The stage is enveloped in a red mist, falling from the ceiling like a curtain. It suddenly dissipates, revealing the empty stage's transformation. It was now a busy street in a castle town, with the main cast of comedians walking down its center, having appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The play then begins: it was the story of a single man trying to bring magic to his village, where everyone feared it as an uncontrollable force of nature. He was met with mockery, prejudice and even persecution due to his inability to communicate properly without sounding condescending. He apparently couldn't help it, given that he was fascinated with magic and easily got impatient when people asked to re-explain the very basics. Eventually though, he was approached by a scribe whose interest was sparked by how convenient magic could be. The scribe ended up discovering his own passion for it, and from that point on worked tirelessly to spread the word as the man's first disciple. The comedians were pouring their souls into each and every one of their lines, making it difficult to believe they were playing characters. A few acts later, it is revealed that the man was very ill. Due to how much he had exerted his magic over the past few years to teach every person that came his way, he had developed a form of incurable magic-induced necrosis that slowly progressed from his fingertips and up his arms. He knew that he would perish should it reach his heart, and when he shared this with his now numerous disciples, they all pleaded for him to stop. But he was adamant: "My work is not done yet. I swear that I will make you all into accomplished mages, so that you never need to depend on me again to continue progressing the field of magic, or your own lives. I think this… you… would be my greatest achievement. "
After this, the events of the play start accelerating, as the man did all he could with the last embers of life left in his body to pass the torch to his disciples. During the last act, he was an old man on his deathbed, surrounded by all the people that had trusted in him and helped him achieve his goal. At last, he knew that he had accomplished something that would outlive him. His arms were wrinkled and darkened, almost like they were charred by a fire, due to how much he had exerted his magic over the course of his life. As life leaves his body, the curtain of red mist slowly starts falling over the scene again as the crowd erupts in thunderous applause. Even Julian claps, and Angelica gives vigorous approving nods to the scene with a wide grin. Nyx lightly frowns in confusion.
- "Wait, this isn't how it ends at all." She comments as she gets up.
- "Nyx ?" Julian turns towards her. "You didn't like it? That play is about as old as the kingdom itself I think, so I figured you'd enjoy it."
- "No, it was very good but this is wrong! His story didn't end like this! I really don't like when stuff is retold while missing important details."
- "His story? Who are you talking about?"
- "Solomon of course! This is almost a one to one replica of his life's story!"
- "What?..." Julian looks back and forth between the actor playing the old man, still laying on his deathbed, and Nyx. "You-"
- "Julian." Angelica suddenly cuts.
He looks at her, and notices she was staring at a group of nobles downstairs in the auditorium, having already gotten up from their seats and heading towards an ornate wooden door on the side of the seating area.
- "...Oh." Julian squints. "Good catch, it's weird that they aren't discussing the play like everyone else."
- "What would you do without me!" Angelica laughs.
- "Shut up, I just got distracted…" He tries to ignore her as he looks down.
- "Surely! Oh, Nyx? What do you want?"
- "I need to get downstairs…" He gets up to leave, but stops when he notices one of the nobles from the group having stopped to stare back at him. It was a tall elf with long white hair, slightly longer ears than him, and deep, dead green eyes. He was wearing a simple white suit, along with red-palmed black gloves. Julian's heart skips a beat as he recognizes the face. "Father?..."
Julian's father leans towards one of the other nobles, whispering a few words in his ear before quickly walking away. Said noble looks up at Julian, before pointing his finger at him and yelling with all his might:
- "Isn't this the youngest son of the Leventis, rumored to have died almost two decades ago?!"
- "...Fuck." Julian whispers as the theatre goes silent for a second, as all heads progressively turn towards him.
The gears of his mind kick into high gear, trying to find any way to salvage the situation. He is distracted by the sight of Angelica picking up Nyx by the waist and lifting her above her head. She then takes a step forward with a devilish grin on her face as she throws her above the auditorium and towards the stage. Nyx flies above the heads of all the bewildered nobles, leaving a trail of stars as she goes and surrounding herself in a light veil of violet energy.
- "What the hell are you doing?!" Julian yells as he runs to the edge of the balcony, panicking as he sees Nyx slowly losing altitude.
- "She asked me to throw her, so I did!" Angelica laughs. "It seems she decided this little show is not over yet!"
- "You're insane!"
- "I would argue she outperforms me in that department! That said, I really do enjoy the way she goes about things!"
They are interrupted by a burst of light erupting from the scene. A thin veil of stellar plasma was burning away the curtain as Nyx passed through it, very slowly descending towards the visibly perplexed comedians. Nyx waves her hands, and a small replica of the sun appears above her, creating a giant pillar of light mimicking the theater's projectors. Her stars fill the stage, lighting up the entire stage and quickly gravitating around each of the comedians.
- "I am a goddess and I have come to offer you a second chance, human!" She theatrically shouts to the old man, her unusually imperious voice resonating around the auditorium. "After all, are you not all dissatisfied with this ending?" She points her hand at the rest of his disciples before focusing her attention back on him. "And you, did you not have other aspirations?"
- "..." The lead comedian stares at her with a mixture of fear and confusion. "(What. the. HELL. is happening.)" He thinks, before closing his eyes. "(No… this was supposed to be my first major role, and what was going to propel me onto the big scene. I can't let some… freak ruin this once in a lifetime opportunity. Come on Marcus, work those damn improv skills to death if that's what it takes!)" He rolls over in his bed, loudly coughing before glancing back up at Nyx. "A goddess? I do not recall Lady Vivianne being a deity of death! Who are you, truly? I will not hesitate to take you down should you mean harm to my companions!"
