50 As Paths Diverge (2)

A single grunt left the Great Apothecary's throat. His eyes wandered from the floors to the ceilings he had built. He could clearly feel the remnants of the spells that were used inside the operating theater. If he concentrated, Silas Fidi would be able to feel the presence of a demon – of Astaroth, the Great Duke of Hell, and of the faint trace of miasma that existed inside the little girl.

"I looked for her everywhere, and she was right in front of me the whole time," Silas Fili muttered. "Her skill is beyond Asha Claire's. The child will make a powerful Magno Deorum if she gets the chance once she's older. That is… if Asha Claire doesn't kill her first."

Brandish stayed silent. The flames continued to rage. More explosions continued to rock Elisium's walls. The two men didn't look at each other and instead stared at completely different things, like the ruckus around them was the most normal thing.

Silas Fidi examined the energies in Elisium and found it was almost empty. The children should have left Elisium and wouldn't be caught in the destruction. The researchers that had long evacuated should also be safe. He had made sure that none of his people – not even his successor, would be implicated once Elisium no longer became a secret. As for Elisium's research, Asha Claire would be able to find a way to retrieve all the data they had gathered in the last decade or so. If the woman wanted to, she could continue the research in one of her many research facilities.

Silas Fidi stared at his once spotless laboratory coat. With a smooth movement, he took it off, folded it until it formed a crisp rectangle and set it right beside him. His orange orbs glared at the burn marks of his slacks, but seeing that he could do nothing about it, the man contented himself with patting the dust off his pants before lying flat on the floor.

Orange orbs focused at the cracked ceiling and at the overhead lights that had exploded from the extreme heat. "You're still not leaving?"

The elite guard beside him shifted from his position and sat down with his legs crossed. "No, Sir."

"Brandish, how long have you stayed beside me?" Silas Fidi asked.

"Two hundred years as a guard, Sir." The Spellcaster's voice grew quiet. "And a few decades before that."

The Great Apothecary's sharp features seemed to soften. His sunken cheeks rose up as his eyes glinted.

"I'm not leaving from this place, Brandish."

"I know, Sir."

"Elisium's research is no longer interesting to me. Starting it all over again is bothersome."

"I know, Sir."

Silas Fidi looked at the man who seemed unmoved. "Don't call me Sir. Call me Silas."

As if feeling his gaze, the male named Brandish stared back at him. Orange orbs turned and returned to staring at the ceiling. The man's sharp nose twitched as he took a deep inhalation.

"The floor smells like carbon dioxide, sodium chloride and mouth wash."

Brandish shook his head. "You're planning on dying, aren't you?"

The Great Apothecary snorted. "Nothing else interests me. It has always been the next thing on my list. Asha Claire understands nothing. Isn't death a bigger mystery than life itself? Wouldn't it be interesting to know something that humanity has never known before?"

"Why not let someone else die?" His loyal guard said.

"I've already done that. It was disappointing." The man with sunken cheeks looked at the guard sitting right beside him. "Research and the act of searching is more meaningful – is only meaningful, when you do it yourself, isn't it, Brandish?"

"I'm stupid so I wouldn't know," the man replied. "But I wouldn't mind accompanying you in your new research, Silas."

The ends of Silas Fidi's lips twisted. It was a crooked curve. Yet it was still a smile.

"Brandish, sodium chloride is salt."

A long sigh escaped the elite guard's lips. "I know. I'm not that stupid, Silas."

The Great Apothecary's barrier dissipated as the two adults talked. The walls gave way. The rows of lights descended like stars falling from the sky. Sparks cackled. Lightning crackled. The flames around them roared. But neither Silas Fidi nor Brandish got up, not even as the ceiling collapsed and fell towards the ground.

***

The darkness fell over the wasteland of Ara in sweeps of gray and violet. As silence continued to reign in the lifeless dunes of the desert, a blinding flash bathed the night in a glorious white light only to disappear in a single breath. The split-second phenomenon escaped the notice of most people. Yet a few special individuals bore witness to the spectacle. And to those people, it marked the beginning of a storm – the tipping of the scales that had once remained peacefully balanced in the last century.

A small oasis lied surrounded by the stretch of sand that made up Ara Desert. From there, 373 gazed at pillar of light as it became one with the night sky. Leon was asleep beside her. She rested her back against a palm tree's bark as her fatigue caught up with her and dragged her consciousness down into the waters of sleep.

When she awoke, the world was bathed in a reddish light. The brown-haired girl hugged her knees close to her chest as she stared at the sun rising in the horizon. The reds and oranges of the sky slowly faded until they were replaced by an infinite stretch of blue.

373 gazed at the smallest finger on her hand. If she tried hard enough, she could imagine a bigger finger

wrapping around hers. If she tried hard enough, she could hear the rise and fall of his voice echoing in her ear along with the promise he had told her on that one peaceful night.

'When we get out of her, let's watch the sky together, okay?'

The girl's eyes grew moist. Her voice was a gentle whisper as she spoke.

"He really did hide the sky and the sun in his eyes."

Astaroth materialized right beside her, his majestic black wings tucked behind his broad back. "'Que Sera, Sera', child."

The girl repeated his words. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the demon. "Que Sera, Sera?"

"Whatever will be, will be. If fate permits, your paths will cross," Astaroth explained. "That is, if it is destined, you and Michael Caelum will meet again."

She gazed at the boy that continued to slumber on a bed of grass before continuing to stare at the horizon. "Is it the same as the other children of Elisium? Can I save them?"

"If you wish to, you will have to face the wrath of a Magno Deorum and the people standing behind the existence of the Great Apothecary." The Duke of Hell followed her gaze and looked at the place where the earth seemed to meet the sky. "The shadows of Elisium might catch up to you. The more you struggle to live, the harder life will be."

The demon paused then asked her, "Will you still do it regardless of the dangers you will face, pueri?"

373 stayed silent. After a while, she mumbled a few syllables under her breath. "Aria."

A perfectly shaped eyebrow rose on Astaroth's face. "Hmm?"

Her clear obsidian orbs glittered as 373 looked at the Duke of Hell. "Aria. My name is Aria."

A low chuckle spread in the oasis. Astaroth stood from the sand and moved to kneel in front of the girl with eyes that contained dark unfathomable depths that pulled everything in.

"Then, Aria, will you do it? Will you still seek to save the children of Elisium even if it means risking your life? Will you become an existence that surpasses a Magno Deorum, an existence that can go against a God of Alchemy and Magic?"

The girl's brown hair fluttered as she gave him a curt nod.

"I'll do it."