"Admiral, you shouldn't have come."
"Shush, Hans. Let's make haste! I'll go first" With a pep in her step, the Admiral had already gone far.
A small group of people was traversing the dark forest. One of them sped up and went ahead while the others tried to follow. The one called Admiral seemed to be the fastest amongst them and was headed towards the direction of the loud bombs.
Hans followed resignedly as his superior just happens to be the reckless type. Oh, karma. He knows it will reach them one day.
Regardless, they were supposed to be on a retrieval mission. Any second delay cannot and will not be tolerated.
It was of highest importance to retrieve the seer.
He just hopes they were not too late.
...
Ah... He jinxed it didn't he?
...
Serie Hajun was the hero hailed as the Admiral of the North, she's well on her way to establishing a powerful force that could push her to the top for establishing a new empire. An S+ level threat to every other competitor.
Rumor has it that a seer was living in a small village southwest in the north. With the seer's foresight, the village was able to survive roughly from the war despite the destruction or abandonment of the neighbouring villages. This place was just near the border where barbarians lived and attacked. With winter coming, it won't be so easy to survive. Having the seer would only benefit them.
Now, if they acquire the seer not only would the foresight become a great advantage, it will also boost the morale of the army.
Serie increased her speed once she saw the smoke from a far and as she nears, the burning village.
Were they too late?
She went straight to where she sensed the largest mana fluctuations. Going there, the first thing she noticed was the change in temperature. The cool air was uncharacteristically blowing despite being a place filled with ashes just moments ago.
In the center of it all was a child staring at her strangely.
"Are you here to kill me?"
Serie heard the child talk in a strange tone. It seems not to be a question but a statement.
She sprinted sideways and raised her sword to block the sudden attack. It was a volley of sharp icicles that followed her. It came from the child with her hand raised outward.
"You're stronger than me."
After Aris said that she put down her outstretched hand. She gazed upwards wanting to see the sky.
What color would the sky be when she died again?
She couldn't be bothered to fight with this person who had just arrived. Her earlier bout caused the mess around her and the exhaustion she strongly feels. What mess? After Ren died, no, seconds before he died, she tried to save him. Then, she was unable to. What followed next resulted to her current surroundings and her worse for worse condition.
The bodies around her were killed swiftly with a straight icicle to the heart. Some were hard to put down but eventually fell dead. As she used this power the more she eventually felt weak. Her hands were also frayed with frostbite. A side effect, she thinks.
'It's taking a long time to die.' She turned her gaze towards the woman who was just silently observing her. Finally, the woman talked.
"Do you want to come with me?"
"For what?" The words just came out. But, then again, for what was this living again shit.
"Do you want to see life beyond war?" The woman asked.
How laughable. The woman thinks I don't know what that life is.
"Whatever." She let go of herself. Her body was beyond battered and in normal standards, she not survive her wounds. If she survives, it's because of the messed-up world that she traveled to.
...
Serie was really, really curious about the child. That was enough reason for her to pick her up from the ground she lay. It was also how her men saw her when they arrived. Death surrounded her and the only mana flunctuation was the child she was holding. She doesn't think the child was the seer. But, maybe, something more. Besides, looking around? The seer must be dead or had escaped.
She huffs and sighs as she carries the child. To medical she goes. She signs to go back to base and the men all followed.
You just don't question the commander especially in the middle of a dead man's land.
...even if she was not the cause of it.
...
Aris had a long dream. Aside from a disordered replay of her memories she remembers something more significant.
It was about that book. Renee was the daughter of a baron with "weak" magic. Due to this, she was shunned and ignored by those around her for a long time. She entered the Espire Academy for mages and kept a low profile until her 4th year. In the 4th year of the academy, it was the time for team placements. This is where the story truly starts. Despite her standing, she was placed in a team for powerhouses. Placed with her year's top mage, Hiro, and the crown price, Leon. Not to mention, their teacher was a great general and the duke. She was suddenly put in a spotlight, one she couldn't avoid. Beyond the supposed glory came with the harmful attention.
Typical of a novel protagonist, she proves her worth along with a powerful hidden background. With her team, she stands and wins against powerful challenges. Power struggles, women's and peer jealousy, mysterious hidden organization, and finally, the final villain.
In this book, Aris had a favourite character. It was the team's teacher. He was described beautifully. Elias Vandervolt was man of great power and influence. He was one of those characters that was feared by others but cherished by those close to him. The character had a shit stone face that others would fear to get close. But, oh how it was drawn, how he was presented, oh, how he was illustrated. He could be the stereotypical cold duke around others but he was light-hearted and playful around those who were close to him and his, his smile..., it was when I truly understood the lines 'to kill for his smile' or a 'heaven-defying smile' or simply, a 'killer smile'. I was very much smitten with him. He is my favourite character amongst all the fiction I read. It's just that...
The author may have a mean and devilish strike in them that he made this man to be the final villain. As part of the main character group, he's not without his own trauma. There are just nuances carefully hidden. Elias grew up in the war between the kingdom and rebellion. It was explained that his parents were lost in this war along with other comrades of his. He was portrayed to be the loyal dog of the kingdom. The fracture in his character occurs in this.
