The hierarchy of power in the world of the Harmatia is quite simple. It is based on an old principle that the ancients formularized called The Natural Ways.
The Natural Ways involves dividing the process of a Hamartia's ascend and descend in power and cultivation in three concentric levels called circles. The first of the three is the Man Circle. Lowest of the low and most Harmatia don't scale above it. Next is the Earth Circle which is the higher and more advance circle compared to the Man circle. And finally at the top Is the Heavenly circle. An unattainable level to most if not all with records showing at most five to have achieved this circle throughout history.
Man, Earth, Heaven. These are the natural ways a Harmatia can scaled in power.
An abstract system was built onto this to reduce formality and archaic terminologies. It divided the scaling of the Natural ways into two classes. At the top and most powerful amongst the Harmatia are the Saints. This group of few are at the Earth level of the Natural ways. And anyone else who is a Saint is in the second Class, Vassals. This includes Harmatia just joining a family, Lozo, to Veteran Harmatia still yet to be adorned with the name Saint, Mr Kisharu.
Vassals and Saints are the two needed classes to categorize Harmatia in the current era. There isn't one for the Heaven circle due to the few who have ever grazed it.
But in honor for the five in the past who achieved it, a special name was given and set at the peak of Harmatia power.
This class is called, The Great Ultimate.
***
"Their views changed once the Heavenly Ruling started to affect the Harmatia at the top… The Saints. Them being the pillar of the Kingdom meant that the occurrences were far more coordinated than they should have been. Also, an attack towards them meant that the kingdom was next. And far worse was that once the occurrence, the heavenly ruling, affected a saint… the saint would break down."
"They'd scream in agony and pain, unique to each, and then later on fall unconscious into a deep slumber." Kisharu explained.
"Have any of them woken up yet?" Lozo asked
"No, None. Hence the name of the occurrence. Pain of Heavenly Ruling. A pain that far surpasses the earth circle, enough to send a Saint into an indefinite slumber. And it's also the reason why Karin and Kento didn't receive you that well."
"?"
"One of their friends, a former teammate and the one you were to replace, was affected by the Heavenly ruling. She's being asleep for the past two months and hasn't shown any signs of coming to. So, forgive the backlash from earlier. They're hurting."
Lozo could hear the gradual drop in Kisharu's tone. He'd known that there was something disturbing Kento and Karin in the morning. But now that he knew he wished that he was a little more considerate.
"Hey wait… what was her name?" he asked remembering the familiar name Kento and Karin had shouted earlier.
"Cilia." Kisharu answered.
Cilia, Cilia. Where have I heard that name before? Lozo wondered.
"Does she like Cakes… Rice cakes." He asked.
Kisharu nodded and proceeded to ask." How did know that?"
"I met her, was it yesterday or the day before? Who knows but I met her and all she was eating was rice cakes."
Kisharu gave Lozo a skeptical look. "It's not funny to make up things just to please people. Cilia has been asleep in her bed for the past two months."
"I really did. Long silver hair and a necklace with a moon on it. She was…"
Just then a familiar beat rang in his ears. The sound of soft shoes or feet hopping on the hard wooden floor of the Learning Hall.
He listened closely. The sound was coming from a corridor that branched out of the building but not the door they had come in through. The shiver he had had during the bunny chase returned.
"It's back." He murmured. His eyes narrowed looking keenly at the corridor as the hopping beat grew closer.
A small cotton like ball was first to pop out. It was silver bordering white in the light that peered into the hall. Next an ear. Silver in color just like the cotton tail with its inside pinkish.
"There… the bunny!" Lozo pointed.
Kisharu gaze followed Lozo finger and on the moment, he saw her green eyes and the chain swinging across the bunny's neck, Kisharu only said one thing.
"Ahhh, this is going to be a mess." He groaned lazily turning his view to the skies.
***
The interior of the school was neatly structured in a way that all the classrooms surrounded the empty space at the center to form a rectangular building with a square hole in the middle. The empty space was spacious, housing both fern like plants at its four corner and at the center of it a concentric hole dropped with contoured escarpments. The empty space also had a bench set to the side far from the hole at the center.
And on that bench Lozo and Cilia sat at the polar ends. This was because right after Mr Kisharu had seen Cilia he summoned her and gave her a scolding. And right at the end he added.
"Follow me once we are done."
But that wasn't the reason why Lozo sat at the far most corner of the bench and shivering the heck in his boots. No.
The reason was what happened after Cilia's scolding. During the scolding Cilia was in her bunny form and when Mr Kisharu ordered her to go and seat quietly on the bench, she did the unimaginable… well the unimaginable based on Lozo's perspective.
She morphed into a human.
This little detail here added to Lozo's paranoia and view of bunnies. He had just learned that bunnies could shapeshift. Meaning anyone could be a bunny… even him.
…
"Hey can I get a piece of rice cake." Cilia suddenly asked. "If I'm stuck here, I might as well recover the energy I spend in bunny form. It takes quite a lot of energy to transform."
Kisharu only glared. Cilia went quiet.
Cilia released small talk with Kisharu was no longer an option. For some reason he was mad at her… she shrugged and turned to the quivering boy seated at the edge of the bench they shared.
"Lozo right." She called. She looked at the gap between them then continued to ask.
"Why are you seated so far. "
She scootched closer. Lozo wiggled farther. Again, she closed in and just as before Lozo moved closer to the edge. Their dance continued to a point where Lozo no longer had room to squirm away to.
As for Cilia, she didn't stop.
Soon after the tips of their noses touched. His scared hazel eye and her teasing green eyes locked at the edge of the bench as they each said what was in their minds.
"Don't hurt me." he squealed.
"You have some rice cakes?" she asked flaunting her full whites.
***
Karin sighed as she walked into the old school. By her side was Kento.
"What does he want now?"
"I don't know. We already told him no. "
In both of their hands was a white paper. Karin's was rustled up into a ball, probably crushed the moment she read it. As for Kento his was neatly folded and was held in between his fingers as a perfect square.
"What did he write to you?" Kento asked looking to Karin.
Karin didn't answer nor did Kento care for the answer. Not after seeing the spectacle that sat on the bench in the open space.
Like instinct both acted. Kento's fingers tightened. In a split he flickered the paper in between his fingers, launching and pinning it into the wooden floor.
None like Kento, Karin's response was less contained. Her hands shimmer with a dark misty flow. She slammed her hand onto the wall and uttered…
"Tazugata." Her voice deep in remorse and anger.
Just then whips, three, of summoned black masses shot from the wall. None like last time they were sharp. Honed and sharpened into black fluid blades.
All aimed at the two seated at the edge of the bench.