The student dormitory building is a seven-story building that houses all students of the same year. Besides the ground floor that acted as the main lobby of the dormitory, the remaining six floors are divided into three strata, with each strata housing the students of three classes each. Ari's room is located on the second strata.
Ari and Udin were walking through the main lobby of their dorm building, Opet leaving them to hang out with his childhood friends. Heading over to the one-way portal to their strata, Ari watched the swirling shades of magenta dividing the ground floor from their destination. To the right of their intended portal, another one-way portal that sent students from the second strata to the ground floor stood.
"What are you going to do now?" Udin asked him as they walked through the portal.
As they passed through the portal, the sight of tables and chairs placed in a grid-like pattern greeted them. It was the second strata's food court, the cafeteria where their class and the two others that occupied this same strata shared during breakfast.
The roof of the food court is high, the height of the two floors of the building combined. On their sides of the room, rows of vendor stalls stood. Along the other three walls, there are two rows of doors, separated by the balcony of the second floor of this strata. The girls' apartment suite is located on the upper floor, while the lower floor is for the boys.
Besides acting as a dining hall, the food court is also a shared space where the students of the three classes can mingle and socialize with each other. Some of the tables are occupied by students, though the place is vacant at this time of the day. While the students prefer to have their breakfast here and lunch in the school cafeteria, there are many more alternative places for students to have their dinner.
Walking through the middle of the hall, they headed to the opposite wall where their room was located. "Besides doing my best to stay as far away from the ghost? Nothing, I guess," Ari replied as he channeled his mana to their apartment's door lock, opening it.
"You're not worried that the ghost will still get to you?" Udin asked as he locked the door behind them. The moment the door is closed, the hubbub of the dining hall ceases to exist, the noise-canceling runes activating.
Walking through their shared living space, Ari dropped his bum on the sofa. He sighed as he felt himself deflating, swallowed by the comfort of his household throne. "Of course I'm worried, but what can I do? I'm not skilled enough to deal with this kind of situation. The point of us attending this class is to become a competent psychopomp. But we had only just started, we are nowhere near equipped to deal with this."
Udin chooses to stay on his feet, standing across the coffee table to face Ari. He was silent for a while before opening his mouth. "Or you can just quit this school and attend the other sorcier academy in the other district. Get as far away from here as possible."
"What? Are you crazy?" Ari asked, incredulous at Udin's suggestion. "No, never. I'll never do that."
"Why?" Udin asked with genuine curiosity. He doesn't expect Ari to be this opposed to quitting the school. "With your ability, dropping out now won't affect you much. As long as you quit or are expelled from an elite class in the first or second year, you are still eligible to be promoted into the elite class of the other sorcier academy.
"You can just enroll in the other sorcier academy and get promoted into their elite class. Once there, you can compete in their Inter-Class League and win it to be directly invited to Nagapati University. It's nothing but a minor setback. I'm sure you can be directly invited to Nagapati University with no problem in your new school."
Ari was silent as he listened, his head resting on the headrest, extended so he could watch the ceiling. While what Udin just said was true, Ari was in no position to do as he suggested. "How much do you know of my current situation, Udin?" Ari asked in a somber voice.
Seeing Ari so serious, Udin took the sofa to Ari's right. "Well, outside of the rumor going around, not much I guess. The novel doesn't disclose much about your backstory."
Ari was silent as he thought about what he should say next. "Say, do you have parents in your last life?"
"I do, yeah. Why?"
"I see. Let's say you were to be living in your parent's house all your life and are tasked to take care of it and live there alone. Is it really your house if the certificate is still under your parent's name?"
"No, I guess."
"And what do you think will happen if you don't take care of it well? It was a house that they inherited from their own parents. A house full of memories and sentiments. What do you think they would feel if you renovated the house into something that your parents don't approve of?"
"Why are you talking about the house all of a sudden, Ari?" Udin asked, puzzled at where Ari was going with this.
"You see. This body, Ares' body. It's like the house. It was Ares' body once, then it was inherited by Dom, Ares' familiar after Ares perished. And now it was my task to take it over. The thing is... I was created by Dom to act as Ares' substitute. While it was my job to continue Ares's life, this body is still Dom's, not mine."
"Are you worried about what Dom would do if you dropped out of the school?"
Ari nodded his head at Udin's question.
"The reason Dom created me was so that I could take over Ari's life as Dom was incapable of doing it any longer.
"I don't know if you already know of this from those novels of yours, but when an Oculi makes a familiar bond with someone, the one that died first in their partnership will have their body being taken over by the other party, the two body fusing into one. If the Oculi died first, then the human will be the one that has an Oculi fused into his body. If the human dies first, the Oculi will fuse into the human's body and take over. Dom had taken care of Ares since he was a baby. His bond with Ares is more than a simple familiar bond. The thought of living inside Ares' dead body sickens him.
"Dom designed me as the perfect substitute for Ares, inheriting his memories and experiences. While he was by my side for the first year of my life as a sapient human, Dom left me alone to enter seclusion because he had seen enough and trusted me to do my best. But if I were to stray from what Ares would have done in this situation, I'm afraid of how he would react as he exits his seclusion."
