Ace Kingdom Trivia with Aurora!

It's a little confusing how the different kingdoms call mages by different names.

From wizards to sorcerers all the way to witches - there's so many things you could call someone who uses magic!

The one term used across all the realms in the entire world is mage! It's a basic term that anyone would understand, so when in doubt, just say mage!

That's all for today!

Love,

Aurora

There are very, very few times in Matsu's life/afterlife that he'd count as embarrassing. After all, the boy is so nonchalant and stoic that nothing really ever gets to him.

However, this moment is by far the most embarrassing of his afterlife.

All the eyes in the room are looking at him, with faces of confusion and intrigue.

"Ooo, another Asta I see!" Pollo says with a smile. "Does that mean you're going to get a five leaf grimoire too?"

Aim raises a brow and looks at Matsu with incredible curiosity. "Your brother and sister both have a grimoire. How strange that you don't…"

Ru looks quite concerned for the boy. "Are you feeling well? It's possible the mana can't sense you due to illness - such as Mana Depletion disease!"

Sherry clutches her grimoire to her chest and sadly frowns. "Matsu…?"

Meanwhile, the Soul Snatching twins are nearly in shambles.

Atlas is sweating feverously and nervously smiling. "Uh...there has to be something wrong with his grimoire or something…"

"Yes, that must be the case." Aurora insists, looking even more worried. "Father, do something!" She unintentionally snaps.

Matsu says nothing, but he feels his body nervously start to shake. He can't see the eyes of everyone looking at him, but he knows they're there.

Father Orfai is probably the only one in the room who doesn't look emotional. He's simply staring down at a book in his hands, flipping the pages.

"Is that the list of people who were supposed to get a grimoire today?" Atlas whispers to Aurora. "If it is…"

"I know!" Aurora whispers back, panic setting in. "He won't be on it…"

A couple of moments of silence go by as Father Orfai continues to flip through his book. Everyone watches in anticipation, anxiously awaiting for him to say something.

Matsu is silent and still, unable to muster any word or do any kind of movement. He was so sure that he'd get a grimoire; the feeling he had was something he's never felt before. The feeling of assurance, like at last he'd get to experience what it'd be like to be a lively fifteen year old getting their grimoire for the first time.

It's been something that's haunted Matsu since he'd died: he would never get to experience being a full fledged mage. Of course he had his magic, but without a grimoire: you're basically nothing. 99% of the population in all the realms have reported their magic power skyrocketing after they got their grimoire. Only 1% of people have reported their magic power either staying the same or even declining after getting their grimoire.

But Matsu didn't care: he just wanted to see what it was like. Even if he was one of the rare people who experienced a decline, he just wanted to see what it was like.

It's a sad thing that Matsu died at all, but as an even crueler cosmic joke: he died just a year before he would've experienced a grimoire.

And now he may never get to experience one, even after all these years and the feeling of assurance he previously had.

"Ah, I see."

Father Orfai's voice immediately snaps everyone back to attention, Matsu included. The boy looks up at the priest, a tinge of hope in his non beating heart.

"What?" Aurora says. "What do you see? Well? ANSWER US!" She dramatically yells. Atlas tries his best to calm her down as the others curiously look at the female Edelias twin.

Father Orfai clears his throat, setting his book on a table nearby him. "Well, I am new to this whole grimoire thing, you know. For years I've been the priest of a church, taking care of the village and its orphans. Only today have I been able to hand out my first batch of grimoires to the next generation of mages. Today, Matsu, you are the first one that I've had this happen to.

But that doesn't mean you'll be the only one. I should know...After all, I raised a boy who found himself in the same exact situation as you. No one believed in him, and made fun of him for not getting a grimoire. Even his own brother!

However, he didn't give up. There was absolutely no indication of him being able to obtain a grimoire, but he still clung onto the hope.

And whaddya know! In the end, not only did he get a grimoire; he became the Wizard King!

Matsu. I know that you are getting a grimoire today. It didn't come to you, however…"

Father Orfai motions to the hundreds of grimoires on the bookshelf. "You'll go to it. Go, find your grimoire. I know you can feel it."

Earlier, Matsu felt the feeling of embarrassment for the first time in a while. And now, the boy is experiencing surprise.

"...I can go to my grimoire?" He asks, just to be sure. Father Orfai nods and Matsu's face lights up in curiosity.

"That's pretty cool!" Ru remarks with a smile. "Being able to walk up to your grimoire and pull it out of the shelf: it's truly a unique scenario!"

