Kai waited patiently for Aina to talk, his eyes carefully scanning her office as she looked through countless documents. The hardwood floor was covered by a gorgeous, crimson carpet with black borders and golden embroidery. As usual, a large bookshelf with hundreds of books stuck to a wall, with some empty spots decorated by porcelain figures of different animals. Likewise, paintings brought life to the interior, one of which depicted a middle-aged man with large pointy ears and black hair. His hazel-colored eyes shone with a magnificent light, even through the masterful brush strokes. He wore a simple, loose shirt and held a wand that looked like a branch, and a book that Kai found familiar.
“Take a seat.” Aina pulled him out of the trance, and he padded in front of her, sitting on the leather chair. His body almost sunk right into the soft fabric as it let out a light creaking sound. Looking more closely at the desk, countless documents with various signatures and stamps could be seen, as well as what seemed to be Aina’s stamp. She flicked through the documents, giving them a quick read before putting them to the side, and she let out a sigh upon finishing a pile of them. Leaning back on her chair, she took a deep breath before moving forward, placing her elbows on the table.
“I have some news,” She said slowly. “First, I talked it over with Arthur and he agreed to let you join the special classes starting next year. That is, if you want to.”
Kai’s pupils widened upon hearing that. Such an opportunity… he found it hard to refuse but something deep inside told him that maybe it wasn’t the time yet. It could certainly help me advance as a mage… more so than what I could ever do alone. However what if it’s a mistake? What if I’m missing out on other opportunities by going to that place and isolating myself… The representative from Monten said that I could leave and do whatever I wanted once I reached the required level of a Three Star Mage… however, who knows how long that would take? His gaze wandered, and his behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed by Aina.
“You don’t have to make a decision right now, however, if you refuse and you want to do something else, I will wholeheartedly support you. I think I already know what’s on your mind though.” She pulled out a green piece of paper from her ring and slid it over to Kai. On it, written with a bold, cursive font in the common language was written “Pavlov’s Guild” along with an address. “If you want to go down that path I suggest you go here first, it’s the best option for you. I know the owner, an old human who lived for an unknown period, however long enough to give me crucial information…”
Her tone suddenly turned heavy, and she took in a deep breath before continuing. “After your little experiment which revealed your… weird form, I took interest and did a lot of research. However, regardless of how many pages I flipped through,gh there was no information on it. Recently, when getting some info for your plan B, so to say, I mentioned it in passing to Pavlov… and I can barely believe what he told me.”
Kai’s breathing seemed to have grown to a halt as he listened, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest. He never knew where this weird form had from, nor had he questioned it, however the weird eye he saw so long ago still kept him awake at night sometimes. However, as much as he wanted to know the truth, he wasn’t sure if he was ready.
Aina paused and gave the boy some time to think about it and catch his breath. The information which was still fresh in her mind shocked her greatly, and she couldn’t imagine how hard Kai would be impacted.
“It may be hard to believe… no, it may even be impossible. Pavlov would never lie to me about such things though, I know him too well, so, Kai, let me know when you are ready.”
The boy gulped and clenched his fists. However, he nodded in the end, allowing Aina to start recounting the story.
She inhaled sharply, and her lips parted. “This happened a very, very long time ago, back when The King was still alive, he fought and subdued the Vampire Lord. Although a lot of details were lost after this point, Pavlov’s source - An old notebook passed down from generation to generation, described the Vampire Lord’s appearance during that fight in some detail. ‘Scales surrounded his body, and claws decorated his fingers. Its painful roar echoed stronger than the cry of a wyvern, and in the moment of his defeat all creatures around me whimpered.’”
Aina’s voice trembled as she spoke, and looked at Kai whose expression flickered between fear, disbelief, and bewilderment. Leaning back on his chair, he raised a hand to his chest as his breathing quickened. Cold sweat drenched his body, and his mind raced with questions. How could I forget… I- Mom said my grandfather was the former king… that means she was the princess at some point… I- But to think it’s the original lineage from millennia ago?! That’s insane! Silence descended upon the room, broken only by Kai’s rapid breaths, and by Aina’s soft sigh.
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“It’s… hard to believe, isn’t it? What are the odds? Well, a lot of things make more sense now.”
Kai’s shock hadn’t faded yet, however, he turned his gaze toward Aina and questioned her with his eyes.
