《Echoes of the Cosmos》


 Chapter 1: Encountering Magic

    Writer Eternal: Hello. Hope you enjoy this new project of mine.


    Chapter 1: Encountering Magic


    Magic was the last thing Kaito expected when he got the mail in the morning. He thought it was a prank from his buddies. He kept it in his room for laughs and went to the mall.


    It was supposed to be an ordinary drive back home.


    "Nice Mercedes Kaito," his neighbor, Jorge laughed as Kaito parked along a driveway in Chatsworth, California.


    "An old 1990''s model with 90,000 miles, but I managed to upgrade some of the utilities. Man am I glad I got the part time job at the junk yard. Been a year since I turned fifteen and got the work permit," Kaito agreed. "Reading books and finding parts was all I needed, besides the assistance and expertise of my colleagues there."


    "Thanks for the lift even though we''re neighbors," Jorge grinned and left the sleek black car and walked to the house across the street. Kaito locked his car and looked at his cellphone.


    "Today is Wednesday. Better put the trash bins on the street for tomorrow morning," Kaito sighed and unlocked the gate beside the garage to enter the backyard.


    As he left the street, five people donning black cloaks with silver fasteners appeared out of nowhere. They had polished sticks akin to wands in their hands and fired energy spheres of different colors toward the front. Two men in white cloaks appeared, one blocking the energy missiles with a white staff with a goat''s skull mounted on top.


    "Lionel, why the violence?" the white-cloaked man wielding the staff mocked as the five other wizards kept their wands pointed at the two men.


    "Sebastian, why? Why become a dark wizard?" one wizard growled as he stepped forward. "Why serve the demons? Magic is supposed to protect mankind, not destroy it."


    "Blood magic and death magic are the most powerful in this world. If I can become powerful enough to take what I want when I want to, why the hell not?" Sebastian asked. "Why must we follow the laws and rules of the mundane, non-magical humans? We are more powerful than they are. Magic flows in our veins. Why must we live in hiding?"


    "Forget them, Sebastian. They cannot understand our great dream. We fight," the other white-cloaked wizard said and sent red bolts of energy at the five other wizards.


    "We cannot let Sebastian escape!" Lionel roared and the other wizards also began casting spells. Lionel made a gesture behind his back and his comrades focused their attention on the other wizard.


    "Miguel," Sebastian started but Lionel was powerful enough to keep him from assisting the other dark wizard.


    Miguel blocked spell after spell with his wand, sending his own spell bolts at his opponent. The pavement cracked and had new holes as bolts were deflected one after the other.


    However, Miguel was only one man. We was soon overwhelmed by the four other wizards and took three blue bolts to the chest. His back banged against Kaito''s car, the driver''s window breaking as Miguel''s head hit the glass.


    Miguel knew he would not win and secretly put something in the car as he pretended to pull himself up by using the door as leverage. He had a pouch and a ring with the magical effect of storage rooms within. No one knew the small pouch existed and Miguel intended to leave the ring and return for it later.


    It was just bad luck that Miguel died as the four wizards took no chances against the rogue wizard. His eyes glazed over as he slumped onto the ground and grew still.


    "The other wizard is down! Secure Sebastian!" one of the four said and they rushed to assist Lionel. Kaito was leaning against the side of the garage, a black and blue bin behind him as he watched the fight with a mixed feeling of shock, awe, and fear.


    "HAHAHA! My ambitions cannot be stopped here. Farewell, old friend," Sebastian grinned as he took out a crystal orb the color of blood.


    "Not good! Everyone get back!" Lionel''s face paled and shouted as Sebastian held the orb above his head. A red skull appeared from the ground and swallowed Sebastian. Sebastian had escaped and he took classified intel with him.


    "Repair the road and cars. Leave no traces," Lionel said and vanished into the shadows. The other wizards nodded silently, two taking the body of the dead wizard before repairing the street and Kaito''s car.


    "Whoa. Magic! They did magic! How awesome," Kaito whispered and quickly sprinted to the street with the bins. After putting the bins on the side of the road, he quickly inspected his precious car.


    As he turned the car key half way, his eyes bulged as he saw how clean and new his car was. Even the mileage was down to zero. He felt the leather seat and even found the car tires as perfect as the day they were first put on sale.


    "What is this ring?" Kaito frowned as he found a small black pouch with dark purple stars under his car seat. He felt some strange energy enter his body and dropped the pouch in fear.


    "What was that?" he panicked and touched his chest to feel nothing wrong. "I''m okay? I''m okay."


    He sighed with relief and picked up the pouch again. He wanted to untie it, but was afraid the wizards would come back to check the scene. It was also midnight and he was past curfew. Luckily, it was summer or he would really be in trouble.


    "You''re late young man," his father, William Drake, frowned as Kaito walked in.


    "Kaito Shen Drake, why are you late?" his mother, Ting, demanded. "I know it is summer, but the time is past midnight."


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    "I know. There was traffic in the freeway so I drove using the streets," Kaito lied with the pouch stuffed underneath his shirt behind his back. He quickly rushed to his room upstairs and locked the door behind himself.


    Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Kaito decided to open the pouch. His eyes bulged as his while floor was littered with items and coins. He looked at the tiny pouch in shock, disbelief still on his face. As the moment passed, he shook his head and began examining the items on the ground.


    He put the copper, silver, and gold coins back in the pouch first. It was clearly currency used by the wizards and held no special purpose. He was disappointed to find no wand or staff, but he found a book containing minor spells and other important facts about wizards.


    "A book on magic!" Kaito cried and covered his mouth in shock. He immediately began examining the book.


    He learned that wizards were one of three kinds of professions using magical energy. The other two were warriors and rogues. It was just like a videogame in which each profession had separate branches of higher tiers. An example was a rogue choosing to become an alchemist, thief, or assassin. Each of the three professions had four branches of higher levels.


    Kaito was most interested in magic and the book mainly talked about wizards in the first place. Kaito was Chinese American, but his name was Japanese as his namesake drove his mom to the hospital when her water broke. If not for his godfather, Kaito would not have been born safely.


    He loved wuxia and xianxia novels. The magic book said that wizards were broken into tiers. He could not become one of the higher professions until he reached the necessary level.


    All three professions had the same lowest tier: Apprentice. After passing Rank 3 Apprentice, Kaito could become a wizard. With each rank up, the wizard had more magical energy and could cast more powerful spells.


    As he opened a strange black and white book, something entered his body. As Kaito fell to his knees, he could see Tai Chi fish circling each other in his mind. One coi fish had white scales and a circle of black scales on its head while the other fish had the exact opposite.


    Kaito''s body trembled as magical energy surged into his body. Black and dark purple liquid impurities burst from his body three times. Kaito had unexpectedly reached Third Rank Apprentice.


    He wrinkled his nose and rushed to the showers as he couldn''t stand the smell. After he washed it off, he scrubbed the floor hard and dumped his clothes, sponge, and paper towels used in the trash bin.


    Of course, he had them in a trash bag and used several sprays of cologne to hide the smell. His parents were already asleep so he sighed with relief once he entered his room safely.


    "What did you do to me?" Kaito muttered and opened the book cautiously once more. He discovered it was a meditation technique used to recover spent magical energy. It would no longer assist in increasing his rank once he became an official wizard, only helping recover his magical energy.


    "To my descendant for which this book was intended, I walked the wrong path and I must be dead by now. If you are reading this, my ambition was really too costly," Kaito read aloud as he noticed writing within the last few pages of the book. Burn this book after obtaining the ancient magical energy I left behind. It will have changed you. It is no simple meditation technique."


    "Wizards, warriors, and rogues live two lives. One life is that of a mundane, non-magical human. I could not accept living in hiding and so I died. The other life is one with magical energy. You are now living the second life," Kaito continued.


    "You should be a Third Rank Apprentice after opening the book. After you become an official wizard, you will disappear from Earth. They always seem to know when someone breaks past the Apprentice Third Rank. By they, I mean some mysterious force with magical energy living in the shadows. Unless you use an ancient or forbidden method, you cannot return to Earth," Kaito began and nearly dropped the book shock before the following words changed.


    "I know this is a lot to take in, but I believe in you. The rest of the items in my pouch is intended to assist in increasing your foundations as a wizard. If the person reading this is involved with my death, you would have died by now. I truly hope you are my descendant and not some bystander. Otherwise, I died without a wife or family of my own. A death like that is a sad and lonely one."


    "You looked like an evil wizard, but you gave me this gift. Thank you," Kaito said, saying a small prayer and made a sign of the cross before burning the book in the backyard.


    As the fire went out, he simply locked the door in his room and slept on the bed without changing after all the items were returned into the pouch.


    The magic book Kaito read earlier opened by itself and intelligible runes floated from the book and entered Kaito''s mind. Slowly, the image of Miguel rose up from the book.


    "Forgive me. This Earth cannot tolerate your existence. There is too little magic here. For your future, you''ll reincarnate as a different person. You''ll be the same age as you are now. Your looks and family will be different. I just hope you find Sebastian and stop his ambition. No doubt, he is the reason I died," the apparition said and held out a hand. Kaito''s body shined and vanished from sight with the magic pouch.

 Chapter 2: Ghosts Exist

    W.R. Eternal: This fantasy story is fun to write.


    Chapter 2: Ghosts Exist


    The first thing Kaito Drake felt was pain throbbing in his head. He leaned forward from his bed and held his head tightly as memories flooded into his mind. Everything about his life was the same. The main difference was that magical beasts, demons, and monsters existed on Earth. He also turned seventeen.


    Words and sentences strung together in his head like weaves on a sill. They told Kaito that he had two battle beasts. Battle beasts were sentient magical items in the form of beasts or monsters. His was a Ancient Bone Scorpion and an Sky Shark, both possessing dragon blood. He realized then that the words belonged to Miguel, the evil wizard killed right beside his car.


    The Ancient Bone Scorpion made his bones golden. They were harder than diamond and enhanced his strength, speed, reflexes, and regeneration. He could also summon a three foot tall scorpion to aid in battle, the scorpion larger and more powerful as the battle beast leveled up. Its toxin was also deadly, Kaito receiving immunity to minor poisons.


