The flames were everywhere. But that’s not the problem since these were the kind which opened my eyes from the lies, I have been living. Royalty? Status? No that doesn’t matter to these fiends. All they want is power while giving us the illusion of power.

  “Lupia!”

  A seizure seized me just then. And the ground beneath me seemed to have gained life on its own, molding into a liquid, trapping my legs while I sank momentarily. Once my feet were completely in, it turned rock solid.

  Now you are probably wondering how a charismatic, perfect little fellow like me ended up in a situation like this one? I mean I am a prince after all, and the world is my playground. Well, let me reaccount 24 hours Prior before I met “The Slave”

  “What is magic?”

  “The ability to control the uncontrollable.”

  I answered my professor who was the spitting image of the word scarecrow.

  “And where does the ability to control the uncontrollable comes from?”

  He asked a very straightforward question.

  “From the core of humans, the soul itself.”

  “Good job, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

  Sounds basic for a 20-year-old but our schools weren’t particularly interested in theory, rather in application of the magical principles. It was instilled in us since birth. We could perform spells without learning why they worked. We simply did them. Good mages could fight by controlling the core of those very spells by simple hand gestures. At least that was the standard you ought to aim for.

  “Well-done, that’s what I wanted to hear. However, today I am going to give you a disclaimer of something that’s beyond what you have learned so far.

  Our entire magic comes from within the areas of our heart, rather souls. Now imagine if you could have something which could be used to access an equivalent of that very thing? “

  Maybe that was my first ever hint in this.

  “But that’s only possible if the person is another human being”

  Someone pointed out the obvious.

  “Oh don’t worry they are not humans. Just people who represent them. Think of it as this, a perfect replica of yourselves.”

  Growing up we were all taught to always believe what our teachers said. A conditioning if you may call it.

  “I am sure you all have concerns regarding whatever I am trying to demonstrate right now but you will get what I mean once I am done with it.”

  The professor gestured someone to come in.

  And there it entered. A green-eyed young man. He looked as though he was in his late teens. His hair was the most spectacular black. Devoid of any shine or reflection. One could have said the same for his eyes as well….devoid…. of anything. As though what the professor said was completely accurate. Dressed completely in white, he looked as though a being that was not of our world. Chained was he, I hadn’t seen a creature so devoid of life. And I ruled the kingdom of joy, “Masalvania”.

  He slowly walked towards the professor without a sound or a voice. And then stood straight facing us all.

  “This right here is a creature who breaths the same way, has the same functions as all of you yet is not one of you. And you know what that means?”

  “That the limited magical prowess you described can be overcome with help of the heart that he possesses?”

  “Exactly.”

  There was a pause

  “And now for the demonstration.

  The professor touched his shoulder and in the moment a tremor shook the entire room, startling all the students. A dark smoke started rising and in a matter of seconds the entire room became devoid of light itself.

  The professor sensed the unease but ignored it.

  My Scarlet eyes didn’t blink once. I observed it clearly. The dark circle that engulfed this creature.

  His veins were all visible. And he was all pale yet no sound was made by him during this entire ordeal.

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  “As you can see, this creature does not scream nor does he register the pain. If you guys experienced even the 10 percent of this spell, most of you would have fainted from the pain yet this creature stands perfectly. Just like an artifact you use when performing magic.”

  The professor grinned.

  “Now again a question, What happens when you perform a spell using an artifact?”

  He asked

  “The material gets consumed.”

  The professor grinned even more wildly but just then a loud chime rang.

  Interrupting the entire lesson.

  Tch

  The professor clicked his tongue in annoyance and let go of his hand.

  The boy returned to normal in the blink of an eye just as he did this.

  “Class dismissed.” He announced yet I was too curious to let go.

  Before they could leave, I stretched my arms in an extended arc and flicked my fingers…

  Just to send… a small spark.

  A tracking spell. I placed it on the lad that looked like death itself.

  And for what’s it worth, Royalty meant I wouldn’t get into any sort of trouble in the first place. Or so I had thought.

  I was in my room after a tiring day at the academy.

  Yet I couldn’t sleep. After witnessing a living dead body. The night also seemed to have been inviting me for a mischievous stroll. I waited for it to be midnight before I got into my shoes and a simple dress. Brown trousers and a red shirt tied with an extension. And my favorite. A cap. I opened the windows and smelled the cold breeze.

  “Wingalium Nox”

  And I jumped. The cap molded into a set of orange wings with splinters of flame at the very end of it.

  And just as I was about to hit the ground, I flapped. The gush of wind trapped beneath my wings pushed me upward in an extended arc and now I was flying.

  Yes, I could have just flapped from the windows, but I had a thing for the theatrics.

  I activated my tracking spell which illuminated my eyes. Now I could see a light red string, its entire job was to guide me to the splinter attached to the source I was tracking.

  And while I predicted it to be the academy, the string was pointing to something completely different.

  I was even more curious now.

  I followed till I was out of the city itself. Deep within the woods and the string now arched downwards and I followed suit. But I wasn’t careful.

  A purple light shot towards me from the very direction the string pointed me to. In the matter of seconds, I halted and avoided the attacked from a hair’s breadth.

  “Holy Shit!!”

  I mumbled by instinct itself. But I wasn’t safe yet, the light changed direction from above and moved downward.

  “Now two could play that game” I dived in the forest and the light followed suit, slowly catching up. Somewhere along the way I enjoyed the chase till a black clock blocked my way from the front while from behind the light chased.

  “You are not allowed here”

  The strange man motioned his fingers

  But I wasn’t so half assed either... I motioned my hands to summon small splinters of fire. As the light was about to hit,

  I snapped at my left, sending one to the light that followed me. It detonated upon impact. The result was a huge blast of fire engulfing the light completely, Then I sent the other one to the entity

  Snap

  And now as it touched that black entity, it to detonated with a bang.

  The explosions were loud, maybe even excessive, but again, I had a thing for the theatrics.

  The entire area burned, engulfing a wide arc with flames and I flew in the middle of it. The splinters were my being and the burning forest my stage. I landed Infront of a huge mansion, a den of secrets. I landed in a graceful arc. And walked towards the door. With the flick of a finger, I unlocked it, opening the chamber that changed everything I knew in my 20 years of life.