"Urgh... No... No, don't touch there... I'm sensitive... hehe." The young man mumbled between snores—while he slept.
"Haha... Okay, fine... But the tall lady gets to go first-"
*BANG!*
His room door was suddenly flung wide open, nearly flying off the hinges.
"Castor!!" A woman's voice yelled out.
"URGK!- Huh!?" Castor replied in a haze, the sunlight peeking through his bed-side window didn't do him any favors, his hazel eyes and beige skin somehow always looked good in the sun, but his serious case of bedhead made his already frizzy black hair seem even messier, he looked like some sort of closet monster.
The woman—who seemed quite young for a nun, was draped in a black and white veil that covered her head, and reached her ankles, placed both hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side dramatically.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you getting ready for school?" She barked.
Castor blinked at her a few times, as if that would somehow jumpstart the part in his brain that regulates basic speech. Then just accepts the fact he just wasn't listening in the first place, and lies back down with a relieved sigh.
"You haven't heard the news, Sister Luanne?" He yawns. "It's Saturday."
Sister Luanne glares at him, her mouth falling open a bit, like's she in utter disbelief of his thick-headiness. "It's Tuesday." She replied, deadpan.
"Oh, Sister. Haven't you heard of the multiverse theory? It's Saturday somewhere." He smirked as he pulled the covers tighter around his shoulders.
Her left eye twitched. "Castor. So help me, Light—if you don't get up right now, I am going to toss you out of that window!-"
*RING! RING!*
"Ah bup, bup, bup. Hold on, gotta get this." He held a single finger up towards the furious Sister Luanne, now looking as if she might burst right where she stood.
He flipped open his phone, which seemed to be entirely made of Light. He raised it to his ear.
"Yo. What's up, Pollux?" He said, casually.
"Dude! It's almost 3rd period, where the hell are you?" Pollux exclaimed loudly on the other end. Castor just squinted, and jerked his head back like he said something confusing.
"What? I'm in bed, bro! You told me you weren't going today!" Castor refuted, bolting upright in his bed, sitting up in shock.
Pollux scoffed, "Bro. I thought you heard the news? We have mock matches today!"
Castor raised his eyebrow, Lychinus High held mock matches every week, why is he acting like it's so special? "And? We're seniors now, Pollux. Who cares? Plus, we're just gonna lose the one-on-ones anyway."
Pollux paused for a moment, "...Castor, the KING is going to be there!"
Castor fell silent, and when he spoke again, he nearly exploded. "WHAT!? The King!? You mean THE King!!? Aetheron Lychinus!?" He shouted.
"What other kings do you know!?" Pollux replied vehemently.
"B-B-But why!?" Castor stammered.
"No idea, dude. But, theres been rumors flying around that he's only attending to scout for new Luni! I need you here, man! This is our chance!" He pleaded.
"Shiiit. Bro, cover for me! I'll be there in literally one minute!"
*BEEP!*
Castor ended the call, then thrust the covers off of his body, nearly tossing it to the floor. His attire was revealed, a pure white blazer, with the Lychinus kingdom symbol on the back, a golden star. A black undershirt with a yellow tie that matches the logo on the back of the blazer, white trousers, and black shoes.
"W-What the!-" Sister Luanne stuttered at the sight. "Did you sleep in your uniform!?"
"Sister, life is too short to wear boring clothes. I think the world would be a lot more fun if everyone wore their work clothes to sleep." Castor said, hopping out of his bed without missing a beat.
Castor walked over to Sister Luanne, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Alright, I'm gonna head out, I'll be back soon."
Luanne blushed a bit, holding her face as her cheeks turned slightly flush. She quickly snapped herself back to reality when she saw Castor climbing through his bedroom window.
"W-Wait! What are you doing? Y-You don't even have a ride!"
Castor hung out of the window a bit, flashing Luanne a sly grin. "I am the ride."
With a fearless leap, Castor vaulted from the windowsill—kicking his feet out, cockily resting his hands behind his head mid-free fall. Suddenly, a light-red aura began to surround his body in an outline. Then, he spun himself around mid-air, planting his feet on the brick wall of the Church—a feat that should be physically impossible, but he somehow kept his balance as he stood horizontally.
Taking a deep breath in, he crouched—coiling his body like a spring, he paused, smirked...
Then, took off! Leaving a red blur of Light behind him.
