Chapter 51

They stood in the large hall of the castle where Senecio had just defeated the monstrous creature . While Arran still felt some fear as he looked at the man, he understood that if Senecio wanted to harm him, there was little he could do about it .

So far, however, the old man had shown little sign of hostility .

“Come,” Senecio said, “while we talk, we can seek out the Herald’s treasures . I imagine there should be some things worth taking . “

Arran followed the man, unsure of what to expect . While his previous encounters with the Academy had ranged from unpleasant to deadly, Senecio seemed entirely different .

“Now,” the old man said, “you must be wondering why I haven’t killed you . “

Arran nodded . When he had first seen Senecio’s white robe, he had thought his final moments had arrived . That the man

“The Academy hunts those with forbidden Realms,” Senecio said, “but that is not its true purpose . Rather, the Academy is one small part of the forces on the side of Order in the war against Chaos . “

At this, Arran frowned . He had no idea what the man was talking about .

“There’s a war?” he asked, hoping Senecio would explain more .

“Of course,” Senecio replied . “There always has been, since long before this world even existed . Throughout the universe, Order and Chaos constantly oppose each other, fighting for supremacy . “

“But… what are they?” Arran asked . It was clear that Senecio did not just use the words in their normal meaning, but what he did mean, Arran did not know .

“They’re two of the Realms that control reality,” the old man said . Seeing Arran’s confused face, he laughed heartily . “But that is no concern of yours . All you need to know is that in this world, Order and Chaos fight for control, and the Academy stands on the side of Order, as do I . “

“Then why do they want to kill me?” Arran asked . “I don’t know anything about Chaos, or Order . All I want is to be left alone . “

“They want to kill you,” Senecio said, “because they believe that powers like yours could be used to aid Chaos . “

“You don’t agree?” Arran asked with some hesitation .

“Ah! Found it!” A broad smile appeared on Senecio’s face as he pointed toward a small wooden door on the side of the hall .

As he pointed, the door crumbled, turning to ashes before their eyes . Behind it, Arran could see a large room, filled with what looked to be numerous treasures . At a glance, Arran could see weapons and armor, as well as the glint of gold and silver .

“Oh, you asked a question?” Senecio said . “I do, of course, agree with the Academy . Powers like yours are terribly dangerous and could easily upset the balance of power in this world . “

“Then why haven’t you…” Arran did not finish the sentence, fearful of giving the man ideas .

“Killed you? Because this world is already on the verge of being lost to Chaos . “

The old man turned to Arran, staring at him intently . “Chances are that you will die long before you ever gain the slightest shred of power . And if you do become powerful, you might side with Chaos, and hasten the fall of this world . “

Arran frowned . He knew nothing about either Chaos or Order, and he could not imagine himself siding with either . From what little he had seen, all he wanted was to stay as far away from them as he could .

“But if you become powerful enough to fully use your forbidden Realm,” the man continued, “and if you decide to stand against Chaos… who knows what could happen . You might just change the path of this world . “

“Me? Change the path of the world?” The idea seemed ridiculous to Arran . So far, he had only barely even managed to survive, and even that with great difficulty .

“You, or any of the other people with forbidden Realms,” Senecio said . “Forbidden Realms aren’t quite as rare as you might think, despite the Academy’s best efforts . “

“Then why don’t you tell the Academy to stop killing people with forbidden Realms?”

“I stay out of the Academy’s affairs, and they stay out of mine . ” The old man shrugged . “I cannot change their actions, no matter how foolish . “

“But aren’t you on the same side?” Arran could not help but feel frustrated . Here was someone who might be able to safeguard him from the Academy, but the man was unwilling to do so .

“Enough,” the man replied . “Just be glad I won’t kill you . “

Arran’s face fell, but he did not protest . Although Senecio had treated him kindly, he knew there was no friendship between them, and the old man had no reason to be swayed by Arran’s situation .

Senecio, meanwhile, wandered around the room, perusing the treasures as if he was browsing through goods at a store . When items caught his eye, he took them, putting them into his void bag .

“Take this,” he said, holding up a black armored coat he had just picked up from the ground . “You really shouldn’t be doing battle in robes . “

Arran scowled . He was wearing the robe Jiang Fei had given him, since his last armored coat had not survived the battle against the Redstone men . Yet when he took the coat from Senecio, his eyes immediately lit up .

With just a glance, he could see that this coat was even better than his previous one, well-formed and filled with enough plates and mail to stop all but the heaviest attacks . Moreover, something about the coat made him suspect that it was enchanted, although he could not say what made him think so .

Finally, Senecio finished his inspection of the room, his void bag containing at least a dozen new treasures .

“You can take the rest,” he said . “Although I should warn you, there are some mages left in the castle . Once I leave, they will come looking for you . “

“You’re leaving me behind?!” Arran asked in shock . “And there are other mages here?!”

“You should be able to handle them,” the old man said . “Think of it as repayment for the Academy mages you killed — an opportunity to balance out your past actions . “

“But I wanted to ask about—” Arran began . There were a thousand questions he still had to ask, if not more .

“You will have to find the answers for yourself,” Senecio interrupted him . “I have given you a small bit of knowledge . What you do with it is up to you . “

Arran wanted to protest, but he knew the old man would not budge .

“One last thing,” Senecio said . “Who sent you here?”

At once, Arran felt panic, knowing what the man was planning to do . “I wasn’t sent,” he said . “A local guard captain asked me to look into a group of bandits, but he didn’t know about any of this . “

“That remains to be seen,” Senecio replied . “The forces of Chaos are often duplicitous . “

As he considered the matter, doubt rose in Arran’s mind . Now that he thought about it, Captain Yang had been suspiciously quick in deciding to help him .

Moreover, twice the man had given him woefully incomplete information, first sending him up against an Academy mage, and then sending him to a castle that turned out to be ruled by the strange creature Senecio had killed .

Still, Arran was unwilling to believe Captain Yang had deceived him .

“I give you my word that if this captain of yours isn’t an agent of Chaos, I won’t harm him,” Senecio said . “Now tell me where he is . “

Arran hesitated for some moments but then decided to trust Senecio’s word . With a heavy heart, he told Senecio about Captain Yang, fervently hoping that he hadn’t just doomed the man who had treated him so well .

“With that, I take my leave,” Senecio said after Arran finished . “Do try to stay alive . “

A sudden ripple went through the air around Senecio, and when it disappeared, the old man disappeared with it, as if the air had swallowed his body .

For some moments afterward, Arran stood in silence, trying and failing to make sense of all that just happened .