IV

  Meisha POV

  Meisha didn’t know what to do in this situation. What did Syvis even mean, she tried to tell her and Viragor something about what was revealed to her during her Awakening. Her [ Archive ] mentioned that someone will betray her, someone close to her? But what did that have to do with Kaz? Sure, his beam was silver, but he still received the Calling of the Mage. She knew Kaz very well, and while sure he was a bit weird and very weak, he wasn’t a liar. She knew whenever Kaz lied to her, as he had these obvious mannerisms whenever he would lie.

  It honestly hurt to leave him behind, but Syvis needed to explain herself. She would go find Kaz later, and hopefully Viragor will stay behind to be with him.

  She caught up to Syvis and tried to grab her hand. Syvis immediately escaped her fingers, and simply told her, “Follow me back to my house. We will talk there.” Meisha merely nodded, and defeatedly, followed her to her massive estate. After a few moments, Viragor caught up to them, much to her surprise.

  She sadly asked him, “You didn’t stay behind with Kaz? And what about your kin?”

  He solemnly replied, “I decided to follow you two, so that I could get a better explanation from Syvis, because I am very confused. And also… I’m not ready to tell my kin yet.”

  Meisha was surprised to see a moment of vulnerability from the usually steady Dwarf. She nodded and they walked briskly along the street, making their way to Syvis’s estate. Once they reached the main gate to their estate, Syvis simply walked through and walked straight to a little secluded spot that they would always go to whenever they wanted to talk.

  It was a beautiful gazebo, in the middle of a clearing of the greenest of trees and surrounded by colorful flowers. They sat around the table, on arguably the most comfortable chairs to ever exist.

  Meisha began speaking, as Syvis wasn’t talking, “So, Syvis, what was that all about?”

  Syvis took a deep breath, and finally went back to natural self. The side that only she probably knew about. The true Syvis, a kind hearted girl who wanted the best for those around her. What surprised her, was the worry that appeared on her face. She suddenly looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and had many sleepless nights.

  She began explaining to them. Her whole Awakening. About the two-star Statues, then the immense display of the three-star Defender Statue. She explained her thought process, and her indecision before the three-star Calling appeared. She slightly giggled, at the absurdity of her quickly Awakening the three-star Calling, without giving it any thought. And then her face got serious again.

  “When I Awakened my Calling of the Defender, a new message appeared on my [ Archive ], and it congratulated me for Awakening this Calling. It called me a Hero. A Hero of the people for the future to come. That was already overwhelming in itself, the pressure was already setting in. But the final sentence in the message,” she paused, collecting her breath, closing her eyes and trying to calm down.

  She opened her eyes and then revealed what was written, “The message wrote me a warning. Warning me that someone close to me, someone I trusted was not to be trusted in the near future.”

  Silence followed this revelation. Meisha herself was speechless for once. She tried to calculate it in her mind. Yes, in a way, it did make sense why Syvis reacted the way she did. She just received a warning, a warning from the [ Archive ]! Whatever she wanted to believe about Kaz, it all didn’t matter. She realized that maybe Syvis was right this time.

  Kaz POV

  Kaz made it back to the orphanage. Thankfully, Miss Astreta was waiting for him. She didn’t say anything, as she must have noticed his current state. She simply hugged him and said everything was going to be alright. He felt a warm pulse of mana flow through his body, and he relaxed. She guided him to his room where he practically fell into his bed, and began crying his eyes out till sleep finally found him.

  The next morning, Kaz woke up, rubbing all the crust that built up around his eyes. He slid out of bed, and dragged himself over to his closet, where he threw off his ceremonial robe, and grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt. He briefly walked over to the mirror. He looked at his reflection. A dull set of silver eyes looked back at him, dejected. He absentmindedly tried to fix his usual unruly mop of brown hair, but like always, it didn’t look any better.

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  Walking back over to his bed, he sat down, putting his head into his hands. He had almost no options in what he could do now, especially pertaining his Calling. As a one-star mage, he would not be accepted into his town’s Mage Academy. Only those who have Awakened a two-star Calling would be accepted into an Academy for their Calling. Usually, each town had their own Academy for every Calling, but the general idea was that if you possessed a two-star Calling, you could get into almost any Academy.

  If you Awakened a three-star Calling, or were rich enough, you could attend the Royal Academy of your Calling in the Capital of Aros or attend one of the specialty Academies in the most prestigious locations. These Academies provided you with all the best knowledge to obtain the Skill Abilities and Passive Abilities that you wanted. They essentially crafted and guided you through the best possible journey along your Calling. Usually, one would spend three years in these Academies, until their 18th year. Most Academies guaranteed that the student would leave the Academy having undergone at least one Revelation.

