CHAPTER 46: LIGHT

Mind, Soul and Flesh..

A part of the mage world now, Hadrian caught word of these new paths of magic appearing, and the first thing he could think is....

Is it because of me?

The reports aligned with when he’d awakened his authority.

Is that why there’s been that strange feeling in that space?

Part of him worried what it meant, if there were others who could access that space. The other part of him told him not to worry about things he could not control.

"The tiny stars?" Asked Alia.

"Maybe." Hadrian said.

A limping dog passed by, and Hadrian followed it with his eyes. Now, with the rank of power he had, he did not wish to turn the poor dog into a vessel.

Back then, he’d been weak and desperate.

I was truly selfish.

Thinking back to the dog vessels he lost, guilt tightened at his chest. It wasn’t strong, but he still felt he’d been truly in the wrong.

Sometimes, when driven mad by one’s desires and goals, it is easy to lose sight of everything else.

I suppose that’s who I am, pushed against a wall, I will always choose myself. And for all my life, it felt like I was being pushed against a wall.

He watched the dog disappear and shook the pitiful thoughts out of his head.

What am I looking for? Forgiveness? From who?

Elsewhere, bearded man had found himself a target.

...

"You know what happens next?"

In a small house, a family of four knelt shaking.

The father was a small man, a balding man, with only hair at the sides of his head, the wife was no beauty to look at, and they had themselves a son and daughter.

"It’s a lot of work you make me do. And not good work."

A man with drooping eyes and a rough gaunt face stood above them, though he did not stand straight, as his height did not allow in the small house.

Next to him, and behind the family, four other men stood.

The wooden door was closed, and the windows shut.

"You always make me have to come down here, it’s almost like you want to pay extra." the man standing above them said with a yawn, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I don’t think even in all your remaining lifetime, or that of your children, will you be able to pay."

"T-take.... Take me. You can take me." The mother pleaded, and though she was two years past thirty, she looked like a little girl when scared.

There was a laugh from the men.

"We would. But we have to think about long term investments. Your children would suit us better."

The father did not look up, and besides shaking, he did not speak.

"But you still do need to make up for the base payment. So we will be back for that."

The mother broke down into tears, crawling to the man’s feet.

"Please.... " you could barely hear through the snobs. "Please.... " she said.

The man’s face twisted to a disgusted look at the woman at his feet and he kicked her head, sending her tumbling backwards.

The son rose with an angry yell, but he was easily put down by the foot of the man that was standing behind them.

The man stepped on his head and the son’s struggles were futile as he blew at the sand of their bare ground floor.

The other man, with drooping eyes, squatted in front of the father. He grabbed the father’s cheeks and made him face him. Next he spat on the father’s face.

"Does the son have more manlihood than the father?"

He threw the father’s head back.

"I despise weak men like you. Before your daughter officially starts working for us, I’ll make sure all my men have their way with her. Even though she’s an ugly little bitch."

The door creaked open and someone cloaked walked in. Their steps were heavy and, though they could not see their face, they could tell it was a man.

The house went silent and the squatting man stood up.

"I don’t think you’re with us. You’re interrupting business lad, do yourself a favour and- "

The man was cut off, stumbling as the ground beneath them shifted. The mud walls too.

The windows and wooden door disappeared under a layer of hard rock.

When the shaking stopped,they stood under a dome of perfectly shaped rock, no cracks.

It was dark, darker than even the night.

Blades were drawn and shaky murmurings filled the air.

"Alright. Whatever it is you want, you should know I work for Baruch, I can get you whatever it is.... "

The man tried speaking confidently, but by the shakiness in his voice you could tell he was afraid.

Of course he was. They understood very clearly they were standing in front of a mage.

He dropped his blade. And when the rest heard the clanging they did the same.

With his hands spread in front of him, the man blinked but with the dense darkness, there was no difference.

"We can- "

Rock moulded around his legs.

Shocked sounds came from the other men and he could tell they were going through the same.

"Shhh. I don’t want you to hurt yourself."

A deep voice said.

The man’s heart drummed, nearly jumping to his throat.

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach and he felt an irrational fear of something from a specific direction.

He felt his very self was being violated, like an ancient horror had grasped at him.

One by one, the trembling family heard as a voice was lost until only deep silence was left.

It was starting to get difficult to breathe. When they were nearly at their limits, they felt the ground shift once more, and daylight started breaking through the darkness.

Their house was still the same. The men were still there, too, though they stood unnaturally still.

The cloaked man walked out first.

The men dug into their pockets and took out whatever coins they had, dropping them on the floor.

The man with drooping eyes let out a sigh.

"We’ve had a change of heart. We won’t bother you anymore."

Saying this, one by one, the other men walked out until it was only them left, still shaking on the ground.