Third Person's P.O.V
Azuden University is the core attraction of Palseng City for every student who yearns for a bright future. It is one of the top universities on the continent, for it offers almost all the courses and educational infrastructure, and every faculty only hires highly specialized professors, researchers, and staff needed to provide the best education one can attain. But not all can enroll; only the rich or those with connections can, except those who have exemplary talents.
Yet, even with all its glory and fame, no one has ever seen the owner of this marvelous school. Who could be- scratch that… This is not His story, this story is for the future next Great Babaylan. The Progeny of the First Mage, the one who lifted the Curse of the Maiden's Remains, and his struggle to reject love from his heart. But, how would that end?
Can he simply forgive himself and learn how to love? Or will he continue to ice his heart, just to "keep everyone safe from him"?
"Ew, what's that?" Elle screamed in disgust as she tried to cover her face after seeing the pictures on Achan's laptop.
Achan just sighed and rolled his eyes.
"It's for my presentation, can you stop acting like you haven't seen things like this?" Achan pointed to her tablet.
He's referring to all the Witchcraft Elle had researched before.
"Why are you presenting that anyway?" Elle sat next to him as she stared at the gruesome illustrations on Achan's laptop.
Women from the early days who were being hanged, burned, and tortured.
"We're tasked to present a history of medicine, this one is a vital part of the Western medicinal history, it influenced everything we have right to this era. What are you on about?"
"But why tackle the Witchhunts? There are plenty of other medical histories out there, for example, Greek, Roman?" Elle whispered to him to reduce any eavesdroppers in their Faculty's library.
Achan, a little annoyed but keeping his cool, took a deep breath before explaining to his Human friend. For he knows her intentions.
"A lot of innocent people, especially women, were accused of Witchcraft during these eras. Many of whom had helped the sick, despite the danger, yet they were repaid with persecution and false accusations of sorcery. To honor their contributions to the study of medicine, I should remind the younger generation of this era what a true devotion to humanity's survival looked like!" Achan proudly stated.
"Careful, I wouldn't choose that topic if I were you!" A young man, dressed in leather, suddenly stepped up to their table.
A menacing aura crept out of his dark silhouette.
"If you don't want the descendants of those Witchhunters to accuse you of being one of them!" The man continued as he pointed to the illustration of a burnt body of a young woman on Achan's laptop.
Before they could even respond, the man had already left.
"Who was that? Or more like, what was that?!" With her breath held for a moment, caused by the sudden uneasiness brought by the mysterious man. Elle aggressively exhaled.
"How would I know? What a creep!" Achan could only roll his eyes out of annoyance.
'I don't think this is a good place to hang out, I'd better take Elle back home with me!' Achan thought to himself.
He's wary of the Society's indecipherable tactic, it's been weeks since his best friend's grandmother had contacted them. And with the Moral Ez finding him easily, he knows their location could easily be compromised, but he's ready, ready for whenever a battle would occur.
He's the only Vessel in his era, the power of the First Mage is completed inside him, no one shall dare hurt him, or the wrath of the First Mage would be the one they would face!
Yet, with all this power and strength, what can an incomplete Vessel do? His connection to the First Mage had been cut short when his Purity, the nature of his Mana as a Spiritual Healer, was tainted. And no amount of reading could help him re-attain all that knowledge. If only there were a book that could- oh wait? There is! Nevermind!
"I'm sorry I can't go with you!" Elle shook her head with a smile on her face.
"Are you being for real? I already told you the threats of hanging with me, don't be stubborn." Achan tried to take Elle with him after their classes for the day had ended.
"Sorry, but the company let me use Baby. I need to go back for my weekly report, don't worry, I'm safe, Captain Yamomo's with me. I'mma see you on Monday!" Elle waved at him as a helicopter landed on their Faculty's open field.
This may come as a shock to Achan. But to other students, who are all children of some influential families, they are already used to seeing these.
'Yamomo? Oliver? The newbie bodyguard got a promotion?!' Achan recalled the name of the man who had helped him back then, on that small island.
A few moments passed, and Elle had long disappeared, and half the students had already left the campus. Achan stood there, still.
