 
AYOS

THE HEIR WITH THE CRIMSON EYES

by

Justin Parks

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Justin Parks on Smashwords

Ayos

The Heir With The Crimson Eyes

Copyright © 2011 by Justin Parks

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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Table of Contents

(ToC)

Chapter 1- And So It Begins. . .

Chapter 2 - Decisions

Chapter 3 - Getting There

Chapter 4 - Eden

Chapter 5 - Into Danger

Chapter 6 - Waiting

Chapter 7 - The Academy to the West

Chapter 8 - Getting up to Speed

Chapter 9 - First Day of Class

Chapter 10- Fight

Chapter 11 - Tutoring

Chapter 12 - Test

Chapter 13 - Missions

Chapter 14 - Growth

Chapter 15 - New Adventure

Chapter 16 - Pied Piper

Chapter 17 - Back to Training

Chapter 18 - Spring Heel Jack

Chapter 19 - Scarborough Fair

Chapter 20 - The Past

Chapter 21 - Doppelganger

Chapter 22 - Destiny

Chapter 23 - Ascension

Chapter 24 - Closure

Chapter 25 - Next Generation

Chapter 26 - New Hope

Chapter 27 - Prelude to Chaos

Epilogue

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Chapter 1

And So It Begins . . .

Jin sat on a bench as he had every other day, waiting for the bus. He sat there with a faraway look in his eye quietly waiting. Jin was an average high school student with black hair and auburn eyes. At that moment, an old fashion black car drove up and parked on the street. The rear door opened. A strange looming man stepped out of the car. He was rather tall and lengthy. The man had long, soft silver hair. He was dressed in a silver suit with a black tie and collared shirt with a pair of black dress shoes, a strange-looking cane, and a fedora tilted down far enough so you couldn't see his eyes.

The man sat on the bench next to Jin as the car drove away. He had an awkward presence about him. Jin didn't move. He continued to stare forward, but all his attention was directed on this mysterious stranger. Tension began to build between the two. They both focused on each other, but refused to make eye contact. It was as if they were waiting for the other to initiate the conversation.

Finally, the tension was broken as an older man approached the bench and tapped Jin on the shoulder. Jin was surprised as he turned to look up at the man. The man was feeble and hunched over. He had a smile on his face. "Mind if I steal that seat, young man?" he asked. Jin stood without question and offered the seat to the old man. "Thank you," he responded cheerfully as he took the seat.

Jin stood, taking a sigh of relief and leaning on a nearby street sign. The old man looked over to the man in the suit. "My, those are some fancy cloths, young man." The man said nothing. "You're dressed awfully flashy to be sitting at a bus stop. What brings you to this part of town?" he asked curiously.

The mysterious stranger seemed to be getting frustrated. He was at a loss for words. The man let out a big sigh, stood, and walked down to the end of the block. Again, the car appeared and the man stepped into it as it drove away. The old man, now alone on the bench, turned to Jin. "Hmm. Strange fellow, huh?" Jin just nodded in agreement.

After that, Jin's day was a typical one. He went to school. Jin had always received good grades, but he never really liked academics. It always felt like a waste of time. In fact, that is how he'd felt about most of his life. Jin always felt like there had to be more to life. He just didn't know where it was or when he'd find it. Jin decided to walk home today. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Some days he took the bus home and sometimes he walked. Nothing was out of place or different, but Jin began to feel weird. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw the man in the suit from earlier walking up the street behind him. _What's he doing here_? _He's not following me, is he_? Jin thought to himself. The man then turned down another street out of view.

Jin let out a sigh of relief and continued walking. _I'm just being paranoid_. _It's probably just a coincidence_ , he thought laughing quietly to himself. Suddenly, Jin froze in his tracks and his eyes widened. There, leaning on a wall Jin just passed, was the man in the suit.

"Jin . . ." the man said as Jin turned to him.

"How do you know my name?" Jin asked.

"I've been looking for you," the man responded as he walked forward, motioning for Jin to follow. "A moment, if you will," he said.

Jin wasn't sure what was going on, but he sensed no deception from the man. His curiosity was peaked so he decided to follow. "So why are you looking for me?" Jin asked.

The man continued walking to an outdoor tea shop on the corner called The Golden Tea Leaf. "Here let's sit and I'll tell you," The man said as he walked over and sat at a table. Jin took a seat across from him.

"So . . ." Jin began to speak but was cut off as a waitress approached.

"What can I get you two?" she asked with a perky smile. The girl was young with dirty blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a white, collared shirt with black pants and a green apron with the tea shop's logo on it. Her name tag indicated that her name was _Cindy_. The man raised two fingers.

"We'll have two cups of tea, and some sweets would be nice," he ordered.

"Cookies okay?" the waitress asked.

"Sounds delightful," he responded. Jin and the man sat in silence until the waitress returned with their tea. The man picked up a spoon and began adding sugar to his tea. Jin just sat looking at his cup. The man sipped his tea.

Jin looked down at the cup, added a few spoonfuls of sugar, and took a sip. "Hmm . . . not bad. So . . . what did you want to speak with me about? And knowing your name would be nice," Jin said as he sat his cup down.

"Oh yes, of course," he said as he cleared his throat. "My name is Khronus. Nice to meet you," he said with a slight nod as he reached out and picked up a cookie. Khronus stuck his hand to chin and began to ponder for a moment. "Hmm . . . where to begin?" He said to himself. He reached up and tilted his hat back to reveal his pale blue colored eyes. "I am not an ordinary human."

Jin stared back with a puzzled look on his face. _Ok this is getting weird_. "What do you mean?"

"It's not something I can really tell you. It's easier to show you," Khronus said, waving his hand over Jin's cup. The cup became chilled as a frost began to cover the outside. Jin picked up the glass and examined it. The tea was frozen solid. Jin stared with amazement.

"How did you do that?" Jin asked as he sat the cup down and pushed it away from him.

"Warlock, mage, wizard . . . God. We've been called many things," Khronus replied.

_Yep_ , _there it is_. _I'm talking to a crazy person_. _But how did he do that_? _He didn_ ' _t even touch the glass_ , Jin thought. "So, you're a wizard?" Jin said sarcastically. He began to stand. "Well I got to go . . ."

"No wait," Khronus pleaded. "Please just listen to what I have to say."

Khronus seemed sincere. Jin felt bad so he let out a sigh and sat back down. "Fine." He said crossing his arms. "So why were you looking for me?"

"Because you are like me," Khronus responded.

Jin cocked an eyebrow. "Umm, I can't do that. Maybe you have me confused with someone else."

Khronus shook his head. "No, you are the one I'm looking for. I'm sure of it," he said with an assured look on his face. "You may not know it, but you're a descendant of a very old clan," Khronus said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crimson, crystal-like ball. It appeared to be pulsating with a red light. "You are the rightful heir to this core, and with it, you will be able to use your power," he explained.

Jin gazed at the orb, captivated by its light. "That belongs to me?" It almost seemed to be pulling him in. As Jin reached his hand toward it, the light began to glow brighter. Khronus placed it into his hand. Jin felt a rush of energy surge through his body as red energy sparked from the orb. He dropped it in shock. Jin looked at him confused. "What was that!?"

"You see," Khronus said as he picked it up. "This is how I found you. It only glows like this when it's around you."

"So what happens now? You give me that "core" thing and I can become a wizard? Then what?" Jin questioned.

Khronus stared at him seriously. "If you accept it, then you must also accept the destiny that comes with it. You will have to leave this world and everything you know." They sat in silence for a moment. "This is all I can say for now. The rest hinges on your decision," he explained. Khronus placed the core back in his jacket.

"Ahh . . ." Jin didn't know what to say.

Khronus raised a hand. "Don't worry; you don't have to answer now," he said, standing up from the table. "I'll give you five days to make a decision. I'll find you then, but for now, I'll take my leave." He began to walk away, but stopped and turned to Jin. "I know it's a lot to process, but haven't you ever wondered if there was more out there. Just open your mind and follow your heart. You'll make the right decision." Khronus nodded to Jin then walked off down the street.

ToC

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Chapter 2

Decisions

Jin made his way back home. He took his time and thought on his conversation with Khronus. _This can_ ' _t be real_ , _can it_? Jin thought. _I know this is crazy_ , _but I think I believe him_. Jin lived in a quant little house in the suburbs. It was a two-story brick house with a big oak tree in the front yard. Jin opened the door and stepped in. The inside of the house was warm and welcoming. There was a smell of something good in the air. "Jin, honey, is that you?" his mother called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Could you give me a hand in here?" she asked as Jin made his way into the kitchen. A large pot on the stove filled the room with a delicious smell. By the looks of it, she was making a pot of vegetable soup. His mother was pregnant. She was a small brunette woman with blue eyes. She stood attempting to look at the floor in front of her. "I was chopping up some vegetables, but I dropped my knife. And I can't really bend over," she said with a smirk as she began to rub her belly. "I'll be glad when he's out."

Jin walked over and picked up the knife. He then took it over to the sink and cleaned it before giving it to her. "Here you go, Judy."

Judy reached over and pinched his cheek. "Now what did I tell you?" she said sternly.

"Sorry, Mom," he responded.

Judy was not Jin's biological mother. Jin was orphaned as a baby. Up until around six years ago he'd been traded through foster homes until he finally ended up with Mark and Judy Gregory. They had been having trouble conceiving and decided to adopt. Though, recently they had finally managed to have a baby of their own, so Jin had been feeling a bit distant. They still cared for each other, but Jin had always kept everyone at arms length. It was just how he was.

"Now run along. Dinner will be ready in a bit," Judy said, ushering him along. He continued up the stairs into his room.

Jin's room was a bit messy with random clothes scattered on the floor and various posters on the walls. There was a bed with a nightstand in the corner, and a bookcase partially filled with assorted books, mostly adventure stories and manga. A television in the corner was hooked up to a video game system with games and movies randomly stacked around it.

Jin threw his jacket on the floor and fell back on his bed, kicking off his shoes. With a sigh of relief, he rolled over, pulling an mp3 player off his nightstand. He put on the headphones and laid back, closing his eyes. He finally had some time to think. _That guy today_ . . . Jin thought. _Was that even real_? _It wasn't a dream, was it_? He replayed it over in his head. _No, it was real_. Jin reached up and placed his hands behind his head. _So what should I do_? He grunted in frustration. Then Jin turned and looked out the window. It had begun to rain and that rain would continue off and on for the next five days. _Can I really just up and leave_? _But it_ ' _s not like I haven_ ' _t done it before_.

Jin began to think of the orb, about how he felt when he touched it. _I'm not sure what it was about that thing_. _It gave me this feeling_. _It was a rush of energy_. _It felt good_. _It felt_ . . . _right_. His frustration returned as he looked for answers that were just out of reach. _What do I want_? This is where he stopped. That one question stuck on his mind for the next five days because it was really the only question that mattered. He could weigh the facts as much as he wanted, but in the end, he knew he had to go with the decision that felt right.

Over the next days, Jin began to analyze his life, every spec, every miniscule detail, and the things that would normally be overlooked. He studied every part of his life. Then he imagined what it would be like if he continued down this path. He saw himself completing high school, going to college, then getting married, starting a family, working the same job, getting old, having grandkids, and eventually retiring. _That's all nice I suppose_ , _but_ it's _so boring_. _I can see it all play out in my mind_. _I hate that_. _Life seems to follow the same design_. _Where's the adventure_? _Where's the fun_? _But can I really leave it all_? _Is it better to know_ , _or should I take a leap of faith_? He thought to himself.

Five days had passed since Jin had met Khronus. Finally, after countless hours of thinking, he finally reached a decision. _Yes_ , _I'll go_. _I think it really is my destiny_ , he thought as he began to make preparations. Jin didn't really know what to pack, so he just crammed some cloths into a backpack. Next, he had to leave a letter to Judy and Mark before he left.

Dear Mom and Dad,

If you're reading this, it means you've discovered that I'm gone. I've left to start a new life. It was a choice I made and my destiny to follow. I can't say much, but I want you to know that I really enjoyed my time with you and that you were the best parents a person could ask for. My little bro can keep all the stuff I left behind. I love you and I will miss you. Don't worry about me.

Jin folded the letter and placed it on his bed. _I guess that's everything_ , he thought, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He reached over to his nightstand and picked up his cell phone. _I'll take this too_ . . . _just in case_. Lightning struck outside, casting a person-shaped shadow across the floor. Jin looked outside to see Khronus standing outside the window. They stared at each other for a moment until Jin gave a nod of approval. Khronus smiled and pointed down to the street to tell Jin to meet him there.

Jin grabbed his bag and crept down the stairs quietly. He made his way to the front door and turned, taking a final look at his home. Jin smiled as he thought of the time he'd spent there. _Well I guess this is goodbye_ , he thought as he walked out and closed the door for the last time.

Jin stood on the porch and looked over to the street to see Khronus standing by the same old-fashioned car, holding the door open to usher him inside. He walked out toward the car. There was a still chaos in the air. Rain dripped down lazily from the sky as a dull, calm wind blew through the trees. Even though it was calm, Jin could tell it could pick up at any moment.

Jin stepped into the car. The inside was surprisingly cozy. The black leather seats had a soft feel. It was very comfortable. Jin sat his pack over to the side. There was a window covering the front, so Jin couldn't see who was driving. Khronus stepped in the car and closed the door behind him. Then the car drove off into the night.

ToC

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Chapter 3

Getting There

Rain spattered against the car as it drove down the winding streets. It created a muffled beat that filled the silence of the car. "So where are we going exactly?" Jin asked.

"Home," Khronus said with a smile.

Jin smiled and leaned back. "Feel free to elaborate," he responded.

Khronus leaned back. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Well . . ." Jin said, thinking. "For starters, where's home?"

"Eden," Khronus answered.

"Where's that, exactly?" Jin asked, still confused.

Khronus took a deep breath and relaxed. "Hmm, this may take a while," he said, staring out the window, "But we've got nothing else to do. A long time ago magick existed in this world. I'm sure you've heard stories of magick and monsters in ancient times."

Jin nodded. "You mean like in legends and stuff?"

"Yes, but those are hardly stories. These things did exist. It's funny how time forgets. But I digress. Yes, magick did exist in this world. In some small amount it existed in every living thing, but there were special cases. There were special people that possessed excess magick and were able to manipulate it to do amazing things. Those people were us," Khronus explained.

"Us?" Jin questioned.

"Yes, we call ourselves ayos. It's a word in an ancient tongue. It stands for creation and for new life. It was the name we chose for ourselves when we left this world," Khronus continued. "We were often thought of as witches or demons. Some of us were even worshiped as gods. This caused many of our people to be persecuted and killed. We were not the evil people they made us out to be. We were just different. Yet, over the years too much blood had been spilled over ignorance and prejudice, which caused hatred on both sides."

"What do you mean you left this world?" Jin asked.

"Eventually a time came when four great ayos came together and forged the great pillars that separated the magick from this world; thus, Eden was created."

"What's Eden like?" Jin asked.

"Eden is a world of magick. You'll find things to be very different there. I can't really describe it. You'll have to see it for yourself," Khronus answered with a smile. "But Eden is completely separate from this world."

"If it's a separate world, how did you get here?" Jin asked.

"Until recently, you couldn't travel between worlds. The ayos who created Eden wanted to keep them separate permanently," Khronus explained.

"So what happened that allowed you to come here?"

"Recently, the southern pillar was damaged, causing a temporary bridge between worlds. We still don't know what happened to damage it, but it's never happened before." Khronus explained looking down and reaching in his pocket and pulling out the core. He stared at it. "However, I suppose all things happen for a reason. After all, it caused me to find you."

"How did you find me here and why?" Jin asked.

"Well the first part is simple enough. The core led me to you," Khronus answered. "But as for why, that'll take longer to explain. We ayos are born with our core's inside us," Khronus unbuttoned his shirt slightly and pulled it back a bit to reveal a pale blue orb imbedded in his chest. "You see, these cores are imbedded within us from the time we're born until we die. After an ayos dies, the core remains and goes into a dormant state. Your orb was dormant until recently."

"What happened to activate it?" Jin asked.

"I suppose it activated the same time the barrier was damaged. I don't know much, but this is something that has never happened before," Khronus explained with a shrug. "Usually, when a core falls into dormancy, it stays that way. The only thing I can assume is that you must be a descendant of the clan the core belonged to. Your ancestors must have been separated when Eden was formed."

"Why did you come all the way to give it to me?" Jin questioned.

"I was the one who discovered the core. We keep them as memorials. Your core belongs to a very old clan. I believed it was important that you receive it, so I was given permission to seek you out and return it to you," Khronus answered.

"So, can I have it now?" Jin asked, reaching out for it.

Khronus returned the core to his pocket. "I better hold onto it for the time being. It'd be safer to wait till we get back to the academy."

"Academy?" Jin asked.

"Yes, more specifically, that's where we're going," Khronus said with a smile. "But I'll explain more later once we've arrived at our first destination," he said as the car suddenly came to a stop. Khronus and Jin stepped out of the car. Khronus walked up and tapped on the window. It rolled down a bit and Khronus handed some money to the driver before he drove away.

Jin looked around. They were dropped off at a small park. It was still dark and raining. The grass was lush and green, and there were a bunch of small trees. There were lights lining the various stone paths, and in the center of the park stood a large oak tree. No one was around and the park was completely vacant.

"What are we doing?" Jin asked, looking around. "There's nothing here."

Khronus began walking down the path toward the center of the park as Jin followed. "No, there's a connecting point here. I can sense it," he explained, walking up to the large oak tree. "Yes, I see. This tree is very old," Khronus said, placing his hand on the tree as veins of green light began to engulf it. Khronus turned to Jin. "It's time," he said as they were surrounded by blinding light. Jin reached up, shielding his eyes as the light surrounded him.

"Umm . . . Jin? What are you doing?" Khronus asked curiously.

Jin opened his eyes and slowly lowered his arms, looking around with a surprised and confused look on his face. The two were standing in front of the large oak in a green field with a dirt road to the side. "What just happened? Where are we?"

"Eden, of course. I told you this is where we were going," Khronus said as he walked down to the road. "Let's be off. It's going to take a while to get there," he said as he raised his finger in the air and pointed to the right; he lingered to the left and then to the right again. "This way," Khronus said as he began walking.

Jin pulled out his cell phone. _No service_ . . . _I guess he_ ' _s not a crazy person_. _Well as far as I can tell for now_. He thought as he caught up and began to follow him. The two continued down the dirt path until they came over a hill. They looked down the hill to see a small village. "Yes, we'll stay there for the night," Khronus said leading the way.

ToC

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Chapter 4

Eden

Khronus and Jin continued down the hill to the small village. It was strange. The architecture looked like a cluster of different eras. Large farm fields were visible on the side of the village as well as various brick houses that were clustered together on the road. It looked like they'd gone back in time, but there were signs of modern technology. In the center, there was a large inn and a few small shops. The buildings were all dark with the exception of the inn. The two continued up the road to the two-story building with a stone chimney and a large covered porch. As they stepped onto the porch and opened the door, a bell rang. The door led into a large room where a man sat at a desk across from the door. To the left were some stairs over an opening leading to a kitchen; to the right was a fire place surrounded by various comfortable-looking chairs. It had an old timey feel to it, but there was electric lighting and a phone on the desk.

The man at the desk was leaning back in his chair. He seemed to have nodded off, but the sound of the bell woke him up. "Ahh . . ." he said with a yawn. "Welcome. How can I help you folks?"

"Yes, sir, we will require lodging for the night," Khronus answered.

"Ah, yes. Just passing through I suppose," the man answered as he reached under the desk and pulled out a couple of keys. "Here you go," he said, handing keys to both Khronus and Jin. "Your rooms are the first two doors at the top of the stairs," he explained, pointing the way.

Khronus reached into his pocket, pulled out a couple of gold coins, and laid it on the desk. "This should cover our lodging."

The man's eyes lit up. "Sir," he said. "This is far too much," he continued, stumbling over his words.

"No, I think it is just enough," Khronus responded with a smile.

The man was very happy. "Thank you, kind sir. I will see that my wife prepares you a grand meal tomorrow," he said with praise.

"That sounds great," Khronus responded. "Now come along, Jin. It's been a big day; let's get some rest," he said as the two made their way up the stairs. They entered a hallway lined with doors on each side. Khronus took the first door on the left and Jin took the one on the right. Before entering his room, Khronus stopped and turned to Jin. "Sleep well," he said, tipping his hat.

"Yeah, you too," Jin responded before he walked into his room. It had a desk and a chair on one side. A small mirror hung on the wall next to a window, and a bed was nestled in the corner. Jin was more exhausted then he realized. Kicking off his shoes, he fell onto the bed and placed his arms behind his head, lying back on his pillow.

Jin stayed awake for a while. _Wow_ , _how did I end up here_? _It feels like a lot has happened_ , _but not a lot of time has passed_ , he thought, as endless questions ran through his head. _Too many questions_. _It_ ' _s_ going _to take some time to adjust to this_ , he determined with a sigh. _At least it_ ' _s_ _not boring_ , he surmised with a smile before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Morning slowly crept up as sunlight stretched over Jin's face, awaking him from a restful sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and yawned. Jin rubbed his eyes and laid back for a bit. After a while, he finally got the energy to hobble out of bed and make his way to the door where suddenly, he inhaled the aroma of food. Jin's stomach growled as his mouth began to water.

