Divided paths: CH 1

“Ellie, do we really have to go to this party? You know how I feel about people and gatherings” Lexar whined beside me “I already told you I need to go to this party specifically, there are rumors that a magical with ‘unique’ magic will be there and I’m very intrigued to see if this is true” I answered annoyed at him “Ugh whatever man” Lexar answered rolling his eyes as we made our way back to our rooms “I’m going with you just because you don’t have any friends you hear me” He said as he closed his door to his room I pouted at his closed door and went into mine.

“He is right, we’ve been in the academy two years now and I haven’t been able to make real friends, I mean I talk to anybody and everybody but I don’t really like anyone, I feel everybody is a self centered hypocrite” I thought as I started my shower.

“Oh well, I didn’t join the academy to make friends, I joined the academy to learn the truth and explore our magic powers” I thought as I stepped out of the shower “I honestly just want to know what happened to my parents and learn more about time magic” I said as I started getting ready in front of my mirror “Alright nothing fancy this will do” I said as I opened my tiny closet to get some basic jeans, a shirt and some shoes.

“All right time to go” I said, grabbing my stuff and going to fetch Lexar from his room “You ready?” I asked while knocking “Yes, just give me a second I’ll be right out” He answered while he rustled some things in his room “It’s pretty cool that the academy offers dorms for short and long term students, a lot of beings come to the academy with basically nothing and find a home and a purpose here” I thought looking at the hallways remembering my time during these years “All right, I’m here let’s make this quick” Lexar said coming out of his room. My heart skipped a beat and my brain stopped functioning for a couple of seconds as the lovely smell of the cologne I gave him for his birthday hit my nostrils and my heartbeat accelerated a little “Yeah, let’s make it short, I just want some information, and maybe socialize a little, I feel it's been forever since we do anything aside from training and studying” I said as I turned around and started walking “Yeah” He answered drily, I shrugged and we walked in silence towards the faculty.

“Man magical frat parties just hit different” I mentioned as we walked to the outside area of the party “Even the smoke of whatever magical rock these people are smoking makes me tingle” Lexar said and I giggled “Magical hallucinogens do hit harder than normal ones, they have specifically been created to tingle the way they are needed” I said at what I got a raised eyebrow in return.

“Anyways, let’s just mix in and pass the time, I’ll go out and about and try to get some information on this supposed ‘unique’ magical" I said, patting Lexar on the back and making my way between the dancing crowd of crazed academy people.

And just like that, a good portion of the night went by as I mixed with people, talked, danced a little and gathered information. I finally, after having lost Lexar for a while, reunited with him. “So any information?” He question me as we sat down around a fireplace in a log under the starry night “Not at all, literally not one bit” I said with a heavy sigh looking up at the stars “You know Ellie, I truly believe you might be the only one, you know what?” Lexar said putting his hand on my shoulder “I know, it’s just…. I really wish there was someone else out there who could help me learn to use these powers a little more. I feel there is so much hidden from us, why are we different? Why is there no one else that knows about our powers? Or more people like us? Why are we just ‘A rare case?’ And why did my parents vanish when we discovered I had powers but not me?” I ranted over the loud music.

Suddenly my ears started ringing as if somebody was blowing whistles as loud as they could on both sides of my head, and all my surroundings became silent, everything stopped “Oh no did it happen again?” I thought looking around me “No it can’t be everybody is still doing their thing” I added to my train of thought as I looked over at Lex’s face “Hey can you hear me” I said to Lex who did not answer me but blinked “Okay he isn’t frozen eit…. what is that?'' I questioned looking at the direction where soft flute music was coming from “Where the hell did a flute player come from” I thought staring at it, as I stared I started to analyze the flute player itself, “That can’t be right” I said pondering if all the fumes of the hallucinogens had hit me hard enough “Yeah that’s probably right” I thought as I tried to understand what sort of thing the flute player was, all his bottom half was like a cloud of magic, and his torso head and arms were just as odd, they seemed solid and not solid at the same time, like a hologram… of magic, its hair was long and cloud magic like, his body was just strange magic formed into what resembled a reptilian humanoid, his face just reminded me of a bird for some reason, all my attention went from analyzing this thing, to what was coming out of his flute “Wtf is this?” I said as the music started materializing different shapes, this creature finally stopped playing and he pointed at the shapes, I looked over at it “I’ve never seen this language but I understand it” I said “The long forgotten death language, also known as the runic language” The creature said which surprised me, and I stared at it “Your path is as follows: Time bender, choice you do not have in this matter, your duty has been long decided, you shall become of strength, fame, power and fortune, your destiny does not lie in magic as you search, you shall aid the mind bender in their hardships and path” I read outloud “Wait how did you…..” I said looking for the creature whom had already vanished, the music, smells and everything hit me all at once “Wtf, is this how people have felt when I control time?” I thought touching my head. I heard a very long and deep sigh from my side and turned to see Lex.

