The Story of Sebastian Syne

They slowly entered the cave, the energy growing stronger as they neared the source. They turned to see the end of the cave, with two silhouettes present, one sitting on the ground and the other on a chair. 

Hearing a whimpering sound as they stepped closer, Vincent snapped his fingers, creating balls of light that illuminated the rest of the cave. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw, with Lisa clasping a hand over her mouth.

"Zane!"

"G-Guys…"

They saw Zane seated on the floor, lightly wounded and covered in blood. Seated on the chair near him was a mutilated corpse, the amount of wounds making it unrecognizable save for the green robe it wore. 

The edges of the wounds were laced with a black, corrosive substance that ate away at the corpse's flesh, revealing the source of the dark energy. 

Vincent quickly tended to Zane, ignoring his instincts telling him to not get closer to the dark energy. He quickly cast a healing spell as a soft light covered the boy.

'It was just the residue of the energy…' Vincent thought, hiding a gulp. 'The owner of this energy…'

Lanius and Lisa also approached Zane, Lisa crouching while Lanius stood to block the sight of the dead cultist.

"Are you alright?"

Lisa was going to rub his shoulder, but he flinched, so she put her arm down. Zane was a mess. His hair and clothes were unkempt and dirty, the wet streaks on his cheeks showed that he had been crying when they arrived, and there was dried blood all over him.

Zane shook his head and tried to smile, only to break into a sob.

"S-Sorry."

"It's fine." 

Lisa turned to Lanius, the two sharing a look. It must have been really bad if Zane couldn't even keep up his usual polite mask.

"What happened?" Vincent asked with a serious expression. Zane gulped.

"W-When I woke up here, their leader was here…" Zane started to shake a little. "They were torturing her. The one you captured earlier."

Their gazes darted to the corpse on the chair.

"They wanted information on the Children of Namek. T-They made me hurt her too…"

Fresh tears streamed down Zane's face as Vincent's expression turned cold. Lisa rubbed his back comfortingly while Lanius felt rage build up inside of him.

"Is that why they killed Smart Nash? To lure the Children here?" Vincent questioned.

"N-No, it wasn't the Blood of Syne." Zane wiped his eyes and looked at his master. "I heard them talking. They were working with Nash. Someone else framed them."

Vincent nodded as he hid his frustration. The presence of an unknown third party blew their theories out of the water. They now had no clue who killed Smart Nash, and why they did it.

"Okay, before we get out of here, I need you to tell me one last thing, Zane." Vincent breathed in as he looked the boy in the eyes. "I need you to be completely honest with me, and I swear that what you tell us won't leave this cave."

"Yes?"

"Do you have a brother in the Blood of Syne?"

"..."

"..."

Vincent didn't look away from Zane, letting the boy fidget. Lisa and Lanius had expressions of shock as they watched the two. The silence continued before Zane let out a heavy sigh, nodding.

"Yes, I do. He… he's the leader of the Blood of Syne."

There was a sharp intake of breath. Vincent digested the information as he asked Zane to continue.

"Alright. What is his name, and what do you know about him? I want his rank, his goals, everything."

"His name is Sebastian. He's my older brother by a couple of years, and his goal is to destroy the Magine Kingdom. I've only ever met his clones, but from what I can tell… he's at least at the Grandmaster rank."

"If he's your brother, why don't we know about him? You and your parents are the only ever recorded members of your family."

"Apparently, he wasn't born inside the Magine Kingdom. He was born while my parents were still travelers, without any home." Zane stared at a wall as he recounted events. "When he was six, he had fallen extremely ill. My parents did what they could, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. My brother died on the road, and my parents were forced to bury him in a field."

"Then they moved to the Capital and had you." Zane nodded.

"I never knew about my brother's existence until less than a month ago. My parents never mentioned him, probably didn't want to relive painful memories. That night, the Deathrider entered my room while I was asleep."

Vincent frowned, listening carefully. Before his earlier fight, he hadn't seen the shadow creature for nearly a month. Perhaps he was about to find out why. He could feel his other students send him questioning gazes, but he could tell them later.

"It woke me up, pinned me against the wall. Then, from behind the creature, he appeared. Sebastian. He's… powerful, yet no one was able to detect his presence in the dorm. He sat me down on the table, and explained everything to me."

Zane started coughing, so Lisa handed him some water she had. He drank his fill before continuing.

"He was dead for nearly a week, but then he awakened his magic. His awakening was so strong it brought him back to life. He dug himself out of the ground, and searched for our parents. Eventually, he found them in the Magine Kingdom. Specifically, he found their gravestones."

"That's why he started the Blood of Syne."

"Yes. He found out about how they died, and my existence. For the past 12 years, he roamed around the kingdom, building strength and connections. The Blood of Syne is the culmination of those things. He's been trying to recruit me ever since."

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

Zane scoffed bitterly, laughing mirthlessly.

"Like I wouldn't be executed on the spot." He looked at his master, his eyes revealing how tired he was. "But I guess it's all in the open now."

Zane stood up, breathing in and out for a bit. 

"I'm okay now, guys. While I was here, they mentioned the location of Smart Nash's archives. We can find everything we need to know there, and who the real killer is if we're lucky."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Lanius placed his hand on Zane's shoulder. He turned to Vincent. "Can't we just go home while you call people to investigate it? If a third party killed that Nash guy, then it's fine to call reinforcements from the academy now, right?"

"No, I'm fine. Let's do it now." Zane cut off Vincent before he could reply. "I also want to find out what I can about my brother."

"Okay then." Lanius patted his back. 

With Zane pointing them in the right direction, Mage Squad 6 began to head towards the archives of Smart Nash.

"Oh yeah, the journey is a few days long."

"..."

"..."

"...Damn."