It started out as an innocent little revenge plot, but it quickly escalated into something much more. Lewis was trying to take the ‘let Simone handle her own problems’ approach, but the moment that blood had been drawn, Lewis moved to act. He took a step forward but was blocked by a group of guys.

“No going to save your girlfriend,” one of them mocked. He was a rather large boy with dark hair and freckles. He seemed to be the boy of the week that Rachel had on her arm. “What’s a scrawny pri-”

He barely finished before Lewis’ eyes flickered azure blue, and he was tossed to the side like a rag doll. For a phoenix, he was insignificant.

The other two boys made a move, but Lewis moved like the wind, throwing each of them to the ground. He took a step forward, and vanished, using magic to clear the distance between him and the girls. He appeared between Simone and Rachel, fury in his eyes. Shadows seemed to be growing around him as the dark magic he was so accustomed to using took effect.

“You had your chance,” Lewis said as he raised his hand. Rachel grew rigid, unable to move from the high level paralysis that overtook her. He raised his other hand, holding the blade, and pointed it to her neck.

LEWIS!

“You’re not even worth it…” He dropped the blade, and turned around. “Simone, are you okay?” The shadows were gone, and Rachel fell to the floor as the magic dissipated.

Simone’s eyes were azure too and there were a few like Terra who noticed the change in the two. “I’m fine,” she clung to Lewis which was to be expected from someone who was attacked suddenly by other students. He held her close and cradled her.

It was considered a rage-induced act but with this level of magic being used, it was amazing to the dean who was looking on.

“Bravo,” the dean was clapping as the students all backed off of Simone and Lewis. “The control of you both. I could see it. The mana transference.” This was bad. It didn’t look like they caught onto just how it had happened.

“I didn’t have time to cast my spells,” Simone lied effortlessly… It must have happened then.

“There are stories of complete trust being able to do such things… To witness it with my own eyes,” the dean seemed too pleased with himself. The nurses were on the scene to look at the students and Simone was being treated especially well.

“She’s completely healed,” the nurse was in disbelief.

“It’s quite possible that the sudden explosion of mana between them boosted her restoration abilities. This is an amazing find.” The dean was clapping more. “You both are a gold mine of information.”

Simone was nervous about this. “Sir Lewis… If you would join me at the conservatory once you are sure Miss Simone is alright… I would love to have a conversation with you.”

This scares me more than it should…

“Of course,” Lewis replied.

Things are moving fast. We need to be careful.

The two were taken to the infirmary just as a precaution, and when all was settled, they headed to the conservatory. Lewis and Simome both sat down across from the Dean of Magic,

“Now, if I may,” the Dean started. “What you two have done is quite extraordinary. I’ve seen some magic like this before, but only from the most experienced of mages of my time. To have students who can do miracles like this…” He seemed very happy. “The advisor will be so happy to know that his little experiments have borne fruit!”

Lewis was immediately on edge. “Ex…periments?” he asked tentatively, trying to play into it.

“Why of course, Sir Lewis,” he said, getting up and walking over to the door, locking it. “It would seem that at least two of our tests have gone exceptionally well, over the hundreds we’ve done. You see…most of my students showed no change at all. A few bore enhanced powers, but at a small cost…while others were very unfortunate and seem to have lost their mana…”

His eyes were wide as he turned to look at Simone and Lewis. “But you two…are perf-”

“Fuck this,” Lewis said as he was up in a flash. He took a step forward for a magically enhanced attack and… nothing. He stumbled. “W-what?”

“Oh, I’m afraid that won’t do. See, even enhanced, you two are quite subject to all laws of magic…”

Anti-magic?

The Dean clapped his hands. “Now…it’s time to see just what happened….

—

Xeik had traveled to the darkest depths of a hidden library, toiling away at the name he was given to research. Professor Larian of the Angelus Academy…the Dean of Magic. That name was somehow familiar to him. He had read hundreds of books in the past few years on magical research, and he swore up and down that he had heard the name before…

“Wait, what’s this?” It was a report on the failed experiment using manaz enhancing drugs. Angela had forced him to read a few of these after he had made a joke about taking them for a shortcut. He knew better, but Angela was more than ready to slap his wrist if he even joked about it again. Something about this report was pulling him to it…

“Day two. Eight subjects, ages ranging from 6-12 have been gathered. The use of Project Celestial Aether had been greenlit. From this point forward, all subjects will be given equal doses of Aether.” Xeik gulped. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Subject one. Male. Age 8. After three days of Aether exposure, he has shown zero signs of improvement, nor has he shown signs of degrading.

Subject two. Female. Age 11. Three days of Aether exposure has shown a significant increase in her mana flow. Potential candidate.

Subject three. Female. Age 6. Three days of Aether exposure has lead to a serious decline in her health and mental state. Age is a potential factor, and will be noted for future experiments.

Subject four. Male. Age 9. Three days of Aether exposure has lead to serious decline in health and mental state. It is possible that age is not a factor. More tests will need to be run….”