  Kaz wished he knew what that meant exactly, he just knew it was something about Resonance, as he usually slept through his lessons in school. But then he remembered he has unlocked his [ Archive ], so he quickly mentally summoned it. And the familiar parchment unrolled before him.

  He sent a mental inquiry to find information about Revelations. Gold lettering appeared, and then the words turned to black, allowing him to read:

  A Revelation is when someone reaches a certain tier of Resonance along their Journey. The Resonance required are as follows: 50 Resonance, first Revelation, usually the most important, as this inscribes you with your own fated Calling, specific to your specialties. 100 Resonance, second Revelation. 250 Resonance, third Revelation. Then from there, a Revelation is obtained every 250 Resonance till one reaches Ascension, which is at 2,500 Resonance. Prior to each Revelation, there are two requirements that they must meet; one, they must Rank their Abilities to the tier of their Revelation, and two, they must complete a Quest containing a Trial to help define their true self.

  Kaz read this and while it made sense, there were still so many questions going through his head. How was he to raise his Resonance? What happens at Ascension? What does it mean to Rank one’s Abilities? And finally, what is a Quest?

  With these questions in mind, Kaz decided there was no use in sitting in his room, allowing his thoughts and emotions to drown him in misery. He pushed himself up from the bed, and made his way out. He decided he might head towards the Library, where he might be able to find some information from the Scribes, or at worst, read some books that wrote a lot but meant a lot of nothing.

  As he was walking towards the Library, he ran into his group of friends, who were coming out of a merchant’s store. He seized up, not sure what to do. One part of him yelled at him to run, to avoid them. One part of him yelled to ask why they left him, why they abandoned him.

  He croaked out a simple, “Why?”

  Syvis looked him over, and he swore he saw something flicker in her eyes. It was sadness, a deep sadness that tugged on his heart. But as quickly as it flickered through her eyes, it was replaced by its usual coldness that he was used to.

  She replied to him coldly, “You are a problem, Kaz. You lied to us yesterday. What happened was seen by everybody. Your beam was Silver, not Gold. It was so weak and dim, it was barely noticeable. Did you even Awaken a Calling? Let alone the Calling of the Mage? I would understand if you said something more believable like the Calling of the Forager, I would’ve even believed the Calling of the Merchant. But you chose arguably one of the most coveted Callings.”

  Kaz felt his heart fall into his stomach. He wasn’t even upset anymore, he was just… hollow. He understood how it looked to them. But they were his friends, weren’t they?

  Kaz quietly responded to them, “Why would I lie to you three? You are all essentially my only friends, and I have never lied to you. Why do you doubt me?”

  Surprisingly, it was Meisha who spoke up, “Kaz, when we take a look at everything that happened, it’s kind of hard to take your word for it. I really want to believe you, but it is just so unlikely. Can you tell us what really happened, and what Calling did you actually get, or did you not Awaken one?”

  Kaz felt like he has been slapped across the face. Meisha was the one who said this. Meisha. The one who grew up with, the one who was his sister, not by blood, but by circumstance. He couldn’t stop the anger that was starting to build up.

  He tried to compose himself, but he ended up bursting, relieving all the pent-up emotions he has been building up, “I didn’t lie! I underwent the Awakening and I Awakened the Calling of the Mage, and that was the only Calling that even appeared! None of the other Callings thought I was compatible! The only reason I got the Calling was because I somehow had various variants of mana circulating throughout me. You think I just wanted the Calling of the Mage and chose it? Why are you guys so set on believing some ridiculous idea just because of the color of the beam? If it was such a bad thing, Elder Celron would’ve taken me away!” Kaz fumed as tears started to streak down his cheeks.

  Syvis was not fazed at all by his outburst, compared to Meisha and Viragor who looked away awkwardly, wincing. Syvis replied cooly to him, “Sorry Kaz, but the one constant has always been the Awakening process. In all of its time, it has never changed the way it worked. This is where we must part ways, as we will be heading to our Academies anyways. Never approach me again, as you are not what you seemed to be.” And with that, she walked away, head held high, looking straight ahead.

  Kaz looked over to Meisha and Viragor, disparity filling his eyes, “Guys, don’t leave me, please.”

  Viragor couldn’t meet his eyes, and for the first time ever, he meekly spoke, his voice cracking, “Sorry Kaz. I truly wish for the best for you with your Calling.” He followed after Syvis, his head hanging low.

  Meisha then spoke up, tears streaming down her cheeks, “I’m truly sorry Kaz, but what Syvis is saying, it all adds up. I know you’re not lying. But I can’t risk my own Calling, being with you, when something unheard of happens to you. If everything pans out in the future, and we have some answers, I will come and find you. Good luck out there, and thank you for everything, Kaz.”

  And there went his last friend, the one who he thought would be by his side to the end.