“My son may appear mysterious. But, the truth is he’s holding a number of burdens on his shoulders. His past, power and progress are all matters that are of world importance.”

~ Grand Councilwoman

Daimyon 

Finally, the next day was here. I was so excited that I barely slept. I can’t help but wonder where we’re going. All in one day I had my first lesson, made my first female friend, had my first fight, and got my first mentor. What comes next after a day like that? I hop out of bed, get dressed and grab my bag. Bones said that it would be a full day’s trip but to be honest, I’m not sure what I need. Maybe snacks or something in case I get hungry but otherwise, what do you take when it’s just a day trip? I need an expert opinion.

“Hey, Daigo, what do you think I should pack?” There’s confusion in his voice.

 “I’m not certain. I haven’t packed for a day trip in a very, very long time. In fact, I don’t remember packing for a day trip at all.” That was about as expert as I should’ve expected from him. *sigh*

“Okay then, this will just have to do. I doubt that Bones is taking us on a picnic or a vacation or something. We’re supposed to be training when we return.” A light bulb went off in my head. “What if he intends to train me while we’re out? Then I should definitely pack snacks!” As I ramble on to myself, the anticipated knock comes to my door. It’s time.Opening the door for Bones, who’s dressed the same as usual with no extra items.

He immediately turns to leave. “Let’s get a move on.”

“Wait a second, Bones. Did you not pack anything to bring with you? I thought you told me to prepare my things.”

“I don’t need anything.”

I shrug and follow him outside to the front gate, where the guards are watching over the portal to the outside. This is the only way in and out of the barrier that protects the academy from intruders. The textbooks say it’s similar to the Veil that separates Gaia from the realm of the spirits.

“Lord Bones! Please enjoy your travels!” Says a guard as they both bow. He opens the portal and we appear on the outside of the gate. Taking a look around I check my surroundings.

“You never told me where we were going.” He looked back at me.

“It doesn’t matter, all you need to do is follow.” Well okay then. *sigh* We proceed through the quadrant. Perhaps it’s better I don’t know much about our destination, I’m only here for the training anyway. I’m sure there’s a lot of boring details to this, like paperwork and stuff. Better to leave that to the old people. In our fleeting moment of silent walking, Daigo spoke to me. 

“Daimyon, what do you make of this Bones person?”

“Whoever he is, he’s seriously powerful. I bet he can teach me a lot about how to use my arcana.”

“Yes, but what about him? Does he not strike you as an odd individual? His personality comes off as cold and reserved, and yet he has a desire to train you. He was ordered to take another naturalist with him, and he chose someone that barely has combat experience or knowledge of the outside world. Why do you think he’s so interested in you?”

“Because I’m interesting, obviously. I don’t honestly know, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t seem strange to me at all. But if I’m gonna be a spiritualist, I have to get stronger. And I know that if he’s true to his word, it’ll be a huge step forward for me.”

“I don’t know about you being interesting, but the rest of that I’ll go with. Let’s just keep our eyes open and whatever training he offers, we’ll take it.” As Daigo and I converse, the territory became more familiar: Echelon, the merchant town of West Gaia and the closest town to the academy. It’s the largest city in the quadrant. There are guards at every corner, keeping close watch on the many transactions going on in the market. Peddlers from all across Gaia line each side of the streets with their wares on offer. Bones and I go into a particular shop named “Wares Aplenty”, which seems to startle everyone inside. There’s an eerie silence. All eyes are on us as we walk up to the keeper, an old man with a cigar and a name tag that says “Harold”. He’s very large and wears a standard worker’s apron. Even though he’s sitting, he’s still taller than me. 

“Ah, Bones. My old friend. You didn’t tell me you were coming.” Harold says, puffing his cigar. “I haven’t seen you at the shop in five years.”

“I was out paying my debts to the world.” Harold closes his eyes.*sigh*

“One day you’re going to have to move past it, kid.” Bones is silent as Harold continues. “It wasn’t your fault, and most of the world has already moved on. It’s time to let it go.” I’m not sure what they’re talking about but it sounds like Bones got in some trouble a while back.

“...How’s the shop coming along?” Bones retorts, quickly changing the subject. Harold takes a bottle of wine and a few glasses from under his counter.

“Infinity Wares will rise again, don’t you worry. And it’ll be better than it ever was before!” He slides a glass over to Bones before looking my way. “What’s with this kid you have here? Does he drink?” 

“I’m pretty sure he isn’t old enough.” Bones says, laughing with the keeper. “Anyway, Harold. I’m going to be training him and I need some stuff.” Harold's eyes widen seeing the sales opportunity.

“Some of the usual stuff? You know I haven’t dealt much in that since Infinity Wares was destroyed. It’s not as easy to get here.” Bones rolls his eyes behind his shades, aware of the man’s obvious sales pitch. He takes out his wallet.

“How much?” Harold cackles.

“For you, my friend, it’s no worry. Just wait here.” With that, he gets up and goes through the door to his back room for a second. I lean over to Bones for a whisper.

“What’s up with everyone here? They’ve been staring at us since we walked in.” He doesn’t respond. Harold comes back in to answer my question, apparently having heard it as clearly as if I were talking straight to him.

“You don’t know? Bones is very popular amongst the Guardians of the Order.” My jaw almost drops as I look around realizing that we’re surrounded by Guardians. The shopkeeper must be one of them as well. “But Bones, this is a long way to have come just for these. Or maybe you’re here for something else?” He places a box on the table before sitting back down to hear Bones’s response. Bones throws his hands up.

