Beautiful, glorious outside air, complete with the scents of wildflowers, hit me. I sucked in deep breaths as though I was drowning. Unkempt grass scratched my calves as I ran to the house, trying to put as much distance between me and the stable. Tsubasa was walking toward me, a glass of water in his hand. He called out something with a frown, but I passed him by without a second glance.

Oh God, had he noticed something was off too? Yesterday in the maze-- It felt like that was aeons ago-- Tsubasa appeared confused while manipulating my life spirit. Of course, it could be nothing. Maybe he just needed more practice with his abilities. But my panicking heart refused to calm.

Once inside, I asked Mrs Sana directions to her library. I needed to be somewhere quiet and calm, where I could be left alone.

The little room she led me to was just perfect. It was cramped, with three tall cabinets of yellowing books and a couple of armchairs crowded together. It was filled with a musty smell. Daisuke was curled up on one of the chairs, scouring the fat book on his lap. I didn’t think he noticed my arrival.

Grabbing the closest volume off the shelf, I flipped to a random page. I didn’t actually feel like reading, but I didn’t want to look suspicious in case anyone came in. Would anyone come in? Minister Fuyu’s words of Minister Banji waiting for a good reason to arrest me echoed in my mind. My breathing quickened, and I began to tremble. Oh God, any moment now, swordsmen are going to knock down the door and arrest me!

Minutes passed and no one came. The birds outside chirped just like before, and Daisuke occasionally flipped the pages of his book like nothing was wrong with the world. Fear drifted out of my system, leaving me exhausted. Before I knew it, I nodded off to sleep, head falling between the pages of my book.

Daisuke shook me awake in time for dinner, and I placed the book back on the shelf, murmuring a sorry for wrinkling its pages. My bones were lead as I walked downstairs. Would he be there? But thankfully, Mr Cesar was nowhere to be seen. Throughout dinner, I tried to calm down, tried to not think about anyone barging in, Mr Cesar pointing me out to the swordsmen with angry eyes or Minister Banji sentencing me to a life in jail. Tomorrow was the new chapter, and I had to meditate in a few hours. It wouldn’t do to be so shaken up.

But I still had to try a few times before I could see through my other self’s eyes.

***

June 8. Fourteen going on fifteen years old. Japan.

A man leaned over a table on which were papers splayed haphazardly. He twirled a pencil around his fingers as he ran his eyes over messy diagrams and words that were brought to sharp relief by the many candles around him. A pair of crutches were propped up against his chair. He tutted to himself while crossing out a few letters here and adding a few there on the papers.

I drew in a breath. Those were witching runes! The books I’d read had referred to about fifty of the most common ones, and I recognized a few from the picture. A semi-circle of radiating lines-- ‘to release’-- a double line for ‘to resonate’ and the symbols for the four elements; fire, water, air and earth.

Release the elements? Was that it? Or release the elementalists! The conversation my other self had had with Mr Cesar drifted into my mind. Without adrenaline coursing through my body, it was easier to pick it apart. He had mentioned that there weren’t any elementalists since an incident in the Graveyard of Stars. They’d disappeared in 0 AE, the abbreviation itself standing for After Elementalists. While history books argued over what had caused this, Mr Cesar had seemed certain.

Had the elementalists’ powers been sealed away? Was this man-- a witch?-- trying to break the seal and release them? Why?

‘How’s it going Hayai?’ A woman sat on the chair across him, her curtain-like hair framing her frown.

It was Shuurai, from the kidnapper’s group!

Hayai leaned back with a sigh. Wrinkles circled around his eyes, though the rest of his face looked young. ‘Not too well,’ he said, running a hand through his dark, wavy hair. ‘Every array I’d tried requires all four of the stones. Those old witches were pretty smart. Their seals are hard to break.’ He bit his lip and gazed at Shuurai. ‘ Actually, there is one array.’

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‘What do we need for it?’ Her narrow eyes fixed on him.

Hayai cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the floor. ‘A nature whisperer, a seer, an element channelling object...’ he trailed off.

‘Minister Banji knows a nature whisperer, and someone easy to rob must have one of those objects as an heirloom,’ She lowered her eyebrows and bit the nail of her left pinky. ‘There’s a seer in Genkoushi, which makes it hard enough, and he’s not the most approachable. But we have a chance if we explain the situation.’ She frowned at Hayai, who still avoided her gaze. ‘What else do we need?’

‘A witch.’

Shuurai shot up from her seat, eyes wide. ‘You’re not doing it, Hayai.’ She gestured at his legs, which seemed much too thin for a man his size. ‘Look what happened last time you cast a spell.’

He gulped, staring at her. ‘There’s no guarantee it would happen again. Besides, we don’t have a choice.’

‘Yes, we do.’ Her jaw stiffened with resolution. ‘We’ll get all the stones and do the ritual. If that’s not possible, we’ll deal with it in another way. But no spells Hayai.’ Her ink-black eyes softened. ‘I don’t want to lose you.’

Hayai sighed. ‘I understand.’

Besides feeling exhausted, witches didn’t have other side effects from using a lot of their magic, much less cast only a single spell. He must’ve been a half-witch, able to push his inner spirit out, but his body unable to temper the release. Though according to my books, besides a few exceptions, most half witches either weren’t witches at all or were as strong as any other witch.

I swiped to the next page, hoping it would reveal more of their plan or their location. What did they do with the kids after they kidnapped them? If the stones were keeping the elementalists sealed, then why was the witch collecting them too? Why did she need a certain number instead of type, and what was up with her crystal orb? More and more questions whizzed around my head.

The next few pages showed the remaining members of squad eleven and Kaede’s mum arriving at Genkoushi. Their journey hadn’t been easy, with swordsmen dogging their steps. I closed the app with a huff as yet another chapter ended with most of my questions unanswered. Just wait a little more, Kaede. I’ll warn you as soon as I understand what I’m messing with.

***

June 8. Fourteen going on fifteen years old. Saishuu Riku.

To my relief, we moved to Kei’s for the next day. His home was a modest penthouse in an apartment not too far from my own. We heard noises of a scuffle on the way but didn’t dare go close enough to investigate.

Kei’s room was a little armoury in itself, with ancient and impractical weapons no one could use adorning his walls. Kei wouldn’t stop talking about them the moment we asked what they were, and I found it a welcome distraction after yesterday’s events. We spent the rest of the day moving from one conversation to another about the weapons, who we expected to complete the task and our future lives as second grades. Though I noticed Tsubasa throwing me a few concerned glances here then, he didn’t broach the subject.

***

June 9. Fourteen going on fifteen years old. Saishuu Riku.

The last day of the task began with Kei’s dad surprising us with sweetened buns for breakfast in bed. All of us were pumped up and could talk about nothing but the end of the tournament. Though we waited till half an hour to twelve before we left, just in case someone decided to try a last-minute attempt at the keys.

Wreaths of flowers, with blue, yellow and purple petals that interlaced with other, hung on the walls of the auditorium and filled the air with their sweet perfume. Several cameramen shuffled around, the flash from their devices making me see spots. A huge crowd was squished to the edges of the place or were up in the balcony, their sparky chatter lending an atmosphere of excitement. As the clock ticked toward noon, us contestants filed into the centre, facing the officials seated around the podium.

I couldn’t stop grinning. Winning this tournament, it was proof that I was a good swordsman, proof that I belonged in this world. I was on the same level as my peers, with or without special training.

A stack of red pieces of cloth was placed next to Minister Banji’s seat. The second grade Heikisato insignia! Every swordsman, second grade and above from Heikisato’s province wore one, just in different colours based on their rank. Third grades didn’t have any, being deemed too inexperienced to properly represent their provinces. I couldn’t wait to receive mine.

Only three other teams stood with us, clutching their keys with big smiles. One of the teams with archers was also here, the girl with violet hair scowling at us while the tall archer winked.

Only sixteen so far out of the four hundred we began with will become second grades this year, and a lot of them were from the villages in Heikisato’s province, not the actual town. Though I’d heard that all third grades with at least five years of experience and a few other qualifiers were allowed to take another exam to get promoted. The tournament was just to give teenagers a chance at furthering their careers sooner, being allowed to go on harder quests and earn more money as a result.

Where’s Kaede’s team? As the deadline drew closer, I stole glances at the entrance, waiting for Cho to pop in with her exuberant smile, for Kaede to greet us with a nod. But they didn’t come. I clenched my fist as I realised they’d probably lost. Poor Kaede must be feeling terrible.

Just as the clock struck twelve, Swordsman Natsumi rose, regarding us with a pleased expression. The hubbub in the hall stifled as everyone’s attention fixed on her. She tapped her mic. ‘Welco--’

The door burst open behind us, its noise making a few people jump. Maya walked in, doubling over and gasping. Tear streaks lined her cheeks and her eyes were red-rimmed as they moved from one person to the other, finally settling on Minister Banji. ‘It’s Kaede,’ she panted. ‘She’s been kidnapped!’