STAGE FORTY: The Leafens' Phantom

Kirin walked into his father's chambers. It's been years since he was last summoned in his most private space, its making him even more uneasy. Gritting his teeth, he went further, passing through pillars covered in illuminating crystals and rune-casted gems.

Kirin wrapped himself with black aura, as he passed through layers after layers of rune barriers. Finally, he bowed before his father, who is calmly sitting on his favorite chair. "Father, I'm here."

Aneurin sighed, and turned to him with a serious look on his face. "Kirin, did you ever wonder how Celestials were born?" Kirin couldn't tell what he's thinking at all by asking that. But genuinely interested, he shook his head, urging his father to continue.

"They said that the celestial race are born into the world as pure energies, unlike humans who possess a physical body right from the start. Slowly, the energy will develop bones, flesh and skin. Not much different from humans after that. And once their 'aura core' fuses with their physical body, after hundreds or thousands of years, that's how they die." Seeing Kirin was especially attentive, Aneurin smirked. "That is exactly how Lenfiare was born. However, that girl with you is special among celestials. She transcended the death of her original physical body and took the form of a human, do you know why?" Kirin shook his head. "That's because her 'aura core' is unbelievably strong. The power artificially fused inside her, made her survival possible. To protect its host, the core most probably grew back a physical body that adapted to the new environment, causing her mutation to a human-like celestial. Unfortunately for her, because of that mutation, the celestial power within her will have a hard time awakening to its true form. And even if she did manage to awaken it, the weak body will cause her death."

"Why are you telling me this now? And how did you even know about that?" Kirin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Aneurin sighed, "The Aethelmaer family is a descendant of celestials too." This didn't surprise Kirin. He's long been speculating on the possibility, because of the slight similarities of his aura with Freyja's and the presence of the same black aura in Astrid and Aria's cages.

"This is a story passed down from generation to generation. But the real secret is this. There was once a man who possesses the same kind of power as that of the Leafen clan, Celestia's line of rulers. The Leafen clan, of course, saw him as a threat and had him assassinated. But they failed. So instead..."

Kirin felt sweat drops roll down his forehead. He's tempted to cover his ears as he's starting to understand what his father was trying to say. But for the sake of the truth, he clenched his fists and forced himself to listen carefully.

"... he cooperated with the other factions who are against the Leafen clan. His pursuit of power resulted in his black, celestial aura. The so-called 'Phantom' of the Leafen clan, Lerioge Aethelmaer."

Suddenly recalling Freyja's story, Kirin is now sure that the man his father is talking about, is the same man who instigated the rebellion, and killed Freyja's father. He's the same man who kicked her out of Celestia, and probably sealed all the guardians. "So you're saying he's our ancestor?"

Aneurin shook his head, "Not really. He 'died' without having descendants. Although his brothers and sisters did."

"But how did such powerful person die if the Leafen clan wasn't able to defeat him?" Kirin unintentionally said his thoughts out loud. Aneurin sighed. "It's too early to be surprised Kirin." Aneurin stood up faced his son, crossed arms. "Tell me Kirin, do you know who your mother is?"

"Um..." Kirin thought, "She died right after I was born, right?"

Unlike his usual sarcastic self, Aneurin stayed serious. He sighed again. "I guess now is the time." Aneurin conjured an aura-blade and slashed off the ropes hanging from the ceiling. The draperies behind him revealed an old portrait of a man, with long silver hair and emerald green eyes.

Kirin's eyes widened. His heart started to pound faster and faster. Sweating buckets, the painfully hot feeling in his chest returned all of a sudden. It's like he is staring at his own reflection. Blood drained from his face.

"Yes, he looks exactly like you, doesn't he? That's because this person..."

Kirin could feel tears forming at the corner of his eyes as Aneurin spoke. "Stop it!"

"...is you."

Kirin could not speak after that. His eyes blank, in a total denial. "You didn't die. Your core was preserved, and with the help of the Aethelmaer clan, we were able to grow your physical body back, through generations after generations."

"Remember that dream that you saw Kirin? That dream when you were still a child?" Aneurin could still remember Kirin talking about a little girl in his dreams. "That little girl must be none other than Lenfiare. But it wasn't just a mere dream. It is most likely, your memory."

Kirin didn't respond at all. Nevertheless, Aneurin went on with his stories.

"You are the Aethelmaer prodigy, the mastermind behind the fall of Celestia. You are the one who killed the king, and above all, it was you who ordered for Lenfiare to be killed."

"STOP!" Kirin growled, clasping his head. "Quit messing with me! I don't believe you!" Kirin snickered. "I know, you are making this all up to make me betray her. I know your schemes far too well!"

"No matter how much you deny it, your body and your heart know who you really are. When Lenfiare regains all her memories, she will hate you. So Kirin, no, Lerioge. You hated the celestial monarchy didn't you? In time, I'm sure you will under-"

"My Father was killed."

Freyja was suffering because of the man who killed her father. She was crying, and desperately fighting to return to Celestia. Kirin couldn't remember a single thing about being Lerioge, but he knows deep inside that his father is telling the truth.

"NO!" Kirin totally lost it. "JUST STOP IT ALREADY!"

Aneurin is no longer saying anything, but it's as if Kirin is being flooded with more hurtful words. Tears streamed from his emerald green eyes. "No! No! This can't be real!"

In just a little while, Kirin collapsed.

