Alen had his hands covering his face as he knelt forward, and once again, he couldn't help but laugh, but this ti, it wasn't because he found anything funny. It was the kind of laugh that ca when everything felt too impossible to grasp, the type of disbelief that numbed him.
"I just don't understand why you're doing this," Alen said, lifting his head. "I still don't know who you really are. And yes, I'm deeply in your debt for protecting my sister. That's sothing I'll never forget. But asking to help take down the Grand Magus? That's not just so favour. You're asking to go against the entire nation of Alterian. I'm supposed to defend it, not betray it!"
"I get it," Raze replied, steady and firm. "It's not easy to accept. But you have to realize sothing: the Grand Magus might be the very reason your sister disappeared in the first place. And if things had played out just a little differently, it could have been the reason she never ca back."
Alen stood up, pacing rapidly around the room, his thoughts spiraling. His boots struck the polished floors in erratic rhythm as he tried to make sense of everything.
"You can argue that Enaxx was corrupted, sure," he said, stopping briefly. "But that doesn't an the rest of them are. Maybe they turned a blind eye to what he did. Maybe they didn't act because of his position or power. But that doesn't make them all villains. The Grand Magus stand for sothing, sothing that gives this world structure. You want to help tear that down? For what? A vague promise that it's all rotten?"
Raze rose to his feet too, locking eyes with him. He had known this would be difficult, but Alen was the kind of person who had once chosen to risk his own life to protect innocent hostages, even if it ant going against the tide. That kind of man wasn't easy to convince, but he was worth convincing.
"Alen, do you really think they're all clean?" Raze asked. "Do you think every Grand Magus is noble? I'm not randomly hunting them down. Just like Enaxx, the others are hiding dark truths. Do you rember the magical items you gave ? The ones the military relies on to push soldiers past their limits?"
Alen's steps froze. He knew exactly what Raze ant.
The last ti they'd spoken, Raze had requested the enchanted gear. Alen had followed up, calling in a favour from a professor in enchantnts. The results weren't what he'd expected. The items were cursed. No one in the military had ever disclosed that fact.
"They're cursed," Alen muttered under his breath.
Raze nodded. "Exactly. And do you even know who supplied them? I don't. But I can guess. It's Gizin, the Grand Magus who owns the largest pharmaceutical empire in Alterian. He's been feeding this system for years, manipulating everything."
He stepped forward.
"Think about it. Illegal substances pushed on mages across every district. And where does it all start? The academies. Who's in charge of those? Ibarin. He grooms students from a young age, encourages them into specific guilds, and those guilds are part of the sa supply network. It's all connected."
Raze's tone sharpened, voice cutting through the silence.
"The drugs make mages stronger, but they also destroy them. When their mana cores are damaged? When they fall apart? Who steps in with the 'cure'? Gizin again. He profits from every single stage. Supply the problem, sell the solution. It's all one endless, brutal cycle."
Alen clenched his fists at his sides. The pieces were clicking together too easily. It was like soone had been painting a false picture his entire life, and only now was he seeing the cracks underneath.
"And you're probably thinking, 'why hasn't anyone said anything?' Right?" Raze continued. "Because of Trubin. He's their enforcer. The strongest mage in the world. If soone talks, they disappear. It's that simple."
"And what about Idore?" Raze asked, his voice low. "He's not innocent either. He's the one who created the Grand Magus system. He recomnded each one of them into power. He's been orchestrating this for years, watching the rest of us struggle under the illusion of peace. I'm sure there is more, especially with everything he has been doing between here and Pagna"
The room felt heavier, the truth a weight pressing down on both n.
"This world, Alterian, people see the gleaming cities and think everything's perfect. But it's rotting underneath. People are dying, Alen. Real people. And all the Grand Magus cares about is keeping their empire quiet and their hands clean. There are still those that live underneath, those that are hurt, but we never get to see their side, no one does because of what is happening.
'As you can guess, I'm one of those people as well, and I've decided to fight back, I tried to do it on my own, and I ended up failing."
He stepped closer.
"You didn't take an oath to protect a lie. You fight for the people. And right now, the people need protection, from their leaders."
Alen didn't speak at first. His fists had tightened until his knuckles turned pale. Slowly, he opened his hands, took a deep breath, and finally lifted his gaze to et Raze's.
"Alright," Alen said. "You got . I'll help you. Just tell what you need to do."
Raze gave him a small, knowing smile. There was no hesitation in his voice.
"I told you, we're going after the Grand Magus. Not all at once. That would be suicide. We're going to take them out, one by one. And first on my list… is Ibarin. The principal of the Central Mage Academy."
****
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