Awoken by a gentle breeze, silver orbs flutter open and welcomed the endless sea cast before them. The smell of salt filled the girl’s nostrils while her hair caught the breeze and flew behind her. With a single glance below her, the girl could see a platform of ice divided herself and the wet abyss.
“My mind,” she whispered in the same melodic voice that haunted her every single day. Taking a deep breath, she curled up with her legs folded against her chest and held together by her arms. “This ocean is my energy, I control it. But this ice is my inability and eternal weakness as a Catalyst.”
Letting her own reasoning sink into the depths of her mind, she turned her gaze upward. To her dismay, the skies above contained a brewing storm, blocking out any hope of the bright blue she yearned to see. Instead, she remained between the azure of the ocean and the slate of the skies. Neither brought her hope nor remarked of the ideals she held. All she could see was the doubt and fear harbored within her.
Dropping her head, she positioned her head in the nook between her bosom and legs. With no one to ask, she closed her eyes and spoke to herself.
“Why? All you’ve done is training and learning. There is nothing to fear, nothing to hide from anymore,” she mumbled with no regard for any mannerism. “You have power, Mirai. You’re no longer the Catalyst that has to be protected. Yet why do you still have fear?”
With no inhibition, the small girl let out a choked sob. Knowing it did not matter what she did in her own mind, she let out her sobs until her clothes were stained with tears.
In the midst of her pity, a shadow arose below her, darkening the azure surface. Completing loop after loop, the shadow burst through the face of the ocean and wrapped around the pillar of ice. Despite the noise of the breaking water, Mirai had witnessed none of this until a hand had dropped onto her left shoulder.
Blinking away her ugly tears, violet orbs met pure white. Then, a smile formed on the pale blue face of the creature. Though with its pure white eyes, scaly skin, and cryptic amethyst markings, the creature had scared the little girl into a speechless shock. Pulling her hand away, the eye-less woman lost her smile and curled her tail into a coil for her to sit on.
In her wordless stupor, the Senshin girl attempted to take in the sight of the creature. The form of a mermaid greeted her eyes, matching the elegance and grace, but not quite the beauty. Tribal markings ran down the mermaid’s body along with a set of fins on her forearms and another pair for every third of her tail. That was when she realized the pale blue skin was scaled. Each scale blended with another to mimic the skin of a human, though the inhuman features gave away to the discovery of the subtle detail.
After all of that, the woman lacked eyes, only white orbs where pupils and an iris should live. Around those eyes were more markings that led into her silver hair, cascading down to the beginning of her tail. Those features were ones to make someone freak out, but it was the golden horns that finished the elegant appeal to the creature while ridding her of traditional beauty.
Absorbing the sight in front of her, Mirai had still remained silent. Now, it was time for the mermaid to speak. “Forgive me, I hoped you would be ready to become partners.”
Still, the young Senshin was left frozen at the edge of her ice platform. There was another thing that disturbed her now. The mermaid spoke without moving her lips. Although that should have not scared her as much as it did, another inhuman trait just made her terror multiply.
“If you are not ready, I can wait.” She continued with those unmoving lips locked into the creature’s resting face. “Please grow past your fear. It has many uses, but our bond needs to be solidified, Mirai.”
Four minutes passed between the two before Mirai moved. It was only to wipe away what was left of her sobs, but at least it was something.
“What is your name, Miss?” She whispered due to the fear that her voice would crack from her recent crying session.
“No need for formalities,” the mermaid spoke softly, matching the level of Mirai’s voice. “I am Arethusa, a nymph sworn to the Senshin line and formerly an attendant of Artemis.”
Nodding hesitantly, Mirai sat down and looked into the pure white eyes of Arethusa. “I am Mirai Senshin, next Ancient of the Senshin family and Catalyst. Although you know both of those things if your position makes any statement.”
“Brilliant as always,” the nymph commented. “Unfortunately, yes, our bond is part of your recent rise in rank. Since you will be the next leader of the house, I believed it wise for me to seek you out myself. Although I had made sure you were safe under the request of the current Ancient before your accident.”
