Sura breathed in deep and exhaled, bringing his energy to the base of his stomach. He adjusted his stance slightly, bringing his hands up in front of him, just below his chin. He emptied his mind, centering himself and bringing his awareness to his body as he entered a state of focus. With a sudden exhalation, he moved. His left foot stepped forward, and as it did, his hips pivoted, and he shot his left hand out. Bare fist collided with leather as he struck the heavy bag hanging from chains in front of him. The sound of the collision exploded through the dojo, ringing through the entire house. A human fist had no business making a sound like that, but Sura was not an average human being. The only reason the bag was able to take the impact was because it had been Enhanced: its natural properties of toughness and weight had been increased to one thousand times their original amount. Similar such Enhancements had been applied to all the equipment in the dojo, and the dojo itself. This was a training hall designed for superhumans.

Again, Sura struck the bag with a jab. An impact that would have put a shotgun blast to shame rang out.

Timing’s off. I’m too stiff. Again.

Loosening up, he tried again, stepping forward, turning his body and shooting his hand in one fluid motion, blasting the bag and leaving it rattling on its chains. He kept his breathing even, maintaining his state of mind. Once more, he threw out the jab, and this time, followed it up with a right cross, a straight punch utilizing his rear hand.

Moving a little better now. Let’s go.

Lightly shuffling on his feet, his body entered a rhythm, and he struck, time and again, varying the angle and target of his blows, aiming for spots on the bag that matched vital areas on a human opponent. From jabs and crosses to hooks, body blows, front and roundhouse kicks, knees and elbows, he threw a variety of strikes, repeating the motions until his form was exactly as he visualized, and his movements felt smooth and powerful.

He paused slightly, breathing deeply.

I’m warmed up.

His brow lowered slightly, and he lowered his stance an inch.

And then, he let loose.

Jab.

Jab.

Right body shot.

Left hook.

Right cross.

Left low roundhouse kick.

Step back into right front kick.

Jab into right elbow strike.

Step forward left knee strike. Again. Again.

Left elbow strike.

Right body shot. Left body shot. Right body shot. Left body shot.

Center self. Inhale. Focus energy.

A rapid backstep, far too quick for human eyes to follow, and in the same movement, he went into a wide stance, low to the ground, while gathering his Ki. A single step forward, with the weight of the entire body behind the movement as he thrust his palm out. At the moment of impact, he focuses the gathered Ki at the point of strike.

Enhanced leather ruptured, and sand poured on the ground.

“Ah, crap. Overdid it.”

He looked around for tape, but couldn’t see any. He was about to go look for it elsewhere in the house, when the sand pouring onto the floor began to rise and flow back into the bag again. A second later, the torn leather was knit together, and the bag was whole once more. He turned around and saw a familiar woman standing behind him, towering over him as usual. Mizuki was holding one hand outstretched, pointing towards the bag. As ever, she was dressed in her two-piece suit, even this early in the morning. Sura, who had tensed up at the sudden realization that someone was right behind him, relaxed again. His shoulders slowly fell, but his teeth remained clenched tight.

I couldn’t sense her at all. Not only that, but I couldn’t hear the pulse go off either. Can she somehow cast Magic without it?

His thoughts drifted back to their sparring match of a day ago. That too had ended with her using Magic. A sonic pulse had gone off, but Sura hadn’t been able to capitalize on it: her casting speed was so quick, the Skill had come out almost simultaneously with the pulse. He looked up at the gigantic woman, and couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

Eight years. I thought I’d made progress. But even now, the gap between us is this big.

“Sorry about that,” he said aloud. “I used a bit too much power.”

Mizuki shook her head.

“This is a training hall. There’s no point in being here if you can’t train hard. I’ve strengthened the Enhancement on the bag. It should be able to withstand the same level of attack easily.”

Sura nodded. He was grateful for her help, but he couldn’t rid himself of the feeling of dissatisfaction. He had always known she was strong. She was the only Mage in the world he didn’t mind losing to. But even so, he had wanted to at least be able to give her a good fight. He had thought he would be able to do that much. Yet, when he had faced her, she had revealed a level of power he hadn’t even known was possible. Her Ki dwarfed that of the rest of Elysium put together. She was able to cast Magic so quickly, that even when warned by the pulse, he was unable to stop her. And he strongly suspected that what she had shown wasn’t even half of what she was capable of. Knowing that gave him many feelings, all of them complicated, and he didn’t want to think about any of them at the moment.

“I can go harder than that,” he said aloud, in an effort to distract himself from those thoughts.

Mizuki’s gaze subtly sharpened.

“You should not use the Warrior’s Armour yet. I have already told you this.”

