"The Vernooks are up to something again." An old man says in distaste around a round table in the wizards council.
"Haa, don't they ever get tired of it already?" Another sighs in resignation.
"To unseal the destroyer is it?" A woman tries to steer the conversation back on track.
"Ha, as if they haven't tried that before!" Another middle aged man sneers in derision.
"Pay heed, this time is unlike the others." An elderly man at the main seat gravely warns, causing all the others to fall silent.
They don't know why, but as of late the Vernooks have been in a steady decline, being pushed into a passive situation by the wizards.
The wizards believe in the Creator and the Vernooks believe in the Destroyer, but each with their own respective philosophies and theories.
The only way for the Vernooks to turn the situation around is if they can unseal the Destroyer, but they have been repeatedly unsuccessful to the ridicule of many of the wizards.
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"This is the last and most crucial step, slowly put the kerberry into the solution and patiently add your energy with utmost concentration."
Mr. Atkins walks around the classroom to examine the students work attentively as he states sternly, while not even bothering to look at Alastair.
Alastairs hair is slightly sticking to his forehead as sweat drips down, watching the pink kerberry being added in with a strained expression and exhausted light blue eyes.
He's feeling fatigue not from the effort, but from trying to restrain and control his own powers.
Lately he doesn't even need to sleep that often and frequently has insomnia.Everytime he falls asleep, unknown but familiar memories plague him.
His eyes already have a goldish tint if looked at under the sun, but are otherwise the same.He has trouble controlling his constantly increasing powers and physical strength, but his body has no differences.
In another place, Halim and his companions are taking turns to drip their blood on a strange runic formation in the destroyed ruin.
Taking the dagger, Halim mutters a strange incantation and slices the palm of his hand.As he sqeezes his blood onto the runes, a strange occurrence occurs as it flashes a bright blinding golden light.Outside the ruins ominous black clouds gather.
"It worked!" His companions shout in disbelief and joy.He doesn't know why he suddenly recalls the boy he met a long time ago and swore an oath towards.
When he was walking on the barren scorched land in the Vernooks territory, he saw a boy looking at him with dry cracked lips and wearing clothes no better than rags.A sight so common he was going to ignore it, before he felt a strange feeling and looked at the red cross under the boys left eye.
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When the kerberry was almost added to the solution, Alastair feels a sudden jolt run through his body as his hands shake slightly.
He looks on in dismay, knowing all his hard work is wasted.
"Alastair!"
He listens to his classmates surprised screams around him while Mr. Atkins trembles in rage at the sight of the explosion caused by him.He hurriedly runs out of the classroom, hearing Mr. Atkins loud voice behind him.
"Get out and don't bother coming back!" Mr. Akins shouts with lingering resentment.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he looks at the classroom one last time before leaving.
He needs to have a talk with Maggie.
Opening the door, he hears Maggie in the back searching for something in a pile of magic tools and walks towards her quietly.
"Maggie." He whispers as he softly nudges her shoulder.
He watches as Maggie shrieks then jumps up and pats her heart when she sees it's him.
"Dammit Ala, are trying to scare me to death?" She says with laughter in her voice.
He starts telling her of his reasons not to go to class.As he can just use the library of the school and learn from Maggie, but he's afraid of causing trouble for her.
"That would actually be better." She muses for a bit, before muttering under her breath vaguely, without changing her expression.
Although the wizard council is wary of Maggie especially when she took in a half Vernook, but their unwilling to pay the great price needed to deal with her if not necessary.Maggie already has a bad record of keeping Vernooks as companions with the council, as a wizard it is seen as an absolute disgrace.
Alastair watches as Maggie continues rummaging around the tall and disordered pile of magic tools before throwing him a gold ring with strange inscriptions engraved on it.
He looks at her curiously.
"You're having trouble controlling your powers aren't you?"
He's momentarily at a loss for words when he sees her teasing expression.
"Oh Ala, you didn't think you could keep it from me did you?"
Nodding, he thanks her and puts on the ring.He can feel that he can use this ring as a medium to better understand and control his powers, but not for suppression.
He eats dinner with Maggie absentmindedly playing with his food and talking, he can't taste the food with his mind preoccupied about the unfamiliar memories in his dreams.
He was isolated from the others, not that he cared.Sitting with red hair and gold eyes filled with a mystical type of power and a small cross marring his skin under his left eye with the same striking shade of red as his hair.He watches in boredom mixed with contempt, as he casually looks at the people coming towards him with unconcealed hostility.
"My wife!Why did you kill her!?"
"Demon!"
"Murderer!"
"Why, why won't you just die?"
He didn't even have to move for such pests, with just his gaze it's enough to kill them if he so willed it.He sees a man walk towards him with the same eyes as him and a black cross under his right eye.
"Why did you do it?"
He asks him softly in a pained voice, how strange.What a stupid question.
"Because I felt like it."
He says naturally, why should he care for such pests?
He sees the man look at him in pity and pain, it irks him terribly.He gracefully jumps down the ledge he was sitting on and walks towards the man to kill him like all the others before him.
"You won't be able to kill me."
He hears him say softly to him with certainty in his voice.
"I won't know until I try."
He says lightly while feeling such unknown irritation, he can't be at peace again until he kills him with his own hands, he confirms intuitively while heading towards the man.
Alastair sits in the library and plays with the ring Maggie gave him after dinner, he wants to better understand how to control his powers.
He starts feeling a sudden burst of drowsiness as the ring falls from his hand and his eyes droop.Laying on the floor, he tries but fails to stay awake and sinks further into the memories.
He can't move his tattered body anymore, he watches as the man picks him up and vanishes to reappear in another place to head inside.
Will he torture him?That's the only reason he can think of, he did express his desire to kill the man after all.
He watches as the man starts to treat his wounds carefully with pained eyes.
"Just kill me."
He states monotonously.
The man pauses, before continuing his actions.
"Why?"
He hears the man ask with a lowly constrained voice.Why does his voice and eyes always contain pity and pain?He doesn't understand nor care.
"At the first chance I get, I will kill you."
He states as if telling a known fact.For his peace again, he won't stop until either he or the man is dead.
He doesn't know what made the man laugh all of a sudden, but he's already warned him.