Master of Minds, Master of Me

I’m so nervous. I’m just walking in circles in Felix’s office. Master Loneflare is coming soon, and I’m scared. Will he even answer my questions? Or will he accuse me of treason again?

‘’Relax Lo. He is not going to bite you.’’ Felix says while lazily leaning against his office desk.

I’m not so sure about that. He looked like only his gaze could kill when I saw him that time in Felix’s room. I glance at the clock. 4:57 PM. Felix asked him to come at five, but maybe he decided not to come.

‘’It’s almost five, maybe he isn’t coming at all.’’

‘’That is always a possibility with Theodore. But we know that only when the clock is 5:01.’’

‘’Why?’’

‘’He is way too punctual. He arrives right at the exact minute I have asked him to come. Not a minute early, not a minute late. Just calm down and sit down. He is not that scary.’’

‘’Yes, he is. He looked like I was some bug under his shoe or something.’’

‘’He looks at everyone like that. He just doesn’t like people in general.’’

‘’And that’s supposed to comfort me?’’

‘’He might be cold, but he isn’t evil.’’

Felix looks like he doesn’t even believe himself.

Then the office door burst open. 5 PM sharp. And Master Loneflares' cold, blunt voice fills the room.

‘’What is it, Felix?’’

Felix straightens himself and smiles widely.

‘’Theodore! How have you been, bestie?’’

‘’Not good since you forced me here. Spit it out Felix.’’

I gulp. He really is angry. Crap. Maybe this was a bad idea.

‘’Don’t be so crumpy, you scare my pretty flower away.’’

Maste Loneflare doesn’t even glance at me.

‘’Then tell me your business quickly so I can get back to the Tower.’’

‘’Well, actually… I didn’t call you here for me. I called you for Lo.’’

‘’Lo?’’

‘’I mean for my pretty flower. She wants to talk to you.’’

Master Loneflare slowly turns toward me. I feel like sinking underground from his cold stare.

‘’About what?’’

I can’t manage to open my mouth. I just stare at him. Luckily Felix keeps talking.

‘’She wants to hear about my mana problems from you. She is pretty concerned about my illusion mana affecting my behaviour. And my words are not convincing enough. So she asked if she could talk to you about it. I think we all know you if anyone would just tell the truth without sugar coating.’’

‘’Fine. What do you want to know?’’

I need to talk to him here? But I don’t want to talk when Felix can hear. I look at Felix, and he just looks at me with an encouraging smile. Crap. I really need to gather my courage to talk and ask Felix to leave.

‘’Actually. I was hoping I could talk to Master Loneflare alone.’’

Felix looks rather confused. ‘’Alone, why?’’

‘’I just feel uncomfortable talking about you while you are listening.’’

And because I want to ask about the curse.

‘’But the subject concerns me, don’t you think it’s just right that I’m present?’’

Crap. How can I convince him to leave?

I startle when suddenly Master Loneflare stands right next to me. His huge figure towers over me. Then something glistens on the ground, a magic circle is appearing. I see Felix's eyes widen as he tries to reach us with a yell.

‘’Hey! Wait up! You can’t just—’’

His voice disappears when the whole scene vanishes, and suddenly we are standing inside a foreign room. I glance around. An office maybe?

Master Loneflare walks to sit behind the desk. Is this his office?

‘’Can you talk now when the annoying pest is gone?’’

Does he mean Felix? I really don’t understand their friendship at all.

I nod.

‘’Sit.’’

His tone is still so hard, so I just obey.

‘’Talk.’’

I gulp. Gathering my courage once again.

‘’Felix told me that three affinities can’t reside in him in harmony. What does that exactly mean?’’

‘’Let’s just say that his managates are too cramped. And the illusion mana’s nature is vastly different from water and electricity. So co-living is hard.’’

‘’Co-living?’’

‘’Imagine that his mana is like water flowing inside him. And suddenly you start to pour oil in it. They can’t just blend and exist together in the gates in harmony. The illusion mana constantly tries to surface and take control.’’

‘’And I presume that when that happens, it affects his behaviour?’’

‘’Yes.’’

‘’How much can it affect him? And what things can it make him do?’’

Like destroying the Palace, perhaps?

‘’Illusion mana draws features of him that are pushed down into hiding. There can be some desires or characteristics that even Felix didn’t know he had. So it’s not making Felix do anything that isn’t him. It just draws out some part of him, and in his case, it’s the parts that he wants to hide and suffocate.’’

