Author notes: This is RetardedFool...yet again! This time, I'm doing a story along with my partner Dreamer (who really dreams a lot.). Really really! I hope you enjoyed this and if possible, ask your buddies/friends to read as well.
Disclaimer: This story is purely done by author's and editor's imagination.
MAGICUS
Chapter 0
The Beginning of Something New.
The Light is gone, The Darkness awaits.
Life has stopped, and Death begins to prowl.
Destiny is torn, and Faith is gone.
Memories Forgotten, Time Lost.
A solemn "Shadow" stands within the Abyss.
What awaits to be revealed to this "Shadow" which has been forsaken by the World.
This is his Story of How it "Begins" and How it "Ends".
A raven haired young man walked down the pitch-black path, his hair still and eyes unwavering. The lone echo of his footsteps clicked against the granite ground. Suddenly, the man came to a stop at the end of the path, just outside the circle lighted by a ring of crystals. Within the circle of light, was a young boy, sitting beside a younger girl, in what seemed to be an interior of a cave.
A veil of mist began to cloud the path, blurring the features of the two children. However, the young man recognised the feeling coming from the boy. It was exactly the same as his. The boy must be him, when he was of young age. The young man took another step forward.
"I will be back soon." He heard the young boy say, standing from his position.
However, the girl held on tightly to his sleeve. "No!" She pleaded, her voice marred by sobs. "Your mother and father had specifically instructed us to stay here."
"I won't be gone for long." The boy said, covering his nervousness as best as he could. "All I'm going to do is just look around." He gently psuhed the girl against the wall of the cave. "So, don't cry. Okay?"
"Mmph." The girl sniffled and nodded, rubbing her eyes to dry the tears. "Promise me that you'll come back, okay?"
"It's a promise." The boy smiled and dashed towards the entrance of the cave, running past the young man in the process.
Suddenly, the image around the young man began to morph into darkness. "What was that suppose to mean? Why did 'I' run away?" Questions began to form within the young man's head. "Who was this girl?"
Suddenly, his attention snapped back to his surroundings. A cottage house in front of him blazing in flame, as four human bodies stood in front of it, supported by several spikes impaling them. A cloaked figure stood in front of the bodies, a crystal black orb floating on its left.
The man saw the younger version of himself stopping from a sprint. The only he heard was a scream from the boy. "Father! Mother!"
"Ah." A deep raspy voice said as the figure turned around, facing the boy. "Good timing. You saved me the trouble of searching for you." A pair of glowing heterochromia eyes glared from beneath the hood, straight at the boy. The orb floating by the figure's side hovered over to the boy, engulfing him in a fog of darkness. "Forget everything, for She wills it this way."
"H-Hey!" The young man started to sprint to the scene to stop everything when a familiar voice called out to him.
"Wake up!" The young man snapped his eyes open, shocked to see a face directly above his, coming from his left. "Hey! You awake? Or are you still dead?"
"Holy!" He shot up without a warning, resulting in a loud crack of a pair of skulls butting together. The force sent the young man back to his pillow while the other face flew backwards, bringing its owner all the way to the ground, who proceeded to wither around the wooden floor in pain.
"Goury..." The young man groaned as he sat up again, holding the sore on his forehead. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"
"Eight hundred and fifty-four thousand, six hundred and forty-seven times." A silver, messy-haired teenage boy, Goury, sat up from the floor, rubbing his head. "And damn! You still have an extremely hard head after all these time."
"Never mind..." Kamui sighed, glancing out of the window beside his bed. "So, what do you need me for?"
"I'm here to wake you up." Goury stood up slowly, smirking proudly for unknown reason. "Mum and Dad went to the market to get dinner for us. And I see you are still asleep so I pla-Eh?" The sole of a foot slammed into his face, throwing him out of the room.
"I'm awake now." Kamui said coldly as he slammed the door shut.
"That...did not hurt at all." Goury's muffled voice groaned.
"I dare you to repeat that." Kamui's malice-filled voice floated through the wooden door.
"Gotta run bro!" Goury flipped up from his position and dashed out of the house in a blur of silver.
"Moron..." Kamui muttered as he glanced out of the window again, watching the cool afternoon breeze blowing through the wide grassland beyond the glass. A soft sigh escaped his mouth. "The nightmare...is getting frequent ever since he arrived." His attention turned to the black-framed, white metallic card placed on the study table of his room. "Magicus Academy...huh..." The card seemed to gleam in respond as Kamui turned back to watch the scenery beyond his window.
Days ago...
Goury slid back to a stop with the aid of his left claw digging into the ground. He then glared up to see Kamui standing in an upright position, a curved wooden stick held firmly in his hand like that of a sword. The silent exchange of glares continued, both of the combatants waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
It took no more than a falling leaf to touch the ground as Goury kicked off the ground, dashing towards Kamui in blinding speed. His feral roar was accompanied with a wild swipe of his claws towards Kamui's face.
Kamui spun around slowly, dragging the stick along the ground and swipe upwards at Goury in a sharp arc. The vertical swipe deflected a kick from Goury, throwing the younger man backwards.
"You're not using Guise." Goury said as he recovered from the parry and stood upright. "Why?"
"Because if I do, this won't be training." Kamui replied smoothly. "For both me and you."
"Training? I thought this is a spar between you and me!" Goury cracked his fists, without assistance from either hand. "Come on, use it! Or this won't be fun!"
Kamui sighed deeply. "Lycan..."
"What?"
"Fight me in your Lycan form." Kamui swiped the wooden stick in his hand and got into a stance. "And I'll use Guise. It evens things out."
