Julius

“So, how do we start, Aurora?” Asked Julius, sitting next to Aurora on the roof of their manor.

It’s a clear spring night, just two days after their previous contract. The contract in which Rose lost her life.

The funeral proceedings had taken place in the day, during which Rose was returned to the ground at the edge of the trees.

Aurora was staring up at the stars, sparkling high above them in the black heavens.

Rose was named so in honor of their House, and losing her dealt a big blow to everyone’s morale, but none was more devastated than Aurora.

She was his muse, his inspiration. Rose was his everything, even more so than the House.

“I’ll begin casting the spell tonight,” said Aurora after a long moment of thought. “It’ll start slowly, growing outward from here, slowly encroaching on the outside world. It’ll erase our existence, and fill in the holes with lies.”

“What about the written records?” Julius asked.

“I’ll do the rounds at every major place of knowledge, every institution, every library, every old person’s bookshelf, and you’ll come with me until no trace is left behind… Then…”

“Then?”

Aurora fell silent.

“Then…” he mumbled after a long time.

The scale of their plan was daunting, to say the least. But Aurora believed in it, and Julius, in the back of his mind, knew that if they truly put everything into it, it would be doable.

“How long will this take, Aurora?”

“A long time…”

“How will we live in the meantime? What about the contracts?”

“We can miss a few. Our clients wouldn’t notice. We have enough funds in the meantime.”

Julius looked at Aurora with questioning eyes. “We can’t miss a contract… that’s ludicrous.”

“One or two won’t hurt… They'll never know...”

“And if this doesn’t work… what will we fall back on?”

Aurora hesitated for a moment. “Nothing, really…”

“We’re going all in?”

“Yeah… all in…”

“This is far too risky, Aurora. I’m not going to let you go through with it…” said Julius. “The future looks grim. I’m not sure this will change it.”

“It will.”

Julius shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

“Then, what if... if all else fails, we can keep operating as a clan of assassins. But more secretive, more hidden, self-erasing and esoteric. It will make things better… Trust me…” Aurora pleaded.

He knows this isn’t a plan he can carry through by himself. With Julius it might just be enough, so he had to lend his power

Julius thought for a long time.

“All this just for a loved one?” He finally asked, glancing at Aurora with sorrowful eyes.

“Yeah…”

"You're the most powerful telepath in history... and this is what you'll dedicate your power to?"

"Yeah."

Julius sighed. “Fine then, I’ll trust you. I’ve no other choice.”

“Thank you,” Aurora replied as he got to his feet. “Come with me, we’ll start now.”

“Where are we headed?”

“The edge of the trees. Where Rose was laid to rest.”

Together they trudged their way through the grassy meadow toward the edge of the forest.

Many of their fallen are laid to rest in the same patch of trees, and over time, the mana in their bodies has enriched the soil, making the bushes and trees grow ever thicker.

Aurora carried a little packet of rose seeds in his hands.

“What are you planning to do with those?” Julius asked.

“I’ll plant them there, enchant them with my magic. They’ll suck up the mana from the soil and the fallen, store it and concentrate it, and be the source of my spells,” Aurora answered, taking a little seed out of the packet and looking it over intently under the moonlight. “It’s to honor our House, and to honor her…”

Julius nodded.

He helped Aurora bury the seeds in the soft soil around the cemetery. Neither of them had ever taken care of flowers before, but they figured the seeds should be able to grow no matter what.

The soil in this little patch of forest is rich with mana, enough for weeds to rise taller than a person.

Then Aurora knelt on the grass and began casting his magic into the little red pods.

“Is it working?” Julius asked.

But he didn’t need an answer, as he could feel the powerful perception-altering magic filling the air.

Tomorrow, when the apprentices awaken, they will remember nothing of their past.

Tomorrow, they will no longer be the House of Rose.

Tomorrow, they will be no one.

Aurora's magic is terrifying at times, not even Julius knows just how much his magic is capable of.

“Aurora… just how powerful is your magic?” whispered Julius as he looked out toward the distant manor.

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“I can almost control reality, Julius. The past is mine to control, and the present is mine to own. Of course, all with phantasms of the mind...” Aurora replied solemnly. “I should have used it sooner… and not under such circumstances…”

Julius closed his eyes, and let his own magic perfuse into the air.

The future exists not, intangible to any until it comes upon all. But Julius is different.

The future is always there for him, waiting to be seen.

Yet it’s always unfriendly and unappealing, terrifying, even.

Aurora promised him to change the future, to make it brighter. But Julius wasn’t so sure it would work.

He had held this brewing dread within him since he was young. He didn’t understand it back then, but now he does.

The future never changes.

But he trusted Aurora, even if it might be misplaced.

*****

Idris

“Aurora… what are we to make of this…” muttered Thomas, his head hung low and his eyes fixed on the ground. “How did it come to this? How did things go so badly wrong.”

“My magic didn’t work,” Aurora replied. “I couldn’t rewrite history the way I wanted. I couldn’t erase us completely. We still missed our contracts, and our reputation became tainted. We lost customers, we lost supporters, and our income waned…”

“Then?”