Pause.
“A... request… ?”
Nodding, the nymph’s pupil-less eyes seemed to soften. “Yes, our Ancient believed it would be wise. After all, Nikki is the strongest in five generations of the Senshin family, so it was pertinent that you were under careful watch.” In a brief moment, her eyes appeared to dart away. “Especially after your father used that soul-binding ritual,” she spoke quietly as an afterthought.
Falling silent at those words, Mirai stood up and barely reached the coiled height of the spirit. Swiveling on her bare heel, she asked, “What else is up for discussion?”
Still coiled on the ice, the mermaid raised her head and looked at the tangled hair that Mirai had left alone. “I would like to talk about when we can form a bond, though I understand that the state of your mind is of equal importance.”
Taking a moment to think, Mirai focused on the storm clouds brewing around her. Then, the abyss of an ocean at her feet. “We can form a bond after a week’s passing. I need to let everything set in, so to speak.” She answered before another pause. “I know at least where this state is coming from. I fear what is happening to me and what is going to happen as heiress. Adding to that, your mythology entails a nymph being driven by fear, so it would be probable that you can instill or be empowered by fear.”
“As always, a brilliant deduction, Mirai,” Arethusa complimented with a smile directed toward the girl’s back. “Though I cannot instill fear, instead, I can use it, if you will. The fight or flight instinct is quite familiar to me, but there is little to my ambient aura of fear. Otherwise, your mental state aligns with your deduction.”
Nodding at the information, Mirai clasped her hands behind her back. With a quick stretch, she patted down what remained of her nightgown and motioned for the spirit to continue.
“There is not much else I can say,” she admitted, “you are an excellent partner for any spirit. So I will wait for the bonding ritual and hope you come to accept your position. Being an Ancient is a wonderful opportunity an outsider would love to take, but to the heir, it is a difficult fate.”
“Thank you, Miss Arethusa,” Mirai mumbled as a weight lifted off her chest. Although that had done nothing to dispel the fear in her mindscape.
“Anytime, Mirai. But, keep in mind, remain calm for a while.”
“You know who I am, right?” The Catalyst retorted with an uplifted tone. “A transfigured rock is more expressive than me.”
“Your clothes beg to differ,” Arethusa replied in return. “Though given your fixation on keeping up an appearance, it is a pleasant change of pace. But I have always wondered… why have you molded yourself to be this way?”
“Family politics, what else?” She bit back with all of the snark she could muster.
Shaking her head minutely, the spirit rephrased her question. “I know being a Catalyst brought torment upon you, it is similar for all Catalysts. Just moments ago, you have finally shown that an emotion truly exists within the void that you have become. So, why have you deprived yourself of your emotions?”
“To protect me,” the witch muttered. “Either way, growing up in an environment where you are different will lead to becoming an outlier in the system. Until I could make peace with my abnormalities, I dissolved the other problems I could encounter and tried to make sense of everything.”
“That explains many of your reactions,” concluded the mermaid. “Even a change in gender did nothing to bring out a response. All you did was wonder about your health and your life moving forward, truly something to be questioned through all manner of study.”
Grumbling at the memory of that event, the girl rounded toward the edge of the platform. “If I reacted any differently, it would cause unnecessary hassle. So it was more beneficial to inquire about my health rather than freak out as anyone else would.” Hearing this response, the corner of the spirit’s lips curled downward though she had not opened her mouth still.
“Mirai, it is acceptable to let out your emotions. Keeping them bundled up will only destroy yourself from the inside out.”
“I know that, but wasting time with emotionally-charged decisions will get me nowhere.” She replied with her tone dropping into a monotone.
“You don’t want to hear this, but accepting your emotions is the only way for you to grow as a person.”
“That goes against everything I have done.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Then what?”
“What do you mean?”
“Where else will I have to grow? If I do that, what else do I have to strive for?”
“All up to you, my dear. Once you have discarded the idea that your void of emotions will make you better, you will face external adversities requiring alternate solutions. Afterward, I have complete faith that the greatest Ancient Senshin throughout history will rise.”
