Transmigration Into The Beginning After The End

CHAPTER 22 - MIRACLE II

Arthur took a deep breath. 

Silence. 

Silence fell on us but my attention was still on the elven diviner who glowed with majestic form, for me at least. 

This was going to take a minute. I thought. But it has to happen, whether or not things change here. 

I wonder, if I were to do the same to my parents, would they care? 

Is that a stupid question to ask? 

Who would have the answer to this question?

It has already been two years since I've seen them– No. I saw them when they traveled with the Twin Horns that day that Arthur fell from the cliff. 

Why?

Why were they with the Twin Horns, with the Leywin family? What the hell is going on?

These questions wandered around my mind, giving me no chance to provide a fake solution that might calm down my nerves and conflictions. From my stay with them, I never heard about Alice or Reynolds, much less wanting to go to Xyrus City with them? 

What would Luke have done? 

Would he have run towards them when he saw them? Or would he behave differently towards the Phoenix Asura when he would be teleported over to him?

No. 

Luke Hodges is Cain Lambard… Cain Lambard is Luke Hodges. 

Nothing more, nothing less. 

As I seemed to have left these never-ending thoughts, I heard soft yet sorrowed sniffs from my friend. I had to be there for him, that's what a friend does. 

I stood up and walked slowly towards Art. The eyes of Grandpa Virion gazed upon me when he noticed what I was doing, same went for the deviant user. 

Ignoring them, I rested my hand on Art's shoulder. He felt this and jolted before realizing who it was, letting the tears that once were slow, run fast like a raging river down his face. 

He had trouble keeping his eyes opened from the tears that continuously poured down. Standing silent, he rubbed his eyes, trying his best from breaking down. 

In front of us, the glow from Elder Rinia faded around us three as she collapsed back into her chair, sweating and pale.

"Elder Rinia, I don't know how to thank you for this," He managed to croak out. 

Elder Rinia spoke, barely managing to summon a weak smile. "Train well and continue to cherish those close to you, child. That's how you'll thank me. Also! Don't forget to drop once in a while, this grandma here gets lonely kekeke~!" 

The crying boy gave the old elf a tight hug, making her almost jump, she eventually succumbed to his cuteness and hugged him in return before giving me a serious glare. 

"Boy. We have to talk." 

I didn't respond to her rhetorical question but instead told the rest to wait for me as Elder Rinia had prepared a separate room for our conversation.

Grandpa Virion came with us, leaving the two love birds alone to discuss their worries to each other. 

When I closed the door, I could sense faint mana traces around the room, no, rather it had enveloped the room completely. I was on guard but I had to remember that it was Elder Rinia who did this, she must not want anyone to know about our conversation aside from Elder Virion. 

The room was dark only for a moment, but when the lights ignited, it was a common room that anyone would have, aside from having it engulfed in some mana arts. There were tall shelves with dozens of books in them laying against the four walls, maybe magic books like grimoires or something similar to it. 

In the middle, resided four couches, two long ones and two single seaters. And facing each of the couches was a small table with a pot which I thought had tea. 

Perhaps the same one that she used to drug the elven monarchs and Tessia. 

Elder Rinia told us to sit, and we followed her words. Virion was the first to ask what she was going to talk to me about, to which she only sighed not giving him a straight answer. 

"Brat. What have you done to have Rinia acting differently the moment she laid eyes upon you?" 

The multi-colored eye elf didn't look at me, instead she maintained her composure and stared at the other elf in front of her. 

"Elder Virio–" 

"Boy. I thought I told you to call me "Grandpa"". He immediately said with an irritated tone in his voice. Perhaps he was trying to find a connection or something that he could make sense of. 

I cleared my throat before continuing. 

"Grandpa Virion. Remember when I told you about how I was separated from my family moments after awakening?" 

The grandpa elf nodded.

"I was teleported to some unknown cave system, no, it was a dungeon but no monsters lived or resided there. As I made my way out of there, just outside the entrance of the dungeon, I met an elf who was walking by…"

"It was Rinia?" 

Not being able to let my words out, I nodded instead. 

The atmosphere changed to what it felt before during my talk with Elder Mordain and Elder Rinia about the savior, the hero, they needed for this continent. 

"Was it one of your future telling dreams?" 

Rinia stayed quiet. 

"Continue Boy." 

"That's–"

"The boy was taken care of before I left him alone." She answered for me. "I made sure and I knew he was going to be okay, especially with a mana core of that level." 

Crossing his arms, grandpa Virion took a couple of seconds to process the information that he was dumped. 

