Beyond?

by Andur

  “Hm. Hm. He seems to be a decent fellow. It's just a little sad that he doesn't belong to a big clan.” Stella mumbles. “Probably Sariel accessed his information before going for him.”

  Following the path of the information I am led back to my own account, so I immediately change the password. There is only a small number of people who are close enough to me to hack into my personal connection. It would require direct access to my mansion's network. “Sariel... she has some explaining to do when she comes home!”

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Nathan

  “S... Sariel. Could you back off a little.” I try to keep my cool, but the girl at my side comes even closer.

  “How am I supposed to teach you when I can't sit at your side? Now try this one.” She smiles and winks at me while she points at another question.

  “I thought that Zadkiel would tutor me, but instead you are the one who shows up.” My eyes wander to her chest, but I force them to the sheet of paper. Remember who she is! If her family finds out who my parents are it will be the end of everything! Oh why does she have to show interest in me! I shouldn't have said yes to Zadkiel in the first place and stayed away from the whole lot!

  I did badly on my last exam, but Zadkiel was very generous and offered me additional lessons to make it up. Glad that I got another chance, I accepted, but the one who showed up to those lessons wasn't Zadkiel, but Sariel! It's the twelfth time now and it's starting to mess with my brain! Having a beauty like her making such obvious advances on me, which guy would be able to withstand that?

  “You obviously have trouble concentrating. Why don't we take a break and talk about something else?” She smiles at me and tilts her head. “Do you have a hobby?”

  “Well, I like creating magical circuits when I have some free time. Currently I am working on an amplifier. I am dreaming of creating a new unique magic.” I force myself to smile.

  Sariel claps her hands together. “Such a coincidence! I am very good with those. You surely happen to know my father? I could introduce you to him. The two of you have similarities.”

  I feel pearls of sweat appearing on my forehead. This conversation is going in a dangerous direction.

  But Sariel doesn't let me change the topic and so our conversation unfolds, touching different fields of the arcane masteries. Somehow I find myself drawn into the conversation and whenever we seem to run out of material she starts another interesting topic!

  The sun is setting above the horizon when I realize that we were talking for the entire day. “Ah... crap. I forgot the time.”

  “Did you miss something important?” Sariel asks concernedly and I realize that I let down my guard completely. Her tail is wrung around us, pulling our hips and mid-sections together like a constrictor snake.

  “No. Ahem... do you think... you could let go?” I point at her tail.

  She chuckles while playing with a strand of her steel blue hair. Her iris is grey on the outside and turns to different colours on the inside, a trait of the emperor's bloodline.

  I honestly don't get what she sees in me. I have plain black hair and while not looking bad, I don't have the face of a playboy either. I inherited my father's hawk nose and the black horns and hair are inherited from my mother. Am I not looking a little too plain for someone like Sariel?

  Suddenly she hugs me from the side. “But I don't want to. Say? Are you free this evening? There is a new light sculpture movie! It's a blockbuster about the war and I don't have someone who would watch it with me.”

  Ah, I like that kind of stuff! “Yes... No...” If she just didn't belong to that family! She is the perfect girl! “I don't think I have time.”

  “But isn't tomorrow free? So you have something planned for tonight?” She pouts her lips, looking sadly at the sheet of paper in front of us, which makes me sad in turn.

  “I think it can wait.” Did I really just say that?

  She brightens up, making my heart jump. “Really? Then let's go! And afterwards I'll show you my cooking skills!” She stores my stuff away in my bag and gets to her feet, pulling me up with her.

  Moments later I am being dragged out of the classroom like a puppet.

  No wait. Being dragged like a puppet is no problem if it's being done by a girl like her, but did she just say that she'll show me her cooking skills?

  Where does she want to cook? She can't possibly know that I am living alone. So that means that she wants to drag me to her home!

  117. ~Fin.~

  “A story has no real beginnings or endings, just places and events which are interesting to hear about.”

  -The first Technomage of Nict.

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Sariel

  After watching the movie I dragged Nathan to my family's mansion and introduced him to Azir and Stella. Unfortunately the poor boy doesn't seem to be comfortable with the atmosphere in our living room. “You don't have to be so stiff, Nathan.” I pat his back. “Nobody is going to eat you. And it would be nice if you didn't glare at him like that, Dad.”

  I smile at my father and my mother. They are both sitting on the sofa across from us.

  “I just have the feeling that I know him, but I can't put my finger on it.” Azir raises his cup with coffee and takes a sip. “Boy, can you explain to me what's going on between you and my daughter?”

  Nathan forces a smile onto his face. “I am a little overwhelmed myself, trust me, even I don't fully understand why I am here, Sir.”

  “Hahaha.” I hug Nathan from the side. “It's of course because I am introducing you to my parents. Dad, why don't you go and show Nathan your laboratory. Surely the two of you will find something interesting to talk about!”

  Azir stands up, taking his cup of coffee with him. “Come, we have to talk.” He leaves the living room with Nathan following him.

  “Are you really sure that he's a good choice?” Stella asks me with questioning eyes. “It seems like he is very easily intimidated by Azir.”

