Vash was the first one who noticed Vaelen still seated at the table in the alcove. As he greeted him, Vaelen stood up the moment our eyes met, and walked towards us.

“How did it go?”

“Your brother is a very keen and attentive person,” Vash responded with crossed arms. “It seems that looks can be deceiving, after all!”

I squinted my eyes in slight displeasure, as he continued.

“I would highly suggest you to return to your dorm and take it easy until the second day begins. We’ll be doing a lot more practical work than we did moments ago.”

“Thank you, Vash,” I sighed, as Vaelen took the lead into the hallway.

“Let us go, Caelum.”

The rain was fortunately subdued for some time, leaving behind a wet landscape tinged with a delightful earthly smell. It took only several moments after exiting the building for me to realize that Vaelen seemed a little defeated.

I looked at him as he held his head low, his hands buried in the pockets of his black pants.

“Is there anything wrong, Vaelen?”

“…Why do you ask?” he asked with a solemn tone.

I ticked my tongue and gently punched his left shoulder.

“Tell me. What happened?”

Knowing he could never hide something from me, he gave up and let out a deep sigh before answering, streaking his long black hair over his ear.

“I just… felt guilty about yesterday, for some reason. I didn’t consider how bad you may have felt, after collapsing two times involuntarily. These are moments when an older brother is needed… But, somehow, I couldn’t fill in that role for you.”

I gulped before carefully choosing the words I should voice out. I still remembered what I saw when I collapsed for the first time, as well as the second time.

The first time, when I was in the middle of the Initiation Ritual, I found myself standing in front of some sort of large iron gate that was embellished with a depiction of a woman carrying a child carved into its surface.

The second time… I found myself within a large, dark grand hall, or something… and I stood before what I believed to be the same woman who was etched into that iron gate.

Perhaps one could call it pure denial. I was arguably the most thick headed person in the world at that time.

I did not want to accept what was happening. It felt too strange, too… quick. I never dived into the world of religion and prophecy as Vaelen did, but I did hear about that weird prophecy regarding the so called ‘Perished One’ becoming Humanity’s salvation by being slain with the sword of Yius. Often, I would ask myself…

…What does that even mean? What do they mean with salvaging Humanity?

It was said that God, or better acknowledged as ‘All’ abandoned the world, but left “His” holy spirit behind. That holy spirit’s tongue was then manifested into a weird sword which is currently being held by the Golden church.

However, the Golden book said that we were still living in the darkest times. “The Nocturnal Age”, it was called.

And yet, I never considered the world, for the most part, to be a world of complete darkness. Everything seemed fine and quite lively, compared to the actual documented “Nocturnal Age”, which was the age when saint Alexander Maxwell was alive.

I would actually believe that we were indeed living in the darkest times in correspondence to the prophecy if I was living during that time. But, I’m not… And that is not to mention the so called “Pale Child” being marked with death at birth.

What did that woman mean?

How could I be the Perished One?

For as long as I could remember, not once had I experienced a “death environment”. My life had been quite great so far. I grew up with Vaelen, eventually became best friends with the others, and we’d finally find ourselves here, at the Gaian temple, just how we wanted.

…And still…

…Whenever I would glance at my skin, I would understandably feel scared.

Imagine being born with a complexion you knew all your life. For me, it would be my olive skin tone. For eighteen years would you never think anything of your skin tone. And, on one day, you collapse, and wake up looking entirely different.

Not even myself, but, how would the others even think of that? Knowing about the prophecy and everything?

Are they as delusional as I am? Well, they could be, but given Vash’s possible explanation regarding this, it would be reasonable for them to not be as panicked as I am.

But, when I look at Vaelen, I see an older brother who is on two different minds.

I am his brother, his blood, the only one who has been with him since birth. Of course he would never abandon me just because… I… look different, and… summoned two Grimoires…

…right?

Yes. Right. He could never do that. And because of that, I could never talk to him as if I was actually the prophesied Pale Child.

“Vaelen, I understand how you may be feeling. I mean, it seemed quite obvious and legible that you may have had some mixed feelings about the prophecy, and how it would align with my circumstances. But look…”

Without hesitation, I stretched out my right palm in the air, and let my silver bow materialize into being.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Does this seem like an evil omen to you?”

Vaelen chuckled with closed lips.

“No, it doesn’t. It looks beautiful.”

“Indeed it does!” I exclaimed. “I figured I would be able to summon arrows by using my Conjuration characteristic. I’m a Smuldra Hex user, so I primarily revolve around Enhancement cards.”

“Ah, so you’re a Smuldra. I’m a Medunta Hex user.”

He then stretched his left hand in the air, and a surge of small golden hawks swirled around his left arm to his hand, eventually morphing into a clean, beautiful katana with a golden grip that was embellished with intricate carvings.

“Oh, wow! A katana?”

“Basically, yes,” he laughed. “Has he told you about my Hex?”

“Oh, yes, he did. You’re practically a very dexterously Sequencer. I was told by Vash that today, we would be learning basic spell casting.”

I then stopped walking, and playfully stretched my bow out towards him.

“So you better bet we’ll be having a rematch soon!”

Vaelen smiled, shaking his head and a wind surge caused our hairs to flutter in the wind.

