Originally uploaded Jul 10, 2023

Tessia Pov

The hallways within the castle were silent. The torches mounted on the walls produced a warm comforting light. Unlike the cold sharp winds outside. Each step I took made sounds of metal on metal as I was still growing used to the light armor I had fashioned.

I might been a princess but I wasn't going to lay around the castle and lazily do nothing when our entire continent is at war. To the hard disagreement of my family I had managed to convince grandpa to make time for me to further train. The Elderwood Guardian will has been a problem, but I was making steady progress. With Lord Aldir's aid I was able to break through into the light yellow stage.

I still had problems fully controlling the beast will, and even when I was able to I ran my mana reserves dry to quickly. But this was a precious gift from Arthur, and my only way to catching up to him. I don't intend to be saved by him all the time, I want to be a proud individual who can stand next to him without dragging him down.

Although, that does make me think. I had hardly seen Arthur around anymore. The last time I remember seeing him was when he visited grandpa. They were discussing something privately within a sound sealed room so I couldn't make out what they were talking about. And even then he only greeted me and swiftly left after that. It almost seemed as if he was purposefully avoiding me.

In fact his whole demeanor seemed to have changed since I have last seen him. While Arthur always felt a bit cold and calculating, he seemed different in that short encounter. The very air around him felt cold and heavy. As if he was casting gravity type magic around himself. And he had an older look in his eyes. I couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong with him. If only he could talk to me about it.

Reaching the large door at the end of the hallway I sternly knocked on its hard wooden surface. Hearing a short response I confidently opened the door. And was met by my grandpa sitting at his desk, in his hands were multiple files and papers. No doubt important documents and reports from around the entire continent.

With confident powerful strides I made my way to him.

Grandpa Virion asked without even staring up from his desk. "Let me guess little one. You are here to ask again?"

Undeterred I slammed by hands onto his desk, knocking over some of the writing utensils off the fancy wooden desk.

"I can fight, Grandpa." I spoke with the most confident voice I could muster. Trying to put on a face of determination.

"And I am telling you that I won't allow it." Grandpa spoke with a sigh as he placed down the papers in his hands and stared at me. His eyes were tired, his face seemed to have more wrinkles than I remembered. But he still had the airs of a strong leader. No doubt the reason why the council had trusted him to lead this war.

"Master Aldir and Lancer Varay has even said themselves that I have grown stronger. I will not be imprisoned up in a castle and cower in fear until this is all over." I demanded as I slammed my fist onto the desk again.

"And yet, it is still not enough."

"Curtis and Kathyln are actively in the front lines. What makes me any different?" I demanded a reasoning.

"Your beast will is still unstable. And you burn through your mana reserves far too quickly while wielding it. Not to mention your body is still growing accustom to it." Grandpa said as he stared into my eyes. I knew that his concern was coming from a place of love and care but I still hated being treated like a fragile piece of art.

I couldn't help but grit my teeth in frustration. Grandpa sensing my frustration sighed and began to speak.

"Little one, this is war. It doesn't matter who you are. Your strength, status. None of it matters. Once you are on the battlefield you can die before you even realized what is happening. This is not some fairy tale with heroes and demons. You don't get a heroic last stand. War kills indiscriminately, instantly." As he said these words he activated a artifact places on his desk. A beam of light emitted from it and produced a video feed.

A bloody cave, its walls and floor was lined with death. Mana beast, Dicathen soldier, Alacrya soldiers, they all lied dead. Covered in grim and crimson blood. Many of them greatly disfigured in grotesque positions. I couldn't help but turn away as my lunch threatened to resurface.

"Out of the four hundred people we sent we lost over three quarters. They were acting under my orders. I signed all of their death warrants." Grandpa said, his face was grim and more wrinkles seemed to appear on his already aging face.

"War has just begun and the lives of thousands already stain my hands. I know it is selfish but this is just my paternal desire to protect my family." I felt as if he was on the verge of tears. I have never seem my grandfather like this. He was always to confident and playful grandpa. While old he was relaxed and was enjoying his retirement from being king.

This was the side of my grandfather I never saw. The king and general of war. A person who with mere orders could lead hundreds of people to their deaths. And someone who had to live with that burden for so many years. It made sense why he seemed unbothered with so many things. When you have lived through what he has.

"Tessia. You are a talented mage no doubt. And even with the few months of training you have received you have grown so much. But no matter what you are still only one person. Dying would be a mercy for you. Being a princess and granddaughter of the commander if you are captured alive I can't speak of the things they will do to you."

I have never thought of it like that. I knew as mage who focused on combat training, eventually I will have had to come to terms with my possible demise. But I was an important figure, and a valuable bargaining chip if I were captured as a prisoner.

But I had to fight. I had to do something instead of lazying around this castle. Not even all of my people are dying and even Curtis and Kathyln are fighting. I can't drag everybody down. I have to lead my nation myself one day. I stared into my grandfather's eyes, filled with a sense of determination and purpose. And grandpa felt it.

