7 The Challenges Ahead

As Shynerai entered the house, he turned on the lights and headed upstairs.

After entering his bedroom, he closed the drapes and threw himself onto his bed as he took a deep breath only to exhale with a worn-out sigh.

It was clear that his little display of WillForce was taxing.

He kept on lingering on the thought as he stared at his left hand with the brief sight of the silhouette of an item on the desk in front of him. As he focused on the item, it came into clarity along with what the time was on the alarm clock next to it.

It was 17h46, so Shynerai decided to get up so he could start on dinner and on his way out of the room, he grabbed the package.

As he sat down to enjoy his dinner, the mystery of what was in the package began gnawing at him as he recollects the event that leads to him acquiring the package, whereby he was coming down for breakfast and Shadow told him that Sarah had left him a goodbye present.

As the thought of Sarah began flashing in his mind, he resolved to find out what it was.

He put aside his dinner and stood up to open the package while multiple ideas began racing through his mind, though if it was a gift from Sarah then Erai didn't care what it was.

As the packaging fell away, the gift was revealed though there were two gifts. Erai picked up the gifts, he found a card that was signed by both Shadow and Sarah.

The card read that the bigger package is Shadow's gift which is a jacket/coat that seems to an upgrade from his old gear. It's made from even sturdier fibres so it won't break down when Erai uses his power. The jacket has bright silver trimmings with an embossed collar and furred hood. The arms of the jacket are folded but the buttons can be undone to give them full length. The jacket has a navy blue/ midnight purple hue.

The second gift was from Sarah and to say her gift was simply that would be an understatement.

Her gift was a silver necklace made of two concentric circles with the smallest one being freely suspended inside the larger one.

Though looking at it, Erai could not find a purpose for it as he wasn't the jewellery type but as he turned the card around to see if there was anything more, finding something that brought him to a complete silence...and only a few moments after the silence came to be the muffled sound of held-back tears welling up--

His hand that was grasping the card was trembling as he fell to his knees with tears running down his cheeks as with each sniffle seemingly breaking the gates that were trying desperately to hold them back.

"Its a gift. Your mom and I were hoping to finish it before you got back from the Kathedral in time for your birthday. Uncle Astral thought you might not like jewellery all that much but we knew you'd love it if we made it magical in some way. Hope you like it, for always being kind and helpful to everyone. Just know that there is always someone who cares about you no matter how sad, frustrated or lonely you may feel " The short note wrote

A feeling made certain as soon as he put the necklace on, it began spinning slightly with a slight glow.

The echoes of those words made him tear without end as each time he tried to wipe them away, even came flooding back.

As his tear-filled eyes staring deeply into the light of the necklace, he couldn't help but be reminded of his parents and how happy he was when they were still around, thinking of all the time he spent with Shadow and Sarah when they took him in.

Suddenly the thought of all the people that had brought him to this moment brought a smile to his face and deep joy to his heart.

With the emotional reminders of why he's doing what he is firmly in his grasp, Shynerai felt more empowered than ever to succeed and keep his family together.

That morning Shynerai sprang from his bed and started his day with absolute intent.

Having eaten breakfast and made his bed, Shynerai went on to take a shower before the final exam.

With the vigour of a fresh shower, he got dressed and donned his father's coat along with his sister's necklace. Before he left, he noticed that his hair kept on getting in his way and it was a minor inconvenience during the exams on Monday, so he decided to deal with it.

Once it was time to leave, he grabbed his backpack that was packed with a decent amount of essentials for survival, as he stepped out the door.

There was a noticeable glare that had fallen on him from the people that were passing by on the street, though Shynerai simply thought it was the jacket that caught everyone's attention.

As he left the porch and entered the street, more and more of the scene was made at the appearance of Shynerai which only served to make him even more nervous so he tried hurrying towards the Academy in an attempt to avoid the gaze of even more people.

He entered the street that he was lost on when he was first looking for Trinity Cross...and was stopped by the very same people from whom he got direction.

"Hey��yeah you. Slow down. Hey are you that kid that got lost here awhile back.", they asked.

"Sorry if I happened to be a bother, though I do greatly appreciate your help.", Shynerai replied as formal as can be.

"Oh, so it is you. I mean we barely recognized you. You look like the type of kid that walks off a magazine."

Shynerai was suddenly starting to make sense of what was going on.