"Will the late Ares really not quit the school, even if attending it will endanger his life," Udin asked as he tried to understand his roommate's predicament.
"Yeah. He won't," Ari replied. "Ares... he was unwanted. He was neglected by the clan, always compared to his twin brother Mars. That's why he tried his best to be acknowledged by the clan, though he met his demise because of it.
"Attending this school, far away from his clan's direct influence. If Ares were to win the Inter-Class League and enroll in Nagapati University, the clan could do nothing but acknowledge him.
"For Ares to quit the school just because of the presence of a ghost, he would never humiliate himself like that. It would go against his goal, against his nature. Dom awakened me to be Ares' substitute, so I can't do something like that.
Udin was unsure how to react after hearing this. "That's... sad. So you only attend this school because it would be what Ares would do if he were still alive, huh?"
"No, you're wrong," Ari refuted Udin with a shake of his head. Gathering himself, he sat with his back straight. "I've another reason that I pursue for myself while I attend this school."
"Oh? What's that?"
"I'm aiming to become the class leader."
"Hmmm. Any particular reason?"
"Besides the obvious Charismata fruit rewards for taking responsibility for taking the position, I want to pursue a goal that matters. A live purpose. I'm sick of only living for myself, my survival. I thought taking responsibility for the class and leading the class to achieve their dream was a good enough purpose for me."
"Is that so?" Udin whispered. "What about the fruit? What Charismata type do you want?"
"Pathos fruit," Ari replied without delay.
"Oh? Not interested in Kairos fruit?" Udin teased him.
"Sure, if I was given the chance. But the fruit offered by the school are only the common three types, so yes I want to get my hands on a pathos fruit."
"Any particular creature you wanted to shapeshift into?"
"Human."
"That's..." Udin muttered, speechless.
"Yeah. I want to have a body of my own," Ari elaborated. After the metaphor of Ares' body as the house in the scenario, Udin was clear about the reason why Ari wanted his own body. He was afraid that he would be booted out by Dom.
"Why did you want to be human that much? What's wrong with being a magical spirit?"
"Physical sensation, mostly. To be a disembodied spirit, the only way for me to interact and experience the world is through mana sensing. The wealth of physical sensations that the human body experiences is incomparable to only able to sense the world through mana. The world is more colorful as I experience the world through a human body, and there was no way I would go back to being a disembodied spirit."
"I see... I don't know you felt that way," Udin remarked. The two of them are silent as they sit there in the living room of their apartment suite.
"Say," Ari started after a while. "Did your novel ever mention whether I had ever become our class leader or not?" While Ari is a bit unsure of how he would feel about his world being a novel in another world, Ari is willing to give Udin the benefit of the doubt. The school has done an extensive background check on each student that enrolls here, so as long as his roommates don't show any sign that says otherwise, then he would keep his roommates' prophecy in mind.
After wracking his memories for a while, Udin answered Ari's question. "No. As far as I can remember, Sunny was the class leader from the beginning until they graduated."
"I see," Ari whispered. If fate really exists like Udin said, then at least he has Udin that are willing to help him to change his fate around and prevent him from meeting a tragic end. "Well, at least with you around here, I'm sure I can change my fate around and become the class leader."
"No, I won't help you with that," Udin informed him.
Ari frowned at hearing Udin's objection. "What? Why? I thought you said you don't mind helping me change my fate around."
"I did, but that doesn't mean I would help you by changing the other's fate for the worse."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I don't want to become the target of Sunny's resentment. No, thank you."
"I see," Ari sighed. "You really don't want to change fate that much, huh?"
Udin nodded. "Sunny, she... Well, while she is quite vindictive in the beginning, I've grown to quite like her as I know more of her backstory and follow along her growth as a character."
Ari was silent. He thought that Udin would have his back on that front as well, but it seems he had placed his hopes too high. "But what about the ghost problem? Would you help me with that?"
"What do you mean?" Udin looked in Ari's direction hoping for him to elaborate.
"You said that you won't mind helping me to prevent me from meeting a tragic end, right? This ghost situation, if you were to help me with your Fruit power, then we can prevent the ghost from taking over my body, right?"
"I don't follow. How do you suggest I help you with the ghost?"
"I mean, your Kairos has the component of space, intangibility, and freeman, right? If you were to accompany me, there's no way that the ghost can take over my body right? You can just phase into my spiritual domain, and then help me take over my body back from the ghost possession. The ghost can't shove your soul around, that's for sure."
"No, I won't follow you around."
"Why? You said you want to avert my fate and prevent me from being taken over by the ghost."
"But that doesn't mean that I would follow you around," Udin replied. "Besides, I originally only intended to inform you about your fate. Whether you would do something about it is for you to consider. Moreover, you are trying to become the class leader. If I were to follow you around, I will only screw the course of fate even more than I need to. No, I won't do that."
"Then what should I do then? Live my life under the constant threat of my body being taken over?" Ari complained. "The ghost is haunting and killing off the first-year students, it was only a matter of time before he reached me."
"I can pop into your spiritual domain from time to time to check on you if you want?"
