Lost Appetite

"Ah, yes, your father had warned me that this was the case," Hardwick said, nodding sagely, "Nevertheless, I wished to see it for myself."

Niva couldn't drag her vision away from the doorknob as she tried to twist it again and again, only for the door to stay well and truly shut.

I couldn't help but feel bad for her.

This entire magical academy was built on the basis that the people within it could already access their magic. Niva couldn't, and because of that, she couldn't even open a door.

"I told my father that this was a bad idea," Niva muttered, her voice wobbly with emotion.

"No worries, my child," Hardwick comforted, reaching into the pockets of the robe he was wearing, "We've had this mana pack constructed for exactly this event. If you wear it on your wrist like a bangle you will be able to access your room."

He offered her the device and she took it reluctantly, snapping the small metal band over her wrist before trying to open the door once again.

This time it opened smoothly and easily just like my own had.

For some reason, though, this only seemed to upset Niva even further. It was as if the door opening now was just a confirmation of how powerless she actually was, that she needed help just to enter her room.

I sympathised with her.

I'd always been an independent sort of person, that was why I'd moved out of my parent's place despite the fact I'd only really just become an adult. If I had to rely on the people around me just to open the door to my bedroom? I wouldn't like that either.

"Thank you, Courtmaster Hardwick," Niva said meekly, "I'll just… go and get myself settled."

Without another word, she stepped into her room and shut the door behind her. I was sure that I could already see tears starting to trickle down her cheeks, but that wasn't something that I was going to ever let her know. She seemed far too proud to let something like that stand.

"Most distressing, most distressing indeed," Hardwick said, shaking his head, "Nevertheless Adrian, we must press on. Take some time to get yourself settled, eat if you must, and then report to the main hall. One of our instructors will be waiting for you there."

"Instructors?" I asked.

"Yes, there's no time to waste in the training of your abilities. The last Otherworlder who graced our universe got into a fight that resulted in the creation of a black hole and the destruction of a planet within days of their arrival," Hardwick explained, "We must avoid another situation like that so at the very least we must learn how much power you wield."

A fight that had led to the creation of a black hole and the destruction of a planet?

Those were the kinds of power levels that we were playing around with here?

That seemed… absolutely ridiculous.

The only way a black hole could be formed was when the core of a star collapsed in on itself to one impossible dense point, so dense that it started to consume all the matter around it to the point that not even time could escape it.

And yet a previous Otherworlder had managed such a feat with just their own powers… and destroyed a planet in the process?

[Don't worry, you don't have nearly as much power running through your system… yet,] My system interface remarked.

It was the 'yet' part of the statement that concerned me.

I didn't think that I ever wanted that level of power at my fingertips. Could I trust myself with the power of a god? Could anyone be trusted with that power?

"Yeah… I can understand where the concern is coming from," I said, "You know what, how about we just go and do that whole magic testing thing right now."

"Are you sure? You said before that you were hungry," Hardwick said.

"Somehow my appetite has been a little bit ruined," I shrugged, "The idea that I might have enough power to create something like a black hole… eh, food's the last thing on my mind now."

Hardwick seemed to mull my statement over for a moment, and I briefly expected him to tell me to go and eat something anyway. In the end, though, he saw things my way.

"Very well, very well," Hardwick said, ushering me to follow him, "In that case follow me and I shall take you to Akash."

The alien turned away from the doors and began to rush down the corridor as quick as his short legs would carry him.

"I do warn you, though," Hardwick said as he walked, "Akash isn't one to take fools lightly, Human fools even less so after what your species did to his planet."

Ah yes, Humanity in this universe hadn't always lived on the best of terms with the rest of the species in it. No doubt there were a lot more people than just Niva who had reservations about interacting with humankind even after they had turned over a new leaf.

Just because I was from a different universe, that didn't mean I was exempt from those suspicions.

That being said, I had to know what I was walking into.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "What did humanity do to Akash's planet?"

Hardwick let out a long sigh, "Well, it is not quite my story to tell. Suffice it to say, for a long while, Akash was the last of the Eldrani. That is no longer the case, thank the gods, but he nearly lost everything thanks to the human race."

It was like a sliver of ice had been stabbed into my heart.

Total genocide? That was what the human race had been up to before they had mellowed out and joined the rest of the intergalactic community properly.

I could only hope that Akash was the sort of person who didn't hold a grudge.