A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

The Festival was one of the most anticipated events of the year. Even some first year students had high expectations from all the hype that builds up the entire month of October for it. Every student and professor woke up that bright morning knowing damn well it will be a night to remember. The same as the previous festivals from years and years leading back to its original history.

However, the theme of this year's festival was in remembrance of an ancient magic user no one truly cared too much about. The importance of him lied within his identity, which he hid away for a long time. He always wore different masks and took the forms of others to eliminate his presence in society. Therefore, during the festival, participation greatly encouraged students and teachers to wear some sort of disguise on their faces.

The theme rolled in perfectly with Faibel's plan. Even he was not expecting for things to align so perfectly for the answers they were searching for. This raised his previous 28% success rate to another calculation equaling 71%.

All four of them were waiting until the start of the festival patiently. Classes were cancelled for the entire day due to reorganization of the school. The festival didn't begin until 10pm, and it was only 1 in the afternoon.

Cartuja, Paris, and Leo had no idea there was anything going on behind their backs. Paris had her suspicion but since she believed no one else had them, she ignored any negative thoughts about Calvin or anything of that matter.

Cartuja knocked on Atlas's door, hoping to go get something to eat due to his constant hunger that didn't seem to affect his body fat levels in the slightest. His fast movement came at the same price as anyone else. To use such energy required to consume the same amount. The food plaza was like heaven to him, and he would use it as much as he could for his own delightful p.l.e.a.s.u.r.es.

Atlas was doing some careless studying in his room at the time. However, he was having trouble focusing with so many questions and no answers scavenging his brain. He found himself countlessly reading over the same sentence only to doze off and forget it once again.

Luckily enough, the knocking on his door from Cartuja finally broke the barrier between him and his thoughts. Atlas could hear Cartujas muffled voice from the hall screaming, "Yo! Atlas bud! I know you're in there!"

It almost sounded like a serial killer about to barge in with no restraint. Cartujas pounding became so rapidly quick, it almost sounded like an earthquake climaxing at the front of his door. Before Atlas ran over to open the door, as his hand touched the knob to twist, a quick vibration from the pounding shot through his entire body.

The door nearly flew open from the shear force Cartuja was putting on it. However, his fist quickly turned into a friendly wave, followed by a careless greeting, "Aye! Knew you were sitting in a corner doing nothing."

"What?! I wasn-"

Cartuja interrupted him before Atlas could defend himself, "You tryna go eat my guy.?"

"Didn't you knock on my door like an hour ago asking the same thing?"

"Yeah I had some business to take care of during that time and got a lil' hungry again."

Atlas sighed, knowing quite well his stomach started getting grumbly too, "Alright, Let's go."

Atlas knew Cartuja was just going to demolish his portion of food in seconds so he suggested to grab Faibel or Leo along with them.

Cartuja didn't mind, already heading towards Faibels dorm room. Faibel, obviously did not want to come along and Leo wasn't in his room either.

After a few attempts of trying to find another they decided to go by themselves. Locating one of the faceless elevator men, and proceeding with words that signaled their teleportation.

Scavenging the Food Plaza, Atlas and Cartuja noticed Leo sitting at a table with Paris and the girl from Calvin's class. Atlas knew her name, but not much about her.

Cartuja and Atlas looked at each other with a quick smirk, praising Leo, not wanting to interrupt any business they might be talking about. However, Leo noticed them in the distance, calling out their names and signaling for them to come over.

Without hesitation they hustled over to the table, greeted by Leo, Paris and Katie. Katie introduced herself to Cartuja, telling him she was in Calvin's class with Atlas and Leo. Cartuja replied, "Sup, Name's Cartuja. In a guild with these kids."

She laughed, "I'm afraid I am already aware. Leo and Paris has told me alot about you guys."

Atlas was confused, he never noticed Leo and Katie talking in class before, but then again, no one really talked anyway.

"Oh wow! It seems you've gotten quite close."

Katie explained how they met once while both doing a mission solo and how they decided to help each other out. Ever since then, they've become quite good friends and introduced each other to friends of their own.

Atlas got a little excited when she mentioned she was on a solo mission, "So you're in a Guild too?! That's awesome."

"Yeah. It's made with a bunch of girls from our dorm hall so It's nice to have a couple friends outside those you spend days with, you know?"

Leo got a little embarrassed, looking away with a troubled face.

Atlas agreed with Katie, but just happy to have friends that support each other regardless. During this time, Cartuja already managed to get a whole plate of food, scarf it down his throat, and say goodbye while proceeding to hit on some girls in one of the lines.

"That's surprisingly exactly how you described him," Katie laughed as she looked back at Leo.

Leo chuckled too, "Yeah we got some interesting characters in our Guild. But we get along great and we're all happy to be together."

They smiled, basically signaling to Atlas that he should head out to not interrupt their friendly conversation. He said his goodbyes, with the same response from Katie, Leo and Paris.

As Atlas left, Leo turned back to Katie, noticing her face becoming filled with fear and worry as she stared at Atlas walking away.

"Is… Something wrong?"

Her expression quickly changed back to normal as she realized she was being rude and a little misunderstanding.

