Friday, August 2, 3074 AE (Midnight)

“Mmmm, so good.”

Aeloria can be seen eating a piece of cake and scarfing it down.

“How much has she eaten already?”

“She has eaten 20 plates of sweets, cake, ice cream, and all.”

“I hope she has enough to pay for it.”

“I’m sure she does. I doubt Sensei would come without money.”

“Oh really? And what about all of the other times when we had to pay for her food?”

“Yeah… I forgot about that. Well, either way, it is nice to be with Sensei again.”

“Good for you. Every time I’m around her, I just want to burn her. I don’t know why you like her, Lyria.”

Off to the side, Blaze sits in silence, his head down and in his thoughts.

‘What is wrong with me? This is the second time I’ve lost to a Kōsō who completely overpowered me, and now that stupid school is trying to force me back. Hah, it's one thing after another.’

“Lighten up, Blaze. I'll make sure you can fight a lot of Kōsō and go on a lot of missions, as well as give you special training.”

Twitch

“Did you read my mind?”

Aeloria just nods as if it were the most normal thing to do.

“Do you not take the saying ‘Personal Space’ seriously?”

“Hah, what’s that? Never heard of it. Besides, you’re my student, and I have to make sure you’re alright.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to read my mind. You could have just asked.”

“Would you have told me what was on your mind?”

Blaze looks away in silence.

“As I thought. You did always have a habit of taking things all on your own and shouldering everything.”

“Hn, whatever.”

Scarfing down the rest of her sweets instantaneously, Aeloria claps her hands and stands up.

“Well, today was a nice day, but it's getting late, and we have plans in three days' time, so make sure you’re ready.”

“Plans?”

“Three days?”

“Yep, we are all going to Aurora High so you three can re-enroll, so make sure to be there bright and early, and try not to cause any trouble.”

She vanishes, leaving the three alone to ponder what they have just heard.

“Let's go home. You heard what Sensei said, and try not to get into a fight, Blaze.”

“Hn, I can say the same for you, Scarlett.”

“Don’t get smart with me, hmph.”

“Whatever.”

Blaze stands up and leaves the restaurant, not before paying for all of the food since, as Scarlett said, Aeloria did not pay for her meal.

“Why does she always do this?”

“Beats me. She does whatever she wants.”

The three of them return home, getting ready for bed and what the next few days will bring them.

Monday, August 5, 3074 AE

“Yawn, sleepy.”

“Did you get any sleep last night, Scarlett?”

“No, I was too busy training. I don’t want to slack off. And where is Blaze?”

“He’s, uh, gonna be late.”

“Why?”

“In his words, ‘I don’t wanna go, and since I’m forced to, I’ll go at my own time,’ so yeah.”

“Not good. Sensei is not gonna be happy about that.”

“Don’t sweat it. All Sensei will do is go to the house and drag or throw him here, depending on her mood.”

“Neither one of them sounds pleasant.”

Suddenly, a very intense presence is felt behind them.

“Oh, what’s this I hear about Blaze?”

Aeloria has a smile on her face, one that foretells pain for the individual on her mind.

“Umm, Brother is at home. He wasn’t feeling well.”

Scarlett looks at her as if she were stupid since there is no way Aeloria would fall for that.

“My, that sounds bad. I should go and check up on him.”

Before either could say anything, she disappeared, and within seconds, Blaze came crashing down from the sky right in front of them, and Aeloria reappeared.

“Now that everyone is here, we can get started.”

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Groan

“You know, it’s not nice to throw people miles into the air and have them crash into the ground.”

“And it’s not nice to keep your beautiful Sensei waiting when she gave you instruction.”

“More like a Grinch.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Good. Now let us get going, and keep in mind not to start any trouble.”

“Hai.”

All three of them responded, Blaze less enthusiastic, not wanting to be there.

As they walk through the school building towards the principal's office, you can hear many whispers from bystanders, some saying, “It’s them, the troublemakers,” “Why are they back? I thought they would be gone for good,” as well as “I wonder how long before one of them blows up the school this time.”

Twitch

Blaze's hand catches on fire as he gets ready to attack some of them.

“What did I tell you about causing trouble, Blaze? Just ignore them.”

“Tch. Fine.”

Off to the side, the murmurs get louder, saying, “Look at him, such an animal, about to attack just because people are talking about him,” and “Their Sensei is not any better; the only reason she is a teacher here is because of her family and her power.”

That seemed to cause something to snap, as not only Blaze but Scarlett and Lyria attacked the ones that talked about their Sensei, sending them flying out of the building and leaving a huge hole in it.

“Hah, I’m going to be getting an earful because of this now, I just know it. I told you three not to cause any trouble.”

All three just resounded, “They started it.”

They finally make it to the office, but the moment they step foot inside, an unbelievable force pushes them all to the ground, gasping for air, all except Aeloria.

“I heard what just happened.”

“My, you are always so quick on the uptake. Can’t keep anything from you.”

‘This guy is so strong; just standing here is making me light-headed.’

