Project I: The Witch and The Warlock - The Gifted and The Cursed

S1: Chapter 28 - Eye-Catcher

Chapter 28
PYRRHA

"Woah! It's so huge!" I gasped in amazement. 

The entrance is pretty crowded. I noticed that most Witches around here are from St. Matthew Academy, the place where I study as well, by judging their appearances. All of a sudden, familiar faces started popping out everywhere. 

We're currently inside a huge peristylium. The building looked very high class and advance. There is a huge floating red crystal in the center. The wide open space under the cooling shade of the World Tree is just wonderful. 

There are several mini shops on the left and right sides. There's an entrance on the north side that might be the Place where we'll all gather. Greens surrounded the scenery that blended together with the 

"That's a teleportation crystal. It allows you to freely teleport anywhere inside the headquarters." Jack told me. 

As walked through the crowd, a familiar voice called us.

"HEEEY!" a boy started waving at us and approached. It was Janneza. 

"Yo Tinker!" Dante greeted. 

"Yo Reader! Long time no see!" he replied. 

"Why are you guys addressing each other by your title or should I say, Inside Identity?" I asked. 

"Well, I guessed we got used to it. Witches are addressed by their titles by officials or by other Witches usually. We do call each other by our names but yeah, I got carried away a bit. It's also a sign of authority and respect." Dante explained. 

"I see." I replied. 

I noticed that some of them wear a mantle. They seem to be color coded. Well who knows...?

"Oi Pyrrha..." Janneza called me and handed me the pendant. Nothing really changed though. 

"What did you do to it?" I asked. 

"Nothing really. Instead I discovered something about that." he smiled. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"It's a secret!" he winked. 

"Oh come on!" 

"I'll give you a tip instead! I think you don't need necessary trainings to wield that Witchblade, I'm sure you can do it. And if the time comes that you'll need to fight, all you have to do is follow the Will of the Blade. If you need the strength to fight, it will help you." 

I wore the necklace again and looked at the gem, observing it. The others started discussing about something else as I slowly space out. 

"Hey." Janneza suddenly spoke. He surprised me. Gosh. 

"You're officially joining in right?" he asked. 

"Yes I am." I replied. 

"Well, that's great! Wait for a moment, 'kay?" he said and started rummaging his backpack. After a while, he handed me a card very similar to Jack's. It's a Scroll I think. 

"That's a fully customized Scroll made by only me, myself and I~! If you wanna change or add something to it, you could give me a call. To be officially a member, you could fill up the information sheet to register at the Operation: Witchcraft right in there. You could also use it like your phone, computer, map, USB, electronic key or even as a debit card. There are many special features on that! Since you and Jack were official partners now, I made a match for the two of you. You guys could change the color of the gem if you want anytime. Don't worry, it's free~!" he joked. 

"Where's the cloth?" I asked as I remembered it. 

"It's finished! I'll use it later on battle."

 

"Hey Janneza, let's go!" a guy called out for him somewhere. 

"Coming!" he yelled back. "I guess we'll see each other later again! Bye!" he smiled and waved as he ran towards the direction where the voice came from. 

"Are you guys done talking?" Nauri asked me as Jack and Dante continued to discuss by themselves. 

I nodded. 

"Could you stay here for a while? We'll get back as soon as possible. We'll just discuss about the situation shortly then announcing it later. We'll also see how many pairs could be included in a team to be deployed. We'll be right back!" she said as the three of them ran towards the teleportation crystal and disappeared. 

I've decided to fill up the form as I wait for them. 

While I was doing it, I caught a girl's attention. She got my attention as well. She has short brown hair and brown eyes. She's wearing an orange mantle. She has a scar on her left lower cheek that is quite noticeable. She's wearing her casual clothes. I don't think she's from my academy, I guess. 

She slowly approached me and seems to be observing my necklace.