MAGUS INFINITE

I did not answer the question, even though I knew I was talking to Sid; there was no reason to assume this man was not my enemy and a member of the Conclave. From the previous loop where I hurt the chains binding the Soul Flayer to his soul, I knew that he may be a prisoner of the Sovereign of the Stars, but that did not mean that he may not be a supporter of some of the Conclave’s policies.

Even though I did not answer his questions immediately and was just staring at him with wariness, the Sovereign did not press me; his head was cocked a bit to the side, as if he was going to outwait my fears.

I looked at him, and all I could see was an old, balding man who had been the vessel for a Soul Flayer for maybe longer than I could imagine. His eyes were not yellow; they were grey, the colour of storm clouds, and despite his calm demeanor, his eyes were watching me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

But I could not stand here forever and wish that a miracle would somehow occur and something would rescue me from this place... This only happens in stories, and in my experience, I had to suffer many painful deaths to drag me away from this dilemma.

However, I wondered, was he speaking about the Hollow Avatar, or the Moon Fox, because I was watching his eyes, and they were focused on me alone, and had not drifted over to the fox on my shoulders. Am I the only one who can see the fox?

"I’m talking to myself," I said at last. "It’s a bad habit. Helps me think."

The Sovereign’s lips curved into a smile that did not reach his eyes. "You are lying. I can feel it. The words you speak are not the words you think. There is something else in you, something that is not quite you. I have felt it before, in the dreams of the Soul Flayer. A cold certainty that does not belong to a sixteen-year-old boy."

I did not answer. The Hollow Avatar had gone silent, withdrawing into the deep, and I knew that it was waiting to see what I would do, since this being seemed to have an eerie confidence in my capabilities.

The Sovereign took a step closer. "You are a fascinating creature, Elric Voss. From what I have been told, you are a time-scarred soul, someone so important that even the Sovereign of the Stars would deliver you personally to this purgatory. And yet, you are still just a boy who talks to himself when he thinks no one is listening... what dreams of monsters and gods are flowing in your brain, Elric? Can you show me a bit of it?"

I gritted my teeth. "What do you want?"

"Want?" He tilted his head. "I want to understand what sort of magic can birth a being like you. In the moments of my youth, I had travelled the seven continents, and I want to believe that I know all flavors of magic that this world has to offer... even the demonic and the celestial. Yes, those are secrets that a Sovereign would know, and still, I have never heard of magic like yours that could warp time, change cause and effect, rewrite reality at its whims; not even the gods at the height of their power had access to such magic."

I sneered and took several steps back. "That answer would never reach your ears, Sid. You are going to wait for a long time."

The Sovereign froze, and a wave of darkness rose around us, leaving both of us covered inside an orb of darkness, and his eyes became covered with darkness, as his aura grew so crushing I nearly fell to my knees, "Sid? Who told you that name?"

I gritted my teeth as I fought against the power that was threatening to crush me to a paste.

"WHO!!!" He roared, and I could no longer hold myself up; my knees slammed to the ground, and silver blood began to rise from my body... I was readying to explode my Anima Depth when the pressure suddenly vanished, and the Sovereign stumbled back as if he had seen a ghost.

Breath rushed into my body, and I began to cough. At the moment, it was as if someone had pierced me with a thousand needles, and my bones felt sore. I glanced up at the Sovereign, and his eyes had returned to normal, but his face was filled with shock as he was muttering to himself.

"No... no... You cannot know that name, not unless you have..." his eyes became fixed on me, "... not unless you have died here, and we have met, but I do not have that memory for it never happened... that world and all of its secrets belong to you alone."

He pointed at me as if in shock, and then he began to laugh, "You have died before, hahahahaha... You escaped his reach. He would expect you in the past at Caelith Mourne, but you are here! Boy, you are a freaking miracle, and if you were a girl, you would be honored if I kissed you, but sadly you are not, hahahaha..."

I stared in abject puzzlement at this man who, a moment before, wanted to crush me to paste just because I called out his name. His anger had not frightened me, but it was his quick wit; even in the midst of anger, he had been able to track the reason I knew his name accurately... no Sovereign was stupid; I will always have to keep this in mind.

These people were the rulers of this world for a reason, and they did not get here by a democratic vote, but by their strength and wisdom alone. They were one in a hundred millions, and I was being reminded of how deep the waters I had just found myself in were.

"Boy, why are you standing there looking at me... kneel!"

My eyes flashed with anger; my suicide charge was still primed: "I kneel to no one."

"Nonsense, you will kneel to me, your master!"

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