He caught up to the two, and Yui greeted him softly, "good morning." He looked over and replied, "good morning, bestie," with a blurred look. Finally, Kazuto spoke and reminded Akito about the data collected, proposing to go to the club room.
…
In the club room, the three sat down around the table, and as soon as Akito made contact with the chair, he aimed a question at Kazuto. "So, did you find anything?" Kazuto excited, but somewhat calm, replied. "Yeah, I found things that are not even on the internet." As he pulled out an old book, the title read "The Era of Magic," as the title hinted the book was about the era in which magic was a source used. This book finally knocked some sense into Akito. Laying back and thinking, he put together a picture of what this information relates to each other. "The Era of Magic and that article might be connected. This book can be the gate to learn more about Merlin and her secrets." he thought to himself in the silence. While watching Akito think, Kazuto started to flip in between pages. He seemed to be looking for something. "Hey, check this out," he said out loud. "What is it?" replied Akito as he got off his chair and walked over to his side. Pointing to Merlin's name, Kazuto started to read out loud, "Merlin, the daughter of the princess of the lake, the guardian of the divine sword, was a mage of the light arts, able to summon anything from nothing. Her power seemed god-like, but many mentions hint that Merlin had no physical attributes. The great Merlin vs. King Arthur, as many called it, was a sparing session that took place two years before the battle of Britannia. Many of that time concluded that Merlin would come to be the victor of that battle, but to many's surprises, it only took Arthur ten seconds until he knocked her to the ground with a single punch to the abdomen." Upon listening to this paragraph, Akito resolved that this book was not a book but a journal of some sort.
"Hey, that's not a book. This sounds like a journal." He said and resumed, "Does it have anything relating to the writer anywhere? The idea had kazuto flip to the book's last page, finally peaking behind the final page to see what's written on the back of the cover. The three curiosity grew bigger. Then to their sudden realization, it was empty. This book had no owner and was addressed to no one. "That's not right." Said Kazuto, "I will read through it to see if any mentions and hints of the writer are in this journal," he said before he flipped the book shut. Then, reaching for his bag, he pulled out the "Book of Prophecy." A religious book that belonged to the "God of Love." A said incident took place some thousands of years ago, where a deity made contact with humanity and thus left behind his words and prophecies, which is the only thing known about this holy book.
"I think this can help too," said Kazuto as he flipped through the pages, then read out loud. "Magic created for thy, constructed to conquer, created by the three thee's, three of power, true of nature, Godly intentions brought upon itself, magic. Article Eight of beginning page three." He finished the line. Then, the bell rang, the three took off to their classes, and a figure could be seen watching from afar once again. However, this time the presence was nearly a fraction of what Akito had encountered on his run home. After school, amidst the heavy traffic of students attempting to get to their club activities and the ones leaving, a stretch of a tall figure stood still by the entrance. Unnoticed, the figure seemed to be unseen by the human eyes.
In the club room, Akito, Rikka, Kazuto, and Yui were present. Caught in the conversion of what the club needed, the group seemed to brush off Satoshi's absence. After the meeting, the two girls took off on their way home. Kazuto then pulled out the journal he had in his bag and continued to explain, "This is a journal that is completely addressed to no one." Akito, in confusion, asked, "Then how did you get the book?" Kazuto, in silence, thought back to his early days and said, "I can't fully remember, but on a rainy night, my parents and I were out in the Tokyo streets going from vendor to vendor, exploring the city we came across this ramen shop. There I sat next to a strange guy. He was wearing a long man-skirt with a button-up shirt that seemed split in half, well, not that his looks matter. He was reading this journal to himself." Kazuto then started to laugh, "and I remember that I butted into his business, fully submerging my head into the book. At least he was nice enough to share what he was reading with me. Then, before he took off, I remember him smiling and handing it to me."
"So, is he a time traveler?" said Aktio while scratching his chin. "No, he was just…" he stopped while thinking to himself, "why am I even going to explain this to him." Kazuto chuckled and said, "I'm surprised about how you manage your good grades, Akito." Akito looked at him with a blank look, and with his lungs full of air, he yelled. "What? So, you think I'm stupid?" Kazuto bursts into laugher while getting up off of his seat. "Okay, I need to take off. See you tomorrow," Kazuto said before he closed the door. Unsatisfied with the progress, Akito took it upon himself to understand the situation, heading to the library. He couldn't help but feel the malice within the atmosphere. It was as if the feeling of hatred and anger followed him everywhere. Undecided on which book to pick out, he asked the student librarian for any suggestions about historical books that included magic. After a while, the boy came out holding two books. While on his walk back to his club room, he thought about how to activate his power. Knowing that it only spouted and could be used at times of need, he began to search for ideas to put himself in harm's way. "What if I jump into the path of an oncoming car?" as he placed the books into his side bag, he thought. "What if I jump off a tall building? Maybe I will be able to levitate," he said to himself, distracted; he finally reached the club room. Sliding the door open slowly, he ran out of ideas, he took a seat on his chair, and his brother finally came to his mind, "where is Satoshi? I wonder if he left early to be with Rikka?"
