Altered Fate (Inscryption Fanfic)

Chapter 9 ~ The Wizard's Weakness

A couple days passed, since Grimora was hurt. She was alive, and she'd woken up not long ago, but she was in no condition to do much. Knowing she was fine, however, and that the ghouls would take care of her, you feel alright enough to go back to check on Magnificus, as you'd originally planned. You pass the monuments on your way to the tower, pausing to look at them... Grimora's was badly damaged, and Magnificus' was pretty bad, too. You couldn't help but worry. If this was the state Grimora was in... you could only guess how bad Magnificus had gotten.

You get to the tower, and try knocking on the door. To your surprise, it creaks open... Nobody was here. You look around, and not even Trader was in her usual place... You decide to check the next floor, and... you see the piked mage, standing there, with... a disturbed look on their face. "Hey," you speak up, catching their attention, "is everything okay?" They look at you a moment, and shake their head. "Just go upstairs," they mutter, "Magnificus is... you'll see." You didn't like the sound of that. Without hesitation, you go up two more floors, to see Magnificus.

You see him sat by the large window. Something's... different, though... his hair is put up. He's rather scrawny, moreso than you'd expected, and he has... wolf-like aspects. Ears, tail, legs, claws, all wolf-like. You also notice how... weak and feverish he looks. Goobert is doing his best to try to help him, but doesn't seem to entirely know how. Tiredly, Magnificus looks over at you, and smiles, chuckling, awkwardly. "I didn't think you were coming. Apologies... you... shouldn't need to see me like this..." He even spoke like he was struggling to stay conscious...

The shock in your expression makes him look to the side, awkwardly. After a moment, you finally step forward and sit down next to him. "What's going on?" you ask, concerned, just wanting to get to the bottom of this. He looks hesitant to speak, at first... but he does. "It's my power, it's... gone. All of it. Without it, I'm stuck being weak and useless." "Don't say that," you mutter, somewhat sharply. "You aren't useless. Everything will be okay." He nods, as you say this. Hearing you say this in such a serious, determined tone seems to calm him down a bit.

After a few minutes, he sighs, looking out the window and in the direction of the monuments. "I wonder if there's anything we can do to stop this," he says, quietly... worriedly. "My foresight isn't working... I wouldn't know if there is, at this point." You look down, as he says this. You wish you could tell him it'd all be okay, and that you knew what you were doing, but you didn't. You had no clue what was going on, and there was nothing you COULD do, as far as you knew. You don't know if things will be okay, and... it scares you.

There's another long silence as you think of something to say, when, suddenly, the wizard turns to you. "I want you to promise me something," he begins, a hard to read expression on his face, "Y/n, should anything happen to me, you'll take my place. Alright?" Hearing him say this... makes you angry. You stand, grabbing his hand and looking him dead in the eyes. "No, don't say that. Don't ever say that. You will live, Magnificus," you speak in a stern voice. Magnificus, though exhausted and weak, looks at you, and nods. He smiles, sighing, a little.

He takes a moment before speaking, again. "Y/n... I hope you know how much you mean to us. The others would never admit it, and I typically wouldn't, either, but... you've given all of us new hope. Even in our darkest moments, you've been willing to be there for all of us." You smile, appreciating his words, but don't entirely know where he's going with this... but before you can ask, he continues. "You've done more for all of us than we deserve, and we all thank you, for that... but I must ask," he says, pausing, for a moment, trying to choose his next words carefully. "Are you... doing alright...?"

You freeze, the question sending a shiver down your spine. After a moment, you look away from him. "Yeah, of course I am," you finally say, breaking the tense silence, "I'm not bleeding out, or anything." "No," Magnificus says, "you know what I'm talking about. Are you doing alright, mentally? I don't want you to end up too much like us." You're silent, at first. Why would he ask this? He looks like he's on the brink of death, should this really be his biggest concern, right now? You understand he's worried, but there are bigger matters at hand... "Yeah," you finally say, in a falsely genuine voice, "I'm alright."

