Intuebar eas, stellas illas fulgentes in veste obscura quam caelum gerebat; fascinabant, quemlibet in potestate tenentes. Sed mihi… una sola erat, a qua oculos auferre non poteram..
-----
"hmmm... mmhm... mhhh..."
"..." "..."
The humming sound was sharp enough to cut through the prevailing silence inside the carriage.
Aurel, now not wearing his usual black gloves, was calmly applying oil to the brass gears in his prosthetic hand — the right one.
He quickly finished, wore his gloves back, and put the little oil bottle in the black case he was holding next to him.
"hmm, what is it..?" Feeling their bewildered stares, Aurel asked both of the twins — Lapsus and Luna, who were sitting in front of him.
"Uncle, your hand..?" It was Luna who was brave enough to bring up the matter.
"You mean this.. didn't I tell you about it before?"
Taking off his right glove, the brass metal shone under the crimson light of the sunset. Both Lapsus and Luna shook their heads aggressively, screaming no from inside their hearts.
Is it because he never took off his gloves..? I do remember feeling cold whenever he hugged me, but never thought it was because of metal...
"I see, it is a long story, a very long one... well, not that long, but let's just say I lost it in a little fight."
A little fight does not cost you your hand... if so, what does a big fight cost!!!?
"hehe... anyway, we're not here for this... hold this."
"Coins?" Taking out a couple of coins from his pocket, Aurel handed two to both Luna and Lapsus.
"Tell me, what do you think of them..?"
What do we think of them..? Those are just normal coins, aren't they..? I never cared or observed them much... he gave us a half and a quarter pound..?
"Uncle... uncle... mama used to tell me a story?" Luna asked.
"She said that the lady on the quarter coin is her..?"
Wait, what..? There's no way...
"She is right... also, I am the gentleman on the half pound."
No way!!? In denial, Lapsus hurriedly examined the coins to find out that it was true... yes way!! They really were them — if not, some people who really looked like them, which was highly unlikely.
"But how..?" Lapsus asked, confused.
"What do you mean how..?" Aurel scratched the back of his head.
"What are you talking about, Lapu... we learned this in school?"
"We did..?"
"Yes, it is said that by the death of a generation of royalty, the design of the currency changes for the sake of the new generation of royalty."
"Yes, yes... just like your big sister said... anyway, why do we keep running away from the reason we're here..?"
Saying so, the carriage they were riding stopped — it seemed like they had reached their destination.
"Sir Aurel, we have reached the forest..." a voice from the outside spoke.
"Thanks, Dave... shall we walk a little..." Saying so, Aurel stood, his golden eyes flashing black for a second.
"..!!?" Both Luna and Lapsus were surprised — the coins they once held were now in the hands of Aurel, as if they had moved by themselves.
"Your father asked me to teach you about the wyrms... this is a little example..." With his eyes back to golden, Aurel disembarked holding the black case
----
"Say Lapu... this the forest you ran into last day..?" Aurel asked.
With night taking place, the three of them were walking inside a forest.
"..."
Lapsus didn't answer — not because he didn't know the answer, but because he refused to. He didn't want to bring those memories back; even though they had just happened, not much time had passed, yet he was trying to suppress them — even forget them if he could.
"hehe, you don't need to answer..." Aurel laughed a little to moisten the mood, feeling it getting tense.
"But it is the forest you ran into... we made sure that nobody could enter, especially during the night, but you did... that in itself is incredible, but still..."
Aurel stopped walking as he realized he had reached a little open space.
"This will do..." he muttered.
Putting the black case he was holding aside, Aurel took off his coat and spread it on the ground.
"Please sit..." he beckoned the twins to sit on the coat, which they did.
"Say Luna, you have soft hands... take care of them for me." Taking off his glasses, he handed them to Luna.
"Alright, whoo... it's been a long time..."
Taking a few jumps and rotating his left and right hands back and forth, Aurel walked to the middle of the little space.
"Now, where should we start..."
He questioned before deciding on the way. He reached into his pocket and pulled out coins — not four, but many this time.
"Alright, let's do it this way..." He threw the coins, spreading them across the whole space; some were close and some were far away.
"Humans are weak..."
Weak..? But he said he would teach us about magic...
"By our own nature, we are not capable of much... if a person trains for years, all he can do at best is lift something heavier than him... but this is not enough..."
It is not enough...
"So, we sought strength other than physical strength... and here came knowledge. By the help of our humble lady, Iris, she taught us, and we developed... but it wasn't enough. We were still weak, still lacking, we were not satisfied."
