The Shadow's Embrace

Volume 1

IvernedIt

Illustrations here:

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Chapter 1: The beginning with the end

The wind breezed by me as I ran. Lighting followed me in my wake as I pushed through the prickled bushes, a gash opening in my right leg as I passed. The rays of the moon briefly bathed me, casting shadows in all directions as I ran past the bushes. The only sight in view was the alluring bark of the trees. I stopped to catch my breath; it was dead silent except for the crickets chirping. A voice appeared inside my head.

"𝐆𝐨!"

I broke into a run, a storm surfing behind me as I moved. The sound of lightning cracked like a whip at the spot I just left.

𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴��𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦?

𝑯𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕.

"Shut up. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I just want it to end."

The voice continued to probe me. 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅.

"Shut up! It wasn't even my ch-"

𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑, 𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒔, 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒍.

The feel of the grass became squishier as I progressed.

𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵?

Lightning crackled behind me. Closer than before. I came into a clearing, my ears filled with brief silence followed by the hiss of a stream. I came into a clearing at last. A river flowed like a spear down a creek surrounded by trees. The river reflected the full moon, illuminating the space around it.

"Shit. What are we going to do now? I'm in no condition to swim."

Footsteps echoed behind me.

"Well it looks like the little mouse has finally been cornered."

I was hesitant to face him. Blood trickled down, dyeing my blazer red. There were no other sounds around me now. My breath filled my ears. The reflection of the moon expanded, shining down on where my pursuer and I were standing. I slowly began to turn around, desperately trying to formulate a solution to get me out of this god-forsaken situation.

"Too late." He said, A javelin of lightning struck at my side. I squeezed my eyes shut.

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

2

Now as I'm about to taste the cold kiss of death, let's rewind back to the beginning. Before that though, let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Viri Inumbro and I hate my family. My early life was simple and more or less normal. I lived in New England with my parents, mostly in solitude from the outside world. I went to a school with ten other students in my class for all of elementary and middle school. I wasn't close with anyone, but that didn't stop me from doing well in my studies. It wasn't until high school when my life began to get more difficult (and I hated challenges). My parents shipped me off to high school in Boston, but it wasn't any normal school, it was a school for mages, Hartford Academy.

Turns out I came from a long line of mages, the Inumbro guild. The school looked very Victorian, dark brown buildings, wooden spiral staircases, red banners hung down from every marble floor bearing the HA insignia of the school. Each classroom had metal chairs and brown wooden desks. Most classes still had chalkboards as well. It was a place that shouldn't belong in this era. There were around 500 students attending when I came to Heartford. During my first year, most of my classes were based on bringing out what mages called "Signature Spells''. Each mage family had one. It was an archetype of magic that was exclusive to your family and was the only type of magic they could use.

I remembered one of my first days in my class. I looked around in my Spell Seeker classroom to see others trying out their types of magic. A blond girl with gorgeous green eyes held a brown pot with just soil in it.

𝘏𝘦𝘩, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦.

She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. Small beads of sweat dripped down her head as she continued to focus on the small pot in her hand. The other twenty students gathered around her desk to watch the spectacle.

"Kyah!"

She opened her eyes with great speed. She glanced down at the pot. A small flower with yellow petals had sprung from the center. The professor had also come over to get a good view.

"Splendid, Ms. Bellis. Your parents will be bewildered to hear you can already use your family's magic on the 3rd day of class."

He put his hands together and began to clap. We all followed. Her face turned as pink as peaches.

"Students. It seems you are ready after all to manifest your family's magic. Form a line and show us what you can do."

I gulped so loudly that everyone in the room could hear. The second kid in line had spiky black hair and red eyes. His look perfectly matched our black uniforms and reminded me of a vampire. He pulled out a small knife, bringing out a worried face from the teacher.

"Relax pops, this is part of the show," He smirked, his face full of arrogance.

He pulled off his white surgical gloves (big germaphobe I assumed). He made a small cut on the outside of his thumb. Blood began to trickle out, but before it could plummet, he stuck out his free hand. It froze in mid-air. He wiggled his fingers up and down, manipulating the blood's form and expanding it.

"Here ya go. Pretty dope, right? Where's my praise?"

The droplet had transformed into a small teddy bear. He moved it into his hands.

"Would any lucky lady be my valentine?" he said mockingly.

