Ancient Pasts - Tbate

Divergent Meeting

Cathan Leywin Pov

I woke up in what looked like a recovery room. Azrael was grooming himself next to the window. Claire was resting her head on my bed. In my hand was the book I got from Gideon's lab.

'Papa, you're awake!' Azrael exclaimed as he flew towards me.

'Hey, Azrael. How long was I out?' I asked groggily, stroking his head.

'...Seven hours.' He responded, and I could feel his sadness and concern.

"That long, huh?" I chuckled.

"Hmm?" A voice hummed from my side.

'How long has she been here?' I asked, watching Claire stir.

'She didn't leave since they moved you here.' Azrael replied.

"Cathan! You're awake!" Claire suddenly hugged me.

"Y-Yeah..." I muttered with a slight blush, caught off guard by her actions.

"You didn't wake up for six hours. You worried us so much!" She stated, burying her head in my chest.

I couldn't resist the urge to pet her head when she suddenly peeled herself away from me, her face scarlet. Quickly standing up and trying to regain composure, she shot me an embarrassed nod and turned away.

"I-I'm glad you're okay..." She muttered.

"What happened after I passed out?" I asked, recomposing myself.

"After you passed out. Whenever we got close to you, a barrier would form. Even Director Goodsky couldn't damage it." She replied, sitting down.

"I'm still not sure what this book is." I sighed.

'Papa, what happened in there? I couldn't feel your mind.' Azrael asked me.

"When I tried to open the book, it started absorbing my mana. When I woke up, I found myself in a purple place. I couldn't feel anything. But I could see hundreds of small shapes flying around." I explained to both Claire and Azrael.

The door slowly opened to show Arthur with Sylvie on his shoulder. Sylvie stood up and waved. When Arthur locked eyes with me, his head jerked to point at Claire.

"Claire, it seems your sleeping beauty is awake." Arthur teased.

"He's not my sleeping beauty!" Claire yelled out, her face as bright as her hair.

"Really? Are you sure you want to play it that way, king of Elenoir?" I asked with a smirk.

"S-Shut up." Arthur blushed.

"How about we focus here?" Claire asked.

"Ah, right. From what I know, the book reacted to Azrael's purple flames," I stated, creating a sound barrier around the room.

"Do you think it has something to do with the ancient mages?" Arthur asked, taking a seat on my bed.

"Maybe. Whenever the book gets close to Azrael, this happens." I demonstrated this by bringing the book close to Azrael.

The plain brown book turned into a pure purple book. With black runes covering it, and a massive amount of mana originated from the book. And I could hear a very faint voice whispering.

"T-That was..." Claire's voice trailed off as I moved the book away.

"Hmm. Have you tried infusing it with a specific element?" Arthur asked.

"No. I always blackout when I try to open it with mana." I shook my head.

"How about all four elements?" Arthur thought out loud.