Rhaegah sat in his room staring at his computer scrolling through the numerous emails Kaneko had left him. Rhaegah had returned to earth without Herke this time due to them needing all hands to prepare for the journey to Primordial Island. From Auia, Nygel and Symmone's briefing, the elementals were a race of mortalized elements..... Literally.
There are no actual records of their true origin but they have been in existence before the other mortal races. The elementals had their forms based on their element contained in a mortal frame and besides being apart from the rest of the continent, they have no knowledge of the term dragon-born.
Another interesting thing was that Rhaegah's methods of using magic have been described as similar to an elemental's which made him even more interested in meeting this race.
'MEET ME OUTSIDE THE FUNDAMENTALS TOMORROW..... I KNOW YOU'LL SEE THIS BEFORE TIME' the words were boldly printed on his screen from Kaneko. Rhaegah began to wonder how Kaneko even knew that much about the research facility anyway.
Dr Mansdak and Anna obviously knew him judging by the doctor reacted upon realizing that he was the person Kaneko spoke of. "Kaneko's been at it again huh?" he says out loud with an excited smile. Thinking back he realizes that Kaneko had always been resourceful the three years he'd known him as he would always have a means of getting things done.
Suddenly he felt a sudden weight on his laps turning his attention to the yawning cat begging for attention. The furball sat still letting Rhaegah take in the fact that his deep brown stripes had become prominent. "Are you trying to discuss age with me?" Rhaegah asked with a raised eyebrow frowning when Mittens looks him head to toe then jumps off to the ground heading for his personal space in the room.
"Guess who's feeding you tonight" Rhaegah asked with a devilish smile. Mittens was obviously incapable of understanding what Rhaegah had just said but that look on his face was all the poor cat needed to realize that he had played too close to fire at some point.
He looks to his phone at the sound of a notification that he had a message just as Mittens hopped onto his laps purring the moment he got comfortable. He remembered he had to meet with Walter today. 'WE'RE STEPPING YOUR TRAINING UP A NOTCH SO PREPARE FOR THAT.....AND HOW IS THAT LOVELY MITTENS?'
Rhaegah stared at the gauntlet that had refused to come off his arm. They had tried several methods attempting to take it off and none had worked giving Rhaegah the impression that this was going to be a rather 'different' training session today.
He put on his signature black hoodie, strapped his backpack and headed out pulling the sleeve to cover the gauntlet as he began working up a story for when the question came up. On getting to the door leading into the basement his phone rings and he answers it to hear Walter's dissapointed voice.
"I had to head back to work" Walter said over the phone leaving Rhaegah stunned that he had narrowly escaped trouble. "Stick to the programme and rate your skills..... That's one thing I'm confident you honestly do".
"What programme?" Rhaegah asked
"That's so like you... Not why didn't I remain or what could've happened to make me skip practice".
The sound of traffic coming from the other side of the call made Rhaegah sure that he was indeed on the move. "I'll follow whatever programme it is then" Rhaegah replied and with that he walked into the basement ready to kill two birds with one stone.
Thirty minutes flew by miserably as Rhaegah sat legs crossed at the center of the basement as though meditating. "This is obviously not working" he exclaims getting up "What did Auia mean by find your core?" he states in frustration. Auia had explained to him that spells are cast after proper reciting of chants.
The chants however are unique as one cannot use another's chant to cast a spell even when manipulating the same element or magic. He shakes it off and heads to the console as the screen lit up turning Rhaegah's expression sour.
The image of a bow spun at a fixed point as though teasing him. He had been trying to avoid using the bow as a result of how dangerously good he was with it and this was without practice. He picks up the bow that hung on the wall walking to the centre. The console beeped once he stopped at the center. He took a deep breath and notched an arrow from the quiver he strapped on picking up the bow. Suddenly the basement went dead silent letting his own breathing become the loudest sound present.
The spring of a mannequin rising behind him smashed the silence driving Rhaegah's attention to the figure behind him. He took a sharp spin and released the arrow sending it flying into the mannequin's head. He showed no sign of rest as another sprung up from the left. He released an arrow he didn't even realize he took out.
Arrow after arrow stuck themselves in the heads of all the mannequins that rose as threats. Rhaegah let out a large sigh taking in the sight of what remained after this session. The mannequins that had been shot numbered over fifty within the short two minutes of the session reassuring Rhaegah that he could be a demon with this which was what scared him.
