Grey Nirmala
"Trust No One!"
I hadn't slept a bit all night. I couldn't get the Pink Bunny out of my head. Had the bunny been watching me all this time? And what did "Trust No One!" even mean?
I tossed and turned in my bed, then a short, quiet laugh slipped from my mouth, one that echoed all my weakness and lostness in full.
The light of the Purple Sun fell across my bed and I forced myself up. Grimacing, I stretched my arms and legs. I went to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror for a long time. My golden eyes gleamed, and my hair had grown long. I could see my shoulders had broadened. Nearly every muscle in my body had grown and strengthened. My bones felt sturdier. My face felt even more attractive.
I got ready for the day and stepped out of my room. I wore Aetherim Academy's black uniform traced with purple patterns. I had a sheet of paper in my hand, and I glanced down at it almost every second, just to be sure I understood what I needed to do first.
I never hated history classes, but I did find them unnecessary. To me, the world's past wasn't that important, at least, not until now. After discovering how much I'd been missing, a strange curiosity for my world's history had taken hold of me. I wanted to unravel more mysteries. So seeing that the first class I had to attend was Realm History had pleased me. The corridor was crowded with students. Astrid and Neiman were among them. In the swarm of bodies, everyone was trying to get to class. Some were even using their aetheric abilities to travel through the air. When I reached the central court, I stopped in front of a colossal, gray-leaved tree, the same one as the others. The trunk listed where classes were being held. I read the text and sighed. Realm History, my class, was two hundred meters from here.
After a long and boring walk, I finally found myself at the closed door of the Realm History classroom. The door was shut, just like so many others I'd encountered. In the Green Realm, almost no one ever kept a door closed, well, except the bathrooms. My hand reached for the knob, and at that exact moment another hand brushed against mine. Its owner immediately drew back.
"Huh?"
I slowly turned to the owner of the hand. A girl with ocean-blue eyes was looking at me. Her hair was an extremely pale blonde, and she was taller than me, which irritated me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you."
I raised a single eyebrow at her. Worry flooded her eyes.
"I'm late to class, please, I need to get in quick, before getting scolded."
Rolling my eyes, I opened the door and stepped inside. The girl followed behind and shut it the moment she entered. That detail caught my attention, but the scene before me was far more important.
"Damn it, Bloom. I told you, if you're late again I'll have to—"
The professor's scolding cut off mid-sentence. Thirty students stared at me with awed eyes. An elderly, bespectacled professor with round glasses looked at me in fear. The classroom was large and adequate. In the very front row, center, two desks were empty. Without a second thought, I took one of them and looked at the professor. The girl took the only remaining seat beside me. The worry in her ocean eyes vanished. I set my elbows on the desk and rested my chin on my hands. I grinned at the professor.
"What's wrong? Continue with your lecture, sir."
The professor gulped and quickly looked away from me, continuing his lesson. Even so, fear made him stutter now and then. Fear… I liked it.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hachiko asked in a stupid voice. "Why are you trying to act cool all of a sudden? Are you letting destruction slip away or something?"
I didn't answer Hachiko. I was too busy feeding on the fear around me. It pleased me that some people were afraid of me.
"And… and with the rising empire of the Legia Household, the Storm City began to grow in both land and wealth," the professor said. I realized I'd arrived late and wasn't fully sure what the lecture covered, but I had one or two guesses in my head.
"After the Legia Great House constructed Magna Tempestas, everything was ready. But even so, there… there was something that not even the oldest of the Legia Family failed to do. Great Emperor Grinn failed to master what we call the most complex ability of aether: Divinity."
I frowned at the mention of such an ability. A power that even the eldest failed to master.
"But…" the professor continued, "there is a path to master such power. With the allowance of Sovereign Orinn Legia, all of you and some other classes will go on a journey through the Dream Realm to learn more about aether, more than ever what this academy can teach to all of you youthful minds."
A chorus of voices burst across the room. Some shouted with joy, some sat quietly in disappointment. I, meanwhile, was silent, but inside, I was yelling with glee. I could learn dozens of things about aether and the Dream Realm this way. I looked at the girl beside me, Bloom, I remembered her name and saw she was caught somewhere in the middle. She seemed both happy and excited, yet also sad. The professor let the noise go on a bit longer, then struck his hand against the white crystal board mounted behind him, and the students fell silent at once.
"Ahem, ahem. Yes, this is exciting, but there is something you must not forget. Most of you come from Great Houses and have been granted incredible power. But most of you have never left the Storm City. None of you have seen the true face of the Dream Realm. I'm sure you've heard of many outer regions like: Mountain of Destiny, Forest of Spirits, Sea of Time, Shadow Desert… But beyond and within those places, awakened aether eating beasts live. You all know the Pits in Storm City."
