"Zorian, Zorian, are you awake?" A woman's soft voice drifted into my ears.
I didn't know how or why I was in such a soft bed as just a moment ago i was in my classroom full of injury from first lesson and training after that. I tried moving my body, but I failed to move. I tried opening my eyes, but they only opened enough for me to see the person standing in front of me—blurry and body features completely not visible to me.
What is actually happening? I thought.
"Can you please continue? Please." The woman's voice came again, but the darkness took me in, and my eyes closed.
[Black screen]
May 4, 2010
(Zorian Sterling POV)
"Zorian" It was unclear, but I knew that voice. It was Pearl. "Zorian, wake up," she said.
"How can you sleep in the middle of the class, Akagami?" It was the teasing voice of Arashi.
"Am I teaching that bad that you fell asleep? Shame on me. I can't even entertain my student what kind of teacher am i." It was a voice filled with guilt—the voice of my sensei, who gave me... I mean, us, our first lesson yesterday.
"No, no, sensei. I got distracted, and also the medicine I took for recovering from my injury gave me that mid lecture nap," I said faintly.
"Oh, ok. So, for passing the time before beginning the new chapter, would you guys like to hear a true story?" Vance sensei asked, with a hope that we would say yes.
"Yes, yes, definitely!" I said with excitement.
"If Zorian says yes, then yes," Pearl followed up.
"Not interested, but I can't deny I don't want to hear it. So continue,"Arashi said.
"Ok, where should I begin? Yes, I got this. This way I could mix the lesson with the story." He smiled as he got an idea.
"Start already," Arashi said, looking out of the window.
"Yes. It is said that back then, more than eighty years ago, a Tatari—which I mentioned before is a beast that we don't know how is originated, but it is a creature not from this world..." He stood up, lifted his two fingers, and through his air manipulation, cut the air in a clean diagonal slash.
"What is this?" I asked.
"It is the shape of a Godwound, which acts like a portal between two worlds: the world where Tatari lives and the world in which we live," Vance sensei said.
"I still don't understand. What are Tatari, actually?" I asked.
"Take it like this. A Tatari is like a demon who comes from a Godwound, which is a portal from another dimension," Arashi explained on behalf of Vance.
"Correct. And the only ones capable of seeing Tatari and Godwounds are the ones we call Arcanists, like we are," Vance sensei said in a joyous tone.
"Hmm, now I am starting to understand things," Pearl said.
"Yes, you will understand everything. Just let the time come. Now let me continue my story."
Vance sensei was about to start, but was interrupted as the class door violently opened.
"Mr. Vance, the impossible has happened! Two Godwounds have opened consecutively today before the fortnight, and we cannot measure which level Tatari will emerge from that". It was the assistant that measures where and how powerful a Godwound is.
"Where are the two located?" Vance sensei asked.
"They are far away from each other. One in America and one in Japan," he said while breathing heavily.
"Oh, so how many teams have been formed?" Vance sensei asked.
"That is the problem, sir. Everybody has been appointed somewhere. The only ones that are here are you, Arashi, Pearl, Zorian, and..." He took a pause.
"And?" Vance sensei prompted.
"That mad 5th-year Arcanist, Zeverin Raiden." While saying this name, the assistant had tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Zeverin. He could handle a team of three and I would go alone on the other. Tell me, which has the most potential of bringing a Special Grade Tatari?" Vance said while seeing the assistant shake violently.
"What is a Special Grade? For our rank, they use S, A, B, C, D, E and mythic like yours, then what is Special Grade?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"Because we use the ranking system differently, Zorian. An S-rank could only take a Grade-2 alone. For a Special Grade, it would take a dozen S-ranks. That is why we made different ranking systems for both," Vance said, ignoring the assistant for a second before turning back to him.
"Most probably the one that opened in New York City," the assistant said, his voice shaking.
"Then I am going there. Go inform Zeverin he is going to lead my team and close the Godwound in Japan,Osaka," Vance said, and the assistant instantly ran off following his orders.
"But sensei, we still don't know many things, and most important among them, we don't know how to close the Godwound," I said to Vance sensei.
But before he could answer, two warm and soft hands rested on my shoulders.
"If we don't, then I believe that Zeverin senior must know it." It was Pearl.
"Yes, he knows everything. Now show what you have got, and also what you could become..." Vance said, while looking at all of us.
"Yes, I will—" I was interrupted.
"FOLD," and he was gone.
"Oh, so sensei uses 'FOLD' as a word to activate his technique to teleport." It was Arashi who looked amazed.
"Oh, so cool! So is he in New York now?" I asked.
"Yes." It was Pearl.
BOOM!!
As we all looked into the hallway, the assistant came flying and hit the wall.
"Who is the fool that has the rights to give me orders?"
A voice carried so much arrogance that we could feel it inside our classroom.
