The white-haired boy continues to sit down on his knees, showing a sadistic smile as his index finger is placed over his mouth in secrecy.
August's eyes widened hysterically with anger. He quickly stood up before aggressively grabbing the of white-haired boy's collar, dragging him towards him. "What the hell did you do to Lys!?"
The white-haired boy's smile soon subsided before coldly looking at the boy in front of him. His eyes shift towards the two other people fighting in the distance. He sighs before looking right back at the young boy before aggressively grabbing his wrist, showing a nasty smile.
"Relax. The boy is safe. But the way you're grabbing me... Aren't you worried about the pain you're inflicting on this body?"
August's eyes widened at the mention of those words before he softened his grip. The white-haired boy yanks his hands, closing his eyes while he begins fixing his shirt. "Some complications appeared. I had to resort to using some heavy measure." He looks back at August with an eerie smile. "For the moment, I will temporarily control this body until he finishes his trial."
August clenches his hand, sharpening his gaze with animosity before crossing his arms. "What do you mean by trial? Furthermore, who are you...?"
The white-haired boy continued to smile eerily before looking at the night sky. "... I have no name..." He slowly looks back at August before letting out a small laugh. "But the young boy calls me Azar. Feel free to call me as such."
August continued to glare at the white-haired boy in front of him. "... Why is a dangerous individual like you hanging around Lys? Your aura… it reek of blood and anguish..."
"Aura… how familiar." The white-haired boy looks at the ground, closing his eyes as he plays with his finger while humming out a beautiful tune, thinking about what to say.
"... I cannot reveal much..." He slowly looks back at August. "The aura that you see behind me..." The white-haired boy stops momentarily before his eyes look solemn, yet still conveying a subtle smile. "The aura that you see behind me... Let's just say they're remnants of my past. I've long left my past behind... Right now, I am following the road of redemption. Being by this child's side to guide and aid him... That is one of the things I must do to redeem myself."
August slowly softens his eyes, but continues to look sharply at the white-haired boy. "How can I trust that you won't harm him? For all I know, you might just be pretending to be decent while hiding your sadistic nature."
The white-haired boy looks at August before looking back at the people fighting.
Nilo continues to be on the defensive as the old man releases the black flame from all over his body, burning everything in its vicinity, but not spreading uncontrollably like a normal fire would. He launches a series of kicks towards the old men. But despite the hit connecting, the old man doesn't respond to the pain.
The white-haired boy sarcastically sighs in a sad tone. "You still don't trust me… But you do trust Lysander." He places his hand on August's shoulder, leaning in and whispering to his ear. "If he trusts me, then you're also forced to trust me." Looking at him with the corner of his eyes, he smiles sadistically once again..
"Because you love~ this boy, don't you?"
August flinches at his word before gritting his teeth, glaring at the boy with anger. The white-haired boy smirks as he grabs August's chin. "You can't even try and push me away because you're afraid of hurting this body, right?" He closes his face towards August, probing about the unethical action he's about to do.
"I'll give you a chance to kiss this boy's body while he's not here. That's something that you wish to do, no...?"
August's eyes widened before pushing him away. He clenches his hand with anger before glaring at the white-haired boy once again. "I knew it. You just wish to satisfy your own sadistic nature using Lys. How dare you try and tarnish his body..."
The white-haired boy smirks for a moment before closing his eyes and putting both hands behind his back. "Relax, I wasn't going to do anything." He lets out a chuckle. "Though part of it was indeed because of my sadistic desire, I was mostly testing you. That's all."
Wandering around the field, gazing at the scene around him, he slowly looks back at August. "... Like I said, I have a duty to protect this boy. Careless love that will lead to nothing will surely destroy this child." He then smiles solemnly. "I do not understand how to love myself, but this boy is even more oblivious. Maybe because he never received it himself..."
August looks away frustratingly, gritting his teeth and clenching his hand once more with anger as the boy in front of him utters those words. That anger slowly turned into sadness.
He still doesn't know much about Lys... Nor what he has gone through...
The white-haired boy awkwardly scratches his head as he continues to look at the dismayed boy. "This really isn't a perfect place to speak… We're lucky that we haven't been struck again during this whole moment."