Several students, myself included, nodded.
"The Pits are scattered across the Storm City, and they exist because of mutated beasts. The Pits are places where many beasts hunt. And many, many, of your parents are the ones who do the job inside the Pits: a Hunter."
"A hunter…" I thought to myself. The word reminded me of the Crimson Moon Hunters.
"Hunters are the only people aside from the Vigil Soldiers, the only ones permitted by the Dream King, to leave the Storm City. But of course, none of us are Hunters. So… the trip will happen in five days. In those five days, please train, and ask your Hunter parents about the beasts and the peoples of the outer regions."
The girl beside me, Bloom, now had bright, lively eyes. I could feel joy inside her… but something else as well. Hunger. Alongside Bloom's happiness, I sensed a hunger for blood. It was a strange sight. Her face was soft, but her expression was serious. In that moment, I realized another fact that I should've realized a lot sooner. "In the Storm City, almost no one is normal."
"Anyway."
The professor looked around, then continued.
"Back to the lesson. The greatest obstacle to mastering Divinity is one's mind and soul. Most Awakened try to use mind and soul separately, so they fail to attune to Divinity. To use Divinity, both soul and mind must work in sync, simultaneously and in parallel. The power of Divinity manipulates all of an Awakened's luck. In this way, miracles can be achieved. And only one person has achieved this kind of power, at least in the Dream Realm: the Boy of Miracles."
The students were silent. I wasn't sure who that person was. If there was someone who could wield such a powerful technique, why had I never heard of them? I was far too ignorant, and that was a problem. I needed books to make me help understand the Dream Realm. And the worst part was that I hated reading books. The professor glanced at me. His round glasses were about to slip off.
"Power may be innate, but even to use it you must be worthy."
The professor spoke in a calm, quiet tone, and right then a bell rang. He clapped his hands.
"I suppose that's all for today. See you tomorrow."
Students slowly stood and headed for the door. Each one looked at me before leaving. I frowned and watched them go out one by one. I waited until only Bloom, I and professor remained. I expected Bloom to leave too, but she was still sitting at her desk. She wasn't focused on anything in particular, she looked lost in deep thought. Once I realized she wasn't leaving, I turned to the professor. He was packing his bag, and without thinking twice I tapped his shoulder. He turned, irritation on his face, but when he saw it was me, fear flashed across his features.
"Hey, professor, do you have a minute?"
"I… I suppose."
"Good."
I eased my posture and smiled.
"Who exactly is this 'Boy of Miracles'?"
The professor's gaze dipped, then lifted back to me.
"Well, he's not probably exactly a boy anymore but… yes. Benjamin Grishem."
"Grishem?"
I asked in a voice filled with confusion. He nodded.
"Yes, Grishem."
That surname sent my thoughts down strange paths. Was this person connected to Leon? I scratched the back of my head and nodded.
"Thank you, professor."
The fear left his face. He nodded again and quickly left the classroom. Now it was just the two of us, me and that peculiar girl, Bloom. She was still seated. A few aetheric particles drifted in the air; some circled around me, but none hovered near Bloom.
"Why the sad face?" I asked the girl.
Bloom didn't look at me. Something about her reminded me of Alora, and yet… not. I could feel a conflict inside her. A flaw.
"You know, maybe we should just leave," Hachiko said, undercut with worry.
I wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't my problem. But a part of me was curious, eager, even to finally be above someone else at something. I took a step toward Bloom to speak, and in that instant she vanished and reappeared right beside me. Before I could react, she grabbed my arm and slammed me to the floor. Darkness smeared across my vision and my mind went quiet. I'd blacked out.
When I came to, I realized I wasn't in the classroom. It felt more like a garden. And a pain, my head hurt like an ox had kicked it. I pushed myself up and looked around. It was quiet, and colorful flowers spread out before me. I turned, baffled by the scene, and found myself facing the wall of Aetherim Academy.
"Huh? What the hell?"
"You're awake." Bloom's low voice came from my right. I turned and, as expected, there she was. Her clothes were dirty with soil, and a silly expression sat on her face.
"Does Aetherim Academy have a back garden like this?" I asked, glancing around.
Bloom shrugged. "New for Fates Masterpiece perhaps."
There was an unintentional mockery in her tone. I frowned.
"I'm glad I don't have a name like 'Bloom' at least."
Bloom's lips curled upward, and in a deep tone she said, "In this state, what could you possibly do against the Dream King?"
I furrowed my brow at her. "Huh... Don't underestimate me."
