"So. I can't get out of learning even after dying." I say out loud, hoping the bitterness in my mouth isn't as noticeable as I feel it is.
I'm reading a piece of paper Raine gave me about the history of The Tower of Destiny, but none of it makes sense to me. Although it's way more interesting than earth's history.
They should just let children learn what they wanna learn after the basics. It would make a lot more people happy that way.
"So, The Scattering. How did you pull that off without mana?" Luna looks up at Raine and asks. Hearing her voice jolts me out of my mind and I blink rapidly.
I was so focused on the comparison between Earth and The Tower that I didn't even realize how nice it is outside. It's sunny and the wind is very relaxing.
It's a complete contrast to the lesson Raine is teaching us. Oh and don't tell Principal Constance I said this but Raine is way better at teaching. She's boring and he actually has hands-on lessons.
"Well. Do you want the longer version or the shorter version?" Raine asks but then speaks again, giving us no time to choose between the two.
"Actually the longer would make more sense… Hmmm…" Raine pauses for a moment and rubs his chin. If he had a beard it might have looked normal, but since he doesn't I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Before you two arrived here in The Tower, you died. Luna froze to death from the immense cold emanating from Ramus Glacius." Luna glances over at her artifact and inches away from it.
I don't blame her for feeling that way, especially with news like that coming out of nowhere. Then as if knowing my turn was next I flinch at Raine's gaze.
"Skye lost too much blood and in turn couldn't counteract the ice spell's effects either." Even though I was prepared for the news, I still can't help but feel the dryness in my throat.
Luna stares at me, opening her mouth as if she was gonna say something, but instead of speaking she just turns away.
"It's not your fault Luna. Plus you're both here now and doing well, so don't worry about trivial matters." I don't need to be able to read minds to know what Luna was thinking.
"But that doesn't explain you and The Scattering though." I blurted out hoping to change the subject before the air started turning cold again.
Raine seems to pick up on my point energetically and continues his story with a conjured disk. The sudden appearance of an object seemed to have startled Luna just enough to change her focus and I mouth an inaudible "thank you" to Raine when he looks at me.
"This disk is something of the distant future. I thought of it and figured it would do the job of explaining The Scattering better than words." Raine sets the disk on our table and then it flickers upwards.
The light of a hologram shines through the air, and I instantly know the scene shown is a war. There are thousands of people in a flowery field.
There seem to be fifteen groups of people within a circle formation. There is about three feet of space in between each group and each of the groups have deeper layers closer to each other.
In the middle of the field sits a table that's shaped like a sunflower, with fifteen petals housing three seats each. Even though it's a hologram I can sense thicker tension between them than between the thousands of people in their armies.
It's like the presence of their strongest warriors calms their troops, as well as unsettles the enemy. If I was there I know I would be going through my own war in my head between my ADHD, my heart, my mind, and my body.
Then a single figure stands. A man with an old fashioned outfit that reminds me of Looker from Pokemon. Except a strange symbol is upon his jacket and hat.
The marking upon his hat resembles a judges mallet, smacking into a wooden block. He looks kind of intimidating and is definitely giving off an aura of complete confidence.
"Enzo Governare. To whom does the Glacius family owe the honor." A man with a tone colder than ice speaks as Enzo stands.
"Edure Glacius, you of all people should know that I don't need to ask for respect." Enzo chuckles confidently.
"Yeah some would say you just take it and blow up anyone who doesn't agree with you. I respect that style my friend!" A third man laughs maniacally and then stands.
"Should I freeze your factory again, Borris?" Edure asks with a loud breath outward. Mist flows from his mouth and the crown on his head seems to grow another ice spike.
"I guess peace time has proven your best quality is making ice cream. Should I kill you with a landmine? Oh or maybe a rocket launcher?" Borris squeals in joy, as Edure stands up to confront him.
The entire table erupts into chaos but then a loud crackle of thunder echoes throughout the land. Drowning out all voices just long enough for the person who casted the spell to speak.
"My fellow rulers, didn't we come here for diplomacy? The weight this meeting carries is enormous. And I recommend you don't lose sight of our goal today." This woman's voice is calm but energetically charged.
Everyone seems to understand the importance of staying calm and the three men sit back down. Then another woman's voice speaks, softly but demanding just as much respect as her peers.
"The reason I called you all here today is simple. The Fifteen Kingdoms come upon a time of great difficulty, and uncertainty." The woman stands and seems to instead of growing in height, stays the same.
I can't tell if she's even old enough to rule, but I decide it's best to keep paying attention, and not interrupt in case I miss something important.
"The destined time is upon us. The rumors of a certain prophecy grow in proportion daily. I assume we all can agree that is true." The woman asks out loud and the rest of the table nods.
"Yes. Continue your statement Neoma." Enzo speaks up, this time clearly content with staying calm. The subject seems to demand such a response, since the rest of the table is calm as well.
"I'm sure you all know the context of the prophecy I wrote. And I'm sure you all know of my reputation within this subjective realm?" Neoma asks this time, easing her voice slightly higher, in order to project her presence to the troops.
The entire gathering of troops start whispering, and each seat seems to nod in agreement.
"Then I think it's safe to say that we should push for peace once more. The organization that I fear will destroy us all is-" Neoma speaks louder but is instantly cut off from her sentence by a clap coming from a stout man at the table.
"We all appreciate your concern Morzelvita, but I'm sure you know we all hold the same amount of power." The man stands up and starts walking around the table.
A lion's tail flickers back and forth and smacks Neoma in the shoulder, causing a glare to be shot from her King.
