142. Friedkin University

Friedkin University is located east of Bellwood and is part of the Ivy League. It's not too big and has only one campus, which is located in a large gray gothic building with a purple roof, in front of which Hope and I appeared.

It's rather strange, but this college and those who study here are aware of the existence of magic and there are even several courses related to the occult, but magic itself is not taught here, as it is too comprehensive and it is difficult to compose a suitable course. Here they only give a small base and talk about all the dangers of working with magic.

All in all, this university is the perfect place for Hex, given his extensive experience and vast knowledge of magic. Now, Hope and I just have to figure out why Hex would decide to change his life and get a job here.

- So where do we look for him? - I asked, holding Hope's hand as we entered the campus courtyard.

- I don't know. Uncle said only that he was lecturing here on magical artifacts and relics. - Hope said with a shrug.

- Then we need to ask someone where his audience is. True, who? - I said, looking around the area and not noticing a single person.

- Look, there's a janitor over there. I think he should know the way. - Hope said, also looking around the college patio, and then pointed to a man who was clearing fallen leaves.

- Hmm… - I involuntarily uttered, recognizing that person who looked like an unremarkable, fragile old man.

- Sorry. Can you help us? - Ignoring my reaction, Hope asked loudly as she quickly approached the man.

- Of course, young people. What can I do for you? - the janitor asked with a sweet smile.

- Do you know where I can find Professor Gregor Evans? - Hope asked, not sensing anything strange about the old man at all.

- Evans? - the old man asked thoughtfully, and then he hit his palm with his fist, as if remembering something, exclaimed: - Oh, yes, this is a new professor. If I'm not mistaken, he should have a lecture now, in the 13th lecture hall.

- And where is 13th lecture hall? - Hope asked immediately.

- Entrance from the back. You just need to go around the building and go through the first door. Further along the corridor to the right and you need the third door. - the old man explained instantly, but then he looked at his watch and added: - Only you should hurry, his lecture ends in a couple of minutes, and then he will go home.

- Thanks for the help. - Hope said gratefully and was about to run to the campus when the old man stopped us.

- Would you like a trick? - the janitor insistently asked, showing a pack of cards.

- Um… - Hope said awkwardly, and judging by her expression, she was thinking something along the lines of: 'Didn't you tell us to hurry? '

- Draw one card. said the old man, clearly not intending to let us go until we did.

- …Okey. - Hope still gave up and pulled a random card.

True, instead of the usual guessing which card the girl drew, which implies a similar trick, as soon as Hope pulled out the card, *poof* occurred and a colorful puff of smoke appeared, and the old man himself disappeared. True, not far...

- Khe, khe, too many sparkles. - complained an old man covered in sequins and standing ten meters away from us, still coughing. Looks like his trick failed.

- He's kind of weird, let's get out of here. - Hope whispered and pulled my arm as she ran into Hex's auditorium.

'Oh, you have no idea...' - I thought involuntarily, glancing one last time at Bezel, who was taking off his glitter.

Fortunately, despite the delay, we made it to the lecture before it ended and when we entered the auditorium, we saw a renewed Hex, who really got rid of his tattoo and was now enthusiastically talking about how, this is not ironic, about the Father of Magic, who now was on the street and worked as a janitor.

- And how do we know that uncle has really changed and is not pretending? - Hope asked softly as we sat in the back row, so Hex doesn't see us.

- I will carefully read his thoughts and find out everything. - I answered in a whisper, deciding not to come up with anything new and just use the old and proven method.

- Okay, I think this is the best option to find out the whole truth. & Hope said without hesitation, allowing me to delve into her uncle's mind. Although, I had already done it once…

Concentrating, I penetrated into Hex's mind, easily overcoming his meager mental defenses, but I did it so that he would not notice anything and continue to lecture. Having found the necessary information fairly quickly, I found out the answer to the question that Hope and I were so worried about...

- Oh. - I involuntarily said, turning off my telepathy.

- What is there? What did you find? - Hope asked impatiently.

- Hmm, he didn't lie. He really revised his views on his life and decided to change. - Trying not to look the girl in the eye, I said.

