Raia pushed a couple buttons on a keypad, and the metal door in front of her and Takabi slid open quickly.
It was a small room with a desk and bookshelf. The bed was in the corner by the windows, which were open to reveal an underground canyon. Many people could be seen inside, near and far. The canyon had to be at least as big as the Grand Canyon itself, with a massive amount of glowing rainbow crystals. It was surrounded by countless trees with lush leaves and practically glowing dirt.
Once Takabi stepped inside the room, his body immediately felt heavier than before. He looked at his hands then back to Raia. "What is this place?"
"You're room. You need a place to sleep if you're joining our ranks." She said, strolling over to the bed and sitting down on it. Her gaze moved towards the canyon outside, and a small smile touched her lips. "Beautiful, isn't it? That's the Valley of Magic. The only one of its kind."
"You have that kind of place here," He asked as the room door closed. Takabi moved towards the closet, making note of his suitcase by the bed, then opened the closet doors and looked at the outfits inside. "The place is filled with Mana then, right?"
"Shocking that you know what Mana is," Raia commented.
"I read a lot. It's not a lost concept to fantasy. Mana is magical energy found in nature. It allows people to cast spells of almost any kind. Am I right?"
"Yup, although that's the case for humans. For us, nonhumans, we have Mana inside of us naturally." Raia took a moment to herself. "The Valley is full of Mana Residue, left from the last time Satan tried to cross over into the human universe. It was a massive battle. Killed a lot of people, Angels, Demons and anyone who was unlucky enough to get in the way."
Raia tapped her finger against her chin. "Thinking about it, I think it was the last battle that involved Fallen Angels before they were sealed away."
"Sealed away? What for?" He asked.
Raia looked at him, her eyes widening. He had changed his clothes. A white fleece with black stripes around the left arm, and the zippers black as well. His pants were khaki colored baggy cargo pants and black boots.
"Isn't that a bit too… basic, color wise? There's plenty of other clothes in there ya know." She bit her lip.
"Nah, I like the basics. I don't stand out too much, and I feel super comfortable." He smiled. "An outfit like this fits perfectly for me."
"You're so weird.. But sure," She stood from the bed. "Anyway, you should hurry down to the valley gates. The last part of your initiation starts there. Then we can talk about finding your sister. Sound fair?"
"I mean, I guess so." He patted his fleece and stretched. "Wait, why were the other Fallen Angels sealed away?"
Raia crossed her arms and exhaled. "They were dangerous. Full of bloodlust for their enemies. The constant battle had them lost in violence to the point none could be reasoned with. They killed a lot, and many people weren't even involved in the war."
His mind moved back to Riki. He was holding onto so much pain and anger. He sensed it the second they made physical contact. Why against me though? I didn't do anything wrong.
"Say. That Riki guy. Why does he hate me so much?" Takabi asked.
"It's not you," Raia said, shaking her head and moving towards the door. "He hates your kind. Fallen Angels were the reason his parents died after all."
"What about Nana then," Takabi blurted out. "He told me to stay away from his girl. Is she dating him?"
Raia let a smirk cross her face.
Takabi widened his eyes and looked away. "Not that I care exactly. Just curious."
"No, they're not together. He tried once and got rejected." She said, giggling and opening the door.
Nana was standing there, watching the two. Raia smiled and excused herself as Takabi moved towards the door. "She told me I had to go through another test."
"I heard through the door." Her tone held bitterness. "I'll take you there." She said, almost growling.
Takabi followed Nana down the hall and towards a set of elevators. She pushed one of the buttons that lit up with green, and the gate swung open. "You're on your own from here on. Quick tip, the second you step in that valley, you're gonna feel some serious weight and pain."
"Oh yeah. I felt heavier in my room. I meant to ask Raia about that." He said, but quickly bit his tongue when Nana looked at him. "It's the Mana in the air. I'm sure she told you about the valley's history. The leftover magic from the battle all those years ago developed itself and grew." She placed her hands on her hips.
"Simply put, it changed itself, now it reproduces airborne. The heaviness you felt was the weight of the mana itself. Sometimes it seeps into the rooms, and if your body isn't used to its exposure, it will wear you down. Badly."
"How bad are we talking?"
"It'd be like carrying a planet on your back without any rest. Your muscles will constantly rip and tear the more you move around."
Takabi laughed and turned on his heel. "I'm outta here."
Nana grabbed the collar of his fleece and sighed. "I went through it. Took me a week to recover. We won't let you die down there, trust me."
"Am I gonna run into anyone else down there," He asked, walking into the elevator.
Shaking her head, she pushed the green button. "Nope. Each zone is isolated due to the size of the valley. Also keeps the dinosaurs from eating one another."
Takabi nodded at first until it registered in his head what she had said. Before he could question, the elevator dropped like a rocket into the darkness. Takabi felt the shaking of the elevator so much and stumbled around that when it finally stopped and opened up, he dropped into the valley and immediately felt the effects of the magic.
His muscles roared at him with heavy pain. His bones felt like they were going to be crushed and turned to jello. Even as he lifted his head, his skull felt compressed, like it was going to explode out the top and rain out pieces of his brain.