“LEXAR, DUDE” I said at a lack of words “You too?” He asked me as we stared at each other “Did you have a little too much fun? Maybe one too many drinks?” We both asked each other and both shook our heads. “I don’t drink” I answered “And I don’t do hallucinogens” He said back “So, it was real? Describe it to me” I said at what he described exactly what I had seen as well “Let’s go somewhere more private my ears are still ringing” He said and I agreed as he practically dragged me walking way to fast out of the party, we walked in silence into the forest to our usual spot that overlooked the academy and starry night.

“So” We both said at the same time “You first” Lex said quickly at what I explained my vision “Mine was very different” He answered after a while of silence “Mine was a vision of either suffering and duty or rebellion and destruction, it said that I have a choice to make, and either path will be very hard to fulfill” He explained to me as I furrowed my brows “Do you believe any of this? I mean we were basically in a sauna of drugs and who knows what?” I reasoned with him “I don’t know, it just showed me visions of the future and the past that I can’t just ignore, things no one would be able to know, not even you, not even my parents” He explained to me his voice growing smaller and smaller barely audible “No one aside from you knows I’m a time bender” I answered “Care to explain what you saw a little more?” I asked “Nope, I understood the message and the choices I have to make in the future” He answered rolling to the side giving me his back, I sighed knowing Lexar well, knowing I might never get an answer out of him.

“Well, I’ll go back to the dorms, I need to sleep this off and think” I said getting up as Lexar didn’t even move a muscle and just “mhmd” me.

I walked the cold way back to my dorm with thoughts that were driving me insane. I finally got to my room and took sleeping pills so I could put my unnerving loud mind at ease before I went insane.

This night I had haunting dreams, I’ve never been a lucid dreamer, I sleep like a rock and very rarely dream anything, but this night was nearly traumatizing, experiments on non magical beings, torture and such unethical things, figures and people I did not quite recognize, so much blood and fear, hatred and pain, all revolving around me, I finally woke up, I tried to brush it off and continued with my daily life but I just couldn’t shake off the nightmare.

For the next few days I barely saw Lex and could barely concentrate, this continued for weeks, and then months, until I finally confronted Lexar about it. “Hey, Lex, come here, wtf are you avoiding me for and treating me like I offended you or I cheated you on something, what’s wrong, talk to me, you’ve been distant ever since…” I was saying after finally catching up with him, he interrupted me and violently grabbed my arm “DON’T YOU DARE MENTION THAT” He practically growled at me infront of everybody, at what I felt my heart zink, my blood boil and my mind go blank “Lex what the fuck are you doing that hurts” I said trying to get him to let go of my arm, his grip did not budge and he just stared into my eyes as if he wanted to eliminate me from the world, I felt panic deep in my soul and my fight or SURVIVE instinct kicked in, Lexar is one of the strongest magical beings I’ve ever met, and I stood no chance against him, he was built, tall and scary strong, and to top it off he was a mind bender and beast master. As my mind kicked overdrive and the only strong power I had was time bending, all I could think was to stop time and get as far away of Lexar as I could, right at this moment his grip started loosening on my arm as if he had read my mind “Cover your eyes, and never come near me again” He said moving his hand towards my eyes, I flinched and slapped his hand away, covering my eyes and running as fast as I could towards my dorm.

The grief and fear I felt were so crippling I couldn't make it to my dorm and I went towards the bathrooms, I was sobbing and felt as if I couldn’t breathe, I kept trying to take in breaths and it was as if my lungs had the pressure of an entire truck on top of them, I walked out of the bathroom stall I was in and walked towards the mirror where I stopped and froze looking at myself in the mirror, for a second everything I was feeling stopped as I stared at this woman in the mirror, it was me but, it wasn’t “What the fuck is this?” I said with a clogged nose, my eyes were completely golden with white pupils, and my hair looked as if it was turning white from the roots and red towards the ends I heard somebody opening the door to the bathrooms, I quickly splashed some water on my face and ran to close myself into the stall again. The way I looked was so shocking everything I was feeling a minute ago stopped.

