Fun Fact: Denatured Arcani is the world’s global currency since it can be converted to Arcani easily. Glyphs are used to record the amount of money and are also named after celestial bodies.
Luna (Moon):
Crescent-shaped
Lowest form of currency
20 Lunas = 1 Tellus
Tellus (Earth):
Leaf shaped
Middle form of currency
50 Tellus = 1 Sawel
Sawel (Sun):
Sun shaped
Highest form of currency
~ ~ ~
Kleopatra paced the corridor anxiously and glanced at the Guardian Council gates again. Granted, Gaius had already discharged himself from service. But did he really have to leave so suddenly without even so much as a farewell?
Every fibre of her wanted to leave and begin searching for Gaius, but that boy had already left for more than a day. She didn’t know how to even begin tracking him.
But she had to, somehow. She had to let him know what she had just found out about his physiology. Kleopatra had taken the opportunity to scan the Arcani levels in his body when he wasn’t paying attention, and—
The sound of squelching boots interrupted her simmering thoughts.
Kleopatra raised an eyebrow at a few members of the Guardian Council silently trudging into the building. They had returned from their mission empty-handed, and they were also soaking wet for some reason.
Cybele walked in a few moments later, looking more pissed off than usual. She stormed into the General Office and slammed the door shut.
Kleopatra followed her sister.
“Hey, Cybele.” She opened the door gently and entered the room. There was no response. Her sister was slumped on the table with her face buried in her hands.
“How did the mission go?”
Cybele looked up. Her hair streaked messily across her face, stuck to her skin by the tears that were still flowing freely from her eyes. She sniffled and wiped her tears away, only for more to course down her cheeks again.
“W— Why…?” she sobbed. “I try so hard to keep things together. Why do I still… fail? Why won’t anyone listen to me…?”
Kleopatra hid her surprise. It was rare for her sister to cry, which meant the mission had obviously gone sour. She cast her gaze downwards, furrowing her eyebrows. She did not recall seeing Felix return with the Guardians. Oh gods, is he—
She shook her head. No. It just wasn’t possible. Felix was too strong for anything to even hurt him.
“I’m not cut out for this.” Cybele continued between choked sobs. “I’m not meant to be a leader. I shouldn’t even have taken up this position in the first place. Anyone else could’ve done a better job. I’m so… worthless.”
“Cybele…” Kleopatra was struggling to form words, so she moved without thinking.
The hands on her back were holding her tightly, but they felt softer than ever. The girl held her sister close, feeling the trembling of her whole body as she broke down into a quivering mess of tears.
“I don’t know what to do, Kleo…”
The doors slid open.
“I see you’ve finally taken the first step to becoming a leader, my dear child.”
Cybele broke away from Kleopatra and ran towards her father.
“D— Dad! What’re you doing— I thought you’d be busy with—” Cybele stammered, hurriedly wiping away her tears. “E— Everything is fine! You needn’t come all the way here to—”
“What, are you going to turn away a man only keen to see his daughters?”
Cybele fell silent, pursing her lips.
“It’s not easy leading a team of highly skilled members without real power backing you up.” Vulcan patted her head gently. “I’ve been there, and here you are as well. But you have already done so much better than I did.”
“No, I didn’t!” Cybele’s eyes shimmered again. “Gaius quit on me, I lost Felix in a prisoner exchange, and the rest of the Guardians won’t even listen to me now! I can’t control them like you did, Dad. I’m not good enough…”
“Oh, Cybele, do you think I lead the Guardian Council by controlling them?” Vulcan said. “They are people. Immensely talented people, who know what they can do and are hoping for someone to appreciate their skills.”
“I’m trying, Dad. But I’ve made so many mistakes. I already screwed up. I failed them, I failed myself— I… I failed you.”
“The fault is not yours. It was I who set you on this gruelling path when I had to answer to my own duties.” Vulcan lowered his voice. “I have made a great many mistakes in my life, Cybele. And yet I do not regret my decision to accept you as the next Guardian leader. This was not one of them.”
Cybele kept her silence again.
“You have a hero’s heart, my girl. You always did. That’s why I had no qualms about passing on the mantle to you,” her father continued. “And just because you stumble and fall once, doesn’t mean that you’ll never walk again. Sometimes, all we need is a helping hand to get back on our feet. You need not, but simply ask.”
“I’m so lost. I don’t know what to do.” Cybele looked up at her father. “I want to get Felix back, but the Guardian Council has already lost all faith in me. I can’t do this by myself. I… I need help, Dad.”
“Winning over competent men and women was never about words, but your actions. Besides…” Vulcan grinned a little. “The Guardian Council isn’t our only elite military force.”
Warlock Vulcan took out an orb from his robes. He pressed a button on its side, and a crackle of static sputtered from it.
“At your service, Mister President.”
“Scouts. Report,” Vulcan ordered.
“Targets are in a bunker six metres underground. The place appears to be a base of operations for the Meta Liberty Fighters. We have kept a safe distance, and hostiles have not noticed our presence yet. Heat signatures reveal that their hostages are still alive and well. Shall we launch a rescue operation?”
“Not yet. Continue observing them and alert me if there is any irregular movement.”
“Will do, President Vulcan.” Another crackle of static ended the transmission.
