Entropy's Vigil

"How magnificent, it is rarer than I thought.""You think so?""Absolutely, anything that deviates from elemental magic is to treasure themselves. Even if such treasure is in the hands of a filthy peasant."Sleepless nights, all he could see was the shadows of trees peering through the iron bars of the carriage. Moonlight grazed his pale skin; he felt the rough surface of his holding cell. Even with the capabilities of escaping, is it even the right move?Thud!Every time the carriage went on a rough road, he would always tumble inside his cell as the frosty shackles bind his arms, constricting him tighter.Hopes and dreams were washed away, as the sliver of decency had been stripped of him. Ever since the Duke of Rhoeia's eyes had fallen on his person, nothing but misfortune came to him.The light of the home, its foundation, and its inhabitants... Dead, because of him... Nothing he could do but watch as the men invaded their humble abode on the similar moonlit night."Hide, don't come out," she whispered.drip...drip...drip!The moonlight turned into a blood red hue, peering in between the cracks of the walls. His ocean hued eyes widened, all covered in blood. The woman was in tears, shivering, subtly glancing between the crevices as their eyes met. She seemed to be saying something like, 'Don't come out, mommy's okay.'Two muscular men held the mother by her hair, drenched with the blood of her husband, who laid on the ground; his head nowhere to be found. "Where is the boy?""There's nobody here!" Just leave my children alone, you already killed my husband, please spare us" The mother begged."Look lady, this wouldn't happen if you just comply with the duke, you're so stubborn."Sob- sob... "There's no one like that here, I told you!""Ghargh," The woman yelled, as the man plunged his fist on her stomach. Her vision had dulled as the searing pain spread through her body. Even with all of the pain, she endured the entirety of it. Only to protect him, at all costs. These sick people already claimed her husband and two children, leaving only the youngest one who had been hidden inside the walls.Naturally, the child could do nothing, he could only flinch and react every time the strangers lay their hands on his mother. Chilling ice flowed through his veins, freezing him with hopelessness, only to watch his crumbling home which he cared the most."Hiding a child who displayed rare capabilities in the rite of accord is hard you know, ahaha?" he laughed. " Even more if the duke had his eyes set for it. So don't act tough and tell me where he is."She shot daggers at the assailants and spat on one of them. "N-never.""You bitch."The mother's eyes were devoid of life, all that was left was her hope to protect her last child. She laid and took what the men did to her. It was painful, she felt like her heart was ripped to shreds, any semblance of hope was snuff like a candlelight. With the gash on her throat, inflicted to her by the assailants. Her lifeless eyes befall on the very same wall her child was hidden. Meeting her eyes, he could only feel the icy imitation of her likeness as her body shook by defilement. His tears froze the moment it left his eyes. As he felt the sticky puddle of blood seeping through the walls.He could only hear his mother uttering his name... "Stanzi... Stanzi!"His body convulsed violently as he rose up. Catching his breath as he felt like he'd been submerged on the ocean of tears with an anvil tied to his leg. Around him were droplets of ice, tears... That came from him.It had been six years since he hid from the eyes of the Rhoeia family. Using the merchant's guild as a shelter away from their watchful gaze, the harrowing memories of that moonlit night shook his body with despair. Stanzi clenched his fist as he sat in the guild corner, watching everyone's movement.At times, countless people visited the guild. He saw various strange people he found funny.One caught his attention. A young man, with brown hair and pretty purple eyes. He tried to outwit old man Maheer in haggling. It was known around the guild that Maheer's prices were bogus, only fools who knew nothing about how the guild works fell for them.'How funny'Due to his small build, he usually huddled in the corner of the hall. Even with his hair that was blue as the sky, he was practically invisible due to the sheer crowd in the guild. Plagued with paranoia, he never left the guild. He never showed anyone his magic. To him, cryology was a curse to him. The magic that caught the attention of the bastard of high nobility leading to their deaths.Feeling groggy, he closed his eyes. "Why did I have this magic, nothing but misfortune... If only I can remove this curse from my body... mother... father... my siblings... they wouldn't have died," he muttered, his mind was filled with doubts and self-loathing. Everything went wrong to people around him, he's just someone who's unfortunate enough to be cursed.A woman approached Stanzi, she looked at him with pity and tapped him. "Stanzi, wake up... Someone's looking for you."Stanzi slowly opened his eyes, though blurry he saw the guild's front manager standing in front of him. His facial expression was the