Remembrance

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In an empty field filled with nothing but endless amounts of grass reaching as far as the eye can see, a white-haired boy fully grown up stands there motionlessly, his dead and tired eyes looking up at the orange sky without a single thought in mind. 

Unlike his malnourished version, the white-haired boy has the physical appearance of a well-trained knight, with a simple iron sword dangling on his waist. 

The familiar midnight-haired boy, now fully grown up, suddenly appears from a distance. Once he got close enough, his closed eyes slowly narrowed to the white-haired boy before sighing. 

"... Duke Blakesty." He picks out a folded letter from his pocket and waves it to him. "I received your message. For what reason did you want to meet here? You… don't plan on trying to eliminate me, right?"

The white-haired boy continued to gaze up into the orange sky—awestruck by the white birds that gleefully flew all of a sudden up high with the motion of the thin clouds.

After a long silence, he painfully closes his eyes before looking at the midnight-haired boy.

"... Your Highness."

Another wave of eerie silence filled the space between them before a sudden burst of wind glided in between them. 

The white-haired boy finally speaks again, looking more defeated than before. "Your Highness... How is Seraphina?"

The Prince flinches before looking away, scratching his hair awkwardly at the sudden question. "She's been doing well."

"That's... good to hear."

The Prince sighs before looking back at him with slight disdain. 

"You seem to care about her a lot. But why do you continue to hurt her like this? You continue to bring misery throughout the Empire for who knows what. For what reason do you continue to do so?"

"I..."The white-haired boy stammered for a response before looking so exasperated. "I... I can't tell you. I can't tell you why I do this... There is a reason for everything I have done..."

"I just don't understand..."

Looking disgusted at himself, the white-haired boy finally looks at the prince. "I don't care if you don't understand. Everything I have done was for my sake. I don't regret hurting the people of this land... They deserved it."

The Prince's expression turned furious at those words. He drew his blade and pointed it at the white-haired boy. 

"Just how cruel can you be?! Countless civilians are dead because of you, and you say that they deserved it?!"

The white-haired boy forced out a smirk before looking away. "Say what you want. I wasn't able to accomplish anything in the end. Not even avenge my..." The white-haired boy stopped talking before gritting his teeth with anger.

"I came here for one reason only, Your Highness."

The Prince slightly puts his sword down, looking questionably at the boy in front of him.

The cold wind gently lifts a strand of hair of the white-haired boy, exposing the dead and sad eyes to the Prince as he smiled bitterly. 

He places his hand on top of his heart, slowly clutching his shirt before directing his sad smile to the prince. 

"Please… kill me."

The Prince flinched before stepping back, baffled by his request. "W-What?"

The white-haired clenches his shirt once again before drawing his blade, and dashing to the prince.

As their swords clashed against each other, the Prince couldn't help but notice the weak force of his strike.

"He's not even trying..."

The Prince took a step back and tried to create distance, but the white-haired boy continued to dash towards him again and again—creating this continuous cycle while the white-haired boy's eyes still looked dead.

The more time that passed by, the heavier the injuries both sustained. One was attacking relentlessly without defending, while the other just defended and parried without attacking once.

As blood continued to splatter, the prince suddenly stopped. He looked frustrated at the white-haired boy who also happened to stop.

"You... Just what are you trying to pull off?! You always tried to kill me off with whatever method after you found out that Seraphina was with me. Is this another ploy of yours to catch me off guard?!"

The white-haired boy stayed silent. 

Shortly after, he dashed towards the prince as their swords clashed against each other once again. "... Think what you want. But right now, your job is to kill me."

The Prince clicked his tongue before kneeing the white-haired boy's stomach. 

The boy coughed out blood, and stammered on the ground—desperately trying to stand back using his sword, and try to attack him again.

The Prince couldn't help but look scoffed as he saw him struggle—trying so hard to understand why he would act like this after all he has done. 

"Just why? This may come off as offensive, but can't you just do it yourself? Why should I be the one to take your life?"

"... I thought of doing that, but I didn't want to end up the same as my father..."

"Your father... you mean the former Duke? Weren't you the one who killed him?"

"... Physically, yes."

The white-haired boy stood in silence once again. 

