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"i thought that the bureau's ace card was a heartless inhumane being. why is it that you're so insistent on helping my cause?" lance was skeptical as he watched you soothe the soreness of your neck.
you gave your answer some thought, pondering to yourself for a minute.
"a younger sister shouldn't have to be taken away from her older brother. not like this." you muttered, distant memories making their way back to you.
"you... have an older brother, don't you?"
maybe it was just a reach for empathy, but lance took notice of your odd wording. 'a younger sister', not 'his' younger sister.
'it's only a possibility, so tell me, (y/n) kairos...' he bit the inside of his cheek.
"do you.. have a similar situation?" he finally asked.
you only snickered, a bittersweet glint in your eyes as you put on a smile. that same, painstakingly feigned smile. like the snap of a finger, the fraudulent identity was back in play. what an enigma you were, a puzzle forever bound to be unsolved.
"not in the least bit. my brother's already gone. but you still can save your sister." you pointed at him, your finger poking his chest, where his heart was placed.
"already gone...?" lance couldn't help but echo you. it was well known to the country that alistair had been missing for a decade, but 'lost' would've been a better term, wouldn't it?
unless, you had meant alistair was not missing, but in fact─
...
"your play on words is giving me a headache." the siscon sighed, reaching to grab your wrist.
"i'll repay you someday, so let me save my sister... please." he uttered in barely a whisper.
even if it meant playing dirty, even if it meant breaking the law, even if it meant having to rely on someone else. all he wanted was to see his sister healthy and safe again.
you gave him a smile, stretching an arm up to pat his head. his eyes widened ever so slightly at the gesture, but he wasn't complaining.
"your sister's lucky to have someone protecting her." you muttered, subconsciously speaking your thoughts.
'and i was lucky once, too.'
"i will handle the bureau of magic. in exchange, let this be our little secret." you had finger over your lip, making a hushing motion as you listed your conditions for your help.
lance nodded, taking his leave shortly after. you exhaled, letting out the breath you've been unknowingly holding in as you gazed up at the sky.
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─ 10 years ago ... ─
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"why am i here again? i wanna play with wirth more." the 6 year-old lay upsidedown on the couch of her brother's office.
her brother, alistair, was a divine visionary, and would be one of the strongest the world had seen in a century. he was a formidable force, remaining undefeated alongside his counterpart, the light cane, ryoh grantz. the two were indomitable as they conquered every aspect in both combat and knowledge, the greatest mages of their time.
"you're not the mádl family's responsibility. if i'm not keeping an eye on you, then who is?" alistair coldly responded, shuffling through documents on recent cases of re-emerging curses.
"do you not trust wirth? actually, nevermind. you don't trust anyone." the child deadpanned at her brother, reaching into her pocket for a golden feather her and her childhood friend had discovered just moments before she had to leave.
"i trust ryoh." he responded, tone as plain as his demeanor.
"more than your own sister, it seems." the girl huffed, sitting up right as being upsidedown gave her a headache.
"he's a capable adult. you're 6. end of discussion." alistair sighed, furrowing his eyebrows at a report that frustrated him.
a moment of silence flew by before there was a knock on the door. before the night cane could even allow the guest in, the door flung open, an enthusiastic ryoh busting through.
"we need to talk, ali─ ah, (y/n)? you're here? you look a lot more like your mother since the last time i saw you!" ryoh smiled at the sight of his favourite kid. he then shot alistair a look in which the man would only close his eyes and sigh.
"you can explore the premises if you're bored, (y/n)." he discreetly ushered the girl to leave. she understood the signal, complying with her brother's request.
"don't take too long like you usually do." she merely said before leaving, closing the door behind her and sitting in front of the office.
she toyed with the golden feather meanwhile as it glimmered in the shade, away from the domineering sunlight.
a few minutes passed by as a staffer hurriedly approached alistair's office. the staffer took notice of the young girl sat outside. the woman smiled at the child before raising an arm to knock on the wooden door.
