Burning Embers [Hono's Awakening]

Class Zero was reaching the end of its day as the sun began to set. Night life was bustling outside the perimeter of the Seven Star Academy. But the Class Zero building was far from calling it a night. The day was a tumultuous affair, more than usual. But even then, it wouldn't stop the Prince from waiting on any potential recruits to come into the halls of the building. Julius would patiently wait as usual as the chalice sat near him on the surface of the desk. But when the newcomer made their appearance, the Prince would regard them with a courteous nod.

Today was finally the day. It was Hono would try and join the cadets. Hopefully, she would do well. She had eaten a big lunch so she was full of energy. Hono made her way to Class Zero building. The fire inside of Hono was burning strong as always. She was... excited, to say the least. She was fully aware of the dangers that came with the title, Isaac made sure she knew. Within a couple of minutes, Hono was now inside of the classroom, she saw the prince himself at his desk. Her yellowish brown eyes, sizing the prince up. Suddenly he spoke towards her.

Without hesitation, Hono spoke loudly and proudly. "Damn right! I've been looking forward to this for a while!" Hono never was good with being formal, especially to her superiors. The girl had a smile on her face as she looked at Julius eager to see what came next.

Such energy and optimism, it made him crack a grin. It reminded him a lot of day of old with Claire and Chris. It was honestly a nice change of pace, but sometimes you had to wonder if it was at all too late to go back to that, with recent events pointing towards yes. He stood from his seat and meandered across the edge of the desk, gauging her appearance and demeanor top-down. It was only when he stopped in front of the newcomer that he finally spoke.

The prince then began speaking once again. "I'm Hono Flora Kaen, A second year!"

Hono used her full name, she had no clue how this would carry on, She never asked Isaac what this process would be like. Hono kept eye contact with the prince. She gulped quietly as the prince studied her body simply looking forward as he did. Hono looked up towards the prince once again. She was asked a question, a question she already told Isaac so this would be easy.

"Well, Isaac asked me the same thing. I wanna protect my family!" She said passionately. "When I was young... a ton of my neighbors, died." She spoke slowly. "I just, don't want people to die!" She said loudly. "My family is important to me, I know it's a dangerous job, but I'd rather die than do nothing"

He was quiet, allowing her to speak. True, she differed from most Cadets nowadays with all of their cynicism and pessimism. However, her reasons weren't at all different in general. And that was good enough for the Prince, in fact her reasons weren't different from his either. However, he dug in further with one hand on his hip.

The next thing he asked was a tougher question. Her mom was... protective to say the least. Hono was quite for about 10 seconds as she thought of an answer.

"My dad... I'm sure, but my Mother wouldn't want me to, but I wanna pay her back for all she's done for me!" She said passionately. "And I wanna be a role model for my little brother!" She told the prince honestly. "Please, let me do this!" she said loudly.

"...Very well. Then let us begin." Her decision was steadfast and decisive. But it was still a difficult decision. As much as the young girl kept saying how much she was willing to take the mantle and acknowledged that it was a dangerous job, it was an entirely different thing when you went face-to-face with the actual experience and most times it was rather unpleasant in the least. Looking back, there were Cadets much younger than her who joined the ranks. It was only with a slow nod that the Cadet Captain gingerly grasped the goblet and motioned her closer before holding the object full of scarlet towards her to take upon his directions.

Hono smiled from ear to ear as the prince accepted the girl. All her worries disappeared, she was glad. "Oh hell yeah!" Hono blurted out excited. What came next was him instructing Hono kneel. She studied the goblet from earlier. Hono needed to drink from it, only after she swore loyalty to the queen. Taking a quick gulp, she spoke while she kneeled down for the prince.

"I swear that I will be loyal and faithful to her Highness for the rest of my life~" Hono spoke, speaking seriously. She soon laughed following her pledge. "Damn I'm no good at the formal stuff!" she rubbed her neck still kneeling.

The blood was sweet and easy to go down. However, any elation the girl possessed would soon abruptly be replaced with an excruciating sensation. Hono's body would wrack with pain, as if reacting to the foreign substance. It was hard to breathe as her skin began to feel like it would begin to crack like a porcelain doll. Their face would begin to chip away at itself and fall to the ground. Piece by piece, it shattered once it hit the floor and revealed a gaping hole. It was as if she was shedding their previous life, and a new one was being born in its place.


Whatever this blood was doing, it was interacting with something that had been stored in her mind long ago. The seed that had been planted within her head the day of the Eternal Divide was being hatched, but also isolated. She would begin to see the world how it truly was, but in a controlled view. Some could handle this, while others loss themselves to the truth.

The process would fade as Hono's power finally awoke. The surge of power that resounded within her would begin to subside. If she were to touch her face, she'd feel her skin back in place and her eyes returning to normal. The world she could not clearly see before was open. But it summoned something that was hidden inside of her for so long.

Hono was surprised by the taste of the blood, it was suspicious. Though she began choking! She grabbed her throat and tried to scream for help. She was unable to speak, what the hell was happening to her! She felt her fin flake and crack away. It appeared another eye was behind her skin, it appeared as a green, almost reptile looking. Hono continued trying to breathe, no luck, however.

Hono was on her knees. She began scratching at the floor, her nails feeling as if they were about to snap as she clawed harder. Hono's whole body was burning up, her palms sweating vigorously. Though Hono began seeing the world differently, was she... dying? Hono couldn't let this happen, she would have to push through the pain, for the sake of her family. A voice echoed in her head, it was soft yet stern.

"Ahh... It seems my little star is finally awake to her true strength! Oh, the stories we'll write! Now onwards my girl!"

Hono's other self had awakened to her. Finally, she was able to breathe, quickly the actress stood up, taking deep and heard breaths. Quickly Hono touched her face nervously, she was relieved to find it the way it was.

Hono glared at the Prince. "What the hell was that?! I couldn't breathe! And I saw everything so different.." She stopped herself. "So... does this make me a cadet?" She asks the prince. her breath still a bit heavy.

The Other Me:

The Prince's demeanor made a sudden shift, and he withdrew a scroll from the folds of his Cadet Uniform. With a flick the scroll came open, and as he cast it forward, it began to take on life and movement, shifting a twisting, and catching on fire. Until the shape of a monster appeared before the girl.

Hippou Lv.8:

note:

Oh god, there was more to this test. Suddenly the prince quickly pulled out a scroll and summoned forth a monster. Hono saw it, she was a bit scared, but she had to hide it. "Oh~! I get it now! You wanna see how much ass I can kick!" She said eagerly. Hono had felt a rapier on her hip, she pulled it out and got ready for battle.

It was odd, it was like Hono already knew what her persona was capable of. The girl held the rapier tightly. She had no combat experience, though she had used a sword a prop once, so it couldn't be much different. Right...?

None the less the girl looked at the bird that stood in front of her. "Burn it!" She told her persona, she used Agilao, the fireball would travel towards the bird, if it would hit Hono would cross her arms and smile happy with herself. If not she would growl a bit and stay in her sword stance.

Action:

The fire seemed to not be as effective as Hono would like. Which really made her angry. Within a couple of seconds, she was attacked by the bird. It used an identical form of magic. Thankfully Hono resisted it. Sure it burnt but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could be. Hono could keep pushing, she would heal later if she needed it. Hono wanted to use the gun that was on her person. A flintlock pistol it appeared. She pointed the gun and aimed down the sights, pulling the trigger while aiming at the bird.

Action:

The Other Me: