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JULES
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Kaizen's flares turned yellow and spread out from him.
“I will train you to become stronger—”
The blaze turned crimson like his hair.
“—and take control of him, gaining the power to destroy entire nations—”
The inferno turned black and seared Jules’ entire field of vision.
“—and when you have finally surpassed even me—”
The hellfire erupted further outwards, and it seemed like the entire city of Aquilantis would vaporize.
“—I will show you how to focus it all—”
The flames quickly surged back into Kaizen.
“—and use it to stop this endless cycle of vengeance.”
A single fireball, now white, floated above Kaizen’s open hand. He closed his hand and extinguished it into a crisp line of smoke that wafted upward and disappeared into the mist. Rukia watched in awe.
“OK,” Jules said.
A blood vessel visibly burst on Kaizen’s temple.
“OK? OK!? That’s all you have to say about that!?”
“I mean, that was a lot.” Jules shrugged. “I believe you. I didn’t really know what else to say…”
“You could have said anything else and it would have been better!” With each twitch of Kaizen's eyes, black sparks flickered.
“Well, I mean yeah, I’m definitely interested in all—”
“Interested!? After that huge show I just put on? All the chi I just blew away? The display of raw power?”
“Well they weren’t real flames. It was a neat show, but I didn’t feel any heat.”
Kaizen shrank into himself. “Because I’m a ghost…”
Oh, I actually hurt your feelings.
“B-but the visual effects were spot on!”
“This isn’t animation, kid.”
What?
“No no, I get it, even the colors and everything had meaning—I could tell you’d been working on that one for a while and were proud of it, I—”
Kaizen reached for his sword, but remembered it wasn’t there.
“Son of a bitch!” He ran over and cowered behind Patience's Altar by himself. Rukia comforted him.
“There, there, Little One,” she repeated.
“And he even called me Pride…”
"No, no, no—He just said proud." Rukia shot Jules a dirty look over her shoulders.
This is gonna be rough.
“Look, buddy, I’m sorry, but the sun rises in a few hours—so, uh, can we start?”
The hulking imbecile swung back around again, serious once again. “Immediacy! I like it. He made a good choice with you.”
Jules flinched. “Who did?”
“The first step is Meditation. Sit. Relax. No, relax, dammit. Relax! No—yes, there—ugh. Jules, take this seriously.”
“I am.” Jules’ eye twitched.
“You’ve got the wrong posture, and the spirit isn’t there.”
Another hour dragged by. Feel like this has all been payback for hurting your soft little feelings, you—
“There, you’ve figured it out. Mostly, anyway.”
“Now what?” Jules sat with his eyes closed.
“Now what, he says.” Kaizen scoffed to Rukia. “Now do that sixteen hours a day.”
“Sixteen hours!?”
“What? You can count eight if you do it while you sleep. And look, now you've lost your concentration.”
“But I’m supposed to train with This Painter.”
“You’re supposed to train with me.”
Jules gritted his teeth, but couldn’t take it any longer. “But you’re a buffoon.”
“I’ve been so lonely…" Kaizen floated down through the ground. "Listen: meditate like this every night. For at least an hour. Rukia will give you guidance.”
“Why not you?” Jules tried to get back into the flow again.
“Yeah, Jules… It’s best that you don’t come back here for a while. We can’t communicate directly, like we do here, when you meditate apart from me. But there is an indirect channel. We will use that to further your training. Don't come back here unless it’s extremely important. In addition to that, we also have the dreams.”
“You mean nightmares,” Jules muttered. “But what if we leave during our training? Do I just leave you here?”
“Yes, but no. Any of Patience’s Altars like this one will work. I’ve been all around Salvatica, trying to find any of your comrades.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Why Patience?”
“Punishment eternal,” Kaizen said. Rukia curled up against Jules again. “I broke a rule to save you and your parents. This was the price I paid.”
Jules felt guilty, ashamed. So you've been looking out for me after all.
“Can I get you out of there? Or would that break another rule?”
