Chapter 16

CAERA DENOIR

Upon hearing that name Grey when pale as a ghost and his eyes shook in pure terror. "H-How do you know that name?" Grey asked, I never saw him like this before. Even when talking or thinking about his past. 'Does this have something to do with his secret?' I pondered while taking Grey into an even deeper hug.

"I don't know everything, I only know your circumstances. If you wish to know more your friend might have the answers," answered Seris still in her serious tone. Instead of answering Grey put his arms around me, probably for comfort. "What are you going to do?" asked Grey, his voice shaky. His grip on me tightened, refusing to let me go.

"Nothing, I'm planning on letting you live peacefully. I will warn you though, he is very angry at you," said Seris. Grey was still pale and shaking but after a while he calmed down. Everyone was looking at Grey with confusion and concern. "Would you like to see him? He's just outside," asked Seris.

I looked at Grey in the eyes, terror and another emotion I couldn't make out was present. Grey let go of the hug, took a deep breath and turned to Seris. He was still unwell but no one said anything because we didn't know how to help him.

"Please bring him in," said Grey. I sat down next to him and held his hand tightly. Then Seris walked outside and when she came back in she came with a boy on a wheelchair. He had mana suppression chains all over him. He also had a metal muffler over his mouth.

He had short black hair and hatred in his eyes. Once he saw Grey he started to squirm and twist, as if he wanted to attack Grey. Judging by how much he was twisting I started to wonder what had happened in between the two. "E-Elijah?" stuttered Grey.

Seris shook her head, "No, this is and always has been Nico. He was brought back after the attack on Xyrus." Seris's eyes went wide before she covered her mouth. Grey's hold on my hand tightened until it hurt, but I kept quiet for his sake. "What do you mean by attack on Xyrus," demanded Grey.

"I'm sorry, it isn't my place to tell you," answered Seris. Grey's face was unreadable, "Everyone, please leave me alone with him," asked Grey. We all left, mainly out of consideration of Grey and how none of us wanted to be in such an awkward situation.

GREY

I looked at Elij-Nico. How? How is Nico here? It would make sense that Seris would know if Nico told her but how would they even know in the first place? Wouldn't he say something back in Dicathen? No, he might've not had his memories back then.

Nico was twisting with hatred. I thought back to when I last saw him. His eyes were the same as that day. Knowing Nico he won't listen to me if he can speak so it's a good thing Seris gagged him. I sat down across from him. "I want to say one thing. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not listening to you about Vera. I thought I could save us. I thought that becoming king would allow me to save all of us."

"I will say this though, I never meant to kill Cecilia." Nico started to flail around more aggressively. "You and I both know I couldn't have killed Cecilia even if I wanted to. S-She impaled herself onto my blade," I stuttered, the memories of that day drove back up to the surface.

Nico had disbelief in his eyes before he started to shake again. He probably already knew this but still chose to deny it and blame it on me. I don't care, he should blame me. "I never meant to hurt either of you. I'm sorry, please forgive me," I begged, tears flowing down my eyes.

"If there is anything I can do to redeem myself please let me know," I said before taking the gag off of Nico. "Redeem yourself? How delirious, do you not know the amount of pain you caused Cecilia and I? The amount of touture she went through while you were with that bitch is nothing compared to what happened to you," scoffed Nico.

"You may be right, my actions can't be forgiven. But I've changed, I'm no longer who I was. I'm now just Grey, not King Grey, not Arthur Leywin." I said, in an attempt to get Nico to understand. "So, you regressed back to Grey huh." said Nico.

"I haven't changed back to Grey. I just took upon the name again. I did it so everyone back in Dicathen would know I was still out there and how I don't care about them anymore," I lied. I changed my name back to Grey because of Caera's suggestion. It was pure coincidence but it did do the job I had just described to Nico.

"People don't change Grey, only appearances." said Nico angrily. "That's where you're wrong Nico. Despite what happened in Dicathen I learned how to be a new person. I have a new family here. I've changed, I'm a better person now," I explained, my voice rising to a yell.

"Sure, whatever you say," said Nico. "Your conquest for power is still there."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused and angry he saw me like that. "What do I mean? Don't try and play dumb with me. You've already made friends with some of the strongest people here," scoffed Nico.

"That's pure coincidence!" I shouted. "I became friends with Caera not even knowing who she was!" Before Nico could reply I stuck the gag back in his mouth and left the lab to see everyone standing around. "Grey!" Everyone shouted together.

