The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chapter 49: A Rogue Winged Lion

A blizzard touched down on the area of the academy. It was just a few days before the start of the new year and I was having a warm tea with Anasthasia while looking behind the protection of the mirror that separated us and the blizzard.

The visibility was very low and we could hardly see anything, but Anasthasia insisted that the curtains be drawn open for her to see what the outside scenery has become. We have been supplying knowledge to ber, actually I was the one who patiently did that. Cocytus was still to stubborn, he wanted the result immediately and I knew why he must be longing so much about resolving this case.

A season has passed all over again and, between the first disappearance of the first student and now, two seasons have reign and passed by him without solving this case.

I still do not acknowledge the fact that we were only looking for corpses and not even alive and warm bodies. I still do not acknowledge the fact that the justice we seek for these students, for Bianca, was only for their corpses to be buried by their family.

Similar to Cocytus, I also refused to accept that, believing that there was still this slim hope and chance we will succeed with no casualties.

Anasthasia was more perspective than I originally thought she was. She took everything that I told her calmly and would always tell me when she needed space and more time to ponder about new information. The openness of our communication eventually led us to having more talks about magic, just casual and not the civil and stiff atmosphere wherein we both delved into before.

"What else can you do with magic?" Anasthasia asked.

I looked at her. She has a very warm face that was kind and graceful. When Anasthasia smiles, it made people around her smile too.

"Creating barriers," I said then sipped on my tea. The steam from it warmed my face and I gratefully breathed in the scent of it. "The whole academy is in a barrier called the Blessing. A very specific barrier made to ward off particular people. And levitation, of course, is very common."

Anasthasia nodded, she looked back to me and smiled.

"I think I could remember a glimpse of a mansion," she suddenly said out of nowhere. "Like I was being dragged then I was forced into one of the music rooms. I saw a mansion when I entered the door. I didn't know how it got there, but it was just there."

She was finally remembering some relevant details. The temporal illusory fragment that Cocytus and I theorized of was actually correct. Anasthasia did not know of any magic back when she was abducted, she probably thought it was nothing but a nightmare when it was very much true and real. Now she probably could never go back to how she was before.

In that split second between me telling her about the existence of magic and her obliviousness, I knew that her mind would for ever be tainted and bonded with magic.

I did not say anything, not even a word to comfort her. I knew that once she went out of her daze, she would inevitably mix in other words with what was her truth. Either to hide or to liquefy the version of events, I do not want that.

"I felt like I was... fading," she said and before she could continue, the door banged heavily and from it came Eris who was huffing with heavy breaths.

"What is it?" I asked.

Eris was calm and peaceful by nature. Although there would be times that she was loud and noisy that does not mean that she found peace within the noise. She was not that one type of person who would seek drama and create such a dramatic entrance.

"A griffin is loose on the academy grounds," Eris said in a breathless voice. There were different kinds of emotions on her voice. Worry, anxiety, concern, and fright.

I immediately stood up from where I was sitting and bid my farewell to Anasthasia who also looked alarmed by the sudden ruckus within her room.

"Stay here, Anasthasia," Eris warned her, "Cocytus and Seraphin should be enough to subdue the griffin, but I'm afraid of the possibilities that were unfolding within the line of my Sight so you should to stay here."

Anasthasia nodded, her posture that was already prepared to stand relaxed and sat again on her chair. There was still some anxiety on her face though so I only reassured her, when I heard my own voice though, I immediately winced internally. My voice was anything but reassuring.

"She is going to die, won't she?" I asked Eris and her head nodded firmly as though it was destined.

And it was destined as Eris has seen it happening on her vision. She has been discreet, but the rigidness of her voice and the frost I have felt being emitted from her gave her away.

"I have seen it happening," Eris said. The shakiness I expected to hear from her voice was nowhere. I guess she had witnessed too many deaths to be able to felt anything about someone she has only spent her time with for a very brief period of time.

"And you are not suppose to entangle yourself with this kind of affair," I stated and she firmly nodded her head again because she knew and that I do not need to remind her of that.

"I knew that," she stated firmly, "but is she not someone that is important for your investigation? It isn't her that is important, it is what lies in her mind and you haven't had the chance to take a glimpse at that."

She has a point, but there would be a major setback on her. So I looked at her and stopped walking. There was this moral dilemma that I was suddenly facing. It seemed easy to say that I just have to save Anasthasia from the griffin, keeping her life intact, but having to mess with the flow of time and life was something that a powerful being should not interrupt.

There would be things that won't be happening and new events would just sprout.

"It's fine, Seraphin," Eris suddenly said. "I would be fine."

But I still did not move and kept on looking at her.

"What if one day, a certain succession of events would unfold and suddenly, Anasthasia has turned against us," I said to Eris who did not meet my glance. "And she might even kill you."

It was the Fates who have decided how to tip the balance of the world. A life for a life. If Anasthasia was to be saved, someone has to be killed on her stead. That was how it has always been and I was certain that Eris was aware of that fact.

"What if she kill you in the future? Would you live with the possibility of death around the corner?" I asked her again.

A retribution was bound to happen and it would happen.

Eris looked at the window where the blizzard was still raging on. The blizzard was so powerful that I was even afraid that it would accidentally break the window's glass. The world was encrusted with snow and frost, it was harsh and cold that it made one feel lonely and blue to the core.

"I am but a single person who is replaceable in this world," she said gently, a smile was tugging at the end of her lips. "Death is nothing but the end of our journey."