"Lycan..." Goury deadpanned as his glanced up into the clear blue sky. "It's in the freaking middle of the day! How am I suppose to do that?"
"That's my point."
Goury growled as the comment caught his tongue. Roaring into the air, the teenager jumped into the air and clenched his claws in front of himself. "Starved Hound!" A circle of black lines morphed behind him, immediately followed by five shadows speeding towards Kamui.
"Guess it can't be helped." Kamui breathed out slowly, shifting his weapon in one smooth motion and placed it on the left side of his hip. "Do you, feel my Loneliness?"
"Oh shit!" Goury thought as he realised Kamui's stance from above. "If I'm hit by this, that's the end of the story for me!"
"Seven Steps." Kamui narrowly avoided each of the shadows within five steps, which morphed into a simple dance. Goury was already taking in a deep breath and faced towards his opponent, blasting a sonic-wave of a howl at Kamui's direction.
Kamui evaded the first howl with one step, shortly followed by Goury's drop-kick with another step. "Loneliness." Kamui raised the wooden stick above his head. An aura of electrical sparks began to coat the weapon as time seemed to slow down for Goury. "Savour it." As soon as Kamui said this, the wooden stick crumbled and exploded into a cloud of wood dust. "Great..." Kamui sighed as he glanced as the smirking Goury, who was taking in a deep breath again.
"Excuse me." A voice interrupted them, causing Goury to turn his head to face the ground and exploded the howl right under himself. "Is this the house of Wolfbayne?"
"Yes, this is the house." Kamui coughed as he waved the dust from his face, walking slowly towards the gate. "How may I help you?"
"Is Alvaro in?" A tall, well-built man, donning a white coat and wearing a gentle smile on his face, stood on the other side of the gate.
"Welcome..." A voice groaned from within the still-linger cloud of dust. "To the humble house of Wolfbayne." Kamui almost slapped his own forehead as the man before him chuckled lightly.
"Yes, he is." Kamui turned his attention back to the man. "May I know who I'm speaking to?"
"My name is Rizelk, Hantoir." The man bowed slightly. "A friend of your, foster father."
"Friend..." Kamui repeated as he allowed the thought processed in his mind. "Dad has friends?"
"Ah..." Rizelk muttered as if he understood something. "But yes he does, Mister Kamui, Saivas?"
"How do you kno-!" Kamui was taken back in surprised as a loud, gruff voice cut his sentence off.
"How many bloody times do I have to tell you morons!" The gruff voice echoed from within the house, loud enough to tremble the ground in the yard. "No fighting near the house!"
The shout was soon followed by the front door of the house being thrown open. A tall muscular blonde man appeared, wearing only a pair of leather trousers and worn leather boots. Several scars peppered his topless body, as well as a long significant cut stretched across his rage-contorted face. "Do you idiots need a wallop..." He stopped his rantings as soon as he caught sight of the visitor at the gate.
"It has been a long time, Alvaro." Rizelk smiled as Kamui opened the gate, allowing the visitor through.
"Rizelk!" Alvaro snapped into a grin as he gave a hard pat on Rizelk's back. "How have you been, buddy?"
"Same old times, Alvaro." Rizelk returned with a light nudge. "You have not changed at all."
"Why should I?" The older man chuckled. "Give me a moment. Milfeil! Rizelk's here!" He roared towards the house.
Kamui could only stare in stunned silence as Goury groggily stood up from the ground beside him. "What happened?" Goury asked as he rubbed the dust out of his eyes.
"Dad's friend paid a visit to us." Kamui replied, his expression remaining the same.
"Oh." Goury continued rubbing his eyes when he stopped short. "Wait. What?" He blinked, snapped his head sharply at Kamui.
"I didn't know that too." An awkward pause between the two of them. "Until a moment ago."
"Well, if it isn't Rizelk." A lady in her late twenties was standing at the door, her long golden locks and sun dress flowing with the breeze. "How have you been?"
"Erm, mum?" Kamui started. "Shouldn't you invite him into the house before asking about his well being?"
"Oh my." Milfeil tapped her own forehead sheepishly. "Please, come in. We welcome you to our humble home." She bowed deeply.
"It's an honour to be invited." Rizelk responded with his own bow. "And thank you, Mister Kamui Saivas. For all you know, I may end up staying out there for days if it wasn't for you."
"Er..." Kamui scratched his cheek, looking away to hide his embarrassment. "You're welcome."
Rizelk then gave a light bow and entered the house with Alvaro and Milfeil, leaving the two young men out at the yard. "So." Goury tried to strike up a conversation, smirking. "Shall we go in?"
"We shall." Kamui returned the smirk with a blank gaze towards the house. "I'm interested to find out what Mister Rizelk is here for."
"Right." Goury almost skipped towards the door. "Let's go. The last one in is a rot...ting..." He turned to see Kamui already standing at the door, a light smile plastered on his face.
"You're saying?"
"I'm not going to complete that sentence for your sadistic pleasure." Goury frowned and stuck his tongue out at Kamui as he marched into his house.
"So, old friend." Alvaro was sitting opposite of Rizelk at the dining table as the brothers entered the house. Milfeil was seen at the kitchen counter preparing beverage for the guest. "What brings you to my humble abode?"
"I came for only one reason." Rizelk placed something on the dining table and slid it slightly towards Alvaro. "These." The items revealed to be a pair of metallic cards framed by black films.
"These?" Alvaro glanced at the cards in surprise as the brothers took a closer look, trying their hardest to figure whatever those metal pieces were.
