Sciro: Book One - The Mage World

EPISODE THIRTEEN

TRAINER OF SCHWAN - 2

Aldine remained fixated on Loer’s wound, her mind racing with worry as blood seeped through his clothing. Kane, not entirely unfazed by the gravity of the situation but trying to focus, quickly pulled a thick, brown-covered book from his bag. This wasn’t just any book—it was a comprehensive directory of Sciros, filled with pictures, names, and details about every one that had been found. Kane's fingers flipped rapidly through the worn pages, scanning them with urgency.

“Schwan. You’re Schwan!” he exclaimed, tapping on a page with the image of a Sciro that matched the creature standing before them.

Kane’s eyes flickered between the book and the Sciro, a cloud-like entity with a soft, ethereal form. He crouched down, speaking as calmly as he could, “Schwan, your master is in pain. Come back here.”

The creature seemed to understand. With a slight nod, Schwan hopped toward him with a light, almost weightless movement. Kane reached out and lifted Schwan in both hands, surprised by how delicate it felt—like holding a giant ball of cotton. Yet, despite its softness, Schwan emitted a sudden series of small coughs, and water droplets spewed from its form.

“Wait—are you okay?” Kane asked, perplexed as to how water could emerge from a creature whose mouth seemed completely sealed with what looked like a tape. The tape had always been there; even in the book, Schwan’s mouth was depicted sealed shut.

The creature gave a small shake of its form, the cloud-like body shifting in a vague approximation of a headshake. Its cloudy features seemed troubled, its vaporous mass shifting uneasily. Kane bit his lip, trying to make sense of what was happening. Was Schwan in pain too? Was the seal preventing it from expressing itself?

Aldine moved closer, her hands trembling slightly as she looked between Kane and Schwan. “We need help—for both Loer and Schwan. I’ll try to find someone.” Kane nodded, his attention divided between Aldine’s words and the cloud Sciro in his hands. He watched her as she quickly left, her urgency palpable.

Kane’s mind spun with unanswered questions as he stared at the creature. Loer lay unconscious nearby, and Hitoshi sat beside him, knees pulled to his chest, trembling in silence. The weight of using Ximce still left Kane feeling disoriented, but Schwan’s silent suffering tugged at him. He had to figure something out.

Kane inspected the creature more carefully, hoping for some clue. That’s when his eyes fell on a small, red flame sticker attached to Schwan’s side, almost camouflaged against the cloud-like texture. “What’s this?” he murmured to himself, reaching out to peel the sticker away. As soon as the sticker came off, Schwan’s body seemed to lighten, and the creature let out a sound that resembled a happy dolphin’s squeal.

The Sciro leapt high into the air with sudden energy, as if liberated from an invisible burden. It floated back down and nestled itself atop Kane’s head, its soft mass settling like a puff of warm air. Kane couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected gesture.

He crawled over to Hitoshi, the Sciro still perched on his head. “Hitoshi, look—Schwan’s back.”

The word "Schwan" seemed to break Hitoshi out of his daze. His tear-filled eyes locked onto Schwan, who now looked entirely different—lighter, more animated. Without a word, Hitoshi reached out and lifted Schwan off Kane’s head, cradling the creature in his hands and gently patting it.

“Schwan… My goodness, where did you run off to?” Hitoshi’s voice wavered, but his touch was filled with tenderness.

And then, unexpectedly, a childlike voice emerged from Schwan. “Nowhere.”

Hitoshi gasped and stared in disbelief. “You…you’re talking? How? You never… you stopped talking when I was three…” His voice trailed off as he tried to process what was happening.

The Sciro’s cloudy form bobbed slightly. Kane then smiled failing to hear the last part of Hitoshi's words. “Weird, right? You from Earth too?”

“No… Schwan stopped talking when I was little. I never figured out why,” Hitoshi explained, still in shock. “But now… now it’s talking again…”

Kane, equally stunned, muttered, “Maybe it’s because of the sticker I just peeled off?”

“Sticker?” Hitoshi repeated, confusion lacing his voice.

Kane reached around him and picked up the red flame sticker that he had tossed aside earlier. “This,” he said, handing the sticker to Hitoshi. “It was stuck on Schwan’s side.”

Hitoshi examined the sticker with wide eyes, clearly troubled by its presence. “I never noticed this… Where was it?”

“On Schwan’s side. I guess it’s some kind of jinx,” Kane explained. “What does it do?”

Hitoshi’s face darkened. “It’s a curse, Kane. It silences whoever it’s stuck on. And the fact that I never noticed it… I don’t know how I missed something this big for all these years.”

“Maybe it’s only visible to certain mages?” Kane suggested, feeling a little self-conscious about his ignorance.

“Could be. What’s your magic?”

“Hate…” Kane answered, still unsure about what that actually meant.

Hitoshi’s brow furrowed. “Hate? That’s new to me.”

“Yeah, me too,” Kane replied. “But is Schwan your first Sciro?”

“No, not my first,” Hitoshi said, shaking his head. “But one of the few I got early on.”

“Oh. Are you a Sciro Trainer?” Kane then asked shifting next to Hitoshi, leaning against the tree behind him.

“No. I mean, I have a lot of Sciros, but I’m not a trainer. My family bought them for me.” Hitoshi replied glancing at Kane.

Kane blinked, startled by the revelation. “They bought them for you? How many do you have?”

“About a hundred and forty.”

“A hundred and forty?” Kane exclaimed. “That’s… that’s half the Sciros in the world!”

Hitoshi laughed softly. “Not even close. There are millions of Sciros. But yeah, I’ve got a lot.”

Kane shook his head in disbelief. “I only have four…”

Hitoshi smiled sympathetically. “Don’t worry about it. My family paid for all of mine. I didn’t even want them. They just want me to be a Sciro Trainer, but that’s not what I want.”

“What do you want to be?”

Hitoshi looked away, his voice soft. “I want to teach others how to be trainers. I want to nurture others’ powers. But my family won’t let me.”

Kane nodded. “That sounds a lot like how my family wants me to be a lawyer.”

Hitoshi gave a sad smile. “Yeah, it’s like that.”

After a brief pause, Hitoshi’s expression shifted to something more serious. “Kane… thank you. Because of you, Schwan can finally speak again. But I have a request.”

“What is it?” Kane asked.

“Take Schwan with you. He needs someone who can help him the way you did. I can’t.”

Kane hesitated. “But he’s your Sciro…”

Hitoshi shook his head, determination in his eyes. “I don’t want to be tied to him anymore. Please, take him.”

Kane, overwhelmed by the sincerity in Hitoshi’s voice, finally nodded. “Okay. I’ll take care of him.”