“Alright… and your date of birth?”

  Lyi’s eyes twitched slightly. Roch had dumped her infront of this lady who knows how long ago, in this “Registration Office.” She could swear the sky outside was getting darker, if not from the colour than from the lack of pain. Not that she’d be able to count the Light particles around her, she still couldn’t see them yet. It was rather irritating for her, if she was being honest.

  “Miss?”

  She already missed the feeling she got from fighting another person. This humdrum tedium annoyed her to no end. That Heart Core of hers couldn’t have atleast gave her the patience to deal with this? Besides, what need even was there? It’s just some small scrap of paper she’d get out of it.

  “If you don’t answer, I’ll have to send you to the back of the line again, miss.”

  Lyi groaned. She’d been stuck on this question the last 8 attempts at this stupid registration. Let alone her day of birth, she didn’t even know what day it was now! By her count, she’d seen the night sky atleast 12 times… surely just saying that would be enough…

  “Alright, Hy-”

  “Whatever day it was 12 days ago.”

  “There we go, that wasn’t so hard, was it? So that would be… the 1st of the 3rd Cycle, not that unusual for a race like yours. Sound about right?”

  “I think so?”

  “Alright then, you’re all done. Really now, honey, why’d Roch leave you here all alone? He’s usually so attentive with his students. Here, this is your registration sheet, keep that in a safe place. Also, we’ll have your proper attire and Gempiece delivered to Roch in a few hours. He’ll walk you through them both. Now get gone, honey, I’m sure this place was as weary for you as this was for me.”

  Lyi was out of the building before the woman had even finished her words, registration document in hand. She couldn't help but smirk to herself. She knew what day it was now, and she had this stupid piece of paper! It was a minor victory, but a victory nontheless. Waves of relief washed over her. That building would never have to enter her sight again... if it wasn't so tall and directly in the centre of the city. Well, either way, she didn't need to pay it anymore mind.

  For a city the size of Poenticivt, the silence in the air was rather unusual. She could faintly hear murmuring and the occasional sound of animals, but she knew better than anyone else that if the sound was faint to her it wasn't close-by. It was like no-one was in this part of town, around the fountain spewing water in a kaleidoscope of colour. No-one except her... and that Beze.

  The man was staring at the fountain, almost enamoured in it. Such that he had failed to even notice her, despite her loud footsteps. She let out a short sigh - seeing him be quiet was even more strange than the city's silence. An off feeling rose in her, one of... concern? She shook her head lightly, there was no need to feel that over the man. He was well put together, knew what he was doing... staring directly at her.

  Beze's face was much, much less annoying to look at when he didn't have that stupid grin on his face. Rather, with a straight face, he looked just like any other ordinary Anshoran. He stared for a moment more before turning back to the fountain, faint but barely visible waves of wind surrounding his ears and pulsing in a rhythmic manner. She paid him no mind, turning around to walk away...

  "Lyi, you... you can talk to people first, you know? Not a one-way street."

  She let out a heaving groan. He was right on the money, atleast, she was interested in whatever that fountain did to steal his attention. Either way, it was dealing with him or having Roch talking to her about the piece of paper. This was the slightly better choice.

  "City's quiet. Didn't want to disturb it."

  "Right, you definitely wanted to go to the registry office too. Listen, this isn't the Opera House. I'm just like any other ordinary person, you can say hello."

  Lyi chuckled under her breath. She was closer to ordinary around here than him. Though, she stopped when she saw the man's face sink slightly. Something about his demeanour was just plain wrong. Nothing like the Beze who had demolished her in the Opera House yesterday.

  "You seem off."

  "Blunt. I'm much better up on the stage. I can barely talk to most people off it, besides those who share that spotlight. I'm in my element up there, not down here. Too personal, y'know?"

  "I don't."

  "You... didn't.. need to- nevermind, I forget who I'm talking to. You remind me of our old South Custodian. Not that I knew her very well."

  Lyi tilted her head. Thinking of it, none of the other Custodians ever talked about the late Custodians of the South and West. She figured they had died when Hope lost it, but talking about the event didn't seem a taboo. Maybe she could pry some information from Beze...

  "Could you tell me about her?"

  "Hrm. As I said, I didn't know her very well. You're better off asking Shae, the North Custodian if you were unaware. She likes you, you know? Most folk around here do. Nothing stopping you from wandering up to her tower, though she probably won't be there... there is something I can show you though. Popped up after half the city was wiped out, by the Wing."

  "Oh? Figured you'd hate me after-"

  "Oh nono, don't get me wrong, I was a bit miffed. We're a society inebriated in death though, not many people around here have enough hope in them to care about people like me living or dying. More of a celebration if anything. Come, don't shift the topic, you might actually be able to read whatever's on this thing."

  "Huh. Alright, lead the way."

  Beze's face shifted into one of relief as he turned away from the fountain. Lyi gave it a passing glance before following after the man, though the stairway underground that he descended were hardly a stone's throw away. The barely noticeable stinging from Light particles faded as they descended further, the stairway making a sharp turn around halfway down.

