Dark crystals gleamed in a dark room, appearing out of thin air only to vanish in a similar manner. The caster was none other than Callista who was more than pleased with her results. She was done with the book Jarren had gifted her and from it a multitude of knowledge graced her mind.
She came to learn more about her mental fortitude and it's uses. Acting as a safe haven should she be entangled in a high stakes situation. Also thanks to the glyph she had mastered to cast the crystals more than just halved her cost of malcore, it completely neutralized them.
However for the use of other elements like water and fire then the cost would be halved. Not to mention with the necklace that she had her understanding of the element she wished to master would be greatly increased. During her moment of revelation, she quickly realized a problem .
'I'll have to pick another element to mask my own.' She looked at the shard in her hand. Once clear was now replaced with a oceanic watery black flow, it's internal motions as if living which made it mesmerizing to look at. Rising to her feet, she dismissed the shards that orbited her presence and left her room.
'Maybe water? Or perhaps lightning.' In her mind she tried to come to her decision of an element to adopt. "Hey Callista, do you mind having some milk?" The comment shot her out of her mind and look at the source. It was Eresa, a fifth year student whose background wasn't simple.
She was one of the few students in the entire academy who dared to adopt lightning as their element. It's grueling dedication and training notorious to those who had dared to take in on. Eresa however thanks to her father, a well established merchant was able to finance her dreams.
"Does little pussy walk around without her master? Oh, I hope that nothing bad happens to the innocent cat." Eresa pushed on, one of the few students who could taunt Callista and walk off unscathed. Callista knew that she was referencing the collar around her neck, it's grip tight but not detrimental.
With each stride the bells would shimmer, drawing attention to her. She didn't want to waste time with a lady like her thus she brushed it off and made her way towards the Arcane Archives. "Oi! Who do you think you are, you fucking bitch!" Now blaring with fury, she blocked Callista's path.
The girl had orange hair, her eyes amber and her demeanor with a casual glance haughty. "I'd prefer for trash like you not to waste my time." Her words flat, her figure as equally tall as Eresa. "Trash? Well then I'm sure you won't mind for a spar. Consider it a training opportunity for you and help you with your flaws."
Rather than a rejection, Eresa was pleased with the response that she got. "Fine, you'd be fitting to serve as my dummy." The students watched from the side, murmurs erupting as the pair made their way to the Bastions Grounds.
...
The two ladies looked at each other, one with a steely determination to wipe the calmness that coalesced around the latter while the latter merely looked bored. Waiting for the fight to be over. There was no start, only movements on each end.
*Boom*
The premise was filled with orange lightning that torpedoed towards Callista who had her demeanor unbroken. There was no glyph forming at her feet as much as the audience wanted to. "What?!" It wasn't just Eresa but the spectators as well we're baffled that Callista who had barely moved had no form of injury on her body.
"But how?" Eresa asked only to be met with silence. "I'll just beat the answers out of you kitty." Eresa's figure was bathed in lightning, her dash bringing her in front of Callista who merely watched the frantic fifth year give it their all.
*Boom*
Eresa's fist that was covered with orange sparks crashed hard into a veil of black crystalline armor that shielded Callista's figure.
*Crack*
Pulling back and gritting her teeth, Eresa couldn't believe that she had broken one of her fingers, presumably the ring finger. Her opponent barely moved and never once cast a glyph. "Okay so this little cat likes to hide beneath walls huh? Let's see how it fares with this!"
Her eyes had sparks shining through, jolts of electricity licking her body and her aura skyrocket.
*Boom-Boom-Boom*
The arena was covered with scorched spots, most of the audience looking away due to the bright lights as Eresa let out a cry of rage. She was a fifth year student and here she was, unable to move a fourth year student. It was not only unacceptable but an insult to her ego.
The skies grew dark, the atmosphere grim as air itself crackled with electricity however what shocked most was the event after. It wasn't some heavenly divine attack that followed but complete silence.
*Thud*
Eresa unceremoniously fell to the floor, her defeat a shock to those present. Leaving her in such an embarrassing state, Callista left the scene and made her way to the Archives. "Did you see what happened?" One of the onlookers exclaimed. "What do you mean see what happened?! If I was looking I'm sure that I'd be blind right now."
The scene they had pictured in their minds never came to pass. The crescendo hang awkwardly in the air as Eresa finally regained consciousness. Clutching her head, she felt a pang of pain tingle across her scalp.
