CHAPTER 532

FLAMES OF DESTRUCTION (III)

A rather sizeable gathering was currently observing Primul as he was shifting across a massive, wooden board, using black charcoal on the whitened wood to draw complex and ever-shifting lines that, in the eyes of the observers, neither made sense nor seemed to fit at all. Yet, nobody said a word; instead, they stared at those lines sternly, waiting with bated breaths, as the complexity of the array continued on its upward trend.

The size of the board was beyond massive, sixteen by fourteen meters, and was leaned against the thick, stone wall. Primul had to use a ladder frequently, but he didn't grumble, unwilling to break his concentration. The surroundings glistened in the smoothed stone, several dozen pillars upholding the slightly concave ceiling from which a single, silver chandelier hung, alighting the hall. Over twenty bookshelves arose in tidy rows, stacked to the brim with old and new tomes alike in even parallels, the only respite being this frontal corner, on the opposite side of the doors, where the board lay leaned beneath a beautiful mural depicting Hannah in her Avatar form.

What started as a series of concentric circles turned to a labyrinth of lines, some thick and some thin, winding around over a hundred nodes, which had a surge of perfectly parallel lines within them. Primul had already been at it for over two days, but within a single hour, it was almost impossible to make heads or tails of the formation. He often went back to the old patterns and fix them, or completely erased them and drew different ones, which made the observers wonder how he could remember what was what.

Hannah rubbed her temples lightly as she looked away from the lines; she felt as though she’d get a headache if she stared at them for too long. Incompetency struck a chord within her since she understood how little she actually knew of the formations. Alison was in a similar state, though she stubbornly persisted in trying to understand it – to no avail, however.

“What the hell is this guy’s brain made of?” Y’vol grumbled, his mustache trembling slightly. Y’nn dragged him here for some reason, and now it’s been two days since he’s been staring at a wall of lines and circles. To his keen, artistic eye, it was rather pleasing, of course.

“The best ingredients, I imagine,” Y’elleve chuckled bitterly, shaking her head; she dabbled in formations here and there, so she was somewhat confident when she first arrived. By now, however, she didn’t even bother trying to understand them. “Do you understand anything?” she asked Y’nn who was stroking his beard, seemingly in a contemplative state.

“Not a fucking thing.” His words were spat out right after, causing her to nearly stumble over her dress; if you don’t understand anything, why do you look like you’re really into it?!! “Ho ho, I have an image to uphold, you know?” as though having read her mind, he chortled for a moment, glancing at her.

“Bah, shut it,” Y’elleve cursed back at him, annoyed. “What image? Of an old geezer still acting like a teenager? Bah!”

Alison finally sighed in defeat, shaking her head and looking away. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to grasp even an iota from the formation. It was too convoluted and complex, and no matter how deep she dove into the trove of knowledge she had, it was useless.

“Sheesh, I didn’t know I was this stupid…” she mumbled as Lucky, who stood next to her, grinned. The latter didn’t even bother deciphering the formation, mostly drinking and sleeping since coming here.

“It’s good that you know now.” Lucky said. Alison swiftly turned to face her, growling and pouting. “What? I was agreeing with you?” Lucky grinned once again.

“… you’re not supposed to agree at times like these…”

“Eeh, no way. I can’t possibly disagree with the cutest creature in the world, can I?”

“Ugh, shut up…” Alison mumbled, her cheeks flushing red as she looked away from Lucky.

Hannah stared silently at her surroundings, her smile turning mellow and warm. A bit further away, she saw Aaria and Cae staring at the board with furrowed brows, trying to decipher it. The latter had recovered slightly with the passage of time, but Hannah would still catch him staring into the nothingness from time to time. It was difficult for everyone, but none felt it as much as Eggor did.

