CHAPTER 2-TEN YEARS LATER

“I can’t believe it’s already been ten years without you.” I say as I place yet another bouquet on Leo’s grave. “I miss you.”

And I will avenge you.

***

One week later

“Kai, get out of bed, you’re gonna be late for school!” My mother shouted from across the house.

I groggily rolled out of bed, threw on the first clothes I saw, and went downstairs.

“You look like you just got out of hibernation,” she said, “and did you get dressed by a rat?”

I sat at the table and started eating the breakfast she put out for me. Oats. Why was it always oats? Whose idea was it to pluck overgrown weeds out of the ground and turn them into a breakfast food?

I never said this to my mom, of course, knowing we didn’t have the money to buy anything actually tasty. I choke down the oats, which, as always, tasted like sawdust. At least they have some nutritional value, I guess.

At my mom’s request, I went back upstairs and changed my clothes. Why do all my clothes have to be some shade of brown? I look like a giant oat.

After splashing my face with water and combing my hair, I picked up my bag and set off for school.

I never went to school when we lived on the mountain. Mostly because there was no school to go to. I was going to become a woodcutter like my dad, but after Leo’s death my parents deemed that mountain too dangerous for us and we moved into a small town called Minsler. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice town, but it took me a few years to get used to being surrounded by humans instead of animals.

In my mind, humans are more dangerous than the monsters on that mountain. Monsters and animals are predictable, they do what their instincts tell them to do. But humans, on the other hand, you can never predict what they’re going to do, since they don’t always follow their instincts.

I had just started walking on the road to school, when I was joined by Zephyr, who is one of my only friends. Since we’re both from low-class families, we were made fun of at school, and we had to band together to keep ourselves sane. We met when I punched a guy who was bullying him, and we’ve been friends ever since.

“Hey, Kai. Did you get all your supplies? I think I might be missing some…” he said while rummaging through his bag.

“Calm down, Zeph, it’s the first day. We’re not gonna need any of it anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. So, what classes did you sign up for?”

“Advanced Aura Control, Understanding Time and Space, Intermediate Melee Tactics, and History.”

“Who in their right mind picks Time and Space? That’s so boring.”

“Well, there’s something I need to find out more about, and that’s the easiest way to do it.”

I needed to know how my brother and Nightshade disappeared for a whole minute, and I was fairly certain that Eternal or Void Energy had something to do with it.

“And History! Are you trying to bore yourself to death?”

We reached our school about an hour later. We really need to learn some transport magic.

Krax School of Sorcery is a relatively small school compared to the ones in the big cities like Krakor and Cryst, but it was still the biggest building in our town. With giant pillars and spires the size of our houses, it towered over everything in its vicinity.

I let out an audible groan at the thought of another school year.

“Hey, at least we’ll get to see Celeste again,” Zephyr said.

Celeste was our only other friend. She was the mature one, who kept us from skipping classes and whatnot. She was also a noble, and when we were with her, no one dared to touch Zephyr and I. Also, he’s never said this, but Zeph has a huge crush on Celeste. I can’t blame him though. With her silvery blonde hair, and her light brown eyes that look almost golden, I had to admit she was very pretty.

“Hopefully we have some classes with her. Wait, you never told me what classes you’re in.” I said.

“Oh yeah, I have Melee Tactics and Aura Control with you,” he responded, “I also have beginner Weaponry and Speechless Spellcasting.”

“Cool,” realizing there were no longer people walking around us, I exclaimed, “Oh crap, we’re gonna be late for class!”

Fully sprinting and using the very earth to speed myself up, we barely made it to Aura Control on time. We took seats in the very back of the classroom just as the professor started her lesson.

“My name is Professor Rowan, and I will be teaching you how to hone your Aura control and push you past your previous limits.”

I sighed. This teacher’s tone was so boring it was almost soporific.

“Aura Control is the most important topic for sorcerers such as yourselves. It is the fundamental process you need in order to perform magic. If you can’t control your aura, you might as well become…” I saw her glance at me from the corner of her eye, “a woodcutter.”

Rage took over my mind at that comment. I was ready to fight the teacher then and there, but Zephyr gave me a warning kick under the table and a look that said ‘it’s not worth it’.

Controlling my anger, I settled down again. This was going to be a rough year.

“So, as you all know, there are four basic categories of aura, or elements- Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Each of these elements have many different variations and even combinations, such as blue fire, or fire and water making steam. There are an infinite amount of combinations and variants that can be made using aura. If you can combine all four elements, you can even control Life Aura, which is what healers use. Aura is absorbed from your surroundings, and can be turned into whatever element you want, but not all sorcerers can properly use every element. Sorcerers have affinities for different elements, which doesn’t mean they can’t use other elements, it just means their bodies are geared towards specific elements.”

I was about to fall asleep. What’s with all this review? Isn’t this supposed to be an advanced class?

“Now, this is an extremely rare occurrence, but if a sorcerer masters all elements of aura, including life aura, it is possible for them to utilize one of the Cosmic Powers. Eternal and Void energy, or simply put, Time and Space. They say those who can control a Cosmic Power are unmatched in strength and can dispose of any monster imaginable.”

I snapped awake, suddenly interested.

“But this is an Aura Control class. If you want to know more about the Cosmic Powers, you should sign up for Understanding Time and Space, they go into more detail about it. Now about aura…”

I zoned out again. I’ve never seen the point in doing all this review at the beginning of the year, especially in an advanced class. If people don’t care about the topic enough to remember it for two months between school years, then they shouldn’t be taking the class. Like, if they forget everything right after they get their Sorcery License, they are probably going to die alone in a dungeon somewhere. They should be at least practicing a little in the summer instead of completely slacking off.

Well, at least the first couple weeks will be easy.

Finally, the time for the class I’d been waiting for arrived. I seemed to be the only person excited by the prospect of learning about Time and Space, given the apparent moods of everyone walking into the classroom. It was a strange room, one half white and the other black. I suppose the contrasting colors represent time and space, but honestly, it just hurts to look at.

I sat in the back again, lined up with the split between black and white.

“So… where to start,” the professor said, “my name is Professor Bane, and I will be your guide in understanding the mysteries surrounding the Cosmic Powers.”

I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation. I could see others, though, who were on the edges of their seats because they were about to slip off into their mid-class naps. Well, it’s their loss.

“Time and Space are undoubtedly the two most important things in existence, and that is because they make up existence themselves. Time always has to pass, in one way or another, or nothing would exist. If time just stopped one day, nothing would happen, because nothing has the ability to happen. Space works similarly. If there was no space, there would be nothing. Time and Space work hand in hand in continuing existence. I know it’s a confusing topic to grasp, but my goal in this class is to give you all at least a basic grasp on reality and existence and the factors that affect it.”

‘What the hell did he just say? I don’t understand any of that,’ I thought. I knew this class wasn’t going to be easy, but I thought I could at least understand the first day!

“Now, everything I have said so far, you already know. Whether you’re conscious of it or not, this information is hidden somewhere in those brains of yours. However, actually understanding and being able to process that information is a completely different task. We’ll go more in depth about that later in the course.”

I already know this? What does he mean?

“What I’m about to tell you, however, is not hidden in some deep corner of your brain. There is almost nothing known about this topic, therefore I cannot teach you about it in this class. But, what I can tell you is that it is real, and perhaps the most dangerous Cosmic Power.”

I was about to die of anticipation in the five seconds he took to breathe and collect his thoughts.

“This power, the most mysterious and dangerous Cosmic Power, is known as Chaos.”