He slowly lifted his empty hand up before staring hard at the many scabs and scars. He then clenches his hand hard before looking back at the prince.

"Well, think about it logically. You'll gain glory by defeating the tyrant Duke—the one who brought chaos all over the Izora empire. That'll certainly boost your image, right? It'll also help you on your way to becoming the Emperor."

The Prince's eyes twitched before he sighed. "... Just what on earth happened to you?"

The white-haired boy tilted his head with subtle confusion—unable to understand the meanings behind those simple words before looking away. 

"What happened to me...? I don't know... I guess just... gave up. That's all." He looked up at the orange sky once more.

The more he stared, the more the corner of his lips began to curve up into a smile. "I gave up everything for my wish." He stretched his hand up to the sun. "Hoping for a time where I can finally be with my family… and be happy."

"Then try and redeem yourself! Yes, you'll face severe punishment, but at least you'll still have the chance to be with Seraphina—"

"Thank you for your consideration, but I'm certain that I will face execution if that were the case."

The Prince flinches before trying hard to convince him once again. "But still, I could persuade them that—"

"Please... stop. I already made up my mind, and I already paid the price."

"Price…? What do you mean by that?"

Smiling so serenely with his dead—yet saddened—eyes, the white-haired boy began to walk towards the prince. 

"Anyway, you shouldn't use your authority like that. Especially for someone unredeemable as myself."

Standing face to face, the white-haired boy's eyes glowed. The Prince stumbled, suddenly feeling a heavy migraine throughout his head. 

"... I didn't want to use this method. But it must be you who must kill me, Your Highness."

The Prince's body began to move on its own. He tried to take control of his own body as much as he could, but failed as the tip of his blade pointed at the boy's heart.

"... Mind control magic?"

"Fascinating, right? I placed all of the mana that I have in my soul on this magic, considering your resistance after all."

The boy continued to smile, while his dead eyes glimmered with hope. 

"Please... tell Seraphina I'm sorry. I tried to protect her as much as I could, even if it meant hurting her myself. But now I finally understand…" He scoffs. "I wasn't better than those people..."

The sword slowly began to pierce the skin barrier. But even in the face of death, the only thing that the victim could do is smile. 

"Say... Do you believe in fate?"

At this point, the prince tried so hard to move his mouth—stammering for a response while he tried to resist the magic. 

"P-Please... stop this..."

The white-haired boy continued to smile warmly. The sword was now entrenched into his muscle, and blood began to gush out. 

"Fate... is cruel.. I hate how, despite being able to form your own choices... the result is inevitable..."

The sword slowly began to pierce the boy's heart, causing him to quietly cough out blood. Nevertheless, the only thing he could do was smile before whispering to the prince. 

"I… paid a price... for my life..."

The tip of the sword finally pierced his heart, and dared out from the other end. Even throughout the immense pain, the white-haired boy continued to smile as tears began to slowly streamed down his face. 

"For my life... I made a wish so that I could be with them again—as a family... Once more... even if it isn't me anymore..."

Slowly, painfully, and bitterly… the white-haired closed his eyes before his body went limp. 

The Prince gasped loudly as he finally gained control of his body, and desperately tried to grab the white-haired boy in panic for what he had done.

A trickle of tears formed underneath the prince's eyes, for whatever reason it could be. 

As he continued to cry while trying so hard to carry the limped body towards urgent care, he suddenly woke up.

Now in his fourteen year-old body, he got up from his bed—gasping loudly as the same tears now streamed down his face.

 He continued to try and calm himself down, but it was for naught.

He crouched himself in his bed—tears still running down and staining his face and clothes. 

The more he thought about that dream, the more unstable he became. 

A single thought filled his head throughout his frenzied state. He slowly opened his stammering mouth before whispering the painful words. 

"I.... I killed Lys..."

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Walking down the hallway corridor after finishing my last class for the day, I suddenly saw August pondering near the edge of the hallway, looking out the window that held the beautiful view of the campus trees and flowers. 

I smiled, and quietly began to approach him. As I stood next to him, I saw the face he was making through the reflection of the window.

Is he feeling... sad?

I gently poked his cheek, which made him break out of his trance. He then turned around, and exposed his swollen eyes to me. Once he saw that it was me, he flinched before looking out the window again.