"That's... I guess that works. Thanks, Udin, I was relieved to hear that." Hearing Udin's suggestion, Ari felt some weight lifted from his shoulder, his worries reduced by one. "Though I'm still worried how the ghost can take over my body. From what we've heard so far, the only thing he had ever done was kill off first-year students during the night. He had never taken over someone's body and impersonated them. You know anything about how the ghost took my body over in the books?"
"I remember it's from a Charismata, though I don't know of which type. The anesthetist never elaborated much on it," Udin told him.
Ari was silent as he felt himself meeting a dead end. "I see," he sighed.
"If you want, you can ask Ren for help, you know?" Udin suggested after a while.
"What do you mean?"
"Ren was a member of the Aufdemberg clan, right?" Udin started. Seeing Ari nods at him, Udin continues. "While they were no psychopomp, their clan are quite adept in the matter regarding souls aren't they? Their signature magic is basically them possessing the body of their target."
"Ah. I see what you mean."
Udin nodded his head. "Why don't you ask Ren for help? Considering Ren likes to help others, I bet he would help you with the ghost problem."
Thinking about Udin's proposition, Ari couldn't help but think about his encounter with Ren this morning. At the time, he had refrained from asking Ren for his help in getting along with the other classmates, though Opet had convinced him to ask Ren's help anyway.
While he had resolved to ask Ren about it during their lunch break, Ren hadn't managed to reach out to them as he promised. Resolving himself to reach out to Ren on his own, Ari rose to his feet and went into his room to change.
----------------------------------------
"Are you sure that Ren will have dinner in here?" Udin asked him as they opened their apartment door and entered the dining hall once again. After changing their outfit into their personal wear, they began their search for Ren.
Wearing a red t-shirt and black shorts, Ari walked into the cafeteria wearing a gray flip-flop. Udin, on the other hand, wears a baggy hoodie and sweatpants in a matching dark blue, with red slippers on top.
"You know, he can be any part of the school. He can be in the shopping mall, eating in a restaurant, or even ordering a take-out and eating it in his room. There's no guarantee that he will have dinner in here like you said," Udin continued.
Scanning the dining hall, Ari was able to spot Ren sitting on the table in the corner of the dining hall to their right. "See?" Ari said with smug satisfaction as he indicated Ren's presence to Udin.
Under the indoor lighting of the dining hall, they saw Ren sitting beside Opet on a four-seat table. Across from Ren, a girl with bright pink hair sat with them in a pink tracksuit that matched the color of her hair. Her aqua blue eyes were watching the clock on the walls of the dining hall with wary.
"Evening, Opet, Ren, Evelyn" Ari greeted the three. Beside him, Udin nodded at them in greeting.
"Oh. Ari, Syafruddin. Good evening," Ren smiled in their direction. Opet nodded in their direction in greeting, his thick black eyebrows raised in askance.
"Good night..." the pink-haired girl, Evelyn, whispered.
"About to have dinner, you two?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, but there was something that I needed to do first," Ari replied. "Ren, can I have a moment?"
"Oh? What's the matter?" Ren asked, surprised at the turn of events. Besides their encounter this morning, they had barely interacted with each other.
"It's about my request to Opet that we talk about earlier. If you don't mind, I want to talk to you about it?"
"Oh right," Ren said, his bright blue eyes widened as remembered their earlier talks. Turning his head to face Evelyn, he addressed the pink-haired girl. "Do you mind if I'm gone for a bit?"
"But it's nearly dark out..." the girl whispered a weak protest, her long front bang covering her eyes as she looked down at her meal.
"Yeah, but Opet's with you right? I will come back in a moment. In the meantime, you can wait here with Opet."
"Yeah. I'll stay with her," Opet chimed in, reassuring the worried girl.
"I see," Evelyn muttered. "But don't take too long please..."
"Don't worry, I won't take long," Ren promised the girl. Turning his head to face Ari once again, Ren addressed them as he rose to his feet. "So, where should we go?"
"How about the park?" Ari suggested as he led the way. Walking through the swirling magenta to reach the lobby of their dormitory, they walked through the automatic glass door, the magical mechanism whirr to operate the automation.
Walking into the open air, the horizon shined vermillion as the darkening blue skies were covered by puffs of pink clouds. The sun is setting, and the sky expresses it in a canvas of enchanting color.
Walking along the paved path that leads to the park, the street light turned their glowing radiance as they walked deeper into the park. The place is deserted; the students have a better place in mind to spend the evening than the dark empty park.
Walking towards an empty bench on the side of the path, Ari couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered how he ran away from a pair of gossiping girls this morning. Unless he changed his image for the better, he needed to prepare himself to face that kind of experience for a while longer.
"If you don't mind, can I ask what the three of you talked about?" Ari asked as they stopped near the bench.
Rent was silent for a while before answering him. "It's about Evelyn's situation." Ren started as he took a seat on the nearest part of the bench. "She asked me for help regarding the ghost situation, and I was trying to get Opet to help me out. Have you heard about the rumor of a ghost that haunts the freshmen dormitory?"
Ari was about to take a seat beside Ren, but couldn't help but pause as he heard what Ren had just said.
"Yeah, our mentor had told us about it during the Augmentation practice," Udin answered as he took a seat on the opposite side of the bench from Ren. The bench can comfortably seat four people, so Ari took a seat right in the middle as he regained his composure.
