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Chapter Text

    Aloysius woke up with a great smile on his face. Snatching his clothes, he put on his clothes rapidly, which was easy since he had a slender body, and rushed to the dining room.

“Good morning,” Aloysius greeted his parents as he smiled. 

He sat down and began to eat his breakfast, pancakes with fruit slices placed to show a smiling face. Coming down from the stairs was his sister with her brown long hair swaying up and down. She had a smile similar to Aloysius’s as she ate her breakfast as well. The Sun’s light reached their house in Illinois. The light shined through their windows, giving the house a bright light inside as the two continued to happily eat their breakfast before heading to school. They then put their plates in the sink and grabbed their backpacks. Aloysius and Kasia both said their goodbyes to their parents as they headed to high school. 

    During the walk, Aloysius walked up a small hill on a street with her sister Kasia. The wind began to blow against Aloysius’s brown flat hair and Kasia’s long hair, making her blue eyes stand out more. Both of them thought of just going to school since every year, they have been going to school together. Aloysius appreciated the joy and company he had and felt when he walked with Kasia. They turned right on a corner and right there was Jackson High School. 

“Why don’t you do something with your bangs, I know they don’t cover your vision but at least cut them shorter,” Kasia suggested to Aloysius,

“Nah, I think they add a little style to me with my dark blue eyes. It makes me, stand out more, don’t you think.” Aloysius said to Kasia with a smile. They then both chuckled and opened the doors of Jackson High School, Aloysius and Kasia then went to their classes separately. The first class for Aloysius and Kasia is ELA. Aloysius was sitting in the class but then the speakers went active.

“Excuse us for the interruption, it seems that all teachers for every class aren’t coming to school today due to the flu that passed around. Please be cautious as the disease may very well still be on the school grounds, thank you very much and stay safe.” the speaker cut to static and then stopped.

    Aloysius shoved it off as a coincidence and just ignored it. He then took out a notebook and a mechanical pencil from his bag and began to draw. Aloysius tended to have a mind of imagination and would draw and write his ideas on paper. One of his ideas was about a person who lost his “Everything” but then found new people. Aloysius continued to move the pencil gracefully and gently to create shades and lines. His creation was a person chained to a wall, the wall represented the past for Aloysius. As soon as he was finished, the door opened, and in came a substitute teacher named “Mr. F” as written on the board.

“Hello students, my name is Frank but call me Mr. F. Today, Ms. Stacey couldn’t come in because of the Flu, rest assure that she is doing okay and well.” Mr. F explained. 

The same explanation was given to his sister Kasia who was on the opposite wing. As she was hearing the explanation, she kept fiddling with her pencil and then shaking it from the tip nervously.

    In Mr. F’s class, he was teaching about composition and grammar in both English and British saying, “This will be necessary when you learn Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets.”

An announcement was then shared through the speaker, “Excuse the interruption again, due to certain circumstances involving the Flu, we have decided to cut short the school day. All students must arrive at their buses or walk to their homes by 12:30 PM, have a good day everyone.” the time currently was 9:40 AM.

    Mr. F finished his teaching quickly enough for Aloysius to walk to his second class at 10 AM. The same went for Kasia who packed her stuff and went for her Mathematics class. She entered the classroom and sat down quickly to get the class started fast. The other students took the announcement as a free time gift and talked as they walked into the classroom. Kasia took out a math book with a pencil and some scrap paper to make sure she doesn’t thing. But on her mind that kept appearing was Aloysius’s face. She kept focusing to get the image out of her head. Like the snap of a finger, math class was finished because she couldn’t concentrate. Her entire time was spent on trying to get Aloysius out of her head. Kasia started to put away her things but then saw that she wrote all the equations into one equation, the equation for the universe. It was messy so she couldn’t identify what she wrote. 

    Aloysius’s Math class ended as well and walked out of the classroom to Science class at the strike of 11:30 AM. He rushed through the large crowd of students that were acting as a wall to get to his Science class. After using the amount of force a Rhino would use to get through the crowd, he had made it. Aloysius followed the same procedure and took out a mechanical pencil and a notebook half-filled with 9th grade Science notes. Class started and Aloysius wrote down every single detail his teacher spoke about, organisms, classification, space. Everything the teacher spoke about was to give the students a general idea of the entirety of science. The clock hit 12:20 and students started to fiddle around as they waited for their cue to leave. The science teacher then gave an interesting idea before they left,

“Besides our universe, there are theories that multiverses could exist. The difference between a parallel universe and a multiverse is that a multiverse is a group of universes that make up everything, time, space, physics. Okay, it is 12:29, have a good day everybody, see you all one day.” as soon as the teacher finished, the bell rang. 

    Aloysius got up and put on his backpack but as he was walking towards the exit, he kept getting pushed around by other students who were desperate to leave what seemed to them as a prison. Aloysius stopped walking when he got to a corner near the school. Five minutes later, his sister Kasia arrived at where he was at. They continued to walk down the hill while smiling on the inside. The Sun started to reach the middle of the sky and light glowed through the forest they passed by. In just ten minutes after viewing beautiful scenery on their way home, they arrived. Aloysius and Kasia greeted their parents, threw the backpacks on the couch, and ran up the stairs. 

    Aloysius opened his door and closed. He threw himself on the bed and smiled.

“Ah, how relaxing this bed is. It is fun when you have someone with you to go where you go. Experience the same things and arrive at the same place. Ever since 9th grade, I have left the role of being a loner since Kasia and I started going to the same school. What would I have done without her today?” said Aloysius to himself. 

    A knock on the door was heard and Aloysius got up and opened the door.

At the door was his sister who wanted to ask him a question.

“If you were to be given an item that could give you all the power in the world, would you accept?” asked Kasia

“Why ask?” Aloysius responded to Kasia

“I just want to know, it was a thing our teacher in ELA told us to do for homework,” Kasia said, the thing is, Kasia was lying.

“Well, even if I were to fall into darkness, I would never accept it because,” Aloysius paused and frowned as he looked at the ground.

“Because?” Kasia asked.

“Because I’m not like them. Our grandparents were broken and torn to shreds by that. I would never accept that! NEVER! I don’t want my life to be destroyed and turn into one of them!” Aloysius yelled furiously.

“I know, I just wanted to make sure that didn’t change your goal. Your humility is part of you that I like, Ayen.” Kasia said as she smiled at Aloysius.

“I wouldn’t call it that but thanks. By the way, why did you call me Ayen?” Aloysius asked.

“You’ll figure it out,” Kasia said as she closed the door slowly. 

    Aloysius smiled as he kept that in his head. His day went by normally, he was called for dinner, spent time with his parents and sister, and laughed. But each time, more light was brought into his life. As it became dark, everybody said their goodnights and went to their rooms.

    The next morning was how it was like yesterday, bright and happy. Aloysius and Kasia both went out as usual. This time, Aloysius felt like he was being watched, he turned his head in each direction although there was no one in sight but Kasia. As they were heading for a crosswalk, Kasia insisted that she would go first to see if he can follow the pattern of her footsteps on each white line. Kasia went and jumped on each one, halfway through Aloysius was smiling and thinking what fun he was having. On the far side of the crosswalk was a truck that was going out of control. Aloysius didn’t notice anything but at that last line, Kasia turned around and smiled, Aloysius saw the truck but before he could say anything Kasia’s life was taken. Since there was no one around, Aloysius could only cry on the inside as he was shedding tears rapidly. The one thing that kept him alive was lost. Aloysius’s eyes turned to a dull color, everything in his vision turned dull. The light that was brought to him was soon fading away. His world was soon losing its color, its detail, its happiness. The person in the truck just said sorry and left. Aloysius got furious but nothing good could happen if he argued. 

    Aloysius only had one idea, take her sister’s body back to his house. As Aloysius cleaned everything with what he could find and picked her body up, he went back home while crying. The Sun became covered by the dark clouds, no light, no nothing. He turned to the corner at his house and knocked on the door. His parents answered only to be shocked. Aloysius explained everything to them. Nothing could cope with his parent’s sadness and the same goes for himself. 

His parents decided that they would organize a funeral, Aloysius agreed as he touched his sister’s cold hand. Aloysius’s day became slow and dull. When it became dark, it was darker than before. He threw himself on his bed and cried loudly into his pillow. Aloysius fell asleep after sobbing, but he fell asleep with an empty room next to him. 

    The life Aloysius had was no more. Everything crumbled to pieces, and he fully knew that being depressed and sad would be his life for now.

Chapter Text

    After his sister’s death, Aloysius shut himself in his room. Every five hours, his parents would come knocking, but that noise would be the only noise Aloysius and his parents would hear. There was complete silence every day, Aloysius would never even go to school. Darkness kept eating him up but he didn’t want that to happen, Aloysius was afraid of what would become of him if he stayed the way he was. No matter the motivation though, Aloysius stayed in his room, where there was no light but also no darkness, he was stuck in between. 

Weeks passed as Aloysius stayed in his room laying on his bed. He hadn’t gone to school and his parents never even saw a peek of his face coming from his room. 

One day, Aloysius’s grandparents came to visit. He didn’t want to see them though. He hated them beyond anything else because of how their lives were ruined but also how his life got ruined too. 

“Power is what made them corrupt, power is what destroyed my life. I hate them, I hate them.” Aloysius thought to himself.

    Aloysius heard his grandparents through his door, which made him more against the decision to open the door. His grandfather asked if he could see his grandson, Aloysius’s father warned him that Aloysius might never answer the door. His grandfather still wanted to try and so walked up the stairs with a creaking sound on each step on the plank. He came close to Aloysius’s door and knocked. Aloysius refused to open the door.

“Um, hello? I know you won’t open the door but I have something to give that somebody else wanted to give to you in person, but they were too late. So, just open the door so you can see it.” his grandfather suggested.

    Aloysius still refused and stayed quiet while laying on his bed. His grandfather stood at his door for one more minute before leaving. He went down the stairs and put something in his father’s hands.

“Please, try to convince him to come out. At least try, and if he does, try to give this to him. This is a very special item that I am sure he’ll accept, even from me. So, please.” His grandfather pleaded to his father. 

    His father nodded and put the item in his pocket. Aloysius’s grandparents took their bags and exited out of the house. Aloysius then felt obligated to accept the item. He felt no sympathy towards his grandparents but if it was his parents, he would have no problem. When he got up, his legs hurt due to himself not being able to move. At the same time, his father was walking up the stairs. When both of them reached the door, Aloysius opened the door first. He looked like a guy who was homeless, he was dirty, smelly, and lifeless. His father first wanted to talk with him about something and asked him to sit down in the kitchen. Aloysius reluctantly agreed and put on slippers and went downstairs and sat down. 

“This is serious Aloysius Nichols. First, you shut yourself in, and then you miss your sister’s funeral. Now, you disrespect your grandparents! I don’t believe you?!” His father complained furiously at him. 

“I’m sorry,” Aloysius said quietly and gently.

“Excuse me?” His father asked.

“I’m sorry for this,” Aloysius said, this time louder and clearer.

“Look, I’m not asking you to do the things you forgot, it’s too late. What I’m asking is just to please come back to us as a normal person. We’ve been worried about what might have happened to you in your room.” His father pleaded to Aloysius. Aloysius’s father opened his hand and inside his hand was a silver chain necklace.

“This right here, I recognize this necklace. It was your sister’s, she never wore it, so she probably wanted you to have it, Aloysius. Consider this a step forward towards getting free. Or that’s what it seems to me.” His father smiled at him as he handed over the necklace to Aloysius.

    Aloysius looked at the necklace in his hand and stretched it. He turned it inside out and on that side was what seemed to be dark red paint on three chains and the rest were droplets of the red paint. Aloysius turned it to the other side and put it around his neck. 

“Also, can you do me a favor and shower. When you’re done, put those bags in the basement, those bags contain your sister’s belongings. I figured you’d be the only one willing to do it.” His father said as he pointed at the black large bags in the corner of the entrance.

    Aloysius nodded with a slight smile and went upstairs to grab a towel and take a shower. Once Aloysius finished his shower, he went into his room to put on a blue shirt and black pants. He put on gray slippers and went downstairs. When Aloysius grabbed the black bags, it felt as if his arms were going to get ripped off. But since it was his sister’s belongings, he tried his best to move and get the bags to the basement. As Aloysius slowly moved outside and down the stairs, he reached a corner where he put the bags. Aloysius decided that would like to look around the basement. He turned on the lights and the shelves had stuff he didn’t recognize. It looked much more advanced than the technology of the 21st Century. As Aloysius kept walking, he stopped at a giant green chalkboard. The chalkboard was written all over that Aloysius couldn’t tell what it was. His best guess was that it was trying to map out the entire universe because Aloysius saw the names of planets. Aloysius’s necklace lightly glowed but then faded away, he didn’t notice it though. 

“If this really is a map of the universe, this person did one heck of a job,” Aloysius said as he slightly chuckled.

Aloysius then walked to the exit, went up the stairs, and closed the basement door as he left. Once again, Aloysius felt like he was being watched. He looked around and found no one. He decided to rush it and ran to the door of his house. On the roof of Aloysius’s house was someone, he was wearing a hoodie with a black mask that was covering his entire face with darkness. He turned away and jumped off the roof.

    Returning to his house, Aloysius opened the door, entered, and then locked the door. He took his backpack to his room and packed all the stuff he needed for school. But his face and emotions were slowly fading away, once he finished, he went to the bathroom. Aloysius locked the bathroom door and washed his face plenty of times. He stopped and turned off the faucet as he looked towards the mirror, towards his reflection.

“No one can know, no one can see. I won’t let them see my true self. I’ll just have to act happy.” Aloysius said to himself in the mirror. 

He practiced smiling, making good jokes, and his laughter. The first time he smiled, made jokes, and laughed were terrible, his voice and expression sounded dead and weak. Aloysius kept practicing, and each time his voice and face became more alive. 

“Remember Aloysius Nichols,” he said as he kept practicing his smile,

“Your words seem alive, but you’re dead inside.” and with that, he ended his practice session and left the bathroom. 

Aloysius went to his room and decided that it would be good to sleep until dinner time. He locked his door and threw himself like a fish, on his bed. Aloysius closed his eyes as the softness of his mattress and blanket made him more relaxed and sleepy. Darkness was all he could see until a figure stood in front of him. 

“You’re in my world, for now, Aloysius Nichols.” the figure said in a deep distorted voice.

“Where am I, and who are you?! Is this even a dream because I can feel things and emotions but it isn’t waking me up!” Aloysius said as he was panicking more and more.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t a dream. As I said, you’re in my world for now. In a few minutes you’ll wake up, but by that time, hours would have passed until I think you said ‘Until dinner time’ or maybe that was what you thought.” the black figure said in a distorted voice.

    Aloysius was confused, questions kept hitting him like “Who is this guy?” or “What’s happening?”. The questions kept getting Aloysius more lost in thought, and that was exactly what the figure wanted to happen; he wanted him to panic. 

“Okay, time’s up.” the figure said in a distorted voice as he snapped his fingers.

    Aloysius woke up in a sweat, his heart pounding. He got up slowly and checked for the figure’s voice; no distorted voice was to be heard. Aloysius, relieved, put on his slippers, and went downstairs, he looked over and saw that dinner was ready. He sat down at the table with his parents and ate. Soon later, he decided to ignore what had happened in his sleep. Aloysius finished, thanked his parents, and went upstairs to sleep. Before sleeping, he closed and locked his window, and locked his door. Aloysius felt safe and slept on his bed. Little did he know that as soon as he was asleep, a person with a black hoodie and black mask was looking through the window, looking at Aloysius, in his sleep.

Chapter Text

    It was 7:30 AM, Aloysius weakly raised his hand to turn off his alarm clock. As he got up, Aloysius made sure that no one got in his room, and to his satisfaction, his room and property were untouched. He put on his slippers and put on his “mask”. Aloysius “gleefully” trotted down the stairs and greeted his parents with a “smile”. His parents responded with a simple “Good morning,” as Aloysius sat down in his seat to eat. He was served soft and creamy scrambled eggs with some buttered crisp toast on the side. 

“Delicious!” Aloysius yelled in true delight. 

“And the buttered toast, it just melts right in your mouth,” he said blissfully.

    Aloysius finished his breakfast and went to grab his backpack. He put on his backpack, took the house keys, and left.

“Thanks for breakfast.” Aloysius said to his parents with a “smile”. 

    Leaving the house, Aloysius went up the same hill, as he was going up, sadness was welling up inside him. But he refused to let out the emotions and continued to walk until he noticed something.

“Oh wait! My hair, I think it grew more when I locked myself in.” Aloysius said as he touched his hair.

“Oh. I forgot my hair grows slowly, it still looks the same although my bangs grew about two millimeters. Nothing to care about if it doesn’t cover my eyes.” he said as he continued to walk up and across the street. 

    Aloysius turned on a corner and right there again was Jackson High School. He readied himself for all the questions and critique he thought he was going to receive from his classmates. But as soon as Aloysius stepped into the school, nobody cared if he was back or not, even the teachers ignored Aloysius’s presence which kind of hurt him although he considered it a good thing. He didn’t want the attention. A student then came up to him.

“Hey did you hear?!” the student said in excitement.

“Hear what?” Aloysius questioned.

“We are having a new student come to our school. Oh my god, this school hasn’t had new students or transfer students for ten years.” the student explained while moving his feet.

“I guess this school has a bad reputation,” Aloysius mumbled.

“Better yet, the student is a male and he’s coming from Finland.” the student said in greater excitement.

“Well, that just deflates my chances of making fake allies with this dude,” Aloysius mumbled again.

The student then left and ran to his class when the bell rang.

“Crap, I’m going to be late,” Aloysius said as he jogged to his class.

    As Aloysius entered the class, he was mistaken as the new student. He had to clear it up but when they found out, they let out a noise that signaled their disappointment. Aloysius walked through the rows of seats and sat down in a desk near a window. He took out his notebook and pencil and this time, he didn’t draw or write anything unless it was for class. 

“I am Mr. F, we meet once again students. Now since your teacher is still sick, I’ll be teaching for today. But first, we have a new student people.” Mr. F said to all of the students.

Coming from the door was the new student with ivory skin. He had blonde spiky hair, light blue eyes, and a white long scarf around his neck that was hanging on his back. The new student had a black shirt with a white crosshatch design. He also was wearing navy blue pants and black Adidas shoes. The strangest thing about him though was that the student had a long black glove that reached up to his forearm on his right hand. On his left leg was a long black sock that reached his knee, most of the sock was covered by the pants. With his appearance, everybody was a little confused, thinking that he would be wearing a smock, skirt, cotton blouse, and vest. 

“My name is Rocco Tuominen, but please, call me Tuomo. Nice to meet you all and sorry for letting your expectations go to waste.” Tuomo said. 

Tuomo walked down the aisle and sat down in a desk next to Aloysius. 

“Nice to meet you,” Tuomo greeted Aloysius.

“Nice to meet you too,” Aloysius said to Tuomo with a slight “smile”. 

Right when Aloysius responded, Tuomo saw through his mask. Before anything else could be spoken about, class started when Mr. F spoke.

“We will be continuing from where we left off in British grammar. Aloysius Nichols, your name is going up on the board because you’re way behind, so please pay attention.” Mr. F as Aloysius nodded to his words.

    The class went on until 9:10 AM, at that time Aloysius got his stuff ready for gym class. Coincidentally, Tuomo was in the same class as him. As they got in the changing room, Tuomo seemed that he had something planned. When they got out and inside the gym, Tuomo was wearing navy blue shorts, where the black sock was visible, and a black tank top with the black glove still on. Tuomo took the scarf off while Aloysius just put on a pink T-Shirt with black shorts. When Aloysius noticed Tuomo, he wasn’t surprised that he had some muscle, with the clothes he had before, he seemed skinny. 

“Okay guys, since we have a new student and also because one other guy didn’t do his physical test, we’ll be waiting for them. You can either watch them or play basketball.” the muscly gym teacher said. 

    Half of the class went for basketball and the other half sat down on the seats on the sidelines of the gym. Most of that half were girls while most boys were playing basketball with few girls playing and few boys watching Aloysius and Tuomo. 

“First up will be Aloysius, you’ll be doing the sit-and-reach test.” the gym teacher said. 

Aloysius took his shoes off and sat on the floor with his feet in the sit-and-reach box. Aloysius then prepared himself as he extended his arms.

“Now go!” the teacher ordered.

Aloysius followed and stretched as far as he could.

“2.2 inches, okay now Tuomo’s next.” the teacher said as the female students got excited. 

Tuomo took his shoes and put them on the sidelines. He sat with his feet in the box and stretched.

“Great job, 7 inches.” the teacher complimented as the students cheered. 

“Now, the curl-up test, first up Aloysius.” the teacher continued.

Aloysius put his shoes back on and got on the ground and laid down with his knees up. 

“And . . . Start!” the teacher said. 

Aloysius had trouble with the first curl-ups, but then his body got accustomed to it and gradually completed the sit-ups faster.

“Stop! Great, Thirty-one curl-ups. Now, Tuomo c’mon.” the teacher ordered.

Tuomo instantly got the first ten curl-ups in ten seconds. Within thirty seconds, Tuomo was at sixty-one curl-ups. 

“Stop! Amazing, one hundred and one curl-ups.” the teacher said in astonishment.

“Next, the 15 meter Pacer Test. Aloysius, Tuomo, you’ll go at the same time.” the teacher said.

“The Grand Pacer test . . .” the robotic voice soon finished its instructions.

Aloysius started fast with Tuomo tailing behind, but as it got faster, Tuomo overcame Aloysius.

“Your number of laps?” the teacher asked Aloysius.

“Forty-one laps,” Aloysius said while panting hard. 

Aloysius was covered in sweat from head to chest. He sat down on the sidelines while Tuomo kept running.

“Your number of laps?” the teacher asked Tuomo.

“One hundred and ninety-one laps,” Tuomo said as he was slowly breathing deeply.

“That’s bullshit,” Aloysius mumbled to himself. 

“Hey, you did a good job, although, no one can still match my pace.” Tuomo said to Aloysius, “Except for one,” Tuomo mumbled quietly.

“What was that?” Aloysius questioned.

“Nothing,” Tuomo said as he grinned.

Once they finished their break, Aloysius and Tuomo started and finish their push-ups.

“Okay, final results, Aloysius, 2.2 inches in S&R test, while Tuomo reached 7 in., Aloysius with thirty-one curl-ups and Tuomo with one hundred and one. Aloysius with forty-one laps and Tuomo with one hundred and ninety-one laps. Finally, Aloysius with twenty-five push-ups and Tuomo with ninety-nine push-ups. Now, the bonus round is the Punching bag. You must break or tear that punching bag with one blow.” the gym teacher said as he pointed to the red punching bag. 

“You gotta be kidding me,” Aloysius complained.

“Okay, first, Aloysius.” the teacher said as Aloysius walked up to the punching bag.

Aloysius pulled his arm back and then thrusted his fist into the punching bag.

His punch had nothing at all against the punching bag besides some slight swaying.

“Next, Tuomo.” the teacher ordered.

Tuomo followed the same as Aloysius but when he landed his punch, the bag broke into pieces.

“Damn it,” Tuomo said to himself.

Everybody was astonished by him and his result.

“Wow! Tuomo you did great!” the teacher said as the students clapped. 

Aloysius saw and congratulated Tuomo.

“Hey, nice job!” Aloysius said with a big “smile”. 

“You did well too, and that necklace of yours looks nice,” Tuomo said to Aloysius.

“Yeah, I got it from my sister,” Aloysius responded.

Tuomo grinned, “Who’s dead right?” 

Aloysius answered Tuomo with anger, “HOW! How do you know?!” Aloysius yelled at Tuomo while grabbing him by his shirt. 

“Too late! Lights out buddy!” Tuomo said as he snapped his fingers.

    The lights went out and soon enough, Aloysius was beaten unconscious. Tuomo covered Aloysius’s eyes with a blindfold. He tied his hands with a rope and then said silently, “Execute thema,” Tuomo had his white scarf back on, he then carried Aloysius outside behind his back.

Chapter Text

    Aloysius was tied to a chair with a blindfold on. Through his eyes, all he could see was darkness although he was still unconscious. The room he was in was dark, no one could see anybody. Tuomo came in through the door on the left. He had his regular attire from when he first entered Aloysius’s class. He stood in front of Aloysius and poked at him.

“Hey, you awake? C’mon, I didn’t hit you that hard.” Tuomo said to an unconscious Aloysius. 

Aloysius still didn’t move as Tuomo pinched, poked, and slapped him. Tuomo then brought a big cup of water from a nearby counter. 

“Let’s see if you wake up from this,” Tuomo said as he poured the water over Aloysius’s head.

Aloysius twitched and opened his eyes only to see darkness. 

“Where am I?” Aloysius said blankly.

“So, you still remember,” Tuomo said.

“You’re in a room that is located within a facility that is in the mountains in Germany.” Tuomo continued.

“How?” Aloysius asked.

“I brought you here, it wasn’t hard. Oh, I forgot, I need to take your blindfold off.” Tuomo said.

    He proceeded to take Aloysius’s blindfold off. Once his blindfold was taken, Tuomo turned on the lights. Aloysius tried to move but then looked back to see that his hands were tied up behind the chair. 

“What are you going to do to me now? Gonna kill me?” Aloysius questioned while being a little frightened. 

“No, no, no, I’m gonna let you go because right out that door is something else,” Tuomo said as he grinned. 

He then untied Aloysius’s hands and then pulled out a kunai and pointed in front of his face.

“Try anything funny and you die,” Tuomo said with a serious face.

    Aloysius nodded as he sighed. He got up from the chair and walked towards the door. Aloysius slowly opened the door to see a crowd of people of his age, below his age, and people who are older than him. There were tables placed all over what seemed to be the floor of a big room that was painted white and gray. The walls were big and so were the tables. 

“What is this place?” Aloysius asked.

“Did I forget to specify? You’re in an academy, Septem Academy to narrow it down.” Tuomo explained to Aloysius.

“So, I’m in school,” Aloysius said.

“Technically, but this isn’t any old academy. This academy is made for special students, like you. Also, there are more academies like this one in a few other select countries like Sweden, Russia, Japan, Australia, etc.” Tuomo further explained.

Coming from the door to the left of the big room was a girl with black long hair, agate color eyes, and beige skin. She then started running towards Aloysius and Tuomo.

“Tuomo, there you are!” she yelled.

She saw Aloysius state, who was beaten up, which left bruises, and dull eyes.

“Didn’t I say not to treat him harshly. If he dies, it will only satisfy them.” Mirai complained to Tuomo.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that, I noticed something about him and couldn’t keep my act together.” Tuomo apologized with a blank expression as he moved his eyes to Aloysius and then back to her.

“Oh yeah, this girl right here is Mirai Rivas, she is also a student at this school,” Tuomo told Aloysius.

Aloysius observed Mirai, from the bottom Mirai was wearing purple sneakers and blue skinny jeans. In the middle, Mirai had a medium-sized bust and was wearing a blue shirt with a pink peace sign. On the top was Mirai’s face which seemed soft and smooth to Aloysius. When he was done observing Mirai’s appearance, he gave her a slight “smile”. 

“Nice to meet you Mirai, my name is Aloysius Nichols.” he said “happily”.

    Mirai fell for Aloysius’s act and greeted him back. Then, Mirai told Aloysius to follow her. They both went through the door she came through and then walked pass many doors. Mirai and Aloysius then opened the door on the left, only to reveal more doors. Mirai then stopped at the third door and told Aloysius to go in.

“What is this room? And why does it have a bed and a table?” Aloysius asked.

“That’s because this will be your dorm or your room that you’ll be staying in,” Tuomo said as Aloysius saw him jump down from the ceiling.

“What about my parents? Will they be okay?” Aloysius asked Tuomo.

“Don’t worry they’ll be fine,” Tuomo assured Aloysius. 

“Now, sit down on that chair. Don’t worry I’m going to torture you or anything.” Tuomo said to Aloysius.

    Aloysius sat on the chair next to his bed. Mirai was in the back of the room reading. Tuomo got closer to Aloysius and grabbed his necklace for a closer look. Aloysius got enraged but then Tuomo gave it back. He then grinned as he prepared to speak.

“Now I know what needs to be done,” Tuomo said.

“Aloysius, will you believe me if I told you were a Connector?” Tuomo asked.

“No, I don’t even know what a Connecter even is. Are you talking about a cable plug?” Aloysius answered.

“Listen, everything I’m about to tell you is the truth. You’re a Connector like me, a Connector is a person who can connect to a soul. Those who can’t are called Connectless. I’ll show you what I mean.” Tuomo explained. 

He then told Mirai to put Aloysius under her control. Mirai followed and took out a wand. She pointed it at Aloysius and mouthed out words. Soon enough, Aloysius couldn’t feel anything, not his feet, not his hands, not the chair, nothing. Mirai pointed her wand to the bed and Aloysius walked to the bed. He felt as if someone was controlling him.

“I know what you thought right now. Mirai can make people obey her commands. The reason for this is because she’s a Connector. She’s connected to a soul that gives her this power. I’m the same too but I have different abilities.” Tuomo explained.

“The same goes for you as well.” Tuomo continued.

Aloysius then realized that everything he said was true. He knew it was true because of what happened during the physical exam. Tuomo exceeded in every part of the test. Tuomo was far better than him.

“So, your abilities are within the physical area, Tuomo,” Aloysius asked.

Tuomo clapped, “Good job, but my abilities aren’t just in that area. But since you realized, it’s about time it happened.” Tuomo said with a smirk.

    Aloysius’s necklace started to glow brighter and brighter. The light eventually climaxed and then died down slowly. What was there was a small book on his necklace. The book was brown, red, and black. It had chains that were stained with dry blood although to Aloysius, it seemed to be dry red paint.

“What is this small book on my necklace?” Aloysius asked seriously.

Then in the voice of a 13-year-old boy, “I am Natus Ex Uno.”

Chapter Text

    Aloysius, still stunned, grabbed his necklace and yanked it off. The necklace came off but it was still intact and not broken. He then threw it to Tuomo but he dodged the necklace and Mirai backed off in the corner. Aloysius then grabbed the necklace with his fingertips and put it on top of his drawer. 

“Why didn’t you take it?! I mean, you knew about this so you need to take it.” Aloysius said as he pointed at Tuomo.

“Thing is if Mirai or I touch that necklace, we’ll die instantly,” Tuomo explained.

“Well, why not say that earlier idiot!” Aloysius yelled at Tuomo.

“Watch what you say before I shut you up,” Tuomo said as he pulled out a kunai.

Aloysius refrained from irritating Tuomo more. He decided to grab the necklace and put it back on. He then was confused.

“Why am I not dead?” Aloysius asked.

“That’s because no one, besides you, can use me or even touch me,” the book answered.

“And what are you supposed to be?” Aloysius asked the book. 

“I’m a grimoire, your exclusive grimoire,” Natus Ex Uno said.

“Yeah, yeah, because anyone besides me will die if they touch or use you,” Aloysius said while being a little annoyed. 

“Now, what can I do now? Be a street magician?” Aloysius said as he mocked Natus Ex Uno.

“Somewhat correct. You’ll become a Connector although you’re nowhere near the start.” Natus Ex Uno corrected Aloysius.

“To at least start now, look at your reflection on the window.” Natus Ex Uno suggested.

    Aloysius went with the flow and looked into his reflection. All he saw was himself but slowly his appearance in the window started to change although his slender body stayed the same. His sneakers in the reflection became brown penny loafers, his shorts became beige khakis pants, his pink shirt became a torn white suit with a ripped black jacket. Aloysius’s hair in the reflection became black shaggy cut hair and his eyes became dark brown. 

“Who is he?” Aloysius asked Natus Ex Uno.

“He’s the soul you’re connected to. Seems you resonate at an average level with him.” Natus Ex Uno responded.

“I mean his name, what’s his name?” Aloysius asked as he kept staring at his changed reflection. 

“Oh, it’s Arata Kasuga.” Natus Ex Uno said.

“So, he’s Japanese huh,” Aloysius said.

“There are bigger problems than finding out his name. You should focus on what he did.” Natus Ex Uno suggested.

“Then, what did he do?” Aloysius asked.

“You’ll find out, good-bye.” Natus Ex Uno said as he slowly faded away.

“My book’s very unhelpful. Tuomo can you tell me what he did before Arata goes away.”  Aloysius asked but Tuomo refrained from answering and so did Mirai.

“Oh well, and he’s gone. Wow, and it’s also nighttime. I’m sure you guys have your dorms so I gonna sleep.” Aloysius said.

    Tuomo walked out of his room along with Mirai. Aloysius locked his door and turned off the light. Like he used to, Aloysius threw himself on the bed and looked at the ceiling. He went under the blanket and slept. Later in his deep sleep, Aloysius saw him again. The figure was right in front of him, he still was wearing a black hoodie that cast a shadow to cover his face. 

“What do you want this time?” Aloysius asked.

“I simply want you to see what he has done.” the guy said in the same distorted voice.

    The figure then snapped his fingers and the scenery went from black to a desolated area with dirt and wooden javelins in the ground. Aloysius looked all around just to see the same thing. When he turned around again, there was a guy who was as tall as him. The male had black hair with a small ponytail. He was wearing a tunic under a short-sleeved jacket. The jacket was fastened by a large belt and had two metal gauntlets on his hands. Aloysius started to feel a similar aura from him. 

“I did it, but during the process, they died.” the male said.

    Aloysius moved closer and saw that it was Arata who spoke. In front of him were seven objects. A torn pink scarf, a ripped white & red cloak, a melted gun, a smashed camera, a cracked wand, a white long-sleeve dress shirt sliced in two, and on the ground was a silver ring that was half-sunk in the puddle of blood. Aloysius nearly puked at the sight. He then calmed himself down only to see on his right a wave of fire.

“I deserve this, I can’t do it without them. So please, I want to see them again.” Arata pleaded as he shed a small tear. 

    The wave of fire soon consumed Aloysius and Arata. It was now back to darkness, there was no sign of him anymore. Aloysius got up from the dark ground when all of a sudden, he was held up and grabbed by his throat and shirt.

“You still don’t get it now. I’ll tell you something.” the male said in a distorted voice.

“They’ll come after you, and they will take your life. Aloysius Nichols, you are being hunted.” The figure said as he soon faded away.

    Aloysius fell to the ground and woke up from the black figure’s world. It was dark as the deep sea, Aloysius could barely see anything. But then, he caught something on the corner of his eye. It had the shape and movements of a person as it dashed through his window. Aloysius got up and turned on the lights, the window was closed. Everything was where it should be, Aloysius was left bamboozled because he thought someone was in his room. He opened his door and a bug light shined into his eyes. There were students still walking around the school floors. 

“Ah, so you woke up. Fix your hair, it’s messy.” Tuomo told Aloysius.

    Aloysius was scared when he saw Tuomo on his right. He brushed his hair with his fingers gently. Nothing worked though as his bangs still kept falling. Aloysius shoved it off and went back into his room. He locked his door and went into` the bathroom he found. Aloysius washed his face and hair, then he brushed his brown hair.

“Good morning, Aloysius.” Natus Ex Uno said.

“Good morning,” Aloysius said while drying his hands.

“You gotta go to school if you want to learn more.” Natus Ex Uno suggested.

“Yeah I know, the thing is,” Aloysius paused.

“What you saw from the mystery person still bothering you?” Natus Ex Uno continued.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen that much blood since-” Aloysius stopped.

“Since my sister died.” Aloysius continued as he changed.

“Don’t worry about it, but there’ll be some big problems within a few days and I think you know that too.” Natus Ex Uno said. 

