Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

17. Spontaneous Sorcery

It was a chaotic tapestry, woven from a riot of colors that seemed to swirl and clash sporadically in the air. Shards of shimmering magic erupted in chaotic bursts, illuminating faces with brilliant flashes that left behind glassy afterimages. Nearby, a cacophony of voices filled the atmosphere as feet scampered in a frenzied dash, their owners shouting fervently, each cry overlapping with the next, forming a discordant symphony that echoed through the tumultuous training room. 

Amid this pandemonium, Essence—the very fabric of magic itself—spilled forth in turbulent waves, manifesting as unstable spells that flickered erratically like faulty bulbs straining to stay lit. Sparks crackled and zapped through the melee, their electric tendrils snaking out to tease and sting anyone caught too close to the fray, leaving trails of brightness in their wake.

Elaine had honed her skills in surviving cluttered environments over the years. Whenever the Sycamore Festival arrived each year in Page, she and her family found themselves locked in a similar discordant battle against the throngs that flooded the streets. The festival attracted not only Page residents but also visitors from neighboring towns and villages, turning the once quiet streets into a labyrinth of bodies and noise. 

Navigating through it was a challenge, requiring deft maneuvering to avoid being jostled or shoved to the ground. However, unlike the festival, this exercise did not come with the thrill of festive energy—here, she had to contend with the very real danger of getting struck in the face by an explosive ball of magic.

Just then, as emerald lightning split the air above, Elaine instinctively dropped to her knees, narrowly avoiding an arc of magic that sizzled just overhead. She caught sight of a homunculus not far from where she cowered, stomping its feet into the ground as it pursued another student with famished determination. Once Professor Knight had initiated the exercise, the homunculi had wasted no time. They pounced with vigor, their mismatched limbs flailing in eager search of the students they were tasked to hunt. As Elaine scrambled to her feet, she realized with a jolt that one homunculus had focused solely on her, staring at her without eyes with unsettling intelligence. 

Well, then. I reckon you're my opponent, Elaine thought, grinning nervously. 

Confirming her suspicions, the homunculus lowered itself into a crouch, then lunged at her in an elastic display of agility. It smudged into a blur, and fostered no sympathy for those—may they be human or homunculus—who it had rammed out of the way along its aggressive charge.

It was coming for her.

Surges, it was coming for her!

Elaine hesitated as she watched the creature swing back one of its skeletal limbs, forming bony fingers into a tight fist, and hopped several meters into the air, its shadow grazing across the stone floor like a formless, black-colored ghost. Reacting in a hurry, Elaine jumped away, her boots coming to a stop from where she slid over the amethyst magic circle and the enormous runes it comprised. 

A second later, the homunculus landed with a loud vibration of dust and stone. As the sheet of grime filtered out of existence, Elaine was surprised—and terrified—that a sizable crater had been formed from where the homunculus' fist had plowed into the floor. Light and shadows, these creatures could kill someone. And she felt that their professor was aware of that fact. Yet he authorized the exercise regardless? Out of the corner of her glance, Elaine spotted the bald man sitting on the bleachers to her left.

Was he grading them? Elaine scanned the large man, searching for the telltale papers that might indicate such scrutiny, but found nothing; Professor Knight didn't even have a pen or a clipboard in sight. So what was he doing? The glistening light in his eyes and the amused smile playing on his lips suggested he was relishing the madness unfolding before him, soaking it all in like an audience member at a demented circus. At least someone was enjoying themselves. Elaine, on the other hand, certainly wasn't.