Ren looked in Ari's and Udin's direction with a raised brow. "You know, I heard that the two of you had quite a quarrel during the lunch break. But it seems like you've made up with each other. I'm glad," Ren remarked.
"Ye-yeah," Udin stammered, scratching the back of his head.
"What's with the ghost thing?" Ari interjected, releasing Udin from the awkward situation. After being surprised by what Ren had just said, Ari didn't notice what Ren and Udin were talking about.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"Yeah. You see, the rumor said the ghosts are haunting the first-year student's dormitory and killing them off night after night, right?" Ren asked them. Seeing the two of them nod, Ren continued his story. "Due to an incident, Evelyn is being hunted by the ghost. Last Wednesday, she was in the Floating Garden dungeon when she encountered the offending ghost possessing a student and killing her off. She tried to run away, but the ghost was able to catch her and kill her off too.
"The day after, she approached me to ask me for help against the ghost. That night, using my clan's signature magic, I went inside her spiritual domain in case the ghost hunted her again. I was waiting inside her spiritual domain alone while she was sleeping when the ghost eventually infiltrated her spirit.
"I was able to thwart the ghost, but our scuffle woke Evelyn from her sleep. As I was consoling her, I was yanked away to my original body in the healing pavilion, my clone dead. It seems the ghost is able to locate my body and kill it instead in revenge. That's why I decided to ask Opet for help so that he can guard my vacant body as stand guard inside of Evelyn's domain."
"That's... worrying. Did you have enough rest, Ren, guarding Evelyn overnight like that?" Ari asked.
"Well, my body is rested. While my spirit is taxed, it's nothing a session of meditation can't help. That's why, I'll hear you out and help you if I think I'm still able to."
"I see. I felt guilty imposing on you like this." Ari had come here with the resolve to ask Ren for his help with getting closer to his other classmates and also with the ghost. After hearing Ren's difficulty in dealing with the ghost, it seems Ari can only ask his help with his interpersonal problem
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll decide whether I can help you out or not after hearing you out, so you don't need to worry I overextend myself," Ren reassured them with a handwave.
Reaffirming his resolve, Ari began his request. "Well, about my request to Opet. You know about my situation from the rumor, right? I want his help to get closer to the other classmates. Because of the rumor about me, my relationship with the other classmates had started on the wrong foot, so I asked his help in order to mend my image among our classmates and get along with them."
"Oh, that's it?" Ren asked, his eyes widened in surprise at the simplicity of the request. "I don't know why Opet rejected you, but I'll help you with that. It's better for us classmates to get along, after all."
Seeing Ren so earnestly trying to help him, Ari can't help but feel guilty, his expression turns complicated. He was unsure whether to disclose to him his aim to become the class leader, but in the end, he decided to be open about it. "Well. To be honest with you, the reason why Opet rejected me is because of what I want to do next."
"Oh. And what's that?" Ren asked with apprehension.
"I want to vie for the class leader position," Ari confessed.
"Ah- I see..." Ren muttered.
The three are silent after Ari's confession. Ari felt panicked, unable to predict how Ren would react now that he had known of his motive. "You see," he started. "I'm fine with doing my own campaign without your help. That's what I told Opet, too. But he refused. He either helps me with both, or he doesn't do it at all, he said. And if I wanted him to help me, I needed to duel him and win. So, that's how we ended up rushing to the healing pavilion this morning. I lost, and he won't help me."
"Well, I don't know what Opet was thinking proposing that, but I can understand his reluctance to help you in your campaign. I also need to refuse to help you out on that," Ren answered. Ari felt his stomach turn as he watched his request being rejected. Without express support from those two, his journey to get closer to the other classmates is steeper than it could be. "But like I said earlier, I'll help you out with getting along with the other classmates."
Ari's shoulder slumped as he heard what Ren just said, a weight lifted. "I-I see," he stammered. "That's all that I hoped as well. I don't want your relationship with your other friends strained because of me." Keeping his ghost problem with himself, Ari contends himself with Ren's help with his rumor problem.
"I'm glad you take it well," Ren commented, a small smile blooming on his face. Rising to his feet, Ren turned around to address them. "Well, if that's all, I'll return back to the cafeteria, then. The others are waiting for me."
Ren was about to walk back to their dormitory when he was stopped by Udin. "Wait."
"Oh? What's it, Syafruddin?" Ren asked with a quizzical look.
"Err- You can call me Udin if you want," Udin started. "Anyway. There's another thing that Ari wants your help with."
Ari glared at Udin, disbelieving at what his roommates had just done.
"Oh? Alright then, I'll hear it," Ren said as he approached them once again.
"No, it's nothing-" Ari tried to reassure Ren, but he was cut off by Udin.
"He also needs your help regarding the ghost," Udin explained.
"What do you mean?"
"You see," he elaborated. "There is this prophecy. It told that me that the ghosts are going to take over Ares' body and live among us as the new Ares, taking over his identity."
Ari expected Ren to scoff at such a claim, but he instead saw Ren's expression turn alarmed. "I don't know where you got such prophecy, Udin. But if what you said were true, then this situation is really worrying," Ren remarked as he raised his hand to his chin.