Jin looked down the hall to see the inn keeper. "Good morning, young man. You can go on downstairs. My wife has prepared a big breakfast for you."

"Okay, thank you," Jin replied as he went downstairs to the kitchen. He walked in to see a woman in the kitchen preparing food. As Jin approached, she turned to face him with a generous smile.

"Good morning," she said, pointing over to the table. "Sit, please. Sit," she said in a cheery manner as she ushered Jin into his seat. The woman had a very warm presence about her. She was very kind and was smiling as she set out a plate and cup for Jin. She filled his glass and covered his plate with various foods that Jin had never seen before.

It smelled good, so Jin took a bite. The woman watched him, seeking his approval. He began to eat and smiled in approval. It was very good. The woman smiled with delight as Jin enjoyed his meal. As he finished eating, he began to wonder where Khronus was. "Should I go wake up Khronus?" Jin asked.

"Master Khronus . . . he's already eaten. He didn't want to wake you," the woman explained. "He left to see the village elder," she said, pointing outside.

"Why did he do that?" Jin asked.

"Well, we were talking about a problem the people in the village have been having recently. He offered to help us and went to see the elder to get more information. He said I should send you along once you finished your meal," she said as she picked up his empty plate.

"Where is the elder's house?" Jin asked.

"Just go out the front, take a right, and follow the road all the way down," she explained as she mimed the directions with her hands. "The elder's house is at the end of the road. You can't miss it," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Then I guess I'll be on my way. Thanks for breakfast," Jin said as he got up and walked to the door.

"You're welcome, honey. Bye, bye," she said, waving as Jin walked out the door. He looked around. The town seemed to be awake now. Children were playing in the street and various people were walking around.

Jin made his way down the road until he reached the elder's house. He knocked on the door, stood there for a moment, and waited. After a moment, he heard a muffled voice from inside say, "Come on in." It was Khronus, so Jin opened the door and peeked inside. Khronus was seated across the table from an older man, which Jin figured was the elder. The two men turned and looked at Jin. "Have a seat," Khronus said, motioning Jin toward a chair. Jin walked up and sat down.

The three focused their attention on the conversation. "Now where were we?" Khronus began. "Ahh, yes. So what is this problem you were telling me about?" he asked the elder.

"As I was saying, this village has been having some trouble recently. We do a large deal of business with the market in the town to the west," the elder explained. "However, a strange beast has recently appeared and has been attacking people on the road. Now we can't trade with them. Everyone's too scared to make the trip since the last caravan never returned. We sent word to the Eastern Academy, but I haven't heard from them yet," he continued.

Khronus tapped his cane on the floor as his eyes drifted off in deep thought. "Hmm, I figured as much. Sounds like a kami," he said.

Jin sat in silence, letting this new information sink in.

The elder sat with a desperate look on his face. "So will you help us?" the elder asked.

"Yes, I will help you," Khronus said as he sat and began to think. "You said you haven't been to market for a while now?"

The elder nodded in response.

"Well, my companion and I are heading west. You can have your people gather their caravan. We will accompany it, and when the kami attacks, I will take care of it," Khronus said as he looked up to the elder. "Does that sound acceptable?"

"Yes," the elder said graciously. He stood and began to hobble to the door. "I shall make preparations immediately. You will be able to head out this afternoon," he explained as he made his way outside.

"So what's a kami?" Jin asked.

"Kami are magical creatures," Khronus explained. "They are created by magical distortions. The distortions cause magick to pool together. The magick will then take form and become a living being. These creatures are often crazed and power-hungry. They attack people and are regarded as monsters," he explained.

Jin raised his hand. "Wait. Wait. Wait. . . Monsters? You mean like for real monsters? Like grr," Jin questioned doing his monster imitation.

"Yes, well a bit more intimidating than that, but yes. As ayos it's our duty, among other things, to destroy these monsters." Khronus answered.

Jin sat in shock letting it sink in. "So wizards fight monsters? Like a full on, real life videogame?"

"A what game?" Khronus asked confused.

ToC

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Chapter 5

Into Danger

Preparations were made and the caravan was assembled. There were four wagons filled with various goods and crops to take to market and sell. Khronus and Jin took a seat on the back of the last carriage as they headed out. The townspeople gathered to see them off. They all waved as the carriages left town.

The caravan drove down a large dirt road surrounded by green fields. As they made their way over a large hill, a forest began to appear as more and more trees filled the sides of the road. "If you don't mind me asking, how long does this trip usually take?" Khronus asked the driver of the carriage.

The man raised a hand from the reins of the carriage to his chin. "I would say it's about half a day's ride assuming all goes well," he said.

"It will," Khronus responded with a reassuring smile.

Jin looked over to Khronus. "Khronus, something's bugging me," Jin said, catching his attention. "These people . . . I didn't see any cores. And they just seem like ordinary people. They aren't ayos, are they? I thought this world was supposed to be separate."

"I see you noticed. Well, when Eden was created, the first people were all ayos. It wasn't until years later we learned that some weren't born with the gift. Eventually, there were more and more born without the gift; thus, ordinary humans were born into Eden. However, it was different this time. Since we're all decadents an ayos can be born into any family. We've all learned to live together," Khronus responded as he stretched and laid back on bags of grain. Jin followed suit, lying back on the bags as well.

Jin stared up at the sky, watching the clouds float by as the caravan began to enter into a large forest. Resting his eyes, he listened to the sounds of the horses trotting around him and the squeak of the carriage's wheels. After a while, his eyes became heavy, causing him to drift off to sleep.

A sudden commotion awakened Jin. The caravan had halted, and Jin looked to his side to find that Khronus was gone. He heard people at the front of the caravan, so he jumped off the back of the carriage and ran around to the front to see what was going on.

Jin saw a group of men gathered in front of the carriage. He walked up to see what they were looking at. Khronus was in the front surrounded by, what appeared to be, blue wolves. _Are those the kami Khronus told me about_? Jin thought. He had never seen anything like them before.

The wolves began to surround Khronus, showing their fangs as their eyes lit up with anger. He stood still. The wolves began to slowly move in to attack. They drew closer and closer to Khronus until finally, they jumped at him. At that moment, a wave of ice pulsed from his body freezing all the wolves in midair. They each fell to the ground and shattered.

All the men looked on in amazement. "Wow, so this is the power of an ayos. I've never seen anything like it before," one of the men said.

Jin stood in awe as well. _I guess he can freeze more than a cup of tea_ , he thought.

Khronus looked around a moment as if he was confused about something. He waited a moment and then returned to the cheering group.

"You are truly great, Master Khronus!" one of the men said.

"Yes, we are all in your debt," another man added.

"No thanks necessary," Khronus said, humbly raising his hands. "Besides I think your problem is all but dealt with," he explained as the men began to calm down.

"What do you mean? There are more of those things?" a man asked fearfully.

"Possibly, but no worries. I will do as promised," Khronus replied calming the group. "Now let us continue," he said as the group returned to their carriages. The wagons began to head down the road again.

"That was really cool, man," Jin said looking down at the road.

Khronus began to laugh. "Yeah, I guess it was," he said with a smile on his face. "You know one day soon you'll be able to do that too," Khronus added.

Jin stared at him in amazement. "Really?" he said hopefully.

"Yes, that's why you're here." Khronus said rubbing Jin's head and messing up his hair. "Granted, you may not be as cool as I am, but you'll still be pretty good," he said as they both chuckled.

The caravan continued along the road. The trees began to clear as they came to the top of another rolling hill. "There's the town just over the next ridge," the man at the front of the carriage yelled out, noticing the smoke from the chimneys in the city.

The men cheered, happy to see the end of the journey in sight. Then they all heard a very loud howl from the woods behind them. "What was that?" Jin asked in a worried tone.

"Trouble," Khronus responded. The trees in the distance began to shake and rattled birds flew up into the sky. It appeared that something massive was moving through the woods. At that moment, a huge beast broke out of the tree line. It was a huge blue wolf with three tails. The beast caught view of the caravan in the distance and began to charge toward them.

"Go . . . now!" Khronus yelled as the caravan began to speed up. The beast drew closer, opening its mouth and spitting out a cluster of smaller wolves, just like the ones Khronus fought earlier. Khronus stood up on the end of the carriage and looked over to Jin. "Jin! I'll meet up with you later," he said jumping off the carriage.

Khronus stood and looked up at the group charging toward him. He stabbed his cane into the ground and removed his hat, hanging it on the cane. Khronus then began to run toward the group.

Khronus reached back, forming a spear of ice in his hand. The smaller wolves began to jump at him. He swung the spear, knocking them away, plowing his way through to the leader. Once clear, he threw the spear into the leg of the beast. Its leg began to freeze. As it hit the ground, the leg shattered, causing the beast to fall right in front of Khronus.

"It's over," Khronus said raising his hand. The wolf attempted to stand but fell and let out a loud roar at Khronus. Ice shards began to form and fire from his hand. They pummeled the beast, causing it to freeze solid. Khronus looked behind him as the other wolves began to disappear. Khronus fired one final shard at the huge frozen creature, causing it to shatter.

The beast's body began to glow as it turned into small orbs of light that flew up toward Khronus. The particles were absorbed by his core, causing it to glow brightly for a moment before returning back to normal. Khronus gave a sigh of relief. He turned and began walking back down the road, grabbing his cane and returning his hat to his head.

By this time, the caravan had made its way to the city. The city was surrounded by a large stone wall with big metal gates. A man at the gates of the city yelled down to the group, "How did you get through that forest alive? It's been a while since we've seen anyone come out of there."

One of the carriage drivers answered him. "We were traveling with an ayos. He stayed back to fight the beast and help us escape."

The man at the gate yelled down at the people on the other side to open the gate. The doors opened, revealing a busy city street. The buildings were all made of brick with cobblestone paths leading all around the city. Various booths and shops lined the main road into town. It was truly a beautiful place.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 6

Waiting

Jin hopped off the carriage and onto the street. _Hmm_ . . . _what should I do now_? He thought, confused before deciding to browse the various shops while he waited. Jin walked around for a while until he came to an interesting shop. He walked in and looked at the various strange items for sale, but after realizing he had no money, he walked back to the street.

Jin walked back toward the main gate to see if Khronus had returned yet. On his way he saw a young man walking towards him. He had dark red hair and green eyes. He appeared to be a year or two older then Jin, and he was wearing a black robe with a strange symbol on the back.

"Can I help you?" Jin asked.

"Yes, were you on the caravan that just arrived?" the young man asked.

"Yes, I did. Why do you ask?" Jin responded.

"Did you encounter any strange creatures on the road here?"

A hand was placed on Jin's shoulder and he heard a familiar voice. "Yes," the voice said. Jin turned to see Khronus. "And who might you be, young man?"

"My name is Nikolai Zar; I am an ayos from the Eastern Academy. And who are you?" Nikolai asked.

"My name is Khronus and my companion here is Jin. I am a master at the Western Academy and he is one of our newest apprentices. I am escorting him back to the academy,"

"Wait you're the Khronus? So why are you escorting a student in the east?" Nikolai questioned.

"Yes well, Jin here belongs to one of the western clans so has chosen to learn at the Western Academy." Khronus responded vaguely. "And what business do you have here, Nikolai?" He asked changing the subject.

"I'm here to take care of the kami that has been plaguing the road east of here," Nikolai responded.

Khronus sighed as his eyes veered off. "Ohh . . . I took care of it," Khronus responded.

Nikolai's eyes widened. "What!? So I came all this way for nothing?" he said with an annoyed undertone.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea the job had been commissioned by the east. But I had to get through the road and we were attacked so . . ." Khronus explained.

Nikolai raised his hand to silence him. Now that the shock had worn off, he had calmed down. "No it was my error for not arriving sooner," he explained.

"Well, we are in the Eastern Academy's territory. I should have known. You're more than welcome to take credit for the assignment," Khronus responded.

"No, I am an honorable man. I will see that you are credited and the payment will be transferred to the Western Academy as well," Nikolai responded. "Well, I must be on my way," he said as he turned and walked away.

"That was interesting," Khronus said, breaking the tension.

"Wow, I have so many questions about what just happened," Jin responded.

"Yeah, it's best not to try to learn everything at once. Try to take in too much and you'll end up losing most of it. Just give it time," Khronus explained. "But anyway, I'm hungry. How about you?"

Jin shrugged. "Eh, I could eat," he responded.

The two wondered around until they finally found a restaurant. It was a nice place with wooden tables, a bar in the front, and a large stone fireplace in the back. A waitress came and took their order and later brought out their food. "So how much farther do we have to go?" Jin asked

"If we took a carriage, it'd probably take another two months give or take." Khronus responded.

Jin's mouth dropped. "What!?" he said, shocked. "Seriously, it's going to take that long?"

"Well . . ." Khronus said, with a slight chuckle, "actually, there's an atlas gate just outside of town that can get us there in a few hours."

"What's an atlas gate?" Jin asked.

"Atlas gates are set up all over Eden. They are essentially portals that link two faraway places. They make long distance travel much easier," Khronus explained. "But before we leave we need to do something about you wardrobe."

_Says the guy dressed like a mobster_ , Jin thought. "What's wrong with my cloths?" he asked.

"They're fine, but you need to dress like you're actually from this world." Khronus explained. They went to one of the local shops and Khronus bought Jin some new cloths, shoes and a new pack to carry them in. Khrouns also changed back into his academy cloths. The two walked over in an alley way. "Ok now we've got to get rid of your old things. If there's anything you want to keep take it out now."

Jin rummaged around in his pack. There was nothing really important inside. He pulled out his phone. _Guess there_ ' _s no going back now_. He thought as he stuck it back in the bag. "There's nothing I need in here. Here you go," He said handing the bag to Khronus. The bag froze in his hand. Then he dropped it and it shattered on the ground.

The two went to find a carriage driver and get a ride out of town. After a while of searching, they found someone to take them. They jumped on the carriage and began their journey out of town.

The carriage made its way down the road until it came upon a large arch. The arch appeared to be made of a dark stone with a symbol etched in the top center. Inside the gate was a strange layer. It looked almost like water. You could see through it, but the image was murky and warped. The carriage continued through the gate and Jin watched carefully. As he passed through the gate, he closed his eyes but didn't feel anything. He peeked out of the carriage to see that the scenery had changed. "Wow, so where are we now?" Jin asked.

The carriage continued along up a new road. "You should be able to see where we are right about . . . now," Khronus answered. Jin stuck his head out, looking behind the carriage. There was a large cluster of atlas gates at the end of the road behind him. Then he turned and looked at the trail ahead. He gasped to see a large building just in the distance. It was a large grey brick building. It looked almost like a castle with a large crystal obelisk in the very center.

"Impressed?" Khronus asked.

"Yes, very," Jin responded.

"Well, this is your new home," Khronus said.

Jin looked on in amazement as the carriage made its way up to the gates that led into the academy. A large man stood in front of the gate. He was a tall muscular man. He wore a black robe with armor strapping around his chest, covering his right shoulder and his entire right arm. The man walked into the path of the carriage and held out his right hand revealing a core. "Who goes there?" the man asked in a loud intimidating voice.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 7

The Academy to the West

The carriage came to a screeching halt. Khronus stuck his head out the carriage door. "Hey, Poart!" he said, smiling. "It's just me. Sorry for not calling ahead. We got a bit sidetracked," he explained.

Poart was surprised. "Oh, Master Khronus! Come right in," he said as Khronus and Jin got out of the carriage.

Khronus leaned down by Jin's ear. "Oh yes . . . one thing; do not mention anything of your world here. If anyone asks, you came from a small village in the western province," he whispered as Jin nodded in agreement.

Khronus thanked and paid the carriage driver as they passed. The two walked to the gate where Poart was waiting for them. "So this is the new apprentice, huh?" Poart asked, bending down to look at Jin. He poked Jin in the chest. Jin was surprised at how giant-like the man was. "Not much to him," Poart said as he leaned back and grabbed his stomach while beginning to laugh.

"Now Poart, don't tease him," Khronus said.

"Aww, I'm just messing with him," Poart said, smiling and messing Jin's hair up. "So what's your name, kid?" he asked.

Jin straightened up and stood tall. "My name is Jin, sir; nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

"Well!" Poart bellowed with a smirk. "I may have pegged you wrong, kid." He reached out and grabbed Jin's hand—almost engulfing it. Jin gave him a firm handshake and smiled. "My name is Poart. I am the fifth-generation gatekeeper. I have stood guard here for over fifty years now," he explained.

"Really, but you don't look that old," Jin said.

Poart laughed again. "Wow, this one is really wet behind the ears, eeh Khronus?" he said, pointing with his thumb at Jin. "Okay . . . well, the lifespan of an ayos is a lot longer than an ordinary person. The fact that we are able to store and use magick in our bodies greatly increases our vitality," he explained.

Jin nodded. "Ahh, I see."

"Well, this is one of many lessons he has yet to learn, but he must be weary from the long trip. So, if we could get past," Khronus said.

"Yeah, yeah," Poart said as he opened the gate. He then motioned for them to enter. "Welcome to the Western Academy," he said sarcastically as they made their way in.

Khronus and Jin continued into the building. There were various people walking around, all of whom were wearing uniforms with a strange symbol on the back. "What does the symbol mean?" Jin asked.

"Oh, yes, each academy has a unique symbol. They are usually worn on their clothes. It's a way to represent each academy and identify us as ayos to regular people," Khronus answered as they continued down the hallways and eventually came to a door. Khronus reached out and opened it.

It was a medium-sized room with a bed on each side and a bathroom in the back. "This part of the building is the apprentice's quarters, and this is your room. You can take the bed on the left. Your roommate doesn't seem to be here at the moment," Khronus explained.

"Roommate?" Jin questioned.

"Yes, he's named Saga, I believe. He's quite . . . ahh . . . rough around the edges I suppose, but he shouldn't be a problem, but anyway, I have some things to attend to. You should get some rest," Khronus explained.

"But what about my core?" Jin asked.

"We'll take care of that later. Don't get impatient now. It shouldn't be much longer," Khronus said as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Jin walked to the window and peered out over the court yard. _Well_ , _this place seems pretty cool_ , _but it's huge_. _I wonder if I'll get lost_ , he thought. Jin then walked over to his bed and laid down. Apparently, he was much more tired then he realized because he drifted right off to sleep.

Jin awoke to find his bed being shaken. "Wake up Jin," a voice said. Jin awoke to see it was dark out. He rubbed his eyes to see it was Khronus standing over him. "It's time. Get up and follow me," Khronus said.

Jin got up and looked around the room. His roommate still wasn't there. Jin followed Khronus outside. The halls were dark except for the lantern that Khronus held as he led the way around the building. The two made their way to a large pair of doors. Khronus opened them and the two walked into a brightly lit room that was empty except for three people who stood inside waiting. It was two men and a woman.

Jin stood in the center as the four stood in front of him. "So this is the one, huh? This will be most interesting," one of the individuals said. He was a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. His hair was black at the roots but turned white toward the tips. The man wore a pair or glasses and a lab coat bearing the academy's symbol. He leaned in and pushed up his glasses, studying Jin.

"Leave him alone, Thoth," the woman said. She also appeared to be in her late twenties. The woman had long, dark purple hair with matching eyes. She wore a white doctor's uniform with the academy symbol on the back.

"Just doing a preliminary check Isis," Thoth sneered back. "Can we proceed? I curious to see the results," he said with excitement.

"Yes, let us begin," the third person said. He was an old bald man with a thick white beard. He wore a black robe that had a white flame pattern coming up from the bottom and up the arms with the academy symbol in the back.

"Yes, Master Odin," Khronus said as he pulled the red core from his pocket. "Okay, Jin, please remove your shirt." Jin felt a bit awkward, but nodded and did as he was asked. Khronus walked over to Jin and handed him the orb. "Here, take it and press it to your chest."

Jin reached out and grabbed the orb. It was smooth and warm. He could feel an energy much like a heartbeat pulsating inside it. Jin began to pull it toward his chest. He could feel it pulling toward him. As he pressed it against his chest, the core began to pulsate faster and stronger as waves of red energy began to emit from in. Sparks of red energy began to dig into his chest.

Jin's arms and head flung back as the core began to merge with him. As it dug further in, glowing red veins began to grow on Jin's chest. The energy was overwhelming, causing Jin to scream. Surges of red energy began to shoot out of his body, damaging the floors and walls. So much power was emitted; he began to lift into the air. All the others stood watching in awe.

The core finally merged with Jin. The energy was absorbed back into the orb. Jin dropped out of the air and plopped down on the floor limp. Thoth walked over and examined him. "Hmm, he's alive, just knocked out. However, the process seemed to take a heavy toll on his body," he said as he stood up. "Well, that was interesting. I'll need to make a log of this, so if you'll excuse me. Isis, I'll leave him in your capable hands," Thoth said before he left the room.

Isis walked over and began examining him. Odin looked over to Khronus. "Come with me, Khronus, we will make preparations for him," Odin said as the two left the room.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 8

Getting up to Speed

Jin awoke to find himself surrounded by blackness. He got up slowly and looked around. "Where am I?" he said aloud to himself. Jin began walking around as his eyes slowly began to adjust. However, he still could not see anything around him. There were no walls—nothing.

Jin started walking, but he seemed to be going nowhere. Then he finally began to make out a person standing in the distance. "Hello?" Jin yelled to him. The man did not respond. He didn't even move.

Jin began walking toward him. As he got closer to him, he began to get a strange feeling. A weight began to pull down on his body. It became hard to move and even harder to breathe. The man stood still in front of him.

