The cold, early morning gaze of the sun lay before me. Golden rays were effortlessly cast across the horizon, scattering against the almost entirely ethereal barrier that protected the school into a thousand blistering bolts of light.

  I stood in the training ground alongside Tulip, awaiting the arrival of Levi, he was late, again. It had once again come as an absolute surprise that Levi of all people would end up being late to one of the morning training sessions, and yet, here we were waiting on him.

  This time however Levi wasn’t going to make us wait as long as previous. The rumble of his heavy footsteps echoed against the earth, leaving the ground to quiver in his march towards us. Yet, alongside that earthen rumble was a sense of static coursing through the air—Tingling with power that searched for any gap it could be released into.

  Levi and Carmine both approached us, walking side-by-side. Each of their steps fell in a seemingly practiced and perfected unison with one another. They were silent as they approached—Carmine kept her arms crossed just under her chest while Levi held a single arm partially before him. In his palm he held a small, spherical crystal that I easily recognized.

  “Morning.” Levi greeted with a steady tone. He calmly walked past us, sending a barely palpable flex of mana into the earth as he did. That faint surge of mana brought forth a thin stone pedestal, upon which he rested the measurement crystal.

  "Are you remeasuring our levels already?” Tulip asked with a quirked brow.

  “Yes but there is—” Levi began, just to be cut off by Carmine’s jovial voice.

  “Yep!—Two reasons for it as well,” Carmine spoke out in a far more overpowering voice, bringing Levi to just sigh. “For one, you’ve both grown a lot. Albeit, I’m not too familiar with your growth, Your Highness.” Carmine gave a surprising level of respect to Tulip. Everyone else always spoke to Tulip rather casually, while Carmine actually addressed her with a title. It was something I found rather odd.

  “And for two, I’d like to see if that oddity Levi described to me about Kirin’s magic holds true.” She soon added as her violet gaze settled onto me.

  “As Carmine said,” Levi sighed out. His eyes shifted over, narrowed into a glare at the electric woman before he continued. “After the measurements we’ll have a few exercises, but today will be light on everything. Tulip, you’re first.”

  Once Levi finished speaking he stepped to the side, gesturing to the crystalline sphere that rested upon the pedestal.

  Tulip stood still for a moment, her eyes closed as she took in a deep, steadying breath. As she exhaled she began forwards, walking with forced confidence.

  It was strange as I watched her—The oddity I could feel originating from her, almost like I could feel the anxiety that bubbled through her body. It was like an intoxicating aura, one which exuded from her and settled into me to such a degree that anxiety began to rise. It was an uncomfortable itch, rising and crawling along my back.

  The aura of dread reached its peak once Tulip stood before the measurement crystal, her hand hovering mere inches above the lustrous frame of the sphere. With a final inhale, Tulip lowered her hand and embraced the crystal within her grip.

  For several moments the crystal didn’t change, keeping its clear, glassy coloration with no notable changes. They were heartbeats that spanned for centuries—Fear even began to rise from Tulip, palpable and visible on her face. However, the instant the crystal began changing color her face softened into utter relief.

  While the color began at the brilliant orange that the crystal had previously taken, that orange shade was far from the most prevalent within its crystalline walls. A bright, lime green coloration was visible throughout nearly a third of the crystal. The new and distinct hue pressed back against the orange, bringing an exuberant, wide smile to Tulip’s face.

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  “I… made it to a Sage?” Tulip asked, disbelieving.

  “Indeed you have. Congratulations Tulip, you’ve done something very few manage to do in their first year of proper training.” Levi answered with an uncharacteristic smile on his face. It was faint, barely even visible, but it was there all the same.

  Tulip’s had remained locked upon the crystal for a few more moments, bringing out only a few more layers of lime-green light to its surface before her hand drooped to her side. She closed her eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath as she turned to face me.

  “Thank you, Kirin—I wouldn’t have made it this far without you, so, thank you.” Tulip’s words left me bewildered, summoning forth a tangent of confusion.

  “What did I do?” I blurted out quickly, entirely not believing or understanding her words.

  “A lot more than you realize you did.” She answered with a vague smile. The bubbling anxiety was gone now, replaced with a sense of utter joy that emanated from her. “Now come on!—Let’s see how much you’ve grown!” Tulip demanded with a grin that forced me forwards.

  Before I could even try to protest I felt Tulip’s magic press against my back. It was gentle, more like a playful poke than any sort of serious shove. Snapping my mouth shut I listened to the pressure Tulip put against me and with an Anxious smile, I began forwards.

  “Kirin,” Carmine spoke softly as I took my position before the pedestal. Her gentle voice brought my gaze towards her. “If anything happens, please tell me, alright?” Her tone was exceptionally soft, almost pleading even.

  “I…” I began slowly, my eyes steeling themselves as I looked forwards to the translucent crystal. I could hear the faint voices, the distant and indistinct dreamlike memories that had invaded my unconscious mind for months now. “Should I really tell her about everything?” I wondered as I closed my eyes, avoiding the prying gaze of Carmine.

  Taking in a deep breath, I pressed my hand down slowly. I felt heat rush through my arm, electric pain racing its way through my body as mana was forcibly pulled from every distant extent of my limbs. I clenched my jaw down tight as my eyes opened, meeting Carmine’s gaze.

  “I don’t know how much I want to talk about yet,” I began, barely taking note of the changing colors held within the crystal under my hand. “So much has changed for me already since I came here—So much that I’m still not sure about, especially when I know so little about the world.”

  “But, I told you last night, didn’t I?” I forced a smile to my face as my eyes fell upon the crystal. Brilliant orange colors made up its mass, the very same orange coloration that Tulip’s first measurement had been. Gone was the indistinct dull orange, it was filled with luster unmatched now. A luster that was marred only by the distinct and definite black center, a core of the crystal so dark that it reflected the deepest abyss hidden at the darkest crevices of the ocean.

  “I’ll become a War Mage if I have to.” It didn’t feel like some absurdist statement anymore. Even just within a single night it became a conviction, a determination to crawl forwards no matter what it took. A conviction, a declaration—I would stand where only one had before, even if I had to carve a new path to do so.

  I was so focused on that conviction however that I didn’t realize how the world changed around me. I wasn’t standing in an open field, staring at a glowing crystal within my palm. I was… inside an abyss?

  “Kirin…” A distant, ethereal voice spoke in a voice so familiar that it wrenched my heart. “I’m so sorry… But, one day I hope you’ll understand.” The voice faded after only a few words, crawling away with despair in its wake. In its empty void I could almost see a face, a faint impression painted with gentle features. It was like I gazed upon it through layers of foggy glass, trying to interpret something from just a shadow. But all the same I could see that almost… familiar impression.

  “Wait! Is someone there?!” I tried to call out—But my voice wouldn’t work. “Anyone?! Please! Why do I keep hearing your voice?!” I pleaded to no avail. Instincts told me who those voices were, but… how could I be sure?

  I couldn’t even focus on the voice I heard, not when reality sunk its vile fangs into my skin. The tone of voice, the memory of who it could have been, the faintest impression of a soft face—They were all gone. Chased away by the tears reaching the corners of my eyes.

  “Kirin?” I heard from directly beside me, Carmine was here again. Her voice was that of concern, her face contorted into astounded confusion as she focused on the crystal in my hands. “Kirin, what happened?”

  “I… I heard a voice again?” I offered, confused.

  “Who did you hear?” Carmine asked quickly.

  “I’m not sure…” I muttered uncertainly. But, it only took a few moments of uncertainty before an answer came to me—It felt obvious now. “I… I think it was my mothers voice.”

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