The ten girls in the class all turned away in unison, clearly filled with disgust. He made the bear walk around in his hand before transforming it back into a blob. He returned it to the cut, sealing it up and returned to his seat, his gloves once again on.

"Thank you, Mr. Sanguino."

There were two more people before me. The first one shot water out of his drinking cup, it soaked his whole uniform wet and he had to go get changed. The guy behind him was dirty blond and had dark red eyes. He was pretty good looking. If I was a girl, I probably would have fallen for him at first sight. He held open his hand. Red sparks spawned from the center jumping around like a rabid animal. More sparks began to build up. A sharp item began to form in his palm, but before it could fully form, he closed his palm.

"Thank you Mr. Fulmen. Next please."

It was my turn at last. My parents never told me what kind of power we had, but they said it had to do with our last name.

𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤....

I took my stride nice and smoothly to the center of the room. In reality it was more like the hobble of a senior, but I managed. I didn't even know where to start.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? 𝘕𝘰. 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣-

"Mr. Inumbro."

My head lurched up to face his menacing glare.

"Y-Yes?"

"Would you care to show your family's Signature Spell?"

My heart was jumping out of my chest.

"I...uh….I."

"You what?" Sanguino said.

"Quiet, Mr. Sanguino."

I looked up with the most earnest look I could manifest.

"I don't know." I said quietly.

"Come again?" He faced his ear towards me.

"I don't know. My parents never told me what kind of magic we could create."

The irritated look changed to one of pity.

"Oh...I see. Well you can take a seat. You must be a late bloomer."

That was the end of it. I kept my head down as I walked back to my seat. It was dead quiet as I did. I struggled to get into my seat, but at last I sat down. As my head hit the desk, the idle chatter around the room resumed as more students walked up to display their magic. I swore I heard a voice laughing behind me, but as I turned around, another student was presenting and no one was talking anymore.

Later that day I was sitting alone at lunch in the cafeteria. The cafeteria was large, but it was vacant. Most students had clubs to go to where they spent their lunch time. Almost all of those clubs revolved around magic so of course I didn't stand a chance of getting in. The only other people that lived at these square tables besides myself were 4th years who were too busy to continue their clubs and pursue their studies here (non-magical). There were also a few other loners, but I did not concern myself with them. The dude with the eye patch at the table across from me was looking my way. I buried my head into my book and continued to snack on my meatloaf. Footsteps echoed towards me.

𝘜𝘨𝘩. 𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺?

"Look here, I don't need anything from you. I'm fine just the way I am so just leave me al--"

I looked up while I was giving my speech. It was someone I didn't expect to ever talk to me outside of class. Actually, the chances of talking in class were just as slim.

"Oh...I'm sorry for bothering you, Viri. I'll go back no--"

"Wait! Wait! That's ok. I thought you were someone else. Now what brings you to my lair?"

I sat up on the bench with my back straight up. It was Fiona Bellis. She was an angel and her plant magic earlier was really cool for a first year. She put her two pointer fingers together and began to slightly fidget.

"I saw that you weren't able to use your magic today. Those other kids should have treated you better. "

She got closer to me. Something started to rise and it wasn't just my heartbeat.

"You know, my dad was a late bloomer too. He told me he wasn't able to form his vine magic until he was a 3rd year so don't worry! I have faith that it will come sooner than that."

She curled some of her long golden locks around her finger. She really was a pleasure just to look at. I made a silent fist pump under the table. How lame was I?

"That's very nice of you to say, F-Fiona. It means a lot. "

I put down my book and started itching my neck, a habit of mine. I also slicked my hair back as if it would increase my appeal at all. I knew it wouldn't.

"Would you…. like to eat here with...me?"

I don't really know why I asked her. I had never really spoken to a girl besides my mom and there's no way that counted. I always sat alone and I was content with that. But when I saw her kind verdant eyes, I knew. She was someone I wanted to be associated with, even if she rejected me, I had to throw my hat in the ring. I looked at her soft face as earnestly as I could (which doesn't say much for someone as plain looking like myself). She put a finger to her lip.

"Ok...yea. I haven't joined a club anyway."

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥… 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰…

She walked to the right side of me where the rest of the vacant seats were. She slid her hands down the back of her skirt as she sat down.

𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦.