Jin tried to call out to him once again, but he couldn't speak. _What's going on_? he thought, panicking. Jin looked up at the man. The man's body was completely shrouded in black. The man turned to him with his eyes closed. He suddenly opened them and stared at Jin with two glowing red eyes.

Jin yelled as he jerked out of the dream. He was breathing hard, but after realizing it was a dream, he began to calm down. Jin looked around to see he was back in his room at the academy. He looked down at his body. His chest was covered in bandages.

"So you are alive," a new voice said. Jin sat up to see someone sitting in the bed across from him reading a book.

Jin looked at him curiously. "Umm . . . are you Saga?"

He lowered his book and glared at him. "Yes, I am Saga Dimyo," Saga said in a sarcastic tone. "Now if you don't mind?" he said as he continued reading.

"But ahh . . . what . . ." Jin began but was cut off as Saga coughed loudly. Saga reached his hand up and pointed to Jin's nightstand. Then he continued reading his book. Jin looked over to his nightstand to see a note and a set of instructions that had been left for him.

_Jin_ ,

_When you are ready_ , _get dressed and come find me_. _You_ ' _ll_ _find your uniform in the dresser by your bed_. _See you soon_.

Jin got up and walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. He started removing his bandages. He took them off to reveal the core that had now merged within him. He slowly reached down, touched it, and quickly pulled back his hand. Jin was shocked. He touched it again and felt around the edges. It was really part of him. _Wow_. _This is so weird_ , he thought. He was shocked as he saw himself in the mirror. His eyes had changed colors. They were a deep red now.

Jin walked over to the dresser and looked at the clothes he had. There was an apprentice uniform that was composed of a white dress shirt, a black vest, slacks, and a pair of black dress shoes. He got changed and went into the hall. Jin followed the instructions and eventually found his way to the room where Khronus was waiting for him.

Jin knocked on the door. "Come in," Khronus said. Jin opened the door and walked in to see him sitting there. "Hey," he said. Jin smiled. Khronus sat at a desk and a chair was on the other side of it. The desk was covered in lots of paperwork and there was a wall filled with filing cabinets on the side of the room. A pot of tea was also on the table. Khronus poured himself a cup and then gestured for Jin to have one. Jin accepted and Khronus poured a second cup.

"Nice office," Jin said, adding sugar to his tea.

"Oh this . . .? I just burrowed this office from one of the scribes," Khronus said, looking around the room.

"Scribes?" Jin asked.

"Yes, the scribes are regular people who work for the academy. They keep track of all the records and apprentice information. They're really the backbone of this place," Khronus explained.

"Couldn't you just use magic for that stuff?" Jin asked.

Khronus stared up from the desk with a confused look on his face. "Well, I think you may be confused between your idea of magic in your world and the magick in this world. Don't be worried, though. You'll get the hang of it," he said. "Anyway, onto the reason I called you. Jin, you have inherited that core from your ancestral clan; thus, you have inherited their name. From this moment forward you will be known as Jin Kaizer," Khronus explained.

Jin sat for a moment. _Kaizer_ , he thought about what that name meant. It was his name. A name all his own. _Yes_ , _I am Jin Kaizer_. He accepted it with a certain delight. Jin had been given names his whole life, but this one felt right. This was the one. "Oh, yeah, one more thing . . . why did my eyes change colors?"

"That's probably from your core fusion. Magick can have many effects on the physical body. You'll probably notice that most ayos have various uncommon hair and eye colors. It's caused by the magick in their bodies," Khronus explained. "Okay, now that's settled; we need to begin your training. You may have already begun to feel the change in your body, a new type of energy or power inside you. I'm going to teach you how to control it," Khronus instructed.

A shot of excitement went through Jin. "Ok I'm ready when you are," he said in an enthusiastic tone.

"All right follow me," Khronus instructed. The two got up and left the room. They walked around the building until they came to a long hall. "These are the training rooms." He walked up to one of the doors and pulled out a card. He swiped it through the reader and the door unlocked. They walked into the empty room. There was a computer panel on the wall by the door. "Thoth designed these rooms. In fact, he's responsible for a lot of the technology we use here," Khronus explained as he scrolled through the computer menu. Suddenly, the room began to change. Two small square stone platforms rose up in the middle of the room. Jin stared in awe. "Yes, Thoth is a genius. These rooms will change to suit whatever type of training you are doing." Khronus walked up and sat down cross-legged on one of the stones. He motioned for Jin to take a seat across from him.

"The first thing you must learn is how to control your magick, and I'll show you how," Khronus explained as he cupped his hands and placed them close together in his lap. A light began to emit from his hands as a small ball of pale blue energy formed. "The two basic steps are gathering and stabilization. Sounds simple, but this is the most important thing you must learn. Everything you build must be placed on stable ground, and this is the ground in magick," he explained.

"Okay, now you try," Khronus insisted.

Jin mimicked Khronus and sat as he did. He tried to create a ball of energy, but nothing came. Jin began to grunt. "Don't force it. Here close your eyes and breathe. Feel the flow of energy. Don't try to control it; just try to redirect it," Khronus explained. Jin did as he said, but it still didn't work.

After an hour later Jin had began to give up hope. "I don't get it. Why isn't it working?"

"I was afraid of this. Ayos are born with their power so they have years to learn how to access and control that power." Khronus explained.

"Years?" Jin asked disheartened.

Khronus reached into his pocket and pulled out two small crystals one was clear and the other was blue. "These are focus crystals. They are very rare, but I think they can help us."

Khronus handed Jin the clear crystal. Jin held it in his hands. "How does it work?"

"Ok just close your eyes and focus." Khronus explained.

After a few moments Jin opened his eyes. "I don't think this is... working." Jin said confused as he realized he wasn't in the room anymore. He was in a dark space. He looked around he saw nothing, but a large door in the distance. "Where am I?"

"This is the plane of your mind." Khronus said.

Jin turned to see him. "How are you here?"

"I used my crystal to follow you in. Using these crystals can be dangerous. It's easy to get lost in ones mind, but as long as I'm here I can prevent that." Khronus explained.

Jin looked around. There was nothing around except for the door. "What's that door over there?" He asked pointing to it. Suddenly, a light shined over it making it clear to see. It was a large set of metal double doors. They stood within no wall and were covered in strange symbols and engravings.

Khronus looked over at the doors. "I'm not exactly sure." He said in an uncertain tone. "You need to focus. There shouldn't be anything here."

Jin took a deep breath and the door faded back into the darkness. Khronus smiled. "Good. Now you're learning."

A small child ran out in between the two. "Yes I did it! This is awesome!"

Khronus smacked his forehead. "This is going to be more difficult than I thought."

"Who is that!?" Jin said in shock.

"Your emotions have a tendency to manifest here... If I had to guess I'd say that's excitement." Khronus explained.

Jin studied the child. He realized that it was him as a kid. The kid looked up at him with a big smile. "We're gunna learn magic!" He said as he began to strike random karate poses and pretended to fire blasts while making the corresponding sound effects.

Another version of Jin appeared. He was wearing a suit of black dragon armor and sunglasses. "This is so uncool..."

Khronus was shocked. "What's that!?" He asked pointing to the new manifestation.

More and more manifestations began to appear. Each of them were speaking over each other. Nothing was distinguishable. It was pure chaos.

Jin was jerked back to reality with a slap to the face. He found himself back in the training room. "Hmm..."

"I told you. You need to pay attention in there. Keep your thoughts and emotions under control," Khronus explained. "Ok are you ready to try again?" The two reentered Jin's mind. The space was empty. "All right now Jin you need to focus. Feel the energy flowing through you."

Jin breathing slowed as he began to concentrate. He started to feel a pull from deep inside then. Glowing red veins of energy grew through the dark space. Khronus smirked. "You've accessed you power. Now you need to take control."

Jin gazed around amazed. Perhaps it was instinct, but he knew what to do next. He walked up to a large vein of energy and reached out into it. Energy began to rush into him. It was an amazing feeling, but he was quickly being overwhelmed by it. He pulled back and the veins disappeared. Jin opened his eyes and he was once again in the real world. He looked down as a tiny red light began to flicker in his hands.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 9

First Day of Class

"Okay, show me what you've learned," Khronus said as Jin began to build a ball of energy in his hands. He built a medium size ball of red energy and was able to stabilize it easily. Jin then moved it back and forth between each hand.

Jin had been training diligently with Khronus each day for the last few weeks. He had made great progress in a short time, but he was still far off from where he should be at his age.

"Very good," Khronus complemented. "Remember, this is just the first step. There is still much to learn," he said as Jin nodded in agreement. "But I have gotten you up to speed so you should be able to join regular classes now."

"So what kind of academy is this? This doesn't seem like a typical academy to me," Jin commented.

"It isn't like what you'd be used to. Basically, this academy has various masters. Each day they have classes where they teach the apprentices to use their magick in different ways. There is no set schedule you have to follow. You may choose to attend whatever classes you wish. However, the apprentices are encouraged to attend classes daily. We do not penalize you for not attending as long as you are actively developing your powers," Khronus explained as he reached into the desk and pulled out a card and handed it to Jin.

"What's this?" Jin asked, studying the card. It was a small black card with the academy's symbol on the back and his apprentice information on the front.

"You'll want to hold onto that. You'll need that to get in and out of the academy. It also gives you access to the library and various places within the academy," Khronus explained. "The cards are specially made to recognize the magick of the apprentice the card is made for."

Jin studied the card. It listed various facts about him. One thing that was odd was a blank area with "Rank" written next to it. He pointed it out to Khronus. "What does this mean?"

"We work on a ranking system here. Apprentices are given ranks from none to five stars. The higher your rank, the more options you have here, and the more perks you get. You'll learn more about it as you go along of course. "When you meet certain requirements, the rank portion of your card will turn blue. After that, you will be eligible for advancement," he explained.

Jin studied the card and smirked, placing it into his pocket. "Well, what classes should I take? Or which can I take?"

"I think you should take an interdictory course. There's one starting tomorrow actually. Thoth teaches it. You basically learn about our main jobs as ayos, the purpose of the academy, how everything works here, and some basic magick techniques. You should be able to start tomorrow," Khronus explained.

The following day, Jin was ready to attend his first class. It was a larger auditorium-style room. There was a board with a desk at the front and long desks that were stacked in rows to the back of the room. There were lots of new faces in the room. Jin was feeling surprisingly shy. It was like the first day of school all over again. _This all feels oddly familiar_ , Jin thought, laughing to himself.

Jin walked up the side of the room, looking for an open seat. That's when something caught his eye. It was a bright pink core imbedded in a young woman's wrist. The girl had long black hair with light skin and pink eyes. When she noticed Jin staring at her core, she pulled her hand back and glared at him. It shocked him for a moment, but then he continued to take an open seat.

"Ohh, bad move, man," a voice behind Jin said. He turned to see a young man with short brown hair.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked.

"That's Liz Faraoh and apparently, she really hates when someone stares at her core. And trust me, man, you do not want to get on her bad side," The young man said.

"That doesn't really make any sense," Jin said.

"I don't get it either," the guy said with a laugh. The two sat back as the master entered the room. Jin recognized him. It was Thoth.

Thoth walked to the front of the room, sat back in his chair, and kicked his feet up on the desk. He scanned the room. "So you're the new blood," Thoth said with a somewhat unsatisfied look. He stood up and began to pace in front of the class. "I am Professor Thoth and you will refer to me as such. You have all been gathered here because you are not ordinary. You are not regular people. You each have a purpose—a destiny. That is why you are here. This is what I'm here to prepare you for, so can anyone tell me what ayos do?"

One of the apprentices slowly raised his hand. Thoth pointed to him. "Umm . . . they fight kami," he said.

"Yes!" Thoth responded. "We fight kami, but what are kami exactly?" he asked, but no hands were raised. "Okay, let's start from the beginning. Kami are creatures created by magical distortions. These distortions create monsters. They attack people and cause havoc. But why do they do this? Kami are magick eaters. Magick exists in all living things. The more complex the life form, the more magick it has. That's why kami attack people," he explained.

"But there's more to it. Ayos are the only ones that can fight them. Not only because we can destroy them . . ." Thoth said as he pulled up his sleeve revealing a dark green core in his forearm, "but our cores allow us to absorb their magical essence and stabilize it within our own bodies. If a kami is killed by someone other than an ayos the distorted magick remains and will eventually reform. By absorbing the distortion we get rid of the kami for good and it makes us stronger," Thoth explained as he raised a finger. "However, don't get the wrong idea," Thoth said as he went to the board. He drew the outline of a person and a core; then he drew arrows going from one to the other. "There is a balance. The core absorbs the magick and then it filters it through the body. The body stabilizes the magick and becomes stronger to house the new power. Any excess magick goes back to the core to give the body a chance to rest before starting the process all over again."

Two people in the back of the class began whispering to each other. They were giggling. Thoth took notice of this. He raised his hand and flicked a small green needle at one of the two, hitting him in the forehead, causing his head to slam down on the desk. Everyone stopped and turned to them as a chill ran over the room. "Oh, don't worry!" Thoth said, breaking the tension. "He's just paralyzed. It'll wear off in a bit. But in the mean time," he said, pointing to the other talker, "you sit him up so he can see, and I expect you to keep your attention focused on the material," he said as he paused for a moment, taking a breath and pointing to the board.

"This process is very important because it is how we gain power. However, our cores can only hold so much excess magick in relation to our bodies. If you absorb too much, the excess magick will cause you to overload and if that happens, it will kill you," Thoth said seriously, but after his tone went back to normal. "But there's no reason to be worried. A kami that could overload you would be hard to kill. Also, we wouldn't send you out on a mission like that," he explained.

"Now onto other things. The reason that the four academies were established is to train young ayos like you to use your power and to control it. You are all very lucky to be here. You have a place to use your powers and grow safely," Thoth explained as he continued pacing from side to side of the class. "Of course there are lots of different things this academy has to offer, but we'll go into that another day. I think it's time to teach you some of the basics."

"The first technique you need to learn is how to make an aura shield. The principle of this technique is actually very simple. You basically make a shield that surrounds your body like a second skin. It sounds easy in theory, but it may prove to be more challenging then you think. First, you must be able to emit magick from all parts of your body. Second, you must be able to regulate the power you emit evenly all over your body. Third, you must condense that energy. This basically creates a dense layer of magick over your body that will protect you from all types of damage. Now, everybody, let's give it a try," Thoth explained as he pulled out a small remote. The room reformed into a wide open plane open room. "Now spread out!" Thoth commanded. The students spread out following his instruction.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 10

Fight

A few weeks later the introductory course Jin had been attending came to a close. He had learned a lot about the academy and how everything worked there. He decided to attend the new fighting class that had just opened up.

Jin made his way to his new class. He walked into a large empty room. The floor was composed of soft dirt. There were various apprentices standing around talking. Jin didn't know any of them, but he did recognize Saga who was leaning up against the wall by himself. Jin and Saga still hadn't been getting along so well, but it had gotten to the point where they mostly stayed out of each others way.

There were some apprentices talking in the corner. Jin was close enough to hear what they were saying. It was a girl and a guy. The guy turned to the girl. "This is a new class right, so whose teaching it?"

"Yeah, I think it's some guy named Ares," the girl answered.

"Wait, you mean 'the' Ares? That guy's a legend and he's going to be teaching us? I can't believe this class is opened to all ranks," the guy responded.

"Yes, and I heard that he just got here not too long ago. He's a former apprentice who came back to teach," she explained.

The door flung open. A huge mountain of a man walked in. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties and he wore a black eye-patch that covered his left eye. There was also a large scar going through that eye. The man wore a long martial arts gi with the academy's symbol. He was obviously the master.

"All right; line up kiddies!" the man said, in a booming voice. All the apprentices ran up and got in a line against the wall. He stood tall; placing his hands behind his back, he stared down all the apprentices with a disapproving look. "I'm Ares. You will refer to me as Master or Sir. You have not earned the right to as much whisper my name."

Ares began to pace in front of the apprentices. He was sizing up each one. "You are all here for one reason . . . to learn how to fight!" he said, stomping his foot on the ground. Some of the apprentices jumped. Ares was a very intimidating man. "Now, I don't care about your 'rank.' That's why I opened this class to all ranks. So let's see what you're capable of," Ares said, throwing off his gi top. His feet, stomach, and hands were wrapped in white bandages. The man's chest was covered with various scars from battles long since past.

Ares walked out to the center of the room and began looking through the apprentices. A sense of fear began to build among them. Ares raised his hand as if he was going to point at someone. No one wanted to be picked. The ones passed over breathed sighs of relief. He continued until he stopped . . . on Jin. "You!" he bellowed.

_Aww shit_! Jin thought as he slowly made his way to the center. He could barely move and his legs were shaking. Ares looked at him. "Are you ready?" he asked. Jin couldn't speak. He wanted to run, but he couldn't. Jin had never been in a real fight before. "I guess that's a yes," Ares said. "If you want to learn to fight from me, all you have to do is land one hit on me. I'll only use my left arm to make it easier for you," he said with a cocky smile.

For some reason those conditions didn't make Jin feel any better. He still didn't know what to do. Jin figured he'd try to finish it fast and get it over with. He charged Ares, raising his fist to strike. Jin made it within arms length of him when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He rose off his feet and flew across the room, eventually slamming into the wall. Ares had hit him and he didn't even see it. It was unreal.

The majority of the apprentices looked on in fear except for Saga, who had begun laughing at Jin's failed attempt. Ares quickly fixed his eyes upon him. "Ahh, and I suppose that means you'll go next," Ares said, before pointing to Jin's limp body. "Someone take him to the medical room," he said as two of the apprentices ran over and helped him up. "Well, come on then. The same terms apply," Ares said to Saga.

Saga's tone changed. He became serious as he stepped to the center. Ares studied him. "Now that's the look of a fighter, but is it because you're strong or just arrogant?" Ares asked.

Black tentacles suddenly rose up from Ares' shadow. grabbing his arm. It managed to catch him by surprise. In that moment, Saga ran up and jumped over Ares and punched at his turned back. His fist had barely made contact when Ares turned, ripping away the clinging shadows and striking Saga with his forearm. Saga pulled up his guard. taking the brunt of the blow, but he was still barely able to hold his ground.

"Nice, you restrict my movement with the shadows; then you attacked from my blind spot, and you even managed to guard before I struck you. You've earned that pride, but you have yet to fulfill your potential," Ares said as Saga's arm began to swell and turn black from where he had blocked. Ares turned back to the class. "Next!" he yelled at the rest of the class.

Jin woke several hours later in a daze. He was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Upon further study, he realized he was in the medical room. Jin sat up, grabbing his stomach in pain. "Easy now," he heard a woman's voice say. Jin turned to see Isis standing there.

"If you hadn't been using your aura shield, you would have probably been hurt much worse," Isis said.

"Yeah, but there's obviously much more I need to learn," Jin said, rubbing the bruise on his stomach. "Ares is something else," he said in deep thought.

"He is very strong, but he does have a tendency to go overboard," Isis explained. "However, if you can survive his training, you will be strong as well," she said, walking over to Jin studying his injury. Isis began emitting a purple energy from her hand going over his bruise healing it. "There that will be fine for now. You'll still be sore, but you will be able to recover on your own," Isis explained.

"What did you just do?" Jin said poking the area where his bruise used to be.

"That's called a healing aura. It's a technique that uses one person's energy to help another recover from injury. I teach basic and advanced first aid classes," Isis explained.

Jin hopped up from the table. "Well thanks," he said, heading out of the room. Isis smiled and went back to work. Jin walked down the hall trying to find his way back to his room. He was a bit lost and was looking around, not paying any attention to where he was going. Jin eventually saw Saga and was debating on whether or not to ask him for directions when he walked smack into the back of someone.

"Hey, watch it!" the guy said as he turned and immediately shoved Jin.

Jin fell and smacked the ground. _Ahh, this is not my day_ , he thought, as he slowly sat up. Jin looked up at the guy he ran into. He was slightly taller then Jin and about twice as big. Jin slowly made his way to his feet. Other people stopped and took notice. "Oh, I'm . . ." Jin began, but he stopped when he realized he'd lost control of his right arm.

It quickly rose and punched the guy. Jin watched in terror as his fist crashed into his chunky face. Everyone around looked on in shock. Saga looked over and snickered to himself as Jin regained control of his arm. The guy didn't go down and was now starring daggers at Jin. Jin raised his hands. "Whoa!" he said as the guy began to rear back to hit him.

Jin cringed as he shielded his face. "Hold it!" a new voice said. Everyone turned their attention to this new person. Saga saw him and rolled his eyes. He wore an apprentice uniform and had spiky blonde hair.

The big guy looked on in anger. "Just stay out of this Sky!" he yelled.

"Just leave the guy alone, Jared," Sky said.

"Hell, no! He just punched me in the face!" Jared said, cocking his fist back once again to hit Jin.

Sky cupped his hands together and let out a sigh. A tiny crystal formed. He grabbed it and tossed it in Jared's face. It exploded, creating a blinding flash of light, followed by a thud. Jin slowly opened his eyes and looked up to see Jared on the ground and Sky standing between them. "I warned him," Sky said.

Saga sighed and began to walk away. Sky turned to him. "Hey, where you going, Saga?" he asked in a cocky tone.

Saga shrugged. "I'm bored with this; besides, I have more important things to do," he said, walking away.

