“Naturalist ranks go as such: Novice, Adept, Advanced, Master and finally, Spiritualist. However, ordering them like that is misleading. The gap between each rank is as vast as the gap in size between a droplet of water and an ocean. The lessons a naturalist learns at each stage doesn’t add to their power, it multiplies it exponentially.“

~ Professor Ligaiya 

Daimyon

Pretty sure I’m in over my head but I can’t back down, I need a good strategy. A naturalist is just a normal person if they don’t absorb arcana, right? That means if I rush him maybe I can win. He moves his hands and heat rises. Nope, can’t let that happen. The gap between us closes in a second as I break into a sprint. I thrust a kick into his stomach using the momentum, which knocks the wind out of him and forces him to reel in pain. My hook follows up, landing on his face, knocking him into the ground. It feels like I got him good. 

“You had enough yet?” I say. He spits and smirks. Fire bursts from his body and if not for a last minute dodge, I would have been toast. 

“That was pathetic. Attacking me before I could draw would be a great strategy if you had the strength to pull it off.” 

It was easy enough to see coming and yet I didn’t. The fat insulated him from taking the full force. He’s built more solidly than I’d like to admit. He’s back on his feet, the grass is on fire and the situation’s only getting worse. Streaks of pure red flames are spiralling towards him, turning the grass to ash as he absorbs it. An aura forms outlining him and from the looks of it, it’s even hotter than that petty explosion he produced before. His face is filled with smugness.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, this is just the basic draw technique for fire naturalists. It’s called Flame Summoning. Unlike other basic draws, this one has a powerful offensive and defensive ability when used. It expresses itself as a superheated aura that expands with the amount of arcana I’ve absorbed. For the idiots in the back, that means-”

“I can’t get close.”

Of course I got it the instant the arcana took a form I could actually see. The heat radiating from him is already scorching everything within a few feet. Right now I’m feeling bad not only for myself, but for whoever’s gonna have to clean this up.

“Wrong, it’s worse than that. It means I don’t even need to attack you directly. I just need to get within a few feet of you and you’ll be a pile of ash. If you beg for mercy I might only brand my name in your chest instead.”

No amount of instinct or athleticism is gonna save me here. If I’m going to beat a naturalist, I need to use my arcana. During training, Chase said that drawing arcana is as natural as breathing. All we have to do is call the arcana and it will listen. Concentrate on the wind, visualize the energy flowing around me and breathe. Just like that I feel it, the subtle warmth of arcana flowing into me. 

“Oh no you don’t! Flame Shot!” 

J raises his hand and a small bullet of flame launches towards me. It’s too fast for me to dodge. Instinctively, I cover myself with my arms. 

*BOOM* 

It blows me back, but my eyes pick up something. The wind formed a barrier to protect me. It rapidly swirled in front of my arms, absorbing and scattering his attack. An idea forms in my head. My arms push the barrier forward and it creates a gust of wind that cuts straight through the heat surrounding Hotman J. It’s not enough to move him but it’s something. At this point, I’ll take any advantage I can get, especially since he seems completely unfazed by my move. 

“What was that light breeze you just tried to hit me with? I’m getting bored now. Let’s end this. I'm going to throw one more technique and if you survive I’ll leave you alone. Sounds fair?”

That’s a relief. I think surviving another one of those flame shots won’t be too tough. Can’t let him know that though.

“If you’re getting sleepy just say so. There’s nothing wrong with naps.” I respond slyly. In response, his face turns deadly serious. 

“Quit while you can.”

In front of his outstretched palm, globs of pure heat siphon from his aura and clump together. It was small at first, but in just a second, this red ball of death became at least the size of a boulder. 

“Naturalist of fire intermediate technique: Ember Wave Sphere.”

The red boulder, or should I say sphere of death, flings itself towards me. I’m not sure if that barrier thing I did is gonna save me this time. Dodging doesn’t seem to be an option either as the ball seems to have the same properties of the aura. There’s only one option left, concentrate on drawing arcana. Gathering as much as I can, clasping my hands together and pushing it out with all my strength. The wind forms a twisting funnel and makes contact with the boulder, but is only slowing it down. I don’t have enough arcana to repel it. As I’m facing down death, to my surprise, the sphere begins slowing even more. My attack is being bolstered.