A final mannequin popped out from the pile before an arrow bore its way through the mannequin's head. The arrow head glowed dark red making Rhaegah turn his gaze to the gauntlet which was now glowing in resonance with the arrow. He took out another arrow as an idea popped in his head.
He had forgotten the basics of fantasy worlds. Magic is the most flexible concept in existence which led to the experiment he was trying out. He notched the arrow and with a deep breath he channelled his mana into the arrow. The gauntlet glowed dark red before sparks then crackles of lightning could be seen curling around his right arm before flowing onto the arrow aimed at an unlucky mannequin that picked the wrongest time to pop up.
The arrow tore through the air at a speed not many could see. The mannequin suddenly dropped to the ground giving the impression that it's power source was cut off.
A hole suddenly blew open from the back of its head followed by the sound of lightning crackles from the wall behind the mannequin. The arrow had gone through the head but was too fast to register the damage until after the lightning crackles connected with it.
The lightning was focused at the head of the arrow making it instantly disintegrating the object it came in contact with. He then proceeded to the console that had a notification stating he had cleared the programme on the first try ending the session. "Well that's that" he chuckled staring at the bow upon realizing that he was now left to do whatever he wanted for the remainder of the training session.
Waving his right arm he notices that the weight of the gauntlet was nonexistent making him even more curious. Aphadon obviously knew or had a really good idea of what it was but refused to tell him. The elf commander only insisted Rhaegah follows the group to the elementals if he wanted to find out more.
He began to wonder why he was on earth in the first place as his power was something that was entirely Valoren's. His earliest memories were of the family he grew up with....something he wanted to forget. He wondered who his parents really were and why they would leave him on a different world. He had been completely still throughout and with the forming of a fist the gauntlet went into a frenzy lashing out at the disruption of his mana flow.
He battled the pain as random images flashed in his mind until a disrupted image of himself could be seen. This version of Rhaegah seemed lifeless as though he had been starved of everything. Rhaegah opened his eyes to meet the same disrupted figure of himself standing before him.
The disrupted Rhaegah looked into his eyes as hope was restored in him. He reached out to touch Rhaegah's chest before dissipating. Rhaegah suddenly realized what just occurred..... He just met his core. He then suddenly felt his mana stabilize as the pain from the gauntlet subsided and began glowing in synch with the glow in Rhaegah's eyes...The red of his eyes burning red leaving trails as he looked around the room. "Tremble, and beware my light.....Dragon Cry"
Lightning crackles burst from the bright blue mandala that formed around him spreading in the form of a grand wave reaching every corner of the basement even frying the console as smoke rose from the broken screen.
The image of Rhaegah was displayed on a certain screen in a pitch black room until a surge disabled the camera feed making the figure watching let out a slight laugh "You must grow powerful even more" the figure said before turning the screen off plunging the room into complete darkness.
Rhaegah's eyes lit up with excitement realizing what just happened..... He just learned his first spell even though he now understood a little more about the gauntlet. He would have to always keep his mana flow in check to avoid any conflict between himself and the new accessory he couldn't possibly take off.
"Walter's gonna flip when he stumbles on this" he said with an evil chuckle walking towards his backpack. He makes a mental note to stop by the store to get Mittens a treat before heading home. He took a glance at the room now lit up with emergency lights after the surge left the primary white light got fried.
He steps out of the store a few blocks from the park and headed home with a bag full of edibles alongside another bag of groceries. Rhaegah stopped suddenly and turned into a nearby alley putting both bags down carefully and turning around to meet a hooded figure in not so 21st century clothing simply staring back at him.
"How did you know I was tailing you?" the figure spoke in a muffled voice. "You probably already know why so get to the part where you state your business" Rhaegah shot back showing no signs of dropping his guard.
"That thing on your arm is a god artifact which has chosen to bond with you" the figure spoke again "Trouble awaits your arrival on Primordial"
Rhaegah took a step forward "You must be Larcell" he stated now standing a few feet from the hooded figure. "Nygel already filled me in on how you work... At least to the best of his knowledge" he added.
"Why do you trust Nygel so?" Larcell asked noticing that Rhaegah now seemed slightly more relaxed at the realization that this was someone Nygel considered an ally.
"I don't" Rhaegah instantly replied surprising larcell who did not find anything but absolute truth in those words.
"Fortunately I am not your enemy but I am still far from being a friend" Larcell said before vanishing similar to Nygel's teleportation.
