The Child of Light and Shadow

Apostles

As I come to, I realize I am not in Snow's room right now. For one, everything here is a lot more expensive. Secondly, there's a massive source of mana right outside the door. It feels warm and welcoming, for which I'm thankful. If mana that potent were aimed at me maliciously, I might end up taking my own life just to avoid facing such an opponent. I get off the bed, and the pain in my back is the first thing I notice. Damn. How hard was I hit?

Ah, right. I beat Ryan. Well, not really, but I was instrumental in it. Did I really do that? It's hard to believe. The magic I used against her was incredible, even to someone on the level of the Apostle's. Had I known all the drawbacks right away, I think I could have beaten her in a fair one-on-one. I might not even need Raksha anymore. All I need to do now is make sure I have a way to get the enemy inside that world. When Ryan and I returned from it, we only had the injuries we'd suffered within it and before entering it. Had we been standing still, Raksha or Yukiji would have killed her. This confirms that we definitely physically entered it.

Speaking of my allies; Where are they? The guy outside my room has to be an Apostle. Their power is too great for them to be anything but, and it's probably either Ozymandias or Xerxes. Neither Raksha nor Yukiji is with them, unless the girl is concealing herself again.

"Let me through," I hear someone grumble, and feel another power next to the other one's, almost as strong.

"But he's-"

"He's perfectly fine. Don't you go lying to me, Ozzie." The door is pushed open, and an old woman, also an Apostle, walks in. "Quite the trick you pulled, doing Ryan in like that. She may have been a fool, but she was a powerful fool. Not many people face an Apostle and live to tell the tale, let alone defeat them. Who are you, boy?"

I frown at her. My mana has already replenished, so it must have at least been a day since I blacked out. Who knows what they did to me while I waited? Are Raksha and Yukiji alright? Did the Apostles do something with them?

"Speak up, child," the old woman tells me, grabbing me by the chin. Her eyes start glowing a strange purple as she inspects me, and I can't help but feel like she's invading my mind. "Yes, you're definitely another one. To think you'd resurface after such a long time. It is a miracle, honestly. Why haven't you made yourself known before, boy?"

My frown deepens as I pry her hands off of my body. "What are you talking about?"

Ozymandias walks up to us, his dark cloak fluttering behind him. "He did not know, Sheba. Don't be so brash."

They know I didn't know about my magic before that? How?

"How did he not know? Look at those!" Sheba points to something behind me, but I don't see it when I turn to look. "They're small, but they're there. Can't miss 'em."

"If they're that small, they might've just started to grow. He's a bit old to be an applicant for a magic knight, so he probably hid his magic away for a long time. They started growing when he started using it. Let me handle this." As the old hag rolls her eyes, Ozymandias smiles at me. "Do you know what a fairy is?" I nod. Everyone knows, more or less. No one's sure of the specifics. "And how would you recognize one if you were to come across it?"

I cock my head to the side, thinking on it. Would it be the ears? No, those would be easy enough to hide, I guess. You'd just have to have longer hair, or a hat. "The wings, I suppose."

Ozymandias nods, then starts undoing his cloak, tugging on several strings until the job is done and he's shirtless. What he does next surprises me more than most things I've ever seen; He spreads his wings wide, revealing them to be ones who might belong to a giant butterfly. The edges are black in color, but are filled with an ever-changing array of rainbow-like clouds, reflecting all light back at me. No way...