What Is A Monster?
"There you are... You've been out for a while."
"Well yeah, that was because of my injury. What the hell happened anyway?" I rubbed my head and winced. Everything was still hazy and I felt dizzy, my memory blank after entering the match against Thorne.
Ariel paused hesitantly. "Well... you lost control of your Aether and almost killed Thorne, but Professor Ego was able to restrain you before you could kill him. You're basically the talk of the school and everyone is afraid of you!" She sighed deeply, her voice trembling slightly.
I had a look of total confusion plastered onto my face. "Are you saying that my fight is actually the highlight of the tournament? And that everyone now looks at me like I'm some sort of monster?"
"Yup, but there's a downside." She responded while taking another bite of her sandwich. "What do you mean?"
Ariel spoke up as she swallowed her food, "Well I guess you could say everyone wants you gone and is treating you as if you're contagious."
"What a load of bullshit. Who the fuck cares? That's dumb." I threw my hands up into the air. I wanted to scream. But instead, I had to face facts, I was deemed undesirable in an instant. They think that the slightest insult will trigger my monstrous side? That's utter rubbish! "You shouldn't blame yourself for the Aether." Ariel stated quietly. Her lips pursed together. She knows that the truth was painful to digest, but nevertheless I couldn't disagree with her. I simply shrugged off her attempt to console me and started picking at my food, suddenly losing any interest I had left for eating.
After our awkward discussion, the silence fell heavily around us, neither of us seeming capable of uttering anything coherent. I fidgeted constantly, anxious. Eventually, she couldn't bear the tension any longer and put a hand over mine. "Cyrus, you have nothing to fear."
When Ariel said this, I couldn't help smiling at her. It made me happy to hear her say that and that is why I value our friendship dearly. At the same time, though, her touch was warm and comforting. It was reassuring for her to be here and I knew what kind of relationship we were going to have in the future.
And with that I felt peace overcome me as I settled down with the girl who I'd grown up with beside me. I closed my eyes, focusing solely on the sounds of her breathing as well as her gentle strokes which ran down my neck, gently brushing over my scar.
Eventually she too leaned back against the wall. It was nice being so close to each other without any expectations or assumptions. I took one last glance at her, and she returned a small, fragile smile back which filled my heart with gratitude. She was right, whatever happens, things were going to change in the coming months.
And all we needed was to be there for each other through those times, to support the other through their hardships and trials, whatever they are. "Thank you."
Ariel nodded her head before speaking once more, her voice slightly softer than before, "Hey Cyrus, will you always be there to comfort me, when I need it most?"
"Yes. As long as you're my friend." I confirmed.
With my hand still grasped in hers, we laid back and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. The cold stone floor, rough against our backs as the moon shined through the lone window, casting an eerie silver glow around the room.
***
I was discharged from the hospital the next day and the nurse walked me out. I walked by the reception and found Headmaster Reagan and Azriel waiting for me at the entrance. "Hey." I greeted them as we walked down the steps into the cold evening air. "So how do you feel, young man?" The headmaster asked me while nodding to himself.
"I feel alright Headmaster Reagan. I'm just a bit worried as to what the school is going to think of me after revealing all of my abilities..."
He laughed and clapped me on my shoulder with one hand. "Oh, don't worry about what they think of you, boy. At the end of the day if you show them that you aren't the monster that they paint you out to be, then I'm sure you will be alright."
He grinned and ruffled my hair affectionately, leaving a mess in my head. "Keep going Cyrus, you have a bright future ahead of you in the Verdant Expanse and your rare ability to use aether will be needed to create a world of true peace and prosperity!"
His words and encouragements helped to bolster my spirits a great deal. If the Headmaster believes that I can succeed, then so will I.
We exited the building and walked in silence across the lawn towards the entrance to the Academy. When we reached the gates, I suddenly turned to face him and saluted.
