Earth, Singapore,

Kai Burner

"So you're telling me...." Said the chocolate skinned lady, with a hint of suspicion in her voice, "that whenever you're angry or upset, your magic releases?"

"Y—Yes, I think so," I say.

"Syrene, this doesn't make any sense," she says, all lithe and majestic. Even her mannerisms and gestures, the way she turns to face Syrene, screams royal to me.

"I know, Truna," said Syrene softly. Syrene looks so angelic and innocent, a stark contrast to Truna. She reminds me much like Ms Tina, except I can sense a hidden strength from within her. "Too bad Tosturm isn't here to advise us.."

"What is..Tosturm?" I ask curiously, then I rub my head. A throbbing migraine hits after just being awoken from this enchanted sleep.

"It is a magical summon. Like a familiar," Syrene attempts to explain.

"Umm.. Okay." I don't understand what she says, but I'm a bit afraid to ask further. Around these magical beings from another world, ones that have perfected their craft, I somehow feel inferior.

"Some classes are able to summon monsters that they have summoning pacts with," Syrene continues. "Well, technically it isn't really a pact, considering the spell Summoning Pact actually forcefully binds the weak souls of these beasts into an alternate realm for future uses. But the casters still have to care for them, feed them, or they'll die."

I just blink at her, both amazed and confused at this whole new world of magic. After seconds of thinking, I finally ask,

"So why is Tosturm not here, and who does it belong to?"

"It belongs to Karkas, he's the Supreme of all Soul Tamers. Unfortunately, he's on a mission now in Ossaria and won't be able to help us."

"Ossaria...?"

"Yes, that is the world we come from," says Syrene.

"I don't think Karkas would have been able to help us out in any way anyway," said Truna. "Mossun, remind me to speak to Wefurn about this mysterious unknown magic. Maybe he overlooked some of the data."

One of the five, wearing a blue colour hood, looking mysterious and enigmatic, nods and speaks,

"Okay."

"But Wefurn doesn't overlook anything. And the lore, like you said, already states there isn't magic on Earth," says Syrene.

"I know but.." Truna says, then keeps quiet, looks at me and just stares into my eyes. It's like she can see deep into my soul. I wonder what she'll think of me when she finds out about my upbringing. Uncomfortable by her stare, because it feels like comparison, as she is superior, and I, inferior, I turn away and instead ask Syrene,

"Will I be able to summon monsters too?"

She looks much amused by my question, so she smiles and sits beside me on a stool.

"I guess we'll have to find out." She smiles really wide until her eyes almost disappear.

"Oh, the Initiation test?" I ask.

"How would you even know about that?" Questions Truna. She folds her arms and steps closer.

"I heard you guys talking before I woke up," I mutter, remembering her previously saying that unless someone was powerful, they wouldn't be able to hear them. A pang of fear hits me as I tell her.

"Interesting.." She says, as she puts a finger to her lips as if to think. "Syrene, shall we move on?"

"Ahuh.. But first, I would love to see him," she says. I don't understand what she means by this.

"I'm here."

"Yes, yes you are," she smiles at me. Using her delicate fingers, which now has silvery swirls looming around them, she touches my arms as she says, "I'm just going to look into your past—"

As her fingers make contact with my arm, she freezes and flinches, her eyes bulge open wide and a silvery streak of tears start to crust and run down her cheeks.

"You—You poor kid.." She mutters. "I feel your pain—oh you poor kid!"

I grasp what's going on, realising that Syrene somehow has the ability to look into the deepest parts of my past, I look down instead, with a mixture of anxiety, shame and guilt. Knowing that Syrene feels my sorrow, my face starts to crumple, my lips tremble and I break into tears.

I've probably broken the world record for crying every single day.

"Kai..." Ms Tina steps forward, her face reddening with worry.

"I'm.. I-I'm fine, Ms Tina," I stifle. I'm not.

"Syrene, what do you see?" Asks Truna.

Syrene ignores Truna, lets go of my arm, and the silvery curls floating around her hand disappear. She stands up from the stool, and then wipes her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Kai, I'm so happy to have met you," she mutters, but her tone suggests she's proud of me, for some reason. "Don't worry, your life is about to change." She lets out her hand, "Let's go."

I swiftly hold her hand, stand and ask, "Where are we going?"

Syrene doesn't reply to me, instead, she turns to Mdm Matilda and Ms Tina.

"Since we're already here, may I suggest we do the initiation test on all the kids in this orphanage, ages ten to fifteen?"

"What are the chances of the kids passing the initiation test?" Mdm Matilda asks. "Actually, I'm not sure I understand this initiation test process fully."

"Don't worry, we will explain everything later on," informs Truna.

"O—ok, I will gather them," says Mdm Matilda. "Where do you want them to go?"

"Anywhere big that has many tables and chairs."