August didn't respond, making the white-haired boy sigh. He then places his hand on his chest, trying his best to imitate the smile of the original body. "Fine. I promise you this: I won't hurt or tarnish this body and will protect it at all costs. I get that you feel… skeptical about me, but let us focus on the situation."
August slowly looks at him, still feeling discontent but nods nevertheless in agreement. "Fine. But you still haven't told me where Lys is right now."
"I cannot say much other than he is currently undergoing a mental trial. I had to rearrange it much earlier than necessary given the circumstances, but…" The boy looks slightly worried. "... He was hyperventilating when he saw you injured. If, in that moment, he passed out, both of you would've been in grave danger."
August's face slowly softens before looking bitterly at the boy. "I see... so you took control just to protect him."
The white-haired boy nods. "That's my mission. Don't worry, it won't be long before he returns."
August sighs while angrily scratching his head. "Fine... I still don't trust you, but I'll cooperate with you for the moment until you give Lys his body back."
The white-haired boy nodded. "That's fine by me."
August looks around the premises to see what the current status is. "Sir Nilo is having a tough time because of the Chancellor. Physically, Sir Nilo outwits him. But those black flames... they're dangerous..."
The white-haired boy stared at the fire surrounding the old men, squinting his eyes closely before closing them while showing a subtle smile. "Indeed. Having the capability to not only continuously burn objects until they melt, but also burn mana itself. Magic will be ineffective against those flames..." The white-haired boy slowly opened his eyes. "Only will an aura of someone in the seventh ring be possible to counter it."
August glances at the boy. "How do you know that...?"
The white-haired boy tilted his head. He places his index finger over his smiling mouth once again as he wins at him. "That's a secret~"
Nilo quickly kicks the old man into a tree far away before quickly appearing in front of the two boys. "Young master, your highness, why haven't you fled yet!?" He then looks at August, briefly gazing at his shoulder. "What happened to your injury?"
"Ah..." August glances at the white-haired boy while awkwardly scratching his hair before looking back at Nilo. "... Lysander healed me..."
Nilo quickly glances at the white-haired boy. "I see. That's good to know then. Make sure to get as far away–"
Nilo's eyes widened before he turned around. The old man dashed towards them before attacking them with a burst of black flame.
Nilo flinged his arms forward, before a beige color aura soon manifested in front of him and created a shield.
He looks at the boys behind him once more. "Get away, NOW!"
The white-haired boy grabs August's hand before they start running away. Nilo's aura quickly began to burn because of the black flame, making it shrink by the second.
The old man clicks his tongue as he gazes at the running children. "Oh no you don't!"
The old man stretches one of his hands out towards the boy's direction before the flame begins to expand from where Nilo was and all the way around them, forming a wall of black flame, trapping them inside.
August looked around, getting more distressed at the situation. "This is bad..."
The white-haired boy calmly nodded. "Indeed. This flame is quite potent. But it also burns away the life force of the caster. So the only thing we can do now is stall for time as their life force gets drained out of them..." He quickly glances at Nilo. "But it's unclear just how much more time we have to stall for. Nilo is already struggling to defend against the flame, and the person is not responding to any sort of pain... This may be the worst possible scenario..."
The white-haired boy continued to look at Nilo with worry. "... Will it happen again?"
The beige color aura that Nilo summoned began to shrink even more as he continued to defend against the flame. He slowly gets pushed back as the old man continues to hit him with the black flame.
Every second that passes by, Nilo can feel the heat from the flame, as well as the pain. But even so, he continues to defend. "I can't let... this person... hurt the young master..."
The aura he has in front of him is almost gone. He can feel his arm burning, alongside a section of his clothes.
Nilo slowly closes his eyes. Even in such a serious situation, he couldn't help but let out a small smirk. "... Is this how it ends...?"
"I don't mind giving up my life for the young master... From the very beginning, I swore to follow his grace and protect him and those he loves and cares for… Even if it means sacrificing my life. "
Nilo solemnly opens his eyes. The flame is thus close to consuming him entirely. "Still... In the face of death... I feel quite empty... "
Memories began appearing in front of Nilo.
In his last year of attending Lusia academy with her sister, Nila, thanks to the duke's support, he remembers training continuously in one of the training grounds.
