8 Void

Oishi noticed that Arata had suddenly brightened up. He was acting strange just a moment ago but was now excited for some reason. Did he make some sort of breakthrough with his cultivation? He shook his head and just answered his question.

"Non-Elemental is kind of hard to explain. I mean it has the foundation for most common spells and everyone has a piece of it within them, but it is mainly used for simple spells. Strength, Speed, Defense etc. All the basic spells. But once people choose an Element, those spells are usually disregarded for spells that empower their Elements. So it is useful for all magic users to a point, and essential to learn the basics on how to control any form of magic, but it then becomes obsolete in the face of the power of other Elements."

The excitement left Arata as he was disappointed by Oishi's words. So Non-Elemental is that weak. Oishi noticed the change in Arata and started scratching his head.

'Crap. Did I say something wrong?'

Arata stood up and bowed to Oishi.

"Thank you for teaching me Senior. If you don't mind, I want to cultivate for a bit. You can come and use the room tomorrow if you wish, as per our agreement."

Oishi was caught off guard by the sudden formalness displayed by Arata.

'Damn! I slipped up!'

"Don't take my words too seriously, I'm just a student here like you, so I don't know everything. Non-Elemental energy is the most common yet also the least explored Element. Since no one really is able to have it long enough to develop it properly as other Elements influence it easily and then it changes. So I don't know enough about it to speak on it."

Oishi did his best to take back what he said, but it was too late, Arata had led him to the door and said his goodbyes.

Arata closed the door and lay on the bed. Maybe he thought too much into it. His Father must have just wanted him to come here and learn which Element he wanted. Nothing exciting about Non-Elemental magic. He was surprised at how upset it had made him. For some reason, he disliked the idea of learning another Element and losing his Non-Elemental magic.

'At least the bed is still fluffy.'

"I didn't expect you to give up so easily."

Arata sat up in a flash and surveyed the room.

"Who are you?"

"No need to shout. I can hear your thoughts just fine."

Arata felt a little strange having this seemingly disembodied voice in his head. He didn't exactly know how to respond to it. Then he heard the voice sigh.

"I was planning to stay hidden for a few more years, but you seem to be content with ruining your future prospects and tarnishing your father's hard work."

At this, Arata felt indignant and angry. Who the hell was this voice to talk about him in this manner? Arata shouted out loud.

"How dare you speak about me and my father! You don't know a thing about what you're talking about!"

The voice sighed again; there was annoyance in his tone.

"I'm getting nowhere with you. Get in here!"

Suddenly Arata's vision went black. The next thing he knew, he was floating in what looked like space. He had no clue how he had gotten there.

"You really are just too stubborn for your age."

Arata turned around and saw a silhouette of a person. A shadow. Like the person was there but there was a dark veil over him. Arata felt something familiar about this person. But then realized that this person was the voice that had insulted him. Arata was about to get into a stance to fight when the shadowed man appeared in front of him, gripping his neck.

"Fighting me is useless. As is me killing you. We both house the same vessel so if one dies, we both die."

Vessel? What does he mean by vessel? Who is this man?

The shadowy figure released his grip on the young boy.

"I don't have time for that. I will explain that another time. I have limited time before it gets too dangerous for me to be here. I need to quickly teach you before you ruin your power."

Arata realized that the man could hear his thoughts and was taken off guard by this.

"No need to be shocked. Your thoughts are easy to read for someone who is within them. Now stay quiet and observe closely. I'll only show you this once."

The shadowy man began circulating his energy. To Arata's shock, he could feel the energy within him circulating at the same time in the same way he could sense the shadowy man's energy circulating. He had never felt this wave of power before. Nor had he ever circulated his energy in this way before. He could feel that the energy was Non-Elemental, yet it felt different to what he had usually felt.

"This is the next level of Non-Elemental power: Void. The Void is the understanding of holding and controlling all through stillness. By being nothing, you can comprehend all."

He continued to circulate and Arata could feel himself becoming stronger, yet he also felt like there was a large gap within him filled with nothing that confused him.

"This is a small glimpse to the level of power you could have. But to truly control this power your self, you must discover the answers your self. Your father set the perfect foundations for you, yet you were ignorantly set on ruining that foundation. I can give you a push in the right direction, but I can not lead you by the hand and show you everything step by step. You must walk the path from here to find the answers yourself. Grow."

