• Prologue •

Within the gleaming city of Veste stood the revered Great Building. A formidable institution where the Council of Maja gather for discussion. At the highest floor, two Majans were running an argument. A woman clad in a dark green trench coat shook the entire room with her voice.

"We can't let this happen, Felix! The seven bearers are still in the middle of their training. We can't let them out to the world before learning how to control their powers. That would be disastrous!"

On the other side of the room, a man stood in his tailor-maid suit. One glance at his figure would be enough for anyone to grasp his noble status.

He was the Chancellor. The one who sits at the top of their nation; deciding on things and executing plans.

"I know that well, Freya. But there's nothing we can do. The council agreed that this was our only choice. They are our only hope."

Freya slumped on the couch in distress. She pinned her eyes on the Chancellor who was facing the window—deep in thought. If he was an ordinary citizen, her stares would have blasted him into the sky a long time ago.

"Fine. But don't act like I didn't warn you. None of us—not even a thousand Freso rings would contain their powers. Keep that in mind, Great Chancellor..."

A hundred floors below, the seven magic bearers huddled around a circle. Three girls, four boys.

They wore black velvet uniforms adorned with gold rims to the side. On their breast pockets were golden wreaths, surrounded by different colored orbs spinning like a wheel—a symbol of the revered Marquies University of Magic and Cultivation.

Their attention was leaning towards a boy who looked ready to cause trouble anytime with his mischievous grin. The name on his nameplate: Kid.

"What's wrong?" Olivia, as her nameplate read, asked him, while her hands skimmed through the pages of a 500-page book. She turned to the cute pet hovering over her shoulders. "What do we read next, Minmin?"

Minmin, Olivia's magical pet mink, took out a book that was four times the size of his tiny backpack. It was a thousand-page book she'll finish reading within minutes.

"They're arguing about us." Kid said. "And you won't believe this, but Professor Freya's losing. Scary."

They exchanged glances. Ferrovia Freya, their formidable professor, was losing in an argument? That was something new.

Two identical-looking boys inched themselves closer—already at the edge of their seats.

"And then? And then?" intrigued by the boy named Toki. "Don't wear your rings yet."

"Right," his twin brother Doki seconded. "Listen till the end. We can't miss out on any detail."

Kid rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say. Hmp. You're not the ones forced to listen to someone's out-of-tune singing from the 87th floor. My ears are aching and I don't think I can hold out any longer."

He wore the last ring on his pinky, and his senses turned back to 'normal.' He no longer heard noise from floors away, no longer smelled the stinky toilet water on the 92nd floor, and no longer had his vision magnified ten times.

With these rings, he could restrict his superhuman senses. A curse he'd consider inside buildings with lots and lots of toilets and smoking areas.

"Tsk. Fine," Toki pouted, "I'll go back to this date once I'm strong enough to break the Chancellor's magic. I won't let you watch the scene, hmp."

"Suit yours--"

Toki exacted his petty revenge, and time stopped for Kid. A not-so-recommended thing to do as a 'responsible' bearer of time. But abusing his powers for some giggles wouldn't hurt, right?

"Watch this." He grabbed Kid's finger and shoved it up the fool's nose—a sight that made at least four of them giggle. That wasn't enough, so he grabbed a marker and started doodling on Kid's face. Once satisfied with his work, he thawed Kid in a snap.

"--elf."

Laughter echoed around the entire room, and to mock Kid more, thunders were roaring outside the Great Building as well. A rare phenomenon, considering the skies were clear and blue that morning.

Pedestrians crossing the streets might wonder about the consecutive thunderclaps on such a beautiful day. The culprit would be Snow—the girl sitting in front of Kid. When she laughs, the skies roar.

The last boy who'd been quiet the entire time finally spoke. "What were they arguing about?"

The laughter stopped, and so did the thunderclaps. Everyone fell silent, except the slowpoke among them, who needed a few more seconds to stop.

"Oh, sorry." A green-eyed girl mumbled before sucking on her Kewl-aid. Her eyes were the same color as her name—Clover.