Nilo sits in the rough ground, breathing heavily, while Nila wipes a strand of sweat from her forehead before looking down at Nilo.
"Why do you train your legs?" She flexes her arms in front of him. "Just train your arms and hands like me. It's more practical that way."
Nilo looks at her before letting out a scoff. "Idiot. Don't you know that the legs are stronger than the arms?"
Nila shows an annoyed look as she lightly punches his shoulder hard. "You want to start something?"
Nilo sucked in his breath as he rubbed the slightly injured area before looking back at her, letting out a small chuckle. "Relax… I was just joking." He quickly looks down solemnly at his open hand. "... I just feel like I can't protect anything if I use my hands." He then clenches them. "Rather, the hands are a weapon that causes more harm than good..."
Nila looks at him questioningly before crouching down to his level, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "I see..." She stood silently for a moment before letting out a warm smile. "Who do you wish to protect then?"
Nilo widened his eyes as he heard those words from her. "... Who do I want to protect...?"
That question lingered on his head for a long time.
"... There are so many people I wish to protect..."
I want to protect my only family member, my sister... I wish to protect everyone that his grace cares about just like he protected me as he brought me and Nila alongside him from the misery that we lived through...
He saved us from that darkness and allowed us to move freely into the world I thought was pointless to live in.
The desire to protect and live grew even stronger when I first met him: Qadir.
As His Grace brought him along to the mansion, I couldn't help but admire him. From the way he fought, from the way he carefully groomed the flowers and plants, to the way he easily showed a smile despite the misery he faced from an early age...
Everything he did just caught my attention. The way he looked at me as he put a flower in my hair, smiling down at me while caressing my face... It made my feelings grow stronger...
The way he embraced me into his arms when we both felt at our lowest ... I just couldn't help but think he felt the same way as I do...
The way he laughed alongside me every time we talked about the most mundane topics. The way he held my hands against his, feeling the warmth that I thought I couldn't feel again... The way he slowly kissed me as we sat underneath the spring tree...
I couldn't help but fall in love with him even more...
But everything that I loved... Everything that I cherished... will all leave me one day... just like that day.
I thought that by hiding those feelings from the world, nothing like that would happen again.
But I learned to overcome that as time went by...
What will my sister feel when I die here? What will his grace and everyone in the mansion feel? What will the young master think as I sacrifice my life for him so he can continue living his life peacefully in this world?
What will Qadir feel...?
Nilo gritted his teeth. He opened his eyes wide with determination. The once shrunken beige aura soon expanded intensely before putting out the flames all around them.
"What?!"
The old man's flame soon dispersed before he was pushed to the ground. He quickly lifted his head up to see what Nilo just did for the flames to disappear. "What the hell did you just do?! Those flames can't be distinguished! Only someone of the seventh ring can possibly–"
The old man's eyes widened as he uttered those words. "Don't tell me..."
Nilo dispersed the aura around him. Half his shirt is now completely burned. He slowly looks at his hands. Severe burns appeared on them, but he ignored the pain caused by them. He clenches his hand at the realization of what this sudden power burst signifies.
He has awakened his seventh ring.
The old man soon stood up, angrily looking at Nilo. "You...! I'll make sure to kill you and then those kids! I will make sure to complete the role I was given–"
But just before he was about to finish his sentence. A longsword soon impaled him from behind. It was covered by a fiery red aura before it nailed him to the ground, making him cough up a substantial amount of blood.
A tall woman then walked up from behind and placed her hand on top of the sword's hilt. "My, My. What is up with all this commotion in the Imperial Palace?"
The old man turned his head to see the woman's deep red eyes shimmering on him. The women continued to put pressure down at the sword, making cry out in pain
August looked at the woman before calling her name out. "Ema! What are you doing here?!"
Ema looked at August, slightly scratching her head. "I've received reports about unusual mana fluctuations occurring around the area. I decided to check out just to see this fella over here about to attack you all."
The old man began to squirm around desperately, scratching the ground with his nail as he screams. "No...! I can't... fail... here…!"
After uttering those final words, the black flame surrounding him soon ceased to stop before his head and body limped down.
