August 14th.
"RING! RING! RING!"
My eyes shot open.
I stared at the clock.
7:52 AM.
"…CRAP! I'M LATE!" i'd yelled in panic
I launched out of bed, nearly tripping over my blanket. First day of high school—and I was already messing it up. I sprinted to the bathroom, showered in record time, and threw on my uniform, and then I realized my younger brother is still asleep, and I'm usually the one who wakes him up. I ran straight to my brother's room.
I didn't knock.
"YO, SHAMUERU, WAKE UP—"
I body-slammed him.
"AHHHH! MAIKERU, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" he yelled, shoving me off.
I pointed at the clock desperately.
"Look at the time!"
He glanced at the clock.
Silence. suddenly all the color drained from his body
Then he moved faster than I had ever seen in my life.
"DING DONG"
I heard the doorbell ring right when I was about to check who's there.
"So... are you going to check who it is?" said Shamueru
I look behind me, seeing Shamueru in his uniform with a toast in his mouth so i gave a confused look while saying,
"Are you ready? And where do you get the toast from?"
Shamueru took the toast out of his mouth then replied
"Yeah, and I premade it last night because I heard a rumor on the internet saying if you bump into someone with toast in your mouth, they'll become lovers."
My face gave a disbelief look at him muttering
"You do know those rumors are meant for girls, right?"
"DING DONG"
I sighed and grabbed Shamueru's arm, pulling him towards the door, saying
"Let go; today is our first day at school."
I open the door
Outside, two familiar figures waited for us—Lyon and Sana Tamashi.
"Yo, Maikeru and Shamueru, what took you so long?"
It was Lyon and Sana Tamashi
Lyon Tamashi.
Tall. Athletic. Long red spiky hair. Calm but intense eyes.
Next to him stood his younger sister, Sana Tamashi.
Short. Tan. Straight black hair. Always smiling like she knew something you didn't.
Our parents were childhood friends back in the day. They're always so close, but after they graduate college, they have to move to a different city. But after Shamueru and I were born and were juniors, our parents reunited with their parent. So for them to stay connected, they enrolled in the same junior high, and in junior high was our first time meeting them. But that's enough about our parent. The first time we met Lyon and Sana was in class; the teacher put us in a group. That's how I knew that Lyon was serious and went to church every Sunday. Sana… well, Sana liked making things awkward. Especially for me. But she's chill, though, I hope.
As we started walking towards school, Sana stared at Shamueru noticing him walking with a toast in his mouth questioning,
"Hey Shamueru, why are you carrying a toast in your hand?"
Shamueru look at the toast in his mouth and starts to slightly get fluster with embarrassment, muttering,
"Eeh… it's because I saw a rumor on the internet that said when you bump into someone with toast in your mouth, then they'll become a lover in the future."
Lyon and I both looked up at the sky, giving a disbelieving look. Then Sana gave a mischievous look at Shamueru and sarcastically said,
"You know, you can bump into me and we can see if it's true or not."
Shamueru's eyes lit up, replying with excitement.
"REALLY!!"
Lyon and I cover our mouths, trying not to laugh
Sana nod her head with agreement
Shamueru brass himself and started to lend toward Sana with a smile on his face, then Sana back up
"Bam"
Shamueru hit the ground.
Shamueru instantly got up while look at Sana with a confused face, questioning her
"What happened? Why did you back up?"
Sana's answer
"The reason I did that was to let you know that the rumor you saw was stupid and there was no way it would work."
Shamueru gave a disappointed look while dusting the dirt off his uniform and continued walking with us
A few minutes later
We finally reach our high school, and its name is Jongeku High School, and today is our first day.
We all sighed because we made it on time with one minute to spare.
Everything was going well; we checked at the class board, seeing that we were all going to be in the same class, then attended at the gym for our orientation, and now we are heading to our classroom for homeroom.
In the classroom
I look at the seating chart and notice that I'm going to be sitting at the back of the room at the corner near the outside window
As I looked at my seat, I saw Sana seating on my desk and Lyon and Shamueru surrounding her
As i walked up to them, they was talking about summer break
Right when I'm about to say something, the door slides open, and it's our teacher.
The Teacher walked in and order everyone
"Alright class, I am Ms. Richi, and I will be your homeroom teacher for your first year of high school. Now sit down at your assigned seat and let's begin class."
