Trinity II

In the following weeks, Zariel had found himself more busy than he'd been in a long time. For the first time since his descent, he felt a sliver of fear coursing through his veins like hot tar. The fear had motivated him. 

From the creation of a teleportation circle to the interdimensional frequency reader attached to a simple computer he'd created out of Transfiguration had been the focus of his time. He'd made it out of the material Svel, the very metal Quinn delivered last week. No doubt against the will of the Castellan. Yet he could do nothing against the King's Shipment that was to be delivered to Zariel. 

"Zariel?" Aurelia called, watching him inscribe runic symbols by hand in the air, tracing a sort of convoluted circle that made her head spin. "Why didn't you create Svel Steel with Transfiguration? Surely it—" 

"The Arcana prevented me. From the stone we walk upon to the air we breathe, alongside the energy we exert merely existing, can all be quantified. Transfiguration quantifies these items or actions of ours. For the most part, any item that doesn't have Arcana can be tranfigured with anything I have lying around. However, Svel steel possesses a dense amount of Arcana, more than what I can produce." 

"If I was stronger, I could implant my Arcana into the earth, transfigure it into stone, making sure to match the amount of Arcana necessary, and turn into Svel." 

"But only if you first have a complete understanding of Svel. Right?" 

Zariel stopped what he was doing and glanced at her with an approving smile. "That is correct. You're not as dumb as I thought." 

"Aurelia's a genius, Dumb-Dumb." 

"That's yet to be proven," he jested, amused at how plump her cheeks became. "I—" 

"My Lord, a Miss Selene is here for you and Lady Aurelia," said Genny a little loud outside his cellar door. 

Zariel had not permitted her access when he was in the midst of his lesson. 

"Damn. I forgot about it, her. I really am becoming my brother. Look at me forgetting such unimportant people." Zariel reached into his pocket to a small light blue gemstone attached to a small ring: An Arcane Stone, an external energy source created when Arcana was placed beneath immense force for thousands of years. 

The ring glowed a dimly lit light, absorbing the runic symbols he'd been working on into its depts as a sort of memory. 

"Let's go," he said, leading Aurelia towards the foyer. 

There, they saw Lady Selene, a stunning woman with slender features so pale she appeared as if the sun never dared to grace her skin. She had stunning red eyes, soft, tender lips, and a serpentine figure. A noble elegance radiated off her presence, captivating all who saw her. 

She was sipping a cup of tea, smiling, sensing a few eyes on her. She looked up and grinned. 

Aurelia was stunned. "Pretty," she found herself saying absentmindedly. 

Zariel glided down the stairs, too lazy to walk. "People actually employ vampires, now?"

Her eyes turned wide, and the cup of tea in her hand slipped out from her fingers. Zariel caught it with his senses before it stained his floor. 

"Do be careful. I don't like dirt." He said, signaling for Aurelia to come down the stairs. "Now, let's get this over with. I was in the midst of something." 

"Who told you?" the Lady Seline asked. A glint of danger filled her eyes. 

Zariel noted the cruel gleam but didn't explain himself. He couldn't be bothered. "The letters? As I've said, I'm quite busy." 

'Sura warned me he had a mouth on him. She never mentioned he had a hyperawareness of his surroundings,' She thought, noting the way his eyes seemed to sway back and forth. 'Few could identify my bloodline. Not even Quinn is aware of my being.' 

Selene reached into the satchel at her hip and pulled out three letters: Two white and one gold. She handed the Gold one to Zariel, wondering what sort of sorcery he was using to pull the letter from her hand. 

Zariel tore the letter open with Astral Qi and stared at its contents:

Malos Blackwater,

In order to procure your position as a professor within Trinity, a transfiguration test is required. Please turn the letter into Avectine. And return it to Lady Selene for transport. 

Truly, 

Headmaster, Augustine Wright 

"What the hell is Avectine?" he asked, looking towards the lady in question. 

"Seriously?" Selene said, unsure who hadn't heard of Avectine. "It's a crystal. One loosely related to an Emerald." 

A little unsure how to process it, Selene found it rather difficult to talk to the boy who was not even a decade old. She knew he was smart, and despite being on the weaker side, instincts warned of a danger. A sort of indescribable wickedness she'd only seen in her kind radiated out of him. 

