House of Amarin

Since her successful attempt at merging the two contrasting elements, Lia found it easier to cast water spells too. They were still weaker than the rest of her classmates' spells, but finally, she managed to do it. As the weeks went by, winter was also coming closer and closer. The days were much colder and rainier than at the start of the term, but it was precisely what Lia was waiting for. She was immersed in trying to mimic the cold water coming down ceaselessly while meditating and waiting for the first days of snow.

"Are you listening to me?" Lucian asked, hitting Lia square on the head with the book's spine in his hands.

"Owie! I am!" She grimaced, holding the top of her head with two hands.

"Then repeat what I said!"

"Wall of mana, outlining space something-something. OWIE!" She yelled, receiving a second, lightning-quick knock from Lucian.

"Something-something, my fluffy tail! Where are your thoughts wandering off, girl? Are you in love or something?"

"Yes!" She replied indignantly, "With my new powers! I want to train those not to learn this boooooring... stuffy-stuff!" She moaned, puffing up her cheeks like a chipmunk.

The two were sitting in the extensive library of the Academy at a huge table that had a labyrinth built upon it by the countless codexes piled atop each other. It was already dark, and a storm was waging war against the floating Island, distracting Lia completely. She was bored out of her mind, reading theories for hours, reciting them like a machine while Lucian was trying to teach her how to carve space out for herself from No-Space.

"Then break up already!" Lucian hit her the third time, "We are learning about No-Space, not ice magic! I don't care if you are combining two elements! I don't care that you are Lia Amarin! You are my student; you learn what I am teaching to you! Or gather your stuff, pack up, and fuck off!"

"O-okay… I'm not… saying that to… you know… I just…" She murmured, shrinking her neck back, pulling a parchment before herself, burying her head into it, and trying to disappear before Lucian's dark gaze.

"Screwing up a No-Space spell ain't like receiving a backlash from meditating! It can end up with you losing a limb or two to it! Or worse, your body gets ripped apart, or your soul gets obliterated! It isn't a game!"

"..."

"Now. I will tell you once again how to maintain your mana when you send it into No-Space and start creating your own safe space!"

"Yes…" She whispered, paying attention, trying to memorize it and not start thinking about fire and water and how to create new, never-before-seen spells.

Since their first time, Lucian never brought her into No-Space again. Instead, they were either in his office or in the library, and he was stuffing Lia's head with extremely convoluted theories. By the time she managed to grasp the meaning of one of his sentences, four new questions formed about another one in her head. No-Space this and that… carving, exploring, feeling, and seeing it. How can it be seen from this side of reality even? That would require a… telescope…

"What is a No-Space telescope? How does that work?" Lia asks suddenly, ignoring Lucian's present monologue. It was clear that her mind wandered off once again, yet her question made him fall silent, watching her distant eyes. "Ah…" She flinched, covering her head, realizing she was daydreaming once again.

"That is a rare and sophisticated device designed by Somia Marduk. But it was not her invention."

"It wasn't?"

"Not entirely." Lucian nodded, leaning against the table, closing the codex in his hand, putting it down, and watching Lia before explaining. "No-Space is just being re-discovered. We knew about it a lot more in the ancient days. Just look at the lost, vast Sub-Realms we still stumble across after thousands of years!"

"We lost it because of the Dark Ages?"

"No. Even before that! Something happened in the old days. Way before the Dark Ages! We had people researching into that when the Dark Ages happened. That was the final nail in the coffin, and it made sure that we almost lost everything. Including our Realm. Since then, we are re-discovering many things, including No-Space."

"So… we had a different Dark Ages... Once…?"

"There are many baseless theories about what happened. None can be proved, and all of them are nothing but legends without any real merit!"

"Do you believe in any of them, Headmaster?" She asked, curious, making him smile as she managed to avoid calling him a silly fox when she was seriously interested in something.

"There is one I am subscribed to! I believe that we had an age where the Undead did not exist! So I believe that when they appeared, we had something similar to the Dark Ages. When we were in mortal peril! But we survived. So did the Undead…."