"i wouldn't suggest interrupting them." (y/n) muttered, sparing the woman a single glance before returning to inspect the golden feather she had a strange interest in.
"them...? it's an emergency." she urgently knocked on the door before entering without permission.
"i'm sorry to interrupt, mr. alistair, but there's a crisis that needs immediate attention!" the woman exclaimed.
her eyes widened at the sight of alistair yanking ryoh's ponytail, his usual stoic face unresponsive to the light cane's whining about his habit.
"if you're sorry, then don't interrupt." alistair clicked his tongue, letting go of ryoh as the blond started fixing his hair. the woman squirmed in her place under the gazes of the visionaries.
"what is it? i'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." ryoh confidently smirked at the night cane, throwing an arm over his shoulder.
"ah, r-right. it's good that you're here too, mr. ryoh. there's been a crisis; a large spike of magical beasts and curses has been reported in a thousand year-old ruin. we've sent numerous troupes, none of which that we've heard back from." she explained, regaining her composure.
"i just received a report on that, too." alistair slid a hand on his desk, picking up a document that listed the full report on the case.
"and i wanted to talk to you about that before you started lecturing me on entering uninvited!" ryoh crossed his arms at his best friend.
"you wait for a response when you knock. do i need to engrave that into your brain, too?" alistair rolled his eyes at the blond who only muttered insults incoherently under his breath.
"a-ahem. if possible, the two of you have been assigned to complete the mission of exterminating the curse." the staffer cleared her throat.
"and we'll make sure it'll never return. up for it, (y/n)?" alistair redirected his gaze towards the child who stood behind the staffer.
"bringing a child to the mission is far too dangerous, mr. alistair! please reconsider!" the woman instantly intervened, only to be met with a cold glare from the eldest brother.
"you think you're something? your job's done. leave."
the woman gulped under his menacing stare, giving a curt bow before rushing out of the office in cold sweat.
"this is why you don't have a girlfriend. you're too cruel, alistair." ryoh sighed and shrugged, shaking his head.
"better than a manwhore. let's go." he glanced down at the report to check the location of the ruins.
(...)
gruesome. the sight of the scene was nothing but gruesome. multiple corpses of even first-rate mages littered the ground, the scent of rotting flesh and blood plaguing the air.
however, the 6 year-old didn't even flinch. she was not disgusted, she was not put off, but instead, she remained indifferent. after all, she was beyond used to the sight of human remains.
the same pungent scent that filled the very air was no different than that of 'home'. the same sanguinary practices that prevailed since the rise of the kairos lineage, tainting its name with 'bloodstained greatness'. sanctuary to unauthenticated culling and thinning of the inferiority, nothing came close to the kairos' atrocious practices of protecting the gene pool.
"are you really sure it's alright to bring (y/n) here...?" ryoh cautiously asked his friend.
"why're you so concerned? she's my sister, not yours. and she's more used to this sight than anyone." alistair sassed, kicking away some random decapitated head with no reaction to its pale and boney complex.
the night cane reached into his pocket, taking out a box cigarettes. his face ever so slightly grimaced at the all too familiar scent of decay. before he could take a cigarette out, ryoh snatched the box away from him, shoving it into his pocket.
"surely, alistair kairos can handle a little bit of blood. can't he?" the blond teased, but with good intent. alistair only clicked his tongue, irritated by the light cane's antics.
"the report said the ruins are up ahead. it's sealed off, though." alistair gave a pat on the small of his sister's back, signalling her to do her thing.
the girl nodded, the three of them approaching the enclosed entrance. numerous shadowy beasts circled the parameters, all of them sharing the same aggression towards humans as they immediately initiated a hostile attack.
"guess we're gonna be walking some dogs." ryoh grinned, taking out his wand alongside the other two.
"unseal the entrance. we'll cover you." alistair pointed his wand up to the sky.
"lunaris phase."
as he casted the spell, over the specific field the three were stood in, the moon shifted into position, casting its mesmerising moonlight upon them. ryoh smirked at the night cane, always fascinated by his magic.
the child walked up to the entrance of the gate, kneeling beneath it as she took out her wand. focusing her magic energy onto a single point, the first seal of many to come came undone.
