Raging Souls - Chapter 1 - TaraForm (2024)

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Every day, every night, it was like clockwork… it was all the same. I wake up (barely), I get dressed, I go to school., go through all the classes, till lunch. Then I sit in the office and wait. Stare at the floor until the carpet starts flowing in patterns and waves. Sometimes the assistant would ask me to come behind the desk and I'd help her fill out papers and keep an eye on the front door. I wouldn't eat, I didn't care. As long as I got through the day. After that there were more classes, and then it was time to go. I'd avoid my old friend the best I could.. Still we acasonaly exchange looks. It's like they pitied me. I still cared for them dearly, I wanted to protect them, to be with them when they needed me… but it's too late now. I can't go back, not now.. Not ever. Depending on whose week it is I either get in the car or on the bus, dad would pick me up rarely, most of the time it's Anna or my grandpa, and when I'd get to mom’s place off the bus my other dad would be working, mom not being home yet. No matter the week I go to my room and attempt to work, I normally do all of my school work at school so I rarely have homework. So I'll take a nap.. Until food is ready, Or watch youtube on my phone. After food they let me stay up till 9, but most of the time I just lay there.. Thinking. Till I finally fall asleep…

Today… is different, in the void, I often go here. It's like I'm always here. Even when I'm at school or home. You'd think 8th grade would be different, colorful and exciting. But my world is dark and lonely, like an infinite void with me sitting there. Watching as everyone else walks by. Such as the life of an outcast. But today a dark figure stood across from me. Their body swirling and flowing like scribbles on a page. They seem hesitant, worried.

A dark figure stands across from a young girl. Sitting on the floor using her hoodie as a barrier from the outside world, not wanting to harm the girl, the figure slowly approaches her. The world around them still has a soft and galaxy-like theme playing in the background. The figure hesitates, then offers a hug hoping to comfort the girl. She was crying, she did not realize till now. She looks up and examines the figure 0I to see if they are hostile or not. Then she accepts the hug… crying.The world around me became flowy in a way. It was.. Magical- I open my eyes to see the figure taking form. She looked like me in a way. But instead she had black and short hair with purple highlights at the tips, she had black nails with a single purple one on the middle finger. She had.. a tail? She had a black cat tail and ears to pair. She had gray hoop-like earrings on her right ear and the same for the tip of her tail. The whites of her eyes were black with a white pupil- it looked like she was crying black tears. She wore the same clothes as me but a purple heart was on the chest of her hoodie. It looked to be on fire with a slightly darker purple. I try to ignore the obvious abnormalities and close my eyes to let the hug last at least a little bit longer…

We let go, sitting there not knowing what to do. She sits before me like she's thinking. Finally she says. “Sorry- you're probably confused.” she says with an awkward look on her face. “I don't really have a name sadly.. But you can give me one! (if you wanna-)" I think for a bit.. “Well it would help if I know who or what you are.” “Well I think I can simplify it a bit-” she exclaimed. She thinks for a little bit and says “by textbook definition I’m like this “alter ego” type thing, without all the evil and stuff- others can’t see me andddd… well I don’t know how else to explain it with the info you know-” I look at her, think for a moment. “Yea that makes sense (being sarcastic). Well in that case it makes it a bit easier to name you…” we both sit there for like 10 minutes until I finally think of, “how about my name backwards?” She looks up “well that's something” I think for a moment, “Yeah Aras has a good ring to it.” We sat there… again for like a minute when Aras is finally like, “I have an idea!.. Well….. You know what? f*ck it lets do it!” She gets up and sticks her hand out to me. “Do you trust me..?” I sat there.. hesitant, I took her hand. She pulls me up “I have something to show you.” She pulls me to a specific spot and a light appears, it was like a door opening- a gust of wind blows through it with that same magical feeling like earlier. “Well, are you ready?” I look at her, “for what-?” She giggles, “you'll see” , and then she walks me into the light..

The wind gets faster, stronger- the light brighter as ever, and then the wind slows down… the light dims to see this.. fantasy like world. There's people everywhere with fantasy-like assets, the town had fantasy elements with neon bits and pieces- like a futuristic cottage core like town. “Hello ma'am!” a desk operator exclaimed they were sitting at a big round desk in front of this gate like the door I came out of .“Let me get you registered.” They start typing on this weird floating screen in front of them, Aras beside me says “Well? Go on up there! They'll need your details.” I go up to the desk with Aras beside me, she’s.. slightly transparent? I tried to ignore it. “Alright I got you up right here! Your name is Sara Soul, right?” , the operator asked. “Yes that's me- how did you get my info?” I was confused and slightly impressed. “Oh we just scanned your soul.” The operator smiled, “I see you’re not yet awakened. I'll get a staff member to help you with that.” They pressed a button on their screen. “Hey, can I get Lora here? We have an awakening!” After that I see a gust of wind flow up from the ground-? It was slightly blue and pink? From it, a woman appeared with a clipboard. “Hello, my name is Lora! I see you have already met Gary?” ,she said. “Well they never really introduced themselves but sure-” , I said with an attempt of a smile.

Lora leads me (with Aras following behind) to a building. It's a generally small building with weird looking windows. I go to touch one but get shocked by the static- “oh if you're wondering about the windows then I'll tell you about them!” lora said with a smile “these are a type of bullet proof glass windows that are enchanted so they are nearly indestructible. They were enchanted by the queen herself!” I looked at the glass, it did have a flowy pattern to it- it even resembled a butterfly. Lora led me in the building and through some check-ins. We then went into this room. “I'm sorry mam but may I have your glasses? I don't want them to break during your awakening. Oh and anything else in your pockets as well." I thought for a moment and then handed over my glasses, phone, charger and headphones. “Thank you mam, I'll make sure everything will be safe and sound!” lora said with a smile

Lora and a couple other people led me to the center of the room where they closed the door. The room was barren and heavily fortified on the inside. “Okay Miss Sara. All you need to do is follow my instructions closely.” Lora said with Aras giving me a thumbs up in the back of the room. They were behind another glass pain like the ones in the windows. “Okay so listen closely. Close your eyes and concentrate….”

The girl in the center of the room closes her eyes, puts her hands on her heart and breathes slowly, from her hands there's a purple mist flowing like a soft flame. She slowly opens her hands like a door and a fire envelopes her entire body in almost an instant. The intensity of the flames so harsh the glass cracks in a violent manner. A purple flame with hints of gold, red and blue flowers in beautiful chaos, a heart emblem forms on her hoodie chest where her hands once were. Her hair shortens as it turns from a dark blond to a jet black with purple highlights at the tips, black cat ears rise from the top of her head and a tail to match forms from behind. Gray piercings appear at the tip of her tail and the top of her right ear. She slowly opens her eyes as a purple flame flows out her eyes, she rises from the ground as she becomes fully transformed into who will one day become a warrior. The glass shatters as a violent explosion erupts from her- she falls to the floor.

“Good morning sunshine!” Aras is looking down at me.“What the f*ck happened-?” , I say, confused. “Well take a look, miss Sara” Lora gives me a mirror…
IM A f*ckING CAT GIRL-!?”
Aras looks over,
“Welcome to Culitius! Your journey staaaaaaarts… now!”

Fri/Dec/29 2023

Chapter 2

Walking out of the building, Aras starts skipping about the area- i can tell that no one else can see or hear her, It's odd. As Aras jumps around lora approaches me, she seems a little spooked. “Well- i guess we need to find a way to replace those windows” she awkwardly giggles. “Oh- sorry about that. I can help replace them? I don't know how bu-” she interrupts me. “Oh don't you worry about that! I can get an order here by next week. Besides- you're not properly trained!”she then makes another hollowgram thing out of thin air, but this time it's pink? Last time I saw one it was blue- she looked over at me. I guess I was staring because she satiated. “Oh, are you curious about the screens?” It took me a moment to process but then nodded, she continued,”they work the same as any other summoning spell, they are the same color and element as the user's soul. As you can see mine is a pink mist!” Before she could finish, another personnel walked up to me, “h- hi my name is elly- im going to be your escort to the training grounds.” she was shy- and cinda cute-? I get interrupted mid thought by lora “sorry about her- she's a new recruit, though she is the best healer in the corps surprisingly- she was brought in by the queen after an attack of some sort.”elly then says, “We need to be there by umm- 3 i think? We need to go now since she can't fly yet..” lora then slightly panics, “oh dear- you two must get going!” she starts shuffling me and elly forward- and then we were off.

Aras bumps my shoulder “awwwwwwww someone blushed back thereeee” she sang- i wanted to shush her but i was in a crowd. Elly was obviously nervus, she was looking around like she was going to get jumped- “good morning miss elly!” a store clerk stated “good morning Mr andrews” she shyly replied. It looks like she knows the townspeople well- why would she be nervous? Me on the other hand i was so nervous a slight bump might blow my socket.

We arrive at another building, it seems to be more guarded and reinforced than the last one- we enter and is greeted by another desk attendant. “Hello miss elly! Seems this is your first escort?” they ask, “yes, they have been cooperative thankfully- how many do i have today anyways..?” she asks nervously, “we start the newcomers with one a day to help with getting used to it- then you'll start your first missions later after training.” they state. They then start checking me in, this takes but a few moments- then we head to the room behind the operator.

