The Demon Lord And His Hero

[When will I remember my past?]

Even I am unable to tell. There are parts locked away so deep and protected by a power that I can't get past without triggering its protective mechanisms. You have been touched by a deity, Syryn. Did you know that?

Another indication to Syryn that he was no normal person. Right now though, only Rowan mattered.

[No, but thanks for telling me. Rowan must know something about it. Give me something, sage. A small morsel. I want to remember Rowan even if it's just an image of him eating breakfast.]

I'm afraid I cannot. It has to be all or nothing. I can make you remember but at the cost of never having access to what is hidden. If I don't remove the protection on it, nobody else can.

[But the deity can, right? Since they were the one that hid it.]

Yes. So do you want to forego the chance to have access to it? I am ready to return your memories if you wish to have them.

[I'll have to think about it.]

Should he talk to Rowan about it?

[Can you teach me how to use the other powers I have?]

I can. You're a mage with an affinity for ice, darkness, fire, and now water. You must know though that you were not born with fire in you. You were blessed with it by a deity. The one who put the fire brand on your arm is the person who blessed you with fire.

[I thought that was just an interesting birthmark.]

You have led a peculiar life, Syryn. I am now even more curious to see what is hidden in your mind.

[Do you think the memories were hidden by the same deity who blessed me with fire?]

We won't know till I unravel it.

[How complicated.]

The mage sighed. He thought he was just a simple rich talented businessman but that was just the surface of it. He was embroiled in the machinations of some deity whose intentions were unclear.

[How did you find me? And why did you get inside my head?]

I've been searching for a successor and so I found you. I knew where you would be crossing paths with me so I hid myself in a fertility idol. That is how we met.

[Why me?]

You are the only second person in a very very long time to be born with a third eye. I was the first. You were destined to meet me, Syryn. We are linked by the gift of being born with an eye that sees past the veil.

[It was shocking enough knowing I had a third eye but then I found out you ate it.] A bit of Syryn's aversion got broadcasted to the sage. Whichever way he looked at it, it was a bit gross.

Your third eye was underdeveloped. Imagine having a withered stump instead of a functioning hand. Useless and a burden. That eye fed on your magic but gave you nothing for it.

[But did you really eat it?]

I absorbed it.

[And?]

And nothing. What do you expect to gain from a useless eye?

[Hey! That was still part of me.]

Useless is useless. Sugarcoating my words won't change the fact that your eye was useless.

[Whatever. Are you stuck inside me forever?]

No. There isn't enough room here for the both of us.

[So you're going to disappear one day.]

Ideally yes. But I want to stay and watch how the world changes. We will find a way to transfer my consciousness to another vessel.

[I'm not going to help you body snatch from a living human if that's what you're implying.]

We shall see. I won't compel you to do anything you do not wish to.

[Good. Now tell me something about yourself. You know everything about me but I don't even know your name. Am I supposed to keep calling you sage?]

Yes. It has been so long that my name no longer matters. I lived thousands of years as a serpent. Back then, the oceans were nothing like it is today. Levia was just one of the few of many leviathans that lived and hunted in the waters. There was one known as Yamon. He was the biggest creature to have ever lived in the water. Yamon woke up every decade to eat as much as he could before he slept again for another decade.

[What did he eat?]

Everything. Levia could have easily become his meal even at her size.

[How big was this guy?!]

Four times the size of Levia.

[That's insane! How did Yamon die?]

He grew old and arrogant. And I killed him by entering his ear and scrambling his brain while he lay asleep.

[It was that easy to kill him?]

Every creature in the ocean feared him. Even the leviathans avoided Yamon. How could you expect the smaller creatures to approach him, much less have ideas about killing him?

Syryn was impressed. The sage had used his size and courage to do the unthinkable.

[Why did you decide to kill Yamon?]

I found his presence annoying.

[Seriously?]

And I wanted to drink of his strength. Killing him made me more powerful.

That - Syryn could believe.

[Is that how you became so strong? By killing those more powerful than you?]

Yes. I killed many and absorbed their strength.

[Were there others like you doing the same?]

No. Only I had the third eye. It enabled me to grow from a sea serpent into- something else.

[Yes?]

Go to sleep. Your partner is awake and you're disturbing him.

[Bullshit! I'm not making a sound. I'm not even moving.]

The sage was silent.

[Coming and going as you like. You've truly made my head your home, haven't you?]

The mage kept grumbling to himself as he threw away the blanket that covered him. Syryn padded over silently to the couch and got on top of Rowan. Chest to chest, the mage stretched himself out over the anti mage and waited to be acknowledged.

The blond opened sleepy eyes and smiled at the mischievous man lying atop him.

"Can't sleep?"

"No," Syryn softly replied. "I missed you. Come to bed with me."

The anti mage was quiet as he thumbed Syryn's cheek.

"Okay."