Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 7. (Patreon)

The shine in her purple eyes sent his heart trembling in an unknown fear. He felt naked before her, weak, yet safe. She had a frown on her face, as her fears came whispering in her heart. They had stayed silent looking at each other in the eyes, and time slipped away, silently and timelessly.

“It’s Darkness…” Aoun whispered. 

He carefully searched for any shock or surprise in her eyes, but he only saw her smile bloom brightly. 

“And the Rune?”

To ask a Master about his Rune? It was no less than a Taboo. 

“The Primordial Rune of Annihilation; Purgatory” He had nothing to hide from her. Such was his trust in her.

“Oh…” There was a hint of surprise in her expressions now. 

Mellissa felt relieved in her heart. She feared that he would try to lie to her, hide his secrets from her. She had already known what his Element would be; she had her secrets.

“Scared?” Aoun teasingly asked. 

“Of you?” Mellissa laughed brightly at his silly question. “Of course, I am scared of you. You can hurt me as no else can.” 

Her answer eased his worries. His restless heart calmed down. The Element of Darkness was a Taboo. An Element that was feared, and rightly so. Elements were the reflection of one’s personality, the truth of their existence.  

“You two saw a prophecy, right?” Mel asked with seriousness, bringing his attention back from fears. 

Aoun frowned at her question. 

“You are one of the 313 Empyreans?” 

Mel nodded affirmatively to his question.

“Tell me about the prophecy…” She urged him. 

They were alone in his room, standing as they faced each other. The little distance between them finally started to bug Aoun, and his mind that was now trying to guard against Mel irritated him. He took his eyes off her and then closed them. His actions sent a pang of pain in her heart. Her fears were coming true. 

Mel understood why Aoun would try to be on guard against her. They were both a part of the great game now. They were both among the 313 Empyreans. The Empyreans would start the Greatest Chaos the World of Aurora would ever see. A fight against each other for the glory they were not even certain of. 

“It’s okay… If you don’t…” 

The pain in her heart intensified. She had not lied to him when she had said that he could hurt her. She loved him enough that his love could kill her. The Witch the world feared, was weak and helpless before her beloved. 

Aoun stepped forward and wrapped her trembling body in his embrace. He kissed on her head and rested his cheek on it. 

“It’s not that I have any reservations, Mel. The prophecy is something that still trembles my heart as I recall it.” His heart trembled as he spoke those words, and Mel tightened her arms around him. 

“Tell me…”

“After the third Blessing, which I don’t know what it is, I and Elena found ourselves in a dream. There were inscriptions in Black, Golden, Purple, Silver, Red… Words we had never seen or read before, an unknown language. But we could read it. 313 Empyreans, the Game of Fate. Wars, Blood, Betrayals, Love, Family, Death... And then the word ‘Fate’ took our attention, and we felt as if we had traveled inside another dream.”

“That second dream was the prophecy,” Mel nodded. She had been in a similar situation at the time of her awakening, as had the other Empyreans been. 

“Mel… Do you really want to know?”

His question made her uncomfortable. His fear gave her a bad premonition, and she was scared.

“What was it?”

Aoun stayed silent as his mind recalled that sensation.

“Darkness… Limitless, Timeless, Silent… We were inside it, I and Elena, stuck in that place with life slowly dripping out of us. It was terrifying, but strangely, I was at peace there, and Elena was soundly asleep.” He sighed as he closed his eyes. “That was it…”

Her heart thumped hard as she failed to control the fear the prophecy had shrouded her in. A tear slipped out of her eyes, and its wetness made him realize how much his life mattered to her. 

“I won’t die… I promise.” He caressed her back. 

“I know...” She giggled in amusement before looking up at him with a serious expression in her eyes. She knew that he wouldn’t die. “But would you die for me?” 

“No…” He chuckled as he shook his head. “I know, if I do that, it will kill you.” 

“Good…” She smacked his chest lightly and then happily giggled. 

He stayed there looking at her as various expressions passed her face. She was enchantingly beautiful, and he knew he could never have enough of her. 

