The Coming Darkness

"I see...I can relate because my Virus is acting up worse now also. I did propose to help him after we first met, I would be getting ready to depart again, but I think this is more important for now." He wiped her face and gave her a tight hug, after leaning onto her shoulder he whispered to her, "And thank you for healing my burn..." He pulled back and smiled. "I have things to tell you as well, Eos. But I'll tell you along the way to JD, I think this needs to be solved quickly." He let his hand trail through her hair once and started his way back to Sorcerers the same direction Enki and Enzo went in.

Sasha nodded, agreeing with Silver's idea. She'd stood there, kind of annoyed by the mere presence of JD. "Getting back there'd be nice," she said, crossing her arms as she scanned the area, "Any of you know the way?"

"Your virus is getting worse?" She mumbled, more so to herself, not expecting him to want to talk more about the subject. Although, it was concerning - very concerning. She wasn't sure what he was talking about, or where he would depart to, but somehow the tight embrace calmed her almost completely, and at the very least silenced her questioning.

When he whispered against her ear she got a chill, and gave him a silent nod. Burns weren't too hard for her to take care of, but even if it was far worse she would do her best to take care of him. It seemed he carried too much on his own his whole life - he needs someone to help, even if he would never ask for it.

The little things he did made her smile, almost giggling as he let his fingers flow through her blonde locks. "Alright, let's go." She took hold of his hand and followed alongside him. "I don't know how you can help him... but I can tell you his symptoms if that helps? He only has the slightest clue of the problem..." She couldn't believe JD had reached out to someone, but knowing now that he has - she knew for sure he wanted to get better.

Silver nodded at Sasha. "Yeah, it's straight that way," she said as she pointed off in the direction of the school, beginning to walk towards it. Silver has been through here plenty of times, so she knew exactly where everything was. She paused and looked back to the others, who were still standing there. "You guys coming?" she asked, offering a teasing smile.

"Well, it's a stretch. If this condition is magic there's a chance I can sort of...extract it out of him. I do have a sort of Manna tap spell. My original idea was to try and drain this thing out of him. It's blunt, but only because I don't know too much about this. So yeah, if you wouldn't mind you can tell me the symptoms." He rubbed his thumb in her palm and walked beside her, listening carefully.

"Dad? is that you?" Enzo asked out of curiosity. The figure had moved out of the shadows of the trees, revealing his father. He laughed just like Enzo. "I'm glad you're okay, Enzo." Enki blinked. He looked over to the elated Enzo, and muttered "Enzo.. that.. isn't.." but he bit his tongue. Maybe there was something Enki didn't know.

"Where were you for an entire month? I told you I was going to be away for just 2 weeks, and to stay in your school dorm." "I was... It's.. complicated." Enzo replied. He didn't know whether to tell him about the Gaze or not. "It's okay. Kenji told me about what happened while he was practicing." Enzo perked up at the word 'practicing'. "He's.. fighting?"


Somewhere in a field outside of the school grounds, a battle took place.

Spoiler

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"How in the world are you the combat trainer?" Kenji casually asked while blocking every single attack Kyoya threw at him. A gun formed in Kenji's other hand, and he shot at Kyoya, though he blocked it, it blasted him back 15 feet, and gave Kenji some room. Kyoya stood up straight with an impressed smile on his face. "There's no need to go all out. I'm playing with a baby, after all."

"I see.." Enzo said. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned around to see Volitaire and Eos.

Furrowing her brows she became nervous, wondering if JD might get hurt in the process. "Well, you see... ever since we were little tikes, strange things have happened ever so often. Usually his episodes are far and few between... but lately it's been an almost weekly basis. It's impossible to tell from looking at him, but it's a lot like if he were sleep walking. He walks around with the body and voice of my brother, but the person inside him isn't... JD. Or at least, I don't think it is." Pausing she gripped tightly to Volitaire's hand.

"Just this morning, he asked to meet me on the roof. Voli... he pushed me off..." The statement was confusing just to say, "But he grabbed me right before I fell, and told me something about how I wasn't ready yet... and the strangest of all, he called me Beatrice - which is my mothers name."

