"Alden..."
"Alden..."
"Alden!"
"Gasp!" I woke up startled with the scream.
Letting out a yawn and looking around, I realized that I was in some kind of classroom.
It was a large dark blue stone room built in the shape of a half sphere; black candelabra lighted the place with pyromancy fire serving as a light source.
The floor was made of polished brown wood to the point that I could see my reflection in it.
The room was also full of long wooden tables, arranged in rows that curved slightly in an arc; the table ran from the wall to the middle of the room, stopping before a wooden staircase that led down to a kind of wooden stage with a table and a blackboard.
On the ceiling of the room was a large glass dome, overlooking the night sky lit by hundreds of stars. If I remember correctly, astrologers believed that magical powers could be obtained at times of special celestial alignment.
Humph! Take power from the sky! What kind of lunatic would believe that it is possible to get power through the stars and the cosmos?
However, I must admit that astrologers' ideas led to the creation of new and very useful magical devices.
"PPPSSSHHH! Alden!" Someone called me again.
Looking to the side, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the thing in front of me. It was a person, no, I couldn't call that a person, the thing looked like a human except for one feature, or lack thereof.
The thing had no face, the thing wore finely tailored clothes, the kind you would see a scholar wearing, there was hair on its head, but where it should have had a face, there was a distorted mass of flesh that melted like candle wax.
"Alden? Is there a problem? You shouldn't sleep in the middle of classes. You don't want to tarnish the reputation of the renowned Magic Academy of Melfia, do you?" The thing spoke, even without a mouth.
Melfia? The kingdom south of Drangleic? What am I doing here?
"Alden, are you okay?" The thing extended a hand towards me.
I got up immediately, knocking over the chair I was sitting on with a loud crash that echoed through the classroom.
"Alden, what are you doing? Please don't make a fuss, people are watching."
People? Looking around, I noticed that the room was full of faceless creatures, all whispering to each other and staring at me in a mixture of voices, male and female, that filled the room.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Is he feeling sick?"
"Hump! Low-class nobles don't have any kind of education!"
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the voices; they seemed to be inside my head. It only got worse when a booming voice gave me the worst headache of my life, nearly bringing me to my knees.
"Alden Yric Osmer! Sit down now or I'll remove you from my class!"
Looking at the source of the voice, I saw a faceless person in front of the blackboard, pointing at me with a chalk. This person looked older, wearing the robes of a nobleman and with gray hair on his head.
"Professor Olenford, I believe Alden isn't feeling well. Can I take him to the apothecary?" The faceless person standing next to me asked.
"Hm… Of course. But return immediately, I don't want to find out that you were loitering in the halls instead of attending my class." The gray-haired faceless one replied.
"Yes, Master Olenford! Come on Alden, let me help you." The faceless one spoke, approaching me.
As I saw that thing approaching, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time, real fear. I quickly brought my hand to my waist, but I was surprised upon not feeling the hilt of my sword.
Then I took my hand to my back, and there was nothing, no sword, no shield, no staff, I tried to light my flame, but nothing happened, I swung my hand repeatedly, but there was no reaction.
I saw that the hands of the faceless thing approached me, I looked around for a weapon, and with no other option, grabbed the chair on the floor and slammed it against the table, breaking it. I picked up a sharp piece of wood and pointed at the faceless thing.
"Stay away from me!"
The thing held up its hands defensively and backed away.
"Alden! What are you doing?!?" The thing screamed.
With that opening, I ran towards the room's double doors and tried to open it, but nothing happened, then I pushed it, nothing again. I lunged and kicked at the door, but it didn't budge.
"Stop him!" The gray-haired faceless one screamed.
Immediately all the faceless creatures got up and came towards me, I desperately tried to break down the door, but simultaneously the faceless ones came closer, trying to surround me.
"Calm down!"
"Put that thing down!"
"Take a deep breath and stop what you are doing."
"Let's talk about it."
I swung the piece of wood towards the creatures, and with each blow, they moved away, but others advanced through the openings.
Suddenly one of the things grabbed my arm and pulled me, causing me to let go of the piece of wood.
"Catch him!"
Quickly, all the faceless came towards me. With my other hand, I punched the faceless that held me and kicked another one in the stomach. One of them punched me in the face, but I returned the blow, punching his chin.
I felt one of the faceless jumping on my back and putting me in an arm lock. I elbowed him repeatedly in the side, and with each blow, his grip loosened. I threw my head back, hitting the faceless one and making him let go of me.
Another lunged towards me, I grabbed the faceless one behind me and threw him towards the advancing faceless one, but they kept coming, I raised both fists and fought.
I punched one in the place where its face should be and in the chin right after, and then I ducked, dodging a punch aimed at my face.
When I got up, I punched the stomach of another creature, making it bend over, so I joined both hands above my head and went down towards the creature's head, knocking it to the ground.
I saw another one approaching; I stepped out of the way, dodging a kick aimed at my back. Therefore, I grabbed the creature by the back of the head and slammed it repeatedly against the table until the thing stopped moving.
This made all the faceless people stop; they watched the faceless one who was bleeding on the ground, probably dead.
"AAAHHH!" One of the faceless ones screamed, bringing his hands up to where his mouth should have been.
"What did you do?!?" Another one screamed.
"You monster!" One more spoke.
"The only monsters here are you!" I yelled back, grabbing the piece of wood lying on the floor.
I scanned the room for who would make the first move. I felt my heart pounding, my breathing quickening and saw the walls melting.