“You can’t break rules, nor can Rukia. Only I can, though I suspect our mischievous friend here might know one or two rules—"
"Aw shucks, you mean lil' ole me?"
"—How do you manifest spirits here, in your world?"
“It’s funny you should ask, that’s actually the basis of the Shaman Class I’ve been thinking of pursuing.”
“Well do it.”
“Yeah, OK—Get off my back, I just said I would?”
“What are the requirements?” Oh now you’re serious.
“Level 25 in Conjuration for starters. I’ll have to find out the rest.”
"Well that shouldn't take long," Rukia said.
"The max Level is 100, and that's a decades-rare experience for the entire population, so it actually will take a while…"
“Right! Do that and try not to come back here before then. You too, Rukia.” She responded with pitiful puppy dog eyes. “We have much to discuss, but you need more physical and mental fortitude first.”
> [Seeketh Patience — Quest Objective ADDED: Master your meditation training with Rukia.]
>
> [Seeketh Patience — Quest Objective ADDED: Progress Conjuration to Level 25.]
“Listen, I want you to find somewhere safe." Kaizen knelt down in front of Jules so they were nearly eye level, though he was still a head taller. "Jules, you are the focal point and center of the Apocalypse. It’s how it always is. You need to prepare, you need to trust as few people as possible to succeed in preventing it. Always put your faith in Rukia. Envy and Cy seem trustworthy. Whiskers, too, of course. I always liked that cat."
Jules felt his palms sweat and heart race to the revelation. I do cause the Apocalypse…
“Things are different time to time, but remain constant at the same time. Jules, you are both special and not special. You will never lead a normal life, unless you stop the Apocalypse.”
“I need to get stronger, so I’m willing to go into tomorrow and strike a new deal with The Painter.”
“Good. And be careful. Don’t trust him, no matter how much you want to.”
Jules rose. The sun would do the same soon, and he wanted to be back before the others were awake. “OK, I will. Farewell. And…” Jules bowed slightly to Kaizen. “Thank you, Kaizen.”
Kaizen grinned. “We’ll work on that bow later.”
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CYRUS
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Cy leaned over the wooden railing of the boardwalk. The smell and taste of saltwater and rotting seaweed permeated the air. The sun wasn't even one fist above the horizon, out at sea. He looked around the beach for a sign, any sign, of The Painter.
No dice.
Annoyed, he sighed and removed his sandals alongside Jules and Envy. Cool white sand shifted between his toes. Cy turned back to the city of Aquilantis. One of the towering and glistening spires caught his eye for a moment. The Hydromages sure didn’t take any chances on the city, having their tryouts all the way out here.
"Boy, am I glad you decided to join us, Kat," Rukia said.
“Rukia, Whiskers, it’s best if you stay hidden.” Jules pointed to the edge of the sand dunes where morning glories, thick brush, and palm trees flourished.
“Aww, well, good luck Jules.”
Rukia moped and waddled to cover. Whiskers titled his head to Envy, then walked away without a word. The remaining trio crossed the sandy cove. Three Hydromage recruiters waited on the opposite side with two other contestants nearby. The Painter likes to get up close and personal, so he’s probably one of these blokes in disguise.
“Looks like he didn’t even bother to show up,” Jules said.
“No, he’s definitely here somewhere. Another one of his illusions. We need to pass this test if he’s going to train us.”
“I don’t know why you trust this guy so much. Are you sure that feeling isn't another spell?”
Asshat. “I can’t explain it, Jules, but I feel like I know him. Plus, he’s my only lifeline right now.”
“Well, I, for one, am willing to learn from him,” Envy said. “When those Guards cornered us… We had no hope of winning that fight. I don’t trust him, but we need to get stronger. Jules, we stick to Cy’s plan.”
“I know, but I’ll keep playing devil’s advocate for all our sakes. Let’s go meet our judges.”
Cy led the group and greeted the three recruiters.
“So nice of you to finally join us,” the middle recruiter said. “I was beginning to think you would get cold feet over there. Har har!”