His eyes widened at JD pushing her off a roof. He knew this wasn't the real him but he grew frustrated that he put her in danger. He closed his eyes while frowning and took a deep breath. He didn't want his temper to lash out in front of her. "Then this needs to be dealt with now, Eos. I don't want you're own brother who serves as your protector be your murderer at the same time." His voice grew stern and low. "So this is a sort a possessive anomaly that exists inside him? Almost the same as me, just more humane. Well, I can't really assure my initial plan may work, but my father worked with these kinds of things. Magic entities that works as possessors. That's where I got my Virus from...but I don't know what it truly is yet. I don't want to have to use my deeper forms of Manna snatching but I may have to, seeing how bad this is. It would be much easier if I knew where my father kept his notebooks or if they're even still in tact. I could use those as a resource for this. I'm not even sure if Artizle knows..." He tapped his finger on his bottom lip. "Well, I'll ask JD if there's anything he's found out that he hasn't shared yet...start from there, hmm?" He curiously looked over to Eos.

David found himself wandering along, in some town his travels had brought him. He heard there was a school around here somewhere.. A school filled with people who use magic. Powerful fighters, a chance to help him get stronger. He grinned at the thought. Truthfully, he sometimes wondered why he traveled so much to fight and get tougher, but he really didn't ever want to do anything else. Sure he'd kick back and relax every now and then, play some video games, listen to music, eat junk food, you know, things a normal teenager would do. But he really felt alive when he fought, and it made him feel good when he won a fight. So, his journey continued.

"'Scuse me, is there a school around here somewhere?.." he asked strangers around him. "Ah yes, right down this road, it's huge, you can't miss it." "Ah, thank you very much!" he responded with a warm smile.

After a bit of walking, and stopping to grab a couple snacks, he ended up in front of a HUGE building. This must be the school! I wonder who I should talk to first? I wonder if they would even allow someone like me here... He shrugged and decided to sit on a bench next to what seemed to be a huge forest, and took out some of the snacks he got earlier. He always loved forests, they somehow always made him feel at ease. He felt content for the moment, and stared at the trees, munching on the chips he bought.

After his fourth helping of danishes, he patted his stomach and smiled. "Well, no dinner for me tonight." He said chuckling, making his way to the exit. "Boy, I need some fresh air, and a drink." Marcus made his way back to the entrance of the school, humming to himself a jaunting tune from his youth. As he opened the doors, and stood outside, he admired the view and soaked in the scenery. However, he felt his body start to tremble, his foot tapped uncontrollably, and his facial muscles twitched. "Oh- yeah, time for a drink." He murmured to himself.
He took a large gulp from his flask and his body began to settle down. As he put it back into his pocket, a bright color caught his eye. It was the amber-like hair of someone sitting on a bench close by. Was it a student at this school? They certainly looked the age. "An introduction wouldn't hurt." Marcus thought to himself, as he approached the bench. "Hello," he said flashing a welcoming smile, "are you a student here?"

Startled, David looked up at the man who appeared before him. He scratched his head. "W-well uh, not exactly... I just arrived here, someone suggested I come here to train.." He looked down. What if they didn't want him there? Would the man kick him out? Or would he have to fight?.. Well, he figured it wouldn't end up that bad either way. He looked up at the man next to him and offered an innocent smile.

Marcus noticed the boy becoming uncomfortable and laughed, "I'm sorry, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Marcus Tormod, I'm actually the newest addition to the faculty, and will begin teaching classes in a couple of days." He extended his hand warmly to David. "So, a new arrival. I suppose a good question would be, what is your ability? You're one of the first people I met all day, apart from the receptionist and the counter attendant in the café. And I want to get to know as many people as I possibly can. Especially if I'll be teaching them."

Enzo stared at the two, they had seemingly forgot his existence. "Anyway, Enzo," Dad said. He began to dig through his pockets thoroughly. He pulled out a cellphone and handed it to him. "I was planning on giving that to you on your birthday, but it looks like you disappear without warning, so a cellphone should give you a way to contact me." Enzo took the cellphone, and turned it on. It was a fancy touchscreen phone, and he got used to it quite quickly. Enzo looked back up to his dad and smiled. "Thanks, dad." And in return, his dad smiled back at him.

Again, Enki stared in confusion. He doesn't remember Enzo's dad at all. Once they started walking back to the school, Enki followed. Man.. alot is going on right now.. Is this what it means to have lots of friends? It's chaotic.

