Chapter 1: A New World
Chapter 1: A New world
"In the 1700s, the king..." My history teacher's voice fades into the background. I don't care for history, but I do my work. Believe it or not, I'm the top student in all my classes. I already know all this stuff, which is why I'm ignoring my teacher.
The school bell rings, announcing the end of the day. I grab my backpack and run through the classroom door, tripping over my own feet. Well, I'm not surprised, seeing as I have terrible luck.
Ever since I was little, something horrible would always happen to me. Like the time when I was six and a little kid fell and hurt himself; out of the kindness of my heart, I ran over to help, but guess what? I fell face-first into dog poop. Can you believe that? And then there was the time when I was eight; I came across an injured cat and went to help. Not only did I get my face scratched up, but I also got pooped on by a bird. There are plenty more examples, but I don't want to dig into all that; just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine.
Finally I make it home, after almost falling on my face at least 20 times. Once I'm inside the house, I take off my shoes and place them on the shoe rack.
"Kaelin, is that you?" My mom called from the living room.
"Yes!" I called back, already heading to the stairs.
"Your dad's going to be a little late; want to do takeout?" She asked, pausing her show.
"Yeah, whatever you get is fine with me, kay, bye." I respond, heading upstairs as fast as I can. I can hear her chuckle at my response as I run up the stairs, almost falling again.
I change out of my school clothes and get into something more comfortable. I then climb in bed, pulling out my phone. I put in my password, swiping until I get to my manga app. I press on the icon and scroll to the manga called "Arcania Academy." I open the manga and go to the latest chapter, the last chapter, actually.
I waited a year and a half for them to finish this manga, and now I'm finally on the last chapter.
In this manga there are Aetherion spirits; they are being born of cosmic energy. They are weapons with spirits; they can transform from weapon into human.
The masters are humans with magical abilities; the more capable your abilities, the stronger your Aetherion spirit.
There's a conflict here, as in any good story. Whether it be evil demons against light magic users or an isekai man against the very kingdom that summoned him, they all have a conflict, a fight to be won, and so does this story.
In this case the conflict is between Aetherion spirits and masters. They discriminate against their Aetherion spirits, despite them being the ones protecting them.
The Aetherion spirits, despite this treatment, still protect their masters, but not all did this… Some broke free from their master's binds; that's where the story gets interesting.
Aetherion spirits wanted to be treated and respected as the equals of human beings. They wanted the spirit pact to be a partnership on equal grounds, as it was in the past, and I totally agree with them. I mean, it's called human decency, people.
But of course, we have the good guys, the plot-armored warriors, and the main characters, if I may.
The main characters of this manga are a young man named Alexander and his Aetherion spirit, Carter. Carter has a little secret, which is that he's madly in love with Alexander, his master. How scandalous, especially in these times. Anywho, Carter is willing to risk his life for him.
Little does he know, Alexander also likes him, and so, as it goes, Alexander and Carter join the side of the Aetherion spirits who wish to be treated as equals; they work with them, going on all sorts of dangerous missions to help their cause.
Aiden is the villain of this story; he despises all Aetherion spirits, and he doesn't want them to be treated as equal; heck, he doesn't even want them to exist, let alone be free to make decisions and be happy. He tries everything in his power to stop them from achieving their goal.
Aiden is a student at Arcania Academy, a magic academy where they teach you to harness your magical abilities and how to summon and use your Aetherion spirits in battle. Aiden has an Aetherion spirit named Kai, one of the strongest Aetherion spirits. But due to Aiden's inability to move on from whatever was blocking his pathways and build a bond, Kai was never able to flourish from the pact that he and Aiden shared.
Kai learned that he would never be able to grow stronger through their bond, so he decided to get his power a different way, and he did. Kai went to the most dangerous place in the world of the manga, the Valken realm. He formed a horrible, unfair pact with the Valken king just to get stronger so he could protect Aiden. Aiden never knew about this, so he never understood until the end of his time, until his death.