    The second battle beast was a Sky Shark. This battle beast granted him the ability to breath underwater, immunity to underwater pressure from gravity, and the ability to create and manipulate both wind and water. He wasn''t told how many levels he needed to be able to summon the battle beast into combat. It would only be useful to summon in water anyway.


    Kaito also learned four spells. They were Heal, Cold Blast Sphere, Thorn Blade, and Earth Spike. He also received a ring with the earth type spell. As Kaito became a stronger mage, he would learn the spell and the ring''s effect would become even stronger. He could cast the ring''s spell up to three times, each usage needing twenty four hours to reset.


    His last two gifts were special. He received a sword made of a heavy, black and dark violet metal completely indestructible and restricted solely to him. The metal was actually adamantine. It came with a sword manual called the Seven Storm Blade. It actually taught how to harness magical energy to make the sword wielder as fast as lightning, and his strikes just as destructive as thunder. It also incorporated wind, water, and ice.


    The second gift was the ability to see and fight ghosts. Miguel called it the Polaris Ghost Eyes. No matter where a ghost hid in the dark, his eyes could see them as if they shined as bright as Polaris better known as the North Star. The Polaris Ghost Eyes also granted him the Blink ability, a teleportation ability that let him move up to five meters in any direction.


    He was also warned that magic users were rare and highly regulated in his new world. For some reason, magic couldn''t be used off Earth until a wizard reached a certain rank. The same applied to warriors and their magical battle techniques.


    Based on the memories Kaito now had branded into his mind, his own family now included a talented little brother as a genius warrior of the third apprentice rank and a little sister.


    He also broke through to become a mage of the first rank. He also had a black dragon ring on his left index finger used as a storage ring. It contained a 20x20x20 meter space inside. His parents did not know he possessed a battle beast. Let alone two. The sword was also a secret.


    Most of all, people who could see ghosts lived miserable lives. Only they could fight see ghosts naturally and fight them. The original Kaito, whose body he now possessed permanently as his own, lived miserably pretending not to see ghosts. Because of that, he wasn''t able to train and was seen as a timid boy scared of his own shadow by other students.


    The new world was Earth, but the year was way past his. Some tragedy had to occur, but the original Kaito did not learn what it was. Warriors and the rarer mages were highly valued in society. Some cities remained modernized, but humans lived mostly in small castles or villages. Only warriors, mages, and their families were permitted to live in the big cities were it was safest from monsters, magical beasts, and demons.


    Air travel was too dangerous unless you were a warrior or mage of at least the seventh rank. Travel by sea was impossible as the most powerful mutations of creatures into magical beasts lived in the sea.


    Kaito finally felt feeling in his body and opened his eyes. He noticed a seven star black tattoo on his right arm and was wearing ordinary brown pants and a brown shirt. The brown magic ring and black dragon ring were on his left hand, a regular katana at his side.


    The seven star black tattoo was actually a hidden ability of the magic pouch to prevent theft. If Kaito looked closely, he could see a faint purple light in the center of each star. The shape of the stars looked like a constellation of a sword.


    He didn''t know what to feel as he looked around. His father, now William Fang, and mother were not with him. Flashbacks caused his head to ache as he found himself in a modern street. His parents were with his sister, Mei, on a locomotive train. A collective army of goblins and orcs had broken past the South Gate''s walls and people were running toward the trains screaming.


    Some powerful wizard whom Kaito guessed was a mage of the fourth rank cast a gigantic forbidden summoning spell. However, he was vulnerable while chanting and the spell went out of control as the wizard''s throat was pierced by a bolt from a crossbow.


    The body''s last memories were of the boy stretching out a hand toward his family before being teleported far away. Maybe even another planet. Now, Kaito possessed that boy''s body. That body was sixteen, but Kaito became seventeen after possessing it.


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    Perhaps that magic allowed Kaito to assimilate with the body. Perhaps he was meant to reincarnate in that world, but an accident sent him to a third world. In any event, it was no dream. Nor was it a nightmare.


    One thing for sure was that he was in another nation. He was alone and in another world. He, Kaito son of William Drake, had traveled the cosmos and became Kaito son of William Fang. He was like a hero summoned to another world except that he wasn''t the hero and he was alone.


    He knew there was no way back. Obtaining memories of another boy who shared his name was proof enough that he had a new identity.


    Kaito stood up from the ground and noticed he was in a rather large forest. He changed clothes with the black silk long sleeve and pants with a sky blue mage cloak with silver fastenings over his body. He finished his look with a mage cap of soft material with a white design of unknown origin.


    After two hours, he looked into his black dragon ring to find the 20x20x20 meter space was actually filled with a variety of food and drinks from his Earth. He took a break to eat some food and water before noticing small tracks after ten minutes.


    The tracks were deep and the toes were pointed. These feet weren''t human! Kaito took a deep breath and drew his katana. He didn''t know if the tracks were good or bad, but he needed a way out of the forest.


