The Secret of ZOI

Clover stood in a fairly large room beside Edward with his attention focused in one direction…right Infront of him.

Because right Infront of him, was a woman. And not just that…He felt heat emanating from Edward which made a sheen of sweat appear on his forehead.

Edwards dominant demeanor was destroyed in the presence of this woman. He inhaled deep breaths and exhaled steadily, keeping his expression in check.

Clover witnessed this only by feeling the heat from Edwards body and hearing his laboured breaths. His eyes were still on the woman Infront of him.

There, behind a desk, sitting on a comfortable chair was a woman with wavy mahogany hair that curved from her shoulders and stopped midway on her back. A portion of her hair was dedicated to the front section of her body as it blocked the view to her shoulders and underarms while resting just below her bosom.

Her height was unfixed as she sat in the chair. But if one were to guess from just her upper body, she would be a few centimeters shorter than a normal doorframe.

Her expression was indifferent as she stared at Clover without blinking, scanning him from head to toe as she leaned forward in the chair.

The atmosphere in the room became thick and Clover could hear the neurons in his brain making the mechanical sound of a flying mosquito.

With moments of silence bringing endless torment and his body being subjected to the deadly stares of the mahogany haired woman, Edward cut the tension in the room with his sharp and direct words.

”This is the boy. ” he said.

The woman placed her elbows on the desk and supported her chin with the back of her forehands. She narrowed her eyes at Clover as if trying to distinguish a lone ant crawling past her feet.

She eased back into the chair, but instead of her expression loosening…it hardened.

Clover didn know how much of this nonverbal language he could take. He felt a burden weigh on his shoulders and fatigue in his lungs.

But that all soon came to an end when the woman before him finally spoke.

”Your name is Clover, right? ” she asked. However, contrary to Clovers expectations of this woman, her voice was pleasant and calm.

With this factor accounted by Clover, he became relieved as he took a moment to respond.

”Yes, my name is indeed Clover. ” he said, his instinct to bow kicked in again.

The womans indifferent expression turned into a mild sinister grin and the temperature in the room decrease.

”It looks like you have yourself a gentleman here, Edward. ” she said regarding Clover.

Edward nodded and stood there silently as the woman looked at Clover.

”My name is Lafriel Ilafec. I am the mother of this dormitory. ” she said, as she interlocked her fingers in her lap. ”We will require that you stay at the academy for at least a month, as do every being that enters through a veil in the Gi Template. Wether you desire to stay here beyond that time will be entirely your decision. ”

Clover understood every word that came out of Lafriels mouth. But he couldn accept one of the conditions. A month in the academy? He needed to find his mother. He has no time to spend here, the only reason he is even here at this moment is because it was the best decision at the time.

Coming to this dome building and actually finding out that it was a dormitory was a waste of time in his mind. Not to mention that he has to find out what happened to Hara.

Wait! Thats right… he thought before Lafriel interrupted him.

”If you decline to stay at the academy, then, we will transport you to a different location far away from here. We cannot allow you to stay here if you aren strong enough to help yourself with magic, this place would be too dangerous for you. ”

Clover gasped through his nose and thought for a bit. Lafriels words tempted him to enroll in the academy, not because of becoming strong with magic, but because of his earlier though before she spoke.

If I came here through one of the veils in the Gi Template, then the same could be said for mom and Hara. he thought. And if they are here, then I need to stay here to find them. If not, then Ill just have to wait a month…or try to leave before then.

As this idea sprouted into his mind, he made his decision.

”Alright. Ill stay. ” he said in a steadfast manner.

Lafriel gave Clover a satisfied smile while Edward widened his eyes at Clovers committed expression.

”Great. But before anything else… ” Lafriel said. ”…Lets test your abilities. ”

Abilities? What does she mean? Clover though. Could she be reffing to magic?

Figuring what Lafriel might be taking about, Clover replied, ”Im sorry, but…I don know how to use magic. ”

”Don worry, Im quite aware of that. Although it is unusual for someone to enter through a veil without a firm understanding of their own power. But since your case is special, Ill make an exception. ”

Lafriel crossed her legs under the desk and straightened her posture. Her expression gave off a tinge of anticipation as she casted her focus on Edward.

”I know that you haven done this in a while, but since he came through the central veil, that makes him your student now. ” she said to Edward. ”I will allow you to ascertain his abilities through combat. ”

”You need not worry about me. I can still handle a pupil. ” Edward replied.

”Very well. I will accompany the both of you to the training ground. ”

”You
e coming with us? ” Edward said with confusion on his face.

”Yes…well. It would be unwise of me to allow someone who doesn know how to use their powers to attend this academy if they can handle themselves. ”

Edward nodded once in understanding as Lafriel stood from her seat and exited the room with Edward and Clover.

They walked along a corridor and down a few flights of stairs which led out of the glass dome building.

Finding their way behind the glass dome building, they set their sights upon a 17 feet tall stone wall stretching around 338 acres of land.

