[Lifespan Remaining: 25 days, 11 hours, 21 minutes.]
"In three days, my father will decide who is to oversee the Altaire mines."
Faust’s voice carried clearly through the hall. He hadn’t raised it much, but he didn’t really have to as he already had everyone’s attention.
"Many of you have already expressed your concerns. Whether the agreements we discussed will be honored. Whether supply will be sufficient."
"I intend to put those concerns to rest tonight."
Noct stayed close to Aurora. "Keep your skill active and wake me up in case something happens to me or if I fall into that hallucination again."
"Got it."
Noct tried to concentrate on his brother’s mana. There had to be something connecting him to what was happening. Surely there was a spell, an item, anything that could explain this phenomenon—
His vision blurred, as Faust’s figure stretched in a repeating horizontal and vertical pattern. Noct blinked hard, only to feel the same heaviness as before creeping in.
"For years, we have treated mana crystals as nothing more than fuel," Faust continued. "Something to burn through and replace. But what if we have only begun to understand what these mines can offer us?"
Noct stared at the nearby violet crystal. It really was wasteful, leaving something so valuable just sitting there. If he just took one—
TONK—!
A sudden flurry of wings struck the side of his head, snapping him out of it.
"Wha—?!"
Noct turned and found himself staring directly into the eyes of a pigeon. But as he stared closer, he could tell that its eyes were different, strangely illuminated.
’This can’t be...’
"Stop staring at the crystal, idiot," Lenia’s voice came from the bird. "I discovered what’s going on. Look carefully, does that mana crystal resemble any of the pure crystals you saw at my tower?"
Noct tried to focus, but it was difficult to concentrate with his head growing heavier by the second. But once he looked past the glow, he could notice the difference she was talking about.
Mana, almost like a gas, was being heated rapidly, turning into a mist before being spread by some kind of wind spell all across the room.
"That’s not natural, I’m guessing."
"Not even the slightest."
The pigeon landed on his shoulder as he continued to examine it from afar. "Mana crystals dont disappear even when you empty them. You know that much?"
Noct wanted to make the argument that they do if he completely drained them with [Mana-Life Synthesis], but for the sake of argument and reality, he agreed to some extent.
"Yeah, but what about it?"
"Well, since mana crystals are the most efficient structure to hold mana. They’re usually recycled, you see this a lot in magical items and magic engineering processes."
"So what you’re trying to say..." Noct scratched his chin. "Is that someone’s repurposed these crystals as well for their own purposes?"
"Bingo. That’s how the hallucinations are happening."
But the explanation didn’t make sense to Noct, not quite yet anyway. "How? Did someone infuse some kind of hallucination spell or some kind of natural scent?"
"No...that’s not exactly right," the pigeon shook its head. "You see, when refilling those crystals, the owner’s ’mana signature’ is abundant."
Noct caught her drift instantly. "Which means if I destroy one of them, I’ll be able to sniff the culprit out instantly."
"Calm down," the pigeon flapped its wings. "Even if you prove it’s him, what do you intend to do? You’re standing in his territory full of his people."
She was right. Don Maverick still stood by the platform, carefully scanning the guests with his hands folded behind his back while several other knights patrolled in between.
"Stay where you are," the witch continued. "I’ll come over and examine it myself."
That would certainly be the safer option. On the platform, however, Faust had already begun stepping away from the center, intending to exit through the back doors.
"Unfortunately, an urgent matter requires my attention," he announced. "Please enjoy the remainder of the evening. Please...have lovely dreams."
If Noct waited, Lenia would undoubtedly tell him what was inside it. But Faust would be gone, and so would the opportunity to compare the stored mana with its suspected owner standing right in front of him.
And by tomorrow, the Arcadias will be coming soon. There simply wasn’t enough time.
"I’m going to break that crystal."
"Wha—Noct, don’t be rash!"
But it was already too late. He crossed the room quickly, picking up a knife from a nearby dining table. With him being just inches from the crystal, the sweet scent was almost nauseating.
There was no need to rush. The mines would be his eventually. And then—
’Shut up and get out of my head.’
CRRRRAAAAAAAAK—!
Noct drove the tip into the violet crystal, pushing it inside as far as he could. The knife was quite dull, but the sheer force alone was enough.
