1 An unlucky and dreadful encounter

The sounds of wind chimes echoed throughout the huge and immense empty hallways with its polished and cleaned floors; the empty classrooms and such chimes reached the magical familiars who slightly stirred up and woke up.

It reached all the ears of second year students as the event they had been waiting for since they had enrolled finally arrived, and that was being soulbound by a wand that would accept them as owners and companions.

It obviously also reached the ears of the other students but they were mere spectators of the event, and were not as excited as the second year students, but were still nonetheless interested in the event itself as they too partook in it or will partake in it next year.

They were curious who would get the weak wands, wondered if a student who showed potential would end up with either a weak wand or a powerful and famous one, if one of the unassuming ones would show their true potential and talents, and most importantly...

"Hey, what do you think of this year? There are many children from the most powerful and prestigious families and I think that atleast one of them will get one of the [Fourteen unique Wands]."

"Phss, please, it is an extremely rare occurance that even one of 'those' wands will end up in the hands of a student and a second year at that! The fact that the [Wand of Diligence] was taken by that third year student is already a miracle! I think that we need to wait a century before we can see one of 'those' wands choosing a student." Two fourth year students were chatting among themselves. This kind of conversation was not the only one as everyone around them was chattering.

"Well, nine of 'those' wands were already taken by previous mages who are currently alive despite the difference of each one of them is atleast a century so the possibility to take one is also drammatically reduced."

"You didn't hear the last news? I heard that-"

It was a mess but it was an open and important event so not a single professor attempted to silence the students and instead either watched the whole event in a room through a spell or were nearby just in case of any incident.

The students freely talked and joked with each other with the exception of the second year students who, in anytime soon, will have to pass through the strange wooden door, this door that was seemingly just brought in the open and left there as a prank is in reality a portal that would appear every year in every academy to welcome these students and bring them into a seemingly infinite space filled with wands.

There were those who couldn't stay on their feet and were nervously gulping or trying in vain to calm themselves. There were those who were confident that they would obtain a powerful wand, and a small minority that was calm or indifferent with each one of them with their own reasons for being so.

"Hehe, look at them being so focused because of a flimsy wand. Hah! You can just replace it when it breaks like every other item." A fiery ginger-haired student disdainfully said as she crossed her arms, despite such comment, the other students around her did not have the courage to retort, nor went to get along with such comment as they would be all ignored or even insulted back for being a moron or a bootlicker. "Hmph! Boring." Despite no one bothered her by being a 'moron' or a 'bootlicker' she was still unhappy. A cute yet at the same time impudent one, her diamond-shaped face was accompanied by a frown as her green eyes scanned the second year students below.

"Morgana! Don't be like that! This is a special event for them!" A dark copper-haired girl interjected.

"Yeah, yeah. Haa, good-natured as always, Alicia." Morgana smiled as her friend finally arrived. "Atleast with you here this won't be boring. Hehe, I know why you really came here." Morgana smirked teasingly as she whispered those last words so that only Alicia could hear them.

"Geez! This again!" Alicia pouted. "Won't you stop teasing me about that? Those are just rumors!"

"I know they are just rumors but it's the funniest so far!" Morgana sniggered as a pair of brown eyes gazed at her with exasperation.

"That's really not funny, my junior is being targetted just because of a rumor to lower my reputation." Alicia shook her head. "I really am worried for my junior since she was assigned to me as her senior."

"Seems like I'm the lucky one since I am one of the few who does not have to take care of a junior."

"Yes, that's because your senior has to take care of you instead."

Just as Alicia said that the sounds of wind chimes intensified and the wooden door audibly creaked as it slowly opened.

"Move! I'm going first!"

"Hey! Stop pushing! There's really just enough space for one person to enter at a time!"

"Ugh...hey..." A feeble voice came from a pale blue-haired student, but such voice couldn't possibly be heard by the other students, and even if they did they would likely ignore her.

As such, Vailyn was pushed inside the space filled with wands before Alicia could even call for her name.

"Ah...Vailyn..." Alicia muttered in concern.

...

A thud was heard, followed by a yelp, and then the sound of several items falling in the ground could be heard.

"Ouch, this hurts..." Vailyn softly groaned.

Vailyn dusted off the filth from her clothes as she slowly raised herself.

"The professor said that we only need to walk around until we feel a connection...that's so vague... well time to go then." Vailyn sighed. "There's really just...wands around. Each one of us were seperated from each other, I don't like this." Vailyn forced out a small smile and hummed to herself as the eerie silence made her uncomfortable.

