Ghost and the Writer

Millennia

August chuckled, dark amusement passing his face, but it was not the kind that contained any joy, more - the kind you direct at yourself, at your own foolishness. "Leum, can you tell me why did you do that?"

"To change the future," he said, his smile fading. "You can ask me the details with a master's authority, but I suggest you don't, otherwise I don't know what else I might need to do, in case my act of telling it shifts the course back."

"And changing the future entailed you revealing yourself in the process and afterward involving me in the mess?"August asked.

"Yes about the first one, no idea about the second," Ceruleum said.

August pursed his lips."It really had to be the entire town?" August asked.

"I narrowed it down as much as I could," Ceruleum replied.

August fell silent for a while, yet no one disrupted it. Everyone remained still, unmoving. The deed Ceruleum had done weighed heavy in the air, although that weight carried different meanings for each of them.

For Mandy, it was pure shock and doubts. Just how many lives were lost through it?

Riveria seemed cautious, although her caution appeared to be directed more towards August, not Ceruleum. Albus seemed confused and Grisham was looking towards Ceruleum with a cold, evaluating look.

August was thoughtful, his expression held a trace of annoyance, mixed with suspicion and topped by a desire to figure it out. "Do you value your life?" August asked after a while.

"Of course I do," Ceruleum replied.

"How long do you intend to have me live and, by extension, live yourself?

"Eternally."

Wou, heavy stuff, yet Ceruleum answered with no hesitation, looking at August with sincerity as far as Mandy could tell.

August seemed to make mental notes, not reacting to the individual words. "Why did you trick me into contracting you?"

"Can't I say that in private?" He reached out his hand to his hair, looking a tad embarrassed.

August pursed his lips and sighed in annoyance. "Do you plan to have me live in peace or drag me into chaos?"

"Peace. To my best ability." Ceruleum replied, seeming relieved that the previous question got passed over.

"If I asked these three questions with a masters authority, would they risk altering the future you changed?

Ceruleum's relief had been short-lived and he cast a slightly upset, even pouting, look at August, his cheeks reddening. But even so, he thought about it. "Not as far as I can tell," he replied.

If the deed Ceruleum had done wasn't so serious, Mandy might feel bad about August cornering him. Although the fact that Ceruleum cared more about this kind of detail than he did about thousands of people and their homes was surreal. Even more surreal was the fact that an older than two millennia prince was embarrassed about something of this type.

"Grisham, can you tell me how do you properly use master's authority?" August asked, turning to the guild master. He didn't seem to care one bit about Ceruleum's embarrassment.

"There's no need," Grisham said. "He hasn't told a single lie. I have methods to tell that are even more reliable than a master's authority."

August drew a breath. "Alright." He accepted it. "Then - Leum, tell me of all the reasons you tricked me into contracting you? Without skipping a single one."