On January 13, 2079, 14:37. Twenty-one people were gathered in a building of exceptional size. The structure, surrounded by walls about three meters thick, was one hundred meters wide and half that length. The height of the structure exceeded fifteen meters.
What was most surprising about this building was its astonishing simplicity. Indeed, the building was nothing more than a giant pile of grey concrete. No aesthetic effort had been made.
This building was much older than any other building in the area. It was the anti atomic building erected during the Third World War to protect against American's and Soviet's bombings. At that time, tens of thousands of people took refuge in a place that remained far too small for them.
This structure was located on the grounds of the largest high school in the world's third-largest nation, the Xenia High School in the city of Suva, Fiji.
The twenty-one people currently present in the building belonged to class 1C, accompanied by their teacher, a woman in her mid-thirties, with hair as black as the blackest of nights, possessing a gaze of infinite depth.
''Welcome to the school's training room. Here you will be free to train at any time, before or after class. The power of an arcanist is in constant evolution, so I invite you to come here as often as possible."
The teacher, Lorena Melany, observed her students for a while, before resuming :
''Today, I'm going to teach you to use your singularity. When an arcanist calls upon his singularity, he must be in symbiosis with it. The magical particles emitted by the Arcanist will align with those emitted by the rest of the world. It will thus be possible to call upon external forces. The more particles the arcanist can manipulate, the more powerful the symbiosis will be. In reality, the theory is relatively complex, but the practice is much simpler.''
Indeed, an arcanist automatically emits particles all the time. To control his symbiosis, an arcanist must maintain a certain flow of particles.
These particles will align themselves with those present in the surrounding atmosphere having an identical pattern. This is why an arcanist capable of exploding the air, will not be capable of other feats.
On the other hand, an arcanist capable of controlling gases could not only carry out this explosion but is also capable of controlling the surrounding temperature and pressure if his control is sharp enough.
Thus the rank of an arcanist is not the only thing that matters, but also the nature of his Singularity, and the way he controls it.
Singularities are separated into three groups: common, rare, and unique. They are differentiated by their percentage of representation in the arcanists population. If more than one percent of the population has a Singularity, then it will be considered common. If less than 100 people possess a singularity, then it is considered unique. In between, they are said to be rare.
I am going to give you a small demonstration of my singularity so you have a better understanding of what I am talking about. My singularity is called 'Detonation' and belongs to the group of rare singularities. Globally, I am capable of precipitating hydrogen and oxygen in the air and exploding these gases''.
After finishing her speech, Lorena raised her hand in front of her.
"When you want to be in symbiosis with your environment, first of all, you have to concentrate, clear your mind. Then you have to visualize what you want to achieve. The stronger the image is, the more the effect will be amplified. Finally, you will have to define a trigger. For my part, to activate my magic, I snap my fingers. For example...''
Lorena's fingers snapped, and instantly a little noise was heard two meters in front of her. A small explosion of a few centimeters in diameter took place. Most of the students were surprised, although some like Sora didn't make any noise.
"Of course, I deliberately reduced the size of the explosion. The power of magic depends on the image that is visualized. If the magic we wish to invoke is too important for us, the invocation speed, in other words, the minimum time of symbiosis, is increased. Well, anyway, it is time for you to determine your singularity. Don't stress too much, in any case, a singularity is rarely truly weak."
Little by little, each of the students concentrated in his or her way. As for Sora, she knelt and closed her eyes. In a few seconds, she managed to clear her mind.
Since she did not know the nature of her singularity, she tried to manipulate the magical particles surrounding her.
As she began to feel an increase in pressure as well as some heat around her, a slight crackling sound was heard.
Gradually, the number of crackling sounds multiplied, until a nearly continuous sound was produced. Sora, destabilized by this sound, opened her eyes.
Three meters on her right was a young boy who had already managed to invoke his magic. All around him, many lightning bolts were flying through the air.
"Only five minutes were enough for him to achieve his first symbiosis? What speed! Even among the A+ ranks, few manage to achieve such a feat.'' Lorena was shocked.
The young man, already proud to have the highest rank in the class, was truly delighted.
Your singularity seems to be 'Shock' since you only master electricity. This is a rare singularity, possessed by less than 0.1% of Arcanists. Although this singularity is practical in many trades, it is little used in combat for most owners. Unfortunately, it requires great imagination and excellent control of its symbiosis, as you must learn to control elementary particles. On the other hand, when it comes to power, if mastered, it is one of the most powerful singularities. Work hard and become an excellent fighter... Good, now you can go home. We will continue the course tomorrow. For the others, you will only go home when you have completed your symbiosis''.
During the following hours, many students left the training room, while other classes arrived.
At 7:00 pm, only three students from 1C were still present. Sora was one of them, as well as a teenager named Loki Ragna with a C rank, and the person with a D+ rank, Lei Liwei.
'For four hours now they have been trying to enter into symbiosis. That's far too long, even most of the E-rankers can do it in less than two hours.'
Lorena was greatly intrigued by these three people. The only reason for such a slowness was an incompatibility with the place. She decided to wait another thirty minutes or so.
