"And here I thought, Winifred, you of all people are neutral." Spoke a man, roaming in the empty halls of Winifred's Castle.
He wore a light blue coat, a matching white vest, and a perfectly toned body. He was blonde and had red eyes like a vampire.
Cymbal Celestie of Lunar. The second prince of the Lunar Kingdom.
Winifred tapped his cane on the marbled floor and spoke, "I have always been, and will stay that way, My Lord."
"Oh, how I really want to believe those words, Winifred. But I can't just bring myself to…" Cymbal sat on the centre seat of the dining table, with his hands leaning on the backrest.
"…" Winifred didn't say anything.
He knew what the second was on about. But Winifred himself never thought that Ymir would choose to barge into a secretive hearing, take control of the situation, and most of all, ask Winifred to leave with him in his carriage.
"My Prince, you and I both know that the youngest isn't someone interested in the throne; he moved because of his Fiancé. It appears that he doesn't despise her…"
"His appearance was a variable, which I believe wasn't really out of our expectations completely," he said.
"Very Well!" Cymbal nodded.
"Do whatever he asks you to, Winifred. Make sure he stays in the dark. Variable or not, his appearance did bear some good results." He continued and stood up.
"And I hope you stay that way… 'Neutral' as always," He said, leaving Winifred standing in his dining hall.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Ymir was a Knight. Not by profession, but a warrior.
Knights and mages have six levels of power in this world.
Registered, bound, tempered, emanant, gravitant, and transcendent for knights.
Clearance One to Six, for mages. Clearance six is as strong as transcendent.
Currently, there are only a few people in the world who have achieved that level.
All nine magic tower masters, including the Queen of the Lunar Kingdom and the headmaster of the Lunar Academy, are Clearance Six Mages.
There's no current record of transcendent Knights.
Ymir was an emanant ranked Knight. Yes, he was a genius who achieved this stage in his twenties.
The problem is…I, however, know nothing about martial arts.
Sighing in disappointment, I opened the drawer of his desk and took out a black ring. It had the appearance of a tiny curled snake.
Wearing it, I looked in the mirror.
The effects took some time. My complexion changed a little. There were noticeable differences in my facial features as my eyes turned black, and my skin became slightly tanned.
Moon earrings took the shape of golden needles dangling in the ears.
I always wondered how this guy would look different at the academy. Turns out he had a ring that disguised his appearance.
'Now this is where it all gets interesting; this is the sole reason I loved Ymir's character a lot…' I thought.
The Riles were a Margrave family that didn't rule just any piece of territory. Instead, they had control over the major trading network.
Apparently, ten years ago, they tried to coax the fifth prince, Ymir, for the funds. Funds to expand their network and gain more ships, contracts, and the name of the Prince for the company.
Being the twisted guy Ymir was, he butchered the family just because he didn't like their attitude. Before butchering them, he even fed the meat of their own knights to the family, which they quite enjoyed.
At that moment, the second son of the Riles was not present at the meeting. But later, he was assassinated. And now Ymir lives as the second son, the survivor of the grave horror, Marcus Rile.
Ymir took his precious time creating this second persona. A genius, humble, reliable professor. A youth who achieved emanent rank in his twenties.
Unlike Ymir, who's secretive, has a negative impression, whose life revolves around rumours of his massacres. Marcus is the complete opposite.
He's a guy every woman wants her husband to be like. Lovely, genius, caring, and whatnot.
And this guy… is also a leader of a faction that supports the first Prince, and hates the fifth, Ymir Celestie of Lunar.
Ymir is the leader of the faction that hates Ymir.
'Although the plot has not even begun, I'm sure the main character has it way too easy…'I thought.
Sighing, I picked up the classic wooden cane with a black hilt and moved out of the office.
The university at this moment was completely vacant. Not a single soul to spot. Classes would resume next week.
Arriving in the empty training chambers, I picked up the key to an arena from the guards who were wearing dark blue tracksuits.
And sat in the centre of the chamber with legs crossed and eyes closed.
Marcus was a professor of Aura Praxis. And being the head professor, every year he'd get assigned a new special class, where he'd be the homeroom teacher and the professor for the Aura Praxis subject.
'What I need to do… is understand how this aura really works,' I thought, and started meditating.
'Right now, my body remembers what Ymir learned. I've been unconsciously circulating an enormous amount of aura and even suppressing it within my body. I just needed to know the flow, and the way it's being used.'
.
.
.
Some time passed, and I think I was getting the hang of it. The aura Ymir had was channeling through the core, beating like a heartbeat and touching every single corner of his body. It felt like a second heart pumping an aura instead of blood.
If I increased the heartbeat, or to be precise, if I increased the rotation speed of the core, the aura seeping inside my body would flare out. The leaked aura would move to my command.
This ethereal black and white smoke was circulating my whole body. It felt…amazing.
'How far can I go?' I thought.
I kept increasing the speed of rotation. The aura surrounding my body was running wild, but it followed an organised path.
'I feel like this is still not enough…' I kept flaring it. The rotation of the core felt like my chest of burning. I could feel the subtle black spars emanating from it.
'The core wants to burn.'
'Yeah, pain is durable… I need to test the maximum rotation speed…'
A pure white fire was starting to burn the complete black core. But I needed to bring that thing out. I didn't know what it was. But I needed that power.
*Thump*
I stopped feeling the end of a cane tap my back.
"You really don't fear death, do you?" and at that moment, I heard a very familiar voice.
Opening my eyes, I observed the ripped chamber, the burned ground.
'Ha…haha…I guess this much is…to be expected,' I thought, and turned around to look at the man who tapped my back with his cane.
Dark black hair that flowed down in a ponytail, golden vertical slit eyes. He wore a black coat with golden chains on his vest, and had a black cane with a golden hilt.
"Orochi," I spoke. "Don't you usually knock?"
"There's nothing to knock at," he replied. "Besides, it'd be too boring if you die just yet,"
"Why would I die?" I asked, standing up.
"Were you too immersed in your meditation to know your core was burning to circulate the little aura you have?"
'Oh, so that was what the flame was…'
"Thanks for saving me," I said.
"Likewise, I did visit the location you spoke of," he replied.
"Oh?"
"So, I should be the one thanking you," He added.
"Alright," I nodded. I guess he did meet her after all.
"So, what're you here for? Do you have your answer now?" I asked.
"I did think about it…there's no harm in being on your side. Well, for now, at least. You're just a human, a mortal who hasn't even reached the peak of this realm. We'll keep the relation mutually beneficial," he replied.
"But…" He paused.
"I'll know if you try to play me, Ymir Celestie of Lunar. Or should I call you Marcus now?" He leaned in.
"Whatever suits you. When one speaks, both listen," I replied.