Chapter 64

𝕾𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖔 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔: 𝕷𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝕳𝖆𝖟𝖊 𝖇𝖞 𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝕾𝖜𝖎𝖋𝖙

***

When the air was not enough to enter this prism of mine, and the golden mists that swirled around felt like defining stars from an unknown sky, everything moved as if it was measured from every breath one took.

The hand that continues to caress the wind not from too long ago on my side, and the grayish silhouette of a man I knew something about but not everything, and yet, I considered that nostalgia of the past, enough to blind my mind, came across my vision lurking me into his darkness, I blink and tap on that broad back of him.

"Lexus," I managed to whisper with his head slowly turning to mine, I could see the shine in his eyes enough to make me nod at everything he said but right now, I might just oppose that light.

"I can manage, you don't have to do this, besides, I once knew a name called Oratio," and I've only known that in the past when I was near my death because he was the one who was being chased by Caliere and Claudius being his mad dog.

But he was never found... until the day of my death.

Hesitantly, his body swayed like the finest soft fabric being caressed by the gentle and yet penetrating cold wind, my sight began to see that light again a different kind of light full of soft whispers from the past, a past that only chuckles from the young man in front of me could have.

"So, you said your name was Oratio, right?" Before responding to my question, his voice which was so sweet earlier as if it tasted like honey began to sway in laughter that could define our place to change in that of a meadow where our figures would be swayed but in a blink of an eye, the place remained the same.

"So, you knew now, right young lady?" his tone became deep and his eyes started to narrow as if he was looking at everything I was doing and every movement I had to make.

"But you know why I said my real name to you?"

"..." my mouth opened but my throat felt like it was holding my voice, even though I wanted to speak, my mouth felt dry. My hands that were previously holding the hem of my dress started to clench, and my sight looking at him began to waver until my only sight consisted of the young man who happened to have an old soul.

"At first I thought you were just here for some information as the young man behind you stated," he paused and looked at his long slender, and fine fingers touched a silver rose that came from nowhere.

It sparkled enough to blind our vision for a second before I could hear the young man exude this elegant breath out of his mouth.

"But then just by looking at your eyes, I began to be captivated, from tens of thousands of years that I've managed to live, it's the first time I saw those shining silver eyes that only mattered as a reminiscence of my past and a mistake that I've never regret to make..." his voice felt as if the softest voice I could ever hear.

It would ever stop caressing my whole body and it made my chest feel heavier but his words caught my mind, why would he say that he said those words to some people he just barely met? Vestia wanted to ask but even then, her eyes focused on the young man, despite her opened mouth and clenched hands.

Then in the blink of an eye, the young man who was far from where they were came like a flash of lightning in Vestia's place, enough to curl his majestic long slender pale finger to his chin, made a sound of his fingers and Vestia heard Lexus' grunt.

He was gritting his teeth while trying to move into this invisible barrier that Oratio managed to have, when Vestia looked into the young man's eyes, he couldn't find any of his soul because his eyes turned to have mixed colors like rainbows.

"Now you see the real colors of my eyes and yet you're still able to breathe, how fascinating... I guess I could never be wrong from my instincts..." he said, and he immediately moved away from Vestia as if he had been burned.

Lexus who was cast away from such a barrier moved to my side and put his hands across mine in front of where we face Oratio, I could feel his breathing and it was never the same, as if he had run a few more paces before coming to where I was.

His eyes that seemed to be calm like water when I saw them, for the first time, I saw a different side of him, as if he wanted to do some terrible things to the young man in front of us.

"Stay and never let that man's words come into you----"

"Oho, such a magnificent little creature you are, and yet you managed to break away from my spell, I see..." Oratio looked at us before fiddling his lower chin then as if he had been gifted with a new idea, he smiled at us with his pointing finger pointing upwards.

"You two might just be the ones I've been looking for"

"Shut up, you----"

"Tsk, no, no, no, we're not yet there, young man," Then Lexus' mouth instantly closed and even if he wanted to scream, I could see his eyes began to narrow and his hands started to clench.

"So might I ask you again this time, young lady, do you want to make a deal with me?" he had been offering his hands and I could see that my eyes wouldn't be able to get off from them.

I could also see from Lexus' peripheral view that everything made sense and yet, as if my body had a mind of its own, my hands reached Oratio's and later in that one second, everything was engulfed with bright light.

When I opened my eyes, we were in this paradise place where everything was full of green grasses from a distance and veins hugging the white cemented columns within.

I could see some seats and tables and some butterflies playing, some roses and flowers on the side of the path that we're currently at.

My eyes couldn't be focused on one thing and so they moved everywhere until my eyes descended on the shining sun setting down as if it was the most beautiful light I could ever look up and as if nothing more mattered than it was.

"Now, you two know that magic does exist, right?"

I wanted to ask him about it since there wasn't any magic to begin with, and yet, the way I came back to time was it part of someone's magic then? Or was it just fate that took pity on me?

Even if I wanted to ask those questions, my sight began to seal the mouth I had until the only thing I could move was my hands which were tightly gripping the hem of my dress.

"Right now, I knew that you two were curious about what had happened and yet you could barely speak, right?"

I don't know about Lexus but for me, I nodded.

"Then I guess you two needed to be taught"

"Why?" I managed to ask. There were a lot of questions I wanted to say to him but the very first one was enough to describe everything.

Why would he do this?

Why would he expose himself to people like us who knew nothing more than a legend from a book?

How did he manage to acquire such magic?

Or how did he manage to live that long and never aged? Was it also part of his magic?

Then why did the empire don't know anything about magic?

"I could hear from your thoughts that you're way too curious about the things you're seeing right now and most importantly, you young man must have been the most curious of the two that you couldn't wait to have those claws of yours come at my throat, is that it?"

I heard Lexus sneer but that was enough to make Oratio laugh.

"Don't worry, as well as don't fret over things that don't press any dangers from anything. Right now, I wanted you two to see how beautiful this place is, because this will be the place I would train you two"

"Wait, what?"

"Now you're asking me, Young Lady..."

"I thought we had a deal?" I asked again but he only chuckled through the air.

"Lady Vestia Monsiore and Lexus, her lady's personal butler and shadow assassin, I knew everything about you two the moment I laid my eyes even if there were no introduction to begin with..." yet, I could see how Lexus disappeared from my sight and eventually pointed his sharpest sword to Oratio's throat.

But instead of being scared, Oratio raised both of his hands and looked at us in the eyes as if he knew something we didn't and chuckled.

"Please, don't act so brave young man..." with a snap of his fingers, Lexus came crashing to one of the columns within.

And I could hear a thunderous sound of falling cement as I hurried to where Lexus was, he immediately stood and fixed himself but he could barely move as I heard Oratio laugh once more.

"You are still weak, if you want to fight me then you must have the will to be stronger than I am. So come again, young lady? What do you want to know?"

"Did I agree with your deal first?"

"The moment you and that young man entered this place, you already agreed with mine, and there's no going back, not when you two already knew what the others don't... and come on, I will not repeat the same words again, Lady Vestia..." the way he uttered my name, made my eyes narrowed.

"Tell me something about my household's tradition..."

"Is that all?"