"Leo. Tell me something. How long have you known Atlas.?"

"Oh, Well.. We met at the entrance exams and then somehow managed to meet again back up at school. Funny story is I actually managed to steal his only point during one of the stages and yet he still managed to come out in the top 3. He's awesome! Why do you ask?"

"That sounds great and all. But I can't help but feel a weird essence around him. Apart from my regular magic, me and my family line can detect certain essences in people," she paused, as if about to say something truly disturbing, "Atlas has a very evil essence around him."

"Evil essence? Come on that sounds ridiculous. The kid only realized he even had magic as he entered the school. And I've been around him a lot, I think I would have noticed something by now."

"I hope you're right. I just want you to be careful."

"Trust me it's fine. Besides, what does an evil essence even mean?"

Katie surprisingly didn't know how to answer his question, only stuck thinking in response.

Paris didn't say anything, but she mentally agreed with Katie's predictions. Only the few times the world turned to black and white for her when gripped with her sword, she could sense Atlas on a different level. Almost as if he wasn't even a human, just death and despair itself.

Leo tried to change the subject as he realized it was getting tough for her to think, and they continued to chat around the table about the upcoming festival tonight.

Calvin was planted in his office all day, staring mindlessly at the piece of paper until finally 10pm rolled around. Laena knocked on his door, distracting him from mindlessly looking at the dirty old paper.

"Yes! Come in!"

As the door knob turned, he folded the paper for the contents of the inside to not be revealed. The wooden door swung open, followed by Laena stepping inside and closing it behind her. She smiled as a ways to say hello, with a smile back in return from her professor.

"What can I help you with Laena? You know the festival is going to start soon."

"Uh… Professor. It's 10pm right now if I'm not mistaken."

Calvin looked puzzled, as if he hadn't checked the time in hours. He quickly pulled out a tiny circular watch from a small pocket in his jacket, startled by how accurate Laena was.

"Goodness me! How right you are. Seems like I was just too carried away today," He gave a small laugh to distract Laena about his true reasons for losing track of time.

Laena could see right through him, but kept her mouth shut for the sake of the plan she intended to follow.

"Professor? I was actually wondering if you could show me around the festival for a bit."

Calvin noticed she pulled out a black mask to cover the top of her face. A perfect match for the outfit she was currently wearing. A small black dress, rippled with white fabric to elevate all her fabulous features. The dress stopped just above her knees, with only a pair of dark boots that rose just a foot short the dress itself.

She placed the mask on her delinquent face to reveal her entire outfit, almost stunning Calvin out of pure shock of how amazing she looked.

"Wow I gotta say Laena, I was not expecting you to take part. However, seeing as you have clearly come prepared I seem to have no choice."

Laena smiled in return, hiding her real intentions behind that mask, knowing that the piece of paper he was looking at was still folded on his desk.

"Since I am a professor, I basically have to wear a disguise… So If you would excuse me one moment."

"Oh sure. I would of felt kinda awkward if you didn't have one," Laena gave a cute laugh in response, hoping to see if Calvin places the paper anywhere else. To her luck, he folded it once more before shoving it in one of his drawers, and pulling out the mask of a ram to place on his face.

The hazel blue face of the ram paired with the dark horns embed a little fear onto anyone staring. His usual red jacket, bordered by a strip of ring-sprung black cotton that hung all the way down to his shoes made his outfit almost as perfect as Laena's. Perhaps not as perfect, but much more professional and fearful.

Calvin proceeded to lead the way to the plaza at first, considering most of the festival happens there. This was perfect for Laena, she knew what mask Faibel would be wearing to catch her signal, and where he would be standing.

When they arrived, loads of students were already there, either putting on their masks or coming prepared in advance. Some had their normal school clothes on with terrifying masks, while others had a simple disguise that would cover the borders of their eyes with fascinating clothing to go along. There were hundreds of students from left to right and thousands of different shades of light surrounding the plaza. Artificial plants and other props were placed strategically around most of the tables and the stands to give an elegant atmosphere to all the participants.

The stands that were once filled with all sorts of different food items now carried mysterious objects, ready to be consumed at one's own will. The tables were enchanted with bright colorful fabric that dripped off the sides like cozy bed covers. Even the ground was reinforced into a lovely, dark wood floor to give the sensation of a fancy ballroom.

The night sky glittered through the glass dome above, almost like an abyss of stars and slow moving waves on the ocean floor. It was the most beautiful sight Laena had ever seen, along with other first-years that made their way further and further towards the center of the plaza.

While Calvin was talking about the history of the festival and describing his favorite ones, Laena finally spotted Faibel standing behind a group of kids about the same height as him. He was wearing a mask which resembled a joker's expressions. One side showed a happy smile in white, while the other showed a sad frown in black. A very unique disguise which struck a flashback in Laena about the night she found out who Faibel really is.

She noticed Calvin pointing towards one of the stands and mumbling on about his favorite place to eat. This was a perfect queue for her to quickly signal two fingers to Faibel behind her back and receive a quick nod back from the joker.

Laena turned back towards what Calvin was looking at but found him staring at her through the face of the ram, She couldn't see his face, but knew he was expecting her to talk.