"Yes, as you suspect." Rizelk smiled as he look straight at Alvaro. "Invitations to Magicus Academy."
"Who?" Alvaro cast a questioning glance at Rizelk.
"Your son, Goury. And your foster son, Kamui." The answer surprised everyone within the household, including Milfeil, who was bringing them drinks and snacks to the table.
"Dude..." Goury whispered to Kamui. "What is Magicus Academy?"
"No idea." Kamui whispered back. "A school I presume."
Alvaro's expression turned from shock to dangerously serious as he glared at the man before him. "Buddy. This joke isn't funny at all."
"This isn't a joke to begin with." Rizelk remained calm, his gaze even against Alvaro's glare. "You should know that as well as I do."
"Don't bullshit with me!" Alvaro's fists slammed onto the table, cracking fissures on the surface.
"Calm down, dear." Milfeil set the cups and plates down on the table. Her glare towards Rizelk masked under a cheerful smile. "He should have an explanation. An explanation that we can accept, right?"
"Oh...kay." Goury backed away from the dining room a little. "They are completely furious. Dude, we should get out of here."
"I'm staying to listen."
"What?"
"And you are to stay as well."
"No thank you!" But a hand was already gripping the back of his collar, holding him firmly in place. Goury groaned as he was forced to stay put.
Rizelk smiled as he pulled something from within his breast pocket. "Both of you haven't lost your edge, it seems." He placed another card on the table, pushing it towards Alvaro. "This, is the explanation."
Alvaro picked up the card, activating a hologram screen in front of himself. The man read the content silently before sighing and passed the card to his wife, who scanned through the page slowly.
"I understand if it's about Goury." Alvaro said, his temper calmer than moments before. "But why Kamui? He has passed the age allowed to enrol into the Academy."
"He was privileged by the Headmistress."
"That old hag, huh." Alvaro clicked his tongue, scratching the back of his head.
Just then, Kamui entered the dining room, walking up to the table and stopped beside Rizelk, glaring at the man with his bloodshot eyes. "What is all these about?" He asked, his tone deadly soft. "Why am I accepted into an academy even as my status as a heretic?"
"Kamui..."
"Watch your tone, young man." It was Milfeil who said that, extremely displeased.
"I'd prefer calling that as 'Mix Blood'." Rizelk chuckled, glanced up at Kamui evenly.
"That isn't what others called me." Kamui almost growled at the man, unamused by the situation.
Rizelk smiled as he pulled yet another card from the pocket. "This was addressed specifically to you." He handed the card to the younger man.
Kamui carefully took the card and activated the screen.
[Come to Magicus Academy, if you want to find out about your past.]
Seconds after he read through the one-lined content, Kamui threw the card onto the floor, cracking it and grabbed Rizelk's collar roughly. "What the hell do you mean by that?" He growled. "What do you mean that Magicus Academy is the only link to my past?" Even Goury was shocked by the sudden temper flare from his usual calm brother.
"Who knows." Rizelk replied calmly. "I was only tasked to pass this message to you."
"Why you..."
"Kamui." The young man turned to Alvaro, who was glaring at him to release Rizelk. Grudgingly, Kamui released his hand and shoved Rizelk roughly. "Go and cool off your head, boy. He's not someone you can deal with." Alvaro ordered solemnly.
Kamui silently obeyed and exited the dining room. But instead of returning to his room, the front door was heard opening and slammed shut louder than usual.
Alvaro sighed deeply and turned to Goury, who had been sitting quietly at a corner of the kitchen, chewing on something. "Goury, follow your brother." He gave the slight order. "And make sure he does not do something stupid."
"Okay." Goury saluted and rushed out of the door immediately.
"Now." Alvaro turned back to his friend from old times. "Explain this." He show Rizelk the hologram screen passed to him, which showed a blank content. "Blank means 'Top-Secret', kept from everyone in the room except through verbal contact."
"I've only said the truth. Part of it, actually." Rizelk said, picking up the damaged card from the floor and sliding it into his pocket. "What I kept from Kamui and made sure he left, not hearing this, is that his uncle was the one who personally requested the Headmistress for the enrolment of Kamui."
"Galvas personally requested the hag?" The couple were mildly shocked. "So he still hasn't kicked the bucket?"
"Alive, doing well, and living beneath the Academy to prevent useless persuasion from others."
"I see." Alvaro took a sip from the cooled drink on the table. "So, when do they start?"
"Four days to be exact." Rizelk smiled as Alvaro froze at his mid-drinking.
"Honey." The man set his cup down on the table calmly. "Go prepare a rectangular hole that's three feet wide, six feet long, and six feet deep."
"Way ahead of you, dear." Milfeil stood beside Alvaro, smiling lightly as an ominous aura surrounded her being.
"What hole?" Rizelk blinked a couple of times. Then it hit him. "Hey, calm down."
Kamui stood among the wood, a hand holding a slim curved sword against his left hip. Slowly, he pulled a foot back, getting into a steady stance. Without any hesitation, the blade sliced through the air, grazing through a falling leaf. Several quick succession followed, the blur of the blade as if dancing through the air, reflecting light to his surrounding.
With the last swipe at the space in front of him, Kamui slowly pulled back to his original stance, replacing the sword as if sheathing it back into place.
"Everything..." Kamui breathed out slowly. "Everything about my childhood, aside from the fact that I'm a heretic, was forgotten." He took in a slow, deep breath. "Dad and mom adopted me despite of my lineage. Goury accepted me as his brother." The grip on the sword tightened. "Yet I always have this dream of the girl and the hooded man."
