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  "A way for a regular human to fight against Ires?" Layla repeated. It was quite the bold proposition. Yet, at the same time, Drew looked to be serious. This man was not only able to make Sebastian into a sentient being capable of human communication and following instructions, but also extremely knowledgeable in Guardians, Knights, and the whole affair of those capable of seeing Ires.
"That's correct," Drew confirmed, "Although, there are a few requirements that must be met in order for this theory to be put into practice. These requirements have already been met by the one I initially wanted to ask, though, so that isn't too much of an issue." He kept his attention trained on Layla, making the girl feel slightly uneasy. Blake and Amber felt the same as they immediately activated their auras. Drew chuckled lightly and put his hands up.
"Easy there, you two. I did say I wanted to ask, didn't I?" He calmly stated, keeping his attention on Layla, "I will only act should she give me her consent herself. Otherwise I will not lay a finger on her." Blake and Amber remained silent, instinct telling them both to stay on guard. Layla gulped and looked to her two friends, noticing that they had their eyes trained on Drew and Drew keeping his focus on her. It's my decision on whether or not to help him, she contemplated, and if all goes well, I should be able to fight alongside them as an aura-user. The offer seemed tempting enough due to the fact that the success of the theory meant that she could fight on her own and help Blake and Amber out in the front lines. Blake and Amber, on the other hand, had many reservations. Sure it could help if Layla was capable of fighting alongside them without having to worry them. However, the offer seemed too good to be true; there had to be a catch of some sort.
"Granted, we all are aware that Miss Layla has the ability to see Ires like Sebastian," Drew began to explain, "Only a few regular humans in the world hold this ability. That happens to be one of the requirements for this theory. The second requirement is to have an understanding of how aura is activated and used, in which Miss Layla has again demonstrated to have. The third is to have an understanding of Guardians and Knights to understand the balance they hold with the Ires they fight against. Once more, Miss Layla has already shown her understanding of this as well, thus making her a perfect candidate to test my theory. So what do you think, Miss Layla?" Layla hesitated for a bit. She was willing to go through with the test itself which was all that he asked for. However, Layla couldn't help but to look back towards Amber and Blake. They were the ones that she depended on for protection and strength against the Ires that they had all fought for a while now. The only person that Layla could really rely on for information on anything to do with Ires, Guardians and Knights was Blake. And at this very moment, Layla could tell that Blake was contemplating and reading her expression as well. Layla turned to Drew, taking in a breath.
"I'm going to need time to think this through, Drew. Is that alright with you?" she asked tentatively. Drew bowed and exited the room, calling Sebastian to join him, to which the Ire vanished from sight, allowing all three girls a chance to talk in private.

Time ticked by in silence for a few moments as the girls collected their thoughts on the information they were just given. It was a lot to take in all at once; the chance that Layla could potentially be capable of fighting Ires with her own aura was also really tempting. At the same time, they had just met this Drew character, who was already suspicious to begin with due to Sebastian's existence.
"Just so that we are clear on this, I'm actually okay with doing the test," Layla finally broke the silence. Her two friends understood this perfectly. They knew that Layla would take the chance. They knew her too well by now; Layla would do anything to help them with her own power, and the offer Drew gave her was perfect.
"We know," Amber replied, looking to Layla. She turned to Blake, "What do you think?" The Knight didn't respond right away. Thoughts of the infinite possibilities of what could happen to Layla raced through her mind. No human has been capable of activating their aura for as long as she held memory for, so this new development, although helpful, was very risky. She wanted more information on the matter, but Layla was the only one who could test this theory of Drew's out. As far as she knew, if Layla was willing, then for what reason was she to stop her friend.
"I have my doubts about this, but if Layla is willing to go through with it, then whose to say I stop her from doing so," Blake finally answered, earning a smile from Layla. Amber sighed; she knew Blake was right, but at the same time the prospect of Layla doing this terrified her. Unfortunately, Layla had already stated that she herself was already willing to go through with the test. Amber felt she had no other choice then to respect her best friend's decision.
"Alright then, that's that," Amber said with an air of resignation, "However, if anything goes wrong and you end up getting seriously hurt, I am going to stop that experiment immediately," And then with a wink, "I don't want my bae to get ruined before I have her."
"AMBER!" Layla shouted embarrassed as Amber began laughing. Blake couldn't help but to crack a smile an face palm. Only Amber would break a serious atmosphere like this. This normalcy helped to ease their minds if not for a few moments before Layla turned serious again. Giving a nod to both Blake and Amber, she turned and took in a single breath.
"Drew! I've decided!" She shouted throughout the cabin. Silence held for a few moments before a flash of smoke appeared in front of Layla. Sebastian reformed itself with Drew by its side, taking a step back with a bow before vanishing again.
"Well then, Miss Layla. I take it that you have considered my proposition?" Drew asked. Layla nodded.
"I'll do it. I'll take part in your test," Layla told him in confidence. Drew clapped his hands.
"Delightful. I'll begin with the preparations," he said happily, beginning to leave. He paused and turned back to them, "Oh, the test will be done outside, so please rest outside in the forest. I'll have Sebastian come for you shortly."