"So that why people were starring before, I mean I know I haven't trimmed my hair in over seven-year but I didn't think that people being able to see my face would cause such an uproar. I guess I'll just put on my hoodie. It'll just make things easier going forward.".

Though the changes from another person's perspective might seem far grander than a simple hairstyle change.

Shynerai had taken his long white unkempt hair and trimmed the bangs though while still leaving him with enough hair to make a ponytail braid that reached slightly below his shoulder.

With the braid resting around his collar, the white colour blended with the grey-furred collar of the jacket. The navy blue of the jacket along with the silver trails along with the jacket only served to accentuate his piercing emerald eyes. And the silver necklace shining with a complemented brilliance from his golden skin. All these together gave Shyenrai the appearance of an individual with an "inhuman beauty".

After a quick conversation with the helpful strangers, Shynerai set off for school.

As he was approaching the school gates, he glanced at the clock-tower and the time was 05:30, which made him wonder as to why exactly all the examinees had to arrive on campus so early in the morning.

He entered through the gates and started walking towards the First Assembly Hall. He noticed that there was a stage set-up in front of the entrance of the Hall with all the examinees that already arrived all gathering in front of it...though within their respective cliques.

Since Shynerai knew nobody and hoping that he doesn't run into Vauntuss again, he decided to stand behind the crowd that was forming farthest from the stage.

By 06:00, it seemed as though no more examinees were arriving and the work being done of the stage had already been finished.

With that the educators from the previous exams namely: Professor Ulrich and Professor Arturian.

The two got onto the stage and approached the mics.

They proceeded to gesture to the crowd in front of them...and the signal was received with them having calmed to total silence.

Once again Dr.Ulrich began the introductions:

"Good day to you all and welcome once more to Trinity Cross Academy. I am pleased to see that all the examinees have returned to complete the third and final exam.

On Monday you were all given instructions for how you would prepare for today's test, now what exactly the test is will be explained.

The final exam is one of survival. You will be paired into groups of 2 at random, afterwards, you will be sent to Magnus Silva, a forest that lies outside the protection of any Haven and one that routinely harbours both beasts and demons.

Once you arrive your objective is twofold, first: you need to find your way back to the campus, second: you will have to acquire a core from a beast.

The core will be an indication of your success so if you return without one, you fail the exam.

The cores are divided into 6 categories: mind, chest, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg.

The type of core will indicate the type of beasts you will need to hunt to acquire it.

The choice of which core to hunt will be selected at random for each group.

Lastly, the exam will run for 3 days so you have until Friday to make it back here.

You will also need to understand that if you return without your partner, it will be an automatic fail, along with starting fights against other groups.

Once you get your partner, you cannot exchange them for another.

Now if at any point you feel your life is in danger, merely resign and we the invigilators will intervene.

Now we will begin calling the names of the first team, once you find out who your partner is, find an empty Teleporting Seal and wait there.".

Dr.Ulrich concluded his speech and started announcing the teams.

Amongst them, were Vauntuss and Charlotte, Heimrill and Ketsuiko, Alleiyna and Torren along with Alicia and Stephen.

Only when the 103rd group was announced...Shynerai's attention was suddenly caught as they called out:

"Vaceris Ieollavard Astembridge".

Shynerai looked around and noticed that all her friends were already placed in groups...so he wondered who was still left that would be good enough to be on her team...and then it struck him.

"along with Shynerai Astrapordt".

Silence fell after the team was announced...followed by low whispers as people were asking who Shynerai was.

Meanwhile as confused as ever, Shynerai stood at the back of the crowd in total shock until Ulrich summons him once more, hearing his name again Shynerai could do nothing but swallow his fear as he made his way to the stage.

With each step he took, the whispers grew louder and the glares grew more intense...until he arrived at the stage. Once he was on it, he tried to avoid eye contact with Vaceris by, an act which seemed to upset her.

Dr.Arturian then provided the two with the type of core that they would have to find: the mind core which could be found in beasts and demons that can harness the elements.

After receiving their assignment, the pair headed over to one of the vacant Teleportation seals, all the while the crowd was in silence though everything quickly went back to normal after they left the stage.

As the two headed for the Teleportation Seal, Shynerai heard someone call out to Vaceris, it was Charlotte and her friends. It seems like they decided to wait together until it was time for them to leave. As they approached, Vaceris began to veer off the direction that she and Shynerai were walking in to instead meet her friends.