Kamui slowly raised the sword above his head. "What...just what and I suppose to do?" Taking in a deep breath, he slammed the sword onto the ground, exploding a cloud of dust which enveloped his body.
Goury heard the explosion and sped towards the site, catching sight of the cloud of dust from the ground. Nearing the cloud cautiously, the young man stopped at a step away from the cloud when the tip of a sword was already pointed at his neck. "Whoa~!" Goury immediately raised both of his hands in the surrendering manner. "It's only me, dude!"
"Oh, really." Kamui retracted the blade, back to holding it against his left hip. "What are you doing here?"
"Well." Goury lowered his hands, stuffing them into his pants pockets. "You did make a scene at home. Something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong."
"Oh come on! You're usually the calmer one between us." Goury cupped his chin with a thoughtful look. "A wise man."
Kamui replied with a slap on Goury's head with the flat side of the blade, sending the younger man stumbling into the trunk of a tree.
"Ow!" Goury's voice was muffled as his face smashed into the wooden bark. "What was that for?"
"A simple thanks." Kamui muttered, half to himself.
"What?"
"Let's go." Kamui stabbed his sword into the ground, which slowly disintegrated into black dust. "It's almost time for dinner."
"Let's race, shall we?" Goury suggested, stretching his body a little as he walked up beside Kamui.
"What's the bet?" Kamui smirked as he stretched himself as well.
"Let that be decided at the finishing point." Goury sped off without a second thought.
Kamui blinked in surprise as he slowly registered the situation. "You're so going to regret this, Goury." He sped toward the direction of their home, the two blur chasing after each other, weaving among the woods with ease.
"Damn!" Goury yelled as he and Kamui stepped onto the ground in front of the gate at the exact same time. "And I thought that I will win you this time."
"It's a draw." Kamui shrugged nonchalantly. "Guess you've improved."
"Erm...somebody help me?" A voice drew their attention towards the front yard of their house. Goury peeked over the gate to see Rizelk, buried up to his neck, smiling sheepishly at him.
"Oh...kay..." Goury whistled lowly. "Guess they didn't bother holding back."
"Really." Kamui followed Goury to see Rizelk's smiling face. "And you're still smiling with that disfigured face of yours. I'm impressed."
"So." Rizelk disappeared from his position, leaving the earth where he was seconds ago to sink inwards. "Mr. Kamui, have you considered joining the great family of Magicus Academy?" The man appeared behind the two of them, dusting dirt off his coat.
"Yes." Kamui stared evenly back at Rizelk. "I want to know, both about my past and who I really am."
"Well then." Rizelk gave his coat a final tug. "I'll see the both of you there." He gave a simple wave and walked off towards the direction of the town.
"Cool." Goury muttered as the man retreating back shrunk along with the path. "That guy's a monster or something?"
"He's more than that." Alvaro appeared at the front door, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Strong as hell. But it's fun sparring with him after all these years."
"Come on, boys." Milfeil's voice floated from within the house. "You have to get everything prepared. The trip is going to be four days."
"Isn't that a little sudden?" Goury's jaws almost dropped onto the ground.
"You think?" Alvaro clicked his tongue, glaring at the pit where Rizelk was supposed to be."Why else do you think we fought?"
"Dude, Kamui. Say something about this."
"I'm going." Kamui replied stoically. "I want to clear this mess as soon as possible."
"What? Not that, you moron!" Goury palmed his own face. "You're supposed to object!"
Present...
Goury and Alvaro were stuffing their faces full with food, putting in handful after handful into their mouths. Milfeil, as refined as lady could be, was slowly enjoying her dinner smiling at the antics of her husband and son.
"We don't even get this much food on birthdays." Goury said in between bites, swallowing without chewing more than a couple of times.
Alvaro snorted lightly, at regards to Goury's comment. "You've said it, kid."
"Come on now." Milfeil said as she put down the spoon she was holding. "Slow down, the food is not going to run away from you."
Kamui, having taken only one spoonful of soup, was staring at the space in front of himself. Suddenly, he stood from his chair and headed towards the front door.
"Kamui." Milfeil's voice stopped him on his track. "Where are you going?"
"To get some fresh air, mum." Kamui replied before exiting the house. "I'm not that hungry."
The rest of the family stared at the door for a moment before Goury broke the silence with his finger pointed at Kamui's portion of the food. "Mine?"
Kamui sat on a thick branch of the tall tree, which grew itself on top of the cliff facing the vast ocean. The cool sea breeze sweeping pass as his distance gaze set at the water body before him. Suddenly, a presence made itself known beside the tree.
"Mum?" Kamui glanced down to see the older woman gazing at the sea as well, a slight smile grazing her lips. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm worried, Kamui." Milfeil phased out of vision, reappearing beside the young man. "You haven't been yourself recently. Are you alright?"
"I'm...confused." Kamui admitted reluctantly. "For the eight years I've been living here, not once have I though about my past or who I really was. I was contented with this family. All of you accepted me despite me being a heretic. I was really happy." His gaze saddened by a thought. "But when the chance to regain my past was placed in front of me, I was conflicted." Kamui sighed deeply. "Am I going to sacrifice my happiness for something I have absolutely no idea about?"
"You know." Milfeil started, combing her hair that was swayed by the sea breeze with one of her hand. "There are times when decisions are separated only by one thin line. But no matter how thin the line is, the decisions are still different from one another."
"I don't get it, Mum." Kamui looked up to the older woman.
"You will, in time." Milfeil smiled as she patted Kamui's head. "Don't ever doubt yourself. We may not be related by blood. But you're still my son, we're still a family."
