Impostor (1)

Aurora - Thursday afternoon, 3:16 PM - Training ground.

How could I have lost this fight? What was that explosion?

My mind lingered on these two questions, shrouded in a thick cloud of dust. Suddenly, a shock of unexpected intensity brought me back to reality. Barely had I made contact with the tree trunk when I was treated to a symphony of cracking sounds. The air had left my lungs so compressed that they were unable to refill. My spine and ribcage must have taken a hit because my body no longer responded to my commands.

I was disconnected from any sensation, which prevented me from gauging the gravity of the situation. No pain or tingling, just the sensation of blood trickling down my arm. I had just crashed into a tree head-on, which meant I had flown over a good part of the terrain.

The dust cloud that had formed around me settled gently. It was time to get up because I might still be in danger.

I struggled to push myself up with my hands and bend my legs, but their strength was so weak that I slipped back to square one at the first attempt. A fit of coughing seized me without warning. When I looked at my hands, all I saw were blurry red shapes. It was more serious than I had thought... This realization made me laugh.

It's been so long since anyone's roughed me up. I never thought you'd make me taste defeat again, you little runt... Congratulations!

Mobilizing the little energy I had left, I searched for the prince with my gaze. His silhouette drew nearer and nearer until his filthy noble’s hands wriggled just inches away from me.

“Blow me down…! I-I'm sorry, are you okay?”

Who did he think he was, with his falsely concerned look? It was obvious he felt no pity for me. The only thing he worried about was his selfish freedom.

“I'll survive, don't touch me!” I growled, pushing his hand away.

I'd rather die than accept help from a hypocrite.

Edwoyn sighed, relieved to see me alive and still as unpleasant as ever. “Should I call Justine? Can you get up?”

“Stop doing that!”

“Doing what?”

“Pretending to be innocent! Have at least the courage to finish what you started. Who are you?”

“You're mistaken, I-I mean you no harm...”

The boy awkwardly stepped back. He was so committed to his acting that I might have believed him sincere if he hadn't tried to kill me just two minutes ago.

Oh. You persist in lying to me? You've got some nerve.

“Your eyes are still filled with magic. Don't try to make me believe you're human. That was raw magic, and you didn't even need a magical conduct. So I'll ask you again. Who are you? And what have you done with the real Nathan?”

Becoming aware that his eyes had just betrayed him, they immediately lost their blue sparkle and reverted to their original light green.

“I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about: I'm the real Nathan Gasencourt, and I know nothing about magic! If this is a joke, it's not funny at all.”

“Stop your nonsense! You should have finished me off while you still could, because now, you're screwed.”

I was so annoyed that I forgot to address him formally. Anyway, an impostor didn't deserve me making so much effort to keep up appearances.

Perplexed, Edwoyn inspected me from every angle. “Are you sure you didn't hit your head? You've warped that tree and you're bleeding! We'll talk about—"

“Don't change the subject!” I snapped dryly.

I struggled to get up, leaning against the tree. Lifting my tank top, I discovered the back was torn and indeed covered in blood. I remedied it with a small healing spell. “Arenamon Vitasio Plemanti.”
At those words, a pink aura spread over my skin. It erased the bruises and closed the wounds in no time. Back in action, I stood right in front of him and levitated our sword-sticks with a silent spell. The two objects brushed each side of his face before landing in my hands. That's when he realized, dumbfounded, that this was no joke.

“You have thirty seconds to tell me the whole truth,” I confronted him, pointing one of the sticks at his chest.

The boy stared at me with such anguish that it almost left him speechless. After a few seconds, he managed to utter a few muffled words:

“I swear on the crown: I don't know what that magic was... You tried to kill me first, is it a crime to want to defend oneself?”

“So many accusations!” I burst out laughing incredulously. "Why would I bother saving you if I intended to kill you the next day? I only wanted to make you nauseous for the next hour and teach you some humility.”

“This is unacceptable! If it's just to satisfy your sadism, take a hike because I will never cooperate again!”

As he turned to leave, I stopped him by abruptly lifting the back of his T-shirt. There, I discovered the scarlet pattern of a magical authenticity seal. These could not be counterfeited or erased; it had been inscribed on his skin the day he was designated heir to the throne.

“Leave me alone!” he snapped.

“Why didn't you show me this seal earlier?” I asked.

“It's your fault: you pressured me so much that it slipped my mind! But anyway, you're so paranoid that no proof would convince you!”

He wasn't wrong. All this seal proved was that I was facing the body of a prince. But nothing assured me that his mind remained intact.