In the room there's not much surprisingly- i expected there to be more, but then again they ‘awakened’ me with nothing but instructions, so at this point i should expect nothing normal. We approached a group of people, but on the way I came across a mirror. I look at myself, I never knew my eyes were this purple- it's almost like they glowed. The whites wernt black like Aras’s tho. They were like regular eyes but… glowing, With my pupil like a frightened cat. They then grew big and round, “my god i really am a cat-''
we made our way to the group where we talked to who seemed like the instructor- “hello! You must be the newcomer I've heard about.” he exclaimed. “Well I guess- wait. What did you hear-?” I said “oh nothing much, just that you blew up the awakening hall” he giggled. I look at him blank faced, possessing the statement- “WHAT” “the building collapsed while we were walking away-”elly explained. I stood there dumbfounded as the instructor introduced himself, “well for introductions my name is Derek, i'm going to be your instructor for a while. Though Psyche may come in every so often to check in on us.” “Who's that?” I whisper “the queen” elly responds “oh” i sit back up. “Unless something happens to me sadly you're stuck with lil old me!”he chuckles. “But for now let's start the training” he congers a ball of lightning from his palm “ for now let's start with basic conjuring. The size of your spell determines your controllability, as you can see I can adjust the size easily. I can make it small and I can make it ginormous! But I can only go as big as my soul allows me to. Too big and I could pass out! What I want you to do is make it as large as you can. But first you need to learn how- i'll take us to a white space so we dont blow up the training grounds”he hints at me smugly “heyyy!” I complain, elly chuckles quietly as the instructor creates a portal on the wall-

The sides are made of pure yellow lightning. “Now everyone be careful touching the sides, it won't hurt you but may shock you a bit” “isn't that going to hurt?” another student asks. He pauses. “Naaaaaah” we walked through the portal to a pure white area, it was almost like the void- endless and empty, like a clean slate waiting for creation to uphold. We all gather around waiting for instruction. “Ok folks! Welcome to the blank space! This space is structured like purgatory, thankfully without all the pain and suffering and the fading away into nothingness.” the instructor said with a big grin- the room went silent with wide eyes on all our faces- it was like a minute before he finally broke the silence- “ok so anyways-” he goes over the instructions-
The students form a larger and more spaced formation, all retch out their arms palm up. A variety of different colors and elements flows from the palm of each child. The girl with a purple flame, the fire rises to the stars in a raging blast. Fire flowing like the sea. Her hair blazing like the flame It flowers as a warrior's flame not yet tamed. The maiden with a green current. It swirls and circles her palm like a whirlpool out of control, a tornado of healing and care wisps around as her hair flows with it. A gust of wind as it flows as a healer's current, calm and tame. The other students follow suit as their elements envelope the sky in a flowering flow, giving the world around them color and life. Like a rainbow it rises and circles the area. Glowing brightly like an aurora borealis, as the light slowly fades the flames dim and the show is over.

The instructor was speechless- it's like he saw a ghost. I looked to see a small flame in my hand, it was warm- but it didn't hurt when I put my other hand in it. And my hoodie was unaffected by the flame. I guess it was fireproof? “My god- this has to be my strongest group yet! Hold on, let's head back. I have a treat for you all!” he said with a big grin.

Sun/jan/14 2024

Chapter 3

We all go back through the portal to see some personnel waiting for us. “Welcome back!” says lora ecstatic. “Oh lora! What are you doing here? Asks elly. “I'm sure Derek told you- we just got tickets to the Crimson warriors and star dancer’s clab concert!” lora says jumping happily, aras gives a jealous look but then remembers that no one can see her- “who's that?” I asked, “Well they're the one and only daughters of the queen!” lora explains, shocked. “When is it?” elly asks “it's in about an hour, so we will get to explore the concert site till then!” lora then starts to grab me and elly then starts to pull us to the door. “Common! There's so much for you to see! It's your first festival after all!” lora then gets stopped at the door by a tall and professional looking woman with long and flowing gold hair, she's in a white dress and has huge golden butterfly wings with red and blue details. The moment the rest see her they bow down on their knees. After processing for what felt like a minute- i follow suit (not without falling over-)

She approached me in curiosity “are you sara soul?” she asks “yea- i mean i guess uh-” i panic as i slowly realise that theres a f*cking GODDESS in front of me- “rise” she orders i stand up way too quick and fall over immediately- (elly then stares at me trying not to laugh) i then stand up straighter then i'll ever be. She chuckles then adjusts her crown halo thing? (yea i still don't know how those things work-) “i am the goddess Psyche, i am the queen of this realm and could be your boss if you pass the training exams'' she says with a smile “you my friend are special! I have seen your soul report and I'm extremely impressed with your power.” the group looks up in disbelief, i am extremely puzzled at both facts- “so in celebration i gave your entire training party vip tickets to my daughters concerts tonight!” “VIP-!?” Everyone yells, surprised.

We all follow her to the festival, there are red and blue decorations all over the place. Stalls themed on the bands scatter a happy city as smaller bands buzz up the guests for the big shots. Some songs I recognize from my home world- but they aren't the artists from home. One band on the side exclames “WELCOME ONE AND ALL! To get us started we will start with a song called self- destruction by the band in #34116 I prevail!” The song starts and I recognize it immediately- I'd say that the artists from my world are pretty big shots- so why were their songs being sung by start up bands? I try to ignore it and enjoy the music. Elly runs up to me with a pair of blue and red milkshakes. “Hey- uh.” she looks behind her to see the rest of the group encouraging her- “ummm do you want one?” she says looking back at me. “Sure!” I say with an awkward smile. We walk along with the group, elly staying at my side; trying not to get lost. “Hey uh- do you think we are friends…?” elly asks nervously. It kinda takes me back- i didn't think they want to be more than acquaintances, well thats how im used to things being with people- “uh i mean- if you are ok with that?” (I have no clue if i did that correctly to this day-) she nods slightly and we enjoy our milkshakes. We arrive at the main stage and it's packed- and I mean filled to the brim with people. One guy even teleported beside me to get to his wife. Though the path is not hard to get by tending we are being led by the queen herself- some people look surprised, some impressed, and some jealous-

We find ourselves in a semi secluded area with an amazing view of the stages. The lights and smoke aren't bothersome and the music is clearly heard- it's like the most amazing spot for a concert I've seen! The lights dim… the area goes quiet and the sky starts to glow a soft blue and smoke flows off the stage, the stars shine bright and beautifully as blue butterflies flow around the stage. From the middle of the stage I see a big pair of butterfly wings open up to reveal a beautiful woman. White hair, blue dress and a galaxy like cape flowing in the breeze as she is introduced as adora, goddess of the stars. A soft violin starts playing, her voice flows as soft as her violin bow glides on the strings… Some effects are played in the background by the Dj hidden in the back, it gives the song beat and rhythm, It's almost electronic. The butterflies sing along to the beat like backup singers and dancers… the song ends, the lights dim down and the smoke rises.

The lights start to turn a shade of red- the butterflies from before are now a dark and bright red. The smoke wishes away to reveal a whole band introduced as the Crimson warriors and the lead singer as Shiva, god of chaos. Red flaming wings swing wide, a guitar ax blazing a solo a pro would be impressed at. Their leather jacket shimmers as the smoke flows like crashing waves. The beat makes the crowd cheer as Shiva begins to sing. The lights go down right before the beat drops. Then the sky is suddenly illuminated as if it's day. The crowd goes wild as a mosh pit forms at the drop and some sing along “it's our time now,To come out!!!!! If you're a freak like me!” shiva sees me with elly and the group and looks slightly surprised but excited? She then continues to shred harder and points us out “come along now. Sing along! I'd be lying if i didn't say that i froze “if you're a freak like me…” “Hey! Hey!” “if you're a freak like me..?” “Hey! Hey!” “Are you a freak like me!? “Yea! Yea!” “Are you a freak; Like, me??!!” A heavy shred then shocks the crowd and leaves some of the group flabbergasted- the beat rages all the way till the end and with our blood pumping we think that's the end, Uh how we were wrong.

The lights dim and the smoke rises… the sound of a winding music box confuses the crowd… I sat up- “this song- can it be?” elly turns to ask something but is interrupted by a voice- too figures are seen from the smoke... It's Shiva and Adora. The lights are now a soft mix of red and blue, the butterflies are a group of red and blue ones. It's like two different variants of them. The stars are brighter than ever and the red blaze is in harmony with the cold blue mist… “I pirouette in the dark.. I see the stars through me…..” The violin begins to play as I sit wide-eyed. wondering if this really is what i think it is- “Tired mechanical heart.. Beats til the song disappears.” elly turns to me “do you know this one?” she asks curiously “yea its about to build up-” i say quietly. “Somebody shine a light…! I'm frozen by the fear in me… Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me! So cut me from the line… Dizzy, spinning endlessly.. Somebody make me feel alive- And shatter me!” One of the biggest violin drops I've seen washes over the crowd- the surprise on their faces are none that I've ever seen- the electronic elements make it impactful while still being elegant and smooth- the air around them flowers like a soft sea and the smoke circles them like a whirlpool. It's like a true balance of chaos and order. The sisters then begin to fly around the stage like their small butterfly counterparts. The world seems like it's a spinning magical light show.

“ If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly! There's no one to catch me if I take a dive. I'm scared of changing, the days stay the same! The world is spinning but only in gray.. If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly! There's no one to catch me if I take a dive. I'm scared of changing, the days stay the same! The world is spinning but only in gray..” the spiral gets faster as the violin gets more intense- the spiral then bursts into a flowing light. Fireworks explode into the sky and the spiral then slows to a godly flow.. “Somebody shine a light! I'm frozen by the fear in me. Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me! So cut me from the line. Dizzy, spinning endlessly.. Somebody make me feel alive And shatter me!!!!!, Shatter me!”

The light calms down and the smoke dissipates. The crowd roars in excitement, if their blood was not running then it is now- the cheers deathan me and the groop as we cheer with them. The sisters look at each other with victorious faces as the concert comes to a close and the fireworks light up the night sky..

Wed/jan/31 2024

Chapter 4

We all made our way to the meet and greet area; there, there were concessions and stalls scattered along the streets. The line for the non-VIP meet was mind boggling- but surprisingly the sisters came to us. “Hey sis, there over here!” Shiva shouted excitedly. They were literally dragging Adora by her arm toward us- “Hey mom!” shiva cheers, “Heyy mom-” Adora said tiredly. “Shiva, please have some manners in front of the trainees.” psyche said with a sigh. Me and the group stand there frozen as the sisters introduce themselves properly. “Hello, my name is Adora. I am the 1rst princess of culitius and the goddess of the stars.” “HEYYY! How come you get to be the 1st!?” Shiva complained “we are literally twins!” Adira looks at them “because I was introduced first so shush” Shiva then gave an annoyed look- I can tell their sisters. “Anyways-” shiva straightens herself a bit. “Hello, my name is Shiva! I'm the cooler *glares at Adora* princess of culitius! Andddddd the goddess of chaos! Cool right?” she says posing… you can almost see the sparkles around her- as everyone glares at them.

