Silence settled over the chamber the moment the door clicked shut.
The warm glow of the lanterns danced across the stone walls, leaving long shadows beneath the shelves and furniture. Outside, the muffled sounds of the Academy had all but faded, replaced by stillness so complete that even the cracking of the fireplace seemed unusually loud.
Across from me sat Mar'gareth.
Beside him…
…Arturia.
Neither spoke.
They simply watched me.
I avert my gaze.
Somehow, facing the man before me felt far more terrifying than standing in the arena against Eimira.
"Zandren, am I right?"
Mar'gareth spoke.
"You seem tense."
He leaned closer, the chair creaking heavily under his weight.
"May I ask why?"
I chuckled nervously. "N-Nothing…"
He rested back.
"In that case. Let me formally introduce myself."
I gazed upwards at his towering figure, even though he was seated.
"I am Mar'gareth, Head of House Aevorah, the Supreme Commander entrusted with the safety and preservation of the Four Nations."
He smiled. "But feel free to call me Mar."
He stretched out his hand.
"What's yours?"
I shook his hand, gently.
"I-I am Zandren…"
I lowered my gaze.
"... I do not have a family."
He laughed. "That's fine. I already know a lot about you."
"Your loss of memory. Your strange self-healing ability and…"
His voice lowered.
"...Your recent awakening that looked more like a veil awakening than a blessing."
"Am I being interrogated right now? I'm so dead. Ahhh…" I thought.
Mar'gareth continued. "But from decades of experience…"
"A veil doesn't transform and immediately saves someone else. It's usually the opposite."
I relaxed. "Ahh…"
"Still, we have to convince the council that you aren't a threat to the safety of the nation. Even if I accept you, their decision is what seals mine."
He leaned closer.
"That's why we are going to need you to remember who you were. The council will not trust who has no background."
I glanced around. "Uhh…"
"But I don't remember anything…" I thought. "What am I going to do? I need to think of someth—"
"Zandren…"
Arturia called me.
"You were going to tell me something right before the commander entered."
My expression lightened.
"Y-Yes… I was."
Mar'gareth turned to Arturia.
"What was it you were discussing before I walked in?"
"The Eye of Ignisia." Arturia answered. "I was telling Zandren about my experience."
"Hmm." Mar'gareth stroked his chin. "Is that so?"
He turned to me.
"Let's continue from where you left off with Arturia then…"
"What vision did you get using the Eye of Ignisia?"
I took a few breaths.
Then exhaled deeply.
"Here goes…" I thought.
"A few months back, I randomly regained a memory from when I was… uh.. I think when I was a baby…"
"A baby?" Mar'gareth asked.
"Yes. From how it looked, it felt like I was being carried by my mother."
Mar'gareth nodded. "Continue."
"She sang me a lullaby… one I randomly hum involuntarily. And uh…"
I lowered my head, trying to remember the details.
"Yes, there was also a man, my father, and one other. Her voice sounded elderly though."
"Um… uh…"
"It's fine if you can't remember more than that, it's enough…" Mar'gareth said.
"No… No…"
I cut in.
"There's more… Please, just give me a moment to gather my thoughts. I'm just a bit nervous and slightly overwhelmed."
He nodded. "Take your time."
Moments later, having relaxed my mind, and also getting enough time to remember the dream I had. I was finally able to talk.
"I had that dream, I think… two or three times." I said. "The last time left me in tears because I saw her…"
"...My mother."
Both Mar'gareth and Arturia remained silent.
"She looked unique… I just can't seem to explain it."
I smiled. "Her skin was jet black, just like the colour of my hair. And her blue eyes were just a bit darker than Eimira's."
"She was beautiful…"
"Hmm. Did you…" Mar'gareth said. "...by chance get her name, or anything I could use to find something about her?"
"Yes, my father… called her by name. It was sweet to call." I answered.
My eyes narrowed, trying to remember.
"Li… Lirael."
Mar'gareth rested his face on his hand.
"Lirael… Lirael…"
"...where have I come across this name?" He asked quietly.
"Thanks for trying your best, Zandren, but that's not nearly enough for me to work on." He said. "Though I will try—"
"Wait!" I cut him off, again. "I haven't been fully honest with you."
He blinked. "Hmm?"
