22 Echoes of the Past

When his senses return to him, he was in a dark place. Gone are the colorful lights decorating the plaza, gone are the noisy fireworks, gone are the lights of the night city, all there was left are the dim lights of the stars and the pale moon hanging harmlessly above.

"What is this?" he said, his voice trembling by the panic that besets him.

"Eugene, let go!" another voice called out, a voice of a girl, the voice of someone he recognize. Suddenly, he was much calmer.

"Annaliese! Are you alright? Are you real?" Eugene asked, wondering if he had already gone home from the New Years Eve event and is currently dreaming.

In response, Annaliese took his hand and pinched it strongly, using even her nails. The pain was all too real.

"What happened? How did we get here? Did we swallow something we shouldn't have?" Eugene was trying hard to remembered what had occurred before, but all he had remembered was being at the mall during the celebration, and then there were fireworks, and then... nothing. He remembered nothing else afterwards. By the time he came to, he was already here, his hand grasping Annaleise's.

Annaleise... why did I do that, Eugene wondered to himself, why did I grab her hand? Then it came back to him, there was a bright light, and sensing something wrong, he immediately reached out for Annaliese, feeling the need to protect her because she was a sister of a friend and younger than he is. Did that light have something to do with us being here?

With his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness, Eugene began to look around, taking note of the trees and foliage that surrounds them and the clear starry sky unpolluted by city lights. Panic began to set in once more, because it was apparent that they are far from civilization.

"Eugene..." Annaliese called out, her hand reaching out for his. Her voice was calming, reminding Eugene of the calming presence that her sister also possess.

"We're going to need a light," Eugene willed his fears away and spoke the most reasonable thing that came to his mind. "Do you have anything?"

"I have my phone," Annaliese replied.

"Ah, of course! Think you can make a call?"

"There's no reception, I checked."

"We're that far out, huh... Batteries?"

"Half a bar."

Then Eugene checked his own phone.

"It's in the red. Can I borrow yours?"

Annaliese nodded and easily handed her phone over, not quite caring because she kept nothing personal in there.

"Much appreciated. Now where's the button for the flashlight..."

"Eugene!" Annaliese yelled urgently, tugging at his sleeve.

Upon looking up, Eugene found pairs of glow red eyes, glaring at them from the darkness. At first he thought that these were mere predators, that perhaps he could scare them away or at least keep them at bay with the flashlight on the phone. However, he was soon proven very wrong when orbs of pale blue flames appeared all around them, lighting up the surroundings and revealing the true form of the red eyes, to which Eugene quickly learn were not eyes at all, merely a pair of glow red orbs floating in mid air.

Then, just as Eugene was starting to wonder what was going on, the orbs of blue flames began gathering around the pairs of red orbs, eventually forming a vague shape resembling wolves with the pairs of red orbs positioned where the eyes would be.

Sensing danger, Eugene shoved Annaleise behind him and backed up against a tree. Having stuffed the phone back into his pocket, Eugene, with his foot kicked up a burly branch from the ground and caught it with his free hands, ready to use it as a club. With a bead of cold sweat running down his cheek, he suppressed his incredible terror and surveyed his surroundings, counting there to be six wolves in his immediate field of view.

In half panic, Eugene swung the large branch around, hoping to discourage the wolves from coming closer, but as if it was able to smell his fear, one of the wolves ran up to him without hesitation.

Taken aback but not totally stunned, Eugene willed his arm to move and strongly swung the branch at the wolf, only to have it pass right through the creature, as if he had been swinging at air.

Eugene's eyes widened at the unbelievable sight, and his mind, for a brief moment stopped working. And so, he went for another panicked swing, but the wolf does not care and circled right around Eugene, aiming for Annaliese behind him with jaws wide open and fangs eager to dig in.

His heart almost stopped when he realized what was happening. I have to stop it, the thought cried out in his mind, I have to keep her safe. In that instant, time slowed down for him, a single moment became as if twenty. Distinctively, he felt how heavy his limbs were and he cursed how slow they were moving. However, by sheer force of will, he pushed his body to the limit and shot out his leg with incredible strength and speed.

