When Tulip turned after Daedrik finished speaking she was greeted by a room of silence, everyone—Even Kendrick and Lushia were absolutely silent. Most of us were silent in awe of her accomplishments, others were silent from their boiling jealousy.

  But what Tulip had truly done more than accomplish a crushing victory was set a tone, maybe even a proper competition between the students. Everyone who remaining wanted to show her up, leaving the remaining crowd of students to throw themselves into danger without even the slightest sense of self preservation.

  The primarily notable ones amongst those numbers were Hico, Erick, and Lucia—All three of them managed to win their fights with relative ease, especially when they were compared to the majority of the other students.

  Most of the other students needed Dedrik to step in directly in order to save them, the Golem either proving too fast, durable or outright strong for them to attempt handling.

  Those three however stood out amongst them, not only by winning—Over a dozen others had won as well—But by how quickly they won. All three of them had finished their fights in times similar to my own, which had proven to be… far above the average skill level of the other students.

  Hico had likely the most impressive fight of the trio, mostly thanks to how absurdly powerful his attacks proved to be. With simple motions he expunged tidal waves of mana that manifested into torrents of water, so much water that the entire room still felt damp.

  Lucia and Erick were far less otherworldly in their victories, albeit they were still matches that were won with far more grace than mine. Lucia had effortlessly danced around the Golem, poking and slashing at it with a plain rapier until enough of its body had frozen over for her to shatter it with a final strike.

  Erick’s victory was performed in nearly a polar opposite manner to Lucia—Where Lucia danced and prodded the Golem for its weaknesses, Erick ran face first into the Golem’s strikes with every intention to beat the stone monstrosity into submission.

  Somehow that utterly blunt strategy worked in his favor, his fiery blade clashing alongside molten fists into the Golem’s body. Every clash tore chunks away from the Golem, scattering magmatic debris across the ground that quickly solidified into obstructive chunks of stone along the ground.

  When Erick’s final strike came it was in the form of a hefty slash that was soon followed by a powerful punch with his free arm. The resounding impact echoed as a dull thwack that I felt pound into my chest, nearly knocking the wind from my lungs. For a solemn few moments I was left to wonder if the strike did win the match—Until the Golem began to crumble, falling into dozens of parts. With an explosive exhale, Erick stepped back. Daedrik didn’t wait for him to settle before his own booming voice called out.

  “Excellent!” Daedrik bellowed, a haughty chuckle escaping from him soon after. “Now, I know you must all be curious about what the next trial shall be.” He turned around, facing the crowd with widened arms. However, before he continued he raised a single finger forwards, wagging it gently.

  “But, to find out about that you must wait. You have two months to prepare, so I do hope you’ll all be ready!” Once Daedrik finished the students and teachers moved to intermingle once more—Many students moved to congratulate one another, I was about to do the same before Carmine grabbed my shoulder. Akemi did make sure to let her annoyance be known, releasing a small yip before Carmine spoke.to l

  “Kirin,” Carmine began, her eyes narrowed into a serious expression while her tone held gravity to it. I found my gaze drawn to her violet eyes, her typically soft expression was replaced by a steely glare of anger ready to boil over. “Why don’t we go and get a treat—Think of it as a reward for winning.” Carmine offered in a deceptively soft tone that hardly matched her steely expression.

  “O-Oh… Uhm, a-alright?” I answered confusedly. My eyes momentarily flickered over to Tulip, she already had a growing crowd of students around her. Every student that approached her did so with congratulations in mind, meanwhile almost no one bothered looking my way.

  “Come on.” Carmine insisted as she began walking away, gently trailing her fingers away from my shoulder as she did.

  A soft huff escaped my lips before I followed after her, my eyes finally tearing their gaze away from the gathered students.

  During the short walk up the spiraling stairs I opted to flex my mana, releasing the halberd in my grip as I did so. The result was a faint flicker of light, it was soon followed by a gentle sound of sparkles akin to powdered glass scattering across the ground.

  The sun had already long since set into the horizon when we resurfaced from the subterranean chambers. Golden rays cast themselves across the waning sky, scattered by both the trees behind the school and the great mountain ranges still, albeit faintly, visible in the distance.

  I spent several moments appreciating the scenic view, feeling the horizon sparkle against my eyes—Until Carmine continued walking away, forcing me to quickly jog in order to catch up with her.

  My frantic footfalls eventually slowed down, reaching a more casual walking pace once I fell in line beside Carmine while we silently entered into the school.

  “So, where are we going?” I finally broached once the silence grew overwhelming.

  “You’ll see, come on.” Carmine gestured before continuing forwards at a redoubled pace.