"Thank you Sir!" I shouted, smiling wide and receiving another firm clasp on my shoulder from the older man. "Keep fighting young man!" He replied, leaving me as he entered through the gates, closing them behind him with a heavy metal groan. I took a step back and looked at the gate that I had always loved the sight of, finding the entrance and exit of the school a wonder to behold, despite being surrounded by similar architecture for the whole of my life.
As I gazed up at the massive towers stretching high overhead, a sound of movement caught my ears from behind, followed shortly by the sudden press of two bodies against me. Two people were hugging me from behind and when I turned around I saw a teary eyed Ariel and Callum, both giving me a strong bear hug.
The two had run up to greet me after the headmaster left, not noticing the commotion coming from the doors and seeing the reunion happening just moments afterwards. "HOLY SHIT DUDE, you're fucking alive!" Callum blurted excitedly, giving me a slap on the back with his left palm while hugging my torso.
I gave both a little awkward laugh, but it didn't seem to faze either of them. "Yeah, but now the school thinks I'm some kind of monster. After all, the only recorded people in history who could use aether were basically supervillains."
"But hey, at least you weren't killed in the fight, eh?" Callum reassured me, which caused me to chuckle softly and shake my head. "No, but the whole school now probably sees me as an abomination."
The two exchanged worried glances and gulped audibly.
I turned to face the school, "At the very least, they don't know everything that makes me different from anyone else in the school. Well, I shouldn't complain anyways, I was probably destined to live life like this as fate would have it." They didn't know what I was saying, my ability to use aether was not the only thing that made me different from everyone else, after all, I was reincarnated with the knowledge of my previous life. My thought process was completely different from those my own age and that made it very difficult to fit in with the students my own age.
"Maybe one day, if I really am capable of saving the world or even just this school... they'll appreciate everything I'm capable of doing for them. Hell, the heroes are usually villains in their own stories. At the end of the day, I just want to be someone that my parents can be proud of."
"You're damn right!" Callum responded, "When you save the world and defeat whatever evils threaten our school then nobody can call you anything besides a true hero."
I turned to give him an appreciative nod, when I looked around for a moment and saw Azriel standing a good few meters away with his hands in his pockets and a scowl painted across his face. I started walking towards him and waved, a big goofy grin across my face. "Well, at least some people will still talk to me." He remained stoic, but a slight twitch along his brow hinted that something was up.
"This is not a joke Cyrus, if there is some rat among the students for the Apostles of Omnixis, then this entire school is just a hazard that is waiting to be infiltrated."
"There's no way they would dare attempt to attack the school, right?"
"All they need to do is put their best man at the top and start an organized resistance, with his help we won't be able to defend against their actions in the academy. For now, stay vigilant Cyrus." Azriel scowled in response.
He continued to glare intensely at the front gate until it slowly clicked closed behind us with a loud slam, sealing everyone inside with a new sense of tension.
Azriel looked straight through my soul and shook his head slightly. "This whole thing is such a mess."
"What?"
"I don't believe it. You've only been in the academy for a week and somehow, in that amount of time, you have already gotten yourself in some major trouble Cyrus, for being my number one disciple, you are currently not living up to it."
I pouted and crossed my arms, turning away from him, trying to ignore his condescension. "You will have to learn to deal with my problems." I muttered under my breath.He grabbed my shirt and gave me a glare. "ENOUGH. JUST STOP THIS STUPIDITY CYRUS! You are no longer a child, this is the real world now, and you have real problems that you need to deal with. STOP ACTING LIKE A GOD-DAMN CHILD." He screamed into my face.
A wave of intense heat washed over me, making me drop to my knees. The wind was knocked out of me when Azriel pushed me back down again, the pressure keeping me low. He brought his face closer to my ear and whispered furiously, "You've disappointed me child."
Me? A child? What the hell is he talking about? I NEVER ASKED TO BE REBORN INTO THIS FUCKING BODY! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT TO DO?