Near the school's main building there was a beautiful radient guarden ,and a man ib black was walking through It's tree road , midest the vibrant colors and the birds melodies.
Yet he stood frozen amidst the blooming jasmine ,as if the world had paused and left him behind
The petals drifted around him like snow , but his expression remained unchanged, yet his gaze followed those petals till they passed by someone and landed on a sparkling lake
But his eyes were fixed on serenity standing there with eyes staring at nothing, utterly lost in a waking dream.
She didn't even turn at him but still noticed his existence,
"You are not from the school, who are you?"
the sunlight filtered through the heavy branches, illuminating her blank expression. Clearly surrounded with life yet she remained perfectly still
The man's expression didn't change as he said,
"Just walking around "
his deep alluring voice made her flinch at how familiar it sounded,
"!!?"
Back to the stadium;
The rest of the arenas were still calmly watching the other fights, so as the hostess turned at them after that match ended, she was dumbfounded by their calmness.
'They will start soon, right?' She thought to herself and waited for a while, but seeing no response, she tried talking to them.
"Um...e...excuse me, but...the fight started a while ago..."she asked
Nobody responded to her; they were chatting, and some of them were even lying on the ground, having forgotten all about the match. They completely ignored her words, and her anger started to flare up. 'They don't seem to take me seriously at all.'
The hostess landed beside Dem since his battle barrier was down. She squeezed her mic tightly between both of her hands and shouted at them,
"The match started already. Are you going to start your matches or not?"
The mic's voice was so loud it startled both audiences and contestants; at that point she snapped at them because her patience finally ran out,
'For God's sake i also want to go home' she thought
but one of the contestants with white creamy hair and glassy blue eyes wearing a katana on her wrist suddenly asked,
"Why are you in such a hurry? The day is still long, and finishing early is of no use, right?"
The hostess snapped at her, pouring out her anger,
"Who said it's no use? The ranking of which you finished determined your next opponent, you asshole."
Snow shouted at her response,
"And why the hell didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't ask, asshole?" Lana shouted back at her. That was her limit.
Snow looked at her speechless,
"Careful with your words , you might lose your job?"
lana threw her mike on her barrier saying ,"None of your damn business; just hurry up and start this damn fight before I lose my damn reason on you, kid."
Snow covered her mouth instantly. Lana's stare was deadly scary, She was clearly super angry.'i wanna go home'
Syrous, an elf wearing a black mask, a white t-shirt, and black pants, with long black hair and a noticeable rich, deep, and vibrant green with a slight bluish tint, calmly looked at his opponent.
"we watched the fun so now let's begin ours, shall we?" he said
"I agree." Deric shook his head at the other's clownish behavior.
Deric, a human wearing a set of black gloves, cyan eyes, and black hair, bunched his hands together about two times before lightning bolts started surrounding his hands.
-puzz...puzz-
"It's our turn!"
"!?!"
He leaned on the ground, touching it with his right palm; the lightning within his hand started flowing through the ground, getting closer to Syrous.
"Danger!"
Syrous felt his lightning approaching, knowing if he got hit, it would be an instant loss. He didn't wait for the lightning to come; he rushed toward him with all his speed.
'Now ' just before the lightning catch him he jumped into the air ,
deric looked above when he saw him jump into the air 'i have a bad feeling about this ' ,
it wasn't long when his feeling got confirmed , Syrous was right over his head,
Seeing him falling the boy panicked ,"Oh boy!"
Syrous used all his body weight while landing over Deric's back, flattening him on the spot.
He grabbed his hand from his wrist to stop the flow of electricity through the ground.
"Ke-keough."
"Now show me how you're going to use this move again."
Deric used his free hand and grabbed Syrous's hand that was holding him thinking he finally got hi , "No!....you're wrong..."
"Fuck!?" Seeing electricity closing onto his hands, Syrous closed his eyes, expecting the pain, but after a while he still felt nothing. 'Why didn't he attack?!'
He opened his eyes slowly, and the shock just hit him. Deric had lost his consciousness under him mid-fight, so he didn't get to finish his spell and lost.
He was dumbfounded seeing the barrier going down
"What the hell?"
but even those who saw the scene weren't in any better states, especially lana after getting herself a new mic, had her jawa dropped to the grounds stunned by what's in front of her,
"U...uh...I mean, if luck is considered a skill, then this match is definitely living proof"
Syrous quickly got up from above of him and tried waking him up , he shacked him a couple of times before he finally responded but maybe he shouldn't have waken up
"Hey you wake up...hey , hey ....wake u-"
"Gasp..cough..cough "
Seeing him finally open his eyes Syrous finally felt relieved,
"Are you okay? why the hell did you suddenly faint?!!"
