[Jack's POV]
Kion leaned forward, more focused now.
Zareth, however, looked at me and said, "Hold on. One thing still doesn't make sense!"
"What?" I asked.
"Sol is a primordial [1]. How could you have stopped an artifact with power probably on par with a divine-grade artifact? Even I wouldn't have been able to, and isolating stuff from the world is my whole thing."
I looked at him for a moment and asked, "Do you want the insulting answer or a partial truth? I can't say much more than those two options."
He looked at me, confused, and said, "Both."
I sighed. "The insulting answer is that you have become complacent and haven't been training your own powers."
He looked at me, surprised with an expression, silently asking, elaborate.
"I use a lot of ancient methods in my magic. It's less efficient on power and mana, sure — that's why ancient magic isn't used anymore — but it taps into the more conceptualization of world laws and the fundamentals that were the foundation for the world."
Zareth stared at me in confusion before looking at his hands. "You say I have been complacent and my powers have stagnated, correct?"
I nodded. "It's the honest truth, and while I don't doubt you can get stronger even with your... other methods, researching ancient magic might help. It's why artifacts are so powerful and hard to replicate."
He nodded and asked, "And the partial truth?"
I smiled. "Sol gave up a portion of his primordial powers when he ascended, making him weaker than before and weakening the sword's bond."
Zareth stared at me and leaned back.
I could tell he didn't believe me, at least not fully, but that answer satisfied his curiosity... for now, at least.
I clapped my hands. "Now! Back to the plan. I have three methods to excise the shadow."
The two nodded and listened, no longer delaying things.
"The first method I will try is the easiest. It is a ritual. If we can restrain or at least keep Aaron inside of a ritual circle, then I can bind him down and attempt to expel the shadow.
I already have the talismans and, thanks to Kion, the dragon core that I can use as a conduit, which also increases our chances thanks to its power.
However, a location will also be key, but since you told me about the labyrinth under the academy, I should be able to find a spot down below." I paused to see if they had any questions.
Zareth went first. "How do you plan on finding a suitable location? The labyrinth is larger than the academy itself."
I paused. 'It's that big? Wow.' Shaking off the excited feeling, I said, "I will summon some spirits to scout it out and map the area."
I glanced at Kion and noted he didn't react to my admission that I am a summoner.
While my face remained calm, my mind — or rather one of them — reacted negatively.
'Of course, Shade told Elisabeth, and knowing Elisabeth, she probably told her father. Guess I will have to talk to her about sharing my information and remind her what happens when you ignore my warnings.'
Zareth nodded and asked, "What exactly will you do for the ritual? Will you—"
I raised a hand and he stopped talking.
"I would rather not share that. I have many secrets and methods, and since Kion is here," I glanced at him again, "if the king asks him to report, he will have to divulge information I don't want reaching the king's ears."
Kion looked confused and asked, "Why would that matter?"
I looked at him and said, "I hate politics and will avoid any attempt the royal family makes to get me to help them... actually," I realized an opportunity.
My eyes gave a sinister glow as I smiled and said
"When you do return to the capital, please let the entire royal family know that if any one of them tries to coerce, force, trick, or in any way have me help them without me initiating it, I will summon an army of spirits and destroy the entire castle and send all of their souls into torment beyond imagination before they are sent to the afterlife."
Kion grabbed the hilt of his sword and growled, "Are you threatening the crown?"
I smiled and said, "Of course not; this is more likely to be a massive bluff."
Kion's face changed from angry to confused; however, his hand did not leave the hilt of his sword.
I continued in a calm voice, "Neither you nor the royal family nor anyone, for that matter, really knows how strong I am. That uncertainty makes it easy to say threats like this because I could be capable of this, or it could be a complete bluff.
Sure, I know a lot about the greater powers in this world, but it could simply be that. I know a lot, yet don't have the power to summon them.
They have no way of knowing which is true, so they will leave me alone. That is all I want."
He eyed me but nodded, releasing his sword's hilt. "I heard you didn't like nobility, so I take it you want to avoid the politics with the royal family, then."
I nodded. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding. Now back to the main topic!"
He nodded as well, and we left it at that.
"The second method is more of a gamble and puts me at greater risk. I can't really say what will happen with this one, but I can say that I will be at the most risk with this one. As for the results... expect one of three outcomes.
Best-case scenario is that I win and expel the shadow from Aaron and banish it from our world.