"Thanks for the reassurance, Mum." Kamui gave a weak smile. "I should probably rest early. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day." He hopped off the tree branch, landing on his feet with a quite thud.
"Kamui." Milfeil phased into vision beside Kamui. "In that place, don't ever hold back. There are many magus and demons as strong as, if not stronger, than you."
"Understood, Mom."
"And take care of your younger brother."
Kamui paused with a deep thought. "That's easier said than done." He chuckled lightly to himself.
The scene within the house when the foster mother and adoptive son returned home was less than pleasant. The father and son were sprawled untidily in the messed up dining room.
"Oh Great Being..." Milfeil sighed deeply at the mess on the dinner table before her. "Why does this happens every single time I take my eyes off them?" She sighed again as she kicked the sleeping Alvaro on the ribs lightly. The older man responded by scratching the affected area, before going back to his loud snoring.
"What shall I do with...him?" Kamui grabbed the knocked out Goury by the back of his collar and lifted the boy.
"Bring your brother to bed." Milfeil rolled Alvaro on his sides and out of the dining room with her feet. "I have to clean this mess they've made."
Kamui nodded as he dragged Goury by the back of his collar, ignoring the unceremonious way he handled the unconscious body at his wake.
Opening the door leading to their room with a light click, Kamui tossed Goury's body onto the younger man's bed before dropping himself onto his own. "Tomorrow. The day where a whole new chapter will be written into my life...huh." He muttered to himself, closing his weary eyes and falling into a dreamless sleep.
Morning came in the form of Kamui waking up to the usual unpleasant ruckus of the Wolfbayne family. Groaning to himself, Kamui rubbed a palm over his face in one slow motion. "Eight years, and I still can't get used to this." He then flipped himself off his bed, sliding a shirt over his head. "It's louder than usual."
Kamui opened the door leading to the living room to see a horrible mess. A mess that might rival to that of the aftermath of a long-waged war. Just then, he heard Goury's voice echoing from somewhere in the house.
"Pops! Where the hell is my metal card?"
"The hell I'd know!" Came the gruff reply. "Tidy your own freaking stuffs before you start losing them."
"Both of you better clean up this mess after you find the card." Milfeil said with a huff as she appeared beside a slightly stunned Kamui, her hands on both of her hips. "You have an hour before 'they' reach here."
"Mum?" Kamui scratched the back of his head, as he stared at his mother confused. "Who exactly are 'they'?"
"Oh Kamui, you're awake." Milfeil smiled at her son. "They are the escorts from the Academy, as one cannot simply enrol into the Academy. They will be here within an hour." She gripped Kamui's shoulders and lightly pushed him towards his room. "Now go and get ready. You don't want to be late."
"Ah." Kamui rubbed the sleep off his eyes. "And I was wondering how we're going to the Academy." And it was followed by another loud yell within the house.
"Where the hell is the god-damn card?"
Kamui sighed to himself as he felt that he should reply to this. "At your bed, under your mattress." He opened the door just as a blur of silver sped past him and into the room.
Goury overturned the bed mattress with an unceremonious flip, revealing the lost card of its hiding place. The wolf-boy picked the card up and faced Kamui with a straight face. "You knew."
"You told me to remind you of where you kept it."
"Really?" Goury broke into a huge grin. "Guess I forgot."
"We should get ready." Kamui sighed, shaking his head.
"Oh, and before I forgot." Milfeil phased out of vision and reappeared seconds later, holding two parcels in her hands. "Here." She handed the boxes to the brothers respectively. "These were mailed here this morning, for the both of you."
"Thanks, Mom." The brothers opened their own parcels. Within the boxes were sets of formal uniforms, bearing the emblems of the Academy on the left collar of the shirts. The uniforms themselves consisted of three sets of long sleeved black shirts, a couple pairs of matching black trousers, a pair of white neck-ties, finally ending with one white blazer for each of them. Sewn on the left sleeves of the blazers were pockets of the metal cards, positioned near to the shoulders.
"This...is...whoa..." Goury was left speechless as he lifted one of the shirts from the parcel. "I can't wait to try this out!" he grabbed the box and disappeared into the room, slamming the door shut and locking it.
"Exquisite, indeed." Kamui stared at his own uniform. "The design is something one rarely sees."
Just then, the door to the room opened as Goury stood at the doorway, already dressed, albeit unkempt. His neck-tie hung loosely over his shirt, the top button undone, his signature silver necklace hanging over the tie. His silver hair, unkempt as ever. The sleeves of his blazer and shirt were rolled and folded up above his elbows.
The reactions from the rest of the family varied widely. Milfeil facepalmed, shaking her head in disbelief at the sight of her dear son. Kamui gave a slight smirked, slapping a loud high-five with Goury as he passed the boy into the room to get changed. Alvaro snapped a thumb-up at his son, remarking that his fashion truly 'befits that of a Wolfbayne'.
Minutes later, Kamui reappeared from the room, dressed in the proper and neat way of the uniform. He tossed Goury's card to the boy and slid his into the designated pocket at the left sleeve.
"Hmmm." Goury surveyed Kamui's neat appearance. "Proper and neat, like a nerd."
"And yours looks stupid." Kamui countered with a smirking retort. Goury responded with his own smirk and both fell into a chuckling fit.
"Well, let's get prepared." Kamui recovered with his fits of snickering.
Roughly about three-quarter of the hour was spent at Goury searching for his necessities needed to last the years at the Academy. Wardrobes were overturned along with beds and table drawers. Carpets flipped over with undesirable results. Even expensive furnitures were almost lifted, if not for a hard knock on Goury's head from Alvaro to put them down carefully.
