Chapter 2 | Lesson

Shinjuku | Subway

The platform at Shinjuku Station trembles as a silver subway train dives into the tunnel. When the rumble barely faded the rosebud on Mai’s ear tips and every trace of Lucil’s magic vanished … only for him to appear right next to her.

Mai blinks. “Where did he go? He’s taking forever…”

A hand taps her lightly on the shoulder.

“Hey - I'm right here.” Lucil’s voice slips past her ear.

She flinches. “W-Woa… H-how did you… ?”

Lucil gives a crooked laugh then turns serious and snaps his fingers. “Magic.”

Mai giggles and none of the waiting commuters surrounding them take any notice.

“Up for a little detour?” he asks.

“Hmm … why?”

“I want to try out a few new things. And you’re the perfect partner.”

A spark lights in Mai’s eyes. She slides her hand into his and together they leave the station. The spring air from Shinjuku is thick with neon glare and exhaust gases; streams of people push through the streets. In the middle of muted business suits Lucil’s crimson jacket glares like a shot flare.

Mai eyes the rose vines on his back. “Lucil, why roses of all things?”

“A friend thought they were pretty,” he answers simply.

Mai nods thoughtfully.

They turn into a narrow side alley. Between dumpsters and brick walls lie two rusty crowbars. Lucil picks them up and tosses one to Mai; she snatches the iron bar cleanly out of the air.

“She loved being surrounded by roses.” he explains while inspecting the second bar in his hand. “At some point we build magic upon it.”

“But… why roses?”

Lucil’s smiles vaguely. “Remembering that is hard for me.”

Mai laughs brightly - the echo dances across the wet cobblestones while the streets behind them pulse like a heart.

She nudges her brother with her elbow. "Eighteen and already Alzheimer's...?"

Lucil just smiles but his gaze shifts inspecting the narrow alley.

"What do you see here?"

Mai blinks into the shimmering darkness. "An... alley?" The word sounds uncertain as if she's recalling an answer that isn't quite right.

Lucil's voice grows quieter. "And what did I teach you?"

Mai nods in understanding, placing a flat hand on her chest. "Focus the mana within the body."

She closes her eyes. Beneath her white dress a light begins to flare up at her chest; ruby-red threads run through her veins gradually discolor to sapphire blue and finally pooling in her irises. Her pupils begin to glow like a reflection of Lucil’s briefly flared ruby-red eyes.

In Mai's inner gaze a magic circle takes shape with a stylized rose. A scarlet radiance cuts through the alley’s shadows - and when she opens her eyes again they no longer stand in the back alley but in a stone arena..

Thorny vines rise up the walls and a rushing waterfall pours into a basin, foaming up and creating a fine mist around the basin.

“A Domain?”, Mai asks.

“Yes”, Lucil confirms.

She pouts. “How many of these do you still have in Tokyo?”

“Several.”

“Hrr… You’re a mystery Lucil.”

He walks to the center of the arena, his rose embroidered cloak drifting behind him. Mai touches her throat and draws out a blue chain. The pendant shows a delicate rose out of lapis-lazuli.

“What are you going to teach me today?”

Lucil smiles gently. “Try to wound me.”

Mai backs away. “No - why?”

“You have a pure heart. But if you want to be a mage, you can’t hesitate in battle. Showing your feelings are fine, little one, yet while casting only the target matters. Drop the restraint the moment you use magic.”

After a moment Mai squares her shoulders and raises the crowbar. Crimson filaments flowing under her skin shifting to a cobalt blue.

“Rose Petals - Accelerated!”, she shouts.

Thousands of blue-shimmering rose petals materialize out of thin air swirling around Mai like a rising storm.
The waterfall pounds like a pulse while Lucil and Mai face each other at the center of the arena. Thorn vines twitch on the walls as if they sense every motion.

Lucil grins draws breaths in and the air turns blood-red.

“Rose Petals Stringendo.”

Hundreds of rose petals rise upward, dancing like sparks in a thermal. Carmine red light rains from every side.

“Rose Accel - Step Five!” Lucil’s voice slices through the roar of the fall. His silhouette blurs as though he dives into the petals himself.

Mai mirrors him immediately: “Rose Accel - Step Five!”

An azure bolt zips through her veins; the crowbar in her grasp glows like a sapphire. Then she kicks off - a streaming blue banner of petals travels behind while she bolts towards Lucil with superhuman speed.

Lucil doesn’t move a millimeter: Only at the final moment he lifts a bare forearm. Metal meets Metal - CLAANG!

The red and blue petals detonate into a cyclone as the impact of their collision vibrates the floor. Stone splinters, fine cracks form across the arena slabs.

Mai grits her teeth. “Argh!”

Lucil’s counterattack comes in like a thunderstorm. He draws back - his arm lengthening and gaining weight, as though spreading wings made of sheer force.

Mai whispers a single word. “Rose Switch.”

A solitary blue petal flashes - and suddenly she stands at the other end of the arena. The blow slams into the stone, carving a fist’s depth crater.

