Beyond The Veil: The Master's Heir

Under Orion's Shadow

All eyes and mouths fell open immediately, and Master Duran sprang up simultaneously with the chiefs.

"Sam!!" Ruthie screamed in horror as Orion removed his sword from her belly, and she fell to the ground lifelessly, blood gushing out.

Master Duran leapt into the air, flying over to the scene, but Orion vanished before he could land.

The chiefs ran down too, their eyes wide with shock.

He knelt beside her, touching her forehead with two fingers as Ruthie held her.

"Sam, please don't die," Ruthie was already crying as her blood continued gushing.

"Take her to the ice cave!" Master Duran ordered, and it was Aragon who came up and carried her in his arms, rushing out of the assembly with her.

Ruthie ran after him and several other disciples.

"She was obviously flirting with Aragon, serving her right," Agatha muttered, smiling as she remained standing.

"Why would Orion do such a thing? She might die!" Chief Water said.

"She won't. She's a healer herself," Master Duran replied.

"Being a healer doesn't count, Duran. Orion's sword is poisonous," Chief Feathers said.

"It does. She's a special breed, and she might not heal as fast as she usually does, but she'd surely heal," Master Duran replied, climbing down the stairs.

He left the two chiefs, and Chief Feathers began stroking the beak of the bird on her shoulder.

"Why would he stab her?" Chief Water asked again, and Feathers faced him.

"Her hair," she smirked.

"Hair?"

"You don't remember? Astrid was murdered by a white-haired witch," she replied.

"Doesn't mean every white-haired person is the killer. He didn't even see the killer's face," Chief Water said, and Feathers smiled, facing the now-empty assembly.

"You know how Orion is."

* Orion landed back in his dark room, and the three stars at the back of his hand began shining in the dark, illuminating the room slightly with redness.

He dropped his bloody sword on the table, and Samara's blood was magically wiped from it immediately.

His brows furrowed as he remembered how he had stabbed her without hesitation, and he rested his palms on the table, recalling that dark evening when Astrid died.

Flashback, Years Ago

"Orion! I need to go fetch herbs in the woods," Astrid rushed into Orion's room, and Orion looked up from the book he was reading.

He was a great lover of books.

"Again? Well, fine, just don't tell me to follow you," he said.

"You know there's no way I'm going without you. Orion, please..."

"Sometimes I wonder why I was born powerful while you were born as a human. It's frustrating I can't even do anything without considering you first," Orion replied.

"Just ten minutes, we won't take long, I promise," Astrid begged again.

"Go call Aragon," Orion replied.

Aragon was Astrid's friend.

"He's currently not in the city. Please, Orion, I..."

"Then wait till I finish this book," Orion cut him off, and he sighed.

"Fine! I'll go alone!"

He left the house, and Orion inhaled in relief.

"Finally, some peace," he smiled and returned to reading his book.

He was lost in the book for hours, and he didn't notice that Astrid was taking too long.

"Astrid!" Aragon shouted from outside, and that brought Orion back from his reading.

He dropped the book and looked up. Aragon came in.

Though they were friends, they weren't close; they barely talked unless Aragon wanted to ask about Astrid.

"Where's Astrid?" he asked as expected.

"He's..." Orion stopped talking, and his eyes widened when he realized he had been gone for two good hours!

The book dropped from his hand, and he ran crazily out of the house.

"What's happening? Why aren't you saying anything!" Aragon ran after him, but Orion never stopped or looked back.

He kept running deeper and deeper into the woods with Aragon following behind.

He suddenly came to a stop when he saw drops of blood on the green leaves, and his eyes widened.

The flapping of wings could suddenly be heard, and he looked up immediately. There he saw a white-haired girl flying away in the sky with two giant wings.

She was gone before Aragon caught up with him, and they both saw Astrid's lifeless body lying in a pool of blood.

"Astrid!!!!"

Flashback Ends

Orion clutched his hand on the sword's edge as he remembered, and his door opened violently.

Master Duran walked in, and when Orion tried to vanish again, Duran held him back with a strong magnetic force, pinning his foot to the ground until he reached him and slapped him on the chest.