Beyond the gates of the wall stood a multitude of three floor buildings and large grass fields.

A marble walkway carved streets and roads through the varying sections enclosed by the stone walls. A large tower displaying a giant circular clock at the top was at the dead centre of everything. The top of the tower had a conical shape, giving the illusion that the tip of the tower was scraping the clouds.

The marble walkways were busy with students walking and doing varying manners of activities. And occasional sights of horses pulling carriages and wagons filled the missing touch of background ambience as they passed through the marble roads which were kept in pristine conditions.

As Clover walked along the walkways beside Edward, his eyes wandered around. Amazed by the otherworldly feel of this place.

”What is this place? ” he asked.

Edward glanced at him and smiled at his goggling face, ”Haven you figured it out by now? ”

Clover drifted his attention to Edward, ”Figured what? ”

”This is the academy….The Maya Academy to be specific. ”

”An academy? ”

”Yes. All beings that meet certain requirements can attend this academy. But for beings that enter through a veil in the Gi Template, such requirements are unnecessary. ”

Clover pondered over what Edward said. He understood most of what he was saying, but something was troubling him as he became a bit confused.

”I keep hearing you use the term beings. All I see are humans. Are there other races in this realm? Why haven I seen any of them? ”

Edward slowed his pace and considered Clover for a moment. After fully understanding Clovers concern, he replied, ”I guess it really is true that you know nothing about magic. ”

”Are you implying that you didn believe me when I said I didn ? ” Clover pouted.

Edward raised his hands in resignation, ”Thats not it. Actually, the fact that your mind is still perceiving everyone here as humans proves that you haven yet understood the fundamentals of magic. You mind has not been opened to the understandings of magic so it tries to associate everything that you are seeing to be something that is normal to you. ”

”What do you mean? ” Edwards reply made Clover even more confused.

”Let me break it down for you. Soul magic is magic that affects the body. As it seems that whatever knowledge you gained from your session with Scarlett yesterday only managed to manifest your spiritual powers. Spiritual magic doesn have much of an effect on the body so your eyes can only see the results of spiritual magic.

”Once you manifest your soul powers, youll be able to see the true forms of every living thing in this realm. But for now, the only things you can see are magic caused by spirits. ”

Although this explanation was on the lengthy side, Clover was beginning to grasp the concept of magic and its differences.

”So what do you see? ” he asked.

”What do I see…? ”

”Yes. What can you see right now that I can . ”

Edward stared to look around and spotted a carriage being pulled by what seems to be a horse to clover, ”Well for starters. I see a drake. ”

”A drake? Is it one of those creatures that look like a dragon but have four legs and no wings? ”

”Well…yes. How did you know? ” Edward said, in a flabbergasted manner.

”I know because my father once told me a story with them in it. ” Clover said, dejectedly.

Edward looked at Clover, realizing his saddened expression, and thus, he tried to redirect the subject, ”Anyway. You will be able to see the true form of beings once you gain control over your soul magic. ”

Hearing this, Clovers sadness was replaced with excitement as he came upon a circular building without a roof.

He followed Edward and Lafriel inside through a dark hallway while staring curiously at the buildings interior until the dark hall led to a sand field in the middle of the circular building.

It seems to be another arena, although smaller than the one he saw when he first met Edward at the Gi Template.

The roofless building gave way for the suns rays to shine in on the arena.

At the structures that surrounded the sand field were seats for audiences, currently unoccupied.

Lafriel stopped at the sidelines of the sand field and glanced at both Clover and Edward.

”I will stay right here. ” she said.

”Alright. ” Edward replied.

He then beckoned Clover to join him in the middle of the sand field.

”What are we doing here? ” Clover asked.

Edwards face became void of expression as he glanced at Clover.

”This is a test that all students of a guardian must undergo before being accepted in the academy. ” he said as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Clover.

”Test? ” Clover asked, trying to fathom what Edward meant by that word. ”You mean… a fight? ”

”You finally caught on. ” Edward said as he lowered his sword. ”I thought you would have brought a weapon, what a shame. I guess we will be using our bare fists for this.

”Normally this would be a test of your magical abilities but since you don know how to use magic, and you didn bring a weapon, this will be a hand to hand combat. ”

As Clover finally grasped the reason behind all that transpired, he became hesitant to follow through with his current situation. But his chariness was swept away when he remembered why he was even caught up in this situation in the first place.

If I pass this test, then I can stay here to find mom and hara. he thought. Its finally time that I put all the training I received from dad to use.

As he steeled himself for what is to come. Edward jammed his sword into the ground when he saw the readiness in Clovers eyes.

”Don expect me to go easy on you. ” Edward said.

Clover smirked, ”It wouldn be fun if you did. ”

”Okay come at me. ”

”Actually Id much prefer it if you came at me. ”

Taken aback for a moment, Edward took his stance, ”Fine, we will have it your way. ”