"Don't you think we should take this time to come up with a plan before we leave", Shynerai pleaded as she was walking away.

"Don't worry there will be plenty of time to plan when the exam starts, after all, I am stuck with you", Vaceris replied as she walked away.

From that statement alone, Shynerai could tell that she didn't like him very much.

Even so, he found himself inexplicably drawn to her in a way that has been bothering him since they first met and because of it...he decides that he will make even more of an effort to ensure that they can cooperate in the exam.

It was 06:50 when the last of the groups were announced.

Finally, the examinees were asked to find their Seals. She arrived on time to meet Shynerai at the Seal.

As he greeted her, she instead asked him why he has such a strange name.

"Well my parents came up with it, but I understand it can be a bit hard to pronounce, so just call me Erai".

Vaceris replied: "Well, then you can call me Lady Vaceris".

Shynerai saw no real need to address her in such a formal manner considering that they were on the same team, but as long as they could get through introductions then it didn't matter.

The final announcement was made: "Good luck to you all, and may you be victorious".

With that…all the Teleporting Seals activated simultaneously and with a sudden white flash, all 1450 examinees, 725 groups… had all disappeared.

With a bright flash, Shynerai could suddenly feel a shift in his balance.

As he tried to open his eyes, it was clear that his eyes were still affected by the spell but they quickly began to recover as his vision became clearer and clearer until finally…"What, nightfall. This cannot be real".

Shynerai thought to himself at the sight of a full moon at what appeared to be Late evening.

With the sight of the night sky intensifying his confusion, Shynerai began to stumble around as his mind tried to make sense of what exactly was happening… when suddenly a hand reached out from the darkness to grasp his shoulder, it was Vaceris.

It seemed as though she was just as dazed as he was but he was too delusional to notice…" smack".

The sound echoed and began to bring some semblance of sanity back to his mind, "Ugh…I don't think I needed to hit myself that hard" Shynerai remarked as he tried to soothe his check.

Shynerai then turned to help Vaceris who was still having a bit of trouble adjusting.

As he walked over to her, he tried putting his hand on her shoulder to calm her and as he did, she turned to him in response.

Shynerai asked if she was okay.

Vaceris tried to ask him about what just happened and why it was night already but Shynerai simply told her to take deep breaths as he sat her down on a rocky outcrop nearby.

Once she was seated, Shynerai stood up but was stopped by Vaceris as she gripped his jacket...he turned and looked at her face and he noticed she looked confused though she was at least breathing okay.

"Okay then, I won't go"

And with that, he sat there alongside her until she managed to calm down...all the while she never let go of him.

Several minutes passed (20:52).

With the both of them now adjusted to the change in scenery, he decided to scout around the area, so they could orientate themselves.

He got up and started to walk towards an irregular megalith formation. Once he got to the top of it, he was gripped with the reality of the situation.

Vaceris walked towards where he was standing and noticed that something was bothering him…or rather something he saw.

"Well…can you see anything useful?", she shouted at him as he stood on the formation.

He jumped down...after taking a few moments to collect his thoughts he started to explain to Vaceris what he saw.

"It's all forest...the forest just keeps going on as far as you can see. I guess they meant what they said about dropping us in the middle of a forest outside any of the Havens...Dammit".

"Considering that it was early morning when we left the school, I'd bet that we are in a completely different time-zone".

Vaceris stood back in shock as she clasped her hand towards her chest.

Shynerai notices her reaction.

"So you've figured it out have you?"

"Seriously, how is it possible that we're so far from Aria?", Vaceris mumbled to herself.

"At the moment, it's only just a theory, still…it's only the lead we have so far".

Though she was reluctant, she decided that until they had more information, she had no choice but to accept this idea.

As a swift and chilled breeze brushed passed the two, the realization of what needs to be done befell them...and so they proceeded deeper into the forest to try and make camp for the night.

After travelling for almost an hour and a half, they reached an area of the forest with a massive clearing that approaches a waterfall with an outcropping rock formation nearby.

They both thought the formation would make a decent shelter for the night, so they began setting up the camp.

Once they had finished scouting the clearing for any dangers and agreed that it was safe, and began building the shelter using some of their supplies, dead branches, and vines from nearby. While Vaceris finished the preparations for the camp, Shynerai decided to try and gather some food from deeper in the forest.

