Pyramid of Light (I)

<Zero>

Oct. 2, 2054. Friday. 1:14 PM

"Look, look! It's the Elven City!" The cries of Drezo Regalias and the residents of Draconis Village cried out in pure excitement. The battle with Russ had been taxing upon the young dragons and their partners, and the sight of the City of Elements brought hope into their hearts.

Off in the distance was a beautiful forest city. A perfect natural landscape that mixes flowers and buildings into one. Out of all the kingdoms in the Fire Continent, the City of Element is the most beautiful City in the world. Everything about the City was spectacular, and the City of Diadem that they just came from was not even close to the dazzling beauty that the City of Element portrayed. People and dragons all stood on the edge of the Draconis Village, hoping to get a better glimpse.

"I knew it! City of Element is truly outstanding!"

"I'm going down to the city and having a date with my boyfriend."

Many couples heard about the romantic hot spot attraction of Elven City. From the beautiful scenery to a great resort for a vacation, it was the number one tourist attraction in Growth.

"Me too. I heard there is a famous spot where many couples go too."

The resident's voices excitedly chattered. Zero was sitting on the cliff's edge, also partaking in the beautiful view. He had been wearing the Anubis armor covered from head to toe in black.

The only thing he took off was the helmet covering half of his face. Today he wanted to relax and enjoy the view. From killing invading monsters nonstop to Russ's attack, he was tired.

"Zero," Agnis called out to him.

He turned around and noticed her sitting down next to him. He has been avoiding her like the plague for the past two days. The embarrassment of stealing a kiss from her lips was still fresh in his mind. Of course, it was just a simple kiss, but he still felt embarrassed and stupid for avoiding her.

His mind and his heart were both rattled. He knew that it was just a kiss, there was nothing more than that, but instead, his heart fluttered like a butterfly making him immensely uncomfortable. Until he got both his heart and thoughts in sync, he decided to stay away from her for a while.

How long had it been since he kissed a girl's lips? Seven years or was it five? In all honesty, he never did too well with girls. His brother, Kyle, was a different story. Every week he had a different girl in his arms, while Kiyro would be stuck on the first step: asking a girl out. Talking with them in everyday conversation was not difficult; asking them out and getting flatly denied was what held him back. This was the one thing that made him frustrated at himself, and that specific night when he helped her out, he did something that he never thought he would ever do in his life: an instinctual kiss and a hug.

The sweet lull of her womanly scent and soft hair had temporarily disabled him from doing something stupid. His head hurts just thinking about it. There were steps, for crying out loud, not going straight to the kiss. He chastised himself for taking it too fast.

Kyle had the natural knack for going straight for what he wanted, while he took the old-fashioned route and took it slow and steady. But, thinking about it, he couldn't help himself thinking that he was similar in aspect to his brother from the impulsive behavior that he had shown.

"I'm very sorry." Zero flat-out spoke. Even though he had already said sorry in the first place, he couldn't help himself from saying it again.

"What for?" Agnis asked, confused.

"The k-k-kiss and avoiding you." Zero faces turned scarlet. He wanted to bang his head against the ground, even to bring it up. Better yet, he wanted to shoot himself for being so unlike himself. What the heck was he even getting flustered for? He never got this flustered. Ever.

"Ah.…that.…" Agnis went quiet.

The silence became so unbearable that Zero tried to find some subject to talk with her about, but nothing came to his mind.

"Don't worry about it. You helped me out when I was in a tight spot. I should be the one that said

I'm sorry."

"You?" Zero was completely confused. Was there something that Eve did that made her say that?

"I was not in any sane mind at that time. I was terrified, and you helped me snap out of it. Without your help, I would've died from a heart attack." Agnis's voice was soft. "Not only that, I should've let you in my room when the teacher came by. I got a bit too scared and left you there to fend for yourself. You got in trouble."

"Oh, that," Zero remembered the night when Angel was in the girl's dormitory. That fateful night, he thought he heard him say Kyle's name. "Don't worry about it. Angel left a moment later."

"I'm sorry." Her voice became barely audible as she ducked her head low in shame.

"It's alright." He tried to change the mood. "So, what is it that you need?"

"Yea… I just wanted to sit and enjoy the view with you."

"Oh. Sure." Zero moved his hands, allowing Agnis to get more comfortable. For the next fifteen minutes, they silently gazed off into the distance. Even though they were not the only ones there, they enjoyed each other's company.

"So, how have you been doing in class?" Agnis broke the silence first.

"Eh, the same old. Learning about science and taking basic classes. Life is just a typical repetition of each day."

"Tell me about it, though I'm glad that the classes we are taking can be used for credits if we decide to go to an actual College. At first, I thought it was strange that we would be taking regular classes instead of some bogus magic show or something. I mean, it's just a bit strange."

"I thought so too, but the Academy seems to be teaching more science. I'm starting to understand how it's supposed to help our skills grow, but still, metaphysical abilities and science are on opposite ends."

"Not really, if you think about it. Learning the law of the world has been helping me develop my abilities even more. I heard that the people who use Elemental abilities have shown some serious progress."

"Really? I should go ask M2 later on when he has a chance."

"Why? Does he have an elemental skill?"

"Yea, if I remember correctly, fire."

"That's pretty neat. However, it makes me wonder why you don't have that skill. You're a dragon in this game for crying out loud."

Zero shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. If I did, it would be awesome, but life is life. Maybe using fire too much in this game made me not want to learn that skill. It's almost like breathing. So you don't see it as a skill anymore."

"That is an interesting way to put it."

"Well, what I do want to learn is maybe some electric energy or maybe some crazy ice skills. I don't know, but they sound much cooler than fire."

"Really? I thought the fire was quite powerful."

"I'm not saying it isn't. It's just that I'm a bit bored with it." He dryly chuckled.

"Ah, I see. So you're that type of person."