The second scenario is either a tie or I win, and the shadow lashes out. If that happens, then plan three will take place.
As for the last scenario... the shadow wins and will try to take me as its vessel instead of Aaron. My body is more suited than Aaron's because of its spiritual nature. If that happens, I will resist as much as possible and keep it restrained inside my body, and then I need the two of you to kill me."
Both of them paled instantly.
"Kill you?" Zareth asked, shocked.
I nodded. "The shadow will leave the security of Aaron's body and try to enter mine. But because I don't have a core or an affinity with shadow magic, its power and influence will be limited until it can make me one."
"B-but are you sure you are alright with sacrificing yourself?" Kion asked.
I shrugged. "Not the first time my life was on the line. Besides, the chances of me losing are pretty low, and I have no intention of sacrificing myself for this."
Zareth looked at me, confused and asked, "But didn't you just-"
I looked at Zareth and said, "I am at the beginning state of spiritual embodiment, so I can always become a spiritual body and rebuild my body over time." I said, knowing fully how mind-bendingly shocking that was for Zareth.
"S-spiritual embodiment... You are in the state of Spiritual Embodiment!" he shouted.
I nodded. "I've been for a few years. Haven't done it, though, because building a new body takes forever."
Kion looked at the two of us and asked, "Do I want to know or should I just pretend I didn't hear that?"
I looked at him and said, "It's a form of evolution. Essentially, I can become a spirit. However, I have never moved farther down that path, as it would change a lot of my plans and can cause some... memory problems."
He nodded and didn't ask questions; however, Zareth clearly still had a few.
I looked at Zareth and said, "I will explain later, but we are running out of time and need to return to the academy soon," pointing at a clock that said 2:32.
Zareth sighed and nodded. "OK, and what is the third option?"
My expression darkened. "The third method is the one method I don't want to use and is absolutely a last resort. As I said before, if the second method ends in a tie or the shadow won't accept the loss, it will attack.
In the case that I need to use the third method, but I need the two of you to buy me time."
"Buy you time? Is it some spell or artifact with a long activation time?" Kion asked.
I stayed silent for a moment before saying, "I can't really say because I don't know. I have only used it once before, years ago, and it almost crippled me physically, mentally, and spiritually."
"Is it that dangerous?!" Zareth asked, having a decent idea about how tough I am.
"Only to me. If I use this method and successfully activate it, I can almost guarantee that I will win. Thankfully, the time I was almost crippled was years ago, and I have improved a lot since then.
The danger to me is based on how long I use this method. The longer the fight, the harder it will be on me.
As for you two, the shadow will control Aaron and try to attack me when they realize something is wrong. I don't know how strong Aaron and the shadow are, so be careful."
Zareth nodded, but Kion seemed a little worried, and for good reason.
"Will I have to hurt him?" Kion asked.
I looked at him and sighed. "Honestly... I don't know."
"Y-you don't know?" he asked, surprised.
I nodded. "You might, or you might just have to keep him away from me. It all depends on how things go. What I can say is that so long as the shadow is inside of Aaron, he will continue to live."
He stared at me and asked, "He will continue to live so long as the shadow is inside of him? Then what happens to Aaron when the shadow is expelled?"
I paled, only just realizing how badly I screwed up there.
I quickly scrambled around my brain for a way to reassure him, but nothing really came to mind that would sound believable.
"Shit!" I swore and flicked a finger.
^Lavender! Quietly erase that part.^ I telepathically told Lavender.
Thankfully, Kion seemed to have forgotten about her as she moved behind him, and a strand of her mist touched his forehead.
His eyes unfocused for a moment, and I turned to Zareth and whispered, "Not a word. He has to believe that removing the shadow will save Aaron."
Zareth quickly leaned forward and asked, also in a whisper, "Can you not save him?"
"I don't know." I shook my head. "It all depends on how much damage the shadow has done to Aaron's body and soul."
I sat back upright just as Kion's eyes refocused.
"W-what happened?" he looked around a little dazed.
"You got lost in thought," I said plainly, pretending everything was fine.
He looked at me, confused, but nodded, not questioning it.
-
[1]: a small thing I should add, the reason Kion is not reacting much when Jack and Zareth say Sol is a primordial is because he doesn't know what the word means. infact most people on Primus don't know.
It's a word only known by researchers in the Mage Tower, those who study ancient magic and those involved with gods or high-ranking spirits. Some people may have heard the word before, but only a few know its actual meaning.