Jin raised an eyebrow in confusion. _What are they talking about_? he wondered to himself as he turned to Sky. "Thanks for the help," he said.

"No problem, my name's Sky Keng," Sky said, extending his hand.

"Jin Kaizer," Jin responded, shaking his hand.

"Good, then you're just the person I'm looking for," Sky answered.

Jin gave him a confused look. "Oh, yes. I heard about your fight with Ares if you can call that a fight?" he said with a laugh. "But anyway, I'm going to help you learn to fight," he explained.

"Why?" Jin asked.

"I was commissioned by one of the masters to help you out. I guess you can think of me as your tutor," Sky responded with a big smile.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 11

Tutoring

Jin awoke from a restful sleep. Today was the day he was supposed to start his training with Sky. He got up and got ready to go meet him. Jin left his room and entered the hallway. On his way to meet Sky, he ran into a familiar face. It was Liz. She took notice and glared at him. Jin quickly broke eye-contact and continued by her. "Hey," she said.

Jin stopped and turned to her. "Yeah?" he replied.

Liz waved her finger motioning for him to come closer. Her mood seemed to have flipped. "Come here," she said, smiling.

Jin went along, but something didn't seem right. He walked up to her. "What?" Jin asked.

"Come closer," Liz replied, with a giggle.

_This is getting weird_ , Jin thought as he moved awkwardly closer. Liz began to move in closer. _What's she doing_? Jin thought as he began to blush. Suddenly, a small black snake emerged from Liz's collar and lunged at Jin, causing him to jump back in fear. He tripped and fell back onto the floor.

Liz began to laugh as the snake returned under her uniform. All the surrounding witnesses began to laugh at him as well. Jin angrily made his way to his feet and stormed off down the hall until he eventually met up with Sky.

After telling him what happened, Sky responded by laughing. "She did what?" Sky asked through his laughing.

"Yeah, I don't know what her problem is," Jin responded.

Finally, the mood began to settle down a bit. "I don't know much about her, but I do know that the Faraoh clan is famous for being snake charmers," he explained.

"Snake charmers?" Jin questioned.

"Yes, their special ability allows them to charm and capture snake-like kami and store them within their core," Sky explained. "That's about all I know about it though,"

Jin responded with a shrug, "So what's the plan today?"

"Follow me," Sky said, leading him to a door. There was a small scanner on the side. Sky pulled out his ID and scanned it. The door unlocked and Sky opened it. "Being a three-star apprentice has its perks," Sky said, showing his card to Jin. "We get access to larger training rooms," he explained.

The two entered the empty room. Sky walked up to Jin, the computer panel on the wall. The floor was replaced with soft dirt and the walls became coved in a soft padding. "Okay, let's see . . . where to begin?" he said, thinking aloud to himself. "What do you know already?" he asked.

"Well, magick wise, I'm still new to it all. I know basic stabilization and how to do a basic aura shield . . ." Jin responded.

"No, what do you know about fighting?" Sky asked.

"Umm . . . nothing really," Jin responded with a shrug.

Sky sighed a big sigh before raising his head with a smile. "I guess we'll have to start at the beginning. Show me a punch," he instructed.

Jin stood and threw a punch. Sky walked over to him and he repositioned Jin's stance to show him how to throw a proper punch. "Okay, you'll want to end up like this. Your stance has to be solid so you can generate power without losing your balance. Now try it again," he instructed, as Jin threw another punch. "Remember to keep your guard up. When you attack, you are at your most vulnerable," Sky instructed, as Jin threw another punch. "Also, when you hit or get hit, remember to breathe out," Sky said as Jin tried again. "Good, now do it again," he instructed.

Jin continued training with Sky for the next few hours. He was slowly learning how to fight, how to move, and how to react. Sky's instruction was slowly beginning to sink in, but the training was exhausting. "Okay, let's take a break," Sky said as he sat down and leaned against the wall.

Jin walked over and did the same. He was breathing hard. "So what do you think?" Jin asked, looking to Sky for approval.

"Not bad for just starting, but there's still a lot for you to learn. This is just the basics. However, this is also the most important part because this is what everything's built on," Sky said.

"Yeah, I've heard that before," Jin responded.

Sky looked over to Jin. "So you know what happened yesterday, right?"

"What do you mean?" Jin asked confused. "Hey, I didn't start that fight. I lost control," he said as Sky cut him off.

"Control of your arm?" Sky finished.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Jin asked.

"Well, it looks like Saga was messing with you," Sky responded.

"What!? How did he? Why did he?" Jin ranted angrily.

"Yea Saga's special ability allows him to bend shadows. Looks like he wrapped a shadow around your arm and made you punch that guy," Sky explained.

Jin clinched his fist in anger. "What is his problem? Actually, what is everybody's problem in this place?" he asked.

"Saga wasn't always like he is now. This place changes people. Not always for the better, but it will make you stronger," Sky explained. "Around here, it's kind of survival of the fittest. The stronger apprentices pick on the weaker ones. It's just the way things go. It helps make the new apprentices step up and take things seriously," he said.

"But why is it like that?" Jin asked.

"Because it's necessary to develop that mind-set because out there, you're gunna need it. Kami won't think twice about killing you," Sky explained.

Jin thought seriously about this. "Yeah, I guess you're right," He said agreeing.

"Yeah, but at times it can get out of hand. Saga was such a case. You see, Saga's a prodigy. He's the first shadow weaver in the last ten generations of his clan. So there were great expectations from him, but he had yet to master his ability, and was quickly knocked down to the bottom of the food chain. He got picked on a lot . . . mostly by one person in particular. Saga could barely weave shadows and couldn't do much to fight back. It eventually got to the point where Saga stopped going to class. No one knew what he was doing, but apparently he'd been training in secret. A few months or so later, he came back and challenged that guy to a fight—and he won," Sky explained.

"But anyway, speaking of special abilities, what's yours?" Sky asked.

"Special ability? I don't have one. I haven't picked one yet," Jin said.

Sky began to laugh again. "You don't pick one, dude. You're born with it," he explained. He placed his palms together and created a tiny crystal. "See . . . my special ability allows me to solidify and crystallize light," he said before flicking it across the room. It popped, creating a tiny flash of light. "I can detonate them to make big flashes of light," Sky explained.

"Is that all you can do?" Jin asked.

"It may not seem like much, but it is powerful when used correctly," Sky explained as he waved his hands past each other. "Deception is a powerful tool. I make you look where I want; then I blind you before you even know it happened. But that's just what I can do now. Special abilities can become more powerful and more complicated as you grow," he explained.

"Hmm . . . I can't do anything like that. I'm still new to all this. I don't even have a star rank," Jin explained.

"Hey, that's fine. Sometimes it can take a good while for someone to discover their special ability. So don't worry about it—but yeah, that's enough talk. Let's get back to work," Sky replied.

They stood and began going through different drills. Jin continued working with Sky over the next few months until he had finally learned how to fight. Over that time, Jin and Sky became good friends.

Jin and Sky were sparring with each other one day. Jin had improved with all his training. "Very good, apprentice. You have learned well," Sky said in a sarcastic tone.

"Thank you oh so much, master. It means so much to have your approval," Jin replied in the same tone. The two stopped fighting for a moment.

"Okay, but on a more serious note . . ." Sky said taking a breath. "There's more things I want to teach you before you go back to Ares' class," he explained.

"Yeah, like what?" Jin asked.

"Well, martial-arts wise, I've got you on a good enough start. You can take that from here, but there is a magick technique I can teach you to go along with this," Sky explained. "Now watch me," Sky said as he squatted down. He then jumped up very high. Jin watched in amazement. Sky jumped high enough to touch the ceiling, which was higher then any normal person could reach. He came back down and touched lightly on the ground.

"How did you do that?" Jin asked in awe.

"That's what I'm going to teach you. Of course, since your magick isn't as strong as mine, you won't be able to go as high. However, the technique should make you stronger, none the less," Sky explained.

"So it makes me jump higher?" Jin asked.

"No, it's much more than that. It's called muscle manipulation. Basically, you run your magick into your muscles to increase their strength and flexibility. Using this, you can run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. Basically, everything is improved," Sky explained. "Okay, now you try. Squat down and focus your magical flow into your legs. When you feel ready, jump as high as you can," he instructed.

Jin followed his instructions and jumped. To his surprise, he jumped about twice as high as he normally could. However, to this surprise, he lost focus and botched the landing, causing him to fall forward onto his stomach.

Sky laughed at Jin before helping him up. "That was good, but we have to work on that landing of yours," Sky said patting Jin on the back.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 12

Test

After a few weeks of training with Sky, Jin decided to attend Ares' class again. _Today's the day_. Jin thought, filled with a new confidence. He walked in to see some familiar faces, including Saga. A few moments later, Ares came into the room. "All right, line up!" he said as the apprentices scrambled to get into line.

Ares began pacing in front of the class and sizing up the apprentices. "Hmm, any new apprentices today?" he asked, looking around, but stopped when he saw Jin. "Ahh . . . so you finally came back. Done licking your wounds?" Ares said with a snicker. He then turned and walked out into the center. "Well, you know the terms. So let's see what you've learned," he said waving Jin forward.

Jin walked to the center. He felt the ground under his feet and blocked out all the other people in the room, allowing him to gain total focus on the situation. Jin took a deep breath and got into his stance. Ares stood still awaiting Jin to make the first move.

Jin charged forward, just as he did before. Ares punched forward toward Jin's stomach, as he did before. Jin had predicted this and dodged to the left. He felt the force of the blow graze his body as Ares' arm moved past. Jin then pinched the arm under his left arm. Jin tried to keep him from retracting his fist to go for another attack.

In this position, Jin threw a right kick to Ares' side, but to no avail. He was suddenly yanked to his left as Ares threw Jin off his arm. Jin landed on all fours, sliding along the ground. He gripped the dirt, allowing him to stop. At that moment, he got an idea. Jin grabbed a handful of dirt and focused his magick to his legs. He charged forward once again. When he was within range, he threw the dirt, blinding Ares. Ares instinctively struck the area Jin was moving in. Jin bent back, sliding on his knees dodging the attack. Once past Ares' guard, he punched up, hitting him in the side.

Jin stood proud of his victory. Ares stood silent and began rubbing his eye. There was a moment of awkward silence before it was broken by Ares laughing. He turned to Jin. "You slippery little bastard, you threw sand in my eye. You compensated for your lack in power by fighting dirty. I like it. You can join the class," Ares said with a wicked smile.

"All right, if there aren't any other newbies, then let's begin," Ares continued. "Find a partner and line up on the side of the room. Fight drills. One person punches the other's blocks till you get to the other side of the room and then switch, same for the kicks. Then throw combinations for the third," he instructed.

The class finally came to a conclusion so Jin returned to his room. He walked over to his bed and plopped down because he was exhausted. Jin suddenly felt a strange tingle in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his ID card. Jin studied it and saw that his "Rank" had turned blue. _So I'm eligible for advancement_? I _wonder how it works_. _I guess I'll go ask Khronus about it tomorrow_ , he thought to himself before drifting off to sleep.

The next day Jin went looking for Khronus. He heard from one of the other apprentices that he was teaching a class. Jin found the room he was in and waited outside till the class finished. Jin waited while the class emptied. Khronus came out last. He saw Jin standing on the wall waiting. "Can I help you with something Jin?" Khronus asked.

"Yes, actually I need to ask you something," Jin explained as he reached in his pocket and pulled out his ID to show him. "I'm eligible for advancement. So where do I go for the test?"

"Wow, ready for advancement all ready," Khronus said impressed. "Yes, when you are ready for advancement you go to see Thoth. He handles all the tests. He should be in his lab right now, so you can find him there. Actually, I'm heading that way so I can show you where it is," he explained.

Khronus and Jin walked together for a while until they came to two large double doors with a sign reading "Lab" over them. "Here we are," Khronus said.

"Thanks for showing me the way," Jin said as he entered the room. It was a large laboratory filled with jars of samples, lots of equipment, and supplies. Jin didn't see Thoth around. "Professor Thoth," he said, calling for him.

"Yes, over here," Thoth's voice said. Jin followed it to find Thoth in a corner sitting down, staring at something with a stethoscope. Jin walked up to him. "How can I help you?" Thoth asked, still staring at his sample.

"I'm eligible for advancement. I was told to come see you," Jin explained.

Thoth stopped looking and turned to Jin. He looked Jin up and down with a smile. "Really?" he said, excited. "This will be your first test correct?" Thoth asked.

Jin nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, enter that room over there and we'll begin the test," Thoth said, pointing at a door that said "Test Area No. 1." Jin walked over and entered. There was a staircase leading down to a small empty room. Jin made his way to the base of the stairs and looked up to see a viewing area behind glass above him. He saw Thoth walk up and speak into a microphone. "Okay, are you ready?" Thoth asked.

Jin looked up and gave him a thumb up. Thoth smiled and began pressing buttons on the control panel in front of him. The wall behind him began to move and close the room off. Jin looked around, confused. A small area of the wall in front of him began to rise to reveal a small, strange creature.

Jin stared trying to make it out. It was a small blue blob. "What the . . .?" Jin said to himself cocking his head in confusion. _What is that_? he wondered. At that moment, the blob jumped forward, zipping past Jin and cutting his arm. He looked down in shock. Then Jin felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as the creature bounced off the wall, hitting him. The force of the blow caused Jin to fall forward.

Jin jumped back up to his feet. He was annoyed that the blob got the drop on him. The blob had stopped and was just sitting on the ground in front of him. Jin stood ready, closely watching the creature. It lunged again. Jin jumped to the side and dodged it. It bounced of the wall back at him. He dodged again. They continued this back and forth until Jin got an idea. He waited for it to fly at him again. When it came near, Jin kicked it as hard as he could. The blob smacked against the wall and smashed apart.

Jin let out a sigh of relief. The creature's remains began to glow. Jin jumped back, ready for another attack. The remains became small balls of light and flew toward him. They were absorbed by his core. The core glowed brightly for a moment and then went back to normal. Jin suddenly felt a rush of power. Wow, so that must have been a kami, he thought to himself.

The entrance to the room reappeared and he made his way up the steps and out to the lab. Jin heard the sound of clapping behind him. He turned to see Thoth. "Not bad; you did well for the first time fighting a kami anyway," Thoth said.

"It's weird; I feel funny," Jin explained.

"You should. This is your first time absorbing magick from a kami, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," Jin said as he reached down, touching his core over his cloths.

"When an ayos defeats a kami, they absorb its magick, and the ayos becomes stronger. That kami was a relatively weak one. We rank kami with the same rankings we use for apprentices. That was a one-star rank kami," Thoth explained.

"So I passed?" Jin asked.

"Yes," Thoth said with a laugh. "Pull out your ID." Jin pulled out his ID and looked at it. His rank now had one white star beside it. "See now that you are a one-star apprentice, you can start going on missions," Thoth explained.

"What kind of missions?" Jin asked.

"The missions are divided up by ranks, and they are mostly just hunting and destroying kami of that rank. Taking part in these assignments helps you gain magick and grow stronger. You also get cash rewards that you can use on later jobs," Thoth explained.

"So how do I sign up for these assignments?" Jin asked.

"You can sign up down the hall. Go see one of the master scribes. He'll tell you what you need to do," Thoth explained.

Jin felt excited about the new adventures he was sure to experience. He thanked Thoth and made his way out of the lab.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 13

Missions

On his way out of the lab, Jin realized that his arm was still cut, so he went to the medical room. He walked in and looked around for Isis. Instead, Jin was greeted by a young girl.

"Hi, do you need some treatment for that cut?" she asked. The girl had short light blue hair in a bowl cut, and she was wearing an apprentice nurse uniform. Jin also noticed that she had a core at the base of her throat.

"Yes," Jin responded.

Another girl appeared, shoving the first aside. "Oh, you don't want her help. I'm much more experienced and can get you fixed up in half the time," this girl said. She was the mirror image of the first except her hair was light pink.

"Kara, cut it out. I saw him first," the blue-haired girl said pushing the other one back.

"Oh, shut up, Sara. You know you suck at treating wounds," Kara responded.

"I do not!" Sara responded.

Jin stood in the entry with a bleeding arm and now a headache as Isis appeared, prying the fighting twins apart. "Okay, what's going on here?" she asked. The girls responded with a flurry of high-pitched squeals and incoherent speech. "One at a time, I can't understand when you both talk at once," she said.

"If you could just point me to the bandages, I could . . ." Jin tried to say over the twins, but to no avail.

"I was trying to treat this guy, and Kara's trying to steal him from me," Sara explained before they broke into more squabble.

"Okay! Who was the last person to help someone?" Isis asked.

Sara looked to Kara as her head sank down. "Me," Kara said.

"Okay, then Sara, it's your turn," Isis said as Sara smiled and Kara frowned.

Sara turned and grabbed Jin's good arm, pulling him over to one of the tables. She poured a salve on the wound, causing the wound to burn. Jin gritted his teeth in pain. _Wow_ , _maybe she really does suck at treating wounds_ , he thought, as she scrubbed the wound. Jin tensed up, but let out a sigh of relief when she finally put the bandages on.

When she finished, Sara looked up at Jin. "Do you feel better?" she asked, staring at him with puppy-dog eyes.

Jin backed up a bit. "Yep, good as new," he said in a reassuring tone. "Well, thanks," he said as he walked out of the room. Jin decided to go and talk to a master scribe about these assignments. He continued down the hall until he saw a large board with various placards on it. Each placard had details of various assignments—including rank. Some of the placards were labeled "In Progress" and listed the name or names of the apprentices currently covering the assignments. In between the boards was a room.

Jin entered the room to see an old man sitting at a desk. The man had short white hair, a goatee, glasses, and he was wearing a scribe's robe. He was shuffling through papers when Jin walked in. The man looked up. "Ah, yes, can I help you young man?"

"Yes, I wanted to see about signing up for an assignment," Jin replied. The man motioned for him to take a seat. Jin sat down. He saw a desk plate that read "Master Scribe Vinard."

Vinard looked in his desk and pulled out a form. "And what is you name and rank please?" he asked.

"My name is Jin Kaizer and I'm a one-star rank apprentice," Jin said.

Vinard looked up. "Is this your first time here?" he asked, as Jin nodded. "Then you're probably wondering how this whole system works. Our academy is a training center for ayos, and ayos destroy kami. Kami are often a plague on people, so villages will commission us to take care of the problem," he explained.

"So we charge for our services?" Jin asked.

"Now we don't charge for our services. The people that commission our services often feel compelled to make donations to our institution. We do not require payment. However, their donations help us to run as smoothly as we do," Vinard explained.

"So how do the assignments work?" Jin asked.

"Basically, you let me know if you want to be signed up for a job. You can pick one of the one-star assignments on the board out there, or I could just sign you up for the assignment I think you're best suited for. Once you've signed up, you'll receive one of these envelopes," Vinard said, showing Jin a black envelop with the academy's symbol on it. "It contains all the details of the assignment and a map. Also, you'll rarely go on assignment alone. We like to send groups of at least three people. The people you work with will be selected by us, and we make our selections based on your abilities and compatibility. Does this sound like something you're interested in?" he asked

"Yeah, I guess; go ahead and sign me up for whichever assignment you think would be right for me," Jin responded.

"Okay, I'll get you signed up. You should hear back from us in a few days. Oh, and you will receive a small payment upon completion of your assignment," Vinard responded, as Jin went on his way. Jin went back to his room to get some rest. Over the next few days, he continued his training.

"Today, we're going to learn something new," Ares said as he paced in front of the class. "I need a volunteer . . . you," he continued, pointing to Zack. "Okay, stand right there," Ares instructed, pointing to the area in front of him. Zack did as he said. "Watch closely," he said as he placed a finger on Zack's chest. A spark of yellow energy surged from Ares' finger as Zack was blown across the room.

"Now you're probably wondering how I did that. It's a minor technique, but very effective. You run your magick through your palm into the other person. Their magick will attempt to push back, causing the two to repel each other and what you just saw will happen," Ares explained as Zack slowly made his way back to his feet. He dusted himself off and got back in line. "Okay, now partner up and try it out," Ares instructed.

Everyone began to line up and pick a sparring opponent. To his surprise, Saga walked up to Jin. Though they had been in the same class for a while now, Jin and Saga had never sparred before. Actually, they never paid any attention to each other.

"So what do you want?" Jin asked.

"I want to spar with you, of course," Saga responded.

"So what brought this on?" Jin asked. Saga just shrugged in response. "Are you actually going to fight or just have me hit someone else like before?" Jin asked.

Saga began to laugh. "So you finally figured it out? Took you long enough," Saga responded.

"Yeah, Sky told me," Jin responded.

"So you must have known for a while. Why bring it up now?" Saga asked.

"Because now I can do something about it!" Jin responded.

Saga laughed again. "You think so? Well, let's see, shall we," Saga said as he took up a stance.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 14

Growth

Jin took his stance facing Saga. Neither made a move. They both studied each other waiting for the other to make a move. Saga came out of stance and just stood plain. Jin was suspicious of his reason for doing this. Saga saw the confusion on his face and smirked.

Jin moved forward, ready to attack. He moved in with to punch Saga when his attack was suddenly halted. Jin's fist was being held by a shadow tentacle. "You can't reach me," Saga said as he hit Jin in the stomach with his palm. Dark blue energy sparked from his palm and knocked Jin back.

