Kosmos: The Witch

Date: ???, Year 915 Location: ???

I don't remember much of my childhood, honestly. I just know I was adopted and raised by a family of black fire dragons in a cave, who told me I was abandoned by my original parents at birth. How did I get there ? No clue, and to be honest I didn't care. They fed me, named me, and taught me how to use their magic. Granted, the name they gave me can't really be pronounced by humans, but I'm still grateful for it. I liked playing fighting with my siblings, listening to my dad ramble about his life experiences and following my mom on her hunting trips, where she'd teach me about her techniques and show me breathtaking sceneries. That was… fun. Until we came back home one day, only to find my dad's corpse lying on the floor, along with those of my siblings. A group of about thirty humans was gathered inside the cave, wielding swords, spears and other weapons, harvesting the scales from the bodies.

- "Heh ! These dragons weren't shit after all !" A deep voice comments. It came from a short, burly man in the group. He was wielding a long, harpoon-like spear, still dripping with fresh blood, and was wearing a black suit of armor. He had a white beard, a left eye made of a kind of glowing blue crystal and short, white hair. Multiple scars were visible on his face, and he smiled with glee in his right eye, which was blue.

I could understand what he was saying, thanks to my dad teaching me how to understand basic Greek. In hindsight, if he didn't, maybe my life would've been different. I charged at the guy in a blind rage, setting the whole cave on fire by unleashing all of my magical energy at once without a care in the world for control. A few of the people in his group died from that, but next thing I knew I was pinned to the ground by chains of crystal that came out of the rock under me.

- "The hell are you ? Some kid living with them ?" The man asks, his eyes meeting Magnus' as he approaches. The crystal chains keeping him in place were the exact same color as the crystal embedded in the man's left eye. Magnus roars in response, struggling to break free. The chains groan, cracking under the pressure, and the man has a wide grin. "Well, maybe I ain't at a loss ! What's your name pal ?"

I remember roaring again, since I didn't know how to speak. Or want to, anyways. My mother roared with me, and she started lashing out, killing a bunch of the humans around her despite them being pretty damn strong. The guy just stood there, watching the scene without a care in the world, smiling. Mom couldn't fight at her full strength because she was scared she'd kill me in the melee, so she bit the dust eventually and they chained her up. She would've won if I wasn't there. I'm sure of it.

- "Alright, let's haul 'em back to Sparta !" The man shouts, seemingly in a great mood before turning towards Magnus. "You and your dragon friend over there killed a bunch of my mercenaries ! You gotta make it up to me somehow, you know ? The pit needs fresh blood, and I think you'll be a perfect fit ! You can call me ringmaster, and you can forget about your old life, I'll be in charge of you now !"

My memory's pretty clear from that point on. My mother and I were brought to the city of Sparta, where I started fighting in an underground arena for the ringmaster. I had a room there, and he'd bring me food so I never really got to leave. I would just be called for random fights against people of all ages, win or lose, and go back to rot in my room until the next fight. If I refused, the ringmaster would stab me with anything he had on hand, then call in a healer to make sure I stayed alive until I listened. Contrary to what it looks like, I've never been a fan of pain. I just got used to it. My life eventually lost all meaning, until the day where the ringmaster knocked on my door for something other than a fight. He told me that my mother was still alive and held captive in Sparta. If I wanted to see her again, I needed to win a big tournament that they were holding against the city of New Athens, at the end of which I could ask for anything I wanted. His goal was probably to motivate me, and it sure did. I used to ignore anything he said in relation to how I should behave, but after this I actively started seeking out the ringmaster's advice to get stronger and win more reliably. The bastard was more than happy to help, and he taught me how to focus the destructive capabilities of my magic for a more practical use. He tutored me on how to fight in close quarters without using a weapon, honed my reflexes and sharpened my ability to think quickly in battle. With those skills, I started winning all the fights I was thrown into, big or small. Eventually, the tournament came, and the first duel was pretty easy. I knocked out my opponent, a boy around my age, who was desperate to win but ultimately didn't have the strength necessary to do so because he was faced with an adversary he couldn't defeat. He didn't deserve what was happening to him. But the fight wasn't over. I heard the ringmaster calling out to me from the side of the arena.

