Chapter 2: The Deadline

They held eye contact as if they were exchanging unspoken words. As Simon let us in I first noticed his ears, he was a beastman, a fox breed to be exact. I hadn't ever seen a fox breed such as Simon in my entire life, but I now understood why Arc had taken us here out of all places, Simon must've had deep connections. As we walked through the house the priory pleasant smell of lavender grew more potent the further we separated from the door. As if it were hiding another scent underneath.

Eventually, Simon led us to an oddly-shaped closet with a door on the inside.

"This way please, children."

When opened the door it leads to a single staircase going downwards. As I walked behind Arc who followed Simon the scent of lavender faded the deeper we got, as it grew into the familiar metallic smell I had nearly forgotten about. Blood. I couldn't breathe, the air seemed to grow thinner every second and this dimly lit staircase seemed too bright and too tight. I needed to leave. My skin was crawling, my hands were shaking, I stumbled, Arc caught me, but it was then when he realized what kind of state I was in. "Are you okay?" he asked, The alarm in his voice was more obvious than the answer to his question.

"Simon hurry" Arc didn't sound anxious just more resolute. The walk ended quicker than expected, but what we saw was much more than I had ever imagined. A complete underground system of shops and services beyond my imagination, filled with magicians and beastmen, even creatures I had never seen before. The large tunnel spread wide, farther than what my eyes could see. Clearly, Arc thought the same thing as his eyes probably held the same or more shock than mine did.

"What is this place?" I asked bewildered.

"This is the Deadline" Simon replied coolly.

"Deadline?" Arc asked finally coming out of his stupor.

"Yes, the Deadline is an underground tunnel system for magicians and Beastmen who are on the run as well as the underground rebellion."

I had never imagined such a place could exist. A safe passageway for those like us, those oppressed by society. I could be free, I could live a life without worrying about being killed because of my genetics, or stuffed into a white room and be tested on. I could be happy. Or so I thought.

We stayed there for a while, almost four months. During that time I learned many things, the first thing I learned was that the collars on our necks don't restrict our powers but limit them. That discovery leads to my 'training', with the help of a young magician named Cersei. I met her while running errands for Simon in exchange for free room and board. Cersei worked in the Deadlines as a tailor, she specialized in telekinetic type magic and her powers were extraordinary. She would lift boxes and people with the flick of her finger without breaking a sweat. The first time I went to her shop to request new clothes for me and Arc, she had apparently noticed my collar and my lack of a magical aura. The look of pity that fell on her face was different than the ones I was used to.

Cersei was the kind of person who had a strong moral code and always acted based on her emotions. It was her biggest strength and weakness. We started off simply doing basic interactions consisting of the normal waves followed by 'hello' or 'goodbye'. However, we soon began talking more intimately with each other, I came to her shop more often and sometimes she would come to visit us making 'extra' deliveries. I thought of her as an older sister during the time we spent together, she would give me advice and life tips, even show me a few magic tricks even though I was never able to pull them off as she could.

These moments we spent together started off as a few minutes but it grew into a few hours, the small tricks she showed me had led to her teaching me more about magic, in-depth lessons and one day she had come over to the house we were staying in and asked if she could train me. Even now, looking back, I can surely say she hadn't decided to train me out of pity. Surprisingly, we began a week later.

We were supposed to meet up in the back of Cersei's shop. It was a quaint shop, neatly decorated in pastels and lace. When I arrived she was dressed in light armor, it seemed to have a faint pink glow along the seems, she accompanied her deceptively cute outfit with an old metal bow staff, rusted by age and engraved with some kind of unfamiliar characters. She gave a quick tour of her shop as she slowly but surely led me to a shelf behind the cashier's desk. After pulling a series of books the shelf slid open to an elevator which I cautiously followed Cersei into.

The elevator took us to a wide training ground, fighting dummies and equipment lined the back walls, the vague smell of sweat and musk covered the room. Cersei led us to a space where a few gym mats lined the floor as she told me to stay put while she backed away.

"You ready!" she shouted from a few feet away.

I wasn't, but I was done running away so I got into a position that I found comfortable and closed my eyes. "Now imagine water flowing from your hand. If water forms you have creation magic, if ice forms you have attack and defense magic, if a gas forms you have motion magic"

Cersei was beginning to instruct me but I still hadn't truly accepted my situation, slowly I peered open my eyes making immediate eye contact. I started rambling, distracting Cersei from our present task. We kept talking, though the subject remained magic at its core. Eventually, Cersei had spewed a load of magic-related nonsense and I began wondering where the information was coming from.

"Which one do you have Cersei?" I asked fully invested in our conversation.

"I have motion type Magic" she yelled back from her place on the other end of the room.

"Now begin!" she shouted.

I focused. I really did, but I didn't feel anything. I opened my eyes. Nothing. I tried again, this time I felt something, but it wasn't on my hands, it was on my head. Opening my eyes I saw a rain cloud pouring down on my head, I was soaked. What did it mean? I looked back over to

Cersei who stared at me in shock, and possibly noticing how I was looking at her she got up and walked towards me in awe. I would be lying if I said her reaction didn't worry me.

When she got within speaking distance I couldn't meet her eyes. The fear of her disappointment overwhelmed me as if I were going to be swallowed up by my mind becoming trapped in the labyrinth of my thoughts while passing through the hurdles that are my ideas and figuring out the obstacles that are my observations.

"Well done!" she beamed.

'What' I thought, and the confusion was probably evident on my face as she gently patted my head.

"You did amazingly, a real talent," she said and seemed to mean it.

"What do you mean?"

"I've never seen anything like this before. Nobody has ever used two forms in the history of everything! Do you even know how amazing this is?" she continued to babble out in this kind of manor but It went in one ear and out the other.

Being praised like this felt amazing. I don't think that I ever got used to it though, I never got the chance. After that, we continued.