The image stuck in my head of those hanging from their nooses. I turned to see Raya; she was the one who had pulled me off of the jump.
"Why'd you stop me? They needed help," I was furious. I couldn't understand why someone affiliated with the rebels would stand around and not help these people.
Her face hung solemnly, "You may hate me, and that's okay… but you were walking yourself into a trap. A newcomer wouldn't have known that they were going to fight the strongest general in the military." She replied.
The intensity on her face told me that she wasn't the type to stop me unless there was genuine danger.
"Was there anything I could've done?" I felt hopeless in this situation. I laid back against the cold stone trim of the building.
"Don't blame yourself for their deaths; you would've ended up endangering those watching on the sidelines and even dying yourself," Raya's sincerity had told me all there was to it.
I would have been responsible for the deaths of many more people. There was nothing I could have done to prevent it from happening. I couldn't shake off the fact that I wasn't strong enough to do anything. I was just like any other person without magic. The only thing I had going for me was my knowledge of hand-to-hand combat.
"Raya, can I help and become stronger? I want to be able to save anyone who may face danger, and I need more strength for that. Can I find that working with the rebels?" I pleaded.
I had wanted to make the current government suffer for their despicable actions against these people. I could feel my head pounding, the image repeated of them dropping from the gallows. I clenched my fists and slammed them into the ground.
"Lux, it's okay. I'll help you achieve your goal of getting stronger. I'll take you to our base and talk to our leader," she extended her pale hands down to me, whose skin was flushed red with rage. The roof we were on cracked from the pummeling it endured. My knuckles had been colored crimson from the pummeling.
I took her hand and held my rage, "Thank you," I muttered.
Raya hugged me, a pleasant and warm feeling that reminded me of home. The fury I had felt had stopped in seconds.
"Thank you for being here," a half smile appeared on my face. We left almost immediately, heading out of the city and beginning our trek to the base.
16:12
Not much was discussed between us walking over to the base, walking in an unbearably loud silence, dragging my feet every now and then against the drab dirt roads nearing an almost dead forest, as the fall leaves began browning and there were very few leaves left overall. It wasn't much longer until the urge for a conversation finally overtook my silent character.
"What's the name of the group? I might as well know before I show up with no information?" I asked.
Her amber eyes pointed their attention towards me; she took a second to finish drinking her canteen of water. She cleared her throat, "We are called the 'Zenos,' we are a self-led group that works closely with rebel forces. Our leader's name is Zel. You'll get to know the rest of them soon enough. For the most part, we do our own thing and make moves independently on the kingdom, whether it be assassinations, retaking towns, recon-work, or even transporting goods to impoverished towns around the country."
A voice in the distance shouted, "Raya, you're back!" I spotted a lady with dirty blonde hair. She was very fit, judging by her physique. She was sitting atop an old oak tree for what I assumed was sightseeing. She jumped down and rushed over to us. She glared at me, eyeing me from top to bottom, "Who's this guy? Is he here for a mission?"
Raya went over to hug her, "It's so nice to see you again, Mari," she pointed over to me, "This is Lux. He wanted to join us," she said.
Mari was surprised. She treaded over and gave me a handshake; her hands were rough as she gripped my hand as hard as she could, "Hi, it's nice to meet you. The name's Mari; I'm the second strongest here," she remarked. She followed her informal speech with a cheeky smile.
"It's nice to meet you too," I exchanged greetings, trying not to look weak as I held the pain in my hand.
Raya and Mari took me towards a two-story chalet up an opening between two mountains and some forest. The building included stables to the left and a garden to the right. A loud bang sounded from the back of the house. We went to the back of the building to find two people fighting each other in hand-to-hand combat. Their fists clashed, booming each time, and one of them pushed back. It was unbelievable; they were strong as hell. Not only did they have the strength to dish it, but they also had the strength to endure it.
"Hey guys, stop sparring. We got a newbie!" Mari yelled at the two people. One of them was a lean man who had black hair with a purple streak just off-centered, and the other was a woman with silver hair and pastel blue eyes, similar to the color of the sky on a cold winter day.
The woman walked up to our huddle, "Nice to meet you. My name is Zel, the leader of the Zenos. Do you think you're capable of being in our group?" She questioned.