“Why?” he asked. “It’s right there. All of that power.”

During their spar, Sura had been able to instinctively use the same ability as Mizuki, achieving a transformation similar to hers. He remembered the feeling: indescribable strength flooding every particle of his body. Speed, strength, toughness, senses, reactions, agility, kinesthetic control and awareness, even speed of thought: everything had been multiplied many times over.

“I could take on the blond bastard with that power. Not just him either. I feel like I could take on all of Elysium with it.”

Mizuki looked at him warily, but her gaze was tempered with understanding as well. Some students might be better off being told exactly what to do, and nothing more. With Sura, she felt that it was sometimes good to explain the reasons behind those instructions.

“Yes,” she said. “You could beat the Wolvenheim child with Warrior’s Armour. In fact, given the level of your Ki, I believe you could beat all the members of the Student Council except for one. You would reach that point, just short of the peak. More than high enough to attain your goal, and humble the world of Mages. After all, not in their worst nightmares would they imagine that one without Magic could come to Elysium, and stand tall and proud among its brightest.”

She paused, maintaining eye contact and making sure he understood the importance of what she was saying.

“But that victory would come at a price. You felt it, did you not? The effects of the Warrior’s Armour.”

Sura thought back to the previous day. It was true. The morning after he had been knocked out by Mizuki, he had woken up in bed, every muscle in his body screaming in protest. He had been sore the rest of the day, and had not trained, giving himself time to recover instead. It was the first time in years that he had needed an unplanned rest day.

“The Warrior’s Armour is the mark of an expert fighter. Had you been trained the proper way, you would have been instructed on its principles and spent years preparing, mastering every aspect of the transformation before attempting it. This would have included slowly allowing your body to get accustomed to vast amounts of Ki flowing through it. Without this, as you experienced, the transformation takes a toll on the user. I will be honest: the only reason you are still able to move at all is due to your superhuman body. Without it, you might not have recovered at all, let alone in a single day.

“Supercharging the muscles allows them to generate forces they otherwise can’t. Forces that can tear them apart. Likewise, operating the body at that level is extremely strenuous for the nervous system. Even the bones are under stress from the very Ki that reinforces them. This isn’t even counting the sudden burden on the organs.

“As you are now, every time you use the Armour, you risk destroying yourself.”

With every word, Sura’s spirits sank further. He had been excited at the prospect of having found a power that could take him to the top of Elysium. Even now, despite having heard Mizuki’s explanation, he was tempted.

“So it’s a risk. So what? There isn’t any such thing as a safe fight. I’ll use it anyway-”

“Don’t even joke about that!”

Mizuki was right in front of him. She had closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Even with how tall she was, Sura barely had to look up: she was leaning in towards him so that their faces were level, and he was staring right into her eyes. He was startled by how bright those crimson orbs were. They positively shone. The usual stoic expression was nowhere to be found on her face. It lasted only for a moment, but her genuine emotion showed through. Sura was struck by how much younger she looked: it was as if the weight of years vanished with that mask of implacability. His own eyes widened.

And for just a moment, his own mask dropped as well.

It lasted only a moment.

Mizuki’s face resumed its usual look of cool sternness. But when she spoke, her voice was slightly softer than before.

“Don’t throw away your future so lightly. Life is not so cheap.”

Sura’s mouth opened slightly.

Mizuki straightened up.

“The Warrior’s Armour is a useful tool. But in the end, it’s just an armour, albeit one made of Ki. In the end, it’s not the armour that matters: it’s the one wearing it.”

She looked at him.

“You’ve come this far, haven’t you? I believe you can go further. Get stronger. Without the Armour, match the strength of a Level Four Mage. Do that, and hone your skills. If you can do that much, I’ll teach you how to use the Armour properly.”

Sura’s heart leapt in excitement.

“Is that a promise?”

“I don’t give my word if I don’t plan on keeping it.”

He grinned.

“If you say it, it has to be true. I can go even further. Watch me! I’ll surpass Level Fours without the Armour.”

The slightest hint of a smile appeared on Mizuki’s face.

“Your current physical training routine is fine. In any case, you know your own body best. When it comes to Martial Arts though, I’ll give you a hint: you’ll need three specific techniques to beat Level Fours.”

She disappeared from sight entirely, appearing just as suddenly at the other end of the dojo.

“A technique that allows you to move quickly and traverse the battlefield.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than she began to rise upwards, until she was standing close to the ceiling, on thin air.

“A technique that allows you to eliminate the enemy’s high ground.”

She pointed at an iron barbell, which immediately floated over to her. As she touched it, it disintegrated, turning to fine dust.