Letting out a sigh, Mirai closed her eyes for a moment. Then, she opened her eyes to reveal silver orbs focused on the spirit that appeared to meet her gaze.
“If I ever get to that pinnacle, I would be killing myself from the inside-out.”
“How so?”
“Because I don’t give a crap about having power. In fact, I would have lost more of my fucking humanity if I even wanted to become the greatest Ancient Senshin.”
“Unfortunately, this is one fate you will not escape. Even without the bracelet, you will be forced down this path, whether you like it or not.”
Scoffing, the violet-eyed witch dived into the abyss of an ocean, going further down until she ran out of air. Following her, the nymph watched the girl’s actions with a sliver of morbid curiosity. Albeit short-lived as Mirai faded into nothing.
----------------------------------------
Bolting up from her bed, Mirai sat on the edge with half of her sheets hanging off the bed. With no time to spare, she ran to the bathroom and slammed her hands down on the sink counter.
In the mirror, she absorbed her disheveled appearance. Her midnight black locks were tangled around her, yet still reached down to her shoulders. Her cheeks were barren on tears and her eyes. Goodness, her eyes were beaming violet and shaking at the sight of herself. All of a sudden, she pushed herself back and stared at her terrorized form.
“No,” she muttered, clenching her fists full with the fabric of her nightgown. “I must be calm. Calm, I must be. I must be calm. Calm, I must be…”
Repeating her new mantra under her breath, she stopped after she repeated it seven times. A deep breath later and she unclenched her hands, releasing the folds of her gown to cascade down the curves of her body. Opening her eyes, she reveled in the distinct change.
Now, her eyes had crystallized into its new silver, allowing Mirai to settle down her nerves. That was not all. Her hair was still a tangled jungle sitting on her head, but it had lost some volume, so it had rested close to her scalp. Brushing a hand through the locks, she withheld a curse when she encountered the first knot in her silky hair. Otherwise, she was content with it.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“To think, three parts of my magic have split now,” she commented with a step toward her sink. Bringing up her right hand, she flexed her fingers a few times. “Let’s see, at the moment, my calm state resonates with my light magic—and by proxy, healing magic. Second, my anger manifested as a fire familiar after I was taunted. Now, my fear has been brought forth by a lucid dream, though I have yet to learn what abilities it brings out.” Satisfied with that self-examination, Mirai grabbed her toothbrush and began her morning routine.
Once she was done, she left her room in her dull uniform and locked her door with an overdose of mana. Shifting the strap of her bag, she sighed and took out the largest book of the three she needed for her classes. An almanac of all known monsters was now carried on her hip.
Cursing whoever was unfortunate to be her instructor for Monsters and other threats, she strolled down the staircase, only to be knocked to the ground. Pushing her offender away, Mirai had a face full of brown hair and felt a few crumbs on her cheek. Before she could clean herself up, the offender decided it would be good to apologize immediately.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mirai! I was reading and eating some toast! But I was also in a hurry to go get my bag from my room! Anyway, I ran into you and that’s not okay!” Several questions arose about how many things could be on a person’s mind at once, but that thought was replaced with the realization of just who had bumped into Mirai.
Though, since someone needed to have manners, Mirai stood up and brushed off the crumbs from her face. “You are forgiven, Miss Gardnir. Be mindful of your surroundings in the future,” the shorter girl advised in the passive-neutral voice that her silver eyes had belonged with.
“Right, I’ll try.” The brunette said with a closed book held against her stomach and a slice of toast in her other hand. Glancing down, Sophia saw the book in Mirai’s hand and exclaimed, “Right! My bag!” In a blur of black and brown, the taller girl bolted up the stairs while taking a bite of toast.
Fighting the urge to sigh, Mirai instead focused on Sophia’s appearance—a crucial detail she had forgone yesterday. Obviously, the brunette adorned the dull uniform mandatory for Crestworth students. A black suit lined with white trimmings, though where Mirai had opted for a pair of pants, Sophia had chosen a pencil skirt and stockings. Besides that, the brunette’s voluminous hair bounced with her steps, hiding most of the chain around the girl’s neck, though not enough.
