Chapter 88: Graduations and Goodbyes

When Zeke told them he’d rented out the fanciest restaurant in all of Bright Sail, Sen hadn’t quite realized he meant it literally. Bright Sail was full of nobles, high-level mages, and other important people in town for the graduation duels. So, renting this place out must have been incredibly expensive. He still hadn’t fully fathomed just how wealthy Zeke had become of late, but Sen was starting to get the picture. 

Sen and his friend were upstairs in a private room. It had a roomy balcony with a gorgeous view of the city, especially at night. Mana street-lights gave the crowds passing by in either direction a gentle blue glow, and hanging decorative lights up and down the streets only added to the atmosphere. Ano and Alari were out on the balcony, leaning over the railing and talking. 

Inside the room was a circular table massive enough for everyone to sit down with plenty of room to spare, and Zeke had spared no expense in inviting a rather complete list of Sen’s friends and acquaintances. He had a feeling Mori had helped the merchant with the guest list, seeing as the two of them conversed regularly. 

Even the first floor was full of Brightsail students eating on Zeke’s dime. Honestly, walking through the first floor to get to the VIP area gave Sen the impression that this fine dining establishment was a little too fancy for a bunch of students to lounge around and stuff their faces. But the servers moved with smiles on their faces and acted professional as ever. The table was covered in food, and the scent wafted outside and even into the streets, gathering the attention of passersby. Trays of everything from exotic birds, tender cooked fish, and sweet-smelling assortments of fruits and desserts. 

Everything smelled so delicious that plates quickly filled with every kind of food; despite that, everything still somehow meshed perfectly. It was like casting a spell so simple it was impossible to mess it up. 

He wiped his face with a napkin and eyed a cream filled pastry on Milim’s plate. He wasn’t quite sure she’d had any actual food, she’d quickly become obsessed with the desserts. She certainly had a sweet tooth, or several.

He caught her stealing glances at him, more than usual, but he pretended not to notice. Tutor had reminded him, more than a couple of times, that though his trick had allowed him to catch Snake off-guard, it also deceived his friends. They’d all thought he’d been skewered by Serpentsfang. Of course, they might still be a little on edge. He looked around the table at the others. Samara had piled her plate full of meat, and though Ilm had her own food, Samara kept insisting Ilm try a bite of her favorites. Which changed often, as it seemed every new dish Samara tried quickly became her new favorite. Ilm didn’t seem to mind. She’d had plenty of time to grow used to Samara’s antics. 

Mori ate more slowly. He enjoyed each bite for the delicacy it was. He had a glass of wine that he lifted to his nose and smelled every once in a while, and then sat it back down without sipping. Mori enjoyed the smell, but had always refused to drink on principle, probably because Sen didn’t drink either. Mori was his own person, but he clung oddly at times to the similarities he shared with Sen. Sometimes forcing some unnaturally. There wasn’t any harm in it, so Sen didn’t mind. Across the table, Dasai leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. Marin was telling him a story, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he didn’t seem to be hearing a single word she’d said. 

Xochi poked his head out of Sen’s pocket, his mouth open, ready for another bite. Sen cut a piece of fruit Xochi had taken a liking to and infused it with mana. He lowered the small piece of mana-infused fruit for Xochi, who grabbed it and retreated back inside Sen’s pocket. 

Tutor, make a mental note to remind me to wash these later. 

[Why? The crumbs will smell good!]

Behind him, Zeke, Sikar, and Ladia laughed. They’d set up in the corner to talk a while ago, and Sen thought it best to leave them to their own devices. He turned his attention to a few newcomers. Susanna, Girch, Oliver, and Joseia entered. They sat down in empty chairs on the other side of Milim. 

He raised his cup, some sweet-smelling drink that paired well with…well, everything. “Welcome to the celebration,” Sen said.

Susanna laughed. “This is fancy. It feels like I’m back home.” A few waiters entered and swapped out several barely touched trays for fresh ones, as they’d done regularly since they’d all arrived. 

Girch sighed at Susanna’s words, and she turned to look at him. “You know, you don’t have to come with me,” she said.

Girch waved a hand at her. “Of course I’m coming.” 

Milim perked up. “What’s this?” she asked. 

“After my duel, my cousin came to see me. I’ve been asked to return home with the family. Grandmother has a special position in mind for me, apparently. He told me I’d be allowed to bring any friends of mine as well. The offer is open to any of you, of course, but Girch already agreed to come and join me,” she said with a smile.