Zariel rolled his eyes. "Genny, do we have any in our inventory?" 

"I'll bring it right away, m'lord." 

As Genny left with a bow, Aurelia studied the picturesque lady, circling her with her stubby feet. "Miss, you are so pretty. Are you married?" 

Selene grinned. "Aurelia Morningstar, I presume?" 

Aurelia nodded. 

"Well, you're not lacking in any regard. You might be the prettiest thing I've seen in my nine hundred years of life." 

Aurelia's eyes went wide. Curiosity blinding her of danger Zariel had tried to instill in her. "You're Nine Hundred years old! How?" 

"Vampires don't age… at least their bodies don't," Zariel explained. "Pure blood, right?" 

"The young man is quite knowledgeable." Selene grinned, stood up, and bowed. "But you are correct. I am a pure-blood. Countess Selene Delmont, at your service." she said. "Quite the honor, meeting one so knowledgeable." 

"I'm sure it is." 

Selene's smile went crooked, and she thought. 'Is it confidence or arrogance? I can't tell?' 

"Dumb-Dumb, stop being a dick." 

"I cannot," he said with a deadpan expression. 

"Hmmmm~" Aurelia puffed her cheeks, wanting to club him with her wooden sword. "Dummy," she muttered beneath her breath, unsure why he acted the way he did at times. 

Sometimes, he was kind and considerate; other times, he was cold, and sometimes… he was cruel. Aurelia was suddenly reminded of the exchange a week ago after the Shipment of Svel arrived. A soldier came to her doorstep drenched in blood. His eyes were so bloodshot from tears. 

"MONSTER! YOU'RE A BLOODY MONSTER!" he roared at the top of his lungs like a curse that carried so much hate it stung. 

"Ah~ Guess you completed the objective. Good job, Jon. I knew you had it in you." The Silver Devil laughed, clapping his hands. He gestured a shoo, "Now go. You're all yukky." 

"I don't know what demon you came out of, but you and your entire bloodline are cursed!" Jon swore, about to vomit, when an invisible blow of force twisted his arm into a peculiar angle, forcing bone to tear from the flesh. 

Blood painted the earth a luscious crimson as a pigish squeal tore at the air, reaching high and low. 

Aurelia watched thunderstruck as Zariel tore the bone out of Jon's arm and began to beat him with it. By the time he was done, all that was left was a swollen abomination of a man, bleeding from nearly every orifice imaginable. 

He chuckled. "Jon… do you know what happens when a soul meets fire? They burn. Not physically. No, it's all mental… at least, that's how it starts. When I tell you the pain will be so delicious, you will pray for death. Sweet, Sweet Death. You can believe that. Like an itch you can't reach. It'll burn; it'll radiate from every pore, every cell like magma bubbling beneath the skin, writhing until something in you breaks. You'll pray for death. But it'll never come. That'll be your punishment. That will be the lesson from master to slave." 

(A/N: Zariel got no chill)

As Aurelia returned to herself, recalling that accursed day, the screams of what she had heard from the dungeons had been a memory, a sound she wished for no man to experience. 

And she wondered, 'How can he still smile?' 

When Genny returned, she was welcomed by a joyous hum of recognition as she held the Avectine Gem before her Lord. It was a stunning emerald, traced with several veins that made it seem ethereal. 

Zariel held it, gave it a deep look through the eyes of the Weave, and tossed it back to Genny. "Simple enough." 

"That's it? No—"

Before Selene could speak, her gaze went wide as she saw the letter in his hands crystalize before her very eyes. She could understand if he didn't recognize Avectine. Could understand if he was a genius. But to Transfigure, an object without a Transfiguration Circle or prep had not been something she'd ever seen in her life. 

The art of Transfiguration was an arduous task requiring months of studying, possibly years. She herself had taken nearly five years in order to find a way to increase her physical prowess via Transfiguration. 

"Monster!" she mewled, covering her mouth incredulously. 

For nearly a full minute, The Countess, Selene Delmon, stood there enthralled, so much so her mouth was ajar. 

Zariel tossed her the letter. 

The countess caught it and studied it. Unable to stop the shaking of her arms. 'Was this not a feat said to be done by the ancient elves?' she wondered, pulled in by how fare the Grade of Avictine was. She could not tell if it was magically altered or not. 

'Perfect, Transfiguration,' she thought.