[Arc 1:The Verlyn Campus]

  A bright light from the sun radiates through the skies. Countless birds chirped loudly across the atmosphere. In that moment, the cart wheels came to a halt.

  "Hey, wake up. We've arrived," a voice said.

  The words cut through Caroline’s thoughts, yanking her free from the same memory she’d been drowning in for days; full of fire, full of screams.

  She then lifted her head, breath shallow, the image of her burning village dissolving only when her eyes finally focused on the driver.

  "You mean..?" she began, her voice hoarse.

  "Yeah. We've arrived at Verlyn."

  Carol didn't wait. She climbed out of the cargo bed, her boots hitting the cobbled street with a dull thud.

  She froze in an anticipation.

  Her breath hitched as the world rushed in all at once. The air was a chaotic blast of noise—the roar of a festival, the thick aroma of roasted meat, the deafening crackle of magical fireworks bursting high overhead.

  And at the center of it all stood a campus; a hulking mass of scarred, ancient granite, looming over the square like an unblinking witness.

  The self-proclaimed prestigious campus for the Margias.

  "So, This is Verlyn, huh. The place where I will learn from now on." she murmured, her tone a thrilling one as she finally began her journey.

  The cart driver tipped his hat. "I should get going. Take care, miss." he said, left her standing alone in the lively square as he moved the cart away.

  Carol's eyes, an empty, dark yet cold pupils, scanned the cheerful, oblivious crowd. "Now then," she said to herself, stepping onto the path inside. She pulled up her hood, letting a long, beautiful curtain of dark, raven hair fall free. "Let's begin."

  But, the moment she stepped inside, a sudden shout cut through the celebratory noise. "There's a bull going berserk! Everyone, evacuate now!"

  "A problem on day one?" Carol sighed, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Might as well see their problem."

  She turned to see a boy with short, blonde hair, frantically waving his hands. His Margias robe was already dirtied from the dirt of the bull farm. "Miss, I suggest you evacuate immediately! The bull for the festival suddenly went berserk!" he rushed toward her.

  "And how did a festival bull get berserk?" Carol asked, her calm tone a stark contrast to the surrounding panic.

  "One of the students tried to feed it something, and it went mad. It's running amok near the main gate of the campus."

  "And you're doing nothing about it?"

  The boy's face fell. "I'm... not a Margia yet, so it's not my problem, for now."

  Carol's smile vanished. She shook her head in disgusted disbelief. "Then why did you ask us to evacuate instead asking for a help from the campus?"

  "It's a festival, duh. The lecturer is already busy with the registration of new Margias."

  "You're..." Carol shook her head again, unable to find the words. "No matter. Can you send me to where the bull is?"

  "Why? It's not like you're a Mar—"

  Before he could finish, Carol pulled her mother's wooden, silver wand beneath her cloak. As the boy let out a sigh, a sudden, bright blue magic circle sparked beneath their feet.

  "Is this..?" Carol stammered, her eyes wide with surprise yet she had a bad feeling about it. As if, the spell were unknown and dangerous to her.

  "It's a spell I just learned," the boy explain in rush. "Since it's only a mere teleportation spell and it still unfinished, I'm not guaranteed it's going to succeed."

  "Succeed at what?" Carol asked just as they disappeared.

  They reappeared high in the air, falling rapidly toward a monstrous, red bull with huge, deadly horns. "Why the hell are we suddenly in the sky?!" she screamed.

  "That's what I said! Not guaranteed, but it still succeeded for me!" he exclaimed, his face split by a wide, genuinely amused grin. "Atleast It's not at the wall like I usually got teleported into!"

  "How the hell do you still manage to smile after all that?!" Carol shouted back, utterly exasperated by his chaotic joy.

  "I just feel like it!"

  Carol groaned in annoyance, focusing her Ender. She accelerated her own fall, leaving him to shriek and tumble through the air. As she plummeted toward the beast, she prepared her own spell.

  "Reveal thyself. Vergus!"

  Her mother's wand didn't just transform; it shed its wooden casing, becoming a sword, the blade clean and transparent like white, burning light. "Lightcia!" she called out, swinging the blade as she struck the ground. The bull roared in sudden pain, a gaping wound appearing on its head, a trail of dark blood instantly soaking the dust.

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  "Seems like it's working," she said to herself. "Now, for the final move."

  Before she could finish, an unknown man appeared, his wand already pointed at the wounded beast. "Aquarim Froze." The bull instantly encased itself in a massive, shimmering block of Azure ice.

  "This level of Ender and spell..." Carol muttered in shock.

  The man, with short blue hair and wearing white and blue noble clothes—clearly older than Carol—turned to her. "Are you okay?"

  "I-I guess..." she stammered, humbled by his swift power.

  "Good. Now, if you'll excuse us." He touched the ice, and with a quiet hum, it shattered into a million sharp pieces, leaving nothing behind.

  (In one touch only?!) Carol's thought. Her eyes widened In shocked as she saw the person's power. It felt like the gap between them suddenly vast.

  "Let's go. There's no time for us to waste here," the man said to a gloomy boy with short dark hair, standing silently behind him. The gloomy boy nodded, his eyes meeting Carol's for a fleeting, judgmental moment. Then, the two walked away, leaving Carol alone once more.

  The boy who teleported alongside her landed next to her with a loud thud. "Quite surprising you didn't suffer any damage from that fall."

