The Hundred First Generation: The Ancient Power Returns

Chapter Four

Celina and I soon left my basement behind. She looked rather strange, walking around China's streets wearing a heavy coat and combat boots. Celina didn't seem to mind, though. I could tell that she was the outgoing type. She didn't care much what others thought. It didn't take a genius to see that about her.

Celina soon held up her hand to tell me to stop walking. I paused and watched her walk into a nearby store. She peered inside, a frown on her face. "I could have sworn that I sensed something," she murmured.

"Sensed something?" I echoed. "You can sense things?"

Celina nodded. "Yeah. My dagger, the one I keep up my sleeve, was given magic by yours truly so that it vibrates when near other Pure mages like us. I thought that I felt something, but I guess not... It's not like it makes much sense to have felt a pulse around here anyways. The Pure mages are for the most part supposed to be in all different countries."

"Hm... Well maybe a breeze just came along and vibrated the dagger," I said. "Does this mean that we'll have to go to all different countries to figure this stuff out?"

Celina nodded. "Yeah. I'm cleared to be out here exploring. My family has been extremely open about magic and let me leave since they know about it. Your family might not feel the same. But we shouldn't need to worry. There's always a little bit of magic for something like this."

"What kind of magic is supposed to be useful in a situation like this one? It seems to me like your abilities with weapons and stuff wouldn't help us out much in trying to escape from my mother," I told her with a small frown.

Celina pulled out her dagger once we had ducked into the restroom of the store. She used the dagger to slice through the air while putting pressure on the bottom of her dagger's hilt. Blue light cut the air and a figure that was made entirely of darkness stared back at me. Soon, the figure's face came into focus and she walked out of the rift and into real life.

"Go back and act as Renee Asami," Celina whispered into the ear of the other me.

The other me nodded and walked out of the restroom with a smile. I watched her leave with wide eyes before turning to Celina. "What in the world was that?" I asked in confusion and fear.

"That was a Dimensional Shadow. Shadows wait in other dimensions. When Artificial or Pure Strain mages call them, they step through a rift and act exactly like the first person that they see until said person tells them to stop it. To end it all, cut open the rift once again and tell them that you wish to return to your life once more," Celina explained. "That one is going to cover for you until this mess comes to a close."

I smiled slightly. "That's pretty useful," I commented. "Well, now that we've done that, where are we supposed to be headed next?"

"There are fifteen Pure mages in all. They're all supposed to be in different countries around the world. Pure mages are to grow up away from one another since if they came together and used their powers, there would likely be a large amount of destruction to follow shortly after. Pure magic can be deadly when combined. Most of the time, we would stay away from one another, but since there's a magical threat to be eliminated, we need to take desperate measures," Celina told me as we walked out of the store.

"This is bound to be pretty risky... From all the stuff that you're telling me, this doesn't sound like a good idea," I frowned.

"We need to stop Hakate before things get out of hand, and therefore, we need to find the other mages." Celina suddenly pulled me into an alleyway and began to type on her phone. She had a large amount of countries on a list. She backspaced until China was eliminated from the list. "Okay. The next country that we're going to hit is Australia. This Pure mage is meant to be one of the more dangerous ones. Since she's of higher power, then things are going to be risky when we try and fetch her."

"Higher power?" I asked. "There are levels."

"There are three levels. But that story can wait for another time. I'd rather not explain it repeatedly when we come across each of the others," Celina said. "Come on. Time to go teleporting." She touched a different symbol on the hilt of her dagger and a small rift opened up. On the other side was a small town in what I assumed was Australia.

Celina dragged me in until we ended up on the other side of the rift. She put her dagger away in her pocket. She then pulled off her jacket to show a red shirt, a tank top. I could see the muscles on her arms and torso as she tied her arm around her waist. Celina looked out at the town before us. "The mage is near. I just know it," she murmured.

Celina took my hand and led me through the streets of the town. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. We both probably did. After all, you don't see people wearing fuzzy jackets or kimonos walking in the streets of Australia every day.

Celina closed her eyes and then pointed to a nearby house. She was no doubt feeling the vibrations coming from her knife. "This way. The mage should be in here," Celina told me.

We looked in all the windows. Celina felt no vibrations elsewhere. I frowned. "Did the mage maybe leave while we were looking at the front of the house?" I asked.

Celina sighed and nodded. "It's very probable. But let's not be disheartened. We can still catch her if we look around now before she gets too far away."

I peered over Celina's shoulder and looked behind the house. The coast was off in the distance. Waves crashed against the sand. The beach was practically empty, all except for one person that was surfing on the waves a few yards off from the shore.

"That her?" I asked Celina.

Celina took a step closer. I heard her dagger buzz from its place within her pocket. "Yep," Celina agreed, taking a moment to nod. "That's her. Come on. Let's go see if she knows the truth."

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once upon a time there was a paint can named huey

-Digital