After chanting 'teal' in her head three times, its monotonous voice scratches her mind and scatters her thoughts, "Yes, Lady Melpomene?"
"Where is Alastair Holden?"
"I cannot answer that."
She frowns. "Why not?"
"I follow orders of who's stronger, and someone has forbidden me from speaking of that individual to anyone."
"Mhmm… So, you can be useless."
"I am offended."
"I'm left with questions," Catalina says, her lips twitching at the ensuing silence. "Oh, sorry, I thought we were sharing."
Teal makes a sound similar to a scoff, "Is that all, Lady Melpomene?"
She hums, lifting a hand to rub her forehead, feeling a throbbing ache in her skull. 'Shadeen said not to worry until next year. She clearly wasn't worried enough. No wonder she's second rate. Let me stop… She did not wrong me—she did call me out for no reason when others were raising their hand—but I can look past that. I wonder how she feels about her husband. She is his wife and not a fiancé? I know they had an arranged marriage, yet I don't remember attending the wedding. Doesn't really matter. They're together regardless of the truth….'
She shakes her head, dispelling the senseless thoughts. She stores the relics in her head, trying to ignore the thought of herself exposed as the people she's reading are.
'None of the relics are normal or seem possible.' She sighs, heaving her gaze to the corner of the communicator. 'To become omnipotent, one must climb there themselves, through their own hardships and blood.'
The time is 1:57 PM.
She has three minutes to head over to her second class. Dull annoyance flickers in; her arms quavering in anxiety. 'Dead forest… good grief.'
****
Invisible Narrator relic cloaks Akira Misul, the attribute obscuring his presence and movements as he strolls down the white gravel pathway in the dead forest, which is located a mile away from Lightless Institute and on the edge of the mountain where Abysmal Trials are held.
He sports the fourth year's silver academy uniform; a jacket made of fine silk drapes over it, with his tousled locks of black hair framing his dark pink eyes, a chaotic thirst in the depths of his pupils. Two crimson snakes slither underneath; their sinuous forms embellish with patterns of obsidian, heads slightly broader, with piercing orange eyes flecking with dark light.
"Keep a lookout," he mutters, and one snake forked tongue licks him in response.
In the next moment, he dissolves his senses, plunging his mortal eyesight and welcoming the snake's vision through his divine companions, Ereborn and Astrid.
As Weather Singers' consciousness shifts, a tingling sensation from the depths of his being creeping to his face to his eye sockets, the world blurs, shrinking to a sharp tunnel vision, muting the colorful surroundings, replacing it with heat signatures. Every surface in the dead forest glows bright ember or deep indigo.
Ereborn coils forward on the forest floor; heat vibrating beneath it, slithering past leaves and twigs.
****
In the fifth year, students have two classes, leadership and space missions, which are expeditions in other realms, expanding earth connections beyond space and time. In their free time aside from missions, they teach underclassmen.
If a student's record has 100 wins in duels, ranks in the top 6 during a rank battle, possesses perfect grades in every class since seeker year, then they can join an already formed league even if they're not yet a mentor.
****
Akira remembers Czar mentioning he's to be teaching the survival skills class for the seekers this year.
That legendary class is brutal. It's known as such because it strips cadets of their status and existence, making all they think about is survival. They teach them the basics of surviving the wild with no divine powers. Starting fires, gathering food and water, learning poisonous herbs and their safe alternatives. Then, they camp out, facing attacks from wild animals, along with ambushes from the mentor, etc.
Because this class takes place in the dead forest, an area known as the first land to have been graced by divine presence, everything is a danger.
The air sometimes becomes murky, as if it's melting and they'll feel their lungs burn and collapse for ten seconds before dying. To prevent this as a first semester seeker they use a haven tent, an item that cleanses the air inside its space.
At Lightless, usually every semester gets a new wave of seekers. Akira was a part of the last batch of year 4075, which in the end had four students; Ishaan, Rune, and Manon, all who entered in the late 4074 and were a part of the first batch of seekers.
This year was different, as instead of having a hundred take an Abysmal Trial and then another hundred later, thousands of people took it at once and that hasn't happened in centuries, which meant there won't be any new first years.