“Wtf is this, I can’t walk around the school looking like a different being” I thought as tears streamed down my cheeks, I rolled my sleeves up and looked at where Lexar had held me so tightly I felt as if my arm was going to be cut off “Its bruised” I said under my breath at the huge bruise of his fingers “Wtf happened…” I thought, breaking out in tears again. I spent what felt like hours in that bathroom stall, and came to a realization, all the hours I spent sobbing in the bathroom after a public display of aggression not one person had checked on me, no one sent me a text, or called me, no one looked for me, the only person I had was Lexar, my entire life since childhood has always been Lex.

“That has to change,” I thought, walking out to the mirror again and splashing my face. “At least those disturbing eyes went away, but what Am I supposed to do with this hair? I mean I am a magical being so I guess it doesn't matter as much” I said tying it into a ponytail.

“I guess this makes me make up my mind about my life” I thought with a broken heart that felt like it was going to hit the floor with heaviness and pain, I walked towards my room and started pulling the connections and money that I never used from the corporation and that same day I left the academy, I didn’t tell anyone, I never went back, I never looked back and I never forgot that day.

I left magic behind for a while and focused on my family corporation, as if by destiny the previous chairman died of a sudden death in the following months and I was the only successor to take the company which I did, in the next year, I dedicated myself to learn everything about business, politics and money, so when the time came to officially take over the ownership of Xantrac Corp my parents company I was properly prepared.

After the public announcement of the ownership passing to the daughter of Mentril and Audrias, Eleanor Xantrac of Xantrac corp a lot of attention turned to me, which I found very odd, countless calls to become business partners, calls questioning why and many more odd things I found pretty off, so here it started, I started digging deep, through hundreds and thousands of files, activities and connections “Fascinating” I thought after what felt like forever I finally pieced something together “Officially Xantrac makes magical medicine for magical beings, and magically unhealable illnesses, and also makes medicine for normal humans, up until 30-40 years ago where the great magical movement started taking place it started branching out into new endeavors, previously it was a leading archeological and research company” I read in the board I had put together in the office where I also lived in, as I looked at the complete pigsty I had in there “I think It’s about time I move into our old family house again” I thought feeling like a pit form in my stomach.

I finally gathered the courage to move into my old house where so many memories were made and lost and started organizing everything, after I finished I started walking around the unnecessarily huge house that felt so empty it haunted me “I can’t believe this once was a warm home filled with love” I thought feeling my eyes burn remembering my parents and Lexar “I should get a familiar, and spend more time here, I’m not really needed everyday at the corporation” I thought going to my parents room that had been empty for almost a decade “I can’t believe it’s been so long since you guys disappeared” I said as I searched for sheets to make the bed “I haven’t forgotten my promise to solve the mystery behind your disappearance” I said to a picture frame of little me with my parents.

After washing up and preparing for the night I threw myself at the giant bed and stared at the roof, my heartbeat so loud I felt it could be heard all over the house, with burning eyes and a screaming mind, tears started flowing down my cheeks as per usual thinking about everything, and even tho the Lexar situation at the academy had happened over a year and a half ago I still couldn't forget the betrayal I felt, the pain of losing the only person I had left in the world over a stupid vision, and since I’m a sentimental idiot, I’ve always stay up to date on how he's doing.

“I hope this stops hurting one day” I thought, finally crying myself to sleep.

“What’s this” I said out loud as I was in a pitch black room “I guess I’m dreaming” I though walking in no specific direction for a little bit until I heard a familiar sound that made my skin crawl “Oh not this again” I said as the flute playing became louder “What do you want” I said out loud at the pitch darkness, while in the distance I could see the death language runes, I sighed and walked towards them, I reached my hand out to touch one of them and I was sharply what I can only describe as teleported towards a familiar scenario, my lungs felt heavy as if I couldn’t breathe “What the hell dude” I said to the flute player “Hello time bender, it is nice seeing you again” It said in a weird voice “Is that so, last time I saw you I can’t say I had a good time” I answered back “Well, it is nice seeing you fulfilling your part of destiny and not dying” It answered back and I stared at it with a mix of confusion and anger “I’m not following that stupid path you told me last time I saw you, I’m just doing what suites me, also why would have I died? I don’t even go out” I asked/answered “Well, there were two destinies for you, if you stayed in the academy, you would have eventually been killed to extract the power of time from your core, or the path you are going down now, the path of power, where you can aid the mind bender” It explained to me as my mind exploded a little bit and I stared at it confused “Oh I see you have yet to learn some important things, I notice that in deed you have not been working hard enough in your path, yet your partner has been doing his part. Here, a little help” It said as I felt it push my back and send me flying into a whirlpool of images, information, events, I felt dizzy, nauseous, and I didn’t understand half of it, I saw glimpses of heinous, nightmarish, gruesome and blood chilling events, I saw Lexar and I saw a magical person I recognized, and just like that it all ended I jerked up awake, my heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out my chest, covered in cold sweat, and a heat wave overcoming my body.

