The two traveled swiftly, stopping before a grey tan and gold building; Geo, the academy of magic. As they stepped in the front gates, students in colored uniforms clustered about their feet. Ophilia dismounted, to be sure not to trample anyone, and left Xaviar at the gate. He didn't seem to mind, and entertained the children with rides, and displays a vibrant blue flames. Ophilia walked into the city, avoiding the rushing students, and made her way to a broken down shop. The wood did not match the surrounding shops, and the paint was still vibrant, despite the broken appearance. She pushed open the door, to find the inside smashed to pieces. Jewelry, what was left of it, caused the floor to glitter, and dust coated everything. A faint whispering could be heard, the voices incoherent. Ophilia stepped to a large chest, the only thing that seemed unaffected by ages, the gold and gems embedded in the front and sides shining proudly. The voices got louder. Ophilia lifted the lid and found herself in a well endowed room.
"Oh, You're here. Very good," a tall woman said, dressed in a black and white gown, revealing a gleaming black pearl on her chest. A man and woman were also in the room, both dressed in green. The man has a dark green core, while the female's could not be seen. There was also another man on the large bed, which took up most of the room. The man was not moving, not even breathing, and the woman in green sat down next to him, stroking his hair, tears sliding steadily down her face.
"Florina," Ophilia said, and embraced the girl, stroking her head. Florina stopped and embraced her back, crying silently into her shoulder. The taller woman cleared her throat.
"Ophilia, Sandra is dead. We need you to help us revive her for the sake of Florina," she said bluntly. The man in green looked at the boy on the bed and then looked away in disgust. Ophilia, loosened her grip on Florina slightly.
"I'm not sure I understand," she said.
"After you saved us, we used our last tear for you. Sandra's core was...destroyed after the battle. We were going to leave her, after what she did, but Florina begged us not to. She said that she had been so kind to her. She was in such a state of distress that she had gotten ill. The illness that consumes her is killing her. As if her body had just given up. So, if you could bring her back, we're thinking that will help Florina heal," the man said.
"Elazul..." Florina started, but looked away. She detached herself from Ophilia gently, and walked towards him, then paused and resumed her seat. Ophilia, however, stood, still confused.
"Alex is Sandra. I I love her, Ophilia. I loved him when he was Alex, and I love her now that she's revealed as Sandra," she explained sadly. She reached to touch Sandra's face, but was caught in a coughing fit. Ophilia immediately went to her side. After a bit, she calmed down again. Elazul took a small, black satin bag from his coat.
The taller woman looked from Sandra on the bed, to Florina and started to yell.
"You stupid girl! This woman used you, she was holding you until it was time to kill you! You mean nothing to her, and yet you're tearing yourself up over her!" the woman screamed, and knocked over a small ornament, causing it to shatter on the ground. Florina's eyes watered, but she stayed silent, suffering quietly. The other woman turned from her, and allowed her to do so.
"There are twenty gems in this bag. They are jumi shards. We have found that a large portion of our population was gone after you saved us all. These people may or may not know what they are. Simply deliver these gems to their owners. We need these unborn jumi to help create another tear, for Sandra over there," Elazul explained, ignoring the other two, and handing her the velvet bag. Ophilia opened the bag and all the gems flashed, at once, blinding her. She was left standing outside of the box.
Ophilia leaned back on the chest, thinking. This is what she had been called for. She glanced at her cut hand and winced. Straightening, she reached into the bag tenderly. The shard she removed was black, with a dusting of gold flecks. Curious, Ophilia looked around the shop, until she found what she was looking for; a gem book. After flipping through the tattered pages, she recognized it as a Nebula Stone. The shard was cool, and smooth, and seemed to pulse in her hand. Ophilia held it up to the dim light coming into the abandoned shop, and saw a shape within it twist, forming what seemed to be a face, with a disk shaped item on it's head. Ophilia took the stone out side, and felt it grow warmer.
Raising an eyebrow, she walked forward, ignoring the screams of laughter coming from the children. The stone continued to heat as Ophilia walked, becoming cooler as some points, and warmer at others. it lead her to a large building, the library. She stepped into the crowded room, where students clustered around two teachers on both the floor she was on now, and the lower one. The teacher on the lower floor was a floating shield, with the abstract depiction of a man's face painted upon it. He was shouting loudly, lecturing his group on the Fairy Human wars. The students on the level she was on, however, were shouting loudly themselves, trying to drown out the shield. A woman's bandaged face could be seen over the students head, their teacher. It vaguely resembled the face from inside the shard.
"Thesenis? Do you recognize this stone?" Ophilia asked. The stone was starting to become to heated to hold. The woman shook her head sadly, turning her dull brown eyes away, back to her pot, which was of whatever spell she was attempting that day. The stone suddenly scorched Ophilia's hand, causing her to drop it. It rolled across the floor, coming to a rest at Thesenis's feet. The tall woman, clad in band-aids, she reached down to pick it up. As soon as her grey fingers touched it, there was a sudden explosion of black light. Students screamed, and the shield from below could be heard shouting. The light gradually faded back, exposing that Thesenis had gone. In her place was a beautiful, well endowed woman, with long, straight blonde hair. She was wearing a tight, tan dress, with foreign symbols ling the bottom, and very low cut collar. Placed on her chest was a glistening Nebula core.
"I'm a Jumi?" she asked softly, ignoring her students catcalls, and shocked shouts. Ophilia nodded and explained the situation. Thesenis nodded and simply turned back to her pot, now with several more students in her vicinity. A student shoved past Ophilia, causing her to drop the bag. A deep grey stone rolled out of it, over the banister. Falling herself, Ophilia tried to catch it, but too late. A metallic clang echoed through the stuffy building, followed by a brilliant, multi-hued flash. Quickly snatching up the bag, Ophilia forced her way down the stairs, to see the teacher on the floor, next to a nude, blue hair, blue eyed man.
"Nunuzac!" Ophilia called out, and ran down to pick up the shield. She held it up to the light, and stared at the face, worried.
"Nunuzac?" she asked again, only to have the man answer.
"Yes, yes, I'm right here, what do you want?" he asked, irritated. He had a grey Galena core upon his chest, complimenting his rather pale skin.
"How did you become...?" she started, only to be cut off.
"Awakened Jumi are purged of any curses that were bestowed upon them, didn't you know that? Now tell me why I have been summoned?" he asked. Ophilia explained the situation in detail, for the man would not let her leave without telling him exactly why she had interrupted his own study group. Finally, she was allowed to leave, after he agreed he would come as well when called. With a sigh, Ophilia reluctantly removed the next shard, feeling that this was a little too easy.