——Last day of the double-vote event. If you don't use your monthly tickets, they'll go to waste!~
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A cool early-spring evening breeze drifted through the drawing room, and both Lilith and Sarah couldn't help but shiver. Perhaps it was the near-black gloom outside, the deep silence of the manor, and the composed, reserved bearing of the young man before them — they couldn't shake the feeling that this place was eerie and sinister, as if they had stepped into one of those pitch-black, terrifying arcane towers deep in the Dark Mountains or the Black Forest, the kind their parents used to describe in legends alongside those grim, solemn mages.
But Lilith and Sarah quickly snapped out of it and laughed at themselves: "A brilliant musical genius, a composer of pure and beautiful piano miniatures, and the official music advisor to Her Highness — how could he possibly be some mage living in hiding, skulking about in the shadows? We're letting our imaginations run wild!"
At that moment, the butler Lopez entered with several servants carrying copper candelabras. The flickering candlelight immediately brightened the drawing room.
Lucian descended the stairs and offered Sarah and Lilith a calm, polite smile: "My two guests, you've come because you have a historical document you'd like me to examine?"
His voice was warm and gentle. Hearing it, Lilith was pulled completely free of her earlier hallucinations. Her cheeks flushed red, and in her excitement she stammered: "Mr. Evans — Mr. Evans, I absolutely adore your music. Both 'Destiny' and the Serenade in G major — but my favorite of all is 'Dedicated to Sylvia.' That melody, so simple and beautiful, it struck straight to the depths of my heart. To be able to meet you in person — I'm so happy, so happy."
Her words came out in a jumbled rush, but she managed to get her meaning across. Her eyes were brimming with admiration and worship. Mr. Evans was even more refined in person than she had imagined, and rather handsome too.
"Mr. Evans, I also enjoy your music," said Sarah, not as carried away as her sister but unable to hold back from saying so. In his otherwise repressed magical life, the melody of 'Destiny' was the tune he hummed over and over again. He was grateful to Lucian Evans for composing such an inspiring piece — and grateful to that portly baron who had spent a fortune hiring an orchestra to perform in their small town.
Lucian shook his head with a smile: "I appreciate your kind words very much, but I think we should discuss the manuscript."
As a mage who believed that "knowledge is power," Lucian had a keen interest in historical documents as well. They might contain knowledge or information he needed — that was why he had agreed to receive Sarah and Lilith. After all, with the "Altor Music Festival" approaching, people had been visiting every day out of admiration, and Lucian had turned them all away, citing his need to prepare for the concert.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Evans, we've been rude," Sarah said, regaining his composure. He pulled a stack of aged white paper from inside his coat and handed it to Lucian. "This is the document. We'd be grateful if you could decipher it for us."
Lucian took the manuscript: "It's quite alright. Your sincere appreciation — I can feel it, I understand it, and I'm truly honored. Please, sit down, and we'll discuss it together."
Blushing, Lilith sat down following Sarah's lead, stealing glances at Lucian on the single sofa across from her as he pored over the manuscript with focused intensity. His sharp profile, his elegant features, and that unique aura about him — she found it all deeply appealing. A shy thought crossed her mind: "Mr. Evans is even more attractive when he's concentrating."
As was his habit, Lucian flipped through the pages quickly so that the Library of the Soul could record them first. This time was no different — but as the pages flashed by, a familiar line of text suddenly caught his eye:
"When the sun enters the palace of Thanos…"
Lucian's expression grew slightly grave. "Why, in just a few months, have I encountered a similar sentence for the second time? What connection does Mr. Droney's poetry have with this manuscript?"
With this question gnawing at him, Lucian read with great care once the Library of the Soul had finished its recording. The manuscript was fewer than ten pages, yet it took him a full half hour to go through. The more he read, the more his heart raced — because compared to the obscure texts he had read before, this incomplete, ambiguous manuscript appeared to be describing the site of an arcane ruin!
Layer by layer, Lucian added historical context and chronological events, piecing together a picture from this manuscript that lacked both preceding and following passages. On the surface he remained focused and solemn, but inside his mind a tremendous storm was raging:
"The phrases 'floating mountain peak' and 'Great Cross-Arms' in this document — I've read these before, in 'The Book of Astral and Elemental Studies'!"
With that realization, Lucian turned to the section on unique magic circles in The Book of Astral and Elemental Studies. After a careful, thorough comparison, he finally confirmed that one passage in the manuscript was describing a scene centered on astral magic — an Arcane Maze-Lock known as the "Great Cross-Arms."
A "Maze-Lock" was a powerful magical barrier of broad coverage capable of running autonomously for a very long time.
"Mr. Droney's poetry describes the scene that appeared when Lake Elsinore emerged. This document seems to tell the same story — but with more detail: a meteorite destroying a city, a strange red liquid surging forth, and then the grand subterranean structures and the Arcane Maze-Lock that followed. But the manuscript is far too fragmentary. Why would anyone build magical structures underground? Why set up a Maze-Lock? There's no information on any of that."
"The Witch's ancestor was a mage from Altor. Though it's not recorded, one can guess that his teacher — that legendary mage known as 'the Prophet' — must have been the magical lord of a neighboring kingdom. Since the Maze-Lock sits within his domain and its content matches what's in his spellbook, then the underground magical structures were most likely built under his direction. It's a pity that The Book of Astral and Elemental Studies is a grimoire and contains no personal notes."
Thoughts flickered through his mind one after another. Then Lucian looked up and spoke in an even tone: "This manuscript is quite fragmentary. Are there other parts to it? The more material there is, the easier it is to decipher. Also, judging by the texture of the paper, this was made using the newer papermaking technique — it doesn't appear to be papyrus or parchment from the Dark Age."