Suddenly it clicked “All the missing files, the dead ends, the missing links from the archives, and the magical archives it all makes sense now” I said outloud basically running to the makeshift office I had made in the house office “This missing person, this massacre, the creation of the slums, all the new medical paradoxes, the unexplained viruses, the sudden surge of magical power, new beasts and species, the eradication of the traditional studying methods, the new religions'' I said putting together my board, after putting everything together a thought hit me “Why would my parents help in this?” I said analyzing my work in the board “There has to be more” I said frustrated, I sat down and started searching more and reviewing the documents again “That’s interesting” I said “The academy chairman Zurich keeps popping out on a lot of things connected to the magic movement, ‘lead scientist discovers new magic’ ‘academy headmaster to explore new magics’ ‘Scientist Zurich develops new medicine to combat illnesses’ How strange.”

I read some articles while trying to remember how this man looked “If I think about it, I’ve never, not even once ever saw him on academy grounds, just the vice chair and his secretaries” I thought going to my computer “I mean this man is mentioned everywhere around the world for his innovation in the magical and technological field but I cannot find a picture of this him” I said reading article after article “That’s funny I can’t remember him from my childhood either, and according to our files Xantrac had worked with his company Zurich inc together for years” I said “This is super suspicious maybe he put a spell over his identity or something” I said thinking “My mom loved photography the old style, there has to be some picture of him with us when I was younger” I thought going to the attic, I rummaged around countless boxes, dust and old toys “Ah man, I remember when my parents took Lexar in, they took him out to buy clothes and toys for the first time in who knows how long and all he did was sob unconsolably" I reminiscenced as I went over some of his old things “I know every day of his life he wished his little sisters could have had the wonderful things my parents gave us” I said feeling nostalgic “Ah here we go, I knew my mother kept a box of old style pictures” I said taking them out and turning on the light “All right let’s see” I said sitting down in our old toddler chair and table, I spent what felt hours quickly going trough family pictures, trying not to put much tought into them “Ah here we go” I said going over some company pictures “I mean I can’t say I exactly remember how he looked honestly” I said looking at different men in suites in the pictures “Man that is so odd, I can’t seem to remember much about those times in my childhood, it’s weird I wasn’t even super young, it was close to the time when Lexar came into my life, around 7-6 years maybe?” I rambled for a little bit.

“Ah this on” I exclaimed “I vaguely remember this tall man with white hair and this lab coat at every single gathering” I said collecting the few pictures where said man was “Yes he is the same man I saw in that dream but younger” I said grabbing one of the pictures where he was with my father and mother “I literally never saw this man in the many years I spent in the academy” I said going back to the office where I spent the rest of the night researching as best I could about this him. As the sunrise hit my eyes and the birds started chirping I had already made my mind to investigate more about him.

For the next few months I dedicated most of my free time digging more information about Zurich and his organization. This led me to rely on the slums and the people who had been left behind to die, the infamously called ‘Underworld’. Where I gathered some pretty interesting intel, where the survivors of disgusting experiments escaped to, where the disregarded to die beasts and creatures ended up and all this ironically led me back to Lexar without his knowledge, I always knew what he was up to “Ah always with a crappy attitude and ass face trying to make the world a better place” I sighed as I secretly kept track of him. I started making friends and alliances, collecting information and following leads without ever involving myself physically. I understood this was my side of the vision, I could not afford to be involved or my name even mentioned or known but I had to do it somehow, so I created an alias, an alternate ego per say, I could not stay away from magic, it was in my blood, so I started dressing up and bringing my alter ego to life, to always be there and at the same time not.

One day in my office signing paperwork and planning new strategies to make more branches of Xantrac and adjacent companies, I felt a chill come down my spine, and as my mind which never stayed silent, devices a million more ways to take down the net of horrible atrocities that were going on around us without anybody even knowing it and the poor souls that found out or tried to oppose it faced horrible fates I received a phone call from an unknown number, something inside my body insisted I take it and so I answered “Hello, chairwoman of Xantrac Eleanor, whom do I speak with?” I answered, for some reason my mind quieted down, and my heartbeat accelerated “Lexar?” I asked without thinking “Why the fuck would I say his name randomly what’s wrong with me” I bitched at my self “Hey Ellie” his voice said trough the phone “We were always connected” He added as loud yells and turmoil came from his side “What do you need, I can’t be acosiated with you” I answered coldly trough the phone “Well, I’m in a complicated situation, I infiltrated a secret magical terrorist laboratory that was supposed to be abandoned, which it was, but I wasn’t careful and I was followed and all hell broke loose, I have acquired the information I needed but I am afraid I wont be able to make it out with it” He explained quickly “Leave it somewhere so obvious no one will ever think to search for it there and destroy your phone magically I can’t help you any further, goodbye” I said hanging up as my eyes were burning and my heart felt empty and hurt “Why did you have to embark on all of this alone, we always did everything together, I thought we were a team…” I cried hating every moment of my life that I have not been able to be with Lex.

