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"well. not the best timing, huh?"
an awkward chuckle had left your lips as you muttered under your breath at the sight of the mushroom-head─ someone you wished was anywhere but there.
"...thanks for bringing that to my attention." abel responded to mash's addressing of the obviously ripped off door.
"you're welcome." his response was plain as he held the door in his hands.
"you're the first-year with the gold coin." abel addressed, his words brimming with intent.
"that's me." mash affirmed, yet not noticing your presence despite being stood in the middle of the room.
"why do you wish to be a visionary?" the third-year interrogated. you shook your head at his antics.
"i want to live peacefully with my family." mash answered.
"beautiful... but you are misguided." abel peered up at the first-year, a predatory gaze set on him.
"is that really necessary now?" you sighed, deadpanning at him as you folded your arms.
"indeed. i've heard that your position to be the next divine visionary was settled years ago. i'm as well curious on why you decided to open up that position so suddenly." he glanced at you, holding his head up high as if shunning you for that ridiculous decision.
anyone in your stead would never give up such a high position, especially after earning it, but the second the opportunity came to you to drop every bit of knowledge and strength you built up in preparation of becoming a visionary, you took it without a second thought, in a single heartbeat.
"i lack the spark to be one. i'm simply unfit." you shrugged, keeping your answer lacking in definition.
"unfit..?" abel muttered, disbelief toning his speech before letting out a scoff. you quirked a brow at him, wondering what was so amusing about your response.
"you've risen to the top of the magic world in a mere 16 years. you possess magic that no one can rival. your knowledge is far extensive beyond the current generation of mages..." he started, lowering his head.
"unfit. do you take this for a joke?" his words seethed with fustration as he leered at you.
if someone like you saw herself as unfit to become a seer of god, then all his efforts and everyone else's would be nothing but a mockery.
you had everything, and gave it all up─ for what?
the lack of a metaphoric spark?
'who knew you were this pathetic, (y/n) kairos?'
"the divine visionaries are the artisans of this world. they are the vessels of the gods' divinity. and you've rejected embodying that divinity." abel started as both you and mash listened in.
"yet this first-year with the ambition to be one... he lacks the mettle necessary to be a creator deity. your roles are greatly reversed." he turned to you.
"no. they're not, really. no matter how great you are, if you fail to possess a 'spark', you achieve nothing in the end." you retorted.
"again with that 'spark' you speak of..." he furrowed his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes at you.
"all mortals possess a 'spark'. there are sparks that kindle into aspiring flames, and there are sparks that diminish into lingering smoke." you lifted a finger up, creating a spark that danced upon the tip of your index.
"the spark of which i assume is a desire to achieve change, and..." you held one hand out.
"an instinct to survive." holding out the other, the spark you created diminished into nothing.
abel remained silent, thoughts running loops within his mind. all mortals possess a spark. yet you, on the other hand, had no instance of one.
despite your achievements, unrivalled magic, and birthright, the amount of time it took you to reach to the top was nothing in comparison to mages who have engraved their name in history.
16 years, and yet even wahlberg baigan, one of the greatest mages the world had seen in ages, took over a century to achieve his post and claim it as his.
paired with your knowledge so extensive that it surpasses the current generation, only so few being able to compete with you... it only sounded quite─
'inhuman.'
all mortals possessed a spark.
you did not.
abel dwelled on your words for a minute or two, only questions occupying his head. questions that had no sensible answer. questions he desired answers to.
"an old friend of mine said i have something in place of a spark." you sighed, brushing off abel's suspecting look.
"they told me rather than a spark, i possessed an oceanic plane of tranquil waters. and yet, even the most serene of seas are bound to erupt with all-devouring tsunamis." you quoted, recalling the very day they had read your prophecy.
and even after an indefinite amount of years, you still couldn't wrap your head around it.
"well. no matter the metaphors, i'm still just a mere human. and so are you." you shrugged with an exhale of your words.
"what would you do?" mash spoke up, questioning abel of his reason for aiming to become a visionary.
"...i would return this world to it's rightful form." he peeled his mind off your words, focusing his attention to the first-year.
"do you know why humanity has flourished? not due to sparks or waters, but because we tirelessly pillage from those weaker than us." the third-year spoke, briefly glancing at you before eyeing mash.
"but look at society now. sheltering the weak, fighting for equality, encouraging compassion... it's nonsense. they've shut their eyes to reality." disappointment leaked through his words.
"we are beasts by nature."
wolfish eyes pierced through both you and mash with a carnivorous glower, a beastly aura circling around the first fang as he firmly stated his beliefs.
"in all species, the weak are taken advantage of until they are finally weeded out. thus, it is us, the superior who prosper. it's nature." he claimed.
"i get it." mash lowered his head. although, you highly doubted his statement.
"so, you're saying you want to live a peaceful life too?"
he, in fact, did not get it.
"i take offense at your mockery."
"no offense or mockery intended."
"is that so...? then i will allow you to go in exchange for your gold coin." he offered.
you sweat-dropped. he surely couldn't believe that someone like mash, or anyone in general, would give up their hard-earned coin so easily, right?
"uh. how about no?" the mushroom-head bluntly refused, as expected.
