Enigma of Sin

"Tell me Kayn Ashan, why should I not kill you? Is the darkness I see in you a seed that hasn't sprouted representing an evil nature, or is there another reason for that gloom to hang over you?" Charlotte's eyes once again turned a bright golden hue as she stared into Kayn's eyes, as if trying to peer into his soul.

"Leader Erving, I'm not evil, I can promise you that much. However, I will be honest with you in that I plan on eradicating everyone involved in the incident that brought my sister and I to where we are now." The pressure didn't ease up around Kayn, and just as he thought, the interrogation continued.

"Incident? You can't be talking about your dragon clan as that happened before your time, so you shouldn't hold that much of a grudge. Seeing as how you're here with only your sister, I'm guessing something happened to your parents."

Kayn nodded in acknowledgement before giving her a few more details, "My parents, my older sister, and my Master. They were all killed for reasons I still don't understand. My Master disappeared and so my father used his authority to look for her, turns out the Emperor didn't like that and decided to get rid of us.

"My father and sister were killed on their way to the house, then their heads were dropped at my mother's feet. She sacrificed her life so that my sister and I could live."

Tears began streaming from Kayn's eyes remembering that horrible day again, his anger and resentment began swelling to the surface as small changes began showing up in his eyes. He quickly caught on to what was happening though and reeled his emotions back in before anything could really change.

"If you want to kill me for desiring revenge against those who have wronged me, fine. My only ask is that you take care of my sister. She's innocent of all of this nor would she remember anything. While she won't have my 'monstrous talents' as you describe it, she will have at the very least a fire affinity and most likely either dark or light."

Kayn didn't want to give up hope, but he was truly powerless in this situation. All he could do was show Charlotte Erving his neck and leave his fate to her.

The pressure eased a little as Charlotte noticed that Kayn was beginning to struggle to breathe and she wanted more information before she made her decision.

"Before I decide, a few more questions. Who was this Master to you as well as who were they to Carnet for the Emperor to know of them. The same goes for your father, who was he and what kind of authority did he have that would bring his investigation to the Emperor's attention?"

"My Master's name was Lydia, to my knowledge she was a member of the Royal Healers in the Carnet Empire. She was the one who taught me about the healing arts and helped me to realize my true passion. She was family.

"As for my father, his name was Ezekiel, also known as the Harbinger of Lightning. He was a general in the army." Kayn's answer was as short and concise as he could make it, he was honestly starting to feel like he would lose consciousness at any moment.

"Lydia…Lydia…" Charlotte pondered out loud before suddenly looking like she remembered something. "Do you mean Lydia Islar? The genius up and coming healer from Carnet?

"Even though she was lesser than 150, she recently released some astonishing publications to the healing community. They were such revelations that we even heard about it here in Palatine. You're saying you were her student?"

Without even waiting for an answer, her eyes shot wide open as she just realized the second part of what Kayn said. "Wait, are you talking about the same General Ezekiel I'm thinking of? I remember reading reports from a joint operation between the two Empires against Inmortuea about a 100 years ago.

"They spoke of a man who had a terrifying control of lightning. He almost single-handedly brought ruin upon the forces the liches sent to battle. If I remember correctly, he was described as having blazing crimson hair and eyes."

Charlotte's eyebrow raised, Kayn had brilliant crimson eyes, but his hair was snow white. "I don't know much about my father's accomplishments as he was always just a carefree father around me. However, I do know that he was incredibly strong even though he was only at the peak of the 5th stage.

"The leader of the group of people who came to kill my mother, sister, and I stated that he was mad because my father killed almost every 6th stage expert they had in his group as well as several dozen 5th stage mages before he was killed after my sister got captured."

"So, what about your mother then? Surely she couldn't have been anyone ordinary if she was married to such a man."

Charlotte almost released all of the pressure she had on Kayn at this point as her gaze even turned a little gentle, but angered at the same time from hearing Kayn's story. She also knew that everything he had spoken was the truth as she still hadn't released her active ability.