Deric gave him a side eye measuring him up and down but seeing the fit Syrous he felt a sense of loss,
"You ask me? I ask you, what the hell do you even eat to be this heavy, huh?"
Those words got him totally off guard; he fell silent on the spot.
"?!!!"
Deric, on the other hand, started slowly touching his sore back telling him exactly what happened in his point of view,
"Once you landed over me, I felt like I was suffocating and couldn't breathe. It was like a mountain landed over my back. Was that all muscles?...i fanted even before i surrender.... That was scary, man."
"I don't know what to say...but that was you actually planning to surrender?!." Syrous felt way too shoked upon hearing what happened from his view he didn't dare look his way
but he felt even more embarrassed when he looked at his friend that was waiting for him in the crowd. 'He certainly wouldn't let this slide without making fun of me.' He thought
"Damn!...iam going to have a hard time"
Deric tried to get up but pain caught him right away,
"Oww, that really hurts.''
With tears running from his eyes, he tried to straighten his back, but it didn't go as he expected.
-Crackle-
"What the hell, my back...my back, somebody help, I can't move, I am stuck."
The sound of his bones actually echoed throught the entire arena ,that all the audience felt his pain.
''That absolutely felt terrible" lana said and flew all the way to their spot."Uh…oh...wait, I am coming."
Lana used her wing magic to carry him down to the medical team in one piece, then turned to Syrous, asking him seriously,
"I can't believe it's this bad. What's your weight exactly?"
Syrous got angry hearing that and jumped directly out of the arena, leaving that embarrassing scene.
"No comment."
"What was that?" Baial, who was dumbfounded from the match, turned at Sylvia and Belladonna, who were hardly controlling their laughter from coming out. "Eh?!...What's wrong?"
Sylvia covered her face with her hands trying to hide her expression ,
"If your option was lost to you and they said the reason was because you were so fat, what will your expression be at the time, huh?"
"Is that even a question? I'd be embarrassed to go outside and never be able to get over this incident my whole life...oh!" After saying that baial finally understood what happened she even began to sympathize with his situation, "...I think I get you now...poor man."
"Cough" sylvia regained her composure but the grin on her face didn't disappear as she said,"I guess it's pure luck we don't reveal our identities in this competition, or else his last bit of dignity will be lost if someone he knows sees it. "
"Heh"
Baial and sylvia instinctively turned to the source of the sound,
"!!?"
They saw belladonna started laughing hysterically to the point where her stomach hurt and her eyes teared up;
"Heh..heh.....Hahahahahahahahah"
Sylvia and Baial, on the other hand, couldn't understand what she was on about.
"Why is she laughing? " baial asked sylvia
Sylvia ignored baial and turned to scold Belladonna,
"Hey bitch, stop laughing; that's too much."
Belladonna clenched on her stomach feeling absolutely thrilled,
"Hahahha...I...I really can't help it...I am that someone...hahahah."
Both couldn't really process what she just saidand were in daze,
"What?"
"What?"
"I am saying the player named Syrous is someone I know. Not only that, but I am also one hundred percent sure I am not the only one who saw this joke." Belladonna said
Baial and Sylvia were caught off guard by her words; the confidence on her face after saying that made their eyes wide open.
Sylvia's face looked regretful as she said,
"What a pitiful soul; he's about to enter a living hell..."
Belladonna asked with a wide smile on her face ,"Why are you saying it like that?"
"Just make sure he doesn't go insane." Sylvia felt real sympathy towards Syrous; as someone who always bickers with Belladonna, she knows exactly what it means if she manages to get some dirt on you
"He is going to suffer." She said
Belladonna looked visibly pissed upon hearing her words ,"Oi...I am being misunderstood ,when he's the real devil here."
Sylvia dodged her gaze with obvious disbelief,
"Keep your words to yourself; it's not like I don't know you."
"I've been wronged this time." Belladonna laughed it out and got up from her seat, ready to leave the venue.
"Where are you going, Bella? Aren't you going to watch the rest?" Sylvia asked.
But Bella only waved her hand, saying, "To meet the pitiful soul you talked about."
"And the match?"
"Next time"
Belladonna left them and headed towards the exit of the stadium. Only when she left did Sylvia finally look away; she was somewhat relieved that she left.
"With you gone maybe he could survive another day without harm" she said
Outside the stadium, Bella walked out to find Syrous, who removed his mask, standing at the entrance along with another handsom man.
