A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

After the recent underground events, most hostile activities seemed to die down. Classes resumed after the cold winter break as usual, everyone properly healed, and rumors vanished as if they never started. Questions were raised about how some students received a massive amount of bandages and healing medication, only to be shrugged off or ignored.

Paris and Atlas ignored most of the talk, and Faibel didn't even get asked. Their wounds healed properly and successfully, allowing them to resume in there day to day activities. Each one visited the architectural department for a full month to help any projects and labor they might require. The Grandmaster assigned them for help at the perfect time. The department was constructing an underground train route, needing any help they can get with completing the task.

For a full month, barely anyone even had time to talk to each other, only having the occasional conversations at a lunch table or asking a few questions on material they needed to study. The last third of the year was the most difficult, filled with many exams and overall material that needed to be learned before the year ended.

As final exams rolled around towards the beginning of May, sleep was everyone's final opponent. The final boss they tried their best to conquer, only to be succ.u.mbed by it's devious sensations in the end.

Everyone ended up passing; Rina and Faibel walked out with an A+ while Atlas and Cartuja barely scrubbed the surface of a passing grade. Atlas was never a dumb kid, but the material that needed to be learned was far beyond his norm, practically learning a new language in his brain. Cratuja on the other hand didn't even study, he just always had a keen sense of the correct answer. In other words, he was a certified professional guesser.

After finals were finished, all students were packing their things and getting ready to go back home for a long summer break. Calvin decided to call one last meeting with everyone before they left, making sure to specify that it was important.

One by one, everyone entered and sat down on the available chairs in his office, leaving Cartuja and Faibel as the only ones left standing.

"I greatly appreciate you all coming here today. It will be a few months till we see each other again, so I wanted us to meet together once more before we say our goodbyes," Calvin initiated the conversation.

"I want you all to be safe. Avoid troubles as much as you can, I won't be there to protect any of you. You all have great responsibilities now, it's just a matter of time until your next endeavours. Next year you guys might even be able to enter the Osiris Tournament if you keep up all your hard work!"

Faibel quickly pronounced his curiosity before Calvin skipped over the subject, "Doesn't that tournament only allow registration to third years? Also, I've heard that participants must have a registered guild hall in the headquarters of their designated school?"

"Well that's why I said it with a maybe, haha." Calvin awkwardly laughed knowing they were at zero points, needing 1,000,000 to be placed in the headquarters. "Anyway, there has been something I haven't been so honest about."

Rina and Paris could feel what he was about to say, sparking a few past encounters with Calvin from before that left unsolved puzzle pieces on the board behind his past and secrets he hasn't shared.

Calvin pulled down his flannel to the bottom of his c.h.e.s.t after undoing the buttons that held his collar together. The dark marks that traveled from his neck led to a black symbol of a ram, morphed into the skin of his left pectoralis muscles.

He let them stare for a few seconds before buttoning up his shirt to hide any more unwanted visuals. "That symbol binds me to my true nature," Calvin said in his serious voice, "It is the symbol for Aries, one of the twelve zodiacs that rome this Earth."

Although Faibel had heard of them, he never truly believed they existed in this world. However, he didn't bother to say anything and let Calvin continue explaining.

"The zodiacs are some of the strongest living beings in our country... I say beings because three of them aren't human, and most of them are not peaceful people either. Most seek nothing but chaos and power, giving them even more reasons to hunt you down. They will avoid those stronger than them, protecting their existence as much as possible."

Calvin waited for a moment to see if anyone had any questions yet. Quite common for a professor to perform such a task, feeling natural to him at this point in his career. With intentions to begin speaking again, Laena jumped in to include her thoughts on the matter, "What does this mean for us?" she gulped, hoping for an answer she knew wasn't coming.

"It means you will all need to watch your back. None of you besides Faibel can sense magic essence to a full extent, meaning you might have no idea if a zodiac is right next to you or miles away. Essence detecting magic is taught at year two. I am hoping most of them won't reach you during the summer, meaning you should be safe. For now."

"Well that was quite a nice way to say goodbye." Paris replied with a slight chuckle from everyone.

"It is information I thought would be appropriate to share regarding your current positions. I want you all to have a great break, practice your magic, and be prepared for year two. I have a slight feeling that it's going to be quite exciting."

Everyone said their final farewells as they headed off towards their rooms to grab belongings and anything else they might of grabbed for the year. The underground train was completely finished from when they started months ago, ready to be used as it connected most large and small towns together with tracks that were already lined in place.

Paris and Leo hopped on their train, as well as Faibel and Cartuja following right behind them. Laena won the entrance exams by herself, meaning she came alone to Princewood. She lived with her neighbors in a small house they occupied. Laena hated the fact that she was being treated so nicely by her neighbors after the deaths of her family. But she also appreciated their kindness with her life, promising to repay them for taking care of her.

