Albac: Awakening Chapter 3 - The Letter, a misc. books fanfic

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Chapter 3: The Letter

I woke up with a start, my left hand clenched as it reached towards the ceiling. I blinked a bit before finally realizing that I was alone in my apartment. My breathing was a bit fast and my face was drenched with cold sweat as I recalled the nightmare I had just experienced. It was rather vivid and daunting, and felt strangely real. I shook my head to clear my thoughts of the nightmare and rubbed my eyes. I glanced over to the opposite side of the room, which had a small desk. On the light brown desk, made from wood, there was an alarm clock, which showed the current time to be just a bit past noon. I sat up with a jolt and looked over to my right, where a small window provided me with a look to the outside. The snow from yesterday was mostly melted and had left behind puddles. Water steadily dripped from the roof of the building down onto the sidewalk. The skies were clear and the sun was shining brilliantly, a sharp contrast from yesterday. I removed the bedsheets off myself as I let out a slight yawn. Looking down, I saw I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday.

"Odd," I said out loud as I stood up, thinking I must have been extremely exhausted after classes yesterday. I walked to my small set of old mahogany drawers, which had 3 drawers and stood next to my desk. I opened the top drawer and rummaged through it until I found my tracksuit and a change of boxers. Every weekend I would go for a light jog around the neighborhood, which was about 3 miles long for a roundtrip. This morning I opted to take a shower first, to clean myself of the cold sweat. I made my way over to the small bathroom which was attached to the bedroom and pushed the door forward. The door let out a slight creak as it opened and I stepped in, leaving the old wooden door open behind me.

I reached for the light switch, flipping it on. I covered my eyes with my right hand as the bathroom lit up with bright white light, giving my eyes a few moments to get adjusted. I placed my change of clothes on the sink counter before I turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature, waiting for the water to be warm. I unstrapped my watch and pulled off the chain on my neck, placing them both on a small towel next to the sink. I pulled off my sweater and hung it on a hook on the wall. I peeled off the slightly wet white t-shirt which clung to my skin, followed by the rest of my clothing. I stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run over me. Images from the nightmare flashed through my mind as I showered. The image that appeared the most was of a beautiful, but cocky, woman. I winced slightly, clutching my stomach as I recalled being kneed in the nightmare. For some reason, I just couldn't seem to forget about that nightmare, which was unusual since I rarely ever remembered a dream or nightmare.

I finished and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a white towel to dry myself off. The mirror above the sink was slightly obscured from the steam caused by the warm shower. I used my right palm to clear the mirror and looked at my reflection. I saw an average height guy, about 5 feet and 7 inches, staring back at me with dark brown eyes. There was a mess of slightly damp hair, which was short and naturally black. There weren't really any distinguishing features aside from a small 4-pack, built up from running and doing sit-ups during my free time. There were no signs of any bruises or injuries anywhere on my left shoulder which made me think that the nightmare could not be real. I finished drying myself off, ending with my hair before placing the towel on a horizontal gray colored rod next to the sink. I put on the change of clothes which consisted of boxers and the tracksuit. I picked up the chain and put it on my neck.

I heard the steady sound of a watch and glanced at the side of the sink. The sound was coming from the old watch which hadn't worked for as long as I could remember. The time, which was previously stuck on 2:21 had finally began to move and it was accurately reflecting the current time of 1:00 pm. A sudden realization hit me that the watch had begun to work on the first day of the second month, which marked my 21st birthday. Surely that was just a mere coincidence. I picked up the watch and carried it out of the bathroom, placing it next to the alarm clock on the desk. I checked my phone and saw that the battery was less than 10%. I sighed a bit as I plugged it into a charger and left it on my desk as well.

I would normally skip breakfast on the weekends, which helped save a bit of money. I saw the ramen I purchased last night laying on the kitchen counter. I grabbed my keys and opened my apartment door, locking it behind me. I placed the keys in my tracksuit pants and zipped the pocket, then headed down the stairs. The weather, which was supposed to be cold today, felt normal to me. I reached the bottom of the stairs and exited the apartment complex. There were plenty of people walking about on the sidewalks and several cars driving by, a sharp contrast from the previous night. I heard the normal bustle of the busy city, which included a melody of honks, cussing, and friendly banter. I noticed that there seemed to be a unique color aura surrounding the outline of each person, which made me blink to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. The auras remained even after blinking, perhaps a result of the strange nightmare playing tricks on my mind. I ignored it as I stretched a bit, loosening up my muscles. I began to run around the neighborhood, enjoying the pleasant warm feeling of the sun.