“And a certain-destruction technique that will defeat any enemy, as long as it lands.”

She gestured with her hand, and the dust came together, reforming the barbell once more, which floated over and inserted itself back in its stand.

The grin on Sura’s face grew.

“I have one of those covered,” he said. “But I’ll obtain the others too.”

Four times she had just used Magic right in front of him. None of those uses had set off the pulse. He had no idea how she was doing it, but he was excited. The despondence he was feeling moments ago had vanished. Yes, the gap between the two of them was still huge. But that was exactly why she was worth following. If she said he could go further without the Armour, then there was no doubt that he could. And if that was the case, he needed to direct his efforts to doing exactly that. And she had even given him concrete goals to strive towards.

“You still need to attend classes as well,” she said, slowly descending to the floor. “Speaking of which, you should be on your way. Homeroom begins soon.”

“Is there a point to it? I mean, we’re living with you. Doesn’t make much sense to meet up in a classroom again.”

“I suppose not,” she admitted, much to his surprise. “But does everything need to make sense?”

He laughed slightly as he conceded her point. “Fair enough.”

And then, he bowed.

“Well then, I’ll see you in class, Sensei.”

Caught by surprise, she could only nod awkwardly. He turned to leave, but remembered something she had said, and stopped.

“There’s something else. You said that if I used Warrior’s Armour, I would be able to beat everyone on the Student Council except for one member.”

Mizuki’s expression darkened slightly.

“That is correct. Warrior’s Armour gives a tremendous boost in power, but that alone will not be enough to beat the President.”

Sura noted the tone of her voice.

“He’s that strong?”

“When it comes to Magic, he’s stronger than me,” Mizuki answered with perfect seriousness. “He is the strongest Mage in the Kingdom by far. If you wish to stand at the top of Elysium, then you will definitely have to fight him.”

Sura stared at Mizuki in shock. She wasn’t the type to give compliments without a reason, nor did she lie or evaluate people incorrectly.

“The President is a stronger Mage than you?” he couldn’t help but echo.

For the second time, the ghost of a smile appeared on Mizuki’s face.

“He is. Does that make you want to give up?”

He shook his head.

“It’s the other way around. I just can’t accept it.”

A maniacal grin was on his face, and as he clenched his fist, his Ki aura surged.

“I’ll have to beat him down.”

Elsewhere in the school as this conversation was taking place, a certain silver-haired boy sneezed. He had just finished taking a shower and putting on his uniform. He wore the school’s shirt and trousers, and had the blazer on, but open. Disregarding the tie entirely, he put on a short, hooded leather jacket over the rest of his clothing instead. Black, it was covered in various symbols printed in white, and had metal studs at the shoulders. Such an article of clothing was all but illegal in the Northern Kingdom, let alone at Elysium itself. For the Mages, who worshipped Magic and the three gods who had taught them how to use it, any symbology not part of their own belief system was offensive. The President, of course, wore it anyway. As if to compound the insult, he even wore a cheap iron replica of the Wing Pendant, a rumoured sacred Artifact that was supposed to be stored somewhere in the Wolvenheim family estate.

He looked himself up and down in the mirror, and nodded approvingly, before exiting his room and heading down the stairs. As per Elysium rules, all students that were part of the same class lived in the same dormitory together. Each dorm was its own building, and was officially put in the care of that class’ homeroom teacher. Said teacher did not necessarily have to live in the dorm with the students, if they could find a trustworthy pupil to put in charge of the others.

As the President walked down the stairs of Class 3C’s dorm, other students greeted him enthusiastically and politely, and he nodded at them all as he passed by.

“President, breakfast’s ready. They added donuts today, for some reason.”

“They did, did they?”

He grinned. He may or may not have entered the kitchen and bribed the cook. Passing by the table, he reached out and grabbed a donut, taking a bite out of it.

“Nice.”

Of course, he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Looking around, most people seemed to have donut(s) in hand, and were consuming them with various expressions of delight on their faces. Instead of picking up a plate, he telekinetically grabbed whatever food he wanted to eat from what was available, and continued on his way with them hovering along in the air next to him as he walked and ate.

Continuing on his way, he stepped out of the dorm and took a moment to close his eyes and enjoy the feeling of a slight breeze blowing in his face. The air was cool, and the sun’s warmth contrasted it just right. He breathed deeply. A slight spring in his step, he proceeded towards the Secondary Tower. As he approached the building, he caught sight of a group of people also making their way towards it from the other side of the campus. While three of them were girls, one of them was a powerfully built boy with untidy, dark hair.

A smile of genuine excitement made its way onto the President’s face, and he raised the egg sandwich he was eating in the air.

