Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 2- Descent of Darkness

Episode 21: Trials of Destiny

*Wanikiya*

After retrieving Lei, we had Vermeil make a metal cage for him in case he woke up and turned bestial again.

I stared at him as his body remained as still as a doll's. His siblings and Adela also remained unconscious even after An and Iah gave them potions. Seemed that even Xianian elixir making had its limits.

None of this would've happened if I had been stronger. If only I had more control over my spirit, I would've been able to stop Lei without everyone else getting hurt. I was an awful friend...

***

[A decade ago]

"Why do I have to go to school here?" I asked as I puffed my cheeks. I didn't want to go to school with the commoners. I was a prince for crying out loud!

Father patted me with one of his large hands which could crush my tiny skull if he wanted to. "This is a learning experience. You're the heir of our confederate kingdom of tribes. Wahkan is made up of various kinds of people. If you seek to keep the country as one then you'll need to familiarize yourselves with various people. Starting with the lower classes of the city of Caelum is the first step."

I sighed and walked toward the badly painted building. I glared at the cracks on the cement stairs and sidewalk. The road on the way here was rather bumpy. This place was in dire need of repairs. If Father cared so much about these people then why didn't he have their school repaired? Or maybe this was his way of torturing me for taking a certain book that I shouldn't have.

"Alright, Dad. I'll go but you better hire a better ice tutor!" Why did I, prince of a tropical nation, have to be born with powers that better fit people of the mountains and poles?

"Be sure to behave," mother said, staring me down with her hazel green eyes.

I nodded. "I will... try."

She squatted down to my height and ruffled my hair. "You little rascal."

"Stop it! You're embarrassing me," I yelled.

Mother chuckled as if I had made a joke. Oh how she could get on my nerves at times.

"Plus. Your friend Zelde is attending this school," Mother said, winking.

"Sis is?" Zelde wasn't my real sister but I had a habit of calling her that. I had no siblings at the time so she was the closest thing I had to one.

I rushed into the building without delay.

"Wait!" Mother yelled. "You don't know where your class is."

"I'll find it on my own. This place is small compared to the first floor of our place." Continuing on my way, I found that Mother was indeed right. I was lost.

"Lost?" someone asked. I looked up and saw a tourqoise eyed boy smiling.

That taunting smile of his made me want to wipe it away. "I'm not lost."

The boy ran ahead of me. "Really? I can show you where to go."

I glared at the kid. "Listen. I don't need your help."

The boy nodded and ran off. I followed him from a distance but quickly lost track of him.

"Lost?" someone else asked.

I turned around and saw the boy from before. But how was that possible?

"I told you already that I'm not!"

The boy crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Sorry but I don't recall meeting you."

I shook my head. "Just leave me alone. Alright?"

Once more I run off.

"Lost?" a voice called. I turned around expecting the boy but this time it was a girl, though she looked just like the guy.

"No. Am I in some sort of illusion?"

"It's you," the boy from earlier said as he poked his head out of a classroom. "You made it!"

"Lei, you know this weirdo?" the other lookalike said.

"Just met him," the first brother said, smiling. He held out his hand to me. "Hello. My name is Lei."

He's calling me a weirdo yet his brother seems pretty weird himself.

"I'm Kun," the other guy said.

"And I'm Yutika," the sister said.

"And together we're the Lan triplets!" they yelled in unison.

"And I'm... Wani... I'm Wani," I said with a smile. Though I didn't need to hold back my real name. Even when they discovered the truth they still treated me like any other friend.

Never did I expect to befriend those kids. Though I'm glad that I did. They proved to be truer friends than those who I had previously considered as such. Zelde and Nahimana were the only nobles who actually liked me for why I was.

***

['Present']

"Deep in thought?" Nahimana asked as she came inched closer. She smiled sadly. "Don't worry about him. He'll be fine. Master, you shouldn't blame yourself. This is more my fault than most. My reinforcement of the gate proved to be too weak. Not to mention that I held back on communicating with our true leader."

"Your true leader?"

She nodded. "Yes. We finally found her. I sent Tahoma and Aria to assure her safety. The darkness is bound to try to kill her." She took in a deep breath. "If she is killed then the remains of the ruin at Nine Petal island will collapse, and possibly along with it the world."

"Who is she?"

She glanced up at the gray sky. "Sorry. I can't tell you that. Like Kun and me she'll need to hide her identity."

"Why is that?"

"Because it's our fate," Ry responded as he kept his back to us. "We are to bury our identities to better be able to serve our purpose."

"It is because we couldn't bury ours that things are the way they are," Nahimana added as she snuck a glance at Kun. "Wonder how he'll react once he awakens."

"It's not his fault," I said.

Nahimana sighed. "No. It's mine. I shouldn't have ran off to help you out. Nor should I have allowed Kun to do so. Sure you're my master and dear to me, but what I did was still irresponsible toward what is supposed to be my primary loyalty."

I ran a hand through her long, silky, purple hair. "I'm glad that you did come to help us."

Her face flushed as she leaned against my shoulder. "Part of me is too."

"You two are awfully close," Zelde snapped as she shot us daggers all the way from the bird's right wing.

I felt my face heat up so I pulled away from Nahimana. "It's not what you're thinking."

Nahimana chuckled. "She's just jealous."

"I'm not!" Zelde yelled. She looked over at the sapphire blue ocean below. "Anyway, we're about to arrive soon."

Hahimana moved away from me. "Right, and I feel that we might encounter more difficult things here than we did in Xian."

**Solar Note: This Chapter was named after my original title I had planned for this book ^_^! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter :3. Tomorrow (12/7/17) I plan to update with several more to celebrate the one year anniversary of my original publication of this book on this site :)**