I open my eyes to see the ceiling and the cold enshrouding him. There were footsteps outside and voices arguing. Standing up from his bed, Zoran walks towards the door to bge met with the sight of Naiko and Amaia arguing again but this time there was someone else there. She was standing next to Asta looking exhausted. She was wearing a simple dress, nothing really fancy and had striking gray hair. Something seemed sad about her presence as if she was there but as a ghost. Naiko turns his face to me and says, “You are finally awake. Today is the first day of our classes so it should be important that you prepare for the day.” Amaia interjects with a snicker and says, “You look like shit today. Didya sleep on the wrong side of the bed or something?” Zoran chuckles and looks down to his bandaged hands. There was a sting of pain coming from his body and a soreness that permeated through his injuries. He looked at the girl who was standing there silent next to Asta and asked, “Who is she…I never saw her before. I think you were talking about a new member yesterday…” Asta then cheerfully says, “She is the last piece of the puzzle for your group! I always wanted to get Naiko some friends and he won’t make them the natural way so I decided to use some up and coming Aspect Users who are his age. My sweet Naiko…oh so smart yet so stupid.” Naiko blushes intensely in embarrassment and retorts out loud, “I-I do have friends! Remember my friend in the Starfell Ascendency!” Asta sighs and says, “She is worse than you in terms of social skills…I am pretty sure she hasn’t been outside for months!” Amaia snickers in the background and says, “So that is why I have to spar alongside him…comical.” Naiko hides his head into his hands and murmurs, “I am not that pathetic…” Asta then groans and says. “Don’t worry buddy, I’ll whip you into tip top shape. A true Aspect Hunter who hunts the shadows of society and chases off the monsters with the radiant arrow of light.” Naiko groans, “Aren’t you supposed to introduce the new member…and stop reciting your catchphrase.” Zoran looks at Asta and asks, “You two seem close…” Asta messes with Naiko’s hair and then says “Well I am technically his adopted dad. He doesn’t like admitting it though which is weird because I am basically a celebrity. Moving on from that, I’d like to introduce you all to Cecelia Elmyra!” Cecelia looks at them with a confident smile and brightly says, “Nice to meet you! I hope we all get along.” Asta then continues saying, “She is from the Kingdom of Issoropia, once she was of age to join she decided to become an Aspect Hunter. There are many divisions and organizations amongst the Aspect Hunters such as the Ascendency Division, Battle Forged Division, Solitude Division, and finally the Zealot Division. Even as the leader I have my own organization that is focused on the Van Holiz section of the world which I aptly named “Shadowhunting Arrow.” Usually you’d go to the division in the area you were born in but I decided to do a little experiment. With Hunters across the world I wanted to form a division focused on…broadening their worldview instead of being limited to a single area. Think of it like training in a way. Admittingly…I wasn’t expecting Zoran to be a part of this but since his situation is unique I thought it’d be an interesting new addition to the division.” Amaia then blurts out, “So basically we are an experiment…sounds fun. I don’t really care where I go as long as there is a battle.” Naiko seemed more hesitant and then muttered quietly, “Another one of your crazy experiments…you remember the last time when you tried to change the organization.” Cecelia remained silent as her eyes were drifting off to sleep. Zoran looks down at his hand and says, “I want to do this. If I have an ability I might as well use it…right? I don’t have much going on for me at the moment but…I wanna do this.” Asta then smiled and playfully punched his shoulder and said, “See! You and Amaia get it, life is all about taking risks. Although, I should make it clear this line of work is no joke.” Asta’s tone turns serious as he looks out to the window overlooking the city and says, “Aspect Hunters are responsible for purging Malformed Aspects. There is also one other part of this job…other Aspect users. I don’t like admitting it but people like to abuse their Aspects for their gain. I just got handed a report of a massacre in the lower district of the Capital. Blood was splattered across the wall and corpses strewn about a deserted alleyway.” Naiko’s eyes look down and he mutters, “Those incidents are very common nowadays. I’ve been reading the reports and it seems like key individuals have been murdered. Of course, you can always have the irrational serial murderer types but I find assassins the most terrifying. Some assassins just hunt other specific Aspects for the game of it.” Amaia then blurts out aloud and says, “In my homeland it’s considered that killing an Aspect that is close to your own will make you stronger so I see no problem in it.” Cecelia looks at her sadly and says, “That’s a really sad way of living life. You have no respect for others' lives or is this just another game for you to play.” Amaia snaps her head towards her and says, “It’s my culture and I am sorry if this doesn’t fit your picture perfect of reality but you should have no say-” Asta comes in between them and calmly says, “If you kids keep fighting then you’ll just die in a real battle…sheesh.” Amaia grunts and says, “Just tell me when we are gonna battle, I am tired of this meaningless drivel.” She storms into her room and Asta looks at Cecelia with a wide smile and says, “Wanna hear something funny…you two will be sharing a room.” Cecelia’s eyes droop down lower and mutter, “I hope she doesn’t snore…” She weakly walks into her room and then some shouting could be heard and then…nothing. Zoran eyes Asta with a worried expression and Asta said, “Today get some rest. Tomorrow will be our first group mission.” Asta walks away leaving Naiko and Zoran alone. Naiko then eyes Zoran and says, “I have to do some alone time work in our room…you haven’t been to this city yet haven’t you?” Zoran shakes his head no and Naiko then says, “Here I have an idea. Take this…” He hands Zoran a bag of coins then says, “You can look around and buy yourself some good or…something. I don’t really know what you like but the point is…enjoy yourself.” Naiko leaves to the room leaving Zoran standing in the hallway and simply mutters, “Time to spend some money I guess.”

