Lixarts Academy: First Year

The woman’s pearly white razor sharp teeth gleamed through the darkness that ensnared us. His bright red eyes locked onto me as they split us apart. She barraged Aura, causing her and her Flame Wraith to back away. I kept my eyes on my opponent. I just need to trust that she can hold her own until we get out of here.

“KEEP YOUR EYES OVER HERE!” The woman flipped in the air and kicked at Aura. Her flame wraith hopped in front and sent out a plume of fire. The woman dodged it by jumping backwards.

The man in front of me stared at me before saying something,

“Cloak,” he grabbed an item from his pocket before crushing it and disappearing behind a smoke screen.

He was gone.

I looked around frantically.

He struck the back of my head. I fell forward and held my head. The blow left a stinging pain in the middle of the back of my head. I got back up and closed my eyes. Listening for anything that might help me against him. The sword began humming and tugging north. I closed my eyes and focused in that direction.

I could hear his heartbeat.

He prepared a strike with the dagger he had hidden away in his boot. I gripped the sword and swung forward. He winced in pain as his spell dissipated.

“How did you know where I was?!” He screamed. Any sign of his previously mysterious demeanor was gone.

“FIREBALL!” An orb of swirling flames appeared in his palm. He motioned his hand forward and it blitzed towards me.

The sword hummed once more.

I grabbed it and lifted it in the air. I swung it down onto the orb. It cleaved it in half. I looked at the sword and then back at the spell which was a pile of ash on the ground.

His expression became that of shock and anger.

“RAGHHH!” He screamed once more. His body contorted as he held onto his hand. His limbs extended from his body as they grew longer and longer. His skin became a blistering red as his hair began turning white. His body became bulkier, uglier, but bulkier as his muscles tore through his clothes. An extra ripped through his back as they wiggled around; seeming to get a sense of how to control it. His face was droopy, his eyes were red, and his nose had disappeared.

“Heh, heh, heh…” he chuckled a little. His voice was deeper, more evil as he looked down at his body. He twisted his wrists before looking at me with an appraising look.

“Whoooooo are yoooooou?” He whistled.

“The one who’s going to kill you,” I squeezed the handle of the sword.

He wore a smile. The one that you wear when you get a gift you like from someone you’ve had a crush on for years. The one you got on your face when you were a kid when you went into the candy store. He wore a smile of pure joy.

His large frame stomped across the ground; shaking the earth to its very core.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that they get weaker when they transform.

Gramps was easily able to overwhelm me in his human state but when he transfigured; it’s like he lost his technique.

He ran at me with astonishing speed for his size. The sword hummed as I commanded it to fly. We soared overhead. The monster looked up at us and smiled.

“Heh… heh… heh…” He chuckled once more.

He bent his knees and jumped into the air.

“Nope!” I flew the sword away from him.

He smacked into the wall; causing them to crumble.

The room boomed as the rocks fell through the ground.

I can’t do anything while I’m just flying away. I jumped off of the sword and clutched onto the handle. The only way I can win here is by killing this monster.

“FIREBALL!” I shouted as I commanded the flame wraith to attack the woman that was running around.

“You know my magic?” She skidded to a stop.

I ignored her.

“Hmph. You’re no fun. My magic is…” She stopped before slapping away the fireball.

“Silly you. You’ll have to do WAY better than that,” she had her lips pushed together as if she were pouting.

“My magic is deconstruction,” the woman had stopped completely, her face brazen.

“What?” I stopped the fireballs.

“I read spells at the molecular level and deconstruct them before they’re fully activated. The only weakness is that if I don’t know the spell’s make up then I can’t deconstruct it.”

“Why are you telling me your weakness?”

“Because this is where you will die,” she declared.

She sighed before continuing, “I wasn’t allowed to kill your friend at Enchantopia. They didn’t say I couldn’t kill you,” she cracked her knuckles before jumping at me.

“FLAME VORTEX!”

The wraith threw its hands down to the ground and summoned a whirlwind of flames.

Vooom

The noise came from inside the vortex. Soon after, the spell dispersed into tiny embers.

“I told you… This is where you die,” she was free falling from the ceiling at this point. She was coming at a speed faster than I could react. She grabbed me by the head and pushed me into the ground. She stomped the ground causing me to fly up into the air. She slipped around behind me before wrapping her arms around my waist. She bent backwards, throwing me into the rock wall that was behind me.

I sat there. Defeated. I can’t do anything. She knows all of my spells. She’ll just destroy them before I can even manifest them.

I looked between her, Dominick, that man, and my wraith.

“Come back.” I tapped the ground and the wraith hopped into the ground, disappearing.

She walked up to me.

“Wellllllll…” she put her arms behind her back, “Any last words?”

If Dominick can evolve right then. My mind flashed back to when he learned camouflage. Then I can too.

I spit out the blood that was dripping from my mouth and flipped her off.

“I CALL UPON THE HEAVENS! SEND ME YOUR STRONGEST SPIRIT! IN RETURN, MY LIFE IS YOURS!”

I gave her a crimson smile.

She grabbed her dagger from her boot and plunged it forward.

A large bright body of a divine woman appeared in front of us. A celestial bath washed over us as the cave illuminated in an otherworldly light. A woman’s face was covered by a veil. Her gown fell down to her ankles as she floated over the ground.

“How may I help you, my dear?” The spirit’s voice echoed throughout the cave yet settled gently onto our ears.

“Her. Bring me her head,” I pointed to the woman. She backed away, cautiously.

“You know my price?” The spirit snapped onto Aura and exposed her rows of teeth and jet black eyes.