“Well with introductions out of the way- we have a festival to attend right?” psyche suggested. “Well wait before you go-!” Shiva said while walking toward me “I've heard this little rockstar ended up destroying the awakening center ae? You got power, kid! Who knows. You may become the next commander.” They nudged my shoulder while I stood there slightly confused- “thanks- but I have no clue how I did it to be honest.” “Well, I can't see you climb the ranks!" They concluded “hey sis, aren't you forgetting something?” Adora reminded her. “Oh yea!” Shiva then begins to pass out posters, and cards to the whole group. Most of them were ecstatic and others were thrilled. After passing the posters and cards around we give goodbyes and begin to enjoy the festivities. As fun and play roar thru the endless night, we all play games and eat delicious food. It was like nothing I've ever experienced.

Me and Elly end up exploring the area. There we found a concession. It was a simple game of hit the target- Elly immediately catches her eye on a soft dino plushie. I see this and I decide to play. “Hey- uh. How much to play?” I ask. Psyche gave us a small amount of money to spend on concessions and games- so I should have enough. “Hello miss! It's 1 dollar.’ I pay and get 3 balls. I then remembered that I can't throw a ball worth of sh*t- but I try anyway. I throw the ball... Thru the tent- I mean I hit it? I just uh... Cinda made a perfect hole in the stall back as well- “well… I guess that means you win! What do you want?” I look over at Elly, she is in shock- “hmmm, ill like that dinosaur plushie please.” I point to it. “Right up missy! The stall guy hands me the plush, it's surprisingly soft- I look over too Elly “hey uh- I got you this?” I hand it over, almost not wanting to let go because it's so soft- “I- uh, thanks” she smiles.

We both walked around and played a few more games. There's this one game that if you win, they will give you a keychain of your soul- weird… but it was cool, nonetheless. Elly got one and it was a pretty green soul with what looks like wind stuff- “I like it! It matches your hair.” I compliment, “yea, yours too!” she replied- I forgot I have purple highlights now- but the good thing is; I can tell she's warming up to me.

We all met up back at the meetup spot at 12:50am- my f*ck we lost track of time. With us all pooped after a day of fun the Queen catches our attention. “With the fun coming to a close, it has come to assign you all living quarters. I would like you all to line up alphabetically.” we all line up, and I'm last- of course. She then begins to go down the line with a clipboard, writing stuff down. Once she gets to me, she gives a puzzled look. “Oh my- it seems there's not enough rooms!” everyone gives a blank face as she thinks for a bit. “It seems you need to room with another student- oh I know! You can room with Elly, you two have become quite close for your first day- so why not.” me and Elly froze- “well we need to make preparations, men!” some soldiers appeared in front of her, making me and Elly jump- I fell over. “Prepare room 250 for two residents please.” she ordered. “Yes mam!” they suddenly disappeared.

“We'll let the rest of my men escort you to your living quarters.” She summoned another group of soldiers and ordered them to escort us. We all went our separate ways- except me and Elly. We were brought to an apartment complex with about 8 floors; Apparently, we were on the top floor. It was a bit more than what you'd expect from an apartment complex- it was surprisingly roomy. “So, uh this is the place-?” I ask. “Yep! Here's your keys lady's." The solder gives us both a pair of keys. I decided to put my keychain on it so we don't accidentally swap keys. Elly does the same. It struck me at the moment that I am literally a minor- but I shrugged it off tending i know how to somewhat take care of myself-

Me and Elly find our way to the apartment… after looking for like 20 minutes. It's a medium sized apartment with everything already prepared for two people, how they did it so fast I have no clue; but still it's great for a start. I headed into the bathroom to then get jump scared by Aras- “BOO!” “OH sh*t- you're lucky this door is somehow soundproof!” I threaten “chill panther I'm only f*cking with ya” Aras giggles to herself. “Weeellllll?” she nudges my shoulder “wha do ya thiinnnkkk? Great right!?” I stand there questionly but then remember that I'm literally in another dimension from this morning- “I mean it's great! But I wouldn't have guessed this morning that I'd go to a different dimension-” “well perfect! It just depends on if you want to stay or na.” Aras giggled. “Go.. back-?” I freeze in the spot- “I don't know why but.. It kinda scares me to go back- I mean it's my home-! But… I don't want to go through all of that again.. I like it here!” I looked down to see a tier fall- I didn't notice that I was crying. Aras sighed. “Look you don't have to if you don't want to.. You can stay as long as you want.” she then gave me a soft hug to comfort me. “To think.. You're such a powerful soul. You are even more mature than others your age. But you still are just a child… don't worry, no one's going to leave you behind here." I looked up from her shoulder. “You sure…?” she pats my head. “I'm sure.” I stand there.. “Yes- you're right- I mean everyone's been so nice!” “there's that smile! Aras ruffles my hair. I giggle “now can you get out-? I kinda need to piss” Aras is set back “oh yea sh*t- sorry” she laughs “I'll leave you bee. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me.” She flies through the wall.

Chapter 5

This morning I found myself back in my bed- I could smell something sweet and looked over. a cup of steaming blueish purple tea sat on my bed stand. There was a note on it. “sorry for leaving so early- i was called on for more escorts today. i'll be back till noon so make yourself at home!. ps. The tea is a butterfly moon leaf tea I thought you'd like-” -Elly. “oh and we can go shopping for stuff once i get home- sorry”. “awwww! how sweet of her!” aras says over my solder, scaring me right out of my bed- “HEYYYY-! I told you to stop doing that!!!” i get up off the floor.”you know i'm scared easily-!” aras gives me a look “exactly!” She then phases through the wall- right next to the door. I gave a sigh and looked back over at the tea, it had a small sparkle to it- “well if this is poison then at least it's priddy-” i take a small sip, it sets me back a bit- it's surprisingly sweet and creamy. almost like a milk tea with fresh fruit juice carefully mixed in. i continued to chug it-

I found my way to the kitchen to put the cup away. There was a box with my name signed on it in fluent cursive. It was neatly wrapped in a golden ribbon and with another note on it. “Dear Ms. Sara, I have brought you a small gift to help you accommodate your afterlife here. my daughters have taken a liking to you and it would be much appreciated that you pay us a visit in the palace anytime you are available.” -psych

I tilt my head in confusion- “afterlife-?” I process for a minute. “.....wait-” i creep my head toward Aras. “Aras…? care to explain?” she floats there over the counter. “what? you're not dead.” she dismisses. “then-” my mind runs a blank as i stare at her confusingly. “wellllllll if i gotta tell you-” she hops to the floor. “technically this is the afterlife. but I took your soul here prematurely, therefore you're more powerful than the average soul. This is 1 of 12 realms that people go to when they die. There are thousands upon thousands of universes and multiverses people come from; and to prevent chaos the 12 realms are split up in different kinds of souls. you are a spirit so you woulda went here anyways. the spiritual realm to be prosise.” i stand there wide eyed- “so…. they think i'm dead-?” she nods her head. “well- people like Elly were born here. so her power is also more considered." I nod. “soooo like- what else is there-?” she sighs. “Well each realm has a god or goddess that rules over it, they are siblings, their mother is the void, and they are immortal. oh and also their kids are also gods and are immortal.”

“wait wha-'' before I could ask if a knock came from the door. i go over to check it and its shiva. I open it slowly, but Shiva swings it open the second it moves- “SARA SARASARA SARASARASARA!!!!!'' The door flung me back but thankfully Aras broke my fall (somehow) “heyy shiva-?'' I said tiredly. “did u open it yet!!!????” she asked excitedly, her eyes lit up exsitedly. “no- i was reading the note sorry-” i pick myself up, Aras was a puddle on the floor where i landed “my f*ck- when you said that you have a big ass i didnt think it was as big as a damn elephant’s-” i took that as an overly sarcastic complement and went back over to the counter.

shiva lommed over my soulder exsitedly, i forgot the was tall as f*ck- “sooooooooooo?” Shiva exclaimed “open ittt!” I giggled a bit and 0pend the box. There was a personalized phone and a pair of wireless headphones. “Oooo!” I take both out of the box and I check what's on the phone- the entire thing is already personalized to my tastes and has a music app with all my playlists from home. “oh did they not put my thing in there-!? dang it hold on- '' shiva then summoned a handheld console from thin air. “this was supposed to be in there but i guess they forgot ''she chuckled and handed it to me. it was also personalized to my liking and had most of my save data from games i had played, she also handed me a cace for the games.

“Woh! thanks-” i was surprised- i didn't think of not having them here but thankfully they helped me with that- she gets a fulfilled look as we hear a voice from the hallway. “Shiva! where'd you go-?” she looks over at the door “im in here!” she yells in an excited voice. then a woman walks in- her head is.. floating-? “I'm so sorry miss- she gets very chaotic when hyper.” She walks up to us.”My name is hanna! I'm the drummer in our band here." I tilt my head a bit in thought, but then I remember that I saw her on the stage yesterday at the music festival. “oh yea! I saw you there- nice to meet you." I shook her hand awkwardly, tending it's been a while since I actually shook someone's hand-. “As we were making introductions Adora came through the door. “sis, mother requested that we bring the newcomer with us to the palace. no hurry up- oh and bring your girlfriend too." I blanked again- “heyyy! that was supposed to be a secret!” Shiva complained. Hanna sighed “babe, it's not that big of a deal. besides it was going to be revealed anyways.”she chuckled to herself.

