Shadow Blood and Fire

 The weapon most archery user used was a bow but it didn't look like a regular bow that people used to use a long time ago.

This bow was carved using parts of a beast and looked almost as if the entire bow was made of gems. Even the string was made of a special material. The reason the bow looked so different, was because it was what was known as a beast weapon.

A bow made from the body parts of a beast. When the human race was attacked by the Arcturians. A race of purple-skinned humanoids with star-like eyes, purple and white hair, and freckles that live in the harsh climates of their planet and have a strong sense of honor and loyalty. Their strength is judged by the number of horns and the color. our technology advanced fast by replicating their technology, with this, the humans learned the ability to travel to other planets using portals.

These planets would often contain different levels of beasts. The stronger the beast was the better weapon you could make out of it. It was the first time Eli had ever witnessed a beast weapon before as no one at his previous school had one.

It was strange to see someone of such a young age who has most likely never been to another planet, to have a beast weapon.

When the test started, 5 targets all appeared in different areas of the wasteland. Lilith picked up a bow and took out 5 arrows and placed them in her bow, shooting them all off at once in the same direction and aimed at the target.

She closed her eyes, and focused on her ability. She felt a connection between her mind and the arrow, and she willed it to fly. She opened her eyes, and saw the arrow hit the bullseye. She smiled, and repeated the process. She hit the target every time, with perfect accuracy and precision.

The arrows shot out fast and strong but then suddenly, the five arrows split off into their own direction, each of them heading to a different target.

"What a good combo."

"She has the ability of telekinesis , so instead she uses her ability combined with the bow to control the arrows."

Eli's mind was in turmoil. He tried to watch Lilith, as she performed her Archery test with her telekinesis ability, but he couldn't focus. She had done well, ranking 18th in Archery and 100th overall and power level 3, but he barely noticed. He was sweating profusely, and his head was pounding. Images flashed before his eyes, and voices echoed in his head.

"Are you sure, Miss Starie? He has a strong will. If we don't turn off the memory wrapper, it could hurt him."

"WHERE IS THE NECKLACE?"

He looked around, confused. The other students were staring at him, whispering and snickering.

"Isn't that Eli? Is he okay?"

"The pogue is sweating buckets."

"Is it because he got the lowest score in the ability test?"

"Hahaha, such a prodigy."

He felt a surge of anger and pain and he wanted to scream, to make the voices stop. But then, everything went silent. The students disappeared, and the field was empty.

He saw a figure walking towards him, clad in a black coat that looked like it was made of beast skin. A hood covered the face, except for a pair of pink, rosy lips. Eli felt a sudden, irrational urge to kill the person. He didn't know why, but he hated this person with every fiber of his being. He charged at the hooded figure, throwing a punch at the chest.

He heard a collective gasp from the crowd. The students were back, and they were shocked. He realized what he had done, and he froze. He looked down, and saw Mazi, the Ice Queen, the Mayor's daughter and no 1 ability user in the academy. His hand was on her chest, and he felt her cold skin through the coat. He quickly pulled back.

"I'm sorry". Eli mumbled.

Mazi glared at him, her violet eyes turned icy blue. Her eyebrows twitched, and he knew she was furious. The other students were quiet, only whispering among themselves.

"Will the Ice Queen kill him?"

"Yeah, he deserves it."

Eli was holding his breath, his face red. He wished he could disappear. Mazi turned and started walking towards her dorm, leaving a trail of ice behind her. The students parted to make way for her, not daring to cross her path. Eli breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she would let it go. He didn't know what had come over him, and he felt terrible.

"HOW DARE YOU DEFY HER?"

Eli heard a scream, and he turned around. He saw Cartl and a yellow electric whip in his hand. He swung the whip at Eli, who had no time to dodge. The whip hit him on the side of his face, sending a jolt of pain through his body. He flew into a wall, and fell to the ground. Blood seeped from the huge wound, and his skin was burned. His vision blurred, and he lost consciousness.

********

The classroom was filled with whispers and giggles as the fifth graders watched a live feed of the latest school gossip on their comms, small devices that projected holographic screens in front of their eyes. They saw a chubby boy with red hair approach a beautiful girl with white hair, The boy then punched her in the chest.

"Ouch, that must have hurt!" one of the students said.

"Yeah, he's such a bully!" another one agreed.

" Isn't that Eli and the school princess Mazi?"

" Can't tell.. the live coverage isn't clear enough"

" It's Eli and Mazi"

Zoe was sitting in the front of the class, trying to ignore the noise and focus on her lesson. She was not interested in trending news or gossip, she just wanted to learn.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around. It was Cleo, the most popular girl in the class. She had long black hair, green eyes, and expensive clothes. She was also the meanest and the most snobbish. She smiled smugly at Zoe, and showed her the comm screen.

"Pogue, isn't that your brother? Such a pervert," she said, sarcastically.

Zoe felt a surge of shock and fear. She snatched the comm from Cleo's hand, and saw the image of her brother in a dangerous situation. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, and tears stinging in her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She didn't know why her brother would do such a thing, and what would happen to him.

She dropped the comm on the floor, and ran out of the class. She didn't care about the teacher, the lesson, or the other students. She only cared about her brother. She ran towards the dorm quarters, hoping to find a way to contact him, to help him, to save him.

She sprinted across the Academy, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she had to get to him as fast as she could.

She reached the grade six dorm, which was were Eli should be, and saw a crowd of students gathered around a wall. The wall was splattered with blood, but otherwise intact. Zoe felt a surge of fear and dread as she pushed her way through the crowd, hoping to find Eli alive and well.

But what she saw made her gasp and freeze in horror. There was a med bot hovering over a body, lifting it up with its metallic arms and placing it in a transparent ER container. The body was Eli's, and he looked terrible. His face was covered in blood, and there was a huge cut on the left side of his face, extending down to his neck. The edges of the wound were charred and blackened, as if someone had burned him with a laser. Zoe could see the ER container's life signs monitor, and it showed a low and erratic heartbeat.

The med bot sealed the ER container and flew over the crowd, heading straight to the school portal. Zoe knew that meant Eli was in critical condition, and needed to be taken to a standard hospital. The school's medical facilities were only equipped to handle minor injuries and illnesses, not life-threatening ones.

Zoe collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her face. She had seen Eli's body, and she knew he was dying. She couldn't believe it. 

Tears welled up in Zoe's eyes as she observed the severity of Eli's injuries. Her mind raced, grappling with the disbelief that Mazi, known for her ice-based powers, could be responsible for such a lethal attack. The chilling irony struck Zoe as she tried to reconcile Mazi's abilities with the visible burns on Eli's body.

In her grief-stricken state, Zoe's thoughts took an unexpected turn. A sudden realization pierced through her despair, and her tearful gaze shifted to the ER container display. The life signs, already hanging by a thread, resonated with an ominous tone. Only one name echoed in Zoe's mind – Cartl Taylor.

Zoe realized that Cartl was the only one who could have done this to Eli. He was the only one who had a motive to kill Eli. He was the only one who was evil enough to do it.

Zoe felt a surge of anger and hatred, mixed with grief and despair. She wanted to avenge Eli, to make Cartl pay for what he had done. 

But she couldn't do any of that. She could only sob and cry, as she watched the med bot disappear into the portal, taking Eli away from her. She felt like her world had ended, and she wished she could end with it.