Flashback (4)
"Ariel! I found it!"
A boy covered head to toe in dirt shouted at the top of his lungs. His golden hair was caked with grime until it looked brown, but his cobalt-blue eyes sparkled transparently, gleaming like jewels.
In response to the boy's cry, a black-haired child called Ariel replied, "Really? Where?"
"Right here!"
"Fabian! Hold on just a sec!"
The blue-eyed boy named Fabian waved from beneath a massive tree far in the distance. Ariel grabbed the frayed hem of his pants, which dangled in tatters, and bolted toward him. The sun was setting, painting the sky in twilight hues, and the dense forest blocked out the light, turning it as dark as night already—but that was no obstacle for the two. This woods was like their own backyard; even passing hunters often stopped to ask them for directions.
It had been Ariel who recently lured a band of thieves deep into the forest to feed the beasts there.
"Is this what Cain told you to fetch?"
"Ariel, he's our master."
"Tch, there's nothing left for him to teach me anyway. What kind of master is that?"
"Even if he's not around right now, if you keep calling him by name, it'll become a habit, you know?"
"Fine, fine. I call him Master to his face, obviously. So, what'd you find?"
Ariel's eyes sparkled as he asked. Fabian pulled out the hand he'd hidden behind his back and opened it.
"Whoa..."
It was a hard, dried lump of dark brown. So brittle it would crumble to dust if thrown, all moisture long gone—but it was still gray fox dung, though neither boy found it disgusting in the least.
"With this, we can make it, right?"
"According to the magic tome, yeah."
"Let's head back—now!"
Ariel seized Fabian's hand and yanked him along. They raced through the untouched forest without a moment's hesitation. Grass scraped their ankles where it peeked through the rips in their pants, leaving scratches, but Ariel paid it no mind, grinning ear to ear. Like any boys in their early teens, the two were incorrigible rascals. They couldn't stand not knowing something; their curiosity demanded they see it for themselves.
Ariel especially. He was born for magic.
Among the four boys learning magic from Cain, Ariel caused more trouble than the other three combined.
This time, it started while brewing a painkiller from a recipe in the magic tome. He'd discovered it had a mild hallucinogenic effect and wondered if he could amplify that. In other words, he was trying to make drugs.
Ariel had asked Cain while conveniently omitting the hallucinogenic part, but Cain saw right through it and played along anyway. He'd long since learned that Ariel wouldn't listen until his curiosity was sated—that forbidding him would do no good.
With a sigh, Cain had said, 'Go fetch some dried gray fox dung from the forest.'
That was why Ariel had dragged Fabian into the woods until dusk.
Cain gazed up at the night sky, now lit by moonlight, waiting for them. No matter how well the boys knew the forest, things could still go wrong. Beasts, thieves, even magical creatures might attack. He began seriously considering going to look for them.
Just then, a rustling came from the forest edge. Cain dropped into a crouch, eyes fixed ahead, steadying his breath.
"Cai... Master! We got it!"
The two little heads popped up from the bushes, and Cain relaxed, standing tall. He flicked each boy hard on the forehead as they came running.
"Ow!"
"Why'd you hit us?!"
Ariel and Fabian clutched their foreheads, eyes welling with tears.
Reckless little idiots. Cain worried when these kids would finally grow up, then herded them into the cabin.
"Dinner first."
"Just us two?"
"Yeah. You took so long, the rest of us already ate."
"Tch."
Fabian clicked his tongue. Meals with all five of them were his favorite time. He was always the one forcing the solitary Ariel to the table.
The two, who'd been running around all day, wolfed down their food. Cain figured they must be starving, but that was only half right. Ariel's mind was already locked on holing up in the lab to make his drugs.
"Fabian, let's go."
Ariel said, digging into his pocket and rolling the tiny lumps of dried fox dung in his palm. Cain stared in horror.
"You did wash your hands before eating, right?"
"Dunno!"
They bolted past him into the corner lab. An enormous cauldron bubbled with some unidentified solution. Under the faint light of a small ceiling lamp, Ariel opened the magic tome.
"Alright, Fabian. According to my hypothesis, add the fox dung and stir clockwise a hundred times, then counterclockwise fifty."
"That's it?"
"Nah. Repeat two hundred more times."
Fabian gaped. The solution was thick and viscous; even setting aside an all-nighter, his arms would be wrecked tomorrow for sure. And the ladle was as thick as a calf's leg, the cauldron big enough to hold a person.
"N-No way. You do it alone. My arm'll fall off."
Ariel tilted his head, puzzled. "It'll heal in two days anyway. We have muscle pain meds."
"No!"
Fabian yelled. Jerking off in secret every day was one of his life's joys. Two days without? Unthinkable.
Ariel caught on instantly, smirking. "Don't worry. What do you think we're making?"
"Uh... super painkiller?"
"Exactly. Just take some of this."
"Maybe... but..."
It's actually drugs, Ariel thought, but saw no need to explain. Results mattered, not details. And of course, he wasn't saying he'd make Fabian try it first.
Soon they were grunting, stirring with the ladle. The liquid grew stickier as the dung dissolved. For boys whose veins hadn't even popped yet, it was grueling. After a hundred and fifty stirs, sweat poured down their backs like rain. Passing the ladle gave about three minutes' rest—far too short to cool off.
"Hah... huff... Ariel... I'm dying..."
Fabian collapsed first. Not even a third done. Over a hundred sets left. Ariel glared at his panting friend, who weakly shook his head: no way.
His arms trembled; he couldn't even hold a cup. Ariel despaired at finishing alone—but his face beamed brighter than ever. He mocked Fabian—"Tired already? No stamina, man?"—but he looked utterly blissful.
Ariel loved this. Studying magic with friends, verifying spells together, sharing ideas, discovering new things. Research was fun, but the sharing was pure joy. Alone, all he got was fleeting triumph and emptiness after.
Maybe because he had no parents. Later he'd realize no one matched his level but Cain and these friends. Mages' poor social skills meant childhood bonds were all he had—no new ones in adulthood.
"Hoo... hoo."
Dawn crept in, but Ariel didn't notice. He'd wrung out his sweat-soaked clothes countless times without realizing. He tracked stir counts precisely, though: thirty sets done. Thirty left.
Time for magic. His mana should handle thirty more. He snapped his fingers, animating the ladle. The solution had turned crimson, bubbling smoothly. Smoke filled the cramped lab, glowing particles twinkling scarlet, bathing the room in soft light.
"Ariel? Whatcha doing?"
"Not sleeping...?"
The other two boys peeked in at morning's light, come looking since Ariel and Fabian weren't in bed. But Ariel, focused on mana, could only glance over.
"Whoa..."
"So pretty..."
They didn't even notice Fabian snoring in the corner, mouths agape in awe at the sight.
"Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty... done..."
Ariel pushed until his heart-mana bottomed out; a drop of blood trickled from his nose. He didn't notice. As bubbles burst on the finished solution's surface, sparkling mana scattered—he gazed in ecstasy.
Beautiful. This was why he loved mental magic, drugs. The subtle interplay: mana communing, seeping through veins, seizing nerves, clouding the mind, disrupting thought. He knew ingredients' mana scent differed from the final product's. Bottling that beauty to savor forever? A blessing. Alchemy's allure.
That allure doubled sharing it, mana resonating together. The satisfaction of mutual awe flooded his limbic system. He barely needed to try the drug. Happiness wasn't there.
If he could stay with them forever, he'd be happy.
But those boys no longer existed. Fabian, the other two—all dead.
Ariel was alone.