This beginning is too far away.
There is not a single line precise enough to declare an origin. A tale without a beginning or an end is not a perfect tale, no matter how interesting it may be. The same goes for a tale without a question mark.
Perhaps—let us begin here.
The capital of Ondina, Kingdom of Nesterra.
On the streets leading to Nesterra Aether Academy, two boys could be seen snapping irritably at each other, bags slung over their shoulders, feet running without pause. The academy gates were about to close.
"And—Danzeeeel, look at that! Everywhere, people are enjoying this bright day by going on vacation! But now, look—here you are, pounding on my bedroom door just to drag me here?!" His tone was lazy, his intonation sharp as it hurled annoyance.
A robe reaching down to his calves, long-sleeved and black. His blond hair—never neat—was tousled by the wind as he ran, and his dark, deep blue eyes, like a lake, gave off a gentle impression. Yes—though the temperament of the person in question could clearly not be described as "gentle." His name was Arthelio, often called Elio. He had turned fourteen last month.
"You know, Danzel,"
The other had striking red hair—let's just put it that way. His flat expression was tired of Elio's chatter, which exceeded even that of a woman. Those orange eyes looked dull and weary, though the clothes and vest he wore were impeccably neat.
"A wise man once told me, 'Live life leisurely, young man, and you will feel how fast time passes,' that's what he said." It was as if his soul seeped into the quoted wisdom.
"And then?"
"Well, that's it." Elio beamed proudly.
"So? You want to take it easy, so you can keep playing—"
"And relaxing," Elio added.
Danzel turned his face away. "Your time feels faster. Your time is up. Conversation over."
Final. Elio fell silent. True enough. He clearly did not want time to pass as quickly as ice cream melting under the scorching sun—unless you had an umbrella.
Sadly, only nobles carried umbrellas. So what about them?
"I thought … it meant we could have fun all the time …" Elio muttered.
"That's not what it means!" Danzel snapped.
"I know, ah! Idiot! That old man even nodded at what I said earlier. You know that, right?!"
Danzel felt an even stronger urge to pound his forehead. Damn it. "WHAT KIND OF WISE MAN SAYS THAT?!"
Fortunately. Or perhaps unfortunately.
On the fortunate side, reaching the academy together with Elio turned out not to be impossible.
Unfortunate? There was no one standing there to greet them, nor anyone willing to help point the way. Truly, the place was deserted—as if there were no humans here besides them.
Whose fault was it? Danzel could only wear his flat expression as he stared at the black fence, five times taller than his own body. He could no longer blame anyone. Compared to that, Elio beside him was instead busy gripping two bars of the iron gate with both hands, howling out greetings in various languages.
No result. Suddenly, he stared at the two bars with a serious look. "Should I just… melt it?" Elio grinned brightly.
"Idiot, don't do anything stupid!" Danzel grabbed Elio's arm.
Exhaling, Danzel began to state the obvious. "The inauguration has already started in the hall. We're late." He turned the end of the sentence toward Elio.
"Huh? Ina? Ina-teration, what?" Elio asked spontaneously.
Danzel's urge to strike his own forehead intensified. "Inauguration! Inauguration, Elio! Our formal induction as students here. And if you want to know the class assignments, we have to be in the hall right now…"
Those lake-like eyes looked up at the ceiling, tracing from the lower corners to the very top of the towering buildings before them.
Elio released his gaze from the buildings, then glanced at Danzel. He lightly tapped Danzel's shoulder with a friendly look. "That's all, right? We can use this." Elio said, smiling, showing a row of white teeth and a playful gaze. He extended his left hand toward Danzel.
Danzel's eyes widened. "Idiot!"
Ting
"I am Felix. As the representative of the Master of Nesterra Aether Academy, I hereby congratulate all of you new students on your success—after passing various tests—until you are deemed worthy to set foot in this hall."
The glow of the lanterns above appeared yellowish, reflecting off the glass and colored ceramics that adorned stories along every wall. Sacred, yet beautiful.