"Safe!" Goury zipped his bag shut, finishing his packing with less than five minutes before the arrivals of the escorts. "That was close."
"You know..." Kamui calmly put down the cup of tea he spent the past half hour drinking. "If you've followed my advice and keep your stuffs tidy, you wouldn't have to spent this much time ransacking our own house."
"Oh shut up." Goury kicked the door open and exited the house, shortly followed by his brother.
"I just remembered one important thing." Goury stopped just after he stepped out of the house. "How are we going to get to the Academy?"
"For the first time since this morning, you came up with something smart." Kamui kicked his brother at his rear, pushing him out of the doorway. "Mum, Dad?" He turned to his parents behind him.
"No idea, Kamui." Alvaro shrugged, before facing his adoptive son seriously. "But let me remind the both of you, son. That place is filled with people who are stronger than you. Don't hold back, and give them hell. You hear me?" He finished with his fists slammed together.
"Loud and clear." Goury recovered from his downed position and smirked back. Kamui smirked as well and gave a casual salute to his adoptive father.
"We will miss you both." Milfeil smiled, hiding the tears that began to pool at the corners of her eyes.
"Come on, Milfeil." Alvaro wrapped an arm around her waist. "We can't stop them from growing up."
"Don't deny that you're missing them as well." Milfeil countered with a giggle. "You big softie."
"Mi-Milfeil! Don't say that in front of the boys!" The small group known as the family broke into fits of laughter as Alvaro stuttered to defend himself.
Right on the dot at noon, a rift distorted the space before the family, slowly revealing a large white door and a white-armoured man standing beside it. Standing at the astounding height of two and a half metres, the armoured knight easily rivalled the height of the door, and was wielding a jousting lance made out of jagged crystal.
Even with the full-face helmet which covered the head of the knight, concealing the eyes as well, Kamui could feel a cold glare emitting from the said knight. Swallowing thickly, he straightened his body and stared evenly at the man. "So, you're the person who is suppose to escort us?"
"Holy crap!" Goury literally had to tilt his head upwards to face the knight. "This guy is huge beyond reason!"
The white-armoured knight lifted his lance and swung it down, pointing the lance at Kamui and Goury. "Judging from your question and reaction, dare I assume that the two of you are Kamui Saivas and Goury of Wolfbayne respectively?"
"In the flesh!" Goury quickly raised his hands in a surrendering position. Kamui nodded quietly as he kept his even stare at the man before him.
"Acknowledged." The knight's lance began to glow softly, shortly followed by the card in the sleeve pockets of Kamui and Goury. "And now, the explanation for the Test shall be addressed by me."
"Wha-! Wai-! What?" Goury's eyes widened significantly when the news was processing within his brain. "Hold on a second there! What test?" He turned to face Kamui then his parents. "No one told me anything about any test!"
"Quit whining!" Alvaro sent a roundhouse kick at his son's face, smacking the latter sliding face-first towards the knight, stopping just before his feet. "Take it like a man!"
"But I'm only a boy!" Goury groaned as he pushed his face off the ground, looking up to see an intimidating figure glaring down at him. The wolf boy jolted in panic and scurried backward, back to his brother's side. "The terror is literally leaking out from this man!" He yelled particularly to no one.
"It's just a test." Kamui sighed, nudging Goury back to to his feet, who then dusting himself. "Nothing much to be wary of."
"Come on!" Goury slapped his left palm onto his face. "At least put an effort and act as if you're surprised, you emotionless nincompoop! But..." He held up his right fist to his brother. "Thanks man. Now I have to motivation to best this 'Test'."
"Now that's the moron of the brother I know." Kamui smirked as he fist-bumped with his brother. "And who's the emotionless nincompoop?"
"Shut up." The two non-blood related brothers walked up to the white knight, their expression determined. They stopped when Milfeil's voice called out to them. "Be careful, boys. And come back safe."
Kamui turned around with Goury, nodding in acknowledgement. Whereas the younger of the two preferred a loud verbal respond. "Gotcha' mum! I may even try to bring along some girl cute on my way back!"
Milfeil smiled through her tears, worry laced on her face. Her husband placed an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close, whispering words of comfort to the sobbing woman.
The brothers stood before the knight, who waited patiently for the candidates. "So," Kamui kept a determined façade on his face. "What's this test is about?"
"Simple, yet difficult." The white knight tapped his lance onto the ground once. "One, this test will consist of the both of you being partnered with another student." He tapped the lance twice. "Two, the area of the test will be that of a maze. Both of you and your partners will ventured through the maze and find the correct path to the end." He followed up with three taps. "Three, in the event that you fail to meet the requirement of the test, you will be sent back here with no memories of what you had been through during the test."
"Simple enough." Goury seemed to smirk as he turned to Kamui. "This test will be a breeze since both of us will be partnered together, right?" Kamui gave in to the urge to palm his own face at his brother's simplicity.
"Denied." The white knight pointed his lance at Goury. "To make sure that the result of the test is just. Each of you will be paired up with someone you have never met before in your life."
"What? Come on!" Goury visibly deflated. "That's...a lot of people...for us..."
"Failure to comply will renounce your permit for the test." The knight's glare remained unwavering. "Do you accept the conditions?"
"Fine!" Goury slapped the tip of the lance away from him with the back of his hand. "Not that we have any choice in the first place. I'll follow you stupid conditions."
"Well, let's get this over with." Kamui said as the knight's glance fell on him.
