Arthur took a deep breath and leaned against the wall outside the cafe. He glanced at a small headline in the newspaper.
'MYSTERIOUS PILLAR OF LIGHT BAFFLES EXPERTS.'
He read about how the top magia scholars of Arken are still puzzled about the bright pillar of light that appeared off the coast of Lunaria about three days ago.
Magia detectors all around the world went crazy as they detected the immense magia released by the pillar.
The other Cardinals are also investigating the incident, especially the Fire Cardinal as they are reports of blue flames surrounding the pillar of light.
Blue flames mean only one thing, Purity Flames.
The one responsible for this huge commotion gripped the newspaper tightly. Those were the very flames that destroyed his home and scarred him and his siblings.
And the person in his Mindscape claimed it was his doing. Self-defense or not, that being brought harm to him and his family.
Words cannot describe how pissed he was.
[Now now. How can you be angry with me? You should be thanking me for saving your pathetic self. I even made sure my flames didn't harm your parents' bodies.]
Inferno spoke in his mind.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
'Thank you? You destroyed my house! And where were you when Mum and Dad were getting murdered in front of me?'
[I only care about the safety of my vessel and nothing else. I didn't want my vessel to be killed by some lowly assassins.]
'If you hadn't incinerated those assassins, we could've found out who sent them.'
[But you have an idea of who they are. Don't you?]
He sighed, 'I just need to confirm it.'
He looked at his hands and noticed some peculiar changes to his body. His fingernails have turned black and appeared longer than before. Faint outlines of scales can be seen on his fingers and hand.
His hair has grown longer and has streaks of white and blue among the raven black. His senses have become more enhanced than before.
'A side effect of my awakening?', he wondered.
[It is. Well, I forced your half-blood awakening so there are bound to be side effects. A dragon half-blood has very high regenerative capabilities and the only way to kill one is to completely destroy the brain.]
'So you forcefully awakened me to regenerate my destroyed heart', Arthur guessed.
[Indeed. I underestimated your intelligence, kid.]
'I don't need your praise. Besides, you're been awfully chatty as of late.'
[Well, I did make a deal with your master. I will assist in making you stronger and for that, you will be able to use my powers.]
'The Purity Flames?'
[Actually, you will be starting with the lowest form of my flames. A form that is indistinguishable from other flames.]
[Congratulations Arthur Night. You just acquired an attribute.]
"An attribute?", Arthur mumbled, looking at his palm and imagining a small flame.
His hand ignited and reddish-orange flames danced on his palm. He was mesmerized by it and found it hard to believe.
He has an attribute.
He was so engrossed in his new abilities that he didn't notice the newspaper burning.
"Oi! Kid! You're on fire!", a passing dwarf yelled at him. Arthur quickly snapped out of his trance, extinguished the flames, and put out the burning newspaper after throwing it down.
'Ah darn. My cover's blown.', he thought as everyone was looking at him. He smiled sheepishly at them, "Oops. My bad."
Suddenly he heard a soft whistle and saw three figures on the roof of the opposite building.
"Have a nice day, everyone!" he said, walking to an alley. Seeing that no one was around, he quickly climbed up the building, and after a minute he reached Minerva, Ray, and Damien.
They were all staring at him in wonder.
"Did I hallucinate or did you just summon fire?", Ray asked, rubbing his eyes.
"I did.", Arthur admitted. There is no point in hiding it from them, especially Minerva who along with Damien was looking at him with curious expressions.
"So you awakened your attribute?", she asked. He nodded, "Yeah. I did."
Damien nodded, "A very late bloomer.", he cracked his knuckles and smiled evilly, "Looks like I can stop holding myself back in our spars."
"Please do. I'll make sure to cook your face till medium rare.", Arthur replied with a smile.
Minerva cleared her throat, "As much as I like to see you two wreaking hell, I must remind you that we are on an important recon mission."
Damien rolled his eyes, "Oh shut it, Raven. You just want to snoop at our instructors during their date. Just leave them alone."
