Maxi took a deep breath, steadying his thoughts. I'm ready.
Today was the day. Colen's test.
But then
His door burst open.
The maid who usually brought him books stood in the doorway. Her voice, sharp and almost shouting, cut into the quiet:
"Young Master, Master Colen says he is waiting for you in the main castle library to begin your literary test. You have ten minutes before it starts. You have three hours to complete it, and"
She stared at him, her eyes like cold obsidian.
"the timer starts the moment I finish telling you this."
Maxi stared at her, still half-covered in his blankets, stunned.
Then, without warning, her body began to melt.
Like a horror film come to life, all the color drained from her skin, her clothes, her face sliding off like thick paint. What was left beneath was crystal ice, smooth and lifeless.
Her mouth moved one final time:
"Your time starts now."
CRACK.
The sculpture shattered, exploding into snowflakes that sparkled and spun through the air.
Maxi didn't move.
His heart pounded against his chest, his breath caught somewhere between fear and disbelief. He stepped forward, slowly, walking through the cloud of drifting snowflakes. His bare feet touched the warm water of the bath beside his bed, the heat crawling up his body like a comforting hand. The horror melted away...
...but something worse replaced it
it was realization
Time already started.
And he'd just wasted minutes standing around in shock.
"frick" he whispered under his breath.
Maxi jolted into motion.
He scrubbed himself clean at record speed, water splashing everywhere. His hands moved wildly as he reached for whatever clothes were closest red waistcoat, black button-up shirt, brown pants. He tied a black bow tie in the clumsiest knot of his life. Just as he reached for the door, a sudden realization hit him
The bow tie.
My glasses
He spun back, grabbed both properly, and raced out.
Just then, as he burst out of his room, he passed by Angelina.
She blinked in surprise, then immediately picked up her pace.
Maxi ran like his life depended on it.
And for the first time in his life... he understood what that meant.
In that moment, as his legs carried him forward with unrelenting speed, a memory surged from his past life.
He remembered watching the other kids from his classroom how they used to sprint down sidewalks, shirts untucked, hair a mess, laughing or crying as they raced against time.
They always said the same thing:
"I woke up late."
"I had ten minutes to get to school."
"I ran like I was going to die."
"Me and my mom woke up late,"
Maxi never joined them.
He had always walked alone.
Quiet.
Detached.
Introverted.
He didn't understand why they moved like the world would end if they didn't make it on time. He'd sit near the back, alone or with one girl who sometimes spoke to him. He liked the silence more than the noise. Liked thoughts more than people. b...B...o....O....k.....S more than... lessons.
But now?
Now he knew what they meant.
He could feel it.
The panic.
The pressure.
The thundering heartbeat as minutes slipped through your fingers like sand.
Maxi threw open the doors of his small castle, the morning wind slapping against his face. He didn't stop. He dashed across the bridgeway and slammed through the main castle doors, turning sharply to the left.
Down the hallway.
Down the spiral stairs.
But walking wasn't fast enough. He leapt
grabbing the railing and sliding all the way down at full speed.
The air rushed past him.
The scent of the library-mango and pineapple-hit his nose like a memory waiting to be read.
But he didn't stop to savor it.
He sprinted through the corridor and leapt onto the rolling library ladder, kicking off with all the strength he could muster.
It flew, wheels screaming across the tracks.
Behind him, Angelina was struggling to keep up.
She sighed, blue spiritual energy suddenly sparking around her arms and legs. In one smooth movement, she dropped to all fours-wolf-like spirit paws forming as her limbs transformed into tools of speed and survival.
But even with that power, she was only barely keeping up.
This wasn't the Maxi who strolled through bookshelves for the fun of learning.
This wasn't the boy who had time to waste.
No...
This Maxi ran like death itself was behind him.
And all that stood between him and doom
Was a pen, a chair, and three hours of literary war.
Angelina couldn't keep up.
She slowed to a stop halfway through the corridor, rolling her eyes. Not because she was tired far from it. Her spirit energy reserves were still nearly full.
She just didn't care enough.
"Maxi's dramatic today," she muttered, brushing imaginary dust off her sleeves. "All this for stupid test?"
Meanwhile, Maxi kept going like the world would end in seconds.
He reached the center of the castle's grand library, his chest heaving. At the final stretch, he leapt off the rolling ladder mid-motion. His body hit the ground in a rolling tumble, and he landed in a crouch panting but upright.
Before him stood Colen, arms behind his back, a mysterious stopwatch with amethyst engravings in his hand. Beside him was the same maid from earlier as if nothing happened, her black hair cascading down her back, her cold eyes like blades of obsidian.
Colen's voice rang out, clear and sharp:
"Five seconds late. But no matter."
He clicked the stopwatch off.
"You may begin. All your tests are divided into sections. Each section is on a separate table. You may complete them in any order you wish."
Colen gestured toward the tables around the long table in the middle of the library.
Maxi turned, eyes scanning the space. Multiple small round tables were scattered across the room. At the far end, the long central table awaited, regal and intimidating.
Without another word, Colen turned and walked away. The maid followed silently, her heels clicking against the floor like a ticking clock.
Maxi exhaled heavily.
Then, with resolve tightening in his chest, he stepped toward the first table.
The first test was about magical theory.
The second about magical beasts.
Then ancient spell formulas.
And then regional spellcasting cultures.
Maxi stared at the first paper and as he saw the question he realized he knew this well, obviously since he had studied so much, but that feeling that maxi felt was of a plan that maxi was working on that he was studying he was training for finally come into fruition perfectly, and suddenly...