The Great Elder and Ceyma, who were currently not visible to anyone, watched the male from the skies by using levitation and invisibility. Levitation was basic magic, but utilizing it to fly required tremendous skill and control. Invisibility was an inherently complex skill which required in-depth knowledge, and only the Elders knew how to execute that magic since it was taught through a book which was housed in the same room as Obsidiaz.

"Is that him?" asked Ceyma, pointing to the male which the Great Elder was looking at. She had insisted on tagging along with the Great Elder, regardless of his protests.

"Yes, that is Albac Miston," replied the Great Elder, still unsure of her intent.

"I don't know what reasons you and Marz have to be favoring him, but we should get rid of him while we still can," said Ceyma, her right hand wrapped around a dagger in her robes. "That's why you wanted to come see him personally, right?"

"Patience, Ceyma. We have no reason to harm the boy and he hasn't done anything wrong. We only came here to deliver the letter," replied the Great Elder, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't want to upset Marz and go against what he said. You should know the punishment for harming innocent people."

"Ah, whatever," she said, thinking about the punishment for harming innocent people as she released her grip on the handle. The punishment would involve a ritual where Obsidiaz was used to restrain individuals as they were stripped of any magic power they had, leaving them to be a normal human. There was also a death penalty, which was reserved only for extreme cases and was rarely used.

"We will talk to him once he comes back to his apartment, and don't interfere in the conversation," he warned her.

Ceyma merely shrugged as the two watched, waiting for the male to finish his exercise routine.

I finished my run around the neighborhood and came to a stop in front of my apartment complex. Sweat ran down my face as I caught my breath, having sprinted the last little bit of the way. The workout had been pleasant, and seemed easier than usual. My body felt light and energetic, rather than feeling exhausted like I normally would. I made my way up the stairs to my apartment and pulled my keys out, unlocking the door. I walked in and flipped on the switch, turning the lights on. I turned around to push the door shut, but the door wouldn't shut fully and was met with resistance. I looked down, seeing a brown shoe preventing the door from shutting. A hand was also sticking in through the gap. I moved towards the door and tried to forcibly shut it, but to no avail.

"Pardon the intrusion," said a voice as the hand pushed the door forward, opening it fully. In the doorway stood two robed figures. The taller figure, who had spoken, was a guy and the other figure was seemed to be a woman, based on her outline. I darted into the kitchen and opened a drawer, pulling out a dull kitchen knife with my right hand and pointing it towards the odd people.

"Looks like he wants to play," said a woman's voice as the smaller figure pulled out a dagger from the confines of her robes. The dagger looked sharp and had an indent in the middle of the blade, which held a green liquid. The liquid dripped down, somewhat burning through the floor. I had no idea what the liquid was, and had no intention of finding out.

"Behave," said the guy as he extended his arm in front of the woman, blocking her. "We are not here to harm him, Ceyma," he said, providing me with the name of the woman. Some more liquid dripped from her dagger, leaving dark burn marks.

This odd situation seemed like my nightmare from last night, which made me question if I was really awake. I pinched my left arm a bit, wincing as I felt a bit of pain. This was not a dream, which made me think of how to get out of this situation.

"We are just here to talk," said the robed guy as he took a step forward.

"Stay away," I said, my hand shaking slightly as it gripped the handle with both hands, steadying the shaking.

The woman referred to as Ceyma took this chance to jolt forward past the guy and pushed me down onto the ground with inhuman strength as she pinned me. I struggled to move as I released the knife, letting it fall onto the ground next to me.

"So weak and pitiful," said the woman as she brought the dagger near me. "We should carve him up," she said as she brought the dagger near the left side of my face, letting the liquid fall onto the ground.

"Stop at once, Ceyma," yelled the guy, striding towards us.

"Relax, I haven't done anything," she replied.

I could smell the faint smell of mild burning from the floor. By now, I was angrier than anything else. My right wrist moved as my hand reached for the knife and touched the blade, the blade cutting slightly into my hand. I felt for the handle and gripped it hard. I felt warm blood coursing through my body rapidly, as if something was changing inside me. A drop of blood fell from my hand down onto the floor, seeping into the floor. The room lit up with a bright red flash as a blood red circle appeared on the ground underneath me. The same color radiated as a glow from my body as well, which seared into the woman's robes. I felt a surge of strength and managed to move my right arm, slashing at the woman's left arm. The robe tore, exposing her arm as she recoiled away. I stood up, steadying myself. My body felt warm, but I was strangely calm now, my anger controlled.