usual, it seemed his past still haunted him. The woman smiled at him and added. "If you didn't hear what I said, someone's looking for you.""What time is it?"The woman glanced at the clock, the hour hand was pointed at the top and the minute was on the bottom. "Around twelve thirty""I can't believe I went back to sleep... Who's looking for me?" he askedThe lady quickly replied. "A man with purple eyes, he seems to be acquainted with Mel.""The Alchemist?""Yes, I suggest you move on now, they need you.""Thank you""No problem."Stanzi wondered when someone needed him. He had shown zero cooperation with the guild, he's not even a member. Yet someone was searching for him, and the fact the man that was looking for him sounded familiar, he had to go and check it for himself. As he reached the entrance of the guild, he backed against the wall as he heard the distant voice of the people who seek for him."You said you did not know anyone, how come we're looking for him now, liar""Mel put her hands on her hips and retorted, "Huh, who are you calling a liar? I merely forgot about him, and to be honest, you're lucky that I know someone like him."The two glared at each other, but the tension quickly died off, feeling curious, Arise asked Mel. "What is he like?""The boy?""Yes.""Personally, I don't know him. He became one of my clients after he asked me to make him a concealment spell. If you want to know about him, you'll have to ask him that yourself."Arise touched his neck and giggled, 'Alright, but we still don't know if he'll even agree.""That's true, but we need to push through."That was just one of the worries Arise had, though it would be hard to find a cryologist alone, it is not even guaranteed that they'll go along with his plan...Sigh...'If this doesn't work, I'll have to manually freeze the cream mixture... I guess that's not so hard' Arise thought to himself.Stanzi stood behind the wall, hesitant to reveal himself. The mere mention of cryology sent shivers down Stanzi's spine. His heart raced by the thought of Duke Rhoeia... his vision blurred as his ocean hued eyes dilated with panic.'Please, go away... go away... go away... leave me alone.'Then out of nowhere, the front desk manager called out to him. "Stanzi, what are you doing there?"Stanzi promptly flinched by the voice of the front desk manager, Arise and Mel also heard her and went inside the guild."There you are, Stanzi." Mel said, approaching him."H-hi... Alchemist... What do you need me for?" he said meekly.She smiled and introduced Arise, "Stanzi, meet Arise," She pulled Arise in front and presented him like an object in a discount sale.Arise's mouth slightly parted as he nervously waved.He noticed Stanzi's panicked expression. He backed a bit and distanced himself.Stanzi in turn noticed Arise's movement. Still guarded, he acknowledged his sentiment."Uh, what are you doing Arise? Get closer, it's rude." Mel said.Arise shook his head with his hand near his chest, "No, no. It's alright, I'm sure he'll understand."He stared intently at Arise as his ocean-hued eyes analyzed each and every corner of him. Arise, felt like he's been stripped of his clothes due to how intense his gaze are."Well, state your case Arise, " Mel said."Ah, right... uh, hello Stanzi, would you like to work for me... I promise I will pay well..."Stanzi looked at him with confusion, and asked, "What kind of job?""You just need to freeze something for me, that's easy."His face turned sour... 'I knew it... it's about my cryology again...'"I decline," he said with indifference.Mel laughed and repeatedly hit Arise's shoulder, "HAHAHAHA, I guess that's it... Man, your luck is so horrible.""Hey, don't patronize me, not like you can use cryology.""He- ahem..." she coughed as she suddenly swallowed her own spit. "Not like you can use magic as of now.""Huh? what's that supposed to be?""You're weak!""God, then I'll just offer my otherworldly knowledge to someone then.""Wait no, I apologize""Bahahaha, that worked.""You-"How childish banter this was, they're both adults... but this kind of banter somewhat filled him with peace, something he did not have the opportunity to get. Force to grow up just to survive the crosshairs aimed at him... He's jealous of them... However, once he heard the otherworldly, he entered the conversation."Otherworldly knowledge?" he asked.The two froze as Stanzi inquired. "What do you mean by that?"Mel gave a fake laugh, "My friend here is just delusional, don't worry about it.""Y-yeah!" Arise nervously went along.'Strange, even if it's a joke, they sound nervous... I want to know...'"Then I accept."Mel and Arise exchanged glances in confusion."Pardon me?" Arise said."I said, " I accept your offer..." Stanzi reiterated."Tell me Mel, am I dreaming?""No, certainly not"Arise felt overjoyed, It's like he hit the jackpot. Though he wondered, what with the change of mind. He flat out rejected his offer the first time. But after his banter with Mel, he suddenly had a change of heart. But he did not probe into it, more importantly, he can now make ice cream, Arise was very confident about the success of it. A dessert this kingdom had never seen.'Money, here I come, more fund for my project'

