…Madness. That was just the word to describe Sage Yeltz’s idea.

  “A brain box?” Mr. Tona asked curiously.

  “I had one made for myself. If you had wanted it, I remember introducing you to one of the artisans in House Xochimilco a few years back as well.” He suggested sourly, chewing on his tobacco.

  “We both know that’s useless.” Sage Yeltz retorted sharply.

  “What? I thought you got one already?” Seraphine said cautiously.

  Brain boxes were known to be in the realm of sages who specialised in mind magic.

  It was a process where a charm was engraved with a mind and connected with its user, creating an increase in a person’s memory and processing power.

  “We’ll get to that, Seraphine. But the thing is, I don’t need extra brainpower. I need more soul capacity.” Sage Yeltz snorted.

  Mr. Tona looked irritated by such a fantastical idea, running his hands though his white hair in the process. And Seraphine looked confused by the statement.

  “Do you even know for sure if this soul box could work? Is this why you’ve been overworking yourself, when we both know that the time should have been used for preparations to ascend?” He continued critically, earning a venomous glare from Sage Yeltz.

  “I understand why you’re desperate. But to see you claw after that position with ridiculous ideas like ‘soul boxes’, and involving a child like Aurelius in your deranged pursuit. It’s crazy!”

  “It’s easy to say that to someone desperate without suffering from the knowledge of the same future you bloody hypocrite. I sure as hell don’t need advice in this department from a coward like you.” Sage Yeltz spat.

  Mr. Tona looked at a loss for words. However, Aurelius could now feel a slow, tangible anger building up in the room, one that permeated the air with poisonous intensity.

  “Yvette Yeltz.” Mr. Tona growled slowly, spitting out his tobacco and snapping it away into nothing.

  “Even if time may have passed, I am still your mentor and will remain so until my death. While I see that you are still filled with the temperament of a child, it does not mean that I will tolerate words that carry such disrespect.”

  “Of all people, I never expected you to say such things to my face.” Mr. Tona said angrily.

  “I do not regret the choices of the past. What purpose do you think that becoming an archsage in this day and age serves? To maintain peace? To uphold the power of the Commission?”

  “Why, and what did I owe this institution to become an archsage? My choice was certainly cowardly. But it was for the sake of what I valued and loved. For my humanity rather than that of those crowds of people I hardly care about.”

  “I understand that your life is on the line, but there must be moderation in our approach towards things as critical as this. I forbid you to lose your humanity in your pursuit for a solution. It’s my responsibility as your mentor!” He finished, snapping out a cigarette and lighting it defiantly.

  Sage Yeltz just continued to glare at Mr. Tona, the two sages facing off against each other in a battle of ‘dominance’.

  “Oh stop the dick measuring contest.” Seraphine interjected, unable to bear the tension in the room, sending two angry glares and one very confused glance in her direction.

  “We’re here wasting time on sensitive topics that we all feel strongly about. But I’m sure that Ms. Yeltz has a more important thing to explain to us, and that she trusts us enough to confide in us about what she meant by a brain box and Aurelius.” She defused calmly.

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  “The girl’s right, Yeltz.” Mr. Tona riled sarcastically, puffing his cigarette.

  “You stop smoking and listen. Being called a coward doesn’t entitle you to say those things to her. We both know what she’s going through and we owe it to her to listen.” Seraphine commanded Mr. Tona seriously.

  Mr. Tona looked embarrassed at this comment slightly, scowling as he found himself being chided by a teenager. However, in a show of surprising compliance, he took a long, last drag on the cigarette before snapping it away once more.

  “That’s better.” Seraphine said, waving away the smoky air in front of her face as she turned her attention back to Sage Yeltz.

  “Now explain.” She instructed the scowling Sage.

  Sage Yeltz proceeded to glare at Seraphine for a minute, emulating some sort of… petulant child.

  “Fine.” She said finally.