My heart beat felt like it was going into overdrive. Her eyes filled my mind with the sight of a tranquil forest and her long golden hair gave me a sense of royalty when I gazed upon it. Her smile was genuine even when mine was so half assed. Just being in her vicinity filled my heart with joy and hope. She kept talking to me. Asking about my family and what my life was like before coming here. I smiled and talked to her until the lunch bell rang. No one had ever approached me this way before.

It seemed she was as fond of me as I was of her. Every day we would meet up at lunch and chat. I was filled with bliss whenever I saw her golden locks coming my way. She was special to me, I finally had someone in my corner.

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 ���𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥.

3

I was sitting on a bench outside of school with her in our second semester when I decided to pop the question.

"Would you like to go out with me?"

My heart had already left my body. Sweat devoured my brow as I fidgeted with anticipation. Was this where my life ended? Nothing really mattered to me up to this point.

She took a deep breath and formed her fist into her palm and placed it on her chest.

"To tell you the truth…. I do l-like y-you. I love spending our time together during school and after it. You always listen to me and I always can go to you for any problem. I feel like I know you well now and I am really thankful to have met you."

I felt like she was leading me on only to drop me into a pit at the last minute.

"However... my parents won't allow me to date someone who doesn't have their magic yet. They have heard about you and they wouldn't change their mind no matter how much I pleaded. I hate it... I'm so sorry, Viri"

I took a deep breath and sighed. It made sense. I don't even know what I was expecting. Was I too clingy? She really was the only person I spoke to out of choice at school... well except for a certain blond pretty boy who can't seem to leave me alone.

"I get it. Family reputation comes first. Gotta keep up appearances, right?" My voice cracked at the end. Very manly Viri.

I heard sniffling coming from her direction. She quickly wiped away the tears when she caught my glare.

"I also won't be able to see you as much now that I need to focus on my studies." She saw the expression on my face morph once again. "Don't worry though. After we graduate, I won't have to listen to my parents anymore. Or your magic will manifest before that and we could be together anyway," her voice still filled with the gentleness I was used to.

I wanted to look away from her. Lament in my own failure, but something urged me to face her again.

She was looking at me again with her puppy dog eyes. At that very moment, I wanted magic more than anything. I would do anything for it.

𝘕𝘰 𝘯𝘰. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳����'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥.

I still felt bad that I didn't have magic so I could be with her, but I'm sure it would arrive soon. I wouldn't need to do anything that I would regret... yet.

What the hell am I even thinking. I couldn't gain magic even by force. It felt like some of these thoughts were being fed to me like a mother with their newborn. Still I wanted to advance in this magic society that I had been dragged into.

Why is it taking so long? How much longer must I suffer with no knowledge?

I smile wryly back at her, "Well I don't think I got rejected, so I'm happy about that...you just need to wait for me, right?""

She nodded. Her hand collided with mine, sending my pulse through the roof.

"One way or another, we will be together again. Time is our ally here."

I really hoped she was right. Hope was the only thing a magic reject like me could have.

That was the last time we had a good long talk.

4

During my second year at school, I spent a good chunk of time trying to learn about my family's magic. My back ached from hunching over so much in my chair in the Magonic Records aka my school's library. I scoured bookshelf after bookshelf, but there was nothing about the Inumbros. The good-looking librarian at the entrance said they had about every magic family that ever attended this school and then some within their records. Both of my parents attended Heartford so I thought I could find some answers, but no luck. I didn't want to give up, so I plowed forward. I kept searching, the library had four stories, each with over 10 thousand books. This was my weekly routine. Then it became a daily ritual when Fiona became less available, something to take my mind off the one smiling visage that gave my life some meaning. We would still chat and text a lot, but the time just seemed to go by so fast, especially since she was now in all different classes from me (talk about unlucky). Every day would go by and I would try to make friends with others, but the results were nearly the same, always. No one wanted to be associated with someone who couldn't even display even the fundamentals of magic. There was one kid that did consult me a lot. Since I spent so much time in the library, I was overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge on magic and family that I had locked inside my mental vault. I didn't remember his name the first time we met, but later on I would remember it all too well. The first time he came to me was in the second semester of my second year. I had read through so many goddamn books, but there was still an infinite supply waiting to be read and I wasn't one to give up. I was alone at a wooden desk in the back with a book so old that just breathing on it could make it crumble into oblivion. It was called the Dretegla Infinium and it was full of old english.

"What do you have there? It looks older than my ancestors."

