As the lecture ended and Haqku returned home to see how Alex and Yue were doing, Lyra had gone to the one man who could now answer her questions, Principal Al-Malik. She knew him longer than most, understood his childlike love for magic maybe that had to do why he hides his true age with spells looking like a small boy no older than 13 most thought him powerfull as a 6th circle mage but little did they kow he was a 7th circle mage, a fact known to few, and a secret she held close. It was his power, his vast knowledge, that made her trust him, even when others scoffed at his whims.
She knocked on the door to his office.
"Enter," a voice, surprisingly soft and high-pitched pitched came from within.
Al-Malik the Prince sat behind his desk, reading new books from far lands, which was his hobby. A young man's appearance with blue hair not fitting the Red tower, with golden eyes which showed wisdom, the only hint of his true age. He looked up, a curious expression on his face.
"Lyra, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Lyra didn't waste time on the questions she had burning deep within. "You were right," she said, her voice low and urgent. "About Haku. What he's teaching... It's groundbreaking. Potentially dangerous."
Al-Malik steepled his fingers, a subtle smile playing on his lips. "I had a feeling. But I needed confirmation. Tell me everything."
Lyra recounted the lecture, emphasizing the potential impact of understanding magic through the lens of this Periodic Table. The idea of deconstructing magic into its fundamental building blocks, of manipulating elements on a molecular level, made her equally excited and scared her. It was a revolution in the making.
When she finished, Al-Malik leaned back in his chair, his eyes showing shock and intrigue but also excitement. "Indeed, a fascinating prospect. But tell me, Lyra, what exactly do you want to know?"
He knew this woman would not be here just to tell him this.
"Who is he?" Lyra asked. "Where did he come from? Where did he learn this from? It's like he's seeing the world through a different set of eyes, it's the kind of stuff that could rewrite the book magic all on its own."
Al-Malik sighed. "That, my dear Lyra, is the question I also need an answer to. I can only tell you what I've been told by my old friend Duke Maris. According to this Haku, he hails from beyond the Stormy Ocean, a place shrouded in myth. Those who claim to know mention a land where magic is different. Some say there is no magic there; anyone who wishes to go there has to do so as a normal human with no powers, since the ocean itself speaks of it all. But I'm sure you know the rumors and stories just as well as I do."
Lyra nodded slowly. Tales of lands beyond the Stormy Ocean were considered mere bedtime stories.
"And that's it?" she asked loudly. "That's all you know?"
"That is, anyone in the empire seems to know," Al-Malik said, "He is here for a reason. We are to observe him, to assess his intentions. The Empire wants to know if we can use him. If Haku's knowledge proves valuable, we will find a way to harness it. But we must also be wary. Such power, if misused, could be catastrophic."
Lyra felt unease in her stomach. Haku was more than just an odd teacher. She thought at first he swindled his way in with his connections, but after talking to him, he seemed to care about the students and was trying his best. They were meant to study him, dissect him, and ultimately, decide his fate. This didn't seem right to her.
"So, we are to use him?" she asked, her voice laced with criticism.
Al-Malik's expression hardened. "We are to protect the Empire, Lyra. By any means necessary. Remember that."
Lyra nodded, understanding sinking in. As she turned to leave, Al-Malik called out, his voice softer this time.
"Trust your instincts, Lyra. You have a sharp mind and a keen eye. Use them."
With that, Lyra exited the office, the weight of her task settling heavily on her shoulders.
'Is this the right thing to do?'
That evening, Lyra found herself drawn to the school's library, the academy had a vast library, one of the biggest in the empire. She sought out the section dedicated to cartography and exploration, specifically focusing on records of expeditions beyond the Stormy Ocean.
Hours went by, one after the other, and she could read faster than most by using a special spell she created, showing her love for magic even more. The more she read, the more she got the feeling that these books were not complete at all. Most were fragmented, offering tantalizing glimpses of strange coastlines and mythical creatures, but ultimately providing little concrete information. It was as if something, or someone, was actively obscuring the truth. Records abruptly ended, journals were incomplete, and entire regions were marked as uncharted.
Frustrated, she moved to the "Fantasy and Folklore" section, a far cry from her initial objective, but desperation drove her. Skimming through volumes of epic tales and heroic stories, she stumbled upon a book unlike any she had ever seen. It was bound in dark, almost black leather, devoid of any title or markings. Curiosity piqued, she opened it.
The language was one she did not know, but luckily, she knew a spell for this again, showing her love for research. The book had illustrations, and they were stunning. They depicted a figure bathed in celestial light battling a monstrous entity hidden by shadows. The text described a "Heavenly Martial God of the Demonic Cult," a being of immense power and terrifying cruelty who threatened to consume the world. But what truly caught her attention was the one who opposed him: a Man whose origin no one knew, depicted by showing a dragon holding a sun."
The description of the creature mirrored Haku in unsettling ways. The book spoke of a man who wielded not magic, but an understanding of the universe itself. He spoke of fundamental forces, of breaking down reality into its smallest components, of manipulating the very fabric of existence. He possessed knowledge that defied comprehension, knowledge that allowed him to stand against a god.
The writing style was foreign to her. It was technical, almost scientific, which made it both captivating and unsettling. It felt less like a story and more like a record of actual events. Even more bizarre was the end, the book concluded rather abruptly with no source or author, as if it had just appeared out of thin air, and not even an ending to the battle was shown.
A chilling thought settled in Lyra's mind. Could Haku be connected to this "dragon holding the sun"
She did not see his original set of clothes since faculty must wear the school colors; if she did, she may have assumed that it was truly him.
But since it was just a fantasy, she put the book back, surely it could not be.
She looked at the book one last time before leaving.
'If God's powerful enough to destroy the world existed then the world would not be here. What am I thinking?'