20 >Chapter 19<

A completely new scenery greeted the man named Caedis as he walked through the gates. It was as if those gates were a portal to another world. Well, it isn't far away from that.

After the initial flash of white, what appeared in front of the man was beautiful city. The streets, the houses, everything was as if it was made from the whitest of the marble. Though there were some wooden houses here and there, they didn't break the whiteness of the city. Honestly, the place looked like the Athens.

The man ignored the sight in front of him and continued walking, though now he just went at a normal human pace.

The people that went by him all bowed to him slightly. It was because everyone recognized the badge the man had on the right side of his chest. A man of such high standing must not be offended, even if their bows were being ignored.

Arriving at the innermost part of this city, the man went straight for the castle-like building in the absolute middle. It was built upon a giant mountain, on the highest place in this 'new world'.

Walking past the castle gates, he went straight toward a very specific room.

The insides of the castle were as one would expect. Lavish design and everything laced with gold. It only added to the shininess of the white marble.

Caedis now stood in front of a giant set of metal door. Sensing that someone familiar was waiting behind the door, the man at the highest seat behind the door opened the door with a slight movement of his hand.

What greeted Caedis was a sight the, now unconscious, boys would describe as Parthenon in Greece. A long hall with a red carpet that leads straight toward the seat placed in the highest position.

The man, sitting on the throne, couldn't help but smile at the sight of his brother. His looks were similar to Caedis. He was very handsome, had green eyes and short silver hair. If it weren't for the fact that he had short hair, the people would've mistaken them as twins.

"You're back, Victor"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." Replied Victor Caedis while bending one knee and setting it on the ground.

"Hm," The man, presumably the king, nodded at his greeting and then glared at all the other people that were in this hall with him. The men and women already knew what this glare meant so they just left with the hall wry smiles on their faces.

When all the people finally left, the king began speaking in a worried tone.

"So? What did you find? You never come to meet me unless it's something important."

The king and Victor, despite being brothers, had different family names, Caedis being Victor's and Ater being the king's. The king was the child of the queen while Victor was the child of a concubine. That is also the reason they have different family names, Caedis being the family name of Victor's mother before she married. Normally, their surname would've been the same, but Victor decided to take on his mother's family name. What was his reason? He said it suited him better.

Even though they had different mothers, the king and Victor treated each other like real brothers. But, for some reason, from the moment he unlocked his magic, Victor became colder and colder as time went on. The king, Edgar Libidine Ater, knew the reason for this change so he never stopped caring for his brother.

"Well, I found these… interesting humans." Caedis replied.

Edgar looked at the, until now ignored five youths floating behind his brother and raised an eyebrow. His brother always either ignores worthless things or just looks at them with disdain. That's how it goes at the academy where Victor teaches as well. Talent is the only thing he cares about.

"What's so interesting about them?" Edgar asked.

"Kukuku, very well, I will show Your Majesty what happened then." Victor answered and in the next moment a projection appeared in front of their eyes.

After watching the small projection disappear, Edgar looked at his brother and asked.

"I see, and what is so special about killing a Wind Serpent of the Beryl rank? The students their age in the academy can do the same if not better."

Victor didn't say anything and just pointed at his eyes and then at the boys. Edgar understood this gesture and his green eyes glowed for a second before the glow disappeared along with his doubt. His eyes trembled and he looked at his brother.

"That's not possible! They just unlocked their magic element a few hours ago? That means they must've fought the serpent right after they unlocked it!" The king shouted in excitement. He never thought that he would find such talent.

"We have to make them indebted to us. They will become very powerful in the future and they are potential weapons that we could use in the upcoming war." The king continued in his musing, but was interrupted by Victor.

"We can talk about the human youths later. For now let's go somewhere more private."

Seeing the serious look on Victor's face, Edgar's expression changed as well. He then snapped his fingers and they reappeared in a completely different room. The room was very plain, as there weren't any decorations, just pure whiteness.

"You can talk freely."

Seeing the king give him permission, Victor began to speak.

"They are finally making their move."

Edgar's expression became grim. He looked at his brother and then at the human boys that were floating behind him, unconscious.

"Are they a part of it?"

"No, at least I don't think so." Victor continued. "They had the 'eye' implanted in their souls along with a curse, but I already destroyed it."

"What?" Edgar shouted. He was extremely angry. He never thought that they would stoop so low.

"From the curse, I got to see that they were brought here by a werewolf." Victor said. He then looked at his brother. "They were probably going to make us fight on two fronts, with both humans and the creatures of the night."

"I see… They sent us humans with slave crests in their souls, which would make it seem like we were kidnapping humans, giving them the excuse they need to finally bring us down... Then there was the werewolf. Kill one of them and a whole pack will come to take revenge, basically calling an army to this forest… And, even if those two didn't work, they even put the 'eye' in the souls of these five humans so they could spy on us…" Edgar huffed, "How cunning..."

"What do we do now, Your Majesty?" Victor asked.

"Nothing, there is nothing we can do except to wait." Edgar replied and went back to sit on his throne, made from all kinds of weapons.

Victor didn't even notice when they appeared back in this hall, "As expected of my brother." He mused under his breath.

"These five humans… probably don't have anything to do with this. They were probably just some necessary sacrifices for the Elves to start a war with us." The king said. "Still, we must thank them for giving us such a gift. Take them to a guest room in the outer castle. When we tell them the truth… there is no way they wouldn't like to get revenge, being used as tools of politics. And if they don't cooperate…"

"Understood, Your Majesty." Victor replied in a salute, before turning around and walking out of the hall. He understood meaning the unfinished sentence of his king.

Silence descended in the hall and the only thing that could be heard was the king tapping with his finger on his throne with a grim expression on his face.