She felt a strong pang in her heart as she remembered his face; if he wasn't drunk, he was crazed, screaming and demanding he be left alone so he can go and look for Ella. She could hardly blame him, yet do little to console him. Neither he nor Cae were told the truth; rather, nobody except Lino, the former Writs, Primul and her knew the truth. She had planned on telling Y’nn after Primul finishes with the formation, but they’d work to keep the information contained.

The world was just coming off the war unequaled in its history; it was yet to settle, so the invocation of another, even greater one, was simply unnecessary. Even she was yet to completely settle and process everything; despite her confidence in knowing a lot, it turned out she knew almost nothing after Lino relayed the whole story.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t terrified. While on the cusp of the story’s end, her worldview was shocked and shaken, forcing her to rewrite the entire script of her understanding of it and the universe itself. She didn't welcome the burden, though she didn't voice it out to Lino; she knew he felt a sense of responsibility for it, but she didn't agree. It should not be on him to save the world that had cursed and condemned him his whole life.

Yet, the part of him that so quickly and selflessly took that burden was also one of the parts she loved; she had no heart to bar it, yet couldn’t stop herself from worrying either. Though he seemed confident on the surface, the two weren't strangers who met up with each other occasionally. Deep inside those eyes, she saw that he, too, was worried.

A low sigh escaped her as she lowered her head, getting lost in thought. Even if they won this time, she worried the battles and the warring would never end. Though she would never admit it aloud, she wished Lino had given up his role as Ella asked him to. She didn’t care how far up they stood; they could have withdrawn and turned to the recluse life, living out however many years they had in them. He was not made to withstand the endless battles; his heart, more so than his will or body, would break. For each life he’d take, it would grow heavier and heavier until it flooded over and collapsed.

She heard the cheers all of a sudden and looked up, realizing Primul was done. Everyone clapped, enthusiasm visible on their alighted faces. She tuned out the sounds at that moment, all movements turning into slow motion. Finally, she understood it. It wasn't about them, or the world that condemned him; it was about this. Would he be any better than those before him if he chose to stand aside and watch the world burn when he could have fought to protect it? Though there may never be perfectly good and eternal peace, he fought to protect moments like these. Moments filled with joy and laughter, with a sense of belonging and unity.

Shaking her head, the roaring atmosphere returned to her ears, diving into her mind, enlivening her. She smiled as well, glancing at Primul who stood, sweat-soaked, in front of the board, glancing high up at it with a look of pride, yet strange looseness, in his eyes. He’d made up his mind, hasn’t he? She realized. She’d seen those eyes before, in others as well as in the mirror. Biting her lower lip bitterly, she shook the thought, walking over toward Aaria who stared with scrounged brows at the board.

“Give it up,” Hannah said, patting the girl’s head. “Come back to it in a decade or two.”

“Humph! I can figure it out!” Aaria growled back, causing Hannah to sigh.

“None of us here do,” she said. “Do you fancy yourself cleverer than all the rest of us?”

“…” the young girl said nothing, though Hannah could see her eyes growing teary. Ah, she realized. She was trying to prove herself. As she always does. Hannah and Lino were almost deified figures in the Empire at this point, and the older Aaria grew, the more she realized it. Now that she was entering her teenage years, that shadow loomed high, overbearing, pressing against her tiny shoulders.

Even if nobody asked it of her, Hannah knew the little girl imposed the role upon herself. She had to be better than everyone else, the best at everything she did, to carve out a path of her own, or at the very least to prove she was worthy of the privilege. Hannah smiled mildly, having no intention of breaking the pattern apart. It was good to be focused and hardworking, though she’d keep an eye out if it turns into an obsession.

She spun around and glanced at the full room once more as people, one by one, began walking up to Primul, congratulating him and asking him questions. Hannah knew he poured out all he knew into those hundreds of thousands of lines; this would become his legacy, the protector of the world. Just like Lino, he chose to save the world that rejected him and condemned him, pouring his heart out for it. Empyreans really are something else… Hannah thought silently, entombing the moment in her heart.