Chapter 29 - Speculation

The ancient master eyed Mana thoughtfully. "It is just a guess, but I think you may have been pulled here because this world was trying to fix itself and looking for a candidate to do so…and your soul happened to resonate with it."

Mana frowned. "So…I'm supposed to change the story line?"

The old man shrugged. "Perhaps. What you've seen here…does it match what you read in that book?"

Mana shook her head. "Some things do, but I find that the people are rather different from what they were supposed to be," she said frankly.

The old man stroked his beard again. "This world is…rather aggressive about maintaining its balance. It is possible that the misrepresentations of this world on our earth triggered a chain reaction when it became large enough." His expression turned curious. "Which book was it?"

"The Legend of Mars," Mana replied. She briefly summarised for him the story of 'The Legend of Mars' as she knew it, and then said, "But things have changed a bit since I came. For one, Princess Mana died in the original story, but I'm here now…and Raven's conditions are better as well. And we found Jules, who was never mentioned in the original."

The old man was so shocked that his translucent figure wobbled. "What?! How could this world degenerate into that?! Quick, tell me, what has been happening in this world since I died?"

Mana rubbed her temples, wondering about the use of the word 'degenerate' by him. "I can only give you a very general idea of the history of this world, because I've only been here for a short while," she said, and gave him a quick overview of what she had managed to learn so far.

The old man frowned. "Those idiots," he murmured. "But what was that fake legend you spoke of? Wasn't the true story discovered during your time?"

Mana raised an eyebrow. "I just told you the epic that's been in our world for heaven knows how long. There's been no change in it…valiant Mars, virtuous Astra and villainous Raven."

"Nonsense!" the old man cried angrily. "That was manipulated! Thankfully, the legend was corrected by our time…I'd not expected this world to fall into the old plot again. That must be why you were summoned here."

"Corrected legend?" Mana asked.

"Aren't the people you met different from what you read about?" the ancient master asked her.

Mana nodded. "Very different. Papa is somewhat similar, but Mars is a prick, Astra isn't as pure as she's supposed to be, and Raven is a darling and absolutely nothing like the evil person he's supposed to be."

"You like Raven a lot, eh?" the ancient master teased.

Mana didn't deny it. "He's amazing," she said.

"Naturally." The old man began to rummage through a bookshelf that appeared out of nowhere and plucked out a book. "If this child here is Emperor Raven, he cannot see this book," he told her. "So I'll leave it to you instead." He threw the book at her and it dissolved in her hands, imprinting the contents into her mind.

"Read it at leisure – although you may not be able to access all parts of it right away now that you're in the world it is set in," the ancient master said. "Ah, yes – it may not be possible for you to return to earth, in case you wanted to go back."

Mana shook her head. "I have nothing to go back for," she murmured. She had already lost everything.

"Then I wish you well, little one," he told her. "Take care of yourself, and take care of this boy, too. I won't be exaggerating if I said that the fate of this world rests in his hands. I am afraid it is quite possible that if your version of 'The Legend of Mars' came true, this world will self-destruct and restart."

Mana was struck speechless. It went without saying that she would protect Raven to the best of her ability, but…

"So…there's no need for me to try and stick to the original version…?" Mana asked.

The ancient master huffed angrily. "First of all, the version you know is wrong – fabricated by the winners for their own propaganda. Second, my speculation is that you were pulled into this world because it has been trying to repair itself – even from the corrected legend I know, let alone the fake nonsense of your time."

Mana was greatly relieved. Not that she had intended to let the tragic fate of Raven play out – but still, it was good to know that there was no need. Even more, she was extremely curious about what the corrected legend was. She hoped it was kinder to her little Raven than the version she knew.

"Oh, and if this is indeed Emperor Raven…I believe my memory serves me right when I recall that his first magic surge happened at the age of twelve." The old man waved at Mana. "He's about to finish receiving everything I left here. You should take him home as soon as possible and ensure that he gets to eat lots of good food."

The ancient master disappeared before Mana could open her mouth to ask anything.

The last of the darkness seeped into Raven and the opal on his finger glowed brightly. Raven opened his eyes and they flashed black for a moment before returning to their rainbow hue.

Yes, Mana thought, one of the reasons she hadn't recognised Raven immediately when he was pretending to be Naver was the colour of his eyes. How many times had 'The Legend of Mars' mentioned the flashing dark eyes of the evil emperor Raven?

Raven looked at Mana blankly and then collapsed in her arms. Jules and Fox appeared in her line of vision as well.

"What happened?" Jules asked. "It went dark suddenly and then there was…nothing."

Fox nodded, shivering. He was afraid of the dark. His face was white as a sheet.

"Raven did it. He broke all the seals and acquired the legacy of the ancient master," she told them. "The ancient master also said that he…" She sighed. "He will be experiencing his magic surge soon."

Jules and Fox were astounded.

"But he's only twelve!" Jules cried.

"Magic surges are very uncomfortable," Fox murmured. "I've only had three so far, but they were awful. It's like an entire week of horror every time."

Mana raised an eyebrow. "Really? But Big Brother is in the middle of one right now. And it's been nearly three weeks now, isn't it?"

"Heavens!" Fox cried. "No wonder you said you need pots of gold to feed them!"

Mana sighed. "Poor Papa will have to bear the costs until I manage to make some money," she said sadly.

"I'll help you, little sister," Jules said immediately. "We mustn't let Papa go bankrupt!"

Fox shot them a strange look. Everyone knew how rich and prosperous the Emerald Kingdom was…it couldn't be that these two were really worried about gold, could it? Surely they must be joking…? Nonetheless, they were his friends now, so…

"I'll help, too," Fox offered.

The siblings grinned at him. "Thanks!" they said together.

Raven groaned and the cave began to shake a little.

"We need to leave," Mana said. "The caves will collapse now that Raven's got everything."

Jules picked up Raven with ease. "Let's go, then," he said.

They made their way towards the first cave, where the transportation array was. The shaking began to get worse and worse.

Raven woke up just as they reached the first cave.

"How do you feel?" Mana asked worriedly.

"A bit tired," Raven replied hoarsely. "Lots of things in my head to sort out…"

"Everyone, take out your talisman and tear it!" Fox said. "We should get away before the cave collapses."

Jules put Raven down, but kept a supporting arm around his waist, since he didn't look too stable yet.

The four youngsters quickly tore their talismans and the next moment, they were back in Fox's family shop.

King Jaren was waiting for them, an anxious expression in his eyes. He checked them over one by one, ruffled everyone's hair and then picked up Raven.

Fox's parents examined their son worriedly as well.

"What took you so long?" Fox's mother asked him.

"Lots of things happened," Fox told them. "But good stuff, mostly."

"Why don't we get something to eat first?" Mana spoke up, for Jules and Raven both looked like hunger was gnawing away at their insides. "Fox, would you like to join us?"

Fox nodded immediately and his parents sent him off with the royal entourage. They understood that their son now had access to classified information which they shouldn't interfere too much in.

The group returned to the summer palace and King Jaren finally put Raven down. A large meal was quickly served.

Jules and Raven attacked the food with gusto.

Mana and Fox updated King Jaren about what had taken place in the caves – naturally, Mana didn't speak too much about the details of her encounter with the ancient master, just mentioning casually that she'd been told to take care of Raven and that the fate of the world rested in his hands. King Jaren listened attentively and sighed when they were done.

"Well done," he said quietly.