"No need for formalities," Rowan Mercer said calmly as he drifted to face Amagiri Rōen in midair. "Among magicians, strength matters more than age."
He studied the man behind the glasses with an unguarded gaze.
"I'm straightforward, so I'll ask again. Mizuki-sensei couldn't answer me earlier. What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
"I'm afraid that's not something I can explain right now," Rōen replied softly, his eyes narrowing as a spell formed silently in his mind.
"Key that holds the power of darkness," he intoned, voice steady and precise. "Reveal your true form. By the terms of our contract, I command you. Release the seal."
A radiant staff shaped like the sun materialized in his hand.
Rōen hadn't summoned Rowan here to talk. He intended to act. Once Rowan's memories were altered, the interference would end, and the future could continue along its intended course.
Since birth, Rōen had carried Clow Reed's memories, and with them came an unbearable burden. His magic was too vast, too instinctive. The future revealed itself to him constantly, beyond his control. He was not Clow Reed, nor did he wish to live as him.
That was why he followed Clow Reed's final wish. Help Sakura inherit the Clow Cards. When she did, Rōen could divide his power, returning half of it to Fujitaka, the other reincarnation. Then he could live as a normal magician. A normal person.
A future where everything was predetermined held no joy.
Once it was over, he would restore Rowan's memories and explain everything.
"That look," Rowan said with a faint smile. "The narrowed eyes, the polite tone. You never intended to answer me at all. Honestly, that suits me just fine."
He rolled his shoulders slightly, relaxed.
"Very well. Let me see what the strongest magician of this era can actually do."
Rōen's choice made perfect sense. Clow Reed had never been forthcoming, and those who inherited his memories rarely were. In the past, Rōen had even altered the memories of guardians to reach his goal. Sealing Rowan's memories was entirely in character.
Rowan wasn't worried.
He wasn't confident he could defeat Rōen outright, but survival was not in question. And even if this body fell, its memories could not truly be erased. This was only one incarnation. Elsewhere, his true self would simply restore what was lost.
"Forgive me," Rōen said, smiling gently.
"Time, halt."
The park froze.
Air, light, leaves, and sound locked into stillness. Only Rōen moved, drifting forward as if the world itself had become a painting.
Then he stopped.
"…You broke free?"
"Mr. Rōen," Rowan replied evenly, "this level of time manipulation isn't enough to restrain me."
A complex magic circle unfolded beneath Rowan's feet. The frozen world shuddered, then resumed its flow around him.
He hadn't mastered time magic outright. Not yet. But after studying countless systems, artifacts, spells, and temporal constructs, he stood one step from the threshold. Disrupting a localized time stop was well within reach.
Rōen's eyes lit with genuine interest.
Rowan lifted his hand.
"Mirror World."
A massive mirror formed behind him, its surface rippling like water.
"This place is too fragile," Rowan said, turning toward it. "If you want to test spells properly, let's do it somewhere that can take the damage."
He stepped through the mirror and vanished.
Rōen paused only a heartbeat.
"So I underestimated you."
For the first time, excitement surfaced on his face.
With Clow Reed's memories and overwhelming magic, Rōen's life had been effortless. Even the most revered elders of the magical associations were insignificant to him. He had assumed Rowan would be no different.
But now, uncertainty had entered the equation.
And that uncertainty thrilled him.
Gripping the sun staff, Rōen stepped into the mirror.
The world beyond was a perfect reflection of reality, isolated and self-contained.
"A duplicated spatial layer linked through mirrors," Rōen observed instantly. "Fascinating. Similar in principle to the Mirror Card, but far more expansive."
Rowan didn't reply.
"Lightning, descend."
Thunder tore through the mirrored sky as a bolt of pure electricity surged toward Rōen.
"Shield."
Rōen flicked his staff, a translucent barrier forming in front of him. The lightning crashed against it, dispersing violently.
He frowned.
"This lightning… it's abnormal."
He knew the Yanagi family's techniques well. He could cast them himself. Yet even his own version lacked this level of force. Rowan had pushed the spell beyond its original design.
"So that's how it is," Rowan muttered. "As expected of Clow Reed's reincarnation. Raw lightning won't crack that defense."
Rōen's shield carried the faint outline of higher principles, closer to a law than a spell. Breaking it would take more than brute force.
In a flash, Rōen vanished, reappearing behind Rowan.
"Shadow."
Darkness spilled outward, forming countless tendrils that lunged toward Rowan like living chains.
Defense alone was never enough.
And now, the real exchange had begun.