The question caught me off guard; I hadn't expected her to be so straightforward. I had to think about it. Everything that had happened so far had only proven that I was not capable by myself, so what good would I be in a group? The sounds of those screaming out before they fell, their loved ones watching them silently because they would meet a similar fate if they made a move. They could've survived had I been capable of helping them.
I clenched my fists once more, digging my nails into my hand. I was angry at the government and, most of all, myself. I looked at Zel, determined to correct my wrongs and become someone capable.
Before I could answer, Zel interrupted me, "Welcome to the Zenos, Lux. I want you to remember that feeling, those who are suffering, and that it is up to us to save them, that is our purpose," her expression became more serious towards the end of her statement.
Afterward, we headed further into the backyard of the house. Zel cleared her throat, "ATTENTION! Zenos line-up!"
Her command set off a series of footsteps coming from the building. Raya, Mari, and the black-haired guy were all lined up. The building's backdoor opened, and five people appeared, lining up in some order. They settled down and stayed silent during the process. One of them had noticed me and raised her brows.
Zel spoke again, "Zenos, welcome Lux Arcanum – he will be joining our family starting now. Anything to add, Lux?" She looked over at me.
"I'm thankful to be in your care. If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask," I said to the group of nine.
"Wanna spar with us and see how strong you stack up against our team?" One of them, a tall, broad-shouldered guy, asserted. His confidence was prevalent in his entire manner of speech.
"I don't see why not. It allows me to gauge my strength."
He smiled and looked to Zel for approval, who spoke, "If he wants to as well, then I don't see why I should stop it. One condition: no magic. Just hand-to-hand combat. I am sure that you can all sense that Lux does not have magic, so let's not overdo it."
Everyone nodded, leaving me confused, "How'd you guys know that?"
"Your aura gives us all we need to know about your current state. You don't have any indicators in your aura that you have activated magic." Her answer led me to more questions, but I let it be. She then said, "Let's go to the training grounds. You will fight, starting from weakest to strongest, until you lose. The rules are simple, if you fall out of the ring, give up, or are knocked unconscious, you lose. If you lose against someone who is directly above your measured strength multiple times, you have to beat them more times than you've lost to truly prove that you are stronger than them. It is all kept track of on the rankings board. It doesn't make you any less important in the Zenos as it functions as a guideline for what we need to work on in training," she paused and looked at me, "Got it?" I nodded, and she continued, "First, you'll fight, Nonoka."
A lavender-colored hair girl walked up to the ring; her skin was even paler than Raya's – almost bluish even.
"Can we remove the condition of no magic? I want to become familiar with magic and fight against it, and that isn't possible with the condition?" I asked.
I wanted to become stronger – it would be impossible if I didn't understand the difference between a magic user and a non-magic user.
"If you really want to, that's fine by me. Raya, be ready to heal anyone if it gets bad," Zel said. Magic must've been strong if she was getting Raya on standby. We stood in the ring and waited for a mark, "Go!" Zel yelled.
Nonoka seemingly didn't move after the signal. I charged in and went for a strike to the face.
"Did she vanish into thin air?" I said, puzzled. My punch went right through her apparition, and I heard something behind me; when I turned, I saw a flurry of icicles speeding past me.
"You should watch out. Nonoka uses ice and illusion magic; her weakness is noticeable once you look for it," Zel noted.
I dodged the icicles and noticed that she took a long time to set up the next barrage of attacks. She couldn't charge her moves quickly enough to stay in the battle. Once she sent the next set after me, I took advantage of her slow charge-up time and kicked her out of the ring.
"Lux wins against Nonoka!" Zel announced.
I approached Nonoka and greeted her, "Thank you for the good match. I hope we can be friends!"
She let out a pout and said, "I still can't project my magic fast enough," she seemed incredibly disappointed with the results, "I guess I have to train – even more to beat you, new guy." She smiled at me, but it felt like she had wanted to murder me.
"Next up is Okami, our support mage, who, utilizes steam and illusion magic!" Zel announced the next bout, telling me which elements they use so that I was somewhat prepared.
Okami was a medium-built guy with long, messy brown hair and had a rugged outfit, wearing an open pelt vest, "It's nice to have a new addition to the family; let's have a good spar."