“I now have to live my life here while being hunted. As if things could get any worse.” Aloysius said with a true smile.

Chapter Text

    Aloysius exited his dorm and followed Tuomo. They went up to the second floor and opened the door to their right. In there were more doors but with different labels like, “Principal’s Office”, “Intensive Care”, “Nurse’s Office”, etc. Tuomo stopped at the room that said, “Enrollment/Student ID Renewal/New”.

“If you want to stay here, you got to get enrolled along with a student ID,” Tuomo said as he opened the door.

“Hello, Rocco, what do you want?” the person in the desk asked.

“I want to request enrollment for Aloysius Nichols into Septem Academy please,” Tuomo requested.

The person handed over a white paper form. The form had regular questions such as, “Address”, “Full Name”, etc. 

“I expected it to be a little weirder. But instead, it’s normal,” Aloysius said.

“There is one part that isn’t normal. I’ll explain on the way back but for the question that says ‘magic or combat? If magic, archive, or regular?”, put a check on ‘magic’ and circle ‘archive’. Then check on the ‘yes’ for ‘Does the person have a linker?’, then fill every other question as if it was normal, which it is.” Tuomo ordered Aloysius.

“Okay, I am finished, here,” Aloysius said as he handed over the form to Tuomo. He then gave it to the person on the desk.

“Okay, tomorrow, Aloysius Nichols’s student ID will be ready. See you tomorrow,” the person said as she was typing. 

    Tuomo and Aloysius walked out of the room and went down the stairway passing all the other rooms. They then came across a hoard of students who were all rushing in one direction. Each student went running with a piece of paper in their hand, whether it was homework or scrap paper, they kept running. 

“Where are they going?” Aloysius asked as he hopped down to the floor.

“It’s Mirai, I’ll explain once we get to the lunch table. There’s so much stuff you need to know.” Tuomo said as he jogged towards the doors. 

    As Aloysius passed the doors, what was there was a large line of students. They were lining up at Mirai’s table who kept signing their papers. Tuomo sighed as he walked to her table. Aloysius didn’t know what was going on as he followed Tuomo to the table. He sat down next to Tuomo who threw a coin somewhere. When the clinking sound was heard, what seemed to be the academy’s waiter, brought him a sandwich. 

“Nothing’s better than a good ol’ fashioned ninja sandwich. It keeps me up to my prime.” Tuomo said as he ate his sandwich. 

“What about me? Where’s my lunch?” Aloysius questioned.

Tuomo threw another coin and Aloysius was brought a bowl of spaghetti.

“Thanks for the food,” Aloysius said as he grabbed the fork in the plate. 

“So, can you please tell me what is going on?” Aloysius asked.

“Yeah, yeah, hold on,” Tuomo said as he was munching on the bread.

Tuomo swallowed and then drank his cup of water.

“Okay, um, first, archive magic. I’m pretty sure you know the seven deadly sins. Now, there’s this thing called a thema which is, most of the time, the thing farthest from you. More of this will be explained in your class, but now, let me tell you, you are a mage, a mage connector, who is connected to the sword magus Arata Kasuga.”

Tuomo stopped to eat his sandwich.

“He, I can’t tell you yet, but-” Tuomo was interrupted by Aloysius.

“But I’m being hunted by these people, who will take my life.” As Aloysius finished, Tuomo squinted at him, he was suspecting Aloysius for something, but then he let it go.

“Yeah, a sword magus is a magus who can load spells into swords. That is what Arata Kasuga is.” Tuomo said, but each time he talked about Arata, his hands twitched.

“The way to become a mage or magus is by selecting a theme or thema within the seven archives, Ira, Luxuria, Acedia, Superbia, Invidia, Avaritia, and Gula. Remember that your thema is the opposite of yourself. I think you know the answer to that.” Tuomo finished.

“I don’t know what you mean, but it isn’t like it’s going to help me one day.” Aloysius chuckled.

Aloysius got up, but then Tuomo stood up and took out a kunai and held it against his throat.

“I could’ve killed you right now, but I didn’t. You need a thema to survive these attacks. I might not even help you and just let you die, slowly.” Tuomo said as he smirked.

“Fine, fine, oh yeah, Mirai, why is the line still here?” Aloysius reminded Tuomo.

“Sit down then,” Tuomo offered.

Aloysius sat down for another long explanation.

“So Mirai, she’s a magus as well or a mage. Her thema is popularis in the Avaritia archive.” as Tuomo stopped Aloysius looked at Mirai who kept signing until his head started to hurt. 

    Aloysius’s vision started to get blurrier, to the point where he couldn’t see anything. He started seeing red stains on the floor which began to grow more and more. The entire lunch room became darker with the light slowly saturating. Aloysius’s vision recovered but as soon as he looked around, all he could see was Mirai, but then it wasn’t. It was a young woman with shoulder-length silver hair, her hair on the back of her neck was tied into pigtails. She turned around and faced Aloysius, the young woman had three heart-shaped clips on her bangs. Her eyes had cross-shaped pupils with distinct yellow eyes. She was wearing a white, sleeveless, collared tail blouse with white laces on the bottom hems.

“Who are you?” Aloysius asked.

    The young woman stood up and was wearing a red plaid mini-skirt along with brown penny loafers and black thigh-high socks. Her arms and hands were covered by opera gloves and white cuffs that were pin from arm to the wrist.

“I said, who are you?!” Aloysius said with a more serious tone. But the woman didn’t respond.

“Ah, so you met her here. I didn’t realize that.” a deep distorted voice said. 

Aloysius turned around and saw the hooded figure. Only his hoodie was visible as he spoke.

“And what do you want?” Aloysius asked him.

“Nothing really, but you better listen to what she has to say.” the figure said as he pointed to the young woman. His hand was visible, but it was covered by a black combat glove. 

Aloysius turned to the young woman who spoke.

“I don’t want you here. Please stay away, I don’t want to be hurt again.” the woman pleaded.

“I don’t understand, what pain?” Aloysius questioned.

“Time’s up,” the figure said he snapped his fingers. Everything promptly converted back to normal.

“Hey dude, wake up,” a wandering student said to Aloysius.

    Aloysius had his head on his table and looked around and saw that lunchtime had already finished. His eyes widen as he saw no sign of Mirai or Tuomo. He got up, ate his spaghetti, and ran to the hallway of classes. As he stopped in the middle of the hallway, Aloysius didn’t know which class to go to. He started to become worried. 

“Hey, up here,” a voice said.

Aloysius looked up and on the ceiling was Tuomo in a hammock hooked to the ceiling.

“You fell asleep when I was talking to you and it was class time so, I left you there,” Tuomo said as he kept accurately throwing kunai at the ceiling. 

“Can you please just tell me which class I should go to?” Aloysius pleaded.

“Ms. Harper’s class on your left,” Tuomo said as he pointed to the classroom.

Aloysius walked and entered the classroom.

“Sorry, am I late Ms. Harper?’ Aloysius asked.

“Yes, you are six minutes late so sit down next to him, that’s your seat.” Ms. Harper ordered Aloysius. 

Aloysius went to the back row and sat down. Next to him was a student with fawn-colored skin and white headphones on his neck. His hair was dyed midnight blue with bangs. The student had a slender build, like Tuomo, although his muscles were a tad more apparent. He turned his head and faced Aloysius with his nomad eyes. 

“Hi, I’m Darren, Darren James. Nice to meet you,” he greeted Aloysius.

“I’m Aloysius Nichols, nice to meet you too,” Aloysius replied.

Aloysius went back to focusing but couldn’t keep his eyes from looking at Darren, who was wearing a black shirt and violet jeans. Darren kept writing but Aloysius noticed what seemed like a black bulky, square watch on his left wrist. It also had buttons and a slot that could fit an SD card. He couldn’t stop his eyes from being lured into the mysteriousness of his watch.

“Aloysius, sir, are you paying attention?” the teacher asked.

“Sorry, um,” Aloysius stuttered.

“Then let’s continue,” Ms. Harper said as she continued teaching.

    Aloysius looked at what she was teaching. It was just regular math that he could’ve learned in High School. Nothing out of the ordinary besides math. Aloysius was dumbfounded, thinking that he would have to learn things he didn’t know existed. He then felt sort of disappointed that the academy was just like any regular school. He left the class with the same small amount of disappointment.

“Wait for your next class, it gets interesting,” Tuomo said on the ceiling.

“And why are you not going to class?” Aloysius asked while looking at the ceiling.

“Because I am ranked #3 here in this academy or should I say world-wide. I don’t need classes for things I already know.” Tuomo said with a slight grin.

    Aloysius went to his class while he still was pissed off at what Tuomo said.

As he walked into his class, he saw Mirai sitting in the center of the class. Aloysius sat down near the window as he contemplated what Tuomo meant when he said “Things will get interesting.” 

“Hey, Natus Ex Uno, why aren’t you helping me here?” Aloysius asked.

“You haven’t claimed me as your linker yet. If you don’t find a thema, I’m nugatory in both value, power, and knowledge.” Natus Ex Uno said.

“Your name’s long, I’m tired of saying it,” Aloysius complained.

“Well, sorry for having a long name.” Natus Ex Uno said.

“I think I’ll give you a nickname. How about Natuso?” Aloysius suggested.

“First of all, now you’re being nice!? Second, I like that name, call me that once you’ve claimed me.” Natus Ex Uno said as he slowly faded away.

Expectedly, the teacher for the class came in. He waved and grabbed chalk and wrote what he likes to be called.

“Mr. C, nice to meet you all,” is what the teacher wrote.

He then wrote more things about what’ll happen in class.

“Today, we’ll be learning how to connect to the soul via our linker.” 

Aloysius, being new, didn’t know what a linker is.

“Hey, what’s a linker?” Aloysius asked.

The teacher then finally spoke.

“A linker is somewhat of an artifact. An object, from the soul you’re connected to, is closely tied to. Like this pen, if this was a linker, I would have to focus and resonate with it. Resonating allows connection between you and the soul via the linker.” The teacher wrote everything of what he spoke.

“You have to have a good resonation with the soul to fully connect. You must understand him/or her. You have to get close to them mentally. If you don’t, nothing will happen, and if you can’t do this, then get out of this school. This is basic in this academy along with others.” The teacher finished.

Aloysius proceeded to write down what the teacher said. He then got curious for awhile. He wondered, what’s his linker. Then at that moment something drop from the ceiling. It was a piece of paper. Aloysius unwrapped the paper, in it was written, “It’s your necklace, remember that,” He then looked up but no one was there. Aloysius put it in the pocket of his blue jeans. He went back to focusing although he kept Darren’s watch in mind. 

Later that day, when Aloysius’s class was finished, Tuomo met him at his dorm. 

“Hey, I want you to come over to my dorm. I need to tell you something.” Tuomo said to Aloysius.

    Aloysius nodded as he followed Tuomo out of his dorm. He walked to the left of his dorm and walked straight. Then, at the end of the hallway, there was a door to the right that Aloysius never saw before. Tuomo pushed the door open and inside were more doors, which didn’t surprise Aloysius. They continued walking until they reached a door that was halfway through the hallway on the right. Tuomo opened it and insisted that Aloysius enter first. 

    Inside, the room was dark, darker than where he had been when he first came in. Tuomo closed the door and it became pitch black everywhere. Not even the afternoon sky could shed light inside. 

“You can’t see anything, right?” Tuomo asked.

“Yeah, I can’t see anything. But why this dark, Tuomo?” Aloysius asked.

“Wait a minute, I’ll get the lights,” Tuomo said in a non-worry voice.

When the lights came on, inside his room was normal, exactly how Aloysius’s room looked like. Everything in its place and organized. 

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Aloysius inquired.

“Have you selected a thema yet?” Tuomo asked.

“No, I don’t think I will. I just don’t want to have trouble. Let me live my life here regularly, no danger.” Aloysius pleaded as he started to laugh.

“There’ll be a danger if you don’t select a thema. You’re near the hands of death at this moment. If you can’t select a thema, death will get to you before even I can do anything about it.” Tuomo said as he slightly grinned.

“If that’s all you wanted to say then I’m leaving,” Aloysius said as he left.

As soon as he left, Tuomo said, “Act!” The entire room’s walls flipped to show weapons and armory. There were knives, kunai, gloves, shoes, a couple of swords, and explosives.

Then a voice that only Tuomo can hear, started to speak. “So, are you gonna save him?” the voice of a girl said. 

“It’s a 50/50 chance, if he does the right thing, I’ll save him. But if not, I’ll save him and then kill him. It depends on the situation, but I don’t want him dying on the first part of our test, Levi.” Tuomo said as he rummaged through his artillery. 

“You do know that you’re using their emotions for the test. They aren’t in this, nor do they know.” Levi said.

“Oh stop worrying, you told me this countless times. I’ll reassure nothing extremely bad happens to them.” Tuomo assured Levi.

“Now, I’m gonna give Aloysius a headstart. I already called in some allies to capture him. I know he’s going to escape, but it’ll take a while. I want to see what Aloysius’s capable of.” Tuomo said.

“If he fails?” Levi asked.

“I already told you, but another way could be is to take our revenge,” Tuomo said.

“Why don’t we get this show started now,” Tuomo and Levi said in sync.

Chapter Text

    Three men got off a train in Switzerland. They could speak up to five languages, including English. One man dug through his pocket to claw out his phone. He looked into a map that gave him directions to the station to get on  Aqualino. Then, the phone notified him that an unknown number was calling him. He answered quickly and greeted the person on the other side.

“You have him?” The caller asked.

“Yeah, just like you told us to.” The receiver said as one of the men carried a man with a black bag over his head. The male had a slender build and was wearing black pants and a white shirt with a black jacket unzipped. The jacket’s sleeves were rolled up and stopped in the middle of his forearms. He had black armor cuffs on his wrists.

“Do you know what to do with him?” the caller asked.

“Yeah, take him far away, and then,” the receiver was interrupted.

“Then, you can have your fun with him.” the caller interrupted.

“Okay, then I’ll just carry out your order. You know how much you owe us.” the receiver said.

“Yes, you’ll get your 50 grand when the job’s done. Now go before he escapes.” the caller said as he hung up the phone.

“Okay guys, you heard him. Get him in the car outside of this station, get to the train Aqualino. Before he starts acting up.” the guy ordered the others. 

The other two nodded their heads and dragged the masked man into the car outside of the station. 

    Meanwhile, in the German mountains, Aloysius was waking up and got his slippers on. He went into his bathroom and washed his dead face. He brushed his teeth to keep his smile the same. Aloysius then grabbed a towel and went to take a shower. He got out of the steamy shower, looking “alive”. Aloysius put on a plain dark red shirt and blue jeans, which he has a lot of. He still had his necklace on and washed his hands before coming out of his dorm. 

    Waiting outside was Mirai, who was leaning against the wall. She had on skinny blue jeans and a pink shirt that seemed tight on her chest. Aloysius saw her and he kept staring at her. To Aloysius, although he can’t feel an emotion easily, he felt something when he saw Mirai. But then, it quickly died down. Mirai looked at Aloysius and moved her head to the direction of the doors that lead to the cafeteria. She then walked to the doors and Aloysius followed behind. Dropping down, Tuomo surprised Aloysius, although he expected him. 

“So, you think Mirai’s beautiful, I mean, everybody does here,” Tuomo asked Aloysius with a smug face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I can’t be attracted easily, you know,” Aloysius said as he squinted his eyes at Tuomo.

“I know, after all, you can’t feel anything, right?” Tuomo said quietly while grinning.

“You said what?” Aloysius asked.

“Nothing,” Tuomo said with a smile.

    Mirai opened the doors and Tuomo and Aloysius entered the cafeteria. This time, Mirai sat where Tuomo and Aloysius instead of the reverse that happened yesterday. Tuomo did the usual and tossed three coins somewhere. Three plates of food were then brought to their table. Pancakes with sliced berries on the crust, for Mirai, an egg sandwich, for Tuomo, and a breakfast burrito, Aloysius.

“How do you even this? Every time you throw a coin, it’s a $1 coin.” Aloysius asked Tuomo.

“Since this academy, and others as well, accept currency from any country, I can just throw a $1 coin and get my food. The reason why I need one dollar is that I’m ranked #3 here, so I get a special discount.” Tuomo explained.

“Wait, so there’s like a top 10 here?” Aloysius asked.

“Top 15, not Top 10,” Tuomo corrected Aloysius.

“And who are they?” Aloysius asked.

“Okay then, #15, Mirai Rivas,” Tuomo stopped as he stared at Aloysius, who was surprised.

“Let me finish!” Tuomo snapped at Aloysius.

“Okay, #14 Trey Poland, #13 Sarah Bowley, #12 Holly Terr, #11 Nova Cole, #10 Jolanda Greco, #9 Logan Casillas, #8 Chris Mina, #7 Cyrus Feliciano, #6 Starla Knowles, #5 O’Shea Mather, #4 Dominic Jackson, #3 Rocco Tuominen or me, #2 Kieran Addis, and #1 Darren James.” Tuomo finished.

    Aloysius put on a more shocking face than before. He was more confused than surprised as Darren James is his classmate and Mirai is in front of him now. Thoughts kept hitting Aloysius like a chaingun. So many thoughts, so many questions, Aloysius tried to keep his composure together but it just kept hitting him. Tuomo looked at Aloysius as he tried to cope with what he was told.

“He has nothing to worry about, besides, six of them will be okay, but one won’t be.” Tuomo thought as he ate his sandwich.

    Back at the train station, the three men have arrived at the station. One of them got out and dragged the man, who still had a black bag over his head, to the station. Inside, the Aqualino train had just arrived when they did and opened its doors to them. Since they were the only ones inside the train, they could make all the ruckus they wanted. The train left and they waited until they got to the mountains. During the wait, one of them took a pistol that was at full ammo. 

“Ready?” the man asked the others.

“Ready,” The others said.

    The train was soon going through the mountains and then they opened the train doors. One of them dragged the masked man and put his head outside of the train, through the door where the fast wind was traveling. The other man readied his pistol and aimed at the mountains, next to the masked man’s head. 

“Watashi wa anata ni shitsumon o suru tsumoridesu, soshite anata wa yori yoku kotaeru ka, samonakereba anata wa ichi-byō inai ni shinde shimaimasu.” the man said in japanese. 

“Sate, saisho ni, naze yoroi no sodeguchi o chakuyō suru nodesu ka?” the man asked but the masked man didn’t respond. The man then fired the pistol to threaten the guy. 

“Dewa, naze jaketto o kiru nodesu ka? Kotaeru ka shinu ka!” the man asked but he still didn’t respond.

The man then ordered to put him back inside. The guy threw him back inside the train but then the masked man managed to sit up on the floor and spoke.

“You know, you don’t have to talk to me in Japanese just because I’m part Japanese. I can understand English too.” the masked man said. 

“What’s your name?! Before I blow your head open,” the man asked as he threatened him.

“Oh sorry for the late introduction. The name would be Tatsuya Marr. Member of the Precussor squad.” Tatsuya said. 

“What’s the Precussor squad? Your play club?” The man asked as he made fun of Tatsuya.

“Oh, you shouldn’t worry about that now. You need to worry about what’s going to happen in a few minutes on this train.” Tatsuya said.

“Nothing will happen, you have your hands cuffed up with titanium chains.” the man scoffed. 

“Can you just take off this bag, it’s very hard to breathe in. This shouldn’t be the standard way to keep a hostage in control.” Tatsuya said.

The man reached and pulled off the bag from his head. What it revealed was a guy with chin-length black hair who had forest green eyes.

“That’s far better. I can breathe fresh air now.” Tatsuya said as he was relieved.

“Now, what’s about to happen is, is that I’ll beat the shit out you guys and you’ll cry over the pain you’ll feel in your head,” Tatsuya said as he grinned.

    The three men were just there, laughing at what Tatsuya said. But the joy quickly died down when they heard a clanking noise. They looked at him, Tatsuya was free, his hands were free. 

“Now it’s time for pain,” Tatsuya said.

    He grabbed one of the men and pushed his head against the window until it shattered. He dropped the man and punched him in the stomach. Tatsuya walked to where the others were. One of the men was a coward and went to the other passenger car with fear in his eyes. The man left on his own, grabbed a gun, and shot at Tatsuya. Tatsuya dodged the bullets by moving his head. He then, with the precision of a dragonfly, punched the man in the side of his forehead while running. The man dropped dead and fell on the seat of the train. Tatsuya then went through the gangway and into the passenger car that the last man fled to. When he entered, he saw no one. Then, coming from the other passenger car was the man. He was holding a chainsaw and it was fueled up.

“How are you going to hit me now!?” the man taunted Tatsuya.

“You just don’t know that you can’t beat me.” Tatsuya sighed.

He then put his wrists together and held them in position for five seconds. Then, two mantra enchantments appeared on his hands. One symbol on each of his armor cuffs was glowing sky blue.

“What is that? Tell me before you get your hands cut off!” The man threatened again.

“You won’t need to know, besides, you won’t even see the light once I punch you,” Tatsuya said as he grinned while walking slowly to the man.

    Tatsuya eventually got close enough to the man, who raised his chainsaw. The man struck at Tatsuya, but he blocked his chainsaw with his hands. He then squeezed his hands a little tighter and the chainsaw broke. Tatsuya then thrashed the man in his face. When Tatsuya left the passenger car, he left bone shards and stains of blood inside the car. 

“Why did you do that?” a voice, only Tatsuya can hear, said.

“I needed to show that we are on different levels of combat, you know this as well.” Tatsuya thought. 

Tatsuya then left the station and started to run to an airport.

    In Septem Academy, Aloysius was in his Archive magic class with the teacher that had never said his name. He was focusing and writing everything down, but deep inside, the things he wrote were empty. They meant nothing to him since he doesn’t take Tuomo’s words seriously. 

“Like somebody’s going to kill me. No one will take my life, I have nothing to offer.” Aloysius thought. 

“Okay class, today, we are going to learn the seven archives and how themas work.” the teacher said as he circled what he wrote on the chalkboard.

“Can anyone tell me, what the seven archives are based off?” the teacher asked the students. No one knew except Aloysius, who reluctantly, raised his hand.

“Pride, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, and Greed,” Aloysius said as he sighed.

“Good, now, before we get any further. I have to explain something that I forgot to say yesterday. When we use the abilities we have as connectors, once we’ve connected, we use the rules that are in their world. Since the souls, connectors connect to, come from different worlds in different universes. That connector needs to abide by the rules, although there may be some alternation.” the teacher explained.

“Now, these archives activate the abilities we have as a connector after connecting to the soul. But, after these archives, come the themas. Themas and archives are the things that are the opposite of what you are. So, if I was extremely kind, my thema would be in the Wrath Archive. But you wouldn’t say Wrath, you would have to use its Latin name, Ira. So, my thema would be in the Ira Archive, if that was the case. It takes time to find a thema in an archive, but once you find it, the rest is easy.” the teacher explained.

A student then raised their hand, 

“Excuse me, if we’re using Latin names, then what is the English version of thema?” the student asked.

“Thema would mean topics and/or themes.” the teacher answered    

Aloysius noted down everything the teacher said. As he wrote, Aloysius felt like someone was watching him. Indeed someone was, it was Tuomo on the ceiling, camouflaging to conceal his face and body. Tuomo was lurking and watching Aloysius in his class to scrutinize his growth. He saw everything that Aloysius wrote but was still confused as to why he hasn’t found his thema yet.

“It’s in front of him, he expressed it so many times!” Tuomo thought with concern.

“But I guess it won’t be easy for him, after all, he can’t sense any feeling easily. That will affect how fast he reacts to the incoming situation.” Tuomo continued to think.   

In Switzerland, Zurich International Airport, the Sun was at dawn. Tatsuya already had a plan to fly to his desired destination. When he walked inside, it wasn’t crowded. To be precise, it was a ghost town with only AI voices to be heard. Only the staff were there, but even they were dozing off, while some were resisting.

Tatsuya continued to walk and get to the gateway for his plane, but then he appeared. A young man appeared; he was wearing a tight fit long-sleeve shirt. The shirt was split black and white and the sleeves followed the same. The pants he was wearing were the same as well, split black and white. He got closer to Tatsuya, who recognized him although the young man’s face and head were covered by a black hoodie and a black mask that covered his mouth and nose while the rest was shaded by darkness.   

                                                “What do you want this time?” Tatsuya asked with his wrists near each other,

The young man raised his hand, which was covered by a black combat glove, “I don’t want anything, I just gonna give you this, so good luck. But remember, you don’t want to attract attention from him.” the young man said, but his voice, it sounded like a mix of a young woman and a young man. His voice was a little distorted.

What he had handed to Tatsuya was a ticket to the destination he was heading to, Germany.   

“Yeah I know, but before I go, why wear the black long scarf hanging behind your back?” Tatsuya asked.

“That will never be mentioned,” the guy said, in the same voice, as he slowly turned into smoke and disappeared.

Tatsuya then headed to the gate with one thought in his head. “I’m coming for you,”

Chapter Text

    The sun rose once again, shining light inside Aloysius’s room. He got up with a yawn and squinted at the Sun. He closed the curtains and went to the bathroom to do his routine. He put on a white shirt and the regular blue jeans, again. This time, Aloysius took off his necklace and left it in one of his empty cabinets. He opened his door and no one was waiting for him there. Aloysius ignored it and strolled towards the cafeteria. He sat down at a table and found a coin on a piece of paper. Aloysius clutched the coin and read what was written on the paper.

“Hey, we ate breakfast before you because Mirai and I had some business to do. I mean, her slim body and bust are just so. Haha, I’m just playing with you, anyways, if you have an emergency, run to my dorm.” was written on the paper as Aloysius stared at the paper blankly, crumpled it, and threw it in a trash can.

    Aloysius took the coin and chucked it somewhere. His breakfast was brought to him, but it was just a plain PB&J sandwich. Nothing distinctive was made for him, but Aloysius didn’t mind and ate his sandwich. Students kept arriving in and ordered their breakfast with a variety of currencies, Yen, Sol, Dong, Pound, USD, Quid, etc. 

“So many students from different countries, I wonder how this academy is still here.” Aloysius thought as he nibbled on his breakfast. 

    Mirai was in Tuomo’s dorm with him, she wandered around, expecting something. Tuomo perched down on his bed and watched as Mirai observed with curiosity in her eyes. She stopped her movement and reached for a chair. Mirai sat on it and stared at Tuomo blankly.

“So, what do you think of him?” Tuomo asked Mirai.

“Nothing more than a classmate,” Mirai said as she rolled her eyes.

“He’s pretty much useless, but we need to protect him before the circumstances get dangerous.” Mirai thought.

“Mirai, give up on me, I already told you the first time you said it. ‘I don’t need it’. But, thanks for the nickname you gave me, I appreciate it.” Tuomo thanked Mirai as he slightly smiled.

Mirai chuckled and questioned, “What are we going to do about the danger?”

“Defeat him, it’s two-on-one after all. The last resort would be to grab the attention of the other guy.” Tuomo planned as he got up.

Tuomo reached for Mirai’s hand, she took his hand. But instead of getting up, she embraced him with a warm and tight hug.

“Okay, this is last time, now please let go,” Tuomo asked politely.

Mirai slowly retreated and stepped outside with a smile.

“Now that he’s here, what do you think will happen?”  Levi asked.

“I’ll leave that up to the both of them, but he will inevitably need my aid.” Tuomo deemed.

    In the cafeteria, Aloysius had just eaten his breakfast. He got up and walked, blankly, towards the exit leading to a corridor of endless doors. As he reached for the knob, students started to scatter. Aloysius looked around and saw that the lights were flickering. Aloysius continued to open the exit, but soon, everything went dark. 

“Well, crap, blackout I guess.” Aloysius thought as he sighed.

    Not only was the cafeteria dark but as well the other hallways, with some other rooms as an exception. In time, the entire wide cafeteria went from a roaring heap of students to a cold desert. It was so quiet that even the drop of a paper clip could be heard. Not to mention, the silence was eerie as it was sudden. 

    Aloysius didn’t fear anything, after all, the chances of that would be 5 out of 100. He continued to turn the knob to reach his dorm. As the latch slowly came out of the lip, making clicking sounds, Aloysius heard tapping. He stopped and turned around. He looked thoroughly in the darkness but couldn’t locate the source of the noise. Aloysius put the thought in the trash and continued to open the door. 

“How long will it take you to open the door?” a voice echoed through the walls of the cafeteria.

“I’ll do you one better, how long will it take you to kill me?” Aloysius said.

“Guess that guy wasn’t wrong,” he thought.

“Huh, that guy’s always ruining the surprise,” the male thought.

“Name’s Tatsuya Marr, and you?” he asked.

“Aloysius Nichols,” Aloysius responded.

    Tatsuya marched towards the center of the cafeteria. He clenched his fist, summoning a mantra enchantment around it. He knelt down and aimed his fist at the floor. His fist then plunged into the black and white marble floor, creating a small and deep crater. Tatsuya took out a lighter from his pocket and crushed it. He tossed the remains down in the crater, resulting in a glowing red flame. 

“Strontium is convenient at times like this,” Tatsuya said with his face revealed by the light from the flame. 

Aloysius finally turned around to face Tatsuya. His decision to leave his necklace in the drawer subsequently became Aloysius’s regret. 

“You sure did send a shiver down my spine,” Aloysius said sarcastically.

“Your thema?” Tatsuya asked.

“Don’t have one,” Aloysius responded.

“This is gonna be easy then,” Tatsuya thought as he smirked.

Aloysius jogged to the center where the crater was. He stared at Tatsuya blankly and offered a handshake. The outcome wasn’t one that Aloysius desired.

“You little sh-” Tatsuya paused and struck Aloysius’s hand with a mantra enchantment, shattering the bones inside.

“Motherfu-!” Aloysius held in his scream as he felt the shards of bones pick at his veins and pierce through the muscle fibers.

“You’re lucky that your hand escaped intact,” Tatsuya said.

“Ah, ah, I . . . didn’t . . . know you could . . . do that,” Aloysius grunted as he paused each time.

His hand was as flimsy as paper, each time he moved a muscle, pain greater than being shot was felt. But Aloysius didn’ scream, not even a peep was made from him besides his grunting. He knew he was going to die, but he kept in mind that today wasn’t the day. Aloysius scanned the cafeteria, but it was pointless due to how dark it was. He kept going from thought to thought, what if he was going to die, what about his crushed right hand? But he kept calm as his brain raced through every worry. On the other hand, Tatsuya kept worrying about something. As he repeatedly tapped his foot on the ground, he worried about him.

“I really hope he doesn’t come, but the only way to make sure is to finish this nice and fast. He won’t mind if I did him favor, right? Oh, why am I worrying, I literally have the upper hand against him.” Tatsuya thought as he occupied his mind with worries.

“I think I’ll do this another way, sorry Mirai.” a person thought while in the shadows.

Tatsuya stepped closer towards Aloysius, he moved his hand towards his neck. His plan was to strangle him and then blow his head off. Aloysius meanwhile stood there, clueless as his hand got closer. Then, with the strength of a shark, Tatsuya’s hand clenched and tighten around Aloysius’s neck.

“Shh, this will be over nice and quick,” Tatsuya said as he readied to plunge his mantra enchantment into his face.

    Leaping from the darkness was Tuomo in a suit of gray and navy blue. His mouth and nose are also covered by a gray mask. Tatsuya then noticed the dark blue scarf that tagged behind. Right before striking Aloysius’s face, Tuomo’s ninjato sword blocked Tatsuya’s mantra enchantment.

“Sutopenite? How did this guy get his hands on that?” Tatsuya confusingly thought.

He then drew back his mantra enchantment and tried to understand what had happened. Tuomo didn’t wait for an answer and dashed towards Tatsuya. He had moved so fast that it had seemed that he teleported. 

“Die now!” Tuomo cried as he swung his blade. Tatsuya barely escaped his slash and stumbled on a table. Tuomo saw his chance and dashed once again. His sword swung down but then blocked by Tatsuya’s mantra enchantment.

“I won’t die that easily,” Tatsuya grinned as he used his right arm. He managed to muster enough force to push him back and stood up, with eyes of fury. 

Tuomo got pushed down on the floor but he put on a grim smile behind the mask. 

He sheathed his ninjato sword and closed his eyes. Tatsuya marched towards Tuomo as he prepared to end, what seemed like an easy duel. Suddenly, Tatsuya was knocked out by a figure wearing all black and white.

“Shh, you’re not dead, but, in my world, once again.” a familiar distorted voice said.

“Where am I?” Tatsuya thought as he slowly got on his feet.

The area was total blackness, not a ray of light was shining through the sky. He looked down and saw that he was on a body of water. The reflection he saw was normal, but slowly, he morphed into a young woman who had long black hair tied up into a ponytail with a big bow.

“Akio?” Tatsuya questioned in thought.

“Remember the first time you were in this mess?” the guy asked Tatsuya.

“You, didn’t you say you wouldn’t interfere back at the airport?” Tatsuya said as he gritted his teeth.

“Did I? Huh, I just didn’t want to go through the trouble of getting his attention.” the guy said with a smirk behind his black mask.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, I’ll let you out if you guess my thema, but I’ll go first,” he said as Tatsuya reluctantly agreed.

“Gula Archive, your thema is Auxilium, isn’t it?” he said with little effort.

“Okay, my turn. You are, Superbia Archive, thema is Imperium!” Tatsuya confidently said.

“Wrong!” the guy taunted. He clapped his hands as he walked in circles.

“When will you learn? I mean, I’m not even using my thema.” the guy revealed.

“What? Then are you an Arbitrator or Paladin?” Tatsuya asked.

“Don’t compare me to those fools, they died because of their stupidity, if only they read the situation would they still be alive.” the guy laughed.

“So, Paladin Biblia, Liber, Kashi, Akasaka, the others too, dead?” Tatsuya worried.

“Blame it on Michael and Toshi, they were the ones who called the shots.” the guy said.

“I want to see it,” Tatsuya said quietly.

“Excuse me?” the guy said.

“Nevermind, killing you would be better,” Tatsuya said as he summoned mantra enchantments on his fists.

“Now we’re talking,” the guy said as he took out a machete.

“Show me what you got, Tatsuya Marr.” he thought as he dashed.

“One more thing, call me Kazios, it’ll be easier than referring to me as ‘you’,” Kazios said as his blade collided with Tatsuya’s enchantment.

“Fine by me, Kazios,” Tatsuya said as he forced Kazio’s blade away.

    Tatsuya charged at Kazios, and with unimaginable strength, aimed and thrusted his fist at Kazios face. Kazios, who was standing still, caught Tatsuya’s fist. Although his face wasn’t visible, Kazios put on a smug face as he had his hand wrapped around Tatsuya’s fist, tightening his grip like a boa constrictor. To his surprise, Tatsuya couldn’t move his hand, nor could he remove his mantra enchantment, as Kazios strength would pulverize his hand. He only had one option, it was to attempt a hit on Kazios, bare-handed. Tatsuya aimed for Kazios lower torso and struck him hard. Nothing happened but his hand went through Kazios. Smoke emitted as he pulled out his fist. He looked up at Kazios who just stood there as he toughened his grip more and more. Tatsuya had no other choice but to transfer his mantra enchantment to his other hand. He braced himself for the sudden pressure that he was bound to feel. He moved the enchantment to his other hand and felt nothing. Confused, Tatsuya looked up and was met with a machete. Luckily, he was agile enough to block Kazios’s blade.

“Stop hiding! There are others out there! I know it so, why do this?!” Kazios yelled at Tatsuya. 

“I don’t want to be killed by him. My life is on the line right now, and so are theirs. If one of us kills him, we won’t have to worry. Although some of us do it for the sake of their connected soul.” Tatsuya explained as he got ready to strike again. 

