13 Intertwined paths (Part 1)

A ray of sunlight came through the window of the room and fell on the face of a young man who was sleeping comfortably. The young man opened his eyes, proceeded to stretch while yawning, looked at the crystal sphere to his left, on which it read 04:59 a.m., and turned it off before 05:00 a.m. and the alarm began to sound.

"Tch... Seriously, what's the point of setting an alarm if I wake up before it goes off?"

But even if the young man complained about the clock, he wasn't going to stop setting the alarm.

After all, summer was coming to an end, which meant the nights would be longer and colder. And since he had too many responsibilities, he wasn't going to risk oversleeping to mess up his schedule.

The young man jumped out of bed and began to prepare for the long day ahead.

First, he opened the closet on the left side of the room and pulled out his uniform. This one was white, with gold embroidery both on the sleeves and on the collar and shoulders.

The young man did not like this outfit very much, it was too tight and ostentatious for him. He preferred to wear something more comfortable that would not hinder his mobility.

But, given his position, he didn't have much choice. After all, he was one of the academy's model students and had to set an example worthy of his position.

"Sigh... At least it will be just for today. "He said to himself.

The young man proceeded to get dressed, once he was done, he took the ceremonial sword that had been given to him the day before, placed it around his waist, and walked over to the full-length mirror that was next to the window on the right wall.

He looked at himself in the mirror and, although the uniform certainly made both his dark blue eyes and golden hair stand out, the reality was that, because of his toned muscles, the uniform was a bit tight on him.

Once he had finished his preparations, the young man left the room and, as he walked down the hallway, began to go over the day's itinerary.

"Let's see... The graduation ceremony starts at 09:00 and ends at 11:30, then there's the post-ceremonial banquet which ends at 14:00 and lastly I have to pack my things to be home by 20:00. Hmm... If I hurry maybe I'll have time left for training."

The young man continued walking down the luxurious white hallway, which was finely decorated with artwork. With huge glass windows on the right side and many doors on the left side.

Until, suddenly, he stopped in front of a double door that was ajar.

****

The library was immense. It was two floors high and filled with bookshelves full of all kinds of books. There were also multiple individual tables and a huge table in the center of the room.

In the middle of the center table, under the light of a reading lamp, was a young man with brown hair and gray eyes, who looked to be no more than fourteen years old.

He seemed to be very focused on his reading when someone appeared out of nowhere, snatched the book he was reading from his hands, and used it to give him a light smack on the forehead.

The brown-haired young man adjusted his glasses only to find himself confronted by a blond boy his age, a little taller than him.

"Hey! Give that back Lieon. I haven't finished reading it yet."

"Good morning to you too, Zarich. Did you stay up all night reading?"

Lioen looked at the cover of the book that read {Anatomy and Morphology of the Undead} and then handed it back to the bespectacled young man.

Zarich took the small gold-colored pocket watch on the table and looked at the time.

"What are you talking about? I've barely been here for an hour."

Hearing this made Lieon raise an eyebrow. He could tell that both Zarich's dark circles under his eyes and the sheer number of books on the table were not the product of just "an hour of reading."

"Wait, can you tell me the exact date we're on?"

"Sure...ehm...today is the 15th day of the 9th month!"

*Plaf!*

Lieon slapped his forehead. Clearly, he had to expect something like this from Zarich. After all, he knew his best friend was a bookworm who always lost track of time when reading a book or concentrating on researching a particular topic.

This had happened before and there were even times when the gray-eyed boy went days on end without sleep because he was researching a topic he found interesting.

"Sigh... Zarich... It's 05:30 on the 16th day of the 9th month. You've been reading for almost 27 hours!"

"Oh! I hadn't noticed. I guess I lost track of ti- OUCH!"

Lieon gave Zarich a light jab with his index finger in the middle of his forehead and, although it seemed rather light, the reality was that the young blond's strength had already far surpassed that of a normal human, so the blow was a bit painful.

"What do you mean you lost track of time for 27 hours! Do you know what day it is today?!"

"But I don't want to go to the ceremony! There will be too many people and it makes me anxious. Honestly, I'd rather stay here for another 27 hours than go to that silly ceremony."

"Well, others don't care what you'd rather. Remember that you're not only the second-best student in the academy, you're also the son of the "Regent of the Towers" and you should behave like one. Which reminds me...Arsurth"

After Lieon said the code word, the ring he was wearing on his right hand emitted a slight glow, and immediately a small red envelope with gold lettering appeared in his hand and he handed it to Zarich.

"What is this?"

"That is proof that you were selected to fill one of the 100 vacancies at the Imperial University. I wanted to give it to you yesterday, but I couldn't find you anywhere. Although I honestly don't know how I didn't think to check the library."

"OOH! Did I get in? Haha, this is great."

The imperial university was the most prestigious Institution in the entire world, where only the elite of the elite were chosen to attend. The selection time was once every four years and there were only a total of 500 vacancies.