    All of a sudden, Kaito felt cold and released a cold breath of air visible to the naked eye. Instinct told him that he had detected a ghost. Both afraid and excited, he followed the cold feeling to see three ugly creatures with dark green or purple skin. These creatures were goblins with pointed ears, pointy sharp teeth, and black irises so dark it was hard to determine if they had pupils.


    Kaito felt stunned as he looked at the tallest goblin and the only purple-skinned goblin of the trio. Black wisps seemed to radiate from its body and the two other goblins did not seem to notice it as they cut up a boar with their daggers. The two green goblins were dressed in rags while the purple goblin wore white rags.


    Kaito''s face paled as one of the other two goblin''s reached for something and saw its arm pass through the purple goblin''s body as if it were air. He then saw that the goblin was actually searching the corpse of a purple-skinned goblin in similar brown rags and took a black dagger with cyan inscriptions.


    "A magical dagger?" Kaito frowned and smiled. His adamantine sword was too heavy, and his katana was a regular steel sword. magical daggers were more durable.


    Kaito closed his eyes and calmed his mind. He took deep heavy breaths behind a tree and steeled his resolve. He crept out from behind the tree and released two cold blast spheres at the goblins. He winced as he saw the exploding ice magic detonated on their backs and smelled fresh meat in the air. Most of it was frozen, but the smell of blood was strong.


    The goblin ghost shrieked as it felt ice so cold it felt its feet burn. It looked at Kaito with rage, the black wisps spreading onto its face like webs. The ghost charged at Kaito and he panicked, the ice magic shattering only the goblin''s left hand into countless ice shards as he missed. The goblin stumbled from the blast of the cold air on the ground, but managed to tackle Kaito.


    The ghost snarled, showing all its teeth as it grabbed Kaito''s throat and lifted him from the ground. Kaito choked and was helpless and the goblin threw him in the air. He grunted as he crashed into a tree, feeling his right arm go numb. The goblin screeched into the air, Kaito forced to cover his ears from the wail.


    The goblin looked at him with pure malice and licked its lips. It couldn''t touch the boar, but it could touch him. The goblin walked toward him with glee, Kaito unable to move as he felt drained from energy. He realized with dread that he had run out of mana, the magical energy in his body.


    He trembled with fear and inwardly cursed himself for doing something so stupid. He didn''t know how powerful ghosts were. The goblin cackled as it kicked his chest and threw him onto the ground beside the boar corpse. The goblin licked its pointy nails and leisurely walked toward its prey.


    Just as it entered in range for another kick, Kaito grabbed the boar''s flesh and flung blood at the ghost''s face. The ghost screamed as it rubbed its eyes. Kaito took advantage by grabbing one of the dead goblin''s daggers and plunged it into the ghost''s thigh.


    His eyes widened as his left hand let go of the dagger and darted toward the brown ring on his left middle finger. Desperate and out of options, he tightened his left hand into a fist and slammed the ground. Three foot tall spikes made of rock formed a large ring formation all around him.


    The goblin ghost coughed and its left arm and left turned into black and white fading energy. Scrambling as fast as he could, Kaito raced toward his katana on the ground. Yelling with all his might, Kaito ran back toward the ghost with his katana held up high.


    Kaito''s mind was blank as he slashed the katana downward onto the goblin''s neck. The goblin couldn''t even scream as it burst into a cloud of smoke-like dust and ember. Kaito fell to his knees in exhaustion, the katana falling out of his grip. Kaito panted heavily, barely able to keep conscious as his eyes started to feel heavy.


    He shook his head as he saw a .35 caliber, six-chamber pistol on the ground next to a human hand. He grabbed the pistol and magical dagger and slumped against a tree nearby. Shaking off the dizziness, Kaito put his left hand on his chest and used the Heal spell.


    The spell completely drained the remainder of his energy and he felt faint as his wounds healed. The last thing he saw was six pairs of shoes walking toward him, muffled voices speaking before he lost consciousness.

 Chapter 3: Interrogation

    W.R. Eternal: Hello. Here is this week''s chapters.


    Chapter 3: Interrogation


    A few hours later, Kaito''s body finally recovered from mana exhaustion and the mental strain from fighting. Kaito felt his muscles ache as he opened his eyes. he looked around to see his surroundings. He was in a grey interrogation room used by police officers, a large one-way, bullet-proof glass on the wall. He was sitting on one of the metal grey chairs with a large rectangular table. His black storage ring, katana, pistol, and magical dagger were on the table.


    He currently wore a plain gray shirt, long gray paints, and string-less gray shoes. His mage cloak and cap were also on the table. Kaito had hand cuffs with long chains around his wrist. His ankles also had cuffs with long chains to restrict him from running or jogging.


    He remained silent as he saw a short-haired blonde woman enter the room wearing a tuxedo. Two guards in bullet proof armor also followed her in. One stood before the door, the other stood in the corner to the left behind Kaito. The woman sat down on the chair opposite of Kaito and opened a portfolio.


    "Your name is Kaito Lu, born in Black Horn City. Reported to have gone missing one year ago at age sixteen. What happened in the year you were gone?" the woman asked.