“Here’s to a fun game.”

Finishing off his food, he entered the building right alongside the group, without speaking so much as a word to them. Inside, they took different directions, with the President taking the staircase on the left. A couple of floors up, he ran into some more familiar faces.

“President,” called out Alphonse. “Good morning.” Next to the Wolvenheim heir was Yuki, who also nodded. The President waved back and made his way over to them. Slightly curious, he looked at Yuki more closely than usual, wondering if anything interesting had happened. After all, that was the reason he had allowed that thing to escape the previous night. He looked at her shadow, and sure enough, something within it stirred slightly. A tiny movement, too small to be noticed unless someone was watching for it.

“Is something wrong?” Yuki asked. The President seemed to have been staring rather intently at a section of the floor. He shook his head, smiling.

“Not at all. Nothing to be worried about,” he replied brightly.

“Right…”

Yuki decided not to press the matter. The President could be a little strange sometimes. When around him, she always had the distinct impression that he knew much more than he was letting on. She decided to put it out of her mind: it was just how he was, and over the past two years, she had gotten somewhat used to it. As for the silver-haired youth himself, he noted that she seemed to be completely unaware of the creature that had made itself at home in her shadow. This wasn’t entirely surprising: it could move in complete silence, and one generally didn’t look at their own shadow much. Of course, she would still have noticed if she had been able to sense its Magic energy, but that wasn’t the case. Again, this didn’t surprise the President. While humans could sense the power of Magical Beasts, this particular creature was an exception, since it wasn’t native to this world at all. While its power was rooted in Magic, it was of a different kind than that which existed naturally in this universe. As such, it couldn’t normally be sensed by Mages.

He smirked slightly. The others in the Council didn’t seem to have noticed it at all. They had likely attributed the dead Vampire’s shadow-weaponry to its own power. In truth, the shadow-sword it had been wielding had been this very creature all along. He had been a little surprised at first, but pleasantly so: after all, who would have thought he would meet not one but two creatures of legend on the same night? The Vampire had been a little disappointing, but he had high hopes for this one. He winked at the shadow.

I let you live because you might make things fun. Don’t let me down.

Down within Yuki’s shadow, the being that had taken refuge there visibly trembled. Coming here had been an exceptionally risky move. He wasn’t particularly worried about any of the others that had fought his previous host. But the silver-haired one… he was different. There was power in him. And unlike his peers, he could snuff out a life with no second thoughts. Indeed, the being knew that the boy could have killed him along with his host. But he had let him live, most likely for his own entertainment. It infuriated him: having his life toyed with like some kind of game, being shown mercy for the purpose of someone’s personal enjoyment. But he would take it anyway: better to survive, escape and live on than be burned to death like his host had been. Coming here, where the silver-haired monster lived, was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice. His time was running out, and alone, he would perish in a day at most.

His existence in this realm was subject to certain conditions. For one thing, he was bound to regions of shadow. Light greatly weakened him, and as it turned out, light was abundant in this world. But that wasn’t all either. Slithering underground was not an option. Due to his semi-corporeal nature, eating or drinking were not viable means of gaining nourishment. He needed a direct supply of life energy, and the only way he could get that was from another living being. Specifically, he needed another host.

When he had first come to this world over 1500 years ago, he had by pure luck run into the ideal host: a Vampire. Averse to sunlight, preferring dark places, almost immortal, and possessing a tremendous store of life energy, the night-hunter had been the perfect partner. As it turned out, he had been quite eager to obtain the powers of shadow in addition to his immense might, and so, the two had entered into a contract. A contract that had lasted until a boy had arrived who had the power to casually create a miniature sun within his own fist. Well, that was over now. What he needed to do was find a new host. From what he had gathered, the place where he was right now was a school for Mages. Certainly, the humans here had above-average stores of Magic and life-energy. Most of them were inferior in both those regards to his previous host, but he couldn’t afford to be picky about that. There was, of course, the one who had killed said host. The shadow-dweller could sense absolutely no limit to his power, and his life energy seemed practically infinite. For all intents and purposes, he was a god among men. But that very fact made him unsuitable as a partner: what use did a god have for a creature who was bound to shadow? He wasn’t the only powerful being here though. There was the girl in whose shadow he was currently hiding. She was quite strong too, and he sensed that she would only grow stronger still with training and age. Moreover, she was kind and benevolent, holding no malice towards anyone.