David smiled, feeling a bit better knowing he was new as well. He took Marcus's hand and shook it firmly. "I'm David, uh, David Rizzo.." Ability? Oh, right, this was a magic school. "..I actually don't know magic at all, but I'm a pretty decent fighter with my blades." He looked at the man, thinking he must be a magic user as well then, if he was teaching other magic users. "Mr. Tormod, was it?.. What about you? Are you a magic user?"

He nodded and gave a firm shake back. "Oh, you're a blade fighter? That's really cool! You'll have to show me your skills sometime, perhaps once you get enrolled." Marcus took a seat next to David, and fidgeted with his ID. "My magic is different from what you might see in this school. I can't control elements, levitate things, or even read minds. I've got a special ability I like to call 'pushing'. Basically, whatever I want you to do, I want you to remember, or what I want you to think, happens. Even if those things aren't true. It's an ability I've rarely used. The last time I did...bad things happened, things I'm not proud of." He frowned a bit while saying this, before giving his head a quick shake, adjusted his glasses and smiled again. "But, that's all behind me now." He gazed into the forest, noticing some movement in the far rear of the trees.

She followed Silver, though soon began to recognize her surroundings. In doing so, Sasha felt that she could find her way back on her own at this point. Giving a small wave to her female companion, Sasha smirked, "Have fun with your boyfriend, Silver," she called out before dashing out at a quick rate, nearing the school. She saw two figures not far ahead, near the bench in front of the forest she was in.

Are they new...?

Sasha quickly approached the two, skidding to a stop just before the forest ended, studying the two males who appeared to be talking.

David got perhaps a bit too excited when he spoke of his talent.

"That's.. That's amazing!" He always envied those who were "special", and not exactly normal like him. He often thought of himself as boring, while others were 10 times more exciting. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes a little, they had been irritated due to allergies and being in an unfamiliar environment. His eyes were extremely sensitive, which was a pain at times. Sometimes it would look as if he was crying, and he got pretty embarrassed for that. He put his glasses back on, and turned when he heard something behind them which seemed to be coming out of the forest. He saw a few younger people, they looked like they might be students. David smiled.

Then he heard another being approaching them, and turned to see a girl not too far away from them. David blinked a few times before speaking to her. "H-Hi there! Are you a student here?" He figured it would be best to make himself known, should any challengers want to face him directly. He stood up, thinking maybe this was his chance to get to know the area better.

“Yes captain- my captain- I am on my way. Let’s head back to Sorcerers- though someone should lead the way in case I get bloody lost again.” JD jested, because honestly he could see the building looming before them a ways. Yet he trudged along with Silver and Sasha until the odd Russian girl broke out away and into a full canter of motion. That was- well- odd, he mused. Then again nothing that the girl ever did seemed normal. For one she was Russian. For another she was hitting on Enzo.

It was then he turned to Silver and smiled brightly. “Aye aye, sorry I’ve been absent today. I’m usually far more attentive than this, but ah- things have been- well- um- awkward. Look Silver. I care for you a lot. Sure we haven’t known each other for very long but look at what in the nine hells we have been through and I honestly feel like it is only the start.” It was then brought a hand forward and slid a dark lock away from his face. “Not to mention- I do believe we have near about instant chemistry.” It was then he considered telling her- he felt it in his bones- and it was almost the perfect moment. Yet it wasn’t. JD hesitated and then just brought his hand gingerly to her arm and gave her a soft squeeze. “So your other boyfriends alright?” He stated as he motioned towards her swords- and pulled away. “Maybe you can tell me how everything went in the forest over something to eat. Actually scratch that- over ANYTHING to eat. Gah.”

After they reached the school grounds, Enzo felt the need to do some extra training in the training room. The more he did, the quicker he would learn the Minus Fire. He changed directions, heading straight into the school, and down into the training room. Enki had followed, but Enzo's dad had broken off a while ago. "So you're going to train? Kenji isn't here.." Enki said, leaning against the battered wall. "I can train without him, you know." Enzo stretched, and walked into the middle of the room. "I'm really trying to master Serene Mind."

Silver watched as Sasha ran off, blushing a bit when she yelled out to have fun with her boyfriend. She looked to JD as he turned to her and listened to him as he spoke, talking about how he cared for her and how they had chemistry. She wasn't exactly sure about the chemistry thing, but she did care for him as well, and something seemed off, but she decided to shrug it off. She looked down and smiled a bit, and began walking again, seeing as he was hungry. "They are alright, I need to polish them up a bit, though.. And sharpen them. I got in a fight or two after picking them up, and they were dull enough to begin with." She frowned as she looked to them, rubbing one of them with her hand.

