~One year later

The abilities of Mire are astounding. I clench my right fist in front of me tightly as I look down upon it with a smirk on my face. Without any effort, just the action of clenching my fist, causes a small burst of dark energy to flare out around my fist. Somehow, I have either more control over my energy or the spell drains my life force less.

Or maybe I have mastered it at last and these are signs of my newfound strength.

I close my eyes and conjure up all the concentrated agitation I can muster from my negative thoughts and my hatred. I imagine the Dark Lord cornering me as it is about to rip me to shreds and I suddenly feel a rush of energy collect in my chest, forcing the feeling I came to know well swell within me. Sharp pains sting my chest only for a moment before it dies down suddenly.

No... I will not let you win...

I swiftly open my eyes and thrust my right hand out in front of me as I focus on the gigantic boulder in front of me with all my agitation. The collection of energy that is swelling in my chest releases the pressure from me and slams through my arm outstretched in front of me.

A scream escapes me, like the pressure being formed from my agitation has been released all over my body and is now escaping. My Dark magic immediately forms around my entire arm, fills my eyes and surrounds the boulder all at once.

I clench my fist as I narrow my gaze on the boulder and it instantaneously explodes into a million pieces. I close my mouth and my eyes as my scream stops. I instantly feel calmer like time and space has slowed down to a stop around me.

I feel the power lift me up as it engulfs me. I open my eyes and the world around me no longer interests me. Everything is now inferior to me and must become under my control. With this power, I can now challenge the Dark Lord for control over the Dark Realm and then it shall be I, the Lord of the Darkness.

Time Warp.

Deceive.

Complete Silence.

Life Force Swap.

Sacrifice.

Now that I have you under my control, I can now use your weakened mind to my advantage. Now take this power and rule the world.

"Merric?"

A worried voice breaks my thoughts and suddenly I am back in the Valley in Lycia Kingdom. Those strange emotions fade away as I find my brother studying me wide-eyes from a distance. He looks to be paranoid and would leap ten feet into the air if I suddenly made a move towards him.

"Oh, what's wrong, Lance? I did it! I learned Mire!"

I ball up my fists in front of me and excitedly experience the increase of energy that radiates from my thoughts and around my hands.

"Now we can fix everything!"

Lance doesn't look as excited as I thought he would and something is worrying him, "Did something happen?"

He slowly takes a few steps towards me, "Uh, it's nothing. Everything is fine now,"

I nod, and a slight smile appears on my face once again, "I now know what I can do to help, Lance,"

Ma was cursed by that hex. This hex cannot cure her or do anything now, but it allows me to warp time. If I can somehow stop her from getting conflicted by that hex...

"What are you going to do, Merric?"

I find his gaze. Ma's tome did say that huge hex summons cannot be reversed. But it is the only thing I can do. If the present is ruined forever... then I can use the past...

I sternly look back at him, "I can warp time, Lance,"

His eyes widen sharply as he stares back at me in confusion and disbelief, "Wh—What? Warp time? Are you crazy, Merric?"

I narrow my gaze back at him, "It's the only way, Lance. The present time is gone. I can now warp time, so why not go back and win that war now that we know what to do?"

Lance doesn't answer right away. His expression goes emotionless. He looks away and I think I see a small splash of worry glow around him for a second.

He's afraid...

"Lance,"

He does not respond or look back up at me.

"Do you trust me?"

He slides his eyes up to mine slowly and nods, "Yes," He whispers.

"Ah, come on Lance. You have improved so much yourself. You can help me do this and we will become unstoppable! Then we will be able to see Pa and Ma again!"

He completely looks up at me now and approaches me slowly, "What if something goes wrong with your spells?"

He stands directly in front of me now and looks up into my eyes, like he is pleading with me. He is making me feel things I haven't felt in a long time. Love. Passion. Affection.

"I promise nothing will go wrong, brother,"

He nods, "I would love to see Pa and Ma again. But won't they think it is weird that we are so much older than we should be?"

My expression falls slightly, and I feel both, relieved that he also understands but also sadness that this will not be the loving reunion we both want it to be, "They would. And they might not believe us. So, we will have to hide our identities, Lance. They must not know who we are, okay?"

Devastation spreads all over his face as my words sink in. His eyes become slightly wet, but no tear falls as he scrunches up his brows and nods, "I... understand. I do agree and think we should do it. I'm just... afraid is all. I want to help you, but I don't want to mess anything up or get in your way,"

My mouth opens slightly, "N—No, you will be a big help to me, Lance. Don't ever think you will get in my way or anything like that. Now look who needs to give themselves more credit,"

I tilt my head as I look down at my brother while he smiles back up at me, "Just tell me when you are ready. Once we go, we can never come back,"

He studies me for a moment, maybe letting those words sink in for a bit, before nodding. He turns and leaves, disappearing behind the waterfall, his favorite place to go while I would train underneath the willow tree.