Something clicked.
His eyes glowed a soft green.
All at once, the air shimmered. Around him, faint illusory books emerged green like will-o'-the-wisps, spectral and radiant. They floated beside him and flipped open on their own.
They were all books he had read.
The exact texts.
He could see entire paragraphs hovering in the air quotes, explanations, diagrams. Words spoken by scholars long dead and writers long forgotten danced in front of him like old friends.
It was as if the very knowledgeable he had gained refused for his studies for his plans to go to waste when he had all the knowledge and peaces he needed for the plan to be completed.
Maxi smiled in awe.
He wasn't just remembering.
He was re-living the very moment he read the books.
And with that, he attacked the tests with a fury that surprised even himself. Page after page, table after table he wrote with precision and confidence. The green books followed, flipping open at just the right moment as if whispering guidance.
Until...
Only one test remained.
It sat at the long table. The final challenge.
Maxi approached, hesitant.
He sat down, placed his pen in hand, and flipped open the test booklet.
The green books appeared again, but this time, they flickered.
The words blurred. The pages refused to turn.
Maxi blinked. He looked down at the test paper.
The questions made no sense.
It was like one of moments in school were maxi heard kids complain about a test and how nothing they had learned was In test Maxi couldn't believe it he had not went through ant of those experiences in his past life which at that point in time he felt if nit slightly left out but now he was facing them all in his current life and Maxi was not happy that he was being included now of all time after he died
The words seemed like they weren't in any known language. Or if they were, it was a cipher beyond reason. A riddle of riddles. His mind failed to grasp even the shape of the questions.
Maxi froze.
Minutes passed.
His eyes drifted to his right hand. The three-eyed symbol with every eye except for the left looking straight ahead with the twisted smile below the eyes stared back at him etched into his flesh like a silent promise.
He thought of the three gods who blessed him.
Demon King of Pride.Demon Queen of Lust. Demon King of Pride
Desperate, out of options, Maxi clapped his hands together.
He whispered a prayer.
Not out of faith.
Out of need.
In that moment, he felt a ripple.
Something distant and close all at once.
A presence smiled at him one he knew far too well of a certain vailed man.
Then... control vanished.
His limbs went limp, his spine relaxed. His body became a puppet strung by an unseen force by unseen strings he had once seen before.
His hand lifted the pen.
And began to write.
Maxi watched in awe and horror as answers filled the page. He wasn't thinking. He wasn't moving. Yet somehow, the pen danced with perfect form, answering question after question with divine confidence.
Minutes passed. Then it stopped.
His breath returned.
His body became his own.
He leaned back in the chair, dazed.
"Thank you," he muttered.
"That was dramatic."
A voice behind him startled him.
He turned sharply to see Angelina.
Her arms were crossed, her expression unreadable.
"How long were you standing there?" Maxi asked, nearly dropping his pen.
She shrugged. "About when you started your third test."
Maxi sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Okay."
A clap echoed across the library.
Maxi turned. Colen stood at the far end of the long table.
"That's not the end," Colen said calmly. "Come. You still have your combat test."
Maxi blinked. His legs moved before his brain did.
He followed Colen as they left the table. Colen snapped his fingers.
Reality burrired
warped like string
melted like iron
and slightly faded like autumn
The space that Maxi and Colen where distorted and become rainbow-colored light illusory stars blooming in all directions with the brightest stars being a white light that was seemed to strick on thier cloths and a yellow that flowted above them thier four heads palms feet and stomach. When it seemed like the world reformed right in front of them...
Maxi stood inside the formal armory of the Bloodheart training grounds.
Colen turned his head. "Gear up. The family is waiting."
And with that, Colen vanished into the rainbow illusory stars.
Maxi stared for only a moment, then shook himself out of it. He didn't have time to hesitate.
He stripped off his red waistcoat and button-up shirt. In their place, he strapped on hardened leather armor, a mix of light and dark brown with streaks of crimson across the chest. His legs and arms followed suit, laced and secured with care.
From the wall, he grabbed two curved daggers, two socp looking daggers, and a shortbow. A quiver of arrows slung over his back.
He took a deep breath.
Maxi then played with the Black and crimson looking scop daggers spinning them using their holes at the end to calm himself down
Maxi put the scop daggers at his side
Then, he stepped toward the black gate ahead.
On the other side, he heard the deep, ancient voice of his father, the one that made mountains tremble.
"Today, we are gathered to witness if Maxi Bloodheart is worthy of being under Colen Bloodheart's tutelage. He will prove himself by fighting beside one of his siblings. His worth will be judged by how long he lasts and how well he performs."
Then came Colen's colder voice:
"On the left corner Maxi Bloodheart."
The black gate dissolved into black illusory stars.
Maxi walked forward into the circular arena.
"And on his opponent," Colen said, "the little sister of Techxin Hana Bloodheart."
From the opposite gate, a girl skipped in barefoot.
She wore a blazer-cape flapping behind her, with a nightgown underneath, a timer dangling from her pocket. Her face was pretty but twisted by a devilish grin. Sharp teeth flashed between her lips. Her very long red hair was tied in a ponytail with a white bow at the edge of which bloomed a single embroidered flower emblem.
She raised her hands, giddy with excitement, letting her cape flow in the nonexistent wide asshe smiled wider.
Maxi pushed his glasses up.
His lips curved into a smirk.
Adrenaline hit like fire.
Colen's voice rang out:
"Let this battle of determination and resilience begin!"