It had been a week or so when Kael admitted to Magister Kever that he is Lucien. The weight that the magister bears is a debilitating burden that paralyzes him. Magister Kever couldn’t decide on what to do, whether to say what he knew to someone, or to keep it to himself.

  He searched for anything to confirm what was told to him. Magister Kever exhausted every bit of information known about Lucien. How the Rezelus faith view the historical figure, and even how the Lucienean faith view Lucien. He wanted to completely deny Kael’s words, wanting it to be a boy’s dreadful joke. However, the things that he found conflicted each other. Rezelus and the Lucieneans seem to contradict each other in almost everything about Lucien.

  The Rezelus faith claimed that Lucien was eliminated forever by the power of the Divine Emperor, and he will never come back. The Lucienean faith on the other hand, claimed that Lucien will eventually return, rising from his long slumber. Of course, he’s inclined to believe Rezelus more than the Lucieneans, but there’s something bothering him. The Lucieneans claimed that Lucien’s return will be the fall of Rezelus church, and if that’s true, the information he has is of utmost importance. But then, that would mean that the Rezelus faith was not telling the truth.

  He couldn’t decide on what to believe, and so, he wanted to tell someone about it. Many times did the magister tried to tell someone, but he stopped himself midway every time. He felt that he needed more evidence before he could change a student’s life forever. It would be against his beliefs if he unknowingly made an innocent young boy to suffer. And yet, despite his way of thinking, he knew for himself that what he witnessed during the demon invasion was more than enough to confirm Kael’s true identity. The young student even told him directly. The one that saved him is Lucien. The one that saved him is the enemy of Rezelus.

  His faith was being challenged, and it frustrated him. He could just dismiss a young man’s absurd claim, and yet, something inside him kept on telling him to believe. How could an innocent-looking student of his have such a profound effect on him? He couldn’t understand what got into him. His conflicted mind affected his everyday life, and he didn’t realize that one person noticed the change in him.

  One of his colleagues in the kingdom’s academy took notice. It was Magister Honnora. She noticed the change since the day after the demon invasion, but she didn’t have the courage to talk to the magister about it. But soon enough, she couldn’t take it anymore, and went to Magister Kever’s house.

  Magister Kever was surprised to see Magister Honnora as he opened the door one night. He let the magister in, still thinking about why the magister went to his house. Magister Honnora sat and didn’t wait any longer.

  “What’s the matter, Kever?”, Magister Honnora asked. Magister Kever was surprised once again, and before he could speak, Magister Honnora spoke again.

  “Something seems to be bothering you”, Magister Honnora said.

  Hearing Magister Honnora’s concern, Magister Kever was made aware of the effects of what Kael revealed to him. He looked around him, and saw the mess he made that’s out of his focus before. He realized that his student’s words became a burden greater than he anticipated. He thought he hid his worry well enough, but Magister Honnora revealed what was happening to him. At that moment, he wanted to ease his mind and tell everything to Magister Honnora. He wasn’t sure if he could trust her, and so, he wanted to test his fellow magister for a bit. Perhaps the weight of what he knew affected him so much that he was thinking like that.

  Magister Kever gestured his visitor to wait. He didn’t wait for an approval, and went to the door leading outside his house to look around if there were any person nearby. He saw no one, then he carefully closed the door as well as his windows.

  Seeing this, Magister Honnora was intrigued as to what would happen next. Magister Kever sat in front of her, silent and it was evident that the magister was worried about something. She waited patiently for Magister Kever to be ready, to tell her what she wanted to know. She waited enough, and then, the magister finally said something.

  “Lucien finally returned”

  Magister Kever paused, and realized what he just said. He was horrified when he immediately revealed what he knew, forgetting that he was supposed to test Magister Honnora first. He wished that the magister didn’t hear what he said, as he waited for Magister Honnora’s response. The situation was excruciating for him. He didn’t know what to do next. He felt every second were hours of waiting, but he could only look at Magister Honnora. And then, something he didn’t expect happened.

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  Magister Honnora was initially surprised. She knew who Magister Kever was. She could consider the magister more faithful than her to the Rezelus church. She also knew that the magister barely tell anything unserious. And so, she couldn’t control herself. She laughed. In front of Magister Kever, she laughed like she heard the funniest joke she ever heard.

  “What are you on about, Kever?”, Magister Honnora said while trying to recover from her laughter. She felt silly for worrying so much about Magister Kever. She felt relieved that nothing bad was going on, but her laughter made her look like she wasn’t worried just a moment ago.

  “There’s no way you believe those people, do you?”, Magister Honnora asked, referring to Lucieneans. She was under the impression that somehow, one of the Lucieneans managed to convince Magister Kever to believe their absurd prophecy. She thought Magister Kever was so affected by what happened to the town that he wasn’t thinking straight. She dismissed the claim quickly, assured that what the Rezelus church said about Lucien is the only truth there is.

  Magister Kever didn’t like what Magister Honnora showed him. He was so insulted that he didn’t think that the magister deserved more of what he knew. He requested the magister to leave his house, and the latter complied and left him alone. He felt so irritated that he wanted to find someone that would listen to him. Lucky for him, the opportunity arrived early.

  Next day after his humiliating night, Magister Kever was informed that the great priest of the kingdom, the same person that Kael encountered before, will come to the town again. This time, the great priest was tasked to strengthen the faith of the people to the church, aiming to calm down the lingering distress that the townspeople were feeling. Magister Kever didn’t hesitate anymore. He would say what he knew to the great priest.

  The great priest held a public gathering in the center of the town. Magister Kever attended the gathering, and waited for the opportunity to talk to the great priest. After the preaching, he was allowed to talk to the great priest privately.

  Magister Kever kneeled at the great priest and said his greetings. The great priest greeted in return and commanded him to stand.

  “Your greatness, please lend an ear to your humble servant”, Magister Kever said. The great priest allowed him to speak, so he continued. “A dreadful thing was revealed to me that his holiness must know”

  The great priest was alerted after hearing Magister Kever involve the Divine Emperor. He gestured the magister to continue.

  “I believe, only his holiness could do something about his return, like what he did before”, Magister Kever stated. The great priest couldn’t help but be intrigued.

  “His return? A demon?”, the great priest asked. He thought that the magister would say that the demon invasion will happen again.

  “Your greatness, this is even worse”, the magister said. The great priest maintained his proper demeanor, and asked the magister to continue. At the great priest’s command, Magister Kever finally got the courage to reveal what he knew.

  “Lucien finally returned. He is now a citizen of our kingdom”

  Magister Kever waited for a response, but the great priest was silent. His head was a bit lowered as he spoke. Out of curiosity, he tried looking at the great priest. He regretted doing so.

  The great priest glared at the magister, and so were the protectors accompanied by the great priest. As a preacher for the Rezelus church, the great priest’s faith to the teachings of the church is absolute. In his eyes, the person in front of him just said something that insulted the Divine Emperor, the lord that he loyally serves.

  “Out of my sight”, the great priest commanded.

  “Your greatness, I–”

  “At once”, the great priest said.

  Upon hearing those words, Magister Kever felt hurt and defeated. Not even the great priest believed what he had to say. For them, he’s like the Lucieneans who believe in a nonexistent god. He should’ve dismissed Kael’s words, and treated it as what it really is. Believing Kael brought him unnecessary despair and humiliation. He wanted to punish himself for questioning his faith just because of a student’s words. Little by little, anger was growing in his heart. The gratitude that he should be feeling towards his savior was turning into murderous intent.