- "Hey kid ! This is a battle to the death ! Finish the job so we can move on to the next fight !"

- "What ?" A younger Magnus replied, looking at the ringmaster and the boy on the ground in succession, his eyes widening in horror. "But he's already…"

- "Hehehe, it's cool if you don't wanna do it ! You'll just have to drop out of the tournament !"

- "But then…"

- "Yeah you'll never see your mom, or whatever you call that dragon ! Something something, one time opportunity, heh !"

The words of the ringmaster were resonating in my head, hitting me like so many spear strikes to the chest. I… I should've just dropped out. That probably would've spared everyone else a lot of pain. But I didn't choose to do that. Selfishly, I walked over to the boy, and snapped his neck. I wasn't an expert at this, so he didn't die. Instead, I had to strangle him to finish what I had started. He died in my arms, struggling to breathe while staring up at me, his eyes begging for mercy. I gave him none. I don't think I've ever been the same since that happened. The ringmaster kept counseling me, since the opponents I faced were getting tougher and tougher as I won. I slowly started becoming like him. Smiling at everything, laughing at the atrocities he would laugh at, and worst of all: I became incapable of having fun outside of fighting and causing harm to other living beings, just like he was. I became constantly desperate for a fight, just to feel alive again and do something about this damn boredom that was overtaking my mind when I wasn't under adrenalin. I won the tournament, and killed seventy-two fighters over the… how long did the tournament last again ? I can't remember, I was having too much fun. I quickly stopped caring about the act of murder, and just focused on winning without giving a damn about morals or fighting etiquette, which earned me that title of Devil of Sparta. I stopped caring about pretty much everything else, actually. I barely even remembered why I was fighting in the first place. When I killed my last opponent, I was almost ecstatic. And that was only because it was a very hard fought battle, pushing me to my limits. The ringmaster approached me, coming to the middle of the arena to talk to me.

- "Hehe, well congrats kid ! I really didn't think you'd make it this far !"

- "Hahaha, thanks !" Magnus replies, and they both laugh while the corpse of the last contestant is dragged out of the arena.

- "So, what you askin' for ? Gotta ask it publicly so you can announce it to the world, that's what the sponsors want."

- "I want to fight in the next tournament !" Magnus pauses for a second, and his demeanor grows calmer, with a hint of anger. "No. I want you to release my mom and let us leave."

- "Sorry, no can do !"

- "... What ?"

- "I sold her off to a witch a few weeks ago ! Lemme tell you, she paid me a lot more than that dragon was worth !"

My mind kinda went blank after that. I couldn't think, act or even lash out in anger. I just looked at him for a solid minute, wondering why I went through all of this.

- "Kid ? The sponsors are waiting ! Cmon, ask for something random !" The ringmaster presses him.

- "...I want to leave."

- "Hehehe, I saw that one coming ! That's the only thing you can't ask !"

- "Why." Magnus blankly replies, his eyes empty of all emotion.

- "Cause you're bringing in too much money !"

- "...I'm leaving."

- "Don't make me knock some sense into you, kid. The sponsors ain't gonna like that, and you know it."

I didn't care about anything he had to say, so I just walked away. I saw him at the corner of my vision, unsheathing the sword he had at his hip. I didn't even turn to defend myself, I knew I couldn't beat him if I tried. But then, a wall of dark blue flames appears between us as he's about to strike, pushing the ringmaster back. I had never seen flames that looked as dangerous and unsettling as these ones. Then, a cavernous voice I'll never forget echoed in the arena.

- "And why would you deny him his wish, if he earned it ?"

