When someone knocked on his door, Sen never expected it to be a professor, least of all Professor Crosp.
He’d been planning in his room for their departure when the knock tapped against it. He’d had it repaired and personally placed new wards since the school’s invasion. It opened with the flick of a hand.
The professor leaned his head in. “Hello? Ah, Sen! I was hoping you’d be in. I know we spent most of our meeting discussing the egg, but you expressed some interest in the Kingdom of Magic as well. I hated that we didn’t have the time to go into it, so I thought I’d bring you this.” He held up a stone tablet not unlike the spell tablets from the entry exam and the special library where he’d received his rank reward.
“A spell?” Sen asked. Perhaps it was related to Historia magic or something.
Professor Crosp chuckled. “Not quite, though history is often quite magical. While I’m certain you’ll be able to learn a great deal of information from that time period on your own, this is something I was uniquely suited to get access to for you. I’ve worked alongside some archaeologists who use Bright Sail as a base of operations, and they had members who took part in an excavation of the ruins of the Kingdom of Magic’s castle. Nowadays, those ruins are surrounded by powerful beasts, though no one really knows what attracts them. It was costly, but several archaeologists and historians traveled to the site. They hired a coalition of three different guilds to protect them, and even then, lives were lost. But in the end, their expedition was successful. They recovered this. Or rather, I should say, this is a copy of what they recovered.”
Sen arched a brow. “If it were worth all that, it must be valuable. What exactly is it though?”
Crosp grinned. “The last message left by King Ragmár, recorded only moments before his final battle and the end of his kingdom. A message he’d recorded and left behind for none other than his former court magician. The God of Magic.”
Sen was on his feet before he realized he’d jumped up. Of course, Mori had served as the court magician. Sen had been in his temporal world. But he had put in the work to establish an era of peace and help Ragmár get support to become king. Even in his time, most people didn’t realize that Sen and Mori were actually two different people. He kept to himself, and your average person wouldn’t have easy access to the king of a kingdom that powerful. It was only natural that people didn’t know. What mattered now was that his old friend had left a message behind. For him.
“What’s it say?” Sen asked.
Crosp held up a hand. “I’ll show you, but be warned, this is only a copy, and it’s not perfect. I’d have to take you to their headquarters to view the original. This is a copy of a copy, and so the Historia behind it won’t be perfect. But it’s largely intact and you should understand most of it. Given your interests, I thought you might be one of the few students who would appreciate how rare an opportunity this is. The message isn’t anything crazy. It’s a goodbye. But many scholars believe there was something hidden within the message. Something only the God of Magic would understand. Many have tried to piece that message together, but none have been successful.”
Sen swallowed. When he’d first taken a history class at Bright Sail, he’d felt as if he was standing there in front of his friend. It’d felt so real. He still hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact Ragmár was gone, but hearing his old friend had left a message for him was the last thing he’d expected. He couldn’t wait another second.
“Show me,” he said with such insistence that Crosp delayed no further.
The professor turned and closed the door behind him, and then ran a hand over the tablet, releasing the memory trapped inside. The illusion filled the air like plumes of smoke until it finally consumed him.
It felt as if Sen was standing mere feet away from his old friend, and he fought back emotion as he stared at the man he’d once considered a brother.
“Hello my friend,” Ragmár started. He wouldn’t use Sen’s name. He might expect others would see this message, and Sen’s name wasn’t widely known. Sen had earned one moniker after another since childhood until finally reaching the title that would follow him even into the future and through history books. The God of Magic.
“I have a lot to say, and not much time. Things are dire here, and an army stands at our gates. I’ve called our allies from all over the continent, and our forces are strong. But there is a genuine chance we'll lose, and the cost on both sides will be tremendous. But I have a plan. Before I go, there’s something I need to say.”
Ragmár hesitated for a moment. Then he looked back into the spell that recorded his words. “I do not know what the future holds for you. I’m not sure what the world will look like when you return. But I’ve have made preparations, and I’ll leave you everything you need in the vault of the castle. It should ease your journey. I know you’ll be fine on your own, but still, I wanted to do what I can. And I believe I’ve found something that even you would find useful.” He paused, looking up as someone obviously entered the room. Ragmár sighed. “I have to go. Sometimes, we must go before we’re ready. You know that,” Ragmár said. He stood, and the vision ended.
Sen squinted. Ragmár had always said he wouldn’t go before he was ready. His last words were a message. He was sure of it. “Professor, is that all?” he asked.
