Onward to the Sun

Chapter 14: Training Proper of Luna Clockwork

Chapter 14: Training Proper of Luna Clockwork

“As an acnologian, you are still just a toddler, Luna. This is inevitable as you only just have awakened, normally, acnologians start to awaken on the general average of four years old. Prior to that, there is no knowing whether you will be able to wield this magic or not. Turning four, that is the time that their acnologia manifests. You are way behind your time—fourteen years. But this is, again, another inevitable thing, as you grew up in a world where acnologia is non-existent.” She assessed as she looked at me with her gray eyes—I remember Lady Marcelle saying it is the eyes of divine beings.

“However, with proper training and enhancements, you will catch up in no time. I will personally see to it and make sure that you are turned into one of the finest acnologians of all time.” She smiled at me and a part of me wanted to rebut to her that it will not happen because I will be home soon, back to my world and my typical and normal life, “of course, I shall do this while researching for a way to enable you to get back home.” She seems to have noticed the sudden change in my facial expression which is why she added that after, “I believe your mother knows that since she was able to become a hopper herself and she went to your world where she met your father and bore you.” Headmistress Aragona sighed, “Eclipse is really full of surprises ever since—not even I know what it is that is running in her mind. She is a mystery. She was an orphan, and I was like a mother to her...” She added as well. “I know her better than anyone, or so I thought. I never considered the fact that she will decide to just be gone someday. To think she has discovered a way to walk through parallel worlds, this is something I cannot believe...”

I was silent as I listen to the Headmistress as she spoke out loud some of the inner sentiments she held. She seems to be fond of my mother, that is something I can assume based on what she is telling me right now and how she is saying it. Her expression seems to be very sentimental too, as if the memory of my mother is something that holds a lot of value to her. I wonder how close they were actually. Also, the fact that my mother used to be here in Astaria Academia and even the Divinia Class House gives me a small sense of connection to her. I closed my eyes and sighed, suddenly, the feelings that I were oppressing, especially the need of motherly love, arose, it scared me. And I shook it all away unto the depth of my heart.

“You are like a carbon copy of hers,” she insisted after. I cannot argue on that since I have already seen an illustration or portrait of my mother from the Divinia Class House and the office of the Headmistress. She was right. We looked exactly the same, except for our facial expression and hair. My mother’s was red, like fire that is ready to devour everything in its way—it was fierce and elegant, the way it shine reminds me of blood and ruby too, and mine was plain honey-blonde—like a hair wrapped in dirt.

“Okay, now we go back to your acnologia. Do you remember what triggered it when you activated it and used it on Helios?” The Headmistress inquired. “Try to look back and see.” She commanded.

I nodded and closed my eyes, in search of possible answers as to how to conjure my magic that can manipulate time. I searched for a memory that is not so distant, a memory of yesterday—my birthday, and the day I was teleported into Magus Mundo, a world where acnologia exists.

I stared at the man whose name is Helios Firestorm, and without even realizing it, I was already running in his direction. Helios had his eyes closed now, and he was already very pale. He lost too much blood. I stared at the hole right at the center of his chest, and more blood was flowing out of it, painting the grass around him with a shade of crimson color. I panicked and was flustered when the man coughed blood once more.

He was almost dead and barely breathing, but alive. Still, how will I be able to help him? I am not a doctor or a nurse, I do not know what to do! Also, we were in the middle of nowhere, in a deserted forest, where there is no one but just us. I tried so hard to search for something that will help him, but there is none.

Suddenly, I felt this force deep within me—as if something has just awakened and been released from its seal, it felt drawn towards the man’s body for no concrete reason. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on it, and this peculiar force from within me seems to be speaking to me, or my body, and it was commanding me to touch the man. I do not know why, but I just did and followed this weird force, that perchance, is just my own instincts. What difference will it do if I touch him, though? I shoved the thought away.

When my hand has finally held the cold arm of the man who was on the brink of his own death, I felt something being released from within me, an energy I never thought I would possess. My eyes widened as I watched my own hand glow, and the light that my hand emitted started to run deep within the veins of the man. I watched the light travel across his body in a beautiful manner, the light went towards the hole of his physique as if it was stitching the flesh back together in its original and former state, and the light soon trailed its path unto his injured arms, the bite marks started to evaporate too as if they were never there in the first place. It was as if time has reversed for him.

All of his injuries started to fade away until he was completely healed already. I could not believe what just happened. All I was thinking of now was this question—did I do it?

Well, if this was just a dream, I guess anything can happen... But I know this was not a dream and that idea confuses me more, even though all of the events that happened were strange and almost impossible, I know that I was not dreaming—because I felt pain a few seconds ago and I felt the humidity of the place too because of this fire magician. I felt everything else. I felt connected to this world, and that is enough for me to know this is all real, and not a dream or nightmare.

I remember the voices before that called me and told me to touch the painting. It finally made sense that the painting was actually a portal that leads me to another world. The only conclusion left that can finally connect the dots, therefore, is that I was teleported or spirited away to another world where dark creatures and magic exists. It all happened on my 18th birthday.

I stared at the man who was still unconscious. From this point of view, I can see the freckles on his cheeks and his dark red eyebrow and eyelashes that were thick and long. He featured tanned skin, but he was not too dark. He was beautiful, despite his messy state right now. Wait, now that I think of it, he was no longer in a messy state—his dirty and tattered clothes were back to normal already as if they were not ruined in the battle he had a while ago. He looked completely fine now as if whatever happened a few minutes ago did not happen at all.

I opened my eyes and looked at the Headmistress, “I don’t know exactly what I did, Headmistress Aragona. All I know is that a part of me felt drawn to Helios when he was almost dying, and I unconsciously touched him because my instincts were already telling me too... And after touching him, miraculous light suddenly traveled across his body which was emitted from my hand, stitching his wounds until they were gone... All I know too is that I was desperate to save Helios.”

“I see,” Headmistress Aragona stated, “your mother, Eclipse, also had struggles at first on how to activate her acnologia, and it was only after a few months of training and experimenting where we finally found a way that will enable her to wield it at will.”

“How, Headmistress?” I asked. I do not know why, but a part of me has been very engrossed already towards this first day of training. A part of my soul seems to long for this, as if this was something I was born to do. Something in me was screaming to learn this magic that was meant to be wielded by me... A part of me was also saying this is the remaining connection I have with my mother too, who also happen to have wielded this acnologia that they consider to be very powerful and legendary. A part of me is starting to feel already that I was born into the wrong world, and that coincidentally, the universe pulled its strings to bring me to the world where I should be.

I shook this feeling away. I am too fond of fantasy-related things, and now that I am in a fantasy world, a part of me wants to just be here. I have to remember and consider my father, he is all I have and I am all that he got too. I cannot leave him. I have to find my way back to him and his arms. I know he must be worried sick right now because of my sudden disappearance.