When bound to the Vampire, he had not objected to the night-hunter’s slaughter and consumption of humans. After all, life feeds on life. This he knew quite well. Nevertheless, he had taken no pleasure in the killing of sentient beings, as his host had. By comparison, this girl was an angel, and would more than likely be far preferable company. However, he did not think she would be an ideal partner. Again, she had plenty of power of her own. While she would most likely be happy to provide life energy for him anyway if he were able to explain his predicament to her, it would be an unequal exchange. What he gained from her was necessary for his survival. What she gained was a supplement; she already had all she needed. In the long run, a contract founded on the idea of equality, but unequal in practice, tended to fail. This much he knew.

The blond boy had the same problem. Worse still, he sensed that he would be averse to a partnership with a being of darkness. One of his abilities was empathy, the ability to directly sense the broader feelings and emotions of other living beings. While he couldn’t read thoughts, he could sense enough to know that the blond was not compatible with him.

There were, of course, all the rest of the students here. Most of them would benefit considerably from a partnership with him, but he had read their feelings, their emotions, and knew that the vast majority of them were every bit as malevolent and cruel as the Vampire had been, only less cultured and intelligent. In short, the idea of living with one of them was disgusting.

Beggars can’t be choosers, he reminded himself. But I need the right host.

It was a difficult situation, and time was running out. Whatever he needed to do, he would have to do fast. For the moment, he would stay in this girl’s shadow. As she traversed the school, he would have a chance to meet more humans. One of them would have to be the right one. It was his best chance. Leaving her shadow was an option, but even if he chose to do it, he would have to be careful not to be seen. If he was spotted, it was likely he would either be captured or killed. Running around searching for the right person was practically suicide. He decided to listen in on the conversation that was taking place next to him.

“... shouldn’t have waited until the last minute. You play around too much,” the girl admonished the silver-haired boy. The shadow-dweller had to respect her for that. It took real courage to speak up to someone so much stronger than oneself.

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. Team battles are fun, you know? I thought we could do some kind of cool combination attack on the Vampire.”

“We did,” Yuki pointed out drily. “It didn’t work, remember?”

“Well, that’s because you’re all too weak,” the President pointed out brightly.

Alphonse shook his head.

“No mercy, huh, President?”

“I’m only being helpful here. None of you will gain anything from empty praise. Think of it as a good experience: now you know what it’s like to face an opponent on a higher level than you.”

“You could still have taken it a bit more seriously,” said Yuki. “You didn’t fight him properly until we were all down.”

“I mean, I didn’t want to end it too early…”

End it too early, he says, against an Elder Vampire. Just what kind of monster is he?!

“In any case,” the boy continued, “as I keep telling you, you’ll soon be facing an opponent much stronger than he was.”

Alphonse frowned, a look of disbelief mixed with annoyance on his face.

“Is this about the Flawed, Sura again?” he asked. “You know I respect you, President, but I just don’t see how it can happen. He is formidable, to be sure, but in the end, he is Flawed. There’s a limit to how strong a human being can become without Magical aid.”

The President shrugged.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Maybe this really is all he can do.”

Alphonse blinked.

The President looked out the hallway window.

“But wouldn’t that be boring? Where’s the wonder in that? I think it would be far more exciting if there were a Flawed who could level mountains with nothing but the strength of his body, mind and spirit.”

The shadow dweller noted the differing reactions to his words.

There was a warmth in Yuki’s chest, along with a feeling of admiration. It didn’t seem directed at the President himself though. If anything, the dweller noted that she must be thinking of the Flawed he was talking about, Sura. On the other hand, Alphonse’s reaction was more disbelief, along with unease. He must not be on good terms with this Flawed fighter.

“It sounds like something out of a story, for sure,” the blond admitted. “But a story with an almighty dragon can’t end well. In the end, the beast has to be slain by a human, doesn’t it?”

The President laughed.

“I suppose that comes down to you humans, doesn’t it? Work hard, because I don’t think the dragon you speak of is taking it easy.”

The shadow dweller all but audibly scoffed. Had any of these children even met a dragon? Because if they had, they might rethink all their ridiculous fairy tales about humans being able to beat them.

“Well, anyway, I have a homeroom class to get to,” said the President. “I’ll leave you two to your business.” With a wave, he walked away, his feet never actually touching the ground as he did so.

He’s showing off, isn’t he?

“He’s showing off,” said Yuki aloud.

“He’s definitely showing off,” confirmed Alphonse.

For the rest of the day, the shadow dweller attentively scanned the powers and minds of everyone Yuki came into contact with. Most of them were above average, but their inner selves were nothing short of hideous.

By the time lessons for core subjects ended, he had all but given up hope. He only had a few hours left. He laughed in his own mind.

Maybe I should die gloriously, he thought. The light hurt, but even I have to admit, it’s beautiful. Perhaps I’ll walk into the setting sun.