Wait? The walls? The walls were melting, similar to the faces of the things in front of me. I need to get out of here! I need to get out of here!
With a scream of rage, I advanced toward the creatures between the exit and me, but before I could fight, I felt a strong pain in my chest.
Looking down, I saw a hole where my heart should be. I hyperventilated while grabbing a table, trying to keep myself upright.
My vision blurred, looking back, I saw the gray-haired faceless man holding a staff with magic flowing in the tip.
My strength faded, and I couldn't keep myself up anymore. When my body hit the ground, the last thing I saw was the feet of the things in front of me, followed by a cacophony of distorted voices.
"He has gone mad!"
"Master Olenford, was that necessary?"
"Alden!"
Then everything went dark.
-XXXXXX-
"Again!"
I woke up scared. I touched my chest as soon as I noticed that I was conscious. I was surprised that the hole wasn't there. Did I die? If so, why am I not next to a bonfire?
Looking around, I realized that this time I was in some kind of training area with a series of straw mannequins in front of me.
"You there! What are you waiting for? Cast your spell!" A man wearing sorcerer's clothes shouted.
Spell? Looking down at my hands, I saw that I held a basic sorcerer's staff; there was a mannequin in front of me.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" The sorcerer spoke, crossing his arms.
I noticed other people in the training area, some wearing armor and others dressed like me, wearing light sorcerer clothes and holding a staff.
Some cast Soul Arrows at the mannequins, while others watched me.
This time the people had faces, but I couldn't identify them, doing as the sorcerer said, I cast a Soul Arrow, hitting the mannequin in the head, leaving a big hole.
"Hm… Very well, keep practicing." The sorcerer spoke, going away soon after.
"You shouldn't test the instructors' patience; they can be sadistic with their punishments." A voice spoke behind me.
Turning around, I saw that it was a man who talked to me. He wore a sorcerer's clothes similar to mine and carried a staff. I couldn't identify his face, but I felt a certain familiarity when I saw him.
"Excuse me if this seems rude, but who are you?"
The man looked offended by my question.
"What kind of question is that? I'm… your best friend. We have known each other since childhood."
I couldn't hear the man's name.
"Could you repeat your name?"
"My name is..." The man sighed.
Nevertheless, I couldn't hear again.
"I understand. Thanks for reminding me, I don't know what went through my head." I replied, pretending everything was fine.
"I think you took too much sun on your head, you should rest."
"Weren't you the one who said I shouldn't test the instructors' patience? I think they would be irritated if I rested without their permission."
The man put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me close.
"I don't care about that. Soon we'll graduate as Melfia sorcerers. From there, it will be an easy life for both of us. I'll join the army and bring glory to my family, whereas you, well, you've always enjoyed researching magic. Maybe you will discover something revolutionary?"
"It's not that easy, magic is something that needs to be studied and..."
"Yes, yes! You've told me this before. Quoting the great master Alden here, 'Magic is something that must be studied, analyzed, and tested for years to avoid disasters and accidents like what happened to the ancient kingdom of Oolacile. Magic comes from the soul, mastered through our intelligence, has many areas beyond our knowledge and must be treated with respect, for it was through it that our kingdom prospered.' Honestly, you should get out of the library more and spend some time with your friends, have some fun, get some maidens."
For a moment, a tall man with blond hair replaced the man beside me.
"I don't know if you noticed, but the academy has clear rules that must be followed, one of which is no relationship between students within the academy grounds."
"Does it seem that someone here follows this rule? Do you know what people do in the storage rooms? Believe me the janitor was furious! Know what? I'll get you a girl now!"
The man looked around until his eyes focused on a girl.
"Oh! How about her?" The man pointed at the girl.
She was a tan-skinned, dark-haired girl, I couldn't see her face, but she was wearing a more revealing version of Melfia's sorcerer garb.
"Who is she?"
"I don't know. I only know that she came from the lands of Jugo, she is part of the Desert Sorceresses clan, and she came to the academy in search of learning more about pyromancy."
As soon as the man finished his speech, the girl shot a large fireball towards the mannequin, reducing it to ashes in a great explosion.
I felt the man's hand squeeze my shoulder tightly, his arm shaking with a scared smile on his face. The girl must've noticed our stares, as she turned toward us and smiled, winking at me.
I felt my face heat up from it.
"Well, go talk to her." The man said, pushing me.
"Wait! What?"
I planted my feet on the ground, but the man pushed me, and with a final push, he threw me towards the girl.
Luckily, I prevent my embarrassment from increasing by regaining my balance and not falling to the ground.
When I looked at the girl, I noticed that she was trying to hold back a laugh, I felt my face heat up again, and looking back, I saw the man giving me a thumbs-up, behind a wall.
Now that she was close, I got a good look at her face. Black hair, tan skin, yellow eyes, pink lips, thin nose and chin, she was beautiful.
"Hello!" The girl spoke happily.
"H-hello!" I stammered nervously.
"What's your name?" The girl asked with an amused smile.
"A-Alden! And you?"
"My name is Zo..."
The girl's voice distorted, her face became a shapeless mass of melting flesh. Looking around, I saw that the entire training area was melting.
My heart raced, my breath became erratic, and the faceless ones surrounded me again, they muttered a mix of voices, giving me a headache.
"Alden!" The man accompanying me shouted.
Looking at him, I saw an extremely tall man, wearing black robes and with long blond hair.
"Godwyn?" I asked.
Then the world melted.
END OF CHAPTER