"... Is everything alright, August?"

August flinched again before he anxiously scratched his hair. "I… I just had a bad dream last night, that's all."

"A dream?"

"The dream felt so… real. I'm not even sure if it was a dream or..." He stopped and just stared at me for a while before he suddenly started walking away from me.

Startled, I began to follow behind him. "Are you sure you're okay? Did the dream bother you in any way?"

He continued to walk ahead without responding. As we reached an empty location with no one around, he abruptly stopped. He then took a deep breath before he turned around, grabbed my shoulders, and looked deep into me with his swollen eyes.

"Lys... do you trust me?"

I flinched before tilting my head with confusion. "I do. Why do you ask?"

He gently squeezed my shoulders, and his swollen eyes suddenly became desperate. "You know that I'll never try to hurt you, right?"

"... I'm not sure the content of your dream, but I know that you'll never hurt me."

Even with my reassuring words, he continued to desperately look into my eyes while his hand continued to shake on my shoulder.

He then looked down at the ground, squeezing my shoulder even more. "Have you... learned any sort of mind control magic?"

"No... That's not something anyone can learn unless you receive special permission from the Headmaster. You also have to be a junior at least."

He let out a relieved sigh. "I see... Can I ask you for a selfish favor?"

"... Can I hear what it is?"

"Can you… not learn that magic...?"

I stood in silence. 

For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this...

"Does it have to do anything with your dream...?"

He hesitantly nodded.

"... Can I ask what the dream was about?"

He flinched, and tried so hard to avoid eye-contact with me. "I-I... I don't want to talk about it."

I couldn't help but sigh at his response. As much as I want to know what is worrying him, I can't really force him for an answer. 

"I see... Well, I'll leave it be for now." I slowly leaned in to hug him as warmly as I could. "I hope you don't let that dream trouble you too much."

August flinched from the hug, and began to awkwardly squirm away. But soon, his tensed body slowly began to relax before he embraced me back, and buried his face on my neck. "Sorry... I know this is selfish of me."

I patted his back, trying hard to comfort him. "Don't worry, you must have a reason. If you ever feel ready, I'm more than happy to talk about it."

Still hiding his face, he slowly nodded. During this single moment, I suddenly felt an unknown presence close in on us. 

August's eyes widened, and immediately broke free from the hug before taking a defensive stance—gently pushing me behind his back in the process while he coldly gazed around the premise as the same distorted presence began to surround us.

I flinched once I recognized this familiar mana. 

"It's you..."

A block of mist slowly began to materialize in front of us before the familiar gray-haired man slowly appeared in front of us. Once his whole body materialized, he did a small bow. 

I couldn't help but gaze at his scarred eyes until he suddenly began speaking. 

"Greetings... Young Master..."

August's eyes narrowed. "Young master...?"

The gray-haired man nodded. "His grace allowed me… to serve under him... and spare my life..." His head slowly shifted to me. "This might be late... But I apologize for causing such... grave injuries that time..."

"Don't worry, it's a… far matter. Are you truly intent on serving father?"

He stood in silence before exposing a section of his neck.

Slowly, a blue symbol appeared and glowed. "This mark pledges loyalty... to whichever being… it is designated to... If, in any way... I falter in loyalty... I'll receive severe punishment..."

He fixed his posture, and soon the glowing mark disappeared from his neck. "It was something… that the Saintess Priest used… on us... But now the condition... has changed from the Saintess… to the Blakesty Duchy…" He then bowed once again. 

"So... please be at ease..."

August slowly relaxed his guard, but continued to look warily at him. "So what brings you here? Also, do you mind telling us your name?"

"... My name is Caspian, Your Highness... I've been instructed to serve... as the young master retainer… throughout. his remaining stay... at the academy..."

"Retainer? But I told father that I don't need—"

"Well, from the letter that you… recently sent him... It seems that he… decided to send me... as your retainer... One, to guard you... from any malicious people... And two, for me to repent…. my mistake for... hurting you..."

"Malicious people... You mean when someone tried to poison me?"

"... Yes, something like that... I'll just stand on guard... so you don't have to… worry about me... That is what I wanted… to convey today..."

