The Sight Of Future
Welcome Procession

Talia followed Ludwig deeper into the forest. The sound of howling of wild animals sounded from a distance. Talia was no longer afraid. Anger has mastered it. He could feel no other emotion than anger towards Ludwig.

Even so, Talia had already returned Smoke to the spirit realm. He had already made a contract right when the fire spirit came out. Talia chanted Smoke's name just like that, until the contract was fast.

Now, his frustration could only be that he was alone. Ludwig looked completely unperturbed even though Talia kept looking at him sharply.

"My head can be hollow if you see me like that" he joked as he walked in front of Talia. The girl did not reply and simply threw a glance towards the dark forest.

After walking for about a mile, they arrived at a field in the heart of the forest. Talia never knew that in the middle of the forbidden forest there was a large field.

In the middle of the field, there was a huge bonfire licking in the air. Some robed people stood around the campfire wearing masks with animal faces. Ludwig stopped right before entering the room. He took out two black masks from under his cloak. One was a lion, and the other a wolf.

The lion-faced mask he gave to Talia, while Ludwig wore a wolf-faced mask. Talia took the mask and put it on. Not to forget the girl also raised the hood of her robe to cover her face. Talia's disguise is perfect. No one would recognize him in that appearance.

"Let's go in now" whispered Ludwig as he walked ahead of Talia.

The girl followed in silence. The two then stood in the line of other witches who had been there first. Ludwig approached another witch in a red mask with a fox face. They seem to be talking slowly. Talia could not clearly hear the conversation as it was obscured by the sound of the crackling of the bonfire. The girl did not have the taste to stand closer. He only took two steps behind Ludwig while staring at the flames of the bonfire.

One by one, masked senior-junior couples emerged from behind the forest. About thirty witches were already marching around the bonfire. Most come in pairs with masks that are of matching color. But there were also those who appeared alone, without juniors following. It seemed like they were senior magicians whose chosen child did not pass the selection.

After all the members had come and gathered, the ceremony had begun. First they raised their right hand towards the bonfire and began to take a very long vow. Talia just followed lazily from behind Ludwig's back. After the vows were finished, the bonfire in front of them slammed down and made a monstrous silhouette of a face.

Talia gasped for a while. The silhouette disappeared just as quickly as when it appeared. Talia tried to blink a few times, making sure that her vision was not wrong. However, the bonfire had returned to its original state.

After the dramatic procession was completed, a witch with a peacock mask climbed onto a high podium near the bonfire. The witch began the opening speech.

"Welcome, new members of Taleodore. You are the chosen children who will be the successors of this association. From now on, you will be a family that supports each other.

"In accordance with the vows you have made before, in this gathering, every senior and junior couple will be bound in one magic promise. During his time at the Academy, every senior magician, was obliged to protect the junior magician of his choice. Meanwhile the junior mages were also obliged to obey the orders of the senior mages who had chosen him.

"More than that, all other facilities obtained from this association include: access to learning outside the classroom, and, ancient magic books and test grilles will be automatically available every year by all members.

"Tokens that have turned into your form of power will become permanent access to enter the forbidden forest. In this place, all of you are free to practice magic outside the classroom without breaking the rules" he explained at length.

The girl turned her head and found a cloaked figure with a tall body and a red snake mask. He gave a brief mention just to respond.

"Those who can choose juniors in this procession are only second-rate seniors. Because every witch is only allowed to have one junior. My senior is from the Alchemy Department. That you?" The young man insisted on continuing to talk to Talia.

Talia shook her head slowly, hinting that she did not want to chat with anyone. He just wanted to go back to his dorm room.

"Don't you know who chose you? You're very lucky then," said the young man. Talia only listened to him in passing, without answering anything.

"Said Kyle Gothe has also been chosen by one of the senior witches in this association. My senior said so," the young man continued chattering.

Sontak Talia turned towards her interlocutor. He did not think that Kyle's name was mentioned in this place. Fretfully the girl glanced towards Ludwig who did not seem to hear their conversation.

"The senior, who was talking on the podium with a golden mask. Luceila Asgard's. He chose Kyle Gothe as his junior" the young man explained without further ado.

It was fortunate that Talia used the mask. Because otherwise, he would have trouble controlling his facial expression. He had never known before that Kyle was a member of this secret society. Kyle had always been near Talia. So how could Talia never know?

Talia's feelings are really mixed right now. He felt annoyed not only at Ludwig, but also at Kyle. The young man had already lied to Talia in his previous life. Although the incident is actually irrelevant if it is associated with the present, but the sense of betrayal still makes Talia disappointed.

He was even more upset because now Talia could not ask Kyle about it directly. They are no longer friends. And more than that, Kyle is also unlikely to remember his past life. The girl was frustrated. His life right now is like rolling off track. Talia can barely control it anymore.

In the midst of his frustration, Ludwig suddenly walked back and approached him. The serpent masked young man who had been babbling next to Talia was driven away.

"It seems you have a new friend" commented Ludwig, who was standing next to Talia.

The welcoming ceremony procession is still ongoing. Now the representative of the new boy is speaking on the podium.

"I speak without asking" Talia said.

Ludwig snorted small. "The show is over soon. Be patient" Ludwig murmured later.

Talia frowned confusedly. Since when did Ludwig become so considerate of him. The entire fur on his body was goosebumps hearing the young man speak soft words to him.