Chapter 84: To Cast A Spell! (Part 3!)

Of the many worries people have, being confronted with an unavoidable peril is one of them. Like death, like embarrassment, like not being satisfied with how your face looks in the mirror.

Just me? Darn.

But how does one manage such a worry? One that cannot be forgotten or erased?

Simple. You cast a spell.

This artwork, this terribly accurate and gorgeous artwork Vgea had made was such a spell.

An unintentional one.

One that was an illusion. A mimic of the real being. One that came so close to the real deal that your jaw dropped and skin went cold from.

“...holy shit…” Krimm couldn’t help but to say, feeling utter helplessness when in front of the image. The eyes went deep in her organs, like a needle tearing up a doll instead of repairing it.

“What? What’s wrong?” Vega’s normal and odd voice broke the tension rather easily, like everyone had suddenly stopped talking when you told a funny joke.

Also just me? Fuck.

“...uh…sorry, what is that?” Shaking her head, Florato backed away from the drawing, not wishing to stare at it anymore.

“It’s just Ani. Well, I suppose his head-head is too big. But then again, that makes sense-sense to him. Heh!” Vega analyzed her drawing for any other flaws, but couldn’t help but to admire her piece.

“Wait a second.” Sorbet walked right beside Vega, keeping her eyes covered with just her hands.

“Hmm?” Kaliba croaked out, either too dumb or too drunk to understand what was wrong.

“The blood. There’s blood.” Sorbet pointed to Ani’s hand, of with the color appeared just a little too thick, almost like bulging veins.

“I didn’t even notice that. Ew…” Krimm joined Florato in turning away.

“Yeah. I should probably get rid-rid of that.” Vega flicked her head, ashamed that she made such a choice.

“It's not that. We…we don’t have that color.” Sorbet gestured over to the table of art equipment they had bought earlier. There were many brushes, paints, glues, and crayons they had bought. But none the color that was on the drawing Vega had made.

“Huh. She’s right.” Florato checked the whole table, not finding one the same.

“Oh. Don’t worry-worry, it’s my blood-blood!” Acting like nothing was the matter, Vega pointed at her arm, which was now bleeding.

Yes. She was bleeding.

“How?”

“How?!”

“I don’t know. I think I cut myself using one of the scissors and I started bleeding. Then I thought, hey wouldn’t this look good-good on Ani?”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Florato ran up to Vega and immediately used one of the papers as a bandage.

“I’m fine! I’m fine! I’m pretty sure I stopped bleeding a while ago so-”

“This is not normal.” Florato breathed out a sigh of relief, seeing the last of the blood trickle down. As the blood passed, she saw Vega’s wooden arm and was glad that it hadn’t turned into muscle or something weird like that.

“It isn’t. In fact, this is magic!” Announcing like it was a big discovery (which it was but come on), Sorbet leapt up in the air and cheered.

“If people cheered when I bled, there would be less people cheering.” Krimm said sinsterly.

“S-sorry, I got really excited just there.” Bowing down, Sorbet relaxed and rolled her enthusiasm back.

“Magic? But I thought it would work with only Soul…” Vega got to thinking and remembered. Of her Soul Gem. She had used the string on the guitar and the fountain. But of her head, the Soul Gem in her head.

How did it affect the drawing?

What happened to this Soul of her’s?

All questions Vega had. But she didn’t know quite how to answer beyond the vagueness of ‘its magic’. This frustrated her, but also concerned her. Looking back towards the painting, Vega wondered if there was a memory she pulled from. A memory that wasn’t her own. Her eyebrows bent and she whimpered slightly, her eyes bouncing from each part of Ani.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The worst part was that it worried her friends.

Magic hurt her friends.

“Well, it’s probably because you mimicked someone.” Sorbet said like a totally fucking nerd.

“Huh?” Vega broke out of her contemplative stupor.

“You mimicked a person. Like a scare crow. You might have not meant to do that, but you still did it.” Sorbet shuddered slightly from the painting, before placing a hand on Vega’s head.

“You know… that is actually kind of smart.” Krimm tried to come up with a mean remark, but was remarkably stumped. Where the entire day she spent kicking Sorbet’s ass and teaching her, this time Sorbet had absolutely schooled her.

“Ha. Funny pun. Yeah, I think she’s right about it. It’s magic, not of emotion or memory. Not even music! But of… mimicry.” Florato cracked her back, able to unstiffen her posture after such an event.

A mimic. A mimic of Ani.

Rather, using Ani Arma against himself.

Vega wondered about it. How they were looking at it from the lens of themselves, when they should be seeing it from his realm. With what he’s working with. What he’s capable of.

“You know maybe this could be it…” Vega wandered out to the light of a nearby window.

“Be what?” Krimm took a look back at the board, at everything they had came up with to defeat Ani. The list appeared small, only having fires, traps, and Vega there.