Mel brought a paper from her pouch, she unfurled it to reveal a blank page on the rough parchment. "Then, let's start. Both of you sacrifice a drop of blood to the paper." She handed a thin needle to Arise.

"My finger could not catch a break, do all magic need a sacrifice of blood?." Arise commented as he pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood trickle from his finger and into the paper."Not at all, though, blood sacrifices are often used in binding arts and summoning. Not like you'll gonna utilize that sort of magic.""That true..."Then, Stanzi's blood dripped onto the paper. Mel let a surge of aetheric energy into the paper which glowed a ethereal purple hue. "[Binding Contract]""Say your goal and conditions for it. Arise, state your goal."Arise shifted his gaze to the paper. he cleared his voice and said, "Ahem, this contract will envelop the employment of an individual Stanzi."As soon as he stated his intentions, the blank page of the parchment magically wrote the intention on the paper with blood."Then, state your condition.""He will work for me with his cryological abilities by freezing something. He can refuse if he wanted, and this contract is effectively broken after I gained 20000 Sol."[Employment binding contract.Subject: Arise, Stanzi.First party's condition: Employment regarding Stanzi's cryology, The other party can refuse the request whenever he wanted, and the contract will become null after the party have procured a sum of 20000 sol...Second party's condition: Blank...]"State your condition..." Mel beckoned to Stanzi."Then my other part is to keep me away from touching anything that involves the Rhoeia family."Then Mel added to the contract, "Anyone who break the contract will suffer a excruciating pain under their skin like its burning."The parchment texts filled the parchment like water rushing in aqueducts. The parchment later combust into flames and its ashes fluttered in the air."There, the contract is finished, let's get going!" Mel gushed as she made her way to the doorstep.Mel exited the building followed by Arise. He smiled at Stanzi and said, "Let's go?"He followed through and walked alongside. As they were descending to the downtown of the city, one thought had plagued Arise's mind. Wanting answers, he asked Mel. "You said, elements outside the five are rare, why is that?"Mel, with her back turned against Arise, explained, "Hmm, good question... based on my research during my time in the Rosea's Alchemical Institute. Sometimes, two elemental energies can fuse inside people's bodies. If both elements are present like a mage has a dual elemental affinity, their body will try to fuse those two elements together. I theorize that people who had the capability to forcibly fuse two elements together had some special mechanism inside their body at birth. However, one variable I found is that, most who deviated from elemental had come from a battlefield, someone who was close to death... Maybe their bodies respond to death and want to live, so they fuse elements together to create different powerful magic that can protect them... But there are people who are born with them. And if you're wondering about Stanzi's case, ask him."Arise nodded. "I see, that's quite a good insight."Mel looked back, her face was strewn with pride. Accepting the compliment Arise gave. "Thanks, I knew you'd understand it. Those geezers at that institute are stubborn, that's why I quit.""We both feel the same sentiment about those kinds of people."'Right?" Mel agreed, her experience with research was akin to Arise's previous occupation, where he was always criticized by his peers about his research, though brilliantly made, the contents were always controversial, outright world changing. The company however does not like that, if such technology arrived