"My mother was a pure-blood Obsidian Void dragon, the youngest daughter of the previous emperor of the clan. She met my father while trying to escape the slaughter and they both sacrificed a lot to get away safely. She essentially lost her ability to use magic or even return to her original form. She wasn't weak, but she also wasn't as strong as she was supposed to be."

"Kayn…everything about you is unbelievable. I don't know how else to put it. Even as my eyes tell me that you are truthful, everything that comes out of your mouth sounds more ridiculous than the last. It's as if fate blessed you so greatly, that it had to bring you to ruin just to make it even."

Little did she know that according to what Kayn had been told, she wasn't far off from the truth. Only that his 'balance' was skewed and leaned heavily towards having bad things happen to him more than good, or at least that was the case back then. If he was honest, he still didn't really fully understand what the entity was talking about.

"Last question, do you have a purpose for coming to this city other than safe refuge from Carnet?" Charlotte's worries were pretty much gone at this point, but he had traveled a long way, especially if he made a detour in the Great Forest since he had met Yvaris Earthborn.

"I was told in a dream to find someone, and that person is supposed to be somewhere within Palatine. But I don't know exactly where or who they are other than a name. However, my priority is to keep my sister safe and provide a nurturing environment that I can raise her in to fulfill my last promise to my mother."

Charlotte sensed a bit of a half-truth somewhere in there, but she couldn't pinpoint which part as it didn't alert her ability at all. "Then who are you supposed to find and what are you going to do once you find them?"

Kayn hesitated at this point. While he wanted to use Charlotte Erving for her influence and connections, he didn't want to be blatantly searching for the holder of the Sin. Plus, he couldn't lie to her at this point as from his testing, he knew she would be able to see through it. Thinking carefully, he answered the best he could to continue to have her trust.

"His name is Marco. I don't know what race he is nor what he looks like. And I also don't know exactly what I'm going to do once I find him, but I'm supposed to be able to tell that he's the one I'm looking for when I'm in his presence. At least that's what I was told."

'Interesting. He certainly isn't telling me everything about it, but none of what he said is a lie. I guess I can only leave it at that for now since he seems to hesitate when talking about this subject. In truth, he's revealed so many things to me in the last hour that I'm not sure how I should treat him.' Charlotte thought to herself as she remained silent with her eyes closed.

This had Kayn a little worried, but not long after he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. "I think that's enough revelations for today, what do you think young Kayn? Or do you prefer I continue to call you Healer Ashan?"

"Just Kayn is fine Leader Erving. You probably realized already, but Ashan is only a name I came up with while I'm staying here as I needed a new surname."

"So be it, Kayn. In that case, as we will be working closely together in the future and as peers in the pursuit of knowledge, you may call me Charlotte in private.

"In public, however, continue to refer to me as Leader Erving, otherwise people would find you very disrespectful and also mark me as a pushover for not punishing you." Charlotte said as she reached out with her hand for a handshake as a gesture of goodwill towards their future partnership.

Kayn shook her hand happily as his heart was finally calming down. He really thought she was going to erase him from the world for a bit there.

"Well, shall we get going then? We are already going to arrive later than I told them." Charlotte stood up and started walking towards the door, which left Kayn a little taken aback.

"You're still willing to let me take the professor job? I honestly expected you to want to keep me close to keep an eye on me." Kayn showed a rueful smile.

He actually was fairly excited at the thought of teaching a class of his own and passing down Lydia's teachings, but he didn't expect that he would be able to take that opportunity after everything he told Charlotte today.

"Why not? You're honestly probably the most qualified person for the position since you can use every element and instruct based upon your own practice and knowledge with each of them.

You also solved a mana poisoning case within a few moments, so your talents are remarkable without a doubt. None of the others who I was thinking about placing into that position want it anyway.

"Not to mention, I owe you at least the slightest benefit of a doubt since you shared so much with me. However, I must warn you not to do that with a stranger again, not everyone is on your side, even if they are a mythical beast."

With a subtle warning that also was a kind of guidance for Kayn, she opened the door and waited until Kayn picked up Lara. They soon left the White Hand Society to head towards the Astaro Academy.