I felt nervous just by being silent. After all, Virion was a King and had the power of a beasts' will, being able to summon and use his second awakening at will.

Breaking the silence that felt like it was going on forever, Elder Rinia said, "Don't worry. I brought the boy to a different room because of his needs to meet his parents like Arthur did. You are welcome to stay if you don't believe me, Virion." 

"No. I will be outside with the children, waiting for this boy's return." The white haired elf shook his head, already denying the elf with diviner powers. 

Giving me a stubborn look and yet caring , grandpa Virion closed the door behind him. Minutes later, Elder Rinia released her mana. The glowing elven woman sought for something beyond my understanding. Looking directly into my eyes like some prophet or fortune teller that was in a cabin waiting for their next customer. 

This was new. I thought.

In the original novel, Rinia Darcassan never showed this type of evolution or power, much like when she didn't confess or let it known that she was a disciple of the Lost Prince. 

"Luke, I have something important to tell you." 

Her voice became powerful enough to send magnetic waves all around her, shaking the place. Yet, no one outside came rushing. This spell around the room was something more than a silencing dome, it was greater than that for an elven mage to not notice the extreme mana signature in a room he just walked out of.

"However, telling you this will affect how the flow of time, how things are supposed to go, and more importantly, the future." 

"What do you mean? I thought you only saw a shadow figure and assuming it's me, why tell me now and not before when I was training with Mordain?" 

It was rude of me to say it like that but it wasn't my intention to make it sound harsh. Perhaps there was another way for me to word it or at least said it in a less harmful manner, yet, the future is at stake here. 

Instantly, but not entirely, a sole importance aside from the future. Luke's family. My family. 

"Wait! Don't tell me something has happened to my family?" Worry and concern entered and stirred my body like some tornados landing into the surface of earth. Nonetheless, Elder Rinia assured me with her simple nod that it wasn't that. I was relieved.

Thank the heavens.

I let out a sigh of relief once more, if there was something going on with them or to them, I would forget about the training here and the main route of the novel and head straight over there. After all, that was the promise I made that night. 

Aside from my family, there were many other things to take in mind and sometimes I didn't have the luxury to leave out the important stuff happening as time or days passed by. During my time of stay with Sylvia and Arthur in the cave, there were times where I would lose sight of my path. The main reason why I am doing this or will do it when the time comes. 

But…

Will I do it? 

Dedication. Discipline. Understanding. 

Will I do better with expectations on my back, or will I just land face first into the ground and give up when I hit a wall…? 

"Young Luke, though my words and sightings are one thing, my feelings are another. There are certain things I must not utter when there is 'someone' near me who does not understand the true meaning of disrupting the future." Her eyes still glowed undeniably with power surging in them. I was scared of this new power she released out of nowhere, not only that but if we were to fight or spar, I would lose without much force. 

Instantly cutting me from my thoughts, Elder Rinia spoke again. This time, her tone of voice was different. 

"Luke. In every vision I had in these past two years. The "Shadow" no longer appears…"

I raised a brow, letting my confusion slip out of my composure that I thought was good enough but I was wrong. "What do you mean I no longer appear in your visions? Elder Rinia, first of all, why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you keep quiet about these things? I thought anything you said or spoke about your visions brought a change? So why tell me this, what are you trying to change so badly that you are telling me this?"

This was entirely different from the Rinia Darcassan I knew, she was different from the novel. This Rinia Darcassan was more worried about the future than her original version. What is giving her this motivation, this need to fill me in her visions for the future?

With caution but serious, Rinia's glowing eyes faced something else in the room, something I haven't noticed at all. "In the many years I've been alive, not one single being has left my vision if they weren't killed. Yet, you are different… The shadow I'd long to see in these past two years no longer appeared. No matter how long or short the visions were, there was no hope. Until…"

"Until I appeared here, when you were supposed to meet Arthur, the hero you guys… Mordain was looking for. The wielder of the fourth, no, all of the Keystones." After a long pause, I began to process the words that had left my mouth just now. Was it wise to tell her that? A Seer? But since she is, there shouldn't be a problem, right? 

It was a complicated thing for me just to process right now. Whether it was because I was starting to be Luke Hodges or was it the sole mentality of Cain Lambard, it was a hard thought to weigh on me. Sure, Cain Lumbard can take it but Luke Hodges is a different story. 

Knowing the truth about this world. The war. The deaths. The innocent lives taken from both sides.

Everything was going to fatigue Luke. 

Without realizing, my fingers had interlocked with each other tightly. I felt a stern expression on my face. I let it be and let it go before speaking again to Elder Rinia. "I trust that you keep this to yourself? Since I don't know if the information I have can give us the butterfly effect and counter our performance for the future." 