"Worrying, how?" Ari asked, puzzled. There was nothing in what Udin just said that would warrant such a reaction from Ren.
"This is only my conjecture, but the reason that the ghost is killing off students is because he was trying to create a spirit fruit," Ren explained, and Ari couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise at what Ren had just told them. "I've already deduced that the motive behind him killing the student is that.
"But for him to take over a student's identity, then that means the ghost is trying to sacrifice your spirit and take over your legacy. If the fruit that appeared is the Pathos fruit, then the ghost will be able to transform into you and easily replace you and become the new Ares. If he just took possession of your body like normal, everyone can notice him with a cursory check. But if he were to eat a spirit fruit using your spirit as the legacy, then he can truly become you and no one can notice the difference."
Ari was unable to respond after hearing Ren's conclusion. Udin had said that the only thing mentioned about how the ghost is able to do it is by using a Charismata. But for Ren to arrive at the same conclusion with just a sentence of Udin's prophecy, Ari felt as if his nightmare was encroaching upon him. "And what should I do? Can you do something about it?" Ari asked.
"Just- stay away from the ghost, I guess," Ren stammered a reply.
"Isn't it better if Ari were to follow you around, Ren? So that you can help him if the ghost were to do anything," Udin suggested.
Ren shook his at Udin's suggestion. "No. Right now, the ghosts are enraged at Evelyn and are targeting her daily. The worst thing to do right now is to get yourself involved with the ghost and us. If the ghost were really would take your identity, then I would advise you to not make the ghost interested in you."
The two are silent as they digest Ren's words. Taking their silence as a cue, Ren took his leave. "Anyway, I'll have to get back to Evelyn now. I worried that she would be anxious without me guarding her against the ghost."
The sky is darkening into an indigo color as they sit there in the park. While they were talking to Ren, no one had passed by them, the park was empty of any other students.
"Why did you do that?" Ari asked after a while.
"Because you are being a pussy," Udin scoffed at Ari's question.
"What? No, I'm not. I'm being considerate," he defended.
"Whatever. At least this way, you won't regret not asking him," Udin declared.
Ari was silent as the situation dawned on him. "So, that's it huh? Back to square one. Living day by day under constant fear over my life," Ari mused aloud.
"You still won't change your mind and drop out of the school?"
Ari scoffed. "You still won't change your mind and help me out with the ghost?" Ari countered.
Udin sighed at his roommate's antics. "It was your life, Ari, not mine. I've already extended myself enough in telling you about your fate. I don't want to follow you around the school and then change fate unwittingly because my presence changes things without me being aware of it."
"Yeah, I know," Ari claimed. "I'm just frustrated, that's all. Sorry I took it on you."
"I see. I just want to remind you that while I do want to help you, I have a reason for trying to avoid interacting with the other classmates as much as possible."
With nothing to occupy his mind, Ari can't help but think about everything that has happened. He had come here because this was one of the Sorcier Academy that the Simalolong had barely any influence at all. Ares' would want to prove his clan wrong by proving his worth here in this school, but it seems that his efforts to make his clan acknowledge him would only make him meet his demise once again. And this time, it was not Ares who would face the consequences, but Ari. He was sighing his frustration away when Udin interrupted him.
"Hey. I think I found another way to help you," Udin claimed.
"What is it?" Ari replied as his heart skipped a beat, couldn't help but feel hope blossoming in his heart.
"You know that my Kairos has the spirit of a freeman as it is the pathos component, right?" Udin started, with Ari nodding in reply to his question. "If you want, we can swap bodies. As long as I remained in your body, the ghost won't be able to take it over."
Ari froze, unable to believe what his roommates just suggested. "What?" Ari asked in shock as Udin's suggestions were processed in his mind, dashing his budding hopes away. "No, no way. Not possible."
"But why?" Udin asked back, incredulous at Ari's vehement refusal. "You said that you are afraid that you'll be driven out of your body if you're not trying your best as Ares' substitute. You seek Human-Pathos fruit so that you don't have to worry about being deprived of your body; able to continue on with your own physical body.
"If we were to swap bodies, now you don't have to worry about being kicked out by Dom anymore. And with my fruit power, I don't have to worry as well. Dom can't boot me out no matter how hard he tries. It's the best solution. I won't have to follow you around to guard you against the ghost and cause fate to change unwittingly, and you won't have to worry about ever being deprived of your physical body."
"But still, it doesn't mean that I would give up on being Ares substitute like that," Ari countered.
"Then explain to me," Udin demanded.
"Don't you realize what being Ares substitute means to me? It was my life purpose. Being Ares' substitute was the exact reason why Dom created me, and elevated me to sapience. I've lived as Ares' substitute for the whole two years of my life. There's no way I will just throw my life purpose like that."
"Then what do you want?" Udin demanded, his patience wearing thin at his roommate's reaction. "You fear that you will be deprived of this body, unable to experience physical sensation as a disembodied spirit. You also want to have a purpose greater than survival, more than trying your best as Ares' substitute. If we swap bodies, you can discard your fear while also achieving the goal that you had chosen to pursue."
Ari was silent, unable to refute Udin's words.
