บท 8: Chapter 8: Samantha.

Arthur cautiously entered the room to avoid disturbing the orphanage staff. As always, he placed a doughnut on each bedside table before retiring for the night. As he lay down, Arthur glanced out the window, contemplating the few visible stars and pondering the day ahead until he drifted off to sleep.¹

Samantha:

Arthur woke up to the sun on his face and the humming of birds that filled the room, then, still a little drowsy, he looked at the clock that stood right above Lucy's bed. When Arthur saw that it was already eleven in the morning, he got up so abruptly that he fell out of bed. After getting up and massaging his left shoulder, he ignored the small mess he had caused by falling and simply put on a plain black shirt and a pair of sweatpants. After passing the bathroom, he ran downstairs.

As Arthur ran down the stairs, he bumped into Rodrigo coming from the kitchen. - Good morning, Arthur. Lucy's still having her coffee, so there's no need to run; they're not going to clear the table yet... - said Rodrigo while smiling.

- Rodrigo, get out of the way! - Arthur shouted.

Rodrigo was taken aback by the sudden shout and leaned against the wall to allow Arthur to pass. Seizing the opportunity, Arthur dashed downstairs, heading towards the living room. - What's the rush? I know they'll probably hassle him about being late, but he can still grab breakfast... - Rodrigo gazed in a daze at the direction Arthur was running in for a few seconds. Although Rodrigo didn't comprehend the reason for Arthur's urgency, Arthur pulled a doughnut out of a small package and started eating it as he hurried along. - Darn! Of all days, I had to oversleep today. - Arthur thought to himself, with a doughnut hanging out of his mouth as he continued to run.

After running for a few minutes Arthur, who was out of breath, arrived in front of the school. He wanted to go in straight away, but after running for more than 10 minutes Arthur was exhausted and was forced to stop for a few moments and catch his breath. After catching his breath, Arthur looked around to make sure there was no one around him and entered the hole in the wall. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he headed for the window of the same classroom as the day before, his eyes shining with anticipation as he thought about the conversation he had overheard yesterday and he couldn't wait to get there; yours eyes intensity as if he were looking at a priceless treasure, but when he was just a few steps away from his position the day before, all the excitement in his eyes disappeared and was replaced by an expression of confusion. Arthur, who had just approached, felt a strong sense of discomfort, it seemed as if he was being pressed in all directions and this made him frightened, and like anyone who finds themselves in an incomprehensible situation he thought about backing away, but the moment he thought about backing away he discovered that it was impossible, after all, at the moment he was completely immobilized and even his breathing began to get heavy as if he had just pushed his body to the limit and when Arthur realized this he was completely terrified; at that moment all his worries about keeping the entrance to the school a secret were gone, and he simply started shouting, at least that was his intention, but as soon as he tried to open his mouth he realized that he couldn't even do that. 'What the hell is this? I can't even scream, what is this? How do I get out of here? Without him realizing it, the grass around him began to burn, and at the same time blood began to flow from his eyes, nose, and mouth. Blood flowed from Arthur's eyes as if they were tears, and his brown eyes gradually turned into crimson eyes; during this color change the veins in his sclerae began to appear and at this point when his pain became so great that he could no longer describe what he felt throughout his body he finally seemed to be able to move again. However, as soon as he was able to move, the pain that had already been unbearable grew unbearably worse again; feeling a pain that made the boy instantly wish for death, Arthur ended up falling to the ground and began to squirm, and after a few moments his voice finally sounded and he began to scream desperately, his screams didn't form words, the desperate sounds that the boy was emitting from his mouth didn't even resemble those of a human, his wails were more like a wounded animal than a human. However, despite all this pain and how his body was reacting to it, Arthur's mind was strangely clear, and unfortunately for the little boy, this clarity meant that his pain became even more pronounced, his screams gradually rising to a point where they reached the maximum his body was capable of, causing him to even injure his vocal cords in the process. After a few minutes it was possible to see Arthur, who was now passed out, surrounded by children and two man's men who looked at him in bewilderment.

-Teacher, that much blood...That...What's happening to him? - Asked one of the students, who appeared to be 10 years old, her eyes had a strange color. The irises of his eyes were a very light silver color, only his pupils were a slightly darker gray. Her hair was also blonde, and her skin was fair.

