Emil

His gentle demeanor—gone. His polite disposition vanished. He was not wearing his usual prim and proper Academy uniform, expertly tailored and fitted to his body, absent of blemishes and wrinkles.

Instead, it was a rough fitted shirt, stained in dirt and mauled by scratches from the long trek through the forest draped hastily over his body. His eyes were maniac, dancing with the glint of insanity. A wide toothed smiled plastered on his face. The edge of his lips trembled, like the shaking lid of a boiling pot barely able to contain the scalding liquids threatening to erupt.

It was Professor Callum.

The friendly, enthusiastic face that Emil had grown used to seeing every morning was now showing him a completely different side.

“What a nasty little rat,” Callum spat with a wry grin. He twisted his head towards the remnants of the temples. The raging inferno in the background continued to burn.

An audible laugh escaped his mouth. Not of joy, but of utter contempt and exasperation.

“You destroyed my life’s work. Tarnished my reputation amongst the research community within Azure City. And likely killed both of my assistants,” he said as his head slowly tilted back towards Emil. His voice was frighteningly calm. The terrifying incongruity only furthered by his wide, distant eyes. They teetered on the brink of madness. “Why?”

The question boomed into Emil’s skull. He froze. Shivers shot through his body despite the specks of ember still lingering on his clothes.

“Answer me!”

Spittle blasted into his face. Something hard then struck his jaws. Emil’s head shook, forced to the side—the impact rattling his brain. The agony of the ensuing headaches was quickly overwhelmed by the sharp pain exploding from his scalp as Callum pulled on his hair.

“Y-You were creating monsters. There were casualties!” he blurted out, suddenly indignant as he reminded of Ellen’s death, “Azure City’s streets were unsafe, but the Sentinels refused to do anything!”

“I see. So this was a revenge-filled vigilantism. Intriguing. A logical, irrational decision,” Callum said as his hands moved towards Emil’s chin. Emil winced, anticipating another strike, when’s Callum’s fingers grazed the side of his cheeks.

No!

Panic swelled in his body as he realized what the professor was trying to do. The lower half of Emil’s face was still covered by a cloth mask. Soot and ash smeared the top. His identity hadn’t been exposed. Yet.

He thrashed in desperation. His arms, weakened by the earlier surprise attack, dangled uselessly, unable to muster an ounce of strength. Realizing the futility, he stomped the ground, trying to invoke Bulwark.

Callum instantly reacted. With his free arm, he swung at Emil’s abdomen. An air missile erupted point-blank, drilling into his guts. Emil slumped over, gagging. A profusion of bile and partially digested food was forced out of his mouth. His cloth mask was drenched in vomit as he choked, suffocating on his own puke.

“Try to behave,” Callum’s sinister voice crept into his ears. With the scalding anguish in his guts, Emil was helpless as the professor ripped apart his vomit-soaked mask. A chill breeze emerged from a mana circle on Callum’s palms. The blast of air prickled at his skin like needles, blowing away the foul mixture and the soot smeared on his face.

Once he was clean, Callum pulled him up by the hair again. There was nothing left to conceal his bare face. Emil didn’t miss the flicker of disbelief across the professor’s face.

“Emil, what an unpleasant surprise,” Callum said. His shock was short-lived. He immediately dropped into a villainous sneer. “Then, your companion must be Anna.”

Emil forced himself to appear indifferent. It was likely a futile effort, but as long as he didn’t confirm anything, he could maybe grant Anna plausible deniability.

Callum stared at him in silence, the cogs in his head spinning in contemplation. Something seemed to click as his eye raised with renewed clarity.

“Ah, this is about Ellen, isn’t it?”

Emil flinched. The mention of Ellen’s name felt like a slap of the face.

“I see. I’m not sure how exactly you managed to find out, but nonetheless, what a surprise.” Callum’s face seemed to relax. His voice grew solemn. The chilling rage from earlier appeared to have faded. “To think that foolish girl managed to make a couple of friends before her unfortunate death.”

