Zachariel finally returned to the dormitory area.
The magic lamps in the large pathway illuminated the dark environment.
Luckily, no one was fighting nearby.
He searched for a bench to take a short rest. An hour of running around the city used up all of his mana essences and his muscles also started to ache.
He put Amelia down and sat beside her, placing her head on his right arm.
‘Tok. Tok.’
`Footsteps?`, Zachariel wondered.
The sound came from the right and he turned his head to see who it was.
“My, my, what are you two doing here?”, a tall golden-haired, and handsome young man walked up to them.
“Senior Vittorio, long time no see.”, Zachariel greeted.
“Ah, it’s so refreshing for someone as young as you to remember someone as beautiful as me.”, Vittorio acknowledged Zachariel’s memory.
Zachariel did not understand what his senior was trying to imply.
“Anyway, it’s this dark out here and you dare to venture bravely like an idiot. Are you sure you are in the right place?”, Vittoria inquired.
“I’m just resting for a small bit, senior.”, Zachariel corrected, “You should know that the court trial had recently ended, right?”
Vittoria thought for a moment, “Court trial?”, he murmured.
“Oh, forget that I asked.”, he waved his hands.
Vittorio sniffed around.
“Boy, it looks like something traumatic happened earlier, didn’t it?”
Zachariel widened his eyes after hearing Vittorio’s question.
“Senior, how do you know?”
Vittorio took out a pipe and gathered fire mana essence, lighting it up, and puffed smoke.
He then leaned on the lamp post.
“You see, Amelia reeks of sorrow and pain while you smell like someone who’s seeking revenge.”
Zachariel gulped.
`How could senior Vittorio tell? Is this his extense like what that old man said before?`
Vittorio smirked without Zachariel noticing.
`Ah, I really like to see those shocking expressions on these young Prospects! Are you mesmerized by my great ability? You must be, and you should be!`
He inwardly laughed after complimenting himself.
“The two of you lost your titles, didn’t you?”
It was a guess on Vittorio’s part but it changed Zachariel’s mood. The latter’s eyes narrowed. Vittorio could feel the anger and resentment hidden behind.
Apart from Zachariel’s expression, he also noticed something peculiar.
`Weird, why do they still wear their emblems?`
Vittorio observed him for a while, anticipating Zachariel to reply. Unfortunately, it never came.
After the silent treatment, Vittorio straightened his bearing.
“Zachariel, let me give you an advice.”
He looked up and puffed another smoke.
“There’s a difference between forsaking the world and seeking revenge on those who have wronged you. Make sure to keep that in mind.”
Vittorio smiled.
Zachariel glanced at his senior. Vittorio’s words made him realize something important.
`Did I just do something I would regret, earlier?`
He reminisced his conversation with Victoria, and the moment Sabrina walked along with him in the Imperium Court staircase.
‘Tok. Tok.’
Another footstep resounded.
“Hmm?”
Vittorio noticed another figure approaching them.
“Sir Matthias, are you here to-?”
“Yes, Vittorio.”, Matthias cut Vittorio off.
“Zachariel, I’d like to request of you to hand over your emblems, please. I forgot about it earlier, but well…”, he chuckled, embarrassed on forgetting about a simple thing.
`Sir Matthias seems to be in a hurry. Did something happen?`
Vittorio was unsure so he sniffed around, `No, he isn’t in a hurry. More like he’s very excited.`
Zachariel realized that he was no longer a Prospect candidate. He took off his and Amelia’s emblem then gave it to Matthias.
Matthias nodded, “Zachariel, even though your path as a Prospect candidate ends here, I hope you would continue to improve and prove to the Higher Elders from the Tower that they were wrong about revoking you as one.”
He encouraged Zachariel.
“I will, Sir Matthias. Thank you for your hard work.”
Zachariel was about to stand up when Matthias waved his hands.
“No need for that. It is part of my work as your adviser and as an instructor of the Great Schools.”
He smiled, “Okay, I’ll be going now. Take care, both you and Amelia.”
“Thank you again, Sir Matthias.”
Matthias chuckled and left the area.
<Zachariel, something’s wrong here.>, Vittorio established a telepathic link to Zachariel.
Zachariel noticed this, `Telepathic link? But why? Is someone spying against us right now?`
He wondered but played along.
<Senior, are you talking about Sir Matthias?>
<Yes, exactly. His actions and inner emotions are contradicting one another, well, after I considered a few things.>
Zachariel was intrigued and wanted to learn more.
<Ah, forget that I said anything. Anyway, you can already telepathically communicate at this stage?>
<Yes, senior. For some reason, I have already known the ins and outs when using telepathic links to talk to other people.>
<Oh, that’s good. At least I’m not the only one who is as good as you when I was your age.>
Zachariel choked, `What’s up with senior all of a sudden?`
Vittorio stopped smoking and put the pipe away.