“My life.”

She held out her hand.

“Once you shake upon this deal then once her life is gone, so is yours.”

I shook her ice cold hand.

“Divine Magic: Heaven’s Judgment,” she lifted her hands to the ceiling. The ground began to quake.

Dominick was struggling against the beast that man became. I wish I could help him but she’s absorbing all of my mana.

A brilliant light radiated from the ceiling as a coruscating spear flew in like a bat out of hell.

The woman stood there, her smile sparkling in the beautiful divine light as it rained down upon her.

Then it dissolved. Into nothing.

She yawned.

“What..?” I stood there, confused.

“You think I can’t stop Divine Magic?” She walked over, shoes clacking as she stopped in front of me.

I looked up at her and started laughing.

Not the laughing that you do when you tell a funny joke or when someone slips on their ass.

No, no.

Hysteria ran through my mind as my mind started racing. Idea after idea, memory after memory, my whole life in an instant before my very eyes. My eyes darted around as I turned on the spirit.

“WHY CAN’T YOU BEAT HER?!” I screamed.

“The only reason I’m here is for your soul,” she stated.

“YEAH AND YOU WON’T GET IT IF YOU DON’T WIN!!”

I’m usually calm. I’m not too sure why I’m yelling. Maybe because of death. I’ve never thought about it. I didn’t think I’d be scared.

“Hey, spirit,” I looked up at her and said.

“Yes, child?” She responded.

“Do you have anything that could protect us from her deconstruction magic?”

“I might but I will need time to prepare it,” she whispered to me.

I nodded and grabbed the sword from my side.

“Without that deconstruction magic, you’re just like any other witch,” I taunted her.

Surprisingly, she fell for it. She clutched her dagger from her boot and brought her body into her fighting stance. The two of us darted at each other. I grabbed my sword that Gramps left me and lifted it up. She held her dagger with the blade pointing out, sideways as she grabbed the handle.

I swung the sword forward at her. She weaved to the side before slicing my tendon. I collapsed onto one knee.

This is nothing right now.

I stood back up and grabbed my sword once more. My foot was telling me to stand down. Everything in me was telling me to stand down.

Except for the adrenaline.

The dirt kicked up off of the ground as she sprinted in a hurry. She threw the dagger at my head. It sliced the air next to my ear as I moved my head out of the way. Her black combat boots were in the air in my face as she connected with a sickening crunch.

I grabbed my face in pain.

She was preparing an assault. I chuckled at her before headbutting her in the face. Blood spewed out from her nose as she screamed.

“NO, NO! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!” She hollered.

The eeriness of the cave really added to the scene as her shadow bolted across the walls with her. I sliced at her arms and legs but she easily dodged them as she brought her dagger through the air towards my face.

“Relax-” I deflected her arm with an open palm strike.

“ILLUSION MAGIC: SWEET DREAMS!”

The sun was shining brightly as the students chatted. The school loomed over me as I walked through the doors. Something feels weird but I can’t put my finger on it.

“AURA! HEY!” A familiar voice shouted.

“Hey, Rose,” I replied.

“What’s up? You look lost,” she asked.

“Nothing, something feels off.”

“Maybe it’s the fact that you’re going to the dance with Josh instead of Dominick?”

I turned on her.

“What?! It isn’t that. I don’t like him like that! You know that,” I shouted, more embarrassed than I thought I would be, “but who’s he going with?”

She flashed me a cheeky grin.

“No-”

“Yes! He asked me at lunch,” she said, giddy.

“Congratulations,” I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked next to her to the gymnasium.

“Speaking of, where is Dom?” I asked.

“He’s in the gym, waiting for us.”

She ran in front of me.

Shoes clacked on the quartz tile floor. Everyone made their way to their respective classes. The chatter began to die out as we made it to the gym.

“DOM!” Josh shouted from across the court. Him and Dominick were playing basketball. Dominick had possession of the ball at the top of the key. Josh had his back to the defender. Bad thing is that the defender has a major reach advantage on him. Josh dipped in and ran back out to the 3 point line. His defender was left behind. Dominick passed him the ball. He jumped and flung his wrist forward.

SWISH! BZZZT!

Dominick and Josh jumped in the air and bumped chests before performing their handshake.

“Hey, Dom,” I greeted him.

“Hey, Aura,” he waved at me.

He ran over to Rose and hugged her.

“Hey, Dominick,” she said, laughing.

“Hello, Rose,” he said in a flirty playful tone.

I put a finger in my mouth and pretended to gag. Josh walked over to me and hugged me. I tensed up.

“Oh, are you not in the mood for a hug? Sorry,” he unwrapped his arms from around me.

“Thanks.”

“Sure thing,” he looked away awkwardly.

“What’s gotten into you, Aura?” Rose asked.

“I don’t know. This just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Dominick and the beast were clashing as if their lives depended on it.

His sword laid over to the side, snapped in half.

The sword was only as good as its user.

A shell of its former self.

The former human turned beast roared as he barraged Dominick with a furious assault. The woman was now attacking in sync with her partner as they bombarded him with blows. He was able to block a few but it was too overwhelming as he began to buckle under their strikes.

Dominick was confused for a moment. He pondered as to why, how she was over here.

He looked over for a moment and saw Aura lying on the ground. The spirit hovered over her as they were both dormant.

“AURA!” He screamed.

He was interrupted as the man struck him in the jaw with a mean right hook.This momentarily stunned Dominick. The woman backed off and placed her hands in a triangle.

“ILLUSION MAGIC: SLEEP!”