SOULMATES

**

Pillars of stone rose up in the air, holding up ceiling adorned with a beautiful mosaic of a fierce-looking Dragon. The Dragon had vicious eyes which gleamed in the colors of flame, thick, black scales and claws that could seemingly tear through anything of this world. A crystal chandelier hung from above, lit up brazenly, illuminating the spacious chambers of stone. Red carpet was laid from the wooden doors that appeared to be the entrance towards the round clearing at the center of the room. Center was occupied by a large, round stone table with various, golden inscriptions running through its edges, alongside six chairs surrounding it, with one facing the end-side of the chamber being the largest and adorned with gems. Beyond, at the end of the room, a large, arched window allowed lavish rays of sun to penetrate and give further light to the round clearing. While the rest of the chamber hung in deep shadows, the table and six chairs appeared to be lit up by fire in comparison.

Only two of the chairs were occupied – the largest one and the one right besides it on the left side. A man sitting on the large chair appeared to be middle aged, with completely shaven face and handsome features, topped off with azure-colored eyes which had a hint of viciousness in them. He wore rather lavish robe, furred at the edges with intricate design of golden threads, and atop his head rested a bejeweled, golden crown. His lips were curled in a gentle, but still devilish, smile. The man sitting besides him was a complete contrast; extremely plain looking with no extraordinary features, bald, wearing rather tattered, brown robes.

“I never thought Selena would fail so quickly,” the lavish man spoke in a humming voice. “Oh well. She simply wasn’t good enough. How many sleepers do we still have?” he then asked the plain-looking man.

“Eight, my Lord.” the man answered in an even voice and with a respectful bow.

“It’s enough,” the man said with a chuckle. “Activate fourth and fifth. That eyesore of the Academy needs to be razed to the ground. Were it not for them, we’d have long since crapped over that puny defensive line.”

“Considering that they should be more wary, should we implement additional preventive measures?” the plain man asked.

“Aye,” the lavish man nodded. “We painstakingly harbored them for years. Every single one of them matters more than mountains of gold. Make sure they have fully prepared.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Suddenly, as if pulled by an otherworldly presence, the plain man disappeared as round, dark shadows took over him, followed by a puff of black, torrential smoke. The plain man was no longer there. The lavish man remained seated, tapping lightly the table with his fingers, curious smile plastered on his face.

**

Lynne felt his entire body being pulled apart with invisible force as he threaded through an unknown, spiral-like space. Unable to withstand the pressure, he was forced to close his eyes; however, a mere moments later, he felt himself flying through the air and crashing onto the earth. He released a low groan as he grabbed his right shoulder which began pulsating with pain before opening his eyes. As he took in his surroundings, he realized he was in an unknown garden, surrounded by tall trees of thickness which prevented even sun rays to pierce, and bushes and hedges covering the space between them. As he turned around, he saw a figure standing above him, grinning from ear to ear. It was a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, with long, black hair tied up in a ponytail hanging from aback. His eyes were strikingly green and slanted, and he had quite a large forehead. He was by no means of handsome sort, yet one couldn’t help but take a few more glances at him instead of just ignoring him. The man wore fine, leather clothes and had his arms tucked at his side, posing a striking posture of an overlord musing with the pains of his slave. The moment such thought entered Lynne’s mind, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. I’m gonna be sold to brothels!! And it’s gonna be the bad kind!!

“Oi, oi, get up already,” the man said in a hurrying voice. “Even if it’s the first time traveling through spacial rift, you can’t be acting like a baby.”

“… are you going to sell me to old, fat and rich? Please don’t!!” Lynne pleaded as he heaved onto his knees in a rather comical fashion. “I’m still so young and inexperienced, I--”

“Stop babbling nonsense,” the man eventually ran out of patience and pulled Lynne onto his feet. “We haven’t time to spare for your wild – and, by the way, rather disturbing – imagination. Now, tell me your rank.”

“Eh?” Lynne appeared rather confused as he knit his brows.