Ema grabbed hold of the hilt before pulling out the sword from the old men. "Quite a pity. Would've been nice to capture him alive and interrogate him..." She then looked at Nilo. "You're one of Laurence's people, right? Thank you for protecting his highness, I saw that you were ready to put your life on the line to protect the children behind you."
Nilo shook his head. "It was nothing. I'm glad that the current threat has been removed."
"Indeed. Guards are surrounding the area at this very moment, but you should've told me personally that you were trying to dispel the curse surrounding the empress. We would have supported you."
Nilo began adjusting his damaged clothes as he responded stoically. "I'm glad that you received my message. I had to plan things accordingly so we can be sure to eliminate all the enemies."
Ema let out a chuckle right before placing her long sword on her shoulder. "Wise indeed. If they saw our large number, they would've immediately fled. But it was quite a risky move… you almost lost your life there."
She let out a smile. "Still, maybe it was because you were so intent on giving up your life to protect that you managed to achieve your seventh ring. Congratulations."
August continued to look at Ema and Nilo as they continued to converse with each other. He slowly clenches his hand, feeling nothing but guilt about how useless he was.
A sudden voice echoed out from the white-haired boy. "... It seems that my time is up..."
August glanced at the white-haired boy as he said those words. "What do you mean?"
The boy's body began to shimmer white as his hair slowly rose upwards, slowly smiling before looking at August. "What do you think? The young boy thankfully finished his trial." He gently closed his eyes, humming out a beautiful tune before he continued. "... Make sure to keep everything I said to you a secret... there are some things that I shared with you that I cannot tell him..."
He slowly opened his eyes, looking at August with a warm smile. "... If you truly love this boy, then promise me this: That you will always love him, no matter what."
August looked at him for a long moment before he slowly nodded, his eyes filled with serious determination. "Even if you hadn't said it, I would always love him for who he is, no matter what."
The white-haired boy chuckled. "You may not know it, but those words carry a heavy burden on their own. But… I truly hope that you keep them with you... Both the promise, and your feelings."
He closes his eyes. The white light that engulfed his body soon disappeared before the boy began to lose his balance. Just as he was about to trip and hit the ground, August quickly ran to his side and caught him.
As the white-haired slowly opened his eyes, the first person he saw was the midnight-haired boy. He slowly reaches out to him, thinking that he's still in a dream. "August... Is that you...?"
August stood there frozen for a second before he responded with his usual warm smile. "Yep. It's me, Lys."
The white-haired boy smiled at those words before slowly closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep. August gently put his hand on his hair, carefully stroking it with a smile still enveloping his face.
He quickly carried the sleeping boy in his arms, gently placing his head on his shoulder.
Once the conversation between Nilo and Ema concluded, she looked at the young boy with a small smirk. "Did something happen to the little princess?"
August shook his head with a smile still on his face. "Nothing happened. He was just too tired, that's all..."
Nilo looks at them for a bit before gazing away. "I see. Do you want one of us to help you carry him back to the palace?"
"It's okay. I'll take him back to the palace."
Ema let out a playful smile. "Okay, make sure to also rest well too. The guards and I will continue to patrol the area, but do reach out to us if something happens."
August nodded, and soon began to walk carefully to not disturb the sleeping boy. He continued to walk down from the forest and into the garden, and soon reached the palace doors.
He walked through the silent, empty corridor again and reached his personal room. He gently opened the door and went inside. He gently lay the resting boy down on the bed before contemplating whether to change his clothes or not.
The clothes he is wearing are stained with dirt, burns, and even blood... But is it okay to change him without his permission?
After a long moment of internal debate, he decided to change him out of his dirty clothes.
Quickly removing the sleeping boy layers without touching him more than he needed to. A red hue began to cover his face the more he changed him, but he continued to change him into the spare clothes as fast as he could.
He wiped the sweat off his face, finally done changing the boy.
Once he also changed out of his clothes, he sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the sleeping boy.
The more he looked at him, the more he couldn't help but smile. He slowly reached out his hand, removing a strand of hair from his face before gently stroking his head. "Sleep well... Lys..."
He soon got up, walking towards the couch before laying down, thinking about the many things that occurred today.
And the words that the being that controlled Lys body said to him...