Lucy and Cal board the bus. Sharing a seat despite the room on the bus, Lucy absentmindedly staring out the window and Cal humming a song whose lyrics he can’t remember. The scenery outside the bus slowly changes as the buildings slowly look more and more dilapidated.

“Lucy, if you're a noble why are you in our apartments? Can’t you stay somewhere much nicer?”

“Well I normally could but due to reasons I couldn’t,” Says Lucy resting her head against the window.

“Reasons…?” Cal says in question.

“I’ll tell you another time I just don’t really wanna talk about it right now”

Cal opening his mouth in realization begins to mouth words but simply closes his mouth and pats Lucy’s back

“I get it, LIfe is tough, but you’ll be fine things work out, Eventually.”

After a quiet ride, Cal returns to his small co-owned apartment. Opening the door to his living room, kitchen, and bedroom, he walks over to the couch/bed and lays down.

“Hey, Cal did it go well, just so you know I was joking about the ‘kick you out thing’ you’ll always have a place to stay, as long as you work,” Jess yells from her room.

“Don’t worry I passed with flying colors, your talking to the newest Stars student” Cal shouts back

“Cal it’s alrigh- Huh, you said you passed are you serious? There is no way! What was your magic affinities, I didn’t even think you had magic!”

“I got some pretty strong affinity for wind and water, as well as a really strong one for lightning, or so I've been told”

“And the test you were cramming like a madman for, did you passed, you killed it right?”

“Of course with flying colors, It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it was.”

“Oooh, But what about the fight, you didn’t get hurt or anything did you.”

“Me, never I won my first 2 rounds and got knocked on the third by some asshole”

“Dang! Cal, I’m so proud of you, I believed in you, but still hearing it now, you're amazing!” Jess says as she walks into the room. Her scarlet red hair braided and falling to the small of her back, her pale face sprinkled lightly with freckles. She walks towards Cal, and pulls him into a tight hug, rubbing and patting his back. “This is gonna be great for you, I’m so happy to finally see you get what you deserve, Just don’t forget about me when you're famous alright?” Jess says sniffling in between her words.

“Don’t worry Jess you pulled me out the gutter, so I’ll pull you to the top of Etcka, Jess and Cal forever!” Cal says as he tightens his grip on Jess, feeling wet drops on his back. As they pulled away, they looked into each other’s eyes, sharing a look of genuine care and love.

Returning to the ‘Cal Couch’ Cal begins to think

‘Alright so what’s the big plan, whats next?, I can’t waste this chance, I guess the first thing I’ll work on is this magic shit. From what Lucy said it must be pretty strong.’

Getting up from the couch Cal moves towards the small dresser he has in his room, rounding all his clothes up, and begin to put them into a suitcase Jess had given him. Loading in his few clothes into the case he notices something in the bottom of his dresser. A small ring with a string tied to it to make a necklace.

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‘Ohhh, it's you, I haven't seen it since I threw it in here, that was like a year or two ago. I could never fit it on my finger, maybe it will now though’

Slowly he slips the ring onto his finger, and then nothing. Cal stood up with his suitcase packed and moved it by the door. He had decided to leave tomorrow. Of course he could go later but it still was better to be there so he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else and could just relax maybe talk to some teachers about his magic.

He paced around a bit before his stomach started rumbling. Moving towards the kitchen Cal sees a mystery something wrapped up in foil, fear and apprehension fill his face ass he pulls the ‘food’ out of the fridge. He opens it to reveal some sort of beef curry, he questioned the quality of the food, but his rumbling stomach silenced his thoughts. Heating it up he sat down and took his first bite.

‘I’m not dying, Jess really is getting better, thank the gods’ Cal thinks before diving into the curry.

After getting his fill Cal returned to his spot and crashed for the night.

Cal awakens, laying on a small sailing boat, in a cruel and angry sea. The black waves crashing around violently, The wind swirling around threatening to knock him off his boats. Above him dark cloud loom, a purple light condensing within them. In panic Cal attempts to row his boat away from the madness of the storm, not realizing that as he gets further away it suddenly gains speed to put him back in the center. The waves continue to rise and throw his boat around, Cal not knowing the first thing about boating begins to shake and stumble around the boat.

After being slapped around by a strong wave Cal falls onto his back, smashing his head against the boat. His head spinning, with stars in his vision looks up into the clouds only to see the clouds and there purple aura glow in response, the thunder within in them growling. Cal feeling an immense pressure building up from within him, begins to stand up. Grabbing the tiller of the rowboat Cal pulls it back, gaining control of the boat he begins to turn around. Facing the storm he was running from he begins to brave towards its center.

The small boat had no choice but to be a victim of the waves that Cal placed in front of it. As he rode towards them. Eventually meeting them, and as they rose up in front, he maneuvered the boat to ride the wave. Gripping the tiller in one hand and tying the rope from the sail around his arms for balance, he attempts to keep the boat up. The waves and wind, as if his mortal enemy pick the boat up and sink it under the waves.

Miraculously, Cal and his boat rise from the black sea, he was alive and strong, albeit his boat was damaged from the wave. Parts of it cracked and chipped from the pressure of the water. Yet still forward he rode towards a center he knew may not exist. Meeting wave after wave he pressed on, the growl of the clouds became roars as he rode towards the center. As if yelling in defiance the Waves and Wind gathered themselves to swallow Cal. Rising high into the sky, seemingly reaching the clouds the wave towered over Cal, before crashing down on him. The sheer power destroying his boat and sinking him. As if vengeful the wave continues to push him deeper and deeper into the sea of black, causing him to lose himself in the water

As Cal finally regained control he was deep within the water unsure of what was up or down. Realizing he still had the tiller and rope in a steel-like grip he let them go. Barely able to see the movement of the light objects he follows them up as they rise. Slowly but faithfully he swims up towards the surface, his lungs burning from the lack of air. Still unable to see the surface his vision darkens, the water and wind seemingly calming down in response to him. As they went from towering foe to a comforting grave. Suddenly with a gasp, Cal opens his mouth as a rush of water fills his lungs. A burning fills his body, death seemingly inching ever closer by the second.

With a final close of his eyes, Cal begins to sink. Deeper and deeper into the abyss that is the Black Sea. A quiet fills the sea as its challenger is gone.

A piercing roar erupts from deep within the Black Sea stirring it back into action, the cloud rumbling even louder in response. Cal deep within the Sea feels the roar ripple through his soul. His body sitting at the sea floor littered in bodies and ruined ships begins to twitch. Suddenly he rises with a renewed energy, a gold light radiating from his eyes as he swims up with steady strokes. Every pull upwards moves him meters towards the surface. Suddenly he surfaces.

Surrounded by the wreckage of mighty boats and the floating corpses of warriors he moves himself to a piece of driftwood. The clouds above him roaring, kicking into action the purple aura within them begins to radiate out. Cal standing upon the wood, his body bleeding and battered from the waves roars to the clouds in defiance

“Face me” Cal screams into the sky

In compliance the clouds open up, in their clearing the outline of a warrior is seen. Covered in glowing armor he lifts his arm holding a simple javelin. And with a high pitched screech it is thrown. Without time to react Cal is pierced through. A eruption of dark purple lighting snakes towards him following the spear striking Cal.

With a scream Cal’s body begins to twitch and shake, as if every cell is screaming in pain. A wicked energy courses through his veins causing a dull purple to glow from within. The boats in the area light on fire creating a burning pyre on a watery grave. Cal burning and shaking from the shock, slowly looks into the sky to see the warrior. Seeing a nod from him everything goes black.