"Once again, give yourselves a round of applause." Dressed neatly, he stood at the center of hundreds of students who cheered and fell silent. He initiated the first applause, followed by colleagues to his left and right, as well as new students and seniors alike.
His brown hair was neatly arranged. His build was youthful; he looked friendly and gentle, a faint smile carved on his lips as he gazed forward with certainty.
"Why isn't Master NAA himself welcoming us?" a boy whispered.
His friend merely shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. Rumor had it that the man known as the Master of Nesterra Aether Academy had not been seen for a very long time.
"The class assignments will begin shortly. Halena," said Felix, the Vice Master of NAA, turning to a woman beside him.
Bobbed hair and bright eyes. The woman stepped slightly forward. She spoke with a beautiful smile. "To all of you new students, let me introduce myself. I am Halena. Or someday, you may call me Miss Halena."
"I will divide your classes. I ask everyone to remain still and calm for a moment."
Her graceful hand movement swept forward, then spread wide—splash—droplets of water burst forth from her pale palms. The droplets wandered, filling the hall.
The new students gazed upward in awe, watching how whirlpools of water formed. The entire hall was bathed in light, yet dimmed by watery shadows. The droplets then scattered, flying swiftly through the gaps among the students. Their eyes were mesmerized. They would never have been able to witness such a spectacular display back during basic schooling. Some even tried to touch the droplets. Others were startled.
"Do not be afraid. Open your palms and let the water move freely above them. The symbol that forms in the water will be your class," Halena said warmly.
"What class did you get?"
"Class V."
"You?"
"I got III."
"Cool…"
A girl in a cute dress of soft blue and white tucked a small lock of her purple hair behind her ear, then looked at the water writhing above her palm. The water symbol read "XII."
"AN INTRUDER!"
The roughly six hundred students filling the hall turned their heads simultaneously toward the source of the voice. It came from a student who was a member of NAA's Security Organization.
Felix walked toward the student. "How could this be?"
A middle-aged woman stepped out of her line, following Felix outside the hall, accompanied by several other teachers. Seniors and new students alike exchanged questioning glances.
"What happened?"
"They say there's an intruder."
"Let's look!"
"How could NAA be breached by intruders?"
Felix hurried across the plaza. "Was the aspada damaged? Didn't Madam Talia inspect it? How could there be intruders?"
"I am certain I inspected the barrier before the inauguration, Sir. I am the one who installs it every day and ensures the transparent shield always covers the entire the building," replied the woman with a bun, quickly and with curiosity about what had truly happened.
"There are two intruders. NAA Security is intercepting them at Evanes Field," said the boy guiding them.
Felix frowned. Meanwhile, a long-haired black-haired teacher spoke to the boy, "Two? Not one?"
Two boys stood in the middle of the field. They were surrounded—no, swarmed—by a circle of dozens of slightly older children. A crowd wearing pins with a white shield emblem.
"Oh, come on! I just want to ask where the hall is—we're not enemies," said the blond boy, trying to explain as honestly as possible.
His statement was ignored.
"We're new students. We're just late," added the bright red-haired boy behind him, also giving an honest explanation—though it shattered his pride tied to the phrase "Danzel the punctual." Forget all that. He did not want to cause trouble or become enemies.
"All new students are currently in the hall. Don't lie," one of the Security members replied, standing on guard.
"See? He already said we're late, heh!" Elio snapped emotionally, even clenching his fists.
"Stop! Don't move, or we will attack." A sturdy girl—apparently the leader of the group—took a stance before striking.
"These people—! We're late because of you!" Elio growled.
"This is all your fault, Elio," Danzel cut in.
"HAH?! What do you mean?!" Elio turned back.
"I said, this is ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"My fault? This happened because you told me to come here! I didn't want to!"
"If it weren't for Sir Ael and Lady Cia's request, I wouldn't bother dragging you here, huh!"
"Hah? Since when did Mom and Dad tell you to?"
"Because you're impossible to manage!"