"Hey guys…" before I could answer my legs gave out and I fell forward, right into Caera's arms. I felt really weak, all the surprise of Nico being here and him being Elijah hit me hard. I felt small, both as a person and physically. "Grey! Are you ok?" asked Caera as she sat down. I tried to open my mouth to answer but I was too weak to say anything.

Seris walked up to me," Judging by how he didn't come out with you I assume you're done talking to him?" asked Seris. I only nodded. Seris then went in to get Nico–still strapped to his chair–and soon left. "Grey, who was that?" Caera asked, worried evident in her voice. Since she knew everyone from my past was someone I hated apart from a few people she was really worried for me.

I struggled to answer, "An old friend." Everyone's eyes were filled with concern. I ignored it and let myself relax on Caera. Fortunately she didn't mind. Everyone else also sat down; luckily since the lab is so isolated we weren't going to be seen. My thoughts wandered. Why did Alacrya attack Xryus? If Alacrya is aggressive then…

War. The only thing that came to mind. For what other reason would Alacrya attack Dicathen. If it does break out, who should I side with? Alacrya or Dicathen. I started to laugh. Why is that even a question? Of course I'll be siding with Alacrya.

That's if war ever happens. I don't want it to, war causes nothing but pain and suffering on both sides. As much as I hate my old friends and family I don't hate Dicathen as a whole. But, I won't hesitate to fight if it means I can keep everyone safe. Since we're the attackers I'm going to have and try to stop the war. If that means I need to make some sacrifices on either side, I'm willing.

I'm going to have to get stronger. There is only one way to get stronger and quickly here in Alacrya. The relictombs. Since they scale to the people who enter they're perfect for anyone to train in. I'll have to drop out of school though. Not that it's been helping me. The best it's done is help with recognizing runes and artificing but I could learn that from Sevren.

Unfortunately I need to be 14 to become an ascender. I can't use an alias like I did when I was Note since they check your ID. That means I have a full year and a bit left of school.

"So Grey, I'm not going to ask you about what you talked about but I will ask this. How are you so close with Scythe Seris?" asked Seth. I got up with the help of Valen before answering. "Let's not explain that outside."

We walked back into the lab and sat down. I was able to move a bit but I was still a bit sluggish. "So, remember when I told you about Caera and I in a forest?" I asked and everyone nodded. "You guys also know how Scythe Seris is my mentor right?" asked Caera. Everyone nodded again.

"I was in the forest because Scythe Seris told me to survive for two weeks. That wasn't a good thing because I never learned how to survive in the wild. I probably would've died if not for Grey." explained Caera.

"When the two weeks were up Seris came to come get Caera. That's where she found me. I talked to her and she let me be casual with her. She also gave me the bracelet that allows me to have fake runes. Other than that, I haven't had much contact with her," I answered.

"You're pretty lucky, Grey. You're probably one of the few people who can converse with Scythe Seris like that," said Enola. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he could talk to the High sovereign casually too," laughed Valen.

***

I flopped down on my bed, exhausted from today's events. I looked out the window; it was still light out since I just got out of class. Maybe I should go over and talk to Caera, I've got nothing better to do. Maybe she'll join me when I go to the relictombs. Just me and Caera, trapped in the relictombs together, unable to be interrupted, having to-

Snap out of it Grey! Why are you thinking of that! Sure, she's nice to have around, easy to get along with, cute- Stop it Grey! She's 12! But then again so am I. No! Grey! You're only 12 physically. Stop getting excited down there!

I let out a deep sigh as I saw Seth enter the room. He was his normal shade of bright red but this time he held a ton of worry on his face. "Grey, Mayla just asked me out on a date. What should I do?" I just laughed, maybe helping Seth out with his love life will take my mind off Caera.

"First, dress up in a fancy suit." I instructed. Seth did just that. "What else?" asked Seth.

"I don't know. I've never been on a date," I answered truthfully. Seth just deadpanned me. "Grey, don't lie to me. I know you and Caera go on dates all the time. You always come back with a huge grin whenever the two of you are together."

"That's not true, we only study together. There's nothing romantic between us," I retorted. "Grey, those are called study dates." Seth stated.

"They are?!" I questioned. "I d-didn't know that!"

Seth just sighed and left to meet with Mayla. It seems he calmed down. Was he right though? Were all those times I was studying with Caera dates? I never saw them like that, did she?

Maybe I should just talk to her. She loves the relictombs too. I do hope she joins me. Since Mayla is out with Seth I won't have to worry about running into her and her teasing. The main problem was that a boy couldn't go to the girl's dorms. It was the same vise versa.