“Aoun” She called out to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Yes, Love?”

She apologetically looked him in the eyes. 

“You know that I am keeping lots of secrets from you…” She palely smiled. “I can’t tell you about them for reasons that you are not yet ready to hear. But promise me,” She looked at him expectantly, “You would never allow your heart to doubt my love for you.”

“I promise” He nudged her nose, and replied without hesitation. 

“And try not to reveal that you own a Primordial Rune,” She told him with grave seriousness. “You are too weak to protect yourself against the forces that would come after you to kill you and claim it.”

It was not something that Aoun didn’t already know. Everything about him either made him the enemy of the world or the target of their greed. He had to live a life of lies until he could protect himself against them.

“Primordial Runes are the most powerful, and mysterious Runes. But what truly makes them so special is the fact that there are only 110 of them. The other Classes of Runes are not the same, not even the Immemorial ones. There can be two Immemorial Runes of Purgatory, but there is not going to be a second Primordial Rune of Purgatory at the same time.” She warned him.

“I understand…” He sighed. 

Just like the 110 Primordial Runes, there were 110 Immemorial Runes. The difference between them was that the same Immemorial Rune could appear in several Masters, but at one time, only one Primordial Rune could exist.

“Do you know about your Rune?”

“Haven’t had time to read my Grimoire yet.”

Mel nodded to his words and seemed to be recalling some information. 

“Primordial Rune of Annihilation; Purgatory, is ranked 9th of the 110 Primordial Runes.” She had a beautiful yet chilling smile on her face. “It is immensely powerful, and it has been over three thousand years since it last appeared in the world. The man that possessed it was a fearful Emperor of his time. The world called him Daemon.”

Aoun hollowly laughed at her words. 

“He must have killed lots of people to earn that name.” 

“He did…” Her smile brightened. “His kill count makes him rank third in the History. Over a million people with his own hands. And millions of them with his armies.”

Her words made his heart uncomfortable. 

“You don’t know… do you?” She palely smiled. “The Primordial Purgatory needs its owner to have the Element of Darkness to use it. It’s a Hell Classed Rune.”

“What?!”

Aoun dumbfoundedly looked at her. His heart thumped hard as he realized what it meant. 

“Yes,” She nodded. “If you use it, and if people know that it is the Primordial Purgatory, they will know that you possess the element of Darkness. Immemorial Purgatory can be utilized with the elements of Fire and Magma, but Primordial Purgatory requires Darkness.” 

“So, I can’t even use my Rune.” Aoun sighed.

“Well… If the world believes that you have an Elemental Beast of Darkness, you can safely use it with some reservations.”

“You must be bluffing. We both know that Elemental Beasts are rarer than the Mystic Beasts. Even if I search for one such beast, it will take me decades, if not centuries, to come across one.” He smiled helplessly. “And what makes you think that an Elemental Beast would choose me as its Master?”

Mel planted a kiss on his lips and giggled. 

“You still haven’t introduced me to your soul beast,” Just as she said it, Kuro came out from inside of her and swirled happily around them. “See, even Kuro is excited to meet it.” 

The illusory cat sat down on his shoulder and nudged its face on his cheek. 

“I feel like it’s a little shy. And I don’t know how to call it out.” Aoun looked at his chest where his heart was. He could feel the existence of his
Soul Beast inside of him, and its state of mind as well.

“Just ask it come out. It can’t refuse you. You are the Master.”

“Okay, Master.” Aoun rolled his eyes at her words, but he did as she said and tried calling it out. 

It took him a minute before he felt that the Beast was reluctantly going to come out, and it did. On his left shoulder appeared another illusory body. A small figure with three fluffy tails. It was a fox. A white fox with shades of blue on its illusory body.

“An Ice Vulis!” Mel gasped as she realized what the beast was. “I am jealous!” She glanced at him and commented before fixating her eyes back at the beautiful fox.

It was the first time Aoun had seen her act like this. He always felt that there was nothing in the world that could surprise her enough to make her reveal such a side of her, but he was glad that he got to see it. 