After classes started,
All four of us were chatting in the hallway; everything felt normal.
Too normal.
"RINGG!!"
We heard the school bell ring and I looked around and noticed there no one in the hallway.
Lyon suddenly say,
"Wow, everyone is already in class I guess
We walk toward the class and peak through all the classrooms but there no one in the classroom.
I looked at Shamueru and he look at me, telling each other
"Something isn't right here."
We reach to our class and there no one there, and then we started having a strange feeling
Suddenly I saw a light surrounding me, Shamueru, Lyon, and Sana. We started to look where the light coming from
Until we saw it.
A strange glowing circle in the hallway floor.
Symbols. Moving. Pulsing.
"Do you guys see that?" Lyon asked quietly.
We nodded.
Then the air shifted.
The circle split into four.
One above us.
One below us.
One surrounding us.
And then—
Darkness.
There was nothing.
No floor.
No sky.
Just emptiness.
But we could still see each other.
I nervously asked them a question.
"What's going on? Where are we?"
Shamueru's answer
"I don't know. What is this place?"
Then a random screen appeared in front of us.
The sign says
Choose an ability.
Lyon, in confusion, asked
"What is this? What does it mean by choosing an ability?"
The screen suddenly glitched.
The words turned red.
CHOOSE AN ABILITY. NOW.
Sana's voice shook.
"Just pick something!"
I scroll through the list list of abilities, and I come across "light" and "dark," and i think they are way too basic
So i pressed on both light and dark simultaneously
The screen flashed violently.
Error.
Would you like to combine these two powers?
WARNING: There is no going back.
My heart pounded.
I press yes and the screen say
"Power has been submitted."
Then the screen disappears.
I looked at everyone asking a question
"So what power did you guys choose?"
Lyon's was the first to answer
"I choose light."
Shamueru was the second to answer
"I choose Dark."
Sana was the last to answer
"I choose forbidden."
I gave curious look while questioning
"What do you forbid?"
Sana shrugs, answering.
"I don't know; I thought all the abilities looked bland, and I came across one that said 'forbidden,' and then it gave me an error and said 'yes' to 'submitted.'"
Then, out of nowhere, a voice echoed around us.
"You will be reborn into a new world.
Your memories will vanish until you reach your current age again.
Live. Destroy. Save. I do not care.
Five seconds until transport."
We looked at each other.
Came close and all hugged with sadness
No words.
Because we knew.
We were about to forget everything.
"5… 4… 3… 2… 1."
"Maikeru! Wake up!"
I opened my eyes and looked at the person who's calling my name, but I can't tell who that person calling my name is.
As I rubbed my eyes I tirelessly questioned
"Who are you?"
After I rubbed my tired eyes, I started to see clearly and saw a woman in front of me, and she looked very upset. Then the woman said,
"Are you serious asking me that question? Like, how can you forget your own mother, Maikeru?"
Mother, huh... I looked around the room and everything felt different.
I then look at my mother and say,
"Sorry, Mother, I had a really weird dream."
My mother blankly questioned
"A weird dream, you say?"
I answered
"Yeah, it looks like me but older, from another world, as it seems."
My mother clapped her hands as she gave a grinning expression, saying
"Okay, Maikeru, it's about time for you to start getting ready because your stepfather and I are going to the church."
I felt confused and questioned
"Why are we going to the church?"
My mother gave a big sigh answering.
"You're fourteen now! Today you receive your powers!"
Powers?
That word felt familiar.
But distant.
I didn't know yet…
That this day…
Would brand me a monster.
On our way to the church
I felt strange because everything still felt fuzzy, like I couldn't remember anything before I woke up, but that's alright; I have my mother. She can help me remember what I'm missing, so I ask.
"Hey, Mother, can you tell me about magic?"
My mother giggled while replying,
"Really, I don't know how many times I told you this, but very well. When you're born and thirteen, your body is not yet developed enough to know about mana. Then when you turn fourteen years old, you go to the church to find out what type of power you got."
Okay so that we're going to the church on my fourteenth birthday so i continued asking
"Are there different types of magic?"
My Mother replied
"Yes, the most common one is Aethercraft magic, and the rarest one is Primal magic."
