6 Chapter 6 - My Typical Everyday Experience

It was the second day of intensive training under Blaike.

In the abandoned building, Raven slouched against a pillar and frowned. He glanced at Blaike who lounged nearby like an otherworldly empress with her eyes shut and legs propped up on another chair. His frown deepened instantly.

'Ahh, this is annoying.'

After the very exciting initial glimpse into the world of mystics, Blaike refused to tell him more. Instead, she gave him an orientation on the regional examination and her plan for him.

His gaze fixated on the old book in his hand. Its spine humongous, stretching out like the backbone of some prehistoric beast. The edges of the book showed signs of wear and tear and Raven wondered just how the book held up to this age. Even some letters in its title had already vanished!

'Just how is this still in one piece?'

Despite all that, a slight smile hung on his face. Raven always liked old things. He particularly harboured a fondness for relics of the past, drawn to their stories and secrets like a moth to flame. To him, this particular book was more precious than its current editions. It definitely had more details that would be deemed unnecessary in the current editions.

As a matter of fact, the previous owner–the annoying "otherworldly empress" left many highlighted lines detailing crucial points about the regional examination. Raven could almost feel the studious nature of young Blaike. Most likely, she had burnt countless candles to fully digest the book.

"I'm awesome right?" Blaike's voice sounded. "You won't believe how hard I toiled away to purchase the book from an old man."

Raven's gaze softened. "It must have been hard."

"Haha, damn right it was. But it was worth it. After all, I was the first seat of the examination."

Raven's mind moved quickly.

He raised his brows and hesitated, "You are not from Charmire, are you?"

Blaike revealed a proud smile. "You are not bad. I—"

She turned to face him. Her mind surged with memories of the past. Scenes played on her mind until it reached a certain moment and froze. 

'Ah, not again.' Blaike's breath was caught in her throat as anxiety flooded her heart. The cold air gripped her body and her mind throbbed with a relentless sequence of torment.

She felt like she had been transported back to that "place". The atmosphere grew heavy with a suffocating stench, and the ground beneath her was littered with lifeless bodies strewn across the ground like discarded trails of trash. The soldiers wore grim expressions as they wiped blood off their faces. Some collapsed to the ground with tears of blood streaming down their faces. Their eyes shakily darting around in despair as they struggled with the brutality of their actions.

What had she done?

She… 

How could she… 

She should have known better… 

She…

'No!' Blaike snapped out of it. Fear flashed in her eyes briefly. She hid it expertly but Raven picked up on the weirdness. However, he simply ignored it and stared curiously.

Clearing her throat, Blaike flicked a stone at him and taunted with a disdainful glare, "Why are you looking at me like that? Now, I know I'm ultra pretty but I don't like fresh grass, especially one that looks so delicate."

A frown immediately appeared on Raven's face. He sighed and looked away.

"You are not from Charmire, are you?" he repeated.

"Yes, yes, Sherlock." Blaike rolled her eyes and snorted, but in the next second, her gaze softened. "I was born in an outer zone— a real shitty one… but I took my regional examination in a lower zone. It was tough, but I made it alive after everything."

Raven nodded, understanding just how perilous Blaike's journey must have been. Being someone who came from the past, he knew something others didn't. The societal structure in the new world made the problems of the old world look like an extreme joke.

'It is said that most denizens of outer zones usually die before they mature, especially the children. Children have a high fatality rate.'

After decades of vying for supremacy, and successfully emerging as the victor of the Red War, the Order's first project was the initiation of zones. Due to the global destruction caused by the Advent, there were barely any nations or united continents to rebuild society. In its place, the Order introduced "zones". 

There were three categories; "green zones", lower zones, and outer zones. Unlike the lower zones that existed in the middle, enjoying crumbles of benefits, the outer zones were known for one thing only—Unregulated. They had no security or defense forces and were prone to hostile attacks. Because of this, it quickly became the hub of criminals. There, many criminals built their networks and hid from the prying eyes of the Order.

Hence, young children had no protection in lower zones and even less in the outer zones. This was why Raven desperately sought to change his status in the new world. It was the exact reason he recklessly challenged Light Dorin even after considering the immense danger. Luckily, he survived that ordeal.

'If that's what I have to go through in the lower zone, I wonder what she did to arrive where she is today.' Raven's gaze fixed on Blaike.

'I-I'm not proud of my actions, but I don't regret killing Light Dorin. I only regret not being quicker.'

It was only now he felt a faint connection with her. Just like him and the old fart, Blaike was a woman of many stories.

As Raven dived deeper into thoughts, a stone struck his forehead, smashing him into the ground. 

He quickly stood up and glared at Blaike with his dirt-filled face.

"Why don't you say something instead of glaring? It's making me blush." Blaike flashed her white teeth with a grin.

Although the intensity of Raven's glare reduced, his gaze still fixed on her as his mind wandered.

Blaike was flabbergasted. All this while, she had tried to rile up the young boy, but it was almost to no avail. He seemed robotic and often overthought things. 

'Signs of forced maturity,' Blaike noted and realized the familiarities Raven had with her and the other serpents.