The professor frowned. “Unfortunately. Some people believe the vault was a code for something else, but there were many treasures hidden within the ruin, though treasure hunters and bandits have found most of them. Whatever King Ragmár left behind, it’s almost certainly gone by now. Further, there aren’t many human magicians who reach the rank of god that could have survived this long. It’s believed the God of Demons has reigned since the time of Gom, but the shadow hell continent is fairly isolated. There are a few others who were recorded as living for hundreds of years, but eventually, they fall to others, or disappear as Gom did. It’s tragic, but Ragmár’s message won’t ever reach his old friend.”
But it had reached him, and Sen had a feeling there was more to this than the professor realized. Ragmár had left behind a hint only Sen would understand. He was seconds away from asking to see the vision again when his door slammed open.
Samara’s violet ponytail swung to the side, and her demon great-sword rested on her back, radiating the heat of the Shade Flame. “Boss, Mori’s back, and he’s got Ano with him.”
Sen’s head snapped at that. “Ano? But he was taken.”
She nodded. “That’s right. They’re in the entrance hall waiting,” she called out, turning to lead them back. Professor Crosp and Sen nodded and made their way toward the door.
Sen stopped abruptly when he heard Ragmár voice.
“Sen…” it said.
Crosp turned, realizing Sen had stopped. “Is everything okay?”
“Did you hear that?” Sen asked so low it was almost a whisper.
Crosp looked around. “Ah, sometimes visions can get…caught in our systems. Here let me,” he said, holding a hand in front of Sen. “End Vision Academia.” Crosp nodded. “That should take care of it.”
“Thanks…let’s go,” Sen said, following the professor out of the room. He turned and gave the stone tablet on his bedside table one last look. That hadn’t been a vision. He’d heard Ragmár say his name clear as day, but right now, they needed to move.
[Wnf Zdnbc: Uxljcn cqn bnlanc vnbbjpn xo Trwp Ajpvja.]
Sen blinked at the garbled message that tried to manifest itself in his mind as they ran. “Tutor, what was that?”
[What was what?]
Today was getting weirder and weirder.
A large group had already formed in the entrance hall around Mori and Ano. Professor Sikar and Professor Ladia were there, asking questions. Samara shouldered her way through the crowd of students gawking, clearing the way for Crosp and Sen to get to the center.
“I don’t know…it was some kind of barrier,” Ano finished saying. He noticed Sen enter the circle and smiled. “There he is. I bet you’ve been waiting for a lead on those guys. We fighting?” Ano asked.
Sen’s expression harder. “We are. Mori, show me,” he said.
Mori nodded. He released a copy of his memories to Tutor.
He whispered. “Time Crawl Maxima, Mind Enhancement Maxima.” The memories came in a flash, but his enhanced mind could process them quickly, so he had time to sift through what Mori had experienced. He blinked, and in that time, he’d caught fully up to what Mori had seen.
Mori and the door guardian, which was now completely free of the door it was supposed to be guarding, were moving through the outskirts of town when the guardian lifted its head. Mori had got a lead from a cultist he’d captured during their ambush of him in town. The guardian caught wind of something. Since they were tracking Ilm, that was hopefully a good sign. The guardian sped off with the speed of a rabid dog, and Mori pushed himself under the effects of Mana Encapsulation to keep up with the excited creature. When they reached a derelict building that looked awful and run-down, he had a feeling this was the right place. The exterior was awful, but when he kicked in the door, there were signs of life immediately. The place had been packed up in a rush, but remnants remained. Scattered clothes, old documents, even a ripped Brightsail Academy uniform. Mori scanned the building, room by room, looking for any indication of where the students might have gone.
“They were here…but they’ve since moved on. This was likely a base of operations of some kind. But where did they go next?” Mori watched the purple dog-like guardian sniff around as he mused aloud. The guardian seized something, and Mori hurried over, kneeling beside him. “Do you have a new scent?”
The guardian wheeled towards the door and ran outside. Mori scoffed. “Seems like you could use a little training,” he said.
He followed the creature outside and down the road for a while. Eventually, he saw something of interest. A man lying face down in the middle of the road. The man had blue hair, and his face was mushed against the ground while his hand reached out. It looked like he’d face-planted, or maybe he’d been crawling. Either way, Mori just hoped it wasn’t too late to heal the poor fellow.
The guardian beat Mori to the man and sniffed at him. It looked up at Mori excitedly.
“What is it…” He paused when he recognized who it was. He’d seen this man at the Academy War. “His name is…Ano, I believe. He’s the one with the pillow.”
Ano forced himself to move at Mori’s words. “Sen? No…you’re that brother of his, right? Or maybe you’re an illusion, or a dream? I don’t know anymore. Either way, I need to get back to Bright Sail. I’ve got news.”
Mori readied a restoration spell. Ano was clearly exhausted, and this might ease his burden just a bit. “News of what?” he asked to keep him talking and awake.
“I know where the others are. At least, I think.”
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