  “I've planned for everything, Mother. Once they break the ice everything will be okay. Nathan's interests are very similar to Father's. Actually I've selected him because of his ability to deal with his future father-in-law. There were other candidates, but I don't think that they would've been able to get Azir's approval.”

  “So you planned this far ahead?” Stella leans back and tilts her head. “Somehow I feel bad for the poor boy. Not only is he younger, but he is still very well mannered. He even seems to be a little shy, but it's probably normal if you suddenly get snatched by a girl of a royal bloodline.” She smirks. “I'll always remember your father's face when I showed up at his house with my mother. So could you explain why you find Nathan attractive?”

  I start explaining my reasons to Mother. Foremost is Nathan's character and his cute reactions towards me. I like it when a guy shows that his interest in you goes further than simply dragging you to bed.

  Suddenly an explosion shakes the house and I jump to my feet. “What happened!?”

  Stella gets up and runs towards the exit. “I think that came from the laboratory! Maybe you miscalculated?”

  I follow my mother and both of us hurry into Azir's devastated laboratory where an extraordinarily strange scene is taking place. There is a huge hole in the wall, opening a path to the garden.

  A black haired beauty is standing right next to a very pale Nathan, hugging him. “They didn't hurt you? Did they? We hurried to come here and save you when your signal suddenly entered Azir's property!”

  She has big similarities to Nathan, could she be his mother? Why is she here? That's not corresponding to my plans!

  Azir is on the ground between his techno stuff, trying to choke a man who could be Nathan's father. The man is trying to choke Azir in turn, which results in both of their faces changing colours.

  “Serenzar Draco!” My mother calls out and starts readying a rune spell to fire it at the intruders.

  Time slows to a sto
p as I try to make sense of the situation. So Nathan is the second Emperor's son, who went into hiding? How truly unexpected and problematic!

  But he hasn't done anything wrong according to my knowledge. So why should a child suffer for the mistakes of his parents? And didn't they live proper lives for twenty years to protect their son?

  My decision may be rash and I don't know the full story, but I have to stop this before it escalates even further! A single step brings me to the control panel at the wall. Similar ones are located right next to every room's entrance. They control the functions of the house.

  I type in the four numbers to unlock the house's safety features and activate the miniature inhibition field against the usage of magic. A second button releases the fire fighting system and the room is splashed with cold water. A third button activates a passive regeneration field to help the injured in case first aid is needed.

  My mother's rune spell disperses before she can finish the cast and I turn around to run towards Nathan and the black haired woman. “Nathan!” I hug him to the complete surprise of the woman at his side.

  “Sariel!” Nathan answers with a dazed expression, but does nothing else. “I think this got a little out of hand.”

  Pressing my cheek to his I reach for the black haired woman's hand and shake it. “Nathan's mother I presume? I am Sariel, his girlfriend and your future daughter-in-law.”

  “Hah?” The woman's frightened expression drops. “Nathan!? What's going on?”

  “I-” But Nathan doesn't manage an answer, as my mother starts screaming from behind me.

  “Sariel Gejene! You knew who he is!” She stomps closer, her hand already raised to hit me, but I place Nathan between me and her, so he collects the blow instead.

  “Of course I knew! Nathan and I searched for a way to solve this peacefully!” Bringing my mouth to his ear I whisper. “Play along!”

  Somehow Nathan snaps out of his shock. “Actually, yes. We were searching for a possible way to confess everything, but it wasn't the right time! It seems like my parents placed a tracking bug on me and panicked when I entered your estate. I am sorry that we messed up.”

  “So you didn't get caught?” Nathan's mother gasps.

  I turn to face her. “No, we were searching for a way to get my parents to keep your identity a secret. You were proper citizens for twenty years after all. Everything just for your son.”

  Placing my arms around Nathan's chest I smile at my mother. “And Nathan didn't do anything bad. Why should a child suffer for the mistakes of his parents? You agree with me, Mother? Don't you? All that bad blood was twenty years ago. Isn't it proper to give someone a second chance? Even Jeremiah got it!”

  Stella opens her mouth, but closes it again.

  Before she can say anything, someone else arrives at the scene. “Brother!” Jeremiah and Ivy appeared in the hole towards the garden. Without hesitation he joins the brawl between Azir and Serenzar, trying to separate the two of them. But Azir and Serenzar are both somehow offended by Jeremiah's interference. Fists and kicks start raining down on the poor bringer of peace.

  Ivy is just standing there, holding her mouth closed with both hands.

  Stella drops her defensive stance. “After watching them I somehow don't feel like fighting any more. I feel tired, let's go upstairs and have a drink and... talk.”

  I push Nathan towards the exit. “That's a very good idea! Talking is always better than fighting.”

  “But what about them?” Nathan's mother watches the men with a conflicted expression.

  Stella shrugs her shoulders. “What about them? Let them fight until they are exhausted. The house's healing spell is very powerful, it's unlikely that they manage to kill each other.”

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Azir

  “Goodbye.” I grumble, waving towards Elora and the hobbling Serenzar who decided to spent the night at Jeremiah's mansion. Then I whisper towards Stella. “They are turning their backs towards us! Allow me just one spell and we are rid of them forever!”