"Okay.... I'll bring them to the common room," Mdm Matilda says. "Actually, it is their lunchtime now. Please join us for lunch, I assume you guys must be hungry from the travels, and we always cook extra."

"Sure! We would love to try your delicacies!"

"Don't be too hopeful, our ingredients are from donations," Matilda says to her back as she walks to the door.

"By the way.. Thanks for keeping us up to speed with what's about to happen," Ms Tina acknowledges the group. "I mean, we suspected it, but it's nice to know for good.. For... Kai," she finishes.

I run and hug Ms Tina. Surprised by this gesture, she chuckles and hugs me back.

Syrene crouches and finally answers with a benevolent smile, "Guess we're going to the common room."

I nod to her.

When Mdm Matilda opens the door, she flinches at the sight of the other kids, who as expected, were crowding outside the locked room, trying to listen to everything. They jolt up too for getting caught in the act. A few of them decide to run away and flee.

Mr Ang passes by, sweeping the floor.

"I already told them not to, but they won't listen. Tsk!" And continues sweeping by.

Ms Tina and I lock eyes and giggle silently to each other.

"All of you, to the dining area for lunch!" Mdm Matilda bellows.

Zachary and Jonas give me an inscrutable gaze as they follow the others.

***

Meal times usually bustle with noise and gusto. But for the first time, everyone focuses on eating their food with a scintilla of apprehension in the air. In the presence of the five, based on their outfits and magic, the kids probably already suspect that they are from another world. With the whole room brooding with consternation, everyone—including Mdm Matilda and Ms Tina, who had brought their own lunch instead—just focused on eating their food.

Syrene, smiling and curious about everything, points to all the different dishes on the plate.

"What's this?"

"Fried chicken.."

"Fried what?"

"Chicken."

"Looks like meat. So chicken's a beast?"

"It's.. It's an animal..."

"What's that?" She points to the vegetable at the side of her plate.

"Umm.. We call it kangkong."

"Kang—what?"

"Syrene, seriously. Just eat," says Truna.

Syrene, using a spork, wolfs down a big chunk of rice with a morsel of chicken meat.

"You kno—In Ossaria—We have a lot of—delicacies–too." She tries to say, but with a mouthful of food in her mouth. "We have delicious crops too, and you can sell high ranking beasts that are hard to kill for a lot of money, which are delicacies as well. Is this chicken thing hard to kill here?"

"No. I don't think so," I say.

"Oh. Well, it's delicious." She smiles, baring her teeth that have straws of chicken etched in between two teeths.

Unable to hold in my excitement, I burst with questions. A sudden prospect of a new life filled with adventure possesses me.

"How are we travelling to Ossaria?"

"Portaportal." She says. "It's a device used to teleport back to a last saved waypoint. This is an entirely whole new world. You've got loads to learn. Are you excited?" She prematurely stops chewing and looks at me, anticipating a form of response.

"Yes, I think." I say.

She smiles and continues chewing at my reply.

"What will I do there?"

"There's a school for you to harness and master your powers."

"Why do I need to take the initiation test if I already have powers?"

"You have powers before the initiation, that is superbly rare. But some kids in Ossaria, even before taking the test, exhibit powers too. But the initiation test helps to find out which classes you have an affinity for."

"Classes?"

"Yes. There are many of them. For example, I'm a seeker." She then points to the others, "Truna there's a flowermagi, and then Mossun over there's an invoker, the class that's involved with the initiation test and initiation spell. And then Nagayi, the one with the golden fringe of hair covering one eye, is an Orb, and then lastly, my disciple, Sibilar, who's also a seeker."

"So you guys came for me because of my magic?"

"Yes. I sensed your magic. We thought you were a darkened. But the darkened can remove their trace."

"A darkened?"

"Like Syrene has said, you have much to learn, little boy," interrupts Truna.

I ignore her and continue with my questions.

"What is Ossaria like?"

"Oh, it is magical! You'll see."

"What's the difference between the initiation test and the initiation spell?"

"We only do the initiation spell after someone has passed the test and meets a class' affinity."

"What happens if you do the spell on someone who fails the test?"

"They become cursed."

"What happens when they are cursed?"

"They lose their soul, they become a lost spirit wandering though still living, but they're actually dead. I don't know if they're conscious. Usually they won't reply to you, but the best way is to kill them."

"You can't save someone that's cursed?"

"No. There isn't a way. We've tried this on our prisoners for years, trying to tinker with it. But the lore states the rules and we just follow."

"So you've tried thi—"

"—I admire your curiosity, but that's enough questions for now," says Truna as she raises her hand coolly to me. "You will learn more in training school."

I gulp down another spoonful of rice, locking eyes with Syrene, and we both offer each other a faint smile.

