SPELLBOUND

The ancient dark fae paused as he tilted his head to one side, considering the young prince's question. His brow lifted at the strangeness of his question. Unbeknownst to Gavrael, this ancient fae had been watching over him ever since he was young. This dark fae, called Claudius, was a legendary teacher of the previous kings who reigned in the Under Land, including the current king. He had ashen long hair and a long beard.

Claudius had retired from service since King Belial took over the throne and had requested to leave the imperial palace, as the ancient one had thought that King Belial was one of the greatest rulers the Under Land had ever had. He had thought there was no need of him to be there in the imperial palace anymore. Thus, he had left, despite the king's disapproval.

Years later, he was surprised when a boy came wandering into his shop. He was so weak and was obviously bullied. He knew the boy was coming to his shop to hide from his peers. Often, the boy came to his shop wounded, bloodied, and battered and he hid there, healing himself before he leaves.

The ancient one knew from the first time he laid eyes on the boy that he was the King's son. And that this boy was obviously a half-vampire, and half-dark fae. But that was what made the boy look so interesting to Claudius. He did not do anything and just watched him until eventually, the weak and bullied prince grew into a fearsome young man. That was something not surprising at all to Claudius. He had known all along that the boy would grow up to be strong and one day, he felt that the young prince might even surpass the great King Belial, his father.

However, the question he asked him the first time after going missing for years surprised the ancient fae. He would have never expected this prince to ask about time manipulation. Who had given such an idea to this prince? This topic was a taboo for millennia because the dark magic of time manipulation was long forbidden.

"Prince, where did you get the idea that there is something like that?" Claudius asked, curiosity shining from his ancient eyes. 

The prince fell silent. But after a while, he looked at Claudius with confidence. "I was taught that there are no such things that are impossible with magic. As long as one is powerful enough, with the help of magic, one could do anything… everything. Isn't that statement written in the book of magic?" he replied, cleverly. "I believe it." He continued. "So, I believe manipulating time isn't something that is impossible as well. Maybe, it sounded impossible right now because no one ever dare try it. Or perhaps they just did not have the right combination of spells and conditions."

Claudius put the book in his hand down onto the counter. And Gavrael knew what exactly he would do next. He did exactly the same thing as what his father did when he began speaking about the Light Faes.

He leaned forward towards Gavrael when the dark circle completely covered them.

"Listen carefully young prince, I don't know what motivated you to even think about this, but I must warn you, time manipulation is forbidden. I'm sure you've heard about the magic of reviving the dead and you know the price one has to pay for it. Time manipulation falls into that same category. And I want to tell you the stakes involved in this is much higher."

Gavrael did not even looked discouraged at what the ancient fae had warned him about. "So I was right. There's indeed a secret magic to manipulate time."

"My prince! Did you not listen to what I just said?" Claudius exclaimed.

"I did. But I caught wind of someone who managed to revive someone and despite the severity of the consequences, I heard that the fae was able to survive. And the reason was because he was purely strong enough."

Claudius sighed. He should have known. This young prince was no different from King Belial. A hard-headed man who was never afraid of the forbidden.

"I know where you are coming from, my prince. But I want you to understand that the consequences of time manipulation are worse and far reaching. Because it's not only one or two who will suffer the consequences. Everything and everyone will be affected, not just the user. If something goes wrong, you could change an entire course of events, whether it's in the past, present or future. And I want to remind you that power alone won't be enough to overcome this." The ancient fae explained firmly and seriously. "Time manipulation was one of the highest-level magic ever existed and it's not something anyone should learn on a whim. It's the most dangerous magic ever existed, so please my prince, I am advising you to forget about that idea. Throw it out of your mind completely and tell yourself there is no such thing. The consequences are not something you alone will be able to bear. Heed my warnings, my prince."

Silence reigned between the two for a long while before Gavrael spoke again.

"I do understand why such magic is dangerous, but I don't agree with your argument stating that it is not something anyone should learn about. I believe any magic is dangerous if used dangerously. On the other hand, any magic is good as long as one doesn't use it to carry out evil deeds." Gavrael sounded so certain and firm about his opinions and the ancient fae could not help but feel amazed.

"So you're saying that the reason why you wanted to learn about the magic of time manipulation is so you could use it to do something good?"

"Yes." He answered with conviction.

"I wonder what this 'something good' you are talking about, my prince. I do see the point that you are making, but that in itself is not enough to convince me. I still think you should drop this idea and learn about something else. There are so many other magic spells that are beneficial and more suitable that you can learn if you truly want to bring good to others." Claudius tried to sound the prince out to see if he would say what he intended to use that time manipulation spell for.