It was a voice I had only heard at our opening ceremony for this year. I turned to see a blond haired, crimson eyed pretty boy. He was who I thought he was. Most guys were jealous of him from how many girls he attracted by just existing. I couldn't say I was exempt from it either. I wasn't sure what a popular guy like him was doing around here and especially around me.

"Uh. Can I help you?"

He grinned immediately at hearing my response, "Yea. I was wondering if you have any information on the Fulmens that I could use. I'm sorry for coming to you like this unannounced, but Ms. Loren said you would be the best person to go to, Viri Inumbro."

Not only did he know the librarian's name, he knew mine as well. The hairs on my back did stand up when he said it though. No one else had said my full name, but Fiona. It was an unexpected, but welcome development for someone like me.

"Ah… You are Gil Fulmen right? The sword dudes?"

"I didn't know that was my title, but that is me."

I pursed my lips, "I see… Well from what I have read so far about you guys, it's all about this place called the Paladins guild and the people that come out of that."

"Oh. Yes," He made a fist and placed it into his palm. That's the training ground of my family and where I went to middle school. I don't really agree with their methods, but I would love to know more about them for sure."

I nodded, "Well they were known for killing dragons and demons in the days of old. Though, to tell you the truth, that stuff all sounds made up to make them sound cooler."

Gil made a wry smile, "Well something like that. Anyway. What I wanted to know was how often or if ever a Paladin after they graduated high school, went on to a non-magic related career."

I racked my brain that was cluttered with files and files of information. I would have just refused him flat out, but this subject slightly intrigued me when I read about it a few weeks back. The fact that someone could shirk away from their destiny and come out alright was something that was worth remembering.

"From what I remember, there were only two cases where they did not become a paladin. One of them was for medical reasons, but the other one…. His name was Alfor Borealis and he went on to teach at a university instead of joining the Ministry of Magical Defense under the Paladins. Is that what you wanted?"

He nodded, wiping his blond hair out of his crimson eyes, "so it is indeed possible. I don't suppose you have the details on how he did it?"

I shook my head.

"I thought so. Well thank you for this Viri, I won't forget to return the favor."

With that he walked out. I thought I wouldn't see him again, but the appearance of Gil Fulmen would become a rather common occurrence in my high school life, whether I liked it or not.

Much to my dismay, year three began and once again, Fiona and I were not in a single class together.

"I can't be this unlucky right? Someone has to be playing a trick on me."

She joined the gardening magic club as well so I rarely got to see her, but we still kept in touch. The one saving grace. I was able to follow her progress on social media when we couldn't talk in person or she was too busy for a meaningful conversation over text as well. I was actually thankful for modern technology for once.

Besides trying to pinpoint the origin of my family and its magic, I also tried anything and everything to get my magic to appear. I attempted it all: Hand movements, rigorous studying of all the elements and arts, even begging my parents. No results. One day I tried asking my parents over the summer when they seemed to be in a pretty great mood, but I was once again met with the immovable wall that shielded our family's past and origin. I was met with the same answer that I was so very used to.

"It's nothing like the magic of other families, it has to do with our last name. I can't say anymore."

I stared at my father, the taste of disdain filling my mouth. I was about to say more, but clamped my mouth shut and continued to brood.

𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥! 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦? 𝘋𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤?

Of course, I didn't say anything. I didn't want to get them angry and squander my future chances. I was just playing for the long con... or something like that. I don't know anymore. I honestly felt like they didn't want me to discover what magic we possessed, let alone be able to use it.

Why did they even send me to a school of magic? They were supposed to be respected mages. Did they want to see me struggle and suffer? I could not figure them out. The only thing that was consistent in my third year was the visits from Gil Fulmen. I thought he would be busy during lunch with how popular he was, but he always managed to come by a few times a week and ask me about what I had discovered. Even though he had not been in any of my classes since my first year, I think I finally found my second friend.

The first half of my 4th year played out like clockwork. Magic classes that didn't teach me jack, while watching other kids show off their powers. I was filled with envy daily. I still had no one I could call a friend in class. There was one I would see, but he hardly came up when I thought of her. My mind only wandered to the girl that was now locked away behind a wall that I could never climb the way I was now. I never spoke more than a word or two whenever someone approached me. I mean, who would want to talk to a magicless loser like myself? I only spoke to Fulmen during lunch and he started to get pretty busy as the student council vice president that he only started coming once a week. Why was this world so cruel?