She waved her hands greeting them,
"Long time no see boys"
Once that man saw her, he removed his cap and mask. His eyes are a vivid, intense blue that contrasts well with its white star; those star sapphires-like eyes shine with an alluring gaze, captivating whoever looks directly at them.
Icy blue hair with a silver tone resembling that of fresh snow, he has ears of an elf, but he was wearing a blue and white coat. That man was clearly beautiful; even his voice was a bit attractive.
"You're late."
She walked towards them slowly, saying, "It's not my fault; you didn't tell me you were coming... So what are you guys doing here?"
"We came with Ash" syrous said but once he looked back his expression shifted "he was supposed to be here a moment ago, but we lost him again."
Bella rolled her eyes complaining,
"Do you think iam stupid....Since you are here he is one hundred percent here as well "
Syrous didn't like the tone of her voice and shoot back almost instantly ,"Really! ...If you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have known. Thank you for confirming."
Bella felt offended ,althought furious she held it in for the moment,
"The last person I needed to hear that from is you. I am already too polite not to talk about your embarrassing victory just now."
The atmosphere tensed between them so much that the other man had to interfere before they lost their minds and attacked each other in public, so he shoved them away from each other.
"That's enough focus on what we are here for," he said.
"And what is it exactly you are here for, ASTRUM?" Bella asked.
He said bluntly ,"It's the CRANIOM; they might be plotting something here."
Bella's heart skipped a beat hearing the name CRANIOM; it was like an old wound had opened and was refusing to close. "What?!? ...What are they trying to do this time?"
"Let's find another place to talk first." Astrum suggested
bella was so impatient and wanted to hear what they had to say immediately,
"All the people in this area right now will be at the stadium, so you can talk here; nobody is going to hear us anyway,"
Syrous gave her a weird look measuring her up and down ,'When it comes to craniom, she gets as impatient as it gets, and the chances of her committing mistakes increase....when will she ever learn?'
'Childish' Astrum rubbed his eyes as he was trying to think of something to calm her and avoid unnecessary trouble
but it was clear from her expression that if they didn't spill the beans right now, she might do something foolish again.
'This woman is so restless it started to give me a headach' ,While he was rubbing his tembles ,immersed in his thoughts, a girl's voice came from behind.
"My room is close by ,use it for now."
He quickly grabbed his sword from under his coat as he turned around, ready to launch an attack, but when he saw who was calling, he dropped his guard immediately hiding his hand because of the shock.
Stunned he pointed behind her ,"How come the two of you are together?"
The two who suddenly appeared were a woman wearing a black dress with messy long black hair wearing red glasses, who was serenity,
while the other was a man wearing a black eye band, a white tank top, black blazer, and black jeans; his long braided hair color was a very dark, rich shade of blue, almost black. Even with his eyes covered, you could tell he was really beautiful; his aura was so noble and majestic it forces people to kneel with respect.
Serenity pointed at the man standing next to her,
"He was lost, so I helped him get here....Why, you know him?"
Astrum looked at him before saying anything.
"He...is my…" Astrum saw the man making a gesture with his hand, telling him to stay silent, so he only said, "He is my friend."
Serenity looked visibly stunned by his answer she asked,
"Your friend...do you even have friends?"
"Pfftt." Syrous and Bella couldn't hold it in and made a sound.
Astrum lost his composure for the first time and glared at both of them for the first time.'shut up!'
He reluctantly spoke "Yes, I do have friends." He said ,but even thought those words spoke so heavily he himself couldn't belive them.
'We see nothing, we hear nothing,' they thought. After all, seeing Astrum like that was a first; they never expected that pretty face to show such an expression.
Serenity turned slightly at the man behind her saying,
"If he's your friend, better take care of him; he seems really bad with directions."
Astrum gave the boy an "explain yourself" look, but he simply turned his head.so astrum had no choice but to say anything,
"I..i will …"
Astrum suddenly crossed his arms asking what he really wanted to ask,
"Wait!.... what are you doing here? Why aren't you watching the games with the others?"
Serenity replied ,"I watched what I needed to; the rest is unimportant."
He saw nothing strange with her answer so he didn't press any further ,"O...okay, I guess."
Bella disrupted their conversation as she felt the relationship between the two was quite abnormal;
"Wait, you know her?"
the Astrum she knows never allows women to come near him by about ten steps, but the one in front of her is closer than any woman she's ever seen.'did he have a sudden change of heart?!'
Syrous said bluntly ,"Isn't it obvious they know each other, you idiot?"
"Stop with the bullshit, Syrous." Bella turned at Serenity and asked her, "What's your relationship with that man, little girl?"
