Chapter 13 – Light and Darkness

“YOU MUST already know the reason why I summoned you,” Silas told Sylvia in a cold voice as the woman kneeled in front of him. Gone was the trace of the confident woman he saw in the pictures from his secretary’s report. Right now, Sylvia’s face was pale. She had dark circles under her eyes as if she had not been sleeping properly lately. Her eyes and nose were a bit red as if she had been crying. She was thinner now and her sophisticated olive-green dress was crumpled, her expensive shoes were dirty as if she was out all night.

This was not like the Sylvia he knew. Even if the world would come to an end, the Vampire Sylvia would still make sure that she would die in a stylish manner. But the human Sylvia did not seem to give any importance about her looks at the moment.

Her shoulders shook. “I know I have made a grave mistake, Your Majesty. Considering the crime I committed, I know you will find this hard to believe but there was never a moment in my life that I did not regret what I did. I did not mean to harm them. Blaze was the friend I treasured the most. Ever since the Vampires from our side and his merged, he became like a family to me. I would never intentionally harm the ones he loved. I adored Danielle and Kate. You know that. Danielle was like a sister to me while Kate was the reason why I wanted to have a daughter of my own. All I wanted was to be a human. I didn’t know those Mages would betray me and Blaze. When they came to me and told me that they will give me an elixir that would turn me into a human in exchange of Danielle and Kate’s blood, even if I trusted them because they were on the Council’s side for a long time, I still asked them countless times to make sure that getting a drop of Danielle and Kate’s blood would not hurt them in any way. And when they said ‘yes’, I thought it was my chance to change my life.”

Silas’ expression softened a little. Of course, he knew that. She was under his wing for so long when he took her in after her parents died. He had watched her grow. Sylvia was a pure-blooded Vampire. Her parents were both Vampire Knights who died from the war against the Rogues, just like Blaze. Since every Vampire had a special ability, her mother’s ability was to bear children which was rare among the female Vampires.

But Sylvia never wanted an eternal life. She had always dreamt of becoming a human and even dated human men. He knew how much she struggled with her relationships. The men she dated all left her in a hurry after discovering who she was. Since her charm was her special gift-the reason why she could enthrall both men and women back in her prime-she could not bear children. And she hated that more about her life.

“All I wanted was to have a family of my own. I wanted a child of my own,” Sylvia added in trembling voice. “I envied the humans for experiencing the joys of living. I wanted to experience getting old with the man I love, I wanted to digest their food without vomiting it later. I hated drinking blood. I wanted their drinks. I wanted to eat and drink with them. And together, we would watch our children grow and build a family of their own. Everything felt empty for me but all that had changed when I became a human. It was so hard at first, but I’ve never been so happy in my life than when I met my husband and had a child.”

“But the cost of that happiness was two people’s life, Sylvia. You disappointed me. You were not satisfied with your Vampire life. I get that. But I did not raise you to become an irresponsible woman. You ran away after what you did,” his tone changed, and his eyes narrowed.

Her tears started to flow. “I-I was afraid that the Mages would hunt me and kill me. A-after becoming human, I knew I would have to be punished in the end. But before that, I thought I should try living first. I wanted to try enjoying life first.”

“Still, you should have stayed, Sylvia. Maybe then your punishment would have been lighter, and Blaze would not have to go through such ordeal. You left him alone to deal with your mess. Because you left and removed all traces of you, it took him months before he was able to find out the Mages who schemed against him. You were aware that you were the only one who knew about the culprits, right? When you left, a total of twelve innocent people died, Sylvia, including Danielle and Kate. Six high-ranking Vampires and six werewolves from the North were sacrificed through a blood spell.

“The enemies stole their life force through their victims’ blood to become more powerful. And that was all to overthrow Blaze from his position in the Council since several Mages were against him because of a certain prediction. And in their desperate desire to stop the prediction from happening, they became monsters themselves and resorted to killing innocent Vampires and Werewolves. Those Mages built a Coven. He managed to wipe them out although he suffered a huge blow and had been bedridden for a month after that.”

