“Are you okay?” Aurelius peeked over at Lucian, worried that something was wrong with him. Aurelius shifted around nervously. He hadn’t heard Lucian laugh so heartily in a very long time, so hearing it made it feel him a bit uncomfortable.

Lucian wiped his tears and turned toward Aurelius. “You truly are one of a kind.”

Aurelius wasn’t sure how he should take that comment, mostly because he indeed felt as if he was truly the only one of his kind.

“This is why I can never get bored of you.” Lucian cleared his throat and straightened himself up. “Don’t ever do that again. You are not some kind of superhero, so leave it to someone more capable of handling that kind of situation without resorting to fighting. You’ll only get hurt, and the consequences would get worse. Use your mind instead.” Lucian tapped Aurelius’ forehead.

Aurelius was about to say something out loud but was caught off guard by Lucian’s words.

“There are hundreds of different ways to make people like them pay for their crimes without shedding a single drop of blood.” Lucian spoke sharply, almost growling under his breath.

Aurelius couldn’t help but agree with him silently. He was brash, but he believed he had done the right thing. He might be lucky enough that they might not remember him.

“It was the only option at the moment,” Aurelius quickly replied. He wasn’t fond of being scolded like a child. This brought back sad memories that he didn’t want to remember.

The only reason he was able to stay in the small cottage was because of Lucian’s help and influence. Without his foster parents’ tight connections to Lucian’s family, Aurelius probably would’ve gone back to the orphanage and lived his life there until his initiation day.

Lucian sighed and poked Aurelius harder in the head a couple more times. “Think smarter. What is this brain for? What have you been doing these past years? You’ve been letting it rot, haven’t you?”

Aurelius whacked Lucian’s hand away from his head, annoyed at Lucian’s persistent poking. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that.”

Lucian smiled, “You know this better than anyone else. Well then, let’s get this initiation over with. I’ll see you when the process is over.”

Aurelius nodded. “The usual spot next to the fountain?”

“You got it. You better pass. I’ll be sad if you don’t.” Lucian snapped his finger. They walked toward their destination.

Aurelius followed behind, thinking about how the rabbit Outsider was doing, but his thoughts were quickly swallowed up with the trials ahead. The test for the initiation was held in one of the eight small buildings around the campus ground, and they didn’t want to be late. When both finally came to the middle of the campus, they split ways.

“Don’t worry. I’ll pass with flying colors.” Aurelius tried his best not to show that he was worried. His mind was in turmoil. Every step was heavy, and he scraped his toes on the floor as he trudged forward toward his destination.

He faked his confidence to not show to anyone near him. It was hard but doable.

What if I don’t get wings?

No Outsider would receive a pair of wings; something like that was limited to the Esequi Nuntis race. Aurelius stewed and ruminated. If he really was an Outsider, the dream of flying was impossible. He felt a wave of depression and nausea wash over him; the thought of getting tested was now something that he dreaded.

Even so, Aurelius headed toward a small secluded area where the initiation would begin. There were large plants that cradled the environment creating a small cove—magical blue lantern plants dangled from the ceiling wall in intricate spiderweb designs.

It was a beautiful serene place where large groups of students relaxed around the circle. They waited patiently as their names were called one by one. He slunk in between two students, waiting for his turn to be called up.

Every one of them was Outsiders. Not a single Angelous, Djinn, or Daemon were present.

They looked over when Aurelius entered, making him freeze for a moment. For a second, he felt a sense of connection with the other students that were all anxiously waiting.

Eventually, they got disinterested and turned back toward the previous Outsider that was being tested as they waited for their name to be called up. They didn’t know what to expect or what would happen when their turn came up. Each of the student’s reactions to the magic circle was different; some screamed out in pain, others had a look of bliss, and some didn’t even make a peep and merely sat still throughout their whole process.

Will I pass? I don’t know if I’ll have a similar awakening like a Daemon, Angelous, or a Djinn. Maybe I’ll go through a spiritual awakening instead?

Aurelius couldn’t stop thinking about what could happen throughout the process and the possibility of not getting wings. He wanted to continually fit in with whatever past that he had left. This initiation shook his very world as the cliques were more apparent compared to when he was just a kid. Not only that, he hoped that he didn’t have one of the painful ordeals like three-fourths of the other students that he had seen so far had faced.

Time was ticking.

Aurelius started to shift uncomfortably, looking for any proof of time passing. He found nothing, making him return back to rocking back and forth.

The other Outsiders’ screaming didn’t help his situation at all. He bit his lower lips, and lightly sucked on it. It only made him feel even more anxious than before. It was like he was hearing some kind of torture device that made all of them go through a horrible, painful experience.

What if I don’t even awaken? What next?

Another jolt of dark thoughts crossed his mind, making him even more worried. Those with no magical energy were considered the lowest of the low in the universe and were seen as defective. It was rare for someone to be a defect, and it didn’t happen often. It was thought that only one in a trillion people were without magic.

“Aurelius. Please come forward,” Tina called out toward him. She was reading off the names of the next students on her paper without looking up. She was too busy scribbling some information down on the paper itself. With a click, she called him again when she didn’t hear him moving.

Too engrossed in his thoughts, Aurelius didn’t know that his name had eventually been called out. He had missed the rapid shrinking of the group’s size and how he was one of the last individuals left.

“Aurelius. Please come forward,” Tina repeated; a bit impatient that Aurelius wasn’t moving.

Aurelius jolted up, looking over to see Tina’s frown.

