'The professor is a woman.' He pauses, looking at her fully. "And an effortlessly beautiful one at that," he mutters beneath his breath.
"Isn't she?" Saeris beams with pride. "She is also head of the magic alchemy guild and department." She rambles on, and Lux listens; he has to. All of the information he gained is worth it. "She is one of the most powerful individuals this academy has to offer."
'Which means if she dies. People will notice.'
He bitterly acknowledges.
"This won't make anything easier for me." He remains composed, absorbing every detail he can extract from her appearance. "I hate to admit it, but she's nearly unreadable. Her expressions give nothing away, and what I can see of her exterior is impeccably controlled, flawless, almost."
His eyes trace the length of her arm, starting where her white shirt ends and gliding down to her wrist. Then they travel to her legs, from just below the knees up to where her black, skin-tight skirt clings to her thighs, to her ankles.
"Normally, with most of the humans I've assessed with the intent to kill, there's always something—some flaw in their physical build that drags them down. A weakness I can anchor myself to. Even if it's difficult, I know I can take them down because they have that one vulnerability."
His fist clenches. His heart pounds, not out of fear, but from the effort of containing the adrenaline.
"But with her… there's nothing. Not a single physical weakness in sight. I haven't seen this since...Zereth.'
Brushing her hair off her shoulders, she smiles, a swoon-worthy smile that makes everyone but Lux crumble down their defenses. She is not like Magnolia, who would amplify her looks with clothing that gripped her frame or use her magic. Her charm was just...there, making her hard to look away from.
'If I didn't receive that mission, this old paps would have galloped towards her like a house ready to pounce like a dog, just like the rest. But knowing it might be her causing the suffering of those children for a reason I am not too sure about yet..."
His jaw locks tight.
"Makes me want to lodge a bullet so deep into her skull, they'd have to cut her in half just to retrieve it."
.
.
Her attention snaps to his direction, but she can't make out his face due to the darkness, only Saeris's. The only thing she can sense is the ever-growing hate radiating from him. Shaking her head, she focuses back on the crowd.
.
.
"Finally! We've reached the last." She chants to the anticipated crowd. "The head of the golden family, the Aureates. Fate!"
The crowd cheers loudly.
Clang!...Clang!
The ground rumbles like thunder. The sound of metal meeting cobblestone floors rattles through the air, commanding a silence that a pin drop would be heard. The torches burn brighter, and the shadows coil back as if afraid of their presence.
There's no cloak, his long hair like molten gold interwoven into his scalp. His golden armor sends iridescent lights running up and down the walls. Unlike the dreaded aura Cherry gave off, though his face is trapped behind a golden mask with no hole for the ears or mouth, everyone feels it.
"It's so light," Lux utters, facing the floor with his hands to make sure he's still on the floor. "It's like my entire body is floating. My worries, the hate is becoming nothing."
"Yeah..." Saeris agrees. "A tenth circle mage. However, don't let it fool you." Her voice becomes serious, sweat gliding down her forehead. "That's supremacy. This feeling, the thought that your worries and problems are becoming nothing around him, is because they are. In his presence, you become nothing...your life means nothing, insignificant to his."
His eyes widen, and the facade cracks and then bursts, and a wave of something claims his body, making it hard to breathe. Like he's breathing in cement and not air.
'Why... am I feeling like this.'
"Once you discover that, that lightness, the peace switches to dread, or in some cases pain." She clenches her chest, breathing heavily. "It depends on how many circles you have. For a 1st circle magic mage, I can't imagine the pain you're in."
'I can deal with it.' He huffs. 'I've dealt with worse pains before.' Taking a breath, he grounds himself, steadying his stance. 'It's like he's a walking god. Not a mere human.'
"Finally, as all families are here, we can begin house selections. Step forward, first years!" Ansil commands, and everyone moves around.
The first comes to the front, leaving the second and the third years to fall behind.
"I'll see you after?" Saeris inquires.
"Hopefully." He bows slightly, then makes his way to join the others.
"Family selections are simple!" Her eyes browse over the crowd. "You have already been selected by each of the heads before this ceremony. You were observed during your adjustment period and selected." Her tone grew darker. "However, if you are not accepted into a family, you are to leave this academy effective immediately, because that deems you unworthy."
A shiver trails through his body; the words seem directed at him. 'I need to get it; if not, what the hell am I doing here.'
[The possibility of admission: 50%]
[It lies with you if you get in or don't.]
'Can I even call this reassurance?'
"Let's begin with the family of Velvets."
She says as Vice steps forward, hands outstretched towards the crowd, a larger overhead magic circle forms out of thin air. Like snow, purple particles fall from the sky onto them.
"Your hair is turning purple!" Someone shouts in excitement.
Whipping his head to the side, he catches sight of a few individuals with purple streaks in their hair, just like the color patches the professors wear.
'So that's how they're going to do it.'
"If your hair falls in the same color you were given, you'll receive the crest of your house." Ansil interrupts.
'That answers my questions.'
One by one, each of the professors steps forward, casting their magic circles above them, retrieving their selected students with pride. The ones who are already in a family make small groups around the unselected, watching as more make groups around them.
"He's made it this far." Mumbling ensues as it's only Ansil and fate left.
"It seems like we're still stuck with that mutt." Dragan voices loudly.
'At least he isn't ashamed of saying it out loud.' That may be the only thing Lux likes about him.
Ansil walks forward, casting her magic circle, her particle-like ash raining down above them. The ones who already had black hair received the obsidian crest on the back of their right hand. With his fingers crossed, he looks at his hand and sees nothing.
'Shit. Only one to go.' Glancing over at Dragan, he didn't have a streak of black in his hair or crest either, but his lackey, Tombi, did.
Fate then takes the spotlight; without a word, he raises his arm, and a golden beam shoots out, stopping above them, expanding larger than any other magic circle presented by the other professors, and it rains gold.
It captivates everyone; this time, Lux can't help but admit it's. "Stunning..."
One by one, their hair glows, and golden streaks flush to life in their hair. Dragan is chosen, and so is his other lackey, as are most of them.
Not...Lux.