"hey, there's more than one seal!" she alerted the visionaries who were fending off the shadow-born beasts.
"how many?" ryoh grunted, hopping back from an unprecedented attack.
"i count 5, i've unsealed the first one." she looked up at the light visionary who was watching her brother effortlessly evading the attacks.
"we can hold on till then." he smiled at the child, patting her head before returning to the battlefield.
"so? what's the issue?" alistair questioned, landing a kick that would decapitate one of the beasts' heads.
"multiple seals. 5 of 'em. think she can handle it?" ryoh hopped onto the decapitated head to launch himself higher in the air before firing a beam of light.
"unlike me, she's born a triple-liner. hell, she could probably cast a secondth spell right now." the night cane scoffed.
out of the blue, he pulled ryoh down by his ponytail before skewering another beast that had approached him from behind.
"my hair isn't for you to pull as you please, y'know!" the blond chastised the dark eyed male.
"yeah, big deal, pretty boy." alistair murmured, his words tinted with sarcasm as he regained his footing on the ground.
a bead of sweat rolled down the 6 year-old's cheek, each and every seal growing thicker in magic energy with every layer. it was truly one hell of a gate to disclose. alistair looked back to check on his sister who had a struggled look on her face.
"i'll leave the rest to you." ryoh's back was facing him as he patted the light cane's shoulder before approaching his sister.
"what's the problem here?" alistair knelt down beside the youngest sister.
"it's the last layer, and it's hard to break through." she sighed, tired from straining herself. although she possessed an incredible amount of magic energy, her output was nowhere as praise worthy as her brother's.
the night cane's head perked up at ryoh's shadow behind him.
"you're done, ryoh? that quick?" he stood up, pushing himself off the ground.
"of course! who're you to doubt the ryoh grantz?" the man proudly laugh, feeding his own ego.
"so you can do your job as divine visionary. congrats." alistair turned back to face his co-worker, only for his eyes widen at his face.
"what's wrong, alistair?" (y/n) perked up at the sudden silence to see the two men just staring at each other.
in her eyes, everything was normal. but for alistair, something was evidently off.
in a swift move, alistair had pinned ryoh to the gate. his wand hovered right above the man's face, held like a blade to an eye.
"where's ryoh?" he lowly asked, eyes cold with a merciless gaze.
"what are you talking about? i'm─"
"where's. ryoh." he inched his wand closer, wordlessly threatening to stab whatever took the face of his his friend right then and there.
"you're a sharp one. how'd you know?" the blond's face melted into a pitch black shadow. the shadow then left the light cane's body, leaving an unconscious ryoh in alistair's arms.
the night cane stepped back, roughly tossing the blond aside to his sister.
"that egocentric bastard has a distinguishable face." alistair's eyes scanned around, analysing his surroundings to get an understanding of the situation.
"your pathetic mimic doesn't even come close to his. lunaris veil." he casted as a large translucent white veil cascaded down (y/n) and ryoh.
"undo the final seal. i will suffice in handling this... thing." alistair commanded, wand aimed at the shadow figure.
"did you know? there's a curse placed upon these ruins, and i am a personification of that curse." the figure's arm morphed into a blade, instantaneously attacking the night cane before he could cast a spell.
the 6 year-old looked down at ryoh who was... peacefully dozing off.
a slap should do it.
SMACK
"ow! what'd i do?!" the blond immediately shot up awake, only to find himself puzzled at the strange veil over his head.
"help my brother. i'll work on the seal, so hold out till then. there has to be something it wants inside the ruins." her hands hovered over the gate once more, ready to pour every bit of her energy into the maximum output of her magic.
"are you really a 6 year-old?..." ryoh sweat-dropped.
"no. i'm over a thousand years old." she deadpanned, minimal sarcasm in her tone.