Time passed but Vailyn couldn't tell how much time passed as the space around her seemed to really not change much no matter how much she walked, the only thing that slightly changed are shapes and materials that the wands assumed as Vailyn walked deeper and deeper in this strange space.

There were many times that Vailyn would take one of the wands on the shelves and examine it but nothing seemed to occur, and if she attempted to walk away with it, such wand would disappear from her hands and return to its previous place.

Since the space Vailyn found herself into was theorized to be infinite then it was also consequently theorized that the probability of meeting another student was slim if not impossible; and so far Vailyn never heard another sound other than her movements and actions.

-Here, this way.

Vailyn jumped a bit the moment she heard a voice that was seemingly ethereal.

"Are you..." As if the voice could read Vailyn's mind, it interrupted her.

-Yes, I am. This way, follow my voice.

It was... off. Vailyn sensed there was something wrong behind the voice; it was the same feeling she felt when she first met Alicia Skadi, her assigned senior and person to seek guidance or when in difficulty.

Vailyn hesitantly took a step forward after debating if it was really a good idea, choosing between wandering around in this vast space alone for an indefinite time or walking into something unknown she sensed to be dangerous, Vailyn chose reluctantly the latter as it gave her a chance that after this she might be able to leave this eerie place.

-That's right. This way.

"..." Vailyn remained silent and instead hummed to herself in order to not fully focus her attention on this strange voice.

-I'm here, just a little more.

Vailyn could see from the distance a brilliant light that sparkled like a star among the other ordinary dull wands.

-Yes, I'm your destined wand. Now, take me, let us start our adventure.

Vailyn's hands seemed to move on their own as the voice talked in her mind.

-Good, take me, and let me make you better, stronger, more beautiful, smarter and superior than God.

The voice was intoxicated with glee and superiority as Vailyn's hands got nearer and nearer to the wand.

An image of a perfect being appeared in Vailyn's mind, she couldn't figure whether it was a male or female since it continually shifted its form, sometimes it would show itself as a mythical and graceful creature, sometimes it would show itself as a human, and sometimes as a humanoid being.

-We will become the perfect being! Come, little human! We will become the greatest being in this world!

Its voice was both heavenly and devilish that could captivate anyone's heart and melt one's ears. It wouldn't be that bad if Vailyn followed anything this voice wanted just to hear its voice more, right?

-That's right, surrender to me and worship me. I might show you my smile if you do well and maybe reward you with my touch if you perfectly do my tasks.

Vailyn was delighted, already yearning for such rewards and ready to listen to anything this voice requested.

Vailyn's hands were just a few centimeters from touching the wand.

-Our creator, God, considers me as the original sin. I am Pri-

Suddenly, three different spherical orbs of light left Vailyn's head with one from the element of dark and the other two from the element of light, soon after they appeared the orb from the element of dark and one of the two element of light combined with each other then the other orb of light joined as well resulting in a transparent orb of light that immediately entered inside Vailyn's head.

Vailyn recoiled back as a sharp headache hit her in the head, but it also brought her back from that strange state she was previously in.

Vailyn's legs moved themselves and bolted away from the wand; Vailyn attempted to ignore the wand's pleasing wails by blocking her ears with her hands but it was meaningless as her headache worsened.

-Come back here!

-I'll give you the world! I'll give you the most beautiful things in the world that your heart desires!

-I was so close! So close!

-Please? Please, come back?

-...

The loud steps were the only sounds Vailyn's ears were hearing, but she wanted to hear more of that being's voice, to give in and let it give control. Her instincts , however, took control over her reason that was temporarily twisted by one of the [Fourteen unique Wands] managing to let her out from the grasp of the wand.

After the rush of adrenaline, Vailyn's legs wobbled to just stay on her own feet, but soon after Vailyn collapsed on the floor with her hands shaking and a throbbing head. She coughed and heavily panted; her weak body shouldn't have used that huge amount of energy in that small amount of time but it was either being bedridden and skipping a couple of days, or being forever a slave to a powerful and egocentric sentient wand.

It took several minutes for Vailyn's panting and coughing to lessen, and an hour to finally be able to properly stand up and decently walk.

The option she chose was obviously not the correct one. A heavy and tired sigh was released from the pale blue-haired girl.

She still couldn't find how she was able to escape from the [Wand of Pride]. But there was no time to ponder such thing, as Vailyn gathered her remaining energy into walking forward and finding a wand so that she could leave this eerie place.

...

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