***

I was the only kid in the orphanage privy to what's about to happen. But because Tim was the one who put his ear to the door, hearing most of the conversation, the information was spread through him like an uncontrollable conflagration to a forest.

After lunch, with plates cleared, tables cleaned, all of us who meet the age requirement sit anxiously on the row of tables in the common hall.

The five from Ossaria stand in a line, facing us all. Truna, in the middle, begins to speak.

"This is regarding the announcement and text you guys have received from your government. Earth is not the only world that exists. There are others which are filled with magic. It took a lot of time and effort for us to find your planet. The only reason the five of us are here, way before the actual announcement from your government, is because of the trace of magic we sensed, left by Kai."

The room starts to fill with murmurs, whispers and gasps. Truna places a hand up to her chest level, and they all stop.

"A war between the worlds is coming soon, and us champions from Ossaria—the good guys—could use all the help that we can get. We have made a truce with the global leaders of your planet. Those who pass the initiation test will be brought back to Ossaria to train and become champi—"

Amongst the sea of kids seated, Zachary slowly raises his hand.

"Yes?" She asks, looking annoyed for being interrupted.

"You're.. You're using kids to fight in your war?"

"It is not MY war, my dear child. Let me get this straight, it is OURS, which involves Earth as well. And do not merely confuse kids with champions. It is much bigger than that. Our lore states that only kids ages ten to fifteen, if they pass the test, are to be granted the initiation spell. This has been the practice since aeons ago. Since the creation of Ossaria, in fact. Perform the initiation spell on someone out of the age range, they become cursed. Perform the initiation spell on someone who does not pass the initiation test, they become cursed. Which by then, the only logical resolve is to kill them. But do not worry, if for some miraculous reason any of you pass the initiation test, our academy will train you properly, and we can only hope that you'll be ready by the time war comes."

Zachary gulps in his throat and puts his hand down, looking around at the faces of the other kids, who all look afraid as well. A few of them visibly tremble.

"I shall repeat myself, do not worry. The only one that should be worried, is him." Truna points to me, and all the kids turn to look. She continues speaking, "Because he will pass the test, and he will have an affinity to one class or more. So he will be part of the gruelling training involved in becoming a champion. The rest of you, on the other hand, will probably fail the test.."

All the kids look at each other, some looking disappointed at what they've just heard, some breaking into a faint smile, realising they won't have to be part of the war.

"It is not easy to pass the initiation test. For the rest of you, it is a one in a million chance. That is how it's like even in Ossaria or Devarion. This is why it is imperative we get assistance from planet Earth. We must win this war. If the Devarions win, they will hold dominion over all the worlds..

"In a moment, my fellow comrade here, Mossun, will use his magic to summon an enchanted paper before you. Once your hands touch them, the test will begin immediately. You will be shown a series of statements, up to about three hundred of them, which you will not be able to lie from. The magic will keep you from doing so. All of them will be answered by either touching a yes or a no option below them. You will be able to read them, and you'll think you'll know what your answers will be, saying yes or no in your head, but ultimately, the magic will force your soul to answer them with candour, despite your volition or defiance to resist. You will feel your hand move and answer them, as if it has a life of its own.

"The statements are in a wide spectrum, starting innocuously, and slowly becoming more intrusive, harder and uncomfortable as the test goes along. But of course, it won't matter, though you will feel whatever emotions you'll feel, you will not be able to stop the test halfway even if you wanted to... Now, after you're done answering them all, if the paper disintegrates and burns into smithereens of char, it means that you have failed the test. But if you have passed the test, the paper will glow brighter, float up, with your affinity for a class or classes, be it as a darkened, or a champion, appearing on it.."

Another kid, named Wei Ting, slowly raises her hands.

"Yes?"

"Can we.... Not take the test..?"

"No, you mu—"

Syrene touches Truna on the shoulder, stopping her from finishing her sentence.

"You might be a champion, a hero in the making, and you won't even know it. There is a lot of glory, purpose and fulfilment that comes with being a champion," says Syrene. "But if you really don't want to take the test—"

"There is no point sugar coating this, Syrene. They must. You must." Truna says haughtily to Wei Ting. "This is part of the truce made with the UN, so you will obey."

Wei Ting just looks down and ruefully nods.

"Now, is everyone ready?"

The room stays silent.

"Mossun."

"Yeah." Mossun extends his hands to his side, and his face squishes and winces, like a bodybuilder struggling to lift beyond his best record of weights. Three blue circular rings form around his wrists, and the room starts to billow with blustery wind. A blue coloured hue starts to emanate from him, filling the room.

"Initiation.." He murmurs sombrely, and the common room starts to fill with blue specks of dust that circle around us. The dust compiles and accumulates in front of every kid seated, forming into a piece of paper, which glows a blue hue.

"Ready.." He says.

"You may begin, just touch the paper," says Syrene as she claps hopefully. "Good luck!"