She shook her head. "Fine. Then at least you can use Zero? I hope you can."
An idiotic look crossed my face. Now that she'd said it, I was thrown off.
"I mean, yes. I used it once."
Her smile thinned. "Then you've felt the backlash."
"He's trying to bury you in the ground," Hachiko said with a ridiculous laugh. When he put it that way, he might have been right. I nodded at the girl.
Bloom didn't move this time. She did nothing at all, just stood there meaninglessly. I raised an eyebrow at our situation, and in the next second she vanished and reappeared directly in front of me. On instinct I stepped back, but before I could, a flower-shaped shuriken was at my throat.
"Pretty, aren't they?" Bloom said, mocking. "This is my aether weapon."
I cursed the position I was in and narrowed my eyes, stepping back.
"Yeah. Very," I said.
Bloom shrugged, yawned, and sat down on the ground. She motioned for me to sit as well. I hesitated at first, but after a bit of irrational thinking, I accepted and sat cross-legged directly across from her.
"You're stronger than you look," I said in a low, slow tone. I didn't know what those words meant to her, but I didn't want her to think the person across from her was just some piece of trash, not that I knew why I cared. Bloom's eyes dropped, then a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Humans are strange creatures, aren't they?" There was sorrow in her voice.
"Is there anything in this world, or the other worlds, that isn't strange?" I asked back with a shrug.
Satisfaction warmed her face. She seemed to like the answer. She stabbed the shuriken into the dirt and began etching something into the soil. I tried to figure out what she was doing, but it was difficult. It wasn't clear what would emerge. One line didn't match another, but when she finally lifted her eyes to me, I was able to make out something from the sketch. The drawing wasn't complicated, but it wasn't simple either. Many lines moved in opposition to each other, and at their center was a small dot, but from a broader view, the lines grew and slowly connected, and beyond them the dot stood as an absolute in the highest center. A point with access to everywhere.
I shot Bloom a meaningful look. She grinned and stood.
"Zero. A divine power that links to every line. By manipulating Aether in your body and around you simultaneously, it lets you move from one place to another. The roads that show you the way are the paths of Orca."
I studied the drawing for a few seconds, then looked back at Bloom.
"How did you know I didn't know how to use Zero?" I asked, suspicion in my voice.
She rolled her eyes and pointed at me. "If you did, you would have used Zero against Astrid. And you said you only used it once. No one uses Zero only once if they learned how to use this Might technique. I'm not wrong, am I?"
Her smug question made me nod slowly. She was right, I didn't know how to use Zero. Her lips lifted up.
"Then allow me to teach you. Let me show you how to use Zero, and you'll have a better chance against King Orinn."
I drew a long breath and rose to my feet.
"Why do you want Orinn to lose? What's your goal? What do you get out of this?"
Bloom stretched her back and legs, then answered, "I just want to survive. But I know my wish won't come true while Orinn exists. A reckoning is coming, and I want to stop that war before it begins."
I looked at Bloom with dull eyes. I didn't expect a goal like that from someone like her. But it made me realize something, there were many people in Storm City who hated Orinn. Bloom stepped closer and rested a hand on my shoulder.
"Believe me, Zero is one of the most fun techniques you can learn with Aether, at least other than Myths of course."
Why when anyone speaks with me, only more questions arise inside me?
"What makes the Myths so fun? I thought mastering Myths was hard." I asked.
Bloom giggled. "At least for someone at your Awakening. Mastering Myths is difficult, but the stronger the Awakened, the faster they master a Myth."
I took a deep breath, then let it out with a soft groan.
"Everything is so complicated," I said. Bloom only stared back at me with an absurd smile.
Her ridiculous smile made me tweak.
"What?"
She didn't answer. I tried to step away from her, but as I did, we were already inside Aetherim Academy.
"I'll help you and teach you. You'll stand against Orinn and rise."
Bloom's hands started to sway, her feet to dance. It was similar to the dance Raya and I did, "the King's Dance," I reminded myself. Both Hachiko and Orinn had called it that. It seemed to carry a beautiful, profound meaning. I swept my gaze over the academy again. There were hundreds more mysteries hidden behind the curtains of this and the other worlds. I looked back at Bloom and smiled.
"I trust you."
The words nearly wouldn't leave my mouth, but when power was needed, I had to force myself into alliances. I didn't harbor hard feelings toward Bloom or anyone I'd recently met, but none of my new acquaintances made me feel safe. Under every shell lay either a butterfly, or a worm.
Bloom nodded. An even more incredibly strange smile spread across her face.
"Welcome to the freakshow, Grey Nirmala."