But, the agreement established by the six great empires dictated that each of the five races could only have 1/5 of the vacancies. This made the competition very tough.

Especially for the humans, since, of all the races created by the gods, they possessed the most population and kingdoms.

However, Lieon could not understand why Zarich was so surprised. After all, not only was he an outstanding student at the academy, but he was also the son of the "Regent of the Towers" the current ruler of the Tanebriz Empire.

With all his background, it was more than obvious that he would succeed in getting a place at the Imperial University.

"Yeah well... Oh and congratulations on achieving the wind element manipulation stage."

"Pfff, that's old news. I passed the manipulation stage a week ago and currently dominate the wind element up to rank 2," Zarich said with a proud tone.

Truth be told, Lieon wasn't surprised by this.

Zarich's talent with magic was more than outstanding, he hadn't even turned fifteen yet and had already reached the pinnacle of the third rehi realm.

Lieon was certain that Zarich was the strongest arcanist of his age. Even some elementalists older than him were no match for the gray-eyed youth.

"Although I technically cheated, thanks anyway. Hum... I guess I should congratulate you on awakening your light aura then. OUCH!... And what was that for!?"

Lieon once again smacked Zarich on the forehead causing it to take on a reddish hue.

"For spying on my status. Don't play dumb, besides me no one else knows about my elemental awakening. I'm sure I told you not to use your [Sage's Eyes] to check my skills."

"Okay, I get it, just stop hitting me, or I'll get a bruise on my forehead."

"Sigh...Well okay. But anyway I think I've reached a bottleneck in my training, do you want to join me on a monster hunt next week?"

"I'm sorry but I can't, I have to go back to Druumais to settle some business."

The academy Lieon and Zarich attended was located in the Solar Empire, which was far removed from the Tanebriz Empire.

But the "Regent of the Towers," Zarich's father, had decided to send his son to the Solar Empire as an exchange student. This for him to see the world from another point of view and to demonstrate the good relationship between the two nations.

So Zarich only returned to his country every ten months, when the academy students were on vacation.

"Oh, I see. Then I guess I'll see you at the university once the vacation is over. But changing the subject, put down those books and get ready. We still have 3 hours before the ceremony starts, use them to bathe and eat breakfast."

Lieon pulled Zarich by the arm, forcing him to stand up from the chair and leave the library.

"Hey! But what about my research?"

"Your research will have to wait until tomorrow. Besides, it's not like the king of the undead or a fire dragon is going to fall from the sky or something just because you fulfilled your duties for one day."

The young men walked out the door, leaving the library in complete silence.

****

*Whooosh*

A light breeze blew through the forest, the sun was setting on the horizon, painting the sky with reddish and golden hues.

The breeze passed through the white marble pillars covered in vines echoing down the long hallway. The wind gently ruffled the young lady's hair causing it to move gracefully.

Enid turned, leaned against the vine-covered marble balcony, and looked out at the forest stretching beyond the horizon.

"Spring is coming... It will be nice to have a little warmer weather. "She said with a tone of drowsiness.

The winter that year had been incredibly cold, the coldest she had experienced since her birth fourteen years ago.

Enid arranged her hair, which, although it was mostly golden, had some emerald and ruby-colored locks, along with some of a more coppery shade and some sapphire-colored ones.

But this, along with the black dress and her eyes the same color as her hair, far from making her look ridiculous, only enhanced her beauty.

Although Enid could have stayed and admired the sunset for the rest of the day, she couldn't afford to, after all her father had sent for her to tell her something important.

She continued walking down the hallway until she came to a huge oak door that had multiple engravings depicting all sorts of exotic plants and trees.

There were two soldiers stationed on either side of the door. The soldiers were wearing exquisite golden armor with multiple runes engraved on them, as well as being equipped with a leaf-shaped shield and a long spear.

Seeing the young lady approaching, the two guards bowed their heads and curtsied. Then the guard on the right spoke.

"Greetings, your highness. His Imperial Majesty is waiting for you in his dispatch."

*Tack!... Creack..*

Immediately both guards stepped aside, tapped the floor lightly with their spears and the massive oak door opened and closed a few seconds after she passed through.

The throne room was simply a work of art in itself.

With its high ceilings, its white marble floors and columns with exquisite white vines carved into them, the beautiful stained glass windows depicting the divinity of the seven great gods of creation, and the throne.

At the end of the room, on a stepped platform, was a magnificent white tree whose branches reached up to almost touch the ceiling. And at the end of the platform, carved in the middle of the tree trunk, was a magnificent throne decorated with gold and silver.

Enid had been to the throne room in the past, but no matter how many times she came, she always found herself awed by the beauty and magnificence of the throne. Only the supreme ruler of the great Empire of Aurar had the right to sit on it.

Enid forced herself out of her state of astonishment, crossed the throne room, and came to a white wooden door in the wall on the right, just below the tree platform.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Enid knocked on the door three times and a few seconds later, the door opened.