“The reason Haniard attacked you and your family, and the reason he is hunting you through the entire Kingdom of Aravia… You are a descendant of the royal bloodline…”
Of course, Kai already knew that but it seemed that besides him, only a select few knew the truth, and Aina wasn’t one of them. Noticing his unchanged expression, she let out a heavy sigh and leaned back on her chair. “So you already knew…”
Kai nodded softly, however, the fact that his bloodline had something to do with his form, and the fact that it was so ancient left him with way too many questions, and no one to give him any answers.
“Alright then, that is all I wanted to talk to you about… take your leave whenever you feel ready.” She placed her hands on the desk and placed her head within, inhaling deeply as she calmed herself down.
…
The door creaked open as Kai slowly walked out, the shock from the revelation still ringing in his mind like a church’s bell. It was hard to believe, but at least it made sense, however, this new knowledge didn’t bring him any joy.
So what? I swore to never use it again, and even if I did… there’s something rotten at the core of all this… and until I find out what’s wrong I’m not sure I can trust myself to use it again. More information… the academy surely won’t have anything on it, and the only place that could have… is the kingdom.
He took his time going back to his bedroom, tracing the walls with his fingers as he tried to calm down.
Flopping onto his bed, he let out a heavy sigh, prompting Onyx to press his head against his chest. Kai pet the Obborik’s fluff and took in deep and slow breaths.
There’s no use worrying about it now, it’s good information to know, however, what matters most now is increasing my strength. The fact that Haniard targeted my parents after betraying my grandfather is unforgivable… I’ll make him pay for all the pain he’s caused me and my family!
Clenching his fists, he got up and sat cross-legged on the bed, and started training by refining mana and storing it inside the core.
It will require a lot of mana to even advance from a Small Core to a Medium Core but I have to do it, and I need to develop a new technique to refine mana… It takes a long time to advance anyway, the core needs to adjust in size constantly and it can only grow by pushing it to its limits… meaning I will need my reservoir to be at one hundred percent all the time before even thinking of advancing… and right now it’s barely at twenty-six percent…
He let out a heavy sigh but continued his training. Inviting the mana inside his veins and guiding it to the core before filtering it and storing it, he continued this process over and over again. Onyx watched over him and offered him comfort whenever he could, however in the end he ended up falling asleep next to his companion.
A few hours passed and Kai finally opened his eyes. Inhaling deeply, a soft smile creased his lips before being replaced by a deceived expression. “At this rate, it will take me… a few months to advance to a Medium Core. This won’t do, I need to find a faster way.” He said out loud to no one in particular, except for Onyx who had just got awoken by his voice.
Licking his lips, he squinted at Kai, almost as if asking ‘Why are you talking to yourself, man?’. The boy let out a chuckle and pet Onyx’s fluff, bringing their heads closer together and apologizing discretely. “Come on now, it’s time to train. Or, well, you can also just stay in here and sleep some more.”
Onyx’s gaze lingered on the bed, seemingly contemplating the offer. However, it didn’t take long for him to fully jump on the bed and coil himself up, instantly falling asleep and snoring lightly.
“Heh” Kai snorted as he prepared to walk outside, however, he suddenly remembered something, and pulled out the purple necklace. A shiver ran down his spine as he stared at its shiny surface. Gulping, he placed it around his neck and sat down on the bed, clutching the sphere within his shivering hand. One other place that may have some information about the form… This library. I’m sure there has to be an old book, or a hint, or something!
His crimson eyes stared into the cube hidden within the purple sphere, his pupils trembling as he inspected it. A few drops of sweat dripped down his face, as it had been much too long since he last entered it. Recalling what happened last time, he felt hopeful, but he knew it was foolish for any more than that. However was it that bad of him to believe he could see his parents again? His teeth ground against each other, letting out a scraping sound as he contemplated his next decision.
“Fuck it.” He said in a voice barely above a whisper and injected mana within the necklace, and he instantly felt his consciousness get dragged inside. He didn’t struggle like last time, however, the amount of mana stored within his core lowered by more than half. His seemingly lifeless body fell on Onyx, startling him. His expression immediately changed as he woke up after seeing his companion’s body, his breathing stable but very frail. He jumped up and howled loudly, waking up anyone in the manor who had already fallen asleep.