Chapter Two - Unbreak Part 1

Arthur here is a bit more powerful than canon, and Chad too. If you know what I mean😮‍💨🙂. Don't scream and banter that "Oh he was weaker than her at this moment, he loved Tessia at this point in story".

This short story deviates a lot from canon.

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/// Varay Aurae POV ///

My steps bounced back in the wide hallways as I made my way towards a specific room. Each step I took produced a shallow echo, further emphasising my hollow, emotionless self.

It wasn't that I liked being emotionless and detached from the world. But the past few years have extensively changed my personality. It went under a drastic change- for the worse. Being born in a military family, there were always high expectations placed upon me. From a young age I was taught by one of the best mentors. I even awakened much earlier than many human mages, a testament to my natural talent with mana.

Years continued to trickle by and I became a Lance candidate after winning the inter-racial tournament. Once I became a Lance, without me even knowing it I became bonded to the Glayder family, obeying their every command despite the selfishness they displayed.

After serving them for so long, I sometimes wonder, Did I do the right thing?. But it's too late to contemplate on the matter now. My entire being is bonded to them, so I have no chance other than to serve them until their control over me finishes or I die.

Being a Lance was a lonely path. If the king and queen didn't desire, I would remain single. Left lonely until I breath, without a shoulder to lean on, without anyone to depend on. If my younger self had heard me she would definitely would've scoffed at me for wanting to depend on someone.

At first I thought depending on someone or relying on them was a heinous act. And it wasn't entirely false. Love makes one vulnerable. That love which seems like a garden of flowers may stick its thorns deep, making you bleed until you lose your life. It was a burden, a liability. But something- an instinct or an intuition kept telling me that it wasn't all true. And that I should change my perception. Change the way I think, depend on someone and let them decide the course of my life. And to embrace this "beautiful" feeling.

I sighed, and took a deep breath, shaking the drowsiness that threatened to overtake me. I stretch my body, clasping both of my hands together and extending them over my head, trying to get rid of the cramps because of the constant patrol and fights with the Alacryans, leaving me next to no time to take a rest, let alone sleep.

Interlocking my fingers with each other, I cracked them all at once and took another deep breath. As I exhaled the air, it came out with a bit of mist. "Mist?". I shaked my head, trying to push my troubled inner monologue to the back of my head. Halting my steps I arrived in front of my destination. The double doors were huge, an intricate design ran all over it in a nexus of beautifully carved metal and other alloys. Two huge handles were present on both sides for closing and opening the metallic doors.

Reaching for the handles of the doors, I gripped them firmly. They were cold. Even for me. As an ice mage I was immune to cold to a large extent, able to survive in mountains without many thick clothing. However, this was the first time in years something felt so cold. My fingers almost felt like they burned from the intense cold that radiated from it.

Was someone even more adept at ice magic than me?

This was the first thing that came to my mind. I was always competitive. Comparing myself to people around me, always striving, struggling, exerting myself to my utmost limit to be the best. I strengthened my grip around the metal shafts and pulled them towards myself. The door opened as a white light invaded my eyes. The light faded in a split second revealing the inside. A violent blizzard blew, brushing past my face.

My breath got caught in my lungs as I examined the source of this sheer, brumal cold. A young boy, a few years younger, stood in the middle of a raging storm of ice spikes and white flames. His brilliant white hair with a ting of orange at its tips swayed like a constant breeze kept blowing. His whole body glowed in a tint of golden.

Imbuing mana in my eyes, I observed the awe-inspiring runes, extremely intricate and complex in design, stretching from his shoulders to his finger tips. Two more runes with sharp edges bent downwards below his eyes. His eyes which were constantly being blocked by his hair still shone brilliantly in a vibrant amethyst. The sword in his hand was another work of art. Imbued in white flames which seemed to freeze everything it touches, drew arcs of white and teal.

I kept seeing him, wide-eyed, baffled, speechless. It was Lance Arthur. This was the first time I had seen this transformation..... if even this divine (that's your cue mini) presence could be classified by a mere word of transformation. But this level of power and amount of mana was abnormal. He was a silver core. A stage lower than my own. Yet, he was able to kill a vritra, a retainer. And here he was showing better, potent control over an element I was so proud of.

But somehow watching his divine form slash, mutilate and stab the training dummies didn't fill me with hate, jealousy or envy. It just felt like it was natural to be below him. A universally accepted fact that he stood at the top- at the epitome among all those who dwelled this world. The presence he emitted was not normal, something that couldn't be described as just royalty or regal. It was the air of detachment that clung to him when he fought making him seem like he didn't belong here but some higher plane of existence.

