Withering Ambition

Brilliant Candor

Kaeman lifted the final door, and revealed to Necron the stairway back to the surface.

"How do you know your way around here, Kaeman? It is puzzling to me..."

"You see, Necron, I took the lives of all of those who reside here, whether by my blade, my magic, or my army. Those souls call out to me, they guide me. This place is a monument to my accomplishments, my mistakes. It is only fitting that I use it as a fortress."

Necron pondered the statement, staring off into the distance. 

"What do we do next?"

"Necron, you must return to the academy. Your disappearance will surely be linked to mine. We must take caution in our next actions, to perpetuate the idea that the explosion of the barrier killed me in the process. Yes, we are powerful, but alas, we must not act rashly."

Necron furrowed his brow, evidently frustrated at Kaeman's statement.

"I understand. But I will return here periodically for my lessons. I refuse to return to my old life. I have finally found purpose, and I will not throw that away."

Kaeman nodded, and gestured for Necron to exit the Catacombs through the main entrance.

---

The rock left Dr. Emmett's hand, traveling through the air before landing on the withered ground before him. A small sizzle emanated from the rock as it began to wither away. 

"Amazing... truly amazing."

A puzzled look came across his face as he surveyed the damage from the explosion. The ground seemed to have had its life sapped out of it, the grass brittle and stiff. 

"Lanthrop, I assume you have pieced together that your magic does not work in this cursed place. It seems the withering energy emitted by the explosion drains the mana from within us. This sort of power, this phenomenon, could only have been caused by a god, or something powerful enough to be indistinguishable."

Dr. Emmett attempted several spells with the aid of his staff, but each attempt seemed to drain the staff of its magic, as the spell was absorbed by the ground. Slowly, as bits of magic entered the ground, its color seemed to return to it, bit by bit, as if the magic restored the ground to its former state.

"Take notes, Lanthrop, take notes. Surely you can observe this as well. Surely I can explain this."

Dr. Emmett sank into a state of deep thought, as he often did, his usually smooth face riddled with wrinkles of concentration. He remained for several minutes, as Lanthrop nervously paced behind him. 

"You see, this magic stuff, I've got it figured out now, Lanthrop. I've got it all figured out."

Dr. Emmett laughed softly, bringing his hand to his head. He swept his hand through his hair before turning towards his apprentice. 

"There seems to be an innate energy in all things, living and dead. Or at least, that's my theory. This 'dark magic' seems to sap the energy away from the material it impacts."

The doctor's hands gestured wildly as he continued explaining his theory.

"The magic that we use, and the magic that the Wither King uses, must be the same. Why else would I be able to impact this grass that has been drained by magic, except if these two forms of magic are able to... interact with each other?"

Emmett began pacing around in a similar manner to Lanthrop, who had stopped in his tracks to listen to his professor.

"You see, Lanthrop, there must be some... rules... some fundamental constants to the magic that we use. Take for example, water. It can be ice, liquid, or steam. What we see before us is the same. Simply a different form of magic. But magic nonetheless. It must operate on the same fundamental system that ours does. But clearly a much more advanced application of that system."

Lanthrop looked at Emmett like he was crazy. 

"What do we do with this information, Dr Emmett?"

The doctor smirked and gave Lanthrop a side-eyed look.

"Lanthrop, I assume you have heard of your peer at the academy, Necron. He seems to have a large interest in dark magic, perhaps that would be useful in piecing together the events that happened here."

Lanthrop gave a short nod and walked off in the direction of the academy. Necron was... an unsettling character. Every time he had talked to him, it was clear that Necron had a vendetta against the academy. But alas, Dr. Emmett was right. He would be useful. 

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This chapter is dedicated to Luckyfini, one of my amazing mods on the discord server and a great source of feedback! Thank you so much!