Then the end of first semester finally came to a close. The headmaster had asked all of the ten senior classes to gather in the auditorium. When I was pushed inside, I really cased the joint. The walls were as black as obsidian and the only light in the room came from the torches lining each wall and the door that was near closing, leaving us in the 1800s. At the far edge of the room was a set of stairs that rose onto a stage where a large metal podium collected dust. It seemed this entire room hadn't been used In at least a year. An aged man hobbled onto the stage with a wooden cane. I recognized his face from magazines and posters around the school. He was the headmaster, Alister Dryphus Zenponus.

We clustered up like rats, waiting below the podium for the old geezer to speak. He spread his arms out in his red overcoat. His white beard was getting more shriveled by the minute.

"My dear students, "he said in a soft voice.

The microphone was really working overtime to project his meek words.

We all stared in awe. The headmaster didn't come to speak often. It was a rare thing.

"You will soon be starting your final semester at the academy. But as you all know, sending many trained mages into the world at the same time always leads to catastrophe. Hence, your graduation will begin tomorrow, after the completion of the Spell Games."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. What was he talking about? Didn't we have another semester? What were these spell games? My mind was filled with questions and no answers.

"My parents never said anything about a game," said a girl somewhere behind me.

"I thought there were no more trials until graduation," spoke another.

"Settle down, settle down. I will now explain the competition."

The comments quieted down, but the atmosphere of uneasiness remained.

"One of you from each of your ten houses will be randomly sent to a different environment around the world. This will happen until all of you have been sent to participate in groups of ten."

The houses went from A-J and I was in B while Fiona was in G. That meant that means there was a chance we could be put together. I shuddered at the thought of being reunited under such questionable circumstances. Someone in the back raised their hand in retaliation.

"Yes, you with the bean sprout."

"Uh, how do we win these games? No one has ever told me of no fucking mage games."

The language on this kid. His voice sounded familiar. I got a chill that only occurred when I heard something or some I didn't like.

The headmaster cleared his throat before responding, breaking the stout silence that held the room hostage.

"It's rather simple really. The ten mages in training will face off against each other until only one remains. The winner of each game will become a fully-fledged mage and graduate immediately."

His face was filled with more color than I had ever seen when he said that. The exact opposite of every student in attendance.

Mass hysteria was unleashed.

"We have to kill each other!?" one said.

"I have never even fought before!" said another.

"Is that all we get?"

It was the voice from before.

Everyone was bumping into each other trying to leave, but the door was already sealed shut. The headmaster put his hand up again.

"Prepare yourself. The games will now commence. I grant you good luck in your endeavors and hope to see some of you return."

With that he flicked his wrist into the direction of the sky. A white light encompassed the room, blinding myself and everyone around me.

5

My eyes fluttered open. I surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings. There was a small pond in the center of this little forest, trees growing out in every direction. A bridge created a warped walkway that passed over the small pond, ducks the same color of tree bark resting around it.

I looked behind me. Ferns the size of a bear surrounded a sunset streaked white brick walkway, looping in a circle around the park. I gazed up to see the red tinted shade of the sky, slowly becoming the hues of an abyss.

𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?

I walked past the pond until I found a brown beach, covered in moss.

"It really is a park…. or at least it was."

I brushed my hand over the moss, tickling my palm in the progress. Nevertheless, I sat down on the forgotten creation. With hands like a cowboy at high noon, I pulled out my smartphone. I browsed through my sea of contacts and selected one of the five. Its loud ring gave me a small headache. It persisted three times before going to voicemail.

"No bars, I guess. I wanted to make sure she was ok."

The sun was moving farther and farther down the horizon. I looked down at the palm of my hand.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦? 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭?

I brushed off the leaves from my slacks and dark hair as I stood up. I heard my phone hit the mossy ground.

"Great, "my breath exasperated.

This is definitely one of those pocket dimensions I read about. They were worlds that existed in a plane of their own and could only be created and controlled by the creator. It was like building your own world in a game except others were forced into it. Maybe it was the headmaster's magic. I didn't really care at this point. My gaze was fixated upon my fallen device. I reached down for it. As I did, I was hit with an affliction of ice. The chill reminded me of Niflheim, the coldest of the nine Nordic realms. All the hairs on my body sprung up at once. I dropped my phone into my pocket and broke into a sprint.