In the club room, Akito searched through the books for clues about Merlin and how to activate his magic. Knowing that his time to leave the club room was creeping on him, he decided to call it a day and head out to eat something. He only consumes 500 calories daily, fatigued, he decided to stop by the convenience store to pick up a rice ball. In the store, the feeling of malice arose to his senses once again. Feeling this rush of anger, he looked to his sides, scared; he decided to leave the store and get home. With his rice ball in one hand and his phone in the other, he decided to call Satoshi to get rid of the atmosphere's feeling. " Hey, long face. Where are you right now?" he asked his brother. A slow and short reply met him, "I'm home." Not knowing how to carry the conversation, Akito proposed, "wanna play a game of '1v1' when I'm home?" again, he was met by a short reply from his brother. "No, I'm good." Not knowing what else to add on, he ended the call. On his way home, the feeling of malice never left him. Sticking by his side caused him to forget about the rice ball that was still in his hand. Arriving at home, he finally noticed it and ate it in an instant, "damn, I forgot about this beauty." he said to himself before entering through the front door. "I'm home," he yelled out softly to inform his family. "Welcome back." His mom popped out of the kitchen, greeting him. "I'm home, mom," he said once again to greet her back. After a bit of conversation with his parents about his day, he headed upstairs to his room, where he sat on his bed, sick from the atmosphere's sensation of malice. He pulled out his phone and laid back on his bed. Searching again through the web for clues and hints about magic and its use, he began to feel his senses, physical attributes, and reactions to spike. Realizing this, he stood up. He felt as if a jolt of lightning had struck him. Looking in the mirror, he watched his black hair as it started to levitate. Soon after, a black with blue outlining substance began to come out of his body. It distorted the reality around him.
One thing seemed different to him from what the boys had described to him against his fight with Fujel. His pupils were not missing. "This is the same feeling as last time." Akito then felt a tiny footprint in his home, causing him to get scared and immediately jump out of his window. Leaving the window open behind himself, Satoshi opened the door to his room, surprised. He went and looked out of the window to see nothing and no one there. As Satoshi rushed out of the front door, he knew exactly where to head, "the park." He said to himself.
It only took Akito a minute to reach the park, which would usually take them ten minutes of walking. The boy seemed faster. Not only that, Akito's senses seemed enhanced to the point where he could feel the presence of a small cicada. At the park, he stood out. It was as if he was a lump of darkness with blue lighting radiating out of him. As he took a seat behind the tree that once haunted him, he began to calm down. His senses began to slow down. The energy release began to disappear once again. Unsure about what triggers his powers to activate, he saw his brother running towards him. "Oh, shit. What if he saw me?" he said to himself, uncertain what to do. He stood up and waited for his brother to reach him. Nervous, he greeted his older brother, "Hey, bro," while scratching the back of his head.
"What's up?" he said while he smiled like a fool. "What do you mean by 'what's up.' where are you going this late at night?" Replied Satoshi in an angry tone. Searching for an excuse, he began to twitch and shift between poses, "oh nothing, just wanted to get some fresh air." he said nervously. "Fresh air, my ass. Why did you run here, Akito?" he said with a serious face. Unable to think of another excuse to bring up, he began walking out of the park. "I'm not obligated to tell you anything, long face," he said as he frowned at his brother. Satoshi stood there, furious with his brother and his current situation. He decided to keep it in and mind his own business.
Back at home, the boys entered through the front door, one by one, as quiet as they could be. Sneaking up to their rooms, they shut their doors. Quietly Akito turned on his new small laptop. This time he was searching for something different. "The 5th century," as he slowly typed into the search bar. He came across information that shed new light on Arthur's powers. The article was a copy of an old book from the museum of English history, and it read. "Before the times of battle, one stood on top, able to wield the power of God, entrusted to him by the Goddess noblewoman, Merlin. His name was Arthur Pendragon, English-born and raised. From an early age, he had been prophesied to be special, and thus, it held up to the exceptions of Merlin when he wielded the blade of Excalibur. Revealing his power to command a Dragon created from magic and energy that rose from the sword, it held no proper form nor intentions. " He stopped mid-way through his paragraph and began to think. "What if I can command this energy release to take shape as Arthur did?" Excited, he sprang out of his bed onto his feet.
He began to constipate himself, squeezing and thrusting his arms in front of himself, "ahhhhhh." He began to scream quietly. "POOT," followed by a longer "POOT" noise that came out of his butt. "What the hell?" he said to himself as he looked back. "Damn, I hope I didn't shit myself," he squeezed his cheeks together while holding them shut with one hand. He ran to the bathroom. In the bathroom, while seated, he said to himself, "I'm not that one guy from that one anime who screams to power up. What am I thinking?" Even though he questioned himself about his own tactics. He sprinted out of the bathroom into his room, excited to try again. He started the same process, this time to be stopped by his brother. Satoshi stood there, taking in what he was witnessing. He spoke in disappointment. "What the hell am I watching right now?"
Embarrassed, Akito stood still in the same stance, and blankly with no expression, he stared at his brother. Finally, disappointed, he said, "damn, long face, it's not like that, bro." Satoshi, having seen enough, slammed the door shut behind himself. "Oh, well, I guess I need to call it a night." Said Akito to himself in embarrassment while in the same stance. He started to laugh in shame while he got into his bed. The two brothers spoke simultaneously in different rooms, "Ahah, that was weird."