Chapter VII

It is quite an overstatement to many beliefs that magicians are the strongest magic bearers to live and walk on the land, when in fact they were quite weak in terms of mana capacity. One magician could only last for so long— and when they’re drain, their prowess would start to consume themselves and bring them in a fit of insanity until death welcomes them. Hence the situation wherein Areogar, the previous affiliated imperial magician of Celeste, was chained right before Clementine, scratching the cold cement of his own dungeon within the castle’s undergrounds, not even minding if his fingers bled from the ferocity of his clawing.

She stood there in pity, silvered optics staring with sadness and recognitions towards the greatest known magician who eradicated the evilness of Dark Magic throughout the whole four kingdoms at the price of his sanity. It was a depressing outcome, yet had it not been for his willingness to destroy a certain type of magic that is capable of demolishing the whole world— then who knows what might’ve happened?

“Sire Areogar, it is I— Clementine your successor. I came to visit you and tend to your. . .wounds”, her breathing hitched, shoulders shuddering at the sight of his bleeding fingers that already showed the ripped tissues within. Clementine felt disgusted but at the same time not— those bloodied fingers, his unstable mind, his current fate, all of which are the results for his sacrifice in order to save the four lands.

A sad future for a great man, indeed.

She unconsciously flicked a finger, healing Areogar whilst chaining both of his arms on the wall. It was a guilted decision to chain the man, but it was all that she could do to prevent him from scratching the grounds until his fingers are no longer intact. She stood there in silence, watching him, giving him company for the time being. Although, there are times wherein she’d break the noiseless atmosphere at times, speaking with her thoughts and informing the latter of the progress that she had made, filling their ears with soft spoken words than the awful deafening rings.

However, today was quite a problematic one for Clementine— and she was in no condition to speak of any news and developments towards her chained mentor. Celeste was by far still a harmonious country, but what bothers her the most was the slight presence of something ominous. Something long gone yet present. She had absolute no idea about it— nor did she know it’s current and exact location. But she is definitely sure that the vibe comes somewhere near the palace.

The thing was faint, barely noticeable for those who are too much oblivious with their surroundings. But for someone so alert and observative as Clementine, she was able to deter its presence, but not fully well. She could only theorize that the new spectator in the palace, Dominique— was the reason for the sudden appearance of the ominous vibe, yet it was all wrecked when she inquired her sacred guardian, who claims to be twins with the latter’s own guardian.

She was skeptical at first, knowing that twin guardians could be either yin or yang spirits— however, her guardian proposed to let her interact with Dominique’s a few days ago, and made her conclude that the prodigy was no where near bad as what she had thought of him to be. This left her hanging. Thinking of possibilities, theories, and bringing out her wariness to Ellysia and its people, mainly the princess and the magician (whom she is already suspicious of from the start). They were the only ones who visits the palace in almost daily basis.

“My guardian told me that I’ll find you here”,

‘speak of the devil’,

“What brings you here, Dominique?”, she asked, tone still indifferent and neutral as it may be, but her expression shows otherwise. It was clear that she had been bothered by something he couldn’t fathom this past few days.

“I came by the order of Aethan. He wants to talk with you regarding the upcoming banquet”, he paused, inhaling a subtle amount of air only to exhale it in a sigh before proceeding. “Yet it seems like you’re in no mood to start a conversation with His Highness. I shall inform him that you’re busy with some—“,

“There’s no need. I’ll talk to him later. Let me just. . .stay here for a while”, she breathed, glancing back at the cell with her lips pursed, only to stare back at the royal knight with a soft smile marvelling her visage.

“Who’s that?”, Dominique asked, approaching the jail with caution and uncertainty, only to end up tripping on air and falling face first on the ground with a loud thud.

“Never knew that the ‘oh so majestic imperial knight’ could be such a clumsy man”, Clementine snickered, taunting him with snarky remarks regarding his clumsiness, making the former’s face flush in a bright crimson hue due to his embarrassment.

“S-shut up! It’s not like you haven’t done the same thing!”, He exclaimed, earning himself a huff of annoyance from the magician who recalled the event that partook three days ago— wherein she absentmindedly roamed the grounds with Brixton and Dominique only to end up tripping on midair and falling face flat on a mud puddle. That was much more worse than to Dominique’s recently.

“Oh, hush! I wasn’t aware okay!”, she retorted, abruptly standing up while dusting her clothes with irritation. Though, it wasn’t long for she immediately calmed down, averting her gaze from the Ridéux prodigy and back to the cell which held Areogar from escaping. Recalling his question, Clementine the started to introduce the former magician towards the knight, explaining him the reasons why he was locked and captive in an old dusty prison.

“He was the magician who eradicated Dark Magic long ago, during the reign of King Philippus. Though, his mana was drained immediately, and made him go mental as he is now. He goes by the name, Areogar",

“Magicians could go mentally ill if they loose mana?”, he inquired in confusion, trying to piece the puzzles together inside his head. As far as he is concerned, it only weakens one person— but then again, who knows?

“Not just magicians. Anyone with magic could end up the same way as Areogar if they went overboard and drain their mana”, she mumbled, eyes trained towards the lone man whose head now left dangled from being chained. Clementine then shook her head, glancing back to the imperial knight, who remained stunned whilst he listened to her explanation.

“It weakens their state of mind”, she quoted.

“You and I are no exceptions?”, Dominique half asked-stated, earning himself a nod from the white haired magician. The two of them stood still, unmoving from their previous location, with Clementine positioned in front of the cell, and the former— a few feet beside her.

“It’s better to maintain your hold in mana, forget about going berserk even if the situation is dire”, the lass commented, now turning to face the lad with an amused shimmering obviously seen in her silvered-optics. “You go overboard at times, no? Well, it won’t surprise me if you end up the same as Areogar over there”, she giggled, teasing the knight once again.

Dominique faintly scowled at the sudden taunt from the female magician, she was making him her personal entertainment this past few days after her conversation with his Sacred Guardian. Heaven’s forbid, he never knew that she can be such a wicked playful person. Then again, it wasn’t long until the her teasing remarks died down, followed by a tensed silence that bothered the knight immensely.

“Something wrong?”, he inquired, unsure of what or how to react with the chance of ambiance, courtesy of the magician who could only stare at the wall in front of her, seemingly finding it much more intriguing than ever.

“The day before. . .it was faint, yet still recognizable”,

“H-huh? What do you mean?”,

Clementine stared back at him, hands formed into tight fists whilst her optics showed a burning passion for something he couldn’t comprehend. “Heighten your guard on the very day of the banquet. I have a feeling that they’ll strike specifically during the grand announcement”,

“Wait, wait! What do you mean by ‘they’, by ‘strike’?”, he asked, overly bewildered now than before.

“Dark Magic. . .it has been reborn”,