With a single nod of understandment, the elven woman sat in front of me still having her glowing physique. Her silver hair had outlines of the golden aura as they levitated centimeters from her shoulder. "I have a simple question, Luke. How much do you actually know? About the future?" 

Simple? 

That was a simple question to her? 

That was my thinking but I couldn't look her in the eyes without missing them and having them see other things in the room, more specifically, behind her on the shelf full of magic books. "Simple you say? To me that sounds more like a tricky one."

"And your answer is?"

"I can't tell you how much information about the future I know, or how many things go good or bad. Again, like Elder Virion and Elder Mordain I will tell you the same. I don't want to harm anyone but rather help this continent's future and achieve what needs to be achieved." I said with a sigh leaving my mouth at the end. The small sparks of elemental fusion on my hand materialized as I tried to bring forth any element that heeded my call. "But. I can't do much seeing as I am not able to possess any elemental affinity, much less a beast's will." 

The glow that was tied to the elf soon vanished slowly, having her gray hair settle down in its place once more. "You can't use elemental affinities?" She asked, confused by my remark and the demonstration I did earlier without wanting to. 

I answer with a simple side to side motion of my head.

We stayed quiet for a moment. Maybe we both had a lot to think, to process and execute in the upcoming barricades. 

Rinia stood up suddenly, walking to the shelf behind her without muttering a single word. Strolling through her books for something. 

She must be disappointed. I thought, letting out a sigh full of defeat and regret. I didn't want to tell her because I knew she was going to be disappointed in me, a mage boy who can't use elemental affinities. 

"Look, Elder Rinia. I know I am a disappointment as I can't use the four basic elements or even one, but my resolve and discipline won't make me a lazy person who will only watch from the sidelines." I watched as she didn't bat an eye for my words, my words that were the truth. But when she found what she needed, the elf walked towards me, perhaps tired of my talking. "I will fight whatever is to come, the Alacryan's, the mana beasts, the Djinn, even the Asuras if I have to. If I die while fighting one of those races, then so be it. I will not deny my death if it means to save just a couple of Dicathens. I will do what is necessary–"

Being cut off by the hardcover of the book Rinia handpicked herself and hit me with it on my head. "What was that for?!"

A smile was on her face when I faced her again. "Boy, I know what you are capable of doing. Visions or not, you showed me that you are capable of doing things many wouldn't even dare to do. And let's not talk about the age gap between your mind and your body." 

Huh?

"Wait, you knew?" 

The book hit me once again. "Boy, who do you think I am?" Rinia remarked, pinching my cheek with some force. I thought my cheek was going to be torn off by her sheer strength if it wasn't for my mana augmentation. 

After she let go, I ignited my healing magic on my cheek in case of some injury she inflicted on me. The curly haired elf turned instantly to me when she sensed my magic, her multi-colored eyes wide open in surprise. "I thought you couldn't use elemental affinities, Luke."

"Well I can only use this the most." I admitted simply still feeling the piercing stun on my cheek as I rubbed it for comfort.

Again, she walked towards her shelf where she had picked the book. While dragging her finger across the multitude of books she said, "You should've told me that earlier. Now. What else are you hiding from me in the aspects of elemental magic?" 

Unclear by what she meant, I obliged to her words and said most of what I had encountered while I "fought" Mordain and those two bears in the forest, yet I didn't tell her about Sylvia or that I was there to meet Arthur right before he fell off the cliff. 

The details of my weird feeling when using elemental or deviant magic was something I couldn't describe. Rather, I only said what little connection it had with my reactions and exertions when it activated. And as I spoke in the best way I could put it to, Elder Rinia began to take out books and notes out of the shelfs to the point where she had gone around the tens of hundreds of books all around the room and piling them into four towers. 

Each book being at least 2 inches of thickness, perhaps there were about five-hundred pages in each one. Being able to tell them apart by the color combination, some had very unique displays. Taking a small peek at the book on top of one of the four towers, the titles of "Mana control" and "Elemental Affinities" appeared in two top books. 

My look of confusion seemed to stand out that Elder Rinia had to explain to me the reason for these books. "Luke, your confusion is non-understandable. These books are for you, so take them back with you to the castle and when you have time after your training with Virion, read them. They are your only way of understanding how mana and elemental affinities work. Every book has detailed information on mana and the affinities with them. Then, after your training period is done, visit me and show me your progress." She said, looking through an old wooden box. Taking everything that wasn't what she was looking for until she found it. 