"And history repeated itself!" Lia finished his thoughts, watching him nod. "If that is the case… wouldn't it happen once again?"

"It very well could." Lucian nodded again, "Maybe we are going to have another Dark Ages one day. I just hope I won't live long enough to see it."

"Oh…"

"Back to your question!" He continued with a half-smile, "There was a method passed down. It made it possible for talented individuals to gaze into No-Space. Searching and exploring it was not a foreign concept, but it was done mentally. It required a strong will and proficiency in manipulating No-Space. Somia perfected that and implemented her experience into a special device called a No-Space Telescope. There are only five in existence. Four of them are in the House of Marduk's possession. The last one is right here in the Academy."

"..." Lia gulped, remaining silent about it, but then Lucian just grinned.

"I know you found it and are exploring how to use it. Don't try to hide it from me!" He raised a hand, and Lia covered her head once again, making him laugh. "It will be a good training device for you. Explore its usages, and whatever you manage to fish out, you can keep!"

"Really?!"

"Yep. But there is a price for that; you won't ask me how it works. For every tip and helping hand, I will claim more and more treasures from your group!"

"Hah! I can work it out!" She scoffed, refusing the idea on the spot.

"We'll see~ Opparu is talented, but besides unlocking it, his talent won't do much for the rest. If he can surprise me and master how to use it, I would be thrilled! But I am not seeing it happening… He is old and has many ideas stuck in his head. To explore No-Space, one has to have an open mind, as there are no real rules in there! Time? Space? All of those are relative. As to what? Nobody knows. Well, whatever. Let me be surprised! Now… where was I?" He grumbled, reopening the codex, repeating his sentences over and over again, turning the momentarily exciting conversation back into a complex and boring lesson.

…
….
……

Lia was back at their tower, watching the telescope on the top floor of their tower, trying to make it… do something. Anything. She attempted to use mana and spells on it, even coat it in her blueish flames, but nothing worked. It not only ignored her but seemed to be impervious to any kind of damage. Or she was just too weak to leave a mark on it. She sent a message over to her brother, but he only replied with an 'I can't help you with that' message and then was silent.

"Boss!" Keily said, coming up, holding a mug of hot chocolate, and bringing it to her. The rain's been going on for eight days straight, a new record!" He said with a chuckle, looking at the flashing lightning outside while passing the drink on to her. "Koa made them; they are delicious. Have some!"

"Thanks." Lia nodded, not even looking at him, taking it and slurping on it without blinking her eyes.

"Master Opparu said we have to wait for it to be unlocked. You should be more patient; he should be done with it right after Victory Day!"

"I know…!" Lia sighed, finally turning away, making Keily grin, watching the chocolate beard that appeared on her face. "Haahh… And I must pay more attention to that silly fox's lessons if I want to use this thing correctly! If we can make it work…."

"You can do it, Boss!"

"We will see! So… what is up?" She changed the topic, looking at him, noticing that he was wearing a new bandage on one of his ears.

"It isn't much! It was from a duel I participated in yesterday! I went ahead and helped out Aurora in a duo battle; it was fun! She is already in the top 50 of the Dueling List!"

"Oh. I thought she would be up there already! In the twenties!"

"Some others are using the backdoors and rules to their advantage, and either refuse to do battle, or they postpone it… I think they are afraid of us!" He grinned proudly.

"Fancy yourself trying to get high on the list?" She looked into his eyes, continuing to sip her chocolate drink.

"No. I don't want to embarrass us. I was more of a distraction and a support in the duo battle, anyway! Aurora dealt with our opponents by herself! It was a bit scary… One of them lost an ear! I think they may try and come back for some kind of revenge… I heard that Aurora gained a few enemies already and being called a… well…." He looked around, tip-toeing closer and whispering into her ear, "A cold-hearted bitch!"

"Pft~!" Lia giggled, her eyes twinkling, "She isn't one!"