His leg struck, and unlike the branch, it did not simply go though the wolf like air. Instead, it flew into the wolf and cut across it, splitting the flames that made up the creature's head in half. At this sight, a though flashed into his mind, that perhaps the moment the wolves strike is also the moment they could be struck in turn. However, he did not have the time to dwell on that idea and as soon as he had the opening, he took Annaliese's hand and began sprinting.

Annaliese was silent throughout, and though her face, as always, gave up nothing, her complexion was deathly pale. She was afraid, of course she was afraid, she was but a normal thirteen year old girl, perhaps a little more brilliant than those of the same age, perhaps feeling too strongly about her inferiority to her sister, but she was normal nonetheless.

I have to keep her safe, Eugene thought desperately, as someone older, as her sister's friend. I must!

Running into the shadows, barely being able to see, Eugene bumped into tree and branches tore into his skin, but even so he can't slow down, not with the wolves at their back. Briefly he looked back at Annaliese, making sure that she was alright, and then to the wolves, hoping that he had somehow lost them but was despairingly disappointed to find that they were still right on their trail, with the one whose head he kicked off coming after them with the most ferocity. All the odds were stacked against him, but he could only steel his heart and keep running.

Annaliese kept close to Eugene, feeling the tight grasp of his hand, and her own hand grasping his just as tightly. She was trying desperately to keep up, trying not to slow him down, terrifyingly aware that the wolves are gaining on them. In her head she could only think of one possible way out of this, and that is to leave someone behind to be torn to pieces by the ghostly wolves and run while they were distracted. She had seen this happen in nature documentaries, how a pack would leave their slowest members behind for the predator and escape while they were occupied. And she was well aware, despairingly aware, that in this case, she was no doubt the slower of the two.

Then, the thing she feared most happened. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the eerie blue glow of the wolves, and when she turned to look, to her horror, one of the wolves had caught up to her, its maw already wide open, ready to bite down on her.

Without time for her to do anything, the wolf's fiery fangs dig into her shoulder, close to her throat but not close enough to kill. Her blood instantly turned cold and she lets out a voiceless shriek, sounding like a dying rabbit.

Hearing her, Eugene turned around, and she saw the horror in his eyes. She knew that she is going to be left for dead. Any sane person would leave her, and had their positions be reversed, she would do the same. Yet, her hand clasps his ever more tightly, refusing to be left behind, desperately wanting to be saved.

She saw Eugene reached his other hand out to her, expecting him to pry her off, and tears welled up in her eyes. But to her surprise, his hand went over her shoulder, and somehow, though some unknown method, pried the wolf off her. Annaliese was relieved, so much so that she could collapse into the ground while crying nonstop. However, she couldn't, it wasn't over. Worst yet, by being saved, she quickly became sure that they were doomed, because to save her, Eugene's legs had stopped for but a moment, and that moment was more than enough for the already approaching wolves to catch up.

Eugene as well, was well aware of that fact, but he wasn't ready to give in, there's still something to be done. Strongly, he pulled Annaliese towards him and laid her on the ground with himself laying over her, planning sheltered her small body with his own. He was going to use his own body to protect her. Yet, having done so, he was quick to realize his error. There was no doubt he was going to die, and after him, Annaliese.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! He yelled at himself in his head. Now he had killed them both. He should have done something else. Perhaps if he could summon enough strength to toss Annaliese forward, then maybe she could escape the wolves while he keep them occupied, that was his first instinct when he realized that the wolves had caught up, but doubting that he has the strength to pull it off, he instead opted to do what he is doing, and now he hates himself for it. I should have tried, he scolded himself, anything would be better than this, now there's no way out for anyone.

Still, he was determined to shield her for as long as possible, and he held his body steadfast over the curled up and crying Annaliese, shutting his eyes tightly to keep out the horror of being torn to pieces alive while waiting for the inevitable.