"Fifteen Kings. Fifteen Queens. And Fifteen Jacks who's mana levels are the highest within the kingdoms. And yet we are afraid of an organization whose influence is based solely on rumors, and word of mouth from low level guards?"
The hostility in this man's voice is known, and he clearly has no intention of hiding it. "I don't think a peace agreement is necessary for jokers of low quality. Don't you agree my fellow kings?" The man's voice booms like a lion's roar.
"Dongeline, you seem to be mistaken." Neoma laughs, an emotional expression surges upon her face that I haven't seen change since the beginning of this hologram.
"The stars say that they have power that rivals the jacks. How can you say that we don't need an alliance?" Neoma seems to be getting desperate with her plea, and the others notice this.
Then as if they were sitting there the whole time someone appears on the sunflower table. A petite woman stretches, yawns, and sits up.
She gasps and says. "Oh shit. I guess my invis wore off." She giggles and then the whole table stands, bracing their weapons and pointing a plethora of artifacts at the figure.
She grins from ear to ear, showing not even a single hint of fear. Then Raine's voice screaming can be heard from a distance.
I look up at Raine, but he's just sitting comfortably in a cross crossed meditation form. Then I look back up to watch Raine fall from the sky landing on the grass beside the table.
He groans and mutters to himself. "I guess that's what I get for thinking of this place in a Birds Eye view." He rubs his head and then stands up to see the crowd staring at him now.
"You should probably focus on the enemy right about now, she's pretty dangerous… and she's gone again. You would think the most important people in The Tower could detain someone who appears uninvited quicker than this." Raine laughs nervously as he points to the table that the girl once stood upon.
"What is this blasphemy!?" Enzo demands. And then three more of the kings brandish their weapons. Borris's weapon shifts into a rocket launcher, Edure grips an icy spear, and Dongelines arms shift into kangaroo boxing gloves.
In"Uhh… you got the wrong guy?" Raine says with a smile before the four kings charge him. Almost immediately time seems to slow down within the hologram.
Neoma makes her move, grabbing Raine by the arm and pulling him to the side. Then four duos of powerful forces clash within the slowed time.
Borris shoots his rocket launcher but Gomer, the King of Polarity grips it like a raindrop. The charge fires upwards and explodes in a rain of fire.
The Natio family's King sprouts vines out of his arm, grips the ice ball shooting from Edure's spear, and plants it in the ground. And an icy tree sprouts from the ground blocking Raine's form from Enzo's view.
Then the tree is warped away as if it was never grown in the first place. Time seems to resume normally and chaos erupts from the group. Thunder crackles as Thane bolts for Neoma's throat.
Then something happens that changes the course of history itself.
*SCATTER!*
Raine shouts his own spell and then all the artifacts are plucked from the hands of the most powerful and important people in The Tower.
"Be sealed within the artifacts you use to oppress the weak with!" Raine's voice echoes across the hologram and the display flickers as if the space itself glitched.
Thane's body floats upwards in a storm of lightning, collides with Arc Flash, and then the power of the first chosen is etched energetically within Floor 50's flowery plains.
The same thing happens repeatedly with one of the rulers of each kingdom, and all their partners can do is watch helplessly.
Nobody dares to stand in the way of the clear statement of Destiny. Neoma is stunned as she is picked up.
"You! Are you The Catalyst? Do you plan to use your powers to echo good or bad karma?!" Neoma shouts as she nears her artifact. Raine smiles and responds.
"Thanks for saving me Neoma, I'll make sure to unseal you when I find you again." Then as the last of the kingdoms are split within their rulers Raine spots a familiar energy.
"I-N-K! I know you're there!" Raine projects his voice so loudly that the chaos around him sounds like a hand brushing against a blanket.
"Mark my words, and hear my declaration of war! The Seven will come for you. Your plans of corruption and destruction will never succeed!" Then a figure appears before Raine once more.
The same invisible girl lunges at him with a knife, though her blade bounces off his skin.
"I guess Buff Meditation really does work after all!" He chuckles and then the artifacts scatter at a speed so fast not even Raine could track their destination.
"I am Raine Rupture, and I was chosen by Gailia, the Youngest Fate. Go tell your leader that he should stay in hiding just a little longer." Raine smirks and then touches the woman on her shoulder.
The woman's eyes widen and then she teleports away as if she was never there. Then Raine grips the disk and it disappears once more.
Luna looks at me with her mouth gaping wide open, and I don't blame her at all. Mine is probably lower than hers is right now too.
Then Raine speaks. "The First Chosen has both the risk and reward only limited by his mind. The Second Chosen will not only be blessed by fate, but also cursed by ice." Raine speaks as if reading from a script.
"And the Third Chosen will have the potential for reward higher than both the first and second combined. As well as a risk of equal weight." Something within my head clicks, and I feel a deep resonance within my soul.
"Mia of the Carnelian Silk." I mutter breathlessly as my whole perspective on life whirls around in circles. For the first time in years I feel as if I can't escape my destiny.
My mind races with possibilities and I can almost feel my fear beating in my chest. Then a lightbulb goes off in my head, causing my entire beating to be soothed as if I was gazing upon the ocean waves at night.
Then as if reading from a paper within my mind Raine speaks in an ancient language that I seem to understand perfectly.
"Emotions flowing like waters of faith.
Realizations of truth forced by the wraith.
Echoes of reality laced with fatality.
Evils worse than death and brutality.
A key of life hidden within death.
A lock broken by the wyverns breath.
Overwhelming strength doubled by hatred.
Control thyself, sealed, then collated."
Then I get up from the table and as if I was running a marathon, I collapsed.