He soared above the kingdom, slowing just enough to savor the sight—the Kingdom of Lychinus. Castor always loved gliding high over the cloud that their world rested upon, watching the tiny figures of townsfolk moving through bustling workshops and market halls, the pointed cathedrals stretched skyward, their stained glass catching threads of Light,
but all of it paled beside the grandeur of the King's castle. Unlike the modest buildings below, the castle felt alive, it was like a fortress, countless spires tipped with gleaming peaks that almost seemed to touch the Light, the main tower loomed the largest, holding many golden banners that fluttered in the cool breeze. Finally, at the base of the castle—held courtyards where the King's 'Warriors Of Light' resided, The Luni, the strongest, and most heroic fighters on the planet, protectors of peace.
As he gazed upon the kingdom once more, he sighed, this was his home, these were his people.
Even if he knew, the feeling wasn't mutual.
Castor spotted his school, it was a tall building, its sheer scale only outweighed by the castle above it. A building made of white, and inside its glass atrium, he could see nervous students fidgeting, all heading out onto the courtyard, preparing for the mock battles.
The tension in the air was palpable, it didn't seem like anyone else could believe it either, the king was going to attend their matches!
It was enough to make any idiot with a pulse anxious. But, not Castor—his blood was pumping, more than it ever had before.
Because thankfully, he was a special kind of idiot.
Out of the corner of his eye, Castor spotted Pollux amongst the crowd, he was sitting in the bleachers around the designated battlefield, holding a conversation with someone, a blue-haired girl.
"Yo! Pollux!" Castor shouted from above, Pollux and the girl searching frantically for the source of the voice.
*THUD!*
Until, Castor dramatically landed feet first in front of them, causing the blue-haired girl to let out a wild yelp.
Pollux only smirked, fixing his black blazer that wrapped around his purple undershirt, like a fancy suit, wearing a pin emblem of Lychinus on his right breast pocket, his trousers were black, as well as his dress shoes, he shook his head—blue eyes, caramel skin, and purple crew cut accentuated by the sun, his appearance still as eccentric as ever.
"Always gotta make an entrance?" He quipped.
Castor crossed his arms, and chuckled. "Haha! Come on, at least let me be better than you at one thing, rich-boy."
They both cheekily smiled at one another, with a sharp smack, their palms met in the air for a crisp dap-up.
Their jocular moment, was suddenly interrupted by the loud clearing of a throat.
Pollux whipped his head around to find the blue-haired girl with an impatient expression on her face, tapping her foot.
"Oh, right. Sorry." He said, nonchalantly—then, turning to Castor. "Cas, this is Liyana Desdemona. She's a friend of the family."
Castor squinted his eyes, and studied her for a moment, her appearance seemed familiar. Though, she wore the standard female Lychinus high uniform—a blue uniform, just with a long skirt, and white knee high socks instead of trousers, her face had very distinguishing features.
"...Oh! Desdemona! I know that family!" His eyes lit up.
Then, his face immediately shifted into confusion. "...Wait, you're supposed to have red hair, aren't you?" He asked genuinely curious.
Liyana seemed to be very unamused, she looked at Castor with disdain, as if she didn't approve of the way he carried himself.
She crossed her arms, and turned to look at Pollux. "Why do you still associate yourself with this delinquent? You're inheriting the Silverwind empire for Light's sake! He'll only serve to bring down your reputation."
Castor seemed a bit taken aback by her words, but still brushed it off with a cheeky smirk, and Pollux looked visibly more offended than he was. "Look, Liyana. Don't take this the wrong way, but a Desdemona is the last person I'd want to hear lecturing me about reputation."
Liyana barely reacted, just whipping her hair to the side. "If you were wise, you'd heed me well. Like you said, I've been on the other side of the coin, Silverwind."
The moment fell silent, Pollux quietly glaring at Liyana, who didn't grant him another glance—sitting there unbothered.
Castor could only sit there gritting his teeth, trying his best to fade into the background, hoping this awkward moment would pass.
...
"Attention!" A feminine voice boomed throughout the courtyard, every single student in the area immediately stood at attention.
A female instructor walked out of the school's glass atrium, each of her steps held power, the courtyard became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the clacking of her high-heels echoed across the stone until she finally halted, her glare sweeping the crowd for any sign of disorder.
She wore a silent expression, one that would immediately tell you she is less than tolerant. Suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed, the clipboard she carried dropping to her side, as she pushed up her glasses, and crossed her arms.
"Mr. Vornheart." She stared daggers through Castor, who was hoping to quietly tiptoe away from the bleachers, but unfortunately was caught. He slowly turned to her with a nervous smile.