By the time that Mirai lost sight of the brunette, she already had a nearly complete picture of Sophia in her mind. Moving on, the black-haired girl gazed over the dormitory. It was only meant for the first-year students, yet there were much fewer people than the girl expected.
At the moment, there were only three other people. One was eating breakfast in the large kitchen, another person played with a ball of mana, and the last one was laying on the couch with a magazine in her hands.
Ignoring all of them, Mirai dusted off her uniform. Then, she sauntered over to one of the two sitting areas to plop herself down. For better or worse, Sophia came right back down the stairs at that moment. Whether or not the brunette heard it, Mirai cursed her speed under her breath.
“Alright, come on! Our class starts in half an hour!” Exclaimed the brunette as she leaned over the couch with a worn-out bookbag.
“That means we have twenty minutes to spend before we should start heading to class.” The shorter girl retorted from her leaning position on the couch.
Rolling her eyes, Sophia grabbed Mirai’s right wrist and pleaded to her. “Come on, just today! It’s our first Healing class! I want to meet a Master Healer!”
Sighing at her cries, Mirai stood up and turned to the brunette, though she barely had to look down despite the other girl leaning over the couch. “Healer Dolan is certainly fascinating, but it is doubtful he will even be in his classroom in twenty minutes. So, what other reasoning do you have for going to an empty classroom for half an hour?”
“Well… I still have to teach you how to warp—”
“I will do that on my own. It is doubtful you would even know more than the incantation,” she interrupted.
“Um…” Mirai stared at her and gave her a look that told her exactly how fed up she was. “I just wanted to know more about… spirits.”
“Was that so hard now?” Mirai teased, though her voice edged on playful and annoyed. “Though what do you want to know that could not be explained in a book?”
“Well, family spirits are only briefly mentioned.” She began while straightening her posture and avoiding eye contact. “So, since your family is famous for communicating with spirits, I thought you might know a little something. Though you didn’t know how to warp, so I had some doubts. You know, knowing one of the most basic spells gave a lot of red flags. Sorry, I’m rambling a bit, I do that when I’m nervous, especially when someone confronts me about all my questions or just questions me at all really. I’m not used to being asked questions, I was always the one asking the questions. Right! Sorry! I’ll shut up now!”
“Dear Hecate, this girl is going to give me a headache,” Mirai forced the instinct to sigh down and pulled Sophia over the couch. Now that she was nice and awkward, the Catalyst crossed her arms. “The first thing you should know about family spirits is that they are family secrets.”
“What’s the second thing?” The brunette asked with piqued excitement.
Shaking her head, the black-haired girl said, “That is the only thing you need to know.”
“What? Come on!” Groaned the brunette while upside down. “That’s exactly what it said in the five books that I looked through! Even in the Guide to Known Spirits!”
“Excellent. That means the authors of this world are reliable.” She said with the same playful-annoyed edge to her voice. “After all, family spirits are family secrets. No matter what family it is.”
“So unfair…”
“Coming from the person who does not know the secret means so much.”
“Shut it, you!”
“No.”
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In the end, Mirai and Sophia went to class after the rest of their peers, namely the ones who chose to walk to the campus. Though it was to the gratification of the two girls since the healer rushed in when the bell rang. From there, the Healing Arts class contained a trifling lecture about learning basic first-aid and other manual procedures throughout the first semester. All without using magic.
Leaving less than pleased, Sophia rushed toward the next class while dragging Mirai by the wrist. After smacking the girl upside the head, Mirai took her usual seat near the door. Only to curse herself when the portly professor strolled in and started a lecture about the wonders of monsters and spirits. It didn’t end there. He had the gall to ask her about experiences with spirits based on her family. When she declined, the professor seemed to deflate, much to the silver-eyed girl’s satisfaction.