As time passed, the sun entered the room through one of the few existing windows. A few seconds later, a strange phenomenon occurred: the shadows created by the sun began to dance and gathered around Loki. He was the first one of these three students to enter symbiosis.
Lorena was greatly surprised. Loki's singularity was called "Dance of the shadows". It was a very rare singularity, with only a few hundred users.
This was a singularity highly prized among spies because it allowed the Arcanist to hide in the shadows. On the other hand, its fighting capacity was quite weak.
When the thirty-minute time limit had expired, Lorena invited the two remaining girls to leave the training room.
"I think the reason you still haven't been able to enter in symbiosis is either because of the environment or because the interaction was too weak. You should keep invoking your magic here."
Both students nodded and sat down again. Fifteen minutes later it was Lei's turn to invoke her magic.
As they were outside, small stones surrounded Lei and Sora. Under the influence of Lei's magic, these small pebbles grouped in one spot.
Drops of cold sweat appeared on their teacher's forehead.
But this is...
''Lei... Although this singularity, 'Gravitational Attraction', is unique, it is well known all over the world. There are about fifteen users around the world. Each one is very powerful. The most powerful of them is undoubtedly the arcanist of rank S+, Chuluun Kushi, n°3 of the Fidji''.
Although Lorena appeared calm on the surface, her blood was bubbling with excitement. Of all the singularities invoked today, the gravitational attraction was by far the most powerful, the rarest, and the most incredible.
Lei, for her part, was confused. Originally she was very sad and embarrassed to have the lowest rank in her class. But now, here she is with one of the most powerful singularities in existence.
While Lei and Lorena talked, Sora remained focused.
She had already been feeling a change around her for several hours. More and more particles were gathering around her. She could feel them, their weight, their presence. These particles did not oppress her, on the contrary, they brought her a certain comfort and warmth.
Little by little, the surroundings changed. While most of the flowers were originally arranged in a random direction, in a matter of seconds, they all turned towards Sora.
Once again Lorena was surprised. Lei, for her part, was amazed by the beauty of the show.
''Flowers, so? I don't know this singularity. It is undoubtedly unique magic. In any case, it's very beautiful."
Once again, Lorena tried to appear calm. But in reality, she was even more disturbed. Indeed, Lorena had survived many battlefields and had visited almost every country. Her knowledge of the singularities was at the level of a scientist.
However, she did not know this singularity. What it means is that Sora is most probably the first person to possess this singularity.
''Flowers... Say, is this useful in battle?''
Lorena was slightly surprised by her pupil's question and answered with a sigh:
''Why do you want to fight so much, despite your young age. Anyway, unfortunately, I can't tell you about your singularity. I don't know anything about it. But there is one thing you never have to forget. The nature of your singularity is one thing, what you do with it is another one. Although this high school trains more at combat academies, it is not the only way. Think about it, maybe your path is not yet the one you think it is.''
Sora was not satisfied with this answer, and looked scornfully at her teacher, who continued:
''Well, it's getting late, the sun's almost down. You should go home. Like everyone else, school starts tomorrow at eight o'clock. Be on time."
And so their teacher left, quietly. Lei waved at Sora:
''Well, I'm leaving too, see you tomorrow.''
Sora looked at her and answered mechanically:
''See you...''
Then she went to the ghost quarter. When she entered the neighborhood, some lights were on in some houses. Although many of the houses were abandoned, some were still inhabited. This was one of the reasons why this neighborhood had not yet been razed to the ground.
When Sora returned home, she put down the few things she was carrying. She entered her kitchen, which was strangely tidy compared to the rest of the house, especially the bedroom. She prepared her evening meal, ate it, and then went to her room. It was twenty-one o'clock and the telephone rang.
''Hello Sora, this is Suki speaking.''
''Professor?''
Sora was surprised. The caller's name was Suki Fuyu, an arcanist renowned in Japan for the beauty of her unique singularity: "Winter wonder". It was a singularity linked to the snow.
"Professor, why are you calling me at this hour?
''I'm checking up on you, come on! After all, today is the day you completed your first symbiosis. How are the results?''
Sora sighed slightly.
''I am rank B+, close to rank A-. My singularity has something to do with flowers, but nobody knows more at the moment.''
There was silence for three seconds before Suki resumed:
''Flowers, then... I don't know this singularity either. Very well, I'll try to gather more information."
''And... Would it be possible to avoid calling again at this hour?"
''What do you mean, at this hour? It's only 6:00 pm.
Sora sighed again.
''Have you ever heard of jet lag? It's 9:00 pm here...''
''Ah...''
''Well, if have nothing else to tell me, I'll hang up.''
''Ah, er, wait!''
''What?''
Sora losing patience...
''And you, how are you, are you managing to fit in? You don't have too many problems?''
''Yes, everything is fine, thank you. OK, now I'm hanging up.
''Hey, wait...''
Sora hung up.
Suki was unsettled, her emotions oscillating between anger and disappointment.
But, a few seconds later, she turned to her bedroom window and smiled.
'' Flowers, so...''
-
As for Sora, she was getting ready to go to bed. She put on a light nightgown and lay down in bed.
'I have to rest. Tomorrow the first training sessions and the first theory lessons will certainly begin.'