In that time, I knew that she was probably decided to go against the thread of the Fate. I did not argue with her any further, just told her to lead the way as I called forth the butterflies to me. They came and flutter around, their glow was bright. Delicate as they looked, they held strength unimaginable to any man. They flew with the same urgency as though they already knew what was about to happen.

When Cocytus came to me, his eyes were clear and he was already holding his simple but sharp scimitar. There was also Leigh who stood behind Cocytus, lecturing him about his posture and his grip on his weapon. I realized that I was the only one who knew, who was let in with the information by Eris.

I looked at her and there was still the same kind of smile on her face.

"I would be fine," she whispered and I knew that her life would be as fragile as a cracked glass if I save Anasthasia, an oblivious girl who just got caught up with this whole fiasco.

Leigh refused to go with us, telling us that it would be a great experience for Cocytus and me to subdue the griffin. He said that we have to subdue it, not kill since griffins were rare jewels. Even rarer than literal jewels, he said.

"Do not even think about piercing its skin or damaging the wings," Leigh warned us with a glare that made our backs rigid and stiff. I often forget that Leigh was more than a companion in the house, more than my own great uncle, but a great being.

Cocytus looked at me with a knowing glance. With that glance, I know what I have to do. Since we cannot pierce its skin, Cocytus' job would only to prevent the creature from going rogue into populated areas of the academy and prevent it from flying off only to be killed outside. I would have to use a seal on the griffin in order to capture it without any scratch and its skin still intact or without damaging the wings.

I refused then to look at Eris, she did not even tell them how dangerous this would be. Not even about the change of fate she was about to do. My eyes unconsciously glided towards Leigh, he was sitting prettily and calmly as though he has not any care of the world around. He was sipping his tea, unaware of what would happen.

"Good luck," Eris told us and smiled yet again. Cocytus only grunted a response, not thinking about the griffin too deeply as I stilled, my body was in a battle with itself.

"You will live a very short life," I told Eris but she probably already knew of that fact.

Seers like her could only live on to their early twenties. It was a repeating cycle for them. Most of those Seers would also do this kind of thing, intentionally change the thread of fate, and the exchange would be their lives. If it did not strike them on their spot, then soon it will.

Then the power of the Sight would eventually go to another Seer, creating a circle on the cycle, until that new Seer die and the Sight would go on to another with great potential.

I heard her sigh, but it was not heavy nor was it sad. Just relief, and I hated the fact that maybe the world has not been too kind to her too.

"Then let it be so," she said to me and I did not heard her next words since I was already running towards the harsh winds of winters.

I was wrapped tightly on my jacket while I sensed that Cocytus was already stalking the griffin on the grounds. His footsteps were light and even his breathing did not create a single puff on the air, but his steps were visible only fading as the snow piled up on the ground.

I brought out the cinnabar powder that I brought with me and slowly sprinkled it on the ground, but the snow kept piling up and no sooner does it became buried. I looked around, sensing a great presence nearby and I knew that Cocytus has succeeded in luring the griffin close to me.

Our strategy was simple.

Since he could not fight it with his blade then I would be the one that would have to deal with it. The butterflies were with me and I could protect myself easily even without them. With the butterflies' presence, I would be able to command them on an air battle if the griffin were to fly. But if the griffin comes into contact with my seal barrier then I could just activate it and trap the hound within the jar.

But cinnabar dissolves in water.

And ice was obviously water.

I cursed myself because of that stupidity. I was too wrapped up with Eris' possible doom that I was not paying attention to what was the job that has to be done. I should have brought anything with me. As soon as I sprinkled the cinnabar on the ground, it bled and became buried.

I tried to dig the snow to no avail. Even with the light butterflies' strength, they could only push and pull. If I did not solve this little problem by myself then do I deserve to be served by these creatures?

Maybe it was pride that pushed me, but I looked down with my hands that were freezing and red after being in contact with snow.

"Cut me," I told one golden light butterfly. I felt its hesitation as it flew around but I compelled it to follow the order. Not one second later, a blood magic seal barrier was set in place.

The burn of the cut was replaced and numbed with the coldness of the snow. I found that the blood only just seeped deep into the snow and there was also the remnants of the cinnabar powder still, strengthening the seal further. I felt the magic from it lift as I chanted the few words to activate it while the griffin has finally made its appearance.

"In this, I whispered your form, restricting access to outside," I whispered the last of the incantations.

As the griffin was a rare magical type, Leigh told me to draw a seal barrier in order to trap it lest I would be risking on letting it loose and test how powerful it could be without a seal barrier.

But I was not expecting what happened that very moment. There was a red blood glow on the seal, something that did not usually happen when I was practicing before. The griffin was supposed to be bound by the jar that was placed within the seal, but instead of that happening, the lines of the seal became alive and grappled with the beast.

The lines of the seal which was made from my own was like a rope, binding the griffin. The griffin howled and howled, I saw how the lines of the seal strengthened as it trashed. It was majestic, its golden yellow eyes looked at me, finding me hiding behind a tree. It tried to flew off, but the seal made it unable to straightened it and its feathers flew off as I heard its loud howl.

While I was too distracted by the griffin and its majestic attempt on escaping, I completely missed the swirling patterns that appeared on my arm. When I looked down on it, its color was also red, almost blood actually, and it wrapped around my left arm like a tattoo.

"Seraphin!" I heard someone yelled.

Leigh was standing a few meters away from me and there was that swift force that severed the seal I made, but the marks were still on my left arm and the griffin was lying on the snow-covered ground, lifeless and with its brilliant golden eyes dimming.

I looked at my arm covered with marks.

It burns, I thought.