This make me more curious about what make athercraft magic more common than Primal magic, so I continued questioning
"What makes Primal magic so rare, and what is Aethercraft magic?"
My mother answered
"Athercraft magic is basically custom magic that rains down from primal magic, and Primal magic was the first magic in human history. After that history, AetherCraft magic came in out of nowhere, making Primal start depleting till only 0.1% of humans have it."
Okay, I'm starting to understand how rare Primal Magic is. Then I continue.
"Okay, so Mother, what type of magic user are you, and what is your ability called?"
My mother's face gave a discomfort expression answering
"Well, I'm an Aethercraft user, and my ability is a secret."
Soon we finally arrived at the church.
My mother looked at me with a serious face and started tightening up my outfit while announcing,
"Okay, Maikeru, when you go in there, don't tell them your real last name."
I started to become worried because now she acting weird so i replied,
"What do you mean? What is my real last name?"
My mother leaned closer.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Your true name is Maikeru Kuro."
The name felt heavy.
"Kuro?"
She nodded.
"Your father carried that name."
My throat tightened.
"What did he do?"
Her eyes darkened.
"He made every kingdom fear it. For now just use my last name, Zeniki."
I replied
"So your last name is Zeniki."
My mother nods in answer.
"Yes, my full name is Loba Zeniki, and you are going to introduce yourself as Maikeru Zeniki."
I nodded in agreement, and we walked inside the church.
In the Church
My mother wave bye to me and i did the same thing and in line I saw three people in front of me
Then a Nun came with a crystal ball announcing
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to say that today is these four young people's special day to receive their power, and what we are going to do is you four will be in a single-file line. First, one by one, I want you to come forward and say your full name. Second, I want you to put your left hand on the crystal. The crystal will show us if you're a Primal or an AetherCraft user. Last, you'll put your right hand on the crystal, and then it will shoot out a beam to these wooden boards, displaying your power. Okay. Now let's get started."
The first person that came up was a female; she had blue eyes and blue hair with a tan skin
She spoke.
"My name is Sana Loaganis."
She then put her left hand on the crystal.
The nun announces,
"You are an Aethercraft User."
Sana nod while putting her right hand on the crystal
Nothing happens.
Sana asked
"Is this supposed to take this long?"
The nun nods with disagreement while answering.
"No, it's supposed to shoot out a beam right away."
Sana quickly replied with frustration
"So what am I supposed to do?"
The nun answers with nervousness.
"How about you take a seat, and I get the priest to help you know your power, okay?"
Sana tick her teeth and took a seat on the side of the church
Then another person steps up; he look like he works out a lot with orange hair and determined eyes
He announce,
"Hey Sister, my name is Lyon Tamashi."
Then he put his left hand on the crystal
The nun's eyes widen with shock, and she announce,
"You're a Primal user."
Everyone gasp and starts muttering with each other
Than Lyon put his right hand on the crystal
The hall became silent. All eyes was on Lyon
As the crystal started to glow white and shoot out a beam
The Board show
ANGEL OF LIGHT
Everyone was frozen with shock. It feel like saying something or doing something will bring bad luck
The nun stuttered
"Yo...yo...You are a Primal Light user."
Someone in the background say,
"Light user—there hasn't been a light user in decades."
Everyone started cheering then
"GROOOOAN…"
Everyone saw the church door open and two priests and one bishop came in and walked towards Lyon, saying,
"By the gods, boy, do you know what power you have in your hands?"
Lyon awkwardly replied
"Ahh..The rarest power in human history."
The bishop point his staff at Lyon and replied with excitement
"Exactly, boy. Now come with us; the church will provide you all the knowledge of the power of light."
Lyon smile and left with the two priests and the bishop
Then the nun clapped her hand, saying
"Okay, let's continue with the ceremony."
A boy walked up; he was dark-skinned like me, had shaved hair, and was slightly muscular. He announced,
"My name is Shamueru Balfram."
Shamueru put his left hand on the crystal ball
The crystal ball show
PRIMAL
The nun gasped; everyone's eyes was fixated on Shamueru
The Nun announced,
"He's a Primal user."