As the villain, he was more than that. During the war, he was captured. It was before he became someone, it was part of why he became the great general. He endured the horrors as a captured prisoner. He persevered through it all. What was not shown was that he was captured by the enemy because he was led to it. That he was cursed by bloodthirst in the war. That his master was a person who betrayed the kingdom. That his parents were caught up in the power struggles and died not by war, but by their own relatives. That what he believed in was all for naught. That he was just a pawn and was used by others as a tool for their ambitions. In the end, he simply hated the world. For the world that did not listen to him nor treated him as a person, it's better to just burn.
He was a crazy smart man.
For the world that did not make sense he wanted to put it into order. Maybe, if he destroyed the world all pain would stop. In a novel typical fashion it was shown that only the protagonist, Renee, could stop him. In a strange turn of events, she was the daughter of his master. You would think that he would've hated her or had a complete disregard for her. Yet, it was only her that he allowed to go through in the final battle. All preparations were complete and various devastating outcomes would follow. But before all that, Renee as the protagonist stopped her teacher and was able to kill him. Elias was not able to fulfill his grand plan at all. Yet, still he took with him notable figures before he died. More specifically, those in power that he simply detested.
The rebellion he led for his purposes became Renee's foothold. She lead the kingdom and aided it through the changes of an era. The wrongness of those in power had to be rectified and the villain made it impossible to continue with a monarchy. Their encountered troubles, a part of which showed the protagonist group the reality of the kingdom allowed them to push through for change. Not by making the prince the king, but by going for a long-term solution. The nobles and power struggles had to go and a Republic was established. This is the short explanation of the mess he had left behind. As their teacher, he had a part in the machinations and aspirations in their young minds. Ah, it was idealistic. But, they achieved it. Renee became the first minister of Yireo.
The illustration that caught her heart was that when he was waiting for the protagonist to come. In a big white hall where mana inscriptions covered each corner and every block Elias stood alone at the center of it all. He looked straight and smiled? The smile that captured her heart as a reader was still so bright and looking at it, all of it became so bitter and heart-wrenching. You who lost your purpose. You who had suffered immensely. You who won't have that happy ending.
Villains have no good endings but you're the only one who knowingly walked into it.
Is what I understood.
Is what I know.
Because he was my favourite character and he was not dumb nor built of pure hate. Because you cleared the path for your students to live in a better world. You even left them a way out. In the end, you sought your own death.
...huh?...
Was it not fan art?
How did she even see that picture? That stupid smile.
...she remembers.
It hurt more because it was a hidden panel she payed for! It was suffocating to see a frustrating ending that she lost money to! The author was a money grabbing shit that supplied her with a ton of exclusives. She was subscribed to her platform and the money automatically deducted once she clicked. Oh, the stress! She was supposed to eat a good meal with that final money. She clenched her heart, feeling something was wrong. Was she attacked? What's wrong? No...her face...don't be ridiculous... of all the things...of all the fuckin' things...It's a fuckin' stroke.
...
...Ah, but he was so beautiful
~~~
Post
Ren was from a family that had great power. They could look beyond the present. As all great power comes, it is not without a cost and not for every member. The family just had the potential for it. It was rare thing and comes once per generation and may even skip a generation. Despite this, he was the (un)fortunate one to have it. Despite this, his sister also gave birth to one.
Let's back-up a little.
As a seer, he was hunted for. His family was closedly watched to see if they produced that rare ability. It came and it goes, he was the "prince" protected by the kingdom. All he could say is, fuck that.
Once he was old enough he was able to escape. His parents and family escaped before him. Then, to each their own. It's pointless to tell the various challenges just to do that. The end point is that he escaped. He escaped! He knew he could not reunite with his family. That's why he travelled great distances using his ability to reach freedom in the midst of turmoil.
Then, he met a wonderful woman, Alicia. She was as gentle as a spring breeze and her heart was good. A heart that was so good he didn't know how to go about it. She brought him warmth and all that good feelings. But, he couldn't do that. He couldn't selfishly impose the chains that constantly want to bind him. But, his sister came, and with her was that child. The child that had a short-lived destiny. A child who was also a seer. Who would've thought that being a seer was not that rare, afterall.
Ah, he hated this world and his destiny. He hated that he and the child were to be always trapped. Always running and running and running without fail until thier deaths. So, he stayed. He didn't want to run. He wanted the warmth and he was tired of the running. Her sister's family stayed close-by as he taught his little niece what to see and what not too. What sacrifices to make and how to run. In this world, she has to run and he hopes she finds the reason and ability to stay (like he has).
Alicia was with him. And oh, how he loved her. And how devastated he was to see her death coming. This ability was really cursed, it always brought him endless pain. So he sacrificed. How do you change the destiny you see? You sacrifice your life. He had a method, as all good mages have (not really), and he binded their lives together. He was definitely scolded and beaten by his wife. Yet, she relented, she must've hated how he gave her no decision over this. But what could he do? She was the only reason he has not lost himself just like some of his ancestors before him. She'll live and he lives. She dies and he dies. He could no longer see visions and only see very rare glimpses. A great side effect...or not. That's just the way it is.
It made them live for a few years before death finally came. He settled his wife down the garden they held dear and where he will lay next. When he saw his dear niece and nephew, he was already dying just in time. Just in time to hand over the scepter and to save a dying child.
Aris looked at man who layed smiling. How could she not understand? The fool was ready to die and even welcomed it. He was surrounded by blooming flowers that had enough soul in them. Ah, once again, she felt scammed. She should have just laid to rest, maybe, her next life was better? The kind uncle actually has the aura of a crazy person.
That's why you should not trust strangers.
But, he was really kind. Their family was really, really, kind.
~~~
~À suivre