  Torches with flames of many colours lined the entire stairwell, though the most common were in dark blue and a deep gold. There were trace amounts of white flames, even fewer in yellow and icy blue. Lyi didn't give them any thought, but noted that Beze stared longingly whenever they passed by the deep gold flames. Something to ask him about in the future, perhaps.

  After exactly 200 steps downwards, Lyi felt like her entire system was shocked as a torrent of magic particles rushed past her. She stumbled, barely catching herself on the loose stones of the wall. Beze's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected such a strong torrent, but he held fast. He grabbed Lyi's hand and immediately rushed down the stairs, not giving her a chance to say anything.

  With every step, that surge of magic grew stronger and stronger, a thick mist coalescing on the floor beneath them. Lyi could see Beze constantly pressing in a protrusion on a small rock he held in his other hand, nearly dropping it a multitude of times. After a further 75 steps down, they reached flat ground with an imposing door; tens of scratched in words shining bright with kaleidoscopic light decorating it.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  They were not the origin of this surge however, despite their crushing presence. No, something far more vile was emanating this magic thick enough to form mist, something behind that door. Beze took two steps back, sitting on the very last step of the stairs with his head in his hands,

  "Bea's waking up..."

  "Who, better yet, what?"

  "Godsdamned Archbeast, looks like a fruitbat but we still don't know what it is... father's kept it alive for research, but with Gee gone..."

  Lyi took in a sharp breath. This Bea, whatever it was, was woken up by her actions. Beze definitely didn't know that, she could tell even if she wasn't well versed in reading people, but Juni... Roch... the Archbeast felt like it was just shy of Hope's capabilities. Maybe equal, if it was physically stronger than her. By the name "Archbeast" alone she could tell that it was no joke of a monster.

  Thankfully, that dark mist was pushed back by a surge of the purest Force magic Lyi had ever felt. Beze lifted his head from his hands, turning around with the faintest look of worry on his face; though there was more relief on it than anything else. There were no heavy steps coming from the stairs, only the shrill screech of wind as Juni, the Arch-Custodian, flew by so fast that it knocked both Lyi and Beze into the walls. The door that blocked their path was completely shattered by his flight, Beze just barely managing to get up and drag both himself and Lyi into the room beyond before it reformed itself.

  A stream of rainbow water flowed through the centre of the room from the roof slowly, as if it were suspended in the air. The room was massive, circular in shape with enough verticality that Lyi could barely see the bottom from where she was; vines ran along all the walls, making the place seem more like a forest than a stone room. The walls had tens of holes within them, strange stone boxes occupying each and every one from top to almost halfway down. Every box had gems inlaid in the front, most numbering only one though some had up to three.

  She didn't have much time to stare as Beze leapt off the platform into the stream of water, beckoning her to follow after him. Seeing him gently float down in that stream, she didn't hesitate to follow after him. Floating in the stream felt comfortable, strangely so. Though, that didn't last for long as the stream began to shake rhythmically, bursts of magic surging upwards with every movement of the water.

  Looking down, she could just barely see a blinding white light dashing around a gigantic dark figure. Every time they clashed, the stream would flail wildly for a few moments before returning to its natural position. As they floated downwards, the figures became far clearer until they were perfectly visible. Beze grabbed her hand and pushed his other against the stream, causing it to slingshot them out onto the nearest platform.

  Lyi couldn't help but gasp as she saw the Archbeast below. Calling it a fruitbat was a compliment to the horrible monster, its giant tongue whipping around the room in an attempt to hit Juni. The Arch-Custodian easily evaded any attempt it made to hit him with its tongue, claws or fangs; every single dodge coming with two rays of pure Force impacting the Archbeast.

  She couldn't see them for now, but she could tell that those rays of Force must come from a complex array of magic the likes she had seen Beze, Shae and Hope use. Juni was clearly experienced in dealing with Bea, he knew exactly where to hit it to knock it off balance and where to strike with his follow-up rays to deal actual damage. As she watched on in awe, Beze couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle besides her.

  "Can't believe I was worried. The old man's developed a spell, {Soulshriek}, specifically for countering Bea, it's only a matter of time now before he can use it. Cover your ears when it's time, you'll see it coming."

  Lyi looked at him and nodded, the spell obviously being one that would make alot of noise. It made sense, Bea's ears were probably larger than her. She kept a keen eye on Juni, who's face was filled with concentration. A third ray of Force had been added to the intermittent attacks now, every strike on the Archbeast making the Arch-Custodian's greatclub shimmer with more magic.

  Bea wasn't going down for lack of trying, however. Waves of dark mist flew towards Juni each time it flapped its wings, the vines along the wall exhibiting dark growths wherever the mist touched - those growths bursting into globs of purple liquid after a short time. Alas, the Arch-Custodian was simply too fast and the Archbeast's mist never even got close to reaching him.