No one knows why Aiden is this way or why he hates Aetherion spirits so much. Here I am, reading the last chapter of this manga. I'm now at the part of Aiden's death, still not knowing the answer to this question. The author is an imbecile for not telling us readers why Aiden hates Aetherion spirits so much. It feels like lazy writing and a huge plot hole. I sighed as I turned off my phone, placing it on the charger beside me. I turned onto my back, staring at the ceiling, lying there, wishing I knew why Aiden hated Aetherion spirits so much. What caused him to go down this path? Is there a way to stop him from going down this path, or was he really just a lost cause?
"Kai... Kai... Kai." My eyes grew heavy and began to fall. I fought against the sleep to no avail as I heard a calming voice calling to me. Or... wait, that's not my name; that's... that name belongs to... the Aetherion spirit! The thought shot across my brain as a shocking pain coursed throughout my body. I jolted awake to unfamiliar surroundings.
"Wh-Where am I?" I muttered to myself, looking around the white space. There was nothing but white as far as the eye could see.
"Do you know how long I have been trying to get you?" Called out a feminine voice.
"Who are you?!" I called out, looking around frantically. I didn't see anyone else.
"All the falling, the scratching, the angry animals, the cars, bikes, construction, and earthquakes—nothing worked. I had to make it look like you died in your sleep. Do you know how much work that was, you brat?" The feminine voice responded, her tone laced with annoyance.
"Died?! What do you mean, "died"?! Am I dead?!" I shouted now in a full-blown panic.
"Yeah, yeah, stop all your squealing. You'll be taking Kai's place; you should be able to get the job done if you are as persistent as you were on earth." She said, her tone flat almost bored .
"What!? What do you mean? Not only did you kill me, but now you want to give me the role of the most abused character in the manga? Have you lost your mind? Send me back right now, and you better go wake up my dead body, you hear me!?" I shout at her, my voice filled with rage.
"Now I see why the others never show themselves or talk to the people they send out—such a hassle." The woman replied.
Suddenly a warm light emitted from my chest, and I found myself in the center of a castle room.
"What the fu—"
"Watch your language, creature."
A pale-skinned, black-haired boy with light blue, piercing round eyes and full lips and a sharp jawline and a slender, athletic build said to me.
I know this boy from the manga; it's…Aiden. Wait, did he just call me a creature? I bristled at the word before opening my mouth to speak.
"Excuse me, you wanna be emo." I shoot back, pushing myself up from the ground, staring the shorter boy down.
Everyone around gasped as if I were the one who had committed the atrocious crime, when he was the one who insulted me first.
"Oh, where was all that energy when he called me a creature?" I addressed the crowd, who just kept staring at me shocked.
I rolled my eyes at the crowd again; they gasped. Aiden, on the other hand, kept the same cold expression.
"Wait, what is an emo?" I hear one of the people in the crowd whisper; the rest collectively begin asking before coming to the conclusion none of them know what it is or what it means.
A silver-haired, tan-skinned man with green eyes walked up behind Aiden, placing a hand on his shoulder while looking at me.
"Tell me, what is your name?"
He asked in a flat, disinterested tone, his face a mask of indifference.
"Why should I tell you my name when you've yet to tell me yours? Do you lack manners, brain cells, or both?" I questioned defiantly. Raising an eyebrow, an annoyed expression etched on my face.
The crowd once again gasped, shooting a glance at each other before swiftly turning their attention back to me, Aiden, and the man.
The man's eyes widen in shock before narrowing into a glare. He moves from behind Aiden, walking up to me. He glares down at me. "How dare you disrespect me? You're nothing but a lousy Aetherion spirit!"
The man shouted, raising his hand to slap me. I smacked his hand away, glaring back at him. "Hit me, and I'll break every bone in your body, old man."
I don't know who these people think they are, but if they think for one second I'll allow them to bully me, they've got another thing coming. Defiance surged through me, burning through my eyes.