MaeveMcCarthy
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Chapter XVII
🕑 Added 2023-11-01 07:37:20 +0000 UTCThere was only one person who called her by her real name.
“Elysium!” The name slipped out from Lily’s lips, her blue eyes widening in surprise. She swiftly brought a hand to her mouth to cover it, her blonde locks catching the sunlight.
The young boy sprinted toward her, his legs moving like charged coils. But just as he was about to reach her, Lumius, with his polished shoes and a frown, placed himself between the two.
“Shadows!” Elysium muttered, his gaze turning cold, scanning Lumius from his tailored shoes to his neatly combed gray hair. There was a sharp contrast between the nobility and the rustic scoundrel.
“You are the peasant [Templar] I've heard of,” Lumius stated matter-of-factly.
“Lily, who’s this idiot?”
Lumius’s face twisted in distaste. The casual use of this name seemed to irk him, “Lily?”
“It’s just… I’ve grown to like it more than Aurora,” she whispered, trying to maintain calm. Without waiting for Lumius’s reaction, she swiftly moved around him, wrapping Elysium into a heartfelt embrace.
“Every single day, Lily! Every day, I’ve looked for you! We have to go diving again!” Elysium's voice was a mixture of frustration and concern.
Stumbling back and surprised, she replied, “I— I’ve been—”
Lumius's voice, colder than ever, sliced through the air. “You shouldn’t be mingling with my future wife.”
Elysium's brows furrowed, and he looked Lily squarely in the eyes.
“What?!” Elysium’s eyes popped as he reached for the sword at his side. “Who’s this baddie, Lily?”
The fiery gaze of her childhood friend bore through her as she grimaced, “The [Pope] has decided... I’m to be betrothed to Lumius, his third son.” She pointed at the gray-haired boy to clarify.
Elysium, without skipping a beat, remarked, “But he's ugly.” His words, so genuine and unplanned, forced a chuckle out of Lily.
She tried to explain, her gaze searching in Elysium’s for understanding. “I'm training at the [Pope]’s residence now, and they have strict rules. I can't simply leave and…”
His eyes filled with defiance. “But you always managed to—”
Before he could finish, Lumius, seething with rage, stepped forward, aggressively shoving Elysium. But he had underestimated the [Templar].
“[Templar’s Hammercut]!” With a roar, Elysium retaliated, his fist connecting powerfully with Lumius's chin. The latter crumpled, momentarily seeing stars.
“Elysium!” Lily shrieked, terrified that the redhead could become implicated in her troubles.
“You...” Lumius trembled and slowly got up, nursing his bleeding chin and looking at the blood with outrage.
“I treat baddies to what they deserve,” Elysium stood defiant on his feet, one hand still on the sword at his side.
“Lumius, please,” Lily turned, knowing full well what the gray-haired boy was capable of.
“I don’t think you know who you’re talking to,” Lumius told Elysium with a sardonic grin. “You little kid.”
And in the blink of an eye, the gray-haired boy lunged. Elysium, despite his talent and speed, couldn't anticipate or counteract Lumius’s move. It seemed as if time slowed down when Lumius tackled Elysium. With a swift, calculated maneuver, Lumius pivoted expertly on his front foot, the motion channeling momentum up his leg and into his torso. Using this force, he grabbed Elysium's collar with a vice-like grip, pulling him in while simultaneously using his hips and shoulders to rotate and hurl the redhead down.
The world turned into a dizzying blur for Elysium as the ground rushed up to meet him. The collision with the cobblestones was jarring as the sound of the impact echoed through the courtyard. It was as if the very air in Elysium's lungs had been violently wrenched out, leaving him gasping and reeling from the sudden onslaught. The residual force sent ripples of pain outwards from the point of impact.
Lumius, exuding an aura of superiority, looked down at his victim. "You should count yourself fortunate I didn’t unleash my [Holy Flame] on you,” his voice dripped with disdain. He meticulously brushed off any dirt or dust that may have clung to his immaculate white robe, the fabric shushing against his fingers.
“Stop!” Lily shouted, pushing Lumius out of the way and immediately using [Minor Healing] on Elysium, healing several broken ribs and a punctured lung. “Are you out of your mind?!” She chastised the [Pope]’s son, but Lumius, unmoved by her outburst, impatiently yanked her away before her magic could fully mend the redhead.
...
Elysium stood on the ground wide-eyed, looking at the dark sky above, his pride shattered. He swallowed hard and tried to blink as rapidly as possible, but the tears couldn’t help but escape his eyes.
All these years that he had tried to keep up with Lily, and she had found a… boyfriend – one who was clearly much, much stronger than him.
He’s too strong, he thought. He’s taken her away.
Elysium slowly rose from the ground, realizing a few passersby had been staring at him—but he only stared at his own weak hands. Slowly, he balled them into fists, resolution bubbling in his chest.
He knew that if he ever wanted his friend back, this was not going to be enough. Training in his courtyard was never going to be enough to beat up that freak. Baddies, apparently, had a way of cheating their way to power. And that meant only one thing.
I need to become much stronger. I need to dive again.
...
Lily was screaming and shouting at Lumius, completely beside herself with fury, but his grip was like steel; he was not letting go and was dragging her back into the palace. She hadn’t felt this kind of anger since her last day on Earth.
“Stop acting like a fool. If we are late for dinner, we will both be punished,” the boy spoke in his resumed monotone.
“Why did you do that?!” Lily tried to fight the boy.