"i see. but... you don't have a choice." as abel's words parted his lips, a doll practically flew above you as it barely missed a kick to mash's head.
as the mushroom-head bent back, he grounded himself with his hands while using his feet to get ahold of the doll's head. twisting and maneuvering his core muscle, mash slammed the doll to the ground, both defeating it and ceasing abel's magic as it returned to a human being.
it was no other than abel's latest addition to his collection of wooden puppets, silva, who was snagged straight from him.
"was that supposed to be a challenge?" confidence complimented mash's words, although he hadn't yet noticed the unconscious student by his feet.
in an instant, another puppet, much larger and stronger than the last, loomed over mash while his back was turned away. 4 of its 6 arms took hold of the first-year's limbs, hoisting him up with no effort as another arm reached out to search for the gold coin mash held onto.
"this wooden puppet has been pumping iron..." mash stated, taking notice of the puppet's strength.
the second the mushroom-head took notice of his coin being taken from him, you witnessed something unbelievable as the wooden puppet shot the gold coin to abel.
yet what had landed in the third-year's hand was no coin, but a button of similar size ripped from his very own doll.
in short, mash had turned to rip the puppet's button off its clothing with his teeth before spitting it out with such force that it knocked his coin's trajectory off its initial path.
then, he had used the sheer strength of his lungs to suck up the coin. so where the treasured coin resided in that moment was...
'his mouth? that's unsanitary.' you made a face at mash who only tilted his head at you.
as the puppet believed its objective was completed, it held up mash by his foot before launching him straight to a wall.
seconds before the first-year made impact with the wall, you managed to catch him and stop the both of you from crashing.
"oh. (y/n), you're here? also, do you pump iron?" he questioned you, quickly noticing how you had easily caught him with little effort.
"long story, and sometimes i do." you answered, sighing at his antics of misreading the situation.
"i will put this coin to good use. moreover, i'd like a talk with you in solitary, (y/n)." abel's gaze shifted to you, darkening as he witnessed you hold the first-year, someone in his path, with such carefulness.
"i take back what i said. this is a challenge." as mash removed himself from you, he only took a few steps forward before his foot met with a head.
he pushed down, increasing the pressure on silva's skull before finally looking down to see why he couldn't find his footing.
"whoops. almost crushed someone to death." despite his monotonous voice and expression, his hands hovered around his head as he panicked.
"hey.. i'm gonna take him to the nurse's office." he lifted up silva, slinging the second-year's arm over his shoulder as he supported his body.
"you're giving up your coin?" abel was slightly taken aback.
"no, but this is higher priority. besides, it doesn't matter how strong you are." he briefly turned back, a competitive glint reflecting in his eyes.
"i'm not gonna lose."
as he firmly spoke with confidence, his intentions against the magia lupus were clear. some members widened their eyes at his bold choice of words, yet you let out a chuckle of amusement.
"oh yeah. you coming, (y/n)?" his gaze shifted to you as you took a number of steps forward, approaching him.
"yeah, coming." you gave a small smile, trailing behind the first-year as he dragged silva out the door.
"okay. we're going now."
"we'll talk another time if my schedule sees fit. i'm a busy person, y'know." you waved at the first fang as he only watched you step out the door, half-heartedly jesting on your way out.
(...)
"that was close." mash pulled out the coin he had saved in the nick of time.
"no. that was genius." you praised the boy, taking the coin from his hand.
"i've got 4 silver coins from yesterday, during the scorpion hunt." you muttered.
"you need one more to get a gold coin." mash stated, staring at the coin as the both of you headed to the infirmary.
"woah. you can subtract 5 from 4?" your eyes widened. last time, he counted 28 coins required to get 5 silver coins.
"finn taught me every number subtracted from 5. 5 - 1 equals 4. 5 - 2 equals 3. 5 - 3 equals─"
"okay, okay! i know!" you clasped a hand over his mouth, returning his coin.
"oh yeah, i forgot to ask. what were you doing with them, (y/n)?" he removed your hand, gently holding onto your wrist for a split second.
"they just... called for me." you sighed, craning your neck and resting a hand on your nape.
"is it like what lance mentioned yesterday?" he pushed his question.
"eh. you could say so." you vaguely responded, sliding your hands into your pockets.
mash paused in his tracks, drawing your attention to him as you stopped a few steps ahead of him.
"i don't want you leaving me for them, (y/n)." mash muttered, directing his gaze to the ground like a lonesome little child.
you smiled, a small laugh escaping you.
"don't worry. i'm not leaving you."
...
"'kay." the boy didn't add on any further, accepting your answer without a hint of hesitation as he looked ahead.
"i see the nurse's office. let's go before he dies." mash said before picking up his steps. you walked alongside him, matching his pace.
"he's not gonna die, idiot." you scoffed at his wild imagination.
"i almost crushed him to death... what if he gets brain damage?" he paled at the thought, his pace speeding up as he rushed silva to the infirmary.
you only shook your head with a sigh.
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ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
proofread.
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︎︎ᝰ.ᐟ ︎︎ ︎︎ ︎︎ ︎︎ ︎︎AUTHOR'S NOTE
；i hope this chapter
leaves you thinking :3
anyways, imagine rayne
in dark romance. i want
to write a tensive enemies
to lovers fic on that, but
i'm not sure if it's fitting
for his character. thoughts
before i say 'fuck it'?