Callum suddenly burst into a cackle. The shrill, macabre laughter echoed across the sacred grove.

“Yes, a pair of amazing, loyal friends. Friends who would commit arson for you. Kill for you. And even destroy my beloved life’s work—”

Emil cried in pain as Callum yanked him by the roots of his scalp. Then without warning, Callum smashed his face into the ruined earth.

“All! Just! For! You!” the professor screamed as he drove his feet repeatedly into Emil’s side.

Emil’s head rang. Dazed, his mind pounded with loud, drawn-out reverberations. His face was ablaze in pain. The coarse gravel earth torn into his skin. He couldn’t feel the side of his ribs anymore.

I’m going to die.

“She was just an orphan that I picked up dammit!”

Callum’s tirade raged in the background. It sounded distant, but Emil knew the professor was screaming.

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I’m seriously going to die.

“If she didn’t fucking get herself killed—”

Emil tried to force himself up. It was no use. Like a puppet with its strings cut loose, his body refused to comply.

I’m—

The haunting thought continued to echo in his head. Somewhere along the line, the idea of death felt unbearably soothing. He was no longer scared. Death was a means to end this wretched life.

An end to the pain pulsating through every cell of his broken body.

An end to the mental anguish of being under control by that despicable witch.

An end to the nightmares that continued to torment him.

He wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. If he just let go and drown himself in the dark empty abyss, then everything would be over. The idea was horribly comforting.

Emil felt his fingers slack. His grip over the precipice of life weakened. He indulged in the finality of it all.

But what about Mia and Raz?

The thought struck him like thunder. His mind shuddered at the possibilities. Images of Mia flashed in his head, solemnly cleaning the tabletop counter of the old tavern, her pale pristine hands blemished by cuts and calluses. Raz, lying on the bed, still as a corpse, stirred awake—screaming from the nightmares that locked his rationality.

They were his sins. His burdens. His shackles.

They were the only ones he still considered family.

What would happen if he was gone? This fragile, tranquil peace that he had painstaking created for them would shatter in an instant. Emil was certain of it. Such was this wretched place known as Ardair.

No!

I won’t allow it!

Emil grabbed. Clawed. Gnawed. Spat. Teared. With every ounce of his willpower, he pried himself back over the edge of life and death. An incessant boom throbbed in his ears. It was his heart—thumping frantically to keep him alive.

If it was for Mia and Raz, he’ll do anything.

He’ll even let go of death.

***

CALLUM

How intriguing.

Callum’s eyes glimmered with desire. He watched with abated breaths as Emil picked himself up once more. Mana poured out of the boy’s Azurite pendant, coalescing into long, thin strands. Like the strings of a puppet master, they latched onto the boy’s damaged arms and ravaged torso. With the support of the mana strings, Emil was on his feet again.

What fascinating tenacity. And he has knowledge and command of Mana Arts. He definitely isn’t a normal student.

He broke into a smile. The more he saw of his student, the more he was convinced of the possibilities.

I can use him for research.

The thought sent ecstasy through his body. His research lab might have been destroyed. His assistants might have been killed. But as long as he still had the knowledge inside his head, he could always re-create the experiments.

He already succeeded once in his pursuit of a method that could create monsters—he just needed to do it again. The Council of Mana always stressed repeatability above all else, regardless of the significance of the discoveries. If the results couldn’t be achieved again, they were useless.

The only real loss were the equipment and laboratory space. Callum lacked the funds to rebuild what he had lost. But Emil’s appearance might just be the blessing to turn his fortunes around.

An anomaly appeared before me.

His eyes danced with greed. Since the discovery of Azurite and the emergence of Exalted in Ardair, one golden rule has always remained true.

An Exalted can only possess one Gift.

And yet, standing right before him was a living human being who had manifested two. Flames raged from his body, while his will commanded the earth. Callum was convinced of it. His eyes did not lie. The mana in Emil’s vicinity resonated differently depending on the phenomenon he controlled.