Next to me was a tall man, with very pale yellow eyes, dirty blonde hair and pale skin. Horn-like metal ornaments were protruding from his hair, and a floating crystal crown was resting above his head. The white, regal cape he was wearing was contrasting with the black armor he donned.

- "Your… Your Majesty !" The ringmaster immediately kneels. The remains of the sword he had were on the floor, melted into a red hot metallic mess.

- "I thought I asked you a question. If you are deaf, perhaps you are not in need of these ears you shamelessly display." The man's right hand is lit in the same, sapphire blue flames that formed the wall earlier. He raises it above his head, as if he was about to strike.

- "My sincere apologies !" The man stops his motion as the ringmaster apologizes, but his hand remains ablaze. "I never had any intention of freeing that dragon he's talking about, I just wanted him to give his all !"

- "Mortals truly can be pathetic at times." The man coldly replies before turning to Magnus. "Come. I will be the one to grant your wish."

- "Your Majesty, we cannot let you do this…" The ringmaster says, raising his head to look up at him.

- "Then make use of your so-called might to stop me."

- "That'll cause a huge diplomatic incident, you know ?" The ringmaster replies, with a slight smile. He seemed like he was now looking forward to the situation going out of control.

- "Do you think me a fool ? I am more aware of the consequences of my actions than you will ever be." His other hand also lights on fire.

The ringmaster called in a bunch of his underlings after that, and they flooded the pit. The guy that saved me just waved his left hand, and the entire arena was torched. When the flames went out, I looked around, amazed. They all got vaporized, and all that was left of the ringmaster's forces were charred skeletons. The ringmaster himself was gone, he probably escaped using one of his cheap tricks. We were standing in the middle of a perfect circle in the devastation, and the man looked at me.

- "What is your name ?" He asked.

- "Kid, I think." Magnus replied.

- "I see. From now on, your name will be Magnus. It means "greatest" in Latin, and I do think it will be a good fit for a warrior such as you."

- "Magnus… I like it. But I was told I couldn't have a human name."

- "Then I henceforth overrule whoever imposed this upon you. Let us begone, it won't be long before king Leonidas joins us in order to stop me from imposing my laws in his town."

I don't remember much after that, probably because I was overwhelmed by the situation. I just know he managed to get us out of Sparta somehow, after summoning a massive dragon that carried us away. He dropped me off in a far away village, and his last words to me were:

- "Alright, take care now." The man said, his regal tone shifting to a much more casual one.

- "Who are you ?! I want to be like you !" Magnus excitedly replies.

It's embarrassing, but I really thought, and still think that. He embodied freedom in the truest sense of the word to me at the time.

- "That's going to be a little difficult." The man chuckled. "Also, you're better off not knowing who I am. People usually lead more peaceful lives when they aren't getting tangled with evil kings."

- "Evil ? You're not evil at all !"

- "I'm not, but most people on the eastern side of the continent would disagree with that."

- "So you're gonna leave ?..."

- "Hmmm…" The evil king hesitates. "I don't mind trying to teach you my magic, at least. I'm sure my generals won't mind."

- "Your generals ?"

- "My companions, really. Well then, I will be visiting you every week for a month."

- "Yay !"

