Chapter 18: Other Seraphics

As school ended, Risa and Akira walked outside together, and Lumina went into her human form, appearing in front of them. Lumina stretched and yawned.

"Man, that was boring!" Lumina said to Akira and Risa.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Lumina," Risa said.

Lumina looked at Risa with a curious face, questioning what she wanted.

"What is it, Risa? I'll answer anything!" Lumina said.

"Do you think I can be a Seraphic owner too?" Risa asked.

Lumina was in shock, not expecting her to ask such a question.

"W-well, you could but... they are hard to find. They are only hard to find because Seraphics are basically ancient beings, but it's not entirely impossible to be a Seraphic holder," Lumina explained.

"I really want one! It seems nice to have a friend by your side all the time to talk to," Risa explained.

"Really? You just want them as a pet at this point?" Akira said with a disappointed face.

"H-hey! You get to have one, so I want one too!" Risa complained.

Lumina giggled, watching the two fight a little bit.

"If you really want, I can find one for you, but just remember that most Seraphics have different personalities. For me, I'm a kind and loving soul. There are hateful and resentful Seraphics who basically hate everything and can even ignore the commands of their owner. We have the brave and fearful Seraphics that always love to fight but are always clumsy and can also ignore their commands of the owner. In other words, we might get a really hateful Seraphic," Lumina explained.

"Is there any way to change their personalities? I mean, like if I give them enough love, they'll stop hating people, right?" Risa said.

Lumina thought for a while, "It's possible, but Seraphics are very stubborn. You'd have a hard time to tame them, but as a fellow Seraphic myself, I can help you tame them easier," Lumina smirked.

"So when you met Akira, did he try to tame you?" Risa asked.

"Nope, I willingly soul-bounded myself to him if he agreed, of course. Other Seraphics won't do that unless they feel like being with you for eternity," Lumina explained more.

"Trust me! You'll find a Seraphic someday; it just takes time. If you really want, I can go hunting with you for Seraphics. You can't see them naturally, but I can grant you the special vision you need to see them," Lumina said.

"Vision? Wait, you're saying I can't naturally see you?!" Risa said with a shocked expression.

"Well yeah, but since I'm soul-bounded, it basically made it so everyone can see me. But moving on, if Akira agrees to go with you, I'll be able to help you search for them," Lumina explained.

"How can I tell if a Seraphic is a Seraphic, though? What if it's just some random person walking around?" Risa asked.

"Look at the back of their hands; they have a strange symbol on them. That's when you'll know it's a Seraphic, or if they decide to fight you, then that's another way," Lumina said.

"If you want to go, Risa, I'll follow. But just so you know, I'm making you fight the Seraphic if we have to," Akira said, crossing his arms and looking away.

"So? What do you want to do, Risa? Don't worry about master; he's just being a stubborn little mage," Lumina said, giggling after making fun of Akira.

"Alright, let's go! I really want to have a Seraphic, and I'm sure you'd be happy to have a Seraphic friend too, right?" Risa said full of joy.

"That's right! If you get a Seraphic, we can become friends with each other easily!" Lumina said, smiling.

"Good grief... you two are already a handful," Akira said sarcastically.

Akira walked off with Lumina and Risa, and they began to journey to the location Lumina told them, "The Lost Forest," a place where many people got lost when walking around.

"This Lost Forest place, you sure it's okay to just be wandering around there?" Akira asked Lumina before walking further into the Lost Forest.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's a safe place; Aetheria is a huge and beautiful world, but it has dangerous places which almost makes it good for you to train in, Akira!" Lumina said cheerily as they kept walking towards the Lost Forest.

They walked for hours and kept talking amongst themselves about how to find a Seraphic and how to tame one. Eventually, Akira, Lumina, and Risa arrived at the spooky entrance of the Lost Forest. The forest entrance had two unlit torches, and the pathway led straight down the path. It was very foggy, making it hard to see how far the path went on.

Akira and Risa looked at each other a bit nervous to enter the forest.

"Come on, you two!" Lumina said as she ran off.

"Hey Lumina! Don't run off too far!" Akira shouted after her alongside Risa.

Soon after, Akira, Risa, and Lumina were far in the forest, and the fog felt thicker, making it a bit harder to see.

"I can't see anything in this forest," Risa commented.

"It's odd that there's fog in the forest... is something wrong with this place?" Akira thought for a moment.

Suddenly, the group heard something moving around the bushes. Akira quickly cast a thunder spell at the bush where he had heard the noise, and as it struck the green bush, nothing happened.

"Something's here..." Akira said as he assumed a battle stance and pulled out his rapier.

Lumina held out her arm in front of Risa to protect her; she started to take things a bit more seriously as a threat might be coming towards them.

To Be Continued...