Nature is an unpredictable force and in the dead forest, it's hell on earth.
Any moment can lead to death, so Akira isn't surprised when under an hour since the class started, over ten drop like moths.
To his relief, through Ereborn sight, his little sister is still very much alive and mingled in the group. He commands his divine companion to go closer, spotting Rhea beside a silvery-white-haired girl and two boys with crystalline eyes. Rhea's lips move, flashing an upbeat smile, then turning and walking towards a group of boys.
Her hands reach towards a dark-haired boy with a crimson pendant, tapping his shoulder, and instantly the boy reels around, looking as if infuriated at her touch.
'Does he have haphephobia?' Akira deciphers Rhea's action as attempting to get everyone to group up, increasing their chances of survival.
In today's class they are to learn how to set up the haven tent repeatedly for the next couple of hours as the air shifts to a murky pressure, then back to normal.
For Ziven's sake, he prays to the Eight Phlthartic that Catalina is strong enough to make it through Lightless. Despite her combat strength already being powerful, it does not matter.
You can be strong as god, yet gods still fall.
Ziven was strong as Ishaan, yet he died and is mocked and ridiculed even after death.
Dismissing the snake's vision, Akira finally reaches his destination; his hands move with familiarity and ease as he pours light purple elixirs onto the dead plants within an abandoned garden. Tall jade green grasses and weeds sprawl around him, with barely visible footpaths under tangled foliage, unique colored insects crawling upon it like a street.
The thick scent of decay and rot in the air is tinged with a pineapple smell drifting from the elixir glass curved bottles, which is known as Emerald Rebirth.
Potion brewing is a hobby of Weather Singer, feeling safe whenever he fixes abandoned things, ranging from gardens, trees, clothes, animals, timeclocks, shoes, technology, etc.
Standing in the corner before a dead plant, he pulls the empty glass bottle back. Upon fully absorbing the glistening purple liquid, the barren and lifeless plant pulses with a deep energy.
The gentle force causes the tendrils of unpleasant purple to stir, unraveling back to life, while the humid atmosphere grows thicker and richer with the odor of earth. Slowly, sprouts of lavish green pierce the dry soil and flourish a fresh surface.
Dark pink concentrated eyes watch the process intently, as if looking away would burn him. Suddenly, his perception flares, and he senses a dreamy aura that makes his heart tremble violently, as if struggling to stay in sync with his breathing. Her ghostly presence of raw energy is indomitable; no one can escape it unless she allows it.
'Does she not have any control? Or does she not care if people die?' Akira calms himself, projecting his own aura as protection before he tilts his head coolly to the side.
Those who have ignited all seven relics gain a signature aura—a stigma of existence, like one's essence of power outward. They can only be sensed by those who have mastered control over their zodiac path. However, on rare occasions ordinary people with good perception feel them.
If an ordinary person felt Vienna's aura, they would have died in five seconds.
Auras had nothing to do with divine energies, though to say there is no connection would be a poor explanation. There is an ancient rumor that those with an aura before training to achieve divinity are already destined for it.
Written by destiny, people would say.
An aura's sensation is interconnected to who they are as a person.
The circular garden was caged in a witch gazebo, with the once grand entrance rusted and covered in vines, the crumbing arch frame engraved with a complex language.
Vienna strides through it; her detached expression intertwined with a majestic demeanor one occasionally feels from a celestial being. The dappled sunlight bathes her glossy black hair and illuminates her diamond freckles, each aglow like a particle of starlight.
Her head is cast downward, focused intently on her communicator; a smooth voice utters the history of the northern continent.
"What are you doing, little love?" he asks, and their eyes lock, hers reflecting no deep expression of surprise or any emotion, forever remaining lime green.
Child of Heaven stops in her tracks, her gaze narrowing a fraction. "Young lord, it is a surprise to see you here. Shouldn't you be in lore bounds?"
"You know I have my own relic, so attending that class is no longer of use to my future."
"The other members of your league must have a similar mindset, I imagine."
"Not exactly," Akira says, stepping forward as she clicks the book audio off. "Now stop diverting and answer my question."
"Why? Am I being interrogated?"
"Can't you fulfill my curiosity?"