"Well that clears that up" Rhaegah said picking up his bags and resumed his journey home "That almost felt like I was talking to...... Kaneko?" he exclaimed on seeing Kaneko standing outside his house with a tired look on his face
"I've been knocking for hours now" the Asian boy stated with a twitch in his eye.
"Did you try calling my phone?" Rhaegah replied blankly increasing the intensity of the twitch in Kaneko's eye upon realizing that Rhaegah had a point. He did not attempt to call him and just assumed Rhaegah was home. "Couldn't wait till tomorrow?" Rhaegah asked as Kaneko shrugged in response.
They walk into the house to be greeted with a meow from Mittens who was excited at the familiar sight of his favourite snack. He rubbed himself against Rhaegah looking up at random intervals as if to confirm whether his charm was taking effect "You ain't fooling me with that" Rhaegah pointed out before walking towards the kitchen where Mittens' bowl sat where he had placed it. He poured generously into the bowl and made his way to the living room leaving Mittens to feast to his satisfaction.
"Softie" Kaneko teased and on seeing the slight twitch in Rhaegah he continued, seriousness apparent on his face. "The research facility is way more than what Dr Mansdak would have you believe" Rhaegah's blank expression told him that he already figured the good Dr was not telling him everything if not anything at all.
"Anna filled me in on your tour" he continued "The real purpose of the facility is...wait for it... Magic" Kaneko finished with a grin "Can you believe that? They believe that the truth of the past lies in the magic arts that existed then and they believe with that they can unlock a nigh infinite amount of possibilities for the future". Rhaegah said nothing keeping his gaze on Kaneko. "They haven't been able to discover anything though which makes me think that even that is a lie or at least another front"
"And what is your personal opinion about that place?" Rhaegah asked focussing even more on the boy sitting across from him.
"Anna knows something but is not willing to tell me anything.....but you on the other hand" he smiles dubiously "She's taken a weird liking to you and insists you join them.....She could be willing to share that information with you". Rhaegah then relaxed into the chair he sat
"I'm guessing tomorrow is another meeting you set up"
"Yup"
"One sure way to get all the information you want is to join their attachment programme provided for certain graduates" Kaneko suggested making Rhaegah wince at the comment. Figuring out what they were up to sounded like paradise but the thought of being subjected to a restrictive system like that made him question his resolve.
He wasn't one to follow instructions to the letter. "And the best part is that Anna's division is under instructions from the founder himself". Kaneko stated before picking up a stuffed Mittens who seemed to find it difficult to move with all he had stuffed himself with. "Think about it"
Rhaegah noticed something peculiar about Kaneko bringing his attention to Kaneko's eyes. The gold and hazel blend had become a dark red colour still nowhere as bright or red as his when his powers are active. He chose not to bring it up knowing that Kaneko would always find a way to divert from conversations concerning his eyes.
Kaneko was someone he should be able to tell everything about Valoren but Rhaegah's trust level is never at a hundred percent. "But have you ever considered the possibility that magic does exist?" Rhaegah asked making Kaneko lean his head back with a sigh
"Magic is what the primitive minds of modern society refer to as 'The Advancement Of Science'" he replied
"I see" Rhaegah commented ending the conversation.
Not only did Rhaegah now have at least some information on the research facility, he had a man on the inside who was completely oblivious to the existence of the gauntlet under the sleeves of his hoodie. These thoughts crossed his mind as he watched Kaneko stroke Mittens' fur much to the creature's delight. "I'm still yet to find out what you've been up to.....you seem to be taking weekends off" Kaneko stated staring at Rhaegah with suspicious eyes. "A man's allowed a life is he not?" Rhaegah replied before getting up just as Mittens raised his head looking up the stairs as the sound of rumbling could be heard coming from Rhaegah's room.
Kaneko raised an eyebrow before tossing a devious grin towards Rhaegah. "I'm gonna leave now seeing as your GUEST is still around" he teased before putting Mittens down and headed for the door "Tell her I said hi" he added before heading out.
Rhaegah raced up the stairs the moment the door closed shut stopping a step before his room. He took a deep breath shutting his eyes to focus. The sound of footsteps coming towards the door made him even more cautious knowing he left nobody home. He pushes the door open to come face to face with Herke.
"What are you doing here? I had you pegged as a burglar or worse... An elf with a grudge" Rhaegah exclaimed at the young man rubbing his blonde hair in defeat "Sorry about that but this is important" Rhaegah tensed up wondering what could be so important that Herke had to come over unannounced.