“You guys just piss me off, to think you were cowards,” Kazios said as he took out a falcata sword.

“New sword huh,” Tatuya commented as he started to sprint. 

“Yes, I made it with some help from my other allies. It’s made out of the hardest material ever created.” Kazios grinned as he got in position.

    Once again, the two and their weapons, collided with each other. Kazios’s falcata sword flew by and scraped Tatsuya’s mantra enchantment. Landing on the floor, Tatsuya then turned around on a single step. He hauled his fist and bashed Kazios in his arm. His fist went through Kazios like wind and Kazios noticed Tatsuya’s goal. Raising his leg, Kazios rammed his foot into Tatsuya near his lower torso. Tatsuya slumped to the ground in immense pain and unsummoned his mantra enchantment.

“You clever bitch,” Tatsuya murmured on the floor.

“You sure know lots of curse words. I might have to cut your mouth wide open to assure that you can’t even vocalize again.” Kazios replied as he crouched down near Tatsuya.

“I don’t want to end your life you know. But I would’ve killed if I had the chance. So I’ll let you go on a whim, of course, I’ll let you have a dream.” Kazios said as he stood up. 

He raised his hand above Tatsuya’s face and within seconds, snapped. Tatsuya was soon in a state of sleep while Kazios walked away from him. Everything soon dissipated, even Kazios. The black space was soon gone and Tuomo got up from the ground of the cafeteria. He saw through the windows that it was morning. The light started to shine through as he realized that the students were still sleeping. Tuomo turned around and found out that Aloysius had already escaped. He knew someone was still hiding.

“Mirai, you can come out!” Tuomo’s voice echoed as he called out for Mirai.

Mirai came out from a dark corner and was relieved to see Tuomo in his regular attire. Tuomo moved his towards the direction of the exit and walked to it. Mirai nodded and followed Tuomo. As they were walking, Tuomo put on a sinister smile.

Chapter Text

    Tatsuya opened his eyes to see a sky full of gray clouds, the color green replacing the blue bright atmosphere. As he got up, the damaged sidewalk felt light. Tatsuya looked around and all he saw were buildings in ruin. Fire and smoke were omnipresent, and no signs of humans were seen. Tatsuya stumbled as he tried to walk, he realized he wasn’t in his Procul mode. He calmly closed his eyes and relaxed every joint, every muscle, and cleared his mind. Tatsuya only focused on a young woman named Akio Fudo. Bit by bit, his black shirt and white pants changed into a black jacket left unzipped, a white shirt, and black pants. The sleeves of his jacket were rolled up to expose his wrists and armor cuffs. After his attire changed, he moved forward towards a corner on the desolated street. Everything was the same across the entire city. Behind him, smoke started to gather in one place. Tatsuya felt the wind started to get more violent. He looked behind, and on the destroyed road was Kazios. 

“I would think twice before hitting me. Of course, I’m an illusion, everything here is an illusion of the past. I’ve lived through this and it was like this 30 years ago.” Kazios said in a distorted voice.

“This was the world 30 years ago, how?” Tatsuya asked as he observed the entire city anew.

“There are things you can’t know yet, but I’ll assure you, at this point in time, he doesn’t exist,” Kazios said.

“And I thought he was old, I saw the skill he had. To me, it seemed like it took him longer than 20 years to master all those moves,” Tatsuya said in relief.

“Well, I guess I better grant your wish.” Kazios sighed.

“Grant my wish? Aren’t you a lot meaner, like ‘I’ll kill you!’ mean.” Tatsuya mimicked Kazios as he asked.

“Hey! That’s low, I’m not entirely about killing. I have regrets and feelings. I also am doing this out of obligation. You were a good opponent although it had to end quickly. Yeah, that’s right, Mm-hmm.” Kazios nodded as he assured himself.

“I’m getting the feeling that you’re making an excuse.” Tatsuya sighed.

“Anyways, what do you want to show me?” he asked Kazios.

“The death of the Arbitrators, you wanted to know, right?” Kazios asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not so mad about it now, plus you’re acting nicer.” Tatsuya smiled.

“What about Aloysius?’ Kazios asked.

“I’ll kill him,” Tatsuya said as he quickly put on a death stare.

“Let’s just get back on track and witness the death of the so-called ‘legendary’ Arbitrators,” Kazios said.

“Well that was mean,” Tatsuya thought as they walked through the town. 

“You see that rock in the sky?” Kazios asked Tatsuya as he pointed at the sky.

“Yeah, what about it?” Tatsuya replied.

“That’s where the Arbitrators live, they live in the sky, each one with their own pillar,” Kazios explained.

“Now come on, we’re going to miss the event,” Kazios said as he pulled Tatsuya by his shirt.

    Kazios snapped his fingers as soon as they got under the rock. The location and their surroundings took a transition from green and ruined, to dark and cold. Where they stood was inside the tower of the Arbitrators, they were up in the sky. 

As they accustomed to the sudden change of areas, footsteps started to echo in the empty tower. Kazios went into camouflage while Tatsuya hid in the dark. The incoming people were the Arbitrators who were conversing about something.

“That mischievous person should’ve thought twice before setting that bomb of anomalies.” Master Biblia brooded.

“I agree, the amount of destruction that occurred wiped out the entire population, although the Trinity Seven are deceased, I feel a weird disturbance that makes me scratch my head.” Master Liber commented.

“Now, now, we should get to reflecting and planning. It was our fault that this happened, so we need to reverse its effect.” Aetheria Akasha said.

“But how?” Aries Cardia asked.

“I have no ideas either,” Maris Stella added.

Kazios, in camouflage, walked carefully towards Tatsuya, who was lurking in the dark. 

“Be quiet, we don’t want them to hear us, or else the dream will fall apart,” Kazios whispered into Tatsuya’s ear.

Tatsuya nodded as he retreated slowly against the walls of the tower.

“For a start then, we need to investigate the source. More precisely, where the explosion came from.” Akasha said.

    The others nodded as they agreed with the leader of the Arbitrators.  But soon, there was another trouble heading their way. Stepping on outlined circles, the Arbitrators stood up while Akasha sat down on a golden chair sculpted with lions and had a red cushion. The ground began to shake greater than an earthquake. Then the outlined circles started to rise up more. The, now pillars, stopped at a high altitude within the tower. As the Arbitrators started to ready themselves to converse, footsteps were heard across the walls. Akasha immediately got up, fully alerted. All other Arbitrators stood on alert as well as the footsteps got louder. 

“Intruder, show yourself and explain how you found our headquarters,” Arkasha yelled.

The intruder showed himself via his jacket and pants, which were glowing with tech lines of blue. Across his face was what appeared to be a VR headset. It was thin and covered the young man’s nose and forehead. What was visible of his face was his dark brown hair, his mouth, and chin. The VR headset had lines of purple that lighted up across the exterior. 

“What should I do with them?” He asked aloud.

A voice spoke through the headset.

“Kill them, Michael, they’ll refuse if we offered our help anyways.”

Michael nodded and twisted, turned, and pressed things in the air. The Arbitrators were confused, as well as Tatsuya. But Michael wasn’t blind, in his headset, he could options, buttons, and adjustment settings. He could do many things that could affect him or his surroundings. As Michael went through his abilities and attacks, he found one that could give him the least guilt, “Erase Avatar/Being”. Michael selected the option, down below was the options given, “Select Targets” and “Exit”.  Pressing “Select Targets”, he then looked towards the Arbitrators, who were standing on their own pillars. 

“Select eight targets in the current view,” Michael said.

The headset did as he told it to and selected the eight Arbitrators.

“Execute ‘Erase’ now,” Michael said.

What happened was extremely cruel in one’s eyes. All the Arbitrators felt pain internally. It was their organs, slowly decaying as they also shrivel. Master Biblia fell down to his knees as he grasped his shirt tightly. Master Liber fell down as well as she looked at her hands with skin growing old. Akasha didn’t feel anything as she witnessed the other Arbitrators suffer. Suddenly, she felt a spike of pain throughout her body. Akash immediately coughed up gallons of blood that splattered all over her chair. Each time she resisted only made the blood loss bigger. She started to become weak, her entire body turning into a color of light purple. 

“W-why are y-you doing thi-is?” Akasha managed to ask.

“We don’t need you or the others in this world. You messed up your chance to save the world, and you failed.” Michael answered with a disgusted expression. He shortly left the tower from above as the Arbitrators turn to bones and ashes.

“They’re out of our way now, what now?” Michael asked on the rooftop as he gazed down at the abyss.

“Return, you’ve done your job, the rest will be planned once you get here,” the person said through his headset.

“Tell Dimitrios that we plan to have him go on another assassination, Toshi, I’m detecting a hostile life form that’s roaming around,” Michael said.

“We’ll remind him so come here quick,” Toshi said.

    Michael nodded as he reached for his “watch” on his wrist.  He pressed and pulled on a trigger and his headset turned into a pair of white headphones around his neck. The wind blew across his face, showing the attraction of his hair and nomad eyes. Raising his left hand, Michael stared at his hand until it slowly turned to blue graph lines. Hs hand reverted to normal as Michael jumped off the tower. Tatsuya and Kazios got out of their camouflage, Tatsuya seemed as if he was going to vomit. Kazios walked near the edge of the tower.

“This is all I can show you, for now, I’ll see you around, thank me, I kept him away,” Kazios said as he dove down.

The pieces of the world before, started to crumble, crushing into dust. Tatsuya’s dream of the past was over as he woke up on a cold mountain.

Chapter Text

   Darren briskly walked down as he searched through each door. Time was nearing its end as he would have to return to class, so he could not spur any suspicious activity. “ Where is it, where is it? I have to hurry before it happens, ” Darren thought with worry. An aching pain started to grow internally as each step took more energy than required. 

   Finally, Darren reached the last door in the hallway and opened it. Inside was a regular empty classroom, with one thing in plain sight, a pill container. Darren rushed in and locked the door as he grasped for the pills. His phone immediately started ringing as Darren struggled to hold himself together. Desperately, he used the black table as support. The pain grew, the ringing continued, all while he grabbed a small number of pills. Darren swallowed the pills, grabbed his phone from his pocket, and answered. 

“You good there? Please tell me you are before the staff realizes your absence.” the voice on the other line said.

“I’m, I’m, augh, I’m good, the pain’s starting to dissolve,” Darren grunted.

“Finish class and head out so you can arrive at the location. That location is south-east of this academy, or more precisely, 47.0900 degrees North and 8.0100 degrees East,” The voice said as he relayed coordinates to Darren.

“I know, I know, make sure anybody isn’t late, it’ll obviously damage their status, hello? HELLO?!” Darren asked as he soon heard the end tone.

“Fucking shit, I’m the leader yet no one listens to me. Well, Kieran is the head, but I’m still better,” Darren cursed as he put away his phone.

    Tuomo was walking down the hall and saw Darren coming out of a classroom. Tuomo wasn’t really in the mood to interfere or involve himself in any issues but Darren was a different story. Darren already had enough of Kieran and he already sensed Tuomo’s presence; via his footsteps and consistent outfit. Darren pushed his body off the wall he was leaning on, ready to vent. 

“Hey, you good or can you not handle it?” Tuomo taunted with a blank expression.

“Enough with that act, it reminds me of the old days, and nobody wants to remember those times,” Darren said with his eyes shut.

“All right, all right, anyway, you already got the call from the chief right?” Tuomo asked.

“Yeah, and boy was he annoying, but yes, I know where to go,” Darren complained and sighed.

“Then hurry up, we need to plan before they attack. We don’t want to end up dead,” Tuomo said.

“For fuck sakes, can you just let me be!?” Darren yelled as he balled his hand into a fist.

    This was what Tuomo wanted, he was restless following Tatsuya’s disappearance, so why not find a good opponent within the same team. But someone else foresaw the outcome of the provocation. As Darren dragged his fist towards Tuomo, a person burst through the door with a transparent orange shield. He blocked Darren’s punch as the male squinted at him. 

“Cyrus, why interrupt?” Darren asked as he pulled back.

“We cannot have you guys causing any trouble here,” Cyrus said as he looked at Tuomo and the at Darren.

“No matter how much you guys dislike each other, Kieran doesn’t need any more commotion than this.” Cyrus finished as he dissipated his shield.

“Fine, but I’ll need some action time to satisfy my desires. Cyrus, I’ll need some of your time later.” Tuomo sighed.

“Of course, the routine,” Cyrus rolled his eyes. 

    Cyrus has warm beige skin and caramel hair, slightly blinding one of his gray eyes. He looked at Darren, who noticed his change in his outfit; Cyrus no longer wore a coat. Instead, he was wearing a white T-Shirt and black pants. 

“What are you looking at?” Cyrus asked.

“Oh, nothing. Ok, we need to get back to class.” Darren said with teeth clenched.

    Tuomo followed behind as he put his hands in his pockets; Cyrus caught up, worrying that Tuomo and Darren might fight again. Aloysius, who was in the crowd, saw the three walk upstairs. He stared carelessly, as usual, and continued to go to his next class. He started to wonder if he had Archive class today. Seeing Darren go upstairs instead of going with him, Aloysius concluded that there was no Archive class. As he walked, Aloysius's vision got blurrier. The blurrier it got, the less coordination he had. Aloysius soon found himself stumbling, using the wall for assistance. Students passed by him, all murmuring. 

" What is going on? " Aloysius thought.

" I feel weird, damn, even my head feels light, " He pointed out in thought.

    Walking in front of him was Mirai, who was going upstairs. She looked at him curiously. Aloysius began to feel hot and panted as he lifted up his head towards Mirai. Through Mirai's eyes, Aloysius looked like he was sexually aroused. But what Aloysius saw was all dark red. Everything red; his vision strained. 

    An outline of a body formed, and it seemed strikingly similar to the one he witnessed previously. Aloysius could not take it and fainted. His body fell to the ground, leaving Mirai speechless. 

" What should I do? He just collapsed, now what? I do not want to bring him to the nurse. Please, anyone, come and pick him up,"   Mirai panicked in thought.  

Coming out of a classroom was a male student with flat black hair. He looked at Aloysius's body, then Mirai, then at the floor. He finally knew what the situation was and asked Mirai a question.

"Want me to take his body to the nurse?" He asked with his cobalt eyes.

"Yes, please," Mirai softly replied.

The student soon picked up and carried the body of Aloysius in his arms down the hallway. As he walked down, the students who were outside waiting for class stared at him and his porcelain skin. Whispers started once again as the student carrying the body slightly grinned. 

"Look, I think it is him. He has a gray shirt on," a student whispered.

"Yeah, he also is wearing blue jeans today." the student whispered back. 

"What is Kieran doing here?" a student silently asked. 

    Kieran went upstairs and carefully moved up, so Aloysius's body was not harmed. He continued doing so as he walked through the hallway. Kieran opened the door with the label Nurse/Special Treatment. Inside was a lady at the desk, and Kieran gently put Aloysius's body on the bed. He took a seat, waiting for Aloysius to wake up soon. Indeed, after five minutes, Aloysius woke up. He sat up and looked around to understand where he was. Turning his head to the right, he noticed Kieran sitting across from him. 

"Hey, did you bring me here?" Aloysius yawned.

"Yeah, a classmate of yours found you on the ground. You should take more rest. Your body felt hot when I was carrying you." Kieran answered.

"What is your name?" Aloysius quickly asked.

"Kieran Addis, you?" Kieran asked.

"Aloysius Nichols," Aloysius acknowledged.

A beeping noise was then heard in the room. Kieran took out his phone and cleared the alarm.

"I have to go now. I got people waiting," Kieran quickly said.

"Ok, see you later, I guess," Aloysius said in an unsure voice.

    Kieran exited the room as Aloysius laid down and closed his eyes. Kieran then rushed through the hallway, jumped downstairs, and went out of the school. He caught his breath as he calmed down outside in the cold mountains. Kieran forgot to bring his gloves and coat to keep him warm, but he paid no mind to it since he was already late for where he was supposed to go.  

He walked near the cliff and hanged down off the edge. He dropped down and landed on a rock ledge. Kieran dragged his hand across the cliffside and then pushed his hand against it. A huge rock then moved and revealed an entrance. As Kieran walked inside, the rock blocked the path.

    He descended down the stairs, blinded by darkness. At the final step, lights turned on, all giving light to a pillar. The pillars were positioned in a circle, with a person on each one of them. Kieran stepped on his own pillar and then began to rise to be at equal height with the others. When it stopped, in the middle was a table. 

Kieran then looked at the people who were there with him. Darren was on one, so was Cyrus, Tuomo, and one other person with messy dark brown hair. Unsurprisingly to Kieran, there was one pillar left with no one. He took out a folder from a drawer and held it closely.

"As all of you may know, the enemy is planning to strike somewhere unknown," Kieran stated aloud.

"Of course they are; get on with it already," the guy with dark brown hair complained.

"Remain silent unless it is necessary, Oshea," Kieran scolded him.

"Anyways, with that, I would like to congratulate Tuomo on his work," Kieran said while taking out laminated files from the folder.

"Tuomo has lured the necessary people to this school. Or at least that is what I hoped he did instead of using force," Kieran acknowledged.

Kieran then tossed the files on the table in the center. Each one had the name of a person, followed by personal info.

"Though, this isn't all of them. Which is why Veila isn't here with us today. She is investigating the other two. Hopefully, she comes back with good news and in good health." Kieran explained.

"I'm sorry, but why are we investigating these people? It feels wrong invading their privacy." Cyrus asked.

"It is to give us all possible info on the enemy, as well as the unknown cause of the past. These people basically give us puzzle pieces. We're the ones who have to solve it. Once the story is complete, we can finally make sense of what is going on." Darren explained.

"Ahem! Continuing, the people discovered and lured are Ramiel Carmino, Tatsuya Marr, Jolanda Greco, Mirai Rivas, and Aloysius Nichols. The souls are yet to be named, but that'll be known once they are interrogated. If anyone here knows one of them, please speak up," Kieran finished.

"I know Aloysius's, the soul is Arata Kasuga. I suppose that name gives some danger because of what we found way back then. We can't be sure of those things yet, so I'll see what I can get out of him," Tuomo said. 

"Our meeting is finished unless someone knows more," Kieran said.

Everyone kept silent, no one wanted to speak, the conference was finished.

Chapter Text

 "Do not be a coward and hide, Aloysius. You know well that this is not helping," Kazios said.

    "Why should I keep listening to you? How are you even here?" Aloysius asked.

    "I am an apparition; I can go anywhere. But Aloysius, you need to know something: if you stay weak, you will die a painful death," Kazios answered and added. 

    In the dark space, they were in again, as Kazios's body slowly dissipated. Aloysius then woke up to the same dorm he was always in. As he got up from his bed, Aloysius noticed that his left hand did not hurt anymore. Ignoring it, he went to do his routine and went out for classes. Waiting outside this time was O'Shea. To Aloysius, it looked like O'Shea was his older brother with dark brown messy hair. 

    "My name is O'Shea Mather; I'm filling in for the guy with blonde hair," O'Shea noted.  

    "May I ask why you are wearing a brown leather fingerless glove with a gray shirt and black pants?" Aloysius asked while smiling.

    "It is how I like to dress up, please, don't mind the sword," O'Shea replied kindly with his azure eyes.  

Aloysius did not know what O'Shea was talking about until he saw that O'Shea had a sheathed Claymore sword on his back. Aloysius backed away, and O'Shea knew what was happening.

    "Do not make a big deal of it, ok? Now, what my role here is just to..." O'Shea paused.

"I can't tell him that I'm here to supervise him," He thought.

"To be with you for breakfast, I'm sure your female friend will be surprised by my presence, so please explain concisely," O'Shea asked Aloysius.

    "Ok, I will do just that," Aloysius replied.

"I don't know what led this guy to think that Mirai and I are friends. But that's good; let's keep this misconception going." He thought. 

    Aloysius and O'Shea went to the cafeteria together, as students gawked, mostly at the sword. Aloysius could feel the stares; that feeling turned into pressure, and he didn't like that. He started to feel sweat drip down from his cheeks, becoming red by the second. O'Shea noticed this and calmed Aloysius by putting his hand on Aloysius's shoulder. They reached the cafeteria, where Mirai was already sitting and surprised by O'Shea. Aloysius and O'Shea took a seat and waited.

    "Who is that?" Mirai asked.

    "O'Shea Mather, I don't know much about him, but he is here to fill in Tuomo's absence," Aloysius answered with a smile. 

    "Well, you two look like siblings," Mirai commented.

    "Of course, I thought of that when I first saw him. But no one can replace Kasia; no one can!" Aloysius painfully thought. 

    "Right now, I'm broke, so, O'Shea, if you can, please pay for our meals today," Mirai suggested with a chuckle.

    "Oh, I can manage that; what do you want?" O'Shea asked.

    "I want pancakes today," Mirai cutely replied.

    "So cute!" O'Shea urgently thought.

    O'Shea ran towards the huge masses of students and stood in the queue. Meanwhile, Aloysius sat down across from Mirai. Every then and now, he would stare at Mirai. He would think of the young woman with silver hair, then Mirai, and back and forth. Aloysius couldn't quite understand the relationship between the two. Aloysius regretted that he had seen the young woman.

    "Ahhhh, if that didn't occur, I could have gotten a gist of what is going on!" Aloysius complained in thought.

    "What are you panicking about?" Mirai asked.

    "Um, nothing," Aloysius quickly replied.

    "It is kind of weird that Tuomo isn't here; he is usually always here unless it was something important," Mirai said while slightly blushing.

    "I'm sure it was something important," Aloysius reassured Mirai.

    O'Shea came back to the table with pancakes on one plate and eggs on the other. Aloysius scoffed when he saw that his food wasn't brought and jogged to the short line. He later returned with a sandwich and sat down. Without hesitation, Aloysius gobbled up his sandwich. O'Shea and Mirai could only stare at Aloysius with slight disgust. Breakfast soon finished as the three threw their trash away. Mirai waved good-bye, heading towards a different hallway; O'Shea offered to walk with Aloysius to his magic class. Aloysius nodded, and it was now only the two of them. O'Shea left as Aloysius arrived; O'Shea soon ran towards a corner and picked up his phone in his pocket.

    "Ok, I have done what you asked me to do, now get it over with, please. If you fail, I'll hit you so hard, you'll see someone else's god," O'Shea threatened Tuomo. 

    "As if; you don't specialize in fistfights, but I do believe a certain someone does," Tuomo responded.

    O'Shea hung up the phone and jumped out the nearest window; fall damage was no problem. Aloysius walked into the room and sat down. Other students were on their seats too. But, some chose to roam free around the class.

    "Students, today, you will ALL learn something crucial that has been brought to my attention by the B.O.E. Before we get to specifics, you need to learn what to do after connecting to the soul of yours. Others like your seniors have other ways of doing it, but for your first time, you need to activate that mode by abiding by the rules of that world. 

''But Mister, we don't know what modes you are talking about,'' Mr. C mocked.

"All of that will be explained later. For now, I hope you all have brought your linkers here." Mr. C finished his long explanation. 

    Aloysius touched his neck, no necklace, his wrists, no necklace. He checked his desk and head, no sign of the necklace. He touched his pockets, and in the left one, there it was. Aloysius didn't know whether to be calm or be bamboozled. He left it in his drawer; why is it here?

    "I can be summoned when you desire most, don't be surprised the next time this happens," Natuso warned. 

"Now, you want to do this assignment?" the grimoire asked.

    "Yes, how do I do that?" Aloysius asked.

    "All you have to do is select a thema, the one thing that is far from you; what seems irrational to you," Natuso answered. 

    "But I don't know what is farthest from me; my mind is always filled with depression, I can't concentrate," Aloysius said plainly.

    "Then I am sorry, there is nothing I can do other than wait for you to realize what is furthest from you," Natuso replied.

    "Isn't there something that can give me a hint?" Aloysius asked.

    "No, there isn't, only you know that hint, but it appears that my owner is quite feeble-minded," Natuso countered.

    "Well then, you are going back into my pocket," Aloysius firmly said as he shoved the necklace back into his pocket.

    Mr. C came walking around the students and watching them above their heads. He then reached to Aloysius, staring at him with discontent. Mr. C grabbed a nearby seat as Aloysius got worried a bit. Then, the teacher forgot something and went to his desk, reliving Aloysius. Mr. C took a bulky book and returned to his chair. He opened the book to a page titled Procul & Consone Mode . 

    "Listen, I've been in this school for seven years now. I know who has potential and who doesn't. Are you sure you are meant to be here?" Mr. C asked.

    "Tuomo recommended this school to me," Aloysius lied.

    "By Rocco Tuominen, impressive. Nobody can match his skills; he is unique. In all honesty, how is he so agile? Especially precision; words can't describe him. Anyway, if Tuomo told you this, you need to learn properly then," Mr. C said.

"Now, here in this curriculum book, Procul is a Latin word for 'far from.' Procul mode is the first mode that is available to you. Some powers are restricted, keeping things balanced. That is because although the two souls are connected, they are still far away. You know, like, um, close yet so far. That is what this mode is, good for beginner practice. Anybody can do this, but sometimes, there are unique rules. The course you are in now is 'Archive.' That course isn't focused on one class; it is focused on anything that is majorly related to the seven deadly sins. Keep that in mind as we progress, ok?" Mr. C finished explaining as Aloysius nodded.

    The lights abruptly went off; students panicked and screamed. Mr. C left Aloysius, who wanted to get out of class as soon as possible. He walked slowly from his desk, his steps being silent because of the commotion. But then a feeling came to him as if a person were watching him.

    Aloysius shrugged it off but as soon as he took one more step, a young woman dropped from the ceiling. She quickly pulled Aloysius back, covering his mouth and nose. Aloysius tried to fight back, but it was no use; she continued prevailing. Before Aloysius fainted, he took a quick look behind him; not worth it, the young woman was wearing a hoodie covering her upper face. Aloysius was now unconscious, in the hands of an unknown person. The young woman pressed two fingers against her ear and spoke.

    In a flash, the woman and the body of Aloysius vanished. In a dark corner, she took off her hoodie just for a minute, revealing her purple hair that was tied into a ponytail. She looked at vantage points and vents with her Liz color eyes, wondering which would be best. Being seen was no worry; her attire was a deep-sea blue, high collar, thermal vest. She also wore a black long-sleeve shirt and black pants. With navy blue running shoes, she was well hidden from the other students. She then held two fingers to her ear and whispered.

    "Hey, I got him; where is the room?" she asked.

"It is the one on the right of the classroom, Veila," Tuomo responded quietly.

"Thanks, for that I might have to take you for dinner," Veila teased.

    "Stop it and focus," Tuomo ordered.

    Veila put her arm down and grasped a smoke pellet from her pocket. She put Aloysius on her shoulder and then tossed the pellet in the hallway. Students passing by were stunned and ran away. Veila made the run for it and crashed into the door next to Aloysius's classroom. Inside was a familiar chair, and next to it was a blindfold and swiss army knife on a table. Veila placed Aloysius on the chair and suddenly vanished again. The silence was dominant in the room, no noise, no people. That was until Tuomo came out of his hiding and strapped Aloysius to the chair. He then placed his hand on Aloysius's forehead and closed his eyes. Blue light flew from his hand to Aloysius's forehead; it was giving Aloysius oxygen.

    Tuomo drew away from his hand and waited. Aloysius opened his eyes weakly and tried to move. He saw Tuomo in front of him just like at his arrival. Aloysius didn't care to move anymore and patiently waited for Tuomo to speak. Tuomo grabbed the swiss blade and was ready to do something.

    "C'mon, tell me what you know," Tuomo calmly ordered.

    "Tell you what; I don't know anything," Aloysius replied with a smirk.

    "Stop trying to escape," Tuomo said.

"I know the real reason why you passed out in the lunchroom a few days back," Tuomo said.

    Aloysius was surprised, or more so, interested in what he means.

"That day, you saw something; what was it?" Tuomo asked.

    "Nothing, just some girl with silver hair," Aloysius replied plainly.

"Oh yeah, there was this dude in black; I've seen him in my dreams and those occurrences, if that is what you wanted to know," he added.

    Tuomo lowered his arm and closed his mouth. He put the swiss army blade away and rather stood in front of him. It seemed that he had no more malicious intents anymore. The mentioning of the mysterious person left him disturbed. Aloysius became dumbfounded by the reaction, expecting Tuomo to brush it off. Tuomo started to become tense, his fists clenched. Aloysius then wondered if Tuomo was afraid of the Kazios. Suddenly, Tuomo started to look around the room in a panic. 

    "Tuomo, are you scared?" Aloysius kindly asked.

Aloysius then noticed the expression that Tuomo was making. Tuomo seemed like he wanted to cry, but he was holding it back. 

    "Tell me more," Tuomo managed.

    "Excuse me, what?" Aloysius asked.

    "Tell me more, please," Tuomo pleaded a little louder.

    Aloysius nodded and opened his mouth. His moment was then interfered with because of a distant boom. Someone was racing towards the room. The footsteps grew louder, ultimately alerting Tuomo, who grabbed the Swiss Army knife. The door was abruptly slammed again and again. A voice on the other side was yelling to let him enter. By sheer force, the door collapsed. It was a guy with a black coat and pants that were lined with red. Like Veila, a hoodie lined with red was covering his upper face. He charged at Tuomo, who positioned himself. Instead of attacking head-on, the guy jumped over Tuomo and pulled out a pistol, and shot him. Tuomo slumped to the ground while the gunman attempted to unstrap Aloysius. Aloysius didn't want to budge; Tuomo died in front of him without putting up a fight. 

    Another person died because of him. Aloysius didn't know why, but he sensed a strange feeling, something he felt before. It was rare; Tuomo and Aloysius never built a bond. But something told him that it was his fault. Without noticing, Aloysius shed a tear. The guy attempting to unstrap him glanced behind him. At the door was Kieran, who knelt near the body of Tuomo.

    "C'mon, stop faking it and get up before I hit you," Kieran spoke with a smile.

    "But it was going so well," Tuomo complained.

    "You weren't dead?!" Aloysius yelled.

    "For your information, Tuomo was never that vulnerable," Kieran said.

    Aloysius yelled out about the mysterious guy. Tuomo got up and dodged the topic. The act was fake, but his feelings were true. Kieran walked up to the guy in the hoodie and took the hoodie off instead of striking him. The guy had messy red hair, nordic blue eyes, and warm beige skin, like a tan. 

    "Who paid you, Lucas?" Kieran immediately asked.

    "Cyrus gave me a call, heh," Lucas fearfully responded.

    "Do it again, and you'll have a bullet through your chest," Kieran warned.

    "Um, who is this dude?" Aloysius asked with a clean face.

    "This here is Lucas Carmino, a member at Priem Corps," Kieran answered.

"We think differently, though; we aren't friends," Kieran scowled.

    Aloysius then noticed the tension between Kieran and Lucas. Kieran glared at Lucas, and Lucas did the same. Aloysius noticed Lucas reaching for his gun, but an extra surprise befell.

    "Excuse me! What are you people doing here?" a girl asked from the door.

"Look how much damage you caused, and is that a student strapped to a chair?!" the girl complained.

    "And who are you?" Aloysius asked.

    "I'm the school president!" the girl yelled. 

By coincidence, the lights of the darkroom came back on. The school president was visible; she had soft, warm ivory skin and wore a white blouse and a black skirt. For shoes, she wore brown fur boots. Her short hair was dyed light pink; her eyes were the color of amber. Her beautifulness exceeded Mirai's. 

    "What are you looking at?!" she yelled.

    "Nothing," Aloysius quietly replied.

    "Great, now we have Jolanda Greco here," Lucas sarcastically said.

    Lucas put away his firearms, knowing well he couldn't do anything to make Jolanda run away. He peacefully walked away as Jolanda kept frowning at him. Jolanda later announced something that shocked the others.

    "Student Council Office, now!" she ordered.

Chapter Text

       The Student Council Office was painted blue and had two other sections, one on each side. The walls weren't that smooth, and the chairs lined up were worn out, and it was obvious. Scratches and tears made someone wonder why the Student Council Office was given little money. Sitting down on the chairs against the wall were Aloysius, Tuomo, and Kieran. They sat as they waited for Jolanda to come and sit at her desk, which was at the end of the room. With perfect timing, Jolanda soon came in and sat at her desk. 

    "Can someone explain exactly what happened in that room before I arrived?" Jolanda asked.

    "You have to tell her the truth," Kieran whispered to Tuomo.

    "No, if I do that, she might foil our plans in gaining more information," Tuomo contradicted in a whisper.

Jolanda had already looked impatient when she came in. Being the Student Council President is tough when the academy is very diverse.

    "I have already dealt with many problems such as a mysterious person making a huge crater in the cafe a week ago. I'll let you three off for this time only. I don't care what it was but please, keep your scheming to a minimum amount of violence and destruction," Jolanda sighed as she pointed at the exit.

    Kieran wasn't expecting that at all; Tuomo perceived it as a lucky escape. Aloysius didn't have a clue of what was going on. The only things he knew was, kidnapped, threatened, trouble. As long as nothing too bloody happened, Aloysius might as well forget about it. The three left the room as Jolanda got up from her seat. The Student Council Vice-President soon asked a question.

    "Was it wise to let them off easy, Jolanda?" he asked.

    "Don't worry about it; even if they did try to harm me, the chances of that are slim," Jolanda sighed.

    As the three walked down the hallway, waiting at the stairwell was Darren. He wasn't looking for a fight; he was looking for assistance. Aloysius saw the look in Tuomo's eyes and wondered why he and Darren don't appear to get along. 

    "Hey, Kieran, do you remember me?" Aloysius asked shyly.

    "Of course I do; you're the student named Aloysius Nichols, right?" Kieran responded.

Aloysius nodded and opened his mouth, "Why does Tuomo not like Darren?"

    "Oh, you know him, did not know that; Well, to my understanding, Tuomo has a grudge with Darren. I know more but, it's best not to get involved with their business," Kieran explained.    

    By the time Kieran finished conversing with Aloysius, they had already reached the stairwell, where Darren was blocking their way. Both Tuomo and Darren resisted their urge to fight as Kieran moved Tuomo to the side. Darren handed a folder with photographs. He was scouting the academy for any information that they needed. He stumbled upon Tatsuya Marr near the city, which explains the buildings in the photos' background. Kieran was surprised that Darren could do such a thing; the mountains were more of their territory while the city was dangerous. As Kieran looked through the photos, Aloysius decided to peek at them. He knew who the guy in them was. Aloysius didn't want to look anymore and turned his head away. 

    The photos of Tatsuya were just of him walking around. The thing that bamboozled Darren was why in the city. Kieran closed the folder and then spoke to Darren.

    "Who took the photos?" He asked.

    "Evony took them," Darren replied.

    "Tell her later at night to scout the academy and the outskirts of these mountains. I'll be with Tuomo and Cyrus," Kieran ordered while being slightly disappointed that Darren wasn't the one who scouted.

Darren nodded and took the folder and, walked down the stairwell. Aloysius started to stare at Kieran and, he noticed.

    "What are you looking at," Kieran said.

"Tuomo, after you have taken Aloysius to his dorm, check on Mirai, and then after, come to me," He ordered and, Tuomo nodded.

    Kieran walked downstairs and went with Darren. Tuomo walked with Aloysius to his dorm. Tuomo patted his back as they kept walking. He found Aloysius's dorm and then led Aloysius in. After he fell asleep, Tuomo went back, walking to the cafe where Kieran was supposed to be. He opened the doors, not surprised by the fact that a few other students were also there, eating. The academy offered dinner, although most students would rather sleep after their boring classes than eat. Kieran and Darren were sitting and eating. Tuomo sat down with them, and Kieran looked at Tuomo.

