Chapter 2: Envy of the Damned

After lots of struggle, Gabriel somehow managed to get out of the Church of Light.

As he stepped into the sunlight and out of the Church, he breathed a sigh of relief. He gazed at the clear sky as a beautiful smile spread across his slender face.

He showed the back of his hand toward the sky. "Look, Mom. Your son has made you proud today. I've been selected in the Church of Light!"

Ever since he was young, he had never seen his father. Let alone him, not a single person in this town had seen his father. When his mother shifted to this town eighteen years ago, she was already pregnant with him. Moreover, she never talked about his father.

In the absence of his father, his mother was his everything. Unfortunately, even his mother left him all alone in this world, dying when he was just five years old.

Even though Gabriel had lost his mother at an early age, he never felt alone. He always knew that his mother was watching over him from heaven, and he didn't want to make her sad. Instead, he wanted to make her happy. That's why he had been working hard to make her dream come true. Today, he believed she must have been really happy.

"Mother, you always used to say that you wanted me to be the light that illuminates the whole world."

He gently brushed his fingers on the beautiful symbol of Light which was on the back of his hand as evidence of his awakening. "Look, I've taken the first step towards that goal! I wish you were here so I could've hugged you today. I'm missing you so much, mother. But don't worry, I won't be sad." As he talked, a small tear appeared in his eyes.

"Gabriel!" A melodious voice came from the distance.

Gabriel glanced back, only to notice a lady who appeared to be a few years older than him running towards him.

"Maya?"

The beautiful blue-haired lady was wearing a dark blue dress that wrapped her slim figure perfectly.

"Wait, why are you crying? Wasn't today supposed to be a good day for you? Don't tell me something bad happened inside?" Maya instantly turned serious as she saw the tear of Gabriel.

She had been waiting near the Church for Gabriel since she wasn't allowed inside. She didn't see anything that took place inside.

"What happened inside?" Gabriel let out a deep sigh, wiping his tear. "They praised me and wished me luck for my academy years."

"What? Only that?" Maya grew stunned as the pitch of her voice became louder. "The Head Priest came all the way from the Royal City only for that? What about the rumors that he was here to accept you in the Church of Light? What happened to that?"

Gabriel shook his head. "That's not happening. It was just a rumor apparently."

While talking, he looked down as if he was really sad.

"That... D-don't worry about anything. It's their loss!" Maya stepped forward and hugged Gabriel tightly. "So what if you can't join right now? You're still a prodigy. In the Academy of Elements, you'll learn lots of things. I'll take great care of you. I've been there for a year, after all. You'll be the star of the Academy! The Youngest Light Mage!"

During the hug, Maya felt Gabriel trembling.

She asked, "Are you crying?"

Unfortunately, she soon realized that she was wrong. Gabriel wasn't trembling because he was crying. It was because he was trying really hard to control his laughter.

Ultimately, Gabriel couldn't control himself as he burst into laughter. "Hahaha, alright, alright. I accept; I was joking. I was just teasing you! I got selected into the Church of Light. Tomorrow is my initiation ceremony."

"You!" The beautiful woman puffed her cheeks, unable to believe she was fooled like that. "You Stupid Idiot!"

She freed Gabriel and raised her hand toward the sky. A beautiful blue formation appeared above her head, and a wooden staff came out of the formation, landing in her hand.

The two-meter tall staff was an elementary level staff of Element of Water which was the element of Maya. It had a small blue gem at the top to help new mages channel their elements.

"Hey, hey! Maya, don't! I'll get hurt! It's cheating!" Gabriel waved his hand as he started stepping back. "Maya, stop! I have a ceremony tomorrow!"

"Water Blast!" Maya ignored the words of Gabriel as she chanted.

The blue gem on the staff shone brightly. A massive sphere of water appeared before her out of thin air.

"Hey, you can't bully a Mage of Light! Just because you awakened your element before me, you can't bully me! Wait! Wait! No!"

"Well, maybe that Mage of Light should've thought that before teasing me." Maya flashed a grin as the sphere of water shot towards Gabriel.

Gabriel tried running, but it was too late. The ball of water hit him. Even though it didn't hurt him, the water drenched him from top to bottom. All his clothes were soaked in water along with his beautiful silver hair, which stuck closer to his body now.

"Now, you look better." Maya flashed a cheeky smile as if she was equal now. "Next time you pull a prank like this, I'll drench you in three water blasts!"

"Is that so," Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You little bully, just you wait!"

He started running towards Maya, stretching his arms wide as if he was running towards her to hug her.

"Wait! No! Stay away! You'll make my clothes wet! Gabriel, no!" This time, it was Maya's turn to run as Gabriel ran to her to hug her with his wet body as revenge.

As the two childhood friends had fun running around, a young man watched everything from a distance. His face was already twisted in anger. His eyes were filled with bloodthirst.

"This bastard! It should've been me up there and not him!" The dark-haired man clenched his fist. "If I can't get that spot, why should he?!"

A dark plan hatched in his head as he remained unaware how his one plan was going to bring forth a storm on this entire world.