  My lips narrowed into a thin line, but I followed Carmine’s increased pace all the same. She gracefully took every corner inside of the school with confidence in her strides, marching without care into a section of the school I hadn’t even seen yet. It was a narrow hall, dull and bland compared to the rest of the school. However, the far end of it held an equally narrow staircase.

  “There’s a second floor to the school?” I asked curiously, casting my gaze to Carmine again—Although, the more I thought about it after asking the question, the more sense it made. Especially when I remembered just how large the library was.

  “It was never finished. Probably never will be finished, but there’s a nice spot up here,” Carmine answered with a soft smile. “My teacher showed it to me when I passed my first trial in my first year here. I figured I should do the same for you.” Carmine slowed her pace once more, setting each foot down carefully as she began up the staircase.

  “How long ago did you go to school here?” I inquired as I followed only a few paces behind her. I was rather curious to try and learn more about Carmine, she never left many opportunities for me to ask more questions about her.

  “Hmm… about fourteen years ago.” She answered after only a few moments of thought.

  “How many years did you attend—Tulip told me that it was three to five years before people graduated.” I asked before silence could attempt settling in.

  “Only one.” Carmine answered courtly.

  Her answer left me stunned for several moments. Dozens of thoughts raced through my head as I thought about what that could mean: Was she a dropout? Or had she been such an overwhelming prodigy that she only needed a single year? Maybe she had something else more important to do?—All of my questions converged into one, simple statement that could encompass them all.

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  “Why?” I dared to ask. Fear prickled along my back from the question, fear that grew more palpable once Carmine stopped at the top of the staircase. Carmine let out a slow, contemplative sigh before she answered.

  “I never wanted to be here,” Carmine cast her gaze down to where I stood, still several steps below her. The stairs suddenly felt like an endless void, one which expanded behind me while an impalpable pressure originated from Carmine. “Never wanted to be a student, at least. But my family forced me to, I was irresponsible… and I ran away because of it.”

  Carmine’s violet eyes dug into me once again, narrowed like that of a predator determining the worth of their prey. But, it didn’t take long for her gaze to soften out once again—Returning to an impassive neutrality as she turned forwards.

  “Just a little bit further, come on.” She insisted before continuing onwards.

  I was frozen in place, my feet rooted into the wooden stairs while my head raced for more questions and potential answers for those questions. But I knew I wouldn’t find any of those answers if I remained where I was—So, I forced myself onwards.

  Once I crested the top of the stairs I was welcomed by the decrepit section of the school, the wooden floor lay rotten while the walls were rough and unfinished. The borderline raw bricks holding visible chunks of stone that had never been flattened out. The entire hallway was illuminated by the grandiose glass ceiling that lay above it, curled into an archway that scattered the starlight into a million individual flecks across the perfect imperfections.

  I only just noticed which door Carmine had walked through, pressing one at the far end of the hall open before her amethyst hair faded through the passage.

  With careful steps I followed after her. I carefully watched wherever my feet fell in order to avoid falling straight through the decaying floor until I reached the doorway Carmine walked through.

  Carmine stood just outside of the door, leaning over a stone railing of a surprisingly well kept balcony. Scattered starlight cast down upon the rails as if they were all placed by someone planning a show, giving the grayish white stone an almost ethereal hue. Lastly there was the brilliant sight in the distance.

  I honestly hadn’t realized how high the school must have been in the air until this very moment, because in the distance I could see all of Berinia. Or, at least, I thought it was all of it.

  Arcadia sat so far in the distance that its lights were like another spec, barely larger than one of the stars above—Yet I could see its expanse hugging the warm embrace of the southern ocean. So grand and blue was the ocean that it cast itself into the horizon, far beyond what I could ever hope to see.

  Further north and much closer to us was Ferilis. It sat near the center of the country with hundreds of rivers and lakes around it, swirling and spiraling in intricate patterns that looked nearly drawn as opposed to the natural chaos I would have expected.

  I didn’t dare to break the silence as I approached Carmine, standing just next to her as I looked out across the great distance of Berinia. Even Akemi seemed enthralled by the spectacle, having hopped off of my shoulder and onto the railing to take in the sights.

  “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” Carmine asked without turning her head away from the sights for even a moment.

  “It… is,” I said slowly. “I-Is this what you wanted to show me?” I quickly asked.

  “Partially it is,” She answered with a distant voice. “But I also needed somewhere that no one would overhear a conversation to talk with you.” With a heavy sigh, Carmine turned her gaze towards me. Her eyes were low, filled with a mixture of emotions that I couldn’t even begin to decipher—Maybe it was some sort of regret? But I couldn’t be sure.

  “Kirin, do you have any plans for your life?” Carmine suddenly asked. Her eyes met my own, her gaze filled with a weight that I couldn’t understand.

  “What do you mean?” I asked uncertainly.