    "What? Kaito Lu?" Kaito murmured and thought about what she said.


    My name is Kaito Lu? Impossible. In this world, I should be Kaito Fang. Why is the family name Lu? Could that summoning spell that got interrupted actually have sent the body I was supposed to take into another world?


    Where am I? What kind of world is this?


    What the hell happened to me?


    WHY ME? I didn''t ask for THIS!


    As Kaito was screaming in his head, the woman continued. "Kaito? Did you hear me?"


    "Ah...yes," Kaito said, his thoughts disturbed by her voice. His mind still on the verge of breaking down.


    "What happened?" the woman repeated.


    "I don''t know. I really don''t know," Kaito said, shaking his head in confusion. "I....I just disappeared. I awoke in the forest. I...I tried to find civilization. I really did! I followed some fresh tracks and encountered the goblins. I had never fought them before. The dagger came from one of them. I don''t know where the rest of the human corpse holding that pistol is. I swear!"


    On the other side of the glass, one man in a dark blue tuxedo watched with one general and a scientist in a lab coat. There were also people monitoring screens and recording Kaito''s words and actions. They could see Kaito struggling to accept what happened to him.


    "What do you think?" the man in the tuxedo asked.


    "Mr. Tseng, I believe that boy was kidnapped and experimented on. He must have escaped somehow. His mind is on the verge of a breakdown," he scientist answered.


    "I believe that young man is dangerous. We already have many warriors capable of using Ki Blasts and very few have magical affinity. The mages we have are few, but this kid is also a warrior! I inspected the site we found him and the bodies of the ghosts. I believe this boy is also an esper! He had to have fought a ghost. No corpse was skewered or injured by the massive scale of rock spikes created by an earth spell. I also believe he had to have been kidnapped. There were no signs of a Ki Blast. Every Ki has its signature, unlike magic. Perhaps his kidnappers believed we wouldn''t be able to find them if that boy hadn''t learned how to use his Ki," the general voiced his thoughts after pondering a few seconds.


    " He is a rank 1 mage and warrior, is also an esper, possess no knowledge of Ki, and has no memories of the past year," Mr. Tseng summarized.


    "I believe it is post traumatic stress," the scientist agreed. "He is clearly breaking down after only hearing his name."


    "What is his track record?" Mr. Tseng asked.


    "Clean. No criminal records at all. His father, William Lu, is a lieutenant in the Imperial Army. His mother, Ting Lu, owns an herbal medicine shop. I''ve heard my subordinates claim that her tea is the best. He also has a younger sister, age seven, by the name of Mei Lu. As per national law, she was tested at age seven and is confirmed to have potential to be a fighter. Based on the readings, she can awaken as an apprentice warrior," the general answered.


    "His academic scores are slightly above average. His athletic scores are very good as well," the scientist concluded.


    "The Earth is watching all fighters. Demons and magical beasts have taken over the oceans and most of the land. Very few mortals become fighters, humans with magical energy. Can he be trusted not to go rogue and abuse his powers?" Mr. Tseng asked. "Where are his parents?"


    "They''ve just arrived. They''re waiting in another room. The sister is there too," the general answered.


    "Good. Have the fail-safe been implemented?" Mr. Tseng asked.


    "Yes sir. His family has been upgraded to a private villa in Black Horn City''s fighter district. Two vehicles and other necessities are already in place inside the house. I believe this boy does intend to specialize as a mage. With his family in a richer and more secure housing area, I don''t believe he''ll take the law in his own hands," the scientist smiled. "All we need now is for Kaito to learn to use his Ki and add its unique signature into our Sensor Program. Once an agent wears the sensor, he''ll be able to track Kaito."


    "I get why the sensor covers the left or right ear, but why only have a rectangular, semi-transparent lens over one eye? Why not both eyes?" the general asked.


    "Our studies have tested that agents are more likely to concentrate their sensors if they close one eye. Even though the sensors have a rectangular colored lens, the sensor can change color to look like a clear monocle. Returning to Kaito, I suggest he joins Black Horn City''s fighter institute," the scientist said.


    "Dr. Travis, are you insane? Why leave him there? He''ll only be fighting magical beasts and monsters near Black Horn City. We never have enough mages in the army," General Raymond frowned with disapproval.


    "If he joins the institute, he cannot join a sect. Institutes are allied to the nation, not sects. Sects rarely send any reinforcements of note, but institutes do," Dr. Travis explained.


    "Good. I like that. Send in the parents. We need to know more about this new official ranked fighter," Mr. Tseng ordered, an attendant rushing out the door after a snap of the man''s fingers.


    After extensive questioning, Kaito''s eyes narrowed as three more chairs were placed at the table. His eyes widened as he saw three familiar faces, but his heart ached as they were not HIS family. His mind numbed as fragmented memories of yet another Kaito entered his mind, his memories only including his family and not the rest of the world.


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    "Kaito," his mother wept as she saw her son. A guard stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He pointed at the chairs and William Lu held his wife''s hand and helped his wife and daughter into the chairs.


    "Do you recognize these people?" the interrogator asked.