It shattered, causing violet light to flash between the broken pieces, and a rush of mana rushed out instantly. The fog inside his head disappeared completely, and it seemed it was the same for the few guests who were standing nearby.
They began to stir.
"Wh—what’s going on? Where am I?"
"Where did it go...? I was just holding it a second ago...?!"
Lenia’s pigeon arrived half a second later. She hovered over the vapors that spilled forth. "What...is this? I...I think I’ve seen something like this before."
The pigeon’s illuminated eyes followed a few strands as they drifted toward the banquet attendees’ faces. "It’s behaving as though it has a will of its own."
"Mana can do that?"
"This mana is trying to influence people without anyone directing each individual movement. Only the strongest mages can produce mana capable of doing that," Lenia paused. "And its owner..."
Noct already knew. He didn’t know how his brother managed to achieve it or what his process was. Because he was nowhere close to being a high-class mage.
’Faust...why would you do all of this?’
Across the hall, his brother stopped. He had almost reached the doors.
For a moment, Faust simply watched the guests surrounding Noct. They were looking around in confusion, some rubbing their eyes while others stared at the broken ornament.
His eyes then moved to the pigeon hovering by Noct’s side, the same person who was supposed to be the Witch of Black Ice’s representative. But all he could muster was simply:
"Shit. I’ve been found out, haven’t I? Guess it’s time."
Instantly, the remaining crystals suddenly shattered, like it had been overloaded. Mist enveloped the area, so much so that Noct could barely see anything beyond it. Before he could inhale any of it, Aurora quickly grabbed him and pulled him under one of the tables covered by cloth.
"Lenia, please give me the pigeon’s senses as well...!"
The very next second, his view moved upward. He could still feel Aurora beside him, but he was looking down at the hall through the pigeon’s eyes. The bird made its way through the mist, managing to perch just above where Faust was seen last.
"Quickly, have people move the captives from all of our warehouses toward the mines. Don’t waste a single one."
"What about the Baron, sir?"
"He knows too much. Make sure he never gets a chance to speak to my father."
But as Noct focused on the conversation, he managed to get a glimpse of what was happening to the others, and there was only one word to describe it:
Chaos.
People were fighting each other, throwing punches left and right without any sense of rhyme or reason. Some even took utensils and began stabbing each other. A knight unsheathed his sword, cutting off the head of one of the banquet attendees’ before Don Maverick gave him some kind of potion.
Upon drinking it, the knight sobered up.
"Come on, let’s go."
Noct wanted to keep observing, but when the pigeon turned back, Faust’s face filled its vision.
"Spying, are we?"
His left eye had changed disturbingly. It had become a deep, unnatural blue, with no visible pupil or sclera. Its surface shifted like dark water, rippling like it had been disturbed by an unseen current.
His fingers reached for his baggy coat, unveiling something else that caused Noct’s stomach to churn. His left arm was completely gone, replaced by an amalgamation of dark water and flesh that was lined with eyes and mouths filled with sharp teeth.
"It’s too late, witch. Once I obtain this power from the ancients, you’ll never be able to stop me."
The eyes on his monstrous arm suddenly all stared at Noct at once, and the churning water rose. Noct could feel the pigeon’s wings be bound together suddenly, unable to fly.
And in the very next second...his vision returned to his body.
"Noct!" Aurora caught him as his head jerked. "What happened? What did you see? What the hell should we do about this?!"
"Damn it...Keep that vapor away from us. We absolutely cannot inhale any more of it."
"And everyone outside?"
A body crashed into their table. The dishes above them shattered, and Aurora caught the edge before it could tip over. Through the shifting cloth, Noct saw a woman crawling across the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind her.
Someone seized her ankle and dragged her out of sight.
"We need to stop the fighting," he said. "Somehow. Before they all kill each other. "If I can get them away from the mist—"
Noct suddenly felt mana gathering, a lot of it. His head snapped toward the source, finding that same elderly man from before. But now, his silver mask hung crookedly from one ear as his eyes were completely bloodshot while blood ran down his forehead.
Fire gathered in between his hand, which only led to one outcome.
"AURORA, GET DOWN—!"
?Magia Flare: Grand Igneus.?
BOOOOOM—!