"I see... We'll work on the specific details later then. You may leave, Caspian."

Caspian slowly nodded before he began to disappear into mist. Once we confirmed that he left the premises, August let out a deep sigh before turning his head to me.

"Are you sure you want to keep him by your side?"

"Well... He's not a bad individual I suppose. He was just being controlled. I won't say that I completely trust him, but for now he doesn't pose a threat to us. Father probably made sure to confirm such things before he sent him."

"I see... Well, if anything happens, don't forget to let me know."

I happily nodded. "You have to go to class right now, right?"

Once again, he sighed. "Unfortunately…" But even with such a tired expression, he made sure to smile and place a small kiss on my hand before looking endearingly into my eyes. 

"I'll meet up with you later."

I blushed before quickly nodding. "O-Okay. I'll see you later."

Waving at each other goodbye, I uneasily placed my hand near my heart. 

The dream that August was talking about... for some reason, I feel like it's something major.

The mention of it being so real... was it like the dreams that Azar showed me before?

I can't rule out the possibility.

"Azar..."

As I called out their names, the familiar red flame quickly emerged.

"You called?"

I stood in silence before slowly turning my gaze at them. "The dream that August experienced... You know what it is, don't you?"

"Indeed."

"Can you… tell me what he dreamt about?"

"I'm afraid you don't have the sufficient authority to know."

"Authority? You mean the rings?"

"Indeed."

"I see."

I'm already in my fifth-ring, yet I still don't have sufficient authority to ask such simple questions to him.

 "So if I were to achieve my sixth or seventh ring, would I know?"

"Who knows.."

I clenched my shirt. "If… If I were to achieve my seventh ring, would I finally know how my siblings are doing at the moment?"

"Perhaps. If that's something you really want to know."

"I see…" I sighed before gazing out the window. "I guess I have to get stronger."

"Indeed. I wish you luck."

Their flame quickly dispersed into tiny fragments—trailing down at the ground like falling leaves before disappearing alongside the wind. 

I closed my eyes, and clenched harder at my shirt before plopping my hand down. 

"Chun-Jan… Minji... I just hope that they're okay."

Saying that out loud, I can only hope that they're living their life to the fullest without me around. 

Letting that thought sink into my heart, I can't help but feel so…

Useless.

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A single female student laid her head down on the desk—her deep-red hair spilling across the table and out the edge. Her emerald eyes soon opened, and she lifted her head up before slowly gazing out the window. 

The orange sky continued to fill the sky above, and the more she stared at it, the more confused she became.

She jumped up from her seat, and stared at her reflection from the window. She slowly placed her hand on the glass, and touched her unfamiliar face with the other.

Her unemotional face quickly became distressed as she fell to the ground, trying so hard to understand the current situation. She ran out of the classroom and sprinted through the hallway with panic. 

Many students looked and sneered at her.

"Look, it's her."

"Who?"

"Elara Brentwood."

"The bastard child? How dare she act like she's important."

"Yeah. There are rumors about how much of a leech she is. Even her two older brothers hate her very existence."

"Ha. How sad."

"But how dare she tarnish our reputation while running amok?"

The unpleasant whispers continued to fill the hallway as the red-haired girl continued to run down the hallway. Once she reached a place with no people in sight, she quickly crouched down at the floor, desperately trying hard to hide her face.

"Elara Brentwood... A sub-villain from the book Ways of the Mystic..."

She lifted her face up, and gazed at her open hands before clenching them together.

"W-What am I doing here? I remember buying some food earlier..."Her eyes slowly widened. "Just what... am I doing here? I don't understand..."

A whisper only she could hear suddenly appeared all around her—their voice so enchanting and pleasing to her ear...

"Child... You must feel lost, confused, anxious. But don't worry, both your memories will merge, and you'll be able to adjust. Your wish... I made sure to grant it."

"My wish...?"

"Yes! Your wish. to have a chance to be with your family once more—with your brothers..."

"My brothers...?"

"I'll make sure to help you in any way you can, young child. Because that is my role in this sin."

The enchanting voice slowly faded off, leaving the young girl sitting in solemn silence. She then looked up into the orange sky once more, and bitterly smiled before reaching her hand out to the golden sun.

"Brothers..."

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