    "You checked on Mirai?" Kieran asked.

    "Shit, I forgot, but doesn't she eat dinner here?" Tuomo asked.

    "I don't know," Darren replied while munching on his salad.

    "If she doesn't, you know what's coming after you," Kieran warned.

    Tuomo looked around and then tossed a coin to the ground. A waiter soon came by to pick up the coin and ask for Tuomo's request. Tuomo asked for the usual, and the waited was gone and then back in a flash. Tuomo grabbed and bit his sandwich. The pleasure was all over his face.

    "What's so special about a sandwich?" Darren asked.

    Tuomo immediately changed his mood, "It's delicious!" and he went back to eating.

Darren leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

    "Who knew we could go this far," he said with a smile.

    "Don't remind yourself of those memories, Darren; they'll bring pain," Kieran said.

    "I can remember how this world used to be," Darren said with a smile. They all smiled and nodded their heads.

A nearby teacher saw the three of them. The way they acted made the teacher suspicious of them. The teacher started to walk towards their table. 

    "Hello to the three of you," the teacher greeted, and the three greeted back.

"May I ask for a student ID?" he asked.

Darren sighed but, Kieran glared at him. Tuomo, Kieran, and Darren gave their student ID to the teacher. What each student ID contained was a student photo. There was also a full name and a second section for the name of the soul.

Student ID

Rocco Tuominen

Soul: Levi Kazama

Student ID

Kieran Addis

Soul: Dr. Kal'tsit

Student ID

Darren James

Soul: Kazuto Kirigaya AKA Kirito

The teacher looked at each of the three as he looked at the ID cards. The teacher then returned the cards to them and discharged himself. His reason is that it is unusual for students in the academy to be quite relaxed.  The teacher exited the cafe, and Tuomo noticed outside the windows that it was night. Mirai wasn't at the cafe like Tuomo expected. Kieran inconsiderably frowned at him. Darren lightly smiled as he saw Kieran get slightly annoyed by Tuomo. 

    "Hold on, weren't you guys supposed to go where Evony is? Also, where's Cyrus?" Tuomo soon realized as he asked.

    "We'll do it tomorrow; you know how she is, always roaming. As for Cyrus, he couldn't come. He got backed up with some stuff," Kieran answered.

    Tuomo sighed and rolled his eyes. He got up from his seat with his plate and threw it in the trash. Tuomo left as Darren glared at him, waiting for him to leave. Tuomo walked through the halls and found the stairwell that led him to the second level of dorms. He built such a name for himself, which is obvious as he is ranked #3. The academy and its students are so fixated on status and ranking. A student ranks in #999, and he is considered one of the best. Tuomo always had a dark aurora he hides. "maybe I should stop the test. The revenge stuff? Why was I tricking myself; that was all a bluff; the test was a bluff, a lie," Tuomo thought. Memories soon came back; Tuomo resisted. "maybe instead of trying to defeat the victim, help him, but I can't. That aside, I can't bear to believe that entity is me. I know what I am, but that formula, that liquid, the syringe. It changed everything," 

    "Hey Levi," Tuomo spoke.

"Can we stop the test?" he asked.

    "Yeah, we went too far," Levi responded in Tuomo's mind.

    "Do you think the others might change how they think like we did?" Tuomo asked.

    "I do not assume so; they won't forget or forgive the person who did it," Levi said softly in Tuomo's mind.

    "You are not wrong about that," Tuomo commented.

Tuomo soon found his dorm, entered, and fell asleep on his bed. The Sun rose the next morning, but this day wouldn't be good.

Chapter Text

 Tuomo weakly got up from his bed. He washed his hair in the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Tuomo walked out of his dorm only to stumble upon Darren. They both glared at each other for a short while before moving on. Tuomo went down to the first floor to eat breakfast. As he entered the cafe, O'Shea was at a table, which surprised Tuomo. O'Shea rarely eats with others. 

    "What brings you here, O'Shea?" Tuomo asked as he sat down.

    "Intel, rumors are spreading about the beast we're tracking is roaming around here. We got to be on guard; who knows what can happen," O'Shea warned.

    "Does Kieran know?" Tuomo asked.

    O'Shea shook his head, "I will tell him before classes start. That will notify Cyrus, Darren, and hopefully, Evony," 

    "Yeah, hopefully, Evony is always wandering around," Tuomo sighed.

    "Spar?" O'Shea asked with a smile.

    "Why not," Tuomo chuckled.

    While the two got out of their seats, Aloysius started to wake up. This time, he grabbed his necklace from his cabinet and put it in his pocket. He yawned as he exited out of the dorm. As he walked, his vision was a bit blurry, coming out of bed tired. Little did he know that as he walked that he bumped into Mirai. Aloysius fell on the floor and, so did Mirai. 

    "ahh, that hurts," Mirai said cutely.

    "Ouch," Aloysius said as he got up. 

    He rubbed his eyes and soon saw that Mirai was on the floor. Involuntarily, Aloysius put a hand out to help her get up. He questioned what he was doing, but the answer to that was, "It seems right," Mirai, reluctantly, accepted his help and grabbed his hand, and got up.

    "Thanks," she quietly said.

    "N-no problem," Aloysius stuttered inaudibly.

Aloysius went on his way to the cafe. Mirai went down the hall to go upstairs. As Aloysius opened the cafe doors, he was soon surprised by a student. The student was handing him a newspaper. The headline said: Big Thanksgiving Party Planned by the Academy!

Aloysius looked at the newspaper and then the student and did it several times before speaking, "I have no interest in a party."

The student looked sad and ran away. Aloysius had no idea what he had done as he stepped to an empty table. No note, no people, Aloysius's dream. 

    He sat down but, he suddenly realized, he has no cash. Aloysius's face shifted from happy to dull. He patted his pockets, wishing for at least a penny to appear. No, luck rejected him and rejected him very hard, "First, I meet Mirai, and now this?!"

Aloysius let out a big sigh as he moaned. Surprisingly, Mirai returned to go to the cafe and saw Aloysius. With pity, Mirai went to Aloysius and offered to pay for his breakfast.

    "This is for helping me get up, that's all," Mirai said without hesitation. 

    "Thanks, I-I guess," Aloysius thanked as he accepted her financial help. 

    Meanwhile, under the academy, Tuomo and O'Shea were sparring. O'Shea had his Claymore sword out and Tuomo with his ninjatō. Tuomo's attire remained the same but, O'Shea took off his brown coat. As their swords collided, O'Shea started to get exhausted while Tuomo remained fast.

    "How are you still able to continue?" O'Shea asked as he caught his breath with sweat dripping to the floor. 

    "We have different stamina; it's not like you will be as fast as me," Tuomo replied. 

O'Shea raised his head and, with a spontaneous burst of energy, attempted to attack Tuomo. However, Tuomo saw him before he made a move and dodged without effort. He snickered as O'Shea missed. O'Shea cussed and shoved his sword into the ground, gasping for air.

    "I'm out of energy, holy shit," O'Shea said as he wheezed.

    Tuomo stretched his arms and yawned, "Not nearly as good as Darren or Cyrus but, this session will do. Still cannot believe you call yourself a master sword-user."

    "I am one if I was not one, I would not be able to fight you for five seconds," O'Shea contradicted as he pulled his sword out. 

"Don't go doubting your comrade's abilities," He said with a smile.

    Tuomo heard footsteps near the door and held his ninjatō close. O'Shea went into a battle stance. The door creaked, and when the person who walked in was Cyrus. Tuomo and O'Shea relieved their battle stance and sheathed their weapons. Cyrus realized what he had stepped into and sighed. He was disappointed that he could not join. Cyrus loves to spar more than Tuomo. O'Shea noted aloud that he was going to take a shower in the academy. He reminded Tuomo to inform the others about the intel. Cyrus was impressed with O'Shea, fully knowing that he cannot last for more than 30 min against Tuomo. O'Shea left the room and went to the academy. He went through the cafeteria door, and as he entered, a few students were there. Two of them were Mirai and Aloysius, still eating, which took O'Shea by surprise. He walked up to them and smirked behind Aloysius.

    "Well, well, well, what's happening here?" O'Shea smirked.

Aloysius got extremely startled, and his heart nearly stopped, "O'Shea! Don't scare me like that!" he yelled.

    "Who is this young lady?" O'Shea asked.

    "Oh, Mirai Rivas, she is paying for my breakfast since I helped her," Aloysius said calmly.

    "Oh! I forgot, sorry," O'Shea apologized to Mirai. 

    "Hey, I haven't seen you since last time," Mirai greeted him.

    "Well, I have to go, bye! Good luck, Aloysius," O'Shea said as he left. 

What O'Shea said left Aloysius confused in what he meant. Mirai's expression did not change at all. 

    "Anyway, Aloysius, I think it's time to leave; class starts soon," Mirai said. Aloysius nodded in agreement and excused himself. Mirai did the same and left too. As Aloysius walked down the hall, his pocket shined blue. It was his necklace so, he took it out, and it was Natuso. 

    "What was that shift of character?" Natuso asked.

    "That was nothing, Natuso. Simply returning the favor by changing my actions," Aloysius sighed. 

    "Oh, so you aren't drawn to her?" Natuso snickered.

    "Why would I be?" Aloysius said.

"I have a question, is depression curable?" Aloysius suddenly asked.

    "Obviously, why ask?" Natuso said.

    "The question just came up in mind," Aloysius apologized.

    "No worries," Natuso said.

"Well, I have to go, and so do you with your class," he said.

    "Ok, bye," Aloysius said dimly.

Natuso faded away as Aloysius decided to put the necklace on. 

    O'Shea came down the stairs as Aloysius went to his math class. He was fully changed with a fresh set of clothes: a white shirt and black sweatpants. He walked down the hallway, his footsteps echoing. He carried his sword as he headed for the exit. Under the school was where his second home was. It was not just stone; it was like how a home would be: wood floor, smooth gray walls, and clean furniture. Although, where they sparred were dirt floors, and where they meet is black marble pillars. Kieran would sometimes come down, so would Tuomo, Cyrus, and Darren. Evony rarely comes down there. Classes were not such a disturbance for any of them except for Darren. O'Shea went the usual route and hung from the edge of the mountain. He gently put his feet on the ledge below him. It was cold, of course, but O'Shea and the others have felt temperatures below Sub-Zero. As O'Shea was stable on the ledge, he touched the wall, and it opened. O'Shea went about the pillars, and on the opposite side was a wood door. He pushed it opened and inside was the inside of his home. Kieran was there in the living room resting. Cyrus was cooking, and Tuomo was most likely on the second floor. 

    "Cyrus, what are you cooking?" O'Shea calmy asked because of Kieran.

    "Oh, hey, I'm making a small snack for Tuomo. It's a grilled cheese sandwich, want one?" Cyrus offered. 

    "No thanks, I ate breakfast at the cafeteria," O'Shea declined kindly. 

    "I thought you liked eating alone," Cyrus said.

    "I only did it this time," O'Shea said.

    O'Shea left his sword on the side of the stairs. He sat down in the living room on the same couch as Kieran. He looked at Kieran, "He sure sleeps like a baby," he thought. He grabbed the TV remote and turned on the TV. Cyrus finished what he was cooking, he served the sandwich on a plate and went upstairs. He knocked on the door, and Tuomo allowed Cyrus to come in; Cyrus found Tuomo polishing his weapons, kunai, and some other blades he had not seen before. 

    "Put my plate on the table right there, please," Tuomo ordered.

Cyrus put his sandwich on the table and left. Tuomo reached for his plate and bit into his sandwich. He smiled as he munched on the soft, creamy cheese and crisp and, crunchy, bread. Time passed as the four below did what they wanted to do.

     In the outskirts of the mountains is the border between the mountains and the cities. Evony always roams free on the border. The view would be great, and there was space to be free. As Evony was sitting down on a ledge, she spotted someone approaching the cloaked academy. Evony slowly took out a sniper rifle from her bag and loaded it. She opened the caps that covered the scope as she began to aim. "C'mon, my aim hasn't failed me before," she thought. She slowly touched the trigger as the intruder got close to the academy. Evony quickly pulled the trigger as the sound reverberated as loud as a whale. "Fuck! I forgot to equip the suppressor!" she thought. Evony returned the rifle to the bag as she put her hoodie on and jumped off the ledge. It was not committing suicide, nor did she have flying abilities; there was another ledge below. Due to her training, she can endure a fall of 45 meters, 15 more meters than the fatal number for regular people, 30 meters.

    As she headed for the ledge below, the trespasser raised his hand and summoned a mantra enchantment. Tatsuya blocked the bullet as he looked around for the shooter. Since Evony escaped, Tatsuya could not find who fired the bullet. 

    "Why would they send me here again; there is no threat here," Tatsuya thought as he stared at the mountains. 

    Inside the building, Aloysius seemed drained. It's a rare sight to see him tired. Aloysius dragged himself out of his class and into his dorm. It was almost time for lunch so, Aloysius laid on his bed for a while. He kept his eyes wide open, not trying to fall into a deep slumber. Right before he was about to sleep, the bell started to ring. Aloysius immediately got up and headed for the cafeteria. Waiting in line would be very troublesome for him. Aloysius took the money out of his pocket. It was one euro, but one euro could get him enough to eat. He got the euro from Mirai during breakfast. Aloysius came inside the cafeteria, got his lunch, and sat down at a table. He ate his single piece of bread as the other students kept lining up, one by one. Such loud noise disturbed Aloysius; he is so used to the quiet that it became his sanctuary. He pretended not to be so irritated as students passed by. A surprise came his way, Tuomo.

    "I see that you love the silence too," he said as he sat down. 

    "Why are you here?" Aloysius asked.

    "Bored, I get bored easily," Tuomo replied.

Aloysius kept staring at him blankly, and he saw Tuomo's black glove. He had not asked about it when he first noticed it, but now that it has been there forever, it soon raised Aloysius's suspicions.

    "Why do you always wear that black glove with the same clothes?" Aloysius asked.

    "I like these clothes, reminds me of a show called something exorcists, I can't remember, for the glove and the sock,"  he smirked, "let's keep that secret."

    Aloysius squinted at him but, now knowing that Tuomo holds his secrets tight, he did not bother trying to pry it open. Aloysius nibbled on his bread as Tuomo looked around the cafeteria. Aloysius soon felt strange, the same feeling he had before when his vision started to saturate. Tuomo looked at him, confused; Aloysius kept blinking, trying to relieve himself of the feeling. As expected, it was no use; Aloysius did not want to know what he will see. His eyes started to feel strained as he felt a big headache. A headache is new; it did not happen before. The pain went away; now it's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone. Aloysius opened his eyes and saw the same saturated red as before. When he spoke, it echoed now; his vision, what he feels, it is all different from before. Aloysius started to see many people, all different than the students that were there. When they spoke, their voices would ring loudly. Aloysius covered his ears with hands. He kept pressing to the point where he felt his head would explode. 

    "This is why I prefer to be alone!" Aloysius yelled. 

He started to feel like someone inside was feeling the same pain. Aloysius could not notice anything further than that. All he felt was pain, pain, pain. 

    Aloysius heard the sound of high waves, which seemed like a dog whistle but for humans. Aloysius knew what it was, the school bell. 

    "The bell at this time?" Aloysius managed to say.

The sound continued vibrating, and if it extended, it might as well kill his eardrums. He did not know how to get out of this situation. He was technically in a separate dimension. Aloysius tried every way to get out, breaking the table, kicking the floor; he went as far as trying to knock himself out. He tried and tried and tried; results were always failures. 

    "How do I get out of here?" He asked himself. 

    "Hey, hey, hey, did you forget about me, Aloysius?" Natuso asked. 

Aloysius pulled his necklace out of his pocket; his gratefulness was visible despite the ongoing ringing. 

    "Please, tell me how to get out of this situation," Aloysius pleaded.

    "Using big words and pleading acts, I guess that shows when you need help and want it," Natuso said. 

"The only way to get out of here might be selecting a thema; I highly doubt that you'll fulfill that," Natuso continued.

    "Yeah, I doubt too that I can do that," Aloysius admitted. 

    "This is a different world; I can't give away too much yet but, your access to this world is a part of your powers as a connector," Natuso explained.

"I'm confused on how you got access to this power before you selected a thema," Natuso finished.

    "Please, just give me a solution, any, to save my fucking ears!" Aloysius yelled.

    "Try to break something that will make the same frequency as the current noise," Natuso said.

    "Do you want me to die!?" Aloysius refuted.

"That frequency is fucking three times the dog whistles!" He continued to complain.

    Aloysius looked around his area, and he could not find any objects that neared the ring's frequency. Nothing in his sight can help him get out.   Aloysius screamed, and by coincidence, he had a voice crack. His voice crack helped him get out of the world. As soon as he escaped, he fainted and fell hard on the floor. Luckily, Cyrus was there to spot Aloysius. Aloysius, however, does not know who Cyrus is. As his eyes opened, Aloysius saw caramel hair. 

    "Hey, are you all right? I don't want to leave you in your current state," Cyrus said.

    Aloysius groaned as he regained clear vision. His ears were still sensitive due to the loud noise. Aloysius could barely move. He can still feel his necklace in his hand; he was lucky that no one grabbed it. Aloysius could not recognize where he was; everything was plain black. 

    "Hey, are you awake; I got you some water," Cyrus said.

    "Owwwwwwwww," Aloysius silently said. 

    Aloysius slowly sat up and realized he was in his dorm. The lights were on, and Cyrus was standing up with a glass of water. He handed Aloysius the glass of water, and he drank all of the water. His head continued aching. 

    "Please speak calmly; if you speak any louder, I think my eardrums will break," Aloysius requested.

    "Hey Darren, come over here," Cyrus asked quietly. 

    "Oh, so you want me to do that," Darren said.

    Aloysius could barely hear what they were talking about, and all of a sudden, his ears felt normal now. He could listen better, and his body felt better too. 

Cyrus's phone started to ring, and he picked it up.

    "Hey, who is it?" Cyrus asked.

    "Come down here with Darren, Evony returned," Kieran said.

    "That is unusual, ok; I'll come right away," Cyrus said.

    Cyrus hung up and turned to Darren, 

"Let's go back," he said. 

    Darren nodded, and both of them went out. As soon as they reached their base, O'Shea was there to greet them. 

    "Well, that was fast," O'Shea said.

    "Evony returning is a surprise," Cyrus said.

    "I also told Kieran to call you guys because it gets boring when there is no one," O'Shea admitted.

    "Of course you did," Darren sighed. 

    Kieran came running, surprising the three of them, 

    "Evony is gone; she went scouting again, or maybe just looking at the beautiful views. I already got what I needed to know. Tatsuya is here, but also, there were some noticeable seismic activities near this area," Kieran explained.

"We need to do our best to take Tatsuya down. If we do not, our mission will fail; I expect many things from us," he finished. 

    "Yeah, I know, pretty obvious," Tuomo said, who appeared out of nowhere.

    "Will you not be a problem, Tuomo?" Kieran asked.

    "Fine, I wish I could do this alone," Tuomo said.

    "You are too dangerous when left alone, especially with that ability of yours that you haven't kept under control. You'll be a threat for everyone, and Darren will have to take you down," Kieran said.

    "Can I choose whom I work with?" Tuomo asked.

    "As long as your partner is competent," Kieran said. 

    "I'll take O'Shea with me; his efforts are good enough," Tuomo requested. 

    "Ok, I'll go with you," O'Shea said. 

    "Ok, Cyrus, you stay with me; Darren will be from a distance," Kieran ordered. 

"He is working on an eye protector for himself," He explained. 

"Now, GO!" Kieran ordered. 

    As the night neared, Tuomo vanished with O'Shea. Cyrus and Kieran went out through the usual exit. In the Student Council Office, Jolanda found out about the same things too.

    "This is quite the trouble; the party and those mischievous people. It's best if I go to the party to protect the students," Jolanda thought. 

"My Gehenna Scope is enough although, I could contact a friend of mine. Never mind, he is already here, I forgot," Jolanda thought.

"I hope you do a good job, Tatsuya," She smirked.

Chapter Text

 Tatsuya stood outside of the academy. A ravine was dividing his path. As nighttime came, he gazed up. There was not much light pollution, so he was able to view a billion stars. He had not witnessed such a phenomenal view since forever. 

    "What a view; I can't remember the last time I saw something like this," Tatsuya thought.

He ceased to stop looking at the stars and focused his attention on the academy. Tatsuya summoned a mantra enchantment, one on each leg. He stepped back, ready to make a long jump over the ravine. The ravine was not that wide; it was about eleven feet wide. Tatsuya started to speed as fast as he could. When he approached the edge, he leaped. Tatsuya realized he was going to have a rough landing. To counter that, he braced himself with his arms. Tatsuya plunged into the rocks of the white mountains. He got up and dusted the snow off his jacket and pants. As he walked, he felt seismic oscillations below him. Tatsuya made sure his wrist gauntlets were secure and tight. 

    "I hope you're ready; we might find ourselves dealing with something huge," Tatsuya thought.

    "I'm ready for some beating," Akio said.

    Inside the academy building, students finished up the party decorations. Tables were in order with many snacks like cake, muffins, pizza, beef, pork, and rice. On the walls were party signs that read: Happy Thanksgiving Party! Students were buzzing around the halls, which caused a commotion with the professors. Aloysius stayed in his bed even after Cyrus and Darren left. He would either look at his necklace or contemplate whether he should go out or not. One thing after another until it hit him. Aloysius was busy trying to keep up with the surprises that he forgot why he was so depressed.

    "Kasia, hit by a truck, and that's where I fell," Aloysius chuckled. 

"It feels like it's been forever since that happened. Why can't I move on? If I forgot that happened, why can't I move on!?" Aloysius said with his voice breaking. 

"I'm sorry for forgetting, I'm sorry, please, forgive me, please come back," Aloysius started to cry. 

"Please, come back! If I had seen that truck, would I have saved you. I wouldn't care if I died. If it takes me away from this confusing life, I'll be happy," Aloysius cried. 

"I'm not strong enough; I have no pride in my strength, my mentality. I'm weak," Aloysius thought as tears kept running down his cheeks. 

Aloysius started to remember what Kasia said and asked before she died. 'What would you do if you had all the power in the world?'

    "What would I do if I had all that power? I'd bring you back to life, Kasia, but I suppose even that power wouldn't revive someone. Let alone that would be selfish, but that's human nature, right?" Aloysius questioned.

"I have my powers, although I don't know what they are. I don't know because I haven't selected a thema. But what is so far from me, something that seems impossible for me," Aloysius thought.

"All I can think of is hatred for myself. I beat myself up, but I guess that's normal. Right when I think I could escape the darkness, I trip, and it comes to chain me up again. Loneliness, powerless, weak, it clouds my mind," Aloysius kept thinking as his tears dried up.

"But then one day, I saw a ray of hope; I can't remember who it was. It's gone now, or maybe it's still here," Aloysius said gently. 

    Suddenly, a seismic wave shook the building. Aloysius held on to his bed as the tremor persisted. Aloysius had no choice but to head out; he heard students fleeing, he needed to know what occurred. Aloysius put his necklace on and opened the door. He stepped out as he saw students in every direction. Aloysius kept his stability by slowly heading to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was where everything happened; it was like a magnet for disasters. He managed to open the doors without losing his balance. Inside the lunchroom was Kieran, Cyrus, Jolanda, and other students who had fear written on their faces. 

    "Hey! What's happening?" Aloysius yelled.

    "Get out of there, Aloysius!" Cyrus yelled. 

Aloysius got confused until he realized that the tremors now focused on his position. Before he knew it, a giant beast came out, Aloysius barely escaped by jumping. 

    "What the fuck is that?!" Aloysius yelled as he got up. 

    "It's the عربية شرسة beast," Kieran said as he helped Aloysius get away from the beast.

    "English, please!" Aloysius exclaimed.

    "The Fierce Arabian Beast, it's a mutation of the Arabian Red Fox and Arabian Wolf. While we were traveling, it tailed us; I never thought it would chase us to here," Kieran explained.

"But this beast isn't small as you can see; it's fucking huge," Kieran said.

    Aloysius understood as he stared at the Fierce Arabian Beast. It was like Godzilla but a bit small. Its ears and legs seemed to belong to an Arabian Red Fox; its body, snout, and tail were of an Arabian Wolf. Aloysius gulped as he backed away from the enormous danger. Cyrus summoned his shield, ready to protect and defend. 

    "When are Tuomo and O'Shea attacking?" Cyrus asked.

    "Our plans took a major shift so, I have arrived at my decisions. We have to be the bait; we need to lure it near the window. Eliminating its eyes will be the best option," Kieran said. 

    "Ok, I'll try," Cyrus said.

    Cyrus cautiously went towards the rampaging beast. The animal swiped its big claws at Cyrus; he blocked it with his shield. Cyrus's shield could block attacks from anything; if he cannot hold it, his defense is useless. Cyrus blocked and provoked the creature. The animal was on the other side of the room; Cyrus needs to lure it to the other side. Kieran hoped that Cyrus could hold many attacks, but Kieran saw Cyrus's arms starting to tremble a bit. "He's going to die," Kieran thought. Aloysius looked at Kieran as he joined to help Cyrus. Aloysius began to see something poke out of Kieran's back. 

    "Aren't you going to help them?" Aloysius asked Jolanda.

    "Of course not; it's their problem. Why don't you help?" Jolanda asked.

    "Uhh, I can't, I haven't become a connector yet," Aloysius said as he became embarrassed.

    "That's disappointing," Jolanda commented plainly.

    Aloysius switched his attention to Kieran. There was still something poking out. It seemed to be black but, he was not sure. All of a sudden, Aloysius heard what sounded like tape getting pulled. He realized that it was not tape; it was skin. 

    "Why are you summoning Mont3r?" Cyrus asked as he kept blocking.

    "You need assistance; you'll die if I don't help," Kieran said. 

    Kieran's spine became more apparent as his skin on his back started to tear. He made fists to resist the pain. No blood was coming out, but something black and green was. Kieran kept trying to hold out. His skin on his back was fully torn. Mont3r was now out behind him. Mont3r looked like a spine with the head of a dragon. Its eyes were red, and the segments between each bone were green. The aura around it was green too. Its arms were blades, and there were four of them. Mont3r was much bigger than Kieran. It made Aloysius question how it was able to fit inside his spine? Kieran was standing straight, which is a surprise.

    "That is cool and disgusting at the same time," Aloysius commented.

    "It's plain gross," Jolanda said. 

    Mont3r jabbed the animal causing more anger and movement. It kept jabbing and stabbing as Kieran and Cyrus stepped back. The animal kept trying to attack them. Its teeth were humongous too. The animal neared the window as Kieran and Cyrus began to worry if they were trapping themselves. Mont3r stabbed faster as Cyrus endured in his defense. 

    "Now!" Kieran yelled.

The window shattered, and two people came through. Tuomo and O'Shea used their blades and shoved them deep inside the eyes. The Fierce Arabian Beast let out a loud yell of pain. Gallons of blood flowed out and colored the white floor dark red. Tuomo and O'Shea pulled out their swords and landed where Kieran and Cyrus was.

    "It's blinded; Darren is on his way now," Tuomo told Kieran.

    "He's coming? I thought he would stay; it doesn't matter," Kieran said.

    "What are you guys supposed to do now?" Aloysius asked while keeping his distance.

    "Darren will finish this mutant off," Kieran said while smiling.

    "And when is he coming because I'm pretty sure we will all get devoured if he doesn't arrive fast," Aloysius said as the beast flailed its head around.

    "Stop doubting your classmate!" Darren yelled from the door. 

    "That's my line!" O'Shea shouted. 

    The beast roared as loud as a dinosaur. Darren put on his white headphones and charged. The blind creature swiped its leg, and Darren jumped over. He put two fingers on the housing of the ear cup and pressed it. The headphones started to transform into what seemed to be a VR headset, but it was not. It was a bit thin and it covered Darren's forehead and nose. Kieran noticed something was off as soon as the transformation finished.

    "What's happening with it?" Kieran whispered.

    "You'll see, oh shit I forgot!" Darren realized.

    Kieran sighed as the beast stopped moving around. Surprisingly, the beast swiped its tail fast. Unfortunately, Darren got struck and smashed into the wall.

    "I think that hit him where the glass was. Wait, where the glass was?!" Cyrus exclaimed.

    Cyrus ran to where Darren was but, a huge crash happened. Cyrus looked behind him and saw their target. Tatsuya with his mantra enchantment had managed to smash down the wall. He looked at the beast with a plain face. Jolanda backed off and grabbed her bracelet; Tatsuya noticed and turned back to the beast. Tatsuya knew a quick way to finish off the wild animal. So, Tatsuya took off to the other side with a run. He was unlucky as the creature did not follow him.

    "Oh yeah, I just noticed, you gouged the eyes out," Tatsuya sighed. On the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the beast was going for Jolanda. Her scent was attracting the beast to her as it came closer and closer.

    Jolanda tore off the pearl on her bracelet and whispered something calmly, "Connecting to Superbia Archive, execute thema."

The pearl in her hand became the size of a human head. Aloysius could not take his eyes off the big pearl. The snarl of the beast caught the attention of Aloysius and hurried off where Cyrus was. 

Jolanda looked up at the beast with a serious face.

    "You are below me. Why do you even exist, and your name is even worse. I wouldn't even call my nemesis that. You worthless piece of shit," Jolanda silently said.

    "Getting in character I see," Kieran thought.

"Mont3r won't be useful anymore," He thought. 

    Mont3r disassembled itself into shards and went inside Kieran. Though it may seem like it felt like a thousand needles, to Kieran it felt like nothing except feeling his skin regenerating faster. He stepped away from the ongoing mess. Tuomo and O'Shea did the same and took Aloysius with them. The beast was ready to tear Jolanda to shreds as it showed its sharp teeth. Jolanda closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. 

    "I don't believe they saw her Gehenna Scope in action," Tatsuya thought.

    Jolanda opened her eyes and made her Gehenna Scope explode into particles. Those particles surrounded her as they covered her body. The Arabian Beast quickly bit Jolanda, but she was not hurt. It seemed like a forcefield that protected her. The Beast backed off after minutes of trying to split Jolanda into two. Tatsuya summoned his mantra enchantment and ran on the walls. When he got close enough, Tatsuya jumped off the wall. He plunged his fist into the beast. The beast popped into blood and organs. Tuomo and O'Shea got soaked in the blood.

    "Wow, I haven't been soaked in blood for a long time," Tuomo said.

    "Thank your friend," Tatsuya said.

"He was the one who made the deal with me. I hope his recovery goes well. Now, if you'll excuse me," Tatsuya said as he exited out of the building. 

    Cyrus pulled Darren out of the debris. Kieran kneeled to check on his body. He took off Darren's headset and was left speechless. Shards of glass were covering Darren's eyes. "I'm so stupid," Darren managed to say. Kieran carried his body down to their base carefully. He noticed that on one pillar was his actual headphones. The ones he used were fake, which resulted in Darren's injuries. 

    "Open the door. Darren knew that he would get injured so he must have done something in preparation," Kieran said.

    "Yeah, that sounds like him," O'Shea said.

    O'Shea opened the door as Darren was put on the couch. Kieran went upstairs to his room. He found two chemicals, Acirisep and Regnultariu . A note was on his table: Mix these two chemicals, put them in a syringe, and inject them on my chest. Before you do, you must gouge my eyes out. Kieran wanted to throw up at the fact that he would have to gouge Darren's eyes out. He saw a scalpel and took it. Kieran mixed the chemicals and inserted them into a syringe. He went downstairs, where everyone else was.

    "I have to gouge his eyes out first," Kieran said.

    "Oh great, and here I thought it wouldn't be that bad," O'Shea said. Cyrus kept gagging and vomited into the trash can.

    "Look away, Cyrus; you will probably hear screams of pain," Kieran ordered.

    Kieran kneeled next to Darren, and he picked at the glass shards. He opened Darren's eyelids and began to cut his eyes out. Darren could only say 'ow' and 'ouch' but, deep inside he wanted to yell in agony. Kieran cut out the first eye and held it in his hand. He commenced cutting the other eye. Blood spurted out as Kieran's hand was a bit unsteady. He could not keep his eyes off Darren's empty eye socket. Kieran dragged the scalpel along the lines of the socket until his eye felt loose. Kieran reached for Darren's eye and yanked it.

    "Ow! Motherfucker!" Darren said.

    "I'll be back; I need to clean my hands and throw out these eyeballs," Kieran said as he went upstairs.

    "So, how does it feel not to see anything?" Tuomo asked.

    "Uh, well, of course, I'm scared, the thought that I can't see because Kieran gouged my eyes out," Darren said

    "Why aren't you disturbed by the fact that he's eyeless?" Cyrus yelled and vomited again.

    "I've seen many eyeless victims. Before, I was the one who gouged eyes out. Oh boy, did they shriek loudly," Tuomo grinned.

    "What's wrong with you!" O'Shea yelled.

    "What? Didn't you like it too when we went after a certain someone? Mind you, you crushed his balls, cut off his legs and dick!" Tuomo laughed. 

    "Hate to admit it but, I did like it. Who wouldn't like revenge?" O'Shea sighed.

"That's what we learned from surviving alone," O'Shea chuckled.

    "Yeah," Tuomo silently said with his happiness gone.

    "I'm back!" Kieran yelled as he ran to Darren.

    "My headphones, please," Darren weakly said.

    "Why?" Kieran asked.

    "Fractured bones," Darren said.

    Kieran went running to get his headphones and quickly came back. He laid them on the table and took out the syringe. He pulled the collar on the shirt for Darren's chest to be visible. Kieran injected it into his chest, and it looked quite painful. Once he finished, Kieran handed Darren's headphones to him. Darren activated them the same way he did with the fake ones. This time, glowing lines of purple showed on his headset.

    "Hello, Mr. Teremto," a voice in the headset greeted.

    "Hey, Kirito, run a quick scan on my body. I know I fractured some bones," Darren groaned.

    "As you please, wait a moment," Kirito said.

"Oh dear, you have ten fractured bones. The shoulder, ankle, pelvis, tailbone, ribs, femur, fibula, humerus, scapula, and lumbar vertebrae," He said.

    "Run the healing program," Darren ordered.

As the healing program was in process, Darren could feel his bones repairing. The shards of bones were no longer there as punctured blood vessels were fixed. 

    "If I may comment, you didn't have injuries like this for a long time," Kirito said.

    Darren deactivated the headset and took off his headphones. His eyes were back although nobody was surprised. Cyrus was continued to vomit in the trash can. Above, Aloysius was heading to his dorm. Jolanda had been scolding him for his uselessness. He threw himself on his bed. Aloysius stashed his necklace in his pocket and tucked himself in. He closed his eyes as he headed for a deep slumber. It wasn't a peaceful night for him. Aloysius started to dream; he saw seven doors. He put his ear on each of them and heard the same thing: screaming. Aloysius walked away but, seven girls showed up and stared. He could only see their silhouettes. They kept asking in a painful voice, "Why?" Their voices grew louder as Aloysius's surroundings kept getting darker. 

    "Stop it! I haven't done anything!" Aloysius yelled while covering his head.

    "Yes, yes you did," they all said.

His dream only got worse as the darkness closed in on him. Aloysius suddenly found himself on the floor. He was awake and it was midnight when he saw the window. Aloysius got up and went to the bathroom. He washed his face and sighed. He looked at the mirror and saw him, Arata, again. 

    "What do you want now?" Aloysius asked.

Arata simply stayed with a plain face.

