The stars shined brilliantly in the sky over a small tropical island in the Northern Pacific.
There was a beautifully built villa on the island's southern shore. The wall facing the ocean was made completely of glass and possessed a large deck leading from the second floor. The deck had 4 sectionals which were centered in a Square around a circular fire pit six feet in diameter.
David, Sabrina, Eric, Elena, Justin, Natalia, Elizabeth, Bruno, Marcus, and Alexandra lounged on deck talking and enjoying the breeze.
"Anybody want something for the kitchen?" Eric asked as he stood up and began to walk towards the villa. His almost fair skin, dark blonde hair, and eyes which could be either green or blue depending on the lighting mad him appear angelic. He was around 6' 2 and had a lean yet athletic build and wore a dark-green short-sleeved shirt and a pair of tan cargo shorts. His brows were slightly thick and had a soft angle. He had a Grecian nose and square jaw.
Even though he appeared angelic he emitted an aura of eternal loneliness and desolation.
"Yeah, but hold on I'll go with you," Alexandra said before she got up to follow him. She stood at 5'10 and had a long and slender body. She wore a green, knee-length sundress which revealed her fair-skinned collarbone and left her upper back open to the air.
She had thick shoulder-length brunette hair which partially hid her ears and blue eyes. She possessed a nose which was both pointed and delicate and curved brows. She had a heart-shaped face and thin lips.
Marcus watched as the two vanished into the villa and sadness also appeared in his eyes. Marcus had butterscotch colored skin, brown eyes, and black hair. His body was lean and well-defined muscles could be discerned beneath his short-sleeved white shirt and blue denim jeans.
He raised the beer bottle in his right hand to his mouths and emptied its contents. He let loose a long sigh and listened to the waves as the others talked.
"Where do you think they were summoned from in this vast Universe of ours?" He asked to no one in particular as the sadness in his eyes became more apparent. His words caused everyone to become silent as their eyes lost focus.
Sabrina's body tensed and her left hand which had been slowly massaging David's head came to a stop.
She had blonde long blonde hair and piercingly blue eyes. Her face was oval-shaped and she had finely curved brows, a small delicate nose, and a small mouth with full lips. Her skin was in between fair and cream-colored and she wore a maroon red long-sleeved sweater and a skirt of similar color.
David's head rested on her lap and his legs were stretched out on the sectional beneath them. He was broad-shouldered and looked to be around 6 feet. His left arm hung off of the couch while his right was beneath his had. He wore a gray short-sleeved t-shirt and gray cotton jogging pants with a drawstring.
His skin was chocolate-colored, he possessed a strong jaw, a forehead both broad and straight, thick dark brown hair which was super curly. He had brows which were neither thick nor thin and had a soft-angle and a small mouth which seemed to fit perfectly with the rest of his face.
"Does it matter where they are? Knowing those two, wherever they were summoned from is sure to be chaotic. Hehehe. How much you wanna bet that whoever did summon them, (what was it five years ago) immediately regretted it. Cause Akasuki would've been pissed to miss my birthday." David spoke with a small chuckle before he opened his eyes and sat up, causing Sabrina's hand to fall from his hair. His words caused everyone to laugh as some of the sadness left their eyes. He took the bottle from Sabrina's other hand and brought it to his mouth taking a long swallow of the amber liquid within and closing his eyes in appreciation.
He once more opened his eyes and looked over all of his friends still present on the deck; Sabrina Winchester, Marcus Lancel, the cousins Natalia, Elana, and Bruno Silva, Elizabeth Tesla, and Justin Ventura.
All three of the cousins had thick reddish-brown hair, amber-colored eyes, and olive skin. Elana's hair was tied into a long braid which reached to her waist, Natalia's was tied into a single pony-tail, and Bruno's was wild and untamed. Their facial structures were all at least 70 percent similar as the all had the same almond-shaped eyes, softly pointed noses, and thin lips.
Elana's figure was slightly more slender than her female cousin Natalia yet she could still be considered curvaceous and Bruno had a lean body which seemed to be suited for speed. They both wore yellow sundresses, Elena's extended to her knees and Natalia's extended all the way to her ankles.
Justin was a giant beast of a man and looked as if he was the personification of the word "gladiator". He was 6'4 with skin as dark as that of Idris Elba with golden-colored eyes, a full beard on his square jaw, and a bald-fade. He wore a pair of tan cargo pants and a black short-sleeved t-shirt.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Elizabeth had golden-brown hair and gray eyes. Her brows were softly angled brows and her button-like nose was situated above full lips. She was about 5' 6 and had an hourglass figure with slender legs. She was dressed in a black skirt and a white linen shirt with long sleeves.
"Thanks for the birthday gift, Liz," David said gesturing towards the bottle in his hand as his gaze settled on her.
"Your welcome, I had my father bring it back from his excursion to planet Zeltar in the solar system next to ours. It's supposedly able to help in the cultivation of one's Mana." Elizabeth said as she looked into the fire pit from her seat on the couch.