Faibel offered Laena a place to stay, but she politely refused. Her response to why involved her unofficial debt she needed to repay to her neighbors for being so kind, she couldn't possibly live with herself without at least saying a proper thank you and goodbye.

Only Rina and Atlas were left now, oddly getting a train that didn't connect their hometown Maverick with Paris and Leo's hometown of Limestone. They found some unoccupied seats made of a soft, cotton padding that lifted up from the wooden frames of the seats. The train wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely not even close to poor standards.

They dropped their luggage before stepping onto the train, only able to carry small belongings onto the official floor. Atlas plopped his backpack on a small shelf above their seats, offering a helping hand to Rina if she needed it, which she jokingly refused.

As they sat down, it didn't take long for the train to start zooming through the glass constructed tube under the depths of the blue sea. They could see all the marine life sparkling through the thick glass that separated their travel along the oceanic environment. Even the rays of the early morning sun pierced all the way to the sandy floor to give a faint light that lightened the darkness around them.

The ride back home would only take a couple hours, bringing them back perfectly for an early morning reunion with family and friends. Both of them were excited to go home, but eager for the next year to start as well.

Atlas didn't turn his head to face Rina, but decided she would be able to hear anyways as he began talking, "To think of everything that happened to us and all the people we've met. What a year at Princewood its been eh?"

Rina chuckled, "It sure has! I can't wait to see everyone again. Even Cartuja gave me some good laughs."

Atlas laughed as he remembered how much of a goon Cartuja was. Before Atlas could say something, he noticed Rina rolling the dragon's heart around her neck in the palm of her hand. The smile she had was clearly fake, even Atlas could see that.

"You're still sad aren't you…" Atlas asked her in a shallow voice.

Rina quickly gripped the heart in her hand, finally letting go of the smile she couldn't hold onto anymore. "It's okay," she lied, "There are just some things that are hard to fully let go."

Atlas made a risky move, but considered it deeply before pursuing his actions. He grabbed her other hand that was closest to him, forcing Rina to look at him with a burst of unexpectedness.

"Than don't." Atlas smiled, feeling Rina's warmth intertwine with his hand, getting a gentle smile in return. A smile that was impossible to fake, that he was sure of.

Neither dared to let go of each other's hand, that is until an egg exploded in Atlas's face. The yellow yolk covered his face from his forehead to the bottom of his chin, leaving shells that scattered in many directions.

Atlas barely managed to open his eyes, but when he did he could see Trey standing up with a group of his friends in the distance, laughing hysterically as they juggled some eggs in mid air.

Although Rina was about to burst out laughing with them, the most miniscule molecule of the egg landed on her left cheek, causing her to lose her self control. She jolted up with her eyes lighting the train like fireworks bursting in rays of blue and purple, prompting Trey and his friends to stop their uncontrolled laughter and gulp their nervousness down their throats.

"Now then. WHICH ONE OF YOU INSECTS THREW THE EGG!" Rina yelled down the train, getting most of the seats in front of her to stand and look at the commotion.

Trey instantly ran over to her with a soft tissue in his shirt pocket and wiped the small spec of yolk off of her before apologizing like a little kid as her ran back to his seat.

Rina calmed down to see Atlas still planted in his seat with a face full of yolk, giving her a cute laugh she couldn't hold back. "Go wash up, you look ridiculous," she continued laughing.

Atlas didn't say a word, he knew if he did his mouth would be swallowed by the remains of the egg. So he went towards the train bathroom, looking at the small mirror that showed his yellow face, even giving him something to laugh about.

The ride back didn't involve any more major events or conversations. Atlas got back to his seat and talked to Rina about both of their plans for the summer. They were both quite excited for the break to be over, already planning to go back to Princewood in August.

As they got off the train, they both said their goodbyes and agreed to meet up the following day near the forest for what Atlas claimed as, "A cool spot to practice." Atlas looked around the train station, trying to see if his mother received the notice he sent her a few days back on his arrival day.

Turning his head left and right anxiously, and no sight of his mother anywhere. He was on the verge of walking home until he felt a sudden grasp from behind and a cry he distinctly remembered.

"Atlas!" His mother yelled as she hugged him tighter than ever before, "I'm so glad your safe sweetie!"

He hugged her back as he realized everyone around him was staring at the scene his mother just made, "Uhh, I'm happy to see you too," he said as he tried to escape from her deathly grip around him.

"Thanks for coming, I couldn't imagine walking home with all this luggage."

"Of course I came! How can I let my dear boy-..." She suddenly stopped as she released him and got an actually good look at her son.