The brutal efficiency and accuracy, stabbing and piercing the vital parts. It was deadly, horrifying, unnerving and overwhelming but yet so beautiful, mystical, omni-potent.... Almost Divine! Just like the asuras. Yes, he felt like an asura.

I was brought out of my stupor as the young lance's sheer concentration shifted from the dummies to me, his intent taking a full 180 degree shift, washing over me like a tsunami. The white haired lance's eyes widened for a split second and the suffocating blood lust vanished, without a trace. The tension in the air started to dissipate as I saw his form morph back to his original one. His white hair reverted back to the vibrant auburn one, his eyes returning to a sapphire blue.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Lance Varay." He spoke, his breathing ragged most probably from the fatigue catching up to him. Sweat dripped from his face, soaking his t-shirt wet. The shirt stuck to him, circumscribing his fine body with just the appropriate amount of (meat *cough* my bad my bad) muscles all around his body. I shuddered for a second as I saw him approaching me.

Taking an instinctive step back I tried my best to regain my composure, struggling to stand straight and to stop this wobbly- almost mind numbing feeling.  He approached me in an instant, wiping sweat from his face by the towel that hung around his neck,

"Do you have a mission for me?" He asked with a slight smile and I felt my cold, impassive mask break for a moment. Pushing unnecessary thoughts to the back of my head I spoke up,

"Yes. The council has ordered u-us both for a patrol in the beast glades. The reports we received indicate that there are many Alacryan encampments there." I stuttered heedlessly, as I was surprised. Why did I stutter though?

His sapphire eyes scanned me from head to toe, his head tilted to his left slightly auburn hair covering the right half of his face,

"I'm fine with that, but" he paused as a worried look appeared over his face, "are you okay? You look tired." He asked in a genuine concern.

"No. I'm fine." I replied, the coldness in my voice even surprised me- as it came out when I didn't want it to. The worry on his face vanished and was replaced with a serious look. I felt... strange? Why did I care how my voice must've felt to him?

He went away as he glanced back at me, "Just let me take a quick shower. I will be with you in 15 minutes. I'd advise you to get some rest until then, Varay."

I stood there bewildered and bamboozled. No one aside from my parents and the Royalty ever called my name that casually. Hearing him call me only by my name filled me with a strange feeling. It wasn't exactly a happy feeling, but rather a curious one. I walked over and slumped against the wall, giving my cramped back a little rest for the first time in the last 2 days. I was already at my limits but Arthur was recently knighted as a Lance and he wasn't even a white core, so the council decided to send me with him. After his last encounter with a Vritra blooded retainer, he still hadn't fully recovered.

I placed my hand over the spike that jutted from the ground and extended 10 metres in length, its sharp edge pointing at the ceiling. I ran my hand over the length of the ice, feeling its texture. It was still cold, surprisingly cold! Its surface was rough and dry, not a single drop of vapour over it. It wasn't something grand to a normal person's eye. But it actually was something extremely commendable. I was only able to conjure ice like this after reaching the white core, but yet here he was, achieving this remarkable feat while being at the silver core.

I tilted my body, getting in a more relaxed position and pressed my cheek over the conjured ice block. It was strangely comfortable. Like it was inviting me to sleep. Letting myself fall into the cold yet stress abating embrace I drifted away to sleep.

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"—ray,

"—ara-,

"Lance Varay!"

I woke up groggily, squinting my eyes as I heard my name being called repeatedly. I blinked my eyes, trying to get rid of weight that seemed to have been placed at my eyes, not letting me open my eyes. My eyes opened as I spotted the familiar ceiling of the training room, the pear shaped glass letting the sunlight illuminate the whole room. A golden ray of sunlight greeted my vision, making my eyes sting for a moment.

As I was about to put a hand in front of my face a silhouette appeared in front of the light, blocking it. My vision returned to me almost instantaneously as his face became visible, my vision turning from dark to bright again. His hair was caught tightly in a pony behind his head and the long bangs fell on his face to his jaw. He had a smirk over his face,

"If you're done with your beauty sleep, shall we go? General Varay?" He asked sarcastically. However a strange, almost foreign feeling started to well up in my heart every time he said my name. He walked up to me, lowered his back and extended a hand to me. The sun shone behind him, half obscuring my vision of him. I held his extended hand lazily. His hand was exactly what anyone would expect of an augmenter.

