Aziel groaned and complained during the whole walk to the classroom. This caused weird glances to be thrown towards Asher, who was dragging along the noticeably larger Aziel and who was being followed by a dispirited Dashiell.
"Stop complaining so much. You still would've ended up taking this class, so just sit down and shut up."
The trio sat down around the middle of the classroom; not too close to the teacher nor too far away. The classroom itself was relatively large and had tables where four students could sit together instead of singular desks. The chairs were made out of wood and were relatively comfortable, but after a long time of sitting down, it would cause your back to hurt.
Dashiell sighed while lowering his head on the table. "We should've brought pillows with us..."
Asher giggled while sitting in between of Aziel and Dashiell. It was nice to cause a bit of pain to those who made trouble for you.
Not long after, the teacher came in and placed his things on his desk. Aziel and Dashiell collectively groaned as they saw the thick books the teacher had carried in. Asher, on the other hand, was excited. He was still unaware of many things involving this world, despite having lived here his whole life.
In the past, Asher had never been too invested in his studies. He was what others would call a below-average student. Many said that he only passed his classes because of his parents' high standing. Asher wasn't the only student who was 'slightly below average', actually. He had seen other people who just didn't find any joy whatsoever in any of the classes Staghaven Middle School provided them. Those students pushed on only because of the school's high rate of producing gifted people and the extracurricular classes. Asher was one of these people, staying only because he didn't want to betray his family's expectations and because he wanted to explore his own little world of art.
Even in his other life, Asher was only average in his studies. There was little to no enjoyment present in all of his classes but one: history. Asher was always fascinated by how history had so many twists and turns and how it was always so full of drama and sometimes even pettiness. The one thing he didn't enjoy about the class wasn't the class itself or how the teacher's taught it (although he did have a preference on how it was taught), but how the teachers and higher-ups hid certain parts of history to 'benefit' themselves or the community. Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln were gay, dammit.
"Good morning, class. I am your history professor, Prof. Smickle. I will be teaching you all about the history of our great nation, Xestal."
Aziel groans quietly. "Not Prof. Smickle..."
"You know him?" Asher stared at Aziel in surprise.
Aziel nodded sullenly. "Yeah. He was chosen to become my personal teacher back in the day. He thinks he can rule over others because he taught me shit, and I hate it."
Asher hummed as he observed Aziel's change in behavior. Asher had only just become 'friends' with them yesterday, so he was glad to know that he was trusted enough to see Aziel's other sides of himself.
Speaking of Aziel, he was glaring towards Prof. Smickle with a dark expression on his face. His hands, which were grabbing the edge of his seat rather tightly, were crackling with chaotic energy. As soon as Asher noticed, he felt himself grow more and more tired as his head began to pound.
Dashiell sharply turned his head to the side as soon as he heard Asher groan. His eyes widened as he stood up, his chair making a screeching noise and attracting other's attention. Dashiell hugged Asher with one arm as the other was used to hug Aziel.
"Aziel, calm down. You're hurting Asher," said Dashiell, his tone unusually serious. Aziel snapped out of his chaotic mental state and began to shake slightly as his hands found their way to Asher's face.
"W-what do y-you mean?"
Asher's headache dissipated once Aziel had return back to normal. However, his energy had been sapped out of him.
Dashiell glanced at Asher and Aziel before stating loudly: "Yo, teacher! My friends aren't feeling all too well, so I'll take them to the infirmary."
"I do not give you permission to-" started Prof. Smickle, but after glancing towards the shaking Aziel, he smiled in a strange manner. "You can go."
Not waiting any longer, Dashiell left the classroom while supporting Asher and Aziel.
"I-I'm okay now. Carry Asher instead and let's hurry to the infirmary," said Aziel, who was shaking less than before. Dashiell wasn't all that convinced but decided to trust him since they both had no idea what had happened to Asher.
Not even five minutes passed and they had already reached the infirmary. Dashiell placed Asher on the bed, who was only half-conscious and closed the door. Thankfully, the nurse wasn't in the infirmary, so they could talk without a worry.
"What the fuck happened back there, Aziel?" Dashiell asked in frustration. He knew of Aziel's powers and how they worked and affected others, but what happened now was something he had no knowledge about.
Aziel said nothing for the first few seconds. He stared at his hands before looking at Asher who had comfortably curled up in the bed with his eyes closed but not yet asleep.