‘’You said that you couldn’t settle his mana like you used to. What does that mean?’’

‘’Over the years, his illusion mana has slowly grown more potent. And learning to control it is even more important. If he doesn’t learn it, then someday the illusion mana takes more control of him. Probably pushing his other affinities out.’’

‘’And what exactly happens then?’’

‘’Hard to say. No one has ever possessed three affinities before. But mana is like blood to us. Felix may end up dead because so much of his mana is depleted. Like in Arcane Burst. And of course, if the illusion mana pushes the other ones out. It might cause pretty serious damage around him.’’

Hearing that makes me even more sure that his mana is the cause of his future havoc.

‘’How can he exactly learn to control it?’’

‘’We have tried many things during these years, but we haven’t found any simple solution. Swordfighting helps sometimes. But not always. Learning what calms him is something only Felix can do.’’

‘’I have seen many times when Felix’s whole demeanour changes because his illusion mana comes more to the surface. His eyes are turning purple and—’’

‘’His eyes are turning purple?’’ He looks rather surprised by my words.

I nod, and he furrows his brows. Is he worried?

‘’That has never happened before. I guess the illusion mana is really getting stronger. In what situation does that happen?”

Oh God. I can't tell him that. That's just way too embarrassing. I feel my cheek flush at the memories of him getting rough with me. What should I say to him?

“Let me guess. Is it during sex?”

Now I really want to bury myself deep underground. How can he just ask that like he is asking me about the weather?

I just nod.

“How long does it take the eyes to return to normal?”

Are we really talking about this? I fiddle with my fingers on my lap nervously.

“They return back when we are… finished.”

“Is that why you wanted to talk to me? Are you scared he will hurt you during sex?”

“No!” Okay, that came out way too loudly. “It’s not about that, I don't mind that. I’m more concerned he would end up doing something bad because of his mana. Like hurting others or destroying something. You said yourself that he was acting crazy during your battle.”

He grins. Some weird twisted smirk.

“He really was a sight to behold then.”

Is he enjoying this? What kind of insane human is he?

“Shouldn't you be concerned about him acting like that?”

He just shrugs his shoulders.

“It’s not my problem.”

“What if he ends up causing problems for the whole country?”

“Not my problem.”

He says that, but for some reason, I don't think he means that, or maybe he does. I don't know. It's impossible to read him. I really don't understand him at all.

“If it isn’t your problem, why have you helped him in the first place?”

“We have a deal, I get money from it.”

What?! Is their friendship based on some kind of sick contract? Felix regards him as his best friend. And he acts like Felix is just some object to leech off money? I feel furious. And I hate that everyone thinks this person is some kind of saviour of our country. When in reality, he is just some sick, emotionless, greedy bastard. I want to yell at him so much. But I have to contain myself, since there is still information I want from him. So I suffocate my anger.

“So do you think Felix may end up causing havoc because of his mana?”

“Well, it's not impossible. But if it ends up like that. I’m sure I can stop him. So there is nothing to worry.”

“By stopping him, do you mean stopping his mana or?”

“Of course I would stop his mana. But if that's impossible, I would stop him.”

I gulp. Is he saying he would kill Felix if needed? But if he could stop his mana, where was he when Felix destroyed the Palace? Is he all just words? Or is he the one who killed Felix? It’s unknown why Felix died all those times.

“So are you saying there is nothing I could do to help him control his mana?”

“If he calms down after doing things to you, the only thing you should do is to let him do those things. Other than that, there is nothing you can do. Felix has to figure out the calming factor himself. Since his case is one of a kind, there is no one to tell the answer.”

I hope to find some hope from him. But his words just make me think that the devastating future is inevitable.

“So are we done?”

“Umm… There is something else I want to ask you. Something that doesn't concern Felix.”

He leans back in his chair.

“Does it have to do something about me saying there is something wrong with you?”

I nod. I feel my heart beating faster. I don't know how I should even start. I really should have thought this through a little bit better before talking to him. I just hope he isn't going to laugh at me or judge me. But he probably will, I just have to take that risk. This is probably the only chance I've got to get some information from him.

“Do you believe in the Devil?” I finally ask.

“The Devil? If you are asking if I believe he exists, then yes.”

My eyes widen with surprise. I was so sure he would just laugh at me for believing something like that.

“Really?” I ask, wanting to make sure I heard him right.

“Yes. I even met the bastard. Annoying squeaking rat.”