The little beast was an Elemental Beast of Ice. It was the reason he could hide his Element of Darkness when Alexis had asked him to show his Element. 

“Of the 112 Empyreans that I know of, you are only the fifth person who was bestowed an Elemental beast,” Mel said as she closely inspected the fox, and traced its ears with her finger. “Elena would be the sixth. And let me guess, she has a Fire Vulis or another Fire Elemental beast, right?”

Her words made Aoun frown. He knew that Elena had not met with Mel after the ceremony. 

“How do you know that she would have a Fire Elemental beast?” 

Her chilly purple eyes looked at him, and he felt his heart constrict. 

“Do you think I would ever harm her, Aoun?” She asked with a pale smile. 

“I don’t know,” He smiled back at her with stern eyes. He felt the Darkness inside of him shiver in excitement. 

The Rune of Purgatory started revolving again, and the smile on Mel’s face bloomed brightly. 

“That’s an intimidating presence, my Love…” She said softly, and the next moment he felt his Rune being suppressed by her presence. His body couldn’t move an inch, and the smile on his face had frozen. “Too weak,” she whispered.

“And you are too strong…” He didn’t waver under her presence. It was not the first time she had made him realize how weak he was. 

Mel looked at the Ice Vulis that was calmly sitting on his shoulder and nodded in appreciation. 

“Your Soul Beast is smart. It knows that I wouldn’t harm you.”

“Isn’t it because I believe that you would never harm me?” He smirked at her as she took away her hold on his soul. He stood up and gently nudged the soft head of his beast. The little fox grabbed onto his finger with its three tails and rubbed its little head against it. 

“Aren’t they amazing?” Mel commented on the bond of a Soul Beast and its Master.

“Indeed…” But before he could finish his words, he felt a rune light up under his foot. The clothes he was wearing vanished as Kuro devoured them in its darkness. 

The little fox had a grave look in its eyes as it threateningly stared at Mellissa. The temperature in the room dropped dramatically, but the little fox was still too weak. 

Mel suppressed it with her presence and forced it to return inside Aoun’s heart. 

Aoun had a frown on his face, but he was not scared. He quickly checked inside of him to see if the Ice Vulis was hurt, but it was peacefully asleep. 

“Don’t worry. I have put it to sleep, so it won’t struggle as I perform the ceremony.”

“What ceremony?” 

He watched as Mel’s Grimoire appeared in front of her. The color of her eyes reflected on her Grimoire. A perk only for those that had attainted enormous power. And something came out of her Grimoire then. It was an Ord of Darkness that had red veins on it. It was beating softly as a peaceful heart would, and that meant that it was something alive. The orb would turn illusory from time to time and have several shades of colors reflect on it before it would turn Black again, and the cycle would continue. 

“Mel…” Awe and Horror struck him as he felt the presence of darkness inside that orb. He had a feeling that he knew what it was, and with every passing moment, he was more certain of it. 

“Yes… It is an egg of an Elemental Beast…” Mel smiled palely.

It was the first time he had seen sweat on her face and weakness as strength left her body at an alarming pace. The Rune under his feet brightened in Golden light. 

Aoun was scared now. He was scared because he had never seen Mel push herself so much before. And she was in pain right now. 

“Stop it!” He pleaded to her. 

“I can’t now…” She giggled and caressed his cheek softly. “Don’t worry… I will be fine.” 

Those were the last words he heard before he felt her push that black illusory egg right onto where his heart was, and the egg vanished inside of him. He felt the egg suck his element of darkness as if it was a void with no limit, and Aoun fell back on the bed helplessly. He had lost consciousness and he was soundly asleep right now.

Mellissa contently smiled as the Golden Rune evaporated, and just as it did so, a drop of blood rolled out of her nose and trickled down onto her lips. She wiped it off and didn’t pay much attention to the weak state she was in now. It was temporary, and she could tell that it would only take a few days for her to recover to her prime state. 