“You should’ve seen him grovel.” Girch grinned. It was an unusual expression for him, and Sen had mixed feelings about it. Still, he was glad they’d made up. 

“Congratulations! When are you leaving?” he asked.

Susanna sighed. “In the morning, we’ll be heading out with my family. I wanted to stay longer, but…well, grandmother kind of insisted. Still, it feels good to go home a victor.” She flinched, looking over to Dasai, who was still sleeping.

“No worries,” Dasai said, waving a hand. Apparently, he was listening. Just not to Marin. He leaned further back in his chair, too far, and it fell out from under him. His body twisted into a very unhealthy angle. His head hit the ground and his feet planted against the glass window behind him.

Outside on the balcony, Alari and Ano both turned to look. Ano’s mouth parted, and he leaned forward to check on Dasai through the glass window. Alari burst out laughing. “I’m fine. My spine’s a little twisted, but…” The audible crack of it snapping back into place resounded throughout the room. “Fixed it,” Dasai said. 

[Perhaps we should make that a permanent addition to your arsenal as well, Master.]

Pass. 

“Did he say anything about me?” Sen asked, turning back to Susanna. 

She sighed. “No, but as far as I can tell, her reaction after your duel was genuine. If it wasn’t…well, assassins probably would’ve attacked you by now. Or poisoned your food.”

 Beside him, Ilm’s eyes widened mid-bite. “What about his sister’s food?” she asked.

Mori smelled his wine. “You’ve eaten plenty at this point. If they poisoned you, it’s far too late to worry about it now, Ilm.” He swirled his glass. “That is simply delightful. Would anyone like a smell?” 

Samara leaned over and grabbed the glass. She sniffed it and then downed the glass in a single gulp. “Smells great! Taste better.” She passed the empty cup back. 

Mori’s shoulders sank. 

Samara winked and noticed Ilm had sat her fork back onto her plate with food still on it. She took Ilm’s hand and guided it toward her face to encourage her to eat. “Nobody’s poisoning you! Eat up! How often will you get a meal like this? Enjoy it! It’s not like either of your brothers would let you keel over, now would they?” 

Sen chuckled. This was nice. “And what about you, Joseia, looking forward to your fourth year?” he asked.

Joseia’s head bobbled from side to side. “I’m a little nervous. I look at these two,” he said, pointing his head toward Susanna and Girch. “And you too, of course, and I wonder…how can I keep up with that? I feel like next year the pressure’s gonna really be on. But I’m gonna shoot for the top spot. That way, when I finally graduate, I can catch up with the rest of you guys!” he said with a determined look on his face. 

“I look forward to your graduation duel, Joseia,” Sen said. 

Joseia perked up. “Wait, really? You’ll come?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” 

After catching up for a bit longer, Sen eventually got up. He wanted some fresh air, and he hadn’t had the chance to talk much with Ano and Alari since after their fight. Before he could make it to the balcony, Sikar hurried over. “Sen!” he called out. 

Sen turned, and Sikar put a hand on his back to guide him to an empty corner of the room. “I got special permission from Dean Crosp. After we return, we can get your rank reward tonight. You’re welcome to remain at the school as long as you need. We have plenty of space, and we know it might take time to figure out your next steps. But just in case, we thought it would be good to go ahead and issue the reward. In the meantime, I have these for you. The gifts Alari’s father added to the rank rewards.”

Sikar reached behind his back and pulled out a book. It was obvious what it was. The spell tome of Ashen Blaze. A technique the Flamelord himself had allegedly created. By all accounts, an extremely powerful spell. He took it and felt the heat radiating from it. It felt like holding your hand near a fire, but it wasn’t painful to touch or anything. Next, Sikar handed him a ring. A gold band. He started to slip it on, but Sikar held out his hands. “That might not be wise. We don’t know what exactly it is the Flamelord stored in there.”

[The being bound to the summoning ring has been upgraded as a result of your level-up reward.] 

Sen focused his attention on the ring to try to get a sense of the creature inside. He didn’t sense overwhelming strength. Instead, the feeling almost reminded him of the impression he’d gotten from the vision of mana axolotls. The one that Professor Crosp had shown him when trying to decide what creature his egg should hatch into. It was the impression of something with potential. Based on that, he doubted it would be especially dangerous for now.

Just in case, however, he cast a spell. “Seal Script Maxima.” 

