16 The Family Vault, Part 1

When thinking about going inside the family vault that holds items that are historically significant and treasures that belong to past ancestors, you would expect something majestic. Except, what Victor came into was not that. The vault…it's a mess. If Victor were to describe it, it looked like someone's just smushed together random items inside a closet. Out of sight, out of mind kind of deal. Items upon items line up the shelves, and the floor, and are even stacked on top of one another that it is a miracle it didn't collapse from the weight. He would assume it has something to do with magic. The only thing that was left unscathed was the ceiling. You could see the beautiful mural of the first emperor and his defeat of the dragon and at the center is the huge portrait of the emperor himself. The man looks very handsome and looks almost exactly like him it was too creepy. Though it does raise some questions for Victor. Why design such a beautiful masterpiece in a place that only the emperor could get in? Not even servants could get in here, which explains the mess. No royal or noble knows how to clean up after themselves after all. They have better things to do.

"I apologize for the mess." The emperor said apologetically. "I have not been…I don't think I remember the time I have been here."

"All of these historical artifacts…," Lysander lamented with a little disappointment in his voice. He was eyeing the many random items all over the place. He was looking forward to seeing the family vault because these were treasures of his family and a reflection of the power and might of the empire. You'd think it should be properly taken care of.

"Well, it is very difficult to organize such items alone," Victor commented. "The family vault can only be accessed by the emperor. Only a limited number of people can get in with the emperor and even then, the emperor has to present, or else the room will see them as a threat and trap them here. You can't expect the emperor to waste his hours here cleaning up the place. Lastly, there are so many family secrets, heirlooms, and artifacts that could be dangerous or may compromise our family's safety, so it is risky to bring others to even clean no matter how much of a trusted aide one is."

The family vault is old, believed to have been created during the empire's creation which is over a thousand years old. The Claes empire is a very strong dynasty despite its ups and downs. The vault uses ancient magic that even they could not understand and even now could not be replicated. Oddly, this reminded Victor of his own dimensional space and his access to modern knowledge of his Earth life.

"I didn't realize you are very well-versed about the family vault, Victor." The emperor said. "Made me think you have been here before."

"I have been reading a lot." Victor smiled sheepishly. Well, he did read it in the novel so that can still count. "Also, I was expecting something majestic as well."

However, the main problem Victor is facing is how is he going to find what he needed. Victor was so busy for the past few days he forgot to consider how to find the three items he is needs in the vault. Those items were the mirror of revealing, the Reese vitality potion, and the key of the dragon's eyes.

These three items were said to be found in the family vault which was separately discovered in the 10-novel series. The mirror of revealing was discovered by the scum sixth prince. That mirror was said to have the ability to reveal anything you asked as long as it presently can be seen (past and future cannot be shown by this mirror). The sixth prince was able to use the mirror as a tool to spy on his opponents, schemed and blackmail them, and was able to step ahead of them while maintaining a good image because people, especially the nobles whom he schemed against, were unable to prove his guilt. The sixth prince even used this against the second and third princes and was able to usurp the throne from their father because of it. It is a powerful and dangerous tool and Victor did not want that mirror to get into his hands. He was aiming to find it first before someone else can.

The Reese Vitality potion is a potion an ancient potion that never expires and is said to be one of the cures for the Mana Draining disease. A type of disease that is the result of too much mana than the body can handle. There is no cure and most of those afflicted are children. The majority of those with the disease die before they can even reach adulthood and those who lived through adulthood are so scarred by their sickness that they could not be considered healthy enough to work and live well. Most of those who suffered from this disease are commoners as nobles are genetically a given to not have it due to their ability to hone magic that was passed on to their children. It was created by a healer and potioneer generations ago named Reese. In the novel, when this was discovered, so many attempts were taken to get into the family vault, most were commoners desperate to cure their loved ones and it is among the catalyst that resulted in a revolt as they felt that the royals were preventing them access to important medicine that could save their family's lives. After all, what use do the nobles have of this when they cannot suffer from the disease?

Why that time the sixth prince did not bother to give it was not fully detailed in the novel. There is a possibility that the nobility held the commoners in disdain and the idea that commoners can also use magic is looked down upon. Victor does not think this is something that should be hidden. The vault has a whole case of them. It should be studied to replicate this so that the cure can be created and making them accessible to those who needed it. Besides, some nobles might also need this for their weaker children who could not cope with the mana in their bodies.

The last was the key to the dragon's eyes. There are three of this kind, one for the dragon's eye, the other for the dragon's teeth, and the last is the dragon's claws. These keys are said to be the keys to open the Midas Vaults, a legendary vault that used to belong to a king of the same name and is said to be stored by so much treasure and gold that it even attracted the gold hoarding dragons.

Contrary to the Earth's version of the legend of King Midas who was gifted with the skill to turn anything he touch gold, in Astoria, their version of King Midas was someone so rich that he hoards so much gold that dragons smelled it a mile away. This is why his kingdom was devastated because they were overtaken by dragons.