at the market, it'll lose the company billions. That's how frustrated Arise was to higher ups. Suppressing knowledge and technology was something he hated, so when he went his separate ways, he released his papers anyway. He almost got sued.'They're talking about complicated things, I can't understand most of it' Stanzi thought to himself.Sensing Stanzi's disengagement, he turned to him and asked. "Stanzi, how did you get your cryology?"Stanzi recoiled from his thought, meeting the scientist's pretty purple eyes gaze on him. "I was born with them," he said quietly."Huh?" Arise leaned in towards Stanzi, prompting him to repeat it louder"I was born with it," He said louder."I see, how lucky." Arise remarked, oblivious to Stanzi's circumstances'I wasn't... this is not lucky'He presented a slight grin, which was as dark as the thunderclouds. Laced with despair underneath, a reminder about the tragedy six years ago."So, where are we going?" Stanzi asked.A look of confusion descended on Arise's face as he looked at Stanzi. "Huh... We're just following Mel, I have no idea where we're going.""Right, our destination is my home. You can't expect yourselves to work on a strange thing Arise wanted to make outside." Mel said as she continued to walk. Though she sounded as she's proud of it, what could her house be.Stanzi and Arise sauntered in silence along the cobbled roads of the kingdom. Trading glances at each other, unknowingly eyeing their person.To Arise, Stanzi was quite a mystery. From his own deduction, the boy appeared to be incredibly traumatized by something. He's like a cat with all of its hair up, clawing the ground. Extremely guarded.Either way, it's not like it was his business. After all, they were in a professional relationship, nothing more, nothing less.As his eyes wandered to the young man's person, he met Arise's dazzling purple eyes. All of sudden, they both withdrew their gazes.'Did he see me looking?' Arise thought to himself, casually distances himself from Stanzi by placing Mel beside them.However Stanzi eventually gazed back at Arise. 'Was he observing me just now?... What a strange person.'While Mel remained oblivious of the fact, she goes on and on about her days in her research, while Arise intently listened to her."But today, I think I've hit the jackpot!""Why's that?" Arise prompted.Mel paused for a moment, then her lips propped into a smile. "Well, because I met an interesting specimen like yourself. So don't forget about our deal.""Specimen? quite harsh.""Says the man who boasts such rarity.""Huh, fair point," he hovered his hand over his chest and proclaimed. "I guess that works, Ha Ha, I am indeed a rarity in this world!."

"That's the spirit."

Stanzi observed the two, confusion washed over him as he listened to their conversation. Though, he felt oblivious to the topics they're talking about. 'What kind of nonsense is this?... How perplexing, I could not understand what they're talking about.'

Step step~

'Though these two have their own agenda, I can't seem to shake off the eyes tailing us. This makes me feel uneasy,' Likewise, Stanzi's weariness was acceptable. Most of Alexandris's men were behind the crowd. The only reason they cannot go closer was because of Mel's presence.

Mel was a reputable alchemist around Rosea, messing with her could spell more trouble than they could handle.

Then Stanzi's eyebrowed furrowed as his vision scrutinized the surrounding, he tried to collect any clues of the existence of their stalkers. If any of them were Rhoeia's men, he could withdraw at any moment. Joining this group was merely an experience for him, if anything went south, he could just abandon his contract even if the penalty harmed his body. To him, it is much better than being captured by the Duke and be subjected to a life of slavery.

