Surprise! You get the next chapter a day earlier because I'm in a good mood. I wrote two whole chapters today (10 & 11). Two! No idea how. 

Anyway, enjoy the next chapter and leave your thoughts and guesses :)

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Louis could still remember how he had learned about the different realms of this world for the very first time. He had been spellbound and always wanted to learn more. Now that he was about to learn everything he couldn't quite grasp the situation. When he walked through the wing-shaped gate of the academy, he had no word to describe the feeling. When Aurelio explained to him that they were currently in a between dimension called Aquilaria, it took him a minute to understand the extreme of all this. When he got told that there were four more people on his guardian team next to Zayn, he felt his nerves and insecurities coming back.

But they disappeared the moment he recognised one of the four people waiting for them by the entrance. "Àmbar?".

"Louis? Oh my god! What are you doing here?" Àmbar rejoiced when she saw him.

"Well, turned out I'm a guardian?!" Louis shrugged weirdly.

"You're our last member of the team? That's fantastic" Àmbar couldn't sound any happier.

"Wait, you two know each other? How?" Zayn was confused.

"We met at the beach this morning. She told me where to find the bridge" Louis let him know calmly.

"So, you were looking for Zayn" Àmbar connected the dots.

"You're right with that" Louis grinned cheekily.

"You didn't tell me you were specifically looking for me. Or that bridge" Zayn frowned puzzledly.

"Wasn't that obvious? I thought that was a given. I mean, that I was looking for you. You told me to come find you, remember?" Louis looked pointedly at him. "And the bridge was in a dream".

"So, our dreams really wanted us to meet again" Zayn clicked with his tongue, looking overwhelmed.

"Looks like it" Louis didn't know what else to say.

"Anyway, moving on from your weird dreams. Let me introduce you to the rest of your team" Àmbar cleared her throat to gain their attention. "This is Liam".

"Hi, nice to meet you" a dirty-blonde, very tall and muscular guy reached his hand out for him to shake. His eyes on the other hand looked so soft and warm. It was a bit contradicting.

"Hi, I'm Louis" Louis shook his hand politely.

"Next we have Maribel" Àmbar pointed at a black-haired girl, who only waved at him in greeting with a smile on her lips. "And last but not least, we have Aria".

"Hi, Louis. A pleasure to have you with us" Aria smiled openly at him, coming off a bit shy or reserved but friendly. She had brunette wavy hair with bangs and brown eyes with an overall cute vibe to her being.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, guys. Wow," Louis was speechless.

"Doesn't know for long, mh?" Maribel guessed rightly.

"Only for an hour maybe, tops" Louis informed her unsurely.

"I know how that feels. I've only known for two weeks now and I can still remember the day I was told. I didn't believe it at first but by now, I'm fine with it. Let's see where this all goes" Maribel told him without any kind of hesitation.

"Well, first of all, it will lead you inside" Aurelio reappeared at the big front door on top of the stairs leading up to it. "Come on".

With anticipation, the six of them followed Aurelio through the door and up some more stairs. The academy was huge from the inside. Four floors that seemed endless and what looked like millions of doors. Louis just knew he would get lost in here a lot. For now, they stayed close to Aurelio and found themselves in a big classroom with some other people, looking them up and down.

"Guys, take a seat and let me introduce you to your new teachers and coaches".

One after the other Aurelio introduced each one of them. Unlike his odd expectations, they wouldn't all teach them in different things. All six of their teachers would teach them mostly together and every one of them was able to teach them the same. Of course, they all had main points but they were a team and apparently, guardians didn't need much separate teaching. So, Mikayla, Hope, Kida, Isaac, Logan and Aurelio himself would all teach them in turns. They also got told that they wouldn't only be taught in their individual magic powers or the ones they shared. No, they would also learn how to fight without powers because there were enemies out there, who you can't find with magic.

After the main introduction, all of them left except for Aurelio. "So, just as a quick check-up. Who here knows all of our seven realms and what they're known for?".

"That's easy" Maribel commented sassily.

"Oh yeah? Would you mind then?" Aurelio was unimpressed.

