Chapter Text
The red string of fate.
They say that everyone had a soulmate—whether it’s platonic, familial or romantic—and that everyone was connected by this red string. Nobody can see it, of course. Except for, well, me. It’s true, everyone was connected by this red string. Jade and Azul had it tied to their arm and finger. Everyone was connected in some way with this red string. Some were connected by multiple strings, some only one.
I had two strings tied to my finger, one connected to my own brother. And the other to Azul. Honestly, I couldn’t care less if this string of mine was connected to them or not—we were inseparable and it would stay that way. I cherished my brother and close friend; they were the only people who felt like family to me.
However, something exciting happened on the day you appeared in our school.
Another string materialized on my finger. And at the end of that string was you.
—
They dreamt of a black carriage. A talking mirror. And a man who held out his hand towards them. They couldn’t properly see his face, nor did they recognize who they were. “Never let go of that hand,” a voice had bellowed as they reached out to hold onto him. His grip was strong, and to them, it felt safe. It felt like home.
“People are coming this way.” A muffled voice woke them up. For some unknown reason, they were trapped in an enclosed space. Fortunately enough, there was enough air for them to breathe.
“I have to get a uniform—” said the voice, its voice was high pitched. To them, it sounded rather annoying.
The next thing they knew; the lid of the case they were entrapped in flew open, fire warming the air around them. “F-fire?!” they exclaimed, shielding their face from getting burnt by a lick of flame. As the fire died down, they lowered their hands, scanning the surrounding area. In front of them was a… strange cat-looking creature. It was cute, they had thought, but its strange appearance made their thoughts run a little crooked.
“Why are you awake?” the small cat-like creature inquired. Its appearance was strange, it had gray fur all over its body; save for the white fur on its chest, blue eyes and a mischievous grin plastered on its face. But the weirdest thing about its appearance had been the blue flames protruding from its ears and its weird trident-like tail. It was wearing a striped ribbon around its neck.
“H-huh? A talking … raccoon..?” they had blurted out in reply. The sight in front of them had been too much.
“I’m not a raccoon! I am the Great Grim.” the cat replied angrily. “I need you to give me your robes. Or not I’ll burn you!”
They rubbed their eyes in shock and mumbled to themself, “This isn’t real. I must be dreaming right now.” Grim had snickered at this however, he found the human’s reaction to be rather amusing.
“Come on, hurry it up! I need those robes.” He demanded, showing off his magical power, burning the ground around him as a threat. This startled them, causing them to run away from the strange cat-like creature. “H-hey! Come back!”
—
Everything looked unfamiliar. Where am I? They had thought as they passed by a courtyard with apple trees and a well, as they passed by a hallway lit by dim torches and decorated with paintings that moved and watched their every move. Finally, they had found themself out of breath in a strange dark library.
“I’m dreaming… right? I want to wake up now, please.” They had muttered while they caught their own breath.
Soon after, Grim had caught up to the exhausted human. He had yelled all kinds of insults towards them, threatening to burn them, when the sound of a whip cracked through the air.
Out of nowhere, a strange masked man appeared. “There you are!” He had exclaimed as he saw them hunched over, hand resting on the side of a bookcase. “You mustn’t leave the Hall of Mirrors on your own. How did you get out?”
Before they could answer, he quickly took them by the hand. “No matter! We must get you back to the Mirror Chamber before the ceremony concludes.” He spoke clearly while ushering them out of the dark library. “You have already broken many rules today, especially with bringing an untamed familiar to this school. I will let these slide, of course, since my kindness is limitless.”
They were confused. Grim was definitely not their familiar and they had no idea what this place even was. “U-um. Sir, may I please know who you are or where I am…?” they managed to blurt out.
The older man seemed to be surprised. “…Are you perhaps still dazed…? My name is Dire Crowley. I am the headmaster of this school, the Night Raven College. It is a prestigious magical academy known to all in Twisted Wonderland. You, my dear, have been graciously selected by the Black Carriage to enroll in this academy.” He explained, not once did he turn to look back at the confused student.
