17 years after the Blue Night.

My eyes were open as a speed bump jolted me awake from my thought process. The recounted tale still lingers in my head as I keep looking through the glass window of the city bus. Far in the dark lies several lights illuminating the darkness. Surrounding the town is a lake black as night, with broken tree stumps acting somewhat like a barrier to keep away from intruders. The sound of horns echoes throughout the night, as ships and boats begin notifying their presence.

As we made our way around the bend, a calm voice began to speak through the intercom.

“Ladies and gentlemen, in about fifteen minutes we will arrive at our last stop for the night. Make sure that you have all your belongings before you exit the vehicle. I repeat, we will be arriving at our last stop in about fifteen minutes.”

I glanced away from the midnight sky and clutched hard on the soft leather armrest of my seat. I was nervous, really nervous.

“Just calm down,” I murmured to myself. “You got this.”

The bus finally stopped with a loud SCREECH! I looked around a bit, letting the passengers exit before I did. Grabbing my bag, I headed up front and thanked the driver before leaving. When I exited the bus I was greeted by the smell of the sea and the slight chill of the air. I took a big whiff and let out an excited chuckle.

I stretched out my arms and legs for a bit. Each slight crack I hear from stretching my arms grants me a sign of relief. It is best to limber up before heading into the unknown.

Afterward, I went into my bag and pulled out a small object wrapped in rags. Unwrapping the package revealed a small black stone. The stone was smooth and round, with a hint of light whispering, wanting to escape its cage.

I looked at the stone and whispered. “Made it to Gahoshale.” before clutching it like a ball and throwing it out into the sky. In an instant, the black stone turned bright blue and whisked its way throughout the night. Hopefully, the family will get the message soon.

“Alright, now to find Leon.” I grabbed my bag and made my way back to the station. The station itself was somewhat small. There’s a large office where people can purchase tickets, but other than that, it remains small. And also cold. The place didn’t provide any heaters either, but at best it helped protect anyone from the dark.

I scanned my surroundings, hoping to find my guide. But sadly, I came up empty. Most of the place remained empty as I can see. The chilly air didn’t necessarily help with my search at all either. It just remained to be annoying and increased my chance of being frustrated. Am I late or something? Please don’t tell me I’m late.

I eventually decided that they might be waiting in town. I mean, it could be a possibility, it doesn’t hurt to ask some people about his whereabouts.

I stopped thinking as I reached the edge of the station, leading up to town. To the right lies a small bench. The person on the bench was wearing a fedora and tan trench coat. He is currently reading something from the newspaper. Wait a minute….could he be?

I slowly walked towards the guy. My face started to grow warm as I inched closer and closer to him. At around three feet or so, I stopped, and finally, after some internal conflict, I muster up the courage to get his attention.

“Um…excuse me..” I said quietly. The man in the trench coat didn’t hear and continued reading his newspaper.

Come on, Xia! Speak a little louder than that!

I took a deep breath and attempted to get the man’s attention, this time a little louder.

“Um…Excuse me!”

This time, the man in the trench coat looked up from his newspaper, and stared at me for a moment, expecting me to answer.

“Are you…are you by any chance, Leon?”

The man looked back at his newspaper before responding.

“Depends. Who’s asking?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Bingo. This is him. This is Leon.

“My name is Xia Starseer.” I grabbed the piece of paper my master told me to give and handed it to him. “I’m one of Aqua’s students. She told me to give this to you.”

Leon folded his newspaper and grabbed the paper out of my hand. He unfolded it and looked at it for a few minutes. His face remained unchanged, but he did speak.“Xia Starseer, right?”

I nodded.

“You’re one of Aqua’s students, correct?”

I nodded again.

He folded up the paper and looked me in the eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this? You could always try to apply next year.”

For the third time, I nodded. “I’m sure.”

“All right then.” Leon grabbed the suitcase and newspaper before getting up, revealing his tall stature. He kind of looks like a giant from this angle.

“Let's get going. We don’t want to stay here after dark.”

* * *

Whispering Stone: A smooth, round black stone. If you listen closely, you can hear a voice calling out from within.

A special stone imbued with Aura. It allows the user to send messages to allies, regardless of the distance. For it to work, you whisper the message to the stone and imagine the person you want to send it to. It will not work if you don’t know that person’s name or face.

A reliable tool that is still useful to this day. Many travelers and adventurers use these as a form of clear communication. It also proves to be far more reliable than a cell phone.

* * *

“Identification please.”

The stern voice came from a security guard covered in leather armor. He and his partner both donned leather breastplates and iron helms. While they both have rifles, they also equipped broadswords around their waist, worn and rusted for my taste. However, what got me the most was their smell. I know I had some moments with hygiene, but when were these guys last given a bath? Sheesh.

“Alrighty then,” said the security guard. He gives us back our IDs and hits the door behind us. “Welcome to Gahoshale. Enjoy.”

The town we entered was met with the smell of salt and the sight of beauty. Despite the time, the people of this place were awake and well. The smell of fish and barbeque began to enter my nostrils as we made our way through various restaurants and shops. Shouts can be heard from several shopkeepers, beckoning customers to look at their wares, including laughter from sailors and travelers who drink and tell tales from their travels. The lanterns around the place kept the cold from creeping on us and we were welcomed with the warm embrace of laughter and light. It felt like going to a festival.

As we kept moving past several shops and restaurants, Leon and I finally stopped at a huge strip mall full of buildings nearly clumped together. In front of us lies a restaurant while the one to the right is an unknown building. My stomach growled with delight and my mouth began to water. I hadn’t eaten anything when I first arrived; all I could think about now was food.

“Hey, kid!”

I looked away from the restaurant and turned to see Leon pointing at an alley between the two buildings. “The Exams are this way.”

“Seriously?!” I yelled out. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

Leon shook his head. “I’m not playing around. This is the only way to reach this place.”

Oh man, my thoughts groaned. I wanted to get something to eat. My stomach continues to growl, clawing its way through my stomach, asking to be fed with delicacies. I stifled that urge and made my way towards him.

Leon lowered his hand and began to ruffle through his coat pockets. “Now where did I keep that thing…. Oh here!”

I looked down to see that he was holding out a yellow keycard. I grabbed it and let my fingers examine it, feeling its smooth plastic texture.

“A keycard?”

Leon nodded. “That will get you access to a door hiding behind that alley. Your teacher spent most of her gilt to get you here. So do her a favor and don’t lose it, alright?”

I nodded. “I won’t. Thank you.”

The man in the coat raised his hand. “Don’t thank me. Thank your teacher when you pass the Exams, alright?”

A smile appeared on my face as I nodded out of joy. “Right!”

I turned towards the alley. The only area of shadow devoid of any life is clustered between the two houses of light.

Remember to breathe, my thoughts rang. Control your breathing to control your state of mind.

I took a deep breath, letting fresh oxygen into my lungs, before slowly exhaling and entering the small pocket of the darkness that awaited me.

Gilt: Another term used for gold. It is a common currency that is used to this very day.