9 Inarra's Gift
<2 HOURS LATER>
"Why did you lie?"
Cold wind brushed the young warlocks incandescent hair like flowing water as Aspen asked him in grueling manner, his hands under his chin leaning foward.
Sai, the young but amazing Archmage of Veldorra was blankly starring at the spot where Siel sat a while ago.
He sent Siel back to Trivadocea with some of his violent aura leaking and was oddly feeling strange and empty after sending away a girl whom he had known for a long time but only met yesterday.
'That dumb mermaid will probably be fine, right?' Sai shook away his thoughts.
He blankly responded to Aspen. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Aspen clicked his tongue and harshly spoke towards his friend, trying hard to gather his patience.
"Why did you lie to Siel? You have your Sorcerer Stone. You are not suppose to be the one dying. It's Siel." He grimly spat.
He couldn't understand Sai.
Over the course of their friendship, Aspen knew that Sai was always watching his twin sister from the distance;
He knew how much Siel meant to Sai and how much he wanted to meet her, but had to abstain himself from doing so.
Aspen felt unfair for the genius but astonishingly slow wizard who, in contrast to his cold atmosphere is actually pretty deep and gentle.
'Even the gentle waves of the oceans seems to pity him.'
Sai grinned and slowly turned to Aspen who was grumbling by the shore not too far from him.
'What the hell is he smiling for?!' Aspen thought.
"Why? Are you disappointed I lied to your beloved mermaid?" Sai smirked and playfully inquired.
Aspen's emerald pupils shook, and barely caught his breath. His black locks moved in denial.
He tried to deny Sai, as soon as possible when he figured that the young wizard finally caught him.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Sai. Stop playing with me and tell me honestly why you lied to Siel."
Aspen huffed and calmly repeated each word. He couldn't let the young mage manipulate the conversation.
Sai dusted his dark robe before answering and walked towards the sea.
"Oh, I didn't lie, Pen. I just didn't tell her." He answered mischievously again, but he secretly admitted to himself that he lied to her. 'I did lie about looking for the stone for five years.'
"Hiding the truth is no different from lying." Aspen countered and turned his back to the approaching Sai and laid his body behind the rough sands to face the falling moon.
It won't be soon until the light breaks the darkness and sun will come to start a bright day.
Aspen felt some movement nearby and decided that Sai must've come near him at some point and is probably staring at the dark sea again like what he usually does. So Aspen decided to answer his own question instead.
"There are two stones..." Sai didn't stop him from talking and only the eeriness of silence engulfed them.
"Your birth was unnatural and forbidden...a mage and a merman..."
Sai opened his mouth, "Of course. The children bore from such combination will die once they reach adulthood, mana collapse will happen."
Aspen nodded. "The innate mana present will ripen once adulthood is reached at 18. And once the power awakens, without the core to store it, there will be a mana outburst ."
"That was why Inarra--my mother, prepared two stones of a mage. She poured all her remaining vitality and magic in two stones and transformed it into a Sorcerer's stone for each one of Siel and I...the stones that will store our mana and fuse with our bodies to regain vitality once we turn 18."
The reason Sai met Siel on their very own 18th birthday was to give her the stone that will keep her alive.
Sai kept the twin stones, he kept it safe dearly.
But the problem was that, he experienced the mana collapse a day earlier before their birthday and he fainted for a few hours.
When he opened his heavy eyelids, he was already surrounded by thieves wearing the emblem of the moon traders similar to those from the night bazaar.
They already took away his stones, and only manages to take back the other one. Partly due to the mana collapse, he couldn't chase after the teleporting thief and lost the stone.
He gave Siel the remaining stone even when knowing he will put his own life at risk and may even die a futile death.
He gave the remaining stone to Siel without Siel's knowledge...and tomorrow-- no, later, the first day after their 18th birthday, Siel will feel tremendous pain all over her body for a while.
But that was the process of fusing her mana and the stone to create a mana core.
"The moment I held her..." Sai smiled, "when I held her for the first time and taught her how to walk on her new legs, I...I was strangely happy. But she was still annoying." Sai chuckled.
Aspen took his eyes away from the breaking dawn at stared at the familiar back of Sai on a safe distance.
His back seemed glad but ironically hopeless.
'For five years, this punk has been looking for any sign to meet Siel. He desperately tried to cross Trivadocea but failed each attempt. He even ran away from his responsibilities as an Archmage.'
Aspen was shrugging his shoulders, thinking how cute and persistent this young warlock is.
"I can no longer run away from Veldorra. I have to get back to prevent the wars--" before Sai could finish his sentence, Aspen violently retorted and brusquely pushed himself to sit and pull Sai by his robe.
He was angry.
"Prevent what?! Wars?! You gave Siel the stone!! You're going accelerate your incoming death before Siel could save you, isn't that it?! You fool!"
"Save? Well...it's great if she can help me...But honestly, I only asked her for help because I had no other choice...Pffhahah. I'm just desperate."
Sai chuckled, but he was thinking just the opposite in his head.
'Actually...I don't care if she doesn't save me...I don't even think the stone is still here in this world. Whoever stole Inarra's gift--the stone, must've already used it for themselves. I just made an excuse to spend my remaining time alive, with my family...Hahah.'
Sai laughed genuinely at his adorable thoughts.
'Family. I found Siel, someone I can call a family, huh?'
While Sai was lost in thought, Aspen gritted his teeth. Aspen was thinking about Sai's return to Veldorra.
Going back to Veldorra also meant taking responsibility as the highest positioned mage--the only Archmage alive.
It meant Sai will be using his powers and overdoing it to his body's limits. It was an indirect declaration of suicide.
Aspen was never this frustrated before. But he was annoyed at this friend of his and he found him negligent of his own being.
And yet, instead of getting intimidated, Sai pushed Aspen's hand away and mocked him.
"What a fool. Tsk."
"I'm not a fool. You are the fool here. How dare you call the great Yullian Sailazer De Archmage a fool? What an impudent mouth." He grumbled rather calmly.
Aspen could only sigh at this nonchalant reaction of Sai and was forced to let go of his robe.
"Anyway. I'm going back to Veldorra." Sai stood up and his electric blue eyes was set ablaze with bright embers, a magic circle imprinted the sands. It was a teleportation circle.
He looked back at the glaring Aspen and smiled sharply.
"Siel will be sick tomorrow. It is the process of the stone giving mana a home in her body, so watch over her. She will feel a searing and terrible pain...I don't care if she dies but I think you wouldn't like that." He smiled again and vanished in the air.
Aspen stared at the empty space...'You don't care if she dies? Then why tell me?'
"...Liar. Tsk."
Aspen gathered himself and after a few moments he set himself to dive.
He headed back to Trivadocea.
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Meanwhile, a bright light appeared in front of a great tower in the Kingdom of Veldorra. The people moving in chaotic circles, exhausted and desperately looking for the missing Archmage stopped on their tracks.
They watched the bright light with anxiety and looks full of caution and questions.
Soon their gazes were filled with relief.
Immense magic was exuded in the air.
But it was not a foreign magic, it was the mana of a familiar person; Soon their expressions were relieved.
A man with long black hair appeared at the center of the large magic circle along with his intense blue orbs that people has been searching for.
They were excitedly approaching the circle until their expression turned stiff and stoic.
The great mage of Veldorra was standing roughly, blood leaking out of his pale lips. He smiled at frozen humans in front of the Magic Tower.
"Long time no see, I hope I wasn't missed too much." He smiled villainously towards them.