    "What do you want!? Apparently, I'm trapped with you, these weird things happen to me, and now this is my new home. I rather not call this my new home. It's torture!" Aloysius exclaimed.

"You possibly couldn't be the reason for her death, right?" Aloysius gently asked.

"What am I thinking, of course not. how could you affect the direction of the truck," He chuckled.

    "I don't know why you would think that," Arata commented.

    "Oh! So, you can talk!" Aloysius exclaimed.

    "This isn't why I'm showing myself to you," Arata said.

"I'm trying to warn you of something. A secret or more of a mess I left behind. I wasn't exactly the perpetrator, I was, I was, a puppet," Arata said.

"They are coming for you, and I can't stop them. They won't listen to me anymore. I was once the one they cared for. Now I've become the one to be hated. You need to rise and fix things; reforming it is the only way both of us will still be on the face of Earth. Please, I know it's a big favor but, can you?" Arata asked. 

    "No, I can't, especially someone whom I don't know," Aloysius rejected.

    "Please! I beg of you!" Arata bowed. 

    "No, that isn't what, what Kasia would want. I can't put myself in something that will risk my life. I can't die; she would want me alive," Aloysius said.

    "I understand but, if you change your mind, you know how to summon me," Arata said as he disappeared.

Aloysius sighed and went to his bed. He made himself comfortable in his sheets. He went to sleep that night with Arata and Kasia in mind. 

Chapter Text

 "Tuomo, what did you see in the dream?" Kieran asked.

    "The dream I created, well, it seems that Aloysius is more important than we thought. Four souls are after him but, I couldn't identify them," Tuomo answered.

    "Stick to him more; he may have a role in all of this," Kieran ordered.

    "I keep finding people involved in this," Tuomo said.

    "And I wish you would've told me sooner instead of a piece of what you know," Kieran sighed. 

    "Sorry, I thought I could handle it on my own," Tuomo excused himself.

    "You can't solve every single problem on your own, Rocco," Kieran said. 

"Now go before Darren kicks your ass," He ordered.

Tuomo vanished in a glimpse of an eye. Kieran stood in the cafeteria at night, puzzling about his newly found information. 

    "Great! First, we had to clean up the mess we made, and now we have another problem. Jolanda, Tatsuya, Lucas, Mirai, and Aloysius. If we don't handle this first, it can disrupt our plans. Not to mention that we might find critical information," Kieran thought.

    Kieran, for the first time, went into the hallway to his dorm. It was late at night after they completed cleaning up the mess. Kieran felt a bit overly tired to climb down a mountain, so he'd willingly sleep in his dorm than on a high-quality bed. After they cleaned, Tuomo finally chose to confess his hidden information. Unlike other people who would be shocked, Kieran is a more cool-headed person. He knows when surprises are coming, and when they happen, the element of surprise is very ineffective. That makes things like his birthday party be such a difficult task. Tuomo makes things tougher with his awareness being very high. He can detect any troublesome problem coming his way. As Kieran reached his bed, he threw himself onto his bed and fell asleep. The next morning, Kieran woke up and scratched his head. 

    "I can't believe that was more relaxing than sleeping below. Well, Tuomo is going to stick to Aloysius. They all have met Aloysius in one way or another, I guess. If he is important, I need to see the power he packs inside of himself," Kieran thought as he did his routine and went of his dorm.

    "Surprise!" Cyrus yelled.

    "I told you, it isn't going to work," Kieran sighed as he turned around.

    "I'll get you one day," Cyrus smiled. 

    "Gleeful as always, Cyrus," Kieran somewhat smiled.

    "Well, I better head down to our home," Cyrus noted.

    "Hold it! I need you to stay here longer, and I will be staying here for a while too. Tuomo said Aloysius might be a key to something," Kieran ordered.

    "I was going to tell you that because Darren and I noticed that something was off about him," Cyrus said. 

"When we were healing him on that day that he lost his hearing, Darren noticed something but, we couldn't identify it. If you think Evony is going to come here, I'm telling you, she won't. All she wants is her freedom and nothing more," He explained.

    "Well, thanks for the information but, I still need you here. If O'Shea can come, tell him to come here as well," Kieran said.

    "Ok, whatever you say," Cyrus said as he walked down the stairs. 

    Kieran followed him down the stairs while brushing his hair with his hands. Kieran was like a celebrity when he came to the academy. That is why he never comes to the academy. Students crowded him yelling out his name. Girls on the side would whisper about who would date him as boys murmured about their jealousy. After Kieran ate his breakfast, he went up the stairs. He knocked on the student council door but, no response. As Kieran waited, Aloysius started to come out of his dorm. He felt lethargic as he could not get any sleep. His dream kept him waking up abruptly every forty minutes. Aloysius groaned as his eyes closed now and then. Mirai was out of her dorm and saw Aloysius blindly walking. Aloysius finally stumbled and instantly woke up. Luckily, Mirai was there to catch him. "Don't say ew, don't say ew," Mirai kept thinking. Aloysius helped himself gain his coordination and balance. He shook his head hard and blinked many times. 

    "Oh, thanks, Mirai, I hope I wasn't causing you trouble," Aloysius said while yawning.

    "No worries, but it seems like you have a lack of sleep," Mirai said.

    "Yeah, I had a dream that kept waking me up," Aloysius said while almost falling again.

    "Let's go to the cafeteria; that's where you are least likely to fall and cause a disturbance," Mirai suggested and, Aloysius nodded.

    Aloysius sat down with his head laid down on the cold table. Mirai got her food served and began to eat. The loud sound of the students filled his head as with each blink wore him down. Mirai did not want to do anything else more for Aloysius. She was already fed up with her classes and not to mention how he slumped in front of her. Upstairs, Kieran sat in the hallway after waiting for a response at the door. He had nothing else to do so, why not waste his time idling. The door opened and, Kieran got up, prepared to do what he set out to do. Jolanda was sitting at her desk like before. 

    "What do you want, Mr. Addis?" Jolanda asked.

    "Do you sense anything weird whenever Aloysius is near?" Kieran asked.

    "Why should I answer one of your dull questions?" Jolanda said.

    "If you don't, I can always take the answer out of you by force," Kieran threatened.

    "I'll answer but, only because you'll fail to strangle the answer out of me," Jolanda sighed.

"Whenever I'm around him, I feel a mix of hatred and despair. I have nothing against the student, yet those feelings rise whenever I'm near," She answered.

"Now, you have your answer, scurry along," She said.

Kieran gave Jolanda a frown before leaving.

    "Ah, wow!" Jolanda gasped.

"Why does acting so contempt hard?" She asked herself. 

    Kieran went downstairs and, the bell rang, signaling for first-period classes. Kieran was surprised to see Mirai dragging Aloysius. Mirai dropped off Aloysius and instantly went running to her class. Some girls glanced and were somewhat jealous of her body. Aloysius was picked up by a classmate of his and thrown to his seat. All of his classmates noticed that his eyes were more dull than usual. 

    "Attention!" Mr. C screamed as Aloysius suddenly woke up.

"Pardon me for that scream but, it seems like some of us didn't get a good sleep. Now, let's commence class," Mr. C smiled.

    "Excuse me, why is the classroom laced with anti-magic?" A classmate asked.

    "Good question! Today, students, we will see our abilities in action. Although, there are some here that can't," Mr. C answered while looking at Aloysius. 

Mr. C walked to Aloysius's seat with a textbook. 

"Mr. Nichols, you have been here for a couple of months now," He said.

    "I have? I thought it was like two weeks or more," Aloysius groaned. 

    "Well, you enrolled in the last few days of August and, now, it's the beginning of December," Mr. C smiled.

"You aren't capable of connecting to your linker, which is a disappointment. So, why don't you read on the sections of magic," He suggested.

    "Why not; I have nothing else to do besides falling asleep," Aloysius accepted. 

    Mr. C handed him the thick textbook and opened it to where Aloysius should start reading. Aloysius began to read on the categories of magic while the other students rose from their seats. Aloysius was so fatigued that lifting a page felt like lifting a 200 lb weight. There so many things Aloysius had to read that he speed-read them. He persisted until there was one page that was an eye-opener to him. " Magic Categories: here, you will find the types of magic that have been found and thoroughly studied; That's neat," Aloysius thought. 

Common Magic (Requires Linker and Resonation): Shamanic Spell, Chaotic Rune, Mantra Enchantment, Outer Alchemy, Cardinal.

Rare Magic (Same Requirements): Defense, Reflection, Speed, Manipulation, Electric, Mantra Boost, Forever Alchemic, Control, Sound.

Attribute (Inheritable and no requirements; Is notably scarce): Tear, Wield, Modify, Vision, Fury, Agony, Illusion, Heal, Creation, Dimension, Element, Myth, Mind.

(Attribute magic is highly destructive and capable of ending the world. The people with Attribute magic are deceased.)

    "Quite the topic it is," Aloysius thought in surprise. 

"I wonder who has these types of magic," He thought.

    The next few pages ripped the fun out of Aloysius. He yawned while reading, wishing that he was in his bedroom. Aloysius almost fell flat on his textbook but, a classmate threw a pencil at him. Aloysius badly wanted to drop on the ground and rest. The words he read fed his boredom. The bell suddenly rang and, Aloysius jumped. He got out of his seat and rushed out the door. Instead of bumping into Mirai, Aloysius ran into Tuomo. Tuomo waved and apologized for slowing him down. Aloysius ignored everything and went to his next class. Darren sat down in his math class, waiting for Aloysius to come in. Aloysius barged in and sat down quickly before dozing off. He saw some sight of Darren and, it was a bit weird for him. Seeing Darren with that headset was somewhat abnormal. Also, seeing Jolanda with the power she had was amazing. Tatsuya and his destructiveness sent chills down his spine about what he could've done to his body before. Kieran was a bit too weird to think about, knowing that something dangerous resides inside his backbone. Cyrus was impressive with his shield, but all in all, the battle yesterday contained no meaning. Aloysius kept recalling the adrenaline he had. It was practically the only thing he could truly feel but, still, the fight meant to clean up an old mess. Nothing exactly progressed since his encounter with Tatsuya. Aloysius started to think that his life may never change. 

    Aloysius shook his head and slapped himself. He looked up at the board and started to write notes. Darren was surprised that Aloysius could force himself to do something he was unwilling to do. Darren sighed and did the same thing on his notebook. "What could be so off about him?" Darren thought, "He's just a guy who has mental and life problems." Aloysius continued to write equations, steps, and solutions, but one thing remained from last night. It was not the dream, but his sister. Lately, Aloysius has been getting a surge of emotions he held back then, although nothing has altered since the incident occurred. Aloysius rubbed his forehead and bit his lip. Concentration was pivotal to forgetting those sentiments but, they always find a way to get to him. He kept denying that he has depression but, it only made it worse. For Aloysius to move on is quite challenging. It was hard for him to move on when his grandparents did the final blow to his family. He got separated from his sister for many years after taking almost everything his parents had. Aloysius's grandparents were wealthy but, they craved more. They looked another way, a way where Aloysius got hurt severely. That is why he never wants to become like them; he does not want to become a being who desires more to add to his power. It influences everyone around Aloysius, and influence is something he has stayed away from for a long time up to now. Once again, the bell struck and, Aloysius packed up his things for his other class. Darren attempted to tail him but, he was interrupted by Kieran.

    "What you got so far?" Kieran requested.

    "Nothing, Aloysius seems like a person who has mental and life problems. There is nothing extraordinary about him; he's normal," Darren said.

    "That can't be right; if he is significant, he has to have something hidden. I want all eyes on him; I'll be setting up a spark to see how he responds to a true conflict," Kieran ordered.

    "Ok," Darren obeyed. 

    Throughout the entire day, Darren could not find anything that can prove that Aloysius has immense power. The only thing he could see was Aloysius's extensive sadness. Questions began to pop up in Aloysius's mind. It contained so many things that Aloysius was afraid to think, "Is this the life Kasia would want me to have? Why am I choosing to live this way? Can't I change?" Those questions made Aloysius cry in his bed. Darren was right; nothing was out of the ordinary besides his sadness, the sadness that he hid. 

    "It's late at night; I should take a rest too," Darren thought as he left Aloysius's door. 

"But, it can be possible that something amazing will happen tomorrow," He thought.

Chapter Text

 Aloysius woke up with dry tears in his eyes. He went to the bathroom and washed his face. Too many things were on Aloysius's mind and, he kept juggling his thoughts. Arata's warning and Kasia were what he was continually thinking about these last few days. Aloysius got his things ready and put his necklace on. He opened the door and heard the usual noisiness from the roaming students. Aloysius noticed yesterday that Darren was a bit more observant of him than other times. Today, there is no sign of Darren or anyone he knows, for that matter. All Aloysius sees right now is a sea of enrolled students. 

    "C'mon, at the very least, Mirai needs to be here," Aloysius thought.

"Even Tuomo isn't around here with his cheeky surprises," He thought.

"There is something very off about today," He concluded.

Aloysius wandered into the cafeteria. Food got brought to him but, no one arrived to talk to him about uncertain subjects. Aloysius never has meals brought to him unless he pays. This time, he did not pay a single penny or pence. Aloysius ate his breakfast and enjoyed it quite well. The bell rang faster than regular times and, not many people went to the hallway to get to class. 

    "I'm going to try something. I will stay at this table for 20 more minutes. If no teacher is coming to retrieve me, then I'm leaving this academy," Aloysius said to himself.

    Aloysius commenced doing whatever he could to prevent himself from becoming bored. He played with his fork and plate, wondering about useless things while also pondering about the warning and Kasia. At one point, Aloysius saw a forgotten notebook and pencil. He grabbed them and sat at his table. Aloysius's hand grasped the writing utensil and hovered over the paper. His hand slightly twitched as the led tip neared more and more. The more the pencil got close, the more emotions started to flow inside Aloysius. He gave up and snapped the pencil in half. 

    "I can't do it; it's too painful," Aloysius thought.

"But why... why can't I do it?" He thought. 

"It's doodling, yet, I can't. Why?" Aloysius kept asking.

    Aloysius put his hands over his face. The question was starting to drive him mad. His mind kept repeating it over and over. Aloysius's dark feelings began to overwhelm him again. The sentiments he had in those first days started to come back; he was drowning. The incident became vivid by the second. Kasia's lifeless body on the ground, leaking pints of blood. The motorist was only apologizing before driving away, and Aloysius was left there with her body. Returning to reality, Aloysius stopped twitching and, out of anger, tore the notebook into bits. The memories would not cease fueling his fear, grief, and his rage.

    "It was all their fault! Grandpa and Grandma are the ones to blame. They were such greedy pieces of shit! They made this happened," Aloysius thought, being blind by anger.

Suddenly, the notebook pieces soon began to disappear. 

    "Wait, what's going on?" Aloysius asked.

"Where exactly am I?" He said as he looked around. 

    "You blame it on them? You're kidding me," Kazios said.

    "Oh, it's you. why did you bring me here?" Aloysius asked.

    "No specific reason, I'm just laughing at your imbecility and blindness," Kazios chuckled.

"Why can't you accept responsibility for her death?" He questioned.

"You're running away, aren't you? Accept your failure although, no one was at fault," He said.

    "What do you mean no one is at fault? The driver is the one to blame!" Aloysius exclaimed as he stood up. Aloysius could hear Kazio's voice but, Kazios never appeared in the cafeteria. 

    "Are we going to ramble on about an incident that never happened?" Kazio sighed. 

    "Never happened?" Aloysius thought.

There was a black mist that started to circle in on one position on the floor. Its speed gradually increased as it became a bit windy. Soon, Kazios was standing in front of Aloysius. He finally revealed his entire body to Aloysius. Aloysius can see everything, not just his head. Black gloves and his suit had a thick white line going diagonally on his chest. He had a white scarf hanging on Kazios's neck and had black and white pants. 

    "What took you so long to reveal yourself to me?" Aloysius asked.

    "Does that matter?" Kazios said.

    "What do you want from me? You've been here after her death, and you're here now. What do you want?" Aloysius asked.

Kazios grabbed Aloysius by his shirt and stared at him. He then raised his hand and clutched Aloysius's necklace. Kazios pulled it off him and looked at it. 

    "It's astonishing how you don't use such immense power," Kazios said. 

"Let's play a little game of mine. Here are the rules: I hide, and when you find me, you must defeat me," He said.

    "I never accepted, and isn't that a bit vague?" Aloysius asked.

    "3, 2, 1, and... start!" Kazios said as he snapped his fingers. 

    Aloysius's surroundings turned dark like his other encounters with Kazios. He observed everything, even though everything was nothing. Aloysius saw that his necklace came back to him. It was on the floor and, he picked it up and put it on. The black mist began to become lighter as his area started to become visible. Aloysius was soon somewhere unfamiliar. He was in a house and, it was all dusty. It seemed like no one wanted to clean it in months. Aloysius heard arguing in the room across. He walked to it and glanced around and, it was also very dusty. The pots and pans were ancient as the countertop had piles of dust. Aloysius turned his head to the table on the left and, there he saw something that shocked him like a bolt from Zeus. It was his parents and grandparents arguing about a topic that rung a bell. On the side of the room, Aloysius was there with his sister. But, they were both little and, Aloysius was sobbing. 

    "I don't want to let go of you!" Young Aloysius cried.

    "Don't worry; everything will be fine. Ayen," Young Kasia said softly. 

    "Ayen, that name was the name she said the day before she died," Aloysius thought as he continued to look at his younger self and sister. 

    "But what if you never come back?" Young Aloysius asked.

    "Then promise me something," Young Kasia said.

    "What do I have to promise?" Young Aloysius asked.

    "To live a safe and happy life without me. If you're happy, that's all I need to be happy as well," Young Kasia said calmly.

    "No, I need you!" Young Aloysius begged.

    "I need you to promise me that, ok?" Young Kasia asked.

    "Will I still be able to see you?" Young Aloysius asked.

    "Of course, but you need to make that promise," Young Kasia said.

    "Ok, I will promise you that!" Young Aloysius said gleefully, wiping the tears from his face.

    Aloysius could only stare forever. He started to tremble and twitch as he slowly was stepping into their view. But, the scene changed and, it was all black again. Aloysius wanted to talk to them but, his chance flew away. But then anew, what would he have wanted to say? 

    "It seems you have forgotten something you promised to your sister," Kazios said.

    "How do you know?" Aloysius asked.

    "My abilities allow certain things to happen at my will," Kazios said.

    "Not that; how do you know Kasia and my relationship with her?" Aloysius asked. 

    "I was there since the beginning, Aloysius. I hid well, that's all," Kazios said.

"Let's play more; you have yet to find me," He said.

    The darkness became light anew and, Aloysius was now standing in his residence. His home was different, though with old platters and pots that were yet to get substituted with fresh ones. "What could've happened here?" Aloysius thought. He wandered around as he recollected memories of his time with his parents. Aloysius instantly heard something break and ran to the source of the noise. He kept his distance and took a peek. It was himself but older and in his room. Aloysius's eyes widen as he remembered what happened. His young self was in his room, holding a glass shard to his throat. Aloysius turned to face the entrance door, which was unlocking. It was his parents who entered and heard young Aloysius slowly and calmly crying. His Mom hurried to his room and, there she saw young Aloysius, close to death. She knocked the glass shard out of his hand, cutting his arm. 

    "Aloysius! What are you doing?" His Mom yelled. 

    "I can't do it anymore," young Aloysius silently said.

Aloysius fell to his knees and, tears started to flow out.

    "Why did Grandpa and Grandma take everything away?" he cried. 

"Why did they take Kasia?" He sobbed.

    "I-I don't know why, Aloysius, I don't know why they took everything from us," His Mom gently said. 

    "Hey! I'm right here?" Aloysius yelled as everything became black again.

    "You're vulnerable and pathetic. I'd imagine your sister is very disappointed in you. Get up and move on, like a man," Kazios said strictly. 

    "Then why don't you come out?" Aloysius asked.

    "One more surprise," Kazios said.

    The light came back and, this time, Aloysius was more shocked than ever. It was his current self, witnessing Kasia's death. Aloysius looked at himself grabbing Kasia's dead body. Something dropped out of her pocket that seemed to be a hard-drive. He put it in his pocket as he carried Kasia's body. Aloysius stared at the truck driver, who was still looking at the blood. Something inside urged him to strangle the driver. It was dark and vengeful, and it kept repeating the same words in his mind, 'Kill him, kill him, kill him.' Aloysius opened the driver's door and reached out for the driver's neck. Abruptly, the driver grasped Aloysius by the neck and turned to him. It was not the driver; it was Kazios who was strangling him. Kazios stepped out of the driver seat and threw Aloysius to the ground. The area became black again as Kazios neared Aloysius. 

    "Such an excuse for being weak," Kazios said. 

"You run away, and you'll keep doing it, like a coward. No, you are a coward," he said.

    "Why does it have to involve you then?" Aloysius said as he got up.

    "You'll see, Aloysius, you'll see your place in all of this," Kazios said. 

    Kazios pulled out a Falcata sword and attacked. Aloysius quickly dodged, only slicing a tiny bit of his hair. Kazios was impressed that Aloysius did not die on his first strike. Aloysius did not know what to do now that he is face-to-face with the guy that stalked him. Aloysius started to muster all the strength and courage he held. He then ran and jumped at Kazios but, Kazios kicked him in the chest. Aloysius fell again while coughing. He got up while wincing and dusted his shirt. 

    "Mercy won't save you this time," Kazios said.

Aloysius felt hopeless now. Death was at the door and, all he had to do was let Kazios do his thing. Aloysius gave up on the hope of continuing a dreadful life. Why would he have a reason to live? Was there anything waiting for him despite his efforts? Who would be there for him if there even is someone? He cannot keep promises; Aloysius perpetually rejected long-term commitments. Kazios stared and clutched his sword tighter. Aloysius stood up on his knees as Kazios neared him with the intent to kill. Kazios raised his Falcata sword swung it towards Aloysius's neck. A sudden shine of light appeared as Kazios's sword made contact. The light gradually became massive until releasing an energy force that blew both Kazios and Aloysius to the ground. Kazios got up, grabbed his Falcata sword and, wondered what had happened. Meanwhile, Aloysius stayed down on the terrain groaning as quietly as he could. 

    "Uh oh, something bad happened," Natuso said.

    "Natuso? What exactly happened and, please hurry up," Aloysius groaned.

    "The locking magic placed on me; it's gone," Natuso said.

    "What does that do for me then, besides my everlasting sadness," Aloysius asked.

    "Nothing really since you haven't chosen a thema," Natuso said.

Kazios was walking to Aloysius with his sword. He kept his footsteps quiet as Aloysius was distracted by both the conversation and pain. 

    "Natuso, find a way out, ok?" Aloysius said.

    "Why?" Natuso asked.

    "My life will end soon, and from what I heard, your power is destructive. I don't want you falling into the wrong hands," Aloysius said.

    "You're hopeless, Aloysius," Natuso sighed. 

The territory Kazios created was shaking like an earthquake. Pieces of his world were falling apart and, it seems that Kazios must surrender due to such a disadvantage.

    "Next time, I will not be so lenient," Kazios said as he turned into mist. 

    "What did you do, Natuso?" Aloysius asked.

    "I used magic that countered his," Natuso said.

"Now, I must go, and please do not be as pathetic as you were today," Natuso said as he slowly disappeared.

    Steadily, Aloysius's eyes were opening. He saw his ceiling and wished to see no one next to him. Aloysius turned his head and saw no one there, and that was perfect. He rubbed his head as he moaned. Aloysius got up from his bed and opened his door. It was empty, making Aloysius feel very uneasy. He grabbed his clock as fast as a leopard and checked the time, 1:39 AM . Aloysius sighed in relief as he closed his door. He tucked himself in his bed, not knowing that Kieran and Tuomo were in the cafeteria discussing topics. 

    "So, how was it?" Kieran asked silently.

    "Troubling but, don't make me do it ever again. You know what happens if I go full-on," Tuomo said.

    "What is needed has to be done regardless of circumstances. I'm the leader; you must obey my orders," Kieran strictly said.

    "I know, but sometimes your ideas come off a bit insensitive, even to me," Tuomo said.

    "Well, we finished now, so let's head down so we can get some sleep for tomorrow," Kieran said as they both went out.

Chapter Text

         Darren woke up drained as he got off his bed. He went towards his cabinets and on the top was his pair of white headphones. He grabbed them as well as his watch. Darren placed his headphones around his neck and wrapped the watch on his left hand's wrist. Darren went downstairs and saw Tuomo resting his head on a table. 

    "Hey, wake up," Darren yawned. 

    "Huh? Oh, it's you; if you're wondering why I'm resting here, go ask Kieran," Tuomo said as he went back to sleep.

    "It's always Kieran," Darren mumbled. 

    Darren went out of the underground home and into the icy white mountains. Waiting outside was Kieran; he was only wearing his black coat and pants in such cold weather. The Sun has yet to come out as it was 5 AM. 

    "Bedhead?" Kieran asked.

    "Yeah, I woke up like a few minutes ago," Darren sighed. 

    "I've got something for you to do today. Keep an eye on Aloysius and Jolanda. I'll be planning something," Kieran said.

    "What are you planning?" Darren asked.

    "Don't worry; you'll see," Kieran grinned.

    "History tends to repeat itself, huh," Darren thought. 

"Don't do anything overboard," Darren warned.

    "Remember who's in charge," Kieran said as he walked away.

Darren rolled his eyes as he sat on the ledge of the mountain. He looked at the view in front of him. Darren saw more mountains and, below them was the city. 

    "Bored?" Evony said.

    "No, it's not that; I wish that it was like how it was before," Darren said.

    "What do you mean?" She asked.

    "You wouldn't get it," Darren sighed.

"How did you even get here that fast? Don't you monitor the outer ranges of these mountains?" He asked.

    "It's good to look around this area sometimes," Evony said. 

    "It's troubling to talk to people, no offense," Darren said.

    "None took; socialization isn't one of my strongest points either," Evony said. 

Darren got up and stretched his arms as he yawned. He walked and stood in front of the academy.

    "I dislike the fact that we live under this building," He said as he turned around.

"It's very inconvenient for certain things and, it sounds like a bad idea for a story," Darren said. 

    "I honestly don't care since it isn't me living under there," Evony added. 

"Although, I suppose it is quite lonely down there," She added.

    "I don't care about that," Darren yawned. 

    Darren turned around and, Evony was gone. He sighed, knowing it was usual that happens every few months. The students would soon wake up as Darren saw the hour hand move closer to six.

The Sun began to rise as Darren entered the building for another day of educational learning. In his dorm, Aloysius heaved himself weakly from his bed. Yesterday's events took a hit on him both mentally and physically. Aloysius even noticed a small bruise on his wrist. 

    "That Kazios dude really beat me up badly," Aloysius murmured.

"My head feels like it's spinning; he had some intense strength," He thought as he got up from the ground. 

Aloysius exited his dorm after doing his routine. He decided to sit at the cafeteria early before the shouting came. For Aloysius, it felt abnormal to not have students making a ruckus. What made it more irregular was the coldness. The tables were like ice, and the same could go for the floors and chairs. Aloysius did not think it would be that cold for the winter. It did make sense for a building that is located at a high elevation to be cold. Headaches were something Aloysius was lucky not to experience. 

    "Please, do not embarrass me like that again," Natuso asked.

    "Says the one who helped at the last moment," Aloysius sighed.

    "I helped at last moment because whoever that was had very few flaws that I could exploit," Natuso said.

    "I have no idea what you said and, I could not care less besides the fact that I am still breathing air on this planet," Aloysius said.

    "I'm really hoping that you choose a thema before you die," Natuso said before disappearing. 

    "One more hour before breakfast. Can time be any slower?" Aloysius groaned.

    As Aloysius groaned for food, Darren roamed the halls. He ended up bumping into someone he believed was asleep; O'Shea. Darren looked at O'Shea with a rare look: Confusion. Meanwhile, O'Shea was trying vigorously not to laugh. O'Shea could not have held in his laughter for long as a grin started to appear on his face. Darren raised his finger against his lips, gesturing for him to remain quiet as other students were well asleep. Too late, O'Shea suddenly burst into laughter as he pointed at Darren's face.

    "And here I thought you were finally maturing since our last meeting," Darren said.

    "I'm me! What do you expect? But, your face! Oh god, that was hilarious!" O'Shea laughed.

    "Keep quiet, O'Shea. The last thing we want to do is be a disturbance," Darren ordered.

    "You're no fun. Why can't you loosen up a bit from time to time?" O'Shea asked.

    "Because there is no time to loosen up. You know what's at stake after the disappearance of that person," Darren said. 

    "What pers-? Ohh, that girl. I mean, nothing bad happened yet," O'Shea said.

    "My God, don't I prefer your battle act than this," Darren said while irritated.

"Please, can you just monitor Aloysius? I need to observe someone else," He asked.

    "Sure, I'm starting to feel fond of the guy anyway," O'Shea said.

    "Thanks, now go!" Darren said. 

    O'Shea sighed and continued to walk down the corridor. Darren, still irritated by O'Shea, walked upstairs to set something. Near the Student Council door, and when he came, someone was heading out the door. Darren looked nearby for cover but, his surroundings being a hallway, there was no retreat. Darren could not risk being detected for specific reasons. He only has about 7 seconds before the person opens the door and sees him. Darren could not run because that would make him suspicious. Sneaking behind the door is up to chance whether the person notices him or not. Darren thoroughly recognized all of these results but, time is running out. The last thing Darren would want to do is make the person unconscious. In the last few seconds, Darren chose to gamble and hid behind the door as it opened. The unknown student did not notice Darren lurking behind the doorway and left. As soon as the student was on the first floor, Darren got out of his hiding position. Darren looked up as he caught his breath. The adrenaline had got him very good. He turned his head to the left of the doorway and saw a CCTV camera. 

    "I could make things easier and hack that camera. What should I do, though? I could hack via a spoof attack or use software to keep guessing the password. Forget it; I'll hack through a backdoor attack. I need to find high altitude first," Darren thought.

    Darren lifted up a window frame and hung from the outside. He used the other arm to close the window. When he finished, Darren looked down below him. He was obviously not scared. There was no close ground to land on. That was not the point of him being in that position though. Getting to a high altitude would just mean concealment. His dorm or underground home would not do him much good. Darren managed to put his headphones on with one hand and tapped the side of it. The same headset with purple horizontal lights appeared. Darren raised his hand and, it seemed like he was reaching for something. A blue graph line appeared, and following that were the particles of the rope. After the blue graph line disappeared, what was left was a rope. Darren pushed himself off and used his weight to swing up. He grasped the edge of the roof tightly. Darren pulled himself up and then sat down. 

    "Kirito, you there?" Darren asked.

    "CCTV camera?" Kirito responded with a question.

    "Yeah, it's a task and, I want to make this as easy as possible," Darren said.

"Do a thorough search in the code and see if you can make use of any of the codes to make an exploit code," He said. 

    "Done!" Kirito said.

    "Use the exploit code and once you're in, adjust the settings so I can see the footage from here," Darren said.

Soon enough, a small screen appeared in the top right corner of his vision. 

    In the meantime, O'Shea was in the cafeteria. He was sitting at a table across from Aloysius, who was groaning about breakfast. The morning bell rang; no more was the cafeteria silent. It was soon bustling with activity. O'Shea could see that Aloysius was disturbed. It is weird to O'Shea since Aloysius has only been recently acting like that. Usually, Aloysius could handle the noise, but he can't now. O'Shea got up to get his breakfast and then returned to his table. After some thought, O'Shea decided to sit at Aloysius's table. There was nothing better to do. Aloysius slowly ate his cereal as the sound made his head throb. 

    "Hey, you don't need to spend the rest of your time here in the cafeteria. You look like a child is trying to bring you to death with their screams," O'Shea chuckled. 

    "Yeah, you're right. I want to go to my dorm," Aloysius said. He gently got up and went back to his dorm. Aloysius did not know that O'Shea was talking to him. 

    "Nothing much to do here besides eating my food. I should probably sneak in between class breaks," O'Shea thought as he ate. 

    In his dorm, Aloysius laid on his bed as he regained comfort. The softness of his bed made him a bit slumberous. Before he could know, Aloysius was fast asleep. Unaware of the incoming bell, Aloysius was shaken to hear the bell ring. He should have considered himself fortunate that he woke up rather than oversleeping. Aloysius had no time to think as he hastened out of his door and through the crowd of students. Aloysius entered his class as he slammed the door behind him. He caught his breath while taking his seat. Aloysius noticed that Darren was not there but, that was not that important now. As Aloysius settled in for Math class, Darren still sat there on the roof. While the average person would be bored by now, Darren was not. Nothing much had happened, just a few students in and out of the office. Kieran was the one other guy Darren was looking out for. 

    "I really don't trust what he is planning. I swear if he causes a mess," Darren thought. 

"And, just when I thought I have said enough," He sighed as he saw Kieran enter the office.

    In the office, Kieran slowly walked to avoid detection. Jolanda was in the other room as Kieran crept. Darren was no longer on the roof; he was instead inside the building, waiting for Kieran to come out. Kieran hid behind Jolanda and threw her off the chair. Kieran put his knee on the middle of her back, pinning her down. He took a syringe out of his pocket that was filled with adrenaline hormones. Kieran grabbed Jolanda's arm and injected her with the hormones. 

    "C'mon, what do you feel? What do you see? Tell me what you know about Aloysius. Random emotions of despair and sadness do not come out of nowhere," Kieran yelled. 

    "Stop saying his name!" Jolanda screeched.

    "Why is he so important? You must know something," Kieran said.

    "Please, stop!" She screamed again.

    "Don't make me break your back," Kieran said as he applied more force. 

"If I didn't inject you with adrenaline, you wouldn't have no clue what I am talking about," He thought.

    "Stop!!" Jolanda yelled as a force pushed Kieran off. 

    Jolanda was out of control and, Kieran realized he did something wrong. He ran out of the office only to meet Darren, who pinned him to the wall.

    "See? This is what happens when you ignore my warnings," Darren said.

    "Yeah, yeah, I know, I fucked up. Let's just focus on getting these students and school the protection it needs," Kieran sighed.

    "I already dealt with that. Tuomo is on his way," Darren said. 

"Consider yourself lucky that you aren't gonna get your hands dirty," He said. 

"And don't worry, Tuomo is not going to kill."

    Jolanda soon ran out of the office as well. Aloysius was leaving the bathroom and heard the pulsations of forces from the empty cafeteria. Being distracted, Aloysius walked to the cafeteria and saw Tuomo there.

    "Stop! Stay back before you get hurt," Tuomo said.

    "Did I walk into another mess again?!" Aloysius thought.

    The repeated pulsations threw Tuomo a bit off-balance as Aloysius backed up a bit. Tuomo unsheathed his ninjato sword as he gave himself space. He noticed a pattern quickly. Every five seconds, a pulse of force would be released; then another five seconds of no force. Tuomo knew it was a short amount of time but, he had to risk it. To test if it was safe to attack, Tuomo rapidly threw a kunai. Luckily, it scraped Jolanda's arm as the pulses began to be more powerful. Direct attacks would still be suicide as he risks being thrown out of the building. Tuomo dashed to Jolanda and attempted to punch her but, Tuomo was pushed back by a force.

    "Damn, there is no pattern. She can control the force pulses," Tuomo thought.

"If I can't attack like this, then I'll need to land my blows behind her."

Tuomo grabbed a pellet from his pocket and released smoke. Using his speed, Tuomo escaped Jolanda's vision. He was now behind her as Jolanda sought for Tuomo. Tuomo instantly unsheathed his ninjato sword and banged Jolanda near her neck with the hilt. Jolanda was now apprehended and, Tuomo was quite proud of himself. He was able to draw minimal attention since Aloysius was lured. 

