POV: Rai Shinsei
A few minutes passed after Ryan and Jennifer left the facility and while Arthur slept, I decided to recuperate as Jennifer's Aspect is unable to restore one's stamina, despite having the power to save nearly anyone from the verge of death.
Closing my eyes to rest for a minute, I began listening to the splashing of water from the crumbling waterfall as I savored in my momentary peace until Ryan's words echoed inside my mind, reminding me of my own incompetence as I looked into the palm of my hand.
"In terms of Aspectual Power, you're weaker than you were two years ago."
The adrenaline rush I gain when I use my Aspect is one of the greatest feelings that I've experienced.
My body overflows with so much power that it makes me feel as if I'm a god, unbound from any restrictions, but everything changed two years ago.
Blinded by my own power, I lost everything precious to me once again.
The Aspect I once treasured indirectly killed the one I cared for the most.
I'm not delusional to believe that I can achieve my goal without the use of my own Aspect, but as of now…
I don't want to use my Aspect anymore.
With my Aspect still active, my lightning amplified eyes were easily able to discern the whereabouts of the curious girl who chose to spectate our fight from afar as I stood from the ground and adjusted the loose bandages around my arms.
I'm surprised she's still here.
After rewrapping my tattered bandages, I suddenly shifted my eyes onto the girl, who was alarmed from her location being revealed as I vanished from her sight and appeared behind her, prompting her to scour the area with her eyes as she was oblivious to the fact that I was standing behind her.
"That was a great fight, wasn't it?" I asked, my tone laced with sarcasm as she shrieked from my sudden appearance startling her, but as her eyes matched my own, I couldn't help but gaze at her flustered expression as her beauty was alluring.
I wasn't familiar with many nobles growing up, especially women of nobility as I was a peasant from the outskirts of Jiyu, but despite being ignorant of a woman's appeal, I was certain that the girl standing before me was as beautiful as Aria with her own unique charming features.
Her frame was slightly slimmer than Aria's as she seemed to be several inches shorter than myself with a pale complexion, long, yet, wavy pure white hair with a side ponytail as the color of her eyes resembled an amethyst with delicate white eyelashes framing them.
As for her attire, it was the standard school uniform for females with the exception of a blazer as she wore a white hoodie instead and thin black socks that ended just below her skirt.
POV: Selene Korisuki
I didn't even sense him behind me.
"I didn't mean to startle you, but I have a favor to ask." Rai said, extending his hand towards me as I accepted his offer, allowing him to pull me up from the ground as he deactivated his Aspect in the midst while I patted off the dust from my clothes.
"Do you mind if I sit on the edge of the cliff over there? I have to watch Arthur and today has been a long day, so I'm pretty tired." Rai asked as I nodded, prompting us to head towards his desired location as he sat down on the edge of the ruined cliff while I decided to remain standing beside him.
As there was a moment of silence, I took a moment to observe the destruction from Rai and Arthur's fight as the once pristine facility that I used to soothe my mind was now ravaged beyond belief with the only section remaining untouched residing behind us.
From the two months I've used the facility to my leisure, I've never seen it in a ruinous state such as this.
Thankfully the Headmaster has contracted Aspectors to restore any damages within the grounds of the academy as I enjoy my late night walks, but after today, I'm sure the facility will be closed for a few weeks.
As I tried to imagine how to spend my nights going forward, I began to conjure a headache as to make matters worse, the source of my problem was sitting before me, relishing in the moment of silence as his carefree attitude irked me and yet, I disregarded my pettiness with a soft sigh.
"That reminds me… how were you able to enter the facility?" Rai asked as I pulled out a purple keycard from the pocket of my skirt and handed it to him.
"With the exception of several students, only a few members of the Elite Ten are granted the privilege to use the evaluation facility as the benefits you receive are based on your rank within the academy." I replied as Rai compared his black keycard to my own.
"I see. Are you by any chance a member of the Elite Ten?" Rai asked curiously, handing me back my keycard as I placed it inside the pocket of my skirt.
"Yes. I'm ranked 5th among the Elite Ten." I replied as Rai's eyes widened in astonishment.
"You're that strong?" Rai asked incredulously as I nodded.
Although I may be strong, I'm not even sure I could defeat you.
My Aspect is Ice Manipulation and I'm confident in facing any fighter that specializes in close combat, but Rai is an exception.