“Your rank, you know, Initiate, Novice, what have you.”

“Oh, that. I’m Unranked.” Lynne replied flatly.

“Eh?!!” it was man’s turn to be confused; Lynne felt a surge of powerful satisfaction derived from the man’s face.

“Aye, I’m a complete bum when it comes to Magic. So, it looks like I can’t be your Magical Slave!”

“….” the man started blankly at the gloating Lynne, with increasing desire to punch the boy senseless.

“So, am I free to go?”

“… can you at least cast Magic?” the man asked boorishly. He had apparently already lost interest and began regretting his decision.

“Sure,” Lynne said, smiling widely. “Magic of Words, Magic of Lovemaking, Magic of Booze-annihilating… which one would you like to see first?”

“Magic of Lovemaking?” the man’s eyes danced slightly upon the mention.

“Aye, aye,” Lynne approached stealthily and tugged his arm around man’s shoulder as he leaned closer to his ear, whispering in a rather dirty voice. “I know the places… the techniques… I can make even a sworn virgin into a lovemaking machine over night.”

“Really?!” the man appeared rather excited as he began salivating slightly.

“Of course!” Lynne confirmed. “Even if you never held a woman’s hand before in your life, I can make a bed-beast out of you easily!”

“He he,” the man giggled like a child. “I… I would like that.”

“It’s gonna cost you five thousand gold coins though.” Lynne added.

“Here.” the man immediately took a sack from underneath his leather cloak and handed it to Lynne. As Lynne inspected it, he realized that they weren’t gold coins, but rather Amnesty coins – one of which equaled one hundred gold!! Filthy rich bastard!!! Lynne cursed inwardly.

“Well, first...”

As Lynne began explaining his secret techniques and places, the man led him towards the nearby house; it was rather simple, two stories brick house with shimmering, yellow facade. It wasn’t much by the appearance, but its simplicity seemed rather calming. As the two entered the house, the man and Lynne proceeded towards a small room where they sat at the neighboring chairs.

“And so,” Lynne was finishing up on telling him the positions even women didn’t know they liked. “Even if they resist slightly, you just push. They’re gonna love it.”

“He he,” the man still giggled. “But what about before? How do I… you know… get women to bed?”

“Oh,” Lynne pretended to be in deep thought for a moment as he creased his chin. “It appears you have a long way ahead of you. The Art of Bewitching The Hearts of Lonely and Beautiful Maidens Underneath the Sun and Moon and Sky by the Words of Great Lovemaking Lynne is by no means easy Magic to master. One might say that even the utmost geniuses of Magic would spend lifetimes fully understanding it.”

“Of course!” the man agreed. “Something with such a great name cannot possibly be just some low-grade Magic!”

“Naturally!” Lynne nodded proudly. “However, you are lucky that you have me to guide you. With me by your side, even wedding the most beautiful Princess may not be a dream!”

“Wow!!” the man exclaimed joyously. “T-to be honest… I’ve always found Princess Ella extremely beautiful and enchanting… do-do you think I have a chance?”

“Princess Ella?” Who the hell is that?!! “You aim high. I like that,” despite having no clue who that is, Lynne played along. “Naturally, the art of attaining the heart of a Princess is much different than charming some lowly lady. You need grace, elegance, eloquence, might… you need to show her that, beneath the sky, there is no mightier sword, more brilliant pen, more enchanting presence and more devout soul than you! Step by step, my grandpa used to say, is the way to go!”

“I’ll make you a deal!” the man suddenly exclaimed. “You help me win Princess Ella’s heart, and I’ll teach you everything I know about Magic!!” the man seemingly forgot that the reason he brought Lynne here in the first place was because he was supposed to teach him exactly that.

“I’ll also need food…”

“Of course!!”

“And allowance...”

“What great man doesn’t? You shall have it!”

“And house...”

“It’s yours!”

