Interview

"...Is this really necessary, sir?"

Zane and Leo were currently on the roof of the building they were previously in, having been teleported there by Leo. The sun was starting to set, painting the rooftop in a soft, orange glow. Currently, Zane was seeing that glow all over Leo as he was being held by the collar, the only thing stopping Zane from falling off the edge of the rooftop.

"Shut it. And stop with that fake smile, it's getting on my nerves."

Having been called out, Zane dropped his smile, instead opting to glare at the man holding him off the edge of a roof.

"That's better." Leo nodded. "Now tell me what you're doing here."

"The hell do you mean by that?" 

Leo rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb. I'm asking why you, the son of two Dark Mages, are trying to enlist in the academy supported by the same royal family that executed them."

Zane glared at Leo, whose expression remained unchanged. Slowly, he reached for his mother's amulet that he always wore around his neck.

"Because I'm an awakened, and just like any newly awakened it's my duty to enroll in the academy to learn to be a responsible Mage." 

Hearing his blabber, Leo rolled his eyes, which gave Zane a window to grasp his amulet.

'Quickly, what's the outcome if I kill Leo here and now!?' He spoke to the amulet in his mind, using up the daily ability to peek into a possible future.

In Zane's mind, a vision of him standing over a dead Leo on the rooftop appeared. It seemed to go well, until tens of high-level mages appeared to surround Zane. The vision ended there.

[You will be caught. There are multiple Mages currently monitoring Leo's condition and location.]

The amulet replied to Zane through his mind in a robotic voice. Alongside a vision, the amulet also provided more context based on the question asked, which was why it was such a legendary artifact.

Zane received all that information in the time it took Leo to roll his eyes. With killing Leo unavailable as an option, he would have to go for the more annoying option. He clicked his tongue and immediately casted Conceal on his spellbook.

"Cut the shit. That would be a good answer if you were literally anyone else." Leo told Zane.

"Fine, it's because I didn't want to be a beggar all my life, okay!? Being harassed, being beaten, scavenging for food every day, I was sick of it!"

Leo frowned, taken aback by Zane's sudden outburst.

"I didn't want to live like that anymore, so I did what I could, which was to train the moment I awakened so I could hopefully join this damned academy and improve my life!"

Hearing the emotion in Zane's voice, Leo pulled him from the edge, letting go of his collar. Now free from immediate danger, Zane paced around as he kept explaining his reasons.

"I know everyone hates me for who I am, and I get it; I'm the son of two Dark Mages. But I want something more in life, even if it means joining the side of the people that killed my parents. And…" 

Zane choked for a moment, letting all the emotion out. Hearing him going on and on, Leo began to pity the boy in front of him. He was the son paying for the sins of the parents.

"...I know they were in the wrong. They were Dark Mages, and Dark Magic is forbidden. I don't know what the original Dark Mages did that was so bad, but I do know that it was bad enough to be punishable by death."

Zane faced the sunset, breathing out. 

"That's why I'm here. To fix my life, to repent and stop paying for the sins of my parents. I just want to be free from them, from how much they've messed up my life. I just want to be happy."

Finished, Zane was breathing heavily, staring at Leo, who was at a loss for words. Standing behind Leo, however, was another Zane, a thick red book open and floating next to him. He was the real Zane.

'Like hell I'd ever actually say any of that shit.' He thought. From start to finish, the Zane that had been ranting about his life to Leo was all an illusion. After using Conceal on his spellbook, he casted Illusion to project the fake Zane while hiding himself behind Leo.

Now that the parent slander was over, Zane walked over to the fake him, standing in the exact same spot before deactivating the spell.

"You don't seem too apologetic to me." Not noticing a difference, Leo questioned Zane.

"Gee, I wonder why my opinion of you is so low? I don't know, maybe it's because YOU HUNG ME OFF A FUCKING ROOF!" Zane snapped at Leo before burying his face in his hands, taking a deep breath.

"Look," He looked back up at Leo, now serious. "I swear I didn't come here for any reason other than to just be able to live. I'm not here to start any fights, I'm not here to get revenge, I'm just here to be a Mage like everyone else." 

Zane let his hands fall to his sides. For over a minute, he and Leo just looked at each other. At this point, the sun was nearly finished setting, and the darkness of night began to show itself. After a while, Leo sighed.

"Alright. I'll give it to you, you really convinced me." He walked over to Zane and tapped him on the shoulder. "You passed, kid. You're now officially a part of the Royal Academy for Mages."

"Thanks." This time, Zane gave him a genuine smile. Of course, it wasn't because he had a change of heart. His smile was genuine because he was finally going to be able to get the academy off his back.

Leo tapped his staff on the ground, and the pair disappeared, reappearing in a random hallway.

"This will be your room while you're a part of this academy." He gestured to a door in front of them.

"That's what I'm here for, my own room." Zane immediately opened the door.

"Zane?" Leo called after him, making him turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Don't prove me wrong for trusting you. Show us that you really are trying to be different from your parents."

Zane nodded at him, his fingers crossed behind his back. "I will."

Satisfied, Leo tapped his staff on the ground and disappeared. Entering his room at long last, Zane shut the door, immediately gagging.

"Ugh, forgiving and forgetting is so, so gross." Zane shuddered.