...but it wasn't quite a lie, to say the least.
ryoh only tilted his head at the child, assuming that it was just another fantasy children have. he exited the veil, casting a beam of light to alert alistair.
the battle between the two divine visionaries and a thousand year-old curse soon began as (y/n) focused on unsealing the final layer.
alas, the gate started moving. dust and debris rained down after being still for years, the sound of the stone gate moving catching the attention of the three who were going against one another.
"that girl... would make a wonderful vessel!" the curse laughed, sprinting straight for the 6 year-old after witnessing the magnificence of her magic that not even it could perform.
"lunaris javelin."
a javelin shot out from the sky, piercing through the curse as it spewed black goop from its mouth. a barely noticeable grin etched itself onto its face.
"you're not going anywhere near her." alistair's words were brimming with murderous intent.
the child had taken the brief opportunity to run into the ruins despite of the dangers she may face. whatever was within the ruins was something treasurable to the shadowy force. and no matter what, it could not fall into its sinister hands. she had to get it it first.
"lunaris veil." the dark eyed male casted once more, the same translucent curtain draping over the entrance of the ruins.
"pesky little thing.." ryoh clicked his tongue at the curse as it morphed into a multitude of forms, showcasing the difference in strength and skill between it and the two visionaries.
"unfortunately, that girl is after something i need. i'll make this quick." its synthetic voice echoed through the night as it disappeared into the shadows.
on especially high alert, the two visionaries had their backs glued to each other, anticipating the curse's next attack through the shadows.
alistair's cheek had barely been nicked as ryoh's arm had taken the form of a blade, the very same pitch black shadow the curse embodied spreading on his arm.
"am i that popular even amongst curses that you'd attach yourself to me?" as much as the blond tried to put of a confident facade, neither of the two could deny the overwhelming sense of danger wafting in the air.
"one of you is going to live, the other will die, and you'll get to pick who. from me to him, this blond has been cursed. but of course, this curse can be passed from him to you." both of the visionaries eyes widened as it was ryoh's voice who uttered those words.
"for as long as i'm attached on either of you, i'll feast on your energy, then whatever magic energy you have left, and you'll become my vessel. nothing but a shell of what you once were." it continued to talk.
alistair remained silent, the very same calculating look he shared with his sister on his face.
not even he had seen how his sister's magic affected humans. it was a tough gamble; a gamble between life and death, and (y/n) would play the role of the dealer. but he understood better than anyone that only she could prevent the curse from ever returning, only she could seal it away for all of eternity.
"curse me, ryoh. i'm going to gamble on the possibility that (y/n) can put an end to this curse with her secondth spell." his expression was far too nonchalant to be normal. he wasn't afraid of loosing anything in that very moment.
"i refuse, i refuse to let any of us die. you're not leaving me, alistair." desperation was clear on his face. and although alistair had nothing to loose, both ryoh and his sister would be loosing him.
but that was something he could never understand. that was a value he could never grasp.
alistair took ryoh's arm, stabbing himself with the cursed blade as color started to return on the light cane's arm. he stumbled forward, crimson liquid spewing from his wound and gut.
and barely, just barely, he leaned closer to the light cane. breath ghosting over the other's face, he whispered.
...
his words burnt like acid on styrofoam, his voice firm as glass. yet there was a bittersweet feeling about the surety of death. the bittersweet feeling of knowing that eventually, all things had to be let go.
life was an ephemeral concept to the night cane, a fleeting bliss that was bound to end sooner or later. and he knew that his end was there, awaiting him with a sinisterly alluring smile.
perhaps, there was no gamble. perhaps, it was just a cry to witness the sole two beings he had ever found serenity within. perhaps, it was over before it even began.
desparate. he was just another desparate, pathetic human. and maybe it was too late to realise that. just a little too late.
ryoh gritted his teeth, a painstaking look in his eyes as he spun back to fetch the girl. his chest ached as the wounds he sustained against the personified curse stung with each glide of the wind.
there, in the distance, the 6 year-old stood, staring at a mural she was far too familiar with. a mural of over a thousand years, a mural she witnessed the creation of on the very day the gods had been awaken.
