In a quiet landscape the faithful river leara remains peaceful, her clear body glistening in the moonlight. A group of watchful deer bow their heads to have a drink but are quickly startled by a sudden burst of fire appearing in their midst. The flame begins to grow, turning into an inferno reaching up towards the sky. The herd scatters, fleeing for their lives, easily forgetting their thirst their thirst. They do not see the two men that emerge from the hurdling pillar of fire.
Rei stumbles out, reflexively striking out with his elbow, hoping to catch the other by surprise. Jasper catches the offending appendage aimed at his jaw, effectively nullifying the force behind it. He grins, unphased by the fierce glare from its owner.
"Why the sudden bit of violence, I thought we're in this together, on a mission to save your dear friend from her inevitable self-destruction."
Rei scowls. "As if, the next time you want to be a drama queen leave me out of it."
"But this way is faster, no? Are we not already here?" Jasper gestures around with his arms wide open.
Now that his stomach doesn't feel like it's being squeezed and twisted into a pretzel, Rei finally realizes the changes to his surroundings. They are indeed at the end of river leara…but there is nothing here, just the vestiges of a demolished village. There are several broken fences, tattered ripped or burnt tents, along with countless pieces of houseware shattered and strewn all around the ground. It's clear they were not expecting the attack when it came. The abandoned items left behind paint a chaotic night, marked with bloodstains of beastmen as they tried to defend their home.
"What do you think happened?" The sight before him hits like a bucket of icy water. He's no longer in the mood to pick a fight with his weird uncle. His heart aches for Anya, if just seeing this is enough to smother his mood, what of her? She had to survive this as a child.
"Why don't we find out." Just when he's about to ask what the other means, he sees Jasper holding out both of his hands, gathering a massive amount of mana as a complex magic circle appears at his feet. He's never seen the older Bastion use this much magic before, it's truly an impressive sight watching the laws of nature bend to his will. The large magical glyph begins to shine brightly, almost resembling a mini sun in the dark night.
[Lasting Record]
What spell is this, Rei has never heard of such magic. He watches in vast fascination as Jasper's mana spreads out, separating into several blue blobs. Each blob is slightly different, repeating a single act over and over again like a rehearsal at a play. There is no sound but even Rei can see the intent behind the spell, it's a reenactment of the past.
'It's to restore their final moments…but how is this even possible!' Rei thinks, feeling deeply impressed by his uncle for once.
"It's been so many years, how are you able to do this?" he asks.
Jasper gasps a bit, a cold sweat running down his brow as he concentrates. "Take a good look nephew, you'll never see a spell like this anywhere. This is my own personal creation. I spent countless years researching the unique mana trait everyone possesses. Naturally, I studied and perfected a method of tracing the faint echoes. It's like a footprint left behind in time, the more violence involved the more prominent it is. This is not something easily dissolved by the passing of time."
He never imagined his fickle uncle would have the patience to study something so complex and profound. "Why did you create it?"
"I was once a victim of foul play, swindled out of my destiny because of a moment of carelessness. You could say I've become a bit paranoid about unguarded battle grounds. Win or lose, there is a lot to gain from them."
Rei frowns, for his uncle to be obsessed over this matter to the point of creating an original spell just to guard against it, something crazy must have happened.
"What are we looking for?" He observes the blobs as they gather around phantom campfires, joyful and dancing. The moment of glee is ruined by four purple shadows. They brashly destroy the village's fence, trampling everything that crosses their path. Rei watches in amazement as the blobs seem to freeze, like someone just stopped time. He moves closer to the purple blobs, slowly walking around them, hoping to guess their identities.
None of the blobs have facial features, a possible limitation of the spell, otherwise it might be borderline godlike. He tries to piece together their identities based on other things like their height in relation to one another, or their weapons. He sees one of the blobs brandishing a large bastard sword, his body is bulkier than the rest due to his heavy armor. Another is holding a staff off to the side, a very thin figure, likely a spellcaster from the looks of it. The third assailant is using a grappler's claw to mercilessly hunt down the women and children, a complete sadistic coward. The final assailant appears to be more tamed in his actions but it's a facade, he's just as cold blooded as his companions, killing innocents with a thin long sword.
Of the four intruders he is the only one that matches Jasper's height and build. Rei would like to believe in his uncle's innocence, but he fervently keeps glancing at the unused sword attached to his belt. While hunting monsters in the forest, he's never seen the man draw his sword. If he did, what would it look like, could it be similar to the one the fourth blob is wielding?
"You're thinking something rude again I see." Of course Jasper notices his subtle glances, his experienced mind seeing right through him. "I'll have you know my sword is the only one of its kind, there is no possibility of replication. Even the most talented dwarves would find it hard to recreate Oblivion."
"Oblivion?"
"If you are a true swordsman your blade must first carry a name of its own, only then will your strike bear any weight. Tsk, this is why I say you're still very green." The older Bastion rolls his eyes at Rei, concentrating on maintaining the spell.
…
"But I do recognize that sword. I would be a fool not to since I fought alongside it's master for a year, hunting down the demon king." He rubs his chin, red eyes narrow as he stares at the blob's naked blade.
"Do you know its name? what of its wielder?"
"Its name is Death's edge, a special blade with the potential to grow with his owner as long as they can offer it the right materials. The story goes Daymon the wise found it in his youth on the brink of death, they have never parted ways since."
"…"
"Well, this would explain the lass' case of mistaken identity, the King's face is not known to the public. He and I bear a striking resemblance." Jasper lets out a sigh of exasperation.
"My father is a menace."
"I concur, it appears he's been up to no good for much longer than I initially thought."
Rei suddenly feels like shit, to think his own father is the cause of the gut-wrenching pain Anya went through as a child. How is he to even face her?
"My question is why though? What's his purpose attacking a tribe out here, so far away from the capital? It doesn't look like they were part of the extremist faction or anything like that." Jasper releases the spell, it's taxing magic even for him. A lesser mage would have died from the mana drain long before they could even cast it.
Rei's bloodshot eyes stare at the lonely village filled with regret, the pieces of the ugly puzzle finally coming together.
"It's me, he must have come looking for me."