    "They are my family. My dad and mom, William and Ting Lu. She is my sister, Mei," Kaito answered.


    "It would seem you are clueless about the world except for your family," the interrogator voiced as she wrote in her portfolio.


    "Where have you been?" Ting asked her son.


    "Ma''am, I''m afraid I ask the questions. You are not to speak unless instructed to do so via the Bluetooth connected to the people on the other side of that glass," the woman said bluntly as she pointed a thumb to the glass behind herself. "Kaito, what is the last thing you remember before your appearance in the forest? Do you remember how you disappeared?"


    Kaito closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. He began searching the memories of the second other Kaito, the Kaito Lu of this world. Kaito Shen Drake was meant to be a mage, but became both a mage and warrior thanks to Kaito Fang''s memories. What benefit did Kaito Lu bring him? What happened to this Kaito?


    "I see.....a tank. A large cylinder tank full of some blue-green liquid. It is very heavy and....I''m in it. I have nothing but a pari of white shorts on, a breathing apparatus covering my face from the nose down. There are....tubes connected to my arms, legs, back, and the back of my head....." Kaito said as he frowned with his eyes tightly shut.


    "Go on," the woman urged as shocked voices began discussing on the other side of the glass.


    "I....can a hear a voice. My memories start fragmenting there....Project Cerberus....genetic experiment...." Kaito muttered before opening his eyes, his eyes now blue-green and possessing a permanent slight glow. "I remember bits and pieces of how I got kidnapped. I...was heading back home from school. Four guys in a large black van grabbed me and five others. We were not official mages or warriors. We could hardly resist them....I remember them killing one girl because she pepper-sprayed one of them in the eyes....that is all. What happened between then and the tank, and what happened between that tank and my appearance....I can''t remember."


    "Let them talk with their son. Get out for now and come in here," the woman heard Mr. Tseng order through her Bluetooth. She informed the parents and left the room.


    "What are your thoughts? You are the expert," Mr. Tseng asked the woman and the analysts in the room.


    "He''s telling the truth. Lie detector confirms," one analyst said.


    "There was no fluctuations of magical in his body nor did I sense any psychic countermeasures. He told the truth. Why his eyes only glowed now is a mystery. Perhaps, as his memories return, the results of the experiments will reveal themselves?" the woman proposed.


    "What do you two know about this Project Cerberus?" Mr. Tseng asked the general and Dr. Travis.


    "I know nothing," Dr. Travis shook his head.


    "Well, this is an ominous day indeed. Something that you don''t know that I do," the general said gravely, causing everyone to turn their heads to him, even the analysts and attendants in the room. "Do you remember that incident forty years ago? The White Demon of Nagasaki?"


    "That monstrous result of human experimentation? He nearly wiped out the Japanese fifty miles in any direction. To this day, no one knows what official mage and warrior rank he was. Wait....his eyes glowed too! He was also an esper," Mr. Tseng realized. "Could this boy be...?"


    "No, but I''ll bet it was something similar. There were three corrupted, irretrievable files in the database where we found the chief scientists of the forbidden experiment that created the White Demon. What we could salvage included that the test subjects must have psychic abilities. This young man could see ghosts," the general replied as he gazed at Kaito being trapped in a hug with his family. "I believe that young man was a failed experiment to be scrapped. There might be others out there."


    "You''re saying those scientists are back?" Mr. Tseng asked.


    "They''re not just back. They''ve resumed their experiments," General Raymond said. "There are also signs of demons gathering in different parts of the globe. Sir, I strongly believe war is coming. There are human traitors obsessed with demonic skills and magic while demons and magical beasts can assume human form after reaching an unknown cultivation of power. Animals and humans mutated into monsters by magical energy can also assume human form."


    "What do we do?" Mr. Tseng asked.


    "Whatever we can. We must raise more official mages and warriors while restricting the amount of people who can join sects to increase our nation''s fighters. These demons and magical beasts came from outer space and brought along magical energy which has devastated our world. We don''t know what other threats are out there and the amount of humans whose fighter level is high enough to explore outer space is too few. The threat of nuclear arms is the only reason whatever brought those abominations has not made a move subjugate us all," the general answered.


    "My guess is that they used some transport. We do have visual images from our satellites deep in space and from those orbiting the planet," Dr. Travis chimed in.


    "Regardless, we must strengthen our security or we will fall," the general shouted. "Black Horn City will fall."


    "I understand," Mr. Tseng, the City Lord of Black Horn City, nodded. "No need to inform the F.N.U. until we have evidence that those scientists have returned. Once the Federation of Nations United finds out, the whole world will be notified and we might be able to find those scientists. They must have spies in the inside of the F.N.U. to avoid being captured for so long. General Raymond, take some elite platoons and secretly investigate the whole of Nagasaki and the rest of the province."


    "Yes sir!" the general saluted.


    "Dr. Travis, resume your experiments. The enemy used to have the advantage in magical items, skills, and spells. Now, those enemies include humans. We need devices which can detect inhuman D.N.A. or foreign Ki in all life forms ranging from within Black Horn City to fifty miles in all directions. You have authorization to use one of the abandoned satellites for the endeavor."