We exited the building shortly after I got into my pajamas. “hey sisssssss?” Shiva asked , “C'mon! it’ll be fuuuunnnnnnn!!!!” “no” hanna gives adora a look “C'mon, let's have a bit of fun.” She signals Shiva to go ahead. Shiva excitedly brings out her wings and grabs Hanna, she then flies off toward the palace. i stand there dumbfounded- adora then looks over at me “you wanna?” i take a quick take- “aw hell no- i dont wanna throw up-” she nods “noted” she then walks up to me. “take my hand' miss.” I reluctantly took it, a light blue mist formed around us. when it fully develops us i feel lighter- it soon dissipates and we are at another place than before. it was a luxurious japanese style palace with golden assets, the plants were huge and luxurious- the city itself looked like a unpolluted tokyo compared to this-“Welcome to the butterfly palace. This is where me and my family call home, though Shiva tends to prefer her band studio. i guess it does fit her better-'' Adora leads me to the entrance “three… two…one.” the second she said one the door opens to reveal shiva and hanna laughingly nuge at each other. “Sis! you beat us again-!?"Hannah laughs “c'mon babe. pay up” Shiva reluctantly gives hanna a five dollar bill. me and Adora chuckled as we made our way to the throne room. “Now mis Hanna, please make yourself comfortable in the waiting room.” Adora orders. “Aww! but i wanted to see the royal stuff y'all gotta do it!” Shiva chuckles. “don't worry hun, you don't miss much these days- I mean the last time it was something important was when tha-'' adora interrupts her and whispers in her ear. “thhaatt uhhh. That storm came along that one time-” Adora facepalms and says “it's nothing serious. just a small mishap.'' She tugs on Shiva's sleeve. “now. let's get this underway”

We headed into the throne room where there were 3 throuns. In the middle gold one sat psyche. on the left was a rose gold thrown with a red pillow on it, shiva sat there with slight boredom. crossing her legs on the left armrest and resting her head in her right hand. On the right is a beautiful silver thrown with blue padding, Adora sits elegantly and calmly with her hands resting on her knees. Before me were the gods of balance. Chaos, order and what brought it all together.

“Ms sara, We have brought you here for an offer. One we hope you don't refuse.” psyche proposes. “What kind of offer-?” I get kinda skeptical. “You see, Your soul has the potential to become extremely powerful. So we decided to ask you to join the soul defenders training program.” i purck up “oh- well, what would i do-?” “I'm glad you asked. You will begin to train your soul to do many things, you will gain rank the more powerful you become and you will eventually be able to have a courier here. if you pass training." Shiva looks at her. “You can also get free stuff and benefits-” psyche sighs “yes you can also get free items and weapon blueprints.” Adora also sighs. “Good news is, your friend Elly has already been in the program for a long time- she just insisted that she takes escorts on the side. No big deal, I guess it's extra training.”

in the distance we could hear some muttering, we all looked over to the open hallway to see elly and a few soldiers walking down it and laughing about something- “well speaking of witch.” adora comments. The comment caught their attention, it took her a moment to notice me but when she did- she froze immediately. one of the soldiers raised an eyebrow, “you good bro?” they waved their hand in front of her face, no response. the other soldier looked at me, “ant that her new roomate?” the soldier looked at the other “oh yea- the one who exploded the awakening hall!” they both giggled as elly blanked in my general direction- probably overthinking. (to be honest- relatable.) Shiva grins “heh, yea we forgot to tell her you were going to be here today-” psyche gave shiva a side eye as she attempted to continue with the offer. “anyways- Miss sara. you've heard our offer and we hope you accept.” I think for a moment.. and I nod my head. “I'll accept, but there's one request I'd like.” psyche nods her head “yes?'' I put my hand on my chin. “if this is available for consideration…… can i have the weekends off-?” she gets a bit set back- “well- that was already in the plan, but of course.” she giggles a bit “well this concludes this meeting, i look forward to you working with us.”

we all were dismissed and the sisters got up to show me around some more, i went up to belly to see if she's alright. “you good-?” she takes a moment. “y- yea” we stood there awkwardly- “sooooooo, we are co workers now?” I ask. “I mean- I guess more like classmates but yea-'' we leave the room to the waiting room, there was Hanna and Shiva talking about what just happened- “yea- she was as frozen as sharal yesterday when the flash frost fell on her-!” shiva laughs “we had to thaw her out for the rest of the day!'' They both laugh loudly as adora chuckles at them.

adora took a small barry from the boul in front of them and ate it, leaving the stem and leaves to be thrown away in the trash can beside her. They dont look like any I've seen before. thereres 4 different colors of what I can see- “hey, adora? what are those?'' She looks up. “oh these? These are Sweet berries, there's 4 different flavors and they grow in the sweet berry forest not so far from here. they even made it into a park!'' I tilt my head. “Can I try one?” she nods her head. “well certainly.'' She hands me a small orange and red one. “this is the most favorite by many '' i look at it curiously, its oddly soft- like a peach. Its stem and leaves make it look like a big cherry. i take a small bite, immediately my ears perk up- is of no doubt, orange creamsicle. the best of eny flavors, and in a fruit-? hell yea. I ate it happily as I enjoyed the flavor. “damn- it has to be good if it gets your tail wagging like that-'' Aras commented. I was ticked off but I tried not to make it obvious. Shiva chuckled “i'm guessing you like it?” she teased. “yeah i guess' ' i laughed. I finished the barry and threw the stem away. I sat down and joined in on the Conversation. Elly sat beside me and we all hung out… like- friends do….

fri/feb/16 2024

Chapter 6

After a long laugh, Elly nuges my shoulder. “Hey before we forget- you wanna do that shopping thing?” Shiva looks over at us “you're all going shopping-?” she gets excited as Hanna raises an eyebrow “what? You wanna go with them?” shiva then begins to hyperly bounce in place- “why don't we all go?” adora suggested. Elly nodded happily “I know a few places we could go!” We all exited the front entrance to see an amazing view of the city, we were so high up that the people were barely visible- i looked around to see that we were on a mountain covered in cherry blossom trees and flowers that i have never seen before, A long flight of stairs lead down to the city below. It's so fricken high that my legs begin to shake. “Is bro scared of heights or sumthin?” Aras teases. I try not to donkey kick her invisible ass in the shin as Elly looks over to me. “Pretty isn't it?” i nod my head slightly “yea- though i'm sorry for who has to walk up those-” she giggles “i know right? We got too teach you to fly before your summoned here and the twins don't have time to escort you again.” i get a small cold sweat, thinking how the f*ck am i suposed to fly. “So! Where to start?” Hanna asks, elly makes an idea like motion- (yea idk i'm tired) “how about we go to the mall?” “yeh! That sounds fun” Adora giggles “GIRLS NIGHT OUT! GIRLS NIGHT OUT!” Shiva continues to chant as she runs down the stairs at unfathomable speeds- carrying Hanna like a sack of potatoes.

The rest of us followed them to the mall, (we teleported) and when we got there Shiva was already looking around for what stores they should visit first. Hanna is behind her, desperately trying to catch up- “well where off to first? Adora asks me and elly, elly thinks for a moment. “How about we go there?” She points to a small store with a similar look to one of the stores I mentioned yesterday. I nod my head excitedly “hell yea! Let's get the others!” I was excited hoping they had an anime hoodie I would recognize- though I'm Kinda going along for the ride at this point- I need to stop letting people just drag me everywhere. I'm surprised I haven't been kidnaped yet, or have i-? Lost in thought, I somehow ended up in the store already- We looked around to see figures, hoodies, pins and other stuff. So it's not the other store because there's no back fun area to buy the fun things and such- (yea you know what im talking about). Then Aras randomly whispers “emo” into my ear and i suddenly have a headache- elly then comes up to me with an oversized hoodie. “Hey- uh. Do you think this would fit me-?” It was a black hoodie with neon green details on it. I had this cute little frog with a dice beside it. “I think it will look great!” I smiled. a cute smile grew on her face as she nodded happily. She walked away as I felt a genuine smile- it's been a while.. Shiva then sneaks up behind me.

“BOO!” she makes me jump as she chuckles. “Hey, I have a surprise!” she says happily. The then gives me a box of silver earrings, “there's this one thing where people put a pair on the tip of your tail! You wanna try?” she suggests, I look at my tail. “It does look a bit barren-”sure why not?” She takes 2 of the 4 and hands them to me. “I can pearce it for you.” Hanna suggests. “Sure thanks” we head to a bench and I lead my tail toward her, she takes it and somons what looks like a piercing tool. Surprisingly it didn't hurt as much as i thought it would- “what do we do with the other 2?” I ask, They think for a bit. “How about one of your ears?” I tilt my head a bit, “oh yea- sure!” we all drew to my left ear for some reason and they put them in similar to how they did my tail, 2 right beside each other. I was satisfied with the new additions. “How much do I repay you?” They give me a confused look. “Repay? No need!” They laugh in unicon as Elly aprohes us, “I got what I wanted- you grabbing anything sara?” I sat up slightly. “Oh yea-” I get up and go to the great wall of hoodies. Which is literally just a wall covered with designs with the hoodies under them. I looked for a bit but one caught my eye, it was an anime hoodie. A black hoodie with an anime character with purple hues. I look down to see that they have one in the biggest size, the best size in my opinion. I also found a cute cat button that was 1 dollar, using the money from yesterday i bought the two items happily.

We head to the next store that catches our eyes. Adora ended up getting a light blue wolf plushie while Shiva and Hanna got a dragon and a phoenix plush. I ended up getting a black and purple axolotl plushie, it was more of a pillow than a plushie but i didn't complain. Elly ended up getting a dino blanket as well as a frog mug. Afterwards, we all got milk tea at a boba shop. At this point shiva has calmed down out of her hyper state- thankfully and adora seems to be enjoying the fun. After boba, we went to a sushi belt where I cautiously picked the cheapest rolls. “You know you don't have to pay right?” Shiva asked confusedly. “Oh I know- I just don't wanna rank up the bill.” I gave an awkward giggle as Adora rolled her eyes. “I didn't know you were the saving type” she chuckled as she waved over the waiter. “Hello, can you add a dragon eye roll to our order?” the waiter nodded. “Most certainly miss, and I'll get you guys some refills.” they smiled as they walked off. Thankfully they had pezy products so they had stuff I recognized.

