Master of the Loop

Chapter 48: Headaches Upon Headaches

Chapter 48

Headaches Upon Headaches

Sylas sat with a vacant look in his eyes, staring at the faintly-green shard sitting on his desk, and the extremely distorted, handsome face barely visible within. Nothing made sense, he concluded. The world was all manner of wrong. He didnt belong here. He wanted to go home, that much was for certain. After all, there he wasa man trapped inside a thing. No, theres no way hes a man, Sylas knewafter all, it didnt work on him, but it did work on Derrek. Theres likely a connection.

Alright, alright, stop freaking outI swear I didnt do it on purpose! Sylas, rubbing the bridge of his nose, interrupted Derreks outburst for a moment, at least.

FAT CHANCE!! YOU MONGREL, HOW DARE YOU TRAP ME IN HERE?! UNCHAIN ME AT ONCE, YOU DOG! YOUR SINS SHALL CONDEMN YOU TO A THOUSAND HELLS!! Jesus, this guy

Look man, I dont care if you believe mebut I didnt do it on purpose. Fuck, I didnt even know what the thing did. Thats why I came to you in the first placeto figure out what it meant! Look, in my visionyes, vision, stop looking at me like I murdered your motherI saw some some guy with a massive scar on his face call Dyn holding this thing and grinning menacingly while pointing at you. Then, my vision guided me to where this thing wasand I figured it had something to do with you. Just like the last time, the mention of Dyn immediately silenced Derrek.

How how do you know about Dyn? despite being dimensions, yes, Sylas nodded inwardly, he would call it dimensions, apart, he could clearly hear Derreks voice as though the man was sitting right next to him.

I dont, Sylas shrugged. I already told youonly the face and the name. Clearly, though, you do know something and it all has to do with the thing thats trapped you. Whats the story there?

Oh, come on, Sylas rolled his eyes. You know I have no reason to trap you inside. If I wanted to, I could just tell the Prince to execute you and hed do it no questions asked. Though, seeing you like this, I dont think that would have gone according to the plan khm, anyway, who is Dyn? Whats his beef with you?

Dyn Derrek sighed, slinking back. It seemed the name meant a whole lot to him, or at least what the name symbolized. Dyn was my pupil. A bright star, in his early days. He was meant for great things but he was led astray. The darkness touched him and he didnt recoil. As his Master, it was my duty to release him from the mortal bonds and so I killed him. Dyn is dead.

No, Sylas said. Hes very much alive.

No, thats impossible! Derrek reiterated. I put a sword through his heart myself! Ive watched him die! I buried him!

And yet, among the living he walks, Sylas said. My suspicion is that hes tied to the cult of the condemned.

h-how who are you?! How do you know that name?!

Would it be possible for them? To resurrect him, I mean, Sylas ignored the outburst, moving on quickly, hoping to distract the man. I dont know much about them past their name.

Nowait, maybe but if thats the case FUCK! CAN YOU FINISH A WHOLE THOUGHT FOR ONE GODDAMN TIME?!! No, I must report to my Master at once! Release me! Otherwise otherwise we shall all

burn in the black flames, yes, yes, I know, Sylas sighed, slinking back into his chair himself, tired. Look, man. I just need to know the truth. No riddles, no nonsense. Ive been ball-wrung by this world too many times already. I just want some straightforward answers, for once. So, tell me who is Dyn? Why would the cult or whatever want to resurrect him? And what the fuck is this thing in front of me? And how the fuck did you end up inside?

We dont have time

Make time.

You

I said make time, Sylas repeated, clearly indicating to Derrek that he wouldnt free him until he got some answers.

Fine! You soulless Mongrel! If the world burns, it will be on your shoulders!

And I shall happily bear the burden, Sylas said. Now speak.

Dyn Dyn was a member of my OrderOrder of Moon Knights. I found him as a young pup wandering the streets and took pity on him. However, his quick mind and talent with magic surprised me, so I decided to apprentice him, take him to be my Pupil for life. He didnt fail my expectationsquickly rising through the ranks of his peers and becoming one of the Orders future stars. It was then it was then that I noticed a change within him. Hed become distant, withdrawn, his mind distraught. Until one night, when I found him trying to assassinate a fellow member of the Order. I fought him, and rather than accepting his punishment he resisted. He fought back. But not with the Orders Magic. But with the dark, foul, evil thing.