Once the class was over, lunch was spent in a small company. Sophia and Mirai had demanded an air of solitude, despite the bustle of the caféteria. The brunette’s barrage of deflected questions had warded off many bypassers. Meanwhile, Mirai’s resting expression appeared to give no time for anyone, not even her brown-eyed companion.
Nevertheless, that was how the two preferred it. Although Sophia had learned little about spirits from her companion, it was inciteful nonetheless. On the other hand, Mirai enjoyed a trace amount of mental stimulation from recalling old history books and some family secrets buried deep within the depths of her mind.
Next, the two were stuck in a history class. At the very least, the teacher had a rather… inventive teaching process. Replacing the bland lecture-style of teaching, she had taken a box of clay and used her magic to reenact events or just explain a few terms. The excitement from moving clay led to all but Mirai overlooking the wheelchair the instructor was inclined to use.
After all of that, Mirai and Sophia were the last to leave the class. Then, Mirai stopped at the door. “Gardnir, go on without me.” She spoke softly as she turned around.
“Alright, I’ll save you a seat or spot or whatever the teacher uses,” the brunette blabbed before the shorter girl nudged her out. “Yeah, sorry! I’ll see you there!”
Shutting the door softly, the Senshin turned to her disabled instructor who had stared at her with sapphire eyes full of expectations. Before either knew it, Mirai bowed down on one knee with her eyes closed. “Aunt Hypatia, I was unaware you would be instructing at Crestworth. My apologies for not meeting with you earlier.”
"Oh, cut out all the formalities! We’re at Crestworth, not Dragon Heart!” The greying woman scolded with a hearty laugh. When her niece rose up again, she stretched her wrinkle-infested arms out. With no need for further prompting, the silver-eyed girl hugged the old woman with a small smile. “That’s more like my Mimi!”
“Auntie! Stop calling me that!” The younger Senshin whined as she pulled herself out of the embrace. Instead of reprimanding the girl, Hypatia grinned, causing Mirai to shake her head and take a deep breath.
“Ah, just as easy to tease,” she chortled. “But you’re better off than I expected, you have one more friend than I expected you to have. Though you have four fewer enemies than I expected too.”
“You expected me to have no friends and at least five enemies?” The younger woman asked with a delicately arched eyebrow raised. “The school has been in session for one day and your expectations are that high? I would need three days to get that many enemies.”
“And by next week, you’ll have hundreds gunning for whatever spot you have on the leaderboard,” Hypatia added while wheeling toward her clay models.
“About that,” Pausing, silver eyes drifted away from the wisened sapphire orbs. “After my unofficial duel, I doubt I will be challenged any time soon.”
Chuckling at that, the elder flicked her wrist. In response, her model clay formed three different students. The left model clearly indicated Menelaus Maes with the sweater and slightly baggy pants. To the right, a frail boy wearing glasses and the full three-piece uniform stood with a book in his arms. Finally, the middle held a tall girl with hair styled into a thick braid down her back while her eyes were fixed into a glare.
“You underestimate the tenacity of youth, dear.” The older Senshin replied with a look toward the three statues. “Already, we have three self-proclaimed leaders in our small group of first-years. Mr. Maes comes from a small family, but his determination makes him a worthy contender. The boy over here, he’s a Rompa. Lots of potential here, but he’s convinced that he’s weaker than he really is.”
“And the girl is from the Killa clan,” Mirai interrupted, “one of our family’s smaller branches specializing in harnessing the raw power of spirits.”
“Yep. She’s a feisty one too, won’t take a no for an answer, especially when she knew I was a Senshin. Though being a Sage helped rein her in.”
Nodding, Mirai mumbled, “I can only imagine. Being in tune with the elements takes years of training for a reason.”
All of a sudden, the clay dropped back into loose piles. Whipping to face her aunt, Mirai was shooed out. “Hurry! You have another class, don’t you?”
“Oh, right!” Mirai exclaimed before bursting into a run. Over her shoulder, she waved to her aunt who stayed in her empty classroom.
