New World - A New Beginning

It had already been a week since the beginning of my life as a student.

I never thought I'd have the opportunity to live this kind of life, but it was exactly what Auroria had given me.

Half-breed, royal knight, adventurer, student.

I chuckled. It was a pretty extensive list of feats for an eleven-year-old, and positions I never could have dreamed of having back on Earth.

I walked into the already full class as the bell chimed, the next class starting. History was one of the subjects I was extremely interested in, wanting to understand what had happened in the past. The different battles between the triple alliance and the Dragonkin were topics that fascinated me, exploring the various tactics and strategies implemented to defeat the dragons.

I sat down at the table right beside Mia. Our interaction had definitely allowed Mia to get accustomed to my presence around her, but I was making no progress on learning about her past or why she didn't want to use her element, to begin with.

I suspected that it had something to do with a past trauma caused by the element, and after witnessing it, Mia chose never to use ice again. There was no evidence proving my theory, but it was a common reason when it came to forbidding oneself from using a type of attack or ability.

I was glad that days of rest similar to weekends existed in Auroria. I intended to hang out with Mia during the three free days that we were given.

"Mia!" I whispered, grabbing her attention. The girl lifted her head slowly, turning to face me. Her eyes stared right into mine, but I could tell she wasn't really looking at me. Simply listening to my words, her focus lay somewhere else, a place I wanted to discover.

"Do you think you could help me after class today? I wanted to practice my skills a bit."

The girl hesitated, not understanding where the sudden invitation was coming from. She finally nodded.

"Sure," she said. Her voice was something I had rarely heard, and the soft tone it carried was extremely comforting.

So I had now confirmed her company, but what could I possibly do? I closed my eyes, letting my mind drift towards the image of Asthia, a small tunnel in my chest opening up.

Yes? I suddenly heard, Asthia's voice echoing inside my head. I had successfully managed to open our link, allowing us to communicate with each other. She was clearly surprised at the sudden link, especially in the middle of class.

How am I supposed to figure out what's wrong with a girl who doesn't speak? I asked. Asthia laughed, immediately regretting her decision as I heard her apologize to the class for the disturbance.

Have you asked her? She asked, regaining control.

Nope.

So you're asking me before you've even tried?

Pretty much.

I felt the sudden urge to laugh, realizing it came from the link. Was Asthia laughing at me this much? I sighed, slowly realizing why the girl found it so funny.

I was indeed trying to ask for help before even trying. If I didn't directly ask the girl, then there wouldn't be much I would be able to do in the first place. It was something I wasn't used to doing, but maybe this is what Yu meant by grow?

I always tried to work around obstacles, devising plans to avoid them and attack from another angle. But maybe I had to sometimes ignore that mentality. Maybe having a direct conversation with Mia really was the only way to solve things.

--

Amelia had given Asthia and I access to the arena reserved for the advanced bind class, meaning we could access it and use it for training whenever we wanted. I had given the location to Mia, but the girl didn't seem to be arriving.

I had been standing outside the dome for twenty minutes, and there was still no sign of the girl. Her being this late was something I found extremely odd, and considering Mia was always in class at least ten minutes before the bell chimed, her being late stirred an unusual sense of uneasiness within me.

The Academy used a simple dormitory system to house its students, with the boys and girls separated to avoid any unnecessary issues. Maybe by following the path to the girl's dormitory, I'd run across Mia?

The winding path between the trees seemed to go on forever, my nerves telling me something was very wrong. I felt a small presence of bind ahead of me, my legs moving faster.

"You shouldn't even be attending this academy!" said a male voice, his harsh tone accentuated by the sudden thud of a punch.

"You killed him! With your stupid powers!"

Another hit.

"If you think attending an academy will hide what you did... then you should think again!"

Another hit.

My eyes widened in horror as I finally managed to see what was happening.

A boy... was beating... Mia?

I hadn't known the girl for very long, but there were some things that I had come to realize sitting next to her every day during classes. She was gentle and compassionate, someone who, even with immense power, chose to hide it instead of boast about it.

The girl was in tears, bright red marks visible on her face as water streamed down her face.

The world around me suddenly froze. I could hear my pulse quickening, my breaths shortening as I stared into the ground ahead of me, Mia's current situation reminding me of Katherine. The bruises from fighting, the tears, the gentle warmth that they both had slowly leaving them.

I looked at my hand, the entire limb trembling uncontrollably. I could feel a burst of emotions exploding inside of me, hatred and sorrow flooding my body.

My self-control was slowly leaving me, the negative emotions and intentions taking over my logical thought. I looked up, seeing the boy readying himself for another punch.

I could feel the lightning coursing through me as I watched the boy slowly prepare his next attack, his movements sluggish compared to the speed I was watching the world in.

"You murderer! You stupid little-"

The boy suddenly stopped, feeling another presence behind him. A hand was gripping his arm, refraining him from even moving. A soft voice echoed behind him, a cold aura enveloping him as the five simple words crushed his very soul.

"Do you... want to die?"