"... I honestly have no idea. Divine power is meant to heal others, not, well, this."
"Divine power?"
Dashiell and Aziel turned their heads to look at Asher. Aziel nodded his head yes while Dashiell sighed.
"Aziel is the Child of Divine."
"... Child of Divine? What's that?"
Aziel busted out laughing at the unexpected question. "How can you not know about the Child of Divine?"
"My family isn't very religious," Asher deadpanned while sitting up. This time, it was Dashiell who busted out laughing.
"That was a good joke."
"I'm not lying."
Dashiell stared at Asher while shaking his head while Aziel chuckled and patted Asher's head. "You shouldn't go around saying that the Pierce's aren't very religious. That could cause your family a lot of harm."
Asher's eyes brightened in understanding as he nodded before grimacing. "Don't tell anyone, then. Now, what's the Child of Divine?"
"The Child of Divine is the person who basically carries out the will of the goddess. The amount of divine power they possess doesn't matter; what does matter is that they are born with the goddess' birthmark," Aziel explained before turning around and revealing the nape of his neck.
The birthmark wasn't like Asher had expected. It was unusually simple with only four unevenly shaped circles; two on the right, one on the left, and one in the very middle.
"There have been times where people faked having the birthmark to earn riches, but then the church found a way to verify who is the real Child of Divine."
Aziel's hand started to shine dimly. Asher subconsciously moved away from the light, as if wanting nothing to do with it. Aziel used a finger to touch the middle circle. Like magic, the birthmark started to shine brightly in a white light. Then, the white light created a pattern of lines that connected the three outer circles to the middle one. After a few seconds passed, the light died out and left only the simple birthmark.
"Wow," Asher breathed out, feeling astonished.
"I know right? I'm a cool motherfucker."
"Why are you talking like that if you are the Child of Divine?" Dashiell said and slapped the top part of Aziel's head before sighing. "But we still haven't figured out why Asher reacted negatively to your divine powers."
Aziel tsked and turned his head while pouting. "I hate it when he gets all serious like this..."
Asher then recalled what happened in the classroom. "If it's any help, I felt as if it sapped all of the energy out of me and my head started hurting. It felt as if we,"
"Weren't compatible," Asher and Aziel said in unison. Aziel's eyes widened as he rubbed his forehead in thought.
"I've only read something similar to what happened to you before," Aziel started. "If I were to use my divine powers against something demonic then they would feel that way. Likewise, if I were to be afflicted with demonic energy then I would feel the same way."
Dashiell looked at Asher and said: "But he doesn't look demonic?"
"No shit, Dashiell," Aziel rolled his eyes and laughed. "Only magical beasts possess demonic energy since they are, in a way demons. But only those who have lived for many years or are extremely powerful possess demonic energy."
Asher nodded as he thought to himself. Could an external force that possesses demonic energy influence someone who doesn't? Asher decided to ask Aziel.
Aziel looked at him in confusion. "Of course not. If it were that way then no one would be using magical beasts as partners."
"But didn't you say that only powerful magical beasts possess demonic energy?"
"I did say that, didn't I... Well, only powerful magical beasts are able to use it. Every magical beast possesses it."
"Then Pithos can use it too?"
The three boys stared at each other.
"What are we even talking about?" Asked Dashiell in confusion.
"Asher, I said that only powerful magical beasts can use it. Pithos is a magical beast, but I'm sure that he isn't able to use it."
Asher looked towards Aziel suspiciously. "But he is powerful?"
"I'm sure he is not."
"But he is?"
Aziel sighed while rubbing his temples in frustration. "Maybe you think he is powerful because you can understand him. But real powerful magical beasts can talk using human language, and Pithos cannot."
"... but he can?"
"... he can?"
Asher and Aziel stared at each other in silence. Dashiell, not standing the confusion, opened the window to let fresh air in and clear his mind.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear."
"Meow~"
Pithos came in through the window and jumped onto Asher's lap before rubbing his face on his stomach. Asher chuckled softly while stroking Pithos' soft fur.
"Look, Pithos. He is the Child of Divine."
Pithos glanced towards Aziel before turning back to look at Asher.
"You are powerful, right?"
The ruby-eyes cat nodded his head and stuck out his chest in arrogance. There was no doubt that he was strong! There are barely any people who can go against him!
