Become Undone

  “Come on, get up. Class isn’t over yet for you.”

  The ground felt cool against his back. He could faintly taste bile in his saliva, and his head and chest felt like splitting open.

  It’s not like using the spell will bring her back.

  “I’ve got a council meeting in an hour. Let’s wrap this up quickly so I don’t have to be late.”

  “I—I can’t,” he whispered.

  “Are you telling me you need to go to the infirmary?”

  The truth was too difficult to say aloud.

  “That’s disappointing. I was looking forward to our first practice today.”

  The ground was hard and uncomfortable against his back as he forced down the lump in his throat. He tried to remember how the words tasted.

  Sweet…soft. Airy, like floating.

  “Well, if you’re—”

  “W-wait.”

  A pause. “Yes?”

  “Give me…a minute.”

  Waiting quietly as asked, the professor did not move from his spot beside him.

  “I-I mean—can you go away for a moment?”

  “What?” The word was short and to the point. Barely any emotion behind it.

  “Yeah. Like…away.”

  Again, without response, the professor did as he was told.

  When he could no longer feel his presence, Theo put his hands over his face and turned over on his side. The walls felt like they were closing in, his chest constricting and holding him hostage.

  A sweetness to remedy any malady.

  An infirmary bed. In the dim light offered by the Graces, still bright back then, hushed voices spoke dangerous words. Words around which his existence revolved; because if he could not cast magic, what use did he have? Because if he was weak, who would want him?

  The first phrase was easy. It was the second that made his frame shake. The third that made his bones creak as he tucked his knees up to his chest. Fourth, he remembered the pain that had been his home for so long before once-in-a-lifetime flowers took it away. Fifth, quicker so he could get it over with. Six. Seven and eight, feeling like screaming. Nine. Nothing.

  Everything stopped. His muscles relaxed. He let go of his hands covering his face. He closed his mouth—his throat hurt. He opened his eyes.

  The professor was standing in front of him, a few steps away. “I’m surprised. You were wise enough not to say the last line.”

  Slowly, he hoisted himself up from his nine-line Araise. The world felt clearer. He could think properly—for how long, he neither knew nor cared. At least not for the moment.

  “So, what did you have in mind?”

  Moriya stared at him for a long moment, as if wondering what to say. And then he stated plainly, “I was going to ask you to take it out on me, but it looks like you already took it out on yourself.”

  Theo was thoroughly taken aback. “Take what out on you?”

  The professor blinked. “Are you not upset?”

  He tried to search for a reason beyond the dull ache numbing his body and could not find one. “Upset about what?”

  “Ty.”

  “Who says I need to take it out on someone?”

  “You don’t?”

  “I don’t.”

  He could see the professor look him up and down, clearly doubtful of his words even though he did not say it aloud. And when he was done, he could hear something being said. Something that was not in the common tongue.

  Theo immediately stepped back, putting distance between them before watching a giant stalagmite rise up from the ground where he had once stood.

  “Oh, for the love of—”

  His words were cut off as he dodged another stalagmite, this time a honing one that kept following him as he kept backpedaling, nearing the end of the courtyard when the professor summoned several blue portals above the arena.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Continuing to sidestep the sharp rocks because getting pierced by one of those last semester hurt enough to scar him for a lifetime, Theo focused on the rings on the spell above them—this was a serious duel, and there was no doubt they were both going to get incredibly injured.

  When ice shards rained down, followed by a blanket of darkness that obscured the crystals, Theo cast his regular beginning spells: a thorough augmented barrier with a set number of nullifications, a veil, a revitalize to pad any damage taken, a buff to raise the potency of all magic skills by a default amount, and either an ailment or blast spell to begin, or a field spell if playing defensively. In this case…there was a lot he needed to do.

  Deciding to stay obscured in the darkness, Theo conjured a flame wall first, sending it upwards while continuing to walk cautiously to dodge any potential ground punctures. He also seized the chance to set up his barrier and buffs, the first of which immediately got broken by a bright white ribbon of light.

  I really should have done the field takeover first, Theo grimaced, hastily wiping away some of the blood from his arm that splattered over his face and reciting the shortest spell he knew that would do the trick.

  The arena flipped to a milky white when he felt another spell coming—a slight shift in the air in front of him—where the professor was standing, a few steps away, hand out—Distort, quick, quick.

  Much to his dismay, his words were not fast enough as he felt himself get slammed backwards and onto one of the courtyard pillars, getting the air knocked out of him. A rookie mistake that he should not have made.

  Moriya then summoned another magic circle above them, one that was far larger than he had ever seen before.

  Oh Graces, he’s pissed off—he’s using skills I’ve never seen before.

  Barely able to breathe as he hauled himself up, with at least one of his ribs assuredly broken from the impact, he regarded the professor and barely uttered his shield spell—ignoring the enhancement buff because surviving seemed more relevant for the time being—and shuffled as far away from the conjuring circle as he could get.