  “Tona knows decently about the commercially available brain box charms. But do you know the origins of those charms?” She asked.

  “They originate from flesh manipulators nearly a couple thousand years ago.” Seraphine replied.

  “Yes. The shamans of the South decided through repeated experiments, that if spirits can allow for healing things as severe as brain injuries, that they could create a human being entirely through the process of ‘healing’.” Sage Yeltz explained.

  “And the success of their magic led to the first, ancient brain box.”

  “I mean, that’s supposed to be the origin of magical research, but I thought that it was a myth?” Mr. Tona interjected curiously.

  “Yes. Because all of the records disappeared when one of the elves roaming the area burned down the entire area citing the sacrilegious nature of the research.” Sage Yeltz snorted.

  “Are they that powerful?” Aurelius asked curiously, trying to fit into the conversation a little bit.

  “Elves? Pft, not at all. It’s just that their god coddles them an unhealthy amount.” Sage Yeltz replied, waving her hand in amusement.

  “Hmm, I knew that you had met up with a few elves in the western continent while with me, but I didn’t realise that you were close enough to them to become aware of such information.” Mr. Tona mused, frowning at the idea.

  “My relationship with the elves hardly matters.” Sage Yeltz said dismissively.

  “And the Churches clamped down on flesh manipulators and shamanists over the course of their history afterwards, so the research in this area is quite limited.”

  “I bet those gods of theirs were uncomfortable with the idea of their underling spirits partaking in such accursed acts.”

  “But the point is, that it was once proven to be possible to create a physical clone of the brain with healing magic.” She explained.

  “Why go that far if you could use simulcrums?” Mr. Tona asked.

  “Simulcrums split the soul into fragments, so we can’t exactly improve magic efficiency. And their bodies have to be independent if they don’t want to become fused back prematurely. Their mystical connections are too strong to avoid the convergent behaviour of magic.” Sage Yeltz explained.

  “What I want is a soul-based brain box, where you get extra magical capacity compatible with your own self.”

  “I want to create an artificial, spiritual clone of the mage.” She finished.

  “...” Everyone stared.

  “...You actually want to create an artificial spirit?!” Mr. Tona exclaimed in horror.

  “Such research is forbidden by the gods themselves! I didn’t think you were serious about such a far-fetched idea! Do you wish to make every single of the gods your enemy?!” He yelled.

  “Calm down, old man. I said ‘spiritual’, not spirit.” Sage Yeltz said defensively.

  “That’s WORSE. You want to physically create and incarnate a soul-based creature in the physical plane!” Mr. Tona cried out exasperatedly.

  “What is it you’re trying to do?” He yelled.

  “You know what I want.” Sage Yeltz growled.

  Mr. Tona looked taken aback by this statement, fidgeting slightly on the spot as he considered his next words carefully.

  “...I know.” Mr. Tona replied curtly, looking away with a slight amount of… grief.

  “But that would take too long!” Seraphine started.

  “How much time do you have left?” She asked worriedly.

  “Eh, less than five.” Sage Yeltz replied nonchalantly.

  “...What?” Seraphine replied in horror.

  “I thought you had earned another 20 years with some sort of advanced brain box!”

  “Nope. I realised that I’m far too gone for that.” Sage Yeltz replied.

  “Why didn’t you tell me!” Seraphine yelled angrily, tears pooling up in the corner of her eyes.

  “We don’t see each other too often, Dwayne. And talking about this has always been rather depressing.” Sage Yeltz snorted.

  “Were you lying about not becoming an archsage?” Seraphine yelled scornfully.

  “Eh, people lie sometimes, Seraphine. You would have worried. And I have an alternative now.” Sage Yeltz shrugged.

  “What alternative? That stupid soul box?! That would take decades!” Seraphine said tearfully.

  “Yes, yes. It would take decades.” Sage Yeltz said dismissively.

  Scratching her chin, she pointed to Aurelius and declared a… statement.

  “That’s why I have Aurelius.”