  “Behave! For Sariel.” She whispers back.

  I turn and glare at my daughter's boyfriend, who seems to be unable to cope with the situation. “And you-”

  Stella steps forward and hugs him. “He'll spent the night here. I think there is enough space in Sariel's room.”

  Sariel freezes at Nathan's side, but doesn't reply.

  “Or were you not serious when you instigated this mess?” Stella glares at Sariel, who quickly hugs her. “Of course I was serious, Mom! Thank you!”

  Then she hurries over to me and hugs me too. “Thanks, Dad! For deleting the records of this night.” She stops and reaches for my head, pulling a single hair from it. “But seriously, you shouldn't let yourself grow grey hairs over this. It is okay, even if you'll be a grandpa sometime in the future!”

  I reach for the silver-grey hair between her fingers and take it. A grey hair in my forties? I am really turning old again!

  Sariel takes Nathan's hand and pulls him towards the house.

  “You are really okay with this?” Stella steps to my side, following Sariel and Nathan with her eyes. “No bad feelings about him?”

  “He is just a child. It's his parents whom I want to roast!” I show the hair to Stella. “Look! A grey hair! And she said that we'll become grandparents!”

  She tilts her head, reaching for my forehead. “You are sure that you didn't get too much of a beating? A few grey hairs happen to guys at your age, it's nothing to be shocked about.”

  I take her hand and pull her towards the house. “We will show them that we aren't that old!”

  Stella answers surprised. “What? Could you be talking about-”

  “Of course I am talking about that! Tonight we will make sure to be louder than them!”

  118. ~Epilogue.~

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Azir

  “That mirror is simply a wonderful tool to tell stories, Grandfather!” The boy on my lap claps his hands, watching my last match with Serenzar. “And to the left! Uppercut! Wow! That got him real good!” He gestures towards Fafne, who is sitting beside us. “Did you see the teeth flying? And that spray of blood?”

  The boy is eight and he is Sariel's and Nathan's first son.

  I smile and nod. “Telling stories is one of my best abilities, Karn.”

  Zadkiel's daughter, Fafne, pulls at my robe. “But are you sure that it's okay to watch all these gruesome scenes at our age? My mother only shows me censored footage when we watch a movie for adults!”

  Fafne is sitting at my side and thirteen years old. Zadkiel found a really nice girl as his wife, though she is a little younger than him. Who would have ever thought that he would get together with Louise's daughter?

  I think that in absence of a proper candidate Sariel and Zana put a lot of effort into raising one. Their choice fell on Louise's daughter, since she was neither too old, nor too young.

  My children turned out to be dangerous existences despite our efforts. Luckily we have the advantage of age and knowledge over them. My ability to stop them from using magic also helps. I simply drain their surroundings of all mana, which leaves them with only their own mana pools.

  As long as they don't learn to counter that by training inside a mana stream themselves, they can't oppose me. They may have my abilities, but in terms of wisdom and training they are far behind. Incidentally I, Mother, Grandmother and Valeria are also the only ones who know the proper training methods to gain the necessary level of control.

  Maybe I should have a closer eye on my children. They have the tendency to abuse their powers when I am not looking.

  I place one finger on my lips and wink at Fafne. “Who says that you have to tell her?” Fafne's mouth forms a voiceless 'O' and then she nods enthusiastically.

  “But I want to know what happened to your old world? And your old body?” Karn starts rocking on my lap.

  I gesture for the mirror to show the
m another scene. The displayed picture changes to a white, round planet. It's completely covered in ice and drifting through a sea of stars.

  “Actually I went there to explore what the old emperor did to my world. The planet is completely frozen by now and the star is dying. There is nothing which can be done about it, but the people whom I cared about are long gone anyway.”

  After pausing for a moment I continue. “Their degenerated descendants, who are roaming under the surface, aren't worth to be saved. They only pose a threat, if anything else. That's why we are still hunting down the remaining believers in the second emperor's cult.”

  Even after such a long time, there are still fanatics appearing who attempt summoning rituals from time to time.

  “Apparently he used the Shield of the Emperor to draw energy from the star. Then he used that power to reform this planet's core to his desires. It's irreversible as long as we don't plan to damage another star, which we won't do.”

  Fafne looks up to me with a sad expression. “So all the people on your old world are dead? How could the emperor do such a thing?”

  I smile at her and pat her head. “He was a power driven egomaniac. We'll never know for sure, but I don't think that he even checked if the star in question had an inhabited planet. He simply used it because it fulfilled the needed criteria.”

  “Then what about Zana? Did she never get upset that Grandfather Serenzar didn't get punished?” Karn asks.

  “That was indeed a little complicated.” I lean back on my chair. “At first we didn't tell her anything and kept their identity a secret. But after she turned thirty I decided to tell her the truth. She took it relatively well, but you have to remember that she had almost no connection to her real parents by that time. Stella and I were her parents for most of her childhood.”

  “But why forgive Serenzar and Jeremiah at all if they did such bad things?” Fafne grumbles at my side.