    "Shh," Tuomo said while looking at Aloysius. He lifted Jolanda's body into his arms and was out of sight in a split second. Tuomo soon arrived on the second floor and saw O'Shea standing across from him.

    "Looks like I need to be better at my job," O'Shea chuckled.

    "It was easy. Nothing too hard to handle," Tuomo said.

    "I'm starting to get just a bit creeped out by the sudden importance of Aloysius," O'Shea said.

    "You should be; there will be more unknown events that unfold," Tuomo said.

Both of them met up with Darren and Kieran.

    "As a leader, I must apologize for actions that have caused unfortunate events. So, I'm sorry," Kieran firmly said.

Kieran looked at Darren, Tuomo, and O'Shea who all had plain faces.

    "Is sorry not enough?" Kieran asked.

    "No, it's just that this is the first time you actually apologized," O'Shea said as the others nodded.

    "I didn't know it was that bad," Kieran said.

Chapter Text

    "That's already one of 'us' apprehended," Tatsuya said. 

    "I guess using one of them was a bad decision," the person said to Tatsuya.

    "I advised that from the beginning. This will all be simple if I deal with it myself," Tatsuya said. 

    "We have no other options. Plan your attack two or three days from now, Tatsuya," the person said.

    "No worries, all will be done soon enough," Tatsuya said.

    Tatsuya left the alleyway in the city. He left no evidence of where he was as he traveled through the city on foot. Meantime, in the academy, it's been almost a day since the conflict with Jolanda occurred. Fortunately, no one has learned about it besides Tatsuya. Jolanda's health became stable promptly as Aloysius was directed not to say a peep about what occurred that day. This time, Aloysius woke up without feeling enervated. Hopefully, the noise of students wandering and chatting won't disturb him either. Sadly, that would be the most unlikely conclusion. As he exited his dorm, Aloysius could only view Mirai outside too. He assumed there to be more than just five students but, not even two came out. Mirai doesn't matter to him anyway. What mattered most in Aloysius's life was taking what he required to live. What he used to value most is now gone. Something still nags him to the light and, that confuses Aloysius. No guiding light is left inside of him. He's crushed, cold, and confused. So, why, why is he feeling like this? There is no answer; Aloysius does not have one. 

    "Why is all this rushing back into my head again?" Aloysius thought.

"Too many things go on in this weird building." 

    Aloysius continued to walk to the cafeteria again. He sat with the hope that he will not get irritated by the chatter of students. There was no knowing what will happen today. Having many meetings with strange students started to make Aloysius more mentally confused as he mends his emotional life. It's a shame rarely anyone notices his pain. Aloysius put his head on the table as he waited for the breakfast bell. The same thing had always happened: Aloysius wakes up and starts his regular day in an irregular building and suddenly gets himself in a mess. Aloysius began to wonder if that would be the case every day. Then, life would be boring and unlucky as well. There are times when he questions his existence, and there are times where he also has suicidal thoughts. Aloysius never has a constant train of thought, even in sorrow. It was always like that ever since he was little. You can say he is easily distracted but, sometimes that is not the case. Who knew that death could lead to where he is now. Who knew that death could bring him down. 

    "It's funny how a truck leads me here. Oh, how life is so welcoming," Aloysius quietly said sarcastically. 

"Then again, who are these people with strange abilities. Especially those people I have seen constantly."

"Why am I here?"

Slowly, Aloysius fell asleep with his head resting on the table. 

    "Kasia?" Aloysius asked as he saw his sister in front of him.

    "Ayen, I'm sorry for everything. I promise that they will find you, and they will protect you," Kasia said.

Aloysius looked at his hands only to see that they are small, like a child's.

    "Everything will make sense one day. I'll try and be there for you. I'm sorry if I'm gone. What am I saying? You're a child; you won't remember what I said to you. But, I hope that I will be with you in the future," Kasia said as tears slowly ran down her face. 

    "What do you mean?" Aloysius asked but, Kasia seemed like she did not hear anything.

"Wait! Where are you going?" He said as he saw Kasia walk away. 

"Don't... don't...." Aloysius said as he began to gently cry. 

    "Heyy," A voice said.

"Wake up!" the voice continued to say.

Aloysius opened his eyes as he saw Mirai telling him to wake up. 

    "Damn, does it take this much to wake you up?" Mirai asked.

    "Uhh," Aloysius said as he was perplexed.

    "Nevermind that, why are you even here?" She asked.

    "Waiting for breakfast?" Aloysius said.

    "It's the middle of the day," Mirai said.

    "Wait, what..." He said.

    "If I remember correctly, this is the second time you have overslept," She said. 

"Please get to class before lunchtime comes around," Mirai sighed as she went back to class.

Aloysius got up from his seat. He observed the entire lunchroom only to see no one but the janitors. 

    "Was sleep always a problem for me?" Aloysius thought.

    "Reading your brain waves and behavior from past times, no," Natuso said.

    "Ah! When did you appear?" Aloysius asked. 

"And, how did you even do all that stuff?"

    "I've mentioned it before: I am a grimoire with great intellect and magnificent abilities. You're lucky to have me, especially when you escaped death when you were supposed to die with full certainty," Natuso said.

    "Now that just sounds eerie," Aloysius said.

    "I know, someone as pathetic as you would be scared."

    "Stop trying to hurt my feelings because it isn't working," Aloysius sighed.

    "Sorry, sorry, but to give you a spark, or at least that's what I can hope. Let's say I was at the beginning too," Natuso said as he disappeared. 

    "Wait, what did you mean... Damn, you disappeared."

    Aloysius shook his head and trotted to his class. He entered his class and, the teacher interrupted the lecture to point out Aloysius's extreme lateness. Of course, the school wouldn't be school without a touch of humiliation. His classmates snickered and, others started to joke around. One in particular roasted Aloysius to the point of no return. Aloysius did not mind the jokes, chuckles, and roasts. He sat in his seat, slumped. It looks like Aloysius took an emotional blow anew as his eyes were similar to how they were the time he left his room for the first time in a long time. This time, instead of having a head full of depression, his head was full of questions: How could Kazios know Aloysius's origins? What is driving Aloysius mad? Why is Natuso tied into this? What does the *&$#@ contain? Who are "they"? Was the dream even true? Are Mom and Dad safe? A lot of questions, even if responded to, would just leave more questions yet to be answered. 

    Too much thinking and, Aloysius may just commit suicide before he knew it. Who wouldn't? After all, a person thrown into an unknown world who has lost "everything" would begin to seep into madness. The world did not even let him get on his knees. There is no start, only the hope that it will end. The only question when that happens is, "how will it end?" 

    "Aloysius! Oh my god, are you even paying the slightest amount of attention?" Ms. Harper asked. 

    "Sorry, I'm just thinking about some emotional stuff," Aloysius said quietly. 

    "And it looks like it broke you! Look at your eyes. Are you sure you don't need to see the nurse?"

    "No, no, thank you. I've been to the nurse more than I should have," He said.

    "If you say so... Anyways, let's continue our lecture on equations," Ms. Harper said as she pointed at the screen.

Aloysius took a glimpse at the screen. What he saw shocked him more than 1k volts. It was an equation of a physics theory about the universe. He recognized it but, he couldn't name it.

    "Oh? You know this equation?" Ms. Harper asked Aloysius. 

    Aloysius took a gulp before answering, "I don't know the name but, a sibling of mine wrote that on a notebook."

    "In that case, this equation is called, 'The Friedmann Equation' and remember it too," She said. 

    Aloysius let out a big sigh before contemplating memories. After a few skips over the following classes and lunch, Aloysius has finally arrived at his dorm. His courses are over for the day as he rested on his bed, having the rest of the afternoon to himself. Aloysius did not quite think about it but, watching the mountains and snowfall felt calming to him. Calming enough for him to sleep soundly. Aloysius subconsciously braced himself for another emotional dream. This dream was not that; it was abnormal, strange, and scary. It was like a lost memory, except this time, Aloysius could remember. Something felt off, and something, something was making him dream this specific thing. Who was it, or what was it? Aloysius was soon falling into madness...

Chapter Text

Remember the child with no name?

Oh, how mysterious he was

Living with name by name

No one could trace him

No one could be him

With no friends

And it looked like he had no start and no end

Rumor has it that he changes looks

Others say he never existed

Only one saw him

Only one befriended him

He does not remember

The words here

Are the only things he can hear

Long live the friend that disappeared

Yet the only thing is that

He is still here

Chapter Text

He opened his eyes as he was crouched on the ground.

    "Where am I?" 

He looked at his sword and saw his reflection.

    "Right, I have time before it's too late,"

Arata got up and started sprinting towards a destroyed building in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere was just sand, dirt, garbage, and metal scraps. 

    "Come out!"

"So, I can ram my sword into your body," He muttered.

    "Watch what you say," Levi said.

She ran ahead of him but, Arata stopped her with a question.

    "Levi, you've been acting weird ever since the beginning of this fight. You're usually calm but, this doesn't feel like you," 

    "Sometimes, the truth must be kept from those who seek it. I'm sorry for whatever happens after this. You deserved better but, we couldn't stop it. I did all I could to save our friends; we tried," Levi said as she suddenly covered her mouth. Arata kept studying her expression during her explanation. He then had a feeling that whoever was talking to him wasn't Levi. Before Arata could do anything else, Levi sprinted off into the building where Arata was heading. 

    "What the fuck!" Aloysius woke up gasping.

"Damn, even my dreams are a disturbance. I really can't have peace anywhere now." Aloysius thought.  

"But, it's morning now so, I should get up before more unnecessary problems fall into my hands."

    "You think you're SO GOOD and BETTER than us?" Aloysius heard a student yell.

    "Oh my fucking god, can this day let me live peacefully," Aloysius muttered.

    Aloysius swiftly washed his face and put on his shoes. He walked out of his dorm and saw in the distance a group of students in the cafeteria. It was nothing urgent, nor was it something that involved Aloysius. Yet, he was intrigued by the argument. And with that, his curiosity won him over as Aloysius walked to the crowd of students. Not surprisingly, the center of attention was Tuomo. Two students were confronting him for some childish reason. 

    "C'mon, fight me!" The student yelled. 

    "Please, I don't want to get in trouble," Tuomo said.

    "What? You scared?" The other student taunted.

    "Not necessarily," Tuomo said. 

As the three continued to throw insults at each other, the crowd started to chant, "Fight!". Apparently, Tuomo being rank #3 was a big deal in the academy that Aloysius didn't just quite catch. 

    "I don't think it's a good idea to fight a student, especially one that's rank #3," a student said.

    "What do you know? I shouldn't be listening to someone who is ranked #200."

    "And you shouldn't be ranked #50. Stop acting like you're the greatest in the world just because you jumped over 10 ranks," 

    "Actually, if we fight, it might be good to blow off some steam. It's alright as long as I don't kill," Tuomo thought.

"Hey, #50, what's your power?" He asked.

    "Defense, and you?" The student asked.

    "I'm not saying, as usual."

    Tuomo took out his ninjato as the student summoned a small shield. Although Aloysius has seen Tuomo move fast, the student was surprised and, his face could express that well. 

    "Let me be your mentor for a while," Tuomo said.

"Rule 1: Always be aware," He said as he tripped the student.

Tuomo took the chance and purposefully struck the student's shield at full force. 

"Rule 2: Misdirect," Tuomo stomped on the student's hand, causing the defense to disappear and hit the student's upper chest with the hilt of his ninjato. Tuomo allowed the student to get up as he pushed him back.

"Rule 3: Be a step ahead," Tuomo said as he grinned. He and the student were not close enough for a strike to land. So, the student took a step forward but, he soon felt a piercing pain in his foot. The student looked at his foot only to see a small but sharp blade causing the pain. Tuomo got ready to dash and finish the student. As Tuomo dashed, something blocked his attack.

    "You were losing self-control, Tuomo," Cyrus said. 

    "You know very well I wasn't," Tuomo denied as he pulled his blade out of Cyrus's shield. 

    "If that student died, we would've been in a lot of trouble of all sorts. You also would've been pulverized," Cyrus said as he smiled.

    "By who?" Tuomo asked.

    "By me," Darren said behind Tuomo.

"Geez, you were causing a lot of unnecessary attention and damage." Tuomo turned around as Darren finished.

    "He asked for it!" Tuomo argued.

    "You could've just walked away, is that right?" Darren said as Tuomo felt defeated. 

    "Thank you, Cyrus, for protecting the innocent student," Darren said as he dragged Tuomo away from the crowd.

    "Well, that could've ended better," Aloysius yawned as he walked back to his dorm.

"Shit, I forgot my food but, hunger isn't enough to get me off this bed."

    Aloysius slowly fell asleep without any dreams. But when he woke up, he realized that he missed most of his classes once again. Then again, has there ever been grades or attendance count? It was too unimportant for Aloysius to even grasp the main idea of the question. 

    "You're awfully tired," Natuso said.

    "Shut up," Aloysius said quietly.

    "Does my crypticness bother you?" Natuso chuckled.

    "I had enough of it; you're just so goddamn annoying with your cryptic and indirect answers. W-Why? Why won't you tell me the truth? Why?" Aloysius said calmly. 

    "I'm sorry but. . . never mind. Let's just hope you don't die in the next few days," Natuso said as he disappeared again.

    "My mind wanders back and forth. Sudden mood swings and reflections. This is too confusing and misleading," Aloysius thought. 

    "Thinking in this form won't get you anywhere," Arata said.

"I've been where you've been. Trust me, it isn't fun, and it never was. Don't lose who you have already and, be grateful because I lost it all twice."

"Lilith... Levi...," Arata continued to mutter names.

    "You haven't been of help either. You just stay hidden like..." Aloysius paused.

"Like me..." 

    "Don't involve yourself with my personal matters. That isn't the wise thing to do when death is written all over you," Arata said.

    "Then what do you suggest?" Aloysius asked.

    "Move on, no matter what you suffer from, move on," Arata said.

    "Easier said than done."

    Arata's voice faded away as Aloysius yawned. Then, if things could not get any more boring, Aloysius heard booming sounds. The occasional trouble has arrived to kill Aloysius. That idea alone is nothing more than just an idea. Why bother going outside of his dorm？ Outside of the academy, Tatsuya had arrived for the third time. Aloysius continued to roll around on his bed. The booming would not halt as it continued to disturb Aloysius's attempt to sleep. Aloysius then felt something familiar that happened when he first came here. It looks like Aloysius was not the only one that woke up from the booming. Mirai continued to use her magic to move Aloysius outside and into the hallway. That idea is the stupidest in the world of stupidest ideas. 

Once Aloysius was out in the hallway, Mirai expressed the urgency to stay quiet. Aloysius could not care less in that situation. Tatsuya was apparently trying to break in by breaking the cafeteria walls. The cracks on the walls became more visible by the minute. Then again, why break the walls just to get in？ There is a door to the left, and they are unlocked. Nevertheless, the booming still had Mirai shook. Aloysius got to his feet as he was dropped once he arrived at Mirai's location. They glanced at each other from time to time, but it was just that. As the wall soon began to give in, thoughts started to run through their heads about what they should do. Tuomo was not there, which is surprising. When the wall broke, all you could see was a silhouette in the snow. Tatsuya has arrived with his menacing mantra enchantments. Was Natuso right? 

Chapter Text

      Tatsuya stood there looking for Aloysius. Meanwhile, Mirai is attempting to keep as quiet as possible. Aloysius started to have two minds of thought. He either accepts his fate and be pathetic... again or, he goes down while fighting. Aloysius knows he cannot even graze Tatsuya. Being repetitive is often dull, even for Aloysius. Thus, Aloysius chose the second choice. He began to walk towards Tatsuya as Mirai looked without a single feeling of care. 

    "I feel so tired but, why are you very insistent on finding me?" Aloysius asked. 

    "That I cannot disclose," Tatsuya responded. 

"And, it seems that your friend is not here to disrupt."

    "I don't really care," Aloysius said. 

    "Come closer; I prefer to fight in open space," Tatsuya said.

    "Whatever you say, just don't get a headstart," Aloysius said as he walked to Tatsuya. 

    "You sure about this?" Natuso asked.

    "I don't care anymore. I just want to go home," Aloysius said with a trembling voice. That apparently shut Natuso up. 

" I want to go anywhere but here... " Aloysius thought. 

    Aloysius reached where Tatsuya was at the broken wall. Unsurprisingly, Tatsuya grabbed Aloysius by his shirt and smashed him to the ground. The snow made his body frozen and, the rocks felt like they pierced his back. Aloysius grabbed Tatsuya's wrist because that was the only thing he could do. Tatsuya's mantra enchantments were withdrawn for now. Tatsuya lifted up Aloysius and punched him in the chest. Aloysius went flying and crashed on the ground near the edge of the cliff. Alas, Tatsuya summoned his mantra enchantments. All Tatsuya had to do was flick his finger on Aloysius and, he crashed into the rocks to his left. Tatsuya did not want Aloysius to die so swiftly. Tatsuya walked to Aloysius, who was injured, from top to bottom. Possible concussions, broken bones, sprained and torn muscles could have occurred. As Tatsuya was about to put a hole in Aloysius's chest, someone stopped him. To his left was Mirai with her wand in hand. She was preventing Tatsuya from finishing Aloysius.

    " Oi, what are you doing?! " Yui exclaimed to Mirai.

    " I am trying to do something good for once, " Mirai thought.

    " But why him?! Who knows what he will do, " Yui responded. 

    " I had it with you controlling my decisions, Yui. I'm tired of you always being afraid of this unknown person. You have to move on, or else I'll do it myself, " Mirai said to Yui. 

    " It's good to see an old friend, " Akio said. 

    " The one who is stopping me? " Tatsuya questioned. 

    " Yes, she was always so peppy. I miss her; I wish it hadn't happened that day. If I knew it would, one more day would not hurt, " Akio responded. 

Aloysius struggled to get up. It was freezing and, he was in pain as well. Two of the worst factors combined together to give him something more than a migraine. Natuso appeared and, this time, he seemed like he was actually going to help for once. 

    "Aloysius, I can help but, here's the thing, I need to sell something that's a part of you," Natuso said urgently.

    "What part of me?" Aloysius grunted.

    "A mental part."

    "I don't care, just do it; I'm already losing so much," Aloysius winced.

    Natuso's grimoire form started to glow as an unknown sound began to reach past 20000 Hz. Aloysius started to feel something being torn away. He felt something that he didn't feel before. Natuso commenced changing his form from a book to something else. He started to appear more... human. Aloysius could only stare at Natuso's changing form due to him being in such pain. The moment Tatsuya broke free from Mirai's magic, Natuso's changing process was finished. Tatsuya drove his mantra enchanted fist towards Natuso, only to be blocked by some sort of magic spell. The snow dust cleared and revealed what Natuso looked like. He was tall enough to reach Aloysius's chin, and his skin was like Mirai's skin tone but paler. Natuso’s hair was a mix of white and blue hues. He dawned an old white shirt with old jeans. Natuso had a brown satchel as well. Tatsuya kept trying to land a hit on Natuso but, every attempt was blocked by a magic spell. 

    "Hey, Aloysius! You better hide somewhere before I give in," Natuso warned. 

    Aloysius winced before he could say something. Mirai cautiously ran to Aloysius and dragged him back into the building. At that exact same moment, Natuso got struck back when his spell finally fell. Tatsuya drove his fist in Natuso's direction again. Natuso summoned a magic spell and split it into two on both of his hands. From Aloysius's perspective, it seemed that it was a defense spell or something like that. Tatsuya hit Natuso and had the same result again. Natuso got up cautiously and summoned a new spell on his hands. There was no magic circle but, his hands were spiking with white energy. Natuso charged at Tatsuya this time and, the most extraordinary phenomena occurred. The mantra enchantments on Tatsuya's hands cracked and disappeared. 

    "Hey! What did he do?!" Akio asked in an alarming voice.

    " What do you think? This guy has some nullifying magic, just like Lucas, " Tatsuya thought. 

" But this type of null spell is more powerful... more potent. "

" I can't even regenerate my mantra boosts. Crap, this guy is more dangerous than I thought. Akio, I might have to resort to that mantra boost. It might be the only way to even land a hit, " Tatsuya thought.

    " Go ahead, as long as it gives us a chance in winning this fight, " Akio said. 

    Tatsuya began to concentrate an orange-colored energy into his wrists. A new type of mantra enchantments appeared and, they glowed in a red-orange color. Natuso easily nulled them again with his magic. That was what Tatsuya wanted and subtly tripped Natuso and kicked him to the side. Aloysius had an urge to go help Natuso but, Mirai held him back. And, as if another disaster could happen, a loud noise was heard from outside. Someone else was going to land soon and, Natuso motioned to Aloysius: Get out of here before you die. Aloysius understood some of the things Natuso was trying to tell him. Mirai soon began to drag Aloysius back into the hallway of dorms. While Aloysius was being pulled away, Lucas landed in front of Tatsuya. 

    "Long time no see, Tatsuya," Lucas greeted Tatsuya. He had his hoodie up with a gun in his right hand. 

    "Why come all the way here?" Tatsuya asked while summoning his regular mantra enchantment. 

    "Can't have you killing and causing more disturbance," Lucas said as he loaded his gun with what seemed like bullets made of magic. 

    Lucas fired first at Tatsuya, aiming for his forehead. Tatsuya deflected it with ease. Tatsuya thrust his fist into Lucas's direction but, Lucas blocked it with his gun. He knows that if he lets a hit land on him, he is dead. Lucas made Tatsuya's hand twist in a weird direction and shot twice at Tatsuya's chest, creating a wound. You could see the blood coming out from his stained shirt. They both ignored Natuso, who got up and quietly followed Aloysius. In Aloysius's dorm, Mirai and Natuso were guarding the door as Aloysius laid on his bed. 

    "You couldn't have done that before?" Aloysius asked weakly.

    "I could have but, I simply chose not to," Natuso said with a smile.

    "Cheeky bastard," Aloysius chuckled.

    "Isn't that weird?" Mirai asked.

    "What's weird?" Aloysius replied.

    "Aren't you gloomy, quiet, or just outright crying all the time? You're genuinely laughing," Mirai noted.

    "How would you know? Unless you paid more attention to him than others would," Natuso laughed. 

    "Quit joking around and be serious for once. What part of Aloysius did you sell?" Mirai asked. Natuso's smile disappeared as a long silence ensued.

"What did you sell?" Mirai repeated.

"Please, Natuso, what did you sell?"

    "I sold his depression," Natuso said suddenly. 

    "And, why was that a good idea for you?" Mirai asked.

    "It was the most potent emotion so, there was no other choice unless you want to see a half of Aloysius and not the other," Natuso rolled his eyes.

    "Well, if I may, that was a great choice," Aloysius expressed.

"I feel wonderful, I feel free."

    "No problem," Natuso smirked.

    Aloysius sat up as his body ached all over. His spine was not broken but, his back was bleeding all over. There are a lot of bruises on his chest and wounds. His body was beginning to recover but, he would still be extremely sore and his body would have big and small scabs all over. Crashes and booms could still be heard in the background but, it seems that Natuso knew what he was doing. That was until someone came crashing through the door. Lucas was there lying on the floor trying to get up. Natuso activated one of his spells in his hands. Mirai ducked with Aloysius under the bed. Lucas eventually got up as Tatsuya arrived with orange-colored mantra enchantments. Lucas ran at him while firing his guns. Natuso rebuilt the door (somehow) and signaled for Mirai and Aloysius to come out of hiding. Aloysius slowly sat on his chair this time. 

    "Why don't we just sleep through this?" Natuso offered. 

"Mirai, you sleep on the chair and Aloysius sleeps on the bed."

    "What about you?" Aloysius asked.

    "I can just recreate myself into a grimoire again and vice-versa," Natuso answered. 

    "Ok, and what about that satchel that you're wearing?" Aloysius pointed.

    "I don't know, I never looked inside of it," Natuso said as he opened it.

"All I see is a note."

    To: Natus Ex Uno

    From: *o** AKA **** C***x 

    Natus Ex Uno, the new grimoire, with such knowledge and power. I already know what you did once you have seen this note. Take care of your new wielder. Guide him as you bear ten times more the knowledge and power than I did. Be careful...

    "What does the note say?" Aloysius asked.

    "Nothing, it says nothing," Natuso lied. 

    After their nighttime sleep, everyone woke up and went to the cafeteria. Instead of seeing breakfast and smelling bacon, they saw destruction and smelled blood. Darren and Kieran were a part of the crowd that saw the scene. Blood could be smelled and seen all over the place. There was that same hole in the wall with blood mixed with the snow. Everything was blood and destroyed. Just blood and destruction...

Chapter Text

 "Ok, what the fuck?!" Kieran expressed.

    "Pretty mysterious, right?" Darren said.

    "I told O'Shea we should see what's happening above but, all he said was 'it's just a party!', that son of a bitch!" Kieran complained. 

    "No need to get angry; at least we got a break," Darren said.

"Plus, I can always check the CCTV footage."

    Everybody in the background was spreading possible rumors about what happened. Some thought that it was a fight between two teachers, others thought that it was an earthquake, and few thought it was Tuomo. Aloysius was still sore and, his body ached terribly. Jolanda was lost in the crowd, trying to decipher what had happened. 

    "It seems that we're popular now," Natuso joked as he was in his grimoire form. 

    "Can I trust you?" Aloysius asked.

    "Trust me on what?" Natuso replied. 

    "That you'll keep secret on your human form and what you did to me. It's best if Kieran and Darren don't know," Aloysius said.

    "Sure," Natuso agreed. 

    "It really is for the best that no one knows," Mirai added. 

"Well, at least not until you can get everything under control."

    "It was you, wasn't it?” Jolanda suddenly confronted Aloysius.

    "No, it really wasn't me," Aloysius defended himself. 

    "I'm keeping an eye on you, Aloysius," Jolanda warned as she walked up to her office. 

    Aloysius ignored Jolanda as he focused on what actually happened. It was a surprise that Lucas was just as powerful as Tatsuya, who almost killed him. Aloysius got a bit curious as to what it would be like if Lucas turned against him. Lucas was always a strange person and always forgotten in the mind of Aloysius. He was only remembered as the person who randomly tried to save Aloysius from a strapped chair. Now, Aloysius had an urge to tell Kieran and Darren what caused the destruction. Of course, he would keep out details about Natuso and his depression being 'sold'. Nothing good is going to come out if he bottles it all up. Thus, Aloysius walked through the crowd to find the two guys. Either there were so many people gathered in one spot or, they got camouflaging powers because Aloysius had a laborious time finding Kieran and Darren. They usually sort of stand out since everybody has poor fashion sense, including Aloysius himself. That was until he got a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Kieran with Darren behind him. 

    "Looking for us?" Kieran asked. 

    "Uh, yeah, I need to tell you two something important," Aloysius said. Kieran noticed a change in Aloysius's communication and gestures. He brushed it off as nothing as he listened to Aloysius.

"But, first, can we go somewhere away from the crowd? What I'm about to say is very confidential," Aloysius said. 

    "Sure, I was about to say that too," Kieran said as they walked outside through the hole in the wall. 

Aloysius began to tell the two about the fight. How Tatsuya threw him on the ground and, instead of Natuso saving his life, he said that Lucas saved him. For the rest of the story, Aloysius made it up.

    "I see, so that's what happened," Kieran nodded. 

    "Yeah, and you can obviously see what would happen if anyone else besides you found out about this," Aloysius said. 

    "Yeah, I can see why," Kieran added. 

    There was an awkward moment of silence that followed shortly after their conversation. Aloysius barely knows Kieran, yet he talked to him like he did. They wrapped up their meeting quickly before people grew suspicious as to why they were outside. Aloysius went to his dorm while Darren and Kieran went underground. While Aloysius laid on his bed, he wanted to cry. He wanted to but, he couldn't. His mind would not let him bawl. Aloysius still missed his sister Kasia but, why could he not cry? Was getting rid of his depression really a good choice? Aloysius started to regret the fact that he accepted Natuso's offer to save him. Maybe it was best to die than not to feel grief. 

    "Why are you regretting?" Natuso asked.

    "I don't know... I just still miss Kasia and, I want to cry myself to sleep, yet, I just can't," Aloysius said.

    "Well, would you rather be dead or free?" Natuso asked.

    "Dead..." Aloysius quietly said. 

Natuso knew that he had to shut up because he was not helping at all.

    " If only Kasia was here... mom and dad wouldn't help at all. All I need is her, just her ," Aloysius thought. He proceeded to curl up on his bed. 

    Underground, Kieran was discussing what Aloysius had told him. O'Shea knew what was coming once Kieran would finish. On the other hand, Tuomo was not that amused nor interested in the topic. It looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open. Cyrus was more concerned about the well-being of Aloysius. At certain moments, he would ask what injuries Aloysius got. Evony was not even present there. As Kieran finished his discussion, O'Shea hid behind a couch.

    "O'Shea, why are you hiding?" Kieran asked eerily.

    "N-n-no reason," O'Shea stuttered as he looked at Kieran with his fearful eyes. 

    "Don't worry! I won't hurt you. Well, at least not that bad," Kieran grinned sinisterly. 

    "Please don't, I'm sorry, I'll get you first in lunch five times a week again. Please, I'm sorry," O'Shea quivered as he tucked his head.

    "That's the spirit!" Kieran smiled, his aura of harm gone.

"Tuomo! Can you find Evony and recap what we talked about?" Kieran asked.

    "Sure," Tuomo sighed as he dropped from the ceiling.

    Tuomo felt the strong breeze as he went outside. Tuomo had no idea why Kieran asked him to do such a difficult task. Evony is always difficult to find. She always wanders but, at least talking to her is easy. Tuomo has to walk around the border of the mountain ranges since that is where Evony usually patrols. It is tricky to cross the mountains since they are so jagged and, one wrong step can mean death for you. This time, when Tuomo crossed the last line of mountains, Evony was across from him. She was sitting on the edge of a cliff. Her gun was put aside in a case which was a large blue cotton cloth piece. Tuomo slowly stepped into the snow.

    "I know you're there... Tuomo," Evony giggled quietly.

    "Sharp as always," Tuomo sighed as he walked up to her. 

"Kieran asked me to fill you in with what we got about Aloysius and his meeting with Tatsuya and Lucas."

    "Oh, no need. I already know the actual story. I saw it for myself since they were making such a ruckus," Evony said. 

    "What do you mean by 'actual story', Evony?" Tuomo asked.

    "I promised myself that I wouldn't say a peep about it," Evony responded. 

"But, all I can give you is that it was intriguing."

Tuomo lunged to grasp Evony but, she dodged. She jumped in the air and mid-way, graph lines appeared as she jumped again. Evony landed behind Tuomo.

    "Your ability is useful but, not in scenarios like this," Tuomo said.

    "Jealous about my gravity manipulation?" Evony taunted.

    "No," Tuomo replied in a stoic tone.

"Well, I have finished what I have come here for. You can go do whatever you want," Tuomo said as he began to walk away.

    "Aww, I wanted to spend more time," Evony expressed.

    "Save it," Tuomo said as he vanished quickly. 

    Aloysius woke up from his bed and, missed his classes, as always. Natuso had actually changed into his human form and was laying back on Aloysius's chair. Natuso got up and magically made a water bottle. He gave it to Aloysius as Aloysius chugged it down halfway. Natuso grabbed it back and made it disappear into nothing. 

    "Why are you in human form?" Aloysius yawned.

    "I got bored," Natuso responded.

" It was something else ," Natuso thought. He remembered how he transformed solely because he had to use the bathroom. It took Natuso a while to figure out how to use the bathroom. 

    "What time is it?" Aloysius asked.

    "2:30 PM," Natuso said. 

    "I'm too lazy to get up," Aloysius said as he stretched on his bed. A knock on his door was heard as Natuso opened the door. It was Mirai with a concerned look on her face. 

    "Aloysius, why have you been missing class again?" She asked.

    "It's cold," Aloysius moaned.

    "That is no excuse to not leave your dorm!" Mirai yelled.

    "Arguing with him will get you nowhere," Natuso sighed.

    "How do you know that?" Mirai asked.

    "Neurological scan, and don't ask what else I found," Natuso said while looking away from Mirai. 

    "Forget it, just get Aloysius back to class," Mirai said as she slammed the door.

    "Ok, Aloysius, get up before I make you get up," Natuso smiled.

    "No...thank you," Aloysius said half-asleep. 

Natuso grinned as he began to change his form again. It was unnerving to Aloysius when he opened his eyes to see his sister. Unnerving in the way that his mind had exploded. You could see the awe in his eyes. He still couldn't cry but, Aloysius looked like he was crying. 

    "Aloysius, what are you doing out here?" Kasia asked. 

    "I-I don't know," Aloysius stuttered. 

"Oh, Kasia, you don't know how much I've missed you," Aloysius said quietly as he embraced Kasia tightly. 

    "It's ok, Ayen. I'll be there for you from now on. I will never leave your side," Kasia promised.

Aloysius let go of Kasia as he smiled at her.

    "Ok, wake up from dream town!" Kasia yelled as the mist formed. The mist slowly faded away to reveal Natuso grinning.

    "What the fuck!" Aloysius expressed as the shock made him lose his balance.

    "I told you to get up," Natuso chuckled. 

    "You're really evil," Aloysius muttered as he began to exit his dorm. 

    Aloysius returned to his class as slow as a sloth. The teacher of course questioned his inconsistent attendance. Aloysius excused himself with part of the truth that he had been addicted to sleeping. The obvious had happened next which was the laughter coming from his classmates. For the first time, he felt really embarrassed to actually blush and cover his face while sitting on his desk. The teacher actually took notice and defended Aloysius just a bit since inconsistent attendance is no joke. Lessons continued as usual and Aloysius started to engage himself in conversation. It was nothing much besides a simple 'ok' and 'hello'. He is not ready for long-term conversations yet. Many people's interests were piqued when Aloysius began to show what laid under his sadness. 

    What was hidden was something beautiful. Aloysius was finally free of the chains that kept him stuck to a wall. Eventually, the regret of getting rid of his depression was forgotten. This life of his has started anew.

Chapter Text

   Aloysius's life had been taking some sharp turns. First of all, people began to approach him more. Random conversations occurred more often than Aloysius would like. It was uncomfortable but, it was helping him in social skills. Aloysius learned some new slang and gestures too. They come in handy but, it is worth learning something new. Tuomo had stopped by a few times to talk with Aloysius. Not surprising that Tuomo noticed changes in the way Aloysius conversed. What was surprising is that Tuomo didn't point it out. Not to mention that Tuomo was less threatening than usual. Aloysius kept it cool and, he did. No stuttering and no emotional breakdown to interrupt him. Everything was going smoothly. One weird thing that has happened was Aloysius's vision. He could no longer drown in a state of ear-ringing. It just disappeared once Natuso sold his depression. Aloysius wanted to know what exactly was that doing to him. What were those floating orbs? 

    "Stop wandering off into space," Mirai said. 

Aloysius got startled as he looked to his left in the cafeteria. Mirai was taking her seat as Aloysius just watched her. 

    "Shouldn't you be thanking me?" Mirai asked. 

    "For?" Aloysius said.

    "For saving your life," Mirai yelled. 

    "Oh, uh, ok. Thanks for saving me," Aloysius said in an unsure tone. 

    "What kind of thanks is that?" Mirai asked.

    "One that was meant for you..." Aloysius replied.

    "Learn how to properly talk with others before you're all alone again," Mirai said as she left Aloysius's table.

    "I was trying," Aloysius muttered. 

