(Julius Argenti POV)
After the nightmares I had, I realised that being afraid of my soul would hinder me in the long run.
I decided to enter my soul again, this time staying for as long as possible. I was treated by the darkness again and it was still terrifying. I used to hunt in the shadows, so being afraid of this void was surprising.
Over the next few days, I kept leaving and reentering my soul to keep me sane. Eventually, I got used to the void. But then I realised that I wasn't actually afraid of the void. I was afraid of being trapped there for eternity.
If I 'slept' in the void, I would've essentially died even though my body was functioning. I still would have had a soul, so nobody could tell I was dead. I would be in a coma for eternity.
That's what scared me. Not the void inside my soul. After realising this, the nightmares stopped occurring.
I was glad, though I still wanted nothing to do with the void. It was too creepy and was beyond the norm. I didn't tell the others about this, though I did confirm that both Violet's and James' souls were the same as everyone else.
As I walked back to my dorm, I got a message from Amina to come to a certain location in Sector C. She also told me to wear something nice as well.
She probably wanted to go to a fancy restaurant with me. Like me she was a lover of food, so she would often invite me to different restaurants we found. An outside person may call this a date, but we were just two friends hanging out.
And it wasn't only me she invited out. Sometimes she includes her friends from other classes and now recently, James and Violet too.
Since I was free, I replied that I was free and wore a nice black pair of jeans, with a dark red shirt and a black varsity jacket. It wasn't anything fancy, though it wasn't too casual. I hated where formal clothes, so this was a compromise.
After a quick run, I arrived at the location. When I entered the building, I sensed that there were no people. It was in the middle of the city, with lights brightening the room.
As I went deeper into the room, suddenly a shadow appeared. My honed instincts immediately forced me into a combat stance.
But less than a second later, I realised that there was no danger—a banner with my name, celebrating my 16th birthday with confetti floating down from the ceiling.
A second later, everyone shouted "Happy Birthday" and started clapping. I'd forgotten about it. It was my birthday today.
I was so busy and had many things on my mind, that it completely slipped passed me. I saw nearly my entire class, with some others in the other classes attending this party.
I even saw Umbra Moria and Veronica attend which was a surprise. I suspected it was Umbra who caused me to be caught off guard. Even with me now being B rank, the gap between us wasn't close and he could easily fool my senses.
Veronica, now 32 was on the verge of entering S rank. To help reach that rank, she temporarily halted her assassinations and participated in the war to help stimulate her potential. It was impossible to reach that rank without going through life-and-death battles.
I was extremely ecstatic that everyone remembered my birthday. I wasn't a people person but seeing so many here to celebrate my birthday warmed my heart.
Even though I hadn't spoken to many of them, there was the goodwill of me saving them back in Ausburn. Also with Violet being a social butterfly, she must've convinced most of them to come.
I followed them and enjoyed the festivities. I was given a massive birthday cake and after singing Happy Birthday, it was promptly devoured by all the mages. It was made by a renowned chef who worked exclusively for nobles.
During the party, I asked Amina an important question.
"Wait, what would you have done if I said I couldn't come and rejected your invitation?"
Umbra overheard this and answered on Amina's behalf.
"Then I would've dragged you here forcefully. I may still be recovering, but I could easily move a C rank, no B-rank brat here without you noticing."
"Mr Moria, I didn't think you'd come."
"I consider you to be my protege. I wouldn't miss your big day. Plus, I couldn't attend my granddaughter's 16 birthday. It's a perfect excuse to visit her."
"Though I can't say that about her parents. That boy of mine and his wife feel too guilty for being out of her life for so long. I'll let them off now, but I'm dragging them to our family reunion whether they like it or not. You should come too."
"No, no sir, this should be between your family only."
"Who cares. I may call it a family reunion, but you don't have to family to attend. Nica is also coming."
I wasn't going to argue with an SS rank. I resigned to my fate and accepted I would be coming. Though I couldn't say I was disinterested. I'd always wanted to meet Amina's family outside of her grandfather.
After having a quick chat with Umbra, we continued playing party games. I had fun actually being a teenager, instead worrying about my future.
One of the party games was a version of truth or dare. The only main changes were that the one asking the question decided if it was a truth or dare, but they didn't know to who had to answer the question or enact the dare.
We tacitly agreed on harmless dares, and the person asking the question dared number 8 to kiss number 3. I was number 8 and Lisa Rosario was number 3.
When I approached her she was blushing furiously. I gave her a quick peck on her cheek before returning to my seat. Everyone started yelling in excitement while Lisa was in a daze.
I thought I felt killing intent behind me, but couldn't find who it came from. I tossed it up to my imagination and ignored it.
Since tomorrow was a weekend, we partied until 3 in the morning. Nica even brought some alcohol for everyone to drink even though we were underage.
We were easily able to resist the effects of alcohol, so she brought strong ones that could even affect mages. Though in return, she received a harsh scolding from Umbra Moria.
I returned to my room slightly tipsy and exhausted from having so much fun. I really needed that I was stressed from all the worrying. On Monday, we would have sparing matches between us so I wanted to know how strong I was.