Luz arrives in front of the Brickell School of the Non-Magic. He stands in awe looking at the building. While the Reenthrone Academy looked like a castle, the Brickell School looked like a shack.
Luz sighs and walks in.
He feels uncomfortable, all the students look at him weird.
Luz rests his brow in the palm of his hand as his head begins to hurt.
CLANG
Luz begins to hear metal clashing, crowds cheering, even seeing a flash of blood.
Just then, a voice calls out his name.
"Hello, Mr. Volo. I am Dr. Romus, the dean of this fine school."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Romus," Luz said with a big smile on his face.
"It's Dr. Romus. You should be proud that I have personally come to meet you."
"Ohh.. my… that glimmer in your eye is just like hers."
"Huh?" Luz says, creeped out.
"Well enough chit chat now to your first and only class for the day."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A crimson glow appears.
Rey opens his eyes
Before him a packed colosseum full of cheering men and women. At its center he stands, holding tightly to a sword in his right hand. As he looks around and gets a good look at his body, hes shocked. He's covered in muscle from head to toe as if he has been training his body for decades.
"Don't freeze up now fool, you're mine!"
A man as fearsome as a lion, rushes him from behind, sword and shield in hand.
But in a fraction of a second, on pure instinct, Rey drops his sword allowing it to bounce off another blade on the ground. He then grabs it with his left hand and lets off one fierce slash.
Swoosh
He kills him.
Rey looks down at his hands one more time.
But something was off.
The warmth of the blood on his hands wasn't fake.
This crimson world started to crack.
Echoes of voices begin striking Rey's ear repeating three words.
"Fight"
"Kill"
"Survive"
Suddenly one familiar voice cuts through the volley of commands.
"You're late, Rey."
Everything goes silent.
Rey falls.
Rey's eyes snap open. But there's no crimson tint. He's lying in the middle of a wheat field.
Suddenly, a man who seemed to be in his early thirties rushed toward him, his boots trampling the wheat growing in the field. His dark hair was messy, and a scar rested just above his lip. It tugged slightly as he yelled, giving his face an unnaturally sharp edge. His clothes were worn and dusted with dirt and mud, obviously the result of constant hard labor.
"Get out of my farm!! I've worked too hard for you damn Fabii to come and sabotage me a day before the great harvest festival!"
Rey, still in shock, stares at his hands and arms.
"My body, no muscles… I'm me again."
"Where am I?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seated in the back row was an boy with strawberry blonde hair, his deep blue eyes stared off in the distance looking through a window. Luz was currently trying his best not to fall asleep to his professor's rambling, so he continued to look out at the town. The air brought hints of freshly baked bread and the faint smell of wet stone straight to his nose. But his mind is caught between the echoes of crimson blood and the cheers of those in the colosseum.
The words of his poor teacher barely reached him.
"... and so, each human's soul manifestation is aligned with an element at birth. Fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, and life. And in rare cases space, poison, sound, blood, dream, time, darkness.
Luz blinked, now focused on the professor. He remembered Rey was born with an affinity toward Darkness.
"…these elements are not just simple magic. They are all but extensions of the soul. They reflect who you are, what you can become, and most importantly, what your will can shape. Those who master their element can influence the world around them beyond what most consider possible."
Groans erupted all around the classroom.
"I understand your frustration, but even here, in this so-called non-magic school, you students can form bonds with elements. Although it still depends on what element resonated with you during birth."
"Listen you may not be able to summon flames or command the seas, but your connection to your element will shape how the world touches you. There are those with a fire affinity who can withstand heat far beyond normal capabilities, or those with an earth affinity that allows them to endure heavy impacts."
"We call these people Resonants"
Luz shifted in his seat.
Something felt off.
And in just a moment, the noise of the classroom faded. For a split second. He wasn't sitting at his desk.
He was standing in the sand.
The roar of a crowd barged into his ears.
CLANG
Luz flinched
And suddenly, he was back.
The classroom.
The desk.
Everything and everybody was normal, like nothing had happened.
But for just a second…
A boy with blue hair caught Luz's gaze.