We were not satisfied...
"He observed the gods — each one of them — each representing their own respective elements, and he studied them, worshiped them, and respected them. Thus, he was blessed."
Blessed..? Who..?
"Who is 'he'..?" It was Luna who asked. Like usual, she was always faster than me to voice her thoughts... and Lapsus just kept thinking.
"What do you mean him? There can only be one 'he'... the Venerable Valiant — Lance."
"Lance..? Isn't that the guy in those moral stories..?"
"They're not just any moral stories, Lapu... they are stories from The Testament. Do not underestimate."
"I am sorry..."
"It's okay... what I was saying is that Lance was blessed, and he was given a way — a path to come close to the gods — and that's what we call wyrms."
"Wyrms..?" The twins were confused at the odd term — a term they had never heard before.
"They are small entities... that, with proper treatment, open the way."
Aurel's golden eyes were dyed black, and as he opened his hand, many — although not all — of the coins he had thrown earlier came back to him... then he threw them back.
"The air we usually breathe does not contain just oxygen... there is this little thing — the thing that permits all concepts to materialize."
"What is it..?"
"It is called aether... they are small particles that roam generally in the wild and exclusively around concepts. They have their own patterns... and here comes the role of wyrms."
"...?"
"Those wyrms do not give you the prowess; they give you the ability to attain the prowess... and it starts by understanding those aether particles."
"How exactly..?"
"How exactly... well, you're still too young for this... but I'll just show you something..."
Growl!! It was a growl that sent the twins back — for it was familiar, and it wasn't the pleasant one. But Aurel's attitude didn't change; he just muttered, "Finally..." as if he was already expecting it. His eyes, already black, widened.
"Lapu, Luna... bow your heads." Although he was calm, the twins weren't, and so they did.
A couple of beasts — cat and rabbit hybrid mutations — jumped from behind them, their teeth ready to munch on those frail bodies of the kids, but—
"You see, at first... you will start to move the concept around..."
A couple of the coins thrown on the ground launched like arrows; they penetrated the heads of the beasts, killing them instantly.
But they weren't the only ones... a few more appeared and surrounded him and the twins.
Those guys usually move in packs... hearing what Qian Qian said last day, it was really a miracle that it was only a single bastard. But now, they're with me — their lovely uncle...
Aurel thought to himself before he continued.
"Second, and after deepening your understanding, you will be able to reshape the concept... woo..."
With a little whistle, some coins gathered and instantly melted before reshaping into a small knife. The knife was brought to his hand as he opened it.
The beasts lunged at him, one after another, with sharp teeth and claws sharp enough to cleave his flesh from bone. However—
"...?" Lapsus and Luna were shocked.
The attacks never landed — no matter how fast they tried, no matter how strong the attack was — it never landed. And it was Lapsus who first caught up to the reason.
Is he disappearing..?
Aurel was not actually disappearing, but just moving fast enough between the coins he had thrown — fast enough to leave a mirage of his silhouette. And even for the attacks that caught him, he was parrying them with the little knife.
"Alright, no time for playing..."
Saying so, he gripped the knife hilt tightly and started slashing — piercing, messing with their skulls, and killing them. He went on for almost a minute before he stopped, with a pile of corpses behind him.
"Well, this was refreshing... say, Lapu, are they scary?"
"Umm." Lapsus nodded.
"Even you, Luna?"
"Umm." She nodded.
"Well, at first they are... but these are just low-ranked beasts. They're like candy to the weakest vessel."
He heaved a sigh, threw the knife away, and continued.
"Anyway, thirdly... with enough time and understanding..."
He brought his left hand close to the twins.
"You can materialize the concept."
Out of nowhere, the air around his palm turned tense, dense, and heavier before it started tearing apart, giving birth to a little rock — no, it was iron. A little nickel of iron was born from nothing above his hand.
"Who wants to take it..?"
Me..! Lapsus screamed, but he was too late.
"I want it," it was Luna who asked first, and Aurel gave it to her.
It was just a matter of who asked first — for Aurel loved both of his sister's kids equally and always protected them. But the current thoughts of Lapsus were not the same; his current state of mind didn't let him just be. It would take any small act he went through and grandalize it.
Why..? he asked himself and kept it to himself, refusing any form of reasoning.
----
"Now... you might ask, how does a wyrm look like?"
"Yes, yes, yes..." The twins started nodding aggressively. They both were excited to learn about this — especially Lapsus, who was obsessed with the idea of magic since the moment he came to this world.