  With another strike to the Archbeast's face, sounds of bone breaking emanated throughout the room as the club Juni was holding began to shine white. He shoved it into Bea's ear, prompting Beze to cover his, with Lyi following shortly after. After pushing the club down as far as he could, most of his Aura moved to cover his ears as he pulled a string on the club. A shrill shriek filled the entire room, so loud that it all began to shake violently enough to knock Lyi off her feet.

  She pushed her hands down onto her ears even harder as the shriek grew ever more violent, it obviously being the {Soulshriek} that Beze had mentioned. It was only after she beckoned up her Aura that the sound became more bearable, though she still didn't release her hands from her ears. Managing to stand back up, her Aura helping her resist the wind from the shriek, she stumbled back over to the ledge of the platform.

  Juni clearly didn't need his club in hand to continue fighting. The man was battering the Archbeast, tossing it left and right with every punch he threw with the shrieking club keeping it from fighting back. Every punch was accompanied by those rays of Force, which had grown in number to 9 per strike. Bea could only wait for its death as more and more attacks were flung at it, each one far more powerful than Lyi's [Rui - Di].

  As Bea fell flat on its face, Juni landed directly infront of it. {Soulshriek}'s effect came to an end as Juni's Aura returned to him, wrapping around his fist alongside 10 rays of Force. A gigantic fist of Force emerged and Juni didn't hesitate to strike the Archbeast with it, the entire room shaking with incredible force as Bea's head exploded. Viscera covered the lower reaches of the room and soaked Juni, though that didn't seem to be a major concern to him.

  He let out a sigh, white light wrapping around him as he clasped his hands. Five seconds after clasping his hands, the white light spiked and he shot upwards into the air. It was only a brief moment before he landed on the platform where Beze and Lyi were stood, leaning on the railing and looking down at his handiwork. He tilted his head to the side, cracking the bones in his neck before he spoke,

  "Well, there goes the last trace of Darkness magic besides the Wing and you, son. Thanks for informing me. I'll send in clean-up later."

  He didn't wait for a reply before clasping his hands together again, taking off after the same amount of time as before. Beze stretched his arm out for a moment, before pulling it back down to his side and looking downwards. He sighed, looked up to Lyi and jumped back into the stream. Lyi was still staring at Bea, or what was left of it anyways.

  Whatever that last spell Juni had used was, it completely destroyed that Archbeast. It wasn't just the Archbeast's head, almost all of its internals were completely gone too, not to mention the ditch left behind underneath it. She couldn't even fathom how much effort must have been put into learning the spell that could do that, let alone how it would even work in the first place.

  She shook her head. Regardless, it was a spell that was possible, maybe one she could even use someday. It could work wonderfully with the hammer form of her Rui Undea, though if it was confined to use on the fist...

  "Lyi! Come on, girl, stop daydreaming. Weird mural, remember?"

  "Oh, right, sorry! On my way!"

  Lyi let out a laugh, jumping into the stream to follow after Beze. He had pushed himself off at a platform just a small distance from the Archbeast's corpse, that mural he was talking about already clearly visible to her. That man was right, it was certainly a weird mural. The vines didn't even approach it, as if they were scared of even getting close. It was made of a material much different from the stone around them; it was blacker than black, with shining stars intermittently visible before they disappeared and moved elsewhere on the mural.

  She mimicked Beze's action and pushed against the stream, being launched out onto the platform where he stood. Landing on her feet, not helped by her stumbling from the speed of movement, she slowed herself down and turned around to look up at the mural. The words were certainly in her language, though what they meant she couldn't say...

  Kala uhmo ahmika'kako'di, gra'mo'li igakamio.

  Kci'to ulip Retsamh won'ulio,

  Metoi ulip uh'a seyika.

  Lucile'nhumlao hyl,

  Ahm'ahka usi ferr tomat'Lani.

  D to Perci kal'ahio,

  Kod'ic'ulip Velv nulio kala ta.

  To sah su'isum tol'igaka unji Tsom,

  D to saho tonuc Gorm.

  Id luci to Aqel ulip ahm'ahhamolio,

  Pa to Di seyiko ahio.

  Hopoi na uhm'to Atamata unji ahm'ahmha,

  Pa lik to Min'ah'mul nairtul.

  There were scant few words she recognised on the mural. 'Metoi' most certainly referred to 'Destruction', if Beze's usage of Destruction magic wasn't a complete fluke. 'Tsom' and 'Di', they were obvious too, 'Light' and 'Force'. Everything else however... it didn't make any sense to her. She felt like she should know what it meant, the words were so obviously part of her language.

  She looked at Beze and shook her head, prompting him to let out a sigh. He looked up at the mural, the distinct confusion in his eyes matching Lyi's. More obvious than that was the worry on his face, however. The words she could translate were certainly the same as he could and those words weren't inviting; if anything, this mural could only mean something bad.

  "Beze."

  "Yeah, Lyi? Figured something out?"

  "No, but I have an idea you might consider stupid."

  "You don't mean..."

  "Yeah."

  "That's a moronic idea. But you're right, she probably would know what it says... well, we'll need to figure out how to fetch her now, won't we?"