“Your friends are here, got to go now.”
He said with a serious look on his face.
“Ah, senior. Before you go, thank you. I realized that I have made a mistake. I wouldn’t have noticed it without your advice.”
“No worries, continue with your development.”
Vittorio waved his hands as he walked away, his figure fading in the dark.
…
`Senior said that the carriages should be near, but it’s already been a few minutes. What’s going on?`
“Hmmrrph..”, a low groan resounded on Zachariel’s side.
Amelia slowly opened her eyes.
“Amelia, you’re finally awake.”
Zachariel felt relieved when she woke up. Amelia rubbed her face in his arms.
“Amelia, are you afraid of something?”, he asked.
“Brother Zachariel, I dreamt about Hal dying. I called out for him but he could not hear me, so I called out to you instead. However, you did not reply to me and it scared me. I thought you had forsaken me. Please don’t do it again.”
Her voice quaked as she spoke to him. Tears already streamed down her face.
Zachariel patted her back, “Amelia, it’s okay. I’m here now.”
Amelia paused for a moment before continuing.
“Brother Zachariel, why are we being punished? Weren’t we the ones who lost Hal? Wasn’t Hal killed by them? Do they not know it? Are they turning blind to his death? I only did what I did at the Mage Guild but why am I getting punished for it instead? What I ask of them is to just get justice for Hal. Why is the world so cruel?”
Her weeping worsened.
“Please, all I ask of you is to get justice for Hal. Don’t say that you have forgotten him, or his death, or my pain. Again, please don’t say it again! That’s all I ask, brother Zachariel. I won’t be able to do it myself because I am not strong enough. Only you… only you can do it… Please…”
“Amelia…”
Her soft sobs put Zachariel in an emotional state he hadn’t felt for a long time. Her unceasing tears slowly washed the pain away inside her heart.
A cold wind drifted over.
The two young Stroms sat there, unaware of what they were supposed to do. The Royal Family had already started to antagonize them, and they thought that the Towers might be despising them.
Zachariel raised his head and stared at the sky. He raised his left arm and extended it, trying to catch the clouds above.
`The sky, it’s so familiar. As always.`
He couldn’t understand the reason behind the nostalgic feeling every time he looked up.
‘You must survive!’
The familiar voice echoed in his mind.
`Survive, huh?`
He closed his eyes, reminiscing the events that happened.
`The school selection, my classmates, my seniors, Hal’s death, the court trial… Eh, warm? What’s happening?`
He opened his eyes.
`Solus’s light has returned. The blackout, did it end?`
He had a hard time adjusting to the new environmental brightness.
“Brother Zachariel, light! Solus’s light! The blackout has ended!”, Amelia rejoiced.
“Yes, yes, Amelia.”, Zachariel played along with her.
The light illuminated all parts of the Imperium, bringing joy to everyone who had long-awaited for the blackout to end.
A few horse carriages quickly passed. Some of the dust flew over to Zachariel and Amelia.
‘Phew, phew’
They coughed, `Damn bastards!`
Zachariel cursed.
“Amelia, are you okay?”
`Thankfully, she stopped crying.`
“Yes, I am. Thanks to you, brother Zachariel, hehe…”, she giggled.
Zachariel grasped her arms.
“Amelia, don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you again. It was my fault earlier.”
Amelia stared at him. A memory of hers came back, remembering the time when they were young, along with Hal, making promises they never knew would become heavy and important when they grew older.
`I came back. At that time. I was safe, because of them.`, she thought. Hal would always get beaten up, while Zachariel never backed down against the bullies.
Amelia stood behind, observing the fight happening in front of her eyes.
`Strong, he’s so strong! Brother Zachariel, he is really the best!`
“Eh?”
She snapped out of her imagination then giggled out of nowhere, confusing Zachariel.
…
“Hah! Hah!”
Someone was running towards them.
“Za-Zachariel…”
The caller seemed to be out of breath.
“Hmm…”, Zachariel looked behind him, “Sabrina, did you get out of your carriage?”
She
“Yes.”
Sabrina was clasping her hands tightly.
“I-I’m sorry… for earlier. I didn’t stand up to you… so…”, she stuttered and was afraid to say anything more.
Zachariel was cold to her earlier and she didn’t know if he would listen to her now.
“Sabrina, it wasn’t yours, but mine.”, Zachariel affirmed. He stared at her with a serious look.
Sabrina sighed. She didn’t know what else to say.
`Things have changed. We’re not the kids years ago. Grandfather… I can’t take this…`
Her pink ponytail hair fluttered.
Zachariel stood up and faced her.
“Sabrina, I told you, and I will keep on telling you.”, patting her shoulders, “It’s not your fault, okay?”
Sabrina teared up, “Okay, I understand.”, wiping off the tears in her eyes.