"How about this, "Udin offered after a while. "We will write a contract that says that we will only swap bodies for three years. The moment the three years are up, we can swap our bodies back. You can use the three years to get yourself a Human-pathos fruit so that even if you can't go back to this body because Dom rejected you, you will have your own body by that time."
"Isn't your fruit make it so that no contract can bind you?"
"Not if I consent, no." Udin clarified. "The fruit can tell whether I was under a contract that I don't consent or not. It will protect me like that."
"And what if you change your mind? What will happen then? Does the contract help you out and nullify the contract? What's stopping you from changing your mind and breaking the contract without repercussion?" Ari droned on. The more questions he asks, the more he can't wrap his head around why Udin would want to do this.
"The only one stopping my fruit to do that is myself," Udin answered, rendering Ari speechless.
"Why did you do this, Udin" Ari whispered, his energy spent.
"Like I said. I want to help you to change your fate, but I don't want to change fate more than necessary. This was the best way possible solution for both your situation and mine, and the only thing that stopping it is your unreasonable insistence to do it," Udin reasoned. "You only need to agree, and you can achieve your goal while also staying clear of your fear."
"What's stopping the ghost from taking over your body from me, then?" Ari asked.
"My fruit," Udin answered without delay. "It doesn't just prevent my spirit from being shoved aside by force by anyone. It also protects my body from being taken over by others as well. As long as you stay in my body, the ghost will not be able to enter it at all."
"I..." Ari hesitated.
"Just agreed, Ari, for fucks sake," Udin snapped.
"You're forcing me against my will," Ari complained.
"I'm forcing you to do something that was in your own best interest"
"It's too good to be true"
"Of course it's not, you fool. It's gonna be hard to transition and live a new identity," Udin stated.
The two of them are silent as Udin waits for Ari's response. After a while, Ari opened his mouth. "I... I want you to duel me."
"What?" Udin asked, unable to process what Ari had just said.
"It's a bet." Ari clarified. "If you win, I'll swap body with you. If I win, you'll need to follow me and help me become the class leader. How about that?"
"I don't see how either outcome benefits me," Udin expressed.
"Please... Just agreed to it," Ari whispered, his head down.
Udin watched Ari for a while, noting his defeated posture. "'Please, defeat me,' is that it? Why are you so indecisive, Ari? Nothing good will come from an indecisive leader."
"I can be decisive, okay?" Ari defended himself. "I just... It's my life purpose, Udin. I can't just abandon it like that."
"So, I just need to defeat you then?"
Ari nods a little in answer.
"What's up with the losing bet for me, then? You can just bet whether we will swap bodies or not without me having to follow you around if I lose."
"It's a bet, Udin. There's no way Ares, and even me, would take a bet that would not benefit me at all."
"But in this case, it was me that didn't benefit at all," Udin commented, but he still resigned himself to fight against his foolish roommate. "Alright, I'll defeat you then."
"Be warned tho, I won't hold back. It will be against Ares' nature for me to not fight to my fullest capabilities."
"Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure you'll swap body with me, you-hardheaded-fool-that-doesn't-know-what's-good-for-himself. I'll duel you again and again until I make you swap bodies with me, no matter how many duels it takes."
And with that, the two of them headed to the dueling hall.
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It was 19.23 when they arrived in the arena. Donning their uniform teal combat unitard, they walked to the center of the arena. Walking with Udin like this, Ari couldn't help but be reminded of his duel against Opet just twelve hours ago.
"So, how did we want to do this? What's the rule?" Udin asked to break their silence.
"Winning condition is killing the opponents, Psychopomp duel. The only legal moves are magical techniques that are under Psychopomp skill sets," Ari explained.
After what Opet had said about the other class members' unwillingness to accept defeat until they were dead, Ari couldn't help but steel himself for his upcoming duel. The fact that homeroom periods are a weekly thing, freeing them from having to attend the class at seven o'clock in the morning tomorrow helped him to alleviate his worry about the consequences of their duel.
"Hmm. You can use a combination of magic, aren't you?" Udin deduced after seeing Ari's relaxed countenance after telling the rules.
"Only manifestation magic."
"Only manifestation magic, he said," Udin parroted him with a mocking tone. "That's still 1 more than me. I can only do augmentation and conception magic under these conditions."
"Three actually," said Ari cryptically.
"What? Sorry, I seem to hear wrong. What did you just say?!" Udin demanded.
"I can also use separation and fortification magic as well."
"How is that fair? You use five different kinds of magic while I can only use two."
"Because you also can use your fruit's power," Ari answered. "Ares will only accept defeat fighting someone at their best condition, and that also applies to me. While I usually want to have no restriction at all, considering that we are training to become psychopomp, I think it will be more proper to do it this way."
"Oh," Udin replied, his displeasure mollified.
"Besides, there's no way for me to fight someone that consumed a Kairos fruit in a fair fight unless I do something like this, right?"
Udin was silent for a while. "You really try your hardest to imitate Ares, huh?"
Ari was silent at hearing Udin's question. Molding his mana, Ari used Manifestation magic to produce a leather-bound book with a grayish-pink page.
"What was that?" Udin asked at seeing the unfamiliar book.
"It was what I used to be, the manifestation of my original form," Ari clarified.
