The magician lay dead at Amadeus feet as he pulls his spear from their head.
"Unfortunately for you, there are two of us in here. Putting one to sleep just isn't good enough." He says to himself, far to quiet for anyone to hear.
Amadeus looked over to the cart to see that five men had managed to pull themselves out of the smoke. Two had already died, while the rest were on the ground, coughing their lungs out as they suffered in pain. One was barely able to vocalize their complaints.
"What the hell… was that." He says as he coughs up blood.
"I used simple cleaning magic spells to generate a cloud of pure chlorine gas. I'm sure you've already noticed, but it is very nasty when inhaled." Amadeus' bad habit of explaining anything and everything was on full display, but that wasn't going to stop him from doing what he needed to do.
Without a single shred of mercy he began his slaughter. Slash, stab, slash, slash, stab. The tough warriors wearing chainmail and wolf hide fell one by one. The men, who could no longer see or breathe, may as well have been training dummies. The situation could no longer be called a battle as he dispatched the incapacitated foes with brutal efficiency. It took less than a minute for the execution to end. All five had been put to rest.
With the immediate threat dealt with, he turned his attention to the carriage. As the gas began to clear from the rear, he peeked inside to verify the fate of those who weren't lucky enough to escape. Three warriors remained inside. Horrible burns covered their body as blood spilled from every orifice he could see. It was a truly gruesome sight.
After confirming their fate, he then moved to the front of the carriage. The driver was no where in sight, but he had more important things to do then try and figure out where they ran off to. Amadeus shifted his attention to the odd creatures drawing the carriage. There were small burn marks on their back but they were otherwise fine. In an act of kindness he decided to set them free.
With all threats dealt with, he turned back to the forest behind him. Cynthia was nowhere to be seen. He was surprised how much ground she had been able to cover while carrying the twins. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Amadeus started running, following the path he had seen her take.
He didn't have to run far before finding her. To his surprise Aron was there as well. He was on his knees splashing a bright colored potion onto the twins, who immediately woke up in response. He continued talking to Cynthia for a moment before he shouted loud enough for Amadeus to hear at a distance.
"He's back there by himself?!" He yells in shock.
"Mr. Aron?" "Hmmm?" The twins sit up in confusion.
"Stay here! I'll go get him!" Aron stands, ready to take off. He turns to leave but is stopped dead in his tracks. "Reid?"
He finally noticed the boy slowly walking toward them.
"Yes. Worry not, I took out the enemies before coming here. I'm low on mana, but I don't have any major injuries." Amadeus spoke in a calm matter of fact tone.
He continued his slow walk toward the group, but was confused by the odd expressions on their faces.
"M-Mr. Aron, who is that?" Faeth asks as both twins shrink back, pushing themselves deeper into Cynthia's arms.
"I don't know, but you'd best not take another step closer, stranger."
Alarm bells scream in his head. Something about the situation wasn't lining up. Amadeus stops in his track.
"What do you mean? It's me, Reid."
"You truly expect me to believe that? Is that some kind of joke? You have white hair with glowing white eyes, and your spirit energy is completely different. You might have the same build as him, but that's it. You're sure as hell not Reid." He puts his hand on his weapon.
"Now tell me who you are! And why you're covered head to toe in blood?!" His words came out with a sharp edge.
Amadeus reaches up to his hair, pulling a long strand directly in front of his eyes. "I see…"
He realized too late that despite their many swaps, they had never seen themselves in the mirror. They had never realized that their swap changed their physical appearance as well. Amadeus cursed his own foolishness as he tried to think of a way to explain their situation.
"Here. Read this." Amadeus calmly takes off the guild card from around his neck and throws it to Aron.
The man doesn't take his eyes off Amadeus for a second as he catches the card. He reads it quickly.
"This is Reid's guild card… What the hell did you do with him!" The pressure coming from his voice continued to rise. Aron seemed ready to strike at any moment.
"Please, read the talents." He says while holding his hands up, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible.
The man hesitates, but eventually agrees, reading it aloud. "Dual soul?"