“We can’t just let you die!” Yells a familiar voice. It’s Chase and Kiyonna! My friends are behind me, channeling their arcana into my move. We’re putting as much as we can into it but the sphere’s still coming. The moment slows down as my renewed hope is being shattered. But this time, something else is the reason...or rather, someone. I look up and directly above us a bearded man is standing on air, completely silent. His arms are folded and under his sunglasses are powerful eyes. He lifts a single finger and all of the power from Kiyonna, Chase, myself and even Hotman J scatters, sending all of us flying. All of it twists around him like the arcana is caught in the gravity of a black hole, being absorbed almost instantly. Effortlessly, he floats down, his boots touching the ground lightly and with perfect control. Clearly he’s far beyond anything we’ve ever seen. His steps leave shoe prints of fire as he casually walks over to Hotman J. 

“Techniques like that are dangerous, kid. And trying to kill fellow students is against the rules, no matter how weak the attempt.”

Everything about this guy is intense. Just sitting here on the ground in his presence makes me feel heavy, like the air itself now has weight. Unprompted, Chase gives the explanation we were all waiting for.

“We gotta get back. The weight you’re feeling is only his Arcana Force. No special techniques, just him exerting sheer will into the arcana in his vicinity.”

Yeah, right. There’s no way I can move under this pressure. Doesn’t look like it’s as much of an issue for Hotman J though. He’s back up and appears to be trying to attack the guy like an idiot. 

“Who do you think you are, interrupting my fight?” He yells. That little outburst confirmed two things for me: Hotman J is just as stupid as I thought he was and I’m about to see what a real naturalist is like. Hotman J spreads his hands out, trying to draw but there’s no fire, no heat or anything...just the pressure from that guy. Meanwhile he’s just staring at him… menacingly. It’s been a solid thirty seconds and there isn’t even so much as a spark from Hotman J. “I don’t understand. Why can’t I draw anymore?”

The guy raises his glasses slightly. From this angle I can’t tell what his eyes look like but from Hotman J’s face, I can tell it’s terrifying. 

“It’s gravity. You can’t draw because of the power of my Arcana Force.”

With those words, the guy makes his move. Smoothly, he points his finger at Hotman and sends him flying. There’s no explosion, no sound...nothing. He somehow just brushed off someone who was about to easily kill me and my friends and I couldn’t even perceive how he did it. Now he’s turned around to come to us. Can’t say I’ve ever felt this out of my depth in my entire life. He’s offering me a hand and I’m completely frozen. It takes me a second for me to pick my jaw up off the floor. I grab his hand and that triggers something. Flashes of images run through my mind…a monster made of fire with a skull for a face and skeletal wings that shoot flames, a fireball the size of the moon about to crash into the ground of a beautiful place, that monster restrained by orange chains, an official-looking lady standing over a boy who couldn’t have been much younger than me, ruins where the only thing standing is a statue of a phoenix and a girl with glasses similar to Professor Ligaiya’s, crying. It takes less than a second but they’re seared in my memory. I shake the disorientation off and snap back to reality.  He’s giving me a look. The same menacing look that crumbled Hotman J.

“What do you think you’re doing? Starting fights with people ranked higher than you isn’t smart.” He says.

He’s stating the obvious. I get the feeling it’s not really a question of what, it's a question of why. 

“He threatened my friend.” The interrogation continues.

“And that’s worth your life?”

The pressure from his arcana has subsided, but being under his gaze is just as oppressive.

“Yeah, I suppose it is.”

My answer gets no reaction from him, just another question. Not sure if I’m in trouble or I just peaked his curiosity.

“Earlier, you used a Gale Force Cyclone. What are you trying to accomplish here?”

“I didn’t know it was a technique, I was just trying not to die. And I want to become a spiritualist to honor my parents. They died in the last war.”

“Your parents?” He stops for a second, intrigued even more now. “What’s your name?”

Just like that, our game of questions and answers was over as four heavily armed people appeared out of nowhere. This guy must be really important because they all knelt before one of the men in the group addressed him. 