"I'm so glad you could finally grace us with your presence, three hours into the school day. I do hope we're not impeding your busy schedule." She spoke sarcastically, but her expression did not shift even the slightest.
Castor giggled nervously, "Oh, uh.... Haha, well, I-I knew I couldn't miss your class for the world, Ms. Scarlett! I wouldn't want to miss out on all the valuable knowledge I could gain from such an intelligent, and gorgeous woman like yourself. Ha... Ha."
The entire class was glaring at him now, soft whispers traveled through the crowd like a wave.
Ms. Scarlett tilted her head. "Is that right? Well, if you cherish my class to that degree, then you'd have no objections to competing in our first one-on-one mock match today?"
...Ah, shit.
"Uh... Of course not, Ms. Scarlett! I'd absolutely love to!" Castor choked the words out through his teeth, his entire body language betraying his true feelings.
"Perfect." She quickly jotted something down on her clipboard. "Go stand in your corner, and wait for further instruction."
With the most forced smile in the kingdom on Castor's face, he robotically marched over to the painted corner, his side being just one quarter of the vast battlefield, it had to have been as wide as an entire city street, the large Lychinus golden star logo etched into the middle of the smooth-stone.
"Now." Ms. Scarlett turned her attention to the rest of her students. "You all are already aware of how we begin this class."
It seemed like each student immediately knew what she meant, some of them tapping their finger on their laps anxiously, their bodies tensing like they were preparing for something.
"...Luni always need to be prepared for the unexpected on the battlefield, knowledge is power, without it—you are a liability to His Majesty." She continued writing, not sparing anyone a second glance.
"Charles." She said, still looking at her clipboard. "Can you tell me what I should expect to see from a Blue ARS?"
One of the students in the crowd shot up instantly, sweat pouring from his brow. "Uh! Uh...! Blue-Lighter's usually have some sort of support based technique, like healing their allies, or buffing them..!" Charles stammered apprehensively.
Ms. Scarlett only nodded, then moved on. "Pollux."
Pollux jumped, immediately focusing.
"Can you please tell me about Green and White ARS?"
"They should, uh-" He aggressively cleared his throat, "Green ARS usually revolve around a transformation of some kind to increase their power, and White ARS are always a wildcard, their abilities could be anything, but they're almost always really weak." Pollux tried his best to speak confidently.
Yet, once again, she did not reply. "Lastly, Liyana, explain to me Purple and Red ARS."
Liyana did not miss a beat, "Purple ARS wielders are usually attached to a weapon they can conjure at will. The weapon always has a special ability, though, it's never really anything devastating. That is, unless you're one of the rare few who wield 'Deep Purple.' Those who wield Red ARS are also in the rare minority, but they're usually very violent individuals, and their technique reflects that in their abilities." She spoke with such elegance, but she glared towards Castor during the latter half of her explanation.
"Haha... I'm just gonna act like I don't see her." Castor whispered, then turned away.
Suddenly, a trumpet blows a harmonious symphony, catching everyone's attention.
All of the students scan their surroundings, they'd know that trumpet from anywhere, and exactly what it means.
The King is here!
"Look! He's up there!" A student shouts, pointing to a singular box seat above the courtyard, overlooking the entire battlefield.
A man slowly approached from behind the red curtain, his long, free-flowing wavy blonde hair almost floating in the wind, his eyes were golden, and his skin a smooth porcelain white—like he hasn't aged a day since his 20's. He wore a stunning crimson velvet robe, heavy with gold embroidery and trimmed in fur. Voluminous sleeves with golden accents that spill outward.
Ms. Scarlett immediately dropped to her knees, and bowed her head—the students watched her, and did the same.
Castor lagged behind everyone else, almost forgetting to take a knee, in the sheer awe of the spectacle he was witnessing.
Still, he raised his head, just a bit—so he could really get a look at him, it's not everyday you get this close to him.
When he zoned in on the skybox, he could see the king's face.
It was... odd? He wasn't smiling, in fact, his entire expression was devoid of... anything.
Castor watched as his golden eyes scanned through the crowd, bouncing from each student, not making even the slightest movement to acknowledge their worship.
Then, he suddenly glared at Castor, locking eyes with him. Castor's heart dropped to the floor, he should look away! He should DEFINITELY look away right now!
...But, he can't. It felt as if some force he couldn't explain, was stopping him from breaking his gaze.
This all felt so unreal to him, like it was some crazy vivid dream.
...But this feeling. There was absolutely no doubt in Castor's mind.
That was him. That man, is The Eternal King.
Aetheron Lychinus.