4/12/54

ELIZABETH GRANT

It’s been five days. Five days since I saw that DME ranker and dark magician in the alley, and I haven’t heard a single word since then. Not a thing about either a missing or dead DME ranker or a dark magician that had been brought in. Not. A single. Thing.

At this point, I was growing… concerned. This could lead to some rather disturbing scenarios, such as some form of cover-up, the DME ranker not known to be missing, or that there was someone in the DME purposefully hiding a dark magician. If that last option was the case, then this was a serious issue. I know I should tell someone, but something in me says I shouldn’t.

… I’ll investigate on my own. Before I try and bring something up with Captain DuBauer, I should make sure my worries are validated. In that case, I’d better head back to that street to look for… something. I don’t know what, but it’s the best place to start.

While I settled on my next move, I noticed a figure pulling up next to me as I jogged around the DME’s dorms. It was that guy again, Lucas Greymore. He was really getting on my nerves. I thought I was done with him when I left training, but then he just had to find me again. And he just. Won’t. Give. Up!

I fucking hate him. Hate doesn’t come naturally to me, usually it’s just a strong sense of dislike, and most of the time, I just don’t care. Lucas Greymore, however, sparks such a strong sense of hate in me. It feels like pulsing waves of pure contempt. It ebbs and flows, but it’s always there. Always there. Always.

… Still, to feel this much feeling over one person is… disturbing. Something about it doesn’t feel right to me. Is all this really warranted? Is it what I want?

… Yes. Yes it is.

5/9/54

ALEXANDER GALDUR

It’s been almost a month since my fight with Deimos. A whole month of mostly silence between us without an apology from either side. I hate it. I hate this tension between us; it’s like the air is charged with electricity, ready to start thundering at any moment. I do feel bad is the thing, but I can’t just back down like this; I deserve a damn apology for how he treated me as well. I get that I freaked him out and freaked out, but… after everything that was said, how can I not be angry.

With a shuddering breath, I continued to jog alongside Elizabeth, our footsteps falling into sync as we both ran against each other. Recently, I’ve been better at keeping up with her than before. Every breath is still like knives, ripping into my sides, my heart pounding in my chest, but I’ve been able to run faster for longer. It’s nice seeing a visible representation of my effort.

Another improvement made: I’ve been trying to master my control of dark magic. The light and myself have been joining efforts to suppress the dark magic, and our results have been… significantly less showing than my exercise. First, I would release my dark magic in controlled bursts throughout the day, and second, while it’s weakened, the light and I have been attempting to contain it. Everytime I close my eyes, I go back to that strange mindscape, and, “looking down,” I can see the two entities. My magic took the forms of amorphous blobs, almost like strange amoebas.

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When their magic type was called upon, they would shrink down, and while my magic power grew, the light and dark never did—their “bodies” seemed to be closer to representations of how much magic I had left in percentages.

Continuing with the plan, I forced some out-of-sight shadows to begin moving—another skill I picked up—and I watched the dark blob shrink and panic. The entire time, the light began to spread itself farther across the darkness. It eventually engulfed the darkness, locking away its presence for the time being. Like this, the darkness would stay under control when out of combat, and when the light was used, we could choose how and how much of the darkness was released.

Also, what the hell is wrong with my magic!? When I did some research on how people viewed their magic and how it worked, Bing never mentioned a damn thing about magic being conscious or alive! It never even described how someone couldn’t control their own magic—all it said was how any display of magic is subconsciously done in response to some stimuli. Something isn’t right with me; it’s not just the dark magic, I’m just wrong, somehow.

Pulled from my thoughts, I trudged over to where I saw Max and Anna waiting for me to wrap up my training. Lately, now that I’ve been trying to avoid the dorm more often, I’ve spent more time out with them. Max sometimes helps me out on missions and we visit Anna after to get patched up. Afterwards, if we’re all free, we just hang out and have a good time. Sometimes we have lively conversations, other times we just enjoy each other's presence. Our time together also let me learn a few things about my friends.

Max really likes art. I already knew he was into drawing and painting, but the guy’s a fanatic. He likes to use pens and does ink-based painting normally, and despite his shy personality, he even has a Twitter account where he posts all his stuff. He has a thousand followers, and while I’m not sure if it’s a lot, he was quite proud of the number.

Anna on the other hand is passionate about her healing work. She likes to study magic theory in addition to psychology, biology, and anatomy. In school, she’s always done really well apparently, though her best subjects were in the science field. Despite looking tanned, she doesn’t get out too often, her appearance more being a result of how her magic influenced her body. She also has a brother, Jonathan. She doesn’t really talk about him much, and whenever the topic gravitates to it, she gets quieter and more reserved. On the topic of siblings, Max doesn’t seem to have any, so like me, we’re only children.

I also came to learn more about Elizabeth Grant; like Deimos said, she’s part of some prestigious family. She’s rich beyond belief and has had private tutoring since she was little. She’s also always just been better with her quickly becoming stronger than any of her siblings. In addition, everyone seems to become subservient to her, so when I refused to bow, it probably led to why she’s come to dislike me. Still, I refuse to submit to her; she hasn’t shown any reason why I should give her respect. Fuck the damn olive branch.

With a sharp exhale that drew attention from Max and Anna, I shrugged off their concerns and told them I was fine. Shifting my focus from Elizabeth, I reflected on my recent missions. Over the course of a month, I’ve gotten better at bounty hunting and I’ve got the capital to prove it. I mean… It's still not a lot, but it’s the most money I’ve ever owned at one time—maybe even all my past cash added together would still be less!

I’m no longer dependent on petty theft! But I’m also helping Deimos with the bills! Despite our awkwardness, we both agreed I should do more to contribute to living, so with my new paycheck, I would help pay for the necessities. He’s also been forcing me to learn how to do taxes, so that’s been… Something.

In any case, things have begun to reach an equilibrium. All the drama’s settling down and things have been running smoothly so far. Tomorrow, I’m planning on heading out on a mission with Max and Anna—Max’s coming along as his trainer told him it would be good for him and Anna’s going to be there out of worry for Max. I come back pretty roughed up, so having someone even more inexperienced than I am made her concern spike it seems.

Tomorrow though, I plan on taking a mission related to the recent monster attacks, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.