“Your friend is a stupid kid, Aurora,” Lumius used her current name, not the one he had heard from Elysium, “he’s going to get you in trouble unless he understands the difference between us. I just gave him a lesson he was in severe need of.”
“But why—”
Before she could finish the sentence, Lumius suddenly twisted and smashed her back against the wall to their right, putting his face dangerously close to hers, “I thought you understood the grave danger we are both in. But you didn’t last two weeks without causing trouble. We might have eyes on us at all times, you idiot! If you want to play with that kid, go ahead!”
Lumius stepped back, letting her go.
“Go back. Have him get killed by my father’s watchdogs when they find out how you were wasting your time. Have fun ruining the lives of peasants just because you are so obtuse.”
Lumius turned away from her, his posture erect and dignified. The Citadel's majestic arches and towering spires loomed ahead, with the Papal Estate at their heart—the city’s peak of power and depth of seclusion. It beckoned Lumius, and he treaded toward it as though bound by invisible chains, driven by duty and expectations he could never escape.
Lily felt an overwhelming rush of emotions churn within her. She stood at an emotional crossroad, an intersection of her past and her present. The weight of Lumius's words hung heavily on her shoulders, their truth undeniable. Memories of her time with Elysium, their shared laughter and adventures, cascaded through her mind. She longed for the simplicity and freedom of their past, but she also recognized the stark reality of her present situation. With every joyful memory of Elysium, a shadow of fear for his safety loomed over her mind. Could she, in her heart, reconcile her own happiness at the risk of endangering him?
Drawing a deep, quivering breath, Lily closed her eyes momentarily. She felt the rawness of the emotions she was grappling with, the pain of the choices and sacrifices she had to make. Summoning her magic, she directed a pulse of [Minor Healing] through her body, soothing her frayed nerves and calming her racing heart. Then, with a mixture of resignation and determination, she lifted her chin and began to follow the path that Lumius took—returning to the opulent prison that was her life now.
...
Lily ambled through the Papal Library, trying to find something—anything that could help her free herself from her grim future. She had turned the Forbidden Archive upside down—she feared that they might revoke her access any day now. She had no idea what kind of sick game of carrot and stick the [Cardinal] wanted to play with her. Hopefully, with her skyrocketing progress and [Minor Healing] approaching the level 100 threshold, he would back off for a while.
And that’s all she needed—a while.
She was going through one of the restricted, albeit not Forbidden, sections of the library when an old man approached her.
“In His Glow,” he said.
“In His Glow,” Lily replied.
“Miss Claudia,” he addressed her by her last name, “may I help you? I’ve seen you follow a restless trail in and out of these sections, and I must admit, I’m not fond of how you shuffle the books around.”
Lily squinted and finally recognized the main librarian. Librarian without the capital L and the square brackets, which would have had him burn on a pyre.
“I’m... missing some clues. The [Cardinal] said to look for things to study... historicalthings. And I’ve found this.”
She took out the sketches she had sketched down for herself of the two symbols that had piqued her attention – the single snake coiling around the chalice and drinking from it and the two snakes facing each other as they coiled around a big cross.
“Well,” the librarian craned his neck to take a better look, “the first one is an ancient Church seal—[Cardinal] Atticus must be very worried that your education was lacking in the aspects of the Gens Constantina, I fear... The man wouldn’t be happy if he knew I was helping you figure it out.”
Lily had completely made up the excuse, but the librarian seemed to take the bait and swallow it without blinking.
“See, I know how hard your training can be. So, how about I give you a little nudge in the right direction? The information you are looking for is not hidden... well, not by any explicit intent. It’s just... boring. You might find the Historia Papi in the public section. I’ll refrain from giving you the number of the shelf; just look for the dust.”
“How about the second symbol?” Lily asked.
“This one... er,” the man squinted even harder and took the paper from her hands. “This one... it’s vaguely familiar. It looks like something that idiot before me was interested in. But, darling, are you sure you want me to help you with that?”
Before Lily could say a word, the man shook his head, “Ugh, [Cardinal] Atticus must be trying to teach you about discipline and not breaking the rules. I suppose that’s why he wanted me to keep that man’s wretched research and not burn it together with him. Please, don’t tell the [Cardinal] I’ve given you this since I’m not supposed to help you with your assignment.”
The man took a key from his deep pockets and dangled it in front of her eyes, “third room on the left, five rooms from here. Take a right and a left, and go up the stairs. You’ll find a poorly lit garret where the man loved to stay. He said the library itself gave him power—I should have taken it more seriously. Thankfully, your mother did.
“Oh, right, right,” the man said as he saw a worried gaze on the girl’s face, “shadows take me, I’m getting old. I was referring to the old librarian—well, the [Librarian]. The idiot who got himself killed on the pyre, dear. Please, do not get ideas from that man’s cooky research. It’s all gibberish, trust me. I’ve perused it at length trying to explain to the [Cardinal] what the man was up to, but nothing of it made any sense. In fact, most of it wasn’t even written in any known language—the man probably just scribbled down some nonsensical notes… that’s what happens when you get such a cursed Class: you go mad.”
The librarian swatted the air and murmured a prayer to ward off the evils he had just conjured in his mind. Then, his attention returned to Lily, “You’ll find some readable notes on our history, though. Good luck and in His Glow.”
“In His Glow,” Lily muttered, taking the key from the man before he left.
She stared at the nondescript piece of copper and felt a jolt of excitement course through her body—she might have just gotten closer to a solution to her woes.
Comments
Erebus
Thanks for the chapter.