"First, we have our earth, obviously. With humans and werewolves and vampires, mostly in the mountains. We also have pixies and some wizards and witches and even fairies" Maribel started to tell them everything she knew. "Then we have the fire realm with fire fairies and even dragons. Opposite that, the ice realm or like, the water realm. It's two in one. I heard they have mermaids but I'm not sure. Um ... the light realm and the realm with dwarfs and elves and whatever else. Oh, and the demon realm, that definitely shouldn't exist. Then wouldn't need to fight them".

"A fair point but it existed long before humans did and demons weren't always this dangerous but we come back to the different kinds of demons in a second because you forgot one realm" Aurelio leaned against the teacher's desk.

"Um ...".

"The earth realm" Louis spoke up hesitantly, feeling everyone's eyes on him. "With lots of magical animals and earth fairies. Also called the nature realm".

"Exactly. Thank you, Louis" Aurelio sent him a warm smile but his eyes looked like they were trying to tell him something that Louis didn't understand. "They also have shapeshifters and pixies".

"That's so cool".

"Yes, and each one of you has powers from one of these realms. Some of you already know your powers, others don't. But you will all find out and learn how to use them" Aurelio went on and Louis was so ready to learn more. "Zayn, Àmbar. You know, right?".

"Yes," they both answered at the same time.

"Why do they know?" Maribel wanted to know nosily.

"For my part, I grew up in this academy. I grew up knowing about my powers and that I'm only half human" Zayn let them know.

"And I had a suspicion for most of my childhood and then with sixteen I was told that I'm not human. Best day of my life because everything finally made sense" Àmbar added casually.

"You are a special group of guardians because you have only three humans in the group. This happened before but it's rare to have such a mixed group, which I think is an advantage and should have happened more often" Aurelio continued with his explanation. "Zayn, you know your power is ice and Àmbar, you know you're the fire. Aria, your power is earth while Liam takes over the water. Maribel, you're the air and Louis, your special power is light".

After that revelation, it was quiet in the room. All of them needed to digest that first before going on with their first lesson. Light. His power was light. His powers came from the realm of light, the light kingdom. Did that mean his mother had light powers as well? And what did that even mean? What could you do with that? And what about his father's side? Aurelio had mentioned that he has been a magical creature but never told him what he really was.

"To wrap this first lesson up, let's talk about your main enemies. Demons" Aurelio clapped into his hands to make them all focus on him again. "Oddly enough the three different classes of demons don't have separate names. They're all just called demons because no one has bothered to name them in all these years".

"Really? That's weird" Liam spoke up for the first time.

"It is but you can name them, if you want" Aurelio grinned slyly.

"No, thanks".

"Thought so. Back to the topic. The third-class demons are the least dangerous ones and the most common demons to attack humans. Most of the time, they're not taller than up to your waist and have claws and sharp teeth and look horrendous. But the good part, with weapons and trained powers you can kill them easily. Even humans can learn how to fight them" Aurelio expounded a bit more detailed now and Louis listened to every word. "The second-class demons come in two forms. The ones wielding their own weapons or the ones with the poisonous tail. Always a good start to cut that one off first. These demons are taller and a lot more sturdy and resistant but for a good guardian not hard to kill. For humans, they're deadly. The last ones are the first-class demons. These are rare and very dangerous. They are also called higher demons because they have powers but you never know which powers they could possibly have. Mostly really dark magic. Oh, and they can talk if they want to and are not as easily controlled. If someone wants them on their side they have to make a deal. Sell their soul and stuff".

"Not scary at all" Àmbar snorted sarcastically.

"We have two more species to go through. Mutated demons. A dark wizard once mixed the DNA of demons with the DNA of a tortured shapeshifter. Like this, he created shapeshifting demons but these barely exist anymore. We were able to kill most of them because it's too dangerous".

"Because they could pretend to be anyone?" Aria checked afraid.

"Yes, through the demon DNA. Most normal shapeshifters can not transform into humans or fairies or other people. Any kind of animal but not people. These can and that's why they have to be destroyed" Aurelio confirmed her guess. "The last species we have next to normal beasts and monsters, are the shadow creatures. They usually don't kill you and you can barely see them because they don't really have a body. They're literally shadows and move through the shadows. They darken a person's soul and can access all their fears or anger and hatred and turn them into aggressive, brainless puppets. Humans are the easiest to manipulate, the ones without powers because they can't train to resist. And the only way to destroy them is with light or fire because they're shadows".

"So, we can't kill them?" Maribel concluded horrified.