By this time, the class had begun to take notice of their fight. The other apprentices stopped sparring and turned their attention to the two. Ares also stopped to watch. Jin got up and brushed himself off. He moved in again but was halted as shadows gripped both his arms. Jin struggled, but couldn't get free. Then he got an idea. Red energy sparked from his palms, causing the shadows to melt off of him.

Saga looked on in surprise as Jin broke free. Jin charged at Saga and was tripped as a shadow tentacle reached up and grabbed his leg. It picked him up and began spinning him around. Jin's palm sparked and he reached down gripping the shadow. It melted away, freeing him. He fell, but managed to catch himself as he hit the ground. Saga began to get annoyed. Shadow tentacles rose up around him as he became more serious.

One of the apprentices walked up behind Ares. "Those guys are getting serious. Maybe we should stop . . ." he began.

"No," Ares responded, cutting him off. "This is just what those two need. This rivalry is pushing them farther then they would get by themselves. Just watch them; Jin has already mastered the technique and learned to apply it against Saga. Saga's ego is a bit out of control, and it looks like Jin may open his eyes and show him he has more to learn," he explained.

Saga began attacking with his shadows, as they began to whip at Jin. Jin moved in closer by dodging the tentacles. He was distracted as two came at him at once. Jin raised his arms to block. He suddenly found himself surrounded as the tentacles bound his body. Jin was trapped and couldn't move. "Isn't it time for you to give up?" Saga asked, tightening the grip of the shadows.

Jin yelled as red energy sparked from his whole body allowed him to brake free. He ran up to Saga and kicked at his head. Saga reached up and grabbed his leg. At this point, Jin exhausted most of his power. He poured the rest of his energy into a final strike, as he hit Saga in the stomach with an energy palm. It landed, but Saga held his ground. Saga grunted in pain and looked to Jin in anger. Jin smirked in defiance. Saga struck back at Jin with an energy palm of his own. Blue energy sparked off Jin's body as the current ran through him, covering his body with cuts. Finally, the massive energy field shot Jin back.

Jin fell limp to the ground. Saga was panting hard and began to calm down. "It's over," Ares said. "Now someone take Jin to the medical office, and everyone else get back to work!" he commanded.

Jin once again found himself in a familiar place. He was lying on the ground completely surrounded by darkness. Jin stood and looked around, but there was nothing around. "Where am I?" Jin said to himself. His eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness and made out a figure in the distance. "Hey!" Jin called out to the person. There was no response.

Jin began to run toward the person. He finally got close, but he began to feel a weight pull down on him. He couldn't move. He tried to call to the person, but he couldn't speak. Then the person turned his head toward Jin. The person suddenly opened their glowing red eyes and stared at Jin. "Ahh," Jin said as he was jerked out of his sleep. He cringed in pain as he lifted up. He looked around to see he was in the medical room in an area that was surrounded by a curtain. Kara was sitting at a desk beside him.

"You okay?" Kara asked, turning her attention to him.

Jin leaned back with a loud sigh. "Yeah, I guess," he said. Kara walked over to Jin. A light green energy surrounded her palm as she went over Jin's body to analyze his wounds.

"Well, you seem to be all right. It's mostly minor damage over a wide area. Just take it easy for now and you should be back to normal in a day or two," Kara explained.

Jin sat up and let his feet hang over the side of the bed. "Okay, I will; thanks," he said as he stood.

"All right you can go back to your room. If you have any more problems, you know where to find me," Kara responded, as she made her way out of the area.

Jin got dressed and made his way back to his room. He walked in to find the room empty. Upon further inspection, he saw a large black envelop on his bed. Jin sat down on the bed, opened the letter, and began to read through the contents.

The first thing he saw was the people in his group. Jin was to be paired with one-star rank apprentice, Liz Faraoh, and the group would be led by two-star rank apprentice, Saga Dimyo. Jin dropped the envelope and all its contents onto the bed. "What!?" Jin said aloud in shock.

Jin rolled his eyes and fell back on the bed, letting out a sigh. _Great, I'm on a team with the two people who hate me the most in this place_. _This is going to suck_ , Jin thought. It took him a while, but he eventually realized he couldn't do anything about it, so he was just going to have to deal with it.

Jin's curiosity got the best of him, so he picked up the contents of the envelope and continued reading. Apparently, a village to the west called _Hamelin_ has been having a problem with kami. The kami were in the form of massive rats. There were various reports of seeing them in the woods outside the town. The townsfolk fear that the rats will begin moving into town and attacking the people. Jin's group is to be deployed to the village and clear out any kami they encounter.

_Rats_ , _huh_? _So I'm pretty much an exterminator now_? Jin thought to himself, as he looked over the documents. It said that their group would depart tomorrow afternoon. At that moment, Saga walked into the room.

He glared at Jin. "So I guess you know already?" Saga asked.

"Yeah," Jin responded.

"Look, just do what I say when I say it and stay out of my way the rest of the time," Saga commanded angrily. He then walked over to his bed and laid down. "Now get some sleep," he said, pulling the sheets over him.

"Whatever," Jin said as he placed the contents back into the envelope. He then laid back on his bed and tried to get some sleep.

The next day Jin awoke to see that Saga's bed was empty, and he had already left. Jin sat up and looked at the clock. Realizing he was late, he jumped out of bed and hastily got dressed before speeding off to the meeting spot. Jin ran toward the front entrance of the academy. He arrived to see Saga and Liz waiting for him.

"You're late," Liz said, annoyed.

"Well, I'm here now," Jin replied.

Saga just sighed. "Let's just go," he added, also annoyed. Saga took the lead as the three headed to the gate.

Poart turned to see the three walking up. "State your business," he said.

"We have business to tend to. We are going on a mission and have received permission to leave the premises," Saga said, pulling out a scroll and handing it through the gate to Poart.

Poart opened the scroll and read it. "Okay, you have permission," he responded, as he put the scroll in his jacket. Poart opened the gate and let the three through.

"Thanks, Poart," Jin said as he walked past. Poart smiled and waved to the group as they left.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 15

New Adventure

The three made their way down the dirt road to the atlas gates. They went through a nearby gate, leading them closer to their destination. The group continued in silence. The air was thick with tension between the three. Finally, Jin broke the tension. "So how long till we get there?"

"We should arrive there by nightfall. It would have been sooner if you had been on time," Saga answered, as he continued looking forward.

"So have either of you been to this place before? Why was it called Hamelin?" Jin asked.

"I have," Liz responded.

"Care to tell us about it?" Jin asked.

"No," she responded.

_Ahh_ , _what is with these people_? Jin thought to himself. They spent the rest of the trip in silence. The sun had begun to set when they reached the town. It was a small village with a cluster of stone houses sitting on the edge of a large forest. There was smoke coming from the chimneys, and they could see lights in the windows.

The three walked into the town. "We'll stay at the inn tonight and we can scout around tomorrow," Saga instructed, as they made their way to the village inn.

They entered the inn. A large burley man greeted them. "Welcome travelers," he said as the three walked up to the desk. "How can I help you?"

"We all need rooms," Saga said.

"All right, you're all in luck. We have three rooms available. It will be five silver a piece," the inn keeper explained.

Saga and Liz reached into their pouches and pulled out the money. Jin just stood there. "I don't have any money," Jin said, embarrassed.

"Looks like you're sleeping outside tonight," Saga quickly replied.

Jin's mouth dropped. "Seriously?" he said, looking to Saga.

"Well, I'm not paying for you," Saga replied.

"Maybe you could help me out, Liz?" Jin asked hopefully.

"Umm . . . no," Liz responded.

Jin was surprised, to say the least. He suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach as he awkwardly stood there. _Well . . . err_ ," he thought. Jin then made his way out of the inn. The sun had gone down and there was a slight chill in the air. Jin began ranting and mumbling obscurities as he made his way to the side of the building and sat down against the wall.

_How am I going to sleep like this_? _I can't sleep outside_. _I never even camped out before_ . . . _err_ , Jin thought, as he closed his eyes. As the wind began to pick up, Jin began to hear something strange. It sounded like music. It was faint, but he heard it. Jin stood and began trying to track the source of the noise. He walked out to the main street, following the sound. It seemed to be coming from the forest.

At that moment, he heard something else. It was a scurrying sound. He turned to see a large green rat moving toward him. It lunged up at him, showing its teeth. Jin reacted and smacked it down with his forearm. He turned to face it as it hissed loudly. Jin ran up and tried to kick it, but it dodged to the side.

The commotion had gotten the attention of the people in the inn. Saga and Liz ran out. The kami jumped up at Jin again. He moved forward to punch it down, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. The rat ran away to the forest as Jin turned to see Liz standing there with a whip or, what seemed to be a whip, with a surprised look on her face. Jin was clinched in pain. "Ahh . . ." he said.

Jin hobbled over, trying to reach the large wound on his back. "You!" he said, pointing at Liz. "You whipped me! Why did you whip me?" he asked, with a painful look on his face.

Liz began to giggle at how Jin was acting. "You shouldn't get in the way," she said just before she began to laugh. This also caused Saga to start laughing, but he was trying very hard to hide it.

"Stop laughing at me!" Jin said.

Liz bent down, grabbing her knees laughing. "Ahh, I can't help it. You look like a monkey walking around like that," she said as the whip went back into her core. Of course her comment sent Saga off, because he could no longer hide his laughter. Liz reached up, wiping away her newly forming tears, as she waved for Jin to come. "Okay, okay, I'll get you a room, but you need to get that wound cleaned," she said.

They made their way back into the inn. Liz paid for Jin's room and she followed him in with some medical supplies. Jin walked over and sat on the side of the bed. He took his shirt off. Liz opened the kit and began rummaging through it. "So what was that weapon you had anyway?" Jin asked.

"It was a snake," Liz answered as she began cleaning the wound.

"A snake? How does that work?" Jin asked, cringing in pain.

"It's a special kind of snake. It has a long slender body that's as tough as leather. It attaches to my core, allowing me to run my magick through it and use it like a whip," Liz explained as she began to bandage the wound.

"Hmm . . . that's pretty cool. I can't do anything like that," Jin began before jumping back a bit. "What's that!?" he asked, surprised to see a small blue mouse scurry across the floor and into a hole in the wall.

"What?" Liz asked, as she finished applying the bandage.

Jin pointed to the hole in the wall. "There . . . it looked like a blue mouse or something? Was it a kami?" he asked as he stood, putting his shirt back on.

"Let's find out," Liz said, walking over to the hole at the base of the wall. She placed her hand on the floor as a snake crawled out and into the hole. There were a few thuds from inside the wall, followed by silence.

Saga came into the room when he heard the commotion. "What's going on?" he asked. The tail of the snake then stuck out of the hole. Liz reached down and grabbed it. She pulled it out to reveal the snake holding the mouse by the neck.

Liz held them up showing Saga. "This," she said.

"So is it a kami?" Jin asked.

"Yes," Saga said, looking at it. "Kill it," he commanded. Liz looked down at the snake as it clenched its jaw and killed the mouse, causing it to disappear. "Just as I thought," Saga said.

"What? Why didn't it turn to magick?" Jin asked

"I see, it was a scout," Liz said. "A scout is a type of kami, but it isn't like the normal ones. You see scouts are a kind of copy that is created by a main kami. The copies are visually linked to the main. They scout ahead and look for food or enemies. The scouts themselves are like limbs of the kami. They can be destroyed, but since they are not independent kami, they release no magick," she explained.

"So what does this mean?" Jin asked.

"It means that whatever's out there knows we're here," Saga said. "We better get some rest. We're going hunting tomorrow," he said as he left the room.

Liz made her way out as well. Jin called to her as she made her way to the door. "Hey, thanks for patching me up," he said.

"Yeah, watch out next time," Liz said as she made her way out. "And I'll expect you to reimburse me when we get back," she said, shutting the door and leaving the room. Jin laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 16

Pied Piper

The next day the three apprentices set off toward the woods. "So what's the plan?" Liz asked.

"Okay, we need to draw out the kami and take them down," Saga instructed.

"How are we going to draw them out?" Jin asked.

"Kami are naturally aggressive. They'll most likely attack if we enter their territory, and according to the villagers, the rats are coming from this forest," Saga explained, as the group continued into the forest. The group eventually came to a clearing within but had yet to see any kami.

"I think I can help with this," Liz said as a small black snake popped out of her shirt collar. "See my little friend here can make some scouts for us," she explained as she reached up and petted it. "Isn't that right, Ambrosia?" she said in an adoring tone. Liz then reached down, touching the ground with both hands. Several small black snakes crawled out of her sleeves, heading in different directions. "Now we just wait here till I get word from them," she explained.

The three stood in the clearing looking around, waiting to see if Liz's scouts came up with anything. Liz's snake, Ambrosia, slithered up and seemed to whisper in her ear. She immediately jumped up. "Get ready!"

"What is it?" Saga asked.

"All the scouts were taken out. There's a large group of kami heading this way!" she said as her snake whip came out and attached to her core. Saga and Jin prepared as well. The three stood back to back in a circle. They began to hear a rustling in the trees as several large green rats came coming out of the woods. The group of rats began to move in toward the three.

"Damn it! How are there so many?" Saga said surprised as he stretched out his shadow and impaled three in-coming rats. The rats turned into light and burst into magick particles that were absorbed by Saga's core. Two rats jumped up at Jin. He grabbed them in midair. Energy sparked from his palms, destroying the two kami. Liz whipped down, slicing through one of the rats and then wrapped her whip around another kami lifting it up, before slamming it down on the ground.

The group continued fighting through the hoards of rats. They seemed near countless in number, but the group was holding them off for the time being. The rats suddenly stopped attacking and began to retreat. "What's going on? Why are they retreating?" Saga questioned.

Jin began to hear something very familiar. "Wait, do you hear that?" he said as he once again began to hear the soft sound of music. The three stood quiet, listening.

"Yeah, is that music?" Liz questioned, as she listened closer. "It is music."

Saga sat silent in thought before a shocked look came over his face. "No, it couldn't be," he said.

"What is it Saga?" Jin asked.

"I think it's a Beckon," Saga answered.

"What's a Beckon?" Liz questioned.

"Beckons are a special type of kami. They have the ability to gather and control certain types of kami, usually by playing some kind of instrument. By themselves, they aren't that strong, but they can control stronger kami. Because of this, they're usually ranked three stars and above," Saga explained. "Basically, we were misinformed and ill prepared for this mission. We need to get out of here and call for back up," he said.

"Let's go now while we have the chance," Jin added, as the three made their way out of the forest and back to the town.

They regrouped at the inn and Saga got on the phone with the academy. Liz and Jin sat down and rested, waiting for him to finish. Saga walked over to the table and took a seat as well. He took a deep breath. "Well, I talked to the academy and let them know our situation. They're going to send us some help, but due to the immediate threat, we're to remain stationed in the town until they arrive," Saga explained.

"Protecting the town shouldn't be that hard," Jin said.

"Don't jinx it, Jin," Liz said, jokingly trying to relieve the stress of the situation.

"Anyway, rest up and get some food. I'll take first watch," Saga said as he went outside.

Liz and Jin sat at the table eating. Jin looked up at her. "So, why did you mess with me at the academy?" he asked.

"What!? Me? No, I don't mess with people," Liz said sarcastically as she continued eating.

Jin glared at her. "You know what I'm talking about. Somebody told me it's because I looked at your core. Care to explain it to me?"

Liz rolled her eyes. "Do I really have to explain it?" she said.

"It would help me make some sense of things," Jin responded.

Liz rolled up her sleeve revealing her core. "I just hate the color. It's so . . . girly."

Jin laughed. "Well, you are a girl," he pointed out.

"Duh . . . that's not what I mean. It's just a weak color. It doesn't put off the presence a strong ayos should. Nobody's going to be intimidated by a bright pink core," Liz explained.

"Well, I think you're plenty intimidating on your own," Jin said with a smirk. "Maybe instead of trying to hide it, you should embrace it," he suggested.

Liz just rolled her eyes and continued eating. At that moment, the two heard a strange noise coming from outside. It was music, but this time it was louder then before. The two ran outside. The sun had just begun to set. "What is it?" Jin asked as the two ran to Saga.

Saga just pointed toward the forest. The two others looked out to see a large group of rats heading toward them. The three moved to the edge of the village and prepared for battle. Saga stood on the right, Liz on the left, and Jin stood in the middle. Two large shadow tentacles rose up beside Saga as they began bashing through the front lines. Liz started whipping through the countless rats. Jin took care of any that got close to the two.

The group was holding the line, but it had begun to take its toll and they had become exhausted from all the fighting. The music had begun to get even louder. At that moment, a giant red rat that towered over the others came walking out of the woods. On top of it sat a strange-looking creature. It appeared to be wearing a strange hat and a long black coat that went up high enough to cover its face. It had slender arms and legs. It was playing what appeared to be a flute. Upon its shoulder sat a small blue mouse, like the one the group had encountered in the inn. _That must be it_. _That's a beckon_ , Jin thought, looking up at the creature.

The other rats parted, allowing the red one to pass through. The three backed close together in a tight huddle. The large red rat opened its mouth, blowing out fire at them. Jin grabbed the others and jumped out of the way, dodging it.

"This is bad. I don't know how much more we can take," Saga said panting. The group had begun to get pushed back toward the town. The town would be in jeopardy if they gave up anymore land. The red rat continued closer. It reared back again and shot out fire once again.

Out of nowhere, a person appeared between them, absorbing the flames. The group looked to see a young man with short spiked black hair wearing a white robe with a blue flame print on the bottom and at the end of the sleeves bearing the academy's symbol on the back. He created a circle of blue flames around the rats trapping them. Then the flames closed in, engulfing all the remaining rats and the beckon destroying them.

The three were finally able to take a breath. They were all so tired they sat down on the ground. "That can't be who I think it is," Saga said, surprised. "That's the son of Odin and a member of the White Order, Baldr of the blue flame."

Baldr turned to the group. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Saga replied. "But if you don't mind me asking, sir, why did they send such a high-ranking ayos like you to aid us?" he asked.

"I was in the area so the academy asked if I wouldn't mind helping," Baldr explained. "Now if you are all fine, I'll go clear out any remaining kami. You are all relieved. I'll handle it from here," he said as he made his way out of town toward the woods.

The three regrouped and rested at the inn. Once they were back to normal, they made their way back to the academy.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 17

Back to Training

Jin, Liz, and Saga continued on the path back home, walking tall with a sense of accomplishment. They had met a situation above their ability and rose to the challenge, but the three were tired from their battle and wished to return home to the academy. "So what's the White Order?" Jin asked.

"Are you serious? Do you know anything about us or . . ." Saga began to rant. However, after seeing the pitiful look on Jin's face, he just sighed and smacked his forehead. "The White Order is an independent force that works for the academy. They are made of some of the best warriors ever assembled. They handle some of the highest ranked and highest priority missions. It is the highest honor an ayos of the west academy can achieve," Saga explained.

"So does that mean the other academies have a White Order?" Liz asked.

"Well, the goings on of the other academies is only known by their members, so I can't say for certain, but I would assume they do. If not, they probably have something very similar," Saga said with a shrug. They continued up the road until the academy came into view.

The group walked up to the academy. As they made their way up to the gate, Poart requested to see their ID cards so they could reenter the academy. To their surprise, each of their ranks were glowing blue. They reported to one of the master scribes for a debriefing. They told the scribe all the details and went to get some rest.

The next day, the three met with Thoth to see about advancement. "I heard about your assignment. Due to your ability to coop with such a difficult situation, I am going to promote you all," Thoth explained.

"Wait, so no test?" Jin asked confused.

"Yes, your experience on the field was far more challenging than the advancement test. This type of advancement does happen. The tests are designed to rank you for conditions on the field, so if your field experience surpasses that, then there's no need to test you," Thoth explained. The three were pleased as they left the lab.

After a few days of rest, Jin got back to training. He slowly realized that there was a gap in his combat, and he needed to learn some new moves. Jin was walking through the academy when he bumped into Khronus. "Hey, Khronus," Jin said, catching his attention.

Khronus turned to see him. "Yes, good to see you. Do you need help with something?" he asked, as the two continued walking.

"Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. You know that last mission I was on?" Jin asked.

"Yes, I heard about it. To think you ran into a beckon on your first assignment, you meet Baldr, and got promoted none the less. Sounds exciting," Khronus said.

"I realized during that fight that I don't really know any ranged attacks. Can you help me with that?" Jin asked.

"Actually, I can. I teach marksmanship," Khronus explained.

"Yeah, but I don't have a special ability that allows me to use projectiles," Jin replied.

"While I do work with apprentices who have special abilities, you don't need one. You can learn to shoot concentrated balls of magick, but it's not easy. It's a different training then you're used to. Hand-to-hand combat relies on power and speed, but projectiles rely on precision and accuracy," Khronus explained, as he made his way to a door. "You can come to my class tomorrow and I will show you, but for now I want to you to see something," he said, opening the doors.

The two walked inside. It was a massive room. The walls were covered with dormant cores of all different colors. Each of them had a small plaque under it. The floors and ceiling were tiled in a beautiful design. The walk path was lined with various statues of fallen ayos. Each of them had a core inside them as well. "What is this place?" Jin asked.