"Anyway.", she spoke, ignoring him, and looked at Arthur.
"It appears that Sir and Miss Ruth have given us the slip. Lady Alice and Lady Jade saw them enter the kitchen.", Ray said.
"Kitchen tours do not usually happen but Miss Ruth is an important guest for the Black Pegasus, so they will allow it.", Minerva pointed out.
Arthur thought about it, "Have you guys checked behind the cafe for a back door?"
Damien nodded, "Yes we did. There is a back door. They could've left through that."
"Hmm.", the young Night was in deep thought, "What about my sister and Lady Aria?"
"Yeah, about that.", Ray rubbed his head, "They suddenly got surrounded by a crowd in the cafe. It looks like their identities were revealed. They are currently taking care of the crowd of admirers."
"It was most probably Sir. He is quite a cunning one.", Minerva said.
Arthur nodded in agreement, "Looks like it's up to us."
He looked at the three others with him, "Let's release magia pulses at the same time."
Minerva understood where he was getting and nodded, "We can amplify our magia senses this way and locate our instructors. Besides, they wouldn't have gone far."
But just as they were about to release magia pulses a soft cry was heard above them. Everyone looked up and saw a familiar silver bird flapping her wings and looking at them.
"Selene? What is she doing here?", Ray wondered aloud.
Arthur looked at the Moon Falcon. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"Shit! It's a trap!"
"Language. Arthur.", a familiar voice said behind him.
They quickly turned around and saw Seventeen standing at the edge of the roof with a calm smile.
"Looks like we're caught.", Damien frowned as he glanced at Ruth standing on the other side of the roof. She looked quite relaxed and crossed her arms.
"Very impressive. Your training is quite fruitful.", she remarked.
"Glad to see you're fine, Arthur.", Seventeen said as Selene perched on his shoulder.
"Let's talk at a later time. I have a date to finish.", he and Ruth suddenly came in the middle of their group. Before they could react the instructors released concentrated magia pulses and knocked them down.
'Damnit.', Arthur thought as he lost consciousness.
*******
Seventeen caught Arthur and Minerva while his partner caught Damien and Ray as they were falling.
"That was quick.", Ruth remarked as she gently sat the two unconscious guys down. Seventeen did the same with Arthur and Minerva and dusted his hands.
"You are a sneaky guy.", she told Seventeen with a grin, "Revealing Alice's and Jade's identities in a crowded cafe is a bold and smart move."
He just shrugged and smiled, "Well. I am quite a cunning fellow."
"Enough with the self-praise.", she sighed and looked at the towering walls of Crystalis, "Now what?"
Seventeen stroked Selene's feathers as he spoke, "I asked the Headmaster about a good way to end a date."
Ruth looked at him in disbelief and edged away from him, "You asked the Headmaster? Of all people?"
"I know he's not the best person to approach for this kind of advice but he suggested something quite good."
"What is it?"
Seventeen looked at the sky, "Watch a sunset and then the stars in the night sky."
"That is actually a good idea. Very cliche but a good one.", Ruth was impressed, "I can't believe that man came up with something good."
"But it's going to be a long wait and I don't feel like roaming around the city until sunset. Plus, Alice and Jade will catch up to us in that time.", she voiced her doubts.
"I believe it's going to be sunset further west.", Seventeen replied.
She looked at him, "What does that have to do with-", she stopped and her eyes widened when she realized it.
"Ohhh. But warp gates cannot take us everywhere.", she quickly found a problem.
"Jeez, Popsicle. No need to think that much.", Seventeen sighed, "We don't need a warp gate."
Ruth looked at him in disbelief as she quickly understood, "No way. Just how many attributes do you have?"
Seventeen grinned, "As you know, I'm not human. Also, please keep this a secret."
He traced a line in the air in front of him and a Rift formed that showed a beach bathed in the light of the setting sun.
