13. Aria Isle
Name had rushed out once she made sure that Dia was okay. She passed into the bedroom, where she met Fera and put on the black sweatshirt.
«The lesson was scheduled for tomorrow, I haven't yet ...» Fera looked embittered, she was holding her book, open: that language was untranslatable.
«Is it difficult?» Name had completely left aside her exercise and her staff, which she still had on her wrist.
«It's hard just for me.» for an instant, Fera's face filled with anger and sorrow.
«Why are we going out?» Leo joined them, climbing down the ladder.
For some reason, he was asking Name.
«I don't know?» she answered.
«You're the one being trained by Mr. Xulio.»
Name's eyes widened.
How does he know?
«This.» Leo, as if he had read her mind, handed her his cube to practice with. She must have left it in class.
«Mr. Xulio ... » Fera said nothing more, but looked at Name curiously, she seemed to be back to normal.
Name remembered the fact that Mr. Xulio had told her not to tell anyone anything, and she had done so, she didn't want to risk anything else, yet the news didn't seem to upset anyone.
«I didn't know him before, Mr. Xulio ...» Fera began.
«But I've heard some things about him, he called himself the Emperor of Massacre.» that name made her shiver, along with the cold outside.
In fact ... Mr. Xulio was immediately interested in me, but ...
I have no idea who he is and emperor of massacre, that's not a good name.
Sometimes Name also perceived the others as without a past and perhaps, for some, it was partly so, having all just entered Deorum, but for Mr. Xulio was different.
How long has he been here? How did he become a supervisor? ... Why is he helping me?
«Be careful.» Fera had a worried look on her face.
Was she referring to Mr. Xulio or someone else? Name just smiled.
Mr. Xulio was waiting outside, a strange peculiarity was a wooden spiral staircase, in the middle of nowhere, which rose towards the sky: the clouds covered its end.
It wasn't there before.
«Yes this is a ladder, stop looking at it dazed, come on, I don't have time.» Aldien was the first to climb, after Mr. Xulio.
Name, prompted by her questions, left the group and went up the stairs.
«The lesson was tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken.» it was Aldien who spoke, meanwhile Fera, Kein and the others had begun to climb in turn. Although the stairs were visibly used and with moss and vines here and there, they were solid.
«The lesson will be tomorrow, I'm just taking you on a trip.» the cold tone of Mr. Xulio was colder than usual.
«How romantic.»
Name was pretty sure the two knew each other. Aldien treated everyone badly, like submissives, but every time he turned to Mr. Xulio, he attacked him sharply.
«Mr. Xulio ... where are we going?» Name felt a little uncomfortable.
«Aria Isle. A city floating above the Winter regime, you could call it the capital.» Aldien replied in a bored tone, they were about to cross the clouds.
«Do the people who haven't passed their exams live there too?»
That question hung in the air.
How many people have failed to enter Deorum? ...
Will I fail too?
On that thought, she only needed to look at Aldien to understand one thing.
Did he know I thought I wouldn't make it? Did he know I couldn't make it? And why do you want to help me?
What ... does he really want?
The thought of not passing the exam and not entering Deorum, essential to recovering her memories, terrified her, but it terrified her even more that she would have to carry out orders under the command of someone like Aldien.
Did he also manipulate Miki like me?
Just the thought made her darken.
«Name, look!» Fera shook her, they had reached the top.
The stairs led not to the clouds, but to a bridge suspended in the sky.
The landscape was magnificent, full of wooden houses resting on the clouds, linked together with bridges of white stone. It all seemed segmented, a house above, a tree below, but it all formed a whole city.
«Since there has been a sudden change of plan, tomorrow the practical lesson will be… particular, while today we will have a lesson carried out to prepare you for tomorrow. Quick.» Mr. Xulio hurried across the white bridge, after taking a look at Name's cube.
«Is this change of plans due to the inspection scheduled for tomorrow?» Aldien attacked Mr. Xulio, who this time turned abruptly, with a hateful look. Name took a step back, scared, Fera covered her with an arm even though his anger was directed at Aldien.
«Don't get carried away twenty-seven, you're still a child.»
Aldien gritted his teeth, nothing was heard but the ticking of Mr. Xulio.
After a moment of silence, the group continued forward.
Why did he call Aldien twenty-seven?
Name was sure the two of them knew a lot, things about her, but she didn't know who to trust.
Yet I am "allied" with both.
The only enemies she had, for now, were the pink lady and the figure of her dream, but she still had many question marks about many people.
«Here.»
They had all reached a circular suspended square, it seemed made of stone, there was nothing on board, except a transparent circular sphere, with balls of various colors inside and a red line a stone's throw from the sky.
«In a row.» everyone obeyed.
Mr. Xulio took the balls, of four different colors, 3 yellow, 3 green, 3 blue and 3 red, and threw them to each team.
Name grabbed the number two, Fera the number three and Kein the number one.
«Yellow against green and blue against red. One on one, the numbers one starts.» her team was red.
Aldien's team was yellow, Leo's green and Lynn, Hayden and Ross's blue.
Ross's team was the one that Name had talked to least, in truth, they avoided everyone a little.
Name scanned their numbers: number two was held by Lynn, a Strategist, her book was black.
Lynn often looked at her badly, but Name always ignored those looks, thinking she was mad at someone else, but now he was staring at her and only her with that same look.
Did I do something to her?
Fera was instead against Ross and Kein against Hayden, both Strikers.
