And almost immediately, Arin felt a wave of guilt for lingering within this memory.
He shouldn't have done that, after all.
He suddenly decided that, unless something was absolutely imperative for his own purpose or survival in this world, he didn't have to find out about it in this way.
He was… moderately smart, wasn't he? Surely, he could figure some of that other stuff out on his own. And in the worst-case scenario, he could always just come back here. Alma had seemed nice enough; she'd probably let him use her Mirror of Record again, no problem!
So, for now, just one last thing remained.
He wanted to see Rin's last memory with Ralen in its entirety.
…
…
He was back in that forest clearing, for the first time since the day he'd arrived.
It was strange how a place that had been so unnatural and disorienting in his own memories of that day, now looked like just a regular old space in the middle of the woods.
Rin had been fussing with his bag, probably looking for something, or putting something away, when he picked up on a sudden plume of smoke in his peripheral vision.
The very next moment, he dropped his torso to his left, swiftly pushing his body to the ground, and used the force to roll over and jump to his feet in one fluid motion.
Arin would've marveled at the man's athleticism, if not for the fact that he was internally reeling at the sight of the small, defined crater that had silently appeared on the ground where he'd just been.
'There are better tools to use if you wish to approach unnoticed,' Rin said dully, sliding his gaze over to his younger brother, who was standing a few feet away.
'Oh?' Ralen smirked. 'But I had meant to announce my arrival. I have nothing to fear from worthless scum like you.'
Rin looked at him silently. Then, he turned around and started walking the other way, towards the handsome gray horse that stood waiting there.
'Come, girl. We'll be leaving now,' he said, and the horse nickered in response.
'No!' yelled Ralen from behind him. 'That is another thing I must oppose. You've been in possession of that thing for far too long.' There was the sound of rushing footsteps, and the pale-haired boy hurried to put himself between them. 'Trash like you does not deserve to use it anymore. I'll be taking it now.'
Rin stopped again, and let out a disgusted sigh. 'Ralen, you'd have no use for her if you hadn't insisted on announcing your own talent to also be beast-bonding. You should've picked healing, like Sera.'
'Ha! Why must I care for what you think? You dare – dare call us by our names, when you have nothing – you are nothing –'
'Enough!' Rin's commanding voice rang out in the clearing, and surprisingly, the pale-haired boy actually shut up for a moment. Rin continued standing there, kneading his brows. After a moment, he sighed.
'Why did you turn out like this…?' he muttered.
'How dare you -!'
'Enough, Ralen. Look at yourself. No. Look at yourself. Neither your words nor your actions inspire the confidence that those of a grown man ought to. You are… stunted. You keep insisting on acting like a petulant child, when you've long since become a man, and it… it shows. On your face. In your voice.'
'It is a pathetic sight to behold.'
'You -!' With an angry roar, the pale-haired boy – uh, man – charged at him, raising a fist aimed at his face.
Rin neatly sidestepped him, catching hold of his wrist and twisting it behind him. Ralen snarled. He then raised his leg, the initial motion hidden by the back of his flowing cloak, aiming a ferocious kick at his brother's stomach.
Rin caught the movement right before it reached him. He wasn't fazed. Still holding his arm, Rin simply twisted it farther, pulling his brother off balance.
Before he could fully hit the ground, Ralen managed to shoot out his other arm to regain some balance. In the very next moment, his torso followed the direction of Rin's hold on his arm, and he twisted around and fell on his back. The hand that had been supporting him – now freed – threw a handful of dirt at his brother's face.
Rin must've been expecting that, because he simply shut his eyes and turned his head away. He must've had enough, because he then finally added his other hand into the scuffle. With an almost brutal simplicity, he caught a hold of both of Ralen's wrists and locked them behind his back in what looked like a painful and restrictive hold.
He then pushed him down face-first, sitting in a crouch next to his prone body.
Rin sighed.
'You've now been formally trained for far longer than I ever was, and yet… What have Ilven and the others been doing?'
'Shut up! Shut up! You have no right to speak to me that way! You are nothing! You have no value! You have no magic at all!'
…
Wait, what?
Rin didn't seem surprised by those words. Well, not that he'd been surprised by much else during this interaction. In any case, he said nothing to refute them.
Wait, seriously? Had Sera's prohibition of his familial bonds also affected his very exclusively familial strain of magic? Or had it still not recovered from what he'd proclaimed on Ralen's twelfth birthday? But, from the looks of it, that had already been well over a decade ago. Maybe more.
Regardless of the cause, was that really how it was now? Rin had no magic of his own anymore!?
Ralen was still speaking. 'It is no wonder that the only refuge you could find all those years ago was with that wastrel, banished brother of the duke.' He turned his head sharply to scoff at Rin. 'No prospects. No future. Your stupid magic tower does not even feature among the list of promising establishments in the bordering regions. I've heard that that man isn't even a true master. He whiles away all day, languishing in his tower, whilst his useless, misfit students run around and cause trouble elsewhere. Truly, we should have that place struck down.'
Rin sighed, then let go of his younger brother's wrists. Ralen immediately scrambled to his feet, dusting off his robes. Rin slowly rose as well.
'If you wish,' he said simply. 'But, listen to yourself,' he then added, a stronger shade of disgust seeping into his tone. 'You are less articulate now than when we were children. You insist on keeping bad company, you flout your duties, and I've heard you are still forcing those corrupting poisons into your body. What of you, Ralen? What of your own future?'
Ralen gnashed his teeth. 'And even if I do all of that, I shall remain the prince of our empire.'
'But never the crown prince,' Rin said dispassionately.
'That is simply because the princess has a stronger magic than I,' the pale-haired man growled. 'And more so because I was unfairly suppressed,' – he spat out the words – 'hindered, from ever learning certain truths - truths that were my birthright! That is why they still do not accept me!'
Rin let out a bark of humorless laughter. 'Is that it, then? Do you truly believe that your current situation is less because of the way you've chosen to live your life, and more because of what I did?' He shook his head. 'It seems those poisons have deteriorated your faculties to a point beyond any hope.'
'I've had enough now. It has been quite a while since I last saw your face. Let this be the last time, prince.'
So saying, he turned around again to walk over to Tarra, who had been waiting for him silently this whole time.
'You forget yourself…' came Ralen's quiet voice.
Then, there was a sudden, ominous – whoosh – from behind his back.