“I-I think I do remember seeing a carriage, yeah…” They shyly admitted as they recollected their thoughts. Magical academy? Twisted Wonderland? Nothing had made any sense to them at all. They were alone in a strange new world. “I-I’m not dreaming, am I? There must be a mistake—I-I’m not supposed to be here.”
Before the headmaster could answer, they had arrived at their destination. He grabbed the doors’ handles and pushed them open, ushering the poor confused soul to enter.
The room was full of people. All of their faces were unrecognizable to them. Some had animal ears, some had horns. They were all staring at the newly arrived student. The late one. They gulped, anxiety rising as they walked to the front of the room, where a lone mirror stood, looming over them.
They turned their head to the side, as if asking for assistance from Crowley, who had Grim held firmly in his grip. He had nodded as if it had been obvious what they had to do.
A face appeared in the mirror as if to welcome them. “State thy name.” It spoke in a deep, booming voice.
“Y-Yuu…” They had whispered, loud enough for only the mirror and those who had stood close enough. Nervously tugging at the sleeves of their robes, they waited for the mirror to speak.
“Yuu… the nature of your soul is…” The face in the mirror paused, as if to think. “…I am unsure of.”
The once silent room had now been enveloped with whispers and murmurings. Shocked gasps rung out from every corner of the room. The headmaster had been the first to speak.
“What?! The Black Carriage had never made a mistake in a hundred years!” he had exclaimed, his voice was shrill.
“The nature of this human’s soul is unknown to me. There is no colour, no shape, nothing. I cannot sense an ounce of magic from them. No dorm is fit for this poor existence.” The mirror boomed. Yuu’s shoulders drooped. They didn’t understand anything of what was happening.
All of a sudden, the cat-like creature who had been in Crowley’s grasp wriggled out and ran up towards the mirror. “Then I’ll take their place as a student!” He had exclaimed. This had only caused the chaos to worsen.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Crowley had exclaimed. “CATCH THAT RACCOON!” Several students had started to move, shifting around as they chased after Grim. One of them had red hair and a small frame. He had ordered everyone to get down, as he held out a curious-looking pen that had a red gem stuck to its tip. The cat-like creature had been startled by his exclamation, causing the venue to catch fire.
The chaos ensued as a boy with white hair yelped in pain. “My butt’s on fire!” He yelled, running around the hall in circles as he tried to put out the fire.
At this point, Yuu had curled up into a ball. They were scared and confused in a world where they didn’t belong. Hyperventilating as their eyes darted everywhere around the room, unsure of what was happening at that point.
Out of a sudden, they had felt a presence near them—and the next thing they knew, a shadow was looming over them. “Eh~? That’s so weird.” a cheery voice had beamed. Yuu jumped up in surprise.
In front of them was a tall man with an interesting appearance. His hair was teal-coloured with a black streak on his right, it was cut in a strange way. On his right ear, he wore a uniquely-designed earring, with three blue gems dangling from it. His eyes were even more interesting. His right eye was gold, while the other was a murky brown. Heterochromia, was it called? Yuu was mesmerized by his eyes. His teeth were sharp and glistened as he smiled at Yuu. They could have sworn that the man was around 2 meters tall.
“U-um.” Yuu began to speak, unsure of how to greet him. “H-hello…” The man tilted his head to the side, he looked them up and down, as if he was observing them. His smile dropped for a second when his eyes wandered towards Yuu’s arm but returned when he looked back up to face them.
“The name’s Floyd!” He grinned widely as his hand reached out for theirs. “You’re so small~! You remind me a little bit of a shrimp.” It looked as though he was thinking as he paused. “Ah! I know~! I’ll call you Little Shrimpy, okay?” He squeezed Yuu’s hand, causing them to wince a little.
“Ah… but my name’s Yuu…” They whispered. Yuu had been nervously tugging at their robes as Floyd looked down on them. “I-is something wrong…?” Yuu said as they managed to look up to meet his eyes. Floyd had been examining them intently, his eyes glimmered with interest and curiousity. He beamed as he went closer to Yuu, causing them to trip and fall onto the ground.