"My my Atlas. Someone's been working out I see." His mother stared at him like a supermodel. Inheriting the magic essence released anabolic receptors through Atlas's entire body when the wall of Mentalism broke. This meant that any training he did afterwards had a drastic effect on his muscle size and overall structure, able to withstand a lot more force exerted on his body in combat. Although he wasn't massive or looked like someone that spent their entire life lifting weights, he still looked slightly more masculine than almost a year ago.

"Mom please, quit embarrassing me," he anxiously chuckled.

"Let's go home sweetie. I can't wait for you to tell me how your year went."

As they walked home, Atlas told her all the crazy things that happened to him throughout the year. The amazing friends he's made and all the people he's met. He even told her about some of the classes and all the extravagant celebrations and events that he had no idea existed.

However, he never told her about what happened underground during that cold winter night. This included him keeping quiet about the laws and his father, Draymond. He's brought him up before to his mother many times, only for her to either ignore him or brush it off without an explanation. He knew there were secrets she wasn't saying, but it didn't bother him, because he had secrets as well.

Atlas even met up with Clouse and Patrick to tell them about all of his wacky adventures. Both of them were proud and happy for him, Clouse being the most shocked that him and Rina were the ones who made it to Princewood in the first place. Atlas decided to leave out the details about him and Rina in the cave and the morning after, knowing Clouse would go into a frenzy if he found out.

Atlas even visited Ms. Henzy in her school office, knowing she still worked there all through the summer for tutoring and other school related affairs.

"Ms. Henzy!" Atlas yelled as he walked into her tiny office located on the 1st floor. It was about the size of a very large closet, only giving room for an L shaped desk that turned towards the glass window, a few corners occupied by filing cabinets, and a space to walk through to reach the door.

Ms. Henzy nearly jolted up from her seat as Atlas's loud voice pierced through her concentration, forcing her to nearly attack the uncalled for intruder.

"Lord you scared the-" she took a moment to adjust her glasses to see a familiar face from a while ago, "Atlas? Atlas! I'm so surprised to see you here. I take it things have gone well with Calvin?"

"Yes! Sorry for yelling, it's just been a while! And you won't believe all the things that happened." Atlas spared her the details, but walked her through his year in just a few minutes of her time.

Atlas didn't know if he should ask, but he was way too curious to not know, "Ms. Henzy, do you know about Calvin's…" he pointed to his c.h.e.s.t where Calvin Aries symbol would be, hoping it was an appropriate question to ask.

Ms. Henzy laughed, "I guess there is no point in hiding it now is there?"

Atlas was quite confused about her remark. That is, until she raised the small sleeve of her dress shirt to reveal the scales symbol for Libra planted on her shoulder, "You can say me and Calvin are quite close."

Atlas couldn't believe it at first, but made a lot of sense the more he thought about it.

"I do hope you keep this between me and you. There are many people that do not know my identity, and I plan to keep it that way." She smiled, prompting Atlas to nod his head in comprehension.

They chatted a while longer until Atlas waved her goodbye, having a tight feeling of their reunion being sooner than expected.

The day went by in a breeze, leaving Atlas staring at his ceiling as he awaited for slumber to take him in. The moon gave off a mild light that filled his room through the warm spring air. Atlas left the window open to hear some familiar sounds he always loved falling asleep to as a kid.

Whether it was the chirping crickets that broke the midnight silence, or the shuffling of wildlife through the bushes outside, they were the noises that set a calm sensation for a deep night of sleep.

Atlas never remembered closing his eyes, but he opened them to see the early morning sun peeking in through his window.

He remembered promising Clouse and Patrick he had some plans today, swearing he would hang out with them tomorrow. Today, him and Rina planned to meet up at a certain spot Atlas couldn't stop talking about on the train ride home. It was the spot where it all started, the large clearing of trees a couple hundred feet into the woods.

He made sure to tell Rina to wear clothing she didn't mind getting dirty, and he could see that she followed his orders as she approached from a nearby street wearing baggy sweatpants and a casual blue t-shirt. However, her hair and skin were as perfect as ever. Even her undisguisable charming curves could be seen straight through her.

Atlas still couldn't believe him and Rina were so close compared to just about a year ago. "Hey! What's up!" Atlas waved as Rina approached him before the entrance to the forest.

"Hey back at ya!" Rina replied cheerfully, "So what's this about? We going mushroom picking or something?"

"A little more interesting than that," Atlas said as he turned towards the forest, "There's something I want to show you."

Atlas proceeded to lead her towards the clearing, seeing it as lively as ever. A few trees were still fallen on the ground, now covered in a deep green moss that forged itself within the fallen trees. The landscape was much more alluring, with so many colors and life giving off a feeling of comfort.

"This is beautiful!" Rina glared at her surroundings, "How did you find this place?"

Atlas looked at her with a devious smirk, "This." He turned his head back towards the clearing, "This is where it all began."