XCER

Chapter 03

Here we are again, standing in front of the School of Veridian. However, this time, I'm pulling my suitcase and holding my bag. The dorms are split into girls and boys here, but in Xcer, there are just four girls: Aria, Emma, Violet, and myself, Lira. As I make my way to our dorms, I take in the visuals of the dorms. It's not just a dorm; it's more of a castle, a very grand house. It boasts a dark gray brick exterior with white house accents, and the roof is an even darker grey with views of balconies. I'm guessing we each have our own room?

I slowly drag my stuff up the stairs, staying on the third floor. As I think about the interior, I imagine the furniture being simple. The moment you walk in, you see a huge living room and a grand staircase leading up to all three floors. Looking up, I see a huge chandelier and a see-through glass ceiling. Finally, I reach my room and open the door. I put down all my stuff and open all the windows, stepping out onto the balcony to enjoy the seaside view. Suddenly, loud screams from downstairs catch my attention. I quickly open the door and peek down. Two boys are fighting, though I can't see who it is. I retreat back into my room; it's not worth my time.

I start unpacking, knowing we have a group dinner tonight, expected to dress formally. I still have an hour before it's time. As I start getting myself ready, straightening my hair and putting on my dress, I remember that it's also expected to wear your crown if you're royal. I think it's for the masters to know our rank, honestly. Stepping back from the mirror, I pick up my crown from the side of the sink. Slowly opening the velvet box, I take out my crown. It's just a simple crown, sparkling with white crystals and ruby designs along the sides, the design being flowers.

I realize I'm almost late, so I quickly put some stuff away and leave the rest lying around my dresser. I open the door and, at the same time, see Devian come out from his room across from mine. We make eye contact for a while until Aria comes running towards him, hugging him tightly. I look back down and start walking towards the stairs. Once I hit the first floor, I see many people sitting on the couches, chit-chatting. I spot Jaxsper sitting on the side, and he notices me, gesturing for me to come over. He's talking to another guy, pretty sure he's the one fighting with Daniel, as he has bruises on his face. I sit beside Jaxsper, and he greets me. "What's up, Lira?" he asks, knowing my real name is Irelia but he got used to calling me Lira in public. "All good," I reply, turning to look at the other guy, who's already looking at me. I extend my hand. "Hi, my name is Lira. Are you okay?" He looks down and then back up to my eyes. "Hey, I'm Arthur. Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it," he says, a bit shyly. I take my hand back and put it over his bruise, healing it with my aura. "Oh, umm, thanks," he tells me, still a bit shy. I glance at Jaxsper, who's smiling like crazy.

I notice another girl walking down the stairs; I think it's Emma. Just then, I hear a clinking sound coming from above, and I glance up to see the chandelier swaying dangerously. Reacting quickly, I shout a warning to Emma, pulling her out of harm's way just as the chandelier crashes to the ground with a deafening crash. Glass shatters everywhere, and I feel a sharp pain in my hand as I shield Emma from the falling debris. As the chaos subsides, I realize that Emma is bleeding from a cut on her forehead. "Who here can heal with Aura?" someone shouts ask, as some people are screaming everywhere. Not calm at all. Instinctively, I reach out with my aura, my eyes glowing with a vibrant yellow light as I focus on healing her wound. The cut begins to close up, and the pain fades away, leaving only a faint scar behind. Emma looks at me in amazement, her eyes wide with wonder."All better?" I ask. "Yeah, your hair—it's white," Emma says, noticing my changed appearance. I laugh a bit, helping her up, and turn around to see everyone staring at me. Then, behind the chandelier, I hear clapping. Slow yet scary. "Well, as we said, you never know what will happen," the man with white hair steps out. This was planned. At the top of the stairs, I see Devian and Aria looking down. "You guys panicked; that will disrupt your rank. Everything you do will. This is just a warning. See you at dinner, or should I say test," he says before leaving, leaving everyone in shock. I take Emma outside. "Hello, umm, thanks for saving me," she says. "All good," I reply. I take her hand and start walking towards the dining hall. We're both the first to arrive, as everyone else is still in shock. We take a seat.

