I could feel my heart beginning to race as I stared into the bright green eyes laced with dark tendrils of mana. His name had left my mouth venomously, though it could hardly begin to express the deep-rooted anger I was feeling.
Whether Balgrim had merely been possessed by Mideia, or perhaps had become his form-incarnate, I didn't know. There was, however, a stillness in the air that I couldn't ignore. It vaguely reminded me of that night in the storage room, and regardless of how I felt at that moment, I knew I couldn't act rashly.
Thoma, how are you sure it's him? Kalia asked me through our connection, her worry, as well as Ysevel's and Mom's, pouring through our connection while they helped Meliss. I'd know that voice anywhere after that night, but I don't know why he chose to show himself now, I replied, never once taking my eyes off him.
We began to circle each other with matching steps, with him moving toward the orb while Ed was held hostage, and I carefully watched every minute movement of his. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it was akin to a predator stalking its prey, which had noticed it doing so.
But who's the predator in this case? I thought, adjusting my grip on my blade.
"What are you doing here, Mideia?" I asked through gritted teeth as clearly as I could over the deep humming of the orb behind him. "Am I not allowed to see an old friend? I thought you'd be pleased with the gift I left you last time when I inhabited that broken farmer's body," he spoke in a smoother voice than he'd used before, though I suspect it was due to him getting used to inhabiting Balgrim's body.
"Friend? What kind of friend seals a young boy's core, or possesses an old farmer who had nothing to do with anything?" I scoffed. "The kind who didn't want you to be used for a purpose you know nothing about," he replied with a knowing smile aimed at Kalia.
I felt a sinking feeling in my gut that I couldn't entirely ignore, one that caused my eyes to widen ever so slightly. "Ah, I see you haven't been told anything at all. I suppose I should congratulate your mentors for keeping such a precious secret from you," he said, giving her a glance that forced me to look at Kalia momentarily.
He's trying to turn you against us, Thoma, and this is how he does it. He doesn't know your core is unsealed, so you should use that to your advantage, she sent me with a subtle nod. I knew I had to play along to get as much information out of him as I could, but it took me a few moments to gather and order them properly. To avoid giving him any indication she'd communicated with me, I simply blinked and turned my gaze back to him.
I trusted Kalia with my life, and even more than that. I also knew that whatever warnings she would give me were not done so lightly, and so I figured feigning ignorance was the best move I could make until I got what I wanted.
"What are you trying to say then, friend?" I asked with a loose and begrudging use of the word, but he clicked his tongue a few times and shook his head. "Take that back, Thoma. It's not a good idea to lie," he scowled, nearly causing me to lose my focus on protecting my thoughts.
"I don't believe you would see me as a friend so easily, not after all the years you've spent hating me and wondering why that happened to you in the first place," he shook a finger on the hand that still held the dagger to Ed's temple, forcing me to set my jaw and sigh through my nostrils.
"Fine, then. What do you want to tell me?" I asked flatly, but my question seemed to confuse him. "You're not going to demand I let your best friend go first? My, my. Your pragmatism rivals that of even Duke Karthus," he said, though I had no idea who he was talking about at the time.
"To answer your question, there is only one thing I want from you, Thoma, but I believe you already know what it is," he said with a wicked smile, sending a dozen tendrils of Leech mana that raced through my body like lightning. I shielded my core with as much Ethereal mana as I could bear, but that left the rest of my body vulnerable to his power.
I felt my brow furrow as memories of that fateful night returned in full force, making me re-live that piece of my past, and the years of pain I endured thereafter flowed through my entire body. I could smell the salted pork hanging above me, see the flicker of candlelight dancing across the cloth that covered his face, and the taste of blood in my mouth as I struggled against his will.
Once the memory was nearing its end, I forced myself to blink and shake my head to push the memory from my mind. I didn't realize it immediately, but I was breathing much more heavily than before. That fact was only accented by the horrified looks on my mother's, Kalia's, and Ysevel's faces.
They must have seen and felt everything I had that night as the re-lived memory flashed through my mind, but I couldn't bear to look at them for much longer than a glance, lest it give away my innermost thoughts.
"Y-You wanted my a-allegiance," I said with no small amount of difficulty as the air in my lungs pained me to escape, prompting his shoulders to tremble as my words reached his ears.
"Mhm-hm-hm-hm… hahahahaha…. HAHAHAHA! AAAAAAAAH, YES! Yes, Thoma! Oh, you cannot even begin to fathom how excited I am to hear that you finally remember that! What a little bit of pain won't get you, huh? To listen to you say those words is like music from the halls of Polarion to my ears!" he shouted with the purest elation I'd ever seen, while I tried to steady my breathing.
"Ye-he-hessss, Thoma. Yes, yes, yes. This is good! Just look at us! A step closer to the end at last!" he continued, tilting his head back and raising a hand to grasp at some invisible hope far beyond this realm. After taking a second to breathe in deeply, the skin around his eyes darkened into a deep-set black that only accentuated the sickly green glow of his irises.
He looked at me with a ravenous glare, as if his prey had just walked into his den. "But do you know why I'm as pleased as I am?" he asked, his tone carrying the curiosity of an instructor quizzing a pupil, but I could only weakly shake my head.
"Because since that fateful night, I, too, have dreamed about the day we would meet again, so that I may guide you on the path to greatness," he said, hardly able to keep a manic grin from showing. "What path to greatness?" I asked, doing my best to let him speak as much as possible so I could regain my strength, recalling a lesson I'd learned from Aurae during my first attempt at using mana to detect people's intentions.
She'd told me that one of the best ways to force your enemy to make a mistake whenever I was at a disadvantage was to let them talk, as it would often lead to them spilling information they would have otherwise kept to themselves.
There's no way she knew this would happen even back then, right? I wondered idly, coating my thoughts in as much protection as I could.
"I'm glad you asked, Thoma. After all, you are an essential sign at the crossroads," he began, twirling the dagger at Ed's temple ever so slightly. "You see, the powers that be have grown complacent. They sit on their thrones and hold counsel with each other about what's best for the realms," he began, stepping backward toward the orb's controlling device, prompting me to take a half-step forward as well.
"Unfortunately for them, I exist to challenge what they view to be best, and believe that all realms should be given the power to rule over themselves, and not be subjugated to the will of a few," he said with a halfhearted shrug.
"They would never agree to that," I said, taking another step forward as he took another back. "You would find yourself pleasantly surprised at how incorrect that statement is," he tilted his head forward, the wolfish grin returning to his features.