“Still butt hurt over losing in the library?”

“That was just a warm-up!” I smiled mischievously. “Look at where we’re at now; This is the real deal!”

“Right, right,” he nodded, vanishing his katana. “Taking enough rest is just as important as training if you want to become stronger. You’ve consumed a lot of information, so just like Vash said, take it easy.”

“Hehe, I will. No worries.”

We eventually made our way crossing the large bridge leading towards our dorm. Due to the current atmosphere, the encapsulating scenery seemed even more beautiful. A river beneath the bridge, surrounded by nature, graced with the illuminated gray-ish sky caused us to marinate our eyes and minds in the graceful sight.

I held my head upward, my hands perched in the pockets of my jeans, as I spoke to him.

“…It seems a little too good to be true, doesn’t it?”

“What does?” he asked.

“I don’t know… just… we were causing shenanigans at the heart of the city just two days ago. I know that we’ve been waiting for this to happen for quite some time, that we’ve been taught about the Gaian temple, as well as Urdall’s church and etcetera…

…But standing here, right in the middle of this whole thing seems amazing to me.”

“It almost feels as if we weren’t meant to be here, right?” he smiled, as I humblingly shook my head.

“Well, that would make sense in my case. You were pretty much meant to be at a place like this. Come to think of it, if it weren’t for your guidance and scoldings, I would have probably been somewhere else. A bad place, or something.”

“Of course,” he nodded confidently with closed eyes. “You wouldn’t survive in this world without me. But, the same goes for me. I don’t think where I’d be if it weren’t for you.”

“Is that so?” I said, looking at him over my left shoulder with a cheeky smile.

“Well, yes, in all honesty. What do you think our biggest difference is?”

“Hm… I think it is our ideologies. You believe a theocratic society is the right way for civil progression, while I would wish to bring it all down.”

“I’m surprised you remember that conversation,” Vaelen said with a calm tone, as a group of birds flew right above us, their chirps breaking our bubble before the quiet atmosphere settled down once more.

“I’m not as stupid as you may think, Vaelen! And I have a feeling about what you’re thinking right now.”

“What am I thinking about?” he chuckled. I held my left pointer finger in the air, and said confidently,

“You see my ideology as flawed, and thus do you use my contrasting belief as a way to further strengthen your own. In other words, me telling you about my opposition towards the theocracy gives you a sense of ‘wiser than thy’, or ‘he shall learn at some point’, but you don’t show it.”

Vaelen couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, recoiling his head. After letting out a deep sigh, he crossed his arms and spoke with a gentle tone.

“You’re quite sharp, aren’t you?”

“You’ve always been the more sedated type, Vaelen. But only I can see through your lies and deceits. So you’re telling me I’m right, no?”

“Almost, yes. I do not degrade your ideology. Despite my stubbornness, I see your way of thinking as equal to mine, fundamentally. I may not agree with it, but I still respect it. A good analogy is how we, the people of Urdall, have different societal philosophies than members of Valmar’s church, for example.

Their extreme Orthodox nature makes them believe that even following mundane things such as eating goats are just as sinful in nature as actual murder. Or, a better one could be that they follow a different hierarchy of important figures.

To them, the head of the creed is the sole messenger of Valmar. For us, the concept of an adversary is much more ambiguous than theirs, more akin to a personal divine intervention. And yet, I still respect them. Because they have a kind of stubbornness that can only be commended.”

I relaxed my eyebrows as I responded to him, averting my gaze.

“So you’re essentially saying that I am stubborn enough to make you respect my beliefs? Is that your reason?”

“…Why do you look conflicted?”

“I don’t know,” I responded solemnly. “I thought you’d come up with a fancy, more evocative reason as to why you respect my beliefs.”

“Was this not evocative enough?”

“…Not really, no,” I looked back at him. “It could have been way more simpler, you know? It doesn’t always have to be about other people.”

He squinted before answering.

“…What do you mean?”

“Nothing, don’t mind it,” I sighed, stretching my arms. “Nevertheless, it’s not a bad reason, so I’ll let it slide for now.”

“Alright, then…”

After a few moments of silence, I shifted the conversation to something else.

“Anyway, what do you think of Father’s name being spread around and about? I know he used to be a very popular guy, but I never thought it’d reach this far, you know?”

“He wasn’t particularly popular when he was alive,” Vaelen responded. “He chose to suppress his true identity for unknown reasons. Most assumed he did this to ward off publicity and attention whenever he would teach at the university.”

“…Say, Vaelen, ever thought of visiting his old house?”

“What?” he muttered with a puzzled face.

“Why not? I know it was entirely emptied, but what are the chances of finding a hidden basement, or cellar that contains things nobody has found yet?”

“But his house has long been sold off. There’s no chance we can actually get inside without proper permission.”

“I mean, we’re his biological sons, no? I’m pretty sure the current owner would understand the curiosity of two young brothers.”

“…That’s not important right now,” he responded, planting his palm on my shoulder as we neared the abode. “Let us just focus on the Inquisition and make sure we become Sequencers. Which is why you need to rest wel-”

“I know, I know!” I interjected, sighing. This prompted Vaelen to laugh as he unlocked the door of the building.

“Thanks for being so cooperative, Caelum.”