Kuro sat on her shoulder and brushed its face against her silver hair. The little beast was not worried and was telling her that he would deal with anyone if they come to harm her or Aoun. It was assuring her that it would keep them safe. 

“Thank you…” She smiled at Soul-Beast that has been with her all her life. 

“Mou…” The little black cat answered as the Golden Stars in its eyes revolved brightly.

Mellissa quickly sorted everything out as Kuro eliminated every trace of the Spell that was used here. It took less than a minute for a knock to come on the door, and then two girls walked inside the room without waiting for an answer. 

Alana’s smile froze when she saw Aoun sleeping on his bed. She turned to look at the other person who was in the room. She scanned Mellisa who was sitting on the couch and reading her Grimoire as Kuro sat on her shoulder and looked to be reading the Grimoire as well. 

“Did something happen to him?” The Mother’s intuition kicked in, and Alana couldn’t help but ask Mellisa. 

“Yes…” Mel glanced at her before looking back at her grimoire and closing it away. “I punished him a little for earlier when he was going to leave the Platform with Elena without taking part in the ceremony.”

“Oh…” 

Alana was thinking of punishing him for that, but seeing him sleeping soundly, she shook her head and sighed. She would have only playfully slapped him and brushed it off, but apparently, his Master was madder at him than she was. 

“He will be up in a few hours.” Mellisa smiled as she got up from the couch and walked over to Alana. She nodded to the Queen before looking at the other girl by her side, and smiled brightly. 

“Congratulations, Princess!” 

“Thank you, Master!” Elena answered sweetly. “Where’s my gift?” She asked. 

“You are a greedy girl, aren’t you?” Mel squinted her eyes but then laughed together with Elena. “Here..” 

She took out a dagger from her ring and gave it to her. 

“What’s this?” 

“It is a Hell-Ranked weapon…” Mel answered. “The Hell’s Blade.”

“Oh…” Elena only nodded and unsheathed the Dagger. She scanned its crystal-red blade with silver edges. 

“It looks like a Crystal, but it is a rare metal,” Mel added.

“It’s Beautiful… and Deadly…” Elena smiled brightly and put the blade back in its sheath. “Thank you!”

Mellissa patted her head lovingly and walked out of the room. 

“Go, be with your Husband, Princess…”

She vanished from the hall after saying those words. 

Elena happened to glance at her mother before laughing at the expressions she was wearing.

Alana’s face was pale with fear. She couldn’t understand why Mellissa would just give away a Hell-Ranked weapon like that. It was not just any weapon. It was one of Mellissa’s favorite and something the world feared a lot. 

What bugged Alana, even more, was how casually Elena had accepted it as if she didn’t know much about that weapon… 

“You have read about The Hell’s Blade, right?”

“Of course…” Elena nodded as she smiled sweetly at her Mother. “The weapon whose cut burns the soul,” She added as a matter of fact. 

Alana didn’t know what to say to her daughter. She just sighed and brushed away the fears in her heart. The weapon had scared a queen such as her, what it would do low-ranked Masters was terrifying to say the least. In the end, her daughter now had a weapon on her that she could protect herself with. Mellissa had given her daughter a gift that was greater than any the family would have given to her. She noted the debt in her heart. 

Elena left Alana dwelling in her thoughts and walked over to the bed before sneaking under the comforter with her brother. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes as soon as she wrapped her arm around him. To Alana, it looked like she was going to sleep, but only Elena knew what she was doing. She could feel the thoughts running in Aoun’s mind even when he was asleep. She could not only feel them, but she could also hear them as her own thoughts if she concentrated enough. 

Her heart thumped hard as she sensed another presence inside of Aoun. 

“A dark Vulis…” She whispered to herself as she saw the Ice Vulis sleeping with another little fox that was hiding in the darkness. “A second Soul-Beast…” She understood that it was given to Aoun by Mellissa, but she was far less knowledgeable right now to figure out how a person could have more than one Soul-Beast.

Her fears calmed down as she found no anomalies in Aoun’s condition other than his weakened physical state. His heart was at peace, and she too was at peace.