Pollo sighs, looking at his grimoire. "Aw man, I wish I could've pulled mine off the shelf! Kinda feels less special now…"

Aim smiles, shaking her head. "Everyone's eyes are going to be on you now, Matsu. The only known person to experience what the Wizard King did is sure to stir up some buzz."

Aurora and Atlas breathe a sigh of relief, glad that Father Orfai didn't suspect a thing. They kinda feel bad for lying, but hey; if Father Orfai believed Matsu was a fifteen year old boy who honestly deserved a grimoire, who are they to say otherwise?

Sherry also smiles. "I knew he was special…" She whispers to herself. Then she immediately realizes what she said and blushes in embarrassment.

As everyone whispers in amazement at this interesting ordeal, Matsu wordlessly approaches one of the bookshelves. He can feel something in him, like this is meant to be. A feeling not unlike the one he felt previously…

The feeling of life.

"Matsu! Come here, I need your help with something!"

"Coming! Just give me one second."

…

"Matsu I need your help now!"

"Ok, ok, I'm coming!"

…

"What's up? What do you need my help with, Pandora?"

"I can't seem to crack this shell open...it's a little too tight for me. Do you think you can help?"

"Haha, for sure! Let me see…"

…

"Got it! Here you go."

"Thank you Matsu! What would I do without you?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be by your side, dear cousin."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"This one. I'm sure of it."

Matsu had spent a few moments observing all the books on the shelf, before finally pointing to one near the top, just out of his reach.

"Here, I got it brother!" Atlas smiles, going over to him and reaching his hand out.

"Wait, don't-" Matsu tries to tell Atlas, but the boy had already grabbed onto the grimoire.

As soon as he did, his hand began to burn and he quickly moved it away.

"Ouch, shit!" Atlas cursed, bringing his hand to his face. On his hand are slight burn markings, that quickly began to fade…

"That's weird." Pollo remarks. "People should be able to touch other's grimoires without getting burned: it's just that you can't use them…"

"Yes, unless some type of curse or spell has been placed on the grimoire." Ru explains. "Which is not the case, correct?"

Father Orfai nods. "Every grimoire in here has been kept under careful supervision by both myself and a team of other mages. Additionally, I can't sense any type of curse or spell on any grimoire. Perhaps it is a side effect or your magic, Matsu?"

Matsu shakes his head. "No...My Magic would not do that. Just lift me up so I can grab it myself, Atlas."

Atlas hesitantly nods. "S-sure thing. Just be careful!"

Atlas kneels down, letting his fake brother step into his shoulders. Then he stands back up, and Matsu reaches his hand out to touch the book.

As his hand grows closer, he begins to hear soft voices in his head, getting louder and louder as his hands get closer and closer to the book.

Finally, he grabs the book and quickly steps off of Atlas' shoulders.

The voices stop.

Matsu smiles in relief. He almost thought there was something wrong but the voices stopped almost as soon as he grabbed the book, so everything should be A-ok now!

He takes a second to look the book over and his non existent heart almost stops when he sees it. Atlas' eyes also widen at the sight of the grimoire.

It's completely black.

Literally, completely black. No symbol on the front, or the back, and no special design at all.

Atlas frowns and quickly puts a hand on the top of the book. His hand begins to burn again but he doesn't care.

"Soul Possession Magic: Regulus Lumatoré." He whispers, careful to hold in as much magic energy as possible to avoid anyone sensing him using magic.

Aurora quickly realizes what he's doing, and even though she doesn't understand why, she knows she has to help her brother not get caught.

"Ahem," She clears her throat, obnoxiously waving at everyone. "Could someone please come help me? I'm not sure how I'm supposed to transfer the souls held in my book into my grimoire…"

Father Orfai's eyes widen. "Does that mean you have Soul Magic?!"

Aurora smirks. "Yes, yes it does. If you help me, I can show you how it works!"

Father Orfai and the other kids (except one…) rush over to Aurora in an attempt to witness a rare magic.

Meanwhile, Atlas' magic begins to take effect.

Soul Possession Magic: the act of possessing a soul. The user is able to take on the features and certain spells of any soul they have eaten, but only for a short amount of time. The length of time they are able to do so depends on their own magic power as well as the magic power of the soul they have possessed.

There are some additional aspects to Soul Possession Magic, but they are unknown to those who do not possess it…

Because Soul Possession Magic requires eating souls - something that would destroy a soul's chance of passing on to the afterlife or undergoing any kind of reincarnation - SPM users usually only eat the souls of evil, impure souls that don't have a chance of becoming good.