While in Astoria this is a legend, in the novel this was proven to be true. During the age that the empire is suffering economically, the discovery of this vault has helped his brother, who finally won the war and take the throne, to reestablish Claes and make it better. And the most important part is that the vault was found in HIS new territory. All that gold in the world? Victor would be set for life.

Victor admits that it is selfish of him to hoard that much money. He and his future wife and children and even their descendants would want for nothing with that kind of money and are enough to build his empire if he so wishes. He knows in the novel it was used for the empire as a whole after the economic disaster, corruption, the wars against the demons during the darkness plagues, and the revolt from the church and the mage tower. But if his brother gets the throne early and pointed out (with his help of course) the many holes in their systems and institutions, they can safeguard themselves and prevent the fall of the empire. Or at least reduce the impact if those events were to happen.

For now, Victor is overwhelmed. How in the world will he find those things? He knows the potion is in the inner vault but the two items are in the outer vaults which are where they are now. His first aim is the mirror. If it is a mirror of revealing, shouldn't it be able to help him find those things in the vault?

According to the novel, it is a handheld mirror made of silver and has a blue gem at the back and a crack on the mirror. That should be easy enough, right?

"I would like to look around for a moment." Victor looked at the emperor expecting his agreement. He can't touch anything without his approval after all.

His father nodded. "Yes. Time here is different outside of our realm so you can look around as long as you need but please not too long. I think your brother and I will explore some of these archives."

Victor nodded and left.

They watched as the third prince disappeared at the corner and his smiling face turned serious as he looked at his second son. "This place is secure enough. I think it is time for us to talk."

Lysander looked at the emperor in shock. What?

*****

Victor took a peek at the two before he left. While asking his brother to join them was a spontaneous decision on his part, he wanted his father to also spend more time with the second prince. The increased exposure will let the emperor sees the effort and capability of the second prince and maybe name him as the crown prince. In his first life, there was no crown prince. There hasn't been a crown prince for generations. This is because all the princes would fight for it, and emperors assumed this fight will lead to the one who can stay on top and earn the throne. Too bad most of the time, this resulted in the emperor's death before he could even see who will take over. The number of times emperors die over having a retirement is crazy. No wonder his father was always looking over his shoulders and is distrustful of his sons. But that kind of life is exhausting. At least the crown prince is prepared to take over the empire without issues and the emperor has someone to share his burden. The crown prince may also become a target of schemes but he knows with his brother's backers, there is no way anyone would even dare without any heavy retaliation.

As for how to find the mirror, Victor has to try to recall how the sixth prince finds it. He has no access to the novel anymore. Even when he returns to his space, the novel is no longer saved on this tablet, and in his journal, he only wrote the major events and information that he can recall as much as possible. So where do you store handheld mirrors?

He decided to look at vanities. There are many of them stacked together. Surely as a hand-held mirror, this may cater to women and they store it in one of its drawers. Or maybe the sixth prince was a vain person who likes mirrors, who knew? He has to be careful though. This is a world of magic. Some of those items could be cursed or would randomly eat him. Whichever comes first.

*****

Five minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Thirty minutes.

Victor is frustrated now. He highly doubts that his father and brother would be willing to wait for him this long.

"Hu..ngry."

What?

Victor turned behind him. Did he hear something?

"So..so..hungry."

The voice was tiny, almost hoarse, and slow.

"Hello?" Victor asked cautiously.

….

"Food."

"Food?" Victor now feels nervous. Oh, dear god, there better not be a monster who wants to eat him. The novel didn't mention a monster living in the family vaults, but the novel didn't say anything about many things except mostly about his second brother.

"...here."

"In... here."

"Fe..ed. Me."

It seems the tiny voice was coming from an old chest behind him. "Ple..ase."

Victor first grabbed a dagger from his space just in case whatever is in there is a flesh-eating monster. He opened the chest and stepped back.

Nothing came out. He cautiously approached the chest and peeked inside and sighed. It was just a bunch of metal items and ornaments. He dropped his dagger and stored it back in his space.

"You are here! Feed me!" The tiny voice was still calling for him inside the chest. Victor has no choice but looks inside. There are lots of candlesticks and is that a metallic teapot?

But there it is! A mirror! A handheld one! It looks silvery with intricate metalwork but it looks old and a little rusty. This confuses Victor because, by the looks at it, the mirror looks to be made of silver, and pure silver does not rust or tarnish but this one did. There is even a round glass embedded in the back. It looks like a black shiny piece of a gem, not the blue one that he is looking for.

"Please…"

Victor grabbed the mirror and also noticed the cracks when of a sudden he felt a sudden surge of his mana being sucked out of his body.

"Yum! So much food!"

This startled the prince and dropped the mirror.

"HEY!" The voice shouted. "I just finally got food and fixed myself and you just dropped me like that?!"