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

A shiver shot through me. I put my back to one of the massive trees deeper in the park. I shot a glance at the pond. The water was now like an hourglass, frozen in time.

"Oh no. I missed."

He sounded sarcastic and fiendish. I made the decision to sneak a peek and looked past the tree. A white-haired boy in my school uniform made eye contact with me. His eyes were bright green, but as cold as his stare. His impish grin gave me insight to who the student was. I never met him at school, but I know he almost killed someone from the class next to mine. He was pretty infamous in our senior class.

"Gelum Hiemis," I muttered

He was ten feet away. His cold demeanor was complemented by the icy aura that surrounded him. Multiple icicles had formed above his head and were pointed my way.

"Oi, lucky me. Not only do I get to fight without getting in trouble. My first opponent is the magicless dipshit."

He continued to slowly walk towards me. I spun my head around. I guess a magicless 4th year would be as infamous as him, but I liked to keep a low profile. I guess that didn't work. I now needed a plan.

𝘙𝘶𝘯? 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯? 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵.

I was running out of time. I looked down for anything I could use. I spotted a broken tree branch by my feet. It was about as thick as my arm (which wasn't saying much), but it would have to do. I didn't look over now, but I knew what I would do. My hands shook intensively as I picked it up. I prepped my makeshift bat, awaiting judgement. Sweat was oozing out of every one of my pores. My temper began to rise and with it my body temperature began to drop.

"Oi, you better not still be there. I'm always ready to make a skewer or a new statue."

I was pretty sure I could tell where he was from the position of his voice. I sprung out from the right side of the tree, where his blind spot should have been. The front half of his body was already past the tree. I swiftly brought up the weapon over my head.

"Yaaaaah---Gah!"

Even though he wasn't facing me, his icicles still flew at me like homing missiles. One grazed my left arm while another dug deep into my right knee. I dropped the weapon and crumpled to the ground. The pain filled my body with the hymn of chaos. I struggled to move.

"Aaaaah!"

"You thought you could give me a little roundabout, didn't you?"

His cold eyes were once again fixed on me. More icicles formed around him.

"You put up a good fight... well not really, but at least you will be killed by the one who will become the mage."

My breath got heavier. Blood roared in my ears. He placed his foot on my head. I could see his pointed boot in high definition.

"Oi, well, I have had my fun now. Time to go."

He raised his hand up like a general issuing the sentence to death. I closed my eyes like a child, waiting for the storm to leave me alone.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 ��𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢.

He kicked me onto my back. My chest was clearly exposed. He launched his arsenal. Blood trickling down from the chest. I gagged. However, it wasn't my chest.

"Awwwk!"

A jet-black spear was protruding from his chest. "Wah iz dat..."

He crumpled to the floor. A shadow in a humanoid form was the spears owner. It was fairly humanoid, but as dark as a nebula. I was frozen with shock. Suddenly the right hand of the figure began to grow skin, its hand becoming enveloped in flesh. Now it had a hand resembling my own. It glowed for a moment before disappearing from view. Though if I squinted hard enough, I could see the human-like hand again.

Its spear faded from existence and it turned my way, slowly rising from the ground until I could see its entire body.

"What the hell are you!"

Its solemn glare faced my direction, its body still facing away from me.

"𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰, 𝐲𝐨����𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜."

"My...my shadow?" I cranked my neck to look behind me, sure enough, my shadow was gone. It nodded.

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡. 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫."

I gazed toward my shadow, my hand to my chin.

𝘚𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮y 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸?

Something was off about all of this and I didn't know what. I want to trust this thing since it did save me, but….

"𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐏𝐥���𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧."

With this new personal guardian appearing, I felt somewhat powerful for the first time in my measly existence.

"Let him come. I'm sure we can take him."

I slowly got to my feet. My shadow materialized at my back.

"𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰."

I was about to complain about my leg, but I felt fine. I looked down at the rip in my slacks.

"It's gone."

"𝐈 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐨!"

I couldn't figure out why we couldn't just take him on. I mean, I felt great.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳����𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

There was someone waiting for me when I got out. That one thought was swarming around in my mind. I couldn't shake it and I didn't want to.

𝘍𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷e 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

I had even more motivation to get out of here. Be it by winning or by somehow managing to escape, I would win.