Xeik shook his head. The whole experiment that had been run was inhumane, and could have been considered torture. Still, he pressed on. Something about this experiment seemed familiar to the events happening now. “A week after Aether exposure, and all of the subjects are now experiencing adverse effects. Subject two is barely holding on despite her initial increase in mana flow. For some reason, her reaction is opposite of the others. Her power grows as theirs weaken. Could this be a siphoning effect?”

“Oh no…” Xeik turned the page. He wasn’t sure that he wanted to keep reading. “Project Aether Shift has been approved. We will now proceed to force all eight subjects into…” He paused. “Into one super being.” He continued down the page. “With subject two as the center point, she will inherit all of the other seven’s mana. If our hypothesis is correct, she will…”

Xeik clenched his fists, ruffling the paper. “She’ll have the power to rival a god.”

“The experiment is a success. The other seven subjects have perished, but Subject Two’s mana output is incredible. The power that she holds can be nurtured and grown into something that can surpass the gods themselves, and into the realm of the celestials of legend.” Xeik turned the page.

“Subject two’s power has gone berserk. The mana is consuming her. The Aether we gave her was too much for her to handle, and her body can no longer take it. The Aether was imperfect, and the age was too much of a determining factor. Project Celestial Aether and Project Aether Shift have been deemed as failures, but the data we have gleaned is more than enough to set up a new experiment…”

Xeik shook his head. “So…this is it. The second step. The whole damned academy is a testing ground for this damned Aether bullshit.” He was getting mad. Having seen what the world had to offer, what life itself was able to give to the world…to effortlessly steal that life and future away from children was something that couldn’t be overlooked.

“Angela…” He knew she was listening. “Lewis and Simone are in trouble…”

Angela was listening intently and she left her lap with a rather big bang as she appeared on campus. The explosion that happened behind her rattled the entire building. The students were looking onward. “Miss Angela!” Terra was yelling. “They took them!”

“I’m aware,” Angela was wearing her lab coat and had her hair tied back. “You just could never do it right could you? Trying to one-up me. Trying to take credit for what I’ve done.” She took a few steps further. “XEIK!” She screamed as she forced the Divine Mender by her side. “Protect the students. I’m going to show you magic cancellation at a scale you’ve never seen before.”

She held up her hand and broke down the blocks that held the anti-magic spells. She clenched her hands breaking apart their basic magic ability. “There is no way in hell anyone would be able to attain a power like mine but let me show you what I’ve created. There is no other life in the observatory. Lewis… Simone… Show them what I’ve created.”

The entire building erupted in hellfire. Xeik’s job was to keep the students back and protect the rest of the buildings from the heavy fire. “Raine…”

The phoenix appeared and did her best to combat the fire back. “It’s too strong!”

Angela took her glasses off and tucked them into her pocket. “It’s alright you can come out now. I know you two broke the potion effects.” Emerging from the fire from above was not one but two naked beings with big black wings. They landed and Simone staggered a bit as Lewis caught her.

“This entire place belongs to me now… Xeik…” She looked back at him. “Now that we’ve been found out. I want you to interrogate and capture everyone involved in stealing my research. I’ve already sent letters threatening the other schools in Iria to send us back up or I’m withdrawing my books from their libraries. No one… steals my research…” She loomed over one of the teachers. “Absolutely. Fucking. No. One.” She made the guy piss himself as the hellfire went out.

“And get dressed you two… Your job isn’t done. We STILL need to find those books. If I’m right it wasn’t just three of them. There should be a set of nine of them. What Xeik uncovered is enough to convince me that all nine of them are here on the campus somewhere.” She threw them some of their work clothes and weapons.

“Interview the students. See if any of them have seen anything out of the ordinary,” she instructed Raine. “Lewis… Simone… Also, bring me the student from the infirmary. ANEMONE,” she screamed as a nymph appeared. “Locate the bodies of the missing students. If there’s anything left I might be able to perform basic resurrection. Let’s GO.”

Everyone immediately got to work. It was impossible to argue with the angry Goddess. Anyone who did so was likely to be killed where they stood.

Or worse.

Xeik went to work, using his rather ‘unique’ healing skills to capture and interrogate the rest of the Academy staff. It was almost an even split on who and who wasn’t in on the experiment, and those who were innocent in it all were let go in order to help rally the students. Those who were, though, were handed over to Lewis for a more ‘experienced’ interrogation.

It was there that Lewis learned that, indeed, all nine books were in the forbidden library, a section that was hidden in the main one. It was a powerful spell that hid that part of the library from view, and it took Lewis and Simone together to find and break that spell. The two descended the stone steps into an underground part of the library. The smell of musty tomes hung heavy in the air.

I don’t sense any magical traps. Nothing physical either. I guess they had confidence in that concealing spell, Lewis thought to Simone. Do we really think they’re down here?