Sikar looked unsure, but took a step back to give him room. He slipped the ring onto the index finger of his right hand. It fit perfectly. A two-legged creature popped up inside the sealed circular rune his spell had summoned on the wooden floorboard of the private room. It was about eight inches tall, with translucent red skin and a blazing mane of flame-like hair. It carried a sword in its left hand and tightened a fist in its right. The creature looked up at Sikar and roared. Except the roar was more like a high-pitched squeak. It charged, sword in hand, to stab the professor’s foot. The creature smacked into the walls of the sealing script and bounced away, landing on its back. From its new position, it looked up at the ceiling with fresh anger. Again, it roared. It rose to its feet and started jumping up and down, swinging its blade wildly as if it could fight the heavens itself. If only it could jump high enough. 

Sen smiled. He knelt beside the creature and studied it. Noticing his presence, it turned to look at him. Xochi crawled out of Sen’s pocket to stare at the flame summon. Before Sen could stop him, Xochi crawled down in excitement and entered the circle. 

At first, the flame summon stared blankly at Xochi, as if trying to decide what to do. 

He raised his tiny sword and roared. 

Xochi tilted his head and chirped back. The flame spirit leapt backward in surprise. Then it leaned forward, sheathing its sword and slowly approaching Xochi with a hand outstretched. When it got close, it looked up at Sen, as if unsure whether it should proceed. Sen nodded encouragement. It was better if the two of them got along. The fire summon placed a hand on Xochi’s head. When the mana axolotl didn’t protest, the flame summon started to pet him. Sen smiled. “You two play nice, okay?” he said. 

Xochi chirped agreement. The flame summon smiled. Its teeth were bright orange and jagged as blades. He left them in the sealing script and pressed a hand on Sikar’s shoulders. “Thank you, I’m going to get some air if you don’t mind.”

Sikar nodded. “Of course, we’ll talk more later.” 

Sen turned and gave one last look at Xochi and the flame summon. He’d have to start thinking of names for his new companion. As he walked outside, he met eyes with Mori and beckoned to the playing creatures. Mori looked back and nodded. He wasn’t the only one. The others in the room were watching the adorable two companions playing as well. 

“Dinner and a show!” Samara said with excitement. She took a generous bite of some kind of bird meat, ripping the tender meat off the bone. “I love this place!” 

Sen slid open the glass door leading to the balcony and joined Ano and Alari. They stared quietly at the people passing by below. “Mind if I join you?” Sen asked, not wanting to intrude without permission. 

Ano grinned. “I insist. This is the top student balcony after all. We’re just glad you’ve joined our ranks. The last Brightsail guy who made it to number one was kind of a…well, a snake.” He chuckled at his own joke.

Alari rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot.”

Sen smiled and joined them, resting his elbows on the balcony. “I heard about your deal with the Flame Lord,” he said, unsure of how to broach the subject. It was likely they’d be moving out soon as well; if he didn’t bring it up now, he might never get the chance. Though he hated to ruin the mood.

Ano nodded, a serious expression growing on his face. “Yeah. Not the post-graduation I was expecting, if I’m being honest.” He stared up at the sky. 

Alari’s gaze fell. 

“But I’m looking forward to it,” he said. The moon and mana lights glowed brightly on his face.

“You are?” Sen and Alari asked nearly in unison. 

Ano turned and raised a brow. “What do you mean? Of course I am. Me and Alari will get to train all the time. Plus, I’m sure there’s lots of other powerful people working for the Flame Lord. I’ll get stronger, way stronger than I ever was before. Now that I have my powers back…” A feather appeared, floating in front of his hand. “Well, things are gonna change from now on. I’ll do what I need to for now. But one day, Sen, I’m going to kill him.”

Sen smiled at that. “I know. That’s what I wanted to talk about,” he said.

Alari and Ano both turned to look at him. “Yeah, what about it?” Ano asked.

“There are so many powerful people in this world. People who could stop the cults from running wild. But what do they do?” Sen shook his head. “People like the Flamelord and the Queen of Towers? They fight for territory, for dominance. People with the strength to protect others are sitting back and watching them suffer. When Brightsail Academy was attacked, we had to go retrieve our friends ourselves. No one came to our aid,” Sen said. 

Alari grimaced. She’d helped a lot after he’d met up with her in the castle, but the reminder that she’d been kidnapped likely still stung. “Yeah, so what are you saying then?” she asked, staring at him with those burning orange eyes of hers. 

Sen smiled. “I’m saying, we all need to get stronger. When we do, we’ll change this world.” 

Ano’s eyes lit up. “Yeah? We burn it all down and make the world a better place, huh?” He punched a hand into his palm. “I’m down.”