After I had a heart attack at the sight of the bill and Adora tipped the waiter 100, we decided to go to one last stop, the blueprints store? “The wha now-?” I am confused. “You see, you need blueprints to be able to summon items. So we are going to get your first blueprints!” Hanna explains. When we enter this store- its a literal wall covered in weapons and items. Guns, blades, melee weapons, A rubber chicken- anything really. I stand there dumbfounded as Adora talks to the receptionist lady. After a bit she comes up to me. “What kind of weapons do you prefer?” she asked, I think for a moment. “I guess I like dual wield type stuff” I state, she nods her head. “Right this way then.” She leads me to an area with pairs of guns and blades. Then this catalog like hologram circled me with a list of everything on the wall. “These are all your options, pick wisely as you get one pair of blades and one pair of guns vea your budget.” I looked through it for a whyle, swiping the hologram around me as it glowed a soft blue.

I picked out a medium sized pair of blades, they were customizable for free so I made the color palette how I liked. I also picked out some semi-automatic handguns with a similar palette. “Is that all?” she asked me. “Yea that's good.” “great! This way please” she uplifts the hologram and leads me to a room. “This is a training area where you can test out your new gear! Have fun and take your time.” She leaves the room. I look over at a wall that has instructions on how to summon weapons. “Convenient right?” Aras asks. “Yeah i guess-” i try my best to follow the instructions and i summon 2 medium sized blades, the purple soul fire forming the blade in an instant. I test them out, swing them about and there is a perfect fit- the soul fire radiating off the blade makes a slash pattern in the air as I swing. I found myself moving in a very flowy cat-like stance with my form clove to the ground. I was unusually fast and athletic for my body type. I summoned the guns next, they had fit my palm firmly and comfortably and when I shot them it was oddly quiet and had little to no knockback, only enough to make my arms twitch slightly. The targets were shredded like nothing and slightly burned. They were then replaced almost instantly with a robotic mechanism.

When I dropped the guns they kinda dissipated to ash and floated away. I exited the room and when I returned to the group, I saw Shiva buying the rubber chicken- “welcome back! Did you get something you like?” Elly asked, “yea, i ended up picking some dual weapons' ' I chuckled. “Did you get anything?” I asked her. “No, I already have some weapons.” she awkwardly giggled “Oooooo! Can I see? If you can-'' she then had this look on her face.. It was a mix of sorrow and regret- she then straightened herself up. “I cant show you them right now, no- I might be able to at home..” she puts on a smile that i can tell was forced- what.. Happened that could make her so sad all of a sudden-? I was about to ask if she's ok but Shiva then interrupts me. “Y'all ready to go?” “yea, all good!” Elly responds. We exit the mall with bags of stuff, surprisingly it wasn't as much as i thought it would be- well except Shivas hall. She had like 4 soldiers carrying stuff. We were brought back to our apartment shortly after. “Thanks for the fun guys!” I thanked them. “No problem! Hope you have fun with training tomorrow!” Shiva said with a grin. And before I knew it- they teleported away, leaving me and Elly to head home.

We headed to the apartment but on the way there I could tell Elly was gloomier than normal- once we got to the apartment I went up to her. “hey.. Are you ok..?” I asked cautiously, she stood silently for a moment. “yea..” I could tell from her tone it was a no. “do.. Do you want a hug-?” she hesitated for a moment but after a bit she slowly walked to me and flopped herself in my arms, she then wrapped her arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around her and patted her back slightly. “I don't know what happened.. But I'll try my best to help… ok?” as i try to comfort her she squeezes tighter as she begins to cry.. I look over to Aras, she gives me a small nod. I kinda pat her head a bit. “hey.. Let's get you to bed” she nods as i lead her to her bed, i tuck her in and give her the dino plush. She hugs it sadly as she slowly drifts to sleep…

Mon/feb/26 2024

Chapter 7

A few weeks have gone by and ever since i was accepted into the trailing core, i've had this routine set- in the mornings id wake up to ether Elly getting tea made and or a fresh cup of tea on the counter. Today Elly Had the day off so she was in the kitchen making tea. I drank my tea (it was amazing as always) and since I was up early, I decided to go out and get some breakfast for us. “Yo i'm headed out for doughnuts do u want anything?” “Oh, can you get some chocolate cream? I'm dying for some right now” Elly said sarcastically “yoouuuuu got it! I'll be back in a jiffy '' I said as I did finger guns and walked backwards out the door.

As I twirl out of the apartment, I put my ear pods in and tie my hoodie sleeves around my waist, making my way down the road. I see as the leaves are dancing through the air, the air smells sweet like fresh cake on a summer's day. “Good morning!” “Good morning Mis Addoms!” I smiled as I skipped to the beat, the song lets my imagination flow like a soft wind. I've become quite acquainted with the city folk here- it's almost like how I always somehow made friends with all the teachers in the school. I was even buddy-buddy with the vice principal and receptionists when I'd sit out lunch in the office.

I got to my usual little doughnut shop and walked in. “oh speak of bahamid- there's my usual customer! How ya been?” “Oh hey Ray ray! I'm doing good- you?” I asked, “Hey, what'd I say about calling me Ray Ray outta the training grounds?” she teased “it's Raitchal at work” she giggled as she began to pull up the ordergram. (or just a hologram database they put your order on-) “the usual?” aras looked over my shoulder “can we get the strawberry one?” “I'd like an order of chocolate creams.” Aras looked at me defeated “Noooo!” “2 please” as I ordered the rest, aras stood behind me defeated, I got 2 orange Sweet berry creams and 2 boston creams for later. One for me and one for Elly. “Why didn't I get anyyy?” she whined “well you've been an ass for a week straight and you stole my damn toaster strudel- and it was funny.” i teased her

I walked out of the shop with doughnuts in inventory, “mission complete, time to head back to bace” Aras raised an eyebrow at me “man you really are a nerd” i try to ignore the comment as i ponder for a moment. “What if I try to flare sprint back?” Aras chuckles at my comment “don't you remember what happened last time?” (flashback cut to me running directly into a pole) I blank for a moment- “know what? f*ck it” I get into a running ready poze and as i do a wisp of purple flame bursts from my heals, once my back foot moves i flew forward in a flash. Dodging and jumping over stuff like an absolute badass I got back to the apartment in an instant- but once I tried to stop it flew me down and my face got well acquainted with the pavement. Aras teleported to me and once she saw me she couldn't contain her laughter- I lifted my face to see an absolute crater in the shape of a face and a skidmark about 2 meters long. “Uhhg- thank f*ck i can use restoration magic.” I restore the sidewalk and enter the apartment, leaving Aras absolutely rolling in laughter.

“Im hoommeeee! And with breakfast.” elly chuckled at me “yes I heard” she said mosoning toward the sidewalk. I giggle as I summon the doughnuts and put them on the counter. “Ooooo whatcha get?” “i got the chocolate cream like you asked, and I also got a Sweet orange cream and a Boston cream!” i grinded happily as she looked into the box “hell yea” we ate some of the donuts until it was time for me to head to training. “You heeded out?” she asked. “Yea just about”I giggled. “Well, have fun! I have too go to a meeting later so i wont be here when u get back” she reminds me. She has had a few meetings regarding something major recently- sadly she's not allowed to speak about the subject. I don't mind tho, with how much i've been growing in rank- i bet i'll get in one of those meetings soon.

I took my usual route to the training grounds, took a left at the doorway and pass the scythe statue, then took a right at the coffee shop. I remember Elly not liking the statue- me and aras decided to read the writing the other day and got some predictions.

“Here lies the final resting place of the thousands who were killed in the great storm of 2019, legend says that the wind reaper was the one behind the storm. Taking the lives of their entire family along with the soul defenders leading commander”

“Damn-” me and Aras stare at it for a bit- it was a metal statue of a scythe pierced in the ground with a cloth like figure caught underneath it. There were piles upon piles of vibrant flowers that were left behind by the friends and families of the ones who lost their lives. We were speechless- how would something so catastrophic happen in such a peaceful city? After a while we had to go, and i completely forgot to ask Elly about it-

We made it to the training grounds about 15 minutes early, so we decided to find our training regiment. “Hey bitch!! Over here!” one of my group members waved me over. “Took you long enough-” Rachel commented. “Hey- I thought you were on work hours?” i teased her “oh shut up- you know my hours are weird” we all went to the locker room to get in uniform, the uniformes sucked ass- no like literally it never fit me correctly. Thankfully I learned idem reconfiguration so it could fit for now. The higher ups are allowed to wear whatever they want sooo- I guess I have a goal in life again.

We went to our assigned rotations, it was simple. We practiced basic hand eye coordination along with summoning and precision, We also practiced defensive measures. It's a type of enchantment that makes you more resistant to damage the more powerful your soul is, hell- i've heard that one of the commanders had caught a bullet before! At any point- we also learn to do basic parkour. but since i've ranked up, i've been getting more intense training. “ALRIGHT! As you all know, you all in this group have ranked up from the average sullivan. To continue with this training is your choice, but here on out you have the potential to grow in rank to your soul's full potential!” this was Mr Nathens, he was a lot more stern than Derek is- but once i got on his good side i was a bit more buddy buddy with him. And for his age he was surprisingly strong! “Ok! So now we begin your training, First we will start with alertness and awareness.. Aanndd… GO!”

Once he said go, paintballs immediately flew toward us. I dodged the first brogue with eaze- but I saw as one flew into one of my classmates' ear, he went down immediately. We all swooped and flew around, trying to dodge as many as we could. As I was dodging, I had an idea! He never said we can't stop the bullets. I made a ball of flame in my palms and made an expanding motion as I landed on my feet, suddenly there was a purple ora around me and hundreds of floating red paintballs. I would be lying if i didn't say i felt badass. “Very clever miss sara! I'm impressed.” he maneuvered around the balls and patted my back. In the background I can hear my teammates being absolutely demolished with paint balls- in the balls. I look behind me to see a dude covering on the floor with their hands on their balls. I guess aras saw it first because she was absolutely losing her mind- “oh sh*t-'' Nathan pushed a button to stop the paintball guns and ran over to them. I released the field and followed him.