As he was contemplating such things, Yuki waved, smiling brightly at someone making his way towards her.

“Sura, over here!”

The shadow dweller’s interest was mildly piqued at the mention of the name. Sura was the Flawed who was supposed to be incredibly strong. He didn’t put much stock in what he had heard: what could a boy born without Magic do? Still, it should be interesting to at least get a look at him. Still inside Yuki’s shadow, he turned his head to do so. As he did so, he also reached out with his mind. While there wouldn’t be any Magic energy to sense, he would still be able to gauge at least the boy’s spirit via empathy.

As he looked upon the Flawed boy, his eyes couldn’t help but widen.

There really was not even one shred of Magic in him, absolutely none. Despite this, with a single look, he knew. The President’s praise of him was not even slightly exaggerated.

He’s incredibly strong.

The boy’s physique oozed power. A thick, sturdy bone structure, and muscles that were massive but still somehow perfectly proportional, indicating function above all else. The President’s question about a human being able to level mountains with his bare hands was absurd… but if there was anyone who could achieve such a feat, it would have to be the boy in front of him right now.

It wasn’t just physical strength either. His life energy was beyond staggering, eclipsing even the Vampire who had been the shadow dweller’s previous host. The thought of one without Magic being able to fight those who possessed it seemed ridiculous at first. But with that much life energy, he simply didn’t need arcane power.

As the shadow dweller reached out to the boy’s mind, he felt… nothing.

What?!

He tried again, actively exerting his empathic senses. Straining himself to his utmost, he was finally able to feel it.

A barrier surrounding the boy’s mind.

Frowning, he attempted to push through it.

To his surprise, it began to yield. Surprise turned to shock, when he felt his own mind beginning to slip through, getting pulled in by the barrier, as though by quicksand. Alarmed, he attempted to pull back, but found his mind was trapped.

As his field of perception finally crossed the barrier, he caught a glimpse of what lay beyond it.

He closed off his mind immediately, disconnecting completely.

That split second decision saved his mind.

He retreated back into the safety of his self, trying to fight the terror flooding him. In spite of himself, what he had seen in that single instant flashed before his mind’s eye once more.

A vast space, infinitely larger than infinity itself. And within it, the microscopic swirls that were stars, constellations, galaxies, and entire universes. And encompassing it all, a single entity. An entity that existed beyond time and space, existed in every time and all space, and in none of it. An entity that was aware he was looking at him. And within that instant, a single golden eye opened, an eye larger than the infinite void itself, and looked into his very soul.

The shadow dweller struggled to calm his mind.

What… what in all the worlds was that thing?

This boy… he’s a monster too, isn’t he?

A living being’s mindscape varied according to its nature. Power, intellect, understanding, and several other concepts too complex for the shadow dweller to understand or put in words: they all determined what a mindscape looked like.

Given all of that, for someone’s mindscape to be what he had just witnessed…

He laughed in sheer terror.

There’s two of them. The silver-haired bastard… and this one with the massive fists. This school is chock-full of monsters, it seems.

He decided to add Sura to the list of people who were to be avoided. Magic or not, what he had seen in his mind had left with many questions, none of which he wanted to know the answers to. Curiosity, as people tended to say, killed the cat. He watched the boy warily, checking to see if he was indeed aware of his presence somehow.

Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. Sura did not glance at Yuki’s shadow at all as he walked up to her.

“Hey there,” he said. “Rough night?”

“Don’t even ask,” she replied. “We had to take care of a troublesome errand. But forget all of that. I don’t think you’ve introduced me to your friends yet.”

The shadow dweller’s attention was drawn to three more people who were with Sura. All three of them were girls. He was apprehensive as he tentatively reached out to them with his mind. After what he had seen, there was no telling what to expect from this school. However, as he soon found, there weren’t any unpleasant surprises hidden in these three.

“She has a point, Sura. You didn’t even mention you had made a friend,” said one of the trio, a blonde. Her voice was practically dripping with sarcasm, and as it turned out, her mind was radiating annoyance and… jealousy?

The dweller realized what must be happening: the blonde one had feelings for the boy.

Wait, hold on. The Yuki person has feelings for him as well. This boy… he’s quite fortunate, isn’t he?

“Right, right. Introduce us, lady killer. Ya wouldn’t leave us hangin’, would ya?”

This one, a slender, dark haired girl, who looked like she hadn’t slept well in a while… was also emanating mild jealousy?

This is some kind of joke, right? Just how many women are interested in him? Do they even know what they’re courting?!

He shook his head. Half expecting to find that the one remaining girl would also have feelings for the strange boy, he decided to examine her mind as well.