Wow. He he literally said one thing worth a shit in that entire speech. Goddamn, thats actually impressive

And so, I killed him. Or, at least, I thought I did, Derrek sighed. The reason I had come here was because of what he uttered at his dying breaththe Condemned come, the Bastion falls Bastion of Humanity was Ethwar Castle's original name. I thought I would find some clues here, which was when I heard rumors about the criminals festering in the mountains. Seeing as there were no signs of the Condemned, I supposed they might have herded themselves in with the scummy lot." Condemned condemned condemned do they really have anything to do with that thing in the sky? Going from the petty cult with some power to a creature that could likely fuck this entire peninsula dry in seconds I dont know

To answer your questionno, they couldnt have brought him back to life, Sylas said. The dead cannot be brought back to the living. Not even the Gods themselves have that power. However, it is likely that they installed a failsafe in him when they corrupted himand so, when I struck the death blow, the foul magic protected him just enough for him to live. There. Are you happy? Now, let me out!

This thing, Sylas didnt budge, pointing at the shard. And why are you in it.

tsk, Derrek clicked his tongue, glaring daggers at Sylas. The latter knew hell be killed the moment he let the man out of the bottle. He didnt mind, though. This as you said, its a Shard of Ascindium. We are not quite sure what it is ourselves, The hell you aint, you lying fuck. What we do know, however, is that it uses my Orders intrinsic Magic Mantra against us, trapping us within the Shards subspace. As far as the Order is aware, we are in possession of all of themwe we didnt know there was another one. Especially here. So, Dyn didn't want to kill him but capture him. Then, how'd he know there's a shard here? Besides, this fucker is 100% lying his ass off, but it's unlikely I'll get to squeeze anything more out of him.

Ive told you everything! Now, release me! The fate of the world depends on it!

I highly doubt it but, whatever. Fine, how do I release you? Sylas asked.

Its simple, Derrek said excitedly. Just reverse the flow of the energy through the shardguide it out.

What? You wont do it?

N-no, its, its not that, Sylas smiled awkwardly.

Then what is it?! Ive nothing more to say!

No, not that either, he took a deep breath. See, the thing is

The thing is? Derrek edged him on.

I dont know magic.

LIAR! HOW COULD YOU USE THE SHARD IF YOU DONT KNOW MAGIC?! DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?!

No, no, seriously, dude! This thingthis thing did all that on its own! I had nothing to do with it!

YOUYOU Derrek was losing it. It was clear that he thought Sylas was just screwing around and never intended to release him in the first place. Even Sylas felt somewhat wrongedhe truly didnt know magic. After all, if he did, hed be a much happier man. F-fine lets lets say you dont know magic.

I dont.

Lets say that, Derrek said through the gritted teeth. I I will teach you. Then, would you release me?

HELL TO THE FUCKING YES! Sylas exclaimed excitedly. After all, this was an opportunity. Though he had no clue what Order of the Moon or whatever was, there were clearly important considering how strong Dyn was, not to mention that they seemed to know a lot of things. Doubly, he could learn magic from both Ryne and Derrek, likely two different schools, and see which one suits him the most. Khm, I mean, sure, yeah. Im down for it. So, what do I do?

Hoooh, Derrek took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself down. Basics of magic can be learned by everyone. Its simply a matter of patience. However, since were on a clock, youll need to learn quickly. Quickly.

Ill try my bestscouts honor!

Whanever mind that. The first thing is this: energy that we channel is like the air we breathe. It's everywhere, all around us. Even within us, at all times. It's simply invisible to most people. Some are born and able to see it and use it, but most need to learn. I'll need you to close your eyes and listen to my voice carefully. I will guide you, and you simply have to do everything I tell you to. Do you understand?

Aye, aye!

Do. You. Understand?! Derrek repeated sternly.

Y-yes, I understand, Sylas nodded.

Close your eyes, then, Derrek commanded. And listen to my voice. Clear your mind. Forget everything. You are no longer a person. Imagine imagine you were the moon in the nights sky