Orion flew away from his spot, crashing into the bed stand. The bedstand shattered immediately upon impact, and he landed in the middle of the wooden pieces.

"You think it's fun? Hurting people is a game? What are you turning into!" Master Duran demanded furiously.

"She's not a human, she's a witch, a white-haired one!" Orion replied as he stood from the pile of wood with bloody knuckles.

"Orion!!!"

"Keep her away from me. It's advice," he replied and vanished.

Master Duran inhaled frustratingly, closing his eyes.

* ICE CAVE*

Almost all the top students were present except Ceres and Agatha, and Samara was currently on the ice bed, the steam from the ice seeping into her pale skin.

"Why was she brought here? She should be treated instead. I'm getting y'all arrested if my friend really dies," Ruthie said, and Echo held her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Ruthie. Bringing her here is the best. Blood will stop circulating in her body while she's on the ice bed, and that's why her bleeding has already stopped," she said.

"Really? Will it really bring her back?" Ruthie asked.

"Not really, but the Master can transfer some of his inner powers to her. She'll wake up once Master comes," Krishna replied from behind, and she nodded.

As if he could hear, Master Duran came in immediately, and the students made way for him as he walked to the bed, taking Samara's wrist.

He placed two fingers on it to feel her pulse, and he nodded.

"She's healing," he said.

"Healing?" Merlin asked.

"Isn't she a healer?" he replied, and Ruthie gasped.

"Gosh! I totally forgot! She is! But wait! Her body is fast in that aspect, so she should have finished healing by now," she said quickly.

"She got stabbed by Orion's sword, so it might take a while," Aragon spoke.

"That tasteless, wicked, callous, cruel, devilish scum of the earth is Orion? Sounds like Onion, what an ugly name," Ruthie said with a scoff, and everyone began laughing except the Master and Aragon.

"He's the second Superior," Peony said.

"I don't care!" Ruthie shouted.

"Calm your voice down, Samara will wake up in an hour at least," Master Duran said and left.

"Y'all should leave. Staying here might slow down her healing," Aragon said.

"Me too?" Ruthie pointed to herself.

Aragon left without replying, and Peony held her.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," she said, pulling her out with the others.

They left for the cafeteria for breakfast, and Ruthie's eyes widened when she saw the delicious food.

There was no server in sight, so it was obviously self-service.

"I wish I could eat all these with Sam," she muttered.

"You won't eat?" Raven asked.

"I'm not eating anything without Sam," she replied.

"I envy the friendship," Krishna said, and Ruthie smiled at him.

He returned the smile before leaving to join the line with Raven, and she blushed.

"Did he just smile at me?" she muttered.

She sat alone and just watched everyone else take food.

Merlin and Echo were the first to serve themselves, and they returned to the table with full trays.

"Don't tell me you both are finishing all that," Ruthie said in astonishment.

"They're tiny, but they eat like elephants," Peony replied, sitting beside her with her own tray of food.

"I love your purple hair, witch," Ruthie said.

"And I love your redhead, witch," Peony replied, and they laughed.

"I'm Peony, by the way," she said.

"Nice," Ruthie nodded.

"That's Raven, and that's Krishna, his friend," Peony pointed at them.

"Thanks, and those two foodies are Merlin and Echo, right?" Ruthie replied.

"You know their names already?" Peony smiled.

"Yes. They were the ones who came to get me and Sam," Ruthie replied.

Agatha entered the crowded cafeteria, flaunting her hair proudly, walking like she owned the world, as usual. She went to the front of the line, ignoring the others.

She spent over ten minutes taking her food before leaving the line and settling down at a table alone.

"Wait... Did that just happen? Did that disgusting, arrogant, proud b*tch... Did she just get ahead of everyone in line?" Ruthie blinked.

"That's Agatha. She's the princess of a distant kingdom called Sullivan. Her father is a king, so she gets special treatment," Peony replied.

"I don't care! As long as she's here, isn't she a disciple too?" Ruthie said.

"Well... Ceres is the only one who can say that to her face," Peony replied.

"Ceres?" Ruthie said.

"That's her," Peony said, pointing at Ceres who was just coming in.

"I like people like her. I should get to know her," Ruthie stood up, but Peony pulled her back.