If Callum could hook him up onto a machine, then he can prove it empirically.

If he could pry him apart with scalpels and knives, then he could uncover the secrets of Emil’s body.

If he could observe the insides of his skull, then he might be able to understand how the brain controls mana.

There were endless possibilities. Endless discoveries. Endless secrets to unearth from a one-of-a-kind experiment subject. Azure City’s research on the Exalted has stagnated recently. He could be the person to usher the Academy into a new era of understanding.

Callum’s mind trembled. His indulgent fantasies nearly led him astray. The vicious bloodlust clawing at his neck stirred him awake from his illusions of grandeur. It was Emil. The boy charged at him again. His teeth gnashed, baring at him like a wounded hound desperate to make its final stand.

I’ll have to pacify him nicely.

The blood-stained injuries already smeared across Emil’s body was regrettable. Callum needed to be careful not to kill his golden ticket. If he played his cards right, this discovery might earn him a path directly to the Council of Mana.

I’ll fix him up. I’ll tame him. Then I’ll slowly break his mind and will until his ego becomes solely mine!

Callum raised his hands. An array of air missiles phased into existence. He delicately tuned the power and speed, taking his time to make sure the attack wouldn’t further deteriorate Emil’s weakened body. He just needed to land a few concussive blows on the boy’s head to knock him unconscious.

Emil was nearly within an arm’s reach when Callum finally unleashed the missiles. The boy instantly dove to the ground as if anticipating the trajectory. The missiles whizzed by his head. Still, his bold maneuver left him full of openings. Callum instinctively prepared his next attack, before consciously pulling himself back.

No, I almost tried to kill him there.

He winced at his own bloodlust. It was difficult to shake off years of combat experience drilled into his body.

Emil suddenly pressed his hands on the ground. The earth to the side of Callum suddenly stirred. Stone projections exploded from the surface. Like appendages, they reached for his body, eager to grasp a chunk of his torso. Callum jumped back. The projections blasted past his original position, smashing into the statue on his left.

The headless sculpture wobbled—creaking as its foundation was shaken loose from the chaotic exchange. The colossal stone depiction, nearly seven feet tall, began to descend upon him.

Emil stomped the ground. Callum was about to jump out of the way of the falling statue when the earth beneath his left foot suddenly caved in.

It was Emil’s Gift.

What a cheeky move.

Off-balanced, he staggered—temporarily immobilized by the unexpected maneuver. He raised his hands instead, readying a blast of air to break apart the falling statue. Emil seized the opportunity to rush in.

Not bad. Callum smirked. The boy was clever, clearly experienced in combat. But it’s not enough to—

His instincts suddenly flared. Something gnawed at the back of his subconscious, warning him of an impending danger. Callum widened his eyes. His head swiveled back as he noticed a tiny presence looming at his flank.

“Shock!”

Mana bloomed from behind. Then, the world suddenly went white. Callum’s mind blanked for a split second before agony overloaded his senses. His limbs convulsed, twitching incessantly as electricity ravaged his body. His muscles screeched under the unrelenting current threatening to tear apart his nerves.

Squelch!

Emil was suddenly in front of him. Something in his right hands glistened under the brilliant moonlight. It took a moment for Callum to realize the searing pain burning from his neck. He glanced down. A dagger was in the boy’s hands, stained with dark scarlet.

Callum’s body went limp. He was falling—fixated on the uncomfortable sensation of choking on his own blood. He tried to lift his hands to seal the wound, but his limbs would not respond from the paralysis. The ground loomed before him as he inched closer. He could hear death’s door creak open.

No!

Indignation swelled in his chest. Mana raged at his fingertips. He refused to be the only one to go down. His pride would not allow it.

In the midst of his hysteria, he felt a hand on his head. A bundle of scarlet hair filled his field of view. An incoherent word resonated distantly in his ears before a torrent of pain blasted into his skull.

Callum saw black. The last thing he felt was the coarse gravel etched into his face.