It was rough, full of calluses. However, aside from the surface texture his touch was smooth and warm. He gripped my hand with just the sufficient amount of strength and with one swift movement helped me back on my feet. I averted my gaze from him, trying to regain my cold facade that I put in front of everyone. I heard a slight chuckle from behind. Turning my head towards the source I saw him walk past me as he handed me a small handkerchief.

He paused for a second and with a sneer spoke,

"You were drooling, Lance Varay." I felt the heat climb up to my cold expressionless face as I quickly started to wipe the dried drool on my face. Arthur laughed, making me even more embarrassed as he slid his hands into his pockets and started to walk towards the door. His steps halted and his head turned to look at me,

"See. It wasn't so hard to get an expression out of you. Bet I really am going to make you smile." He said and then started to walk away, leaving the perplexed and bemused me there standing still, with a blush on my face. His form disappeared behind the door as I placed both of my hands over my face,

"What the hell is going on? What's wrong with me?"

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We flew in silence, not uttering a single word along the way. Arthur sat on his dragon bond, which flew side by side with me at blinding speeds. The cold, arctic wind greeted us, giving me a sense of euphoria. Unknowingly, my eyes darted towards him and I continued to see him in the corner of my eyes. His gaze was focused, needle-sharp as he continued to look forward. His eyes were squinted a little because of the rushing blizzard caused because of the height and speed of our flight.

My body tensed as I sensed multiple mana signatures flaring. Each one of them seemed to be at least a yellow core. I looked at Arthur who was now standing on his bond. He glanced in my direction, mana already enveloping his body like a second skin. His aura made his eyes glow as his azure blue started to coruscate from beneath long bangs. With a firm nod he hopped off the dragon and started to make his way down to the huge encampment of Alacryans. His form got engulfed in blue flames and arcs of lightning clung to him. The distance and the time of impact kept reducing every second. The next moment the whole area shook and the ground split open as he landed amongst the Alacryans.

A huge crater formed due to the fall of Arthur. A huge bomb like explosion echoed in the surroundings. A massive amount of mana built-up, extremely concentrated in a single spot and then it was released.The whole place felt like it had started burning and smouldering as the heat continued to build up without any signs of stopping. I covered myself in a veil of ice mana, struggling to keep myself from being burnt from this barbaric heat.

Clouds of smoke and debris moved through the air following the explosion and rose up in a mushroom shape. The build up of heat seemed to be endless, like an unbridled rage had been let loose on them. Cries, wails and woes reverberate like a gong in my ears as I saw them burn and suffer under the might of his flames. Syphoning mana from my core I formed a sword made of pure ice and started making quick work of the survivors. After only about 10 minutes, not a single soul aside from ours was left.

I looked around and saw Arthur spun on his heel and slashed the last remaining person in an elegant manner, separating his head from his neck in one swift swing. My gaze lingered from him to the battlefield around us. Dark blue flames sizzled everywhere producing crackling sounds while spikes of ice rose from the ground and extended towards the sky, carrying the mutilated corpses of Alacryans. The ice spikes remained firm with a bit of moisture that glistened like pearls under the bright sunlight.

The ice and fire. Two things that are totally different from each other, not similar in a single way. Yet the harmony they displayed right now looked so alluring and beautiful. Like a symphony of fire and ice. I realised something just then. When did I start to see things like this? What brought about this change?  My gaze went back to Arthur as I saw him standing straight, blood still dripping from the tip of his sword as he held his face upwards letting the sun kiss his sharp face.

Or maybe.... It was not someTHING but rather someONE. I couldn't help but not see him as someone younger than me. He had this air around him making him feel just so..... Perfect. I started to walk towards him while brainstorming. A cold expression trying its best to remain plastered over my face. Did I like him? Or was it that I was so lonely that I was ready to settle even on someone younger than me. I couldn't guess nor comprehend what was happening to me when it came to him.

But one thing was for sure. Something I changed my mind on. Yes, I don't want to.... so I will not die alone. I will embrace this feeling, beautiful or not.

I decided as I walked over to Arthur, struggling to form a smile on my face, that had gone stiff from all the years of emptiness.

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(A/n Well, well Lads and Lassies, that's all for today. I might extend this one over 2-3 parts in total.

I did get a suggestion for Art x Bairon x Olfred and I must say.. It was pretty amusing to say the least. Might even give it a shot. Call me a cursed writer or whatever.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chap. Thanks for all the love on the previous one. And IDK why SOMEONE EVEN PROPOSED ME on that chap like WTAF>... lol....

Well, that's all, happy reading and stay blessed

Whooper out :)