Домагой Курмаич - Mother of Learning

Zach had expected to punch a literal hole in the misty world, but it turned out that Red Robe’s little creation was incomparable to that of Panaxeth, even if they had the same origin. The moment it was forcibly punctured, the mist started to thin and fade, until the entire world quietly disappeared at some point, shunting them back to the real world.

They came back just in time to see Zorian take out Quatach-Ichl. It filled Zach with complex feelings to see Zorian best his oldest enemy so seemingly easily. He knew that a lot of work and preparation went into this victory, and that it was not nearly as easy as it looked, but… it still make him a little jealous. Just a little bit.

Red Robe, on the other hand, was just mad. He attacked Zach with increased ferocity to vent his frustration, and Zach matched it without any reservations. Black swords made out of dimensional forces slashed at Jornak, cutting deep gauges as he dodged out of the way. Tiny incandescent suns zipped around with the speed and agility of a swallow, the ground exploded into stone spears that then exploded into thousands of needle-like shards, rays of electrified light surged forward while evading obstacles like immaterial snakes, and the air itself was whipped into a miniature tornado centered on Zach. He may have failed in a lot of areas of his life, but if there was one thing Zach Noveda felt supremely confident in, that was his combat skills. He was good at fighting, and he loved doing it. It rejuvenated him to fight worthy opponents, made him feel alive.

He looked at his opponent, his red robe long since tattered, and met the man’s eyes, trying to jog his memory. To remember the time they apparently met and became friends. Alas, nothing came to his mind. There was no memory, no instinctive knowledge, not even a feeling of déjà vu. The man was a complete stranger.

Red Robe. Jornak. The man who apparently betrayed him and tampered with his mind, leaving him even more lost inside the time loop than he already was. Zach was angry at the man for what he had done… but if he was honest with himself, not that angry. He didn’t actually remember the betrayal, and he was always a relatively easygoing guy. Even so, tracking the man down and making him pay for what he had done had been the driving force of his life for a while now. He didn’t think it was the effect of any magical compulsion or anything… he just found hating the man to be convenient. Invigorating. Focusing on Red Robe and how he messed him up gave Zach a goal in life that he had lacked for so long, so how he could not go after him?

Plus, the man was clearly a total nutcase. He wasn’t an empath like Zorian, but he didn’t need to be one to get a read on the guy. Even more than Zach himself, he was dead inside. The next round of continental wars was going to be bad enough without a guy like this throwing oil into the fire. He had to go.

Then Zorian made Oganj go away. He did it in such a hilarious way, too! Except for the part where he gave up the imperial orb to make it happen, that part was honestly awful. Hadn’t they agreed the orb would go to him after the month was over, since he got Princess? The asshole had no right to give it away! Hell, he didn’t even try to negotiate with the stupid lizard…

Oh well. Truthfully, the idea he would get to enjoy the imperial orb, or anything else for that matter, was just… a wistful dream. The angel contract hung like a sword above his head, ready to strike. Its terms were impossible to fulfill. No matter what happens, Zach only had a little time left.

Or so he thought at the time, anyway.

Without warning, Zorian teleported near the site of Zach’s battle with Red Robe. Zach remembered feeling a flash of anger in response, even if he stayed quiet. It made sense for Zorian to help bring down Red Robe as quickly as possible, but this was the final stretch of the battle and Zach was enjoying himself. This was the last fun thing he was ever going to do in his life, did Zorian really have to take it away from him?

What happened next shocked him completely. Without saying anyway, Zorian simply lunged at Red Robe, rapidly entering melee range with the man while charging some kind of spell Zach didn’t recognize.

Though angry, exhausted, and focused on Zach, Red Robe reacted quickly. He instantly spun to the side to face this new opponent, drawing a knife from his belt in a smooth, practiced motion.

No, it was not just a knife, Zach realized. It was the imperial dagger. Red Robe must have quietly stolen it from the Royal Vaults at some point. It wasn’t that surprising – the man must have gotten quite proficient at it over the restarts – but he thought the dagger wasn’t that useful?

Red Robe’s expression alone told Zach that he had thought wrong. An expression of pure glee and hate shone on the man’s face, as if he hoped this very thing would happen and couldn’t believe Zorian was stupid enough to grant him this opportunity.

Zach hastily launched a fast-moving spell at the two trying to blast them apart from each other, but he wasn’t fast enough. The dagger shone with a faint purple light as Red Robe thrust it forward towards Zorian’s face. Zorian did nothing to dodge or shield himself with magic, but that protective cube he made quietly interposed itself in the path of the knife.

Zorian’s faith in his grand creation proved to be severely misplaced, however. As great as his skills at artifice were, the dagger was a genuine divine artifact. It sliced straight through the cube like it was made of paper and stabbed forward, impaling Zorian straight through the neck.

Simultaneously, Zorian’s glowing hand slammed straight into Red Robe’s chest, blowing a massive hole straight through his chest and causing some kind of faint blue waves of resonate across the man’s entire body.

And then Zorian’s damage defense cube detonated in a massive explosion that not only blew Zorian and Red Robe away from each other like rag dolls, but also flung Zach back into the nearby building.

Zach wasn’t really hurt. It wasn’t the first time he was flung back into a wall. He cushioned his impact with the wall with a quick magic, expertly landed on his feet. He quickly scanned the area and found Zorian lying on his back some distance away.

He rushed towards the boy to provide aid but stopped when he got close enough to really see him.

He wasn’t moving. His eyes, blank and glassy, remained open. His chest didn’t move. And the imperial dagger was still stuck up to the hilt in his neck, and his whole body was full of serrated metal bits sticking out his skin – the remains of his defense device driven deep into his flesh by the force of the explosion.

He stared at his friend for a few seconds, overcome in disbelief, before walking forwards. He cast a quick diagnostic spell and slowly, hesitantly placed his hand on him. He wasn’t that great with healing magic, but this was one of the simplest spells in that field and he had an excellent grasp on it. The spell told him what he already knew, but didn’t want to accept.

Zorian was dead.

"No," he whispered despondently. "No! Zorian you stupid, stupid, stupid- Why!? Why would you do something so-"

Because this was deliberate. What don’t you understand? He chose to die so you could live.

The thought bubbled up to his mind suddenly, unpleasant and uninvited. It hit him like a punch in the face.

"H-He wouldn’t…" Zach mumbled to himself. "He’s too selfish… he said so himself! He has friends, a family, a little sister that needs him, a whole bunch of girls that want to get in his pants. I…"

He took a deep breath and forcefully calmed himself. He… had to check something.

He got up to his feet and ran up to where Red Robe’s was also laying on the ground, motionless. The man was also dead, unsurprisingly. Not only did Zorian’s last attack completely destroy his heart and chest, the blue wave that accompanied the attack also did something. Ripped his soul out of his body, maybe? His medical magic was too rudimentary to figure it out, but the man was definitely dead.