The weight of those words settled as I sat in silence, watching as Darius took another sip of the amber liquid.

"Fleur," he said after putting the glass back down. "Could you leave us for a moment?"

"It shouldn't matter, August told-"

"Fleur," Darius said, his voice more stern and demanding of her. Whatever we were to talk about, it was just for my ears alone.

Her eyes flickered with a mix of defiance and concern, but she ultimately complied. "Fine," she replied, her voice laced with disappointment. "I'll be outside if you need me."

As the door closed behind Fleur, a heavy silence settled upon the room. The air felt charged with anticipation, and I could sense that whatever Darius was about to reveal carried great significance.

A pause that felt like an hour passed before Darius finally spoke, his voice more casual than I expected. "Other than Jean, you'll be the only one to be officially inducted as an Arcanist by the church."

I sat upright, my heart pounding in my chest. The words echoed in my mind—Arcanist. It was a term I had heard before from both Darius and Fleur, individuals who possessed extraordinary abilities. But to be considered for such a role this quickly was beyond anything I could have imagined.

Darius reached over to his side and grabbed some papers. "Just to clear things up, it wasn't me that decided this, it was the church. Father August."

My brows furrowed in thought, “What do you mean by officially?” Since I knew this job would inevitably lead to magic of some sort, I was fully expecting it to be more criminal than humanitarian. “You never actually told me if this job was legal. Are you saying being an Arcanist is allowed?”

“Oh of course you wouldn’t know,” Darius sighed and put down the papers. “Yes the anti-arcanist law is still in place, but that doesn’t overrule the likes of the church, which still possesses scrolls, artifacts, materials etcetera etcetera. Someone still has to keep them out of harm's reach.”

“But what about us, this job?”

“The church are the ones that somewhat ‘employ’ us. We’re the ones—along with the church—who once again officially are granted access to great power. We’re the ones who have to go out there are take care of those who have gotten access to power unofficially.”

Seeing how he mentioned the arcanist law so casually suggests it’s likely to be a well-known law, as well as scrolls, artifacts and materials. The fact I’ve only just come to know things of the sort means I’m much farther behind than I realised.

While I was still in thought, Daius gave me a moment to ask anything else, but at this stage, I was just ready and waiting to gain access to these amazing powers I had witnessed.

“I have someone coming to teach you a few things from the other branch in the capital,” Darius stated as he flicked through various pages. “Ah, here it is.”

He pulled out a new contract, much more elegant yet dated than the one I had previously signed a few days ago.

“Yes it’s another contract you’ll have to sign but it’s straight from the church. It’ll be sent back to them to say you’re officially an arcanist under their watch and care.” Darius handed it to me and I felt the strange roughness of the page in my hands.

I looked over the contract, reading through all of the clauses binding me to the authority of the church and the Hunters Den. Nothing out of the ordinary except the mention that being an arcanist was an illegal practice if you try to leave or disobey the church and that you will be hunted down. Rather frightening.

“I’ve got no issues with it,” I said and reached out to grab something to sign it with.

Darius took out a small capped looking object from a draw and handed it out to me, “You’ll be signing this one with a fingerprint so it’s legitimately bound to you.”

The object had a small sharp pin sticking out of the end, but not that long. I pressed the object against my thumb to draw blood and slightly winced at the small but sudden irritation. Then held my thumb to the paper contract, leaving behind a crimson mark at the bottom.

With that done, Darius took the contract, rolled it up and put it away. “From this moment forward, you’re one of us, an Arcanist.”

I felt a surge of excitement and trepidation as Darius spoke those words. The weight of responsibility settled upon me, knowing that I was now officially part of a clandestine world hidden beneath the surface of society. I had now chosen a path that would forever alter the course of this new life.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, my voice filled with a mix of gratitude and determination. "I won't let you down."

Darius reached out his hand to shake mine but I still had a prick in my thumb and a streak of blood oozing out, to which he hesitantly returned his hand back to his side of the desk.

"I apologize," Darius said, a hint of concern in his voice. "I should have warned you about the signing process. It can be a bit... sharp." He then took another sip of his drink and the room went into silence again.

“We’re not the only unit of Arcanists,” Darius began to say out of nowhere. “While there is our division here in the centre of Leode, there are others up north in Aurich, Vierna, east in Auruch across the strait, west in Belhall, and a much larger division in the capital more known as The Legion.”