  "I'm a professional when It come to a falling," She said with a smug, defensive grin. "Though, do you know that gloom boy?"

  He shook his head. "No, but I guess he's around our age. Why do you ask?"

  "Nothing. It's just, he looked at me with a weird gaze. Seems like he was telling me to stop playing around, even though we've never met."

  A campus clock rang, the sound a massive gong of heavy, unmoving metal echoing through the courtyard. "I guess that's about it. Thanks for the trouble," he said with a casual wave.

  "Whatever you say. What are you going to do now?"

  "Back to the usual. I'll inform the citizens and go back to my class."

  "Okay. Seems like we're going to a different path, huh?"

  "Who knows?" he said with a playful smile. "We might meet again, considering how cooperative we are."

  Carol felt a sudden, sharp sense of dread. (Wait, why do I have this bad feeling after he said that?) she thought.

  "Yo. The destiny called upon you," he called out, waving casually from his seat, making her slam the classroom door shut in embarrassment.

  (I should've listened to my gut, damnit!)

  Giving up, she reopened the door, Sighed along the way as she took her seat in the opulent, intimidating classroom. In that moment, the same gloomy boy interrupted her. "Why didn't you just finish the bull already?"

  "Huh? What do you mean by that, gloomy?" she said, annoyed. "It's not like you would have done the same as the man next to you, is it?"

  He sighed heavily, ignoring her taunt. "Stop saying that I'm a gloomy, can you? I have a real, genuine name."

  Suddenly, the lecturer with gray, messy like hair walked into the massive, echoing hall. The boy sat down, and the lecturer—a man with kind, but intensely knowing eyes—scanned the class.

  (Of course you would be here.) The lecturer thought, sighing deeply as he caught sight of Carol.

  "Good to see you everyone. Before we begin, can all of you introduce yourselves?"

  The carefree boy stood up first, casually relaxed. "My name is Revir. Glad to see you all."

  Then, Carol stood up, her composure returned. "My name is Caroline Erlikh. You can call me Carol."

  The gloomy boy sighed again, standing up stiffly. "The name is Rein Azerin. That's all."

  "Azerin? As in, Azerin the Azure Holder?!" one of the classmates exclaimed, but Rein didn't even bother to flinch.

  After the introductions, the lecturer clapped his hands once. "Now, for my name. I hope you guys will remember because this is important," He wrote his name on the board with a wave of his wand. The name Grey Harth appeared. "From now on, I'm going to be your guide and lecturer. So stay sharp for my class. I'm not going to repeat my own teachings."

  An old, leather book from behind the class suddenly flew toward them, opening on its own to the desired pages as the class began.

  "Today's topic will be the history of Margias," Grey said, his voice flat. "Long ago, our world was in constant terror and chaos from the Leviathan, an evil force with its minion, the Zarikh. They are ruthless and dangerous entities that appeared during the Flame Eclipse—an event that happens every hundred years when two moons merge their respective Ender into one."

  "Uhm, Unc-" Carol shook her head. " Sir. What is Ender?"

  "Ender is an energy or particle within our atmosphere. Let's just say that it's a 'must' if you want to cast your spell."

  Revir threw out another question. "If Ender is like a catalyst for a Margias to cast a spell, doesn't that mean the Flame Eclipse phenomenon is a spell as well?"

  "Naturally, if you think logically, it might be turn out to be true. However, that theory just got debunked as many people couldn't prove it. In other words, it cannot be stopped."

  "I see."

  Grey continued the lesson. "When hope for all races almost vanished, one man, a representative of humanity, stood against the Leviathan. With unmatched intelligence and powerful Ender beside him, he created the first ever spell to defeat a Leviathan once and for all. From this history alone, the title 'Margia' has been used to describe everyone who can use a spell to fight for justice. Hence, a protector to humanity."

  "Protector of humanity... heh, how absurd," Carol mumbled to herself, her face a mask of dissatisfaction.

  The class bell rang. "That's all for today. See you guys tomorrow." Grey said with a thin, demanding smile.

  Carol knew what that smile meant. A smile that demanded an explanation. She followed him to his room.

  "Sorry if it's quite messy." Grey said, motioning her in.

  "No need to feel sorry, Uncle. After all, you want to ask me something, right?"

  "Yeah," His smile snapped off as he slammed his fist on the table. "Do you remember when I took you in? And do you know why I left you with a house, money, and tons of books?"

  "When I was a child?" she asked. "It was for my future, wasn't it?"

  "Oh, you do know that," Grey said, his voice laced with suppressed anger. "Then why did you still come here?!"

  "Isn't it obvious?"

  Grey sighed in disappointment, the sound heavy with fatigue. "I've already told you multiple times. You are not suitable to choose the path of a Margia. Can't you just abandon that motivation of yours?"

  Carol stood up, her jaw set. "Uncle... please, I don't want to hear any of that anymore." she gave him a cold, menacing gaze. "This is my choice, and I'll never back down from it. I will find that man, no matter what. And I will make him suffer for what he did." she declared. Her fist tightened in resolve yet a slight fear lingered within her heart.

  She turned and walked out, closing the door behind her without a backward glance.

  Grey sank back into his chair, sighed as the frustration in his eyes replaced by a profound sadness. "Like mother, like daughter. Just what the hell did you teach her, Lydia?" he whispered, looking at a picture on his desk.

  The room felt colder as time goes by, leaving Grey alone in his grief once her niece left.