Sylvia gasped. “I-I didn’t know that. Algernon never told me about that.”

“Do you now realize how selfish and unfair you had been not only to Blaze but also to his Clan? His best friend betrayed him. Algernon, his own relative betrayed him, too, and chose to hide you when he was desperately searching for you.”

She sobbed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I am not the one who should hear your apology, Sylvia. You were lucky enough you were still alive after Blaze found you. If it were others, you and your entire family would have been annihilated already. And I wouldn’t have stopped him. But even if he gets rid of you all, that would not have been enough as compensation for those twelve lives.”

“Please, Your Majesty! I know that this is shameless of me, but I would do whatever Blaze wants!” Her voice cracked. “I would comply with all his rules. If he wants to take my life right now, then he can have it. And in my next life, if I would have any, he could take my life there, too. But please tell him to spare my daughter. Mikaela didn’t go home last night. She hadn’t contacted me yet. This had never happened before. That child is innocent! She’s a good person. She’s so much better than me.”

“You should have known that the more you restrain her, the more she would want to break free. Besides, you have warned your child, didn’t you? And she didn’t listen to you. I have warned her, too.”

Silas remembered how he went to Mikaela’s studio a week before Blaze had showed up in her life. Her bodyguards did not want to let him in because he pretended to be a beggar, but Mikaela stood up for him, scolded her bodyguards, and took him in without hesitation. She would have offered him food, drinks, and a shelter had he not left. Sylvia was right. Her daughter had a heart of gold which was rare for humans nowadays.

“Now, it’s all up to them. I’m betting on Blaze. If you had raised your daughter well, then trust her and bet on her, too.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you asking me to bet on my daughter’s life, Your Majesty?”

“Yes,” Silas replied in a neutral voice. “That’s the best you can do. Now, as for the punishment, the Council and I have decided that twelve years will be cut off in your human life. The Mages would make that possible. That is the most generous thing we could do for you, Sylvia. Even if you did not intend to harm Blaze’s family, you will still be punished for being an accessory to the crime and for the fact that you hid what you knew about the enemies and flee. You are fifty now in the human world. You have more or less ten years left to enjoy your human life. Goodbye for now, Sylvia.”

When Silas raised his hand, his Knights appeared inside the meeting hall and escorted Sylvia away who was still weeping. He sighed. Her punishment was too light, but it was what Blaze had decided last night when he asked his assistant to deliver his message to the Council about Sylvia during his date with Mikaela.

That boy may be furious, but he would never be able to hurt Mikaela and Sylvia since the latter was the mother of the woman he was with. Not to mention that Blaze and Sylvia used to be friends for a long time. Cain said it was because of the mana inside Sylvia. Even if it was sealed, Blaze was still connected to that mana that’s why the two naturally became close. Cain’s words suddenly rang in his ears.

“If something happens to me, lead the Council and take care of my favorite student. I trust that you will guide that boy in my place, Silas. Blaze is special. He is a mixture of both light and darkness. The light inside him could appease even the wildest of beast, but the darkness in him, if not controlled, could destroy all of us.”

Silas choked on the blood he was drinking. “What are you saying?”

“Do you still remember Zenaidos?” Cain asked instead.

“How could I forget? He was the one who wounded us back in the North. He controlled the Rogues in the past. All the Knights had a difficult time capturing that devious Mage. Fortunately, he is now gone. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos.”

“The main reason why I came in the North was Zenaidos. Blaze’s parents asked for my help that time because Zenaidos was irrepressible. He was a demon. And you were wrong, Silas. He was not completely gone.”

Silas gasped. “What are you saying?”

“We had no match to him, Silas. He was that strong. We needed to entrap him and steal his powers first before we were able to apprehend him. And for that to happen, we needed someone. We needed a body strong enough to serve as a host for that immense power. But that person needed to possess not only a strong body, but a strong mentality, and a pure soul. If one’s soul was not pure enough, he would only end up as another Zenaidos. And none of us at that time possessed all those three things except for one person.”