Zoran steps outside of the headquarters into the bustling streets of the Capital. The streets were lined with stalls and merchants trying to market their food or a various assortment of knick knacks. Buildings with a variety of signs were lining the streets and ornate beautiful wood carvings scar the front of the buildings. Zoran roamed through the stalls and noticed some things he likes to buy such as an ornamental fishing bait or a book that details old stories. Walking through the streets there is a thought that crosses his mind, “This feels wrong without my friends or family.” He looks down at his bandaged hand and clenches it and tries to reassure himself of the promise he made the day before. He slowly sighs and starts exploring every shop he can but nothing really screams, "Buy me!” Sure he would love having it but it just doesn’t really appeal to him. He always considered himself a utilitarian spender. If he ever bought something lavish it must serve some purpose. He really couldn’t understand luxury spending but it also helps that he grew up mostly poor. His parents would make a big deal about his birthday and on those days his friends would come over and play pretend sword fighting underneath the beautiful trees that covered the bright sun. He remembers a certain occasion where he accidentally hit Rue too hard and he would have to clean the blood. Reminiscing on those days made him feel a distinct sorrow that he has “felt” but never explored. As he was trapped in his memories he entirely forgot he was walking around the city until something really struck him. It was a green scarf with several runes inscribed into them, it was hanging on a stall flowing with the wind. Zoran recalled a memory of when his father took him hunting on a snowy day. The cold was biting and he had to wear several layers of protection yet his father always wore a simple hunting coat and a scarf. His scarf was a pale blue and almost seemed like it was attached to him like a parasite. It was another part of his being that was freely flowing in the wind. His father used to wear the scarf wherever he went but he never wondered why he wore that scarf everyday. He walked up to the stall and took out his coins and handed them to the merchant as he wrapped the scarf around his neck. It was a comfortable scarf, it almost felt natural on him. Giving the merchant a smile he waved goodbye as he looked around the city some more.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Zoran felt his stomach rumble and muttered to himself, “I guess I should eat something when I am walking around…” Looking around at the restaurants nearby he finally settled on a restaurant that sold genuine Van Holiz cuisine. Walking into the restaurant he noticed a lot of the tables were filled with families laughing and joking with each other. He sighed and took a seat at a lone table that was nestled in the back of the room. The waitress walks up to him and asks, “What would you like?” Zoran looked down at the menu and answered quietly, “I’d have some…tomato soup with toasted bread.” The waitress jotted down his order and walked off to the back of the restaurant. As Zoran waited for his food he noticed a flower pot in the center of the table and reached over to it. Yet as he touched the flower it slowly withered away as green energy flowed inside of him and he just said, “What is my Aspect…and who am I now.” He looked down at his hand as the energy reshaped into a crystal flower that was a direct copy of the flower in the vase. He delicately placed the crystal flower in the pot and put his head down. As the food arrived he tried one spoonful of the soup and as soon as it entered his mouth he felt his taste buds explode. Usually, he is used to eating simple food such as roasted fish or cooked meat from his fathers hunts but this was the first time he tasted something so flavorful. Smiling brightly he digs into his soup and this is the first time he felt joy for the past couple of days. He happily devours his entire meal and then says, “My parents weren’t lying about the cuisine here…it’s so good.” He leaves the restaurant and notices the orange hue of the sky and mutters to himself, “I should head back…”