- "That is because I am no goddess of Love!" Nyx opens her arms, and all her stars flare, lighting up the entire auditorium. "I am Nyx, goddess of Night! Serafim once crowned me the mightiest of all gods, and my mere existence was so inconceivable to humans that I forsook them… No, they have forsaken me! But I was touched by your noble soul, and thus decided to descend onto this earth to bestow upon you the gift of eternal life!"
- "Impossible… you couldn't possibly mean…"
- "You shall become one of my kin!" She reaches her hand down towards him as the light of the sun above her intensifies. "I ask of you, noblest of humans. What is your name?"
- "Terminus, of the Artanis family!"
- "Then, by my Authority I crown you Terminus, god of the Arcane! Come, Terminus, we have much to do!"
Meanwhile, Julian was staring at the scene with his mouth agape at the fact Nyx wasn't immediately arrested by the theater's security, who was idly watching from the sides.
- "Hey Agnes?" Julian says to the dove now perched on his shoulder. "I think it's gonna be hard to keep a low profile from now on." He looks down, and notices all the people in the theater were now focused on Nyx. "That's probably the best distraction I could've asked for though."
- "Good luck elf boy!" Angelica loudly whispers with a smirk as he starts making his way down the stairs, trying to avoid garnering attention back to them.
Julian silently navigates to the door they spotted earlier, expertly using the shadows projected by Nyx's light show to reach it without anyone noticing. He pushes the door, which leads into a long corridor with faintly glowing magic circles drawn on the wall, seemingly powering or controlling the auditorium's magical projectors. Nyx's muffled voice was resonating through the wall as she delivered her lines, but Julian could hear other voices coming from the end of the corridor he was facing. He quickly makes his way there, hugging the far wall to make himself less noticeable. Eventually, he sees the origin of the voices: a group of about ten nobles, seemingly engaged in a heated discussion.
- "What do you mean you cannot unlock sufficient funds?!" One yells. He was a short man with a thick black beard, with a white top hat featuring a long black feather on his head. "Would you rather hold onto your fortune than your beliefs?!"
- "My sons have started to get suspicious." A second one replies with a few sweat drops trickling from his forehead.
- "Our goddess takes precedence! Were you a true believer, you would not care about your sons' opinions. Maybe I should report you to the church of the Eternal Night for heresy after all…"
- "A- Anything but that!"
- "Enough." A third one speaks up. Julian freezes in place as he recognizes the slow and deliberate tone of his father's voice. The latter steps in front of the sweating noble. "You have no authority to threaten aristocratic families of equal standing."
- "Ha!" The first noble scoffs. "Need I remind you that you are also of equal standing with us? It truly is a delight to see how far the Leventis have fallen. Given that we all are equal in this room, we should hold this to a vote! Who else in the assembly thinks this was enough?"
- "..." Julian's father silently glares at him, and no one else moves a muscle.
The first noble opens his mouth to speak with a satisfied grin, but is interrupted by the sound of the wooden door leading to the corridor slamming open in the distance. Everyone tenses up, including Julian, and the first noble turns away.
- "We shall continue this discussion another day. Let us leave before we are found out."
Julian sighs and steps out of the shadows, holding out a solid white card with the insignia of the Arcane Guard printed on it. They all take a step back, save for his father.
- "Ahem." Julian clears his throat. "Fourth Branch of the Arcane Guard, trainee Julian Leventis under supervision of Agnes Syka. You're all detained under suspicion of… what was the term again? Unlawful conspiracy?... I don't remember. Point is, you're all shady and I have a few questions."
- "...I do not understand what you are referring to." The black bearded noble replies. "We were simply conversing about private matters relating to commerce and our respective businesses."
- "Hey that's great, now I can actually detain you for longer on count of withholding information during an investigation!" He clears his throat again. "Sorry I'm not very pro. Your entire conversation was recorded. I've been there for a minute now."
- "Julian?!" Another male voice hesitantly yells from the dark end of the corridor behind him.
- "Ugh. Who's that now…" He glances behind him, but doesn't see anyone yet.
- "Reinforcements…" The black bearded noble whispers.
- "No." Julian's father deeply frowns, staring at the faintly lit darkness behind Julian.
- "What could you mean… Nevermind that, isn't he your son?! Take care of him at once!"
- "...What are you suggesting? Choose your next words carefully."
- "Silence him of course! Do not threaten me over the obvious!"
- "I doubt he would listen."
- "Then silence him for good! I am speaking clearly am I not?! Your only saving grace is that you still are a national-grade mage, so put these skills to good use! Unless you would rather the Eternal Night do so herself?"
Julian's father silently steps forward, and a powerful gust of visible, white wind surrounds him. The stormy wind slowly starts taking the shape of a large dragon, forcibly compressed by the walls of the corridor and looming over him and Julian. The nobles are pushed back by the powerful stream of air emanating from it, and Julian creates an invisible barrier in front of him to protect himself. He could feel the overwhelming magical energy of his father as it clashed with his spell. It was like trying to stop a river by standing in its way with a shield.
- "I know you're smarter than this, fath-" Julian stops for half a second before continuing. "...Regulus. From what I gathered, there's no way you can get away with murder in the family's current position. Plus, I'm affiliated with a noble from Polemys, so you'll probably get in trouble with them." He sighs as he reaches inside his vest and takes out a concealed dagger, its perfectly polished blade reflecting the light from the magic circles on the walls. "...Just surrender."
- "I heard that you had joined the Arcane Guard, and I remember hoping it was false." Regulus replies. "I am afraid there is no talking this out. Currently, you stand as not my progeny but the enemy of my god."