The first to take the field, however, were Kein and Hayden, Name sat near the edge with Fera.
«Striker vs Striker, who has the advantage here?» Mr. Xulio was the only one sitting on a chair, she didn't know where it had come from.
Name remembered that Kein, with his cordless bow, had confessed that he had no power, but his red orb had highlighted otherwise.
Why had he said he had no powers?
Hayden, on the other hand, had Air and Metal magic, in fact he was holding an all-metal sword.
«Hayden, he's bilemental.» Lynn answered.
«Mistaken. Being bilemental, or trilemental, or even quadrumental, does not benefit against a unilemental, on the contrary, it takes years to refine different powers, who has only one starts in advantage: they have more experience and ease. If a bilementary has two divided cubes, a unilementary has three on top of each other. Who is higher then?» at certain times, Mr. Xulio looked like a teacher, at times he looked like an old man angry with the world.
«At my start, go, whoever leaves the circus loses and whoever falls from here will be very unlucky.»
Kein took off a red ring that Name hadn't even noticed, that ring turned into a bow, his bow, it had no arrows.
Is this a convertible?
Name looked at her silver bracelet, she had already tried to take it off, but nothing happened.
«Go!»
Hayden launched into the attack with his sword, but stopped in the middle of the arena, swinging his sword forward, which blew a gust of wind towards Kein.
Kein, however, had moved so fast that he was already facing Hayden. He held his bow, but tried to throw a punch, which hit Hayden's sword.
They continued like this for two more punches and kicks, Hayden parrying them with the sword and the wind, but kept backing away.
Why doesn't Kein use his magic?
He kept hurting, he was bleeding from both hands, yet he continued.
He's really a big question mark, him.
«End! Hayden is out.» Name woke up from her thoughts.
«What?!» Hayden yelled a few curses, but his foot was half out.
Name's heart began to beat fast, it was her turn already and Kein was bleeding too much.
Fortunately, a woman arrived, aboard a piece of stone, who clung to the arena, as if it belonged there.
The woman folded him, while he remained still and with an emotionless face: he had faced the whole fight with the same face.
«You, focus on where you are, not just who you are in front of.» Mr. Xulio pointed to Hayden, then moved his finger to Kein.
«And you better leave the past behind.» Name didn't see what Kein looked like, but his red eyes seemed to glow.
«No, I don't think I will.»
«As you wish.»
«I'll have to take him to the infirmary.» the woman said. Kein floated off on the giant stone to a nearby cottage.
«Stand there!» Mr. Xulio was addressing her, Lynn was already waiting for her.
Name got up and moved toward the center.
I don't know how to draw my staff and Lynn is a Strategist, I'm not sure what she can do to me.
«Strategist vs Conjurer, who has the advantage here?»
Aldien was the first to raise his hand.
«Lynn's going to win.»
«That wasn't the question.»
«It's a right answer anyway.»
I'll fall from the sky, won't I?
Name panicked.
«Go!»
Name stepped back, Lynn made her book float, which opened by itself.
Lynn spoke a few sentences in an unfamiliar language and then pointed her arm at her.
«Sting!» two small waves of water vibrated from her arm and moved towards her.
Name heard a whistle from Aldien, but she was too busy for her life.
No.
She was not yet able to draw her staff and her unknown magic ...
Protect me! Please!
She closed her eyes ... but nothing happened, apart from a rush of water that hit her, sending her flying out of the red circle and almost to the edge.
Her stomach, where she had been hit, burned, despite being wet.
She coughed up blood.
«Lynn wins!»
I hate water magic.
Fera ran to her, lifting her to her feet and taking her to the nurse woman, who had returned.
«... I have to take her to the infirmary too.»
«Girl.» Name turned to the supervisor.
«A step.» that said, Name floated away, supported by the nurse, while Fera entered the field worried.
-
«You have a cracked rib. Drink this with this pill now and tonight, tomorrow it should be okay.»
Name had entered the wooden house, inside there were other nurses, a doctor who had examined her and the whole was full of white beds.
«Outside of Deorum, medicine is not that advanced.» Kein said as she swallowed the red pill.
He had been bandaged in both hands and the blood had stopped.
Fortunately he was fine.
Name couldn't say the same, she felt like throwing up.
«Your fight did not last long.» Kein seemed to hold back a laugh.
«Neither did yours.» Name really didn't understand why Kein would have to hurt himself like that.
«Sassy, I like it.» laughed.
Name tried to look out the window for Fera, but the clouds covered it all.
Kein had terrified her from the first moment. Sometimes when she looked at his face, she still saw it stained with blood.
Miki's face, even in a few days, was already a distant memory for her, a painful memory she didn't want to think about.
Yet he had heartened her even when he hated her.
No, he still hates me, probably.
He was a killer, brutal even in defense.
But yet. Yet, sometimes his red eyes reminded her of herself.
He was lost like her.
«Why didn't you use your magic?»
Kein was also looking out the window.
«Haven't I already said that? I don't like doing useless things, this lesson was useless. That's all.»
That answer seemed too vague to Name.
So why didn't you let yourself be defeated?
«Really?»
Kein turned to her.
«Nah.» he winked at her, then got off his bed, heading for the exit.
Nobody stopped him, after all, the nurses and the doctor were long gone.
«Yell 'open' if you want to convert a convertible.» and with that he went out the door.
«Don't-»
Name wanted to say something, but Kein was already out now.
She didn't know what she wanted to say, she realized it after, when she was left alone in the silence.
Don't leave me alone.