Moments pass, and the world around him had become silent. Am I dead? He asked himself and slowly opens his eyes, his mind afloat and his head light.

"Ar... u... ight?"

Slowly, Eugene began to hear a voice.

"H... l... ow?"

Slowly but surely, his senses, dulled by the experience of near-death, were returning. The sobbing of Annaliese beneath him was clearly audible now. With his senses clearing, he began to sluggishly look about the surroundings, and he saw that the wolves were all gone.

"Are you alright?"

For the first time, he clearly heard that voice, and slowly he lifts his head towards the direction of the voice.

There, he thought that he had seen an angel, one with the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen, her ears long and pointy, and her golden hair was mixed with some green, a supposedly unnatural mix, but somehow, on her, the colors blended perfectly into each other.

Her name was Fiona.

***

The first thing he did when he opened his eyes is to stretch his arms out towards the ceiling. There were no particular reason as to why he felt like doing it, he simply did, and as he stared at that outstretched arm, he wondered to himself, "Is this reality?" And as his senses began to awake one by one, the world began to sink in. He could hear the chirping of the birds, he would hear the wind brushing by the window, and he could hear the Sword God snipping away in the garden. There's no mistaking it, this is the Sword God's dwelling in the mountains.

Dropping his arm to his side, he lay there and took a moment to stare at the ceiling before finally getting up. His arms work fine now and so does his legs, but he was warned, that if he continued to push them, one of these day, the damage would be irreversible.

Opening the door to the outside, the rays of the sun flooded into his room bathing over him. The feeling of the sun's warmth charged him with energy and chased away the sluggishness form just waking.

As his room was right next to the courtyard, just by stepping out, he could enter it with a few steps forward, and this morning, he decided to do just that. It's been a while since he was able to walk with his own legs after all, why not take a short walk around the courtyard? Such was his line of thought. The courtyard was huge, so much so that it would take Gene ten minutes to walk from one end to another. In the middle of the courtyard is a large pond, and if one takes the stone steps protruding on the surface of the lake, one could reach a small island at the center with a nice little pavilion build upon it.

Deftly, Gene stepped over the stones and made his way to the island and sat himself at the table placed within the pavilion. There, he settled down and watched the fishes within the pond swim around for no apparent purpose.

It's good to be home again, he thought as he lay lazily on the white table, how long has it been?

With the injuries suffered from the battle with Fittoa, Gene was in need of some intensive treatment, one that the doctors of this world are simply not equipped to give and the healers could do nothing about due to his magic resistance. For Gene there was only one option, and so he took a leave from Administration and had Joseph escort him all the way back to this mountain where the Sword God dwells.

Much of his memories of this place were the training and lessons the Sword God had provided. Those were the memories of a much simpler time. There we no schemes, no allegiances, just lessons and training. It was a time when it was just the Sword God, himself, and one other.

Speaking of, I wonder what she's doing right about now...

***

Far to the east, at the eastern most point of the continent, there lies a small kingdom, a city state, called Tyto. Though it may be small, this is the kingdom that was the most advanced in its development of magic, it was a kingdom that held the most knowledge about magic, and where the Circle of Mages was founded. In this kingdom, even in the countryside, one would be hard press to not find traces of magic, ranging from mages, magic scholars, and of course, the kingdom's main commodity, magical tools. Through and through, this is a kingdom that centers around magic, and therefore it was so aptly called, the Magic Kingdom.

In Tyto, there is a magic academy, one that gladly takes on not only students within its own borders but also those of other countries. And though it specializes in the subject related to the magical arts, it offers excellent courses of non-magical nature as well, further attracting those seeking higher education, especially the noblemen of various countries. As such, Tyto has become a hub not only for magical items and arcane knowledge, but also one for forming connections around the world in spite of the kingdom's somewhat precarious location of being one ocean away from what is called, the Demon Continent.

