Alys watched on, lips set into a loose frown, following each of Ariel’s moves. Lost in the rhythm of pumping his arms, Ariel’s thoughts trailed off under the golden gleam of Alys’s eyes.

Ariel had recently turned twelve when his gang turned him in. Police had announced they would be offering monetary rewards for turning in rogue mages, and a few members of his street crew decided to cash in on that offer. He had tried to run, but after having a gun put to his head, he quietly complied. The facility he had been brought to was used to imprison, bind, and sell Catalysts. It stood gloomily on the outskirts of the city, tall and with few windows.

“Don’t worry, kid,” One of the guards mumbled. “You won’t be alone, you’ll have a cellmate.” Worry consumed Ariel as he was led down a dimly lit hall. The door to his future cell was thrown open and he was ushered inside before the door was slammed and locked behind him.

The cell was cold and cramped. There were no windows and the only two things inside of it were a small cot and a bucket. Ariel’s frown deepened and he stepped further into the room. The sound of rustling fabric caught his attention and he looked to the cot, finally noticing a small bundle of blanket sitting in the dark, as far away from him as possible.

“Hello?” Ariel’s voice shook.

The blanket shifted and golden eyes peeked out at him.

“Hello…” A small, young voice responded.

“I’m Ariel…” he introduced himself, stepping towards the bundle.

“Alys…” It responded meekly.

Ariel moved to sit next to the bundle and he pieced together that his cellmate was younger than him. Trying to make light of the situation he found himself in, Ariel cracked a smile.

“So… what are you in for?” He jokingly asked.

Alys poked his head out of the blanket and Ariel could see the tattoo around his neck in the dim glow of light.

“Murder,” the child responded simply.

Alys had murdered his former master’s wife out of revenge for his mother. The portrait of vengeance Alys had painted was that his mother had been put to sleep for protecting Alys from the wrath of his master. It was a common thing that happened to Catalysts who defied their masters’ will. Instead of outright killing them, the master would turn the ring to its lowest setting, rendering the Catalyst unconscious until the ring was turned up again. It was fair to assume Alys’s mother’s body withered away day by day as Alys hopelessly watched. So, he had decided that he would take away the mother of his master’s children, seeking his own form of justice.

To think he was only eight when he did it… It’s a miracle they didn’t kill him for it. Any normal mage would be put down for murdering a human.

That fact alone meant there was something special about Alys. Something that even the humans recognized. Alys was the last Magi of his kind; the only remaining dark mage, which let him get away with things any run of the mill mage wouldn’t be able to.

He’s like an endangered species or something.

As Ariel switched to do crunches, he heard the familiar sound of his name being called.

“Ariel!”

He looked over to see Julia hunched over at the gate as she panted.

Ariel swung forward into a sitting position. “Oh, hey Julia.”

From her lack of breath, Ariel surmised that she had ran all the way to him, so she must have come to do something important.

“The Young Master…” She whispered between gasps for air. “He needs you urgently.”