Chapter 25 - The Registration(IV)

The Registration(IV)

"Who are you?"

Trix narrowed her eyes at the excited figure. Then she looked at Raven and wondered if the approaching person was his friend.

'Na! Knowing him, he probably is as confused as I. There is no way Raven is capable of making friends with a bubbly person like her. So, who the hell is she?'

The excited girl seemed oblivious to Trix's menacing glare. Her eyes sparkled as she locked eyes with Raven.

Her lips curled to form a slight smile. 'Oh wow, he is just as cute as Blaike mentioned. A bit cold tho, but that works fine. Tch. To think, I almost doubted Mistress Blaike. Sure enough, she has good taste. We will have to fix that broody look.' 

'Oh, where are my manners? Way to leave a bad impression, girl. Did I mess up? Aish! I prolly did. Why do I always mess up? Urgh!' 

The weird girl covered her face in shame as a blush crept onto her skin. 

She peeked at Raven through the gaps between her fingers and squeamishly said, " Ah, yes. I'm Leve. It's nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you, Raven. I mean, so much!"

Raven backed up at the cute aggression spilling over him and coldly said, "I'm sorry. I don't know you. You got the wrong person."

He gestured at Trix and moved away. Clearly, there was something wrong with the girl. Most likely, she had taken a nasty dose of nice kul aid or whatever new drug was circulating nowadays, maybe some terrifying edible. Anyway, he wanted nothing to do with her. Trix was barely enough to manage, not to talk of someone crazier.

"Wait. Wait. I know Mistress Blaike!"

Raven halted his steps and narrowed his eyes, "What did you say?"

"I know who you are. You are Mistress Blaike's famed student as well as Master Kase's son. They could never shut up about you… wait, umm,  d-don't tell her I said that."

"Who is she talking about?" asked Trix as she looked meaningfully at Raven.

Raven ignored her, his mind paced about as an important memory resurfaced in his mind. 'The other day, the old man seemed to want to introduce me to his people. I thought it was merely a group of regular old men, but could there be more than meets the eye?'

His eyes gazed at Leve's attire. Something seemed familiar about it. 

'Yes, that's it!'

Leve's combat attire had the markings of a serpent designed all over it. Raven recollected seeing something similar trailing on Blaike's neck. Kase always wore too many layers of clothing on, but if he had to bet, there had to be a similar tattoo on his body. The mark of some faction.

'So this is what Kase wanted to introduce me to? A gang?' He couldn't deny being interested in this mysterious faction.

What sort of faction has powerful individuals like Blaike and Kase in it? Could this be why Kase was always out at night? Raven always thought that Kase's nightly activities were indeed suspicious. Perhaps he had a mistress. Well, old man Kase was still very much healthy, so he couldn't deny that possibility.

'Heh, I doubt anyone would like that foul mouth. I should have known all along.'

Whilst Trix remained confused by the sudden turn of events, Raven quietly asked, "Who are you?"

"I told you. I'm Leve of the Serpents. I'm your kin. Well, I mean, not yet, but I will be," replied Leve with a smile. She was finally warming up to the heir of the big bosses. 'Wait till the others hear of this. As expected, my plan was perfect.'.

Leve turned to Trix and smiled, "Hey, you must be Rave's friend. I'm Leve… Ugh, you already know that. Sorry, my friends often say I'm too hyper."

Trix chuckled, "Na it's cool. Don't stress it. According to dear Ravey, I'm ultra-hyper. My name is Trix, by the way. Just Trix. I'm guessing we gonna be good friends. But between me and you, what do you think about the examination?"

"Weird. Quirky, even. Something smells stinky."

"I know right!" The two girls smiled at each other, instantly cultivating a strong relationship.

Meanwhile, Raven could barely keep a straight face in front of them. Was the examination weirder than the quick rapport grown between the two?

"Huh, what's that look, Rave?"

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean, Ravey?"

Under the dagger-like eyes of the two, Raven felt sandwiched between attacks from both sides. "I-I-I-"

"SILENCE!"

A thunderous voice echoed in everyone's ear in the hall. Most of the kids shrieked at the sound of the voice. They were terrified at the voice that had appeared out of nowhere. Without thinking, everyone found their heads turning in a particular direction.

On the elevated platform, a man and a woman instantly appeared. The man, poised and handsome, looked disdainfully at the kids and said, "Well. Well. Well. I suppose everyone has gotten acquainted with each other. I see lots of sparks and love. Feels good to compete, doesn't it?"

Raven and co froze in fear as they saw the man. Being especially perceptive, Raven could feel it. The man was terrifying. Despite constraining his aura, his presence spilled all over the hall, enveloping and haunting all other auras. It was as deep and dense as a giant lake, spawning tens of meters.

"What an aura? This man is definitely a Class-3! Is the difference between classes so great? It's just one higher class," squirmed Leve. She was too used to the gentleness of Mistress Blaike and the other master. She had almost forgotten how terrifying these monsters were.

"That's not all. The woman behind him is just as equally terrifying. I don't think I've seen anyone with a more powerful aura than these two ever in my life. Who are they?" said Trix.

Raven nodded as he continued glancing at the two individuals on the elevated platform. He muttered, "They must be in charge of the preliminary round. Is this the might of the Order?"

Everyone thought the same thing; How strong?! It was well known that the more controlled one's aura was, the more powerful the mystic was. However, there were exceptions to that rule. Some peculiar mystics existed with frightening auras that, even while restrained, their auras could still influence their surroundings. These auras could only be birthed through years of hellish experience–experiences that could make one wish for death!

'No, I have seen something like this before.'

As far Raven knew, Blaike and Kase's aura was more intricate than what he was seeing right now. If this aura was a blank canvas, Blaike and Kase's auras were fully developed works of art. Their control over them was so tight that Raven could hardly feel them most of the time.

This made Raven even more perplexed. Who were Kase and Blaike really?

As he went deep in thought, he failed to notice some people were struggling to withstand the pressure of the man's aura. In fact, quite a few had already collapsed to the ground.

"It is bad behaviour to gawk at one's auras. It is even more pathetic to faint in one's presence. Weakness is an affliction of feeble men. I do not like feeble men." 

"I'm Codix Sylvestre, retired black-star officer of the Order's Sentinels. I have fought in twenty wars and sieges, most notably, the Sun War, the Siege of Castezac, the Renegade Disaster, and the Thousand Night Parade. So, allow me to be brutally honest here, speaking from experience, from one soldier to a future soldier—"

The entire crowd went silent as Master Codix took a brief pause as he gazed meaningfully upon everyone present, his mind indiscernible. And then, he spoke with a disdainful stare.

" Amongst the hundreds of you, only a  lucky few will survive the horrors ahead. Some of you wouldn't last four years. Some won't even make it past the year ahead. Tragic, brutal endings await many, with lives cut short and stories left incomplete, unfulfilled and unavenged. The rest of you will endure a life of suffering, burdened with the memories of those who have fallen before you. This isn't a curse— this is your coming reality. "

"This is your becoming. You've chosen this path and there's no turning back. Did you think this road led to glory? No. No. Let me assure you, the path of the supernatural is treacherous and selfish. Mankind was never meant to walk this path, but our stubborn nature drives us, so we will struggle and revolt until nothing remains of us… until everything good has been taken from us."