“Are you saying that it was Blaze?”

“Yes. Blaze was still young then, but he was already very matured. He made a huge sacrifice when he gave me his permission to perform the spell to transfer Zenaidos’ power inside him and made him its new host.”

“So, that was the reason why that boy had mana even if he had no Mage blood inside his system?”

In a Mage’s term, mana was a magical energy.

Cain nodded. “We were only able to kill Zenaidos after the transfer. But his demonic mana and unequal abilities still reside in Blaze, and it only grows stronger every time. His parents and I were too focused on sealing Zenaidos to save everyone that we forgot one important detail. It was the fact that Blaze had a tremendous power of his own. The two opposing powers inside him were clashing inside him. And it could explode any day.

“The first explosion already happened. That boy released a massive amount of mana when he was only sixteen and had lost traces of himself when he exploded. The entire town and the nearby places were destroyed. So many Knights and ordinary citizens were wounded. And they would have died right away had it not been for his family who came with me to heal them. Blaze’s mana is quickly turning him into a demon. As he gets older, the light inside him weakens and the darkness caused by Zenaidos’ power gets stronger. Every day, it devours his soul, his reasoning, and his heart. And that mana could ruin him and the world. Among the victims of the explosion that day was Sylvia. She was at the vicinity when it happened. Fortunately, the Mages on our team were quick to cure her and everyone else.”

Silas’ brows furrowed. “Why did you particularly mention the little girl?”

“When Blaze’s power exploded, the pieces of himself, of his mana, were scattered around the area. I have managed to neutralize them. I was able to put them back inside him, but there was a large piece that went inside Sylvia’s body. Once pieces of him had been completed, the predictions about him would come true about him being a destroyer. That’s why I did not remove that last piece inside Sylvia. As time passed by, he would naturally be attracted to that missing piece.”

“If his mana is what makes him a devil and a part of that had been transferred to Sylvia, does this mean that she could become a devil, too?”

Cain shook his head. “No. I sealed the mana inside her. However, the seal will break after she give birth to her first child because the mana will need a new host, a new body, to contain it. And like Blaze, only a person with so much light in her soul could control and defuse it. When I saw Sylvia’s future, I also saw that she will give birth to a woman with blinding light in her soul. And that woman would be the mana’s new host, she would be Blaze’s other half. Their light and darkness would attract each other like the moth to a flame.

“They would be dangerous for each other, but only the two of them could satiate and complete each other. They would need to stay together to balance their light and the darkness caused by mana. That was why you have to protect Sylvia as well. Make sure that she would give birth. Without her child’s light to control Blaze’ inner beast, he could go berserk and explode again. I trust that you will not tell anyone about this. I am aware that you have questions, but be patient, Silas. I cannot disclose anything more than this for it would disrupt that boy’s fate. Time would eventually disclose the answers.”

In this world, Silas believed that there was no such thing as coincidence. It was not a coincidence that Cain had lost his way when he traveled to North America where he happened to meet the Stevens. It was not a coincidence that Sylvia was at the same place when Blaze’s mana flared up. He believed that those things had to happen, including the deaths of many good Vampires and Wolves, to prepare them all for Blaze and Mikaela’s future encounter.

Blaze did change after Danielle and Kate’s death. He did become ferocious to the point that even the ones from the North tremble in front of him, but he was still a good ruler. He was still a good man inside and he still deserved to live a happy life after all he had gone through.

Silas could try breaking inside Blaze’s barrier to free Mikaela. Sylvia was right. Her daughter was innocent and ought to be spared. But he would not do that. Because he was hoping that Mikaela was the one, that she could tame the beast inside Blaze and control it for good. It would have been nice if those two would fall in love. But needs and love are two different things. They may need each other right now but needs alone would not suffice to make a relationship last.

I did my part, Cain. Whatever happens next is now up to your precious student.