The One

Running back

He's waiting for me.

Those were the words on her mind as Feray raced through the hallways that night, going as fast as she could both for the purpose of seeing Nasr and reduce the chances of herself being seen. As usual, she placed a hand on a spot on the wall first, then closed her eyes and stepped forward. When she opened her eyes again, she was inside the dungeon. All of this was familiar—but the sight that greeted her was not.

Inside the cage, Nasr was sitting on the ground with his back to the bars. He had his eyes closed, but he opened them as soon as Feray arrived.

"At last..." he said, his voice somewhat weak. His smile, however, was still the same. "Welcome back."

"Wait...what happened?" Confused, Feray walked closer to him—she always did, to minimize the space between them, but this time she sped up. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? No, that's not possible..." She began mumbling, mostly to herself. Just as she thought she had solved the last of Nasr's mysteries, a brand new one appeared; it was almost as if he was not meant to be figured out.

At a closer distance, she saw that he looked paler than usual as well—not as pale as Odessa's unnaturally white skin, but pale in the way an ill person would be. His lips were drained of color, his body almost limp against the cage...the only feature that made him recognizable was his pair of amethyst eyes, which remained vigilant and cordial as always.

"..." For a moment, Nasr seemed to be caught off guard, his smile freezing in place. Yet, he recovered before she could ask another question. "I am staggered. I did not think there would be a day when I see another person express concern for my well-being."

He said those words easily, as if describing the weather. That was no surprise to Feray—to Nasr, everything including himself was a scientific phenomenon. Though, if it weren't for millennia of isolation, he may not have learned to observe himself at all.

Feray reached into the cage and placed her hand on his forehead—only to immediately retract it out of sheer instinct. "So cold! Well, what's the deal?"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "During the coldest week of every year, this cage is weakened; at the same time, the chains are stronger—they eat away at my physical strength. The chains are only to compensate for the changes of the cage."

"What...exactly does that mean?"

"The cage being weakened means that Odessa can peer into this room—at me."

"She did this? I don't get it."

"What kind of authority in this world confines their prisoners for the sheer purpose of restraining them? Imprisonment is always accompanied by a form of punishment, and this is what my sister bestowed upon me to serve that goal. Moreover..." There, he paused to take a slow, deep breath, as though speaking for so long rendered him breathless. "Cold weather makes the merry merrier, the lonely lonelier."

Like Izar.

"So she wants to see you and make sure you're still here, but at the same time she wants to see you suffering so that she knows she's not the only one," Feray concluded.

"Indeed. Needless to say, I cannot separate my soul from my body during this week. The important part, however...is that this is also the best week of the year to break the spell."

At the mention of that, Feray perked up. "You're finally talking about it."

"Not yet."

"...what?"

"Before that, is there anything else you wish to know? Once we begin discussing that subject matter, I fear that there will be a rift between us."

"I... really?" she asked, but realized immediately that, perhaps, she didn't want to ask. Feray eyed Nasr, who returned her gaze quietly. Maybe he knew that she regretted it, and so he did not answer. "They told me that Odessa made a statement about me reviving you," she said instead.

"She did."

"I kind of understand why she would say that, but...the fact that she used that in particular as an excuse..."

"Speak your mind, Feray. You are never far from the truth."

"Does that mean resurrection is possible?"

Nasr smiled again, pleased at the question. "That depends on what sort of 'resurrection' you are referring to. In the world of dark magic, nothing is completely 'impossible'. However...firstly, resurrection of a person is not one instance of magic usage, but two. When a person dies, their soul is gone from their body, and their body is what dies. Revival of the body is simple—you need only heal all that is broken or replace those parts."

"And the soul?"

"Where does the soul go after the body dies?" he asked.

She could not answer. Where does it go, indeed?

"Nobody knows for certain," Nasr confirmed. "For that reason alone, it is mere luck if anyone succeeds in reviving a person exactly as they used to be. Most trials result in the creation of a moving corpse, or artificial intelligence wearing the appearance of the deceased—and that is not the same person. It is not the same person if it is not the same soul."

"You said specifically that nothing is really 'impossible' in dark magic," Feray noted.

"I did."

"And you're the only one who knows what that is."

"And you."

"And me. But you."

He chuckled again. "Then?"

"How do you know this about resurrection?"

Clever girl. Always asking only the most piercing questions, Nasr thought. Verbally, he said, "Why ask a question you already know the answer to? Tell me the answer yourself, allow me to find solace in knowing how well my apprentice understands me."

Admittedly, he was a little sentimental that day. Perhaps it was because a whole week had passed since he last saw the only person who could communicate with him, perhaps it was due to his weakened physical state, or...maybe he had simply grown more sentimental. There was a fourth possibility, one that he did not need to think about just yet. It could also easily be a combination of all these possibilities.

Clearly, she noticed too, yet chose not to comment on it. "You experimented on your parents after killing them, not because you felt guilt but because it was the only rational thing to do if you wanted to expand on your knowledge of dark magic. You failed in some way and found out what you did. Odessa saw your failed result...whatever that was, and it traumatized her. Announcing you've been revived is...mm... a way of getting back at you, I guess. And... maybe pushing me to actually set you free."

"I have found solace indeed." Such was his way of confirming all that she said. "Because of that...we should take action soon, before she coerces you to bring someone with you into this room. For she has forgotten her original intent."

"Nasr, are you as lonely as she is?" Feray asked, all of a sudden.

Nevertheless, he answered the best he could. "That is hard to say."

"How come?"

"She loved before she lost it; I only learned of love when I could no longer acquire it."