    "It will be my pleasure," Dr. Travis bowed and the three men stared silently at Kaito and his family, each of the men with different thoughts and internal conflicts.

 Chapter 4: Burning Tower

    Chapter 4: Burning Tower


    A month passed after the interrogation. Kaito Lu was staring at the full moon from a balcony of a major party on floor fifty nine of the twin tower building in Black Horn City''s noble district. He was wearing a clean black tuxedo as the nobles and celestials celebrated Founder''s Day.


    He had unexpectedly won the nationwide lottery last week and got admitted into the enforcer academy of Black Horn City. His family was out in the shopping district as Mr. Tseng moved them to a private villa. They were spending some of the money Kaito won to buy more supplies and clothes. Of the eight districts, the noble district was the most luxurious, but the fighter district was where the truly rich lived as they were celestials.


    "The moon is so close. Is this what the dinosaurs saw before the moon''s orbit slowly became farther and farther away?" Kaito said absentmindedly. He still couldn''t believe he wasn''t with his family.


    "That sounds deep," a Korean girl in a beautiful white dress remarked as she entered the balcony. "Did you just win the lottery? Most newly rich people reminiscence about the past a lot."


    "I can''t really say my luck is all that great," Kaito said. "What''s your excuse?"


    "Maybe I like seeing the night sky?" the girl joked and leaned on the rails beside him. "It was getting stuffy in there. So many so-called elite students bragging about their training to hook up girls. I doubt they''ve been in any real action. Have you?"


    "I have. I faced goblins and a ghost," Kaito grinned. "I''m Kaito. Kaito Lu."


    "Ye-jin Ye-jin Baek," the girl smiled as they shook hands. "You''re an esper. Only an esper can see----"


    The girl was interrupted as she saw two helicopters spinning out of control. She realized it was an updraft and pulled Kaito to the ground. They covered their heads as the helicopters collided two stories above. Kaito felt the floor shake as the helicopter began to crash through some floors. His eyes widened as he saw a propeller blade skewer a woman in half before disappearing through the floor.


    "We need to move!" Kaito shouted as cracks spread beneath them. He used his enhanced strength to pick her up and lunged over the rail to the balcony on the next floor down to the left. Kaito grunted as they landed on his back, his eyes darting to the balcony above as it crumbled in a flash.


    "What happened?" Kaito gasped.


    "It was an updraft. I saw a helicopter moved erratically like that before. We don''t have much time until both helicopters explode. Water sprinklers also don''t reach so high up," Ye-jin answered.


    "Don''t twin towers have something like a sky bridge?" Kaito asked.


    "On floor thirty eight. I saw it on a brochure at the party," Ye-jin and her face softened. "Did you have anyone close up there?"


    "No. You?" Kaito asked and saw her shake her head. "Firefighters should come soon. Maybe some mages too, right?"


    "No. There is a large scale horde to the north beyond the mountains. All the top celestials are there now. Only mortal firefighters are in the area now," she shook her head.


    "What could cause an updraft? I didn''t feel any wind. Only cold air as it crashed above us," Kaito frowned.


    "Cold air?" Ye-jin began and paled. "Ghosts. Ghosts make the air around them cold. We''re under attack!"


    Kaito noticed the grim look on her face and took out his magical dagger from his storage ring. He looked at her in surprise as Ye-jin slightly ripped her own dress for more mobility. They raced indoors and burst into the hallway. Panicked guests flooded the hallways and blocked the elevators. Kaito grabbed Ye-jin''s hand and raced toward the stairs.


    "Wait. There is a restaurant on this floor. We can change into different clothes in there. Chefs and servers must have a changing room!" Kaito paused as they reached floor forty two. The duo ran into the restaurant and quickly burst open the lockers to find clothes. Ye-jin took out a short sword from her storage ring and stopped Kaito as she saw people hiding in the kitchen.


    "We need to leave. Ghosts are attacking the tower," Ye-jin shouted at the guests.


    "What happened up there?" a chef asked.


    "Ghosts tookover one of the two helicopters and crashed into one helicopter trying to stabilize from an updraft," she answered. "We can''t wait for rescue helicopters. We need to leave. Now!"


    "Oh my god. Ghosts."


    "We''re doomed. We have no espers here."


    "We have one," Ye-jin assured them, pointing to Kaito. "The two of us are also official ranked celestial fighters. We need all fighters with magical energy to help protect the guests. We need to get to the sky bridge on the thirty eighth floor. These towers have magical barriers and the ghosts only got in because of the helicopter explosion."


    "I''m a first rank warrior apprentice," the chef said, two others of the eleven people also raising their hands.


    "Hurry! The fire is seeping through cracks on the roof!" a woman shrieked, everyone seeing fire in the ceiling.


    "Move!" Kaito roared as he saw creatures in pure white gowns and black auras creep out through the floor. Kaito raised his left hand and blue fireballs shot into the ceiling, exploding and covering the ceiling with ice almost instantly.