"(y/n)! leave the mural, it's alistair!" ryoh called out, snapping the girl out of her memories.
by the time the two had returned, the night cane was on his knees. his consciousness barely intact, he mustered the strength to gaze up at the two faces he could distinguish. the blond immediately rushed to his side, kneeling down to support the other.
"use your secondth, (y/n). end my magic and that curse." his voice was hoarse as he uttered those words, unable to hold up his own head.
ryoh clenched his jaw as a realisation had just came to him. the realisation that there was truly not a way that everyone could be saved. there's a time and a place for everything, and that was where his best friend's time would run out.
"i can't. alistair... please─" she didn't want to finish off her own brother.
her brother that had protected her from the internal bloodshed of their family, her brother who did everything he could to let her live a normal life.
"use your secondth. that is an order."
the look in his eyes made her throat go dry. not once had her brother glared at her with such spite, such hatred. if looks could kill, she would have died over a thousand times by then.
"sealium secondth..."
her voice wavered as she held her wand out, pouring each ache of her heart and each stream of her tears into that sole spell. it was an order. if she were to disobey, he would die as the fool who cursed himself.
oh, how she had disgraced his name. how she had disgraced his honour. a sin of hers to bear till the grave.
she was always too late, anyway.
"...hundredths signationem."
she couldn't bear to watch as her brother was stripped of what very life he had left. she couldn't bear to watch, but she did. with an eternally scarred heart, she witnessed each and every little detail. she couldn't look away, an instinct she had developed to honour fallen souls.
she was all too used to the very gut-wrenching screams of those who has fallen victim to her magic.
over eons worth of memories returned to her in a single flow, the memories she fought so hard to abandon.
ryoh had dare not glance down at the lifeless man that leaned on his shoulder. he doubted that his composure would remain.
but as he recalled the night cane's words prior, his fingers slid down to tightly grip at his best friend's cold hand.
"when death takes me by the hand, take me by my other and guide me back to you, so that in my next life, i won't be leaving you."
"let's go, (y/n)." he muttered, voice lower than a whisper, yet with the grim silence that drowned the ruins, it was more than audible.
"...just a little longer. please..."
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you shuddered at the memory, hands trembling as you reached out for your doorknob. you struggled to breathe recalling that fateful incident, but you managed to suck in a deep breath before entering your dorm
as you twisted your door open, you were met with abel and an unmasked abyss having tea in your room.
"well, okay. welcome, i guess."
"thank you for the welcome."
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ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
proofread.
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ᝰ.ᐟ ︎︎ ︎︎ ︎︎ ︎︎ ︎︎AUTHOR'S NOTE
；fanfic writer curse is
real, my dad got arrested
again🧍 ANYWAYS, i'd
like to start by saying
thank you for 13k+
reads and 850+ votes!
secondly, alistair has
finally made his full
appearance, so here ...
( ALISTAIR KAIROS )
AGE．20 < flashback >
30 < chronologically >
HEIGHT．188cm / 6'1
MARK．triple-liner
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─ TRIVIA ─
• he was born with face blindness (prosopagnosia). despite that, he seems to only recognise ryoh and (y/n).
• he is almost constantly tense and rarely gets any sleep due to late night missions. he falls asleep unknowingly when he's comfortable, but it seldom happens.
• he once fell asleep around ryoh, which resulted in him waking up with his dark lock of hair braided. he kept the hairstyle.
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─ FANBOOK STATS ─
BLOOD TYPE．ab-
DOMINANT HAND．ambidextrous
FOOT SIZE．28cm
HOBBIES．smoking, yanking ryoh's ponytail
FAVOURITE FOOD．ice cubes
FAVOURITE WORD．starlight
FAVOURITE TYPE OF OPPOSITE SEX．"no interest, unless they're useful pawns."
DISLIKES．unrecognisable people
FREQUENTLY VISITED PLACES．ancient architectures
E.G. OF SALARY USE．purchasing more cigarettes
HOW TO SPEND HOLIDAYS．hiding from ryoh (generally. he won't be left alone.)
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( '･･)ﾉ(._.')