"Well, can you hand me the case over there..." Wearing his calloused gloves, he asked Lapsus, which he did.
"Thanks... now..."
After opening the case, he took out a small box, a container.
"We keep them in these. They're like fridges but small..."
"Why..?" Luna asked.
"We fear them, and the way they decay..."
Fear..? Decay..? Lapsus didn't think he'd ever hear that. Why would they fear them if they were just small entities? And what does he mean by decay?
As those thoughts were running astray in Lapsus's mind, Aurel opened the so-called small fridge and there they were stored... two entities. They had no particular shape, but they could be described as limbless spheres — spheres that showed signs of breathing, spheres that were grotesque with the visible veins around them and and—
"Ohh, one of them grew an eye..?"
One of them had an eye; it was moving around nonstop as if it were scrutinizing the place.
"They usually do so... sometimes they grow a mouth, an ear — although they disappear after a couple of hours... but never do they grow limbs."
He sighed, then picked up one of them, beckoned Luna to come forward and open her hand, and he put it on her palm. Luna at first was scared, but seeing the reaction of the wyrm, she somehow felt normal.
"Wow, that is very nice... the wyrm is never this calm... he is even clinging to you," he said as he tried to take back the wyrm.
"What does this mean..?" Lapsus asked.
"These are called compatibility wyrms... not all people are destined to host the wyrms. Some people are just incompatible... but Luna looks very compatible..."
"Try me next..." Lapsus asked hesitantly. If those were the way to learn magic, he had no time to be disgusted, and so he opened his hand, exposing his palm, and Aurel put the wyrm atop it.
"...?"
The wyrm was acting weird... if the sign of its breathing was the swelling and shrinking, it was running wild... it would even stop swelling or shrinking. It started moving on its own, trying to jump and roll away, and before they realized it... the wyrm grew a mouth.
"Argh..!!"
"Lapsus!!"
The wyrm bit him and refused to let go. Even though Aurel was pulling it with all his force, the teeth were deep in Lapsus's flesh at this point.
"Arghh..!!" Lapsus was suffering, and Aurel couldn't take it.
"Hang on there, Lapu!! Luna, a little help..!"
Hearing Aurel's words, Luna didn't know what to do — she was just a kid. So she did what she thought was best... she hugged Lapsus tightly, brought his face into an embrace inside her chest, hoping that she would ease him doing so.
Luna... Feeling her warmth, Lapsus's thoughts eased a little... this was actually what Aurel wanted her to do. He brought the little knife and cleaved the wyrm from its mouth.
"Lapu... are you alright..?" Luna asked with worry on her face.
"I am... I am... say uncle, am I compatible..?"
"Compatible..?" Aurel was lost for words.
"Yes, am I?"
"Sigh... never in my whole life have I seen a wyrm act this aggressively before... it is weird... to say the least, you are very incompatible."
"I see..."
So it happens again? I am being stolen of the thing I always wanted to have... why? Just why? Why is it always her!!?
"Lapu..?" He pushed her away and made a distance from her before he sat and let his thoughts sway him away like usual.
It is always Luna. She's the strongest, fastest, smarter... she's the one with the most friends, she's the one who the teachers admire, the one everybody admires, why wouldn't they..? In fact, they should be. She is a prodigy, isn't she? Skilled at everything and better than me... even though I am male and she is female, even though we are the same age, even though I am a reincarnate who should be much smarter... even papa loves her more than he loves me.
"Lapu... it is okay?" Aurel tried to comfort him.
"You see, I am actually happy that you are incompatible."
Happy..? Those words just cut more into his injury.
"Say Luna... even though you are compatible, promise me..." He lifted Luna, brought her closer to Lapsus, and hugged them both.
"You too, Lapu... promise me..."
"..."
"Promise that you will never come close to those wyrms..."
------
|"and--aaaaa---shhh--eeeee---Da---a--------"|
"It's starting, Qian Qian, hurry up and tune the radio," Clara demanded, getting cozy with both Luna and Lapsus under the cold winter sheets.
"I am trying," Qian sighed in frustration, focused on the radio.
"Come on, try harder... hehe," Aurel joked, knowing well enough that he was actually getting on her nerves.
"…대체 나한테 뭘 바라… 나 그냥 하녀라고…" Qian Qian muttered under her breath.
Hearing her speak her native language feels really weird... sometimes I wonder if it's really just a single one, but she refuses to speak about her homeland. I tried asking before.