"Then all shall begin." The white knight turned to the door, spinning the lance wildly within his right hand. Stopping the spin with the tip of the lance pointing at the metallic door, the knight pulled back and thrust the lance into the door. Seconds later, a wave of magical runes appeared on the smooth surface of the door, shortly followed by gust of air exploding from the door and the knight.
Kamui and Goury shielded their face from the torrent of air. Several seconds later, the door began to creak open with an agonising groan. Slowly but surely, the door came to a thundering stop when it was opened fully, showering the brothers with blinding light from within.
"Goury of Wolfbayne." The knight turned to the younger of the brothers. "You shall proceed ."
"Gotcha'. Hope that my partner will be a chick with big, succulent breast." Goury stepped towards the door, but not before turning back to face his brother. "See you at the academy, dude!"
"Whatever. Just go." Kamui smirked as Goury back flipped into the doorway of light.
"Kamui Saivas." The white knight turned to the man once his brother disappeared into the light. "You shall proceed." Kamui nodded and stepped towards the door. He stopped short when he heard his adoptive father's voice calling to him.
"Kamui." Alvaro waited until the man to turn back before continuing. "Be sure to take care of your brother." Kamui gave a wry smile and gave a lazy salute before walking into the light, disappearing within it. Seconds later, the door creaked noisily before slamming itself shut. The space around it began to distort itself, slowly consuming the door into nothingness.
"This house is going to be quiet without those little idiots." Alvaro grumbled and faced to the side as he scratched the back of his head. "I might not get used to it."
"There there..." Milfeil reached up and patted her husband on his back, sniffling to keep her tears from falling out of the corners of her eyes. "They will be back before you know it."
"Friends." The married couple turned to see that the white knight had walked up to them. "Both 'Their' son and yours have truly matured." With a simple nod, the knight stepped backwards, a rift appearing in the space behind him. "I look forward to see their further growth." He said, loud enough for the couple, and disappeared into the rift.
"Tch." Alvaro growled and turned back towards the house. "Arifel that bastard just have to say some useless things."
"That's because none of us have forgotten the vow we've made to 'Them'." Milfeil smiled as she followed her husband into the house. "I'm sure the same goes for him too. Arifel, The Crystal Lance."
White.
Everything around him was just pure white, yet he felt that he was falling slowly downwards. It had been barely moments since Kamui stepped through the door. His body felt light when he fully entered the door, and he felt himself descending. To where? He had no idea. Kamui just knew that he was floating down slowly.
Seconds turned to minutes. Kamui began to wonder if he would ever come to a stop. Just then, his feet touched a surface. His expression betrayed his surprise when all around began to dim down, revealing a room with only four walls, a ceiling, and a floor, all in pure white colour. Kamui surveyed the room, and found a couple of oddities. Firstly, there was no door, no window, not a single opening within the compound. So how did he get in? How was he going to get out? Secondly, he was not alone. Another person was in the room, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall.
"Hello?" Kamui started the conversation, which however, badly startled the only other occupant in the room. The person shakily stood, revealed to be a young man appearing to be almost the same age as Kamui. The man had a smooth, flawless feature, showing slight but obvious evidence of being a male. His pale short hair slightly covered the top of his sapphire eyes, which synchronised with the paleness of his skin.
Even as he was obviously unnerved by Kamui's presence, the young man slowly approached him, with a wry smile. This in turn caused Kamui to raise his suspicion subconsciously.
"H-Hi. My name is Tarano Thriesval XV." The man introduced himself with a shy nod. "Are you...a mixed blood?" He suddenly realised his mistake, and repeatedly bowed apologetically. "Forgive me for my insolence!"
"Erm..." Kamui tried to calm the frantic man down. "It's alright. But how do you know?"
"It-It's a family...bloodline thing." Tarano straightened himself, the wry smile still on his face. "It allows me to...identify the aura of individuals I...see." He said slowly, struggling to stop himself from stuttering nervously. "I can also differentiate...the type of aura, and what they can, or will do." He then realised another thing. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch your name."
"Huh?" Kamui raised a questioning eyebrow at Tarano before a realisation dawned on him. "Oh...Oh! It's Kamui. Kamui Saivas."
Tarano suddenly yelped in joy and clapped his hands together, which badly shocked the other man. Kamui resisted the urge to slap the somewhat childish man before him. "What did you do that for?" He asked, keeping his tone from showing his irritation.
"Er...sorry." Tarano immediately settled himself down. "It's a...habit of mine." He answered meekly and tapped his fingers together in a rather shy manner.
"Try not to do that again." kamui sighed to himself as he surveyed the room. "So, what are we supposed to do?"
"Well..." Tarano glanced nervously to the side. "The crystal told me that further instruction will be given once my partner enters. So I kinda...waited here."
"Crystal?" Kamui turned to see a floating mentioned crystal occupying the place that was empty seconds ago. "That crystal?" He asked, pointing a sceptical finger at the object.
"Kamui Saivas." A deep hybrid voice floated from the crystal before Tarano could even nod his head. "Tarano Thriesval. Are you prepared for the test?"
Kamui closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Yes, I'm ready." He breathed out firmly, his resolve steeled. He then turned his attention to Tarano, who was shaking nervously.
"Re-Ready!"
"Then pick your path." Two door appeared in front of the young men. One of the door was covered in black smoke, masked in an aura of malice so thick it was revolting. The other door was simply made out of normal wood, with normalcy that made it looked nothing out of place.
Kamui eyed the door quietly, before turning to the crystal. "A question." He said curtly, knowing full well that he will get the answer he needed.