Wheeling back over to her lumps of clay, the elderly woman flexed her fingers and constructed another model. Before her very eyes, another figure rose with the form of a mermaid and the vicious features of a nesting dragon.
Blank eyes. Tribal markings. Golden horns.
Letting out a sigh, Hypatia began her translation. “Arethusa, blind to her reality, true to her calling, and holder of steady determination.” The message sank in, leaving the aged Senshin with sullen eyes and a hand brushing through her grey hairs. “You will be quite troublesome, Mimi.”
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In her next class, Mirai found herself sitting on her legs with a soft pillow below her. Around her, Sophia had taken her left, though there were no other pillows to her right. Otherwise, she found the candle-lit room oddly comforting despite the number of students approaching two hundred.
“Class!” A blindfolded black-haired woman shouted from the front of the class. “I am Madam Ubon Wattana, the Mind Arts instructor for all first-years and second-years. Today and Thursday will be dedicated toward weeding out the class to a more manageable amount. Fortunately for all of you, you just need to stay calm while I check the state of your mind. Any questions?”
Immediately, Sophia shot her hand up, followed by a few shy hands. As a reward for her speed, Madam Wattana pointed to her first. “Madam, how will you weed us out exactly?”
“An excellent question,” she began with a clap of her hands. “While I check your minds, I will be looking for your intents and your connection toward both your mind and emotions. If your intent is malicious, I will ban you from the course. Though if your connection is weaker, I will advise you to join my tutoring classes to form that connection so you can be at the level of the remaining students.”
“Wait, what kind of malicious intent?” Someone shouted out of turn.
“Please wait to be called on,” the instructor softly scolded. “By malicious intent, I mean those who wish to invade the minds of others for nefarious deeds. I would rather cultivate one student who wants to hone their mind and nothing else over hundreds of people who plan to control others into doing… inappropriate deeds.”
At the mention of that, twenty girls had shuddered, even a few guys. Yet, now no one else had a question.
“Students, I will begin meditating, so either relax and talk or meditate and meet me in your mind.” The instructor ordered, leading around thirty students to shut their eyes.
Following the lead of others, Mirai inclined her head down and closed her silver orbs. In a few deep breaths, she tugged on the feeling of soft grass and delicate petals.
Fluttering her eyes open, the Senshin found herself sitting in a bed of flowers. White roses and pine tree flowers, an odd combination and unsettling. She had awoken in yet another different place in her mind.
“Ah, Miss Senshin, quite the interesting mindscape you have,” Madam Wattana commented from the edge of the cliff. When Mirai realized the blindfolded woman stood alone, she bolted up and gazed over her mind once again.
Instead of mingling flowers, there were sections. Three to be exact and each held a copy of her with only a few differences from each other.
To her right was a bed of red snapdragons and matching petunias. Laying within was a tanned Mirai wearing less than modest clothing while a serpent coiled around her waist.
“Only my clothes and my skin tone changed. Intriguing.”
To her left laid another version of her self surrounded by grass and a few begonias in white trimmed by violet. Pertaining to the third body of Mirai, she was curled up on her side in an oversized sweater and a pair of sweat pants, hiding her figure.
“Again with the clothes. Though that form identifies my obvious fear.”
“Few of my students have a well-developed mind such as this, nevermind how close your emotions are to your psyche.” Breaking her out of her thoughts, Wattana strode over to the silver-eyed girl. “I can already tell, your emotions will bring you great challenges.”
“Those challenges are welcomed,” Mirai interrupted. “However, it seems my emotions are separating into different forms.”
Nodding minutely, the instructor paused. “Yes, it is quite peculiar. It is similar to a few of my students that have had multiple personalities, though none of them had a situation quite like yours.”
“I become more unique with every passing day.”
“Quite a loaded statement, but true nonetheless.” The blindfolded woman admitted before patting the short girl on the head. “But I will take you on as a student. Be ready for our next class, young Senshin.”
In a flash, the madam disappeared, leaving Mirai alone in her mind. Glancing to the sides, she scoffed and rubbed her head. “Stupid height,” she muttered.