"Oh yeah, it's already Friday!" Achan sighed in disappointment after realizing today's date.
Not because the week had already ended, but because of a certain someone who had already forgotten him, for two weeks now, or so he thought.
"You said you'd pursue me… What a fucking liar!" He cursed the man under his breath.
As he stood in the corridor with a sad face, a man walking close to him smiled.
"Missed me already?" Uther chuckled, relieved of what he had overheard.
'He does think of me too!' Uther mentioned to himself.
"Who-Who said I missed you? And why did you bring Elle here? Are you having fun playing with my feelings? You said you'd-" Before Achan could even finish his sentence, Uther had already wrapped his hands on his body.
"I'm sorry, I've been busy with work… I had to rush abroad to settle some business!" Uther whispered to Achan's ears as he tightened their embrace.
'Thank heavens he's okay!' Achan sighed in relief.
"Too busy to even wake me up to at least say goodbye?!" Achan pushed him away as he tried to keep the excitement of seeing him again, back and safe.
'I guess I deserved it, I put him under a Spell after all!' Achan concluded, even though Elle had already told him about Uther's reasoning for his sudden disappearance.
"I'm sorry, you were just so peacefully asleep that day, I don't wanna ruin your hard-earned rest!" Uther couldn't help but smile after saying that last sentence.
'Was he quoting me?' Achan reflected on the familiar phrase.
"Oh really? How about you? Elle said you'd be busy this month. Why are you here? Are you only here to annoy me before you vanish once again?!" Achan couldn't help his feelings; all the warm emotions couldn't be contained. He's too relieved to see him again, and not enough time to even process.
He's taken aback by the sudden appearance of the person he missed!
"I missed you, too!" Uther answered before hugging him again.
After a while, Achan finally gave in and hugged him back.
'I didn't even say I missed you!' Achan told himself, still trying to stop the feeling deep in his chest.
"Where do you wanna eat?" Uther asked as he carried Achan's bag on his shoulders.
"Aren't you tired from all the driving?" Achan turned to Uther after hearing his question.
"If I get to take you out to dinner, I don't mind. I can rest at your place later!" Uther answered with confidence in his tone.
"Tsk, what a cheesy old man!" Achan whispered to himself, but Uther caught it.
"Old man? Who are you calling an old man?" Uther responded in surprise.
"Who else is here besides us?" Achan tried to hide his smile, but he couldn't.
"Oh really? I'm old? I'm only four years older than you!" Uther laughed as he messed with Achan's hair.
"Welp, we'll see… Can you stay awake tonight?" Achan tilted his head, provoking the man before him.
Uther's face dropped, and his ears turned red.
'Is he?' Uther took a sudden gulp, he began to sweat as he recalled all the dreams he had from the past weeks.
"Uther? Hello?" Achan waved his hand in Uther's face when he suddenly stopped walking, but Uther's too deep in his thoughts.
'I guess he's already tired from all the travels!' Achan pondered.
"You should go home, it's getting late!" Achan tried to grab his bag from Uther, but Uther stopped him.
"Are you sure you want me at your house tonight?" Uther asked as he tightened his grip on Achan's bag.
"Ye-Yeah, I wouldn't want you travelling back at this hour, it's too dangerous!" Achan played with his uniform collar as he tried to reason with him.
'Is he serious? Why does it look like I'm the one begging him to stay? Didn't he insist on going to my place before?' Achan said within himself.
"Do you wanna order takeout instead?" Uther asked after recovering.
"Can we also get a coffee? Maybe a shot of espresso would do us good. I wanna stay awake. It's Friday night, after all!" Excited, Achan spoke loudly.
"Don't speak too loudly, we're in public!" With haste, Uther grabbed Achan's hand and ran for the parking lot to get to his car faster.
"Are you that excited to watch a movie with me?" Achan laughed at the sudden change of Uther's demeanor.
'He's turned vulgar, maybe because I led him on two weeks ago? Now he couldn't contain himself?' Uther thought to himself, pondering Achan's sudden straightforwardness.
"We should try and get to know each other first!" Uther sighed, his heart couldn't stop beating so fast.
His mind's been flying since Achan invited him.
