The Runic Alchemist

Damian tried talking to Maelor at the start of the training scene, but it was hard to leave even a whisper when everyone around him was talking nonstop. The deathbed scene was too emotional for Maelor to focus on anything else. The argument one seemed to be their only chance, but even in that, Maelor was agitated from start to end—trying to ignore all voices telling him to calm down or show respect.

“How did you do it for me?” Sam asked after they had been through over ten cycles without any success in getting Maelor’s attention.

“Same way. I have no idea how many cycles I went through before you paid any mind to me,” Damian replied.

“What kind of illness requires people to be wrapped up in bedsheets..” Sam sighed, looking at the dying silhouette for the tenth time.

“The kind that takes others with you..”

The scene changed. They had used up their one sentence, so it was just a show to them now.

Another cycle. Another try—this time Damian let Sam shout “Wake up” to Maelor as he wanted, and of course it resulted in nothing, as the swordsmanship instructor—whoever it was—started talking over Sam.

They could not touch or hit anything either—or it would have been a much easier job. However, in who knows which cycle, Sam had a genius idea of using the dying mother as a medium to convey a message. It was not perfect, but they had run out of all options by now. It was indeed the only scene with the silence they needed.

The scene changed, and Damian tried his best to imitate the voice of a dying woman and said,

“Everything is a lie. Wake up, Maelor!”

Maelor did seem to flinch, indicating he did hear him. But whether or not the said thing forced him to think something was wrong was hard to say. The cycle repeated, and Damian kept the message the same, once in a while adding “It’s an illusion” or “Shadecaster’s trap” into the mix.

Finally, they got some oddities in the repeated cycles. Maelor finally seemed to think more about his actions in each scenario—the jealousy had lessened, the grief and tears had lessened too. He was looking around more, focusing on the figure of his mother. The argument was not as heated as it was before. Slowly but surely, their efforts were having the intended effect.

In the end, however, when Sam stood up on the deathbed and called out Maelor’s name—that was when the guy finally looked at Sam for the first time, his face full of confusion as he mouthed Sam’s name silently. In the next cycle, Maelor actively looked for Sam.

Damian felt like it was happening much faster than the last time, but then he realized why that was.. Sam was a familiar face, unlike him—who was a total stranger to them.

Even now, Maelor was only looking at Sam and hearing his voice, not Damian.

Finally, Maelor made a breakthrough and completely ignored his training instructor and the mockery of his older brother—focusing only on Sam, waiting for him to say something. Sam just nodded at him and said,

“It’s an illusion, Maelor. Snap out of it.”

Young Maelor’s eyes went wide, and he looked at everything around him with a tinge of doubt. And as had happened last time, all the figures stopped moving—the memory was distorted and slowly turned to particles, completely breaking apart. Damian and Sam were blacked out for a second, and in the next, they were being pushed back from the chest in the chief’s hut.

Sam stopped first with his enhanced reflexes and strong physique and helped Damian stop his fall. Without him, Damian would have tumbled over. They saw right before their eyes as the golden sphere broke apart completely, and the liquid energy inside floated in mid-air until it formed the figure of a young man. Maelor was finally back—naked as his nameday.

Damian had noticed some clothes earlier when they searched the hut for the sphere. He grabbed some and threw them at Maelor. Sam too had grabbed some villager’s clothes from their earlier search and was dressed well enough. Before that, Damian had to share his shirt with the guy to cover his itsy-bitsy parts.

“Where are we? What’s going on? Sam? Who is this?” Maelor also bombarded them with tons of questions, following in Sam’s footsteps.

“In the illusion world of Shadecaster,” Sam replied. Before he ended up in a lengthy explanation, Damian interrupted him.

“We’ll explain later. Right now, let’s just search for Lucian’s thing before these flashes of light attract the villagers.”

“Right!” Sam said, and both continued their search. If one sphere was here, then the other one should be here too.

“Wait a second! Who is this guy? Sam?” Maelor was still confused, though.

“Damian,” Sam replied simply while searching baskets and other bags.

Maelor froze, but neither Damian nor Sam paid the guy any mind as they quickly searched over the giant hut. Maelor kept asking questions, and while searching, both Damian and Sam did their best to explain the situation they were inside.

It wasn’t good news in any way, shape, or form if someone told you that you were still in an illusion—even after just breaking out of one with such difficulty.

They did not find anything else. They had to leave the giant hut as the patrolling guards—who had noticed the flashes of light—had come searching. Thankfully, Maelor too had his mana and strength. They left the village in no time, finding a good place inside the side forest to rest for a while and gather their thoughts. They had searched everywhere, but Lucian was nowhere to be found—and that did not sit well with Damian at all.

There were some huts they left alone because people were inside. That was the only place they had not looked. If even there nothing was found—Damian had no idea what he would do.

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