True to his word, he came back four times over the following month, riding a different dragon. I didn't manage to master his magic, which he called Draconic Soulfire, but instead I learned to raise the heat of my flames so much that they turn sky blue. It's dangerous but oh well, I don't care as long as it gets me closer to being like him. He's my role model, you know ? During that time, I was adopted by a family of farmers in the village. Their names ? Don't matter. I kept living with my adoptive father, mother and sister. They raised me for a few years, and I've always had a good relationship with them. They never asked where I came from, they just accepted me unconditionally and I took care of the farm horses to repay their kindness. I think I would've been fine living like this for the rest of my life, even if I was bored out of my mind, and I was slowly getting used to the peace. However, one day a group of bandits attacked the village. Our farm was at the outer edge, so they started with us. The moment they ran in and started to threaten my family, I went to meet them and killed every single one of them. I felt no remorse as I did, since they threatened some of the only people who were good to me in years. The problem is, while they weren't that tough, there were a lot of them. I ended up losing control of my flames, and I set the farm on fire. My parents managed to escape, since they were in front of the house, watching me fight to save everyone. My sister… She didn't make it. I ran in to try to save her, but all I found was her charred corpse next to the door. I brought her remains outside, and I remember laughing. I was laughing uncontrollably, and this was definitely something the ringmaster would've laughed at. My adoptive parents, while also grieving their daughter, looked at me with… disgust. And fear. The mother yelled at me to disappear, and that she knew it was a mistake to give me a chance. The father stayed silent, but his eyes told me everything I needed to know. I left without saying anything, knowing that they would've been better off if I left earlier. If I knew how to control my magic better. If I wasn't acting so much like the ringmaster. If I didn't exist. I spent a bit of time wandering without a real goal, until I remembered that the ringmaster said my mother was sold off to a witch. So I decided I should try to go to Eretria, to have even the smallest chance to find her. I traveled there alone, and most monsters on the way would leave me alone after a good beating. When I made it there, I was spotted by a relative of my mother: the dragon Sulfuris. He told me that he would do everything in his power to help me find my mother if I enrolled into the Academy to improve my mastery of Flame magic. I didn't think twice before accepting, because it finally gave me something to do with my life besides killing people.

Date: January 8th (back in the present) Location: Adriana's tower

- "Magnus ? Magnus. Magnus !" Adriana calls.

- "What ?..." Magnus replies, disoriented.

- "You were spaced out for a few seconds."

- "Was I… ?"

- "He is simply attempting to stall for time." Theo says. "Delaying his execution would be misguided."

- "Theo, you're really getting on my nerves !" Adriana exclaims, and the temperature in the area rises even higher. Her hair starts slightly floating, and a faint light begins emanating from her body.

- "Calm yourself. I have no quarrel with you."

- "I don't even know what a quarrel is ! Just let Magnus talk !" She turns towards Magnus.

The latter takes a deep breath, and starts recounting the events that led him to be at the Academy, starting from his adoption by his draconic family. When he is done, Adriana is covering her mouth in horror, her eyes having lost their glow. Theo keeps the same, stoic expression, but his eyes seem less resolute. It was visible that he was thinking about what he just heard, but he speaks up regardless.

- "This is congruent with what my brother shared with me. Now that I have heard your testimony, I will put you to death." He snaps his fingers, and the hundreds of glass swords surrounding the tower suddenly bolt towards Magnus in a highly coordinated fashion.

- "Theo, wai-" Adriana starts, but she doesn't have the time to finish her sentence.

Magnus sees the swords approaching, and while he knows he could stop some of them, he understood that he would still be pierced by most of the blades. Normally, he would try his best to mitigate the damage to his body, but at the moment he didn't feel the urge to. On the contrary, he embraced his fate with open arms. He is repeatedly slashed and pierced by the swords, and he falls to the ground, bleeding out after the attack stopped (80 K Physical).

- "MAGNUS !" Adriana screams rushing to his side. "Why didn't you dodge them ?! I know you could've defended against that !"

- "Theo… is right." Magnus blurts, coughing up blood with every word. "I don't… deserve… another… chance."

- "That's wrong !!"

- "You know… that's… not true…"

- "THEO !" Adriana starts floating, her shout resonating around them.

- "All I did was enforce justice." Theo calmly replies.

- "You call this JUSTICE ?!" Her eyes light up in a burst of light, almost blinding Theo. Her body was glowing so brightly that residents of some of the houses in the distance poke their heads out of their windows to see what was happening.

- "Calm yourself, I beg of you. I do not wish to fight you, Adriana."