    "Head to the bridge!" Kaito screamed as two ghosts died, their grey energy entering his body as five more appeared. Everyone else could only see outlines of the ghosts as they crawled through the flames.


    Kaito rushed toward the ghosts, fear and exhilaration in his body. He lunged at one ghost, thrusting the dagger with both hands as he held it in front of his body. The ghost wailed as it burst into black and white energy, Kaito crashing onto the ground as another grey energy entered his body.


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    Kaito looked around and slammed his left hand onto the ground. Rock spikes burst upwards from the ground and created a circular rock formation as three ghosts died instantly. The last ghost was three seconds behind the others and only lost a left arm. The ghost screamed and punched the rock spikes, pebbles and rock fragments buffeting Kaito''s body.


    The ghost phased through the rock and grabbed Kaito by the neck, slamming him into the ground. Kaito realized that ghosts were like humans. They must have had their own levels and this ghost was equal to an official ranked warrior.


    "LET ME GO!" Kaito screamed and closed his eyes as his left arm grabbed the ghost''s arm for stability while the right hand stabbed the dagger into the ghost''s body over and over again. He fell to his knees and rasped for breath as the ghost died. His left hand clutched his chest as he laid on his back and breathed deeply.


    He staggered as he rose to his feet and stumbled out of the restaurant. He closed the staircase door behind himself and took out a water bottle from his storage ring. He didn''t move down to the thirty eighth floor until he finished his water bottle and stabilized his breath.


    "You''re alive!" Ye-jin cried as she hugged Kaito and helped him toward the bridge with an arm over her shoulder.


    "Why didn''t you.....go across?" Kaito asked, his voice soft due to the bruising on his neck.


    "The glass floor is gone. The metal frame is there, but it is too risky to reach across each pillar," one of the escapees answered.


    "What about the ghosts?" the chef asked.


    "They''re dead. Wouldn''t be...here if I died," Kaito chuckled and winced due to the pain. "Help me to...the bridge."


    "You can get us across?" the chef beamed and quickly helped Ye-jin carry him there.


    "I can control water and wind due to my battle beast," Kaito answered, using a heal spell on his neck.


    "You have a battle beast? Amazing!" the woman from before gasped. "Where did you come across such a relic?"


    "I can try to make a bridge, but I am only a mage of the first rank," Kaito said. "I need magical energy to completely restore the bridge.


    "Put your hands on his back," Ye-jin told the three fighters. "Channel your magical energy into his back!"


    "Hurry," a girl begged as the building shook.


    "Here we go," Kaito said and placed his left hand on the ground while his right hand stretched to the other side of the floorless bridge. His complexion paled as wind and water magical energy spread from his right hand and covered the right side of the bridge. He couldn''t risk damaging the metal and slowly made several steps.


    "I couldn''t make a complete solid bridge as it would damage the metal. Take care of your steps. Mortals go first," Kaito urged, the three children led across first. Ye-jin and Kaito were the last ones to cross and Kaito bridge.


    "Break it! I heard some ghosts can possess people. Break the ice!"


    "I got a gun," the noble woman said and carefully shot each step of ice.


    "We made it," the chef sighed with relief as security guards appeared due to the gun shots.


    "Nobody move. We''ll scan your bodies for possession first. Ma''am, your gun," one of the guards said, the noble woman giving her gun before they were all tested negative.


    "Was there other people behind you? What is the situation?" a man asked as he and a group of fighters in magic robes and magical armor appeared.


    "The ghosts would have killed those above. I can''t answer for those below," Ye-jin began and explained what happened.


    "You''re a hero, kid. Nice work. Leave it to us," the mage in bright green robes assured and instantly made a bridge of ice with a snap of his finger. Kaito''s mouth fell open, feeling a little small upon seeing such a perfect ice bridge made so easily.


    After giving their statements on what occurred, Ye-jin''s limousine pulled over in front of Kaito''s villa nearly an hour later. Ye-jin smiled as she and Kaito stepped out of the limousine. She took out a napkin and wiped some black dirt from the smoke off his face.


    "Thank you. You saved my life," Ye-jin said, bowing her head formally.


    "This world is really dangerous," Kaito couldn''t help himself and bowed his head in return.


    "Here is my card. My personal number is on the back. I''ll see you in the academy," Ye-jin smiled as she gave him a business card.


    "Thank you for saving the Young Miss," the driver took off his cap and bowed. Kaito nodded and waited until the limo left before going inside.


    "You''re okay! I was so worried," Ting sighed with relief as she hugged her son. "You''re covered in dirt and smoke. Is that a bruise on your neck? Why are you so pale?"


    "It was a long night escaping from ghosts," Kaito said. He took a long, cold shower and then relaxed on the couch. He watched the breaking news about the twin towers on their plasma screen with his family before the fatigue overcame him. His parents carefully laid him on the couch and put a blanket on his body before lowering the volume.


    "Why does this one worry me so much," Ting asked softly, moving some strands of hair off his forehead.


    "He''s a strong boy. One day, he''ll be strong enough to come back home without a scratch. He''s not powerful, but he''s a survivor," William answered and carried his sleeping daughter out of the living room as his wife continued watching the news.