Jean Colbert was a somewhat simple man who wanted nothing but to live an uneventful life. His goals were simple : teach the new generation of nobles in the art of magic, keep them safe and create new inventions to help building a better future for everyone.
In a perfect world, he would be happy and content with this. But the world isn't perfect and now more than ever, Jean wished to go back in time and correct his mistakes. He wished that she was still here, that it was only a nightmare.
"Professor ? The headmaster is requiring your presence in his office."
The bald man looked up from his work to see a young maid calling for him. It was time for him to answer about what happened that fateful day. With little enthusiasm, he stood up and made his way to what felt like hell at the moment.
The room's atmosphere was so heavy that it felt like he was drowning in it. Each breath he took was unbearable.
"Where is my daughter?"
And being threatened by the most powerful woman of the whole contry...no the whole continent didn't made the poor professor feeling better.
"Duchesse Vallière, please calm yourself. Killing him will not make Louise reappear." Said a purple haired girl.
"The princess is right mother. Please, I'm sure he can explain what happened." Pleaded a pink haired young woman.
Karin, the heavy wind, lowered her blade from his neck with a sigh. "I'm sorry your majesty, Cattleya...you both are right."
"Jean... Now that your life is no more in danger from the duchesse's...hum...sorrow? Could you please explain again what happened to miss Valière?" Asked the headmaster Osmond.
Colbert looked at the ground and, with a trembling voice, told them everything. "Louise...Louise always was a difficult student. Not because of her problems with magic but because of her mindset. She was brilliant, curious and she could be really sweet too." He sighed." If only the others could have seen her for that instead of just a failure... Her explosions and the pride she used with others made her a pariah. She had no friends, no success, nothing but the will to try again. But after I took note of the long spleepless nights she used to study, I started to asign a maid, the young Siesta, to keep her company and healthy. But everyday the report Siesta gave me would be worse than the previous one...and then the summoning ritual came."
For the first time since the incident, the bald teacher smiled a little. "She did it. After long long nights of suffering and tears, Louise did it. The beast was beautiful. It was a serpentine looking iron dragon with two guargantuan wings made of solid blue light and a single red shining eye. You sould have seen her smile. She was so happy... And then everything went to hell. After Louise tried to bind her familiar, the beast started shrieking like a banshee. It was so loud that me and most of my students became deaf for the rest of the day. It trapped Louise in weird cage made of the same light as it's wings and...and then...the sky opened. A hole surrounded with lightning appeared above the academy. I tried to stop it but...the dragon took Louise and flew into the portal. The sky returned to normal only a second later like nothing happened."
Silence reigned after the near crying Colbert finished. Almost everyone was in shock and nobody felt like being optimistic, fearing to just give themselve more pain with false hopes.
Karin, however, was thinking. "Did you see what was behind the portal?" She asked the professor.
"Not really... All I could see was a huge copper circle floating in a dark space filled with stars." He answered, closing his eyes to see it again and focus. "There was also a blue sphere, like it was made of water and near it was a pearl ? No not a pearl, it was the size of it but it also looked like it was really far away. It was so far, other spheres were closer but that one was so different, it felt different, pure, warm, powerful and...I'm sorry that's all I can remember."
Karin trembled. "I-It's quite alright professor."
"Mother? Do you know this place? You look disturbed." Cattleya asked with worry.
"I'm sorry your majesty, headmaster. But I just remembered that I need to do something important to do. Please continue your research and inform me if you learn more." She then bowed before leaving with haste, her daughter following behind.
"Alright Louise, I think everything is in order and should be working now."
"Are you sure? It seemed way too simple." Said girl signed while she started to gently glide down from the ceiling of Eido's new laboratory.
"Well yes. As long as your calculations are correct..." Aswered the cheerful eliksni.
"My calculations are always correct." The pinkette pouted a little.
"Indeed. And I must say, I'm glad that you listened and took Lord Kirwan's lessons. I love my new workspace but I didn't felt like asking the Venguard for a ladder or, by the Light, scaffolding just for a few pipes. May your ability to fly be blessed."