"GO!" Zel signaled once more.
I looked for openings in Okami's well-guarded stance, but he began to charge toward me at a rapid pace.
"Steam Propulsion!" He yelled, closing the gap between us in seconds. He landed a barrage of punches that I attempted to guard. A lot of them ended up landing despite my attempts. Heavy blows to my stomach caused me to wince in pain; his movements increased in speed as the steam powered his moves.
"Steam Fist!" A fierce strike landed in the center of my chest; the hot air surrounding his fist made his punch much more potent than earlier. Magic was ridiculous. I didn't stand a chance against the rest of the group if it was like this.
I fell to the ground, too pained to stand. Okami stood over me, "Give up, or I'll have to take you out myself."
His attitude pissed me off, although he was right about one thing, "You'll have to take me out yourself, if you can." I grunted, attempting to stand up on my feet.
He laughed, "I like your determination. Very well, I won't hold back," he took a second to collect his energy, "Steam Vent Explosion!" He became even faster as steam surrounded his feet. The hot mist shot out quickly, making his movements explosive.
I could barely stand as I was, but I wanted to try. Okami attacked me with devastating blows faster than my eyes could follow. He pushed me back further before I noticed he was slowing down. He only had a little stamina left since he was moving so fast. I did my best to keep my guard up until he wore out. Each punch became more sluggish until he was at his regular speed.
"Too bad you ran out of steam – you almost had me," I pointed out. I was just on the edge of the ring.
He charged toward me for one final strike when I grabbed him by the collar and used his weight to toss him out of the ring. Having exhausted my strength trying to keep myself conscious, I fell to the ground, unable to move a muscle.
I heard Raya come over and cast her healing on me. I could feel my body fully rejuvenated, "Thank you for the healing, Raya," I smiled, "I think I'm going to call it there for sparring. I'm assuming it gets much more difficult after Okami and I barely handled his attacks."
Zel agreed, "Lux has forfeited against everyone above Okami, therefore, Lux will be 8th strongest on the board. Since Lux forfeited, he will have one loss to everyone above his position on his record. Regardless, everyone state your name, roles, and abilities so Lux can get to know you better." Zel started, "I'm Zel Kazui, leader of the Zenos. I use air and light magic."
The guy with a purple streak in his hair spoke, "I am Kota Carlisle, 2nd in command and head of surveillance. I use dark and detection magic."
Mari spoke next, "My name is Mari Katona. I'm the main brawler here, wielding beast and earth magic."
The tall, overconfident guy followed suit, "Name's Yuri Yevsky. I'm the tank, using self-enhancement and plant magic to make myself stronger."
Raya followed, "I'm Raya Kazui, head chef and healer. I use fire and healing magic."
A lean, tall, brown-haired guy spoke, "Hi, I'm Ren Hiroshi. I fight on the frontline alongside Mari, using my earth and light magic."
A guy wielding a strange glowing sword stepped forward, "I'm Hisashi Sato, the mobile armory. I use water and weapon-creation magic."
Nonoka said in a hushed tone, "I'm Nonoka Pollock. I help the team escape if we are ever in a cinch with my illusion and ice magic."
Okami made his way towards me sluggishly, "I'm Okami Nobu. I play team support with my steam and illusionary magic."
After the introductions, we headed inside and enjoyed a pleasant chat while eating dinner. The dining hall was huge and featured a pine table. Metal lanterns hung on the rich wooden walls, with a lit chandelier hanging above the table.
Soon enough, it was time for some much-needed rest. Raya led me through a hallway and went up a set of stairs, coming to a hall of doors and taking me over to a door at the end of the corridor on the left side. This area had around six rooms, so I assumed there was another set of rooms where the others slept.
I entered my new room, saying goodnight to Raya. The room had a white bed against the back wall, a wardrobe, a nightstand, a hamper, windows on either side of the bed, and a chandelier coming down from the middle of the room, providing light to the entirety of it.
This place was much bigger than anything I had ever lived in or seen in my town. I promised I would do my best to give it the supplies it desperately needed to prosper. I couldn't let any more people down. I laid down on the mattress and got some sleep.