Obelia's Beloved Princess [ONGOING]

Chapter 14: When the Day Met Night

"Get rid of that damn thing, Anastasius."

Anastasius twitched at the annoying voice inside his head. Aeternitas has been disturbing his work for a few days now. The old Emperor kept babbling on about some tree in his garden that radiated a negative energy. A negative energy that he hated-- something he needed to get rid off.

The current Emperor clenched his fists. "It is but a mere tree, Aeterenitas." A harmless thing, he wanted to add. But Aeterenitas didn't listen. He was eager to eradicate the tree.

"It is a threat to my existence!" Aeterenitas exclaimed. Anastasius couldn't help but groan in annoyance.

"That is a pathetic excuse."

The heat of Aeterenitas anger sealed through Anastasius veins. He couldn't control it. And so, by command, Anastasius stood up. Rather, Aeterenitas took over his body and forced him to do so.

"I can feel the presence of that damn mage within that tree!" Aeterenitas argued. He instinctly grabbed a cursed knife and held it tight. This was enough for him to get rid of that tree.

Anastasius simply lost control. "What mage are you even talking about?!"

Within a snap, Aeterenitas transported to the location of the tree. It held no particular appearance to him; nothing but a normal tree in his garden. It radiated no mana from it, but it had a mysterious presence that he could feel within.

Then, with swift movement, Anastasius grabbed the cursed knife from his pocket. It was Aeterenitas doing. But the young Emperor tried to stopped him.

"You mere mortal!" the voice screamed in his head. "You dare defy my orders? I should've had a different vessel."

Anastasius shook his head, gripping the knife tightly enough for his fingertips to bleed. "Go find a fucking host, then. No mortal can even handle your soul, and you'd die in an instant."

Aeterenitas paused. It was true-- of the hundreds years, he's tried to find a body to take over. Someone worthy to actually maintain his cursed soul. And he failed miserably, each and every descendant of his lineage failed him. But Anastasius--

Anastasius would bring success to his plan. His plan to live forever.

But the thing is, the 16 year old was damn strong. He could control Aeternitas; even resisted him. The teenager wasn't all that strong with mana, but his soul? It was chained. Aeterenitas couldn't fully take over it.

"It's Lucas," Aeterenitas' voice boomed throughout Anastasius' head. "The Greatest Mage to ever have lived."

The young Emperor felt the blood seeping through the tips of his fingers. But he paid no mind to it. He felt numb. Was it Aeterenitas' doing? He wasn't sure.

"Lucas...?" he repeated, a bit startled at the mention of the name. "He is dead, is he not?"

Aeterenitas recalled the events. He remembered absorbing Lucas' mana to gain his own--- dark magic that no one has ever heard. He made Lucas' power his own, but he only stole a sum of it. He couldn't bear to accumulate Lucas' overall strength.

"He's asleep; I put him in that state." Aeterenitas explained. "but that tree exudes the same energy as him. We need to kill it before he wakes up."

Anastasius understood it perfectly now. Roger explained to him a rough history of Obelia, along with Emperor Aeterenitas being the most powerful of them all. However, what defied everyone else was Lucas. A powerful mage no one could afford to beat.