Elias Leywin POV
I let out a groan and pressed my palm to my temple. The world tilted beneath my fingers.
'What happened...'
My thoughts dragged, thick and slow, as if I were trudging through fog. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the soft light that seemed to filter through the air itself. I squinted and raised a hand to block its relent. With much effort, I pushed myself upright.
'It was so quiet. Too quiet.'
No birdsong threaded the air. No wind brushed my skin. Even the annoyance of bugs was void in this place. The silence pressed against my ears until I became aware of my own breathing, too loud in the hush.
I pressed my palm against the ground, where the cool and strangely unmoving blades of grass lay under my touch. I stood and brushed stray petals from my clothes.
Flowers stretched in every direction. Blues and violets bled into white and gold, their heads dipping in a slow rhythm that matched a breeze that didn't exist.
'Where... am I?'
This place... it didn't feel real. It was too soft, too quiet, too perfect. There was a stillness to it all that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I turned in place slowly, searching for anything. Anything to anchor me, to offer any sense of understanding.
A laugh rang out behind me. I jerked so hard my heel caught in the grass.
"Shit," I muttered, the word slipping out before I could stop it.
I froze, turning slowly to face the voice.
She stood a few steps away, half hidden by a drift of bluebells. White hair spilt straight down her back, catching the strange light until it almost glowed. Her dress, silver, stirred faintly at her knees. Violet eyes watched me without blinking.
"...Hi?" The word felt small in my mouth.
She tilted her head. A smile curved across her lips.
"You scare so easily."
"I do no-" I stopped. My eyes grew wide. "Have we done this before?"
She cracked a solemn smile.
"Your name is Nimue, and this place is called Avalon, right?"
"I'm glad you remember me, Elias." She closed the distance in a breath and wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you." She whispered into my ear before pulling back. She smiled and kept her hands on my shoulders as she looked at me.
"For what?" I asked with a tilt of my head.
She ignored me and stepped back, holding out her hand. "Come. Walk with me."
I glanced past her, at the endless stretch of meadow. "Where were we going?"
I glanced past her at the endless field. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
Flowers brushed against my legs as we walked. The sky held no sun, yet everything glowed with the dim softness of early morning.
I hesitated, then placed my hand in hers. Her fingers curled around mine.
"So... are you real?" I asked.
Her laughter this time was gentler. "What do you think?"
"That's not an answer."
"It is for now."
I exhaled through my nose. "How do you know my name?"
"Because I've been waiting for you."
'That's not creepy at all.'
A knot formed low in my stomach. I opened my mouth, but she spoke again before I could fire another question.
"You were always going to find me." She smiled over her shoulder at me. "No... rather, I was always going to find you, Lias."
"That's not my-" I paused, letting out a heavy exhale.
The flowers thickened as we walked. Stems rose to my waist. The blues darkened into indigo. White blossoms glimmered faintly, like distant lanterns.
"What is this place?" I asked. "Is it mana? Some kind of dream?"
She looked back at me, something like surprise flickering in her eyes. "You're getting closer."
"So it is a dream."
"Avalon is dreamlike," she said, trailing her fingers through a cluster of golden petals. They rippled at her touch. "But this... this is a memory."
"Yours?"
"No, Lias, Yours."
My steps faltered. "But, I've never been here."
"Not like this, not as you are now," she said softly. "But parts of you have. Echoes and Fragments of your sense of self have."
I rubbed a hand over my face. "You're not explaining anything."
She only laughed and skipped a little ahead. "You ask as many questions as ever."
"What's changed?" I quickened my pace to keep up.
She released my hand and walked on.
I stopped. "Nimue."
She did not turn.
"Nimue!"
"It seems we have less time than I hoped."
She spun to face me from several strides away and lifted her hand.
I looked down.
My fingers blurred at the edges. Light passed through them. My chest followed, the meadow faintly visible through my own body.
"Damn..."
"Living creatures aren't supposed to be on Avalon's plane, even if it's through a "Then how am I here?" My voice thinned with the rest of me. "How did I make this?"
She approached until she stood before me again. Her hand rose and settled against my cheek.
"You will learn in time, Elias."
"What does that mean?"
Her thumb brushed my cheekbone. "You've made fantastic progress. Grow stronger, and you will learn the answers to all you seek... My Prince"
"Prin-"
---
I jolted upright with a sharp gasp.
Air tore into my lungs. The ceiling swam above me. Pale morning light slipped between the curtains in narrow lines. The scent of wood and linen grounded me. My hand flew to my cheek as if her touch had left a lingering echo.
"...Was that... real?" I asked the room. "That place... Avalon," I murmured, pressing a hand to my chest. My heart hammered beneath it. "Of course it is, it felt more real than here."
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and let them hang.
"My Prince," I repeated the words aloud. They sounded ridiculous coming from me.
'She said she'd been waiting for me, but for what? And she acted as if she knew me better than I knew myself?'
"...It was like she knew what I was going to ask before I did," I whispered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "She said this was a memory. My memory." I shook my head slowly. "But I've never been there before... have I?"
Flowing white hair, Brilliant violet eyes and the most beautiful melodic laugh. I tighten my eyes. "No, not this time. I will remember." I tightened my fists.
"I'm not crazy," I muttered.
I pressed down my Grey-brown hair, running my fingers through the smooth strands. I pushed it back, letting it fall on either side of my head. I stared a moment longer until a sudden realisation washed over me.
"Arthur," I breathed, suddenly wide awake. "He's leaving today."
My eyes shot towards the door. "What if he's already?"
I shot out as fast as I could manage. My legs carried me faster than my mind could keep up. My half-fastened boots slapped against the floorboards as I skidded down the steps. I nearly slipped on the last step as I rounded the corner into the entryway.