“The key. At least one key-key. To beat him.” As she came up to this window, Vega looked out at the city.

“By painting stuff that looks like him?” Florato scoffed, thinking surface level.

“No, she means him!” Sorbet got up next to Vega, exactly matching her thought.

“Precisely. I mean, everytime he has an upper hand, a plan or a person throws him off. Before, it was Runtaii and the Blight Elves. But now… its himself.” Vega smiled, glad to have figured out a proper means to defeat him.

“To you mean in the abstract or-?” Florato asked before Vega pulled something out of her chest.

A thin booklet, one that she had made ever since she last seen Skull.

“This is Skull!” Vega flipped through the book, stopping on the image of the shadowy construct.

“Wait… is that a boy?” Florato said very confused.

“Yeah, so?”

“...nothing.” Florato had a great suspecting smile on her face, of which Vega didn’t like.

“Whatever! He helped me out a few times during the dream. Ani said-said something about the Black Box. That it was the key to defeat-feat Ani?” Vega handed the booklet over to them and each took a look.

“Feet? He likes feet?” Sorbet squinted at the booklet.

“Gods I hope not.” Krimm shivered upon thinking about it.

“I already don’t like the sound of this boy.” Florato’s smile fell into a concerned frown.

“No, I mean, it might be a weakness.” Vega proposed it, of which everyone gasped lightly.

“And Ani just told you that, because?” Florato wished to make sure it was confirmed.

“Because he wants me to challenge him. To prove myself. How much of a warrior, nay, a killer you are!” Vega put on a mocking voice and pompous moments to capture what Ani Arma was like, mimicking him very well.

“Wait, he sounds like that?” Sorbet snickered when hearing Vega’s impression

Hehehehe. Neat.” Florato became ever more comfortable.

“It is neat. However, what if Ani is lying to you?” Handing the booklet back to Vega, Krimm spoke with a greater distance.

“Lying about the box. That could be true…” Vega was prepared to consider the possibilities, but she really didn’t like. Especially since Skull was the only one who could help supply information, aside from the Tower.

“I haven’t talked to him too much, but I know he’s planning something.” Wandering back over to the drawing, Krimm could tolerate the image only slightly. But it kept the idea in her mind that Ani was either watching or planning something else.

“…he had me go here to put the box away. Jantok Sky and give it to Tibato. Maybe he was-was going to collect it later.” Vega gave a minor idea and shrugged. She hardly believed it herself, but that's all she could give right now

“Would it hurt to still get it? What if he’s telling the truth? I hate to say this, but I think he actually wants to fight Vega now!” Florato shrugged, gauging that Ani had a greater motivation for Vega.

“He might want to fight her, sure! But we don’t have any clue of what the box could be!” Throwing her fist into the wall, the drawing ripped everso, as Krimm yelled, surprising and startling everyone.

Her voice broke slightly.

Her eyes shifted uneasily.

And just for a moment, everyone saw how worried Krimm was. That she had no good plan beside fighting. That all options are forfeit.

That there’s no plan that they had.

The Scarecrow, in that instant, found one.

“I know someone who might.” Her calm voice cooled the air like a soft wind. “There was a trader, a Luicloses guy, who said that the box-box was meant for someone here. An Oligarch.”

“...That’s right, I remember when you said back in Core Civitus. You think its one of the three here?” Florato pointed her finger out the window, towards a military encampment.

“Oligarch Tibato was talking about an Oligarch Kani Faitos Ruto? How he kicked him out?” Sorbet joined the two, trying to confirm.

“Right, that’s what Tibato said too! We should go ask him!” Running up to Krimm, Vega came to her side and gestured her to join them.

“...Hmm.” Krimm tapped on her cheek in thought. For a moment, her worry rose then fell. “...Beats me, but it doesn’t hurt to try.”

“Good…Who wants to go-go?” Turning to the three, Vega waited for an answer.

Krimm and Florato stared at each other for a moment. Their eyes met and stayed there for a while. Their thoughts were aligned and each looked at Sorbet and Vega for the same amount of time. Nodding, they knew what must be done.

“We two will go” Florato gave Krimm a sour glare, of which the fairy sighed.

“Yeah… I think that’s best.” Krimm nodded her head, unballing her fist.

“Wait, really?” Sorbet asked.

“Really-really?” Vega asked, with feeling this time.

“You guys are the only ones who know about magic. I think its best we two take care of it while you guys test out Vega’s Soul Gems.” Florato said matter of fact like.

“Plus, you’ll have each other for company… I think?” Krimm sounded unsure, hoping that Vega would be okay with less people around.

“You guys… have fun. And don’t spend all the gold in one place!” Florato said cheerfully, before waving Krimm to follow her out.

Sheepish stopping to give Vega a thumbs up, Krimm smiled. Even if there was a little goofing and scares in this day, she felt like they got something done that they made progress.

Maybe the real magic is the friends we made along the way.

God I am such a fucking dork.