- Truth? You are sure? - Hope asked hopefully, clasping his hand.

- 100%. Hex, no, Gregor really wants to redeem himself from the past and make things right with you. You can not wait for betrayal, because he does not plan anything like that. - I said confidently, still not showing the girl my guilty eyes.

- Then…. What should I do? - Hope asked uncertainly, just as her uncle finished his lecture.

- Go and talk to him. - I said with a shrug.

- You think? - Hope asked, obviously hesitating.

- Yes. Although I don't like him, he is your only close person, except for me. It will be a pity to miss the chance to renew relations with him, especially since he is ready for this. & I said honestly.

- Thanks. - Hope said smiling brightly and kissing me on the cheek, then went to Gregor.

'Hmm, it's embarrassing.' - I thought watching how happy Gregor was to see Hope.

In order not to interfere with their private conversation, I followed the exiting students and closed the door behind me to leave my uncle and niece alone.

- Who would have thought it was my fault? Well, more specifically my clone. - I said out loud, involuntarily scratching the back of my head.

How is understandable, all these changes in Hex's outlook on life were caused by my clone, after delving into his mind, on the day of the girls' battle against the evil sorcerer.

Then, in order to remove the memories that we have Bezel's Charms, the clone turned into Squid and worked on Hex's mind. True, due to the alien's too much power and weak control, which, as it turned out, was even less than mine, the clone accidentally destroyed all the memories of the sorcerer, and he had to collect them piece by piece and restore Hex's personality.

As if, the clone managed to do everything right, but an unexpected incident occurred, which caused the change in Hex and the appearance of Gregor. The clone didn't do anything, it's just that when he regained his memories, they went through Hex and he saw his life again, only from the side, like a movie.

No wonder they say that in order to see your mistakes, you need to look at them from the outside. Seeing all his nefarious deeds again and the way he behaved after his sister's death, Hex really changed.

He himself decided that this could no longer continue and decided to start life anew. What an amazing turn of life. The evil sorcerer became a decent man, a college professor, and it only took the destruction of all memory and its painstaking restoration. It's not even my fault, everything happened by chance, and even benefited...

By the way, it turned out that Hex really almost died in the Null Void. I overestimated his survivability. Apparently, the fracture of two legs was too much for him and he was almost devoured by the guard. Luckily, he was rescued by some prisoner and he was getting Hex out, so he helped him get out into our world. I hope this doesn't play a cruel joke on me....

In any case, things really turned out for the best, and her uncle returned to Hope. Although, I'm not thrilled about it myself, but it makes Hope happy, so I'll just shut up my displeasure and help her. Although, if Hex stumbles again, I'll send him to the Sun. From there, he will not return...

- Where's your girlfriend? - the janitor distracted me from my thoughts, sitting next to me on the bench on which I was sitting.

- She's having some kind of family reunion. - I answered shortly.

- It's clear. - The old man just said but after a couple of minutes of silence, he added: - The same can be said about us, right? Are you aware?

- About being my grandmother's son? Yes I know. I also know that you are the same Bezel. - I said, looking at the old man, who is possibly the most powerful wizard in the universe.

- As I thought. I immediately understood everything when I felt your magic. So familiar and Anodite-like. - Bezel said, nodding his head, then adding: - You were even able to bind the Charm of Luck and, by some miracle, the Keystone. How did you even manage to do it?

- Hardly. And with pain. - I grimaced, remembering that explosion.

- Still, be careful with the Charms. If they are used for too long, they begin to have a negative effect on the mind of the owner. This is especially pronounced if you tie several amulets to yourself. - said Bezel instructively.

You are a bit late with this warning. It would have come in handy sooner. But fortunately, I was able to solve this problem. - I said, and then after thinking for a while I asked: - So you got rid of the Charmcaster and don't use them anymore?

- And for this reason too. I was fed up with all Magic, and when I left, I got rid of all my relics to devote myself to my new passion. Tricks. Although, I've been doing them for fifty years, but I'm not very good at it. - said Bezel very confidently.

- Yes, I see. - I said dryly, pointing to the sequins that were still on his beard.