    Aloysius finished doing whatever he was doing and, he went to the classroom that made him feel uncomfortable. People kept trying to strike a conversation with him. Aloysius was confused by this since it was not like this before. Something had gone wrong and, Aloysius did not know what had taken a wrong turn. All he knew was to politely end the conversations that people struck him with. In his math class, while the same conversation gig kept going on, Darren saw it happen. He did nothing but sit on his seat, watching and slightly chuckling. No one was going to the hot guys in any of Aloysius's classes. It seems that Aloysius has become one of them. The question is: how long until Aloysius's torment ends? The people that Aloysius passed by, O'Shea, Cyrus, Tuomo, and Kieran, all felt bad. 

    "I wonder how he's coping with his surge of popularity," O'Shea said.

    "He did look like he was dying on the inside," Cyrus commented. 

    "Let him deal with it," Kieran said. 

"It's time for a change." 

    The three were walking down the second-floor hallway. Jolanda was busy figuring out who damaged the wall and how to supply funds for the repairs. That sounds like something the head of the school should be doing. But, almost every responsibility lands in Jolanda's hands. She has accepted her reality that a bunch of work is headed her way.

    "So much work I just can't wrap my head around this. I can't even subtract 1 from 1," Jolanda complained. 

    " I had to fight breakdown phenomenons. This right here, I could see why this would be hell for anyone, even for me, " Mira Yamana thought.

    " That Aloysius guy has something to do with it. I know he does and, I feel that he knows the entire thing. How can I squeeze it out of him? " Jolanda thought.

    " Maybe start by actually using your power to make him spit the truth, " Mira suggested.

    " But, how can I explain why I'm doing this? " Jolanda thought.

    " You just say- oh, yeah, I got nothing, " Mira said.

Jolanda rested her head on a pile of paperwork and slept soundly.

    Down on the first floor, Tuomo had decided to get up from his long slumber. He walked around the building as there was nothing else better to do. Darren was coming back from the second floor, checking the cameras. It was inevitable that the two would bump into each other. They did bump shoulders as Tuomo was heading towards the cafeteria and Darren walking in the opposite direction. Tuomo looked back at Darren, who was walking calmly. This time, Tuomo did not act out and instead continued to do whatever he was doing. 

    "You weren't there, were you?" Darren asked.

    "I wasn't because I was busy training," Tuomo replied.

"If I was there, you know I could've taken them both on easily."

    "Of course, I am not doubting your ability," Darren said.

"Well, I'm gonna get going, bye."

    Tuomo continued walking into the cafeteria and exited through the hole in the wall. Many other holidays were nearing, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those specific dates will gather tons of people into one room. Tuomo began to feel that something might happen on each of those days. He jumped down and entered through the "secret" door. By surprise, Evony was there sitting and rubbing her hands.

    "What brings you here?" Tuomo asked.

    "It was too cold and, I accidentally got frostbite on my hands," Evony said. 

    "I guess it was too cold," Tuomo commented.

"I'll get you something warm to drink so, follow me," He sighed. 

"And stop rubbing your hands; it's going to make it worse."

Evony followed Tuomo inside the "underground" house. Tuomo tossed Evony a small blanket as he went to the kitchen to prepare her a drink. 

    "It's been a long time since I have been here. It changed a lot!" Evony said. 

    "Yeah, I know; Kieran and the others aren't here yet so, we are alone down here," Tuomo said as he finished preparing the drink. Tuomo then handed it to Evony as he sat on the couch with her. He laid back his head as Evony sipped her warm cocoa drink.  

    "It is lonely on the edge of the mountains," Evony calmly said.

    "Then why aren't you with us?" Tuomo asked.

    "It's difficult to explain but, it's just a need to protect," Evony replied.

    "You were always confusing to understand ever since the first day," Tuomo commented.

"Do what you want and, we won't interfere."

    " It really is difficult to say to the person who is the reason why, " Evony thought. 

    " Today was exhausting for me... socially. I had to speak to everybody who thought it was me. I swear I think more than 100 people came up to me, " Tuomo thought as he closed his eyes. 

    "Tuomo, can I go back up now? I think I'm feeling-" Evony stopped as she felt something on her shoulder. Evony looked over to see that Tuomo had fallen asleep and rested his head on her shoulder. 

    "Nevermind..." Evony quietly said as she continued to sip her cocoa drink. 

    The bell rang and, Aloysius left his class exhausted as usual. He was more drained than an empty soda drink. All of his energy and words, gone, reduced to atoms. Aloysius could sleep on the cold, dirty floor and, he would still love it as much as a bed. Two more classes and, only then could he have the reward of sleeping for the rest of the week. Aloysius slowly passed Kieran and O'Shea. O'Shea noticed that Kieran glared at Aloysius.

    "What's wrong?" O'Shea asked shyly.

    "Aloysius is a liar..." Kieran said as he balled up a fist. 

    "This is not going to end well," O'Shea gulped. 

Chapter Text

     Kieran went to the "underground shelter" to look for Tuomo. O'Shea was behind him, trying to see what he could to help Aloysius escape from eternal torture. Kieran walked in to see that Evony was sitting on the couch with Tuomo sleeping on her lap. 

    "Tuo-" Kieran was interrupted by Evony.

    "Shh! He's sleeping! He had a rough day today," Evony whispered.

    "Fine, I'll go find someone else," Kieran yelled in a low voice. 

O'Shea and Kieran went back up to find a person who would get the truth out of Aloysius. 

    "Kieran, this is unnecessary, please! Think this through! Be logical!" O'Shea said in a meek voice as he was fearful of Kieran.

    "O'Shea, I know what I'm doing," Kieran said firmly. He had an aura of fire surrounding him. One more step and, someone could get burnt to a crisp.

"I think I know just the person to get the job done," Kieran grinned. 

    Kieran wandered around the school to find Mirai. He barged in all the classrooms and found not a single trace of her. Just as Kieran was cooling down, Mirai was visible across the hallway. Kieran ran towards her with O'Shea tailing behind. By accident, Kieran stepped on a loose tile on the floor and tripped. O'Shea looked at the horrid result when he finally reached where the two were. Kieran was on top of Mirai, his face in her chest while groping her breast. Mirai had a very embarrassed expression on her face. Kieran looked up at Mirai's face and saw where his hand was. 

    "I found you, finally," Kieran said.

    "Stop seducing me!" Mirai yelled.

Kieran got up and dusted his jacket, "No, I wanted to find you so, I can give you an order," He pointed at her.

    "What do you want?" Mirai asked.

    "I need something that Aloysius's mouth won't spit out," Kieran said. Mirai looked confused and disgusted.

"I need the truth from Aloysius about what happened the other day," He sighed. 

    "Just say that then; I thought you were a molester!" Mirai exclaimed.

"I'm still not going to do that."

"Aloysius has gone through some rough times that I don't know but, he's recovering."

    "I don't care... do what I say," Kieran firmly said.

    Mirai stared at Kieran with a frightened look. She slowly got up and ran away. Kieran knew that she would follow his order. O'Shea, although stunned, was acting quite normal about the result. Normally, anyone but the people that have been with Kieran would have reported him to the authorities. By now, Kieran would be 10 years into his 50-year sentence. No one has noticed the ruckus and mess Kieran made while confronting Mirai. Of course, Kieran broke a table by accident when he fell on top of Mirai. That would be hard to explain to the school and Jolanda too. O'Shea sighed as he began to clean up after Kieran. He threw the debris over the cliff and attempted to make the cafeteria look normal again. 

    "Did you really have to make a scene?" O'Shea sighed.

    "Not necessarily but, if it got the job done, yeah, it was worth it," Kieran said. 

"But that experience..." Kieran calmly said as he closed his hands and opened them repeatedly.

    "Virgin," O'Shea muttered. 

    "I heard that," Kieran said as O'Shea closed his mouth with his own hands. 

    Aloysius was starting to get used to the constant conversation that some random stranger would bring up. Topics like, who does he think is hot, what's his favorite food, and if he ever had sex was brought up. They might have been strange but, it was something in life Aloysius could not stop. At least he got to get a good look at the good girls. The new emotions that Aloysius had not felt before began to lose their magic. Soon, this would be the new norm and, Aloysius would be forever bored again. Such excitement, gone, just like everything else in life. Well, not all excitement like that one time when Aloysius was nearly tricked into going to the closet with a girl. 

    "I find this very disturbing," Natuso said.

    "I know, these people are after me like dogs," Aloysius sighed. 

    "No, not that, it's the fact that you are always wearing jeans. I just realized that! Why are you consistent with what you wear?" Natuso asked.

    "Why would that interest you?" Aloysius muttered. 

A nearby classmate overheard and inquired what Aloysius was talking about. Aloysius quickly responded that it was nothing.

    "Almost got caught?" Natuso asked.

    "Yep... why else would a guy ask if I am talking at nothing," Aloysius answered. 

"Can I also ask why you are such a cheeky bastard all the time?" 

    "All honesty, that's just my nature, my personality. This is how I was created. I don't know how but, I feel like this is not how I was supposed to be," Natuso answered.

    "And there is your crypticness," Aloysius said. 

    "That is just how I am; that is how we were made..." Natuso said as he disappeared. 

    "What the fuck does that supposed to mean?" Aloysius muttered. 

    "Aloysius, you are now the trend but, please, refrain from speaking to the wind," the teacher called out. When the teacher called Aloysius out before, people laughed. Now, it is just pure silence beside the small whispers about how cute he is. Aloysius sighed as his class resumed. Time flew by and, Aloysius left the classroom. By surprise, Mirai was waiting for him to leave the classroom. 

    "Hey, a bit awkward on why you're here," Aloysius said.

    "Yeah, I know," Mirai replied. 

"I wanted to ask you something actually."

    "What is it?" Aloysius asked.

As Mirai opened her mouth, Kieran passed by with a glare towards her subtly. A quick lash of unknown fear hit Mirai and suddenly leaped onto Aloysius. She was embracing him tightly as Kieran went up the stairs. 

    " Not you too... " Aloysius thought. 

The students around them began to gasp. They fell into silence and quickly gossiped to one another. Mirai took a look and, Kieran was out of sight. She slowly noticed what she did as Mirai let go of Aloysius gently. Her face reddened as Aloysius stared at her with a slightly confused expression. Normally, he would have blushed as well, but, this has happened so many times to Aloysius, it became common. 

    "Uh...eh..." Mirai quietly said as everybody was watching them. 

    "You know what? Let's just pretend like this never happened and, we can all carry on with our lives," Aloysius suggested aloud. 

The crowd let out a noise of dissatisfaction. Mirai nodded her head as her arms remained stiff. It was a good idea after all but, Mirai felt a bit uneven. It was an emotion indescribable. Maybe it was just an unimportant afterthought. Mirai left it alone as everything resumed back to normal. 

    "Heyo! Why you reject her?" A random student asked Aloysius. 

    "Hm? Oh, it was just an accident. Well, it seemed like it was one. That has happened so many times that I already know what one's reaction should be," Aloysius answered. 

    "Damn... you're really lucky. I wish I had women begging for me," The student commented.

    "It really isn't fun. I don't even know how I got popular! These random people either hug me tightly every day of every hour or, they just start a conversation with me like they know who I am," Aloysius sighed. 

    "Well, when you look it that way..." The student was interrupted.

    "YOU are really lucky to actually have some alone time and privacy in your life," Aloysius said as he continued to walk to his next class.

    Kieran was looking through the window on the second floor. Boredom invaded his mental state as his eyes wandered around. Footsteps were soon heard as Kieran turned to see who it was. Jolanda stood in front of him. 

    "So, what do you want?" Kieran asked.

    "I want what is rightfully mine: The footage," Jolanda replied firmly.

    "Oh? I never stole it," Kieran said.

    "If anything goes missing in that office I know who it is. Don't think that my office doesn't have hidden cameras," Jolanda hissed.

    "And don't think that I'll give the footage back," Kieran said.

    "I guess, abiding by the regulations of this academy, I must take it from you by force," Jolanda said as she ripped the pearl from her bracelet. The pearl transformed into the Ghenna scope. Kieran, although not visibly, was fazed by the sight of it. 

    "An artifact," Kieran quietly said to himself. 

    "I have your student record, Kieran. You have a supernatural ability but, it's practically useless in any scenario. You basically have no power, no magic, nothing, to fight against me. Only your intelligence and instincts," Jolanda sneered.  

"So, return the footage before I have to harm you, badly." 

    "I don't think I will," Kieran said as he readied himself to run. 

    Kieran ran towards Jolanda instead of running from the danger. A pulse of energy was sent out from the Ghenna scope. Kieran was pushed down and laid on the floor. Jolanda pinned Kieran down with her foot. Kieran had short breaths due to the fact his lungs were getting squeezed a bit. Jolanda pushed her foot down harder, causing Kieran to cough a bit. Jolanda was right about Kieran and his abilities. He could do nothing to protect himself and fight. Only his intelligence and instinct Kieran could rely on. He firmly grasped Jolanda's fur boot and attempted to push her foot off his chest. When Kieran's fingers gave in, Jolanda's foot struck his chest harder. Kieran had already tried five times, if he takes one or two more blows, it could be enough to slightly damage his lungs, ribs, or both. Kieran was avoiding the scenario where he would have to harm Jolanda and possibly get in major trouble but, he was running out of options. As soon as Kieran was about to pull something out, O'Shea showed up at the scene. It seems that O'Shea was out of breath when Kieran and Jolanda saw him.

    "I... was... looking... for... you..." O'Shea said as he gasped for air. 

    "Can you save your explanation for later and help?!" Kieran yelled. 

    O'Shea took out his sword and looked at Jolanda. Jolanda took her foot off Kieran's chest and put away her Ghenna Scope in the form of a medium-sized pearl. Jolanda put her hand out while mouthing out the footage, now . O'Shea sprinted towards Jolanda and when he reached her, O'Shea thrust his sword towards her. Dust formed and when it cleared, Kieran could see O'Shea's sword poking Jolanda lightly. 

    "What the fuck? Why aren't you finishing her?" Kieran asked.

    "I can't... it just feels wrong," O'Shea replied and Kieran's expression became disgusted.

Kieran used his foot to kick O'Shea in the groin. Kieran got up and smacked Jolanda in the face with a stoic expression. He looked down at O'Shea, who was on the floor, trying to hold his scream. Kieran held O'Shea up by the collar of his shirt. 

    "You're weak; good job," Kieran said quietly as he threw O'Shea back on the ground. Kieran left and put a thumbs up before he began to sprint. 

    "Your friend is quite rude, and a coward," Jolanda said. 

    "Somewhat," O'Shea grunted as he continued to lay down in pain. 

    Aloysius stood in the hallway leaning on the wall. He still contemplates how everything went wrong. When he says wrong, he means the fact that everybody knows his daily life now. Being popular is one big roller coaster, especially when one has so many chances to have a harem. Aloysius slowly closed his eyes and, he woke up to see the ceiling of his dorm. Aloysius was tucked neatly inside his bed and, there was no clue who did it and when it occurred. Aloysius returned to a state of deep sleep as outside of his dorm was Mirai, tugging her shirt. 

Chapter Text

 Aloysius was eating his breakfast in the cafeteria. He continued to question who it was that tucked him nicely in bed that day. Tuomo leaves a coin in his drawer every day he is not with Aloysius. Christmas passed quickly and, Tuomo's predictions were crushed. Nothing terrible happened on those special days. Aloysius finished his food and threw his plate in the trash. As he was about to turn around to go back to his dorm to rest, Cyrus appeared before him. 

    "Woah! Where did you come from?" Aloysius asked Cyrus.

    "Simple tip-toe does the trick. Anyway, do you remember me?" Cryus asked.

    "I do not know; I think I might've, but then again, my memory is very foggy nowadays," Aloysius answered. 

    "Well, I will re-introduce myself. I am Cyrus Feliciano. I believe the knocks you sustained throughout your stay here may have jumbled your brain," He chuckled.

    "What?" Aloysius said.

    "Nevermind, just remember, I was always watching you," Cyrus smiled happily. 

Aloysius questioned that statement before moving on about why he was there. Cyrus ranted about friendship, protection, love, and other questionable topics. Then, Cyrus spoke something he should not have in the first place.

    "Protecting you won't be a hassle if you listen to my directions," Cyrus said. 

    "What?"

    "Nothing, Aloysius, won't it be good if you stop standing and sit on a bed?" Cyrus changed the topic.

    "I mean why not? I have been strangely standing in one place which totally means that I am not self-aware," Aloysius laughed.

    "Yeah..." Cyrus said as he was weirded out by Aloysius's comment.  

    Aloysius was about to turn the doorknob to lay down but, the bell rang, his break was over. Aloysius turned and went to his class with a big sigh. Cyrus scanned the cafeteria for anybody he would deem a threat to his plan. It was nothing diabolical. Cyrus did not like the original plan so, he made a decision to go against Kieran's scheme. It was not the first time he rebelled due to emotional reasoning. Cyrus did not know whether to expect resistance or for everything to be let go. It would not pass easily in his perspective. Perhaps it would be led to chance than predictability. Cyrus took earbuds out of his pocket and walked away from the cafe. 

    " Kieran, I won't let you use Aloysius in this manner, " Cyrus thought. 

    Kieran was throwing a fit again underground. Tuomo calmly drank his coffee while O'Shea attempted to restrain him from damaging more objects. Darren was busy working on some special project in his own room. 

    "Why did Cyrus reject it?" Kieran yelled.

    "Stop yelling, Kieran; this is not the first time he went against our decisions," O'Shea explained. 

    "O'Shea, you do not understand! Cyrus cannot interfere and, if he does then, this plan will be in ruins. We won't be able to find out more about this world," Kieran continued to rant.

    "Kieran, if you shut your mouth up for once in your life, maybe, we will be able to hinder his movements and lead this plan to success," O'Shea talked back. 

    "Okay... okay... wait a minute! O'Shea, are you plotting against me too?" Kieran asked.

    "You son of a bitch," O'Shea commented before he began to strangle Kieran. 

    "Tuomo, please help!" Kieran pleaded.

    "It's nice to see the head of this group be tortured once in a while," Tuomo grinned. 

    "Traitor!" Kieran screamed as O'Shea covered his mouth and pulled on his hair. 

    "Calm now?" He asked.

    "Yes," Kieran weakly said. 

    "Now, what will we do to hinder Cyrus's actions?" O'Shea asked.

    "We use the souls against them. From that point, we will hit two birds with one stone," Kieran said. 

“We need control over the entire academy structure too. Darren can be of great use in that mission."

    "Great!" O'Shea said.

"Now, how can we start this plan B?"

    ”Inject the targeted people via the world sphere with the adrenaline-like substance. You won't meet them in person so, you do not need to worry about having a duel," Kieran instructed O'Shea.

"Darren will gain control of the academy by getting to the control room that is in the boiler room." 

"There are specific doors that have been put in place if you look at the blueprints. Those steel doors served as lockdown protection. We can use them to slow them down since there is a limit before they automatically open again."

    "O'Shea, get to the world sphere, select the people that are listed in the hub and inject the adrenaline in them. If you will excuse me, I will now faint," Kieran said before he collapsed to the floor. His nose was bleeding since he sustained minor cuts and injuries due to the strangling.

    O'Shea gently put a blanket on top of Kieran, who was sleeping on the floor. He went upstairs to ask Darren where the world sphere was and also to tell him what Kieran had wanted Darren to do. The world sphere was a one-time-use object. It looks like Kieran was desperate to get the plan into action. The world sphere was an ancient relic discovered by Darren. After studying it for some time, he realized it was powerful. It was reduced to a one-hit K.O due to the condition it was in. The relic was capable of many things such as death, healing, injection, manipulation, etc. It was located somewhere discreet to not cause a commotion as well as for it not to be found for malicious intentions. O'Shea dropped down in the mysterious location that has been collecting dust for years. 

    "Oh well, here goes nothing," He said as he activated the sphere. What emerged from it was a hologram-like menu. Options appeared before him and, while he selected the correct ones, Darren was going to the academy floor. It would not be difficult to access the grid and control room. After all, few janitors roam the halls during the day. The boiler room was at the end of the hallway, where you would need a key to not only unlock the lock but then unlock the doorknob as well. The assignment would be effortless for Darren. All he had to do was scan inside the locks to get the precise hologram of what the key's teeth would be. Then, he needs to materialize the hologram to put it to full use. Already Darren has finished all of those steps. His power came into great use for the process to be instantaneous. 

    "Ok, this key goes here and, this key goes here," Darren said to himself as he was unlocking the boiler room door. He looked behind him before he made any other moves. One eye witness would put him in a dangerous position. The academy prides itself not only on education level but on security too. 

    "It's hot!" Darren exclaimed as he entered the room. 

"How can these people work here?"

    After inspecting, Darren realized that the control system was entirely digital. There it was, a USB port. Darren, by luck, had a USB drive in his pocket. He plugged it in and dragged all the necessary information he needed into the hard drive. While it was downloading all the files, Darren was creating a miniature tablet designed only to align with the academy's system and structure controls. He transformed his headphones to a VR-like headset by just tapping twice on the side of the headphones. Three blue lights stretched across the cover of the headset. The headset stretched from the center of his forehead to the tip of his nose. What Darren saw through the headset was just a sky blue graph-lined screen. Many options named with material names appeared on the right side of his view. Out of the many options, he selected aluminum, polycarbonate, glass, lithium-ion polymer, polyurethane . He slid his selected materials to a small folder on the left. He then commenced making a blueprint of the mini-tablet. Darren put that aside and started on the construction of the microchips and other necessary technology parts. While he dragged materials, leveling out their particles and types to the desired state, his actual hand began to have the objects he was creating being formed slowly on his palm. He implanted them into the blueprint as the actual microchips were arranged on his hand. Darren moved the project to his far-right and began manipulating the rest of the materials to the preferred state. He then combined the blueprint and other materials to create a finished product. Darren tapped out of his headset, which transformed back into headphones. In his hand was the real mini-tablet (Darren had finished this in 2 minutes). 

    Darren inserted the USB drive into his tablet. The screen began booting up and displayed the blueprints of the building. He simply could press on the location of a steel door and, it would close. Darren turned the tablet off and began moving swiftly to avoid getting caught. Meanwhile, O'Shea was finishing his task with the World Sphere. All he had to do was push a button and it all would be complete.

    "I'm sorry, Aloysius but, it's better for everyone else," O'Shea said before he pressed the final button. A huge wave of energy was released from the sphere as the area was starting to shake and crumble. The sphere was broken past the point of repairment. O'Shea escaped the location in time before it all collapsed. Cyrus recently entered the class and saw that all the students and teachers had fainted. It seemed like they were all in a deep coma. He knew what the cause was because he knew what Kieran would do if he had used the world sphere. Cyrus's prediction was correct by luck. 

    "I need to get to Aloysius!" Cyrus said aloud as he ran out of the classroom. 

    Aloysius was standing in a hallway. Coincidentally, he saw the sleeping students at the same time Cyrus did. He stood there because he had nowhere else to go. His dorm was surprisingly locked with a steel door. He heard loud footsteps going up the stairs. Aloysius was not frightened by the noise. In fact, he expected someone to either fight him or comfort him. He has been through so many of these scenarios that they have lost their magic. He saw Cyrus running to him.

    "So? Do you know what happened?" Aloysius asked.

    "Yes, but first, put this in your ear," Cyrus said as he gave Aloysius an earbud. He did what Cyrus told him without question.

"That is so we can keep in contact while I help you get out of this mess." 

    "Who are our enemies?" Aloysius asked. 

    "It is not just my friends. It is also some other people that you might have met but, let's just say they'll be on steroids," Cyrus explained. 

    "And you sure that I can survive?" Aloysius said.

    "As I said, by accident, if you listen to me, survival will be no hassle. I know some of their movements so, we can evade part of the attack," Cyrus clarified.

    "Part?" Aloysius gulped. Cyrus heard a metal clank and immediately made a move.

    "Look out!" Cyrus yelled as he jumped at Aloysius, pushing him to the floor. A steel door came down with robust force. Strong enough that someone could have been split in half easily. It would have been lunchtime now had the staff not been sleeping. It was December 31st of 2021. People would have been partying in the cafeteria. It was quiet because Aloysius nearly died. It was quiet because Aloysius was alive. It was quiet because who knows how long it will stay like this.

    "Aloysius, before we begin surviving in the academy because we can't leave it, what is your New Year's resolution?" Cyrus asked.

    Aloysius was starting to waver between a death wish or living long enough to see the light of day again. He made his final choice when the silence persisted too long.

    "My New Year's resolution is... to survive this," Aloysius smiled. 

Chapter Text

It has already been a day since Aloysius and Cyrus were trapped within two closed steel doors. They had a little party because Cyrus insisted that they at least celebrate New Years' day before their lives become hell. Nothing much happened besides a few memory shares and some other things.

    "So, my plan is to throw ourselves fast throughout one of the steel doors. They open every now and then, probably because they have an automatic timer. You saw it happen before," Cyrus said.

"Anyway, how's the girl?"

    "What girl?" Aloysius asked.

    "C'mon, I saw she tucked you in bed nicely. That girl, Mirai, how is she? Or do you think she's under this spell too?" Cyrus inquired. 

    "I'm pretty sure she is under the spell. I did not know it was her. I thought she hated me or at least disliked me," Aloysius said while he blushed a bit. 

    "Well, actions speak loud and clear more than words," Cyrus said. 

"We should start eyeing those steel doors before we miss a chance to escape. If they open and I don't see it, just get through it yourself. I will be in contact through the earbuds."

    They returned to their respective sides as they stared at the steel walls. It was like watching a pot of water, waiting for it to boil. It seemed like it would not happen in a million years. They waited and waited for hours. Once one of them got out, they would be on their own. Kieran would not let anyone go to the academy floor because he would not risk any of them getting trapped for eternity. They could all be of great use to enforce the plan even further. Suddenly, Aloysius's steel door opened, and Aloysius jumped through the steel door. He barely made it as he had to tear a piece of his shirt off. It was gripped tightly by the door. Aloysius proceeded to head towards the next stairwell. He thought it headed down but, it went up. The realization boggled Aloysius's mind. As he was about to see if there really was the third floor, a steel door was slammed down through the floor. His passage was blocked and, now Aloysius has to sit there waiting. 

    Darren was at the rooftop again, surveilling the academy interiors and managing the steel doors. Darren did not only download the blueprints but, he also downloaded CCTV Camera footage accessibility. He could watch anybody anywhere at any time. For some odd reason, a camera was placed across from a TV. It was playing comedic shows that Darren looked at most of the time. Of course, Darren would not look at the camera all the time since he would get bored of it. Then, his tablet picked up audio interference. He checked Camera #7 to see that there was no audio disruption. Darren insulted himself as he noticed that there was an audio tab on the bottom right. He pressed it and, it displayed two audio boxes. 

    "Aloysius, you there?" Cyrus asked.

    "I'm here but, I'm trapped by another steel door," Aloysius responded.

    "I believe I can help you get through those steel doors," Cyrus offered.

"When you left, I found that these steel doors have a 'digital lock'. I have been trying to bypass it since it is a maze of wires and codes. I am not exactly the tech-savvy one in my group. Anyway, I have gone through a process of trial and error. I might have found what I may have gotten wrong. I do not know if it does not work. But, these steel doors give 10 attempts before they shut their override system. I know that because I ran out which means I'm staying here until I get a chance to escape."

    "So, I need to carefully listen to you?" Aloysius said.

    "Yes, if not, you will have no chance of escaping that door." 

    "Well, what do I need to do?" 

    "These steel doors all have the same override system from what I eavesdropped in the conversation with the janitors. So, carefully, run your hand softly on the wall. You need to feel a hole-like part and, then when you feel it, pull it back," Cyrus said. Aloysius pulled back and saw a medium-sized square hole. Half of it was wires and, the other half had a screen displaying nothing but static. 

    "Slowly reach for the big red wire and yank it. That will cause the screen to turn on. Once you have done that, if you fail, it will reset to after the red wire was torn off," Cyrus explained. 

    The screen showed a neon blue screen with number squares. It then highlighted some squares in a specific order, one by one, and then it stopped. 

    "Copy the pattern then, grab the gray and yellow wires together to tear them off at the same time," Cyrus ordered.

Aloysius did as he was told and was brought to the same screen but with different numbers. It did a pattern that Aloysius was about to copy before it displayed another pattern.

    "Hey, the screen just showed two different patterns. Which one do I copy?" Aloysius asked.

    "Do not copy any of them, instead press 25 and tear off the purple wire," Cyrus said.

"After it displays a different screen, immediately remove the yellow wire which should complete the override process."

Aloysius did as he was told and, it seemed like it was working. Suddenly, the screen said incorrect code . 

    "Cyrus, it didn't work," Aloysius said. 

    "What?" Cyrus exclaimed. 

    "Kieran, I've blocked access for Cyrus and Aloysius. It was a close one but, I have altered all the override systems for all steel doors," Darren said.  

    "Good," Kieran said. 

    Cyrus hit the steel door as he realized someone had switched the codes on them. Aloysius had not seen Cyrus grow mad before because he looked kind the first time he saw him. The banging was actually shaking the ground. It became quiet but, the steel door opened again and, Aloysius turned and slid across the floor. He ran to the stairwell before another steel door could stop him. He was two steps up the stairwell and, a steel door closed off the entrance to the stairwell behind him.  

    " Thank goodness it did not close the way out ," Aloysius thought. 

    Aloysius continued going up the stairs while he kept thinking about what could be there. When he reached the third floor his curiosity was not fulfilled. The floor was empty but, he saw a path that seemed to have collapsed not too long ago. He tried to clear the rubble but was met with the conclusion that he was weak. 

    "I wonder what could have caused this destruction," Natuso said.

    "I'm betting my life that you know what happened don't you," Aloysius said.

    "Sometimes, it is best to keep secrets secret," Natuso said. 

"You have put me in awe that you can't even lift that plank of wood," he laughed. 

    "Shut up," Aloysius said quickly. 

    Aloysius kicked a rock into the rubble out of frustration. Somehow, the path started to clear because the debris began falling down to the floor. Aloysius peeked again and was disappointed again. It was an empty stone room. Aloysius took one more step forward and, the tile floor creaked a bit. He took another step and, part of the floor collapsed with Aloysius falling down. He put his arms around his body while Natuso quietly formed a spell on Aloysius's body. He crashed through the floors. The spell was so robust that it was a bit similar to Tatsuya's mantra boosts. It was able to break Aloysius's fall until he reached the first floor where under the tiles and paste was rock. Cyrus heard him crash through the floors and immediately began trying to find a way to escape the steel wall. 

    "Any thanks?" Natuso asked. 

    "My back and chest still hurt," Aloysius grunted. 

Natuso changed into his human form and helped Aloysius get up. 

    "What about Cyrus?" Aloysius said.

    "I believe he already found a way out," Natuso assumed.

    "Well, what now? Someone has control over these doors so, we cannot exactly escape the academy," Aloysius said. 

    "Then we try and cut the power. The bad thing is that the electric room is on the third floor," Natuso said. 

    "Really?" Aloysius sighed.

    "I am sorry but yeah, we have to walk up the stairs again," Natuso said. 

    "Aloysius?" Cyrus said through the earpiece. The voice had static which meant the debris must have affected him somehow.

"Aloysius, I'm heading down the hole." Cyrus landed on the floor hard. He was protected by the shield he made. 

    "Is this your friend?" Cyrus asked.

    "Yeah, his name is Natuso," Aloysius responded. 

    "Nice, well, what's the plan?" Cyrus said. 

    "The third floor is where the electric room is and, in there we can cut or reroute the power from the doors," Natuso said. 

    "Good plan!" Cyrus complimented Natuso. 

    The three went up to the second floor but, they were obstructed by a wall. The lights in the academy started to flicker and, everything had a quick blackout. Once the power came to a state of stability, a weird aura surrounded them. Natuso advised that they back off from the wall and go down to the first floor again. They all went back down to discuss what to do next. Apparently, Natuso sensed the presence of someone with harmful intentions. Cyrus had no ideas but, he always remained a protector in every scenario. While Natuso and Cyrus traded ideas, Aloysius became attracted to the aura. He snuck upstairs with the luck that the wall was open for a few seconds. The wall was sealed off to go to the third floor. 

    "Be careful because something is awfully wrong here," Arata said. 

"Someone I know, someone in anguish is near."

    "Great to know that I'm gonna lose immediately," Aloysius rolled his eyes. 

    "Be ready to defend yourself," Arata said. Now, Aloysius cautiously walked forward towards the aura that grew stronger. He had his hands out for he did not want to get hurt badly. 

    "So, Arata, you finally have shown up like a man. Like the impure, cold-blooded man you are," a female voice echoed through the hallways. 

    "Do I know who you are?" Aloysius asked. 

    "Is this irrelevant man associated with you?" the voice said. Arata did not speak to Aloysius after that. It was quiet for a moment but, the President's door opened and, Jolanda exited out of the room. Jolanda's eyes were dark pink instead of amber. She no longer had a pigtail either. 

    "Jolanda had only ever used the only weapon I had. She did not have use for the rest of the evolved artillery. But, I, Mira, will use it like how I have been telling her to," she said. Mira threw a small pearl at Aloysius's feet that he grabbed and examined. While he was about to throw it somewhere else, it released a strong wave of force. It pushed Aloysius back into a steel wall hard enough to make a dent. Once Mira reached him, the steel door unlocked and, she kicked Aloysius down the stairs. He crashed down the stairs and got knocked into another steel door. Natuso and Cyrus heard the loud bang and desperately tried to find a way to open the door. Again with luck, the door opened quickly before closing again. 

    "What happened?" Cyrus asked. 

    "Some girl named Mira wants to kill me," Aloysius responded while wincing.

    "She will find a way to get here," Arata warned. 

    "We should get moving, guys," Aloysius suggested.

    "Why?" The two asked. 

    "She is coming for me so, we should at least run?" Aloysius said. The two laughed for a prolonged period. 

    "Are you afraid of a girl?" Natuso laughed. 

    "We can protect you!" Cyrus giggled.

    "You are an embarrassment to all men!" Natuso laughed more. 

    "What? This person had force field grenades if that's even a thing!" Aloysius complained. 

    "Still," Natuso said. 

"No need to be afraid of some girl."    

Natuso was knocked across the cafeteria by the same grenade. Mira had somehow managed to get through the steel walls. Cyrus easily spotted Mira and summoned his shield.

    "Get cover!" Cyrus yelled.

"Come here; you will be safe with me," He said to Aloysius as he pulled him in. 

    "Nevermind, be afraid," Natuso grunted. 

    " Nice to see someone get knocked back to the next timeline for a change ," Aloysius thought. 

    Mira stood still as Cyrus and Aloysius did the same. The two waited for someone to spark a fire. Aloysius felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Mira in front of him. She threw a grenade to his hands which he threw up in the air. Regardless, it knocked Cyrus and Aloysius to the ground hard. Apparently, Jolanda did not use holograms either, not to mention explosive ones (discovered as soon as Aloysius touched the hologram and got slammed against the wall again). 

    "Jolanda would be feared here which I respect why she hides these abilities. However, using it to purify the impurities that remain here is... acceptable," Mira said.  

    "Aloysius, I know you can't do anything but, try to distract her. I'll see what I can do to handle her," Cyrus said. 

    "Stop embarrassing me!" Aloysius yelled as he ran towards Mira. 

" Wow, so soft ," Aloysius thought as he took Mira down with her to the ground. 

    "Natuso, get up," Cyrus said as he pulled Natuso out of the wall he crashed into. 

    "We need to get there quick, Aloysius can't do anything on his own," Natuso said. 