“Are Simone and Lewis alright?” Sophia asked as Terra wrapped a blanket around them both since they weren’t allowed inside since the dorms were being searched. Rachel and her group were listening in as the Goddess gave an answer.

“Those two? They will be fine. They might not look like it but nothing can kill them outright. After all, I tethered their souls together and it’s made them almost un-killable. Their love protects them… You can say…” She thought about it. “That Lewis is Simone-sexual and that Simone is Lewis-sexual. They don’t actually have feelings towards anyone else. It actually made Lewis vomit one time because some girl forced a kiss on him.”

“That… explains so much,” Terra shivered. “Like why Lewis threatened to take my balls off over her.”

“No, he’s always been that way since they met,” Angela said with a blank face. “Always. He was a very jealous boy and he’s a very jealous man now. Though he doesn’t kill as much over it now.” Angela was busy making sure all the students were being purified of the toxin they had been given. “So much work for me to do.”

Simone looked at Lewis and tilted her head. It has to be down here… That’s what they told us… There were so many tomes around them that Simone didn’t even know where to begin.

“Well… Ang did say to look for the most obvious books.” She began to look at the titles. “Something that would absolutely fucking stick out…”

… “Botanical for beginners?” She reached for it and it shocked her fingertips from the magic on it. “… Well… Ones that look like morons would read. In a library full of books that literally say The forbidden word on it. I guess now we know what she meant… but there’s nine of them down here?”

While the two intruders were rifling through the forbidden section of the academy's library, a tall dark clothed figure materialized out of thin air. Naturally someone had to keep an eye on these books, and that person was Idris. In fact, he had been here the entire time–merely invisible to the naked eye. The faint scent of clove and anise drifted through the air as a man with silver hair and ebony skin loomed above the two. "I'm afraid this section is off limits, now–please leave~" A pair of thin rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose as he moved his fingers slightly, causing several tomes to float off their shelves in a menacing manner. "If you won't comply, I suppose I'll have to send you out myself." 

This wasn't the most advantageous place for him to start a scuffle to be honest. First off, he couldn't risk setting things on fire. Second, there was no room for his other weapon. I mean he could use it, but not without accidentally causing collateral damage. If he damaged the books or they went missing, he'd get his letter of resignation handed in for him and then he could kiss this job goodbye. Sure it wasn't the most exciting and his boss was a jerk, but how many jobs let you drink at work? Since nobody but him came down here Idris was left to his own devices. Over the course of the year he would sneak in things like food and alcohol with growing frequency once he found he could get away with it. And so, many an afternoon was spent sleeping off a bottle or two of hard cider or spiced ale. Today's lunchtime beverage was a half bottle of absinthe. 

The half elf didn't know how these students got in, but as far as he was concerned all he needed to do was perform his duty (so he could go back to sleep). At once, Lewis and Simone would feel an oppressive force slam into their psyches, with a strong hint of magical coercion. Idris wasn't a violent person. A little psychic suggestion and memory tampering would suffice before dumping them outside through a portal leading somewhere else. Maybe he could plant some of his empty bottles and make it look like they had a drunken bender or something. 

The duo were surprised that anyone had been down in the hidden library. If anything, Lewis was more surprised as the lack of presence the being had. Either that, or Lewis’ subconscious did not mark him as a threat…

The pressure in Lewis’ mind from the psychic attack was annoying, but having dealt with the Resonance for so long, n attack like this was something that held little actual sway over either of them. If anything, the link opened him up to a counterattack from the two. And, with the resonance, it meant that it was two on one.

“Submit,” Lewis demanded as he and Simone threw back the psychic assault. They were done with this damned academy, and nothing was stopping them from going home at this point. If Lewis had to end this man’s life in a flash, then so be it.

The ex-assassin readied his dagger, and readied a killing blow.

Idris thought they were just a pair of rulebreaking students sneaking around the campus, only to learn his assumptions were very off. For starters, that psychic shock should've handled any student, prodigy or not. And second–they were reacting like they were highly trained individuals. His bluff had been called, and now he was sailing through the air without any trace of his previous intimidating aura flailing his arms as a shrill cry escaped his lips. "Wait, this isn't ri-aaAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Bracing himself for the slam against a pile of books, his arms shielded his head and neck to minimize the impact. "Owowowowow, not so hard!!" He whined, rolling on the floor. What was going on here?!! He was just a scholar, a librarian! Since when did the students here get so violent? Idris didn't understand why these two kids were beating him up.

When he was hired here as a staff member he didn't remember signing up for this! Not only was the job monotonous and mind numbing, but the senior staff didn't like him either. His boss was a jerk, and the rest were a bunch of sticks in the mud. Alright, so maybe spiking the punch at a meeting with a voice altering potion wasn't the most professional thing to do. But it wasn't like the staff meetings were great to begin with. Seeing a glint of metal in the male student's hand, Idris dropped all pretenses and held up his hands. "Ok, you got me! Can't we talk about this? What do you want?" At this point he was going to be fired either way for failure so might as well bargain for his life while he still could.