"Forget... I just want to Forget... the pain of losing you. Of being unable to protect."

*Boukyaku*

Ever since I returned from Lei's trial, I had been looking up at the colorful fox mosaic glass ceiling over my dorm room. I couldn't get it out of my head, that Lucette was no more, that she'd been devoured by the filthy darkness. With my remaining teammates returning home in preparation for the Mahoulympics I was all alone, both figuratively and literally.

I was about to close my eyes when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. "Who could that be? Eien and everyone else should be getting ready for the games." I stood up and peaked outside my door, no one was there. I peered down the hallway, no one was there either.

Am I imagining things? I should really get some rest, I'm starting to hear none existent things.

I jumped back upon turning around. Sitting on my bed was a woman in a white cloak with golden embroidery. "Who are you?" I asked, forming a blue fireball in each hand.

The woman summoned a silver wand made out of wood. "I'm the light that will light the darkness, I'm Ashynna Babette."

"How did you get here? Magic?"

"You could say I did," she said in a soothing tone. She removed her hood, causing blond hair to fall over the white fox mask she had on. "Now Boukyaku. Can I ask you something?"

"I'll like to know how you know my name but sure, what would you like to know?" I summoned a small knife and hide it behind my back.

She laughed in a familiar way. "Of course I know your name, prince. Hmmm, I sense you hate the darkness as much as I. Tell me, why do you hate it?"

I gripped a red necklace. It was an angel tool, a weapon from Zionia. Lucette had helped me pick it out. "It stole my most precious person."

"Do you desire power?" she said. "If so what for? For revenge?"

"To protect those I hold dear. I want to make sure they don't get captured by the darkness. I also want to defeat that mysterious man who claimed he was just like me."

"That man...who was he, did you ever find out?"

"No, he allowed the darkness to swallow him as well. He may be dead as could my loved one."

"No. You got to believe in this person. You got to believe that she or he can be saved. I can help you do so." She got off my bed, and pointed a white and golden wand at me. It looked just like Kun's wand. Her cloak was also like his... there had to have been a connection.

I took a step back and summoned my wand behind my back along with the knife in case she attacked. "Why would you want to help me?"

"You were very close to...someone, to your friend. I appreciate that kind of attitude. I also detest the darkness for stealing my own friends. A few days ago I woke up in the fields in which your friend vanished. I couldn't remember much, but I did remember that feeling of hatred.

A group of seven dressed up similar to how I am now appeared to me. They told me that they had saved me from the same fate in the darkness but couldn't save my friends. Together the eight of us are only eight-thirteenths of a group of thirteen bearers of light. We came here in search of the other five. While you may not be one of the five we are searching for you are an interesting character."

"So you are only after me because I'm 'interesting'? You want me to be some kind of jester for you and your unknown group of misfits? Is that it?" I asked, elevating my tone.

"Not at all. I was referring to your willpower, your emotions, and your wisdom. All those things allowed you to survive being absorbed into the Abyss like your friend was. During that battle you were stabbed by a being of darkness weren't you? Somehow you managed to survive that through will alone it was-"

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I don't know, I just do. I'm guessing I'm correct, right?"

"You are," I said. I placed my free hand over my heart. "I was stabbed here, yet I didn't die. My friends also survived. None of us became like Lei who had a similar experience. Though his experience differed from ours."

"Lei?" she asked.

I couldn't help but smile. For once there was something this enigmatic girl didn't know about. "He's a first-year here. He was bitten repeatedly according to prince Wanikiya's account of the events. He was even devoured by the darkness, yet he survived all that. Nonetheless he ended up becoming a 'Demon of the Abyss'. I don't know why we had such different outcomes, it may have had something to do with the submerging in pure darkness."

"See you are meant to be with us after all," she said, putting her hood back up. She extended a black gloved hand out to me. "Join us as our fourteenth light. Together we can change this world if not the whole multiverse, let's destroy the remaining darkness in existence."

Surprisingly my body moved on its own, my hand shook hers. Her hand felt as familiar as her laugh. Who was this woman? "I'll join you," I said, unexpectedly smiling.