The shadowy man tapped Arata on his forehead and he woke up in a cold sweat in his room. He was breathing heavily as he looked around. The room seemed to be normal, he looked to the window and it seemed like it was night outside. He must have been out for a couple hours. He rubbed his head thinking about how weird that dream was.

"Don't screw this up."

Arata heard the voice again and sat up. He quickly crossed his legs and began circulating his energy like he had before in the dream. It was the same feeling. He had gotten stronger. And his energy felt thick yet hollow which confused him.

He had no idea what had happened but he wouldn't be considered a genius if he didn't understand that this was a great opportunity to become stronger. He began thinking about the entire conversation, the energy the shadowy man emitted. Although he didn't know what that place was, he had a guess of what it could be. The man said that they "shared a vessel". So that must mean that everything had taken place within him somehow. But he knew he couldn't do anything about that now, nor would trying to figure it out be useful at this point in time, so he focused on cultivating.

"By being nothing, you can comprehend all...."

Arata didn't really understand what that meant, but knew that it was a good idea to not take on another Element at this point. He closed his eyes and meditated into the night.

During his meditation, he felt his energy pulsate and shift back and forth between two states. The regular Non-Elemental energy that he was used to, and the unfamiliar energy that he felt the shadowy man use. He found that he could make his energy take on that form for a time, and his body increased in power and strength, but then it would change back.

He could clearly feel the changes in his body as it strengthened him, but he couldn't maintain the form for long. But he did all that he could to become accustomed to the feel of the energy the shadowy man called "The Void".

He was woken up by a knock on his door. He opened his eyes, he had meditated all night and was feeling refreshed. His meditation was strange. Like he had been cut off from everything. It was an uncomfortable feeling at first. Then it became calming and peaceful. He rather enjoyed it. He wished to fully comprehend what this Void power was and how it would change his strength and his cultivation. The knocking from the door pulled him out of his thoughts again.

He walked over to the door and he was greeted by Oishi. Oishi noticed that Arata seemed to be looking better so he smiled.

"Rise and shine sleepy head. I was told to give you a little tour of the South Wing and then take you to your first class. First place on the tour is the showers, cause you smell terrible."

Just as Arata was about to laugh, he noticed the eyes of a few students in the corridor, they were watching and observing the new kid still. Arata donned his arrogant persona as he stepped out into the corridor.

"Enough wasting time, lead the way."

Oishi remembered that people were watching so he couldn't interact with him in the same way. He quickly caught himself and bowed playfully.

"Yes, oh powerful sire."

Although Arata was keeping his noble act up, Oishi was known to be playful and cheeky, so he just responded how he wanted to and continued to tease Arata. He led him to the showers and to all the different areas of the South Wing, talking the whole time. Arata just nodded occasionally or completely ignored him. But inside he was trying his best not to laugh out loud.

Everyone observed the continuing arrogant nature and disliked him even more, though none of them had the power to bring him down a notch. Oishi however knew that Arata wanted to laugh, so he kept making jokes to see if he would crack.

"Well here's your timetable, I'll take you to your first class. Let me see, first up you got..."

Oishi froze staring at the timetable. He then sighed.

"That is some terrible luck. And it seems like you have a set class so you won't be changing classes during the week. Word of advice, keep your head down in your class. Maybe tone down the noble act."

Arata raised his eyebrows. Something seemed to have shaken up Oishi. And Arata was curious as to why. Before he could say anything, he started walking towards the large group of buildings in the centre of the large area of the Academy.

Arata started getting excited as they approached the classrooms. As they entered the lavishly decorated hallway, the two boys went up a few flights of stairs and Oishi led them to a classroom on the fifth floor.

"This is you."

Arata went to open the door when Oishi suddenly pulled him back as the door came down and a student was lying on top of it clutching his chest. Arata was stunned yet again.

'What is up with this school and breaking doors?'

"Useless! Get up! If you can't take a hit then just leave."

A woman with blonde hair walked out and picked up the student throwing him back inside. She then looked at Oishi and Arata. She stared intensely at Arata before giving him an irritated look.

"And who the hell are you?"