"We'll have to visit sometime. What's the situation like there?" He asked as he slouched back in the couch and turned his gaze to the fire.
"Vast forest and mountain ranges cover about 60 percent of the planet while it only has two oceans. The planet itself is about three times as large as ours. Some of the oldest trees have developed a basic amount of sentience because some of their roots happened to absorbed Mana from the ground. The people living there are mostly tribal and usually, have green hair.
Because of time dilation, 10 years for us is more like a few months for them. Their technology is primitive but their understanding of biology and medical surpasses our own and they seem inherently gifted in bow-wielding and crafting. Which reminds me, I have something for you Eric." She said as Eric and Alexandra returned from inside the villa.
"Thank you for your kindness Elizabeth I'll get it from you in the morning," Eric told her politely before sitting to the left of Sabrina on the southern sectional which faced away from the ocean.
"Okay. Anyway, beast use the entire planet as a hunting ground but do to the people's nomadic lifestyle, ability to create cities in the canopies of the forest, and superior archery they've been able to survive. Many mines of new ores have been discovered within the mountain's and a trade agreement is currently being worked out between the natives and my family's company." Elizabeth continued to explain as she folded her legs beneath her.
"Sounds interesting. Now I'm sure I want to go some time. You guys in?" David responded before he asked the others.
"I was already headed their soon," Elizabeth said in response.
"Yeah, why not?"
"Sounds like fun."
Both Marcus and Alexandra said respectively, excitement visible in their expressions.
"It depends. We just received news that our family wants us to head to venus." Bruno said gesturing to his two cousins as he adjusted his glasses.
"Oh. What are you going to be doing there." David asked.
"Undergoing another round of training and test. Grandmother Penelope's orders." Natalia said with a tone of dissatisfaction evident in her voice.
"Natalia! You know they just want to make sure we're ready." Elana said assertively.
"I know, I know. Goddamit, it's just we're always training or taking tests. Sometimes..." Natalia responded frustratedly and trailed off as she gazed into the fire and sighed.
"I know the feeling," Justin said comfortingly as he grabbed her hand and gently squeezed on it. "Which is why I won't be able to accompany you, David. My father is sending me to our base on Mars. I leave in a few weeks." He continued to say.
"Hmm." David hummed in acknowledgment before he asked; "Eric, Sabrina?"
"Of course I'm coming along. I can't let Elizabeth have you all to herself now can I." Sabrina said in mock jealousy and grabbed onto David's arm.
"Brother?" She asked Eric with worry in her eyes.
Eric gazed at the stars above and began to answer when Mana suddenly surged to them from every direction and condenses into Magic Circles.
"Hehe... Its looks like all of us are taking a trip after all. Just not where we thought." Eric said with a small laugh that made some of the sadness vanish from his eyes as they all began to stand up to observe the Magic Circles.
"Interesting," Alexandra said with both excitement and worry in her eyes.
"This could be fun," Marcus said in expectation with an excited grin.
"They all seem to lead to the same world. The thing is they seem to lead to different locations." Bruno said as he observed the Magic Circles studiously to decipher their secrets.
"Hold on the world's coordinates seem to be familiar and the complexity of the magic Circles seems to surpass the standard of documented Summoning Formations." Elana said in contemplation with her brows furrowed."I know I thought so too." Bruno replied.
At their words, everyone began to observe the Magic Circles closer.
Almost instantly Eric's breath stagnated and he said; "That's the world they were summoned to."
"Haha. Then this will definitely be fun." He said while laughing before he continued to ask; "So when we arrive do we stay amicable or break pretenses and fight it out with whoever summons us?"
"I say do whatever feels right in the moment," David said while taking another swallow from the bottle in his hand.
"Sounds good," Elizabeth said while moving her fingers.
"I agree that both this could be fun and we should do whatever feels right," Natalia said as she held Justin's hand tighter.
"Brother are you okay?" Sabrina walked towards Eric and asked as he seemed uncertain.
"I-i can feel a Mana similar to that of Akemi's." He whispered with a tremble in his voice.
His words caused Sabrina's eyes to widen as she released a small gasp.
"A-are you sure?"
"No." He said as he continued to observe the Magic Circles.
"Brother do you still love her?" She whispered to him causing his already unsteady breathing to escalate confirming her beliefs to be true.
"But y-"
"Yes, I know." He loudly cut her off before she could finish.
The others looked towards them.
"He senses Akemi's Mana." She said in response to their questioning gazes as she looked towards David.
David and Eric looked into one another's eyes.
"We made a promise to always be brothers did we not?" David asked Eric.
But before he could get a response they all vanished from the villa's deck.
----------------------------------------
Hello, this is Azu here and I just want to thank you for reading my work. I truly appreciate you giving something I produced the time of day. I would also like to say that I appreciate all constructive criticism, and the desire for such input is one of the reasons I started posting on Royal Road in addition to a desire for a broader audience.
This is the link to my discord, which I promised in the synopsis. https://discord.gg/JDVN5PC