The three of them think, struggling to breathe.

“Could you, you know, cut it out? You are injuring my dear students.”

“I would have to decline. The three of them blew a hole in my school.”

“I was not asking.”

Aeloria says in a sharp voice, underlying what will happen if he does not stop.

“You’re lucky, brats, that she is your teacher. Had it been anyone else, I would have crushed your bones.”

‘Is he really a teacher? Does he treat all his students this way, or is it just because we destroyed his school?’

The three of them were finally able to breathe and stand as the oppressive force was lifted.

“Now, as I came here for, these three will be returning to the school, and I hope you’re fine with that.”

“Fine with it? It doesn't matter what I think. If I don't let them back in, you will blow up the school.”

“Yep, I’m glad you are on board. You are quite a smart man.”

‘I just don’t want to fight someone like her; it's not good for my health.’

“Now I will let you three in, but under one rule: you complete a mission I will assign you.”

“What mission?”

Blaze steps forward, intrigued about this mission.

“This mission will send you off to defeat a Kōsō who has made a nearby forest its dwelling. I want the three of you to go and exterminate it.”

“Seems pretty easy, right, Blaze? Lyria?”

“Yeah, a piece of cake.”

“Hn, I’ll kill it no matter what.”

After giving them the information, the three take off, not waiting and heading towards the forest, where, unbeknownst to them, will be a difficult fight, much different than the ones before.

“Are you sure your students can complete this mission?”

“Have some faith. They will complete it in about 1 hour.”

“1 hour for a Kōsō with this power? I don’t believe it.”

“Then just sit and wait. You will see just how powerful my precious students are, fufu.”

In the nearby forest, which has no name, Blaze, Scarlett, and Lyria walk, keeping a keen eye on their surroundings.

“I wonder what we will find here. Is it really that powerful?”

“From what he said, it appears so. We should keep guard.”

“Hn, I found it.”

Blaze points in a direction, and he shoots a mini beam of fire, forcing the hidden figure to reveal itself.

A ghostly, humanoid being with an almost spectral appearance.

Its body is semi-transparent and constantly shifting colors; it has elongated, flowing limbs and a featureless face, giving it an eerie, unsettling presence.

“What the heck is that thing?”

“Heck if I know. Kill it with fire.”

“Shut it, you two. I’ll deal with it alone.”

Before the two could speak, Blaze took off, ready to strike it, but his fist phased through it.

“Idiot, I could have told you that would not have worked.”

“Shut up, Scarlett. I got this.”

“He doesn’t got this, does he?”

Lyria shook her head as she knew her brother was going to lose, and she was indeed correct when Blaze was sent flying back, landing at their feet.

“Ugh, I don’t got this.”

“Told you.”

Both say in unison.

Looking over at the Nexus, its hand begins to glow.

“Is that light, no colors?”

“Colors? Are you sure? It seems like light to me.”

Just then, a beam of multi-colored light shoots towards them, moving without a sound. The three jump to the side, barely able to dodge it.

“Definitely not light; we would not have been able to dodge otherwise.”

“Smart guy.”

“I like how you both are ARGUING when we have an enemy in front of us, whose face is creepy.”

“Well, now how do we fight a ghost?”

“Easy, we punch it.”

Blaze smashes his fist into his hand, ready to charge at it again.

“That won’t work, Blaze. You already tried that.”

“I did not use my powers, just my fists. This time I’m sure it will work.”

“Go ahead, try. We will be waiting for your soon return.”

“Hn, just have faith.”

Blaze waves dismissively, still believing that he can defeat it on his own.

“Huh, faith? Whenever you say that, it never ends well.”

True to her words, Blaze was once again sent flying back, landing hard on the ground.

“So, after further investigation, I can say those attacks are, in fact, not just colors but light.”

“What do you mean, Brother?”

“What I mean is that thing gathers light particles, which change colors when it attacks.”

“Hah, this fight just got a whole lot more complicated. It can phase through our attacks and has light-based attacks. What a combo. I wonder what else it can do.”

“So what do we do now? Can we even beat it?”

“Yes, we can beat it, only if your brother stops doing stupid stuff.”

“Huh? Me? I can take him on my own.”

Blaze crosses his arms, raising his head in the air.

“And yet you got blasted away not once, but twice. Go ahead and make it a third.”

“If you want to fight, we can fight, Scarlett.”

“Cut it out, you two. Besides, haven’t you found it weird? This whole time we were talking, it could have attacked us, yet it hasn’t, and it hasn’t spoken a single word.”

“How can it speak without a mouth, sis?”

Blaze looks at her with a deadpan face.

“Oh, yeah, forgot about that.”

She sweatdrops, looking to the side.

The three of them start strategizing ways to take down the enemy in front of them, as it seems this foe will be tougher than any other, as none of their attacks can harm it with its ability to phase and attacks that move at the speed of light.

All throughout this, the being in front of them does not move a single foot from the spot it was first in, just watching them and their every move.