Not only did she have a strange look on her face, as if she was scared, but she was also worried about the boy in the pool of blood. Almost all the students had similar expressions. There were those who were surprised and curious too. But the most distinctive expression in the crowd was that of the teachers and the two students with surnames, their expressions pure disbelief.

After staring at the bloodied boy on the floor for a few seconds, William finally pulled himself together - Clara took everyone into the living room. Jonathan will call a doctor, please. - After hesitating for a few seconds, William looked at Rebeca. - Rebeca, could you please help with his temperature? Clara has the ice element, but as she doesn't have a contract, I don't think she can help yet.

Rebeca looked at the boy, who was in a pool of his own blood with flames surrounding him, as well as his hair, which was becoming increasingly reddish, this bizarre image was stamped on his eyes, which had changed from brown to a light blue. Rebeca continued to stare at the boy for a few seconds until she nodded to her teacher and replied.

-I'll ask my teacher, if he doesn't help me, it'll be impossible, after all, I haven't learned anything about being a mage yet... If he's willing, I think I can help. - Rebeca said without taking her eyes off the boy. - Tirésias, is there any way you can help him? - After thinking about this question, Rebecca remained silent as she stared at the fainting boy. Half a minute passed in this way, and Rebeca was beginning to get a little impatient, since with every second that passed the temperature around the boy increased, affecting even them who were a few steps away from him, when she decided to ask again, she ended up getting her answer. - Rebeca, this boy insulted the gods just like you, but... He chose someone temperamental... That man is trying to kill him by attacking him when his soul touched his physical body. This causes the body to experience a great deal of rejection. - said Tirésias.

-Is he going to die then? - Rebeca asked mentally, as she looked pityingly at the boy.

- I don't know, the gods can hurt someone like that and pay a big price, but that's the most they can do, currently no one can touch him, he's in his teacher's test. So, his teacher will protect him, and looking at his changes he ends up meeting a wizard... Although I can't recognize which wizard has decided to teach him, but... regardless of the outcome, this boy is going to learn sorcery, and that alone will make him a great ally, so I'd better try to win his trust Rebeca. Hmm... Well, we can't help with the fusion, but I can help your body endure it. - Tirésias said.

- ...Right, what should I do? - Rebeca asked.

- Just make your spiritual energy flow the way I'm going to instruct you. That way you'll be able to control the humidity around him to affect his body directly, as this water will be surrounded by the energy of his soul and should help his body withstand the test. But be warned that no one can touch him, this sorcerer, whoever he is, is strong. If he's bad-tempered, the person who touches his heir could die on the spot. - Tirésias said with a serious look on his face.

-Right. - After answering Tirésias mentally, Rebeca turned to William and spoke. - I'll start, my teacher told me that no one can touch him. In the moment he's making a contract like me, but your teacher can be moodier than mine... I think we'd better avoid accidents... - Rebeca said, looking directly into William's eyes.

- Okay, I'll ask the doctor to wait for the fire to subside and for the boy to stop twitching. But can you truly help him? If he continues like this, he'll die... - Wiliam said with a concerned expression as he gazed at the young boy with spasms and flames surrounding him.

- My teacher taught me a way; I'm going to start now. - Rebeca said.

- Right. - William nodded and walked away.

- Let's get started, Rebecca. You're going to use recovery magic focused on the water element now. First, you should keep in mind that magic is nothing more than using your soul energy to manipulate the laws that govern this world. It's easiest to use the laws that your soul most identifies with, which is why everyone can at least assign element as a means of raw attack, but if you learn to control your soul, you'll be able to use other elements too if you're in the right environment for this. Now we're going to use water, which coincidentally is the central element of your soul, so even though it's a bit difficult to use the first time, it should be fine, are you ready? - Tirésias asked.

-"Yes!" Rebecca nodded firmly.

-Right. First, close your eyes and concentrate on the energy that is constantly trying to improve its fusion with your body. Once you feel it, direct it towards your eyes and observe the world that will open for you. That's the first step. After that stretch out your hand and pull the laws towards you, I'll explain the next steps later.

- ...OK. - Rebeca was confused by her teacher's explanation, but she still closed her eyes and tried to do exactly as instructed. After a few moments, Rebeca's eyes opened and glowed an extremely bright royal blue as she stared at the space in front of her. In this space lines began to form, and with her eyes she could see that everything was made up of tiny lines. Before Rebecca even touched one of these lines, she heard Tirésias again. - Ignore the lines, focus on the small dots around you, attract some of them with blue and let's begin.