"Tessia Eralith. Do you, after knowing the dangers still want to be a part of all of this. No one will blame you if you refuse." He spoke, the mana dancing under his tongue as he did so. He was testing my resolve.

I thought back to our conversation. While I was confident with my abilities I was still inexperienced in actual combat and battle. As well as my beast will still putting me in a handicapped position. And death could come at any moment, and even that would be the best scenario. Perhaps I could beg for death if I am tortured by the Alacryians. But I still couldn't stand by and do nothing while people were dying. As a princess I had to do something.

And Arthur no doubt is somewhere training and preparing himself. I knew that part of him and he would never back down if his family or country is in danger. And he had to skills to prove himself. Maybe he was already out there, fighting, waging his own war against them. Perhaps that is why I had rarely seem him since this war began. That thoughts only gave me more reason to join myself. I wanted to stand proudly next to him, and not drag him down. I wanted to be his equal.

My brows furrowed in determination as I stared into my grandfather's eyes.

"Yes, commander."

Grandpa looked back at me. I could feel his intense aura, the mana was suffocating. But compared to Arthur's, which I have grown accustomed to, it felt like nothing. He stared back at me for a few seconds. Seeing if I could crack under the pressure before relinquishing his aura.

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"When your beast will stabilizes. I shall test your resolve." Grandpa said powerfully. And for the first time I saw the general side to him. The powerful leader who lead armies in the past. A strong commander of this continent.

Just as grandpa Virion was done and I was getting my thoughts and emotions in order the doors swung open. And a powerful gust filled the room. Grandpa snapped to face to door. "Who dares-" Before he could finish his sentence and reprimand the intruder of not knocking we both saw who it was.

The flowing blonde hair, tied loosely back in a ponytail. His pale, almost milk-like skin and eyes made of melted gold. Despite growing in height and looking a bit older there was no mistaking my childhood friend.

Arthur made his way to us with confident powerful strides. A large hooded cloak covered most of his body, but as he moved I saw a sheathed sword hanging from his belt. Noting it as strange as Arthur never openly carried a weapon. And as he drew closer I could feel the strange alien presence emanating from it. As if it housed a physic being, who was probing my mind with its invisible tendrils. I felt a growing pressure build up behind my eyes, forcing me to close them.

"Afternoon, Virion, Princess." Arthur slightly nodded his head as he greeted us.

"Brat where have you been?" Grandpa rushed towards Arthur after the initial surprise and placed him in a headlock as he ruffled his hair. He was probably the only person who could do so and still live.

Arthur pried himself free as he reorganized his hair. "Preparing." He said in a monotone voice.

I wanted to go to him. To tell him that I missed him, we haven't had a proper meeting since we attended the academy. And nobody would blame me or would have thought it weird. We were childhood friends. I wanted to run to him and embrace him. But there was something unsettling about him. From the emotionless look in his eyes to the strange sword he carried, I could tell a lot had happened since we last met.

"What is the occasion?" Grandpa asked in my stead, even he seemed as if he wanted to asked Arthur something but refrained from doing so. He looked back at me with unease and concern as Arthur retrieved something from his dimensional storage.

In his hands materialized a folder thick with paper. He gently placed it on the desk as he turned to the door as he began to march out.

"This will be my last report for a while." Arthur coldly said as he reached for the door.

"Wait!" I blurted out without thinking. But thankfully Arthur stopped as he turned to face us.

"Arthur, where are you going? Where have you been?" I asked, desperate for answers and clung to his sleeves. I expected the familiar warm friendly eyes to meet mine. But all I was met with was cold impassive eyes that seemed to stare directly into my very soul. Despite this Arthur mustered a warm smile. Twisting his already handsome features to an inviting smile, but his eyes were still unchanging.

He brought his hands up and touched my face. I could feel the warmth radiating from his hands. His skin was spotless and silky smooth. I couldn't help but push further into his grasps. But he quickly pulled back. But the smile didn't fade yet.

"War is brewing Tess, I can't stand around doing nothing." He said, with a hint of that old Arthur that I remembered.

"Why not spend your time training here?" Grandpa Virion asked, even he was worried about Arthur's absence. And I could just from his tone of voice he desperately wanted to ask Arthur about something. But chose not to in front of me. Was there some secret of Arthur's grandpa discovered?

Arthur just gently shook his head at my grandfather's statement.

"There are things I must do. Don't worry I will still visit from time to time." He reassured us both and reached for the door.

'What was wrong with me. I was doing all of this so that I could stand next to him. But what was the point of all of that if I couldn't even have a proper conversation with him?' I cursed in my mind.

No, I had to reassure myself. I can't just be a self-depreciating women who would drag him down. Next time we meet I will prove to him. I will grow stronger and lead my people in this war. Yes, the next time we meet I will show him how much I have grown as not only a mage put as a person.

Arthur slipped out of my grasps as the door quietly closed behind me. Disappearing as abruptly as he appeared. Leaving my grandpa and I along again.

