The Prince Of Magic

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Hadrian's mind went blank once he absorbed what his grandfather had said.

Then, the questions began to pop in, ranging on 'what-ifs' and the possible consequences that lead to each of them.

None of which gave him a positive feeling, he admitted.

Sensing that he would get nowhere in musing about it on his own, Hadrian closed his eyes and forced himself to stop thinking.

He took a few moments to breathe in and out, eventually regaining his composure before he put the PT against his ear once more.

"… What do you mean by that?" He asked quietly, fully intent on getting an answer.

"Do you recall that one aspect I've told you about parallel worlds?" Zelretch reminded instead.

In a split second, his mind recalled one memory and Hadrian immediately made the connection.

"You mean the 'potentials'?" Hadrian inquired, a small frown marring his face.

"Yes, the 'potentials'." The satisfaction in his grandfather's voice was easy to imagine as the old magician continued. "The inconsistency that causes each alternate dimension to differ from one another. If there's something that exists in one world, the prospect of it occurring in the other dimensions or not was also highly likely. The Chronicle Theoretical Phenomenon and the like."

Simply put, the paradox was in effect.

His presence in this timeline has caused a certain possibility that would not – or shouldn't – have happened.

The question was, what kind of consequence did he incur as a result?

Or was he even the one that triggered it in the first place?

Fortunately, Hadrian didn't need to ponder long as his grandfather began to enlighten him on the situation.

"Before you ask, it's not you that caused this change." Zelretch answered, much to his grandson's surprise. "If I had to guess, it's Prelati. That alternate world was already in a great disturbance even before I had discovered that he was holing up in there. From what I've seen in the others where Prelati didn't exist, the owner of the body you are inhibiting was almost often alive."

"I see." Hadrian settled quietly, gazing at the small waves of the ocean crashing against the rocks. "And this body… you mentioned that it was mine."

"Ja (Yes), although to be more specific, it belongs to your alternate counterpart in this world." Zelretch admitted.

"Ah, yes, Yuuri said that. How did you come across him?" Hadrian asked, recalling the homunculi maid's previous information.

"Believe it or not, I found him by accident." Zelretch said with a hint of mirth in his tone. "I just happened to be in that world, taking a midnight stroll in one of those typical neighborhoods in Surrey, England. You know the ones that looked unoriginal and idiotically similar to each other? I swear, commoners just don't have a sense of taste when it comes to their homes! Why build houses that looked the same in the whole damn village? Don't they get confused which is which? Their sense of style is just inelegant and unoriginal, not to mention stupid! Why, I ought to –"

Hadrian sighed, listening quietly as his grandfather rambled on for a bit before he had enough.

"Opa, you're getting off topic." He reminded, interrupting the old magician's tirade.

"Ah, ja, apologies. I just get off the kilter whenever I see idiotic things such as that." Zelretch chuckled sheepishly, clearing his throat before he continued. "Now, as I was saying, I was taking a stroll in this one neighborhood. It was all quiet and peaceful, until I came across this house. It's a two-story building that looked lame and stupid as the others, but this one had a cradle by their front doorstep. "

"He was inside the cradle?" Hadrian was morbidly curious as to where the story was going.

"Ja, I waited for a few minutes outside, but no one came out. I checked and I found that no one was at home, so I took the child with me instead." Then, his grandfather laughed. "I thought the child would be freezing, but when I took a peek under the blanket, he was sleeping quite soundly. But, what was even more interesting was his face. I was immediately reminded of you, enkel! Strange, innit?"

"And that's how you knew he was my counterpart?"

"Course not." Zelretch hummed, then continued in a thoughtful tone. "Rather, I had this sense of familiarity, an unwavering sense of déjà vu, if you will, once I laid my eyes on him. So, out of curiosity, I took a peek in the Kaleidoscope to find out why, and my magic showed visions of the child living in different parallel worlds and eras."

"Let me guess, I showed up in those visions?" Hadrian summarized, getting the clearer picture.

"Genau! (Precisely!)" Zelretch exclaimed, letting out a booming laugh. "Ahaha, imagine my surprise when I made the discovery! Never have I thought I would encounter your other self in that situation, enkel. That commoner saying that 'the world is small' was surely appropriate in that aspect. It could never be more far off from the truth!"

Affected by the old magician's humor, Hadrian let himself smile faintly, though it disappeared as the reality of the truth humbled him.

"Then… how did he die?" The young mage questioned, feeling strange for uttering the words.

"Dark magic." Zelretch stated, causing his grandson's eyes to widen slightly in surprise. "From what I found through the Kaleidoscope, your counterpart had been used as a sacrifice for a dark ritual that had gone wrong before he was left in that cradle. That night when I found him, he was already on the brink of death. He was still breathing, mind you, but his health was slowly deteriorating. By my estimation, the child would not have lived to see through his twenties, even if he tried to live his life with a proper diet and avoid anything that would shorten his life further."

"I see…" Hadrian muttered, staring at his hand as he flexed it open and close. "No wonder this body felt abnormally weak."

It was true.

Earlier, while he had managed to use the Armiger, the spatial inventory of the automaton and even opened a few portals of the Gate of Babylon, they were the abilities that didn't really require much magical energy to employ. Although, in regards to the Gate of Babylon, the consumption of prana depends on the number of portals that he would summon.

And opening five of them earlier as a test didn't strain his body, despite having awoken recently, which makes him curious as to what might happen if he were to use his more demanding spells instead.

It was food for thought, one that he would need to apply later on his free time.

Then, he paused as a question came to mind.

"Wait, if he still had time, how come…" Hadrian trailed off, brows meeting as he went into thought.

"That the spirit is no longer in the body?" Zelretch finished.

Hearing a noise of agreement from Hadrian's side, the old magician continued.

"If I had to guess, it would be the side-effects of the ritual. Mind you, the child was supposed to be a sacrifice, but something had gone wrong, causing the process of the ritual to go awry. By the time I took him with me to a nearby safe-house, I noticed that he was getting weaker. His breathing was getting labored and his body temperature was lowering, which left me with one thing left to do."

A deep sigh was heard from his grandfather's side, giving Hadrian an idea of what he was about to say next.

"I had to put the child into the stasis chamber." Zelretch admitted gravely.

The confession made Hadrian closed his eyes in silent lament, feeling a bit of pity for his alternate self's predicament.

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