That meant I had one option, use static void. Since I can't interact with the world when in Static void Caera would normally leave her window open so to let me know I could come in. Luckily, her window was open. I used Static void, jumped up to her window and went through to see her reading on her bed. I sat down beside her and unfroze time.

"Hey Caera," I said. "Hey Grey," Caera replied unfazed. She put down her book and looked me in the eyes. "So, do you wanna talk about what happened at lunch?" Caera asked.

I looked away from her. Should I? No, it's too early. "No, I'm fine," I replied. "Sure you are. As if you expect me to believe you're fine. You literally collapsed after just talking to him. But out of consideration for you I'm not going to pry further. You probably won't tell me anyway."

What Caera said hurt but she was right. I shook it off,"So, Caera. I have something very important to tell you."

Caera raised an eyebrow and let me continue. "I believe Alacrya might start a war with Dicathen," I answered truthfully. Caera eyes went wide," What makes you so sure?"

"Seris said that Alacrya attacked Xyrus. Xyrus is the best school in Dicathen. It's basically Dicathen's version of Central academy. It being attacked is basically a war declaration." I explained. Caera but her hand on her chin, clearly deep in thought. "So, you want to fight against Dicathen if we do go to war?" Her tone changed to one of aggression.

"You misunderstand what I'm saying. I don't want it to happen at all. And despite my hate for my old family I don't hate the people. They're still innocent." I explained. Caera looks like she understood my intentions. "Thanks for trusting me with this info, but if you're really going to do what I think you are then you'll need to get much stronger." replied Caera.

"I know, my plan is to drop out of the academy and become an ascender once I turn 14," I explained. Caera's eyes went wide and she grabbed my shoulders. "Grey, I know you're strong and all but you can't go alone. School is important, you can't just drop out! If you do go, what will happen to me…" Caera trailed off as she sunk into herself.

"Don't worry Caera. I actually came over to see if you would join me when the day finally comes. I don't want to ask anyone else since they'd probably feel pressured to do it since I was the one to ask."

Caera's eyes brightened in excitement. "Really?! You'll let me come with you!?" Caera shouted as she started to shake me back and forth. "Y-Yeah," I barely managed to get out since Caera was still shaking me.

"We're going to need the Denoir's permission though. And probably Seris's too," I said. "You're probably right but with you there both of them will probably say yes," said Caera.

We heard a knock on the door. Caera called out to ask who it was. "Forgive me Miss Denoir, but I received a report saying there is a boy in your room," said an older voice. Caera turned to me and in a whisper said, "Go, I'll meet you at the dining hall after school tomorrow.'

I quickly complied, using Static void then jumping out the window. And it was lucky I did because there was a teacher watching Caera's window. I guess they've had boys escape through the window before. I ran back to my room, making sure to get ready for tomorrow.

CAERA DENOIR

I opened the door to see a very angry teacher. "I do hope we received a false report, Lady Caera. It would be very unfortunate for a person such as yourself to be breaking the rules." said the teacher with an evil smile. She probably finds pleasure in finding hidden boys.

"It would be unfortunate wouldn't it," I replied as I opened the door to let her in. She first went over to the window. "Did he jump out the window?" yelled the teacher. I looked outside to see another staring at my window. I'm so glad Grey can stop time.

After about 5 minutes of the teacher looking around the room she left. By the time she was done her face was bright red in anger. She probably hunts rule breakers for sport. I ran up to my bed and squished my face on my pillow. "I asked Grey out on a date! I did it! I did it!," I screamed internally. Well, I didn't really ask him out, I just told him to meet me somewhere. But it still counts, right? I'm glad I bought that new dress. Grey might not realize it but we're totally going on a date tomorrow.

***

I spun around and looked at myself in the mirror. I got myself a nice blue dress that ended right at my knees. It's sleeveless with a white band that goes around my waist. It was the one I got when I went out to town with Grey. "Got somewhere to go?" asked Mayla as she looked at my dress. It was yesterday I told Grey to come see me, I have about an hour before we need to meet. I don't think Grey knows this is a date.

"Yeah, I'm going out with Grey later," I replied. "So, will we be able to put our plan into action?" asked Mayla.

I turned to her,"Probably, but he's sharp," I admitted. "Well since you're just going to eat he probably won't think anything suspicious is happening," said Mayla.

"Yeah, you're right," I replied as I went out to meet Grey.