"This is the final resting place of some of the greatest ayos that ever lived. When an ayos of this academy is laid to rest, their core is placed here as a memorial. You see ayos are not like normal people. When we die, our bodies turn to magick. The only remains we leave are our cores," Khronus explained. The two continued down the main path. The large hall was lined with separate rooms on each side. "There's something I've been meaning to show you for a long time." The two made their way to the end of the hall to a large archway that lead into another room. They stepped through the opening. It was a smaller room with a life-size statue of a man. In his chest was an indent where a core used to be. "This is your ancestor. His core is your core," Khronus explained.

Jin walked up in awe of the statue. There was something familiar about this man. Jin couldn't put his finger on it, but he had seen him somewhere before. He looked down at the plaque under the statue. "Hyperi . . ." Jin began.

"Hyperion," Khronus said, reading the plaque. "Leader of the Kaizer clan and founder of this institution."

Jin turned to Khronus shocked. "Founder . . . what does this mean?"

"As of now, I have no idea. All I know is there's a reason you got this power. You may play a key role in days to come," Khronus said. "But don't think too much about it. Just focus on your training for now," He said walking away. "Starting with me . . . tomorrow," Khronus said, leaving Jin staring at the statue.

The next day. Jin attended the class Khronus taught. It was a very different from the one Ares taught. Khronus was a lot more patient with the apprentices. The class was in an outdoor area. There were targets set up on the one side of the area. Other apprentices were practicing hitting the targets. Khronus walked over to Jin. "Okay, you remember how to concentrate your magick into a ball right?"

Jin created a small orb of red energy in his palm. "Yeah, like this," he said, looking for approval from Khronus.

"Good," Khronus said, pointing to a target. "Okay, aim your palm toward the target over there and try to push the orb away from you."

Jin did as he said, placing his hand facing the target. He pushed the orb from his palm. The orb pushed off and fell to the ground in front of Jin. When it hit the ground it disappeared. "Hmm, I don't think that was right," Jin said.

"Yes, it will take some practice. For now focus on pushing it with more force. Once you can make the distance, then practice your aim," Khronus said, aiming his palm at the target. "The end result should be something like this." A small blue orb formed in his hand and fired at the target, piercing through the center. "See? Now keep up the good work," he said, patting Jin on the back before continuing to help the other apprentices.

Over the next few weeks Jin worked hard and improved his technique. It was a different kind of technique than he was used to. Jin wasn't all the way there yet, but he had begun to at least hit the target. During this time, he had signed up to take part in another mission.

Jin returned to his room after a day of training to find a black envelope on his bed. He walked over, sat down, and began going through the contents. They were sending two teams. The two teams were to be lead by three-star rank apprentice, Saga Dimyo, and three-star rank apprentice, Sky Keng. The additional members were, two-star rank apprentice, Jin Kaizer, and two-star rank apprentice, Liz Faraoh. The mission was very vague. There were many reports of missing people on a certain stretch of road between two towns. However, there were no reported sightings of the kami responsible. _Hmm_ , _so we're pretty much flying blind,_ Jin thought to himself.

Jin made sure to make preparations for his journey the night before. He used the money he gained from his first mission to buy supplies and a travel pack. After making his preparations, Jin went to bed and got some sleep.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 18

Spring Heel Jack

The next day the four met up and set out to their destination. There was an obvious tension in the air, which seemed to be coming from Sky and Saga, but Jin had no idea why. "So how are we supposed to find a kami that has never been seen and one we know nothing about?" Jin asked, as they reached the group of atlas gates.

"Well . . ." Saga and Sky began at once. They both glared at each other. Saga crossed his arms and turned away. "All the attacks happened at night, so that explains why no one has seen it. Also, I have a theory that it's most likely multiple kami," Sky explained, as the group passed through one of the gates.

Saga shook his head. "No, the people that have gone missing were traveling alone or in a small group, so it's most likely a single stronger kami," Saga explained.

"We won't know till we get there, so what are we going to do once we get there?" Liz asked.

"Well, I think we should stick together," Sky began.

"No," Saga said cutting him off. "We were supposed to divide into two teams so we should," he said.

"But if one team is attacked, shouldn't we send out a signal to the other team? I can send up a signal, but can any of you send up one?" Sky asked.

"Recently, I've learned how to fire magick," Jin explained.

"Really? When did you lean that?" Liz asked.

"What do you think I've been doing the last few weeks?" Jin replied in a cocky tone.

"Anyway," Saga said irritated, "then I guess I'll partner up with Jin and you go with Liz."

"Fine, we should reach the stretch of road around dusk. If we don't see anything then, we'll split up once we reach the halfway point," Sky explained, followed by a moment of silence.

The group was able to reach the stretch of road by dusk, just as Sky had predicted. The stretch of road was long and empty. At first glance it didn't seem that suspicious. There were thick woods on either side of the path. The four began to walk as the sun sank down under the horizon. They looked around, but it had become too dark to see that well, and the area was almost completely silent. Something wasn't right and everyone could sense it.

"It seems pretty quiet to me," Jin said, looking around. He turned back to the group to see that Liz was missing. "Wait!? Where's Liz?" Jin said in shock. The other two took notice. They all began to look around, but she was gone.

The silence was soon broken by a distant scream coming from above. The three looked to the sky. It was too dark to make out anything. Sky held out his palm, creating a large round crystal. It began emitting light. He threw it into the sky where it began to hover. The light was bright enough that they were able to make out a figure. The three could see a strange kami holding Liz. They were far too high up for the group to reach.

"Is it a flyer?" Saga asked.

"No, it appears to be falling and I don't see any wings," Sky said, observing it.

In the sky. Liz was struggling with the creature. It had its arms wrapped around her and she couldn't break free. On the ground, the three were following the path of the creature. Liz's snake, Ambrosia, appeared from her collar and started biting the kami's neck. This caused it to drop Liz. Ambrosia retreated back once Liz was released. She began to fall back to the ground as the group dashed toward her.

"It's too far; we won't make it in time," Saga said. "Wait I have an idea . . . stop!" he said as a shadow tentacle rose beside him and grabbed Sky's hand. Saga grabbed the other side and looked to Jin. "You've got to catch her!" Saga said as they all nodded in understanding.

Jin turned and ran back into the shadow. He moved back, using it as a sling shot. Jin jumped, launching his body into the sky toward Liz. The kami opened its winged arms and began to glide down toward her. Jin caught her in his arms as he flew past. He focused his magick into his legs allowing him to skid to a stop as he hit the ground. Liz looked up to Jin. "You caught me," she said in awe.

"Anytime," Jin said in a reassuring tone as he sat her down on her feet.

"Look out!" Liz said, pointing behind Jin. He turned to see the kami gliding toward him. The two managed to jump out of its path. Liz summoned her whip and lashed out at the creature, grabbing its leg. She tugged hard, casing the kami to smack down to the ground.

By this time, Sky and Saga had caught up. The kami stood. It had a skinny human-shaped body. It also had winged arms with three large claws at the tip and long strangely shaped legs. It turned to face the group. It had a scary demonic-looking face and screeched at the group before it squatted and jumped high into the air. "Damn, that thing can jump high!" Sky said, stating the obvious.

"How are we supposed to get it?" Saga asked.

"Try shooting it down, Jin." Liz suggested.

Jin shrugged and took aim at the creature. It had begun to glide down away from them. Jin fired three shots. The first two missed, but the third grazed its wing. The creature turned and began heading back toward the group.

"Well, I think I made it mad . . . anybody else got an idea?" Jin asked, sarcastically. The kami continued gliding down, straight at the group. Jin formed a ball of energy in his hand, but at that moment he got an idea. He didn't stabilize the energy completely, making it a bit unstable and more destructive. "Sky!" he said as Sky turned to him and nodded.

Sky threw two light crystal shards toward the creature. They exploded into a large burst of light and blinded the creature as Jin fired at it. The ball of energy hit the kami in the face and exploded, causing it to crash to the ground.

Sky ran toward the creature and jumped above it. He formed two crystal spikes and threw them down at its wings, pinning it to the ground. Sky landed on the other side. The creature shrieked and jumped toward Sky, shredding its wings. It kicked Sky, sending him flying back before turning its attention to the rest of the group.

Saga's shadows reached up and grabbed its legs, holding it in place. Liz joined in, wrapping her whip around its body and constricting its arms. Jin and Saga charged forward, hitting the kami in the stomach with an energy palm, while Liz ran her energy through the whip. The three's combined power destroyed the creature. It burst into magick. The group's cores glowed as they each absorbed part of the magick.

The three looked at each other with a smile and a sense of confidence. They walked up the road to where Sky had been kicked. Sky stuck a fist into the air. "Woo . . ." he grunted, as the rest of the group joined up with him. Jin walked over and helped him back to his feet.

"Told you it was only one kami," Saga said to Sky.

"And I told you it'd be better if we all stuck together," Sky replied.

Liz and Jin began to laugh at their squabble. Sky and Saga hesitantly joined in as well. Then the group made its way back to the academy, cheerful with the completion of another successful mission.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 19

Scarborough Fair

It had been a few weeks since the group returned from their last mission. They had all been carrying on their training. Jin was sleeping late in his room when he began to feel someone shake him. "Wake up!" Liz said as Jin was pushed out of his bed.

Jin hit the floor and slowly crawled up over the side of his bed. "What do you want?" Jin asked irritated.

"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?" she asked.

"No, what's that?" Jin asked. Looking around the room realizing Saga was gone. _He's always gone_? _Does he ever sleep_?" he thought to himself.

"What! You don't know about Scarborough Fair!?" Liz asked, as Jin just shook his head. "It's only the biggest, coolest, funniest fair ever. Traders and performers come from all over. There are shows and shops. You can find anything there," she explained with excitement. In fact, Jin had never seen her so excited. She was like a little kid.

"Sounds cool," Jin responded.

"Well do you want to go? We can get a job as guards, but we can walk around and enjoy the fair at the same time," Liz said.

"Sure, I guess," Jin responded.

"Good, 'cause I already asked Sky and Saga, but they both turned me down, so I went ahead and signed you up," Liz explained.

Jin cocked his head in confusion, but went along with it. "All right," he said, agreeing.

"Good, so we leave tomorrow. Make sure you're ready," Liz said as she left the room. Jin got back in his bed and went back to sleep.

Later in the day, Jin received a black envelope with the mission details. He opened it and read it. He and Liz were to work together with the local guard to help protect the citizens at the fair. Due to the large gathering of people, it was possible that kami could attack, so they'd be there to prevent that. However, kami sightings have been rare in that area, so their attendance is more of a precaution.

The next day, Jin went to meet Liz by the gates. Jin was surprised when he saw her. She now had pink highlights in her hair. Jin pointed to her hair with a confused look on his face. "What's with the hair?" he asked.

Liz looked at him seeking approval. "What, you don't like it?" she asked, worried.

Jin raised his hands. "No, that's not what I meant. I like it, yes," he explained, as Liz smiled in relief. "I was just wondering why you'd dye it if you don't like the color pink?"

"What? You're the one that told me to embrace it," Liz responded.

Jin, remembering what he said, nodded in agreement. The two continued off the academy premises and made their way to the group of atlas gates at the end of the road and walked through one.

Jin looked around as the surrounding terrain changed. "No matter how many times I go through one of those, I'm always amazed," Jin said.

"What you mean . . . the atlas gate?" Liz questioned.

"Yeah, it's just so cool how the surroundings change in an instant. It's just weird and exciting. I can't really explain it," Jin attempted to explain.

"Hmm . . . I never really thought about that before. I just always took it for granted, but then again, I come from a family of travelers," Liz explained.

"Really, why did you travel around?" Jin asked.

"Another story for another time," Liz responded, dodging the question. Jin chose not to dig any deeper. After a bit, the two arrived at the fair. The roads were filled with people, performers, and all sorts of shops.

"Parsley . . . sage . . . rosemary . . . thyme," one of the shop owners advertised as the two walked by.

Jin and Liz made their way through the crowd. They found the main guard station and checked in. Things were going good so far. No kami were reported. "Okay, so we'll be wearing our robes so if there are any sightings, your people will be able to find us," Liz explained.

"Have you secured lodging for your time here? Most likely the inns are booked full by now, so you're welcome to stay here during the night," the guard captain offered.

"No, that won't be necessary," Liz answered. Jin looked to her confused. "We will be staying with the Faraoh troop," she explained.

"Oh, really? You know them?" the guard captain said, surprised.

"Actually, I'm family," Liz answered as she grabbed Jin's arm and led him out of the building. They continued down into the street.

"So what was that all about?" Jin asked. Liz just looked over and shushed him. She continued leading him down the road. They eventually came to a large crowd. They moved up through the people to see a little girl playing a flute surrounded by various sized vases. The girl had black hair tied back in a ponytail, and she had a core in her wrist, the same place as Liz's. As she played different notes, different color and size snakes would pop their heads out. It was really quite entertaining. People who were watching would throw money into a box sitting on the ground. The box had a snake coiled around it that appeared to be sleeping, but it was most likely guarding the money.

Jin and Liz watched the whole show. Once it wrapped up, the girl took the money and retreated to a large tent behind her. They followed after her. The inside of the tent was set up like a house. There was a kitchen in the back, a table, and beds lining the sides with curtains for privacy. At the back, there was an older lady cooking food. while two little boys and the girl from before sat at the table. As the two entered, everyone turned to them. Their faces slowly lit with excitement.

"Liz! My baby! You're home," the lady cooking said as she ran to greet Liz. She was a plump lady with black hair tied under a handkerchief and she wore a simple dress with an apron. She gave Liz a big hug and then backed off and examined her. "Oh my, you've grown; and oh, you dyed your hair. It looks good," she said, reaching out stroking her hair.

"It's good to see you too, Mom," Liz responded as the three children ran up to her.

"Sissy!" they all said at once.

Liz reached down patting the two boys on the head. "Jim, Tom, you guys are getting so big," she said, before turning to the little girl. "And you Lily, you are getting so pretty. I saw you playing out there. You're a lot better than I was at your age," Liz said as the little girl blushed.

Liz's mom turned to the back. "Harold, honey, get out here; your daughter's here," she yelled. Jin just sat back and watched in shock. He had never seen Liz act this way before. At that time, a tall man with short blonde hair and overalls walked out from one of the back rooms.

The man came out and opened his arms. "Lizzy, baby!" he said.

"Daddy!" Liz squealed as she ran over jumping into his arms, leaving Jin standing at the door by himself. At this point, Jin had begun to get very self-conscious and confused. He felt out of place, but he also felt obligated to stay.

Liz's father took notice of Jin standing in the doorway. "Who's your friend there?" he asked.

"That's Jin. He goes to my academy," Liz answered for him.

The two walked over to Jin and the rest of the family. "Nice to meet you, young man," Harold said, extending his hand. Jin suddenly felt relief as he reached out shook his hand. "So, are you dating my daughter?" he asked, tightening his grip. Jin's comfort suddenly turned to fear as his face turned bright red.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 20

The Past

Harold stared at Jin with a serious look. Jin was at a loss for words. The silence broke as Harold began to laugh. He patted Jin on the side. "It's okay, I'm just messing with you," he said as everyone else began to laugh.

The tension broke and the family sat down to eat with Jin joining them. The meal was good and the air was full of laughter and happiness. The family shared stories of the past and their travels. The Faraoh's were performers, renowned for their ability to charm snake-like kami. All the family members, except the mother, were ayos, but Liz was the first to attend the academy and actually fight kami.

They all had finished their dinner. "Honey," Harold said, looking to Liz, "we've got a present for you. Jim, Tom, bring it out," he said as the two boys walked into the back room and brought out a large crate.

"Oh, what is it?" Liz asked, walking over to the crate. There were a few knocks inside.

_What is it_? Jin thought, worried.

Liz leaned down and grabbed the latch to a small door on the crate. She slowly opened it and stood back. A snake poked its head out and slowly began slithering out. It was a strange snake. It had a thicker body with large scales that appeared to be made of metal. The scales were polished and looked like chrome.

The snake looked up at Liz and lunged at her. Jin was shocked, but she caught it just before it got her. She held it by the base of the head and pinched its mouth open. Liz moved her opposite hand to her mouth and bit into the tip of her thumb. She moved her hand over the snake's mouth, letting a drop of blood drip in its mouth. Then she clapped the snakes mouth shut. Pink energy ran through her hand as she crushed the snake, causing it to become magick and get absorbed into her core.

Jin stared with a puzzled look on his face. "Okay, so what just happened?" Jin asked.

Liz looked over to him. "I tamed it," she said.

"No, you killed it," Jin responded.

"Let me show you," Liz said as she raised her sleeve and her core began to glow. The same snake slowly crawled out of the core, wrapping around her arm. "See . . ." she said.

"Wait . . . how did you do that?" Jin asked.

"That's my special ability," Liz explained. "It's a ritual. Our blood works in a very special way. Once it enters a snake's body, it quickly moves through, almost like a poison. It drains their powers and makes them weaker. Next, we have to run our magick into them. It will react with the blood and multiply its effects. Then once we destroy them and absorb the magick, our cores can reassemble their bodies. The snakes are loyal partners and can be controlled without needing to give demands. They're linked to us and will react accordingly," she told Jin.

"So what happens if your snake is destroyed again?" Jin asked.

"Well, they would just turn back to magick and go back to our core. It may take some time, but they reform and recover. The snakes are with us until we die," Liz explained.

The family and Jin stayed up a bit longer and talked before they eventually turned in. The two boys slept in the same bed, so there were enough beds for everyone to sleep. A bit later in the night, Jin awoke parched, so he got up to get a drink. As he made his way to the kitchen area, he saw Liz's mom sitting at the table. "Hey Jin, why are you awake?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just getting a drink of water," Jin said, walking over to the sink and grabbing a glass and filling it up, and taking a drink. "So what are you doing awake?" he asked.

"Waiting for Liz to get back," she said. Jin looked over to her bed. The curtain was open and her bed was empty.

"Where is she?" Jin asked.

"Same place she always is when we come here I suppose," she said.

Where's that?" Jin asked.

"Go outside the tent, take a left, and follow the trail out of the fair to a large tree on top of a hill," she responded.

"I think I'll go look for her," Jin said as he left the tent. He followed the trail out of fair. Then the tree Liz's mother spoke of came into view and Jin began to hear music. It was a lingering tune, beautiful and a bit sad. Jin walked up to her. She turned to him and lowered her flute. Jin raised his hand. "No, don't stop," he said as she continued playing.

Jin sat down against the tree. The hill overlooked the fair. All the tents were lit up in the night under full moon. It was truly a breath-taking site. Ambrosia swayed to the tune as the three sat there to the song's conclusion. They sat for a moment in silence. "So why did you join the academy?" Jin asked.

"It's a long story," Liz responded.

"I've got time," Jin responded.

"Well, this is actually where it all began. You see, when I was little, there was this boy who was once a true love of mine. We met here at the fair. Arthur saw one of my shows. Afterward, he brought me a flower and from there on, we were inseparable until one day. We had always met here at the same time and watch the sunrise. He was late, so I went looking for him. There was a place in the woods not too far from here that we would play. So I went there. When I arrived, there was a kami there. It looked like a large larva of some kind with a strange pattern on it. I was so scared. It saw me and began heading toward me, when all of a sudden, a rock hit it in the head. It was Arthur. He distracted it, and it went after him. I ran, but Arthur never came back," Liz explained as she began to tear up.

Liz stopped herself and looked up to the moon. "After that, something changed. I always thought that I should have protected him, but I couldn't. All I could do was run. I hated feeling that way, so I decided to change. I decided to fight," she explained.

"That seems like such a sad reason to change," Jin said as Liz turned to him. "You shouldn't have to carry a burden like that."

"It's not so much a burden anymore. Burdens are only burdens if they hold you back, but enough about me; what's your tragic love story?" she asked.

"Don't have one," Jin responded.

"What? You're lying," Liz said.

"Nope, since I was a kid, I've always been alone. I guess I just got used to it. I never needed anyone else. Never wanted to need someone," Jin explained, veering off into the distance.

"Wow, you're really a downer," Liz said, sarcastically as Jin laughed. "I told you about me, so what about you? How'd you end up at the academy?" she asked.

"It's hardly anything noble. I was tired of standing still and I got the opportunity to change, so I did," Jin explained.

"So you joined on a whim?" Liz asked.

"I suppose," Jin answered. The two sat and looked out toward the fair when they heard a loud shriek. It wasn't human or animal. It came from the woods near to them. "What was that?!" Jin asked in shock.

Then something flew up out of the forest. It had a human-like body, an insects head, two large sickle-like arms, and large moth-like wings. "It's a kami!" Liz said as it flew over them. She noticed the strange pattern on the wings. "No it can't be," she said, flashing back to that day. After the kami killed her friend, it must have gone into a cocoon-like state and went through a metamorphosis.

"What?" Jin asked.

"That pattern on its wings; it's the same!" Liz said, in a rage. She let out a scream in anger as the chrome snake appeared and latched to her core, making a whip. Pink energy ran through it as she lashed the whip, shooting out a pink slash toward the kami. The kami took notice and dodged the attack. The kami turned and headed toward her. She clinched her fist and stood her ground.

Jin looked at her. The kami was closing in, but she wasn't going to move. Jin ran up and tackled her down as the kami flew by. "What are you doing!?"

"Just get off me!" she said, pushing Jin away. The kami had turned back to her once again. It flapped its wings, sending a large gust of wind at her. Small cuts appeared on her body, but she paid it no mind. Liz lashed the whip again, sending a blade of energy at it and slicing through its wing. The kami fell to the ground in front of her. She began to close in on it. Jin could do nothing but watch. It was like she was possessed or something.

