Who knew what would happen after stealing some bread from a street stall? Certainly not Nagan. Nothing out of the ordinary should have happened, considering stealing food to survive was the norm. But fate, destiny, karma, whatever you wanted to call...
Warning: This scene is kinda intense, so some might find it disturbing with the blood n' stuff.
It didn't take long before he found what he was looking for. And oh what a terrible discovery it was.
The book dropped to the floor from Nagan's grasp, and he soon followed. He couldn't breathe.
That book...was made of pure evil. Filled with chants and rituals so powerful that only the abundance of dark magic could tamper with it, along with the life force of any living creature whether it's willing or unwilling. From driving someone insane to tearing them apart in ribbons. But worst of all was the Ritual of Will. The most powerful mind-controlling incantation to have been discovered by completely erasing their will, leaving them blank for the rest of their life. Just like the dragon who was chained to the floor back in Tekanlab.
And he was the one who delivered the book right into the enemy's hands.
Nagan wanted to scream, but the tightening sensation he had been feeling around his chest for weeks began to constrict even further. His nerves felt like they were on fire. I'm gonna pass out...Nagan thought blurrily, managing to focus on the page the book had opened to when he dropped it. A maniacal laugh bubbled out of him as he realized it was a picture of a seal. The seal that had been etched into his hand. The Mark of Undoing. No wonder he was able to break through the barriers around the castle so easily, but at the same time, it meant he had inadvertently become a puppet for the one who gave him the mark. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there staring at the book, but he was suddenly jerked upright, causing his chest to constrict even further.
"Why are you here!" a voice demanded. It took several seconds for Master Dagmire's face to become clear enough to recognize. "Have I taught you nothing? How dare you defy me by coming anywhere near these dark books!"
No! Nagan shook his head vehemently. He had never seen Master Dagmire so angry before. That's not why I'm here!
Something was wrong. Something had been wrong for a long time. And Nagan was afraid he was about to pay for not getting help sooner as his breaths turned into shallow huffs.
Managing to reach up with a shaky hand, he grasped the edges of Master Dagmire's sleeve of the arm that was keeping him upright. For a split second, he was afraid he would leave him there to suffocate, but his world soon shifted sideways as he was picked up and carried out of the dark library. He was vaguely aware of another figure following them through the halls, but time seemed unstable as it alternated between speeding up and slowing down. He couldn't tell if it had been minutes or hours before they arrived at Master Dagmire's office.
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To say Az was scared was an understatement.
He was utterly terrified.
That night he had followed Nagan to the mysterious room he could not enter, but he could tell by the oppressing atmosphere whatever that place was, it was something not to be messed with. The moment he heard Nagan collapse, he ran to get help. It was a miracle he ran straight into Master Dagmire. Although he was unable to fully explain what was going on, the mention of Nagan and Az's panic was enough for the headmaster to demand he take him to where Nagan was.
Master Dagmire soon forged on ahead of Az as he realized where they were heading.
Once they arrived, Az stayed at the door, unwilling to follow Master Dagmire into the room, and was shocked when he heard what the master had said to his friend. Was Nagan trying to learn dark magic?!
The next thing he knew, Master Dagmire reemerged with the crumpled form of his friend in his arms. Though he had never seen a dead body before, the only way he could describe the condition of his friend was being at death's door. Twitching in pain, his skin much too pale, and his eyes unfocused and wide. Master Dagmire marched past him without a word, but Az knew to follow them.
When they got to Master Dagmire's office, the man harshly kicked his desk backward, causing it to skid and more than a few things to fly off. At first, Az thought it to be out of anger but then realized what was etched into the floor.
With the desk now moved out of the way, what laid underneath was an array. It was in the shape of a circle with a three-pointed star in the middle of it, each point leading to a different symbol. There was another ring of symbols around it, but the only ones he recognized were the ones at the points. Thank goodness he paid well attention to basic runes. At the top was the symbol for darkness, to the right was malice, and to the left was evil. Despite what the symbols meant, Az knew within seconds that this was an array meant to purge dark magic out of the body.
"Come closer, Icarion." Az jumped at Master Dagmire's hard tone but obeyed quickly and stood next to him as he lowered Nagan to the center of the array. "I need you to keep him upright and leaning forward and to also keep him awake if he starts to blackout. I don't want him to choke."
Az had no idea what he meant by that, but he immediately knelt down and did exactly as Master Dagmire said. He forced himself to swallow his panic as he held his trembling friend in his arms and gave a hesitant nod signally he was ready for what was next.
Just as Master Dagmire began to activate the array, he felt Nagan suddenly tense and his hands flew up to the top of his neck. A strangled cry broke from his lips, and Az's eyes flew wide with alarm as blood began to leak from the corner of Nagan's mouth. "Master Dagmire!"
Master Dagmire quickly responded and hovered over the boys, pulling Nagan's hands away from where he clutched at his throat and laid his own hand over the area emitting a soft white glow. It wasn't long before his own eyes grew wide with shock as if everything suddenly made sense. He asked Nagan softly after a few seconds, though he could already guess what the answer would be, "For how long?"
Nagan only shook his head weakly and whimpered as more blood began to pour out of his mouth and tears began running down his cheeks.
Truly realizing the severity of the situation, Master Dagmire acted quickly by creating a crude cut just under Nagan's chin while Az kept him in place, recognizing his friend's actions weren't exactly his own at the moment. Only seconds had passed when Master Dagmire extracted that looked to be an invisible blade from under Nagan's tongue. The only reason they could see it now was because of the blood covering it. Nagan visibly slumped with relief. Master Dagmire temporarily sealed the cut he made, leaving an angry jagged line, and reactivated the array. The sight Az was greeted with next nearly made him faint.
With sick fascination, he watched as Nagan convulsed and began to vomit a black, sticky substance that didn't seem to act fully as a liquid, gas, or solid. It was as if it was its own entity. It very well could've been once he realized this was the true form of dark magic as it splashed onto the array and quickly burned away. The array remained active until Nagan was left dry heaving. Az was about to say something as he watched Nagan's eyes begin to close and his whole body grew limp, but he was stopped by a heavy hand landing on his shoulder.
"It's alright now. Let him rest," Master Dagmire said quietly.
They sat there silently and watched the unconscious boy for a minute, both holding their breaths as if expecting him to stop breathing at any moment. But soon it became clear the opposite was happening as his breaths became deeper and his face looked more relaxed. It was as if he was merely sleeping despite everything that had happened prior.
"Did...did Nagan try to learn dark magic? What was that room he was in? Is he going to be ok?" Az asked without waiting for answers, and his eyes shifted to where the invisible blade once was. All that was left of it were spots of blood, now having evaporated with the rest of the dark magic. "What was that thing you took out of him?"
Master Dagmire sighed deeply before gently lifting Nagan back into his arms and standing, Az not far behind in movements. "I have a few theories as to what happened, but I'm afraid we'll have to wait for Nagan to wake and give his side of the story before confirming anything. There's something larger at work here."
Az couldn't help but agree and followed Master Dagmire as he undoubtedly headed to the medical wing.
"I'd tell you to go back to bed, Icarion," Master Dagmire began before chuckling dryly, "but I doubt either of us will be getting very much sleep tonight."
