"Fear not I have hope you lots will survive."
And with that, the students braced themselves, ready to embark on their journey, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, and ready to discover the wonders that awaited them.
The robed figures closed in, their hands reaching out to grasp Eclipse and his classmates. As they were lifted and carried towards the pyramids, they saw that Mr. Ryker and Mr. Orion were watching them with a mixture of sadness and hope.
"In this trial as you all know, you are to achieve a certain objective which is certainly to kill the a Stain." Mr. Ryker said, his voice barely above a whisper. "May the odds be ever in your favor."
As Eclipse was encased in crystal, he felt a sense of disorientation and disconnection. He was trapped, unable to move or escape, but could weirdly breathe, inhaling to call himself down, he was pretty freaked out although all his life he had known of the Diary, but witnessing in person was pretty scary. The first time he was taken to the trial he was caught of guard, all his attention was on surviving but when he settled down and got himself together he had escaped the trial. But now here he was again, without a shourd to cover his emotions. And then he felt something.
"I don't feel good". These were his last thought as his soul left his body. His eyes turned Lifeless and glassy.
___________________________________
"Didn't expect to see you here". Aria said in a teasing voice with an equally teasing expression.
"Your mom was called back to the battlefield so that's why I am here, cause it's now unnatural for a father to visit his daughter". Ryder said rolling his eyes.
"She going be okay right". Aria said in a voice filled with worry.
"Of course she going be okay but right now it's about you, how are you holding up".
"Am fine..... I guess".
"You don't sound sure". Ryder let out a sigh. "Look you once told me to be hopeful and have a optimistic outlook of life, now you better lead by example who else when you come back I will be lecturing you and you know what that means".
"Yeah I do, and why have I been recently given lectures about my own speech". Aria responded with a slight laugh, then lowered her head.
"What wrong pumpkin". Aria mood shifted for a moment and Ryder was quick to pick up on it.
Raising her head, her face was filled with uncertainty. "How do you know I will return, how do you know I won't die, die a pathetic death". With that she started sobbing.
'That's just, it nobody knows, you just have to hope'. That was what he wanted to tell her, before she spoke up.
"Dad I don't feel go".
Before Ryder could respond her eyes turned Lifeless and glassy, it was then he knew it begun.
______________________________
All his life all he ever wanted was to become the Raphael but that little Vermin took it away from him, the one who possesses the power of the two wings were destined to become clan leader but not all clan leaders had two wings, he wasn't even given a chance to fight, the Vermin main existence has taken away any fighting chances. But that all changed when the Vermin failed to awaken the powers fitting of the clan leader, he was elected finally a chance, but someone else beat him to it, Raphael he didn't know why he didn't hold a grudge, and all his hostility were still focused on the self named Eclipse. Then there shelter was destroyed, he didn't know how to react and he needed an outlet, that was when he faced Eclipse, but he didn't want to get into trouble so he left him off. He survived his trial and settled in school, thank goodness we are not in the same class, he wasn't even sure how he would react to being in the same room as his lifelong enemy. And now they were here, his anger has waned and he has taken it upon himself to revive the Dawn clan, and become his lifelong goal— a Raphael.
He sighed causing streaming air to escape his lips. Then he felt something.
"I don't feel good". That was Kyle last thought as his soul left his body. His eyes turned Lifeless and glassy.
This was a natural occurrence as the entire class faced they trial.
As the moon's rays peeked over the clear sky, casting a warm glow over the pyramid, Ryker's gaze remained fixed on Aria's lifeless body. Despite the absence of her soul, Aria's chest rose and fell with a slow, rhythmic breathing pattern, a phenomenon that would have been perplexing to ordinary humans.
However, Ryker had witnessed far more inexplicable events throughout his journey, so this peculiar sight barely registered as unusual.
With a deep sigh, Ryker slid down the pyramid, his eyes scanning the surroundings as he awaited the news about the Soul Dairy's destination for this year's participants.
The air was heavy with anticipation, and the robed figures seemed to be exchanging worried glances. Before long, one of the robed figures spoke up, his voice laced with a mix of anger, despair and pity. "It's bad," he muttered, his voice agitated, the atmosphere around them began to shift, Aether began to surge out of the robed figure's body, warping the air around him and creating an illusion that seemed almost tangible. The air compressed in waves, as if the pressure of his Aether was bending the laws of nature.
Ryker's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed intently on the robed figure. He could sense the turmoil brewing within the man, a maelstrom of emotions that threatened to consume him whole.The principal's voice cut through the tension, his tone calm and measured. "Out with it," he said, his words a gentle prod that seemed to coax the truth out of the robed figure.
The man's face contorted in a mixture of anguish and desperation. "It took them to the aisle of Doom" he spat, his words dripping with venom. The reaction was instantaneous. The air seemed to erupt into chaos, as if the very mention of the lost city had unleashed a maelstrom of emotions. Aether surged out of the bodies of the robed figures and the teachers, creating a pressure that was almost palpable. The air seemed to vibrate with tension, as if the weight of their collective emotions was warping the fabric of reality. Ryker felt his own Aether responding to the chaos, his heart pounding in his chest as he struggled to maintain control.
The principal's voice cut through the air, his words a calm, steady heartbeat that seemed to anchor them all."Damn it," he bellowed, his voice a thunderclap that shook the air. In an instant, he planted his leg on the floor and shot out like a cannonball, disappearing into the distance with a speed that seemed almost unnatural even for the Excorsist present.
The spot where the principal had planted his leg seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if the air itself was uncertain about how to react. Then, in a burst of energy, the floor cracked like a spider's web, exploding outward in a shower of debris. Water sprayed out from the crevice, a cool, clear liquid that seemed to wash away some of the tension that had built up. As the dust settled, the robed figures and the teachers slowly regained their composure, retracting their Aether and surveying the damage.
Ryker was among them, his eyes scanning the destruction as he felt a sense of trepidation building up inside him. He remembered the stories about the aisle of Doom, the tales of students and people who had ventured in and never returned. Eight years ago that the principal had decided to summon a stargazer, a being with the ability to read the stars and read future event.The stargazer's report had been chilling. The students had been transferred to a realm known as the aisle of Doom, a place where even the stargazer couldn't pin point it's position as it was elusive. Even though in recent times they had managed to discern that it was near a body of water or accurately the Dark Waters, the house of Black skies had tried to get to the aisle of Doom but as always it was illusive. They could have just forced their way through but it's gateway was beyond the Ways deep into the territory of the Stains and going they alone or with a team was a suicide mission.
They had next to no knowledge of the aisle of Doom. The aisle of Doom had become a byword for danger, a place where even the bravest warriors feared to tread. The Soul Dairy's decision to send students there had been seen as a cruel joke, a twisted game designed to weaken the new generation and cripple humanity's chances of survival. Sometimes they wondered whose side the Diary was on. Ryker's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, as the robed figures and the teachers began to disperse. Some of them seemed to be discussing the implications of the Soul Dairy's decision, while others appeared to be lost in thought. But they all had one thing in common— they were pessimistic of the future of the entire class