talk. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be quick. I don’t want to be in your presence any longer than necessary either. Now move.”

Despite telling himself to remain calm and composed, he just couldn’t help but taunt her a bit. While Nigreos had ways of overcoming his blood protection, Album was completely at his mercy. There was nothing she could do to him and because of that, he knew she feared him. It was probably the primary reason she detested him as much as she did. Their battle outside Lilly’s apartment had surely remained clear in his thoughts. He could see her internally considering every action she could take but, in the end, she lowered her hand, shook his hand from her shoulder, then stepped aside.

“Very well,” she hissed. “Then come on in, why don’t you?”

Eric grinned wryly then stepped past her and into the main room, which was more or less the exact same as Nigreos’s with its lack of a kitchen, its small seating area, and the hallway in the back of the room. Since he didn’t intend to sit down, Eric simply headed toward the couch and leaned up against it, his eyes always focused on the Master of Light. As for Album, she closed the door behind them and turned back into the room to face him, her black eyes piercing.

If looks could kill… he internally mused.

“Well, get to it,” she snapped. “Ask whatever it is you wish to ask and get out of my sight. I doubt it’s any surprise to you that I have little interest in interacting with you at all. I believed you’d feel the same, and yet here you are. If Nigreos gave you any impression that I—”

“Nigreos is not the reason I am here,” Eric interrupted her. “In fact, my dinner with him made me want to talk to you two less. I came here because I wanted to discuss my mother.”

She seemed slightly surprised for a moment before composing herself yet again. “I suppose that makes sense. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about her since you arrived here…and I’m sure Mackia and Caeli haven’t hesitated to tell you about me.”

“You’re right, they haven’t,” he stated. “Both of them have told me that you were close friends with my mother. In fact, I was told that you were one of her best friends.”

Album sneered. “Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t. Regardless, it’s all in the past now. What happened doesn’t matter. What matters is where it ended, and it ended with your mother turning on this country and getting herself killed. She was a smart woman so she knew the consequences of her actions. She deserved what she got, and no matter what the others say, I will never change my mind.”

It took a lot of willpower not to lose his cool in the face of her declaration that his mom deserved to die. He took another deep breath, told himself to remain composed, then went on.

“You say the past doesn’t matter, but I hardly believe that,” he said. “The past is what made the present. We wouldn’t be who we are without our experiences. Therefore, your relationship with my mother was important, and what I want to know is what it was like. What did you know about her, and why have you come to hate Ryokumo the way you do? And…what do you know about why she rebelled?”

Album shook her head and smiled bitterly. “Well, aren’t those some personal questions? Reiner, I don’t have any interest in discussing my past with you. What happened between me and your mother is my business, so why don’t you focus on yourself and leave me alone. If you walk away right now, I’ll forgive your disrespect and we can go our separate ways.”

“That’s not possible,” he growled. “Whether we like it or not, you and I will never truly be rid of each other until one of us is dead. At the end of the day, you’re the one with the power to bring my friends back from the erased realm, and my existence is a threat to your life. I doubt you’ll forget about that any time soon.”

He indicated her sensium arm with a nod of his head, and he could see her skin turn paler than it already was.

“Are you telling me that you plan to kill me?” she demanded.

He shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? If I’ve learned anything about the type of person you are, it’s that you will never be able to overlook the possibility that I will. I’m a stain on your reputation—an untrained child who kicked your ass more than once.”

“You can’t take credit for any of that,” Album hissed, taking a threatening step toward him. “If not for that protection, I could have fried you beyond recognition. You didn’t defeat me once! Your mother did! Even in death, that vile woman is still tormenting me!” The Master of Light smiled darkly, and he could see utter hatred in her eyes. “You want to know what I thought of your mom? I hated her! I hated everything she did to this country! She was a manipulative fool and without her, this world would have been far better off. Everybody praises her as a saint, wishing she could still be alive. She has them all enchanted by that larger-than-life persona, but in the end…” Album clenched her teeth. “In the end, Nigreos, Ryokumo and I…would have been happy if not for her. I wish she’d never have tainted this city.”

He could see Album breathing heavily as she finished her rant and Eric could see conflict and even a touch of insanity in the black orbs that were her eyes. Even if he learned nothing else, that rant alone told him quite a bit about the relationship between his mother and the woman before him.

“And yet,” he began, once again struggling to keep his tone calm. “You were her best friend.”

Album shook her head. “Yes… Once upon a time…I was her friend. And what an idiot I was.”

“Well then, if you’re the only one intelligent enough to see through her mask, then do you know why she rebelled?” he inquired. “Do you know what nobody else does?”

The woman’s smile turned bitter once more. “You don’t know what kind of question you just asked. I can see in your eyes that you think you want to know the answer, but I assure you that you don’t.”

He hesitated, realizing that she had partially admitted to knowing the truth.

“So you do know?”

“I didn’t say that,” she whispered. “But heed this warning: Knowledge is a curse, Eric Reiner. It’s far better to be blissfully ignorant than to know a nightmarish truth.”

He clenched his fists, feeling his frustration and anger beginning to break past his control. “Don’t think I don’t know that? My mother’s protection made it so that I was the only one who remembered those you erased. Do you know how painful it is to remember somebody when no one else does? Don’t tell me knowledge is cursed when I know that because of you.”

Album narrowed her eyes and laughed softly to herself. “Part of me almost wishes you knew…just so that it could torment you, too. I would love to see the hatred and rage overtake you if you found out the answers you seek. It would bring me so much pleasure to watch it destroy you. But unfortunately, I have my priorities. Walk away, boy, and never come back. Even if you threatened to kill me, you would never get your answer.”

“Just by saying that…you’ve already given me what I came here for,” Eric muttered. “Have a nice night, Album.”

Eric didn’t say anything else as he turned and departed the room. He was surprised that she even admitted to knowing what she did, and it only confirmed for him that the only route to answers would be Album Luz. Ryokumo’s plan was already in motion. In fact, he should be down in the market at that very moment, speaking to the man that could potentially get Arisa and the others out of the city. Things were starting to fall into place, and with any luck, when the dust settled, they would have their answers.

If my mother’s rebellion has anything to do with the person Ryokumo thinks she erased…then shattering that realm should reveal everything.