  “Pathetic.”

  When he finally turned back, the professor was standing on the edge of the courtyard, just under the overhang of the second floor. Behind him, a gargantuan, blindingly white sword that seemed to exit from the circle to pierce the field.

  Area spell, good.

  Relying on his instincts with the precious time the professor offered him, Theo immediately launched a storm of small Galebursts which—as expected—were absorbed by his opponent’s barrier.

  What it could not absorb, however, was the pushback, as his opponent’s expression turned from one of disgust to mild surprise when some of his cloak was caught in his icy sword’s effect.

  Dedgreas.

  Moriya only remained trapped in the stone prison for a single second before he cut it down with an easy slice using a conjured blade thrown in his direction.

  Aware of the professor’s usual counter to the spell, Theo used the single second to his advantage, preparing another spell. An Ex spell would be dangerously close to an attempt on his teacher’s life—not to mention an expellable offense—and a Grade V trigger spell would—

  Holy shit, he’s preparing a Meteor.

  Planaris.

  Before he could even register the fact that he had been casting the spell, Theo watched a growing, dense black sphere rush from his hand over to a wide-eyed professor, whose controlled meteor was absorbed by the ball that consumed all in its path—the broken shards of stone left by the Dedgreas, and…and Moriya’s legs.

  Theo watched on in horror, wondering if he was actually going to kill his dueling partner when the professor cast a white, spinning disc that cut it into two, vaporizing it.

  Hitting the ground, eyes still wide and breathing heavily through his mouth, the professor managed to sputter a levitating spell before Theo could throw himself onto him, sword already in hand to deliver the final blow.

  Cursing as he missed and pulled his sword out of the ground, Theo applied a levitation spell on his sword and let it float behind him as he conjured another. And another, followed by another.

  When he had five, the professor was still floating, the makeshift tornado around him violently spitting sharp particles of ice over at Theo, far too small to be deflected by his swords.

  Wincing from the cold pressure, it only took five whole seconds for his barrier to break, and for the needle-thin shards to pierce his skin, sapping him of the remaining energy he had left after being thrown around earlier.

  Letting his swords fly toward the levitating Moriya so it wouldn’t have been a waste for him to have spent the time conjuring them, he managed to at least weave an Ignite in, turning the ghostly white blades into blazing comets that honed in on the professor.

  The first and second were deflected, the third and fourth were sent flying back to him, but the fifth—the fifth was incorrectly sent back and subsequently swallowed by the vortex.

  Within a second, the pillar became a tower of fire, and Theo felt a sharp, burning stab in his left shoulder that pinned him to the ground.

  He cursed loudly and grimaced, closing his eyes and feeling warm blood soak his clothes.

  It’s over. It’s over, it’s over, it’s over.

  And then he forced his eyes open.

  The pillar of fire was gone. His professor lay squarely in the center, like he had a year ago.

  Shakily, he dislodged himself from the ground without dismissing his sword. He could no longer talk or breathe properly, but he made it.

  Moriya’s body looked pristine. No signs of burning anywhere, not even on his cloak. His legs were disfigured as expected, and his eyes were open. Staring at him.

  Knees hitting the ground with a thud, slowly setting his limp arm down beside him because he knew that the professor would have already done something if he could, the physician slowly pulled the sword out of his arm, almost screaming from the pain, and then tossed it flat onto the professor’s chest.

  He fell back onto the grass.

  “Did that feel good?”

  “No,” Theo barely croaked.

  “If I could feel, I think I would feel better.”

  “What…you sell…soul for…anyway?”

  “Hope.”

  Holding in a sarcastic laugh, he thought hard for a good response despite already having to focus on telling his body not to go into shock.

  Moriya also did not follow up on his answer.

  “Where’s Ty?” the student eventually mumbled.

  “She’s going to save the world. How about you? Are you going to fight?”

  “How do I save a world I hate?”

  “I don’t know. I hate this world, too.”

  “Sucks you sold your soul for hope, then.”

  “I hate the world, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have hope.”

  Theo tried to offer a pensive hum, but a cough ended up coming out. He raised his working arm, brought his hand up to his mouth, and looked at it.

  Blood.

  Thump.

  He brought his hand down and saw a book on his stomach. The same one that Moriya had been reading from.

  “I can’t be around all the time. Start studying.”

  When he glanced back at the professor, he was already gone.

  Relieved to be left alone, yet also concerned about how he was going to drag himself to the infirmary, Theo wiped his bloody hand off on his shirt, propped the book up on his chest, and flipped the book open to the first page.

  Tactician’s Tome — Year 1.

  In the bottom corner was a hastily scribbled name. Almost illegible, like most of her notes always were.

  Ty.