"I understand the confusion and that is exactly why I am here... to present a means of still being in contact with you without the need of a portal coming in when we have no knowledge of what could be occurring here" he explained panting still "The mana drain from opening a portal seems like its ridiculous" he thought to himself. Suddenly Herke's attention was drawn to Mittens who had strolled in. "And the special guest arrives" Herke states with a smile.
"I have to perform a mortal contract with Mittens" he stated looking straight at Rhaegah who did not even have the words. "Wuh!?" he finally blurts out. "Fear not... He will not come to harm. This is like the contract we formed only a step further" Herke states again before taking a slight bow "May I?". Rhaegah looked at the creature in question who looked at him with what could easily be interpreted as 'Do what you will'. Rhaegah took that as a go ahead and gestured for Herke to begin.
Herke sat legs crossed staring at the cat who did not seem perturbed with the light that shown from where circles of light lay beneath him.
"The heavens bear witness"
"In the presence of an anchor"
"A pact formed in mutual standing"
"By mortal binds"
"We seal this contract"
Rhaegah watched with keen interest as to how a summoner enters a contract with the creatures they summon. He felt mana leave him and flow to the space between Herke and Mittens just as something akin to an aura flowed from the two then bonded with Rhaegah's mana before then returning to their respective hosts. Rhaegah felt mana flow into him causing him to close his eyes trying to digest what just happened.
He opens his eyes to see Herke now much larger than himself staring down at him. He blinked hard to now find himself staring down at Mittens causing him to rub his eyes as there was a slight blur in his vision on both occasions.
He then opens his eyes to find himself back in his initial position staring at Herke and Mittens as the diminishing glow of the mandala signified the end of the spell. "What just happened?" Rhaegah asked Herke who was now standing facing him. "We have formed a contract under mortal binds" Herke replied and on seeing Rhaegah's raised eyebrow he continues "We formed a contract using our psyche but we needed a mutual ground which we decided would be you since we both have connections with you. Though the spell for a contract differs among creatures, this was formed by the very words Mittens provided" Rhaegah put his hands in his pockets closing his eyes to see two clear images Herke and Mittens circling around him in this pitch black realm. "I've gotten better at this" he thought to himself opening his eyes "I'm guessing that's why I felt mana leave me"
"Precisely so" Herke picked up the sleeping cat "Your mana acts as the true bind of this contract which makes you the source of mana holding this contract together" he says before taking a seat "I used up too much mana opening the portal and that contract also had a high mana requirement" he added before relaxing in the chair begging for sleep.
Rhaegah took in the sight of Herke arched back already asleep and the cat taking a comfortable nap on his laps before quietly leaving the room shutting the door with care not wanting to wake them and headed downstairs with his laptop in hand.
Rhaegah had been digging up any information about Legion High he could get his hands on trying to further increase his knowledge of the Island school. With graduation coming in a few months he had little time to conclude on what action to take from then on out. He paused at the sight of an article on his screen talking about sensitive information about the island the school was built on.
The article pointed out that the island had been inaccessible to the general public by some government officials reporting all manner of paranormal activities that occurred on the island just a few weeks before the construction of the school began questioning why this was not made public knowledge before admitting students who's parents and they the students were unaware of this information.
Judging from the last statement Rhaegah concluded that whoever put up this article was just rebuking the actions of the government who were willing to expose their students to all sorts of unknown experiences not caring for their well-being. Looking at the handle which read 'schoolissacred764' he confirmed his conclusion and ended his search on the dark web.
What are the odds that the paranormal activities were related were related to why the research facility was built on such land just as his alarm notified him of the time that was now 10:45pm. He decided to retire for the night and took a comfortable position on his couch and drifted into the darkness.
Matching his expectations though slightly different, he finds himself on a set of stairs leading down the remains of a castle. He stopped before the throne room blocked by a pair of thick drapes but this time there was something different. The gap between the drapes let out a ray of red light contrary to the natural moonlight he was expecting.
He pushed the curtains aside to find the throne room very different than he left it. This had become his most personal space and now something had messed with it. The throne room was still the same in structure [See First Chapter] but now there were rows of torches lit with bright red flames on both sides of the room.
The room looked even worse than when he last saw it and even that was a mess. He took cautious steps into the throne room scanning the room for whatever might have caused this. Getting closer to the throne he starts to feel a sinister pressure lash out at him as though he was invading another's territory.
He looked in the direction of the source of this pressure to find a figure completely cloaked in black aura with a flash of red and dark violet seeping out at regular intervals. Nothing but the burning red glow of the eyes were visible. He began to feel himself coming in contact with a barrier that wasn't strong enough to keep him from getting closer but wasn't so weak that he could easily push through.