Her smile dropped and she protested, "You really should learn how to talk more instead of ranting in your head. It's not good for someone your age. Trust me, you need to have conversations. You need friends. I understand the world is your enemy. Heck, fuck this world. But I am not your enemy. I am your big sister, and you can confide in me whenever. I will always be here for you. Okay?"

Raven felt weirded by the passionate tone that wrapped around him. He remembered the indifferent voice of his father and siblings of the past and shivered.

"I said, okay?"

Raven took a deep breath and nodded. "I–I understand."

Perhaps there were still nice people in the world…

"Good. Now, come here and give your big sister a hug."

Raven shivered immediately. He pretended to have never heard that and looked away.

Spreading her arms wide, Blaike squealed, "Come on. You don't wanna hug big sister?"

"I-I'm good."

"Hmm… Alright. I won't force you, but you missed out. I got lines of idiots begging for hugs. Tsk. Tsk."

Raven nodded. That might be true. He looked at Blaike again and wholeheartedly believed her words. While she wasn't the conventional beauty with pristine fairness, Raven dared say she was even better. There was something alluring and dangerous about her and her confidence, which was why Raven had always been on his guard until now.

Furthermore, she was extremely young. This was how Raven had deduced that she wasn't from Charmire. 

Blaike appeared in her early twenties, most likely around the age of twenty-one. Raven had already scoured through the entire list of first seats of the regional examination in the past decades. So, he knew she either didn't take the examination here or she was not from around here. Turns out both were right.

"There you go again!"

"Sorry." Raven fixed his thoughts and concentrated.

"It's okay. Change doesn't come fast. Now, let's talk more about the examination…"

Hours passed and soon evening came.

The two discussed the structure of the examination. 

Blaike revealed that he had two massive objectives to work on in order to maximise his result in the examination. First, he had to aim for overall theoretical knowledge in the three societal sectors; social, political, and economic, as well as minor subjects. Only an absolute score in almost all the subjects would put him on the track for the first seat.

The second hurdle was even more difficult. Raven felt the pressure crash into him when she revealed it to him. The second aim was to top the special class of innate mystics in the examination. This part had a one percent chance of success, even when accounting for any future progress. Raven simply had a lot to do to become a good mystic. Moreover, Charmire was a popular lower zone so the difficulty was almost ten times higher.

"Is it possible?" Raven calmed his deep breathing and asked.

"Possible? Hmmm, maybe…? No, does it matter? Will knowing the truth stop you?" Blaike's eyes bore deep into him and searched for an answer.

Raven replied confidently, "No!"

"Haha, there you go. You have your answer. As a reward, let me show you something."

"Are you…"

Raven thought about something and watched as Blaike began to move. She twirled her hand in the air with deliberate precision, displaying a level of flair that was rare for someone her age. Dark radiance seemed to exude from her very being.

If he wasn't already familiar with Blaike's antics. He would have dashed far away at this point.

'Aura?' He tried making sense of what he felt.

Yes, Aura. 

Raven could have sworn he saw something indiscernible in Blaike's palm, but when he looked again, it turned out to be nothing. The dark radiance surged within Blaike's form. Her presence seemed ethereal, appearing as an immortal being in his eyes. He sensed dark energy swirling around him. He didn't know how, but it whispered to him and carried a great deal of malevolence. Flashes of horrifying scenes assaulted his vision. He witnessed extreme acts of abhorrence—wars, massacres, and unspeakable sins. Agony gripped his mind as he clutched his head in torment.

A chorus of evil voices chanted in an ancient tongue. He couldn't understand, but it made the pain heightened. His muscles contorted, his veins squirmed and his insides felt as though they were melting away.

Raven looked to Blaike for understanding. Suddenly, blood erupted from his eyes as he gazed upon a horrific sight. He immediately tried looking away, but his gaze remained fixed on Blaike… or rather, what lay beyond her.

Two phantom-like entities emerged behind Blaike's immortal guise. They peered into Raven's soul with demonic eyes full of intelligence that slowly unveiled evil smiles as if amused by his existence.

The foremost figure resembled a red-furred behemoth serpent. Despite its demonic appearance, Raven felt like he was looking at another Blaike. Although it shouldn't make sense, the sense of familiarity couldn't be faked. The devil grinned menacingly, revealing rows of bone-like teeth filled dripping with crimson.

As Raven stared further, blood began to seep from every hole in his body.

The second entity was more grotesque than the first. It possessed the form of a colossal fish with a human visage and a nasty everlasting smile. It sneered at him, muttering incromphenesible words. However, he could feel the intent pouring from the devil, unlike the serpent. 

This one… it wanted him.

It hungered for new food!

The devil began transforming into a grotesque figure as it approached Raven, capturing him in its gaze.

Raven was losing it. His mind continuously slipped through time, his sanity frayed as the devil uttered ancient words, each syllable sending him further into madness.

Just before he blacked out, the devil's vile words echoed in his mind. "W-WH-WHAT AR-ARE Y-YOU? A ^%&."

Darkness consumed him instantly.