Sasha immediately found the male to be taller than her, which, quite frankly, annoyed the hell out of the girl, as she disliked feeling small in comparison to others. Frowning, Sasha walked over to the caramel haired male, placing a hand on her hip when she stopped, "I do attend school here," she replied,"Problem?" After days of feeling all weird and soft inside, Sasha finally felt like her old self again, with an attitude that just couldn't be beaten.

"Ahh, none at all. I'm just new around here and.. Sort of wanted to get to know the area.. And the people." He looked down at her and tried to offer the girl a comforting smile. She was cute, maybe he could convince her to show him around.. "Are you a magic user, too, then? What sort of awesome powers do you have?" David looked eager, being around so many magic users excited him. He stopped himself and looked down, almost a bit disappointed. "Ah, sorry.. I don't mean to pry or anything.."

"Hmph, I see, I see," Sasha replied, nodding a little bit. At his question, it took all her will to keep herself from laughing, instead, replacing it with a smirk, "I merely bend water to my will, it's a simple trick if you learn it the right way," she said, giving a small example of it by condensing a bit of moisture in the air into a small ball the size of a button, "See?"

She sighed, "Men shouldn't apologize, they should stand up for themselves," Sasha muttered to herself. Had she stumbled upon another weakling again?

David gasped. "How fascinating!!" He stared at the water she formed out of thin air. He adjusted his glasses a bit and scratched his head when she called him out on apologizing. "I suppose you're right... It's sort of a habit, you see.. Ah! Sorry, I never introduced myself! My name is David." He smiled at her again. Maybe they could be friends? It would be nice to have some friends, besides a teacher that is.

Then, he got a brilliant idea. "Oh! Do you folks have some sort of a training room around here? I do need to do some training.. I've been snacking too much," he explained, patting his stomach.

Sasha grinned; he seemed interesting, though slightly annoying with the naive manner that he acted. Nevertheless, Sasha decided to attempt to act slightly civil with the male, "Name's Sasha," she replied, giving him a nod,"Yeah, there's a training room here," she said, beginning to walk in that exact direction, "I've never been in there yet, though." Sasha guided the older male out towards the room, opening the metal bolted door, "There we go."

David quickly turned to wave at the friendly teacher he had met earlier, and followed Sasha. "Well, if you've never been, maybe you could stick around and help me train a bit!" After a bit of walking, they arrived. "Ohh! It's nice and big. Awesome. Thank you very much, Sasha!!" He turned and smiled at the girl before entering. He saw a couple other people already in here, and smiled again. "Do you know those people?"

Enzo's concentration broke when the two entered the room. Sasha was with another person. a boy. He felt a strange feeling in his stomach. It was foreign to him, but he didn't like it. "Who are you?" Enzo asked.

She nodded, a bit amazed at the room herself. Sasha shook her head, "It wasn't much of a problem for me, you don't need to thank me for it," she replied. Hearing his question, Sasha's eyes flit across the room, immediately landing on Enzo. She was about to reply, when Enzo himself asked the male a question. "He's David," she stated before the male could, "David, this is Enzo."

Marcus had listened to Sasha and David talk. Picking up quickly on the mannerisms of both. But while he listened he zoned out, only snapping out of it when the boy waved good-bye. "Wait...what, training room?" He thought to himself before standing up and making his way to the same direction as the students. "This may give me a good chance to see the students' abilities and powers." He realized this made him seem a bit clingy, and even a bit creepy, but he did want to get to know the students he was going to be teaching better. Who knows, maybe they could teach him a thing or two as well. Marcus opened the heavy metal door, coming in behind Sasha and David, noticing another student in the room with them.

"I-" Sasha responded to the other boy before he could reply. Enzo, huh? He seems strong! David smiled at Enzo. "Hiya, Enzo! Nice to meet you."

He walked in a few feet, but stopped, looking around the large room. "What a nice place for some fighting." He caught himself and looked back over to Enzo and the redhead. "Oh, pardon me.. I'm interrupting, aren't I?..." He frowned and walked over to the wall, leaning against it.