I think I blacked out for a moment. He has met the Devil? The Devil? And he just called him a squeaking rat?

“You have met him?” I ask with a shaky voice.

“Yes.”

I really don't know what to think about that. I really can't wrap my brain around this. But maybe there really is hope that he knows something about Devil's curses.

“Do you happen to know anything about curses?”

“Curses? Do you think the Devil has cursed you?”

I feel a huge lump in my throat. Should I just admit it? I swore to myself that I would never tell anyone about my curse anymore. But I really want to tell him. Since I really don't care what he thinks of me. He is clearly a horrible human being. So his opinion about me doesn't matter at all. I think he already loathes me. I’m just worried he would tell Felix about it. And I really don't want him to know.

“Are you going to tell Felix what we talk about here?”

“No. Why would I?

He says it like my question was the most stupid thing to ask. So I guess he won't tell.

“Yes. I think I’ve been cursed.”

His eyes narrow, like he is inspecting me. Like I’m some kind of lab specimen. He just stays silent, so I continue.

“So do you know anything about them?”

“I do. But I have a hard time believing that the Devil is the one behind it.”

“Why?”

“Well, he is one incompetent bastard, so I’m not sure he could even manage to make a decent curse on someone.”

Is he calling the greatest evil in existence incompetent? I kind of regret thinking that Felix is insane. Since he seems like a freaking saint compared to this person before me.

“Does it matter who’s the one making the curse? Do you know how to break one?”

“It does matter, greatly even. The only way to break a curse is to make the caster undo it or kill the one who did it.''

My heart sinks so deep into the pit of the abyss. He is basically saying that I can never break the curse. The Devil would never undo it, and I surely could never kill the Devil.

“Could God help break the curse?”

He clearly thinks for a while.

“Not sure. I mean, I could guess that light magic might be something that could break curses. And if light magic really comes from God, it could be possible. But it’s only purely speculation since light magic has been gone for so long.”

So I was maybe right that God is my only chance to be free.

“Are you sure you are cursed?”

I nod.

“What kind of curse is it?”

“I don't want to say.”

Since it doesn't matter. All that matters is the fact that God really is my only chance. I'm partly relieved to know that my efforts to be devoted all this time weren't in vain.

“Would you let me examine you?”

“Why? Would it help me somehow?”

“No. Just out of curiosity. Real solid curses are very rare. I can sense that there is something odd about your soul. Maybe it’s because of the curse. But if I could examine you. I could be sure that if it’s a curse or not.”

“It’s the curse, I know it is.”

“So is that a no?”

“It’s a no. May I ask why you have met the Devil?”

“I wanted something from him. Something he didn't want to give. So I beat him to a pulp to have it. I’m pretty convinced he went back to Hell after that. Pathetic coward. So I doubt he interferes with humans’ business while I'm alive. So if he really has cursed you, which I still highly doubt, it’s pretty much impossible to find him to break it.”

He beat the Devil? I, of course, knew he is powerful since he is going to kill the dragon in the future. But the Devil? And I still can't understand how he can talk about all this stuff so nonchalantly.

I get up.

“Thanks for seeing me. That's all I wanted to know.”

He gets up too and walks closer to me.

“I only did this cause Felix asked me to. But if you ever change your opinion about being a lab rat for me. The offer still stands.”

Did he just call me a lab rat?

The magic circle appears, and soon we are back in Felix's office. Felix darts up from his chair when he sees us.

“Lo! Where the hell have you been? You can't just leave me behind like that! I was worried sick here!”

He really looks like he is panicking because of this. I don't understand why. But I feel bad for making him worry like that. I walk toward him and hug him.

“Sorry, Felix. I really just wanted to talk in private. I hope you understand.”

He wraps his hands around me and hugs me tight. I can feel his heavy beating heart. Was he really that anxious?

“Felix.” Master Loneflare's blunt voice makes us both turn to look at him.

“What is it, Theodore?”

He grabs Felix by his nape and yanks him away from me.

“You come with me, now.”

Then once again, a magic circle appears beneath them, and I hear Felix's arguments, and then they are gone.

I just stand there, staring at the now-empty spot. Why did he take Felix?

I hope he didn't change his mind about telling him about my curse.

Crap. I should know better than to trust that idiotic mage. I slump into a chair.

But I guess I could use a moment of silence to think about what I just learned. The fact that I can't stop the future from happening. And the fact that God really is my only chance to break my curse.