Magnificus doesn't look very convinced, at first...  After a long silence, he sighs. "Fine, I'll take your word for it. Just... you know you can tell us, if you need a break. Right?" You nod, just hoping to get him to drop the subject. He shouldn't be so worried about you when he's too weak to simply use his foresight. He drops the subject and goes back to staring outside. He just seems so... lost. "Without my powers... I am nothing, you know. As much as I acted as though I was all high and mighty, in the various previous times we've met... that's all it was. Acting..." He traces the shapes of distant objects with his finger, on the window. "I would often look out this window for inspiration... Perhaps as a way to pass time, occasionally," he says, sighing. "I never thought I'd be looking out of it because I couldn't physically do anything else, however," he chuckles.

You almost get angry, at him. How could he be joking at a time like this? You understand he's simply trying to make light of the situation so you're not both just in horrible moods, but is this really the time? You brush it off, for now, but he definitely notices your only somewhat concealed irritation. "Sorry," he says, awkwardly. You shake your head, a little. "No, I understand," you sigh. "I just wish you'd take this seriously." "I have been," he says, tiredly, "I've been trying to stop taking it seriously, because the more seriously I take it, the worse it gets... I suppose I just want a break from thinking about the fact that I'm... completely useless, like this." You get a really upset look, you told him not to say that, but... by all means, he was right. Without their abilities... the scrybes were, essentially, useless. Not to you, maybe, but to the rest of the world, which couldn't run without them, they were considered... of no use, without abilities.

You simply look away, muttering something under your breath. "Hm?" he looks over at you, confused, "What was that?" "You're not useless to me, alright?!" you finally say, "You, Grimora, Leshy, even P03, none of you are remotely useless, to me! Even if the world is currently relying on me, as a challenger, even if everyone else tries to make you all think you're useless, I refuse to sit here and let you all think you're useless, even if the world thinks you are - I need all of you just as much as you need me, and you all need to get that through your heads, understand?!" Magnificus is frozen, at a complete loss for words. You, finally processing what you just said, quickly look away. "Sorry, I... I didn't mean to yell, like that..." you utter, wondering what the hell you were thinking. Why did you say that? It won't make a difference...

Suddenly, the wizard gets up and takes your hand in his. You freeze, expecting anger, but turning to look at him, you see... a look of understanding. "You... should have said something, sooner," he says. "Y/n... if you truly feel that way about us, then... why don't you let us be here for you? We can help you, you know... Some of us may be a bit limited, in what we can do, as of now, but you know we're here, if you need a support system." You look at him, a moment, processing, before speaking, again, "But, the monuments-" "Are fine, right now," he interrupts, pointing at the monuments. "They're damaged, but... they are all standing, are they not?" You're silent, as you try to think of how to respond...

... You can't. There's nothing you can think to say, as you feel the sting of tears well up in your eyes. Magnificus brings your attention back to him, once again. "I... had my suspicions you weren't well, honestly, I just couldn't guess it was this bad," he says. You think, a moment. "How did you know? Your foresight isn't working," you wonder, out loud. Magnificus smiles, chuckling, a little. "Please," he begins, "I have a... similar weakness. And you hide it the exact same way I do. The same way most of us do, really... We all need to get a little better with letting our true thoughts show. You're not alone, Y/n. I hope you know we're going to be here for you. Just as you were for us."

You stare at him, silent. After long moment, you hug him, tightly, catching him a little off guard, as you almost start sobbing. "Thank you," you mutter. He gives a soft smile, and gently hugs back. "Should I see if the other scrybes are able to meet up?" he asks. You nod, more than happy to get a break... even if it'll only be a small one. You didn't realize how much... better you'd feel, knowing you'd be able to rely on them just as much as they've relied on you. As much as you know this peace won't last long... maybe it's worth your while to enjoy it while it lasts.