"It appears Lady Layla has chosen to take on the test," Sebastian reported to Daniel, who sat by his lonesome in an isolated room. Daniel chuckled.
"Of course she would. It's who she is," he said, gazing at a photo in his hand. The photo was that of himself and three others whose faces were obscured. Daniel looked to the photo fondly, stroking the image of one person standing next to him. Suddenly, the room began to freeze, as if it had turned into a freezer within moments. Daniel felt the cold seep into his bones, as his skin turned ghostly white, blending in with his new ice surroundings. Sebastian vanished and reappeared just in time to dodge a strong gust of icy wind sweeping throughout the room, grinning widely.
"It would seem that your aura is still a bit out of control, master," Sebastian stated. Daniel scoffed, "Quiet you. I endured a lot of pain to have this power. And I WILL control it, no matter what it takes." He put the photo into his pant pocket and stood up, facing Sebastian. He wore nothing but his pants against the cold, allowing the cold winds of his aura to envelope him in a thin layer of snow. His gaze was as ice cold as his aura, from his natural eye color of brown to that of a blue-eyed demon. His hair had also decided to match with his theme, going from auburn to a stark white. The way Daniel looked now was more like a demon from legends than a human.
"This is nothing compared to what Blake is going to get," Daniel grinned maliciously, "Soon I won't just be someone who has to be saved. I will be able to fight on my own. Just watch, Blake. You'll see what I'm capable of doing, and you won't understand why I'm doing it. This is all because of you, and this will all end with you, just like old times." Daniel walked around his room of ice and made his way to a shelf. Opening it revealed vials of mysterious chemicals in which Daniel took one and drank. Within seconds, his appearance returned to normal and the room returned to that of a normal cabin room. Taking in a few breaths, Daniel steadied himself and shuffled through his shelf to find a tiny compartment door behind the vials. He opened the compartment to a letter in which he had kept safe ever since he received it anonymously from Sebastian.

At first, Daniel was terrified when he found Sebastian. He initially heard screaming from his parents' room and had run over to investigate. What he found was traumatizing: his parents dead on the floor, drowning in their own blood with a single entity standing tall over them. There was no weapon in the figure's hand, yet the markings that Daniel could see on his parents were as if they were slashed and hacked to death. Daniel felt nothing but the fear for his life as the entity turned to him, only to disappear just as quickly. Daniel rushed over to his parents to see if they were alright, even though he already knew the answer. With his parents lifeless on the floor, Daniel knelt to the ground, grieving the loss he couldn't prevent. After a while, the boy dried up his tears and noticed a letter left behind on his mother's vanity. Daniel picked it up and opened it, reading the contents inside:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  Greetings Daniel,

By the time this letter reaches you, your parents are to have been killed. Please understand that there was a reason for their demise, as you would not pay me any heed otherwise. Rather, you might have tried to talk to someone else about this, defeating the purpose of a message solely for you. There is a certain person in which I would like to take for my own, and you just so happen to know who this is; a girl at your school in which you are quite close to nowadays. I'd even say you may have fallen for her.

But, now is not the time for idle chatter. There are things needed to be discussed. First off, what killed your parents is an entity known as an Ire. They are the ones responsible for the destruction these past few months, and the only reason why they aren't any more severe than what you have heard is actually thanks to your friends. Two of them are actually special types of people whose sole purpose is to help hold the balance of the world, known as Guardians and Knights. Alongside your two friends just so happens to be the one I seek, who had helped to fight alongside them with their protective aura. I'm sure that you find this confusing, but I'm sure if you looked to a recent enemy known as Melody, things will become clearer to you.

I urge you to be quick, however. I wish to have her with me as I wish to "persuade" her into my submission. My might, as shown by my superiority against the Ire who killed your parents - in which I held the ability to tame and command into doing this - is one that even the Knight known as Blake will be unable to fight against. Make haste should you wish to save the one you love, or hide yourself away as she becomes mine.

                                                                                                                                       Signed,
~D~
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  Daniel gripped the paper tightly. He had done as the letter requested and had Melody explain everything to him. Even though he lied when he said that in exchange for the information she would be freed, he still got what he wanted. He missed weeks of school trying to find a way to use aura as Melody had described. Since it was a known fact that aura was the manifestation of the soul's essence, he focused on trying to force his aura into his command. He had succeeded in doing so, hence his current state, and managed to get a hold of the Ire that killed his parents. He held it captive and had it go through multiple tests to further understand Ires, creating its persona of Sebastian as a by-product. This made him wonder how Ires came to be, and that was what led him to now. After a few more tweaks to his control over his aura, Daniel knew that he would be ready. It was almost time.