This girl was rather diminutive, shorter in height than the others. However, she was also the most generously endowed of them. Her figure was a perfect hourglass shape, with a bountiful bosom, wide hips and thick thighs. Short, dark, straight hair framed smooth, full cheeks. From behind round glasses, a pair of large brown eyes practically glittered. There was a faint hint of red on her cheeks, which grew as she stole a glance at the boy. The shadow dweller’s idea of physical beauty differed greatly from humans, but he knew from his time lived among them that she must be considered quite attractive by others of her kind.

He had expected to find that she was interested in the boy, and on that count, he was not disappointed. What surprised him, however, was the strength of those feelings.

It went beyond a passing attraction or mild interest. It was deeper than that. Rather than a slight warmth, her feelings burned like a raging fire. He could sense the tumultuous emotions that were going through her at the sight of Yuki.

Well, well. Still waters run deep, I see.

Outwardly shy and reserved, her exterior betrayed none of her true feelings.

For some reason, the dweller couldn’t help but feel angry.

Is he even aware of the effect he has on her? On all of them?

On the surface, he was an ordinary, if formidable, boy. But he had seen his mind, and so he knew that there was more to him than that. Something alien and unreadable, terrifying and unknown. These girls had no idea of that.

He looked once more at the bespectacled girl. Now that he had gotten a look at her mind, he knew that she was very kind. But there was also what she felt for Sura, a multitude of feelings too complicated to fully sum up in words. Gratitude and admiration, but also a powerful attraction, and a desire to be closer to him. And somewhere in there, sadness, fear, and a sense of hopelessness.

Curious, he decided to watch how their conversation would play out.

“Ah, my bad,” said Sura. “You’ve haven’t met each other yet. This is Yuki Matsudaira. She helped me out of a tough spot a few days ago. She’s been good to me, so be nice to her. Yuki, these are my classmates. Alice Wolvenheim,” (the blonde), “Fiona Arterton,” (the one who needed more sleep), “and Asuka Suzuki.”

Asuka. That’s her name…

“Wait,” said Alice. “Matsudaira? Yuki Matsudaira… the so-called most promising Mage of this generation?”

Yuki laughed awkwardly.

“Well, there are some who say that,” she admitted. “I’ve been blessed to have powerful Magic since birth, but I think there’s more to being a promising Mage than that.”

Alice clenched her teeth. The dweller felt her emotions shift. There was jealousy still, but it was now directed elsewhere. And along with it, resentment.

“Alice Wolvenheim,” said Yuki. “You must be Alphonse’ sister. He speaks of you quite often. You must be happy to have such a caring brother.”

The resentment and jealousy increased tenfold. The dweller was able to put two and two together.

She’s Flawed… she must resent Yuki for her natural gift of Magic. Her relationship with her brother is complicated as well. Yuki refers to him as caring… but perhaps this Alice person does not see it the same way.

“What can I say?” she asked out loud sarcastically. “I’m just lucky that way.”

“Nah, you’re not,” interrupted Sura. “Your family’s none of my business, but if I had a brother that annoying, I’d have punched his face in a hundred times by now.”

“Hmph. Like you could,” Alice said, but the dweller could sense her appreciation for the comment. It had calmed her down significantly.

Wait… so she’s actually hoping this Sura person beats up her brother? Her own flesh and blood? This is getting more complicated by the second.

He also sensed a reaction from Asuka. It seemed Sura’s intervention had not gone unnoticed. In his own way, he seemed to be much more aware of Alice than he let on. That should have been a positive quality, but it seemed to increase the hopelessness Asuka was feeling. It took the dweller a little while to figure out why that was.

“I mean, to be fair, yer brother is kind of an asshole,” said Fiona. “Not saying he’s a bad person. Just an asshole, ya know what I mean?”

“That’s the same thing,” deadpanned Alice.

“Guys,” said Yuki, “Al is not a bad person. I know he got off on the wrong foot with you, Sura, but I’m sure if you give him a chance-”

“Hey, I don’t hate the guy at all,” Sura said. “That being said, he and I have unfinished business, that’s all.”

With every word that was being exchanged, Asuka’s feelings grew more despondent.

The dweller finally realized what was going on.

She feels ignored.

Putting together her reserved nature with everything else, it wasn’t too hard to understand what he was looking at. She wasn’t confident in her ability to get Sura’s attention. The fear wasn’t directed at him: it was her fear of being unable to compete with the other girls for his affection.