"Art!" I shouted, my voice ringing through the still house.
But the silence answered back.
I began my approach towards the front door.
"Good Afternoon, sleepyhead." my mother said, her arms crossed before her chest.
I looked up at her wide-eyed.
"Your brother left a few hours ago, we didn't want to wake you since he said that you two had already said your goodbyes." she said, an air of sadness clinging to every word.
"I see..."
My mother closed the distance between us and scooped me up.
"Lias, I was just about to make Ellie some food. Would you like to help?"
I nodded slightly as she carried me to the Kitchen.
---
It had been a little over two months since Arthur left to become an adventurer. In that time, I spent almost every waking moment, that I wasn't forced to be with tutors, training.
From noon till dusk, I refined my mana core through both meditation and practising Mana Rotation as he had taught me. As practising how to fight...
My father's wooden blade swung in a downward arc towards me.
I stepped to the side instead of back, feeling the rush of air as the strike skimmed past my shoulder. My counter came late. He caught it easily and twisted his wrist, forcing my arms wide.
"Again," he commanded as we both took 10 paces back.
This time, he shot forward with his blade pointed towards my solar plexus. Aiming low, he intended to test my footing with a sharp thrust. I parried at the last second, wood clacking against wood, and felt the tremor of his strength run down into my palms. Even restrained, he was overwhelming.
With the help of the resultant force, I retreated three steps before forcing myself to stop.
"Enough Of that, Lias." He shouted. "Stop running and face me, or you won't ever get stronger."
'He's right...'
An exhale escaped me as I closed my eyes and focused inwards. The heat that burned bright within my core flowed from it and towards my hands. When I opened my eyes, gold fire spilled along the length of my wooden sword, coating it without consuming it. The grain of the wood glowed beneath the flames, as if sunlight had been trapped inside.
Father's brow lifted, and a small smile tugged at his mouth. Red fire crawled up his own blade in response.
"That's more like it," he said, settling into his stance. "Now show me you can control it."
I drove in low, swinging for his side. Gold met red in a burst of sparks. Heat rolled off the clash and washed over my face. He slid his blade beneath mine and lifted, turning my strike aside with infuriating ease.
I pivoted and slashed again, this time releasing a pulse of flame from the edge of my sword.
The arc of fire detached and tore through the air toward him.
He did not dodge.
His blade cut through the projectile mid-flight. The impact detonated in a bloom of embers that scattered across the yard. A few sparks kissed his sleeve and died there.
"Good," he called, already advancing. "But you're still not putting your all into it." Each of his steps felt deliberate. The grass blackened beneath his boots. An oppressive Heat thickened around him as if the space itself were being claimed by his mana.
My throat tightened. Whether from the smoke or nerves, it didn't matter.
'Fine, if you wanna do this, let's do this.'
I flung my blade aside and thrust my left hand forward.
Mana rushed towards my palm and took form in a sphere. Sweat ran down my temple. Holding the sphere steady took more control than any swing of my blade. I could feel my mana draining in a steady pull as the mass continued to grow.
Step by step, my father continued to close the distance.
"Seriously?" I muttered as he drew nearer.
'Even in the face of a sun, he still...'
I began to compress my mana as I drew both hands to my side, one above the other. The heat thickened between my palms, tightening into a dense, spinning sphere. Gold shifted toward white at its centre. The air shimmered violently around it.
My arms trembled as I forced the flames inward, refusing to let them flare out of control.
Father slowed, watching carefully now.
"That's it," he murmured.
I waited until he was close enough to see the reflection of the fire in his eyes.
Then I thrust both hands forward.
The sphere shot out and elongated mid-flight, collapsing into a narrow lance of blinding gold. It did not spread or explode. Just bludgeoned forwards with a fury.
The ground split beneath it in a straight, molten line. Grass ignited in the wake of its heat. The beam slammed into my father's hastily raised sword with a sound like metal striking an anvil.
His red aura surged, thickening into layered shields. My lance bored into them, grinding forward inch by inch. The feedback tore through my veins. It was as if I were held onto live coal with bare hands.
'Push. Just a little more.'
The world narrowed to heat and resistance. I stumbled forward, pushing my mana to its 'limits'. The world narrowed to heat and resistance, as the lance shattered into fragments of light. The recoil threw me backwards. I hit the ground hard, the air knocked from my lungs, vision swimming with sparks.
I forced my eyes open. I leaned on my elbow as I took in the sight before me. The yard was carved by a glowing trench that cut straight toward where my father stood.
Smoke rose from his arms. The sleeves of his shirt were burned away, and faint scorch marks streaked across his forearms where his blade didn't cover.
He stepped through the haze and crouched beside me, placing a warm finger against my forehead. "I win", my father said, smirking.
I squinted up at him, still trying to breathe through lungs that felt like they had been wrung out and set on fire. "You're... the worst, Dad."
He chuckled and sat back on his heels beside me. The faint heat still rising from his body made the air waver around him.
"That," he said after a moment, glancing back at the trench, "was not a pretty trick."
"Was... that a compliment?" I groaned as I tried and failed to sit up.
"Don't push it." He nudged me gently with the heel of his palm. "You've only just reached Dark Red, Lias, and as a Conjurer, your spells will get stronger as your mana core improves and your mana veins strengthen." My father wagged a finger at me.
"It seems Talent really does run in your family, Mr Leywin," a feminine voice called, cutting through the ambience.
---
Hello everyone, Rius here,
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. See you tomorrow for Chapter 12.
Thank you to Lancelot Dragonroad for beta-reading and editing.
Rius Out.