“Are you ok soldier?” he asked, The boy murmurd on pain. “Hold up, I know healing magic!” i made a small greenish purple magic circle above the boy, slowly he got more at eaze. “Looks like you're not a one trick pony ae?” I take it as a compliment as the kid sits up. “Thanks bro-” “no problem dude.” Thankfully Elly has been teaching me healing magic after her shifts- with how powerful her magic is, i'm grateful she’s a friend and not a foe. After we all got rearranged, we moved on to the next training course. “OK! Now we are going on to parkour training.”

With a snap of his fingers he simulates obstacles and climbing gear out of a greenish water? He could tell I was confused so he explained that his element is like a toxic waste, he can control the radiation levels of it so it was safe- somehow. We all lined up on the poorly laid out line of duct tape. I looked over to see the rest of the classmates covered head to toe in red and orange pants- “Alright! Now that that's out of the way-” he looks to the side for a second, “now we can start your parkour training!” he paces back and forth, “you will start by jumping across the small pillars and jumping onto the wall, you will then run across it to the platform and swing your way back here. You will do this at least 5 times and the fastest one to finish will be able to shoot your classmates with a paintball gun.” he concluded. The last part intrigued my interest- it even made my ears perk up a bit. Aras gave me a look and giggled. (thats a bad sign-)

With a buzz of a timer we all sprint as fast as we can toward the first obstacle, I hop on and use a light weight spell to make me gently land on the cushioned pole. I seamlessly flow across the poles in game breaking speeds as this one dude face plants into the side of one of them- as i jump onto the wall and go across aras tries to scare me- “BOO” it made me stumble but i remain persistent as i give her a look- i jump onto the platform, hop onto the swinging bars And make it back to the start in record time. “Good job Mis soul! 1.15 seconds- impressive! Try to make it under a second next time!” I gave him a thumbs up and really kicked it into gear. I did the last 4 laps in 2.54 seconds and i happily accepted my paintball gun

With the look on my face- i think i scared Aras a bit. “Damn- you're scary sometimes dude. You look like you're about to kill a bitch-'' she laughed. I completely let loose and sniped some bitches off the course. I ended up stalling them all for like 5 minutes before they finished the last lap- the people who finished before the others were looking at me like they just shat their pants at the sight of me. “Dammit- I made everyone scared of me again.” I sigh as I shrug it off. It's not like I wasn't used to being scary. Back in middle school I used to be one of the most feared kids in my grade- except for the 6th graders. They jumped 8th graders for fun- thankfully for my false reputation, I was never a target.
“Damn sara! That was great!” Rachel complimented me, it took me off guard “Oh- thanks” the rest of the group surrounded and congratulated me like i accomplished something amazing-? I was taken so far back by this I started having an anxiety attack- I was overstimulated and froze like a goat. “Ok ok that's enough guys- give her some space.” Nathan backed the others and waved a hand in front of my face- i was zoned out to the point that my eyes looked like big tapioca pearls- thankfully I was able to snap out of it. “Welcome back bitch” Aras teased me “Ok! It's about time for our last activity, aim and coordination training! Mis sara, i think you've had enough target practice in the last activity- you can either head home or watch the rest of practice.” I gave a look of excitement “oh- ok!” I immediately head for the door. “Oh and before I forget!” he calls to me, “you start your missions tomorrow!” I give him a thumbs up as I walk out the door.

We used the teleport pad to get home and once I did I immediately plopped onto the couch. “Damn- you look pooped” Aras commented. “Shhh. Nap time” I said muffled. “Nu uh- we still need to test the holograms sleepy head! You can nap after” she snickered “Uhhhhhhhggggggg- you're lucky you're technically my sister-” i reluctantly sat up and made a ball of magic in my hand. I focused it and held it to my chest. I did a weird spinny motion and there was a figure made of pure flame. It mimicked my actions exactly. Aras approached it reluctantly and kinda entered it- it took the form of her and she gained control of it- “holy sh*t- it worked!” she felt around and touched her face. “Well damn gurl- we did it!!” I then slapped her across the face- she was taken back then shrugged. “Eh- i deserved that.'' I giggled. “Well now that you're not slightly transparent- now what?” I asked. “Well what we can do is fight together now i guess- i can't really show my face becau-”

before she could even finish a swarm of soldiers surrounding us with guns. “HOLY sh*t- What did you do-!?” i ask her panicked “Well i dont f*cking know- i just got here-!” “Well you had to have done something to get 10 dudes aiming Ak’s at us-!? “Well i didn't know they'd find out IMMEDIATELY that i was here-! As we were arguing psyche walked into the room with a f*ckING KATANA- “WHOH WHOH heyyyyy your majesty-? Maybe we can calm down for a second-!?” Aras frantically asks. She gives us a look and thinks for a moment- “bring them to the castle for interrogation.” she orders. “They don't seem hostile” we both look at eachother “you better f*ckin let me have my nap after all this-” i told Aras “yea yea i will''

We get teleported into separate rooms, bc of our sisterly telepathy we can hear each others conversations

“Ok so- uhhh” the soldier rimages some papers as they ask me. “So your sara right?” “Yes?” I tilt my head. “You train with me- you should know this” I tease them. “I know I know- I just have no clue how to do this-'' I sigh. “I can just give you info you may need and you can write it down-” they tilt their head. “I guess that will work?”

meanwhile in Ara’s room:

“Are you a corruption?” they ask. “Yea i think- i was classified as a type C corruption” “what's that?” aras rolled her eyes. “Ok so too make this easier- i'm just gonna tell you everything” they nod quietly as they take out a paper and pen.

“Ok so- there's 3 different types of corruption. Type C is the more conscious one, making them more docile. We were in the early stages of corruption, which makes us slightly weaker than others and non contagious, so there's less of us. We are normally against what the others do and work with our hosts. Type B is the normal corruption. They are like glitchy zombies that attack the people closest to them. They won't eat and sleep, and will kill till the host dies. They also get a X 2 boost on their power and make the host watch them kill everything. Now type A is the most dangerous. They only corrupt god or lower level god tier people. They get a X10 boost and target the hosts' loved ones and their friends first. They do everything type B does but they have logic and can talk/ communicate- but are more glitchy and more violent than the rest. As I was informed.. You've encountered one before.” she concludes. “Questions?”

They stare at her in confusion- “how do we know we can trust you..?” she leans in “i haven't killed anyone so far have i?” she asks “no…?” she nods “then there's that. Anything else?” “well- what's your name mis?” they ask. “Aras, nice to meet you.” she smiles and brings her hand out for a hand shake. They shake hands.

Back at my room:

“That's about it- I think.” i conclude. “So sheve been in your head this whole time-?” they ask. “Yep.” “Did she tell you anything?” “She told me about the realms and their gods-” i anwer. “Hmmm…” they think for a moment. “Well I guess there's not much to it then huh?” “yea i guess” i giggle “dont help that shes my older sister by thechnacaledy.” “how's that going?” they ask. “Annoyingly- she's literally just like a sister.” “uh no” they say sarcastically. We both laugh as we conclude our interrogation. Me and aras both walk out the rooms. “How much did you talk their ears off-?'' I ask. “Eh not that much” I looked over to the soldier, they gave me a look telling me that she did a lot more than she said-

We were escorted back to the apartment thankfully, I then immediately popped into the couch (again-) “I'll try to get food ready.” she giggles. “Aw hell to the naw- the last time you tried to cook you burnt the damn water.” “Nu uh!” (flash cut to Aras in front of a burning pot of water.) “... ok fine-” she sat down on the couch beside me as i fell asleep…

The maden walks in to me sitting by the napping girl. The maden asks many questions for me but I calm her, I explain the situation and answer her questions… but one of them intrigued me. “Aras… When will the dream be over..?” I stumbled but answered truthfully… “after the final battle, when the god of war is defeated and imprisoned” the maden thinks for a bit and gets up to prepare dinner. She pauses and thanks me. She then prepares dinner and leaves me on the couch with the sleeping girl, confused how the maiden would've known…

Sun/Mar/17/ 2024

Chapter 8

“you’re coming up onto a group of civilians, proceed to target, Roger” “Roger that marsh” as i transmit my reply, i carefully crawl toward the ledge of the building. It's a dark and clear night, a party of government officials and their wives/family proceeds below me. I use a camofloushing spell to make myself completely invisible, so I can get clover to the edge. In the window under me I see a point of a sniper rifle pointed directly toward a representative. I summon a small needle and aim it down. The man shoots but is exactly 2.54 inches off target, before the bullet hits the floor i flick the needle dead straight where the bullet was supposed to hit. It pierced straight through and disappeared before it hit the floor. “Target down. Returning to base" " well done miss soul. Balance restored, return when portals ready”

“Welcome back!” the computer operator says happily. “Another successful mission for the charts?” he jokes “oh it's not all that hard” i giggled, the portal closed behind me before the panic started. “How many i got left today?” “lemme see herreeeee..” he looks up the files on his hologram. “None! Ur off for the day bud.” he concludes with a smile as Elly walks up. “Oh- hey. What's your status?” she asks me nervously. “Oh- done and ready for some reports” I give a shy giggle. “What about you?” “on my last one!” she smiled happily- “sweet! I should be home before you get back so I'm guessing I'm making dinner tonight?” I ask, “you betcha” she giggled as a portal opened behind her. “Ok so your last mission for today is to protect the target, You are being admitted to universe #64779. Copy?” “copy!” she confirms to the operator. “Be back in a jiffy,” she jokes to me. “See ya” I wave to her, she goes in and I go to my desk.