- So what? You won't even judge me for giving up Magic and doing such a useless thing as others say? - Bezel suddenly asked loudly, obviously surprised at my reaction to his words.

- No, I understand you perfectly. When you achieve stunning success in one thing, it becomes much more difficult to move on, since you are alone in this and you have nowhere to look for help. The most logical choice is to start all over again, but with another case that fascinates you, and in which you are a complete zero. So life will be more interesting. - I said with a smile, looking at Bezel, who was very surprised by my words.

- You really understand me. Thanks, that's good to hear. Now, you are my favorite relative. Of the living, of course, hahahaha. - said Bezel, patting me on the shoulder.

- Although, you could have intervened when Legerdomain took Addwaitya. After all, you are the one who created this place. - I said sternly, making only an assumption.

- Haha, I got caught. - said Basil, making a comical face, and scratched the back of his head.

- Actually, it's really not funny. - I said unhappily.

- Yes Yes, I know it's a tragedy. I really wanted to intervene, but I promised myself that I would completely give up everything magical and everything related to it. I created a lot of things, had a hand in a lot, and I decided that if, as you put it, I'm ready to start over, then I should let go of everything. That will be more honest. - Seriously, said Bezel.

- Well, you can understand too. Still, you can't help but get tired of what you've been doing for centuries. - I said with a sigh.

- Yes, magic used to be my passion, and I created a lot of ingenious things, including Charms and your medallion, but over time, it turned into a real torment. - Bezel said, shaking his head.

-Medallion? So you enchanted this proto-tool? Are you the same Merlin? - I asked in surprise.

- Yes, although then everyone called me Emrys, but for some reason I went down in history exactly as Merlin. - said the man, whose real name was clearly neither Basil nor Emrys, with a smile.

- And what did you add to it? What spell did you use? - I asked curiously, looking at the dragon's head.

- I won't tell. - Bezel said sharply, and then added: - That won't be interesting. It is better if you yourself learn about all its functions.

'Another….' - I thought displeasedly, remembering Azmuth, whom I have yet to meet, but he will most likely say the same words about the Omnitrix.

- Okay, if you don't want to tell, don't. Why did you even decide to talk to me? - I asked, looking at the smiling Bezel.

- Just wanted to get to know each other and find out what the owner of the Omnitrix is ​​like. - with a sly smile. Basil replied.

- Are you aware of this as well?

- I may have given up on Magic, but that doesn't mean she has given up on me. - Bezel said cryptically, who really now looked like an ancient sage.

- And what does it mean?

- Someday, you will know, Future Lord of the Void. - Bezel said, repeating the words thrown by Paradox in the past.

- Wha… - I asked in shock, turning my head sharply towards him, but there was no one else around.

- Lex! - Hope called me loudly as she left the campus.

'Damn old monsters and their eternal riddles…' - I thought displeasedly, accidentally tearing off the iron handle of the bench out of anger.

- Something happened? - Hope asked worriedly as she approached, noticing my spoiled mood.

- No, everything is okay. How was it? - I immediately changed the subject and asked.

& Not bad. We talked frankly and decided not to rush. We will meet here once a week. - Hope said with a smile.

- Is that how? I'm happy for you. - I said sincerely, hugging the girl.

- Thanks. - Hope said. and then quietly added: - I also told my uncle about you and...

- Is he angry? - I asked, imagining the former Hex's reaction.

- And how. Now, he wants to kill you even more than before. & Hope said awkwardly.

- Well, let him try. - With a bloodthirsty smile, I said.

- Just don't accidentally kill him. - asked the Witch.

- Do not worry. I will do everything clean. I will show him that I am the best match for you. Even if through force. - I said with a thumbs up.

- Oh, I was expecting something like this… - the girl said doomedly, shaking her head, after which she added more cheerfully: - It's time for us to return.

- Actually, I just need to go to a rock band concert. Do you want to join us? - I looked at the time and saw that there were only three minutes left before the start, I asked.

- Why not? Sounds fun. Let's go. - The girl said happily.

- Fine. - I said with a smile and turned into a Portaler, opened the way to Chicago for us.