“As shall Princess Ella be yours!” the two exchanged a passionate handshake. Lynne had found his sugar daddy, while the man had found the wingman from his dreams. It was a pairing destined by heavens. He’s amazing!! both exclaimed inwardly as their gazes locked, their lips curled in smiles.

“I shall start!” the man slowly got up from the chair. “After all, I need to turn you in to a spy within a week… but, from what I understand, courting Princess Ella could take months… if not even more. Don’t worry!” the man raised his hand in a comical fashion, pointing towards the sky. “All men must begin from nothing! The Art of Magic blesses those who sweat, not those who are unfortunate to have never been given proper education!”

“I shall learn with all my heart!” Lynne followed with the exact same posture; were someone to walk in on them, there’s no doubt that corpses would pile up at the sight.

The man led Lynne outside, behind the simple house, where a stone platform was raised. He could see a thin barrier of light surrounding it, and quickly figured out that it was a training and sparring platform.

“First,” the man said as he leapt onto the platform, with Lynne following shortly after. “Magic is all about Mana! The more Mana you have, the more brilliant you will appear to the ladies—I mean the more powerful you’ll be!” the man’s true intentions for learning Magic slipped accidentally, but Lynne didn’t say anything. After all, the only reason he’s learning Magic was to get rich. The two were like two peas in a pod when one thought about it. “However, in order to truly dazzle—I mean overwhelm, one also needs to know how to use those vast resources appropriately! If you simply pour everything in a huge ball of fire and your opponent dodges, you’ll just be a sitting duck waiting for slaughter.”

“Naturally.” Lynne agreed.

“As I shall be teaching you the act of sneaking around to snoop on the ladies—I mean to spy on our enemies,” the man corrected himself as he coughed. “We’ll be focusing only on Air, Space and Mind as they are of most importance. As you are my good friend, I shall be supplying you with Cores of Ascension myself when it is time to progress through ranks.”

“I am eternally thankful, my best friend.”

“Oh,” the man’s face suddenly flushed red as Lynne spoke, his demeanor turning bashful. “I thought it was too early…”

“When two grand and same souls meet, it’s an instant spark!” Lynne said passionately. “I have no doubt that we are meant to be!” the man’s eyes gleamed with bright light in response to Lynne’s words. If one didn’t know better, there’s no doubt that by a single glance they’d think they were lovers instead.

“I-- you are a grand man, Lynne.” the man said, sucking tears back in. “*Cough*, as I was saying, we shall be focusing on those three. Air for the simple fact that manipulating your speed and the sounds you make is of utmost importance, as well as for the scouting purposes as greater mastery allows you to communicate with the wind itself! As for Space, it’s hugely important to be able to disappear when things grow ugly. In addition, your awareness will grow exponentially, allowing you to sense even the slightest of disturbances! And, for Mind, it’s so you can use the eyes of others to do your bidding, while at the same time creating immunity for yourself to be manipulated. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes!” Lynne raised his arm as he spoke. “Is it possible to combine Advanced Arts like the Basic ones?”

“Oh?” the man arched his brow as he appeared surprised. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, for instance,” Lynne spoke after a brief thought. “Combining Space and Mind. Is it possible to form a spacial vortex and give it basic intelligence?”

“He he,” the man suddenly giggled as his eyes shone with pride. “I knew that you were no ordinary man the moment I laid my eyes on you, Lynne! Indeed, that is possible! However, even I never thought of that combination. That could be really interesting.”

“You could use spacial tear to forcibly pull girl’s clothes off...”

“Shameful!… he he.”

“And use the tinge of intelligence in the spacial tear to spy up-close…”

“Dishonorable!… he he.”

Unbeknownst to them, far above in the distant sky, a pair of eyes was paying a close attention to the antics of the two. If one were to take a closer look, they’d realize that it was the Headmaster of the Academy. He was sweating profusely while his eyes trembled and his body shook as he watched the two. It appeared his usual calm and distant behavior had been completely shattered and he was in great distress.

“Good lord what have we done...”