'But, I don't think they can touch me at the moment, is it because of the alchemist?...' He pondered as he walked.

As the gazes followed them like a dog on sight of food, Mel took a turn on an isolated alleyway, and halted; she brought a flimsy paper out of the pouches on her waist, and wrote a cryptic symbol onto it.

Then Arise interjected and asked, "What's that for?"

Not giving Arise any response, he stood waiting for an answer. Mel continued to scribble blotches of ink onto the paper and smiled. "It's ready."

"For?"

"Entry of course, have you not noticed those skull piercing eyes that have been following us since the merchant's guild?"

Stanzi nodded, Arise however looked around frantically, "Wait, what, where?"

The boy held Arise down and said coldly, "Settle down, they're gonna know that we knew that they have been following us."

"Wait, you knew?"

Stanzi nodded.

"I should've been aware, I've been lost in my musings lately." Arise admitted as he gazed on the ground.

The alchemist's mouth parted as she smiled snarkily, "Your head's above the cloud lately, heh, but don't blame yourself. We're not in critical condition or anything."

"But, what could be their problem with us?"

"Maybe they discovered you're an otherworlder, looks like they're going to dissect you." She smirked as she pointed at Arise.

"Ah, stop talking about things."

'Damn it, I lost my cool.'

"Fine Fine," She laughed. "Then let's do this."

She lightly tossed the paper in the air, it fell slowly like a feather as it waited for Mel's instruction. She held her hands and emitted a violet wave of energy onto the paper as it illuminated the area. Suddenly, as the energy latched on the paper, the letters began to detach themselves from the paper, it danced around the paper in a circular manner as it glowed into a yellow tint. "[Aetheric Conveyance!]."

Arise's body lit up with a yellow hue as each part of his body began to leave their place and float to the skies. He was met with a sudden flash of light and moments later Arise saw an unfamiliar bedroom. Instantly, both Mel and Stanzi arrived at the same room.

Mel took off her hat and placed it on the cupboard, she walked near the wooden doorstep and announced, "That's how you do equilibria magic, and Welcome to my humble abode."

Mel's house was quite grandiose. It seemed like she's well off, from the smooth quality wood her furniture were made of, and the sheer size of his house. It could be compared to a nobleman's house. Though, outside the room was quite unexpected. It turns out, only the bedroom was decent, and the rest of the house besides the kitchen was dedicated to research. From jars of preserved animals in the jar, messy books scattered around the place, messy inscriptions of texts. 'How relatable.'

"Nice house by the way," Arise looked around, his tone was quite sarcastic.

"Enjoy your stay," She laughed. "But since you two are my guests, a tea wouldn't hurt."

She clapped twice, the sound echoed around the house as it began to rumble. Runes formed a circle along with an unfamiliar insignia on the circle.

The ground inside the circle bulged upward and created a silhouette of a person. The runes encircled the silhouette and gave it life.

The stone took the form of flesh, its surface though looked like a perfect imitation of human skin, was filled with seams and cracks due to the nature of the magic. After his inception, he bowed to Mel. "How could I offer my servitude, my lady?"

"Faust, can you brew us some tea?"

"Of course, my lady. Coming up." In a blur, Faust vanished and all Arise heard was the clank of pans in the kitchen.

"Sheesh, he's still as clumsy as ever, but worry not, his tea is the best."

"Mel, can I ask you a question?"

"You already asked."

"W-what? no no."

Mel held her hand on her lips in a playful manner and said, "I'm just jesting you."

"R-right, but what's the inscription you wrote on the paper to teleport us here, and why did you do it?"

"Isn't it obvious? To escape the eyes of those people. And that inscription is an example of equilibria magic."

Arise crossed his arms and leaned on the wall, "I heard of equilibria magic before, Gwyn explained it to me as sapient magic or all sorts of magic. She said it is a type of magic that responds to sentient wisdom."