"Yes. My name is Amadeus. I was hoping to keep all of this hidden, but given the situation I don't have a choice. Aron, do you remember the day that Reid first arrived in Alcacia."
"Yes." He answers, not understanding why that was important at the moment.
"Do you happen to remember what his ID said about his talents at the time?"
His eyes go wide as he remembered. "It was just the one!"
"Precisely! And that wasn't a clerical error, nor was it a falsification. You see, Reid simply didn't have the dual soul talent when he received that ID. It was gained later."
The revelation was alarming to everyone present. As far as they knew, talents weren't something that could ever change, no matter how hard one tried. That was a set in stone fact, but that wasn't even the most shocking revelation Amadeus would reveal.
"I still don't know the specific circumstances of that boy, but I do know one thing. He died in the forest that day."
Shock washes over everyone present. Only Cynthia was able to speak after that bombshell.
"What are you talking about?! He's alive, we've all seen him! That doesn't make any sense!"
"I understand your confusion, but unfortunately it's true. Let me start from the beginning. For certain reasons, I was meant to be reincarnated into this world. I was told my soul would be implanted into a recently deceased body and bring it back to life. That's when the god reincarnating me chose Reid. There wasn't any special reason the boy was chosen, he just happened to have died at the same time I was meant to be reincarnated."
He paused briefly, allowing everyone present to mentally process what he was saying.
"As I was about to be reincarnated, I made a discovery. The god's spell that would bring me back to life, would also bind me in service to that god. I refused to allow such an outcome. In an act of defiance, I altered the spell meant to trap me. Using the last dregs of power from my previous life, I changed the spell to tether both of our souls to the boy's body. With both our souls still alive, the spells condition that would force me into servitude couldn't be activated."
"Y-You can't truly be serious? How do you expect us to believe such a blatant lie?" Aron asks in utter disbelief.
"You have a point... Outside of asking Kalkan himself, I am unsure how to prove my story." Amadeus puts his hand on his chin as he thinks.
"You would truly say his name out loud?! Don't you fear the divine repercussions?!" He says in shock, the blood draining from his face.
"That god already hates me for defying him. I doubt simply saying his name would change anything."
Amadeus casual declaration of something that breaks all norms of the world caused their minds to short circuit. He paid the others no mind, instead focusing on finding a way out of this situation.
"Ah, I know. Aron, do you have any more of that potion? The one that woke up Faeth and Faerie?"
"Yes… Why does that matter?"
"Simple, I will pour it on myself and wake up the boy. I can normally just switch our places but the magic user's sleep spell seems to be interfering with the process."
"Alright… I can do that much. Just know that I still don't trust you. Make any funny moves and there'll be consequences." His cold voice told everyone just how harsh these 'consequences' would be.
Aron reaches his free hand into the pouch on his hip and pulls out a potion. He double checks its contents before throwing it to Amadeus who caught the small vial. He was about to pour it on himself when Cynthia stopped him.
"Wait!!" She shouts.
Amadeus stops and looks at her.
"Before you do that, I need to know. What is it that you want? Are you plan on taking Reid's body."
Her concern for the boy ran deep. In the short time they had known each other, he had saved her not just once, but twice. The twins felt the same way. They might not have understood everything Amadeus said, but when Cynthia suggested Reid might have his body stolen, they began to panic.
"Do not worry. I have already discussed this with Reid, but I plan to leave him in charge of our body. This life should be his to live after all. More importantly, I have no interest in the trials and tribulations of day to day life. My only goal is to discover the universal truths of this world and the principles that guide it. To that end I spend most of my time inside of a mental plane i created, doing experiments and accumulating knowledge. Any other concerns?"
He waits for a few seconds, taking the silence as an okay to apply the potion.
The change was almost instant. Aron and the girls looked on with bated breath as the body in front of them suddenly shifted back to the Reid they all knew.
"Aron? Cynthia? Everyone?" The boy asks in confusion as he sees everyone in front of him.
"Are you all alright?... and how did I get here?" He continued.
"They're fine… Is that really you Reid?" Aron asks, his hand still on his swords hilt.
"Of course it is. Who else would I be?"