Everyone start muttering with excitement wondering which one will it be this time
Shamueru then put his right hand on the crystal ball
The crystal started to turn purple, and then a purple beam shoot out at the board
The board say
RAGE OF DARKNESS
The Nun started walking backwards, trembling with fear uttering
"No…no…NO, why that one! It doesn't make sense; you're a Primal Dark user, the worst type of Primal user."
Shamueru was confused on the situation
Then I looked around and everyone was scared
BOOM
Two guards burst through the door and one of them went up to Shamueru and handcuffed him and the other guard spoke
"Everybody please stay calm; we will take him to the king to figure out what to do with him; surely he will be sentenced to the demon realm."
Shamueru's face gave a scared reaction, then he forcefully remove the guard's grasp and started to run
The other guard saw him running, so he tackled him to the ground, grabbed him, and dragged him outside
Shamueru started shouting
"LET ME GOOO!! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!"
The church door slowly closed
KRRR-THUD
Everyone, including the nun, started to sigh in relief
As for me, my whole body was frozen with fear
Trying to comprehend on the situation that just happen
KHMM...
The nun clear her throat signaling me
That it my turn now
I started to walk up to the nun; everyone was quiet and the whole atmosphere was feeling heavy
I announced
"My name is Maikeru Zeniki."
Then I put my left hand on the crystal
The crystal started shaking and the words started revealing themselves.
PRIMAL/PRIMAL
The Nun looked confused and blurted
"Primal Primal"
Someone in the back say
"Another Primal!!"
Then I put my right hand on the crystal
The crystal viciously shakes
Me and the Nun started to get worried when the crystal turn into a black and white color, spinning around in the crystal
Then suddenly the crystal stop shaking
Chhk..KRRRACK
the crystal ball was cracked open
One side was white and the other was black
The white side shoot a beam on the board saying
YANG
I look at it confused
The Nun gave a worried look and nervously spoke
"Yang is an ancient word for light."
The black side shoot a beam on the same board saying
YIN
The Nun fell down on the ground with fear.
"Yin is an ancient word for dark."
I started to get scared say
"What does this mean?"
The Nun shouted
"YOU'RE A USER THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST…!!"
I repeated
"Exist"
I was freaking out. I turn around and look at everyone and they was backing away, including my own mother.
Everyone start muttering
"Monster..Monster"
I utter
"I'm not a monster…"
BOOM
The door was busted open again by the guards
Four guards came rushing in surrounded me
I back away from them look around to run away
As they close in
I rush forward but two guard tackle me and turn me on my stomach and the third guard handcuffed my hands and legs and put me on his shoulder as they take me away
I shouted
"Mother, what is going on? I didn't do anything. Please help me."
I look at my mother and she look away from me
As the door closes, I mutter,
"Mom…"
KRRR-THUD
And that…
That was the day I learned something important.
In this world…
Power decides your worth.
And mine…
Terrified them.
At the king's castle
Me and the four guards that arrested me waiting behind the king's door
My head was hurting, my stomach was tightening, my eyes felt swollen from the crying, my throat was aching from the screaming
I lifted my head slightly uttering
"Why…am…I…here?"
One of the guards near me heard what I said.
He replied with an annoyed tone
"Shut up, you disgrace. You are here to be judge and be given a sentence that right for you."
My body started trembling with fear
KURRR...
The door opens.
Everyone went silent
All you can hear is my handcuff and everyone breathing
Someone came out but It wasn't the king
There was a guard that looked different than the other guards came out from the king's throne room holding a rolled-up paper
The guard with the rolled-up paper looked at me and gave me a disgusted look while he announced
"King Zommand says he doesn't want to see this disgrace of a human being and wants us to take him to the Forest of No Return and let him rot there. Everyone understands the order."
The four guards stood up say
"Right away, SIR!!"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing
So I gathered all my strength and shouted
"WHAT HAPPENED TO A FAIR TRIAL? DON'T I GET A SAYING? ALL I DID WAS RECEIVE A POWER, AND NOW I'M BEING SENTENCED WITH NO FAIR JUDGEMENT."
"Cough. Cough."
I start coughing recklessly due to my aching throat.
Then the guard with the paper replied
"King Zommand is a very busy man that can't present himself to a meaningless trial and whatever sentence he gives. We will fellow it
After listening what I just heard
Every part of my body want to get up, bust the King's door open and comfort the King
But instead fell down flat on the ground
And everything went black