When Niji heard from Dasnor about his old man, she couldn’t have guessed that she had forced him to arrange an audience with the M.A.G.E. leader, who was a mythical figure inside the Academy walls. It was like meeting a president. Or, more likely, a terrorist mastermind.

So she and Rem were standing in a small room in front of a sturdy man in his fifties behind his desk. His short-cut hair was white like Niji’s, but in his case just age-touched. His sharp features were similar to Dasnor’s, who was also present, leaning on the edge of the desk with his arms crossed. The private office was packed with old-fashioned cabinets with countless books from the previous century. Anything else remained hidden in the darkness; despite the bright spring sun outside, the light was devoured by heavy curtains.

“People from the Academy are rare guests here,” Fiber said politely, entwining his fingers. His voice sounded dry but not too formal. Not friendly as well. “But before we move on to the main purpose of your visit, miss, I would like to know more about the question you want to address to Freyja. Pardon my interest, but there must be a reason, and I wish to know it.”

“Can I… start from the very beginning?” Niji asked.

“Of course.”

April 10, 2025

“Blast me! Rem, just look at that!”

Niji’s bright voice recoiled from a cave’s vault, hit the walls and slipped by the smithereens. The Lackluster called out as this loud cry scared him in the pressing silence of old ruins. He dropped, sorting out the fragments, and gazed into the darkness. His partner lit the stone plate with the help of her magical fireballs. He stood up and joined her.

“I can’t figure out the letters… what is this language?”

“It doesn’t match anything existent but... I’ve seen similar symbols on some artifacts in the Academy.” The white-haired girl was moving her hand across the lines, and fireballs obediently followed her gestures. “Wonderful! Now I have the material to pass my exam. Phew, I was afraid that we went so far for nothing.”

“Thanks, Goddess,” Rem mumbled. “It was too dangerous to leave the expedition and go to these ruins alone.”

“But we needed to get to the artifacts first!” Niji took out her smart and made a few photos. “If I fail the qualification, my career in PRISM is done for. How about you; found anything?”

“Nope, just shattered pieces. That’s strange ‘cause there are certainly arcane trails here. So… are you fine? Let’s head back, shall we?”

“Wait a sec, we must look closely. There can’t be so much energy here without anything worthwhile.”

Rem pursed his lips and went to the only corner he hadn’t inspected. With the help of a flashlight he stepped over the rocks, bones and remnants of utensils. They’d spent almost the whole day reaching this spot. They’d crawled under obstructions, squeezed in cracks, clambered ledges, got stuck in a spider web… the cave seemed endless to Rem, and it was too upsetting to find just a plate with illegible scribbles. He was entirely against the idea to separate from other students, and even Niji’s enthusiasm couldn’t encourage him enough.

“Hey, there is a colored painting on the other side!” she exclaimed happily again. “Some creature which looks like an angel is holding a shield… oh crap, it’s faded so much, I can’t understand a thing!”

“If this place is connected to the Legend of Seven, maybe it’s one of them?”

The girl impatiently swept away the dust. “It has an aura all around… perhaps it used to be light blue, I can’t figure it out yet. No, I’m sure there must be something very important hidden here! Let’s continue the search!”

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“You are eager as al—rghhhhh!”

The ground below Rem fell in, and the Lackluster collapsed down in the abyss with a heart-rending shriek. Niji jumped to the edge and ordered wind energy to stop the fall. There was just endless dark below.

“Rem?! Are you okay?”

“I… I am stuck in the air, Niji! Aaaah, can you bring me up?”

“You know I can’t! Is it far from the ground?”

“I… I guess there’s water. A lot of water!”

“Okay, I’m coming for you then.”

“Niji, wait!”

Rem slipped away from the air’s embrace and splashed into the underground lake. It was freaking cold, but rather shallow. He stepped on the bottom land and pushed himself to the surface. A number of fireballs descended to the Lackluster, illuminating the kingdom of stalactites and stalagmites. A few seconds later, Niji, led by wind magic, landed just on the shore. Rem swam rapidly in her direction and got out of the water.

“C-c-c-c-can you warm me up?” This frosty diving made him shiver.

“Oh, I am a mage, right?”

Niji raised her hand, wearing a fingerless glove, and hovered it above the lighter. A click—and the warmth from the fire quickly spread everywhere. Rem felt better, but everything looked blurry, as his spectacles must have been sacrificed to the lake. He squinted. “I can’t see, what’s there in front of us?”

“Holy shit, Rem! It’s a temple entrance! We’ve found it!”

Niji’s excitement reached its maximum. She grabbed her partner’s hand and dragged him to the stairs. The steps were considerably destroyed, but the overall façade was preserved in its original glory. Six columns stayed almost untouched, as well as the human on the pedestal. The temple itself was sinking into the stone wall of the cave, and Niji, carried away by her thirst of adventure, ran inside.

Her portable illumination wasn’t sufficient enough to light this enormous building, but even partially hidden, it was a thrilling view. A Greco-Roman temple, simple and ascetic, which was surely built thousands of years ago. And here it was, in the New World! Perfectly smooth walls, marble furniture, countless vases. Niji moved her hand, and the torches were ignited instantly.

“So much… so much magic here,” Rem gasped. “My head is going to explode.”

“Rem, look! The statues!” Niji rushed forward to the large-scale figures on the other side of the hall.

Two sculptures were depicted in a strong embrace. Mother of Light was the first to draw attention. Her image was well-known to any mage—a bird-looking woman with a fragile body and long pointed ears. There were six huge wings behind her back, and on each side of her head a few feathers stuck out from her long hair. The master showed the Goddess dressed in a tunic, as on most of the known statues.

Like a mother, she hugged a bare-footed person, who buried their face in her shoulder. The clothing was baggy, so it was hard to figure out the gender. It was not that important, though, as the most eye-catching thing was a shield near the sculpture’s legs. It was shimmering with celestial blue magic, and its gems were glittering like diamonds under the light.

Niji was taking in the discovery with her eyes full of burning triumph.

“A healer’s artifact, I presume.” The Lackluster traced his friend’s glance.

“It… it is so beautiful, Rem… must be of legendary class!”

“Don’t touch it! It might be dangerous!”

Niji ignored him and placed her fingers on the shield’s surface. She stroked the shining gems as if caressing them. The relic was warm; even hot. The energy it issued was so strong that the metal started vibrating, more and more with each second.

“Something’s wrong…” Rem panicked slightly with magical force growing stronger around them. “We’d better…”

He didn’t finish his sentence. Niji pulled back her right hand.

“Ouch!”

She was frightened to see her skin on the back of her arm go red in random lines. It was stinging hot. In a second the shield crumbled to pieces; the colorful stones lost its colour. The students heard a menacing rumble above and raised their heads. They froze in awe to see that vast cracks were crawling through the vault.

“Run! Fast!” Niji screamed, and they both rushed to the exit.

The mage girl put all her energy to hasten them with the wind. They didn’t need to turn around to know what was behind them. The temple started to fall apart from the very spot they’d been standing on. The enormous statues were broken, buried under the debris. One of the distant columns fell, too tired to serve its purpose, and a bunch of stones rolled on the marble floor. A blast from the left—and Rem was knocked over. The mage girl dashed to her friend, and the terror shook her. Rem’s head was covered in blood, and he was definitely unconscious.

Niji tried to pick him up, “Rem! Get up, Rem!!! We won’t make it!”

The Elementalist noticed how the other cracked column leaned, and huge boulders fell on the students. Having no mana left, Niji shielded herself with her hands, clearly expecting the end. But in the very last moment she saw a light blue defensive dome above herself, with numerous ancient symbols on its surface…