She embraced me so fast that we fell into my bed. I even ended up dropping my knife and wand onto the floor. My head felt hot.

"Hey big brother are you feeling better?" Eien said. He walked into the room uninvited. A large smile covered his face. "Ah, I see. I'm so sorry for interrupting you. Though to be honest I never thought of you as the guy to sneak a girl into the boy's dorm, especially a stranger. Or at least someone who looks like a stranger. Who are you?"

Ashyna got off me. "Get those ideas out of your head, you perverted child! I came here to recruit your brother into our group."

"Well that sure is some way of recruitment," my little brother said, winking. "I think a simple kiss would do."

She punched Eien, sending him into the wall. "Don't take me as an easy girl! I will never use such methods in all my lifetimes."

"Damn you're strong," Eien said with a grin.

She noticed that brother had blocked her fist with his arms. "Impressive. You managed to block my attack. However you don't seem at all like a being of the light, rather you appear to be closer to the darkness. For the light I need more than just skill."

"Brother you've got yourself a loony girlfriend," he said. "I think going back with Mayu now that Lucette is gone is better!"

That remark made me want to punch him into the wall as well.

Ashyna grabbed his hands and lifted them into the air. "I am not loony. Also why is it that you smell similar to the Abyss?"

Eien sniffed himself. "I smell as fresh as always."

"You've been around that boy your brother mentioned, Lei haven't you?"

"Ah yes, we departed yesterday from the Hou estate. He's heading back to Wahkan. That guy is no fun, well compared to you guys that is. Also, that cloak you're wearing, it's the same as that guy's brother. Not to mention the mask. Do you know him, Kun?"

"Kun?" she asked, touching her head. "To be honest, I am not entirely familiar with the names of the others yet. I do think one of them was called Nuk, but no Kun."

Eien rolled his eyes. "That idiot is still using that stupid alias? Nuk is Kun!"

"I see. So the brother of one of the lights has been taken over by the darkness... I can't imagine how he must feel," she said, putting a hand against her chin.

I grabbed my brother's arm. "Come on Eien, enough talking. The choosing of the nine for the tournament must be about to begin if you're here. Father wants us to go see how it goes."

"May I go?" Ashyna said.

"You want to join?" Eien said. "Are you even from this country?"

"Yes, that's one thing I do recall from my past," she said, touching the top of her mask.

"Fine, you seem strong enough," I said. "So you can join, or would you like to still take the test?"

"It'll be best to take it. After all it would be unfair if I didn't."

I smiled. "Maybe I should take it too."

"I'll take the challenge too," Eien said, punching the air. "I won't be like those stupid nobles who made it to this academy using their money and influence."

"So how long will it go on?" Ashyna asked.

"Until nine participants have been chosen, if there are any others participating that is," he said.

The three of us walked to the gymnasium. The whole place had been turned into a spectator sports arena with a giant invisible barrier protecting the spectators, the vast majority were parents of students from other schools.

Father stepped up to the middle of the arena to congratulate a middle school girl for her victory in the thirteen year old section. "Illiah wins the first opening for the tournament," he said as he stood on an a balcony overlooking the battlefield. "Next we'll skip ahead to the oldest entrants, this will be their last year to participate in the tournament so best luck to you all."

Seven twenty-one year olds stepped up to the arena. One of them I recognized as Same, the winner of the nineteen year old spot last tournament during my first Mahoulympics two years ago. He was a white haired man with greenish blue shark like eyes. He had on a pair of blue glasses, which he wore at all times to his bad vision, an aspect those who are part of the Shark clan all share at birth. Youko herself wore contacts.

Same smiled at his competition. "Dente Marinis!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. A blue aura covered Same's arms and legs. He opened his mouth again, this time revealing his shark like teeth.

The other challengers turned their attention away from one another and directed it towards him. He came at them with two fang shaped blades formed by concentrating the blue aura around his hands.