Regis Pov

As soon as the door closed the aetheric passageways carried us far away from the Dicathen castle. While still not having recovered his full strength, I could tell Arthur was growing stronger only with time. But we both knew that this wasn't enough.

Our run-in with Neoth only proved that there were still things about aether we didn't understand. And while that Djinn bastard didn't give us a straight answer we couldn't be sure if there were any more of his kind that survived, and we had to be worried about. We already had trouble dealing with one Highlord, we didn't need to draw to ire of a potential handful.

We were only saved by that bullshit sword that appeared out of nowhere. Even sifting through Arthur's memories it was all blank. As if somebody had gone in and erased everything with an eraser. When I tried to investigate the weapon myself it rejected even my incorporeal form. But I could feel an foreign aura emitting from it. Akin to another being or soul. Whatever the case was it was created by someone with even higher aetheric knowledge and mastery than us.

Heck, we barely even wrapped our minds around the edict of Fate. While we understood that is was a combined effort of all three other edicts that was only one step in the process. I mean, we didn't even fully complete the spell that would have solved a lot of problems for us. Our asses were saved because of the old man Arthur.

That does remind me. Art seemed to changed a lot since I last seen him. Well, we did kind of go through depressing times, actually in hindsight it is a miracle that he hasn't just gone insane or something. No, when I returned I noticed that Arthur was much colder and distant.

While we share our inner thoughts most of the time and I am probably the only person who fully understands him. Hell, I am made from a part of him after all. But he seemed too different. He even cut his ties to his family. I couldn't imagine past Art doing such a thing. They were the only reason he press on.

'Do you wanna talk about it?' I asked my companion, as Arthur removed the large cloak from his body.

'Talk about what?' He asked back as he approached his desk covered in papers and strange looking relics.

'What happened to you since I was gone?' I asked again. Trying to not let him sense my worry.

'I already showed you every-'

'No. I know what you did. I am asking for your reasoning.'

Arthur thought for a moment as I jumped out of his body and took form. I looked at him expectantly as I sat down on the stone floor.

Arthur placed his cloak on his chair as he took a deep breath.

"My reasoning?" He said more to himself than to me.

I could already feel the turmoil of emotions swelling inside Arthur. He hasn't thought back to his actions. Instead he pushed forward, not looking back. Believing he is doing what is needed to fulfill his purpose. I already knew of his plan, and while it was nothing but a crazy idea and suicidal it was better than repeating what happened last time.

"Regis, you can see my mind. I believe that is enough reasoning." Arthur finally answered as he retrieved a relic from his dimensional storage rune. A small black pyramid shaped relic with golden writhing etched into its base.

And it was true. There are many things in which mere words are not enough to convey the meaning or feeling behind them.

"Arthur. Isn't the whole point you are doing all of this again to live a life you never had? To save the ones you love and to for once in your many lives, enjoy it?" I asked, my voice laced with concern. Despite not trying to show it.

"In fact you are starting to sound more and more like Grey. Isn't that what you wanted to avoid in your last life? Don't you realized that you are destroying yourse-"

"Regis." Arthur spoke, he didn't put his power behind it. He didn't need to, I could already feel his emotions. And they struck me like the backlash of an explosion. He stared deeply into my eyes. A tinge of purple swirled in his gold eyes as our minds connected.

"We both know what needs to be done. This is beyond all of us. If I only need to burn away a handful of lives to achieve it, then so be it." Arthur stated, resolute in his reasoning and plan. He was fully aware of what he was doing. And he was fine with it, he seemed to welcome it. In order to save and lead all of creation.

But I was still conflicted. Being an amalgamation of multiple people didn't help with these types of things. Their was a part of me that agreed with him. Sacrificing a couple of people in doing what we plan to do seemed like a worthy deal. But the other side of me wanted to run away, and try to enjoy the new life that we were given. While another part of me wanted Arthur to find a happy life. To not worry about all of this and try to enjoy the time he as with his family. He as still a mentally messed up boy after all, never truly having a family or place where he felt like he belonged.

It ached my nonexistent heart, to see my companion slowly destroying the future he could have had. All for this plan and goal of his. It was an altruistic goal in the end, but I couldn't help but think there was a better way to go about it. He was slowly devolving back to the Grey he tried so hard to escape from.

But it seems that it is too late for that now. I wondered, if I came back earlier would I have tried to convince him not to tell his parents the truth? Or would he have pushed back on my idea.

'This is what I get for leaving him for too long.' I thought in my mind as I gave up trying to argue with Arthur. I stared back at his cold eyes, his expressionless face that seemed to be made of stone started to remind me of Grey more than the goofy but friendly Arthur I remember.

I know I should be the only one that can fully understand and sympathize with him. I was an inseparably part of him after all. Perhaps I just had to make due with the best we got for now.

My body turned incorporeal as I drifted back into Arthur's core. Settling into the sea of aether that was his inner body. Whatever the future held, I was stuck with this psycho, so might as well try to enjoy the time we had. And at least we had each other.