"You were an immanent spirit of a grimoire?" Udin asked as he observed the book.
The book was leather bound, a smooth tan leather that looked like it was still alive covered the book. The page is grayish-pink in color, and the parchment paper is thick. On the surface of the book, there were slits that looked like closed eyes with grayish-pink eyelashes protruding out. Udin felt his body shuddered as he watched the infernal book.
"No, not a grimoire. I was a diary. Or a biography, I suppose, considering it was Dom who wrote it," Ari explained. "Even before I was awakened to sapience and inherited Ares' memories, I've already had Ares' memories because Dom wrote Ares' day-to-day lives inside of me. It was hard to not be like Ares, considering I have every memory that Ares has, even the ones that he doesn't remember as a baby. And I've had it on the same day as Ares experienced it, Dom writing the night of the same day."
The two of them were silent as Udin was uncomfortable after seeing the book and hearing Ari's story. Thankfully, they reached the center of the arena by then, which reminded Udin of something. "Oh right, I almost forgot. How about Longinus, tho? Should we use it?" Udin asked as he manifested his Longinus.
Unlike normal manifestation magic that produces the spirit into the physical reality, the Longinus is originally a physical object before being stored in the spiritual domain. By binding their spirit into the Longinus, they are able to store it and withdraw it at will, even if they hadn't been able to do Manifestation magic themselves, the spiritual bond facilitating the process.
"I guess it counts under Psychopomp arsenal, isn't it?" Ari asked as he manifested his own training Longinus. After binding their spirit with the wooden longsword, it began to look more real than before. While the blade was already sharp before, there was a sense of danger now as the edge of the blade promised the world a vengeance to slash it apart.
"Yeah. I guess we'll use it then," Udin remarked as he walked towards his starting position, the blue circle.
Ari nodded his head in agreement, walking towards the red circle.
"Are you ready?" Ari asked from his position. Seeing Udin nod his head from 50 meters across, Ari nodded in response. "The duel will start in 60 seconds," he said as a thick green circular line encircled both of their colored circle, losing a sixtieth of its length each second.
Ari raised his sword in a guard position, preparing himself in case Udin teleported nearby. Across the arena, Ari saw Udin holding his sword low, its tip on the ground and pointing behind him in a tail guard. Ari could see a sign of mana dancing across Udin's sword surface, ready to be unleashed.
When the green line disappeared from the floor, Ari held his ground waiting for Udin to make the first move. Seeing Udin stand his ground, Ari took the initiative and dashed toward his opponents with an augmented kick.
Ari was midway through reaching his opponent when mana blazes on Udin's blade, a coating of volatile mana formed by conception magic to turn the immaterial mana physical.
Udin swung his swords towards Ari's approaching form, launching his attack. A crescent of destructive mana flew forward, racing towards Ari.
Shifting his body to move out of the crescent's path, Ari gathered mana on his foot. He planted his foot, ready to dash to the left. But before he could move, Udin appeared before him. With sword held high, Udin swung down on him.
Ari raised his sword, sword clashed against the sword. A shockwave washed over them as their swords locked against each other, magic fighting magic.
Shifting his stance, Ari kicked his augmented foot off the ground. His leg shoots forward, homing on Udin's side.
Seeing the incoming kick, Udin disengaged their sword. In a blink, he teleported behind Ari, sword poised to strike.
Using fortification magic on his left heel, Ari pivoted on it. He pirouetted around, redirecting the momentum of his kick as he spun his body to attack Udin behind him.
Shin met Udin's blade as the two collided, delivering the power behind each strike at each other.
Unprepared to defend against Ari's spinning kick, Udin's guard was blown apart in the resulting shockwave. Ari's kick hit his side, blasting him away.
With his right leg hanging midair, Ari was in no position to evade as the crescent flew near. Fortifying the air under the sole of his outstretched foot, Ari kicked the air platform and somersaulted backward.
Ari twisted his body, landing on his feet. He scanned the arena. The volatile crescent continued its journey, wreaking havoc behind it until it met the arena dome and exploded. Twenty meters from him, Ari saw Udin rising to his feet, a line of destruction separating them.
Udin felt his head spinning after rolling across the ground. Using conception magic to steady himself, he rose to stand and take his stance.
While Udin was distracted, Ari channeled separation magic into his sword. A layer of cutting magic coated his blade, slicing the air apart in either direction of the edge of the blade.
With augmented kicks, Ari dashed toward Udin. Molding his mana, the air howled as Ari swung his blade. A crescent slash shrieked towards Udin, the air offering no resistance as the attack bisected anything before it.
Unlike augmentation magic which only boosts the force behind an attack, separation boosts the attack by pushing any obstruction before it apart into an opposing direction. Air molecules are pushed aside, even molecular bonds are pushed far enough that they snap and cease to be one. The atmosphere is separated as the strike flies toward its target.
In a blink of an eye, the crescent reached Udin's position. Ari's boosted momentum and the additional momentum of the slash propelled the crescent faster than Udin's own strike did, bisecting the sound barrier at a supersonic speed.
Alarmed at the launched attack, Udin teleported. He appeared behind Ari once again.