Kid chuckled nervously, his eyes seeking help from his friends. All of them avoided his gaze, except Toki, whose smirk said, "You're the only one who can answer his question."

"Oh, r-right. Ha-ha-ha. I'm glad you asked that, Max," he grimaced, "Well, Professor Freya kept insisting on how we're still unable to control our powers. I mean... look at us. Anyway, the council seemed to have agreed on us doing something."

Max nodded his head, and Kid heaved a sigh of relief. The feeling of comfort didn't last long for any of them, however.

"There's only one motto for us, right?" He asked them, "No matter what happens, Ferrovia Freya's always right. If she says we can't control our powers yet, who can disagree?"

Like a dire premonition... or perhaps, a warning signal, the rings on their fingers felt cold. Freso rings are worn in different numbers, depending on the wearer's prowess. These rings suppress magic, and the more unstable their powers are, the more rings they have to wear.

Olivia had three, Kid had four, Doki wore five, Toki had six, Snow had seven, Clover wore nine, and Max had twelve... but not for long.

Max opened his palm and a blinding light exploded inside the room. The glasses shattered to dust, and wind surged inside the building.

Unable to open her eyes from the pressure, Clover felt one of her rings snap as she squeezed her Kewl-aid to its last drop. She had her hands full while enjoying her drink, so unlike her friends who were able to summon shields around themselves, she was defenseless, with nothing but her mad-mad luck to rely on. And that was all she needed to survive the surge unscathed.

In the aftermath, with thousands of shards glistening on the floor, only Clover's spot was clean enough to step on—thanks to the gigantic statue behind her seat. A huge dolphin figurine was delivered last week as if its only purpose was to shield her for this moment.

"Clover!" Snow shrieked after realizing Clover was unable to shield herself. "Are you alright?!" She stood up and almost ran towards Clover, ignoring the shards on the floor. Thankfully, Olivia was fast to pull her back.

"Calm down," she said before nodding to the floor. "Look."

Not even a single shard was close enough to harm Clover, and upon seeing this, Snow sighed. "Great. How can I possibly forget how much of a lifesaver your power is? You had me worried there for a moment." She turned to Max. "Y-you should have warned us, Max! Clover could have gotten hurt if it weren't for that uhm—silly looking dolphin!"

"Wasn't my fault she's slow," he said before vacating his seat. With his hands inside his pockets, he started walking away, his presence enough to push the shards away from his steps. "I'm going home."

Doki sat straight up and raised his hand just to put it back down when Max said, "I'll walk."

"O-oh! Have a pleasant walk then!"

Their shoulders dropped when Max finally walked out the door. With eyes on each other, they said in unison, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Left on the seat Max vacated were six Freso rings, all broken and bent.

"Scary," Kid breathed, and the twins nodded. "Where in the world did you find the courage to bark at him, Snow?"

Snow started banging her head on the couch after realizing how much of a dumb move talking back to Max was. "I don't know! I'm good as dead now, right?" She wept even more. "I couldn't imagine seeing Clover hurt. That's why I snapped!"

Rain poured outside the building, and they heard footsteps rushing towards their lounge. Doki immediately raised his hand to summon five portals, and without saying a single word, they all stepped inside their designated spots—a direct passage to their bedrooms.

"Oh, wait," Olivia said, "One last thing..."

She left a note on the floor as they all vanished. It read: Ferrovia Freya knows best—Max.

***

Meanwhile, upon hearing the explosion, Freya and the Chancellor rushed to the seventh floor. They eyed one another upon arriving at the scene.

"They must have eavesdropped on our conversation," Freya said while shaking the shards of glass from her boots.

"I guess he wanted to prove a point." The Chancellor stuffed the note inside his pocket before turning around to see his greatest horror. "Seal the entire building!"

"Wha--"

Freya gasped and understood the situation after following the Chancellor's gaze. She ordered all the guards to exit the room.

"How in Maja?" She eyed the six Freso rings. "Did he break those by himself? Tell me he didn't--"

"Make sure no one finds out about this."

"That's for sure..."

. . .