Ash

"I never thought this would be the last time we would all be here," Mike said, looking around at the half-empty living room.

There was only one desk remaining in the once-cramp room. The couch and chairs were the only things taking the empty space. Angela and Rose sat side by side on the couch while Mike and I sat on chairs in front of them with a small coffee table between us.

On top of the table was a half-gone purple and white cake with a 14 on it. Next to it were small little gift boxes, taking the rest of the table.

Angela was wearing a scarlet blouse with black jeans, while Rose was wearing a knee-length navy dress with cute little cowgirl boots. Mike was wearing a hunter green blazer, khaki pants, and dress shoes.

While we were all smiling, there was a heaviness that weighed on us as the December night sky waved proudly over the cold window.

"How did this happen? One day we were all here, the next one by one, we left," Angie said, looking around the room.

"I know, right! First Rosa, then you, then me, month after month. We got adopted. The only one left..." Mike added.

"Jay..." Rose said, turning her gaze at me.

"It's okay, guys. I never had any illusion that I would be adopted. Not while the fact I was raised in the Underworld stays on my record. And even if I did, I would probably end up back here in a few days," I said, lifting a small paper plate with a half-eaten slice of cake.

"Jay, that's not it," Rose responded, her voice softer than usual.

"Hey! It's my birthday. Let's focus on that and not something else," I said, raising my voice to add a little optimism.

"Fine. Congratulations, you're the oldest kid in the Orphanage. How does it feel being an old man?" Angie said.

"I'm only 14. Don't forget that you are only one month younger than me; that would make you an old woman too," I responded.

"Shut it!" Angie said, throwing a rolled-up napkin at my face.

'I spent quite some time putting things in order to get Angie and Mike to be adopted. Mike and Angie in the original timeline never got adopted. But with very subtle hints and guided manipulation, I got them to be adopted. I convinced Mike's bosses, who already treated Mike as their son, to adopt him. For Angie, it took a little more effort not only in finding people who were looking for children, but that would choose her.'

"But seriously, are you going to stay in this room? I mean, with all of us gone, what are you gonna do alone here?" Mike asked, bringing my focus back on the conversation.

"No, I'm gonna take that room on the first floor. It's just enough for me," I said, looking back at the bare living room.

"Damn, so this is really the last time we're gonna be together in this room," Angie stated, standing up and walking around.

"But it won't be the last time we get together, right? We'll get together for Mike's and Angie's birthday's in a month and mine after that, right?" Rose asked, looking nervously at us.

Angela and Mike turn 14 only a day after each other, January 19 and 20, respectively, while Rose's birthday isn't until February 8.

"Sure, just because we aren't living together doesn't mean we aren't going to hang out," Mike responded, looking at Angie and me for reassurance.

*woof*woof*

A little gray puppy with violet eyes less than a foot long and 10 inches tall came running out of my bedroom and jumped on top of Rose's lap. The puppy appeared to be a mutt; aside from the short gray fur and bright violet eyes, it took a small resembles to a pitbull/labrador mix.

"Aww, look at him. He's awake. Soo cute!" Angie said, running back to the couch and landed next to Rose.

"I can't believe you convinced Mrs. Aikawa to let you keep him," Mike said, also jumping off his chair and heading towards the puppy.

"Mrs. Aikawa thinks I am feeling distraught now that all of you are gone. So she let me keep him, as long as I train him not to make a mess and to not poop all over the place." I answered, seeing the puppy jump playfully between the three of them.

"Quite the birthday gift, huh?" Miked asked.

"Have you thought of a name?" Rose asked, accidentally interrupting Mike.

"I was thinking somewhere around the realm of Kerberos, but he doesn't have spots, so I don't know," I answered honestly.

"That's not cute at all. How about Max?" Angie added, causing the three to start a discussion pertaining to good dog names

The three of them began listing names and playing with the puppy to see which he would respond.

'It just became attached to me three days ago during one of my morning jogs, and I couldn't just leave it out in the cold. But in a year, I'm going to have to leave it behind; I don't really know if I should get too attached to it.'

"Oh, I know, how about Ash?" Mike yelled, causing the puppy to jump up and down on his lap with excitement.

"Looks like Ash it is," Angie agreed.

I suddenly felt a wave of mana hit my body, "Sorry, are you three following the mana control exercise I showed you before?"

The three of them turned to each other in confusion about the sudden change of topic.

"Yeah, why?" Mike asked once they all confirmed to each other their routines.

My eyes began to glow a pale blue that startled the trio. My vision gained a slight blue tint that slowly drowned out all the color from my sight, leaving only a black and white world.

Slowly the color returned, but this time a glow came with it that filled the world with small particles flowing across my sight. From the four of us, a range of colorful particles emanated from our bodies. Gray particles filled the rest of the room, sometimes bouncing from place to place, other times simply passing through them.

Rose released bright purple and green particles, Mike green and light black particles, while Angela released red and light-yellow particles. What surprised me was the vibrant red particles radiating from Ash.

'He's mutating! Don't tell me that this puppy has actually transformed into a beast? How come I didn't see it before? Is it because we're all here?'