Yuu had been confused for the entire time since they woke up. Nothing made sense to them, and now they had been faced with another confusing character. Yuu had wanted to say something to get him to stop staring at them so much, but before they could do that a voice called him. “Floyd, what is it that you’re doing over there?”
The teal-haired man moved his head away from Yuu to look at the source of the voice, a man who looked almost identical to him. His face was kind as he smiled back at his… twin…? Younger brother…? Yuu was unsure. “Jade! Look what I found~” he cheerfully greeted the other man, beckoning him to come closer. The man named Jade approached the two and gave Yuu a small nod. “Hello. My name is Jade Leech. I presume you have been introduced to my twin brother, Floyd?” He tilted his head to the side as if to indicate that he was pointing towards his brother.
“A-ah… um. Yes. My name’s Yuu.” Yuu smiled sheepishly. Jade’s kind demeanour had calmed them a little. Jade smiled warmly in return, helping them up to their feet. “I am sorry if my brother had caused problems for you. I haven’t seen your face before. Are you new to this school?” He had helped you to brush off the dust on their shoulders.
“Ah. Um… about that… I think… I think there’s a mistake?” They tilted their head to the side, confusion was written on their face. “I-I mean… I don’t even have magic and I… I don’t think I’m…” Just as they were about to finish their sentence, a shrill voice had rung out through the hall.
“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Yuu craned their neck to see that they had finally caught up to the bipedal creature, who was now donning a red and black collar in the shape of a heart. The red haired boy who had been the source of the shrill voice spoke loudly and clearly. “According to the Laws of the Queen of Hearts, number 23! ‘One shall never bring a cat to a ceremony’. Since you are a cat yourself, you have broken this rule. I will have to demand you to leave.” the boy pointed the pen in his hand towards Grim.
“I’m not a cat! I’ll burn this collar to show you—e-eh?” Grim had scowled at the redhead, but his face quickly turned into one of confusion. “I can’t use my magic—” The redhead scoffed at Grim’s pathetic whining.
“You won’t be able to use magic until you leave the premises.” he smirked, as if pleased with himself. A chuckle escaped the throat of the silver-haired boy standing next to him. His face was calm, almost sinister as he pushed up his glasses. “Amazing. Your unique magic never fails to surprise me, Riddle.” he giggled to himself.
All of a sudden, Crowley had appeared in front of Yuu, fuming. “Yuu! What do you have to say for yourself?! Why did you bring an untrained familiar with y—” he had started to lecture, but the confused student had stopped him from continuing any further by speaking up. “It’s not mine! I’ve never seen that creature ever in my life.” Crowley had been surprised by this statement. His expression softened. “It’s not yours?”
Yuu frowned, unsure of how reliable this headmaster was. They watched as the redhead named Riddle and the silver-haired boy drag Grim out of the door. After a moment of silence, Crowley had cleared his throat as a way of gaining the attention of every soul in the hall. “Very well! Housewardens, you may now show the new students to their dorms.”
Yuu had looked away from Crowley, attempting to find the two strange twins that had bumped into them earlier, only to find that the both of them disappeared. But even so, the feeling of being watched did not leave their mind. Yuu had drowned out the sounds of students whispering and bickering amongst themselves as they had realized that the housewarden of Diasomnia, Malleus Draconia, had not been invited to attend. The only thing they could think of at the moment was of the two strange twins that had greeted them earlier. They wondered which dorm the two brothers were from, and also if they were able to meet them again.
—
After a while, the hall was empty, save for Crowley and Yuu. The awkward silence was then broken when Crowley spoke. “Right. I believe it is time for you to return to your home.” he spoke, beckoning them to follow him towards the mirror. “The Dark Mirror will send you back home. Picture your home in your mind and it will send you back to whence you came.”