- "TELL ME !" She yells, and a burst of pure magical energy emanates from her, causing a light wind to blow over Theo. He suddenly felt compelled to answer her question.

- "He had the choice to step down from a series of battles to the death that he willingly decided to partake in. But he chose to sacrifice dozens of lives to save a singular one, only to fail in the end. No extenuating circumstances can justify his behavior."

- "Adriana… it's fine. I told you… I don't deserve… to heal…" Magnus painfully manages to utter from the ground below her.

- "Shut up ! I'm taking you to the infirmary before anything !" Adriana shouts before floating down towards him.

However, the large glass greatsword Theo used to fly to the balcony appears in front of her, preventing her from getting closer.

- "I am afraid I cannot let you do this." Theo says, his voice tainted by doubt.

- "Theo, stop getting in my way or I'm going to give you a real reason to be afraid." Adriana replies, the temperature around Theo rising to dangerous levels.

- "You are not thinking about this situation objectively. I did not expect him to survive this long, but I will make sure to eliminate him this time."

- "THEO."

Theo sighs, exasperated by his inability to get through to Adriana. The swords in the vicinity converge towards Magnus. The latter closes his eyes, waiting for the impact, but all he feels is intense warmth. When he opens them again he sees Adriana floating next to him, a giant replica of the sun above her dwarfing her tower with its size. He feels a heat wave washing over him, and the glass swords Theo created start melting.

- "How ?!..." Theo exclaims, gritting his teeth as the heat wave forces him back. Burns rapidly form on his skin (10 K Fire), and he quickly creates another greatsword of glass to fly off the tower, away from the sun. "This heat is too intense for even my glass to withstand !..."

- "I don't like giving second warnings." Adriana declares, her voice echoing around them as the giant sun's light flickers repeatedly.

- "This is precisely why I despise the gods and their children. Reason is the only thing you demons refuse to listen to." Theo comments from a distance, an unusual anger distorting his traits.

- "What did I tell you about insulting me or my father ?" As she says that, Adriana's sun stops flickering and solidifies itself into a fully fledged, one hundred meters tall star floating above the tower. They could see as if it was daytime, and they could hear panicked screams from the neighboring houses.

- "You would even disturb the peace of the campus ? All of this to delay the execution of a criminal ?" Theo asks, incredulous.

- "You're the one who decided he was !" Adriana shouts back. The sun emits a solar flare in Theo's direction, like it was punctuating her sentence.

- "What manner of madness is this ?..." Theo protects himself from the massive burst of burning plasma by turning one of his five glass orbs into a wall, which immediately melts but protects him from the major part of the attack. His cape is set on fire as he's hit with the specks of plasma that made it through (5 K Plasma), and he watches as the remnants of his melted glass orb fall to the ground, completely motionless. "You are the one who single handedly decided against his execution !"

- "Why should he be executed ?!"

- "That is the sentence to be carried out against murderers !" A swarm of longswords made of glass materializes around him, and they are all shot towards Adriana. Most of them melt before reaching their target, but a few manage to make it through and leave a couple cuts in her left leg and arm (5 K Physical). "The law is fair !"

- "That's anything but fair ! Of course he'd choose his mom over a bunch of random people he's never met !" Another solar flare erupts from her sun, and Theo mostly blocks it again, sacrificing the second of his five glass orbs (5 K Plasma).

- "That is no justification ! Justice is clear about how these types of criminals should be handled !" Theo replies as he sends another volley of glass swords, leaving fresh slashes on Adriana's limbs (5 K Physical).

- "If justice won't forgive him, then I will ! End of discussion !"

- "That is nonsensical ! Who are you to decide what is just ?"

- "I'm the daughter of a Titan ! Gods decide what the rules are, right ? Then I decide that Magnus deserves a second chance !"

- "You are no god ! All you are is a child playing with forces beyond her comprehension !"

- "I'm enough of a goddess to grant people absolution !"

- "Deluded is what you are !"