“Our House was falling apart. We had no money, we had no prospect… People were getting sick, people were starving. Julius could see there was no hope, and he was probably right,” Aurora sighed heavily, before clearing his throat. “My only choice was to use all my power and magic, rewrite our past, and hide us from the world. We had a new name, a new identity, a new lineage, but still the same purpose. Our secrecy would be our last defense. I poured all of my magic into that little patch of roses, enough to last decades, centuries even. Then Julius exiled me, he had to... he made sure I would never harm the House again.”

Thomas thought for a moment. “Was it all necessary?”

“No…” answered Aurora. “But I was misled… I was like you…”

“We’re not alike.”

“We are… we really are…”

A heavy silence fell over the room.

They had talked for a long time, with each revelation more unbelievable than the last.

Julius had been deceiving his family for a long time. And he was the only one who knew the truth.

Idris and Saya sat close together, using each other’s presence to soothe the anxiety. The betrayal was hard to swallow.

"Julius has been lying to us this whole time?" Saya whispered to Idris, a hurt tinge to her voice.

Idris could only nod.

Saya sighed. She found it impossible to read through Aurora’s powerful telepathy, and not knowing the truth in a conversation made her feel powerless.

“Then why did Julius come here?” Otto asked. “Why massacre the village?”

Aurora sighed. “He wasn’t convinced… I suppose…”

The uncertain answer made little sense to Idris, but he knew there was no point in pressing further.

But the important question was still unanswered.

The old mage knows why they’re here. There’s no point beating about the bush.

“Are you the one we’re looking for?” Thomas asked.

“Not me…” said Aurora. “But my son.”

“Your son?”

“After the massacre, he was never quite the same. I had to include him in my phantasmic realm to fool Julius, and the sight deeply traumatized him. He could never accept that his father was, in fact, alive. He never forgave what Julius did, and he vowed to take revenge… He trained as hard as he could so that he might one day undo the wrongs that Julius had once done…” Aurora chuckled. “He left here a long time ago… I don't know where he went. I never believed he’d do anything… but I supposed the red ropes of fate are twisted.”

“And you didn’t stop him?”

Aurora shook her head. “I did what’s best for my House… but it came back to bite… To be honest, I did it all for her… and the rest didn’t matter to me…”

“What’s his name?”

“Borealis…”

*****

Julius

With each slash of his sword, a member of his beloved family fell, their cries of pain drowned out by the crackling of flames.

Julius held back as much as he could, making the shallowest of cuts which he knew Sandra would have no problem fixing.

But they kept coming. They surged through the rubble in waves, their faces emotionless and their eyes blank.

All those years ago, Aurora had almost brought down their House, and now he too was doing the same.

The images of that town flashed in his mind. It was the same scene, the same suffocating smell of smoke, the cries of pain, and the clashing of blades.

He knew what happened that night was wrong, and he knew he would one day be punished for it. But it was all for the sake of his House, it was for the sake of Rose. Still, it was all unraveling, all the sacrifices he had made were undoing themselves most cruelly.

Maybe this is just what he deserves.

Izzy held his ground next to him, preferring to use his punches to incapacitate instead of maim. Sweat was running down his face, the little droplets like pearls in the firelight.

“Sandra!” Julius roared. His telepathy isn’t able to break through the powerful power, so he could only hope that Sandra might hear his voice.

Blood was pooling at his feet—blood that wasn’t his own.

Then he felt the magic lift, the enormous pressure suddenly gone.

Those who were controlled wobbled on their feet as the life returned to their eyes. Confusion was strewn across their faces as they took in the scene before them.

Their family lay before them in pools of blood, ugly cuts carved through their flesh.

Julius saw familiar eyes in the darkness, all looking at him for help and comfort.

“I’m sorry…” Julius whispered through trembling lips as he dropped his sword. “I’m so sorry…”

His legs felt weak, and he collapsed to his knees.

He knew what he had done, and he knew that he might never be forgiven.

He could hide the truth no longer.

Sandra?

He asked.

On my way.

Her reply came quickly.

Please hurry… Many are hurt…

Two figures leaped down from the sky, landing a little distance from him.

“Julius!” One of them shouted as they ran.

He looked up. It’s Raina, with Nina following a little distance behind.

“What happened?” She asked as she knelt beside the injured. “Where’s Sandra? I wasn’t able to contact her through the mind control.”

“She’s on her way…” Julius said in a solemn tone.

Nina got to her knees too, and immediately began treating the various wounds on her family members.

Julius felt a pang of guilt for being so dismissive of them before the contract.

“We must leave at once,” mumbled Julius as he looked around at the city around him, now beginning to stir from the commotion. “It is not safe here… I’m sorry…”

“How will you make amends, Julius?” Raina inquired, anger in her voice and tears in her eyes. “We warned you…”

“I don’t know…” Julius whispered. “But we must leave at once…”

“We’ve found our enemy,” Raina stated, staring back at him with defiant eyes.

Julius’ breath caught in his throat.

“Bruno, Andrei, and Kana are currently in pursuit,” Raina continued. “Your orders, Julius.”

“Catch him, kill him if they must… and bring him to me…” Julius mumbled as he picked up his sword and got to his feet. “I know who our enemy is.”

“How would you know?”

“There are many things I know… Things which I’ve kept secret for too long…”

Raina paused for a moment. “But now you’ll need to tell us.”

“I will… I must…”