He was expecting us, could be him.
“Only five recruits this time,” said the left judge. “Damn Navs had twenty-five last week. Twenty-five! Listen here, runts, the Hydromages get the short end of the stick. You need to get used to that now. We don’t have as many resources as the Navs, but we get to specialize in both magic and combat Scripts. And you don’t have to spend your life on a boat.”
Ha, combat Scripts. He put us here on purpose. Great way to test our Skills.
“You’d be surprised by the way he speaks, but Del here is actually our top recruiter,” the judge on the right said. Cy focused on Del. Something about him seems familiar. One of the large chests behind Del shook and wiggled about. He kicked it with a curse. “But enough about us. Line up, the five of you, please—”
“Wait,” a voice from behind said.
Cy shuddered. His arm hair stood on end. What a beautiful voice.
Cy turned around—as slow as he could, to play it cool—and saw a beautiful woman with long purple hair. She infatuated him, first with her silky voice and appearance, but more so because she'd snuck up close to him without him hearing her. Cy looked to Jules, to send him a covert message with a glance, but saw Jules gawk at her.
You greedy bastard!
While she registered with the Hydromages, Cy ribbed his friend and mouthed Mine. Jules shut his gaping mouth. Jules looked off to the sand dunes. Idiot couldn’t hide it from her, and now Kat’s obviously mad at him, right after she just joined us.
“Alright,” the center judge said. “Who do we have the pleasure of testing today? We will go down the line, starting with you.”
“Kat,” Envy said.
“Uh, Franz?” Jules said.
“Cody, Sir,” Cy said.
“Pinky.” The boy was short and squat. One look at his face, and you get the nickname.
“Shiv.” What an absolute unit. Don’t know if that’s a boy or a full-grown man.
“Selene.” Even your name is sexy. Stop staring, Cy.
Cy composed himself and stood at attention. The judges spoke, but Cy couldn’t hear them. Focus on the test, focus on them, not her, because any of them can be him, watching. Even her—wait, probably not. She was at the plaza that day, too.
“…And that’s why your first task is crab hunting.”
“Lame,” Cy muttered impulsively. Recruiter Del must have heard him based on his reaction. That smirk, could be him.
“We've got crabs. A major case of crabs—an infestation just a few dozen yards that way,” Del said. “If we don’t cull the herd now, they’ll spread to the docks. Like I said, short end of the stick.”
“I’m sure you all know that crabs are some of the least intelligent creatures of the sea,” the middle recruiter said. I'm gonna call you Not-Del.
“However, these crabs are being led by a Crabacus.” Shiv raised his hand. “Yes?”
“Hell's a Crabacus?”
"It's a 2nd Rank crab with an Accountant Class," Pinky said.
Waves crashed onto the beach.
A few cawing birds finished large circular laps in the sky.
One of the large chests banged about again.
“A Crabacus is what we call a Nymph that’s possessed a crab. It can then possess the entire cast of crabs, so this is your first test.” Del looked at Cy as he spoke now. “You need to carefully consider how to eradicate these guys without drawing its attention.”
Oh really? I see. It's you.
“If one of you screws this up, we will step in,” the right judge said. And I'm gonna call you Also-Not-Del.
“That’s obviously not the goal here. You never know when backup is available. Just look at the poor blokes in Coralhaven the other day. Had backup and were still blasted…”
Cy felt belittled by the task itself and by their lack of faith that they could even accomplish it. Plus, that last comment probably set Jules off, but it’s a simple enough task. Either blow them up individually, or herd them together and—Zap!
“Test of strategy,” he whispered to Jules and Envy. “Do we get any tools?”
Not-Del stepped forward. “We brought each of you a shovel. Actually, we have spares if you want more than one. We expected a bigger turnout.”
Cy grabbed two shovels and approached the crabs. The other five followed his lead. He squatted down and studied the crabs for a moment. Just need to look for patterns and we can probably find the—
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Shiv slammed the blades of two shovels into crab after crab after crab.
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