"We can do that later, for now, you need some rest, or maybe you need some coffee too?" Achan insisted.
He's worried about Uther's health, he knows that he had just come from a flight. Elle had been filling him up with his schedule after all.
"Oh… I-I don't drink coffee." Uther's eyes widened on the realization that dawned upon him, yet he still managed to react accordingly.
"Okay, then I should make mine a three-shot one!" Achan smiled.
'He's not talking about… Nevermind!' Uther sighed in relief.
"I knew you were tired. Let's switch, I'll drive us back to my place!" Achan said after hearing Uther's constant sighs before opening the side of his door.
"You know how to drive?" Uther looked at him with confusion.
"Of course, I am a Scio- child of a well-known Spiritual Healer, these things are a part of my childhood upbringing!" Achan claimed, recalling the time when his father was still Pure, kind, and a Father...
"I trust you then!" Uther smiled and walked out of the car to switch with him.
"Sleep, I can finish this on my own." Achan whispered as he turned to Uther, sitting on the floor next to his couch.
It's been an hour past midnight, yet they're still trying to finish a season-long film on Achan's place.
"I can't, I wanna see how she'd save her kids." Uther tried to fight off his exhaustion, but he could not win against the weight on his eyes.
He had just returned from a draining "business" after all.
Achan sighed and turned off the TV before standing up from the couch and grabbing Uther's hands.
"We can continue this tomorrow!" He uttered as he pulled Uther to his bed.
When Uther came to his senses, he immediately stepped away from the bed and ran for the couch.
"I-I, that's a good idea. Good night!" He blurted before jumping onto the couch.
'That was weird?' Achan squinted his eyes, puzzled by Uther's weird behavior that started when they arrived at his apartment.
Moments passed, and Achan couldn't fall asleep; he just kept rolling on his bed and peeking towards where Uther was.
"Must have been the coffee!" Achan exhaled aggressively.
'Tsk! Why am I worrying about him right now? I kept on telling him to sleep early, yet he chose to watch it with me!' He argued to himself.
"Why did I want to watch a movie anyway? And it wasn't even a movie!" Achan angrily whispered to himself as he found himself in front of Uther, who was already in a deep sleep.
'Well… I wouldn't wanna make the first move, wouldn't I? He's the one who initiated dating me, he should be the one to initiate THAT!' Achan explained to himself as he watched Uther's sleeping face.
"Well, I could at least do this, he deserved it after all!" Achan mumbled and knelt in front of the couch.
He leaned in Uther's face and placed their forehead together. He took a deep breath, and half his strength slowly escaped his body, transferring into Uther.
"Now, I can sleep!" Achan smiled before slowly getting up.
As he started to lean back, Uther's eyes opened instantly, and his hands grabbed the back of Achan's head, pulling him in for a kiss.
Flabbergasted, Achan stayed still, but the overwhelming emotion deep within him made him feel euphoric.
A flutter in his stomach began going wild as his heart started to beat faster, only he could make him feel like this… Now, he's convinced, his wall had already been conquered, and no amount of denying could stop this feeling. No matter how hard he'd try to resist.
"What did you give me?" Uther smiled after their long, breathtaking kiss.
Achan got embarrassed after seeing Uther's playful smile.
"A part of my energy, I couldn't sleep, so I gave half to you!" He said without looking at him.
'He was awake all this time?!' Achan's mind kept screaming, ashamed by the Ritual he tried to do in secrecy.
Uther chuckled and sat properly.
"I didn't know you're this naughty!" His eyes pierced Achan.
Like a hawk looking at its prey, his chest pounds loudly as his exhaustion vanishes miraculously.
"Excuse me?!" Achan stood up, offended by Uther's sudden insult.
'He looked exhausted. Was it bad to give him a little energy? I was only looking out for him, what a jerk!' He roared in his mind.
"Were you planning to jump me in my sleep? What a selfish kid, you could have just asked me!" Uther's smile widened as he stood up and leaned closer to Achan's face.
"What are you talking about? I ain't that desperate!" Achan scoffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Well, if you can't say it, let's just do it. Actions speak louder, after all!" Uther whispered to Achan's ear and slowly slid his hands on Achan's behind.