"Oh, so you're saying because I'm impossible to manage we ended up like this?"
"Yes," Danzel said seriously.
"Ugh … well, at least we're here now, right?" Elio rolled his eyes away.
"But not like this!"
Several members of NAA Security stared at them, confused. They were arguing?
BAM!
Elio jumped high—just a second before a raw punch could strike his face. Meanwhile, Danzel—fully aware that his friend would not help him—briefly clenched his hand, causing the ground of the field to rise into a mound, blocking the punch from the boy attacking them.
Elio, mid-air, quickly adjusted his footing, angling downward, about to slam his foot hard toward the boy trapped below.
Sring
A blade-like gust of wind sliced toward his cheek. He reflexively tilted his head; the attack missed.
Splash.
His footing shot forward. Elio did not intend to bring his foot down—instead, he launched a swift forward strike. Splash … Water spun rapidly, needle-shaped, and he hurled it from his palm toward the crowd. The others retaliated. Various forms of temta clashed.
BAM! SPLASH!
While Elio attacked, Danzel blocked countless strikes by forming an earthen shield around himself. Splash!
"You forgot to cover the top, idiot! Don't make half-baked shields! If you don't even know how to attack, don't be an intruder!" laughed a boy standing atop the shield.
BAM!
A hard earthen slam struck the boy square in the face. "Who says I can't attack?" Danzel stared flatly upward. "If I cover the top, I can't see—idiot! It's dark!"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
One boy unleashed a series of heavy blows at Elio. Elio was not like Danzel—he preferred agile movement when attacking. He spread both arms, and the sharp, rapidly spinning water surged once again, striking those to his left and right.
SWING
A massive wooden sickle swung down toward Elio. He dodged, but unfortunately, the sickle grazed his arm. A shallow cut—no blood—only tearing his robe sleeve. Who wielded the sickle? Yes—the leader of NAA Security. It was heavy, after all; she could not afford to seriously injure an intruder.
"Heh! That's one of my favorite robes!"
Ignoring him, the sickle continued to swing.
"Damn it! Danzel! Can I—"
"If you do anything stupid, I'll tell Aunt Delicia!" Danzel snapped.
"Heeeh!" Elio protested.
Too bad. Danzel didn't care.
"Go on! I'm ready!" the sickle-wielding girl grinned.
"Elio!" Danzel shouted again. It was difficult to maintain this earthen fortress while dozens attacked him recklessly with temta.
BAM
Elio blocked a large iron ball hurled at him with his foot. BAM! The slicing wind came again, followed by a heavy punch slipping between his fingers. Swiinngg… Elio leapt aside—but then, abruptly, the sickle-wielding girl stood right before him.
"Damn it!" Elio snapped his palm forward, preparing to do something.
"STOP!"
Felix arrived. He stepped forward, halting all movement—the children attacking one another, Elio, and Danzel alike. Though Danzel remained with arms crossed, maintaining his shield. Only Elio froze mid-motion.
"Sir," the girl with the sickle bowed at forty-five degrees, followed by the others.
Felix raised one palm. The children straightened and looked toward the two they had deemed intruders. Madam Talia had already moved to the center of the field, checking whether the aspada—the transparent barrier—had been damaged. Other teachers stood watching the commotion, the first to ever occur during an inauguration.
"By the Red Puppet Realm! What is happening here?" exclaimed a woman in black-and-white attire with a tilted hat, her face shocked.
Students who had exited the hall peeked from the edges. "Kids?" one whispered in awe.
"Crazy—the intruders are just kids."
"You're a kid too, Lano," replied the friend beside him, still chewing on a piece of cake.
Seeing that Elio was completely silent, Danzel lowered his hands, his earthen shield collapsing back into the field.
"I am Felix, Vice Master of Nesterra Aether Academy."
"So—what are you two doing here, young sirs?" Felix approached Elio, followed by Danzel who stepped closer to his friend.
Elio exhaled, then wiped the sweat from his neck.
"We were just late."