He looks around to see the odd looks on everyone's face.
"And why is everyone looking at me like that?" He says with a nervous smile.
"Unfortunately they learned about us. You were hit with a sleep spell which forced me to take over. I handled the rest of the enemies and came to find the others, but I did not realize that when I am in control, our appearance shifts dramatically."
"Oh, I see… So you all met Amadeus… I'm sorry for keeping that a secret." Reid answers apologetically.
Aron takes a second to collect his thoughts. "Is everything he told us true?"
"Um, I don't know exactly what he told you…"
"Right... Look I'm sorry I gotta ask this, but I need to know. Did you really die and get reborn along with this Amadeus person?"
Cynthia glares at him for asking such a crass question.
"I did… I know it sounds crazy, but it's true… With all of the crazy things he says, I didn't want to believe him either. But I cant deny what happened to me."
He looked down at his chest, to where the darkness magic had impaled him that day. He looks up at Aron with new found conviction.
"I know you might not trust him right now, but I want you to know that he's done a lot for me… for us. Without him, I wouldn't be alive today. I wouldn't have been able to save Lance and Anna, and I wouldn't have been able to help all of you today either. I know it's a lot to ask for, but please... please, trust us." The sincerity in Reid's eyes convinces Aron.
"Alright. I can do that." Aron lowers his weapon and relaxes his body.
He didn't fully trust the explanation, only a fool would blindly trust a story like that, but he couldn't argue with the fact that they had saved the lives of Cynthia and the twins.
"To be honest I was mainly worried that a phantom had possessed you. What with Reid's face having ghostly looking eyes and all. Though that elixir would have killed him if he was one." He chuckled softly.
"So you gave something that could have killed me?"
"Whoa!" "What?" "Huh?" The whole group looks around in confusion as a voice suddenly started speaking directly in their heads.
"I can communicate telepathically if I wish. Since I'm no longer hiding my existence, I felt it appropriate to use. Now Aron, can you explain why you gave me an elixir that may kill me?"
"Hey now, you're the one who asked for it!" He tried to defend himself as Reid and the others stared back at him.
"Right, sorry. I'll be more careful next time." Aron scratches the back of his head awkwardly as he apologizes.
An awkward moment hangs over the group, no one knowing what to do next in this situation.
"So… what should we do now?" Reid asks directly.
"Right now, it's time for us to go home. I'm sure everyone's worried sick." Aron answers, his tone finally returning to normal.
"Yay!!! Everyone was so serious that I was scared something bad was gonna happen." Faeth twirls around while smiling at the good news. Cynthia quickly wraps her and Faerie in a hug.
"Don't worry, nothing bad is gonna happen anymore. You're both safe now." As Cynthia tells them they're safe, Faerie begins to cry.
She tried her best to make it as quiet as possible so no one could notice, but Cynthia did. She didn't bring any attention to it, just gently rubbed small girl's back.
While Cynthia comforted the twins, Aron worked on finding a route back. "If we go straight from here we should run into the road. If we take that, it'll be a straight route home."
"I don't recommend getting back on the main road right away. We should follow the thieves' pass and go around the battlefield. The scene there is pretty graphic, I wouldn't recommend anyone else see it, not even Reid." Amadeus speaks exclusively to Aron.
"Alright. How many were there? I'll need to know so I can put it in my report." The girls all give him a strange look as he appears to talk to himself.
"Nine in total. One man in dark blue robes named Zell appeared to be the leader the slavers mentioned in the cave. He was the mage we were worried about. The other eight men were wearing chain mail armor topped with cloaks made from white fur pelts. They mentioned something about Zangate."
"White fur cloaks and Zangate huh." Aron scratches his chin as he mulls over the information. "Sounds like the Frost Fangs, I didn't think they'd made it this far south."
"Mr. Aron are you okay? You keep talking to yourself." Faeth asks as she finally frees herself from Cynthia's hug.
"What? No, I'm talking to Amadeus. Now come here you little troublemaker." Aron quickly moves in and picks up both twins, placing them on his broad shoulders. "Alright, lets get going!"