Ruth's mouth hung open as she stared at the Rift and then looked at Seventeen, "Just what in the Founder's name are you?"
He smiled and winked, "It's a secret, my dear friend."
She shook herself out of her surprise and looked back at the four unconscious young warlocks, "What about them? We can't leave them here."
"Oh don't worry about them. They'll be taken safely back to the dorm.", Seventeen reassured her and looked up, "Right Vanessa?"
Ruth looked up and saw the Vampire Queen smiling at them from the sky. She didn't even notice her presence.
"Or is it too lowly for the great Vampire of the Purple Rose to carry four teens to their dorm?", Seventeen asked in a slightly mocking tone.
Vanessa chuckled, "You're lucky Seventeen, that you're on a date. Otherwise, you would be in a world of pain for mocking me like this."
Her partner's confidence wavered when he heard those words but he still smiled, "Lucky me."
The vampire landed in front of them and with a snap of her fingers, the four unconscious students floated above the ground, and with a pop, they disappeared.
Seeing their alarmed faces, she sighed, "Jeez. They're fine. I teleported each to their own rooms. It's going to be quite confusing at the dorm so I'll get going."
She floated off the ground and turned to the pair with a smile, "Have an amazing time, you two."
With a wave, the Vampire Queen flew towards Cardinal Academy. Selene saw her flying away and looked at Seventeen with her black eyes.
He chuckled, "Go on girl."
With a peck on his earring, the Moon Falcon launched herself from his shoulder, spread her huge silver wings, and flew after Vanessa.
"That went well.", Seventeen remarked and held out his hand, "Shall we?"
Ruth blushed to the tips of her ears as she grasped his hand and the two of them walked through the Rift.
And just in time.
"Whoa!", she was wonderstruck by the marvelous sight in front of her.
The sun was just starting to set and its waning light washed over the beach and turned the clouds into a beautiful shade of orange.
The sea lapped against the beach and glowed bright orange as the sun touched the horizon. The sand of the beach sparkled like tiny diamonds and a cool breeze made her untied hair ripple.
Ruth had experienced many sunsets before but none was as beautiful as the one she is seeing right now.
"Hey, Popsicle! Don't just stand there!", Seventeen called out to her. He spread out a picnic blanket and beckoned to her.
She walked over to the spot and sat beside him, the light of the setting sun hiding her red face. A tiny crab scuttled past them and into the embrace of the sea.
"How did you manage to create a Rift to this place? Have you come here before?", she asked Seventeen.
Creating a Rift that connects two places requires prior and accurate knowledge of the destination which is mainly acquired by visiting the place.
So warlocks with the Space attribute capable of creating Rifts can only go to places they had previously visited.
Seventeen shook his head, "Nope. The Headmaster showed me a picture of this place and told me the exact location. Apparently, this is one of his secretly bought islands. He bought it because the sunsets here are according to his words 'enchantingly beautiful'."
"Wow. To use just a picture and coordinates to create a Rift to a place you've never visited requires high brainpower.", she said in awe.
He chuckled, "So you finally admit my genius."
Ruth's eye twitched, "Why you...", she looked at the sunset and her mild annoyance faded away.
"The Headmaster was right.", she said, her blue eyes sparkling, "It is beautiful"
Seventeen gazed at the sun dipping into the horizon and then at Ruth Aeva.
Her amber hair fluttered in the wind and glowed in an enchanting way. Her bright blue eyes sparkled like the ocean and he was mesmerized by her beauty.
Seventeen felt his soul flutter.
'What a weird feeling.', he thought. Prime was silent, perhaps giving him some privacy.
Ruth noticed him looking at her. "What?", she asked, her face red.
He just smiled, "So. Am I forgiven?"
She thought about it with a playful smile and chuckled, "Yeah. You are forgiven."
Ruth nudged closer to him. She awkwardly placed her head on his shoulder.
"This feels nice.", she said quietly as they watched the sun sink into the horizon and the stars came out of hiding.