Tina was a tall, young Angelous with blonde hair that was worn tightly in a bun over her head. Her blue eyes were shockingly icy, staring into his very soul. Her long uniform covered most of her figure, but when she moved, one could tell that she had a fit figure.

He froze. His heart was beating so fast that he thought it would burst out of his chest or maybe even crawl up his throat. Not only that, his feet felt heavy, making him sluggish and sick. Even trying to lift up his feet was a struggle. He just couldn’t move forward.

What was laid before him was a large magic circle that he had never seen before. If he weren’t so engrossed in his thoughts, he would’ve paid more attention to what the other students were doing. As it was, Aurelius had no clue about what he was supposed to do.

“Y-yes?”

“Please move forward,” Tina said again, clicking her pen a few times.

Reluctantly taking small steps, Aurelius began to move forward toward the direction of the circle. It was a stifling walk. He knew where he needed to go, but his body fought against his mind as if it was telling him to run away. There was a constant warfare between his mind and his body that he knew he had to win. This was what he had been waiting for his whole life; he just needed to take that one step to get to where he needed to be.

But what if I don’t get what I wished for; what if I’m just another defect?

He couldn’t help but continue to think of these negative thoughts; it took a good three seconds to control the rampant spiral that he was going through. With a deep breath, Aurelius took the last step and arrived on top of the magical circle.

See, it wasn’t bad.

Aurelius chastised himself. He felt stupid for even thinking such depressing thoughts and grinned in satisfaction as he waited.

Tina walked over. She clicked her pen one more time, before she stashed it away in her pocket.

“Aurelius. Let the light of the world guide you and let the darkness cloak you from enemies’ eyes throughout your life. Let destiny bring out who you are meant to be. May the Great Spirit protect you.” Tina finished her speech. She stood back and knelt before the magic circle on the north side. She then bowed her head and clapped her hands into a prayer.

Aurelius stood frozen in place, his body started to tense, anticipating for whatever was going to happen next. His hands lightly ruffled the edge of his clothes; waiting impatiently for whatever to come. The seconds stretched into hours as the ritual began.

A soft humming sound could be heard all around him, and the wind began to lightly blow across his face. The trees and plants rustled, while a sweet smell of honey drifted up from the ground, stinging his nose. A ray of light beamed downwards overhead, tingling his olive skin bringing warmth.

The magical sigil on the ground glowed light blue, and the wind around Aurelius intensified. A high-pitched sound entered into his head, and it began to grow louder and louder. His vision blurred, making him dizzy. With a few stumbling steps, he tried to catch his balance.

What is going on? Is this normal?

Aurelius didn’t know. All he could do was stand, trying not to fall even further onto the ground. The ground started to sway as if he was on ship in a thunderstorm. He could almost hear the bashing of waves on the ship itself.

An explosion of sharp, throbbing pain in his forehead came next, drumming in a steady beat. His back burned. It was as if someone had poured scalding water down his back, burning every inch of his skin until it healed, leaving behind a flaky skin that made him itch. Even his fingers raked against his back, trying to reach, leaving behind a trail of blood, but to no avail—there was no relief. Large beads of sweat began to drip down his face and onto the floor. Breathing heavily, his chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.

Static electricity appeared around him, creating an array of chaotic energy. Tina’s aura of energy appeared around her in a blazing inferno, trying to tame the chaos. It was a battle between might, mind, and spirit—and only one side could win. Aurelius could see that she wasn’t winning, as the power was overcoming her rapidly. He was almost devouring her; pushing her onto the ground in a kneeling position.

“Ma’am! Something is wrong!” One of the concerned students yelled out. They shuffled around nervously with fear in their eyes at the flickering chaos.

“We got to help him!”

“Move back!” Tina yelled out, though her eyes were still closed, and a substantial amount of sweat began to bead on her face. “If any of you gets too close, you’re going to get the backlash!” She couldn’t stand up nor move, and she could only just keep the power in check.

The chaotic electricity turned black, each arc forming into a dagger that whipped around her. Hundreds of small cuts appeared on her body as she tried her best to stabilize the situation, but the chaos was quickly becoming too much to bear.

Aurelius felt a tingling feeling gripping his throat, forcing him to breathe hard. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he fell face forward and crumpled into a ball. The searing hot pain on his back was mind-numbingly painful. Even over that agony, Aurelius thought he felt thousands of small bugs running and squirming under his skin, trying to burst forth. A shocking pain pulsated all over his body; creating a wide array of black electricity to whip around the crowds and hammering the people nearby.

“Someone, help him!” a woman’s voice called out in desperation.

Aurelius’ heartbeat began to stammer erratically, intensifying the pain in his back. The pain started to grow, almost to an overwhelming point, as his hands trembled and his vision faded in and out, making it impossible to see through the blur.

Each time he opened his eyes, a new scenario played out before him.

Sixteen beings descended from the sky: eight with pure white and eight with dark brownish-black. Each glowed with their respective power, surrounding them ominously as the energy flared to life.

After a final burst of pain, he felt relief. The irritation in his back disappeared, and a numbing pain washed over him as a wave of calm came over him. He couldn’t do anything but lay still on the floor covered in sweat. His muscles wouldn’t listen, his mind was exhausted, and the only thing he could do was blink a couple of times before the exhaustion overtook him.

“Aurelius. Aurelius. Aurelius!” a young man’s voice called out as the voice faded.

Aurelius couldn’t open his eyes to see who it was. Darkness swept across his vision, and he blacked out.