As the tension in the dining hall reaches its peak, unexpected chaos erupts as a group of unfamiliar faces barges in. Clad in the colors of their school and exuding an air of confidence, it becomes clear that they are students from another prestigious institution. The leader of the group steps forward, a cocky smirk playing on his lips as he surveys the startled students of Veridian.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he says, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Looks like the so-called elite of Veridian are in for a surprise tonight."

Before anyone can react, the leader continues, his tone growing more taunting with each word. "Word on the street is that Veridian thinks it's untouchable. But we're here to show you that there's always someone better."

"Well Eldot, how nice of you guys to join us for dinner," Valance remarked, recognizing Eldot as the school ranked second only to Veridian. It occurs to me that Veridian doesn't really have security, relying instead on the students to protect themselves.

One of the Eldot students, wielding a knife, presses it against a boy's face, demanding to know when they will start. I turn back around to see my brother and all the teachers have seemingly disappeared. Panic begins to grip the room as the Eldot leader slits his throat, blood dripping from the blade.

Someone uses his aura, groundlocking, and locks the Eldot's students feet in place.

Aura is something powerful; everyone here can do simple things with their aura, like running faster or enhancing their senses. However, what sets individuals apart is their focused aura. It could be healing, controlling the elements, or even mind reading. But without control, you are nothing. And that's me—I can do all focused aura, a jack of all trades but master of none. My focused aura was copying other peoples aura.

"You think that hurt me?" the boy in the middle laughed, his eyes glowing as the dirt around him suddenly melted away.

A fireball formed in his hands and shot in the direction of the boy, but a blast of water splashed in front of it, saving his life. Suddenly, a sword came from behind and impaled the boy in front. Someone had used their aura to call their weapon. His skill was swords, like mine. The Eldots group began fighting and running. I saw Aria summon her weapon, a bow and arrow, good for long-range combat, but I wasn't sure about its effectiveness in short-range combat. I kicked off my heels and ran towards the entrance to the halls. Someone from Eldot caught me, and I heard a sharp shot noise land next to my ears—close, but not quite. Using my aura, I summoned my weapon, Claytious's sword. I had lost my sword during the war with Crysis. Control. Control. I breathed in and out, and suddenly my arm reached out and caught my sword.

I ran outside and took a peek—there were even more people. I needed a distraction. Someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned back around and saw a boy—a Eldot boy. He threw his knife at me, and I quickly took my sword and knocked it out of place.

"Hey, little girl, why don't you be a good girl?" he taunted. I needed to figure out his focused aura quickly. I slipped my hand from my sword and opened the door. He was still behind me, throwing his knife. I closed the door just in time for it to hit the oak door. I needed to lock the door somehow. I touched the cold ground and, using my aura, lifted a group of rocks to the handle, making it lock into place. I wasn't wearing shoes, and the sharp edges of the rocks would cut me. What do I do?

I noticed the people outside were distracted, taunting and beating someone. The door behind me tried to be opened—the person inside screamed for help. "DEVIAN!" It was Aria. I knew immediately. I slowly walked toward them, hiding behind the trees. I took a peek and saw them kicking her around. I was about to step out when someone on the other side grabbed me, covering my mouth. The smell of cider—it was Devian. My back pressed against his chest, I took my hand and grabbed his hand off. I turned around to meet his eyes. He was holding a knife, blood on it. He looked back down into my eyes. There was a fire pit next to all five of them. I took another breath in and used my aura to extinguish the flames, plunging the area into darkness.

"HEY! Who was that? Where are you, you fire-touching bitch?" Devian was still looking at me. I lifted my hand, counting down to three. One. Two. He grasped his hand around mine, stopping the count.