Burning Rage - 1

"Welcome… Professor Lauragne." She spoke, her voice oh so smug as she tried and tried once more to hide her doings. Yet I cared not, she was not one to bother me, worth less than the dirt between my toes. An assistant at most, riding the coattails of her betters. And as such she felt no fear even in the face of overwhelming power. Supported from places I could barely touch.

"Yes… bring me the list of new students and the subsequent plans."

She nodded, languidly walking to and from places. Agonizingly slow in her movements. An attempt to mock me even further. I paid it no mind. Taking my place among the chairs… among the tables spread with assortments of desserts and teas. No doubt for some sort of party… celebration? It mattered not.

As with everything, there was an order of things to be done. The list was placed in front of me, hands bunching it with more force than could be considered necessary.

I however placed no worry over such an action.

A formative suffering in terms of creature and monster hunting

I turned the page, idling paging through the descriptions. Brief as they were. A second lesson plan that would test the students on their survival abilities. Enhanced by the training given in the first lesson.

Smirking, I crossed through some of the more… let us say, easy parts. Where they would be given a map… an objective and other such tools for survival.

If it was for any other class, with such idiots and tenacious bastards. I would never had thought of changing such essential knowledge. But for these.

For the fleet footed Atalante… For the steel maid Galarna… For a dozen other talents and of course… for the saint… Gabriel.

One of such… such power and vitality, of such precision and portable healing. Who could take upon the wounds of another. Who took in knowledge faster than even the geniuses of this generation.

It would be an insult to allow them to be given such conveniences. As with all, they were the future of this Kingdom. And of course… my husband.

I would accept no less. 

'No… I would' 

A sudden thought. One that surprised even me. As I placed the updated documents, stamped with my own seal. An approval that would both hasten and slow the pace of this second lesson.

A thought that brought a silent gasp to my lips. 

Shaking my head I made my way through the building once more. Trusting that a secretary, even as corrupt as her, would take caution in handling such important documents.

…

[Gabriel pov]

When my eyes opened, expecting the sea of souls. Those who hid within their covers, leaving only for the most dire of needs. Yet when my eyes opened to the world. No, it was not to them. Nor my roommate who drooled over my form, however subtle she thought she was.

It was to the feel of dirt over my fingertips, staining my clothes with that same earthy smell. A soul oh so malevolent approaching.

One that seemed to take pleasure only in the suffering of those it came across. And when my own suffering came to mind. Forming grays and blacks, a vision of the unknown landscape forced upon my body.

A piece of paper the only clue to what had happened. Placed in my breast pocket and wrapped in some sort of substance. One that I felt… felt…

I ducked and weaved, bobbing my form through the underbrush and through the scenery. Searching my sight for any sight of another. Who could save me from such a fate.

Only there was none. Only the meager soul, who had fallen so low as to be tempted by forces beyond their understanding.

I would have preferred to stand still, to do nothing and heal those that came to me. But a surge of courage washed over my form. Mustering the meager strength within my legs, touching the rough skin of the demon. 

Of the creature that found its way across the field. Drawn to the purest of souls.

Visions entered my mind. Of such painful corruption. Taken from the soul and placed deeply upon their psyche. Only to be forced out.

Into the ether where he dissipated. A mere smile on his face as his body turned to dust. My own face panting from the exertion. My hand falling to my side as I finally touched the note so deeply tucked within my clothes.

Boxed Survival

I tilted my head, my hand ghosting over the paper. Feeling the rubbery existence as it slipped through my hand. Folding in on itself and sticking tightly to my clothes once again.

Searching through my pockets, through the pants and shirt I was clothed in, I found nothing more. Merely that two word phrase.

But what could it mean?

I found no correlation towards anything.

No, there was one.

I fidgeted with my hand once more. In remembrance of the box that I had played with the previous day.

The look of the professor as she watched those within her classroom mess around. Not even bothering to complete her assignment.

It clicked then.

That cube. It was not some sort of lesson.

It was a map. A physical representation of the land that we found ourselves in. And for that revelation I quickly rose to my feet. Ignoring the pain within my muscles. The dust of that monster who had disintegrated under my fingers.

Ignoring the pain that his memories had given me.

All as I searched through monotone sight. For the center. Of what I had found in that box.

A treasure… No, an objective. That was what it was. To reach the center, to gather the points and make our way towards the ever growing danger that was the center of this region.

I smirked, for once feeling more than a little confident. A sensation I had never felt before. Completely new. Yet as I rose to my feet, hurrying through the foliage and roots. Through souls so corrupted… I found myself liking this sensation.

So different from what I found myself defaulting to.