Atlas' eyes turn to a pale blue color, and his hair turns black.

"Regulus Lumatoré. What was he like…?" Matsu questions, completely unphased by the dire situation.

Atlas nervously laughs. "Kinda not the time Matsu! But to give a super quick version of his story: Regulus went crazy after his entire family was murdered so he made it his life's mission to make everyone else suffer."

"And he did that how?" Matsu pries.

"He used this," Atlas says, looking at the grimoire. "Illusion Magic: Burn!"

Suddenly, an Ace Kingdom symbol appears on the grimoire. It matches the fadedness of the book and goes with the theme, and it looks like it always should've been there. However…

"He used illusions to make people see things that weren't really there." Matsu determines. "This burn spell, it's a permanent illusion isn't it?"

Atlas nods with a smile, his eyes and hair slowly turning back to his natural color. "Exactly. This is the most basic spell in Regulus' arsenal, and works best when used on a small scale. Because this symbol is so tiny, the spell worked and you now have a grimoire emblazoned with the Ace Kingdom symbol! Of course, it's just an illusion and if I uncast the spell, someone with Anti-Magic dispels the spell, or I happen to die, the symbol will disappear."

"...Thank you, Atlas." Matsu says. "I am not sure why my grimoire doesn't have a symbol like everyone else, but now no one will know a thing…"

"Except me and Aurora." Atlas nods. "And we're definitely going to get to the bottom of this super weird situation…" He then realizes something, bringing his hand to his face.

Before, Atlas had faint burn marks that faded quickly.

But now, he has deep, ugly burns that are fading, but at an incredibly slow rate.

"Why does your grimoire burn me so badly?" Atlas frowns. "And why do the burns disappear?"

Matsu shrugs. "I am not sure. This is something Aurora will have to answer…"

Speaking of Aurora, she begins to wrap up her diversion after Atlas turns to her with a thumbs up.

Father Orfai has just described how the process of transferring her souls to her grimoire will work:

Step 1. Locate her distant relative, Rades Spirito for assistance as he also had a grimoire that held 'things' rather than spells.
Step 2. Find out the rest of the steps from Rades Spirito.

Aurora sighs. "I figured as much." She says. "Soul Magic is so complicated, not a lot of people know how it works. Not even me…"

"Ok that's cool and all, but are you going to show us how your magic works now?" Pollo beams. "C'mon, I bet it looks so cool!"

"I'm not that interested, but it still would be nice to see it after trying to help you with a million different ways." Aim admits.

"I haven't gotten to see a lot of different magics, so if you could please show us it'd be much appreciated!" Ru smiles.

Aurora immediately blushes. "S-sorry, but probably not today. You'll get to see it in action tomorrow at the exams!"

Pollo sighs dramatically. "Aw man, tomorrow is so long from now!"

"No it's not, you're just being impatient." Aurora glares.

Pollo frowns, crossing his arms. "Well you're just being mean! That's not a nice thing to say to a friend."

"...Friend?" Aurora deadpans. "I've known you for like five seconds."

Pollo's frowns turns upside down and he offers up a bright smile. "I have the incredible trait of making a friend out of anyone!"

"Haha, he told me the same thing when we first met too!" Ru nods. "Pollo apparently has zero enemies and over a thousand friends."

"Any average person saying such a ridiculous thing would seem, well, ridiculous; but coming from Pollo's idiotic mind, I'm certain it must be true." Aim admits, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you can count your first enemy." Aurora says, putting her hands on her hips. "How dare a commoner like you talk back to someone of my noble prestige? I don't have an issue with people of your standing as long as they recognize the two different playing fields we are on."

"I feel similarly, but Pollo seems nice enough; just a bit dimwitted." Aim defends.

"I'm the nicest guy there is!" Pollo nods. "Even if you call me an enemy, I'll still refer to you as a friend. I'm sure one day you will change your mind."

"Doubtful." Aurora retorts, flipping her hair and going back to stand by herself.

Ru puts a hand over his mouth. "Well. That was interesting!"

Everyone begins to finish up their conversations and whatever they were doing. Everyone claps as Matsu holds up his grimoire for all to see, happy that he could get one. Sherry is among those clapping, but is looking at Matsu with a very curious expression given something she just witnessed…

Father Orfai claps his hands with a smile. "Alright everyone, it's about time you all head out. We've taken far too long in here, I'm sure the others are anxiously awaiting.

Now that you all have your grimoires, you are ready to take part in the Sorcerer Soldier Squad exams taking place tomorrow, if you would like to attend. Interested participants should head out of the left door, while those who would like to just return may use the right.

