A disaster was the best way to summarize the situation. The place was ruined. The survivors that made it through okay were all packing. Some were heading over toward Edelstein to retire for good. Others packed up and had hopes of moving to the new location that the second master had selected.
The second master let out a sigh. He really wasn't into his job, but he took it responsibly. After all, if he couldn't lead the survivors to safety, who could? He still chose to believe that the power of light could save them. Especially more so since they found "that".
In the room where the Black Mage was first seen, the crystal of light was discovered. Upon finding it, the light shot up to the sky and lifted a magic power unlike any other with it. He was not sure what it was or what had happened, but he was certain of one thing: The late master was not foolish enough to part to the dark without leaving something. He was far too much of a good guy.
"I guess these wars and fightin got a bit old for the guy." The second master rubbed the back of his neck. "Seems like it's nickin away at everyone these days." The master made his rounds, checking on the health of those still in the town. None of them were foolish enough to stay behind.
The master thought to himself as he looked to the sky, "I'd hurry up with that gift of yours." He thought to himself. "We ain't gonna stick around for it forever…" He walked about to his own room.
The wall towards the main street of the town was blown completely down. On the inside, black ash charred around the edges and snuck small smudges into his living area. The bookshelves either had books laying all around them in useless stacks or shelves completely knocked over.
The master went over and picked one up. "I know the value of books. They're priceless… But I'll be damned if I am going to carry all these books at my age."
Of all the things to take with them, a priority was given to the late master's notes and memos. They felt that the best way to stop him would be to get into his head. The second thing kept would be the aurora robes. They didn't want to cause too much of a stir about their incident, so it was best to keep going as if nothing happened. Simply… a change in the master was made, and some felt the need to move on because of it.
This was the reasoning the town had agreed on.
A few more days would pass by. At this point, all that was left were those remaining to go to the new location. The elder stood at the town and looked at it. "Eh… it's almost hard to believe how nice this place was a week ago."
He sighed. "I suppose I'll take one last good stroll before wrapping the day up. Then we'll head on out tomorrow…" He started walking, looking at all the building and letting the memories of the place fill in the holes of the buildings. He could almost hear the voices of other light mages talking about the weather or some other casual talk.
It was just a shame what had happened here.
As he made his walk around, he reached the outskirts of the town and looked ahead. "Well… I guess that's that then." He sighed and looked at the sky. "I hope you do long delivery."
He was just about to make a turn and head back when a noise caught his ear. "Hmm?" He listened again. There was a shuffle in the forest area. "Huh… I wonder what could be out there…?" The master asked himself. He feared for the worst. If the late master returned to finish the job, it would surely be the end of those remaining, himself included.
He shrugged, "What's a man my age got to lose?" he walked forward and looked a bit to the left and then to the right before walking in again. "Hello?" he asked calmly.
The bushes shuffled again. It was calm and almost like it was being done unintentionally. "I can hear you." He said out loud. He took a moment to relieve himself that it wasn't the last master, but he wasn't in the clear yet…
The master walked up to the moving bush and held his hand up. "Is someone here?" He asked calmly.
"Ahhh!" A young boy flew out and ran behind a tree. "Uhh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"
The master looked at the boy in shock. He was practically wearing rags. He didn't have any shoes, and yet for some reason, his hair and skin looked fairly tidy. His hair was an odd white and he looked not much older than six. "A child?" The master told himself. He began to think of where the kid could have come from, but then it dawned to him. The closest anything of civilization was at least a good five days away. "How did a child get here?"
"Ahh… W-Well…" the boy started, "I've been here awhile now!"
The master nodded, "And… where are your parents?"
The boy shook his head, "I… don't know."
"You don't know where your parents are?"
The boy shook his head can come out from behind the tree. "I saw a town so I was wondering if anyone would know me there."
The master shook his head, "Child, this is a closed door village, soon to be gone. You aren't even wearing the right clothes."
The boy sighed and looked to the ground with a pout. "…Well… Then… where's the next town?"
"Five days away." The master bluntly stated.
The boy's eyes filled with terror. "Five days?! That's a long time! I can't walk that far!"
"Exactly why I'm shocked you're here." The master thought to himself. "Tell me, child… You do not know where your parents are… where do you come from? Like a town name?"
The boy thought for a moment before shaking his head, "I don't think I know."
The master sighed. Great. Just what he needed. "Come along, kid. We'll get you dressed or something." He waved his hand over.
The master took the boy over to his house. "I do not think we have robes for kids." He stated while looking around, "But maybe I can find something." He turned to the boy, "Don't touch anything. We may be leaving, but there are still precious things here."
The boy sat in his chair and kicked his legs back and forth. As time ticked by, he found his eyes wandering and wandering. Eventually, his eyes laid on the pile of books. "Mister, why do you have books on the floor?"
"Because I'm leaving them."
"You leave books on the floor to leave them?"
The master sighed, "Yes, child. Now give me one second." The master turned around and looked through his pile of fabrics a bit longer.
After a good twenty minutes, the master dug up a small shirt that could be worn like a robe on someone his size. "Hey kid, I have something for y—"
As he turned around, he saw the kid sleeping peacefully on the chair. Not a care in the world. It was actually quite a calming sight. "Alright, at least get a blanket." The master said as he put the shirt over the kid like a blanket.
He sat down and stared at the kid. "Really, what do I do with this? We're leaving tomorrow and I can't just take him with me." He thought to himself.
The master turned around to lay down when something caught his eye. In his room, he kept the crystal that the light had shot from in a nearby sack next to his bed. For the first time, it was actually glowing in the sack. "This is… very odd." The master told himself. He took it out of the sack and looked at it. "Why is it glowing now?"
Realizing the light would probably wake the kid up, the master took a step outside, only to notice the glowing stop. "Already?" he asked himself.
He sighed and walked back in. As soon as he made it in to his room though, the light from the crystal started up. "… Is it responding to something?" The master asked. He looked around in the room. There weren't too many thing it could be responding from!
…Or was there?
"Don't tell me…" The master sighed. He walked up carefully to the boy and placed the crystal on his arm. The crystal glowed brighter than before. "So it is you…" he said calmly. He looked at the boy and moved his hands across his face, making careful observations. "Honestly, I can't stand kids… But I guess… This will do." He sighed.
The boy began to wake up from his quick nap. "Huh?" the kid sat up, "Mister?"
"Call me Master." The second master claimed, waving his hand over the shirt. "You can use this for a robe if you like. It's rather fancy."
The boy took it and slipped it on. It was a really big shirt, but it hung so long that it could easily be a dress or a robe of some sort.
"Tell me, child… Do you have a name?" The second master asked.
The boy nodded, "Yes… I'm Luminous."
"Luminous…" The master repeated. It was an odd name, but between the crystal reactions and this, he was starting to get a picture. "I see… Luminous… would you be interested in traveling with us? We're leaving tomorrow and we won't be coming back."
Luminous's face grew with horror, "Ah! I don't want to be left behind! I can't walk for five days!" He waved his hands.
The second master chuckled, "We have plenty of room."
The boy looked around nervously, "W-Well I guess that's okay… I mean… Thank you sir, I would like to go."
Smiling, the second master put a hand on Luminous's head, "Alright Luminous, we'll get you set up for our new home starting tomorrow, so sleep well. Busy day tomorrow."
Luminous watched the second master walked off through the hole in the wall and leave. He stared at the sky from his chair and smiled, "This chair is comfy!" he grinned.