- "And who do you think you are to decide that someone doesn't deserve redemption ?! You aren't justice either ! What's with the obsession ?!"

- "I forgave too many criminals in the past. I was weak. Never !... never again will I let evil endure, so long as I can stop it from growing."

- "If you've got stuff to deal with, you can just join us for a private tea party one day ! Don't go around killing people !"

- "This is not about me. Please, now that you are no longer engaging in aggression , stand down. I still stand by my word, I have no quarrel with the misguided."

- "Magnus is also misguided, isn't he ?"

- "He…" Theo pauses, frowning in confusion. "He made the conscious decision to…"

- "But he was raised by dragons, and grew up in some death… arena… fighting… pit thing ! He was just behaving the way he was taught to ! That can be changed !"

- "You do not have the faintest idea of what you are talking about."

- "I might not, but I'm willing to stand for him ! If he steps out of line, you can just kill us both and be done with it !"

- "You would ?... Hm. I guess you-"

He is interrupted in his line of thought by a voice coming from below them, at the entrance of Adriana's tower.

- "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON ?!"

They look down and see Cassandra staring at the giant replica of the sun Adriana had summoned. They also notice Morgana on the balcony under Adriana, carefully dragging Magnus away. She appeared to have climbed the tower while they were busy exchanging attacks.

- "Magnus is hurt. He needs to go to the infirmary." She looks up at Theo and Adriana, still floating at the same level above her. "What are you doing ? Are you sparring because. Magnus did that with Sophia ? Are you stupid ?" Sparks of sparkling orange flames similar to Magnus' start emanating from her entire being, and her voice carries a deep underlying anger as she speaks.

- "Sparring ?..." Adriana repeats. "Right, we were… erm… sparring !"

- "We were n-" Theo starts.

- "We ! Were ! Sparring !"

- "...We can postpone this discussion." Theo concedes.

Magnus lost consciousness during that exchange, and he wakes up in the infirmary. The afternoon light was lighting up the room.

- "I survived, huh…" He says as he stares at the bandages on his arms and legs, along with the wide one around his chest.

- "Somehow." He hears from the desk next to him. It was Andreas, the doctor on campus. "You should thank your ridiculous constitution for that, most people would've died from these injuries. You've got visitors."

- "Who ?"

- "Your classmates. They asked to come in separate groups though."

Andreas walks to the door, and when he opens it Adriana and Theo enter the infirmary. Theo had his usual calm expression painted on his face, but Adriana was visibly angry. Her eyes were narrowed, turning their usual glow into straight light rays, directed at whatever she was looking at. Her teeth were clenched, her jaw muscles twitching every time she looked in Theo's direction.

- "We have agreed to come in order to settle this matter." Theo says.

- "Sure… Why does Adriana look so mad ?" Magnus asks.

- "Because he tried to kill you ! Am I the only one with a working memory in this room ?!" Adriana replies, finally opening her eyes fully.

- "I do believe I was justified in my actions." Theo replies.

- "I think he was too." Magnus adds.

- "Magnus, cut it out before I reduce the both of you to puddles of plasma on the floor. I'm mad enough as it is." Adriana answers, the temperature of the room rising.

- "Regardless." Theo continues. "Adriana is willing to vouch for your sincere will to atone."

- "To atone ?..." Magnus replies, uncertain.

- "If you save as many people as you have killed, I am willing to overlook your past actions. I will cease pursuing you to claim your head."

- "Yeah that's what we agreed upon." Adriana adds. "The biggest problem we had was that Theo doesn't think you'll agree to this."

- "Why ? I don't mind trying." Magnus says.

- "See ?!" Adriana shouts in Theo's general direction.

- "...I see. Then it is decided." Theo says, his eyes slightly widening in surprise. He also looked somewhat relieved. "If I am still alive in ten years, I will come back to assess the state of your rehabilitation. If it is not satisfactory, then be warned: you will not be receiving the faintest shred of mercy from me."