As the girl goes to sit down, I fly up to the employee. “When do you think they're gonna get together?” “OH sh*t- dont scare me like that Aras! You bout gave me a heart attack-” he spat out his coffee on the guy beside them. “Welllll????? When?” I asked him again, “Well I don't know- why do you ask?” “you saw them being all fluster f*cked and sh*t! And that smile as she waved her off? Those bitches be gogo gaing all over each other for MONTHS!” he tilted his head at me. “And your point isss?” i roll my eyes, “i have a plan-”

We gathered a team of people to come up with letters inscribed to the both of them- “got any ideas?” I ask. We all ponder for a little while before someone speaks. “What if we have them both ask to meet somewhere?” this statement intrigues me- “go on-?” “like- they both ask to meet up somewhere to tell the other something? Something like that-” “Amazing idea! Get me someone with good handwriting!” Suddenly we heard a noize from the other room- we all looked over to the girl to see if she noticed. She had her headphones in and booping her head to the beat, fiddling her hands and zoning out- “oh thank f*ck shes just being autistic-” i give a sigh of releaf as we begin to write the letters. It was along the lines of “hey, can we meet at the waterfall cliff view? I have something I got to tell you-” and it was inscribed to either or. I carefully placed the letter to the girl in her locker, and did the same for the maden.

We all agreed to meet up at the place we decided on to spy on our masterpeace. (sparkles) I peek around the office door to see the girl pick up the note, immediately she got redder than a strawberry- she then rushed out the door and pulled out her map of the realm. Found the place and teleported there. I teleported in some bushes nearbuy and met the rest of the group there, now it's just the waiting game-

I arrived where Ellys note asked me too- it was such a surprising view of the city from here. The waterfall created a relaxing atmosphere and thousands of fireflies danced in the grass. I sat on the ground by the ledge, gazing into the night sky. Soon after, Elly showed up. I looked behind myself to see her nervously approach me, I got up. “There was something you wanted to tell me-?” I asked nervously. “Oh- i thought you wanted to tell me something-?” she tells me, confused and shyly. “Oh- well.” I hear a russell of some bushes behind me- I could tell I was set up right then and there- “well.. There is something i've been wanting to tell you-” she nods “yes- me too." We both lock eyes. “So- uhh.. You can go first- sorry” I offer her. “Oh- well.” she nervously shifts “i kinda…” a murmur from the bushes along the lines of “just kiss already-” along with a “shut the f*ck up-” startled us but brought a grin to our faces-

“I kinda- like you..?” she says nervously “like- like like- like?” she concludes as she begins to bury her face in her hands. “I felt like i was burning up- “W- well i- like you too-” i admitted shyly. We locked eyes again and we both kinda relaxed a bit- i offered my hand shyly and- she took it-! She pulled me into a soft hug. I could feel my stress whey off me right then and there, I cradled her gently and massaged her head. She pulled away to get a good look at me. I could tell I had a big grin on my face- she cupped it with her palm as I rounded her face with the back of my finger, but once I started to move her hair out of the way of her eye- she pressed it in place somewhat defensively-? It took me off guard but let it go and cupped her chin instead. We stared into eachothers eyes.. Her eyes were such a soft neon green- it matched her hair perfectly. Her face was soft and round and her smile made my world brighter..
We both inch closer.. Ever closer, until.. We kissed.

The world felt like it was floating, i felt- warm and cozy inside. It was like nothing I could have ever imagined… love..

In the distance i could chearing, “f*ckING FINALY!!!” “WHOOOOO” like 7 of our classmates jumped out of the bush and were cheering, I eyed Aras also cheering in the bush, “Aras?” she froze immediately- “yeaa?” i giggled to myself “thanks-” “oh- your welcome!” she gave a confident pose, i facepalmed immediately after- elly tugs my sleeve. “Hey- let's go home.” she suggests “yea- of course” i think for a moment- “sh*t- i forgot about dinner-” she chuckled “don't worry, we still have those instant ramen packs from the sale last week.” “hell yea” i did a victory fist bump as we began to walk down the path back to the city.

We entered the apartment tired and hungry. I went to the kitten to cook up the raman and got us a blanket. It was friday so we had tomorrow off thankfully. I got the food and some drinks and brought it back to the couch. “Thanks uhh- what do you want me to call you now-?” she asked nervously- “anything you want” i giggled, i gave her a blanket and sat beside her. She gave me a look. “Hmmmmmmmm- comehere-” she wrapped the blanket around me like an attack- “aaaa! I'm getting eaten!” We both laughed as we got comfy. I grabbed the remote with my tail and turned it on. “

Wanna watch anything?” She finished her bite of ramen happily, “anime” she said muffled, i giggled “anime it is then!” I scrolled through the stuff we had on our wishlist and we eventually agreed on one. We snuggled up and had our dinner happily until she asked me something. “I wonder- what do you plan for the summer?” it took me back a bit- “the summer?” “yea! The last day of training is coming up in a few weeks- then they decide on your rank.” “Oh-” I had a familiar chill down my spine- she noticed it surprisingly quickly. “Hey- are u doing good?” “yea- it's just ' I froze,” she sighed and hugged me closer. “Hey, it'll be ok darling...” she reassured me- “let's get you to bed.'' She got up and threw away our empty raman bowls and water bottles. She then kinda led me to my bed.

laying the girl down. The maden tucks her in jentaly and gives her a kiss on her forehead. tiredly, the girl tugs on the maidens shirt as she begins to leave. She looks back at the girl to see her setting her body pillow to the side and doing grabby hands toward her, requesting cuddles. she smiled and allowed herself to be pulled into the cuddle puddle, they both got comfortable and fell asleep. I then turn off the tv and clean up. After I was done I looked into the doorway to see them both happier than a puppy.. “roger roger..? mission successful” i smile happily and go to rest on the couch.

wed/mar/20 2024

Chapter 9

In the morning I woke up snuggled up next to Elly. She was still sleeping and was clinging to me like a baby with a teddy bear, My heart melted as I gave her a small kiss on the forehead. I looked up at the clock on the wall. “12:14” I slightly panic as I think of what to do- I try to wiggle out but to no avail, then I think of teleporting out. I try too and end up teleporting a foot off the ground- recovering from the fall, I get up and get some tea ready for when she wakes up.

As I'm making Ellys favorite tea, Aras jumps up from behind me. “BOO!” I jump a bit- but thankfully I'm not the screaming type. “Awwwww! Common mann- I gotta get ya eventually!” she complains “well do it quietly- Ellys still sleeping.” i roll my eyes as i look back to the tea. “Soooo~? Did you sleep well with your girlfriennddd?” She teases me and pokes my cheek. “Yea and?” I raised an eyebrow at her. She giggles “looked like you did.” she comments as she walks away into the living room. Elly excited the room shortly after. “Mmmmm? What's that smell?” she drousaly asked. “Chocolate mocha milk tea, your favorittteee~” i noted, she sat down at the kitchen counter happily.

We had breakfast and chatted, we decided on letting Aras have ellys old bed and me and Elly to share mine. (hell yea-) now that Aras was no longer restricted to floating above the couch, finals came back up- “what rank do you think you’ll get?” she asked curiously. “Well- to be honest I don't know.” I scratched the back of my ear. “Hopefully it's not like that one thing…” “what one thing-?” I pause for a moment.. “At the end of every school year. I lose everything- the last day of school I usually cry myself to sleep knowing that next year I'll have to restart. It's the same every year- only the grade changes”

she is taken back by this, “when you say everything.. You mean?” “all my friends will disappear, any type of relationship will crumble and I know none of the teachers. Though I usually become friends with them in the first few weeks or so.. Somehow-” she pauses for a bit, but then she brings me in for a hug- “listen.. I'm sure it won't be like that here- besides, I love you! Why would I want to abandon you like that?”I processed her statement for a bit. “I.. dont know.” she could tell my head was spinning with possibilities when she gave me a small kiss on the cheek. “Hey, I have an idea!” She took me to the living room. “How about we play that new game you got recently?” I nod my head slightly as we sit on the couch.

“Can I join in?” Aras asks “sure! More the mary!” elly says happily. “Well- i have an idea, if that's alright.” I asked elly reluctantly. “Yea sure what's up?” “What if we invite some of our friends to play? This game can take up to 6 people right-?” “aw hell yeah! Game day!” aras says excitedly, we all agreed and called up Shiva and Adora along with a few more of our friends. Immediately when we get of the phone she teleports into the apartment with her familiar flashy attitude. “WHHATSUP YA GEEKS! She then rushed up to us and jumped onto the couch.”how's the lovebirds doin?” she asked while giving me a noogie, “hey! Heh- how do you know already?” Shiva gives me a look. “Bitch wha do you mean? Everyone knows!” she laughed. “People have been betting on this for like 3 weeks!” me and elly stare at her blankly- “WHAT?”

Slowly before we knew it the apartment was full with friends and friends of friends. At this point we threw an accidental party at 9 in the morning- me and elly sat there dumbfounded as Aras talks to the guests. “How are y'all doing?” I hear her ask. “We're doing fine, how's the love birds?” ray ray asked in return. Me and elly watched this and kinda just looked at each other and giggled. We all gathered around the tv and ordered pizza. “Yall what do ya want?” Aras asked the group. We all looked at each other and then everyone looked at me and elly- “wha- wait us?” Elly looks over to me being more frozen than shot ice- “uhhhhhh- double pepperoni and bacon?” she finally concluded. “How about pineapple?” some random guy notes. We all stare at him violently- He then gets kicked out immediately.

The night went on surprisingly fast, we all played the game in ters and somehow Adora of all people soloed the entire enemy team- and also everyone in free for all, let's just say she wasnt allowed to play anymore. The night ether than that instance went smoothly, we all played, Shiva and Ray ray sucked at the game as me and Elly showed them all why we were the nerds of the house, and we ate pizza as Aras floated across the room in the background. Long story short we all had a blast and I had fun with my friends.. Except for that one guy- pineapple on pizza is a war crime. (we let him back in btw)

The weeks leading up to the graduation event was a mix of ptsd and preparation for the worst.. I remember back several years ago, when it all started. Or well when I first realized it was happening- it was 2nd grade, I was going on a rewards trip….

The little girl sat alone on the bus, watching out the window as her imagination flowed. Pretty lights formed wisps of color and as the bus flew by the restaurants and city she imagined her favorite anime characters following them on the journey, waving to her like they were long known friends. Once they arrived she found herself at an indoor skatepark, it seemed retro and the exterior was like a barren mall. But that didn't matter, she was excited and couldn't stop imagining the exciting history of the place!