"Zeverin sir, please! Please, it was Mr. Vance who told me to call you and send you to the mission." It was the same scared voice of the assistant.
"Whatever," he said, and raised his arm to hit the assistant again.
GRIP.
His wrist was caught before it could land.
"Hitting your elders is inappropriate, senior."
The voice of Arashi. It was like a contradiction.
When ARROGANCE meets EGO.
"Who are you, kid? Have no fear of dying?" The arrogance filled his tone again.
"Not here to be killed, but actually to kill," he said with a smile, like he was getting something he wanted.
Ping!
The assistant's phone screen lit up.
"Oh no, the situation is getting worse every second," the assistant's voice shook.
"Then we will do this later, kid. I didn't want to go, but before killing you, killing Tatari will warm me up," the boy said with no difference in tone, only his words changed.
Fwip-rustle.
He dragged the jacket on, not bothering to fix the collar.
"The name is Zeverin Raiden, and I think I am going to take your sensei's place for this mission," Zeverin senior said.
"My name is Arashi, that girl's name is Pearl, and that boy's name is Zorian. We should continue moving now, or we will have time later to introduce ourselves," Arashi said on behalf of all of us.
Looking at Zeverin now clearly, I could see a shirtless boy with no less scars than Arashi, a katana on his back, and at his side stood a white wolf whose fur shimmered with faint sparks, as if a storm lived just beneath its skin.
"Excuse me, what is his name? Is it your companion?" I asked.
"What a trash question. He is my companion, and his name is Kaminari," he said.
"Leave them. Mr. Assistant, teleport us to Osaka now," Arashi said.
"I am the boss! I will say it. Start it, you useless human," Zeverin said.
"Yes, sir. Right away," he said.
He raised one hand, extending only his index and pinky fingers while the other curled inward. Then he brought his other hand up, pressing its middle and ring fingers across the fist, forming a strange interlocked gesture.
"INSTANT SPATIAL DISPLACEMENT!"
He said it, and suddenly the environment behind us started moving and stopped instantly.
And in an instance, we were in Dotonbori,Osaka,Japan. The place was so quiet that we could hear our heartbeats and my manacles making a sound.
"I missed him again come on ,Zenith," Zeverin said.
"How do you know he was here sir?" the assistant asked.
"Cause there is no one other than Kairo Zenith who has an Parallax Dominion in an S-rank slot," Arashi said.
"What is an parallax dominion?" I asked.
"Zorian, see this," Pearl said. She lifted her hand and put it inside the Parallax Dominion. It looked like she was putting her hand in water because he hand went in like it would in the water, but it was just air.
"This is the dominion limit. If a normal person enters it, he could see nothing, not even us for him the place would look as normal as it is just another day," Zeverin explained on behalf of Pearl.
"But when we enter, we could see them and the Tatari. So we have to protect them and end the Tatari but if this barrier is not present and godwound is active everyone would be able to see the tatari and our cover will be blown up also the tatari will never show it self unless the dominion is made," Arashi continued.
"And also to not let tatari escape the area as we can enter the dominion but ones we enter we cannot leave the dominion," Pearl said.
"Alright fine the location of the Godwound is Nipponbashi Station, and this is all the information I have, sir. Now it's all on you," the assistant said, and left instantly.
"Ok, so as it's your first mission, I don't expect anything, but being students of Vance sensei, you could defeat low-grade Tatari, right?" Zeverin asked.
"Yes, in those three days me and Pearl have trained day and night, and I have got some experience to use my weapon and fight," I said before them both.
"3 days?! I was unconscious for three days? Damn, I thought that we had our first lesson yesterday but it was three days before. Damn that," Arashi said with coldness.
"Leave it, just focus on our mission now. You and Arashi are going to defeat the all the tatari's spread in the are, and me and this girl are going to close the Godwound. Plan done, we move now," Zeverin said and without waiting for Pearl he vanished.
Pearl, before going, gave a smile and a nod to me and then she also vanished.
"We should be moving now," Arashi said.
"Wait, Arashi, what if the dominion collapsed?" I asked.
"We all will die, as that means that two things are happening at the same time, which is not possible," Arashi replied.
"Really? Then why is it important?" I asked.
"Not really, but if a dominion collapses the things I mentioned above will happen definitely but in this case the Godwound will become more bigger and the tatari's that are already out will also gain more power," he replied.
"Oh, now I understand, and I am ready to fight," I said.
TWANG - NNN !!!
The moment we entered the dominion, the sound came and we both got teleported somewhere else, I don't know where but I am currently free falling from the air to the ground.
[Black screen]
[Flashback]
April 30, 2010
"Zorian, what is that diary?" Pearl asked.
"This? This is the diary which has my every adventure, and I am writing and devoting it to MYSELF 80 YEARS LATER."