"I can do more than fly you know?"
"Really now ?" Wondered a sceptical Eido.
Louise sighed a little before lifting one of her hands that started to glow with a deep purple light. "Cool...shiny...hand..." She said.
"Right. Shiny hand."
"Cool...shiny...hand." Corrected Louise.
Eido looked at her friend with a deadpanned look. "Indeed little Louise."
"I'm not little." Signed an offended pinkette.
"Sure. Sure." Giggled Eido.
"Urgh..." Moaned a tired Louise with her head against a table.
After helping Eido with the construction of her lab the young Void learner returned to her studies. Usualy, she would be having no trouble finishing any theorical or practical assignement but this time was different.
"Having troubles ?" Asked a female voice next to her ear.
Louise screemed in fear before coughing and holding her throat in pain.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry Louise!" The voice was a small Ghost with a spectral circuit shell with the bloody tooth shader. "I should have made my presence known! Are you okay? Do you need something? Please sign to me!"
"I'm...fine...Edel...weiss." Answered the girl. "But don't do it again please." She added with a small frown. "Or I will tell father."
"You wouldn't dare. And if you do, I'll tell Kirwan that you use the word 'father' to replace his name when you sign."
Louise pouted a little while blushing. "It's easier that way. And it is fitting with our relation, I think."
"Oh I know. But I also know that if he lean about it he will brag about it with the other lightbarers and most of the city inhabitants. Oh wouldn't that be embarassing for you little louise~"
"Little...devil." Louise wispered before returing to her work.
The Ghost hovered over Louise's shoulder to look her studies. "What are you doing?"
"All right Louise, show me your work."
With a nod, she stood in front of a practice dummy, closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She reached for her Light, took hold of it and guided it to her left palm to create a ball of purple flame-like energy. She made it grow to the size of a soccer ball before tossing it with a backhand move.
The ball flew slowly towards the dummy in a straight line. Louise and Kirwan looked at it go with apprehension and curiosity respectively.
Then it made contact and exploded with a loud cracking sound, reducing the target as nothing.
Nothing was left, Kirwan tried to use his Light to feel the atoms that should have still be present but he felt nothing. Even the oxygen aroud the dummy was absent.
That should have been impossible. The philosophy and power of the void revolved around space manipulation. When something was disintegrated by the void, it was because the Guardian forcefully separated the atoms composing said thing. To be able to manipulate void with so much power that it could break down atoms themselves...it was too much. Even Ghosts wouldn't be able to revive someone who was struck by this power.
Louise needed to learn how to control this before she killed someone by accident using it...or herself.
"Louise..." Said girl looked at him with a proud smile, probably waiting for praises and compliments for her good work. "You are banned from using your Light outside from our training sessions." Happiness left and a betrayed look took it's place. She seemed ready to lash out in anger before he stoped her. "Let me finish. I'll ask for a leave from the field and I will, starting next week, train you every morning from six to midday. This new schedule will until you are fully in control of this. Am I clear?"
Louise nodded while staring at the ground to hide her tears. "Fine..." She didn't understand. Did she fail? Was it not enough? Was she a failure? Was she a...zero?
She started to sob quietly, seeing a blury red haired girl mocking her. Laughter, all she heard was people laughing at her failure. It was unbearable, why was it happening? She covered her ears to try to stop hearing them.
"Louise!" Then, it stopped. She felt his arms around her. "I'm sorry Louise..."
"Why..? I'm...failure..." Hearing this made him hold her closer.
"No Louise... You are not a failure, quite the opposite. You are strong, too strong. I just want you to be safe, to be in control of your powers. I should have told you that first...I'm sorry."
"Thank...you...fa-" She stoped herself before the end and looked at him in hope that he didn't notice what she was about to say.
"All right. I guess it's time to go home now." If he did notice, he was doing a great job at hiding it. "Come...my child." Or not.
Louise sighed deeply, knowing well that she would hear about this for an eternity.