The mirror he dropped did not hit the floor but floated in the air. It suddenly came up to his face. "Do not drop me again!"

Victor was stunned and nodded. "Uh, who are you?"

"I'm Ariel!" The mirror said.

"A mirror named Ariel?" He muttered still stunned.

"I am not a mirror!" the tiny voice countered. "I am a spirit! I am trapped in this mirror!"

"What?"

It was then that Victor realized that the mirror no longer looks old, broken, and rusty. It looked brand new and shining.

"Are you…the mirror of revealing?" Victor asked.

The mirror's front face looked at him. "I heard them call me that. But yes."

"I don't recall the mirror of revealing being able to talk."

"Of course not. Most of the owners of this mirror did not have the same level of magical mana as you! They can barely fix the mirror with their weak mana. You were so yummy and had so much of it, I finally fixed myself!" The mirror started bouncing around him. "So so much mana! Squeeee!!!!" and the mirror started to zoom away.

"Hey!" Victor chased after it. He can't lose the mirror of revealing!

"You can't run around like that. Come back here!"

CLANG!

"ARGH!" Victor grabbed his nose in pain. The mirror abruptly stopped mid-air and his face collided with its silver frame.

"Why'd you stop?" Victor groaned.

"Isn't that what you are looking for?" Ariel said.

"What?" Victor looked in front of him and saw nothing but piles of gold decorations and jewelry everywhere. Such a careless way to care for such treasures.

"This place is a mess! Why was it not organized?" Ariel said. Then it floated in front of him and an image appeared on the mirror that looked like a key. "Heard you mumbling about a key so here you go."

The key looks like it was among the piles and it looked gold with a dragon embedded in it and ruby stones as eyes. It was exactly what the description of the key of the dragon's eyes looks like. At least as what he read about. What you read and what it looks like, can't always be the same.

He found it. Almost blending among the piles of gold is a very good camouflage in his opinion. He finally found the key to the dragon's eye!

However.

"Mind you explaining who you are, Ariel?" Victor then turned to the mirror.

"I told you I am a spirit!"

"Spirits are benevolent creatures who can control nature. They are not something an ordinary human like me can see or talk to. How in the world did anyone get you trapped in a mirror?" In Astoria, spirits are very powerful and are often compared to gods. This does bother Victor because it wasn't mentioned in the novel that the power of the mirror of revealing was because of a spirit.

"A powerful wizard did. He wanted to use my power and trap me in this mirror when he picked up my cocoon during my hibernation." Ariel sounded annoyed. "He got mad that he was unable to use my powers. He took me while I was hibernating. Hibernating! Our powers are muted at that time."

"Really? So, you are the mirror of revealing?"

"As they called me," Ariel said. "By absorbing mana, I was able to find things as long as it is in the present. I can find it. You are the first one to have so much mana that my cracks are fixed and also made me talk!"

"Wait. You mentioned a cocoon?"

The mirror turned to reveal the stone embedded behind it. But the black stone he saw earlier is no longer black but glowing blue. But if you look closely, the blue glow is moving. It's like an entity is moving around it.

"This is the cocoon? I would have thought it to be a stone or a gem, even."

"I am."

"Is there a way to get you out?" Victor asked. This seems to be very conflicting. A being trapped in a cocoon and never being able to get out and move. Mobility is everything to a sentient being.

There was a pause.

"No. I…never thought about it. We spirits absorb the natural mana of the location where we hibernate and because I was taken, I can no longer do that. I highly doubt that my natural environment remains in place as I have not been there for hundreds of years. And because of that, I'll be stuck here. As long as I have mana to absorb, I'll be fine."

"It's a miracle you are still alive at this point."

"Thanks to you, I feel more refresh than ever," Ariel said giddily, and then the mirror suddenly tried to cram into the prince's pockets on his trousers.

"What are you doing?"

"I am not letting you go. I finally found a good food source and I am not staying in this messy whatever this is!" he or she is referring to the room.

"There is no point." Victor grabbed the mirror. "I'm taking you with me anyway."

"You are? Yey!"

"I need you to be quiet. I don't want my father and brother to know what you can do."

"Awww."

And the mirror went quiet. Victor would prefer to put the mirror in his space but the spirit is a sentient living being and there is no guarantee that the spirit would suffocate in there. He is not courageous enough to test that theory.

He found his brother and his father at the same location. They looked very serious talking with each other but they stopped when they spotted Victor heading their way.

"All done Victor?" the emperor asked.

"Yes, your majesty," Victor said.

"Then let's go to the inner vaults."

"Yes." The two brothers answered.

"You know. You can ask the room to organize this place." A tiny tinkling voice interrupted them.

"What was that?" The emperor looked around. Lysander also looked confused.

"Ohh! Me!" The mirror, Victor is holding just flew from his hand and started zooming around them.

Victor can only place his palm on his head in resignation. Didn't he just tell the damn spirit to shut up and don't reveal itself?