The kami stood. Liz lashed its other wing off, as it let out a shriek. It began to move toward her, but she lashed its legs off before it got the chance to attack. It fell to the ground bleeding. It attempted to crawl away. Liz began slashing around it. She was clearly torturing it. The chrome snake detached from her arm and slowly slithered to the pathetic kami. Its scales spiked up as it coiled around the kami.

Liz stared at it with a fire in her eyes. "Crush it!" she commanded. The snake coiled tighter and tighter, cutting into the kami and eventually crushing it. The kami burst into light and was absorbed by her core. The snake returned to her core. She now stood with her back to Jin, vacant of any emotion. Then she finally broke down and began crying. Jin walked over and sat next to her, patting her on the back. She jumped over and buried her face into his chest, crying.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 21

Doppelganger

It had been a while since Jin and Liz returned from their mission. During that time, Jin had gained another promotion. He had been rising through the ranks faster then most of his classmates.

Jin was once again sleeping in when he was kicked from his bed onto the floor. "Hey!" he heard Saga say.

_Why does everyone always bother me when I'm sleeping_? Jin thought, as he flipped the sheets off of himself. "What the hell do you want?!" Jin said irritated.

Saga leaned down and grinned. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about a mission," he said.

"Oh really? You've got a heck of a way of asking," Jin replied.

"Hey, first . . . I'm only asking because they won't let me go on this mission alone, and besides, I think it'll be beneficial for the both of us," Saga explained.

"Really? How so?" Jin asked as he stood.

"Well, I've pretty much been guaranteed that if we pull this off, it's an automatic promotion., but you know if you're too scared, I'm sure I can find someone else," he said.

"Fine, I'll go," Jin said reluctantly. "Now if you don't mind . . ." he said as he jumped back into bed.

Later in the day, Jin received a black envelope with the mission details. The team was composed of, three-star apprentice, Jin Kaizer and three-star apprentice, Saga Dimyo. They are to work cooperatively so there was no leader assigned. The mission details were a bit vague. Apparently there have been a mysterious amount of disappearances in a certain forest called Echo Woods.

The next day came and Jin and Saga headed out. They made their way up the dirt road toward the atlas gates. "So what do you think were up against?" Jin asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot the mission briefs weren't updated." Saga said.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked.

"Well, I know more about the mission then you do. You see a team was already deployed on this mission. They were to investigate the forest and see if there was a kami. Apparently, the team abandoned the mission when they were attacked. By evil versions of themselves," Saga explained.

"So . . ." Jin began.

"Yeah, I know; pretty cool right?" Saga said excited.

The two continued through the gate and traveled until they reached the forest. They decided to camp outside and head in the next day. The two awoke the next morning and prepared to enter.

Saga turned to Jin. "You're not nervous are you?" he asked.

"Kind of. With the guy you're fighting you'll be fine, but me . . . I'll be lucky if I get out alive," Jin said, jokingly.

"Yeah, whatever," Saga said, shoving Jin forward.

The two made their way into the forest. Everything seemed normal for the most part. There were no paths, so the two were wondering through at random. Saga reached out two shadows and cleared a path for them to walk. Then a mysterious fog began to form. "I guess this means we're getting closer," Saga said.

The fog began to get thicker and thicker. "Wow! I can't see anything," Jin said turning to Saga. He could no longer see him. "Saga? Saga?" Jin said, awaiting his response.

"Jin? Jin?" Saga said, realizing that Jin was gone. He continued walking forward when he came to a clearing. Saga saw what looked like a figure in the mist. "Jin?" he said calling to the person. The fog began to diminish as Saga began to make out the figure. Finally, the fog cleared completely and the figure became visible. It was Saga; at least it looked like him. Everything was the same except this Saga's eyes were black, completely black.

Saga moved closer to it. He stopped and began observing it. It was mirroring his movements. Saga couldn't tell if it was real or an illusion. It stopped mimicking him and began laughing hysterically. Saga was surprised as he was whipped by a shadow tentacle, knocking him to the side.

_What_?! _He has my power_ , Saga thought, staring at the wicked creature. He formed tentacles all around himself. The copy did the same. They both began whipping at each other. They mirrored each other, hitting shadow to shadow.

The more they fought, the more Saga learned about the enemy. _He can't weave shadows in my territory and I can't weave them in his_. _That's somewhat an advantage_ , he thought as he jumped back. The copy's shadows stretched, but it had to move closer to continue fighting.

_Okay_ , _so he has my range as well_ , Saga thought. He twisted his shadows together, forming a long barrel. He formed a large ball of dark blue energy, placed it in the barrel, and fired. It raised a wall of shadow and blocked it. The copy mimicked him once again. It fired and Saga blocked it with a wall of shadow as well.

It has my power, but it can't copy unless I do it first, Saga thought, as he remembered that he had used his shadows when he entered the forest and came to a conclusion. It saw me use my shadows when I entered the forest, so that's why it was able to copy it, he thought.

Saga formed two large tentacles and whipped down at the creature. The tentacles were halted as it made two of its own. _How can I fight this thing if I can't even reach it_!? He thought.

Saga's eyes widened as he remembered his fight with Jin, when he had said the same thing to him. He ran that fight through his head. _If I do this_ , _it has to work the first time_ , _or else it will just copy it too_ , Saga thought, as he continued fighting.

Saga finally came up with a plan. He continued fighting. Though he began to act fatigued and left a gap in his attacks. The copy took the bait and capitalized on it. Shadows came through his guard, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him over, throwing him down. Then shadows grabbed his arms and legs and pulled him closer to the copy. It raised Saga's body and held him tight.

The creature tilted its head and looked at him before it began to laugh once again. Another shadow tentacle rose with a sharp tip. It moved in front of Saga aiming at his head. It reared back and began to thrust toward him. _Now_! Saga thought.

Saga ran energy through his arms and legs, melting the shadows off of him. His body fell, dodging the tentacle heading toward him. The copy was surprised. It punched at him with its left arm. Saga blocked it with his left, grabbing the copy's wrist. He pulled the copy down and grabbed the top of its shoulder with his right hand. Saga ran all his reaming energy through his palm and dug into the creature, ripping out its core.

The copy fell to the ground and turned to mist as the core in Saga's hand also turned to mist. The mist around him began to thin out. Saga looked around and saw something in the distance. He ran toward it. Saga came upon what looked like a large white tree. The trees surrounding it were dead and had begun to fall apart.

"So this is the kami," Saga said aloud with a smirk.

ToC

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Chapter 22

Destiny

Jin had become lost in the fog as well. He began to make out a figure in front of him. He didn't know who it was, so he approached with caution. The mist began to clear. Jin saw a person standing in front of him, but it wasn't a copy—at least of Jin anyway.

It was Hyperion. It opened its eyes. They were completely black, but something happened. Two red irises shined through, causing the eyes to return to normal. At that moment, Jin recognized his eyes and he knew who the person was who had appeared to him in his dreams. It was Hyperion. Jin was very confused.

"Hyperion? Why are you here?" Jin asked.

Hyperion just looked at him. "You mean you haven't realized? That's a disappointment," he said unsatisfied. His voice was strangely amplified, almost like there was a soft echo to it.

"What are you talking about? The last team said they fought copies of themselves," Jin responded.

Hyperion just shook his head. "The kami here has a very special power. Its magick reacts to the cores of ayos, creating copies," he said, pointing to Jin. "However, that core in your chest doesn't belong to you; it's mine," Hyperion explained.

Jin had been awarded with a unique opportunity. His head began to fill with questions. "So why me? Why did you give me this core?" Jin asked.

Hyperion threw off his over robe. "Trust me, you weren't the first choice, but after the centuries, you are the only one left. You're the last of our bloodline, the last Kaizer, and you aren't even an ayos. You were the only one that could take my core," he explained.

"What is all this about?" Jin asked.

"I can't say exactly what will happen, but you will be needed," Hyperion said, staring at Jin seriously.

"What does that mean? Stop talking in riddles and just tell me!" Jin said as he began to get frustrated.

"You aren't ready; you aren't even close," Hyperion said as he dashed forward and punched Jin in the face sending him flying back. Jin smacked into a tree and fell to his knees. "You can't even see can you," he said.

Jin's frustration was building and anger took hold. _He hasn't told me a damn thing_! _He keeps talking, but nothing he's saying makes any sense_ , Jin thought, as he raised his hand and fired a large ball of energy at Hyperion.

Hyperion just swatted it away. "Hmm . . . pathetic," he said, shaking his head. Jin stood and dashed at him and threw a punch. Hyperion side-stepped and grabbed his face, slamming him to the ground. Jin was unconscious. Hyperion looked down to him. "What . . . give up already?" he said, stepping on his chest. Magick sparked from his foot, running into Jin.

Jin awoke and screamed in pain. He reached to grab Hyperion's ankle, but Hyperion jumped away before he had the chance. Jin jumped to his feet gritting his teeth, as blood dripped from his mouth. "What the hell do you want from me!?" he yelled at Hyperion.

"What!? You think I'll give you an answer if you throw a fit like a child!" Hyperion responded shaking his head. "You haven't proved anything to me. You'll be lucky if you can survive long enough to learn the truth. If you must know more than that, you're welcome to try to 'make' me tell you," he said, taking a stance.

Jin dashed forward, firing another ball of energy. Hyperion swatted it away with his left hand. Jin used that chance to move in. He hit Hyperion with a hard right. He ran all his remaining energy into the shot. Jin's fist made contact with Hyperion's face, but he didn't budge. The hit had no effect.

Hyperion smirked and slowly turned his head toward Jin. Jin was frozen in fear. Hyperion hit Jin in his stomach with an energy palm. Hyperion's energy ripped through Jin, sending him flying back bashing through trees. He eventually smacked one that brought him to a stop. Jin fell limp to the ground.

"Too bad, time's up," Hyperion said as his body turned to mist and faded away.

Saga had cut down the kami tree and destroyed it. The magick separated between the two. Saga followed the magick to Jin's body. He was shocked at what he saw. "Jin! Jin!" he said as he ran up to Jin and began shaking him. Jin didn't wake up.

It wasn't until three weeks later that Jin woke up. His eyes opened and he found himself in the medical ward at the academy. "Hey, you're finally awake," he heard Sky say.

Jin turned to him and smiled. "Hey," Jin said.

"I guess I'm the lucky one. Saga, Liz, and I have been taking turns watching you since Saga dragged you back here," Sky explained.

"Is Saga okay? Did he finish the mission?" Jin asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. He found the kami and destroyed it, but the mystery here is what the hell happened to you?" Sky asked.

"I'm not really sure; I need to talk to Khronus," Jin explained.

"Okay, man, you just rest up and I'll go get him for you, and then I'll let everyone else know you're all right," Sky said, leaving the room.

"Thanks," Jin replied.

Jin laid back and closed his eyes. He opened them as he heard someone enter the room. It was Khronus. "Jin, it's good to see you're all right, but what happened out there?"

Jin took a deep breath. "The kami we fought had the ability to create copies of us by using our cores."

"Yes, Saga told me about that," Khronus responded.

"But my core's not my core," Jin said.

"You mean?" Khronus said, shocked.

"Yes, I fought Hyperion," Jin explained.

"Really?" Khronus asked, confused.

"Hyperion told me. I am the last Kaizer. That's why he needed me. I was the only one who could take his core. But when I asked him why, all he told me was it was unfinished business. Do you know anything about it?" Jin asked.

"No, I don't know what he meant. Did he say anything else?" Khronus asked.

"The only thing he really told me was that I wasn't ready, and then we fought. His power was unreal. I never knew someone could be that strong. I couldn't put a scratch on him," Jin explained.

"It's okay Jin, focus on getting some rest. I'll look into it and for now just keep this between us," Khronus said as he began to head out. He passed Liz, Saga, and Sky on his way out. They entered the room.

"Jin!" Liz said as she ran over giving him a hug. Jin grunted. "Oh, sorry," she said, backing off.

Saga walked up to the side of the bed. "So what exactly happened out there?"

"I told you I was going to be in trouble," Jin said with a laugh. The three began to laugh. They all sat and chatted for a while and eventually left for the night.

The three left the room, Saga trailed behind and stood at the door as the other two made their way out. "I know you're not telling the whole truth; I just don't know why," he said before making his way out as well.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 23

Ascension

A while had passed and Jin had gotten back to his normal schedule. At least it was normal for a while. Something bad had happened to one of the apprentices on a mission. There were random whispers going throughout the academy, but no one had the whole story.

Eventually, Jin was summoned to meet with the master scribes. He entered the room to see that Sky, Liz, and Saga were already there. "Good, now that you're all here, we have something to discuss with you," one of the master scribes said.

"I'm sure you've heard all the commotion in the academy. Well, that's why you've been called," Another scribe said. "There was a problem on a recent mission. Three apprentices were sent to investigate a few strange sightings. There had been no attacks reported, but we decided to send someone to check anyway. The apprentices were all two-star apprentices. Apparently, the kami was much stronger then we expected. It managed to seriously injure one and kill the other. The third apprentice was able to retreat, carrying his injured friend back," the scribe explained.

"That's terrible," Liz said.

"Yes, and that's not all. The kami not only killed the apprentice, but it consumed her core. You've all never heard of this before, but if a kami manages to kill an ayos and eats his core, it ascends and becomes an abomination. Abominations are much stronger then regular kami, and if left unchecked, could become a major problem. That's why you have been gathered here. We need to deploy a team immediately. You are all four-star ranks and have had team fighting experience, so you're the best team we can send on short notice."

"So where are we going?" Sky asked.

The scribe handed Sky a black envelope with the mission details. "The abomination was last seen in the forest next to a village called Mura. You need to make preparations and move out immediately. You are dismissed and good luck," The master scribe said as the four made their way out.

They each went back to their rooms and made preparations. Jin and Saga were gathering supplies. "So you haven't been on a mission since our last one; are you up to this?" Saga asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be there to hold your hand if you get scared," Jin responded jokingly. "But seriously, I'm good," he replied. They finished packing and met up with the other members of their party.

Once everyone arrived, the group set out toward Mura. They made their way up the road to the atlas gates and passed through one. "So we're fighting an abomination? They didn't give us many details about it," Jin said.

"Yeah, you'd figure they would have taught us about them at least," Liz added.

"They probably figured we'd never have to or at least they hoped we'd never have to," Sky said.

"Or they didn't tell us because they thought they didn't want us to know. I mean would you be so driven to fight if you knew something like that could be created? Would you fight if you thought you could lose? Yeah, I'm sure they had their reasons one way or another," Saga added. "All I know is we're going out uninformed and unprepared," he continued.

"So the academy's lying to us?" Jin asked.

Saga turned to Jin. "Yes, but if we asked, I'm sure they would say they were protecting us or simply that we didn't need to know yet," Saga said, but Jin could tell what he was implying.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jin responded, answering his underlying question.

They continued down along the way. It took them a while to get there. They made it to the village later in the day. As the village came into view, the group halted. It had been destroyed. All the houses were crushed and burning. They continued into the town, and there was no one left alive. It was empty.

The four began to search around, sticking together. They walked to the opposite edge of town. As they came around the wreckage of one of the final houses, they saw something. They moved back behind the wreckage and peeked out at it. It appeared in the shape of a woman. The body was a blue green color and gel-like. It was just standing there with its back to them. It seemed so gentle in its movements. It put off a very creepy vibe.

"Is that it?" Liz asked.

"I think so, but a bit less threatening then I imagined," Jin whispered.

"Yeah, I was expecting something bigger," Sky added.

"What are we going to do?" Saga asked.

Jin stepped over onto a small piece of wood. It snapped under his foot. He gritted his teeth, looking back to the group. They all looked to the abomination. It didn't notice. Jin began to let out a sigh of relief when Sky threw a large crystal at it. Jin's jaw dropped.

"What? We had to start fighting sometime," Sky said.

The crystal stabbed through it and became lodged in its stomach. It turned calmly and faced the group. It had eyes but no face. The eyes were more like outlines of eyes. It was all made of gel except for the dark green blue core in its chest. It pulled out the crystal leaving a massive hole. The hole closed as the creature threw the crystal to the side. "Hmm, that's not good," Jin said.

The abomination took notice of the group as its hair rose up as it went into a rage. It screeched and fired a beam from its core along the ground in front of them, triggering an explosion. They all moved back and took cover from the explosion. "Okay, so that didn't seem to work," Saga said to the group.

"We need to spread out and find a way to hurt it," Sky said.

"Okay, go!" Liz said as the four moved out of cover and created a perimeter around the abomination. Saga attacked, sending a wave of shadow toward it. Spikes shot out of the shadow penetrating the creature. It turned and fired a beam at Saga. He jumped back form the explosion. The shadows diminished and once again the holes closed.

Sky spread his hands as many small crystal shards began to form. "Okay, let's try this," Sky said as energy sparked through them. He fired the shards at the creature in multiple waves. They exploded on contact. The attack seemed to hurt the creature. It was still able to regenerate, but it was much slower. The creature dashed up to Sky. Its arm stretched out and wrapped around his throat. The creature was powerful. It lifted Sky off the ground with ease.

Sky struggled attempting to break free. Liz moved in and slashed her whip down, cutting through the arm. It jumped back and Sky pried its arm off and threw it to the ground. It turned to liquid and crept along the ground back toward the creature. The abomination absorbed it and began to grow its arm back. Jin used the opportunity to charge up and hit it with an energy palm. Its body began to twitch and contort. It turned and smacked Jin away.

Shadow tentacles reached out and caught Jin before he hit the ground. The fighters regrouped. "Energy attacks seem to have an effect on it," Jin said.

"Yeah, it seems to piss it off," Sky said. The creature's arms stretched out. It began to whip them frantically at the group. The group retreated back to cover.

"Did you see how it reacted when it was hit though? It was like it couldn't stabilize its form," Saga explained.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 24

Closure

Once again, they moved from cover, surrounding the abomination. The creature had begun to fight with a more vicious tone. It wasn't going to stand around and let the fighters attack it anymore.

It charged Sky. He formed a crystal in his hand and stabbed it into the abomination as it got close. The creature hit Sky, knocking him back. The crystal burst into a bright light, blinding the creature.

While it was blinded, Jin and Saga ran up on opposing sides and hit it with an energy palm. The creature's body began to melt and become misshapen. It reacted by firing its beam at random. Saga and Jin jumped back to avoid it. The creature began to reform as Liz fired two pink slashes of energy at it. They exploded upon contact with the creature pushing it back. It retaliated and fired a beam at Liz. Saga came up beside her, as a wall of shadows rose in front of her, temporarily blocking it. The wall gave way and exploded, throwing them back.

Sky began firing charged energy crystals, while Jin fired balls of energy at it. It broke away from the barrage. Its arms stretched out, grabbing them and smacking them together.

Saga and Liz regain their bearings. The creature began to head toward Jin and Sky. Saga's shadows wrapped up around it. He began to focus his energy as it sparked through his shadows into the creature. Liz wrapped her snake around the shadow, feeding her energy into it as well.

The creature's body began to contort once again. It used this to squeeze out and escape. It reformed as it closed in on them. It grabbed them tossing them to where Sky and Jin were. They hit the ground, and the creature fired its beam at them, causing a large explosion. The four managed to survive, but they had taken damage.

As the fight continued to rage for hours, it begins to take its toll on the fighters. They had tried various attacks on the creature. Energy attacks took the biggest toll on it. It made it unstable but not long enough to do significant damage. And it could regenerate faster than they could hurt it. They all reconvened behind nearby cover. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up; nothing's working," Jin said.

"The energy attacks are hurting it, but it's not enough power to finish it," Saga explained.

"Then we need to hit it all at once," Liz suggested.

"Yeah, a combined attack may work," Sky agreed, "but you'll need time to prepare. I'll have to distract it to give you time to prepare," he said.

"But isn't that dangerous?" Liz asked.

"Well, you can do it if you want," Sky replied jokingly.

"Never mind," Liz responded, as she gripped his shoulder. "Try not to die," she said with a sarcastic tone as well.

Sky jumped out, dashing away from the cover. He began throwing crystals at it. It was swatting them away, but he managed to draw its attention.

"All right, I've got an idea; follow my lead," Saga said. They moved into an open space. Saga summoned shadows and they twisted together, forming shadow cannon.

"I see," Liz said. She wrapped her snake whip around the barrel of the cannon. Saga turned to Jin as he formed a large blue energy ball in his left hand. Jin nodded in understanding, as he formed a large ball of red energy in his right hand.

"Sky, get clear!" Saga yelled, as he aimed the cannon at the abomination. Sky jumped back from it and began rapid firing crystal shards from his hands. Sky mixed his crystals up. Some of them made flashes of light, blinding the creature, and the others exploded, causing damage.

Saga and Jin fired their energy into the cannon as Liz ran her energy through it. The cannon shot a large ball of spinning energy made up of magick from the three. It hit the abomination. A large explosion destroyed the creature in a flash of light. All that remained was the core that fell to the ground. The rest of the creature burst into magick and was absorbed by the fighters' cores.

The tension left the situation and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "It's over," Jin said, leaning down with his hands on his knees.

"Thank goodness, I poured my all into that attack," Liz added.

Sky walked over to the crater. "Hey, what are you doing?" Saga asked him.

"This is why we came," Sky began, "not just to destroy the monster, but to recover the core," he said, bending down and picking up the core. "This belonged to one of our comrades and they disserve to be honored," he explained, looking at the group.