"What is happening with him?" asked Ceyma as she backed up to the Great Elder.

"The restriction which was placed upon on him as a child was to be undone when he turns 21, but it seems like it has been significantly weakened and his sheer will broke the restriction," replied the Great Elder.

"What restriction and how do you and Marz know about this boy? Just what is he?" asked Ceyma.

"Now is not the time to be discussing such trivial matters, Ceyma," said the Great Elder.

"Don't think you two can keep secrets forever from everyone else," Ceyma said.

"What do you two want from me?" I asked them, interrupting their brief conversation.

"We are just here to talk," replied the Great Elder.

"Talk by attacking me?" I asked, pointing the knife, which was coated in a layer of red light, at the woman.

"Ceyma did that on her own, she doesn't know any better," the Great Elder replied.

"I'm sure you're confused and angry, but we are here to explain things to you."
I lowered the knife, but held onto it for now. The anger had subsided a bit, as I studied the two individuals calmly.

"If you're here to talk, then why are you concealing who you are?" I asked, looking at the Great Elder.

"Ah, it will probably help if I show who I am," he replied as his hands went up to the hold and grasped onto it, pulling it back and exposing his head.

I shook my head as I saw the familiar face, refusing to believe it.

"Mason," I said, my hand releasing the knife and letting it fall onto the floor.

The red circle underneath me was a deep shade of red by now, and the ground began to rumble slightly.
"Albac, you need to close that immediately!" yelled Mason, his right index finger pointing to the circle underneath me.

A small, oddly-shaped, red hand appeared out of the circle. Whatever it was, it seemed to be pulling itself up from the ground. Seconds later, a small triangular head popped out from the ground.

"How do I stop this?" I asked as I stepped away from the circle, wary of whatever was coming from the circle.

"Relax your mind and think of something soothing," Mason replied.

"Wouldn't it be faster to kill him, the caster, and have the flow of magic stopped?" asked Ceyma.

"Enough of your nonsense for now," replied Mason in a cold voice.

"Let him concentrate."

I closed my eyes and thought back to the last time I had seen my sister, though it was a bit vague now. Her warm smile always brightened my day and filled me with hope. She was the last bit of my family, and I treasured her. Slowly, the mental picture became clearer in my mind and helped me relax. The strange energy I felt earlier began to dissipate, the red glow slowly fading away from the circle. I opened my eyes and glanced at the ground. After a bit, the circle had completely vanished from the ground, along with whatever was trying to come through it.

"What was that?" I asked as I looked up, seeing that Mason had a sword in his right hand which was angled towards where the circle had been.

"That was a demon, which is something you can summon," he replied as he placed the sword back in it's sheath.

"I know this is a lot to take in, especially since you didn't know about the existence of magic."

I nodded, still confused about what had just transpired.

"Ceyma and I are here to give you a letter from the leader of Myrei, which is the magic society," said Mason.

"We don't know what is written in it, but it's probably an invitation to join us," he said as he slid a hand into his robes and pulled out a black envelope.

"You can accept or decline after you read it," he said as he walked towards me and extended his right hand which held the letter.

I took the envelope and peered down at it. The front of the envelope had my name written in gold lettering, which shined slightly.

"Sorry, but we must leave now," said Mason as he placed his left hand on Ceyma's right shoulder, steering her towards the door.

"Wait, there's so much I need to ask you," I said, moving towards them.

"Now's not the time, Albac. You must first read the letter and choose the road you want to walk," said Mason as he and Ceyma stepped out and vanished.

I ran to the door and glanced out, seeing no sign of them. I looked around for a bit before giving up and heading back into my apartment, locking the door behind me. I still had the envelope in my hand and tossed it aside on my bed for the moment, still needing to take a shower after my jog. I took a relatively quick shower and came out, finding a comfortable pair of pajamas to wear. I picked up the envelope and turned it, looking at the back. The envelope was sealed shut with golden wax. The wax had an odd texture, with a rather curious, but familiar, symbol stamped into it. I went to my desk and picked up my watch and compared the two symbols, which were identical. I carried the envelope with me and slid into bed, a bit mentally exhausted. How could something from my father contain the same symbol as the envelope? Had my parents been a part of this magic society? Too many thoughts and questions clouded my mind and I opened the envelope and pulled out an old-fashioned parchment, beginning to read the letter.