"Hey, guys, can you do me a favor? Can you seal your mana for a moment?" I asked, forgetting about Mike's question.

As they responded to me, they sealed their bodies off, preventing their bodies from releasing any mana. The colorful particles that filled my vision began to disappear as they slowly turned a dull gray and spread across the room. Soon they all stood there, their bodies discharging not a single speck of mana.

The puppy suddenly stopped dead on its tracks, looked at my three ex-roommates, immediately lost interest, and jumped off the couch. At the same time, the particles of mana it was releasing began to diminish until, like the trio, no mana was visible. Having lost interest in my friends, Ash walked to my feet, curled into a ball, and fell asleep.

"What just happened? Why did he suddenly look at us like an old, used chew toy?" Angie asked, slightly hurt by Ash's actions.

"It's in the process of mutating; no wonder it became so attached to me," I responded.

"Mutating? You mean, he's going to transform? Into what a beast, a creature, or a monster!?" Rose asked, almost jumping out of the couch with worry written across her face.

----

Beast, creatures, or monsters is the current categorization system applied to magically enhance animals. Beast is the simplest of all three, as they mostly resemble their non-magical counterparts, usually with only one or two variations in either color or physical difference. Creatures are the second variation, where the mutated animal has three or more physical differences than the based animals, with the possibility of creating some confusion as to its origins. Monsters are the third variation, where they don't resemble the original animal anymore, with the possibility of creating a unique species.

*Not to be confused with beasts, creatures, or monsters of Otherworlder origin.

----

"I don't know; we won't know until he finishes mutating. But since Ash appears to be in the early stages, he's mana hungry. In order for him to actually transform, he needs a large and constant supply of mana," I explained.

"So, why is he so attached to you? Didn't you say Rosa had the largest mana reservoir out of all of us?" Mike asked, his curiosity shining through.

"Rose has a large quantity of mana, true, but in terms of quality, it's average. That being said, she still has better mana quality than you two," I explained, looking at Mike and Angie, then added, "But if we're comparing our mana, mine is like high-quality prime steak, while Rose is a select."

"That's rude! What are we?" Angie and Mike asked almost simultaneously.

"Mmh, Standard, maybe low-quality Select," I answered almost automatically.

"Sheesh, you don't have to sugarcoat it," Mike said, beating Angie, who, by her facial expression, showed she was going to say the same.

"The two of you have only been Marked Ones for less than a year; if you take that into consideration, you're doing fantastic. On average, those in similar cases would be around cutter or canning grade," I added, trying to clear up the confusion.

"Does that mean you're going to be a Tamer? Are you going to register him to the guild?" Rose asked, her mind still stuck on the mutating puppy.

"No, whatever he mutates to could be cool, but he wouldn't fit my fighting style. It would be best to see what he does transform to and then see which of you he suits better with?" I responded while picking up Ash and placing him on my lap. I then created a ball of pure mana on my hand and laid it in front of its snout, causing the little puppy to jolt awake and start to eagerly devour the mana.

"Wait a minute, I thought you had to be a Summoner to be a tamer?" Angie asked, confusion filling her face.

"No, to be a tamer, all you need is a beast that you've tamed that'll fight for you or with you. A Summoner can summon a beast with mana and then use them like that; they can also store them inside their bodies or merge with the beast to create a hybrid," Rose explained, beating me to the punch.

"So, does that mean I could be a tamer?" Mike asked, excitement filling his smile.

"Yeah, but Ash fits Angie better than you since she has a fire affinity, and it appears Ash does as well; maybe he's even an Elementalist," I casually said.

"What???" they all said in unison.

"You can see affinities?" Rose asked in shock.

"No, I can see mana. I can distinguish between elemental and non-elemental mana. Like how you have Lightning and Wind, Angie has Fire and Light, and Mike has Wind and Darkness," I stated while playing with Ash.

"You know the first thing they teach you in magic 101 is that affinities and elements are invisible, and the only way to know a person's affinity is by their Marks," Mike said with some sarcasm in his voice.

"Right, and that is important. Why? You should be, at this point, used to me doing unconventional things," I responded.

"Right, of course, because the whole world tells us one thing, yet our 14-year-old friend constantly doing things that are supposed to be impossible, is somehow supposed to be acceptable," Angie said.

We all just looked at each other, and we all just laughed. After which, we just sat back and talked the rest of the night about nothing.

----

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at the Mark. I looked at the corner of the mirror to see that it was 2 am. Mike, Angela, and Rose just left 30 minutes ago. The once sporadic Mark had slowed down and gained a more rhythmic pattern as it increased and decreased its opacity.

"It's already December 22, and my synchronization is only at 45 percent. The gates are already showing signs of abnormalities. The Hellmouth, which used to open every 5 years, has opened twice in as many years. The rate of high-class gates appearing is also increasing.

The First Invasion is only 6 years away now. My progress is too slow, I need to hurry it up, but I used most of my points and money to make those emergency charms." I said, looking at the flickering Mark across my chest.

"I think it's almost time to go to the Underworld."