A lightning user attacked him from behind with a sphere of plasma but Same simply ducked. The shark man grinned as he jumped into the air. He lowered his gaze at his opponents. "Cypleus Aqua!." he yelled, stunning them. He covered himself with a shield of water. The energy sphere struck the shield but the water redirected the electric flow toward another one of his opponents.

The lightning mage and the other remaining four attacked his shield all at once.

"Carcharodon Carcharias." A Grand white shark emerged from the water barrier and devoured the multiple attacks, including the electric spells. "Now to finish this little game!" He closed his eyes and spun around in a circle forming a whirlpool with his blue aura.

Once the water cleared father retook the microphone. "The winner is Same!" Father announced.

"He's as impressive as always," I said, leaning back against his seat.

Same turned to look over at us and smiled. "Prince Boukayou, you sure have grown. And you must be little Eien."

"Who are you calling little," my brother said, glaring at him.

"Hey, Same," I said, waving.

"Where are the kids you usually hanged out with?" he asked.

Boukyaku's face turned pale. "They... Mayu and the others did something they shouldn't. They've returned to juvenile detention after the abyssmal attack. While two of my newer friends returned to their home countries. As for Luce-Lucette... she vanished during the attack."

"I see," he said, frowning. "It must be tough to lose those you were close to."

"Yeah," I said, gripping my knees. The memories of Mayu's plot and Lucette's disappearance replayed in my head like a bad dream.

"Daddy!" a little kid's yelled, snapping me out of my memories. Running toward Same was a white haired boy who looked no older than five.

"Shiro!" a woman with white hair yelled, running after him. She caught her breath as soon as she caught up. "Sorry, I tried to stop him."

"It's fine," he said, lifting up his kid.

"You have a son?" I asked, shocked.

Same chuckled as he walked over to us. "Yup, his name is Shiro." He waved his kid's hand. "Shiro say hi to our future King."

Shiro giggled and slapped my face playfully. I calmly removed his hand from my face, and laughed. "That's some way to greet the future king."

The father laughed nervously. "Sorry about that, he loves to slap strangers' faces."

"Wait, you're twenty one right? And this kid must be either four or five," Eien said. He glanced over at Shiro's mother. "Well she is beautiful. However, you should've waited, you were too young. Boukyaku, girl in the cloak see what happens when you don't wait for these things? You get a kid!"

"Why are you talking to us like that?" Ashynna said, midly annoyed.

"Shut it, you're going to create rumors," I said, blushing.

"Shiro is a planned baby," Same said, tickling his son. "We ended up marrying young and decided to have our first kid early."

"Why?" Eien said.

"We like kids," Same's wife said, taking out a bottle with juice. "Sure we were young but we were ready."

"I guess it's true what they say about adults and kids, everyone has their own time to be ready," I said, chuckling. "Some come late, while others come early, then there are those who aren't good parents at any age."

"Shiro will enter the tournament one day," Same said, waving the little kid's hand. "Right kiddo? You better keep up papa's legacy!"

"Yup," he said, grabbing his bottle from his mother.

"You're babying the kid too much," Eien said, snickering. "Let him stand up on his own, he'll never be strong like that."

Same glanced down at his kid. "Shiro, do you want to walk on your own?"

He nodded. Same put the boy down. Shiro instantly bolted, running back and forth rapidly that to some he might have appeared as a blue blur.

"That's some kid," Eien said, chuckling. "I'm looking forward to seeing him in these games. He can help us win gold in the running piece of the race."

"Shiro stop running," Same's wife said, touching her forehead. "You're making me dizzy."

Same snickered. "Want me to get him?"

"No, I'll do it," Shiro's mother said, smiling at him. "Yout sit down and rest."

"Alright."

I glanced over at the lively child. I needed to fight the darkness, not only for the sake of my revenge, but also for their sake. For the sake of the future generations, I needed to be strong. My sadness still lingered... no even to this very day, it still does. Yet despite that sadness, I knew since then that I need to persevered, for their sake, as well as mine.

**Solar Note: What do you think of how Boukyaku is dealing with the loss of Lucette? What about the mysterious girl, Ashynna? What do you think she, Kun, and the others are up to?**