The group returned from their mission shortly after. There was a large meeting that day. All apprentices and masters attended. Jin made his way to the large auditorium. All the apprentices were on the ground level and the masters were on stage at the other end. They were all lined up except for Odin, who was standing behind a small pedestal with the recovered core on it.

Silence fell over the room as Odin raised his arms. "Silence!" he bellowed. His voice echoed throughout the hall. "This is truly a dark day for us all. Our fellow comrade has fallen in battle. Ann Beron died a hero. She gave her life protecting her team, and because of her sacrifice, they are alive. Today we gather to remember her . . . to honor her. She maybe gone, but she will never be forgotten," Odin continued.

There was a sad aura that flushed over the hall. Some people cried, while others stood strong in a sense to show respect for their comrade. After the ceremony, the core was taken and placed into the memorial hall.

Afterwards, Liz, Saga, Sky, and Jin were walking together. "So is this how it ends?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, this place has never seemed so real to me until now," Jin said.

"What do you mean?" Saga asked.

"I don't know since I got here, everything was so new and exciting, but it seemed like a fantasy," Jin explained.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Liz added. "It's easy to get lost in the idea of being heroes, helping people, fighting monsters. But it's times like this that pull us all back and lets us see the true risks involved—what it really means to do what we do," she explained.

"Yes, it's not some game. We were born like this for a reason. We have the power to change things, the power to make a difference even though it seems like we'll always be fighting," Saga said.

"We do have the power to make a difference, but a difference doesn't always mean absolution. If we can stop one kami; if we can save one person, haven't we made a difference?" Sky asked.

"Yes, I suppose, but still . . ." Saga answered.

"It's always in us to want more and to be able to do more, but you can't let the want out-weigh the reason. We do what we do to help people. That's why we're heroes," Sky concluded.

ToC

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Chapter 25

Next Generation

It was a normal day at the academy, and Jin had just finished one of his classes. He walked out into the hall where he was greeted by Sky. "Hey, man!" he said, waving to Jin.

"What's up?" Jin asked, as they began walking together. Sky had an excited look on his face. "Well, spill it," Jin said.

"Yeah, so I got signed up for a new mission and I signed you up too," Sky said.

"What is it?" Jin asked.

"It should be a pretty cake assignment. We get to chaperone some of the one-star kids on assignment," Sky explained, as he smacked Jin on the back. "Besides, we haven't got the chance to hang out it a while."

Jin nodded. "Yeah, it sounds good," he said.

Sky smiled. "Sweet, we leave tomorrow. See you then," he said as he walked away.

The next day Jin and Sky met and waited by the gates for the three apprentices to arrive. "So this is weird; I mean, I never had a chaperone on any of my missions," Jin said.

"Well, this is a group of one-stars on their first mission. We're supposed to train them on basic mission protocol and how to lead their own missions. Plus, I think the academy's been taking extra precautions lately, especially since the abomination incident," Sky explained.

"What do you know about the group we're watching?" Jin asked.

"I don't know much. Just a three-person team consisting of two boys and a girl. I guess they can tell us more when they get here," Sky said.

The first apprentice they saw was a young girl with glasses. She had blonde hair that was pulled back in a French braid. She walked up with a spring in her step and bowed to the two. "It is very nice to meet you senior apprentices. My name is Elaina Sultin." Elaina seemed to be a very proper girl.

"Nice to meet you; my name is Sky Keng," Sky said, before pointing to Jin. "And that's my partner, Jin Kaizer, Good to see you're on time. It's important to be punctual." Sky added.

"Thank you very much, sir," Elaina replied, bowing once again.

The second apprentice to arrive was a young boy. He was stout, with short black, buzzed hair. He walked up and bowed. "Hello, senior apprentices. My name is Dante Monark," he said as Sky and Jin introduced themselves once again.

Finally, the third apprentice arrived late. He was a young man with shorter messy, green hair. He made his way lazily up to the group. "Hey," he said.

"Hey what?" Sky said, in a serious tone.

"Hey, sir," the young man said.

"State your name," Sky demanded.

The boy straightened up. "Nate Rechs," he said. Sky glared at him with displeasure. "Oh . . . sir," he continued.

"All right, let's go," Sky said as the group then set out on their mission.

They made their way to the up the road. "Okay, so what are the mission details?" Jin asked.

"Yes, it is usually a good idea to discuss the mission before hand. It's a good time to strategize and gain information that may have been missed in the report," Sky said to the group. "Now, if you will; discuss, please," Sky said, ushering them on.

"The mission details say that we are to go to the village of Wukong. There have been sightings of a monkey-like kami appearing near there. So far, it's been mainly a nuisance. It has also been eating up a lot of their crops," Elaina explained.

"Wait . . . so why would a kami eat the crops?" Nate asked.

"Kami consume magick to become stronger. Magick resides in all living things. Kami usually attack people because they have the most, but this one probably isn't that strong yet, so it's been consuming magick from the plant life," Dante explained.

"Very good, Dante and Elaina. You both seem to have been keeping up with you studies," Sky complimented.

"What about me?" Nate asked, as the group passed through the atlas gate.

Sky just looked at him. "I'll give you a point for asking questions because it's always good to ask questions," Sky replied giving the boy a hopeful smile, "but a deduction for not paying attention in class in the first place," Sky finished, taking it away.

The party continued along the road, chatting, until they finally came to the village of Wukong. It was a quaint little farming village, not unlike many Jin had seen on his journeys. The group walked into the town. "So what should we do first?" Dante asked.

"That's what we're here to learn," Sky explained, looking up at the sky. "Well, the first thing you should do is attain lodging for the night. Next, you should gather information from the townspeople. Report back to us with what you've learned. Then, you can begin searching for the kami," Sky explained.

The five found the inn. Jin and Sky sat talking, while the kids were checking in. "So you're awfully quiet," Sky said.

"I don't really know what to say," Jin responded.

"C'mon, you've been on tons of missions. You know the rules. Just tell 'em how it is. Remember, they'll most likely be chosen to lead when they go out on a mission. That's why we've got to be strict with them. They won't learn otherwise," Sky explained.

At that moment, Nate walked up to the table. "Uhh, I don't have any money . . . so ahh," he said.

"Looks like you're sleeping outside tonight," Jin said. Nate just stood there with his jaw dropped. "What? Don't look at me like that. The first and most important rule is . . . be prepared!" Jin explained before he walked away.

"Wow, man. That was harsh," Sky said with a serious face.

"What? That's what happened to me my first time out," Jin explained.

Sky laughed. "Man, I'm just joking," he said, "but seriously, you had to sleep outside? Who were you grouped with?" he asked.

"Liz and Saga," Jin said as he began his story. The two stayed at the inn and continued catching up for a while. Eventually, the apprentices returned and sat down with them.

"Well, what do you got?" Sky asked.

"I heard that the kami is mostly spotted around noon in the orchard down the road from her," Elaina explained.

"And I heard that the kami is shaped like a monkey. It stands about four to five feet tall and has attacked someone before. It bit them, but they were able to escape. Also, it has a tendency to throw things at anybody who gets near its area," Dante explained.

Nate sat silent. Everyone looked to him to begin. "Well, I heard it was big and red, and it can fire laser beams from its eyes. It often flies over town at night, attacking kids who don't brush their teeth," he explained.

"Who the heck told you that?" Jin asked bluntly.

"Uhh, it was this kid down the street," Nate explained.

"Okay, another lesson. Make sure your intel is liable and makes obvious sense. This just sounds like a story the kid's parents made up to make him brush his teeth," Sky said.

ToC

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Chapter 26

New Hope

The group continued to discuss their plans. After a time, they decided to go to sleep and search for the kami in the morning. Everyone went to their rooms, except Nate. He went outside and attempted to sleep on the porch. After a bit, Jin walked outside and sat down next to him.

"Okay, so what's up?" Jin asked.

"What do you mean?" Nate asked back.

"You're not doing so well, but I have the feeling you're not as dumb as you act," Jin said.

"Oh, really. Maybe I am just as dumb as I seem," Nate responded.

"So what is it then?" Jin asked.

"What is what?" Nate responded.

"What are you so scared of?" Jin asked. Nate didn't respond. "Are you afraid to lead people; afraid you'll let them down?" Jin questioned.

Nate's head sunk down. "Maybe," he said.

"Well, you're not helping anyone like this. You are an ayos, which means you were chosen. It's your destiny to be a hero, a leader with hope. Don't let the weight of that crush you. Rise to meet it. I believe in you, now you just have to believe in yourself," Jin said as he stood, patting Nate on the shoulder. He then went back inside, leaving Nate to his thoughts.

Finally, morning came. The group gathered and set out to the orchards. The orchard was lined with various trees bearing different types of fruit. "Okay, quiz time. You're most likely dealing with a very mobile enemy. What tactics should you use?" Sky asked.

"We'll probably have to form a triangular perimeter to trap it," Elaina said.

"Okay, we'll have to organize with the fastest in the front," Dante said.

"Yes, but we'll have to flush it out of the trees first, or else it can just use them to bypass us," Nate added. Everybody looked at him surprised for a moment.

"Yes," Sky said hesitantly. "Good observation," he complimented.

Jin smiled to himself when, at that moment, he was smacked in the face with a fruit. Everyone turned to him then to the trees. There it was. A small blue monkey-like creature sat upon one of the tree branches. It began giggling or what sounded like giggling. Elaina raised her hand and a small lavender beam shot out, hitting the kami in the head.

A lavender "X" appeared on its head. It got angry and began trying to wipe it off, but it couldn't. "I see, you're a tracker," Sky said to Elaina.

"What does a tracker do?" Dante asked.

"We can mark just about anything. Once we've done that, we can track its location within a certain range, even when it goes out of our line sight," Elaina explained. The monkey gave up its tantrum and began to run, jumping from tree to tree.

The three apprentices looked at their seniors. "What? Go get it," Sky said, waving them on.

The tree gave chase into the woods. "You think they'll be all right?" Jin asked.

"Yes, they'll be fine," Sky responded.

The three apprentices began to chase the kami. It was quick, but they were keeping up with it. "So what's the plan here?" Elaina asked.

"Well we need to get in front of it so we can lead it where we want it to go," Dante suggested.

"Leave that to me," Nate said, in a deeper voice. The other two looked back to see that he'd partially transformed. His hair had become spiked up. Nate also grew patches of green hair on his face and hands. His eyes changed as he grew fangs and long claws on his hands.

"A shape shifter . . . nice," Dante said

"I'll cut it off. You two help me lead it to that field over there," Nate said, pointing at a clearing beyond the trees. He began to speed past the others. Nate gained on the kami. It looked back in surprise and panicked as it began to try to scurry away, but to no avail. Nate got within striking range and jumped up, swiping at it. It jumped to the ground, dodging him. Nate grabbed onto the tree branch and turned facing it. The kami pinched a handful of dirt and threw it at Nate, temporarily blinding him.

The kami turned and took off in the opposite direction. Nate wiped the mud from his eyes and continued following it. The kami was running from Nate when it met up with Elaina and Dante. The kami came to a halt when it saw the others. Shuffling back and forth, it turned and began to run to its left. The kami was stopped as three blades hit the ground in front of it. Then it turned and ran the other way, dodging blades being tossed at it by Dante.

The blades faded away and now the kami was running toward the clearing. The three apprentices regrouped and continued following it. "Weapon conjurer, huh?" Nate said to Dante.

Finally, they made their way out of the trees and into the clearing. Nate sped up, stopping the kami while they formed a triangular perimeter around it. "All right, good job everyone," Elaina said. "Now let's get it!" she said. Nate and Elaina jumped at it, while Dante threw blades at it. The kami jumped aside, causing Nate and Elaina to run into each other. After that, they quickly stumbled back, dodging the blades Dante had thrown. The kami began to laugh at them once again. The three apprentices regained their bearings and surrounded the kami once again.

"Okay, we need to take turns," Dante suggested.

"Elaina will go first, then me, and if it gets by us, you take it out, Dante," Nate suggested. The three nodded. Elaina dashed in and kicked it. Nate jumped up and smacked it to the ground. The kami panicked and dug down into the ground. Nate ran to the hole and began digging into it, but he couldn't get to it.

"Where'd it go?" Dante asked, looking around the ground.

Elaina pointed. "It's there! It's coming up . . . now!" she said. A small mound formed as the kami sprung out of the ground. Dante attacked it with his blades. The attack hit and the kami burst into magick, as the three absorbed its power.

"We did it," Nate said with shock. The three looked to each other. They all smiled and congratulated each other as they began to head back toward Jin and Sky.

Jin and Sky spotted the three walking up with pleased looks on their faces. "Well, I'm assuming everything went well," Jin said as they approached. He was answered by a flurry of excited voices.

"Okay, one at a time," Sky said, trying to calm them down. The five walked along as each of the apprentices told their side of the story.

"Well, it seems like you all did pretty good for your first time out," Jin complimented them as he looked to the sky. "I guess we should be heading back to the academy then," Jin suggested.

Sky cocked his head in thought. "Ahh, there's no rush. I say we celebrate a bit and then we can head back tomorrow," Sky suggested.

"Sounds good," Jin replied, as he dramatically pointed toward the village. "Back to town! Food and drinks are on Sky!" he said as they all began to speed off back to town.

Sky stood for a moment. "Hey wait a min . . ." he began, but everyone had already rushed ahead of him. The group returned to town and celebrated the rest of the night.

ToC

* * * * *
Chapter 27

Prelude to Chaos

The next morning the group sluggishly awakened. It had been a fun night and they had all gotten to bed late. They left the inn sometime in the afternoon and got on the road back to the academy.

The atlas gate leading home came into view. They were all chatting and strolling along until someone walked up behind them. The five began to hear clapping and turned to see a strange man wearing a black-hooded cloak. They all just stared at him, waiting for him to say something. His clapping came to a slow end. "Hello there," he said. "I saw your fight back there. You three are pretty skilled and you have some interesting abilities. Shame I didn't get to see you two fight, though," he said, pointing to Sky and Jin.

"So who are you exactly?" Sky asked. He got a bad feeling from this individual and didn't trust him.

"If you must know, they call me Coyote. So are you two the senior apprentices?" he asked.

"Yes, we are," Jin replied.

Coyote smiled. "So you two must be rather strong; but how strong, I wonder?" he asked.

"Enough! What do you want?" Sky asked

Coyote just shook his head. "My, you're awfully impatient aren't you?" he said, cocking his head. "No need to be so hostile. We're brothers after all," he said, raising his right sleeve. He revealed a core imbedded into his upper forearm. It was different from a normal core. In the center was a strange black nucleus that stemmed out from the center.

"That still doesn't explain what you want," Sky said.

Coyote shrugged. "I guess it just comes down to one thing. Do you desire strength?" he asked.

"I don't understand what you mean," Sky said.

The man let out a sigh. "I don't know how to make it much clearer then that. Do you want to become stronger?" Coyote asked.

"Obviously, there's more to it than that. What's the catch?" Sky questioned.

Coyote began to laugh. "Yes, I suppose there is more to it. If you want to become stronger, join me and the other chosen. And if you want to do that, all you two have to do is kill those three and destroy their cores," he said, pointing to the three apprentices. Sky and Jin move into a defensive stance in front of the apprentices. "If you destroy their cores, you get their special abilities. It's actually pretty cool," the man said trying to persuade them.

"You three run! Get back to the academy as soon as possible and tell them what's happening here," Jin commanded as the three apprentices ran.

"Ahh, so it's like that, I guess," Coyote said with a sigh. "Can't say I'm too disappointed though; more powers for me," he said as he spread his arms, creating two large bladed rings of energy. He flung his arms forward, sending the rings rolling toward the two.

They side-stepped and dodged the rings, but they began following them. During that time, the man created a large ball of energy in his hands. He then clapped them together, causing it to diminish and disappear.

"What did he just do?" Jin asked as they continued dodging the rings.

"I'm not sure, but watch yourself," Sky cautioned.

Suddenly, there was an explosion by Jin's foot, throwing him back into the ring. He was shocked by the energy before it also exploded, throwing him to the ground.

"Invisible mines," Sky said, realizing what his attack was. Sky jumped up allowing the blade to roll under him. He then pelted it and the ground with a barrage of exploding crystals. The crystals destroyed the ring and any mines that blocked his path. Sky landed on the ground, formed a large crystal blade in his hand and charged the mysterious man. Sky stabbed at him.

Coyote swatted the crystal, shattered it, and tapped Sky on the wrist before jumping away. Sky's arm felt weighed down. He could barely lift it. "What!? What did you do to me!?" he asked.

Coyote laughed as he turned his palm toward the ground. A large earth spike emerged from the ground aimed at Sky. He turned and dodged it, but it ripped a hole in the back of his robe, revealing the core imbedded between his shoulder blades. "So that's where it is," Coyote said to himself.

Coyote began to move toward Sky. He was halted as Jin appeared, attempting to hit him with an energy palm. Coyote saw him coming and caught Jin by the throat. "Well, if you're in such a rush!" he said, grabbing Jin's chest with his opposite hand. He could feel Jin's core in his hand and began to squeeze, shocking Jin with energy as he tried to crush his core.

Things began to get blurry to Jin. He tried to fight, but he felt the energy being drained out of him. He couldn't do anything. Jin's life was slowly slipping away when, all of a sudden, he was released and Jin fell to the ground.

Sky appeared, slashing at the Coyote's face. His hood fell back, revealing his face and the huge gash Sky had cut into it. The man had yellow eyes and light brown and white hair. He turned and hit Sky away. "Fine, enough messing around!" he said, aiming his palm to the ground.

Jin inched up in just enough time to see it. A large spike impaled Sky through his core. Time seemed to stand still for a moment. The world fell silent as Jin watched helplessly. Sky's body fell back lifeless as he looked over to Jin. Blood dripped from his mouth. "Jin, run!" Sky managed to say before the life left his eyes. His body began to turn into a bright light, much like a kami, but different as well. Sky's body disintegrated first and then his core slowly cracked apart, becoming energy that was absorbed by Coyote's core.

At that moment, the silence was broken as Jin's screams tore through. "Noooooo!" he yelled. His fists were clinched in anger. Eventually, his body began to quake as he was slowly losing control. The air around him became thickly charged as red energy began to pulsate from his body. Jin slowly lifted his head, revealing his glowing bright red eyes.

Jin turned his gaze upon the man. He lunged at the man from all fours, like a beast, grabbing his chest and slamming him to the ground. Coyote kicked him off. Jin moved in and began slashing at the man. Coyote continued to dodge, as Jin's power surged in rage. Finally, the man knocked Jin back.

They both stood facing each other. Jin stared at the man, but realized that he could see more. He could see the man's energy running through his body, and there was also a energy that stemmed throughout his body. Jin looked around him. He could now see the remaining mines around him; he could see magick.

"Those eyes? No you can't be... They're all supposed to be dead," Coyote said shocked. Jin dashed at him. Various stone spikes appeared from the ground. Jin saw them coming and was able to dodge them easily. He moved forward, hitting Coyote in the stomach. Jin grabbed his core with his other hand and began to pull on it, attempting to rip it from Coyote's body.

Coyote's face lit up with surprise and desperation. He formed a large ball of energy in his hand and fired it at Jin close range. It exploded, shooting Jin back down to the ground near the gate.

Jin was badly wounded. It was difficult, but he could still move. The front of his robe was torn, revealing his core. "Now let's see; how should I kill you?" Coyote asked, inching toward him. "Yes, I know I'll use my new power. Let's see how it works," Coyote said, raising his hand. A crystal began to form.

As Jin saw it, he remembered Sky's last words. Sky wanted him to run; he wanted him to live. As much as Jin wanted to get revenge, he knew he wasn't strong enough and now wasn't the time. At that moment, the crystal formed by the man exploded into a flash of light, blinding him. Jin turned and ran to the atlas gate.

Coyote grabbed his eyes. He regained his sight to see Jin nearing the gate. "No!" he yelled, aiming his hand to Jin and firing three crystals at him. They each hit Jin, stabbing him in the back, but he made it up to the gate and jumped through. Jin hit the ground on the other side and turned, firing a blast at the gate and destroying it.

Jin had escaped, but he was in bad shape. His breathing began to slow and his body began to go numb. All that happened next was just flashes to him as he recovered and was taken back to the academy.

ToC

* * * * *
Epilogue

It had been a few weeks since Jin nearly escaped death. The west academy's masters had gathered together in a meeting room. "So far, we have seven confirmed KIA and thirteen confirmed MIA," Ares explained to the group.

"Do we have any reports on the enemy?" Odin asked.

"According to the intelligence we've gathered, the apprentices were all attacked by ayos with tainted cores," Thoth explained.

"Does anyone know where they came from? Or how many there are?" Isis asked.

"No one is certain. It doesn't make any sense. There's no way this many tainted ayos could have gone unnoticed this long," Thoth explained.

"Unless this was all planned," Ares added.

"So it has begun. We need to gather the apprentices as soon as possible and lock down the academy," Odin explained before looking to Khronus. "Khronus, what is the status on Hyperion's heir?" he asked.

"Jin's alive. He finally stabilized last night. According to the debriefing, his powers activated during the fight," Khronus explained.

"So his powers have finally begun to awaken?" Odin responded.

"Yes, but there's a problem," Khronus said as his head sank down.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Odin asked.

"Well shortly after he was discharged, he . . . Jin's gone," Khronus responded.

ToC

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