"I have something to tell you. It happened way before I met Eimira…"
"What's it?" He asked.
"...It happened right before I opened my eyes."
He nodded. "Go on."
"I-I have seen you before now… though I was in a form that wasn't human."
Mar'gareth remained still.
"At that time… you fought alongside Aethon…"
His hand slowly slid off his mask.
Silence.
Arturia frowned slightly.
"...Commander?"
Mar'gareth didn't answer.
He stood up.
Towering over me.
I could feel his gaze on me.
I am scared.
"How dare you…"
His voice remained calm, but low.
"I am trying to help you, but here you are…"
"...trying to dig into wounds I had left buried."
I wanted to remain silent.
But this wasn't the time. I needed to fight for my freedom.
Even though I might end up being crushed by this mountain of a human.
"You fought alone, against the four High Demons, where one named Malgrith got you on the side."
Grrrrrr
The ground trembled.
"I've done it now, but…" I thought. "I gotta keep going."
I continued.
"I didn't know what happened after you invoked Theron, because we went after Aethon."
"We?" He asked.
"We found Aethon on his knees, right in front of…"
I felt two trembling hands on my shoulder.
"We?"
I exhaled, nervous.
Scared.
"I am not trying to deceive you, Mar'gareth. This past was what was shown to me by…"
"Nyseria."
The trembling stopped almost instantaneously.
Mar'gareth crashed back on the chair.
"Nyseria…" He whispered.
"I believe you Zandren…"
I blinked. "What?"
"From the things I learned from my time at Nymirel, it's that Nyseria possesses the Writer's ability to be untethered by the flow of time." He explained.
I blinked. "What does it mean to be untethered by time?"
Mar'gareth breathes and exhales.
"It means you move through time without being bound by the present."
He continued.
"Nyseria being the only Primordial to not have ascended, allowed that."
"He knows she's imprisoned?" I thought.
"But still, that doesn't explain who you really are…" he said. "Sure you experienced the fall of Ardor with Nyseria, how is it relevant to now?"
"That's still not enough…"
I thought.
"What now—"
"Wait…"
I sat upright.
"Wait… Nyseria mentioned something to me after Aethon…" I stopped, not wanting to bring up the death of Mar'gareth's closest friend.
Mar'gareth slightly lowered his gaze.
"And what's that?"
"It was about the twin you saved."
He glanced at me.
"She told me that if I am still here, then that means that you made it out…"
"Though I never really understood what she mea—"
"Arturia." Mar'gareth called, interrupting me. "Pass me one of the lamps."
Arturia nodded and walked over to a mounted lamp and pulled it out, handing it over to Mar'gareth.
"Zandren… I want you to open your eyes wide for me." He said.
"Uh… why—"
"Just do it." He ordered.
"Surely, it can't be…" He whispered.
I opened my eyes wide enough to.
Mar'gareth brought the lamp close and ran it back and forth before me.
He shook his head and repositioned.
Then went up and down.
Nothing.
He nearly dropped the lamp, but…
Stopped.
He took the lamp and held it at an angle.
I couldn't see his face because of the mask he wore, but I could feel his expression soften.
He handed back the lamp to Arturia, and rose on his feet.
He moved the chair back.
"Commander, did you find anything?" Arturia asked..
Mar'gareth didn't answer.
He stopped before me.
The silence stretched between us
Then…
He lowered himself onto one knee.
…
Then the other.
His head bowed.
Arturia gasped.
"Commander, what is this?"
"Y-Yeah, What is this?" I asked, surprised by Mar'gareth's sudden gesture.
Mar'gareth's voice lowered.
"Arturia."
"Kneel."
Arturia stared. "...Commander?"
"That's an order." Mar'gareth added.
Arturia hesitated. "But why, commander?"
"Because…"
He lowered his head further.
"…this man…"
"Is the heir to the throne of Ardor…"
"The grandson of the last king of Ardor, King Aethon Ignivar."
"Zandren…"
His voice became low.
"..You are his descendant."
"The descendant of the one who was the vessel of the Primordial Dragon, Bur'Ignisia."
"Zandren…"
Mar'gareth's voice quivered.
"You are of House Ignivar."
"The rightful heir to the Throne Of Ardor."
"..."
"Huh?"