And once again the clock above moved back…

But this time a shadow of a clock appeared above Zoemi’s head and moved forward twice as fast not only causing the boy to not stop but launching him forward even faster than before.

He moved so fast that he had barely any time to move his hand forward, a hand in which a spell most vile was browsing, a spell so disgusting it was eating on Zoemi’s hand while he was casting it.

”NOOOOO…!”

Presence squealed and shriveled with a squelching sound trying to protect itself with various spells and its deformed limbs.

But there was no mercy in Zoemi’s eyes.

”You can’t!”

”!!!”

But while Zoemi thought that Miriette was out of the spell’s blast zone, the very person herself – with her body glowing with enchantments – stepped right in front of him!

Every cell in the attendant’s body screamed in terror as the spell grazed the air inches from Miriette’s face and evaporated a few loose strands of her hair.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

*RUMBLE*

He had no other choice, he had to protect Miriette at all cost, so he swung his hand violently and the spell erupted not in Miriette’s and the presence’s faces but at the wall to their left.

Aspakeony was lucky, she managed to jump over the queen’s throne and landed by Miriette’s feet mere moments before there was no wall, throne, or anything really.

The throne room was cut cleanly in half and the part to the left of Mariette simply ceased to exist.

Only a blinding brightness remained as if this throne room was suspended in the endless sea of brilliant light.

”Z-Zoemi…! Your hand!”

Miriette cried and grabbed Zoemi’s right arm, now a handless stump that was oozing with decaying darkness.

”What does this mean…?”

Zoemi spoke with his throat clenched by shock.

”I’m sorry, Zoemi, I’m so sorry…! But you can’t kill her! It’s not her fault! Please, you must listen to us…!”

Miriette was tearing apart her uniform and bandaging Zoemi’s wound as she was explaining through tears.

”Not this… Your magic… Your hair and eyes…”

Zoemi raised his left hand and touched Miriette’s hair – which turned from dark green into a vivid platinum color in a mere heartbeat.

”Ah…! This… You can’t b mad at me for that!”

Miriette’s blush and spoiled lady response almost made Zoemi laugh even considering the situation.

”You…”

Zoemi looked at the presence and words got stuck in his throat for a moment.

God knows when, a black teddy bear appeared before the cowering flesh, the same bear that was supposed to be in the archives protected by Valto.

The bear’s lifeless eyes seemed to try to suck Zoemi in, but this time for some reason Zoemi felt no pressure, only a vaguely familiar feeling.

He shook away the shock and continued.

”Since Miriette wants me to hear you out, I will, but if she will be even marginally in danger because of you…”

He gently took out his wounded arm from Miriettes hands and pointed it at the darkness.

”You will end up just like that illusion of yours.”

”…uuu…”

The presence shook and made a sound as if it was sobbing, it grabbed the teddy bear and hugged it tightly.

”Don’t be mean to her…”

”…”

Aspakeony said in a weak voice but she instantly went silent as soon as she met Zoemi’s glare.

”Miri… The color change…?”

Zoemi turned back to Miriette with a faint smile.

”Zoemi, but your hand…!”

Instead of answering the platinum-haired girl grabbed his arm again and tried to wrap up the wound, to which the black-haired boy’s smile grow softer and the black ooze started boiling.

The next instant black hair-like shadows grew from it and formed a vaguely hand-like clawed paw.

”Does that calms you down?”

He asked and brushed the black paw against her cheek wiping off the tears.

”…It’s fuzzy…”

Miriette murmured.

The two of them stood like that in silence for a while, it was hard to tell whether it has been a few hours or only a single second, but they both ended up flinching and realizing that it wasn’t really a place and time suited for such displays.

”…”

”…It was always like this….”

Miriette finally decided to reveal, although she was being vague about what exactly was it about.

”What do you mean?”

Zoemi frowned.

”My hair and eyes were always this color, I was simply using a spell to make them look black.”

Miriette said with a sad smile and looked down at her feet.

”What does that…?”

”Zoemi… I was stopping the light from reflecting in a certain way, the same with my magic. I never used a wind attribute, my attribute isn’t even green, I used the same spell as for my eyes and hair. Zoemi, I am a variant magician and my true attribute is time.”

She confessed.

Zoemi’s eyes widened.

”Just like with Ehmi…?”

His voice shook with wrath as he glared at presence and the air around him started trembling from the influx of mana.

”No!”

Miriette shook her head and firmly stood in Zoemi’s way.

”I’m not possed or anything… I was born like this… I… I am…”

Miriette took a deep breath and looked straight into Zoemi’s eyes.

”Zoemi, I am a copy that presence made of herself. I am her.”

She stepped to the side and revealed the sobbing flesh.

But there was no melted flesh in sight.

On the throne of the king, an adorable little girl – maybe nine years old – dressed in a fancy dress fit for a young princess was sitting properly, although she was hiding her face behind a black teddy bear held firmly in a hug of thin pale arms.

She was making the exact pose from the painting that the black-haired boy saw in the royal treasury.

”…uuuu…”

The little girl sniffled and peeked at Zoemi from behind the bear.

”It’s alright, my princess.”

Aspakeony said encouragingly and patted the child on the head.

”I… I know…”

The child that just a moment ago was a pile of melted flesh sniffled once more and nodded.

And she showed her face.

Zoemi’s head went blank and he fell to his knees.

”Zoemi, meet the closest being to a God we have in this forsaken world. Presence. Murdered by the insurgent Ghosts of Bellcephora three hundred years ago, the second princess of the Bellcephora Kingdom, Miriette Aperaete Bellcephora.”