“Put yourself in my shoes: your magical outburst proves you're not human, but this authenticity seal says the opposite. So, I'm left with two options. Either you're a magical creature hired by Nathan's parents to play his double. Or you're a magical creature that managed to possess the prince to, I don't know... take advantage of his status?”

“Excuse me?! You really can't consider that I might be anything other than a magical creature? If that were the case, don't you think I would have already fled from here?”

I had to admit, I wasn't very convinced by these theories myself. Such a powerful creature would never have allowed itself to be kidnapped and would have prioritized its own interests above all else. The fact was, I didn't really see any other explanations for what had just happened...

“Perhaps so, but I'm not foolish enough to take a suspect at their word. Make an effort and give me something concrete; it's too big for you to know nothing after all this time.”

I stood with arms crossed, waiting for better excuses.

Don't look at me with those doe eyes, idiot! You must know something!

“I… might have awakened a magical affinity and instinctively protected myself for survival? You, who freely use your magical affinity, should recognize one,” he grumbled.

“Cast a similar spell again and we'll see.”

Edwoyn stared uncertainly at the palms of his hands. Several seconds passed without anything manifesting, despite him closing his eyes or flexing his fingers.

“You see, it's not an affinity. Besides, you misunderstand me; I'm not one of those chosen ones.”

Surprised, his eyebrows furrowed. “Then how can you waste so much life energy without suffering the consequences? You keep casting spells at me to humiliate me, is risking your life just a frivolous game to you?”

“Not at all. I have my own techniques, and they're completely safe. You, on the other hand, should be worried if I don't get satisfactory answers. I thought you were more arrogant; does your life hold so little value?”

“My life has infinitely more value than yours, humph!”

“Oh, of course! You're also going to tell me that a prince's life force is superior to that of a commoner like me? You nobles are so self-centered! Sorry to break it to you like this, but the world doesn't revolve around your illustrious self.”

“Oh, so you want to talk about 'selfishness'?” he fumed. “You so love to believe that I keep the truth from you out of selfishness, but you forget one detail: not everyone has a mind as twisted as yours! I've spent my life serving the greater good, which is more than can be said of you! Do you ever look in the mirror? Pfff, I highly doubt it: you're the queen of selfishness! Just look at what you've turned me into out of mere spite against the nobles! So if anyone is to blame here, it certainly isn't me! You're the true monster here; you shouldn't even exist in my kingdom!”

Truly offended, I hesitated between knocking him out and making him swallow his daring with my fists. However, I still needed to extract valuable information.

Let's go with intimidation, I decided.

Suddenly, I dropped my belongings and pinned him against the twisted tree. With my arms forming a barrier on either side, he had no choice but to endure my indecent closeness.

“Never dare to call me a monster again. You don't know what you're talking about. You know nothing about any of this.”

With a sinister calm, I whispered these words to him, which were enough to shock him. He had never seen me like this before, and he was about to regret testing my patience.

“Wow! It's so simple when you're the victim of your own hist–!”

“Shut up!” I shouted in a compulsive reflex. "Your head is filled with all their elitist bullshit! I feel like I'm hearing those arrogant pigs, damn it!"

My right hand tightly gripped the boy's skull and smashed it against the rough bark. He was forced to tilt his chin up and twist his neck in the process.

“First of all, I'm sick of your fancy phrases. You think it makes you better than everyone else?! That you can control us? 'May I?' 'Killing for money? It's intolerable!' Oh, and wait for the best one: 'Disobeying me could land you in prison!' ” I mocked disdainfully.

I pulled his forehead a little further back. It was clear his jaw was clenched, trying to endure the pain.

Pain helps one remember the lesson.

“You have no power over anyone. So dare to kidding me again and I'll pulverize you, whether you uses your magic explosions or not! I'm not a monster, but if you push me to become one, I'll be monstrous.”

Terror filled Edwoyn's eyes as he would do anything to avoid me, even throwing himself to the ground. I released my grip on him and he immediately covered his head, pleading.

“D-don't do this! I swear on the crown, I never meant to hurt you. I can watch my language if it bothers you... This is crazy, I'm on your side! Please...”

Frail as a deer, the boy cowered, sliding down the tree until he ended up at my feet. He was terrified of making things worse, his body trembling from the emotional shock. Tired of playing the interrogator, I sighed and turned away from him to retrieve what I had dropped. Seeing how he resisted me despite his fear, I eventually admitted that he might truly know nothing. Through extracting information by torture, I had developed a sixth sense that allowed me to distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. As for Edwoyn, he was convinced of his innocence despite overwhelming evidence. Nonetheless, only time would reveal his true intentions to me.