He struggled as an opposing force pushed him farther away from the throne letting him get a glimpse of the area behind the throne. The massive door was gone save for the dragon inscription which was suspended in the air blocking the overly large hole behind it.
The figure sat with all authority on the throne resting its head on its right hand. Just as Rhaegah thought he couldn't be more confused, he realized that he had still seen nothing as a dark violet glow on its right arm brought the image of the gauntlet to light making Rhaegah look at his arm to find the gauntlet missing as a rumble shook the castle itself.
Two massive orbs he recognized as the dragon's eyes stopped on contact with the inscription blocking the hole. The figure raised its head and with that slight gesture, the inscription shattered letting the dragon venture into the throne room. The dragon seemed significantly smaller compared to when he first saw it as he could never have pictured that dragon would fit in such a small space as this.
Though smaller, the dragon still found it difficult to stand or move freely in the throne room due to its size threatening to crumble the walls. The dragon curled its tail blocking Rhaegah's path back to the stairs and leaned forward till its head was next to the throne. The figure on the throne got up after his hand touched the dragon's head pushing Rhaegah down with even more pressure.
The dragon-born raised his head to see the outstretched hand of the figure in darkness who seemed to have the dragon under its control just as the dragon reached for him jaws wide to devour him.
Rhaegah shot up from his sleep looking around and sighing in relief as the familiar setting of the house relaxed him. He touched his shirt to feel it soaked with sweat looking at the time which now read 6:33am. "As good a time as any" he said before heading upstairs...his mind now unable to remain settled with thoughts as to what this meant. His dream had been altered yet again but this time felt realer than the others and that sinister pressure was something he would definitely not be willing to get involved with.
He walked into his room surprised when he only found Mittens sleeping lazily on his bed and Herke nowhere to be found. A piece of paper on his desk caught his attention which he picked up and read.
'I am heading back but I will be in contact with you as to the possibility of you returning here to make final preparations for the journey's the letter wrote making Rhaegah hurry even more as he had the meeting with Anna Kaneko had set up for him dropping the letter unaware of the text behind it 'I SUGGEST YOU TAKE CAUTION IN ANYTHING RELATED TO YOUR SCHOOL...NYGEL BELIEVES THERE IS SOMETHING NOT RIGHT ABOUT IT.....AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME USE YOUR BED'
Rhaegah took a quick shower and got dressed. He put on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black T-shirt with a depiction of the galaxy. He put on his high top Chelsea boots and put his signature black hoodie with cut gloves covering the gauntlet on his arm.
Looking at the gauntlet now he realizes that the gauntlet had somehow shrunk and was looking more like a skin tight strap around his arm. He heads out not catching the curious eyes Mittens shot his way and with fast paced steps heads towards Legion High.
Getting to school he takes a different turn from other students going about their school vibes. The sound of cars invading his head turning to see a couple guys revving their engines in a battle to tell who was more macho. The sound of girls laughing among themselves as they went about their business made Rhaegah realize how he wasn't in any way feeling left out as he didn't really care for the typical life. He stops at the door of the fundamentals sector just as it slides open telling him they were aware he had arrived.
He walked down the corridor he recognized before reacting to the sound of a door opening on his right he wasn't expecting. He relaxed seeing Anna standing right there with the same labcoat on. "Come in.....We've been expecting you" she said as the door slid shut behind him "I was to show this to the whole team later but since you're here I might as well show you" she said walking to a nearby screen tapping the screen to bring up a clip before turning the screen to Rhaegah who was now frozen as the clip played on.
Two figures were seen in a dark alleyway as unconscious bodies lay around before a portal opened up and both figures walked through it. That clip was from when Nygel took him to Valoren after he was ambushed by the dark elves.
"We have no means of identifying who any of them are and the scene was clean when we arrived there yesterday but this clip is definitely real" Anna stated before walking to another screen "Where did you get that clip?" he asked her which she replied by pointing at the screen she was now standing beside "Hello Rhaegah" a voice could be heard from the screen though there was no video feed.
"I am the proud founder of this paradise school and I expect you know what that means" the fact that the man speaking said that gave Rhaegah the impression that Anna was unaware that he was also Rhaegah's benefactor. "I believe I do" he replied "He sends us information and documents we need to further research on" Anna said before looking Rhaegah dead in the eye "Do you believe in magic?"