"He needs me."

    "Get your hands off me!" Mira yelled as she slapped Aloysius. 

    "That hurt," Aloysius winced. He got punched in the stomach which pushed him to the ground. 

"Oh no, not now," Aloysius panicked as his vision started to become red and blurry. 

    "I cannot control the dread that I have held for so long," Arata said.

    " What dread? " Aloysius thought.

"You said this is not your fault; what is there to grieve for?" He asked aloud.

"You better fix yourself before we are both gone!" He warned Arata as his vision began to become more saturated.

    "Ok, I have calmed down," Arata said as Aloysius's vision became clearer. 

    "Good!" Aloysius said. He threw a punch at Mira.

"I'm sorry!" 

    Aloysius felt like his hand hit a wall and, he peered at where his fist landed. It seemed like it hit Mira but, it didn't affect her. Soon, Aloysius felt a force pushing him back on his stomach. An invisible force seemed to be behind the cause. 

    "Oh great, I'm not the only one who can deflect. Not only that but, weaponizing Newton's third law?!" Cyrus said.

    "That's possible?" Aloysius grunted. 

    "Weaponizing? This is just another form of an ability that the Ghenna Scope has," Mira commented.

    Natuso ran towards Mira with his nulling spells. He jumped and was ready to take her down. By logic, his spells should be able to null the effect of the Ghenna Scope. Of course, it did, but, it nulled something different, for Natuso still got knocked back. Cyrus managed to break Natuso's fall and, Natuso got back up. Mira continued to walk towards Aloysius who was just starting to get up as well. Before she began to strike Aloysius down, Cyrus jumped in front of Aloysius. He summoned his shield and, the impact shook the ground hard. The two types of magic collided with each other trying to gain dominance but, it remained balanced which caused the 'shockwave'. Aloysius used the time to escape and get into a secure position. 

    "Natuso, pull some powered stuff before I give in. This magic is more powerful than you think!" Cyrus exclaimed.

    Natuso summoned a different magic spell. Aloysius could tell, for the magic circles were of a different color. Natuso ran with his sky blue magic circles in hand. He smashed Mira's back which caused the physical damage spell to be broken for a while. Natuso kicked Mira out of the way for the magic he used got repelled by the Ghenna Scope. Cyrus got up and looked for Mira. She was on the floor but, got up with no problem at all. Natuso summoned the same spells again. Mira held out the Ghenna Scope and, it exploded into visible particles that began to cover her body. Natuso made contact with Mira, and an explosion occurred that pushed the two to the ground. She got up with ease and threw a force grenade towards Cyrus and Aloysius. Cyrus twisted his hands together which created a green shield. The shield vibrated when the grenade exploded. The force did not affect the two at all. Cyrus threw his shield at Mira which somehow bypassed the magic and knocked her out for a second. Cyrus ran to her, who was already getting up again. Mira would not stand down after every hit. 

    "Nothing will stop me from doing what needs to be done," She muttered. 

    " I'm so sorry, Mira... " Arata said. 

    " Aloysius, I need you to distract Mira again. To knock her out, Cyrus and I need to attack at the same time, " Natuso said to Aloysius in his mind. Aloysius sighed for he now knows Natuso can talk to him through his mind. Aloysius ran in front of Cyrus and then gestured to Mira to fuck herself . That caught her off guard which ended with Aloysius getting smitten. Luckily, it was enough time for Natuso to arrive in time. Cyrus and Natuso attacked from both sides. Aloysius saw pure white as the magic collided. When Aloysius could see clearer, Mira was knocked out. Cyrus and Natuso were sitting on the ground panting for it took a lot to keep themselves positioned. Aloysius blushed as he thought about what happened again. 

    "Something wrong?" Natuso asked. 

    "N-nothing," Aloysius said as he hid his face. 

    Natuso looked at Cyrus, who shrugged at him. Aloysius suddenly fainted. His vision was all dark and, he could only hear the questioning voices of Natuso and Cyrus. 

    "Why?! Do you know how much it hurts? To see you do those things to us? I loved you so much!" Mira cried. 

    " Where am I? " Aloysius thought

    "I'm just so sorry," Arata said to Mira.

    Aloysius saw Arata and Mira conversing. Everything was pitch black while the only things Aloysius could only see were them. It looked like he could not interfere as he felt like a wall blocking him from Arata and Mira. Every time Arata tried to comfort Mira, she would just slap or wiggle out of his hand. Arata looked more guilty every time it occurred. 

    "It was not me," Arata said.

    "Then why did I see you do it? How can you even lie to me about this!" Mira complained. 

    "If I did it, why did I die?" Arata said. Mira was left confused by Arata's question.

"It was not me but, all I want to tell you is that I'm sorry. I was so sad, so devastated when I lost you girls. At least, I can see you."

Tears ran down Mira's face as she allowed Arata to come closer to her. He embraced her, and this time, Mira did not try to escape. 

    "Idiot..." Mira quietly said. 

Aloysius's vision was getting blurry as he could see the ceiling. He saw someone on top of him crying. 

    "Aloysius, please, don't die on me!" a girl cried.

Aloysius's vision became clear as he saw Natuso giving him a strange look. He lifted himself up from the ground. Cyrus was asleep on the floor and, Jolanda was laying against the wall sleeping as well.

    "We are about to sleep but, you looked like you were having a seizure so, I waited for you to wake up," Natuso said. 

    "Where's my blanket?" Aloysius asked. Natuso told him to look down and, Aloysius saw he was already tucked in. Natuso transformed back into a grimoire as Aloysius began to sleep. 

    "Lilith, stop!" Lucas said. 

    "I cannot control myself," Lilith said. 

    "You need to stop controlling my body! We are heading to the academy! Why?' Lucas asked.

    "To give retribution to him," Lilith said. 

Chapter Text

" I can remember that weird day ," Aloysius thought. 

" A ghost? A false memory? " He thought. 

    Aloysius was in his room at home in Illinois. He was small so, supposedly, Aloysius was a kid at the time. He saw Kasia, who was older than him, roaming the hallway. She saw Aloysius and smiled at him. Suddenly, she disappeared for a split second before reappearing again. Kasia returned to doing what she was doing: packing up to move in with their grandparents. Although Aloysius was still sad, he was quite cheerful around his sister. As she was at the entrance; ready to leave the house. Her appearance changed. It looked like she was dressed in a uniform for an academy. Aloysius blinked again and, she was back to normal. Something was wrong, Aloysius felt that she was not the same anymore. Aloysius opened his eyes as he woke up in the cold academy building. The blanket that Natuso gave him did not help that much. The heaters must have turned off when the academy went into lockdown. 

    "My head hurts, the altitude must be hitting me now," Aloysius said. 

    "The academy had a magic spell cast on it that gave heat and protection from the high altitude. Unfortunately, this spell has worn off ever since this happened," Natuso explained. 

    "Who can cast it again?" Aloysius asked.

    "The Headmaster, however, is still taken by the weird effect that caused everybody to stay in a state of sleep," Natuso said.

    Aloysius got up from the floor as he continued to shiver and jitter. He questioned if he was in Germany or in Antarctica. He wrapped the blanket around him like a cloak and woke up Cyrus. He got up with a shock of coldness as well. He stayed tucked in his warm blanket and did not budge. Eventually, Cyrus got up even though it was apparent that he was slowly dying of the cold. Jolanda still laid there on the floor waiting to be woken up. Nobody knew how to greet her when she woke up. Of course, before anybody could at least form an idea, Jolanda began yawning and stretching. Aloysius inched back a bit as she got up. 

    "What's going on?" She yawned.

    " Why do I feel that was cute? " Aloysius thought.

    "What are you looking at?" Jolanda said with a hint of strictness. 

    "Nothing," Aloysius quickly replied.

    "So, what happened?" Jolanda asked again with a more alert voice. 

    "Basically, good to evil, fight, we win, you got tired and slept on the floor," Natuso said. 

    "Oh! Am I injured anywhere?" Jolanda said as she checked her body. 

    " She's acting quite calm for her reputation, " Natuso said in Aloysius's mind. 

    "Never mind that, why have you been causing this trouble!" 

    " There it is, " Aloysius thought. 

    "Him? He had nothing to do with this. He was dragged into this mess!" Cyrus defended. 

    "Huh? Why are you involved too?" Jolanda asked.

    "I'm sorry but, my friends are being a bit mischievous but, I believe it has gone too far this time. That is why I'm helping him with this to stop what my friends are doing," Cyrus explained.

    "Ok, I don't know what you said but, as long as you take responsibility, then you are free to go," Jolanda said. 

"So, who activated the lockdown protocol?" 

    Everyone went silent as Jolanda started to realize she would have to stick with the two to get the academy back into shape. She let out a big sigh as she walked toward Cyrus and Aloysius.

    "So, what do we do?" She asked.

    "I have no idea," Cyrus and Aloysius said in sync. 

    "Ok, ok, ok, so, let's just brainstorm, and we will be all right," Jolanda said while containing her anger. 

"What do we know so far?"

    "Uhh..." Cyrus hummed.

    "Well, what we can do is get to the electric room but, I forgot why we need to get there in the first place," Aloysius said. 

    "This is why I rarely come down here," Jolanda sighed.

    "Just let me do what I need to do when we get there," Natuso said.

    "Who was that?" Jolanda asked.

    "Nobody," Aloysius quickly replied. 

    The three began going up the stairs although, some boards were loose. The hole where Aloysius fell through remained there so, the three had to jump across the giant hole. However, they forgot about one problem: The steel doors. Jolanda observed it, trying to see if there was something to open it. After Cyrus told her about Aloysius's failure to open one of them, Jolanda let out a big sigh and moved away from the door. 

    "It's kinda boring up here," Darren said.

    "Just wait for the fun," Kieran said. 

    "What's Tuomo doing right now?" Darren yawned and stretched.

    "I don't know," He replied. 

    "Hold up, I'm catching interference from like 80 miles away," Darren said.

    "That's him; his presence itself must be messing up the servers. Darren, give him what he wants," Kieran said.

    The three inside the building tried to figure out an alternative route to the electric room. Jolanda soon remembered a way to bypass the steel doors. Apparently, four years ago, Jolanda was told to keep a card safe. Jolanda hid it somewhere but, the card was never brought up again, causing her to forget its location. Jolanda directed Cyrus and Aloysius to her office to find the card location. Jolanda believes that card could be the override card. The three rummaged through her cabinets, shelves, and books. It was dark so, finding the card would not be so easy. After hours of searching for the card, they had no luck. They exited the room and, Jolanda was furious that she lost something so vital to their current objective. Cyrus leaned against the wall and, Aloysius tried to brainstorm another way they could enter the stairwell without waiting for the steel doors. 

    "Can't we just enter the room next to the stairwell and destroy the wall to enter it?" Aloysius asked.

    "What ridiculous idea is that?" Jolanda scolded Aloysius. 

    "It was just an idea," Aloysius said.

    "Well, think of some idea that isn't going to cost thousands of dollars!" Jolanda yelled.

    "It might be our only way if there is no other way," Cyrus added. 

    " Hey, don't you hear that loud sound? " Natuso asked Aloysius. 

    " What loud sound?" Aloysius said. Not a word came out of Natuso after that. 

    "Let's just go back. Although it's cold, we should eat or drink something," Cyrus suggested. 

    Cyrus and Aloysius went down while Jolanda reluctantly went down as well. She still tried to think of an idea to get to the third floor. There was not much out there left in the cafeteria or anywhere. The tables were messed up, and the walls have huge cracks now. They scouted the area for water or any small snacks. It was astonishing that no food was even in the kitchen. They had to resort to looking through all the students' possessions. They patted their clothing and pants to see if they hide any type of snacks. Out of the three of them, Cyrus felt the most uncomfortable for he felt bad that they will wake up without knowing that someone robbed them. Alas, Jolanda went to the teacher's lounge and hit the jackpot. Stacks of snacks were in the shack. Cyrus got a bag, and the others helped fill the bag with a decent amount of snacks. Nobody has eaten in a day which was proven by Aloysius stumbling back into the hallway. 

    "My body needed to eat something but, what about water?" Aloysius asked.

    "The Teacher's Lounge has stacks of water and maybe a few energy drinks. No need to fret," Jolanda said. Unknowingly, Aloysius started to get up and walk toward Jolanda. Aloysius did not know because he was starting to get sleepy. He grabbed Jolanda and made her stand up. Jolanda saw what was happening and pushed Aloysius off her. Aloysius fully opened his eyes and recognized what was going on. He tried his best to stay down however, something kept making him move toward Jolanda. 

    "Cyrus, it's impossible for people to wake up from the spell except for Jolanda, right?" Aloysius asked as he got up again.

    "I really don't know how it works so, I can't give you an answer," Cyrus said as he ate his snack. 

    "Well, what is happening right now, feels extremely familiar," Aloysius said. Cyrus finally noticed what happened and became confused. He got up and helped Aloysius stay down on the ground. 

    " Arata, I would've loved you to spoil me and let myself spoil your body. But, I may rethink that now, " A voice told Aloysius in his mind. 

    " Yui " Arata said. 

    "Don't tell me it's..." Aloysius quietly said.

    "It's what?" Cyrus asked.

    The feeling of being controlled had slowly faded away, and Aloysius laid down on the ground. He gulped as he thought about who might be after him now. Aloysius grabbed another snack and ate it out of nervousness. Out on the mountains stood Evony doing the regular watch out. Tuomo climbed from below and sat on the ledge. 

    "You know, I am a very good actor," Tuomo said. 

    "You always spout out lies and, it seems so true," Evony said quietly. 

    "Like the one where I told Aloysius that I'm afraid of that thing," He chuckled.

    "We all knew that you were never afraid of who you are," Evony said as she checked out her sniper rifle. 

    "No one would ever know if I'm really telling the truth," He said.

    "I do," Evony smiled. 

"I would not have recovered if it weren't for you," She mumbled to herself.

    "The blood lust still remains in me," Tuomo said.

"I don't dream of it but, talking about it revives the past."

"Lucas is coming; better not be so quick to shoot him," He said as he stretched. 

"Be very alert." Evony looked at Tuomo, who was sitting down. A moment later, Tuomo tapped her shoulder. He did not leave any footprints in the snow. The stealth of Tuomo continued to be unmatched, even by the greatest. 

    "You are confusing to understand," Evony commented with a smile.

    "I do hope Aloysius survives," Tuomo said.

"I see something special in him that the others don't know." 

    "I do too; He will help us instead of giving trouble," Evony said. 

    "Ok, so everybody is ok, right?" Cyrus asked.

    "Yep," Aloysius and Jolanda said. 

    "Good, I just want to make sure none of us are hurt or starving, or thirsty," Cyrus said. 

    The three decided to stay on the first floor for a while after Aloysius heard the voice. It was cold as always, and the doors kept opening and closing quickly. Cyrus was worried that everybody is starving again. Although that was not true, Cyrus tried some way to get past the steel door. He summoned his shield and placed it under the steel door rapidly. When it shut, his shield absorbed the force, and when the shield disappeared, the door was jammed. Cyrus lifted the steel door open as Darren's tablet sent a signal of technical error.

    "Damn, Cyrus found a way," Darren said. 

"Kieran will eventually find out; no need to panic."

    Cyrus directed the others through the door and the door surprisingly shut. It was supposed to be jammed however, it did not seem to be like that forever. Aloysius felt the control again as he started to run at the next steel door. He crashed into it while the door opened. His neck was aligned with the door which then acted as a guillotine. The door started to close again but, Cyrus threw his shield which stopped the door from shutting completely. He then lifted the door up with all his might. The door used a lot of force to close and that made it difficult to keep it open for a while. Jolanda and Aloysius got past the door, and when Cyrus got through as well, his shield was crushed.

    "You sure make things difficult to accomplish; that's how it always was with your perverted attitude," Yui said.

    " Whatever you do, try and stand up ," Arata warned Aloysius.

    "What do you mean?" Aloysius asked before he started to get pushed to the floor. He leaned against a wall and used as much force as he could to stand up. Aloysius pressed his hands on the wall tightly as he resisted the direction of the force. Cyrus and Jolanda moved along the stairs meanwhile Aloysius was stuck against the wall. He was then pushed from the side into a steel door. He fell to the ground and realized he has stuck in the same situation again. Natuso transformed into his human form and summoned a protection spell. He struggled with the steel door, and Aloysius stared into the eyes of Natuso. He saw something weird, and then, the form of Natuso faded for a bit. It changed into a girl with a black bow. When it reverted to normal, Aloysius got away from the door. Natuso lifted the door with his back and then threw himself away from it too. 

    "Are you ok?" Aloysius asked while laying on the floor.

    "Yeah," Natuso coughed.

    "I'd think twice before lifting yourself up," a girl snickered. 

    " Oh no... is it really her? " Aloysius thought.

    "I think it is..." Natuso said.

    "I forgot you can do that," Aloysius facepalmed. 

    "It's been a long time, Arata," Yui said. She didn't look like herself but, it seems Yui is using the body of Mirai. 

Aloysius lifted himself up from the ground and looked to the left only to see that Natuso disappeared. 

    "Great, well, how am I going to survive?" Aloysius said. 

Aloysius's arms were put behind him as if he was being arrested. He then sat down, knowing that Yui was the cause of it. 

    "Your friends have left you, and I can have you all to myself. Just you and me... alone," Yui whispered.

    " Why am I feeling hot? " Aloysius thought.

    "Why don't you have a baby with me? Just like how I begged in your arms with Lilim," Yui asked.

"I'll make it a special experience for you because I have waited for so long."

"You are lucky that my youth is permanent."

"And that this body is so appealing toward people like you."

    The nerves on Aloysius's back made him stay down and not move an inch. Yui's seductiveness was not exactly working. Aloysius just did not want to move because one wrong step could have him end up in a grave. Aloysius slowly put his hands up as he positioned his feet to run away. The hole in the floor was still there, and the fall would not kill Aloysius. Once Aloysius slowly rose from the floor, he took off. When Aloysius reached the end, he felt the controlling magic, it was dragging him back to Yui. 

    "I'm like a drug; once you eat me, it will be too hard to stop," Yui smiled. 

    " If you can hear me, please help me! Never have I met a person so aroused, " Aloysius thought. 

    A blue light shined near the back of Yui, and then she fell on top of Aloysius. The sense of control was gone, and Natuso revealed himself when Yui fell to the ground. 

    "Took a while to go under the radar before hitting her on a nerve," Natuso sighed.

    "So, you did acupuncture on her," Aloysius said.

    "Pretty much, except I did it with a spell. So, what do we do now? The door is still closed, and we can always hide the body," Natuso offered. 

    "First, no hiding the body, and she isn't even dead. Second, I want to see if I can find the override card in Jolanda's office," Aloysius said. 

    "I'll help," Natuso said.

    "Wait a minute, you never really bothered to find it in the first place?" Aloysius asked.

    "Of course, I just wanted to sleep. Cold paper sheets are perfect for a homemade bed," Natuso said. 

    The two entered the office as they rummaged through the files once more. Manila folder after manila folder, and they always ended up cardless. Once the two split ways and rummaged through different rooms, Aloysius found a peculiar folder that was stashed in the Septem Academy's Treasury, Expenses, and Income folders. It was titled Class Of 2012 . The first thing that Aloysius saw was a photo of students. A specific student was scribbled out with a black marker. The other papers that were stapled together seemed to display the dialogue that was shared between two people. Most of it was scribbled out but only some lines were still clean. 

JG: How do you know where this is from?

KN: I have seen them, and I know it is dangerous. It is best to keep it secret and let only these people know. Their stories are written on stone in a cave in Northhampton, England.

JG: How do those drawings tell you anything?

KN: I used to be an aspiring Archaeologist until certain events took me here.

JG: I am still suspicious, however, I am sure that the people in higher positions will take this like a dog running for its food.

Next to the file Aloysius read were attendance sheets that had a name scribbled out on each page. Registration, ID, contact information, everything was scribbled out beyond recognition. Aloysius threw the folder back into the pile as he became interested in the KN person. Fortunately, Natuso found a secret trapdoor under the carpet floor. Aloysius was called, and when he arrived, he saw Natuso struggling to open it. Aloysius stomped on it, and the trap door opened as Aloysius fell through the hole. The fall was not that big, and Natuso hopped down and landed with ease. When Natuso made light from a spell, Aloysius saw the walls lined with old books. It looked like an old library, but the papers were unorganized. 

    "What is this?" Aloysius asked. 

Natuso came closer to the wall and felt the books. It almost looked as if it zapped him when Natuso came in contact with the wall. Aloysius grabbed Natuso before he fell to the ground. 

    "Forget the books; let's just get to the electric room safely. Without you, I am dead," Aloysius said. 

As the two dusted themselves off, Natuso looked up to see something strange. 

    "Why don't we ever look up?" Natuso asked. 

Aloysius looked up and saw a part of a card with the rest taped. He borrowed a broom to scrape the card off the ceiling, and the two exited the room. They used the card and left the second floor. When they reached the third floor, Aloysius could not find Jolanda and Cyrus anywhere. It was dark, and the hole from where he fell remained as the pile of broken wood and brick still blocked the path to his right. Aloysius jumped over the hole and helped Natuso get over as well. Aloysius felt as if gravity was 10x stronger as he immediately fell to the floor flat. He shuffled near the hole with a panicked expression. 

    "Watch this," Natuso said. He rubbed his hands which started to glow blue and touched Aloysius's forehead. The sense of someone pulling him to the ground faded away. Natuso helped Aloysius get up as they continued to scan the floor for an electric room. Aloysius, being human, blindly walked into a steel door. Apparently, there were more floors than Natuso thought. They used the card and went up to the fourth floor to find more steel doors but at the end of the hallway of those doors was a switch. It was switched off, so, Natuso walked to the switch to turn it on. Slowly, the lights turned on, and the steel doors opened. Cabinets upon cabinets were in those rooms. Aloysius took a closer look at them, and on each set of cabinets were names like Michael, Toshi, Kayden, etc. Suddenly, a voice called out to Aloysius. 

    "Stop ogling at those documents. They aren't yours..." Darren said. 

    "You are Michael?" Aloysius asked. Darren shook his head while he pulled out his headphones. It transformed into the regular VR Headset-like device that covered half of his face. 

    "Now, of course, your death would greatly hinder our advances, so that is why I'm making this floor disappear," Darren said. 

"Don't try and save him. Go save yourself because a new challenger approaches," He told Natuso as the two fell to the floor. Now Aloysius was really in a panic. Natuso might actually listen to Darren and not protect Aloysius from a fall that might as well send him to the ER. As Aloysius saw the floor near his face, he closed his eyes. He then heard the same female voice calling out his name with sadness. 

    "Aloysius! Aloysius! Don't, please don't," the voice cried. 

Aloysius opened his eyes to see Natuso looking at him blankly. 

    "The switch electrocuted you, so I did CPR on you and turned the switch off," Natuso said.

    "Darren did not come here?" Aloysius asked.

    "Darren?" Natuso replied.

    " No wonder everything seemed so unrealistic. Darren rarely speaks, and I rarely make assumptions like a detective, " Aloysius thought.

"However, why did I imagine those names? I never thought about them in the first place," Aloysius whispered.

    "I can hear you," Natuso whispered in Aloysius's ear which startled him. 

"Let me turn on the switch, Aloysius."

    Natuso casually walked up to the switch and turned it on. The doors opened which revealed a terrible sight. Jolanda and Cyrus were both tied up and had tape covering their mouth. 

    "How did this happen?" Natuso asked. He removed the tape from Cyrus's mouth, and he gasped for air quickly. 

    "It was a girl..." Cyrus panted. 

    "I think I know who because we ran into her while getting up here," Natuso said. 

    Natuso and Aloysius untied Jolanda and Cyrus and removed the tape. Jolanda spoke to them and proposed the idea of waking up the headmaster first before they started fights with anyone. 

    "The headmaster is one of the best in the world, and if we wake him up, he can be our wild card," Jolanda said. Everyone agreed that a one-hit-K.O person would help them massively. 

"The problem here is that the girl we saw might be the one who has everyone under her spell. We have to defeat her or maybe trick her into undoing the spell," Jolanda said. Right after Jolanda mentioned her, a voice was heard in the room. 

    "Aloysius, did you like the presents that I gave you?" Yui asked.

"They weren't so easy to get."

    "This girl is crazy!" Jolanda said. 

    "No time to make mean insults; we need to leave this floor!" Cyrus said.

    "Insults?! It's the truth!" Jolanda argued. 

    "C'mon, I don't want to fight," Cyrus said while nervously laughing. 

    "It sounds like you want it, but we will move on," Jolanda said while turning away from Cyrus.

    "Let's not instigate anything, please?" Aloysius asked. 

    "Scared?" Natuso said. 

    "Now that I'm thinking about it, Aloysius, how did you fall from the third floor?" Cyrus asked.

    "Well, the tiles and floor boards get weaker every time you move up to the next floor. It is probably like that because of how old it is. " Aloysius said.

    "So, wouldn't that mean..." Cyrus stopped talking when a crack was heard. 

"Brace yourselves," Cyrus giggled quietly. 

    The floor soon cracked everywhere and came crashing down to the first floor. Jolanda had her Gehenna scope activated in time while Cyrus used his shield as a bed. Natuso defended Aloysius by applying a spell to his entire body. Everyone dusted themselves off, but Jolanda walked to Natuso quickly. Her fascination was visible. 

    "How did you apply that spell to him? I thought people with defense magic could only summon shields like Cyrus. Not to mention that you cast it on such short notice," Jolanda said. 

    "I'm not really a person..." Natuso said. 

    "He's my linker!" Aloysius groaned as he was still shaky from the fall. 

    "Not really; you haven't chosen your thema," Natuso replied quickly.  

    "Don't treat me like that now. What happened to your cryptic feel?" Aloysius whined. 

    "How were you able to cast that spell?" Jolanda asked Natuso. 

    "I have a special ability or two that only I possess," Natuso said. 

    "Which are?" Jolanda asked. 

    "I can create new spells. I could combine two or more types of magic to make a new spell. You want to see?" Natuso offered. Jolanda nodded as her curiosity took over the strictest person in the academy. She did not seem so mean now. 

    Natuso asked for both Jolanda's Gehenna Scope and Cyrus's shield. What he did was simply touch one object and then the next. Natuso was reading the components that made each one function the way they did. All he had to do was just touch and close his eyes as he felt the information flow into his head. Not a single piece of magical code was missed by his reading ability. Once he finished, Natuso formed a magic sphere where he inputted all the magic he read into that sphere. The sphere glowed brighter as more magic was poured in. When all was done, he asked a question to the three.

    "So, what spell do you guys want? There is nothing much I can really do with two defense-type magic items," Natuso said.

    "Surprise us!" Cyrus said. 

Natuso shrugged and closed his eyes as he put his hands inside the sphere. The sphere started to look brighter and brighter by the second as Natuso's struggle to keep it under control could be seen on his face. That was until the sphere's glow died down immediately. When everyone looked at what was left, Natsuo's hands had a spell around them. 

    "So, what did you make?" Jolanda asked.

    "In short terms, a spell made to control vibrations and other sounds. So, if I just open my hands like I had a ball in the middle," Natuso said as he did it.

"Then this small ball appears. It is transparent, but the more vibrations and sounds enter it, the tighter it gets, and eventually, you can make a sound bomb. At max capacity, it can permanently damage someone's ears."

"Or, by using your item's reflect the magic and Cyrus's various types of shields, I can make a sound barrier that can return the sound from where it came from. To this moment, as I am speaking, the ball is getting tighter and tighter until BOOM," Natuso laughed as he finished explaining.

    "I hate to admit it, but that is useless," Aloysius commented.

    "Don't hate on me because if I had let the magic overflow, your eardrums would be ruptured or worse," Natuso said. 

    "Well, as interesting as this is, we need to focus on our main mission of finding this girl. We can't wake up the headmaster completely without her, nor can we assert control because she can do it with the snap of a finger from what I have seen," Cyrus said. 

    Everyone left the Classroom hall and entered the Dormitory Hallway. Aloysius had suggested that Yui could be hiding in one of the rooms. While it was a good idea, each door was locked tight with only a couple being unlocked and empty. The power was back on however, there were many other rooms they had not checked. The card Aloysius and Natuso found on the second floor proved to be useless because the floors had all been crushed by the fourth one. There were other rooms like the closet, where Aloysius was on his first day, and the storage room as well. Yui could not be floating around and so, this fight became a game of hide and seek. The keys were most likely in the other rooms on the now destroyed floors. 

    "They almost found me," Yui sighed as she was hiding under Aloysius's bed. 

"I will not forgive you, Arata. Not after what you did to all of us. Not after what you did to me. Why do something so cruel?" She cried quietly. 

"We trusted you, and you acted like all that we went through was nothing."

    The three were still on the lookout for Yui while every search came empty. The search started to become a huge waste of time so, the three grouped to form a different plan. Now that they are aware of Natuso's capabilities, Jolanda proposed that Natuso try and find a spell to instantly lure Yui out of hiding. Aloysius was not so sure that Natuso could do the job however, they were running out of options and time as well. They had about a week or more to do the job before their food and water run out. Natuso understood the situation and touched the floor with his hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his magic on the floor. What appeared was a large magical compass on the floor. Natuso explained that this compass specifically detected the type of magic Yui was emitting. All the students besides them and Yui cannot emit a similar type of magic to Yui's because they are all asleep. When Natuso finished, Aloysius noticed that the Compass hand moved to SouthEast, pointing in the direction of Aloysius's room. Cyrus cautiously walked to Aloysius's Dorm door. He gently twisted the doorknob to see who was inside. Aloysius and Jolanda then saw Cyrus get pushed into a wall, and he got pushed hard. Aloysius saw Mirai come out of his room, and she was holding her wand. Aloysius and Jolanda backed up slowly but unfortunately, Jolanda accidentally stepped on a wood plank, causing a sound when stepped off it. Mirai turned to the two of them, and as much as they wanted to run, Mirai was making them come to her. Natuso transformed into grimoire mode for he could not escape this time. His null magic would only work temporarily due to the cardinal magic's non-stop flow. 

    Cyrus grunted as he got up and summoned his shield. He quietly walked behind Mirai and was ready to slam her unconscious. Cyrus rapidly hit Mirai on the head with his shield. The magic wore off as Cyrus grabbed Mirai and called for Natuso to tie her hands. As Natuso was ready to cast his spell, Yui woke up and escaped with ease from Cyrus's grip. She turned around to face the three and took out her wand, using her magic on them. 

    "Only I can rival her magic, Aloysius. Lend me your body since it is the only way out of this if you and your friends don't want to die," Arata said.

    "No," Aloysius replied. 

    "You are going to die if this continues," Arata said. 

"Lend me your body. I promise nothing freaky will happen."

    "And what will you do? You'd be in the same situation as I am," Aloysius said.

"You know what? Fine, take it, kill me, come on, it's like you switched sides now."

    Aloysius's eye color changed from blue to dark brown in a second. Arata still could not do anything with his abilities. Luckily, Yui saw that Aloysius was no longer Aloysius. She got distracted by the overwhelming flow of bad memories and sadness that her magic wore off for a good amount of time. The three ran away from Yui. Arata summoned a white gun and gripped it tightly with two hands. He pulled the trigger and it hit Yui on her lower body. The shot was powerful to nearly knock Yui into the wall, but Arata was reluctant to give the gun its full power. After the shot was fired, Arata's hands were twitching. 

    "I didn't put it on full power, but it was enough to make her unconscious. I really hope I did not kill her. If I did, then, then... What do I do?" Arata started to panic. 

    "Shut up and give me my body back," Aloysius said.

    "Not yet if she is still alive, I want to talk to her. This has to be done in person," Arata declined. 

    Arata walked towards Yui and crouched to get a closer look. Arata checked her pulse and was greatly relieved when it was confirmed that she was just knocked out. Arata put Yui in a recovery position (Laid flat on the ground face-up facing the ceiling) and waited for Yui to become conscious. Cyrus and Jolanda did not know what was going on however, Natuso knew who was behind the brown eyes. Natuso formed a spell around his hand and quickly pressed on Yui's neck. A ripple of magic could be seen, and Yui was beginning to wake up. 

    "A simple pulse spell," Natuso whispered as he winked. 

When Yui got up, Natuso rapidly put another spell on her. This time it was a binding spell. 

    "Are you going to do it again?" Yui trembled

"Are you going to kill me just like, how you killed all of them?"

"Lilith, Levi, Akio, Liselotte, Selina, Mira, Arin, we all put our trust in you. Still, you acted like all those years were nothing to you," Yui cried. 

Jolanda heard what she was saying, and Mira understood however, their meeting with Arata changed their perspective. As much as Jolanda wanted to assist Arata, she felt that it was best to leave it alone. 

    "You, take the binding spell off," Arata ordered Natuso.

    "That's a bad ide-" 

    "I don't care; take it off!" Arata yelled.

Natuso quickly took the binding spell off Yui. Arata offered to help Yui get up however, Yui turned away from his hand and got up herself. 

    "Please, Yui, please understand what I am trying to say," Arata said as he put his hands on her shoulders. 

"I'm sorry for all of this happening to you and the others. But, I wasn't the one who killed you all. Please believe what I say."

    "No," Yui said calmly.

"Saying sorry does not fix everything this time."

    "Please believe me. I don't want to lose more than I already have," Arata begged as he kneeled.

"The fact that I have found you after losing hope that I wouldn't be able to..."

While Yui still felt sympathetic towards Arata, there was no proof to support his claim. Still traumatized from the incident, Yui was very much reluctant to give Arata another chance. That was until Natuso decided to jump in. 

    "There is possible proof that Arata is not the culprit," Natuso said. 

    "Who are you?" Yui asked. 

Arata looked at Natuso and realized it was someone else. Natuso began to grin as he said his answer, "I am the Astil Codex."

    "Sora..." Arata whispered. 

    "I am only here as a consciousness. My abilities have been lost to this new Grimoire," Sora said. 

"Anyway, Yui, look here," Sora said as she cast a spell on her hand. 

"This is a magic map. It displays all types of magic across this world and other ones. If Arata was not the culprit, it can be possible that someone was able to shapeshift or use a type of magic that shifts their appearance. Right here, you see there are only 10 people with that ability." 

    "But, how can one person travel to ours? This is not our world. What I see is not where I am meant to be," Yui asked. 

    "I know it still is all unbelievable and may very well be incorrect but, just like how there were realms in our world, it wouldn't be so shocking that someone found a way to teleport to our world and kill you all under the face of Arata. Just like how Head Master Biblia could teleport as well," Sora explained. 

    "I never thought about it that way. But, you said this can all be incorrect. How can I be so sure that Arata was not the real reason we suffered so much?" Yui questioned.

    "If Arata really did it, would you be speaking right now? In the end, it is all about your willingness to trust Arata once more and to believe what we say. I will say no more," Sora replied. 

    " If I refuse, the cycle will repeat over and over. It would be like a comic book hero and villain. Nothing will progress for me because I can see that the other person behind Arata's eyes is willing to forget about me. If I accept, maybe all this can be fixed, maybe it can return to how it was before when we were all so care-free... " Yui thought. 

    "Arata, I will trust what you say. I really want it to be how it was before," Yui said as she started to shed tears. 

    "I would really like that too," Arata said as he stood up. 

    The two hugged for a moment or two, and it was agreed that Yui would stop casting her spell on the entire school building. Right before she was beginning to stop her magic, a high-pitched sound was heard. 

    "Kieran, he is here," Darren said. 

    "Let her have what those broken feelings desire," Kieran ordered. 

"Let us see what we need to bring the pieces together."