"Not with your powers but with special weapons. You will get your own together with your individual suits for your transformation but all with time. Baby steps. Get settled in first and decide if you wanna live here for the next two years it'll take to fulfil your training or if you're gonna live on earth and come here every day, or mostly every day. Of course, you have free time. It's like university" Aurelio opened up a whole new round of discussions.

"What are you gonna do?" Louis asked Zayn in a whisper while Maribel and Liam talked to Aurelio about the living situation.

"I have my flat on earth. I've lived here for around eighteen years. I need to be on my own, with my job and everything. I'm not made for this" Zayn replied quietly.

"I feel the same. I'm gonna get a place and a job on earth, somehow" Louis was on the same page.

"I told you you can work at the book store. It's no problem. And um ... you could live with me, if you want. I have a spare room and wanted to look for a flatmate eventually" Zayn offered him nervously, looking anxious as hell.

"Really? Zayn, that would be amazing" Louis felt the urge to hug Zayn as tight as humanly possible.

"Looks like they made a decision" Àmbar chuckled amusedly.

"I guess, you're gonna be the first guardian group with no one living here on the campus. Maybe that's better. We'll see" Aurelio only shook his head at them. Louis still wasn't sure what to think about him but he seemed quite alright and very honest.

A few minutes later, they were all free to go. It was getting dark outside and Louis felt the tiredness of the day overcoming him. This has been one hell of a day. His whole life had turned upside down in not even twenty-four hours. Who would have thought that?!

"But I thought you already knew each other?" Louis walked next to Liam and Maribel.

"I mean, we met two weeks ago when the three of us were told the truth but that was about it. We don't really know each other" Maribel told him neutrally.

"We haven't seen each other since" Liam added unnecessarily.

"Well, Aria and I did. We met up on earth" Àmbar threw in.

"Of course, you did" Maribel rolled her eyes at them.

"What did I miss?" Louis asked her in a whisper.

"Looks like they like each other" Maribel snickered evilly.

"No way!" Louis gasped in surprise.

"Yes way. And that since the first second. It won't take long for them to be a thing. I would bet on it" Maribel nodded smugly.

"It would be a useless bet. It's obvious they have the hots for each other" Zayn noted nastily.

"I mean, they're really cute. Look" Liam motioned towards Àmbar and Aria talking quietly to each other. Way too close.

"This is gonna be something".

Saying goodbye, they parted ways for the day back on earth and couldn't wait to see each other tomorrow. Together with Zayn, Louis made his way back to the flat and fell exhausted on the couch as soon as he had stepped inside. Zayn followed suit and they just stayed there for a while, resting.

"How about you get settled in while I make us something to eat, yeah? But don't expect too much. I'm no chef" Zayn suggested after another ten minutes of doing nothing.

"Sounds good. And don't worry. I can't cook to save my life" Louis stood up from the couch.

"Good thing you have powers for that" Zayn cackled idiotically.

"God, you're the worst" Louis laughed at his horrible joke.

"Get used to it. There's more where this came from" Zayn walked into the kitchen unfazed.

"Why did I agree to this?" Louis sighed dramatically for effect and then disappeared into the almost empty spare room. There was a simple bed and a little dresser. Probably for guests but it would do.

While putting his few clothes into the dresser Louis' thoughts drifted back to the pack. All day he had managed pretty well not to think about them but now all alone in a quiet room it was impossible not to think about what he had left behind. Today was a certain someone's birthday and Louis hated himself for even remembering that and feeling bad for choosing this day for his disappearance. Scolding himself, he reminded himself that no one would even care that he was gone. Least of all him. He wouldn't even notice Louis was missing. It wouldn't matter. So, there was no use in feeling bad or sentimental over leaving the pack behind. It was the right thing to do and he knew that.

For eighteen years, he has been mistreated by this pack. For eighteen years, he has been told that he was useless and weak and worthless for being a human. For eighteen years, he was lied to by the very people who had saved his life. For eighteen years, he has been made to believe that he was a no one. For eighteen years, he has been ignored or abused and bullied for something he couldn't control. After eighteen years, he was finally free.

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. "Louis, are you ready?".

Banning the pack from his mind, Louis opened the door and smiled at Zayn. "I'm ready".

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So, that's a lot to take in for our Louis. What do you think?