Chapter Text
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Light, Shadow, and Foam.
Those are the three matters that formed into Yuu’s thoughts, as they slowly fluttered their eyes open while they got out from their long slumber.
Hmm…
Light, Shadow and Foam.
What are these matters could possibly be referring to? Was it foam? Or form? Then again, this might be meaningless, as there is nothing that could resemble light in their surroundings. Not even foam. Only shadows.
Unless if it was referring to one of their dreams, which consisted of a dark carriage that resembles a funeral hearse, driven by the skeletal remains of horses. Or perhaps these matters refer to their other dream, where they saw several figures in elegant black robes dropping down to the ground like flies as their surroundings were consumed by blue flame from a chimera’s mouth.
Whichever, it was… It is truly confusing. Even as a magician’s apprentice.
A soft exhale of air came out from their mouth as their eyes finally adjusted to the dark. Judging from their surroundings, it seems they might be in a coffin. Yuu recalled from the words of a certain person that they might have woken up in a different place, before they slipped into unconsciousness, embraced into the many hands of darkness.
Well, what an unexpected environment to wake up in. If Yuu has a claustrophobia, they might reenact any actions from the tales of a person being buried alive in a coffin. Even with their frantic movements and attempts to open the lid, it remained shut tight due to its weight. Fortunately, Yuu did not have any of those fears at all. All they have to do is simply lie down in the coffin and wait for their teacher or anyone-
Thump!
Hmm? Yuu blinked their eyes, turning their head to the side as the noise followed by several rattling. Has anyone found them?
“Teacher?” spoke Yuu in an undertone.
Instead of hearing the usual pleasant, playful tone of their teacher, it was someone else. It seems it came from a small person with a high-pitched tone. “Crap. People are coming. Gotta get a uniform while…” It was then followed by labored grunts as they attempted to lift the understandably heavy lid.
Beads of sweat began to form on Yuu’s forehead, as they heard more grunts and groans from the disembodied voice complaining about how the lid was too heavy. Any more time that they would spend in this uncomfortable prison without any outlet for air and stiff paddings, Yuu might be drowned in the sea of sweat at this rate...
‘If ya could not use physical force, just use ya magic already!’ cried out Yuu in their mind. If the person could not use magic at all, then they would leave with no choice but-
Hmm? Their ears hidden underneath the hood twitched as they picked up that same voice.
“Time for… my secret move! Guwahhuhh- THERE!”
It is then followed by a loud thunder-like rumble. With a quick feline instinct, Yuu quickly shut both of their eyes and threw their arms in the front to shield their face from any potential danger. As the sound died down, Yuu lowered their hand a bit, taking a small peek of the aftermath. There was a flash of blue fire danced in their vision, before it fades away, revealing the dark stone ceiling. This means that…
“Whew…” With a loud sigh of relief, Yuu immediately sits up and drops both of their arms on the paddings. “Finally, I’m out of this stuffy coffin…” Yuu takes the hood down, wiping the sweat off from their brows with the back of their hand. “And thank ya for opening the lid off. I never expected that your fire magic could…” Their words went on a halt as Yuu turned to face the person with widened eyes. “Huh?!”
The person is not a person at all. Instead it was a grey cat-like monster standing on its hind legs. What makes him unique from an ordinary magical cat is the blue flames coming out from the ears, a white fur tuft on the chest and a tail that resembles a pitchfork. The cat’s azure eyes displayed the same expression of shock as well. Perhaps due to the pair of cat ears popping up on Yuu’s head.
“WHAA!” said the cat-like creature as he threw his hands into the air. “Why are you up?!” It seems they are caught red-handed, judging from his next words.
“Why am I up? Well, that’s a silly question...” replied Yuu, with a small sigh while they looked at their new environment. In the dark room, some of the coffins are floating in the mid-air, while the rest of them are on the floor, neatly arranged in row formations. Yuu happened to wake up in one of the floor coffins. The dim purple light on the silver chandelier and green wall lamp truly brings out the eerie atmosphere in the room. “And are ya supposed to be a talking cat? Or maybe a talking raccoon?”
The cat (raccoon?) furrowed his brows, as if they had insulted his mother. That is if he has one. “Just who do think you called me a raccoon?! I am the Great Grim!” Grim placed both of his stubby arms on his waist, glaring at Yuu with a loud hiss coming out from his mouth. “You’re the talking raccoon, not me!” It is then followed by a small huff. “Well, whatever...”
Grim made a beeline to Yuu, climbing into the coffin before he tugs on the long, black sleeve of their robe. “Hey, cat person! Hurry and gimme your clothes! Otherwise…” The monster cat made a wide grin, revealing rows of sharp teeth in his mouth. “I’ll roast ya…” At the end of the sentence, the flame on his ears flares up.
“What the? Hey!” Yuu quickly grasps the sleeve, preventing it from being ripped by Grim’s paws. “I won’t give this robe to ya this easily! Besides… I don’t think a measly racoon could fit into this robe… Or was it a measly cat?”
“Measly cat? Who are you calling the Great Grim a measly cat?!”
“I did!” They managed to yank Grim off from the sleeve, throwing him out from the coffin. With Grim out of the way, Yuu climbed out from the coffin, brushing any dust from the golden-trimmed black robe. Surprisingly, the so-called Great Grim is much smaller than Yuu, probably in 83 cm differences [1]. “Why would ya want my robe so badly?”
Grim might not believe his eyes that the cat person before him is much taller compared to him. This is absolutely a prejudice! The Great Grim is supposed to be the great one among the two cat-like magicians in this room, not this strange cat person before him. “Because with the robe, the Great Grim will be one step closer into becoming the greatest magician in the world! Now, come on. The Great Grim orders you to give him your robes!”
Yuu raised a brow as Grim tugged on the hem of the robe, before making a small sigh while crossing both of their arms. “Eh, dream on, measly racoon. I don’t think they would accept ya in this form. Besides…” They tugged a sleeve down, glancing at the wrist watch with digital numbers displayed on the screen. “I might be late for the entrance ceremony. But, my teacher told me to wait for him...”
“Teacher?”
Yuu did not reply to Grim at all. Instead, they closed their eyes, and muttered.
“Locate them, [Open thy Vision] [2]”
With the words parted from their lips, Yuu felt a small warmth of magic gathered from their chest and climbed upward to their head. “Hah…” They opened their eyes, revealing the world covered in white aura. Strange… Yuu could not find their teacher nor feel any of his familiar aura among the coffins.
“Hey! Do not ignore the Great Grim.”
Yuu glances down to face Grim, covered with the red aura. Which is aligned with the element of fire, if they had recalled from one of their teacher’s lessons. Ah, right. They almost forgot about him. But, now it was not the time for any interruptions.
With a blink of their eyes, their vision returned to normal. “Urgh…” Yuu rubbed their eyes with the sleeve of the robe. Even using a little bit of [Open thy Vision] could cause an eye strain.
Thus, it is concluded that their teacher must be somewhere outside of this room.
“Now, if ya excuse me.” Yuu slowly takes Grim’s paws off from the hem of their robes. There is no time to hear all of his rantings, of how they have been disrespecting the so-called Great Grim. The faster they found their teacher, the better.
After brushing Grim aside, Yuu opened the double door of the coffin room and left to find their disappearing teacher.
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