  “What do you plan to do with your life after you leave this school? What are you pursuing to do?” Carmine paused for a moment, sighing out a heavy breath before she asked one final question. “What drives you to fight so hard?”

  I paused, opening my mouth partially before snapping it shut. It wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar question to be asked—I knew I didn’t belong here, I was surrounded by people who hated me and wanted to kill me. I had nothing here other than Tulip, but I felt a simple answer bubbling up in the back of my head.

  “I want to prove to everyone that they’re wrong about me—That I’m not evil,” I sighed slowly, shaking my head at my own answer. “I can’t even remember my parents' faces, their voices, what they acted like—There’s nothing I can remember. But, I do remember something about my dad.” I looked back up, meeting Carmine’s gaze with determination.

  “I don’t know what he did, but if he was even a tenth of the person that some faint instincts tell me he was? Then I need to prove to everyone that he wasn’t what they think he was, that I’m not what they think I am.” I clenched my hands into tight fists, raising one to my chest slowly.

  “I was blessed by finding my magic days before my execution. So, if magic is the answer to that plight, then I have my own answer; I’ll become a War Mage if I have to.” Once I finished speaking I turned my eyes up to Carmine. I was surprised to see her expression, a mixture of loathing and satisfaction now resting on her face.

  “And you’ll reach that by any means necessary then, right?” Carmine asked as if just to make certain.

  “Not by any means—I don’t want to kill people to prove a point,” I answered, relieved when I saw a more satisfied look on Carmine’s face from my answer. “But I’ll prove to everyone, not today, not tomorrow, but some day, that I can be different.”

  Carmine reached a hand out, placing it on my shoulder with a soft nod and a smile on her face.

  “I’m sure that both of your parents would be happy to have heard that… Actually, no, I’m certain they would be.” Carmine gave a strangely knowing smile after her statement—One which brought a smile to my face, but a question to mind at the same time.

  “Did… you know my parents?” I asked hopelessly.

  “I knew your father, for a very short period of time,” She answered with regret wet on her tongue. “He was far more like the man you just described than what anyone else will ever dare to say.” Carmine’s words weren’t followed by silence, instead they were followed by an unfiltered onslaught of questions.

  “Wait—You actually knew him?! What was he like?—How did you know him? Did you meet me when I was younger?” I asked question after question, forcing Carmine to pull her head back marginally.

  “I knew him because I was the one assigned to be his executioner,” Carmine answered as soon as my questions ceased. Before I could even attempt to ask more questions Carmine continued. “In the end it wasn’t my blade that found his neck, but I was the last one to know him.” Carmine spoke in a defeated tone. Her unbreakable posture, her aura of confidence suddenly all faded away—In that moment, she looked just like how I felt. A weak, lost girl. Someone just trying to find answers to questions they didn’t know how to ask.

  “It was… his last wish to me, that I manage to train you if some miracle could ordain it,” Carmine forced a smile to her lips. Her smile however couldn’t hold back the tears I felt welling up in my eyes, nor could her gentle hug that wrapped around my shoulders. “I’m sorry Kirin, I really, truthfully, am sorry.”

  It was like something inside of me broke when Carmine spoke those words. Some invisible barrier that held back the sorrow with a layer of defences, a barrier that suddenly had its foundation of uncertainty torn away.

  I let my head sink into Carmine’s shoulder—I didn’t try and hold back the relentless tears that broke free. It was almost like a barrier was broken, some mental block, some stupid idea in my head that maybe, maybe somehow, by some miracle, he was still alive. I had known it was idiotic, I knew he was dead, but I still tried to hold some hope.

  But broken hope was filled in with gentle comfort. At that moment Carmine didn’t feel like a stranger who happened to train me because I was interesting, but instead she felt like a big sister. She felt like safety itself, she felt like the only warmth I had left to rely upon.

  By the time the soothing hug came to an end it wasn’t because I had calmed. My body was still shaking with sorrow, but no more tears could bring themselves out of my body.

  “I know this is a bad time…” Carmine spoke slowly, her gaze doing its best to meet my own. “But something has come up in Ferilis, I have to attend it for the next few weeks.” Carmine stood back up with a painfully slow exhale.

  “You'll be fine for a little bit, right?” Carmine asked uncertainly.

  “I’ll be fine.” I lied through my teeth, nodding my head along to try and force any reassurement to Carmine. I could tell that she saw through the facade, but she smiled all the same.

  “You’re a strong girl, Kirin. Go and get some rest, tomorrow will be the last day of training you’ll have with me for a few weeks.” With a final pat on my shoulder Carmine gently pushed me towards the door.

  I couldn’t help but continue forwards, my body was running on its own. The last thing I had to find comfort from that night was Akemi—After hopping onto my shoulder she nuzzled against my face, as if feeling all my sorrow for herself.

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