12-12-2015, 02:44 AM
The harsh illumination of the nexus threw the outline of the fountain, the only landmark in the desolate plain, into sharp relief. In the distance were the marching platoons of stormtroopers and the sure, purposeful movement of the few travelers. Had someone been watching the fountain, a tastelessly simple cubist sculpture, they might have noticed a slight disturbance in the otherwise stagnant air. The air rippled and coalesced into the shadowy figure of a young man.
Negi found himself on the white ground of the nexus. Why am I here? There was something urgent he had to do. There was... rain. It was raining. It should be raining. Why is it not raining? He needed to find shelter. Shelter from the imminent flood. But I did find shelter. There was a schoolhouse. There was, wasn't there? An abandoned schoolhouse. The sight of the classroom felt so familiar.
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Negi scanned the class roster as he walked towards the classroom. His classroom. High school girls. Why, of all of the classes I could have gotten, did I have to get class of high school girls? The idea of teaching students in a foreign country was bad enough. But to be teaching a class full of older girls? Absolutely terrifying.
Why didn't the principal say about this? In response, the image of his sister and friend waving as he left the train station appeared. He could imaging their faces if he came home without completing his task. It was always the same, a look of pity for the little orphan boy. I can do this. I'll be a proper mage as soon as I finish this.
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Negi smiled at the memory. The rest of that day was, as expected, pandemonium. So was the rest of the term. Yet, the it was not as terrifying as he had anticipated. They were my students.
But why am I here? This is where I first arrived. What happened after I arrived at the school? Other people arrived. Unfriendly people. They wanted him to get out. Out to the killing fields. I was part of the slaughter too, wasn't I? There were four: a pink-haired girl, a demon girl, a young man with a straw hat, and another man. There was a time when he could have beaten them with impunity. Indeed, back then, he could have fought ten times the number and still have won. But he was at but a fraction of his strength. The fight was futile, but anything was better than heading back out. Anything. After that... pain. Blades flying out of nowhere, ripping through flesh. Death was a welcome release. But I'm not dead. Negi looked down at himself. His shadowy figure had consolidated a little. Only half dead. Is this what Omni meant?
Dante's Abyss. That was the name. A game where the contestants killed each other. Some madman's idea of "entertainment." Why did I even join? For answers. Answers to who he was and why he was here. And I thought I would get answers from that madness. But he did get answers. He used to be a teacher and a fighter and a mage. They all felt true, like parts of his nature. He still had a part of his magic. It's not enough. I still don't know who I am, nor why I am here.
Negi summoned his broom and headed for one of the gates in the distance. Where it lead to didn't matter. Anywhere was better than this dull, white world. There were questions to be answered and answers to be found and they certainly weren't here, wherever here was in this new world.
Negi found himself on the white ground of the nexus. Why am I here? There was something urgent he had to do. There was... rain. It was raining. It should be raining. Why is it not raining? He needed to find shelter. Shelter from the imminent flood. But I did find shelter. There was a schoolhouse. There was, wasn't there? An abandoned schoolhouse. The sight of the classroom felt so familiar.
----------
Negi scanned the class roster as he walked towards the classroom. His classroom. High school girls. Why, of all of the classes I could have gotten, did I have to get class of high school girls? The idea of teaching students in a foreign country was bad enough. But to be teaching a class full of older girls? Absolutely terrifying.
Why didn't the principal say about this? In response, the image of his sister and friend waving as he left the train station appeared. He could imaging their faces if he came home without completing his task. It was always the same, a look of pity for the little orphan boy. I can do this. I'll be a proper mage as soon as I finish this.
----------
Negi smiled at the memory. The rest of that day was, as expected, pandemonium. So was the rest of the term. Yet, the it was not as terrifying as he had anticipated. They were my students.
But why am I here? This is where I first arrived. What happened after I arrived at the school? Other people arrived. Unfriendly people. They wanted him to get out. Out to the killing fields. I was part of the slaughter too, wasn't I? There were four: a pink-haired girl, a demon girl, a young man with a straw hat, and another man. There was a time when he could have beaten them with impunity. Indeed, back then, he could have fought ten times the number and still have won. But he was at but a fraction of his strength. The fight was futile, but anything was better than heading back out. Anything. After that... pain. Blades flying out of nowhere, ripping through flesh. Death was a welcome release. But I'm not dead. Negi looked down at himself. His shadowy figure had consolidated a little. Only half dead. Is this what Omni meant?
Dante's Abyss. That was the name. A game where the contestants killed each other. Some madman's idea of "entertainment." Why did I even join? For answers. Answers to who he was and why he was here. And I thought I would get answers from that madness. But he did get answers. He used to be a teacher and a fighter and a mage. They all felt true, like parts of his nature. He still had a part of his magic. It's not enough. I still don't know who I am, nor why I am here.
Negi summoned his broom and headed for one of the gates in the distance. Where it lead to didn't matter. Anywhere was better than this dull, white world. There were questions to be answered and answers to be found and they certainly weren't here, wherever here was in this new world.