Seeing Udin teleporting, Ari was prepared this time. Using fortification on his left heel, Ari spun once again. His spun sent him to face Udin, his blade tracing a spiral of separation magic all around him. The air shrieked once again as the spiral spread in all directions.
Ari expected his blade to meet Udin's in a clash, but no such thing happened. The moment the two blades met, Udin and his sword turned translucent, the two blades passing through each other. With his momentum facing no opposition, his spin continued its course, exposing his back to Udin.
Turning material once again, Udin slashed his sword at Ari's exposed back. His sword swung forward, aiming at Ari's neck. But before it could connect, Udin's sword was stopped midair, a cloudy panel of fortified air thwarting his attack.
Seeing Ari's spin bringing his sword to meet him once again, Udin teleported away.
Ari chased Udin across the arena, but the same thing repeated time after time. The two collided, attacking each other. Then Udin disengaged, ending the clash with his fruit's power.
After numerous clashes, the next time the two disengaged from one another, Ari stood his ground, regaining his breath. Heaving his exhaustion away, he watched as Udin did the same across the arena.
Taking advantage of the space between them, Ari manifested his leather-bound book in his hand. Pumping his mana on the book, he launched the book in Udin's direction.
The moment the book was right in the middle between the two of them, Ari used fortification magic to anchor it in place, its position relative to the floor fortified. Channeling another fortification magic, he fortified the distance between the book and himself, dashing to the right with a burst of augmentation magic.
Using his utter focus, Ari channeled separation magic on himself, the air blasted away as he cut through the sound barrier.
Udin was puzzled at Ari's decision to dash sideways. But his puzzled expression turned into alarm as Ari's momentum sent him orbiting around his manifested book. With his relative position with the book conserved, Ari's body is swung in a circular path towards Udin.
Reaching Udin's side in a blast of superheated air and sonic wave, Ari fortified the sole of his foot, arresting his forward momentum, transferring it into a heavy blow as he pivoted with his left heel. He caught Udin unprepared as he blasted his sloppy guard apart.
Releasing his hold over his manifested book, Ari augmented his sword as he thrust at Udin's exposed neck. But when his attack was about to connect, Udin vanished once again in an explosion of space mana.
"Dammit," Ari cursed as he watched Udin appear some distance away. With Udin's sloppy handle of his teleportation, wasting space mana around, it was his best chance at surprising Udin with his attacks. Resigning himself for another extended bout of clash, Ari faced Udin once more.
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It was more than five minutes since the start of their duel. Both of them are exhausted, only using a basic combination of augmentation to boost their attacks and conception to enhance their form.
Ari swung his sword at his opponent, Udin's sword raised in a guard. Their swords met, no shockwave of air blasting them in the face as both of their blades lacked the augmentation to boost it.
Pushing his sword against Udin's blade, Ari forced their swords locked against each other. Udin was doing his best to endure Ari's push when Ari twisted his sword.
Flicking his wrist, Ari thrust his sword forward, sending Udin's sword to slide against his sword, catching it in his crossguard.
With a push, he thrust his swords at his opponent's neck, Udin's sword having no leverage to parry his thrust aside. With their blade connected, Ari was convinced that Udin was unable to teleport away while he was in contact with a foreign object with his sloppy mastery over his fruit.
But as his sword is about to stab Udin's sword, he felt the resistance of Udin's sword against his crossguard vanish, Udin's body taking on a translucent quality to it as Udin passed through his body.
Spinning around to slash at Udin the moment he turned tangible once again, Ari was blasted with a burst of space mana as Udin's translucent form teleported away, using the two components of his fruits at once.
Scanning the arena for Udin's position, Ari found himself staring upwards as he watched Udin's form freefalling down from the apex of the dome.
Bolting away from the center of the arena, Ari took a defensive stance as he prepared for when Udin teleported near him. He strained his senses to feel the moments Udin teleported behind him, but his anticipation was betrayed when Udin teleported once again to the apex of the dome.
Ari looked in confusion as he watched Udin repeat his teleportation several more times. But his confusion turned into alarm as he noticed Udin breaking the sound barrier. With augmentation magic to boost the pull of gravity, and conception magic to defend himself against the cocoon of flaming hot air around him, he witnessed as Udin transformed himself into a kinetic bombardment.
'I can't let him hit me with that attack,' Ari thought as he manifested his book once again. Launching the book towards Udin's freefall trajectory, Ari enlarged the spiritual book to three meters tall before fortifying the book, obstructing Udin's fall so that he crashed against it.
But the moment Udin was about to collide with his fortified book, Udin turned translucent. He phased through the fortified platform, and the next time Udin teleported once again, he was right above Ari.
With less than three meters between them, Udin launched his Longinus against Ari. The moment the sword left Udin's translucent hands, it turned tangible once again, transferring all the momentum it had into Ari.
A shockwave of superheated air blossomed the moment it hit Ari, obliterating his body and the ground below it into a crater as the sword transferred all its kinetic energy into an explosion.
With a burst of space magic, Udin teleported some distance away as watched his opponent's body disintegrate. "I won," Udin said into the raucous dome as the explosion echoed inside of it, the infernal heat of the arena not affecting his incorporeal form.
As he observed the last remnants of his attack, Udin exits the dueling arena and collapses in exhaustion.