For the prospective Sorcerer Soldiers: you will be transported to the Sukehiro Inn, situated just outside the exam site. You will stay there for the night and receive further instruction from Commander Zora in the morning!"

Everyone's faces begin to grow determined. They say their goodbyes to Father Orfai and march right towards the left door, not a single person going for the right.

"So, you think you can be a Sorcerer Soldier?" Aim questions Matsu. "Even after almost not getting a grimoire?"

"To be a Sorcerer Soldier, you need a grimoire…" Matsu says. "And I have one. Why would I not try to become one?"

Aim shrugs her shoulders. "Some might become discouraged after an ordeal like that."

"...Well, I am not 'some'." Matsu remarks. "Me and my siblings will become Sorcerer Soldiers."

"Same here!" Pollo pops in. "I gotta become one, for sure!"

"As do I." Ru nods. "It's been something I've wanted for a while…"

"I really hope I can pass," Sherry blushes. "It'd be a shame not to…"

The group heads out of the left door, leaving the Grimoire Distribution Center behind.

As soon as they leave, Father Orfai motions for the Sorcerer Soldiers in the room to bring in the next group. As they do so, he stares at the spot where Matsu's grimoire was.

"That grimoire…" He mutters, rubbing his chin in thought. "That wasn't there before."

The group arrive outside and immediately take a look at their surroundings. It's another forested area with a number of benches.

Atlas and Aurora immediately notice a certain blonde asshole sitting down looking smug.

"Ew." Aurora remarks. "You want to be a soldier?"

Admetus immediately flips her off. "Suck me off and keep your mouth shut."

"Why you littl-" Atlas starts to say before Jasper quickly cuts him off. "Hey, hey, hey, no need to be so argumentative! Let's all take a nice deeeep breath and try to get along!"

"I would get along with him if he wasn't a total douche!" Atlas frowns.

"Oh Admetus, they called you a douche!" Glynis beams. "How nice!"

Admetus rolls his eyes. "I'm going to take a nap." He mutters, closing his eyes.

As everyone converses, Matsu realizes that a lot of the people they met are among those hoping to become soldiers. The sole exception is Kandy, who lost her place in line after having to purge the fly from her mouth.

He feels someone looking at him and turns to see Sherry staring. She immediately looks away upon noticing him, but Matsu clearly noticed. He makes a mental note to talk to her later…

As things grow quiet, everyone begins to hear the familiar noise of a carriage approaching.

"Here we go!" Joel cheers. "First carriage of the day! Was afraid we were going to have to wait a while."

Syla says nothing but is clearly excited to begin the journey to Sukehiro Inn.

"Finally, let's get this thing going already." Admetus says, opening his eyes and standing up.

"I'm so excited to see how the people of the Ace Kingdom live!" Glynis smiles. "I wonder if we'll be able to milk a cow like some kind of farmer!"

"Alright, let's do this!" Pollo says. "The road to Sorcerer Soldier stardom starts now!"

Aim is quiet, holding a hand to her forehead. She looks slightly unnerved.

"This will be incredibly exciting." Ru says with a smile. "I can't wait to see what happens after this."

Aurora and Atlas stay silent, looking concernedly at Matsu. Could they really keep the secret that he's their triplet? The mention of Commander Zora reminded them that it was going to be incredibly difficult…

Matsu stares down at his grimoire, feeling its cover. He was of course glad to have one, but he just had a certain feeling about it that made him slightly unsettled.

The carriage pulls up to the kids, and the driver motions for them to board. They begin to do so, one after the other. The three Edelias siblings are the last to board.

In the forest surrounding the GDC, two figures stare at the carriage.

"For countless centuries I have been awaiting their return. They are finally in my grasp…" A voice says.

"Yes, my queen." An incredibly familiar voice agrees. "The love of your life...and the person you hate the most in this world."

ACE CLIPSSS #5

Aurora: I have nothing against commoners! In fact, I'm friends with some.

Pollo: Including me?

Aurora: Absolutely not.

Pollo: No no, we are friends.

Aurora: I said no!

Pollo: Well I don't take no for an answer, Rora!

Aurora: That's creepy, and don't call me Rora again.

Pollo: I didn't mean it like that…

The Curse of Immortality: Start.

One Fateful Day (Part 7)

A/N: Lol some of you will be happy to know that the next part will be the last part in the One Fateful Day section. Also check out the new cover! Courtesy of lightofthedeep on Twitter .