Vienna says nothing, turning her communicator to its original size and sending it into a pocket void, then snatching his collar and yanking his six-foot height down to her 5 '4 stature.
With her gaze ensnarled in his, she inhales deeply, and his heart beats a little faster, eyes betraying him, turning a hot pink.
"I'm sober," Akira says, breathless.
"How long though," Vienna begins, "for my words to matter?"
"Your words always matter."
"Indeed." As Vienna withdraws, Akira strains to sense any emotion inside her, but despite his siren traits he can't. He knows her mostly because of her relation to Rune Polymina, and as Child of Heaven, a title not a relic, one given by the people, not the sages, because she is the first in earth's history to go through an Abysmal Trial and come out with all seven Chronicle Points ignited.
She is an extraordinary talent the Four Holy Clans wished they birthed. She had gotten offers to join their families, but she declined them all. He always wondered why, but they aren't close enough, or if at all, to get a genuine response.
"I can make you feel what you're lacking," Weather Singer taunts. "Maybe then Rune will love you again."
"Love me?" She blinks, an eyebrow raised. "Like how you feel for me?"
A flash of frustration and rage crosses his face. "You misunderstand the hue of my eyes," he snaps. "I don't like being touched. That's all."
"You taunted me first, and in the end, you lost," Vienna says. "Talk about pathetic." Before he can refute, her hand grabs his wrist, making sure to touch flesh. "I know what your Odious is."
Immediately, Akira feels weak, his vitality plummeting like a sword wound to the heart, and instead of pulling away like a normal person when faced with life threatening danger, he cups her cheeks. His fingers graze her diamond freckles, nearly getting distracted by them. He then transfers his pain into her system.
A strangled gasp of agony spills from her lips; her face contorted in discomfort.
"Ah, would you look at that!" Akira laughs, smiling widely in a manic manner. "The little love can feel pain." He brushes his lips across her forehead, doubling the pain he shoots into her system. "I also know what your Odious is."
Vienna feels the need to scream yet does not give him the pleasure of evoking emotions in her, even if it's mere pain. "Mine isn't harmful," she says between short breaths, "so your attempt at a threat is worthless."
He grins. "So you think."
Divine energy leaks from Scarlet Star, forming a force field, pushing him back. With perfect focus, she taps into her animation threads; the stella energy stored inside fueling telekinesis that toss Weather Singer back a couple yards.
Vienna breathes in through her nose slowly, calming her uneven breathing. By the time she recovers, a thunderclap resounds; Akira leaping upon strings of lightning, landing in front of her.
"Our encounter right now isn't a coincidence," Akira states.
Vienna's lips raise ever so slightly, two dimples emerging on her lovely face. "No, it is not."
"Is something wrong?" he asks with no genuine concern.
"Another death will occur tonight," she whispers. "A student this time."
"Divination?"
She nods slowly.
A ripple of a sensation akin to wind embraces him. 'She's lying. Why?' Akira can sense she wasn't lying about someone dying, but about the divination part. "Who?"
"I can't see that much. The body was mangled in a pool of crystallized liquid."
"They overdosed on Crystalline Rock?" A troubled frown graces his face. 'Evidence of the drug's usage is when a person's blood is crystallized.'
"I cannot say." Vienna shrugs nonchalantly. "I was trying to divine information on this." She holds up a random knife with a phoenix flaming design. "But instead, I divined the future. It happens near midnight. The body will be found in the kitchen on the third floor in the morning. That's all I know."
'She is bull shitting to the core, but…' Akira can no longer feel her lying. His pulse beat a confused drum. 'Trust, but not too hard. Except, but not much. Love, but not too little.' After reminding himself of his motto, he asks: "How did you know I was here? I have a relic activated."
"I know. I can't sense your aura," she explains, brushing the hair concealing her nape aside, revealing a baby blue butterfly clinging to her long neck. "My divine companion followed yours."
"Oh." He nods, planning to scold Ereborn for not noticing later. "Why are you telling me this? About the student."
"Everyone knows who truly runs Lightless and it's not the old timers."
Weather Singer's mouth curls into a prideful smirk at her answer. "Don't worry, little love, I'll make sure your warning isn't in vain."