Syrous was stund by her straightforward way of asking,
"What?....didn't know you can be this direct?!"
"If there is one piece of information I am most confident when saying, it would be that this man is a single dog," she said and pointed at Astrum.
'If it weren't for the imperial decree he would have stayed single all his life' she thought
Serenity said in confusion, looking at Astrum.
"Wow…that's quite the confidence for sure.....anythingto defend yourself?"
Astrum slammed his hand on his face feeling completely done with that pair ,'calm down....kids knows no better....calm down'
Syrous added to bella's words making it sound convincing,
"Believe what she said; there's a reasonable explanation for that, but what's important is don't get deceived by that pretty face of his; that's all he's got."
Bella pushed Syrous aside, following his lead. "That's right...even though I hate that bastard, I have to admit he's got a point there…under that beautiful face lies a cruel, shameless, heartless demon. You better stay away from him."
"Really !?" Serenityturned at her brother with a smile ,".. i think a harmless puppy is more suited "
Both bella and Syrous seemed genuinely disgusted by her words,
"Yikes "
"WTF, she has fallen so hard" bella said
"I'll leave you lovebirds alone; my stomach won't be able to pass this shit if we continue any further, so I'll pass," Syrous said.
He seriously wanted to listen to this shit no more, but Astrum was so angry that he punched both of them on the head strong enough to leave a mark for a while.
"Kugh"
Astrum scolded them explaining ,
"What the hell are you thinking all day long? That's my younger sister."
Both were stunned they took a while to process,
"Eh?!...Sister?!"
"Yes."
"Sister as in siblings?"
"Exactly "
"Biological?!"
Astrum got tired of hearing them asking basically he same quistion every time but in different shape,
"Ask one other question about this matter if you have the guts and see how it's going to end."
Syrous felt wronged; after all, his questioning is justified. How can a human be siblings with an elf? It's completely unreasonable,
"Stop joking around; look at you, then look at her...t...that doesn't make any sense, right?" He said
Bella kept thinking for a while before she finally made up her mind to ask, "If you're saying you're siblings with Serenity, does that mean you're a Voldemort as well?"
"Wait, what?...A Voldemort? You've got to be kidding me." Syrous's eyes widened from the shock; it was an unexpected information load all at once."can a Voldemort royal bloodline actually work this job of his?"
Serenity saw them beeing nosey making her pissed and even morw so when she felt her brother was uncomfortable with their questioning, so she stepped in to help her brother.
"Whatever...let's say it for only this once, no second. I and Astrum are twins; he is the oldest, and no, I am not a human...wait, at this point it should be triplets. Astrum is the oldest, I am the middle, and Aries is the youngest, okay?" She said
Syrous's jaws dropped hearing that supposed explaination,
"Triplets?!...There is still a third one?"
Bella rubbed her eyes again in disbelief,
"Wow...that was unexpected."
Bella was mocking their situation, while Syrous's expression froze as he didn't know how anyone could be more shocked.
Syrous suddenly remembered something that sent chills down his spine, "Wait a second, you said that your third brother's name is Aries...could it be Aries de Alkana?"
Astrum nodded and serenity replied ,
"It's him."
That blunt answer that meant nothing for them dropped a bomb over their heads.
"Shit ! Thais is a damn hard blow" he said
Syrous finally gave up and fell to the ground, while Bella felt weak in her knees. After all, she discovered that her comrade for over a decade was actually a hidden royal. She finally understood what she did to Baial at the stadium.
She started murmuring to the ground with a broken soul ,"This is my karma...but it hit really fast, I mean real fast…it didn't even take an hour before it hit."
A deep voice suddenly broke the awkward situation,
"enough."
The man who was only watching the whole time finally started speaking; with his deep and clear voice, he caught everyone's attention in an instant.
"Keep what you heard today for yourselves; no more talking on this matter."he said
the three of them stunned serenity when they replied without hesitation to his words as if they where an absolute command ,
"Got it"
bella didn't pay attention to this for long, she didn't stay stuck and immediately went to the main topic without a second of hesitation,
"With all the unnecessary talk over let's head to the main topic , what where you talking about before they arrived here?" Bella asked
Astrum looked at the stadium with a troubled look saying,
"Let's talk somewhere else; it's not safe here. I already have a villa near here; we can talk there as much as you want, okay?"
'Doesn't matter as long as i get what i need', Bella reluctantly agreed,
"Fine."
Serenity suddenly spoke,"I am coming along."
Astrum immediately refused with an absolute no as if there was no room for negotiation,
"NO!"