“Ah if this is going on now I might catch it on the news channels” I said looking for the news channels on my computer and effectively, there it was on every news channel, how what looked like half the country was raiding the ‘abandoned’ experimenting facility after Lexar, I watched with sheer terror, as they raided the facility filled with dead animals, beasts, things that seemed humanoid “It’s a magic experimenting and altering facility” I said out loud as the broadcast continued “We have a clear shot” One of the magical soldiers said and my heart sank the reporter said some things about catching the infamous magic terrorist “The what?” I almost yelled, I couldn't focus, everything seemed blurry and everything happened in seconds. Lexar stood no chance against such a strong force that was after him.

“What did you think was going to happen you stupid donkey, you’re going against one of the most loved adored living beings right now” I said with tears streaming down my face as I saw him be shot, stung and beat to be restrained and stuffed into a magic stopping moving truck “You should have relied on me” I thought holding my head crying. “I can’t even visit you in prison” I thought, putting my forehead against my desk, I stayed there pondering my entire life until it was time to go home, once I was home I couldn’t do anything, I laid in bed awake for hours, waiting for the next day since I knew his sentence was going to be public, it was Zurichs way of pinning his dirty shit onto Lexar who looked super sketchy, my heart and mind gave me no peace, I pondered for hours if I could have done anything different, if I had insisted even after Lexar hurt me maybe things would have unraveled different maybe he would have done things more cautiously.

I twisted and turned in my bed until the first ray of sunlight shined through my window, I readied myself and searched the news “Magical terrorist to be publicly sentenced and sent to Albatraz high containment facility for the magical and most wanted of the continent” My heart dropped “This is the worse outcome, how can Lexar be sent to Albatraz, that's for the worse criminals of the world in general, the punishments and sentences people pay there are unmentionable.” I thought, getting ready and leaving the house.

I drove to the city center where Zurich would finally be making an appearance to personally apprehense and defend himself against Lexar and clear his name over some accusations I was actually guilty of starting.

I waited in a nearby cafe just staring into nothingness until the time came, the news channels were already setting up, curious people were gathering around waiting for the famous Zurich to make his appearance and speak about what had happened the day prior.

The time finally came and I stepped out of the cafe to be able to hear properly, I had changed my appearance at my house so nobody as far as I know, ever knew I was there, I listened to all the bullshit explanation of what had gone down and waited patiently for Zurich to speak “As we all know, with the shock from yesterday, a young man leader of a magic terrorist group attempted against my life and my research, sadly even tho I have dedicated my entire life towards improving the life quality of all of us in the world, and the advances in technology and magic, there is still people out there after me, making false allegations about my work and my intentions, making up these twisted stories about experimentation, and sourcing dark cursed magic, so I, with the aid of a team formed of the very best I could find, tracked down this magic terrorist whom blamed me for atrocious acts he himself and his group of followers had committed, and with a lot of dedication, finally took him and all his allies down! We discovered unimaginable things, experiments, human mutation, beastly modifications, things that should never be done to any living being, things that my principles, my academy, my religion and Zurich inc fight against on a daily basis and thrive for a equal life for everybody, people like this man Lexar Jermont have to be stopped, incarcerated and given the maximum punishment available, to set an example for ANYONE that wishes to follow into these footsteps, I hereby with the permission of the governor and chief of magical forces sentence Mr. Jermont, to serve a lifetime of imprisonment in Albatraz, for the crimes of magical terrorism, murder, experimenting on living beings, and persecuting me and my associates with the intent of murder, forming a terrorist group and endangering the lives of uncountable rightful members of society, experimenting on living beings with nefarious and unorthodox methods, the manipulation and summoning of, dark, prohibited or cursed magic, and the list goes on, in conclusion, this man is a liability to keep inside normal prisons, hence the decision to send him to Albatraz” He finally finished his speech said goodbye and retreated into the building again “Fucking lying narcissist” I thought as my blood boiled “90% of those sentences were pulled out of his sleeve on the moment” I thought sighing, I quietly went towards were I had parked my car and made my way to my office my mind exploding on my quiet drive towards work.