As he walks through the illuminated streets of the shopping district he looks up to see the sky is covered in a blanket of stars in a moonless night. His mother always told him that the stars are painted with the souls of those who have departed and he always clung onto that idea. Now he is looking up at the stars and feels as if his parents are looking down at him with a smile. As he is lost in thought someone bumps into him, it’s a boy shrouded in a hood and next to him was a man with long white hair that goes down to his knees. The man was tall and lanky, he was wearing a robe that is draped over his skinny body, and his eyes were the most off putting part of his appearance. They were a pale gray and it was almost as if they were empty and devoid of all life. Those eyes seem like they were bereft of all joy to be found in this world, or in simple terms something seemed wrong with this man. The man looks at Zoran with a smile that never reaches his eyes and says with an apathetic tone to his voice, “I apologize. We weren’t looking as we were walking…isn’t that right Raguel?” The boy covered in a dark robe remained silent. The man sighed and said, “My companion doesn’t speak much…I apologize for their impoliteness. It is quite rude of them to act like this. My name is Narcisse, I believe we will meet again at some point.” The man turned away and took the boy's sleeve and led him away into the crowd. Zoran took a deep breath and his fear subsided and he asked himself, “Something about those two don’t feel right…I might just be overreacting though.” He walked back into the headquarters where Aspect Hunters were looking at the billboard or lounging on the couches. Multiple groups of people meeting at tables and Zoran could only wonder what they are doing up so late. Zoran notices Asta talking to a group of them and as he approaches him Asta turns around and says, “Ah Zoran! Naiko told me what you were doing. How was exploring the city? I sure hope it met your expectations.” Zoran looks at him with a slight smile, “The food was good and I did buy myself a nice looking scarf.” Asta looks at his scarf and says, “It really suits you. You should head to bed. Me and the other Aspect Hunters are currently investigating an incident that occurred in the lower layer of the city. I can’t spill the details about it though.” Suddenly someone pulls Asta away and Zoran just yawns and walks upstairs to the dorm area of the building. Walking through the lantern lit hallways of the building that is illuminated by the windows that peeked outside to the city that is illuminated by streetlights. Zoran opens the door to his dorm to be met by the sight of multiple journals strewn about and Naiko sitting on a chair sleeping. Zoran just sighs and pushes the journals off of his bed and then lays down. Closing his eyes he imagined his parents watching him as stars in the bright night sky and that thought brings him some peace as he is slowly consumed by sleep.

***

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Aspect Hunter Files - Shadow Hunting Arrow

This title was self made by Asta. He claims that he is enough for an entire division. The Second in Command of the Aspect Hunters argues that he shouldn’t have an entire division that only contains him but Asta decided to aptly ignore her advice and named his organization. On his door in every Aspect Hunter office there is always a lavish sign that proclaims, “Shadow Hunting Arrow - Asta.”

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