~ o 0 o ~

Freyja can't sleep. It's been three days and still not a single word from Kirin. Time was running out, their chances of escape was getting slimmer. Freyja couldn't afford to wait any longer, she had to get them all out.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Thinking it must be Alaric, she rushed to open it. "Alaric, how did it—go." Freyja's eyes widened, seeing Kirin standing right before her.

Freyja cried in relief. She wrapped her arms around him. "Kirin! You're safe!"

But Kirin just stood there with a blank face. Freyja noticed the strange look immediately. Letting go, she saw bruises and wounds on his body. Even his face had cuts. She immediately pulled him in and pushed him to her bed before running to her bag to fetch anything to dress his wounds.

Kirin didn't say a word, he just sat there, as if his soul left his body. Freyja took his shirt off and started to disinfect his wounds first. Freyja intentionally became rough with some wounds, but he didn't make a single movement. He was like a doll, quiet, emotionless, lifeless. Freyja was alarmed. "Kirin! What's wrong with you!? What happened?" He held his cheeks, looking into his eyes. "Tell me Kirin, what happened!?"

"Freyja..."

Finally, Kirin said something.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere else?" She asked again. "Listen Kirin, we will escape. The four of us. Astrid and Aria too of course. We have a plan!" She was confident, and energetic. Just like the usual Freyja Kirin knows. She explained the steps with enthusiasm, with certainty. She has always been like this. For some reason, seeing her act like her usual self hurt Kirin even more.

Stopping her, he pulled her close to him, embracing her so tight, it hurt her. But she didn't mind.

"Why is it that... you always appear whenever... I shout for help?" Kirin started mumbling strange things. This time, Freyja could not find the words to say and just fell silent.

"What are you trying to say Kirin? Have you forgotten? I'm the klutz! I always get hurt! I always screw up and you're the one who always gets me out of trouble!"

"Freyja, why are you here? Why are you with me right now? Why did you follow me? Why are you not afraid of me?"

Freyja fell silent.

"I don't know anymore... I don't understand..." Kirin mumbled under his breath.

"Haven't I told you?!" Freyja shouted, stopping Kirin at once. "Who the hell cares about that!? I want to be with you and that's it!" somehow, hearing Kirin ask such things frightened her. It felt like Kirin was going far away and she'll never see him again. It terrified her, more than anything. It terrified her, more than death, more than not being able to escape the manor, more than not returning to Celestia. "Kirin! Stop saying weird things already! Let's go! Okay? Come on, let's get out of here!" She insisted, clinging onto him.

As if returning to his usual self, Kirin felt his uneasiness disappear. He gently wrapped his arms around her, ruffled her hair to calm her down. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, "I'm sorry Freyja... I... I want to stay by your side... I want to..." But all of a sudden, Kirin pulled back. "Kirin?"

He nodded and turn his back. And even before Freyja could stop him, he dashed out of the room and into the hallway. Freyja jumped out of bed and ran after him as fast as she could. But she lost him. "Kirin!" She shouted and shouted, but he didn't come back. "Kirin! What's the matter with you!?" She ran barefoot, through the large halls, looking for him. She asked every servant, but no one told her anything.

Freyja is sure something serious happened, and she needs to find out what that is at all costs. Freyja searched for hours, but couldn't find a single trace of him at all. "Freyja?" Alaric saw her walking around with a dejected look. "What's the matter? Why are you running around this late? It's dangerous..." He held her hand and led her back to her room.

"I saw Kirin..." She said, "He came here, covered in wounds but... he was acting strangely and he embraced me and then he pushed me. Then he ran away. Alaric, what happened to him?"

Alaric sat beside her and handed her a cup of hot tea. "Freyja," He patted her shoulder, "I understand your concern, but you have to remember, we are in the Aethelmaer manor. They won't kill Kirin, but you... they want your dead, remember? The one in most danger is you." He explained, calmly.

"We have to trust Kirin. He is stronger than that. He might be troubled with something right now, but I'm sure he'll figure it out. We can't be a burden to him." Alaric sounded a bit harsh, but he knows he should. "You did what you could. You talked some sense into him and for sure that helped him."

As if timing couldn't get any worse, a restless knock on the window caught their attention. It was Keon, with a hysterical look on his face. The room was on the fourth floor, but it wasn't surprising that Keon managed to climb up from such a height. Freyja rushed to open the window and Keon slid inside right away.

"This is bad!" Keon exclaimed, "I don't know exactly what father is planning, but I heard that he's going to use some kind of powerful dark aura to cast a barrier around the mansion."

"That's impossible!" Alaric reacted, "You need an insanely large amount of aura to do something like that. No matter how strong your father may be, the amount of aura needed wouldn't suffice even if you use a thousand men." The rune master knows about spells more than anybody else.

"Wake up runemaster! Father is not human! He will do that for sure! Nonetheless, we have to escape and fast! We have no time to dawdle. Once the barrier is erected, we'll be trapped here for good! And, the more that we will never be able to rescue Kirin." Keon's expression says it all. He knows the capabilities of the Aethelmaer family more than Alaric and Freyja.

"There must be a source of power then. Can it be?" She can't help but wonder. "But now is not the time to worry about that!" She slapped her face hard.

"Freyja, you understand, don't you?" Keon shook her shoulders, "You do, right?" Both Alaric and Keon looked at her anxiously.

Freyja took a deep breath. "Of course. We have to escape. As soon as possible."

~ o 0 o ~