Being a place that accepts those that came from afar, of course the academy would have dorms for its students, with each room shared by two roommates. Within such a room, one student stirred from her sleep upon hearing movements from the bed across hers. This student was a light sleeper, and she would wake at the slightest noise. To make things worse, her roommate would sometimes have night terrors that was horrible enough that she would sometimes be frighten out of bed herself. Tonight as well, it seems like her roommate is having a nightmare again.

Sluggishly, she reached for the wand she left by her bed side. It was nothings special, but a length of fine wood with a magical gem attached at the base. With the wand, she created a ball of light and instantaneously illuminated the room, and with the room lit, she went to check on her roommate. However, when she looked over, her roommate was already gone, apparently having already gotten up and left the room. As always, her steps are so quiet.

The student looked out the window, and saw that sky slowly being lit, and while the sun had not yet shown itself, undoubtedly it will soon be dawn. She knew, that if her roommate got up around this time, there's usually one place she would head to.

And so, she left the room as well, heading over to the dorm pantry and went ahead to open a special cabinet. Once opened, she was instantly chilled by the cold air that leaked out. She remembered the first time she had seen this thing, this cabinet enchanted with the frost magic to keep the food held within fresh. They didn't have something so advance in the countryside she came from and so she was freaking out about this amazing thing. Who would have thought it possible to store raw meat and keep it from rotting for several days? Certainly not her, not before coming to this academy anyways. She was so glad she got to come here, and so very grateful to her parents who worked to their bones to save up enough for her to attend here.

From the cabinet of frost, she pulled out a jug of milk and poured some into two ceramic mugs before returning the jug. She then placed the mugs on the stove and with fire magic, heated the milk to a pleasantly warm temperature. Then, carrying the mugs, she headed upstairs, towards the rooftop.

Form the roof top of the dorms, the ocean can be seen, and then slightly below the horizon, one could see a tip of the Demon Continent. There was a few reason that Tyto was more advanced in magic than anywhere else in the world, and one of those reason is the Demon Continent where demons dwell, and every fifty years or so, the demons would try to invade this land, coming from across the ocean and arriving on this coast, and Tyto would be the first kingdom to be attacked. To combat the demons, Tyto had developed powerful magic, and being the first line of defense of this continent, Tyto has the support of every other country behind it. To say that the Demon Continent is the reason Tyto is what it is today is no exaggeration.

That being said, on the rooftop, there was on who paid no heed to such a place, a petit girl whose sleek and silken black hair flowed gracefully in the morning breeze. This girl stares at the rest of the continent behind Tyto, her eyes searching it, hating its sheer expansiveness.

"Did I wake you?" the girl asked without turning around, knowing that her roommate had come up from the sounds of her footsteps.

"Oh no, I just woke up on my own." It was a lie of course, but the other girl did not want her roommate to feel bad about it. "Anyway, it's a cold morning, so I thought you might want something warm."

The petit girl turned around, her right eye, like polished obsidian, gazed over to the hot milk with small delight, while her left eye, unfortunately, remained hidden behind an eye-patch.

"Thank you, Shirley," she said to the kind girl before her as she took a mug into her hands, feeling its pleasant warmth.

"No problem, what are roommates for?"

"It's only you that have been watching out for me though. I haven't done anything for you at all."

Shirley felt as if she had messed up, she should have just accepted the thanks. Now she's making her friend feel bad.

"It's fine, Lieze, it's fine," Shirley said with good cheer, "Just let me copy your notes and we're even."

"I don't keep notes though."

"Huh?"

"Since I can memorize everything just fine, I don't keep them."

"Then... Just... how about you take me out somewhere nice for lunch then?"

"That's well and fine, but I don't really know anywhere nice."

This girl, Shirley thought at that moment, what am I to do with her?

"You don't get around too often, do you?"

"I suppose not."

"Well that will just not do, life's too short for you to bury your face in books. Clear out your schedule for today, because I'm taking you out for some fun!"

"But-"

"No buts! You're coming with me, whether you want to or not!"

This girl, Lieze thought at that moment, what shall I ever to with you?

***

End of Chapter 22