In her hand was a small oval-circleish object. Elder Rinia extended her hand with her palm open showing me what it truly was. "A Dimension Ring." 

"W-what is a Dimension Ring?" 

"It is an artifact that allows the user to store other objects inside of the ring, more specifically, another dimension. However there is a limit to how many things you can store in them, but since it's me, this one can store four carriages with little space left on it." Elder Rinia's words seemed to splash me like cold water in the mornings. Of course the four carriages sounded a little too exaggerated, perhaps that was the truth. After all she was known to have objects that were too real to be true. "Here you can have it. Having this one while I have a bunch more wouldn't hurt giving it to you, knowing that you can use it for future things." 

As I slid the ring into my fingers on my left hand. There was a problem, the only finger it slid in correctly was my thumb. Perhaps my other fingers were too skinny for the ring that my thumb made up for it. 

With her hand motioning to start the process of the dimension ring, I followed her instructions.

Pour some mana into the ring and push it forward to the object you want to absorb into the storage ring. 

Just in case that wasn't going to work. I imagined the four towers of books entering the dimension ring. Surprisingly, it worked. My ring glowed and sucked in the four towers of books at the same time, leaving me astonished. 

"Surprised are we? Well now with that done. It is time to meet your parents Luke. Just like Arthur, imagine them and their mana signature to the best you can. I will take care of the rest..."

***

When we got out of the room, Arthur and Tessia were both asleep. Elder Virion was next to them on the couch with his arms crossed. Relieved by their presence, I couldn't help but to notice the teapot in front of them with the three cups halfway filled with tea. 

Then I remembered, earlier I had seen the tea the Elder Rinia gave the King and Queen along with Tessia and Arthur, moments before the Xyrus academy invasion. It was a good thing that she gave them that tea, perhaps I am imagining them being worried about me, but I know deep down that they won't. 

I am not a being from this world, much less an entity that is from this novel. Not only that, I still don't know if I am a reincarnation or a transmigrated soul. Not even who brought me here. 

***

By the time we had arrived back at the castle, it was already dark. A maid greeted us on arrival, but before we had the chance to go back into our rooms, the king and queen came to us. 

The king came to Arthur first.

"Arthur, I know you overheard what we were saying earlier today and I apologize for that. Years of being a King has made me a bit old fashioned and I was unreasonably stubborn on both of you not belonging here."

The queen signaled for me to get closer, continuing for her husband, holding both of our hands in hers. 

"You are now the Elder Virion's first disciple. This gives you more than enough reason for all of us to accept you. Even if that fact didn't exist, you and Luke saved our daughter. PLease consider this place your home. I know you both miss your parents dearly but if I can be of any consolation, don't hesitate and treat me as you would your own mother," she said, giving Arthur and I a sincere smile. 

"Papa! Mama! ..." Tessia said with her hands covering her mouth. She then ran up to them and hugged them both. 

On the corner of my eye, Art smiled back, thanking them as well. 

"Brats! Training starts tomorrow so sleep early!" Grandpa Virion exclaimed before nodding in approval with a smile.

***

Deep into the night, still not being able to sleep. I recalled that probably right now Arthur is having problems with his core, or maybe he is training with Virion. 

So then, I must make my move right now. 

Knowing that both Virion and Arthur were out in the training area, my chance to actually learn magic was now or never. And only two people from this kingdom can help me with both of my deviants. 

I grabbed a cap with a hood and walked out my room in hopes that no one would find me doing this. 

I began to walk towards the lobby, searching for the king and queen or just one of them. Wishing that they could do me the favor. 

When I got there, there were no signs of either the Virion, Art, Tess, or Alduin. However, the only one there, sitting on one of the couches sipping tea. 

Her beautiful silver hair fell in curls down her back, there was no way she was a middle-aged woman. I thought to myself, being just meters away from her. 

"Queen Merial?" 

The queen on Elenoir turned in surprise to my voice, "Ah, Luke. What are you doing at this time? You should be asleep." She motioned with her hand that sitting down with her was okay. "Now dear, it seems that you have something in mind, something you want to tell me?" 

Taking some time to answer, I knew that telling her might alert her but I needed this. To become strong, to stay strong enough to save those close to me. 

Without any more time to waste. I inhaled and then exhaled. "Lady Merial. I humbly request to train with the Generals of this kingdom. Lance Aya Grephin, code name Phantasm, and Lance Alea Triscan, code name Aureate…" 

And before I knew it. Three years had passed by peacefully. And god I had wished these days went on peacefully. 

But I was naive to even think that…