Alari grinned. “That…actually doesn’t sound so bad.” One of her pockets shimmered with a touch of flame, and Sen recognized the hint of Flamesaber hidden within. She was carrying those shards on her even now. 

“If you don’t want to serve him, if you’d rather kill him now, I’ll help you. It would be difficult, but I’d help,” Sen assured them.

News of three recent graduates taking on a warlord would undoubtedly draw all the wrong kinds of attention to them. But if they wanted out sooner than later; he had their backs. 

Ano and Alari exchanged a look. Ano yawned. Alari smirked. “No,” she said. “It’s not time yet. It’s like you said, right? We’ve gotta get stronger first. We make our move too early, things could go bad.” She turned and stared Sen in the eyes. “But when the time comes, you better be ready, Sen. Cause you’ve just lit a fire in me, and I won’t stop until we reach the top.” 

Ano laughed hard. “Hell, maybe one day we’ll even take on the gods. Who’s more to blame for how things are than them?”

Sen smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. It’s settled then.”

Ano held out a hand. “Sorry guys, but you knew I was going to make this corny, right? Come on, hands in. It’s a pact, after-all.” He paused and looked inside the room. “Should we uh…get the others?” he asked. 

Alari closed her eyes and sighed. She slapped her hand out on top of Ano’s. “You’ve got three seconds before I change my mind.”

Sen placed his hand in the pile as well. Their mana surged and coalesced into a small, swirling vortex above their hands. Then it disappeared, their promise sealed. 

The door behind them slid open, and Sen turned to see Milim. 

Ano and Alari exchanged a look. “We’re going to grab some of that food you guys have been hoarding, catch you inside in a bit?” Ano asked. 

Sen nodded. Ano greeted Milim as they passed her, and she smiled politely. 

Sen looked inside the room and saw Dasai running around in circles. He squinted and realized Xochi and the flame summon had somehow broken free of the sealing circle. Dasai had taken the opportunity to tease them. The flame summon was riding Xochi like a mount and waving his sword around wildly as the two of them chased after Dasai. Dasai cackled in delight, running past Ano, who stuck out a foot. Dasai promptly tripped and face-planted on the ground. Xochi wasn’t far behind. The flame summon roared and leapt off the mana axolotl, bringing his blade swinging down toward Dasai. It stabbed the poor Fire Kite student in the butt. 

Dasai’s eyes lit up at the attack and he cursed. The room burst into laughter. Even Mori covered his face to stifle his laughter and avoid seeming rude. He hurried over to corral the two creatures into behaving and leaving Dasai alone. 

Sen chuckled at the ridiculous scene. Milim smiled lightly. They were alone out here now. Milim’s face straightened, and she walked toward the railing to stand next to Sen. She looked up at the night sky, and the moon and stars reflected against her pink eyes. Like all of space was captured within the serenity of her irises. She turned to look at him, and he realized he’d been staring. He tried to think of something to say, but words escaped him.

She smiled. “What will you do now?” she asked. Though she smiled, there was a faint trace of sadness lingering somewhere within her voice. 

“What do you mean?” Sen asked.

“Well, you’re graduating now. You’ll be leaving Brightsail. Where will you go next?”

His mouth shifted from side to side. “Honestly, I don’t know yet.” He turned to look at the stars. There was a whole world out there. People who needed help. Ways to grow stronger. Spells that would get him closer to his goal of reaching that distant sun. Where would he start? What was next for him? But was that what she was really asking? 

His mind turned back to the library, when she’d wanted him to ask her to the Brightsail Ball. To the forest, where she’d asked him a silly question about the sun saving the moon. He thought about what he might be thinking if their roles were reversed. How he might feel if she were the one about to leave. 

“Milim,” he said, turning to look at her.

She returned his gaze. 

“I don’t know what’s next. But…no matter what happens, you’re important to me. I’m not going to forget you, or disappear forever or—”

Milim took a step toward him. Whatever words he had to say were lost in the moment. 

His heart pounded in his chest. He leaned forward to meet her. 

Their eyes locked. She was close now. He could smell her. She smelled of orchids and delightfully sweet food.

Sen had faced down king and god-classed magicians; he’d sealed Serpia the Goddess of Serpents and defeated her avatar. He was heralded as the man who saved the world from the Dreadgiant King Garlon. He’d become the God of Magic. All of those victories, all those fights, everything he ever faced paled compared to the feeling he felt now. 

But Sen had never been someone to back down. So he leaned forward and kissed her. 

As his lips pressed against hers, and hers against his, Sen was certain of one thing. 

He’d never felt a moment so magical in his life.