"FUCK," He yelled, attempting to crawl forward. "God damn it!"
Each word took so much air to utter, and his lungs barely expanded for him to breath.
The ground began to shake, heavy footsteps filling his ears. His eyes shot up in front of him, a massive T-rex standing overhead and sniffing him. At first it didn't move much, but once it opened its jaws, and the jagged rows of teeth entered Takabi's vision, it shot forward to swallow him whole.
With a deep breath and cry of pain, Takabi pushed himself up and leapt under the dinosaur, tumbling under its tail and through the bushes. Due to his increased weight, his body kept rolling until he slipped off a cliff and descended like a boulder into the canyon.
"My whole body feels like lead! Come on, move damn it!" He growled.
Against the pressure of the mana, he attempted to raise his left arm and immediately felt his shoulder blade snap. The pain made his mind go blank for a few seconds until he felt something strange. The pain was fading away. It was easing, and the broken bone felt like it was repairing itself.
"Magic.. Magic, I can use magic right! So maybe I don't need my body specifically!" The winds ripped at his body, hair flowing wildly as he continued to fall. His eyes pierced through the darkness of the canyon, and he could see the bottom. Rainbow colored trees and water. With it, the cold hard ground, covered in massive crystals.
Willing his flames forth, the fire erupted around his body. Shaping the flames like limbs, he used the heat to roll and sprawl out, grabbing onto crystals at his sides before one ripped through his stomach. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he took a massive exhale of breath before breathing back in and maneuvering himself out of harm's way.
Once on the ground, he expelled the flames and fell on his rear, taking in short breaths and looked at the flowing river. "We won't let you die, trust me," He said in a mocking tone as he stood. "What the hell am I supposed to do anyway?" He asked no one in particular. It wasn't like they could hear him anyway, so why waste his air?
The first step felt like he was trying to drag a tank. Each muscle in his arms and legs tore, and he fell flat on his face, pain rushing through his body. Despite this, he could feel it again. His body quickly repaired itself. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the floor in an audible grunt.
"That's helpful… I wonder if this place has healing properties." He muttered, getting to his feet. "So essentially, no matter how badly I break my body, it will heal right back up. Great." He smirked, quickly speed walking off to find a way back up to the surface.
----------------------------------
Nana squeezed Beowulf's shoulder, tight enough that she drew a bit of blood with her nails. "I… have no words… For what we just witnessed.."
The computer room was empty aside from Shink, the two former and Raia. Riki was there as well, hidden in the dark corners and watching the monitors intently, gritting his teeth.
"Remarkable," Shink commented. "His body should have been destroyed like that. That's quite the healing factor he has."
"Wait, you mean that wasn't the magic in the valley healing him," Beowulf asked, and Shink shook his head.
"Of course not, my boy. Take a look at the other newcomers. They're barely moving because they already broke a bone or two. I will say exposure to the magic in the valley does result in a slightly increased healing ability but… Takabi there… That boy broke his body twice already, and got back up as if it never happened."
The room went silent for a moment, to the point Nana began to grow antsy again and sit in one of the wheeled chairs. She hunched over, hands on her lap and bawled into tight fists.
"Huh. That's weird." Beowulf said.
Nana looked at him as he kept speaking. "Well, it's just that… Normally, people with magic only give off one signature. Takabi there, just now…"
"What? Did he not have one," Raia suggested.
"No. In fact, just the opposite. He had three."
"Three?!" Nana repeated, jumping from her seat. "How?! That's not possible! I mean, two would be explainable, he's a Fallen Angel after all and they're known for their light and dark power sources. It's in their souls."
"That's just it, Nana. When I examine the signatures closely, the one at the surface is a perfect blend of those light and dark powers. They're melded together so well they give off a single signature. Underneath that, there's two more. Those are similar to light and dark. Maybe it's a malfunction with the machine." Beowulf began typing away, opening up another screen of code on the computer. "I'll scan him over again, double check and make sure there's not something we're missing."
Shink touched his beard, eyes focused on Takabi as he rushed across the screen along the riverside. ".... It couldn't be… Could it?"
"You say something, gramps," Nana asked, walking next to him, and he shook his head.
"No, my dear. Nothing."
Raia watched Shink. She knew what he was thinking, and wanted to dismiss the very idea. Based on what Beowulf just said, and the feats he's shown so far, it didn't seem completely impossible however, and that's what scared her.
Hey. I hope you guys are all set down there. Riki used telepathy to set up something ahead of time. His group of friends lay in wait in the trees. One of them held a massive sword on his back, with a piece of the metal carved away like a crescent moon towards the top. His face had a visible scar on his cheek that was a simple line that ran onto his jawline. He wore a black headband, was about seven feet tall and wore a simple brown jumpsuit with bloodstains on the sides. The rest of the group behind him were simple no names, people dressed in blank faced white masks and black cloaks.
"Yeah, Riki… We're ready." The man said. He looked to be in his twenties.
Then the operation is a go. Kill that scum, Riki replied.