“You got me. Mother sent me to see what’s been happening around town. What have you heard?” 

Bones

Harold’s an old merchant with his eyes and ears to the ground. He has to know something. He sits up sternly as he begins to explain.

“There’s been a lot of activity in the forest behind us. The one where that old evil relic is said to be hidden? I think it’s them. The Shadow Walkers.”

“We think so too. But what do they want it for?”

“I heard an old story way back about the foundation of the academies. Something about tunnels that were buried beneath, leading to the Spirit Realm.” He’s not aware of it, of course, but I’m very familiar with the Spirit Tunnels. Back in the last Spirit War, my team was secretly assigned to protect one of them. At that time, Kouki, Ligaiya and I were a team. I’ll never forget that day, the day I became the host of the Phoenix Spirit. Breaking my thought, Harold continues. “According to the story, the entrance to the hidden tunnels requires a special key. I think that’s what this relic is.” That’s a bit of a relief to hear. The news is certainly alarming, but not impressive. If that’s the problem then I’m certain we can just take the relic back to the academy. Perhaps it’ll give us a little more insight on their plan. Then again, my luck with ancient relics leaves much to be desired.

“I’ll go and clear out the forest. If what you say is true, it’ll be safer with us.” Harold nods in agreement.

“If you need anything, just say the word. We have a handful of Guardians on standby ready to back you up.”

“Thanks, but I think this may be better if we go it alone. No need to draw any more attention to what’s happening.” With that, I snatch the box and we head out, Daimyon close behind me.

“What do you think of all of this, Bones?”  I scratch the back of my head.

“Only one way to find out.” The forest isn't large, but I have an ominous feeling about it. I can’t sense any arcana signatures in particular but I know someone’s here. “Daimyon, do you know how to sense arcana signatures yet?”

“Not at all. I don’t even really know what an arcana signature is. I’ve only been in school for a day.”

“I see. Well it’s not something you would learn before becoming an adept, anyway. Since you can’t sense arcana, I would suggest you stay close to me and keep your eyes and ears as wide open as possible.” He gives me a nervous look then nods as we enter the forest. The life in this forest is so overgrown that it’s dark here even in the daytime, not to mention the air was thick. I suspect it’s because the arcana here is so dense and concentrated. We push our way through to the inside, where we find a small pond with a statue of a mirror. The pond is eerily still, as if time itself has froze around it. Last I encountered something like this, well...anyway, we approached cautiously. “Hang back for a second while I inspect this mirror. Keep an eye out for anyone or anything.” 

“What is this place? A weird forest with a weird pond and a weird mirror. This is weird.” As annoyingly as Daimyon put it, it does seem very off. I project my Phoenix Claw to grab the mirror, but it rejects me with a sharp force.

“There’s a barrier here. One that resists arcana.” I wonder to myself for a second. Do I need a strong enough force to break it, or do I just need something that isn’t arcana to enter it? One thing’s for sure: there is definitely something in that pond, maybe even in that mirror. I begin drawing arcana into my hand, but I’m immediately distracted by a large number of arcana signatures nearby.

“Uh Bones? I think something’s coming!” Yells Daimyon as he creeps behind me. Within seconds, the inner part of the forest is saturated with enemies, likely here for the same reason as us. Amongst the crowd, one individual steps forward to approach us.

“Is that Bones the Spirit Reaper? Wow, I didn’t think they’d send you to stop us. I’m flattered that the Order of the Radiant Wisps takes us Shadow Walkers so seriously.” I prepare for an attack. Looking around, it seems like more naturalists were showing up each second. 

“My name is Deone, and I am here to retrieve that relic from behind you.” Ignoring whatever irrelevant thing he’s saying, I analyze the situation. I’m sure I can break the barrier on the relic with a strong enough attack, and these naturalists can’t stop me. At the same time, this isn’t a good location to fight, and Daimyon is likely to get caught in the middle.

“Deone, you say? How do you plan to get through this barrier?” I ask, seeking a confirmation to my theory.

“By hitting it. Very hard. All of us together.” I smirked. If he knows my name then he knows it’s over once I grab the relic, so why did he tell me how to break the barrier? Maybe this is the Shadow Walker B-team or something. None of them are significant other than Deone, and even then I’m not impressed.

“I see.” Unleashing my phoenix wings and bringing them down, I erect a barrier of flame around us, flames surge from it dispersing all across the area. “Phoenix Wing Blast!” The flames intensify creating waves of fire emitted in a circle around us, like a constant powerful pulse. The surrounding naturalists begin taking cover, some use their arcana to block the attack, others simply get some distance and quite a few are vaporized. Deone covers himself in ice and places an additional shield of ice in front of him. The mirror finally shatters, revealing the relic in the bottom of the pond.

“Time to go.” I say to Daimyon, who nods as I use my arcana to extend my grasp to Daimyon and the relic before taking off, creating a deep crater. We head straight for the academy landing in front of the portal.

“Lord Bones! Was that you flying through the sky?” Asks the guard by the portal. This is going to be a conversation.

“Absolutely not.” I respond sternly, not looking as we blow past into the portal. Daimyon smirks.

“I take it you’re not supposed to use that power outside where people can see?” I give him a look that makes him acutely aware this will be the last time he’ll ask a question like that. He nods for confirmation.

“Reporting this to the Grand Council takes priority.” This is a bigger deal than we originally thought, especially if this relic is what Harold said it is. As we enter the academy, I have this unnerving feeling that something much worse is beginning to unfold.

End ~