Asher laughed while seeing Pithos' reaction. "Then, can you use demonic energy?"
Pithos stared at Asher as if he was stupid for asking that question and nodded before laying down to rest.
Dashiell sighed again before closing the opened window. "Fuck this. I'd rather take history than listen to both of you talk about things I can't understand. I'll tell Prof. Smickle you guys are resting or something."
He then left the infirmary and left Asher, Aziel, and Pithos to himself.
Aziel stared at both Asher in Pithos in wonder. "How did you even get him to follow you? Magical beasts are fickle creatures, not just anyone can tame one."
Asher stroked Pithos' head while replying to Aziel's question. "I didn't tame him and he isn't my magical beast. I can't tell you much because it's a family secret, but Pithos and I became family. He is like my pet, but a bit more like a family."
Aziel nodded while rubbing his temples once again. The situation had just gotten a whole lot more interestingly complicated. He wanted to forget about what happened and talk about normal things with Asher, but he slightly afraid that his presence might hurt him.
"Maybe the way you used your divine powers to express your anger was what caused this?"
"What?" Aziel asked, having not completely understood Asher's question.
"Well," Asher started. "You got mad because of Prof. Smickle, right? Then, your divine powers came out in response to your emotions."
"But my divine powers aren't meant to hurt anyone, especially humans. Even if I did lose control over it because of negative emotions, it would be impossible to do what I just did to you," he explained while shaking his head. He had never needed to learn how to properly control his divine powers because they would only bring peace and healing. His powers would bring harm only to those who possessed demonic blood in their system.
That's when an idea popped into Aziel's head. "What if I check you with my divine powers? I've done this before, so you can rest assured."
Asher was slightly hesitant about accepting Aziel's offer, but seeing his sincere expression made Asher think twice. "Sure, but if I tell you to stop, you stop."
"Yes, okay! Don't worry about it!"
Aziel's expression brightened as he helped Asher lay down on the bed. He closed the curtains and organized his surroundings to make himself feel more comfortable about performing the ceremony.
"It would be best if Pithos stood aside. While my powers might not hurt him, it'd be best to avoid any casualties."
Asher hummed in response and Pithos stood up, stretched, and lept onto the floor. He stood outside of the space Aziel created to keep watch in case anybody comes near.
"Is this even safe?" Asher asked and Aziel laughed.
"Of course it is! As long as I'm not interrupted, my divine powers will not run rampant throughout your body and cause you harm. If it were any other person though, I wouldn't need to worry about something like that."
Despite Aziel wanting to calm Asher down, he had actually made him more anxious than what he already what. Asher kept tapping his finger against the bed to release some of that stress.
"Okay, relax your body and breathe in. Just let the power flow inside of you, try not to reject it."
Asher did as he was told. He cleared his mind and relaxed as soon as he felt something warm drape over him. Many people stated that divine powers were comforting, but it was anything but that for Asher. While it was indeed warm and slightly calming, it was also dreadful. Asher's body wanted to repulse Aziel's divine power, but his willpower overcame those feelings of repulsion.
Not long after, Aziel sucked the divine power back inside of him and released it into the air. Normally, this step would be unnecessary and the divine power would be left inside of the person and would help them heal. However, Asher's special circumstances wouldn't allow Aziel to do this. He also couldn't retrieve that divine power he had just used for himself because he would end up sucking Asher's impurities and it would cause him harm.
"Asher..."
"Yes?"
"What kind of powers do you have inside of you?" Aziel asked, his gaze serious.
Asher didn't fully understand the question, so he replied with: "Air and water."
Aziel shook his head. This wasn't the answer he was looking for. "Asher, you have two different powers inside of you. One of them is demonic, and the other I don't know."
Asher's eyes widened in surprise. He recalled when Pithos had used his magic to help him with the merge of his soul, so maybe Pithos had used some of his demonic energy to help stabilize Asher. However, he was also unaware of the other type of power that was within him. Was Aziel sure that it wasn't divine power? How else could someone have merged his soul if it wasn't with divine power?
Aziel continued. "I'm assuming the demonic power inside of you isn't yours, but Pithos'. And strangely, those two powers inside of you are coexisting and helping to support you in some strange way that I'm still not sure about. However, the demonic energy responds negatively to my divine energy, and that also causes the other unknown power to react negatively to try and fight back the divine power."
"So, Asher, what the fuck is going on in your body?"