The crystal glowed a little, as if surveying Kamui quietly. It then bobbed up and down, as if nodding in satisfaction. "You may speak."
"Behind these two doors are trials unknown to us. But either one will definitely lead us to the academy once we pass them, right?"
"Correct."
"Alright then." Kamui turned to Tarano, patting him on the back. "You choose."
"Wait! What?" Tarano stared at his team partner in shock. "Why?"
"I'm...more of a follower." Kamui reluctantly admitted. "Now that I'm working with someone, I'd rather hand the decision making to other people."
"Why.. is that?"
"Well..." Kamui glance to the side and scratched the back of his head. "As you know, I'm a mixed blood. Be it a Magus or a Demon, pure bloods usually don't accept my existence. You're pretty much forced by the requirement of this test to be at least be nice to me."
"If that's how you put me as a pure blood, then I'd have chosen to fail the test over teaming with you." Tarano smiled widely, putting a hand on Kamui's shoulder. "Though it is true that, to us Pure Bloods, the presense of a Mixed Blood will bring disgrace to us, I'm not a person who lives to believe that. You may be impure as a Mixed Blood, but you're still a existence of your own, and no one can deny that."
"If only the rest of the Pure Bloods have a mindset like yours." Kamui returned the smile with a grin. "But I'm still glad that I have a father, a mother, and a stupidly retarded younger brother who accepted me the way I am. And they still do."
"Must be nice...to have such a caring family." Tarano smiled, a hint of melancholia grazing his face. "I...only receive high expectation from my family...to be the next head of the Thriesval Bloodline..." He gave a deep sigh. "Sometimes...it hurts..."
"Well, truth to be told. The family I have now isn't my biological family." Kamui said, hoping to cheer up the young man in front of him. "The Wolfbayne adopted me when I was twelve. I've no recollection of my past before that."
"I-I'm sorry!" Tarano immediately apologised when he realised where this conversation was about to head to. "I've touched a sensitive subject!"
"It's alright." Kamui grinned sheepishly at his failed plan. "By the way...don't you think that room is getting smaller?" He asked, looking at his surroundings.
"Now that you've mentioned..."
"You have ten seconds left to choose." The crystal suddenly spoke, breaking its own silence.
"What?" The two young men stared at each other before glaring at the crystal. "Damn it! Tarano! You choose!"
"Why me?"
"We don't have time for this!" Kamui almost yelled at the other man, pushing him closer to the doors. "Come on!"
"I take the wooden door!" Tarano ran towards his choice.
"Got it!" Kamui sped to the door and kicked it open. Immediately, the two of them were engulfed in blinding light. The two of them did not even have the chance to scream before the light died down, revealing a closed door and a lone floating crystal.
"May luck be by your side, Saivas." The crystal muttered to itself before disappearing in a flash, leaving the room empty with the two doors facing each other.
Kamui blinked his eyes as the searing whiteness died down, leaving him temporary blind. Rubbing his eyes, Kamui slowly cleared his vision to see that he was standing on a rocky path, which lead to nowhere, within an eerie forest. He turned to his left to see Tarano frantically rubbing his own eyes.
"Any idea where are we?" Kamui asked, staring at the path which disappeared in a curve, an arrow made of rotting wood pointing at the direction.
"I don't know..." Tarano cleared his vision, and got quite a scare from their surroundings. "This place is...really scary...and unholy."
"So this is what they mean by 'Never judge something from its appearance'." Kamui began his survey on the forest. The whole place was dark, visibility stretched nowhere further that the first row of trees at the sides of the path. The sky was overcast with dark clouds. And the path was only dimly lit by small lanterns hanging from the bare, dry branches of the seemingly dead trees.
"I...I agree." Tarano forced himself to stop shivering. "W-We should...really...get going! I-I don't feel good...standing...here."
"Then the arrow is pretty much the only clue as to where we're suppose to head to." Kamui gestured at the direction. "Let's go." He started walking down the path.
"W-Wait up!" Tarano cried and ran after Kamui, not wanting to be left behind.
Author's rant
Greetings, readers. Hope you've enjoyed the story.
Time sure flies. It's been a long time. Five years since the first draft I had done with Dreamer19. Brings back memories of all the bad story writing in the past. I can't help but laughed at our first story. Badly written, badly edited. Not that I can say this is an exceptionally good story. Now that I think about it, those were good memories. Mind-breaking and brain-wrecking for stories done out of whim at first. But now both of us ol' buddies do this story as a dedication.
Man, I'm getting melancholy. Well, anyway. Please support this story if you like it. Your dedication as a reader is what truly inspire us to work hard for this story.
RetardedFool
Okay now whatever I wanted to say RetardedFool already said it. So I would like to ask our fellow readers. If you have any ideas or characters you would like to be in the story do email at
jutahj2 at hotmail dot com
or
jutahj2 at gmail dot com
and we will try our best to write them in so to speak. And if you guys can draw our characters we would trully appreciate it. Do hope all of you enjoyed reading and do await the next chapter of MAGICUS.
Dreamer19
Preview:
"We're finally here, Kamui." Tarano smiled as he looked at the grand entrance of the buildings in front of them, fill with people of different kinds. "We're finally at Magicus Academy."
-scene break-
"I'm Lunar, Soleini. A pleasure to make acquaintance with you." The young girl bowed slightly in greeting and straightened up, a gentle smile grazing her lip.
-scene break-
"An interesting entity. His magic may not be within his full control, but his physical skills and swordsmanship are top-notch." He tapped the bottom of his staff onto the ground with a loud bang and stood up. "Let us begin with the Orientation, my fellow Kings and Queens."