"Well, the others think otherwise! The three brothers in our branch are leading their own groups, too… they are taking on the smaller ones who were unfriendly towards us. Surprisingly they reported to me that they turned some of them into our allies! They started trading with us! We are exchanging our resources and have mock battles, training our new members!"

"That is good! I was told in the previous Student Council meeting that we are making too much noise in the Academy."

"Are we in trouble?" Keily asked, a bit taken aback, now getting unsure and nervous.

"Nah!" Lia shook her head, drinking the hot chocolate to its last drop. "I told them, if they don't like it, come and challenge us! Or me!"

"What did they say?" He asked after Lia fell silent, curious, and excited, her flappy ears twitching.

"Nothing! Hehehe…” Lia grinned, "I may be only a 2nd-year student and young, but I am not afraid of challenges!"

"Glad to hear." Sion arrived, his voice dark and severe, surprising the two, and Lia quickly dropped her cheerful attitude.

"What happened?"

"Aurora." He said, his voice cold like steel, "She was brought back just now, unconscious."

"What?!" Both of them screamed out, not wanting to believe it, but before they could head down, Sion continued.

"Ceiline is already examining her, and she was mostly healed by the Academy's nurses. She is just yet to wake up."

"What happened?" Lia asked again, now her voice calm and measured, looking up at Sion.

"She challenged the 10th on the Dueling List who accepted it." He said, raising his hand and displaying the recording of their battle.

Aurora's enemy was a tall, lean, handsome boy, around 17 years old from the looks of it. He had short, black hair with some golden strands mixed into it, and his eyes were shining like golden stars. He was wearing the 4th-year student's uniform and wielded the element of light as his main. The battle was intense, and Aurora was going in hard from the start, forcing a close-quarter fight out of her opponent. Most mages were not accustomed to something like that, but this time it was different. Her opponent met her head-on, blade against blade, as he copied down Aurora's swords to the last detail and met her blow-to-blow.

"He is good," Lia murmured, watching it without a flinch, even when Aurora's opponent countered her and sliced open her thighs so deep, they could see the bone hidden beneath Aurora's flesh.

"He is," Sion said with a heavy voice. "He is part of the Disciplinary Committee."

"You know him?" Keily asked, gulping and wincing, seeing Aurora being sliced again, making her drop one of her swords as she lost all function in her left arm, her blood splashing everywhere.

"Yeah." Sion grimaced, "But I only spoke with him once since the start of school. It was when I was appointed to be also part of the committee. He congratulated me, and that was it. He made no friends while studying here. But he did make a lot of enemies."

"And we are now part of that list," Lia added, watching the boy aiming, without hesitation, to decapitate Aurora, who was teleported out before he could do so. When she was gone, he just flicked a hand, summoning fire, burning away all of Aurora's blood on his body before exiting the field and leaving without helping her.

"Thought so," Sion said, lowering his hand. "But there is a problem. Multiple, in fact. For one, he isn't part of any groups. He works alone. We can only go against him in Duels, but he can refuse to entertain us. I am surprised he accepted Aurora's challenge. The last time he dueled, it was against Olivia."

"Did he lose?" Keily asked, looking at Lia for a moment.

"Yes." Sion nodded. "Olivia was a beast. The fact you managed to beat her out of the Egg Hunt was something nobody expected."

"Me neither." Lia shrugged. Even though she won, it was because of Olivia's impatience, rage, and the fact she was taken in by surprise. In a Duel, it would have been entirely different. "Can we beat him?"

"I don't know." Sion replied after a short pause, "I could try. I am a long-range fighter; I could keep my distance from him. But he is someone who will graduate with an Honorary. He is a tier above all of us in strength. Combine that with his talent… the results are that our strongest warrior was defeated."

"You would go against him?" Lia asked, watching Sion form a small smile, and his eyes showed no fear.

"I am not afraid of losing. I can challenge him and see what he does against my fighting style. Then we can map out his powers further."

"Let's try it and… try to win!" Lia said, making Sion laugh.

"I can't guarantee the latter, but I will try!"