For the entire time, the girl skated alone, zooming around and sometimes falling down. The only one to accompany her was her teacher, she was the girls favorite out of all of them. She was kind and gentle with a fun side that could lift your spirits to the moon and back, and with a passion for kids that could make mister rogers jealous-

When the girl took a break, she sat in the corner and ate the pizza that was provided. They said it was unlimited but the girl wanted to save some for her friends. There were games on the skate rink as well, it mainly consisted of “move to this side for this option and then the opposite” it was mainly to get to the right side of the room to win, There was no reward and it was short lived as the other kids got bored.

Near the end of the trip, the girl was in the bathroom when they announced that they were about to take the group picture. She was unprepared and took a solid minute to get out, but for her it felt like milliseconds….

I watched as they all gathered around.. I just exited the bathroom as they took the picture. The world felt still, I went into a shock as I watched them act as if I wasn't even there. At that moment.. I was conscious, I remembered all the times I've been alone or outcasted.. I never realized it till then. My world felt heavy, I only really snapped out of it when I realized that my teacher was comforting me.. And that's when i realized, i was crying. I wanted to run out the building and hide in the bus, I wanted to clutch my teacher in a big hug.. But I was frozen. I could see as she tried to take a selfie to help calm me but it didn't help- but.. I appreciated it.

The girl went along her next years aware of everything.. She was so bad that they put her on some kind of medication or anti depressant at the age of 6. At the end of those years were when everything had reset. She'd lose all her friends, and they'd look at her like a stranger or so revoltingly that she was taken back… whenever the girl saw the group photo… she would start to cry, And when she mentioned this all to her parents they laughed at her. Whenever she'd tell them anything they'd play it off as her being needy or foolish. After the 5th grade she stopped caring, she went off to a brand new school and promised herself that she'd make no more friends…

“And now.. I'm here.” “why would they do that..?” elly asks me. “They spoiled me.. I had no right to be sad. And besides.. If I had no “friends” then I had nothing to lose on that fateful day..” elly processed this for a moment.. “But.. What happened to your one frends? You said you used to have some before coming here-” i thought of what to tell her.. “I broke… and ran away.” We both sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. “Hey.. im sure it will be ok baby.. But for now, We need to head to bed. We have a big day tomorrow after all." I nod “yes..” she patted my head and we went off to bed.. I lay awake with her in my arms, Thinking of the inevitable.....

sat/mar/28 2024

Chapter 10

The day has come.. I woke up to Elly gently shaking me. “wakey wakey sleepy head~” as i lazaly woke up she handed me a cup of milk tea. “Good morning!” she said with a smile, i take a sip of tea to try to clear my throat. “Morning” I give her a reassuring smile as she gives me a small kiss. As we both get ready, I kinda mentally prepare myself for the day. Once we were ready Elly made a strange suggestion to me- “how about we fly over to the palace?” “you sure-? you know i struggle with flying-” “oh im sure youll be fine! besides, I'll be here to catch you.” she gives me the look that she knows i can't say no to and I agreed.

We walked out of the apartment and readied ourselves. “Are you ready?” she asked me. “ready as i'll ever be-” (which is not at all-) “remember! fly with your soul, not your body.” “yea yea i know” i giggled a bit. she took my hand as she started to float, greenish wind curled around her majestically- it was almost goddess-like. I try to focus my soul and after a bit I start to float- “that's it! keep going!" As I rise higher, purple fire flows around me as Ellys wind did- she guides me upwards in a spin, high above the city she guides me playfully across the sky. We were like 2 birds playing in the summer sun. She guided me in a line for a while until I got used to directions and such. i was wobbly at best but i had gotten the hang of it eventually- once i did she had let go of my hand and let me fly freely, we were doing swoops and swirls in the air. we played and laughed until we arrived at the palace-

We stood there in silence, she grabbed my hand to reassure me.. we looked at each other and she gave me a reassuring smile.. we looked back to the door, and walked in. As we were walking through the halls, we saw as all of our classmates were hanging out and their families were being seated for the ceremony. I was somewhat looking for Ellys family or mine but I remembered that they wouldn't be here even if they tried- but her family was nowhere to be seen. Before I could ask her about it a soldier walked up to us. “Madam Elly, miss soul. We are gathering the graduates, we’ll have to steal sara for it. You may take a seat in the guest area, you go to Aras." Some soldiers came to escort us. “Good luck darling!” She gives me another reassuring smile as she boops me and goes with Aras and the soldiers to the guest area, leaving me and the first soldier to go to the main area. I had thousands upon thousands of questions at that very moment but felt best not to bombard them-

I followed the solder closely and nervously- clutching the necklace Elly slipped into my hand before leaving. It was a heart locket with a picture of me and her eating ice cream in the cherry blossom park up town with Aras giving us bunny ears in the background. I slipped it on and tucked it into my hoodie collar for safe keeping.

At the main area, I saw like 7 people lined up- I was expecting more tending there was 20 people in the program at the time. They brought me to the line and gave me the rundown, “ok so- when we get to the main stage, there will be a podium you will stand at. The Queen will assist you in revealing your soul flame, based on the flame and your ratings during the training period, you will be assigned a rank. There are a handful of ranks you can be given, soldier or an alo, marine or an arch, league instructor or a legacy, commander or a seraph, and low tier god or goddess. The highest rank of god or goddess only pertones to the children of the void, aka the gods of the 12 realms and the royal family.” they then go on to tell us who goes first and last, we were put in order based on that… I was last- uh oh. By my thinking at the moment, I either had the worst rankings in the roster or I was way overpowered- and I do not have any amount of confidence to think of the 2nd option.

Everyone was shuffled into the palace garden. The f*cker was massive! It looked like it could hold a whole forest with a f*cking lake! How they kept that place looking pretty was beyond my comprehension. We all settled in and lined up on stage, as the Queen and princesses walked on stage we saluted. It was a funky salute to say the least- (jules shh it's not that one) it was like the american salute with our hands over our souls and then above our forehead, our hand was straight with our pointer under our middle and our pinky and thumb touching. Our palm faced outwards and our other arm behind our backs. It somehow was comfortable after a while but my hand hated me after.

“LET THE CEREMONY COMMENCE!”

As we are instructed, we reach out our hands and summon a small wisp of our magic. Psyche then went to the first graduate, she hovered her hand over the small flame and sprinkled something onto it. A small burst flared off of the kids palm and once psyche backed away it started to flare up, it turned a pretty green color and was only a foot tall. “RANK ALO!” they announced. They went on to the next graduates. “ARCH!” it was a bright blue, “ALO!, ARCH!, LEGACY!” The legacy was a soft purple. “ALO!, SEREPH!” The spark was a huge bright purple that left the crowd speechless- I became nervous about what I could possibly get- she walked up to me and gave a smile “I'm sure you'll be great, don't you worry.” she whispered to me. I looked over at Shiva and Adora giving me a thumbs up and to elly and Aras cheering me on. I took a deep breath and then nodded at her.

She sprinkled the weird dust upon the small flame, but not like the others it didn't give her a second to back up- it bursted higher than any of the other flames- it was a golden flame with bits and pieces of red and blue flowing within it, it was such a powerful flame that it illuminated the whole gardan! Everyone was speechless- “A- A LOW TIER GODDESS!?!! NO WAY-” Aras bumped Ellys shoulder. “Heh, called it. She is your girlfriend after all” everyone roared and cheered- they were clapping and jumping out of their seats! The flame dimed down and it faded away- once I had my hands free Shiva sneaked up behind me and gave me a bear hug- Adora pulled her off of me and gave me a nod. I looked into the crowd and saw Elly cheering for me with a big smile. I saw everything in slow motion- it was like all of my fears were fading away in that moment.. I could feel a smile on my face, and then.. A tear…

I looked over at the other graduates, they were clapping and nodding in approval, then I had an idea. I took the hand of the kid that got rank commander and raised his hand up like you would a wrestling winner, they were in slight confusion but took it in happily, I was able to give more recognition to the other graduates.. And that alone made me glad.

The party afterward was more like a rave- we all gathered in the palace hall and there was a DJ slamming it with the beats. Lights flashing and we all had root beer and Sweet berry punch, surprisingly there was no alcohol. There were songs from across the ages, sadly i can't remember song names for the life of me but i know one consisted of a window and a wall. Clearly it was Shiva that created the playlist for the occasion. Me and Elly danced the night away as Aras and the gang got into their usual shenanigans, Adora was in her gossip corner with her friends and surprisingly psyche was killing it on the dance floor- she was like the cool grandma with immortality.

We all danced and laughed until we grew tired. Me and Elly decided to take A walk through the forest before we went home. It was a beautiful cherry blossom forest with paper lantern lights. They had cute little elementals snuggled up inside, if they wouldn't burn the apartment down then I'd keep one. We sat down on a bench and watched the stars shine in the sky, the night was clear and the wind was warm. I placed an arm around her and she rested her head onto my side. “So.. what now?” i asked her “well~ we can celebrate later at home, But for now.. I kinda want to savor the moment.” we sat there for a while.. It's surprisingly therapeutic. I turn to her and I see her adorable little face.. “The moon is beautiful… isn’t it?” “yea… it is.” After a while of sitting there my curiosity got the best of me- “hey baby?” “yea?” she turns to me tiredly, i can tell she's getting tired. “What's your rank-?” she giggles a bit. “Well funny story- i may or may not be the same rank as you~” she pokes my cheek playfully as i process her statement. “Wait what-” she giggles and gives me a second. “After I process I try my best to make a flirty comment. “Damn you were my goddess before but i didn't know you were an actual goddess” i give her an awkward smile as she laughs at my comment. “Oh and before i forget- tomorrow all the god Tier personnel are scheduled for a meeting tomorrow, i hear it's important.” I nod and we go back to watching the stars. After a bit she starts dozing off… so, I took her home.

End of training Arch.