Trying to recall what happened, her mind came up with empty blanks here and there. She recalled charging up her ultimate attack which she knew had penalties given that she was in school grounds but ignored and just as she was about to launch it at Callista, a sharp pressure pressed on her shoulder and everything cut to black.
'She knocked me out with a single attack. Not even her crystals at that. But how did she manage to get behind me without...' With a shock of realization, she took her leave off the arena shrugging off the defeat she had endured
...
In her hands a manuscript unfolded. It spoke about one of the most vital elements when it came to demonic forces, light. 'It'll compliment my element perfectly. The perfect offense and my crystal defense. Even if inverted it would still work regardless.' With a straight face, she began to dive into her tomes till the sun finally set.
***
"What do you mean Eresa lost to Callista?" Lirale who was shuffling through her own manuscripts looked at Vhorren, his face deadpan. "I'm serious, it was just as a shock to me as it is to you." Tales of younger year students taking on older year students were extremely few, such individuals either had overwhelming talent or skill.
And in Callista's case it was hard to tell where she fell into. "Apparently she used black crystals to defend herself but what surprised me is that she didn't use any glyph." A spell cast without a glyph was unheard off. The only explanation that they could come up with was that she masked the glyph.
But even then another problem presented itself. Eresa was a fifths year student this for a person like her, simple tricks were something she could see through given that they were shot by a fourth year student. "Well this is certainly a problem."
It felt like another headache to deal with. "What about Jarren and his interrogation with the Head Professor?" Vhorren let out a heavy sigh. "There has no been wind of the matter however I fear that we may be dealing with something more than just some student. I think there's more to Jarren than we think."
After the meeting between the two, there was nothing. No reports given to the professors, no reprimand to Jarren. Nothing. "Rhydian says that he lost his vision due to an ascension backlash but I doubt it. It might have something to do with Jarren."
Vhorren concluded, his voice dense with confidence. "And what if it's not." Lirale retorted. "How could it not? Jarren appears out of nowhere then boom! He uses a glyph that professors can't decode, Callista is more like him and the Rhydian coincidentally loses his eyes. Not to mention the death of the three girls and Saevin's, it has to be him."
As much as Lirale didn't want to admit it she felt that he wasn't wrong, so far with Jarren's shift in behavior the academy ticked differently. Students grew more wary, deaths started to sprout all over and the professors fell silent. It was clear that there was something about it.
"Well what can we do about it, it's not like we can interrogate him like before. He'll simply lead us in circles." Her tone rich with uncertainty. "You're right and it's not he'll come clean out of nowhere. Damn it!" Vhorren cursed at the sky.
"I'm sure that the only person who can tell us what we want is Callista however she has a problem in itself. She's wearing a collar like a cat." Lirale's face contorted in wonder. "Huh?! A collar? Like a pet's collar or did I mishear." Vhorren's nod confirmed it.
"What is she thinking? I'm sure that he's probably behind it however we have nothing to work with." The situation felt hopeless. "Look, we have a limited time before uncover the truth or we'll lose him. After the tournament ends the entire school will be closed for modern renovations. And who knows how long that will take so we'll have to crack it before we're out of time."
Unclenching her fists, she rose to her feet and shot out of the room.
***
Prisms of light bounced from one prism shard to the other however rather than radiance the light felt empty, performative almost posing no real threat, an attribute of the necklace.
*Whoosh*
A rapier appeared in front of her, bathed with flames as the wielder bore deep into her gaze. Lirale realized that it was pointless to play a to and fro game when all the pieces were right in front of them. "I'm done playing nice with you Callista so let's get this over with, who is Jarren?"
Her tone usually light-hearted was now cold and distant, her fiery red eyes burning with a yearning for chaos. "Jarren is something even I don't know. At first I thought that he was a student with something more up his sleeve and from that my curiosity grew and look where it got me."
*Ring*
Her fingers jingled the bells on her collar, faintly gleaming in the evening sun. "If he's not a student then I'm sure you'll help me avenge Saevin and those three girls." Callista never once shook out of her indifferent suit. "If it brought me death then I would but it doesn't, only more games for him to torture me with."
It didn't feel like Callista was speaking but someone else on her behalf. "Games? What are you talking the about?! He's not invincible to take all of us down so let's conspire against him." Lirale who expected at least some form of resistance behind her transparent eyes was met with banality.
"If he wasn't then I would have tried already." Lirale didn't try to stop Callista who glanced at the blade then back at Lirale then left.