“Wow … insane.” Mai sees the debris of a boiler; her heart hammers. “What a power…”

Lucil’s gaze stays calm. “I’m holding back. If you want to be taken seriously, give me everything Mai. Otherwise you’re only a disappointment.”

She smiles - not in defiance but with full blaze. “Then let me surprise you.”

Mai bows her head then she inhales slowly. The crimson colour of her veins flare up to a radiant blue again. From her clavicles thorns begin to spiral to her shoulder blades. Flower chalices bloom along the thorns bursting open -

-and unfolding into two sweeping rose wings made of luminous blue leaves. The crowbar in her fists becomes a beam of light and every swing vibrates in the air as if it were slicing fine glas.

Lucil nods in approval. “I never taught you that.”

“I tried compressing my mana in one spot - so close combat fighting would matter again.” The wings twitching, throwing around cobalt blue dusk.

“Just like that.” Lucil nods. “Back then Mages used magic and body one-to-one—until firearms got cheap. Melee spells almost vanished… but not completely. Know why?”

Mai giggles while her wings flap once thus lifting her by hand’s length off the ground. “Because someone was stubborn enough to keep passing it on.”

Lucil starts brandishing his crowbar. “Then show me what you’ve reinvented little warrior.”

Her blue and red colours begin to circle into one another and as they collide it makes the whole arena tremble.

The thorn-covered walls pulse like veins. The waterfall roars as Mai spreads her wings of blue-rose light. Her gaze burns.

“Back then, mages didn’t need firearms,” she says, thrusting the crowbar forward. “With you at my side, Lucil, I’m stronger than any bullet. Brace yourself—this time, I’m hitting for real!”

She inhales the mana like fire-laced air.

“Rose Angel—Final Acceleration!”

A storm of azure petals spirals from her wings, propelling her forward. The ground cracks beneath her feet as she leaps — one thunderbolt arc directly aimed at Lucil.

Lucil closes his eyes. His mana surges. The crowbar in his hand blazes a deep red, his irises glowing like burning coals.

“Rose Break—”

Mai crashes into him like a meteorite. Stone slabs shatter. The thorny vines around the arena snap. In seconds, red roses bloom around Lucil — a living shield absorbing the blow entirely. The force sends Mai stumbling back; for the first time, surprise flickers in her eyes.

Lucil vanishes. Only a whisper remains: “Switch.”

Suddenly he’s behind her. Blue rose petals swirl at his feet.

Mai reacts instantly by snapping her fingers. The roses around her glow ominously.

“Switch!”

They swap places — but she feels her strength fading.

“Grr... fine control’s not my thing.” she growls.

A blinding flash detonates. A shockwave tears through the arena. Thorn walls buckle into each other. Foam from the waterfall sweeps through the air like mist. In the roaring white, Mai sees—nothing.

“Lu–Lucil!” Her voice trembles.

Metal touches her throat: Lucil’s crowbar. He stands behind her, unscathed but fully coated in a thick layer of dust.

“That was quite the explosion,” he says, his tone as soft and sharp as steel. “You were ready to kill me. Your brother is proud of you right now.”

“I… I just wanted to—”

Lucil smiles confidently.

“Good. But there’s one lesson you forgot.”

Mai squares her shoulders.

“Which one?”

“How long have I been standing here?” he asks almost rhetorically.

Mai’s eyes widened as she caught her breath.

“What? I thought—”

Lucil tilts his head slightly, raising his hand just enough to seem like he’s holding something invisible in it.

“You know how to break… this world—my world, sister.”

She inhales deeply. Her blue wings dissolve into sparks. Her eyes shimmer—and the illusion melts away. Where an untouched arena had stood now only fragments remain. Not a single red rose petal in sight.

“Incredible…” She replays the memory: after Lucil’s counter within the blast he cast Switch and wrapped the world around them in an illusion.

“Good girl,” Lucil says.

A sudden smell wrinkles Mai’s nose.

“Now go take a shower already.”

Lucil laughs. “You’re right.”

Mai tosses the crowbar aside and loops her arms around him. Amid the ruined rose realm, brother and sister embrace — a brief peace in a war of magic and memories.

Mai jabs his shoulder with a fist, nose scrunched heavily.

“Stinker… were you actually serious just now?”

Lucil brushes dust from his coat. “When I fight for real, Mai, I play dirty. I kill. But this was sparring, so I held back. And you were good—actually very good.”

“What should I practice next?”

“Mana control. And more agility,” he says. “After each Switch, you’re paralyzed for nearly a minute. You can’t use teleportation constantly. Only jump when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Mai taps her chin. “Hmm… but a minute is long.”

“With a clean Switch, some evasive footwork, and better mana control, you’ll manage.”

She sighs. “Last time I tried ranged combat—that was a disaster.”

Lucil raises an eyebrow. “That’s actually your strength: versatility.”

Mai thinks for a moment. “Father says a mage should master one thing—but you show me everything.”