While Arise was talking, she walked towards her sofa and sank onto it. "Your friend is correct, this magic is exclusive to sentient creatures. It is a magic that does not fit into the elemental category. What I casted was just a teleportation spell of my own making. Usually when I'm too lazy to go back to my house."

"Do all equilibria magic need inscription and verbal command?" Arise asked.

Mel swiftly replied, "Yes, of course. Inscriptions are not just unique to equilibria, it is customary to use it in all sorts of magic."

"Though I just noticed just now, you're not wearing any loadstone ring."

"That is the only reason I wrote inscriptions on the paper. The job of a loadstone ring is to automatically inscribe symbols and letters that respond with your spell. Not only was it a metal ring which conducts Aetheric energy efficiently, the inscriptions are permanent in the ring. Though all sorts of catalytic artifacts can be used for magic, the loadstone ring is just the most popular."

Arise nodded in silence.

"Also, I want to know. How did you do in an initiation? I am sure your friend already brought you there."

Arise looked away and said, "It's decent."

"Huh? What kind of answer is that? Give me a detailed version."

"Fine, Zero Elemental, Ten Equilibria. Happy?"

"Pfttt- you're that embarrassed?"

"N-no."

"BA HA HA HA," Mel cracked up.

Frown strewn into Arise's face and retorted. "Don't laugh, at least I got ten in equilibria."

It took seconds for the laughter to die down. Mel wiped her tears and apologized. "I am sorry for that, but I am fairly surprised at your equilibria score. Even though I only scored eight on the equilibrium test." She clapped.

"Geez, stop toying with me."

The fragrant floral scent of the jasmine tea filled the air. As everything silenced down, Mel was tinkering something on her workbench. After teasing Arise, she remembered an unfinished business and scrounged on her station. While Stanzi stood beside the staircase. He seemed to listen to the two's conversation early, but his eyes were now shut.

A man who's hair was darker than the night emerged from the kitchen, he held a platter with a kettle and several floral cups and colorful sweets. He poured a yellowish liquid from the kettle and passed it to Arise.

"Thank you."

Faust stood still awaiting for Mel's next command, however Mel seemed preoccupied by her research.

Sip-

"That was good."

The tea filled Arise's mind and soul with peace. Who knew tea could do this. The sweet floral scent wafted into his nose- he picked up a crumbly cookie and stuffed it inside his mouth. He sipped hot tea again. He exhaled in bliss as he continued to alternate from eating snacks to drinking tea.

'To think of it, this was the first decent food I had in this world. I am lucky I stumbled on these people.'

Then he took another sip from the cup.

slurp.

"Uwa! This is nice, but I have to think of my next move. Now that I procured everything, I need to make my product. but it seems Stanzi is asleep. Well, it can wait, I'll just enjoy this tea.'

Noticing Faust waiting, Arise initiated a conversation to the golem. "Faust is it?"

Faust gave Arise an empty glance and said, "Indeed, that is my name."

"Allow me to ask, what exactly are you?"

"I'm a golem made by my lady, though If you're asking what I am... you have to ask my lady for that."

Mel, casually approached Arise and Faust. "Exactly, anyways- my work is done. So I could savor this jasmine tea."

She sat beside Arise, Faust poured tea into the cup and handed it to Mel.

"Thank you, Faust."

"Then, what is he?"

"Hmm, he's just a spirit bound entity in a stone golem. Nothing more nothing less."

"Is he sentient?"

"How rude." Faust interjected.

Mel sat down and blocked Faust from reaching Arise, she sipped the tea. "Don't be angry now Faust, he just doesn't know it yet," She playfully said. "But of course, as far as mechanical golems go, they're still unreliable opposed to sentience."

"How fascinating,"

"Right?" she agreed. But her face strewn with seriousness and leaned in to the scientist. "Then, about the face of our deal. Tell me how you got here."