As I watched him fight against Arthur, I ran several simulations of fighting against Rai myself within my mind out of curiosity and throughout every simulation, I was unable to win once, which makes me wonder…
"What is your rank within the academy?" I asked.
"200th." Rai answered as I was perplexed, furrowing my eyebrows as he chortled at my state of confusion.
"Are you a false ranker? The Myrtle twins are extremely accurate in their rankings of students as they constantly observe the affairs of the academy, so I doubt they would rank you this poorly. Does the Headmaster have something to do with it?" I questioned as Rai smiled, prompting him to look up as he began gazing into the splendacious night sky looming above us.
"Yes, I am a false ranker. The favor I wanted to ask you was if you can keep my Aspect a secret." Rai said as he matched his gaze with my own.
"I don't mind, but may I ask why?" I inquired, wondering why a high-ranker of his caliber would want to hide his power as his eyes seemed to distance themselves from me.
"I have a goal that I must achieve at any cost. I'm not interested in being known as the strongest and I don't want anyone else to be affected by my selfish desires." Rai replied soberly as the foreign sadness exuding from his demeanor roused a sense of guilt within me.
I assumed he would be more like Zayn because of his nonchalant attitude and the nature of his Aspectual Force, but he's far from what I expected.
He truly cares for others.
"By the way, what's your name? I forgot to ask you earlier." Rai asked, his tone suddenly reverting back to a carefree one.
"Selene Korisuki. And you are?" I asked, curious to know of his surname.
"Rai Shinsei." He replied as his last name itched my mind, inspiring me to ponder for a moment as I nearly grasped a memory I've long forgotten until it slipped away from me.
I could have swore I heard of his last name before, but maybe I'm mistaking it with a different name.
"As for who knows of my Aspect, only you, Aria, Arthur, Everett and Sarah are aware. I'm sure there are some staff members who are also aware of my Aspect, but Ryan and Jennifer are the ones who I'm certain know of my Aspect." Rai stated.
"By Ryan, you are referring to the Headmaster, right?" I asked with confusion laced in my tone as I wondered why he addresses the Headmaster by his first name.
"Yeah. I would prefer if you kept this information secret also, but he raised me from when I was a child, so I'm more familiar with calling him Ryan than addressing him as Headmaster." Rai replied as he directed his attention towards Arthur, who was soiled from his fight against Rai as he slept like a baby, despite the uncomfortable surface he rested on.
Well that explains his combat prowess.
The Headmaster is exceptionally gifted in combat as in terms of hand-to-hand combat, he is only second to Alexander Zettai, who is a member of the Grand Four.
As Rai's attention was elsewhere, my curiosity got the best of me as I glanced at his robust torso through his tattered shirt, which was marred with many faint scars as I was beginning to question if this boy was the same age as me.
He should be around my age, so what in the world did he go through to gain a body like that?
Piquing my interest further was none other than Rai's face, which was revealed by a draft of wind as I noticed he was quite handsome.
Disregarding his bedraggled appearance, his skin was fairly clear with sharp eyebrows as his eyelashes were a tad longer than most males, but what stood out the most was his mesmerizing blue eyes, which seemed to have captured the sky itself as Rai eventually noticed my extensive staring.
"Is something wrong?" Rai asked in concern as I shook my head.
"I'm fine. As for your Aspect, I will keep it a secret." I replied as I tried to maintain my composure with a deadpan expression, but my efforts were in vain as my answer roused a smile of gratitude from Rai, who matched my eyes with his own as I felt a faint burning sensation flush within the cheeks of my face.
That was rather rude of me.
"Thank you, Selene." Rai said as I was unable to discern the emotion I was currently experiencing, ultimately choosing to ignore it as I nodded with a smile.
It's strange.
He's not like the rest of the obnoxious students I deal with and for some reason, I actually enjoy conversing with him.
"I won't keep you here any longer as I've already said what I needed. You're free to leave whenever you want, but I'm going to take Arthur with me and call it for the night." Rai said as he tried to stand from the ground, but to his misfortune, the edge that he once sat on crumbled before him, causing him to lose his balance as he began falling from the cliff.
"Rai!" I shouted anxiously as I tried to grab his arm to save him from falling, but despite the blessing of my noble blood, I was unable to save him as the momentum of his fall carried me along with him, causing us both to crash onto the ground below.
In a daze, I was unaware of what cushioned my fall until I realized that I was on top of none other than Rai, who was taken aback by our current situation as our faces were no further than an inch apart.
This is awkward.
This is really, really, awkward.