Cybele’s eyes were as wide as saucers now.
“When you announced for the Guardian Council to start the rescue mission in one of the most dangerous provinces, I had to send our Secret Service Constables to make sure nothing went wrong,” Vulcan said. “They have been reporting to me, but were also under strict orders not to interfere.”
“Wow…” Kleopatra breathed. Her father never ran out of surprises.
“Besides, Pagonis isn’t in any real trouble,” the man continued. “He is powerful enough to shake the very Earth itself. I believe he chose to go with the Meta Liberty Fighters so that he could negotiate with them.”
“A lost cause…” Cybele muttered bitterly. “The Meta Liberty Fighters are terrorists, simple as that. They want power, not equality.”
“He hasn’t seen that for himself. Pagonis is on the ground, after all. He isn’t privy to the politics of Sirius City like we are. I believe he’ll change his mind once he has seen their true colours for himself.”
“But how?” Cybele pondered out loud.
“We’ll worry about that later.” Vulcan smiled warmly, but it slipped off his face quickly. “There are more pressing matters. Or rather, a ‘good news’ of sorts.”
He reached into his pocket, taking out a slightly purplish tear-shaped drop. Kleopatra’s eyes widened in recognition; it was similar to the one she had found on the streets.
“This might just be the key to reversing this calamity,” Vulcan said. “As you probably already have observed, this curious object has been found in place of every destroyed Abomination. Its strange shape has rendered this part—”
He tried crushing the bulbous part of the crystal.
“—Nearly impervious to any attempt to break it.”
“But its weakness is the tip of its tail, right?” Kleopatra piped, excited to put her sophomore knowledge of Arcani studies to use for once.
“That’s right, Kleo.”
Vulcan pinched its tail, and the B’javiar tear shattered instantly.
“Preliminary research from our Grand Druids has revealed that this shape is formed by a huge amount of compressive stress on the Arcani in the air,” Vulcan continued. “Which also means that by principle, there is a much weaker source to this calamity.”
“So we do have a villain on our hands after all.” Cybele folded her arms.
“Perhaps, perhaps not.” Vulcan shook his head. “I have no idea how to begin searching for this source at the moment, but I have full confidence that our researchers will make a breakthrough soon.”
He looked at Cybele. “And after that, I will need to defer to the Guardian Council for help in apprehending the culprit.”
“Dad, I’m not sure if I’m up to the task. I’m afraid that not all the Guardians will follow me into battle anymore.”
“Then choose your allies wisely.” Vulcan reached for the door handle. “It’s better to have a small, trusted team of experienced fighters than an army of disorganised pawns. Chaos might roll over to innocent civilians if we let things get too messy. Best to call on someone who can get in and out of places easily.”
Kleopatra lowered her head, deep in thought. Out of all the members in the Guardian Council, there was only one skilled enough for stealth missions. Unfortunately, he was missing in action at the moment. And not to mention, his magic seemed to have—
“Sis, did you think of something?” Cybele’s voice interrupted her musing.
“Gaius…”
Cybele sighed audibly. “Yes, he was my first choice as well. I suppose this is truly the Heavens’ way of making me atone for my mistakes. I have to swallow my pride, apologise to him and—”
“Gaius is not our suitable man for the mission.”
Both Vulcan and Cybele stared at Kleopatra in disbelief. “Why?”
Kleopatra pulled out an Arcani scanner that she had made during one of her practical lessons in Grimoria College.
“Gaius had been acting oddly aggressive lately, so I scanned his body when he wasn’t noticing.” She pointed at the small silhouette on the screen, which was littered with colourful points. “Something has changed in him, magically speaking. Does that look familiar?”
Vulcan narrowed his eyes before widening them in horror. “By the gods… he’s infected. He— He’s transforming into an Abomination?!”
Kleopatra tried to blink away her tears, but they rolled out of her eyes anyway.
“Dad, I fancy him!” she blurted out “I… I don’t want him to die, but I can’t help him! I don’t know what to do…”
“Kleo, calm down. It looks like the corruption in his body is minimal,” Cybele said. “That must be why he’s taking so long to transform. Coupled with the fact that he is half-Meta, I think it’s safe to say he still has a while before he fully turns.”
“That’s not any better!” Kleopatra cried. “That warped energy is literally corrupting his soul by the day. I need to warn him, but he has already left for gods-know-where!”
“Hold on,” Cybele cut in. “If his magic is indeed being corrupted, why is he behaving aggressively? It’s not like corruption draws on negative emotions or anything like that.”
“Aye, but the warping works on a fundamental level,” Vulcan said. “However he got his magic, this warping will exaggerate its fundamental qualities. Perhaps the nature of his magic is demonic in the first place, which would make him take on its negative energy.”
“We have to stop this crisis quickly…” Kleopatra muttered.
“We will, my dear.” Vulcan patted her shoulder gently. “But we must not let haste trip us. I believe our first step is to look for Gaius. I am sure there is something we can do to alleviate his symptoms.”
“I’ll send feelers out to listen in for any news about someone resembling his description,” Cybele said. “With any luck, we should get something in no more than a few days. Worry not, Kleo. We will save him.”
Kleopatra nodded, wiping her tears away.197Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebV1fV2u2q