All of a sudden, the dweller felt far angrier than he had in a long time, angrier even than he had when his host had been destroyed the previous night. The Vampire had been good to him, but he did not delude himself for a second that he had been kind or good to humans. He had lived a life of blood and violence, and died a violent death. That was all there was to it. But this girl, she wasn’t malicious. She hadn’t done harm to anyone else. And yet, here, she was suffering, not out of malice, but due to indifference.

Moving on instinct, he slid quickly out from Yuki’s shadow, and into Asuka’s.

The rest of the conversation went by relatively uneventfully. They exchanged stories of the day’s classes, before heading back to their respective dorms. As it turned out, the house Asuka lived in was very different from the one Yuki did. It looked more like a private residence than a school dormitory. As they approached it, the dweller sensed an enchantment on the building.

A protective seal… I see. The only ones who can enter this house are those who have been invited by its master. Whoever cast this seal must be a skilled Mage. Normally, someone like me wouldn’t have been able to get in. Luckily, I have a way to bypass the protection.

He retreated fully into Asuka’s shadow, and waited to see if it would work. He could see the opening in the seal as she stepped past the threshold of the entrance.

It worked!

Normally, an uninvited visitor would be unable to enter. However, Asuka’s shadow was a part of her, and it went wherever she did. Thus, anything that was part of her shadow would be able to enter, along with her.

He looked around, taking in what he could of the living room, but he didn’t have long to stare at it. Asuka wasted no time in going up the stairs and entering her room, closing and bolting the door behind her. The dweller examined the place. Asuka seemed to be quite neat and organized. Her belongings were all exactly where they should be, clothes washed and ironed, books stacked cleanly on one side of her desk while the centre was cleared for reading and writing. She did seem to have quite a large number of books in her room. There were a few that dealt with theoretical Magic, but the vast majority of them seemed to focus on the natural sciences, mathematics, history and language.

That makes sense. As a Flawed, she’s working to acquire the knowledge she can use.

His respect for her went up.

Over the centuries, he had seen with his own eyes how Flawed were treated by Mages. Even without having seen her life, he knew it must have been hard. Yet, she was doing her best.

Most of the books were academic. Asuka seemed to be a diligent student. The dweller noted one book in particular that stood out, because it wasn’t strictly academic. It wasn’t a history of the world or the Kingdom. The title was self-explanatory: Legends of the Gods.

Ah, stories of the Old Ones, eh? Boy, if the Mages ever knew just how much of a mess they made on this planet…

He himself hadn’t really been around to see it, only having arrived half a millennium after they had already been gone from the world. Still, word spread in the realms. A few of his brethren had seen the calamitous ending of the so-called Age of Gods with their own eyes. He shook his head. Well, all of that was over. They wouldn’t be coming back to this world any time soon. He put thoughts of bygone ages out of his mind and decided to focus on Asuka.

She had taken off her blazer and thrown herself on her bed, face down on her pillow.

Her mood seemed to be even lower than before.

Well, I suppose this has gone on long enough.

He paused for a moment. Beyond this point, there was no turning back.

By his count, he didn’t have any more than two hours left. In that time, it was extremely unlikely he would find anyone he was satisfied with.

What am I talking about? My mind’s made up anyway.

From the moment he had seen her, he had decided she would be the one.

The room’s dark enough. Good thing she hasn’t switched on the lights.

Throwing caution to the winds, he moved out of her shadow, from the bed to the floor, and assumed his true form. He wouldn’t be able to maintain it for long. Hopefully, it wouldn’t alarm her too much.

He was entirely silent, and face down on the pillow as she was, she didn’t seem to have noticed, so he decided to call out.

“Ahem. You have a guest.”

Asuka’s head whipped up and she turned to see where the voice had come from. When she did, she nearly fell out of her bed as she scrambled backwards.

Standing in the middle of her room was a black feline creature. Larger than a housecat, but not quite as large as a leopard. His frame was slender and sleek, but had clearly defined musculature. Curled on the ground next to him was a long, smooth tail. A pair of vivid green eyes stared at her.

Not at all certain about this (possibly dangerous) creature that had suddenly showed up in her room, she prepared to scream, hoping her classmates (especially Sura) would hear her. Right when she was about to do so, the creature spoke again, visibly agitated.

“Wait, wait, wait! Stop! Please! Don’t raise an alarm. If you do, I’m all but dead.”

Asuka didn’t shout, but she remained alert, cautiously stepping down and putting the bed between them.

“Who… what are you?”

The cat removed the fear and alarm from its features as best as it could, raising his head up regally.

“I am many things. A wanderer of the realms. A seeker of understanding. An invaluable ally. Humans call our kind many names: Shadow Beasts, Dark Dwellers. My true name would not be possible for you to pronounce. So you can call me… Nya.”