"Don't go to her. She only talks to Raven, who's her brother, or Krishna, who's her crush. Anyone else is a no. She's naturally bitter," Peony said.

"Wait... didn't you say Raven and Krishna are friends? She's crushing on her brother's friend?" Ruthie asked.

"Sure, love isn't forbidden here," Peony replied, eating another forkful of scrambled eggs.

"We're back!" Krishna and Raven joined the table, then Merlin and Echo came over to the same table. They were already on their third tray of food.

Ceres joined them too after getting her food, and Ruthie waved at her, but she ignored her and just ate.

"Told you, she hates people," Peony said.

"Now I know," Ruthie rolled her eyes at Ceres.

Aragon came in, and the attention of 50% of the girls turned to him. He might be a superior, but he was the same age as most of the disciples, just like Orion. He had a handsome but cold face.

The only difference between the superiors and disciples was that the superiors had already reached the last stage of their power cultivation, while the disciples were just starting.

"Whoa, girls crush, huh? My Sam even joined the girls already," Ruthie said.

"He might be cold, but Superior Aragon is actually caring," Echo said over a mouthful of food.

Aragon got his food and went to his own special table at a different spot in the cafeteria, where he sat down.

Agatha took her food tray and left her table, going to him immediately.

"I feel like eating here today," she said, sitting in front of him.

Aragon said nothing, just eating silently.

"Wait... when did you guys resume?" Ruthie asked.

"We all resumed this week, just on different days, and we haven't done much," Raven replied.

"Heard we're going on our first test this evening," Krishna said.

"Test?" Ruthie blinked.

"Yes. A test of our powers, and I can't wait," Merlin said, drinking some water.

"She's awake!" Echo pointed at the door, and everyone turned to see Samara standing there with an angry look. The veins on her neck were bulging.

"Sam!" Ruthie rushed to her with the rest.

"Where's that bastard who wounded me?" she asked.

"Sam...

"Where's him!!" Samara interrupted, and Ruthie jumped.

"Calm down, Sam. Superior Orion isn't here now," she said.

"Onion? So he's the second superior? Is that why he decided to stab me at first sight? What if I died!!!" Samara screamed crazily, and Aragon entered the circle, making her scream stop abruptly.

Her mouth remained open as he felt her temperature by touching her forehead, and she stood still.

Agatha lost her appetite immediately when she saw the scene.

Aragon actually touched that b**ch?

She poured away her remaining food in anger.

"You're not burning. Seems you're totally fine," Aragon said and tried to remove his hand from her forehead, but Samara held it back.

"No. Keep touching," she said, but he removed it nevertheless, and he walked out of the cafeteria.

"I can now die in peace. He touched me," Samara rested her palms on her chest, and a loud bell sounded from the assembly.

They all left the cafeteria for the assembly, where they met Master Duran, who was alone on a seat. The chiefs were not there.

They lined up accordingly, waiting for him to speak.

"This evening will be the first test of power. You'll all be going on a journey to the woods where you'll face several challenges. It might turn dangerous, and that's why we'll have you distributed under the two Superiors, who will accompany you on the journey," Master Duran said.

"I hope I'll be under Superior Aragon," Ruthie said.

"Me too," Merlin and Echo said at the same time.

"Anywhere I am, I'm fine," Krishna said, and Ruthie looked at him.

"He's so f*****g cool," she muttered, then her eyes met Ceres', who was also staring at him.

Ceres rolled her eyes before looking away, and Ruthie scoffed.

"She's not even that pretty," she said.

"I want to be under Superior Aragon too," Raven said.

"Me too, please," Peony said.

Agatha just smiled.

"And know that the Superior you'll be under will also be the one to oversee your practice classes," Master Duran said again, and everyone held their breath as a broad sheet appeared on his palm.

He started calling out names, starting with those under Aragon.

"Peony"

"Raven"

"Krishna"

"Ruthie"

"Echo"

"Merlin"

"Ceres"

"Agatha"

"There's just one disciple under Orion," Master Duran continued, and they all went silent.

Samara held her breath, hoping it wasn't what she thought.

"Samara," Master Duran finally said, and Samara fainted.