My eyes widened at the mention of other Arcanist divisions scattered across the country. The scope of the organization I had joined became increasingly apparent, and I realized that my role as an Arcanist held greater significance than I initially thought.

"The Legion," I repeated, the name carrying an air of both mystery and authority. "What is their purpose?" I knew full well they would be different, more elite seeing as they resided in the studious capital.

Darius leaned back in his chair, contemplating his words before he spoke. "The Legion is the largest and most powerful division of Arcanists within the church. They serve more as a central hub for research, training, and handling the most significant threats to our country."

He paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on a distant point. "They are the protectors of the realm, as many of the strongest Arcanists come from the Legion. The ones who delve into the deepest mysteries of magic, striving to maintain the delicate balance between our world and the realms beyond."

“Were you ever part of that division?”

Darius sighed, “Unfortunately not.” He didn’t elaborate further leaving an awkward silence between us once again.

I could sense there was more to Darius's story, a hint of longing or regret hidden beneath his calm exterior. But I didn't push further, understanding that some wounds were best left undisturbed.

"But our focus here," Darius continued, bringing the conversation back to our immediate circumstances, "is on maintaining the balance within Leode. The church that our division is under is what’s known as The Church of the Keeper of Time, it serves as a kind of operational centre. I’m unsure whether the other divisions are underneath the same as ours, if not, another church."

I nodded, absorbing the information. The mention of The Church of the Keeper of Time piqued my curiosity even further. The name itself held a certain intrigue, and I couldn't help but wonder about its greater role as a hub for the Arcanist division of ours.

"Keeper of Time," I mused aloud, the words tasting unfamiliar yet captivating on my tongue. "Why that name? Does it have any significance to the arcane arts?"

Darius leaned forward seeing a spark of interest gleaming in my eyes. "The concept of time holds a special place within the teachings of the church, from what I know it was one of the first churches to be founded way back in the second era" he explained with a slight hesitation in his voice. "Its myth proceeds me so there is much even I do not know about its creation.”

I leaned in, eager to learn more about the history and origins of the churches, and the mention of the second era ignited a flicker of excitement within me, knowing that delving into the past might hold an important key to unravelling the mysteries of my arrival in this world.

"Sticking to the topic at hand, you're not really an Arcanist until you've learned how to wield the system itself.” Darius continued.

"The system?" I echoed, my brows furrowing with curiosity.

Darius leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixated on me. "The system is the foundation of our abilities as Arcanists," he explained. "It’s a complex network of pathways through which we channel our different and varied abilities, categorised to measure the proficiency of Arcanists. It is divided into tiers, with tier 8 being the starting point for low-tier Arcanists such as yourself soon, and tier 1 being the highest and most powerful."

Darius yet again took another sip of his drink and took a moment to collect his thoughts. "As our division is directly under The Church of the Keeper of Time, we’ve only got access to a select amount of tiers correlating to the three different time pathways. Each path corresponds to a specific aspect of magic, and you can choose one that aligns with your interests and abilities."

It was a lot of new information to let sink in but I managed to roughly grasp it. As we were underneath the Church of Time, the abilities at our disposal all related to some kind of time magic, which would explain Fleurs' super speed earlier today.

“It might take a bit to understand, I’m only explaining the basics at this stage. Later when you start to learn it, it might make more sense,” Darius said. “That being said, you’ve got three options to pick from as an Arcanist.”

Slightly daunted at the choices, I could only ask, “Well what would you recommend, what’s the difference between them?”

Darius leaned back, considering his response. "That depends on your strengths and inclinations. Each are very versatile at what they can do, granting you control over the forces of time in completely different ways..."

As Darius could see me with smoke coming out of my ears, he decided to leave it at that. “There’s no rush. Just let me know which you’d like to go with when you’re ready.”

Feeling overwhelmed by the newfound knowledge and the weight of the decision ahead, I realized that I needed time to reflect and gather my thoughts.

"Sir, what are the differences between them? I should probably know before I even start to think about which to pick."

Maybe Darius should lay off the alcohol while discussing such information with me, he might start to make more sense and stop rambling.

"Ah yes, your options. Each one has a different title that corresponds with their abilities. The three are; Watcher, Porter, and Keeper."