The Prince Of Magic

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The shock faded, however, as Hadrian became contemplative.

While the news was alarming, the encounter ended without anything unfortunate scenarios.

His grandfather would not have delivered the news to him in a casual manner if there was something that occurred. However, the possibility that the old magician was holding off a piece of information was also high. If there was, the old man would ask him to speak to him later, preferably out of the ears of the Flamels and his retainers.

Either way, his encounter with the Spider in the dream was brief, startling but brief.

As he thought back on it, the way the encounter went was strange.

He was dreaming of one scene, then it changed, as if the Spider had intruded into his mind just to meet eyes with him.

Hadrian had wondered why at first, but after his grandfather's explanation, the result of the encounter kind of made sense.

When he had first arrived in this world, Hadrian thought he was imagining things, but there seemed to be something that was weighing down upon him. It was a weird pressure, faint but present. If his senses and the automaton were to be believed, the source might be coming from outside of the ancient wards surrounding the Flamels' territory.

The ancient wards might have been interfering with the effects, lessening it even, but Hadrian had a strange feeling that the pressure would be more prominent to be felt once he tried sensing it outside of the wards. Furthermore, odd as it was, the pressure felt somewhat similar to what the Spider had exuded during their encounter.

Just a tad, but the similarity was there.

And then, after waking up earlier, he felt… lighter?

He can still sense the pressure coming from outside the wards, but after the dream encounter with the Spider, something seemed to have changed inside him. The automaton was kind enough to inform him earlier that his compatibility with the Arma Sanguis had increased at a dramatic level. His senses seemed to have been heightened at a certain level as well.

He cannot tell much by eyesight since he can already see in a perfect 20/20 clarity level, but his sense of smell and hearing were different.

Earlier before, Hadrian had heard footsteps coming towards the entrance door of his chambers. Few minutes later, it was Charles who had entered to fetch him for breakfast.

Another example was that time when they came down for breakfast, Hadrian had caught the scent of melted chocolate midway down the stairs, and few moments later, they entered the dining room with one of the plates on the long table filled with chocolate filled croissants.

How he had managed to smell them with the doors and windows closed, and with a glass lid covering the plate filled pastries, Hadrian can only wonder other changes would occur.

Time can only tell him of what they are.

Hadrian simply hoped that whatever it was, it would not change him into something that he was not.

The probability might be low, given his grandfather's casual attitude to the news, but who knows what might happen.

Having noticed the young mage's silence, Charles jumped into the conversation with a concerned expression.

"Is master going to be okay?" The cheeky retainer asked, one hand at his side formed into a fist while the other went unto his master's left shoulder.

It was an unconscious action that was done out of concern, not only to reassure himself but also his master.

Breaking out of his musing, Hadrian gave the retainer a calm, curious glance, simply taking note of the latter's anxious expression, but said nothing and turned back his attention to the front.

One quick look around, the young mage found that Charles was not the only concerned for his well-being. The twin maids, along with the Flamel couple were as well.

Fortunately, they didn't need to be as his grandfather began to reassure them.

"Enkel will be fine. His vitals spiked momentarily when he was asleep earlier, probably during the time when he encountered the Spider, but his status remained mostly the same." Zelretch explained with a smile, waving a hand as if to push their worries away.

"Mostly?" Penerelle said, raising a brow as she caught something strange in his words.

"And who's this… Spider you just mentioned, Zel?" Nicolas asked, curious.

The old magician hummed in response, his attention away from the camera and to his left.

Given the dim lighting on his face, Hadrian presumed that the old magician was looking at a monitor that was out of the camera's view. Hearing the familiar soft chiming noises through the video call helped his guess to be true as the old magician continued to fiddle with something in his computer.

As he did so, his grandfather glanced back at the camera while his hands were in a middle of typing.

"Yes, mostly, but it's nothing to be concerned with." Zelretch reassured them, grinning as he turned to Nicolas. "As for who the Spider is, well, he's an extra-terrestrial being that came down here in our world at the behest of one primordial god. Guy mostly spends his time asleep, hibernating, and sometimes, popping out spawns every once in a while."

Silence hung upon the room for a few moments.

Hadrian watched as the surprise on the Flamel couple's faces contorted into shock once they finally realized what his grandfather had just explained.

The Flamel couple's eyes turned as wide as saucers, making Hadrian smile faintly and Charles to snort in amus.e.m.e.nt behind him.

"Q-quoi?!" Nicolas gasped.

"Alien?! Primordial god?!" Penerelle exclaimed.

"Ah? Did I forget to mention to you two before? My bad! Ahahaha!" Zelretch laughed, looking thoroughly amused by their reactions.

"You obviously did, fool!" Penerelle retorted, slightly annoyed.

"We'll go over that later, what's important is that enkel is fine and healthy." Zelretch then turned to his grandson, whose eyes widened slightly in surprise when their gazes met. "Although, it's still better to be on the err side. Having the attention of that thing is rare and strange. Report to me if you feel anything strange, enkel."

With his advice acknowledged, the old magician turned back to his two friends with a grin.

Hadrian sighed, scratching the back of his head.

As he watched his grandfather fill in the Flamel couple regarding the events in their world, he wondered when he would be able to leave the office.

Turns out, it would be for quite a while.

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