“Lord Bones! We sensed your arcana! Is everything alright?” The man asks. Bones never breaks eye contact with me. He just points his finger in the direction he sent Hotman J.

“There’s a student somewhere over there who needs medical attention. They were in a fight and I decided to end it. Probably over the girl. She’s Aurora’s younger sister, the current sacred ice naturalist.”

One of the four, a woman, retrieves Hotman J’s unconscious body and brings him back over in under ten seconds flat. The distance she had to travel and with such speed…they must all be powerful. Looking over at Chase, he’s star struck. 

“Daimyon, these are Guardians! They’re legitimate warrior naturalists of the order. See that patch on their armor?”

I look over at their armor, which is beautifully adorned with symbols. The patch Chase was referring to is a shield on their shoulder with the symbol of a phoenix on it. Bones has one too, but he’s wearing mostly regular clothes: boots, black tactical pants, a white t-shirt and an open burgundy jacket, where his patch sits on the left side.

“My lord, we will wrap up this matter, the meeting will be starting soon.” The woman says, causing Bones to sigh. 

“I understand. Daimyon, is it? If you’re serious, meet me in the training field after your last class.”

With that, Bones turns and vanishes right before my eyes. The other Guardians followed his lead. Guess all the excitement is over. We head back into the cafeteria to try and finish our food but of course....it’s cold. What a disappointment. On the other hand, I wonder what Bones wants to meet with me about. 

*Sigh*

We dump our food and say our goodbyes. Chase starts to head upstairs to his floor as I walk Kiyonna to her class at the end of our hall.

“Um...thanks for helping me today, Daimyon. That was really nice of you.” 

“Of course. We’re friends now. We have to stick together, right?” Seeing her off, I grin and wave. She smiles back with a beautiful smile, one that had been hidden behind her shy personality all of this time. She waves back as she enters the class.

Bones

There’s been an unusual feeling surrounding West Gaia lately. Something is different...something is wrong. I can’t put my finger on it but something in the air has changed. As if someone is tampering with the realm itself. Progressing onward to the Grand Council’s chamber, I can’t shake the feeling. I’m sure by now that someone has the answers. I’ll find out once I arrive. Escorted by my two guardian subordinates, I reach my destination.

“We will take our leave here. Good luck, Lord Bones.” With that, they take their leave. Upon approaching the door to the chamber, a familiar voice calls out from the shadows.

“Well, well. Welcome back, old friend.” Out steps Kouki, my friend, former teammate and ex-Agent of the Veiled.

“I didn’t see you there.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” He offers me a handshake, which I accept. It had been quite some time since we had gathered here. Whatever the news, it’s serious. He smirks. “Five years around the world without a word to anyone back home? I imagine your mother is not happy about that.”

“Hmph. And you? How’s the retired life?” He chuckles at my attempt to change the subject, but indulges anyway.

“I’m semi-retired. And it’s the same stuff, really. The Veiled has gone downhill and I’m here to put an end to it.”

“What’s stopping you?” I ask, curious. He puts his hand on his head.

“Your mom, obviously. She doesn’t want it to be handled the way I intend to. Too messy, she says. I told her she has until I lose my patience.” That causes me to chuckle softly.

“She had better get to work, then. She doesn’t have much time.” He laughs back, throwing his hand on my shoulder.

“It’s good to have you back, Bones.” We talk for a bit as we stand outside of the chamber until the sound of heels approaching the door from the inside alerts us. Ligaiya peeks her head out.

“You guys gonna join us anytime soon? We’re waiting on you to start.” We make eye contact briefly before she looks away, grabbing Kouki’s attention.

“We’re coming.” I say flatly. She sighs before entering and closing the door behind her. 

“What happened with you two?” I rub my head in frustration.

“Long story short, nothing. I left after becoming a Guardian and she stayed, becoming a Missionary. Haven’t seen her since until now.”

“So much for that whole relationship idea, but I know how that is. It’s the same with Josephine and I. Between her duties as captain and me taking constant bounties, I hardly see her. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss her.” We shake our heads together. “So are you ready to do this thing?” He asks, grabbing the door. I nod and we enter the chamber together.

End ~