"I think that we should go and gather some more supplies. It might be bad if we relied on our rations and they ended up finishing before we managed to make it back": Shynerai suggested to Vaceris in the hopes that they could work together.

Unfortunately, the only value Vaceris found in his suggestion was their need for a source of clean water so she instead decided to volunteer herself to get some water for the camp while Shynerai heads out to look to for the food on his own.

With a suppressed look of disappointment, Shynerai got up and left the shelter:

"Okay…I'll be back sometime before sunrise".

During their time together, Vaceris was unable to take Shynerai seriously.

As she thinks to herself whilst drawing water from the waterfall.

"Ever since we met, he showed no ambition or drive beyond completing the exams.

Not to mention his terrible control over magic. It's not just that...but his complete and utter lack of confidence in himself means that he's probably the type of person who can't do anything unless someone is babying him."

She stood up and started heading back to the shelter, her inner thoughts continued to race in what seemed like an attempt for her to justify her behaviour towards him.

She recalls her first encounter with him, this was after the Illumination Test when Vauntuss was scolding her for not managing a higher score...with Shynerai heading towards her and Vauntuss in what seemed like a poor attempt at playing the knight in shining armour.

The result was him arriving at a total standstill the moment his eyes met her only for him to be chased away by Vauntuss himself.

"Though it was flattering when he blushed at the first sight of me": she remarked with what seemed like a gleeful smile.

Despite this, she couldn't help but think that:

"If someone like him has no real courage or ambition driving them then he might end up slowing down those around him".

"I cannot support anyone who would resign themselves to being paralyzed by fear every time an obstacle would present itself. The only thing I can do is cooperate when necessary and rely on my resolve if we end up in any danger."

"Yes…I'll succeed and push forward because it's the only way for me to live the way I want: " she thought to herself as an expression of confidence appeared on her face.

When she returned to camp, she put the water in a bamboo trunk and place it over the fire in front of their campfire. As it boiled, she drew from her bag a few packets of hydrated meals which she managed to prepare.

The result was what seemed like a dinner that could pass a serviceable meal in almost any restaurant. Soon midnight had fallen over the forest and she had fallen asleep.

Before she knew it...early morning had already arrived though, the credit for her waking up should instead be granted to the intriguing smell that seemed to be coming from outside the camp.

As she peeked through the tree branch-curtains, below sat a truly unwelcomed surprise.

There was a wooden bowl filled with what seemed like a fish stew made from what seemed like fish that came from...the waterfall, along with a modest serving of an assortment of fresh fruit that he had managed to gather during his midnight exploit, all of which were placed in a neat arrangement atop a woven tray.

The scent of the meal was enough to entice the highborn senses of the young lady despite her reluctant attitude. Though with few kind words, he was able to free her from her shackles of guilt:

"Go on, have a bite…I mean I collected more than enough and I would hate it if my effort ended up being wasted. So eat up. It's good", as he offered a kind smile in tandem with the meal.

She could tell that both his words and actions had no spite or hate, despite her refusal to help him when he went foraging for the food.

As she lifted the bowl and started taking a few spoonfuls of the meal, the delicious taste was plain to see on Vaceris face which caused something unusual to happen, a slight chuckle, specifically Shynerai chuckling at the sight of how much she was enjoying the meal she was so reluctant to have.

With the sudden appearance of her smile making this the first real-time the two enjoyed each other's company.

As she continued with her meal she noticed that his bag was with him outside as he was sitting in front of the campfire with the blanket around him. She asked him why he didn't place his stuff inside the shelter.

"Well when I got back, you had already fallen asleep and I didn't want to wake so I decided to camp outside".

'I...can't have him make me a warm meal and even sleep outside after everything I said to him. Ahhh, he should've said something, it's not like I was keeping the shelter to myself.' she thought to herself as she watched him packing his things and cleaning up the firepit.

While she was preparing to go to any lengths to succeed at the exam, he instead had already gone to vast lengths to ensure that they could work well together.

The effort he was putting in gave Vaceris a glimpse into the type of individual this reserved person was...someone who actually cares about those around him but also seeks to have people to care about.

'How strange, his actions seem to always be at odds with his character, even stranger when you consider those pale emerald eyes.'

(Humph)

Though she felt like that last thought was a bit too comic to be true so she treated the idea as the result of her thinking too hard.

Out of her head, she joined him near the campfire and finished her breakfast.