As the warmth of the sheets started getting to him, Lapsus wondered about Qian Qian's origins.
|"say---todays fashion---- the best detergent ---- sssal---"|
"なんだよこのラジオ…マジでムカつく…"
|"Say Sally.."
"What is it, Dave..?"|
"终于调好了!"
"Stop, Qian Qian!" Clara screamed, fearing Qian Qian would mess it up again. But she had stopped.
|"It is about tonight's guest... he is a little mysterious."
"For real, Dave!!? This is a little exciting!"
"I know.. hehe."|
"I already did."
"I see. Come next to us, I have saved you a little space under the sheets."
"多谢마님."
"Ehehe.." Clara laughed awkwardly as usual, for she didn't understand anything Qian Qian said.
"Mama, where is Papa..?"
"He will be a little late today, but don't worry, we have Uncle Aurel to protect us."
Flaunting his arm muscles, Aurel showed a smile as Clara was comforting Luna.
|"Alright, with no more introductions, we leave you with our mysterious and anonymous guest."
"Thanks, Dave. I am really happy that I got the chance to be here."
"No problem. What can I call you for reference?"|
The voice feels familiar...
|"No need to address me by anything.. I will be quick.. I am here to just tell a little story; it is about a friend of mine."
"A friend of yours? This seems a little exciting, ain't I right, Sally?"
"You stopping interrupting him would be exciting too, ain't I right, Dave?"
"Haha. No need to be this salty, Sally."
"Haha... There is no problem at all.. Should I start, or do you two lovebirds need to fight a little more?"
"We're not a couple at all! If I had no other choice, I'd rather kill myself."
"Haha.. Don't mind Sally, you can start, Mister Anonymous."|
Aren't they wasting too much time..? Lapsus thought.
|"Well, I used to have a friend, but how can I start this story of his?"
"How about the day you met him?"
"The day I met him..? This is tough. I have never really met him before."
"Wait, but you said he is your friend!?"
"Well, I saw him as a friend, from the distance that I always observed him at."
"You were observing him? Is this some kind of long-distance love or..?"
"Love..? Haha, I don't know what to say about this... Don't you need to understand a person to love him? I don't really know how I feel about him."
"I see... Then, let's start from the moment you started observing him, the moment you first noticed him."
"I can go from that point.. It was at the orphanage I grew up in.. A rascal with his little brother was going around and stealing wallets..
Of course, stealing is wrong, but the circumstances he lived in left him no choice but to do so. Yet, he couldn't brush off the guilt from it... He knew it was wrong, yet he stole... It was the first logical contradiction his mind experienced."
"How come..?"
"Shh, Dave."
"Sorry..."
"He was taught by the sisters responsible for the orphanage about faith, how in the First Era, the Venerable Valiant ruled justice on the world by the grace of the Five Gods and Ana...
He was amazed, fascinated, and more infatuated with the Valiant, Lance, with each story told about him from the Testament... But his confusion was only getting stronger..
It was a weird cycle he lived, learning the moral of a certain story of Lance, only for him to witness it being breached, betrayed, and violated, whether in front of him or against him...
He asked the sisters, and they just gave vague answers.. He asked many questions, but one shone through: why is there no justice, even though the Five Gods and Ana promised the Valiant so?
He thought, he observed, he was wronged many times before his little brain came to a conclusion... It was a weird night; while all the sisters were sleeping, he forced everyone to wake up, and there, alongside his poor, naive brother, he announced that he would change the world, that he would bring justice to this world since he is a knight."
"A knight..?"
"Yes, a knight... He believed so and forced his little brother to think alike.. He was, at most, a fake knight..
Instead of fighting corruption, he found himself using it with a small lie he believed: the 'greater good.. He really was naive; he would easily believe anything he was fed.. Was it because he really is naive, or was he just running from something? I don't know.. I really don't understand him...
But I saw what he saw, I experienced what he experienced, I felt what he felt, I dreamed what he dreamed, I said what he said, because I was him...
I have seen with my eyes the bribes, the unexplainable privileges, the favors over others.. Corruption itself was running in this current government, the current governor, the current ruling party, and the current king.. Alexandre Siderus the First, although he is a nice guy, he is naive and he is being used, and I hate that..
That is why I am here. I am not just a trivial guest. I am Lunavayne, and it is just Lunavayne, for I am an orphan and I lived closer to the people more than anybody..
I am here to declare a war, not a literal one, but an intellectual one, defending the rights of the people and helping justice to prevail. And nothing can help me change the way things are now, except you, the people, the frail, ordinary citizen..."|