- "That's… fine by me." Magnus replies after a second of hesitation.

- "It wasn't that hard after all !" Adriana exclaims, back to her usual upbeat attitude.

- "Still, I cannot help but question the Academy's recruitment policies. If someone like Magnus was allowed and even recommended, I wonder what kind of evil dwells within its walls." Theo comments.

- "I don't know, and I don't care !" Adriana replies. "Can we just go back to being friends and not killing anyone ?"

- "So long as you behave in accordance with public morals."

- "If anyone's got a problem with the way I behave, they're welcome to face me in battle !"

- "You're talking like Cassandra !" Magnus chuckles. It was faint, but his smile had returned.

- "Ah. That's probably not a good thing, is it ?"

- "Haha I don't know ! She reminds me of my adoptive sister, back at the farm. She also was a handful ! I don't wanna deal with two of those !"

- "You guys are out of time." Andreas cuts as Magnus starts laughing while Adriana gives him a worried look.

- "I'm done fucking waiting !" They hear Cassandra's muffled voice from behind the door. It slams open and she steps in, followed by Morgana who was trying to calm her down. "You !" She points to Theo.

- "I understand your anger." Theo calmly replies. "But you also need to understand, he is a mass-"

- "-ive idiot ! A massive idiot !" Adriana cuts.

She gives an intense death stare to Theo, silently spelling "Don't say anything to them". The latter just sighs in response.

- "That's not news." Cassandra replies, irritated. "How the hell did that happen though ?! I thought he learned his lesson !"

- "They are all idiots." Morgana adds. "Why are you fighting ? We are all on the. Same side." Her natural frowning expression turns fiercer, distorting the skin on her forehead. "This doesn't make sense."

- "She's right, even if it's weird this is getting such a big reaction out of her." Cassandra says. "What got into you guys ?"

- "Relax Morgana !" Magnus exclaims. "It's my fault, I just wanted to test how strong Theo's magic was !"

- "You almost died. Theo wouldn't. Hit you that hard. He's nice." Morgana replies as she turns to stare at him, a growing anger in her eyes. For the first time, Magnus could empathize with the people calling her frightening whenever they met her gaze. "You're lying to me."

- "Whoa Morgana, I think you're doing a bit too much." Cassandra intervenes.

- "He should tell us. The truth. We're friends."

- "Listen, I just convinced him to hit me with all he had !" Magnus replies. "Then Adriana got mad and jumped in !" There's a brief moment of tense silence after that before Morgana returns to her usual frown.

- "Silly Magnus. Don't do that again."

- "..." Cassandra stays silent for a few seconds, lost in thought. "Well, I guess it's not that big of a deal. Just… be more careful, I guess."

After that, Cassandra starts lecturing Magnus on proper safety measures when sparring with another mage. Adriana and Theo leave the infirmary, and they could hear Cassandra's muffled yelling through the door. Theo looks up at Adriana, who is floating in the air next to him.

- "Why would you ask me to keep our quarrel a secret ?" He asks.

- "They don't need to know." Adriana replies, her eyes flashing bright to hide whatever emotion she was feeling at the moment. "It wouldn't do any good for them."

- "Do they not have the right to know ? I am fairly certain they are the closest to Magnus."

- "I can tell Cassandra already knows he's lying. She's just choosing not to press him about it. Morgana though… I should thank the gods she's gullible enough to believe that."

- "According to her reaction, she will not take this kindly when she finally learns that you and Magnus have been concealing the truth from her."

- "That's right, she'll probably lash out at us ! Also, why're you not including yourself in this ?!"

- "I am only allowing this to aid Magnus' rehabilitation. That is why I will respect your wish not to disclose any unnecessary information."

- "For someone who's lived that long, you really don't have a clue about how people work, do you ?" Adriana has an amused smile before floating away, leaving a confused Theo in the hallway.