“Come, you two. Let’s go back.”
Zachariel grabbed both of their hands, making them blush.
Sabrina was upset, `What is he doing all of sudden?`
Amelia smiled. She didn’t mind Sabrina’s company, as long as Zachariel was there beside her.
They all walked on the large pathway.
“I’m going to the arenas tomorrow, do you want to go with me?”, Zachariel invited.
“Arenas? But Zachariel, what if you get beaten up by the veteran fighters?”
Sabrina experienced being beaten a few days ago. She didn’t want to see Zachariel that way.
“Sabrina, brother Zachariel is the strongest of them all! Why are you discouraging him to fight when what he does best is to fight?”, Amelia pouted.
Sabrina’s mouth twitched.
“I’m not degrading him, I’m only worried!”
“Haha, just tell me if you want to go or not?”, Zachariel laughed.
The two girls were dumbfounded, `Did he just laughed?`
They stopped walking.
“Hmm? Did something happen?”
“Zachariel, did you laugh right now?”, Sabrina asked him.
“Yeah, I did. Is it bad to laugh when talking about things like this?”
“Uh, no. I’m surprised. I haven’t heard you laugh for a long time.”, Sabrina replied.
“Well, how was it?”, Zachariel didn’t know about that.
“No-nothing. If you want to laugh, just laugh, okay?”, Sabrina hastily encouraged him.
“You said it. So, will you go or not?”, he asked again.
“I will go, okay! I will go!”, Sabrina hollered.
They continued walking as Solus’s light dawned upon them.
Zachariel stared at the sky above.
`I hope this feeling would continue forever.`
He bathed under the warm light that Solus gave to him.
`Hal, I’ll be avenging you soon. Wait for a little bit more, your brother will make them all pay.`
The future looked bright to him.
At least for now.
…
{Note: The Central District is the same area where the instructors, deans, and the Prospect building is located, and the six Great Schools interchange.}
Central District, The Six Great Schools, Northeast of the Imperium Capital City.
Vittorio was on his way back to the Prospect building.
`Quiet. Way too quiet.`
There were no noisy birds or critters here and there. Even the winds were too cold in the month where the autumn season was only about to start.
He sniffed around and his sense of smell suddenly kicked in.
`A danger, and it’s something big.`
“Come out, whoever you are.”
A figure appeared behind him, walking out from cover. They were rather careful in their actions, afraid that someone would see them.
Vittorio turned around and his eyes trembled.
“Cody, what the hell are you doing here?”, he asked.
Cody was battered in bruises and injuries all over. His tattered and burnt clothes were a sign that he had a recent battle.
“Vittorio, I want to talk to you about something.”, Cody whispered.
Vittorio raised his eyes.
“The Royal Family, they’re onto me. I need your help.”
`His voice is too hoarse. What is Cody doing?`
Vittorio felt like something was wrong.
Cody approached him but Vittorio distanced himself.
“You, who the hell are you?”, Vittorio raised his voice.
`This smell, it’s too different from the real Cody!`
Cody chuckled.
“Oh, have I been found out already? Tsk, no matter, you’re already dead!”
“Don’t you dare underestimate a cook like me!”
Vittorio took out a kitchen knife and layered it with wind mana essence.
“Hehehe, dare to fight me? You must be out of your mind!”, Cody mocked.
‘Rain of Fire! Earthen Spike! Growth: Constriction!’
Cody threw several spells at Vittorio.
Sprouts of vines grew below Vittorio’s feet, trying to entangle him.
‘Slice and Dice!’
Vittorio’s hand moved quickly, slashing at the numerous vines.
The earthen spike was almost upon him, but he gathered earth mana essence and casted a spell.
‘Shockwave!’
The earthen spike was nullified, but he flew upwards to where the fireballs were targeted at.
Vittorio gathered water mana essence, casting, ‘Water Stream!’
A huge amount of water fell from the sky and evaporated the group of fireballs that were about to hit him.
A disturbance of mana essence emanated on his right.
`Strings? What the hell? Shockwave!`
He pushed himself back on the ground. He rolled over and looked upwards.
‘Swiiinggg!’
The strings cut through the wind and passed over his head.
`Luckily, I did not defend against that!`
Vittorio felt relieved of his decision. However, things did not go for the better.
`There are more?`
The mist impeded his eyesight and he could only rely on his senses to detect any upcoming attacks.
`On the left!`
He layered his entire body in earth mana essence and held the kitchen knife in front of his body.
‘Clang!’
The knife and the strings clashed against one another. Vittorio gritted his teeth.
The ground below parted as he put weight on his feet to stop the attack.
`What kind of strings are these?`
“They’re the murder weapon exactly for you!”
A womanly voice resounded beside him.
Vittorio glanced on his right, `What the? When did they-?`
“Die!”