Yuu had imagined the world they came from. The tall skyscrapers, the bustling city. They imagined the bright city lights that they saw every night as they watched from their apartment’s veranda. They wanted to go home.
“O, Dark Mirror! Guide this soul back to the place where they belong!” the headmaster had beamed.
There was no response.
Crowley cleared his throat and apologized as he repeated what he had said beforehand.
This time, the mirror responded, but its response was not what the two had expected.
“It is nowhere. The place that they belong does not exist in this world.”
—
After a trip to the library, Crowley had finally decided to let Yuu stay on the school’s premises. He had found that Yuu’s hometown was not on the maps and neither was it spoken of in history and geography books. From that, Crowley had concluded that they could have come from a different planet, or rather, a different world or universe. He told Yuu that he would have to research more about this home of theirs in order to find a way to send them back.
Yuu was exhausted. They didn’t understand a single thing. They didn’t understand why they were transported here, or why their phone and wallet was not with them. They didn’t understand why it was them who had to be put in this predicament.
The building they were residing in currently was called Ramshackle Dorm. It was an unused building that had once been a dorm for students of Night Raven College, but has now been a place for ghosts to reside in. The building’s condition was… poor, but it was manageable. Yuu sighed as the cobwebs and dust made it hard to breathe. Yuu was exhausted. They had woken up in the dead of night in an unfamiliar place, was chased by an unknown creature and now they were forced to stay in a worn-down building. It was all too much for them.
Just as they were about to cry out in frustration, the dorm’s front doors burst open, and a familiar, bipedal creature appeared in the door frame. “Agh, now I’m all wet from the rain—” he shrieked, taking cover from the pouring rain. Yuu jumped in surprise at the familiar sight of the creature before them.
Yuu sighed. Things couldn’t be more complicated as the cat-like creature went on a tangent about why he wanted to attend Night Raven College and when the resident ghosts of Ramshackle Dorm bothered the two. It couldn’t have been more exhausting when Crowley put Yuu’s “monster taming” abilities to the test, and when he had appointed them as school janitor.
By the time Yuu had finished cleaning up a room for them to sleep in, they were exhausted, and sleep came to them quicker than it usually does.
—
Yuu’s dream was strange. They were underwater, but for some unknown reason, they were able to breathe. They were suspended in the water, unable to move around freely as the water pressure worked against their body.
Yuu couldn’t see anything, the water was murky, and seaweeds blocked their view. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw something lurking. It resembled an eel and a… human? They weren’t sure. They had strained their eyes to see better, more clearly, but their efforts were in vain.
The shadow circled around them, almost like it was planning an attack. Soon after, Yuu had realized that there had not only been one, but three shadows lurking in the water. Anxiety started to rise up in their chest as they tried to swim to the surface, but it was too far.
“Yuu!” A familiar voice had cried out,
And then they woke up.
—
It was still dark outside when Yuu awoke. With no way to check the time, they shook Grim awake. “Grim, wake up. We have janitorial duties to attend to.” Yuu said, yawning as they prodded the cat-like creature.
The slumbering creature stirred, he was still groggy. Yuu quickly got ready and changed into fresh clothes, making sure that Grim was doing the same.
After having a simple breakfast—just a few slices of bread and some tea, Yuu and Grim depart from Ramshackle Dorm to perform their janitorial duties. Passing by seven ominous statues that loomed over them, Grim started to whine. “Why do we have to clean after these people?! It should be me wearing those uniforms and learning magic!”
Yuu’s patience was running thin. They did not enjoy Grim’s annoying whining. “Eh? These people in the statues look important… I wonder who they are?” the gray creature calmed down as he had a better look at his surroundings. Out of the blue, a ginger-haired boy from Heartslabyul who introduced himself as Ace appeared to answer Grim’s questions. The two learned that the seven statues before them represented the Great Seven, which included the Queen of Hearts, the King of Beasts, the Sea Witch, the Sorcerer of the Sands, the Fairest Queen, the King of the Underworld and the Thorn Fairy. Yuu’s head spun as they tried to remember all their names and backstories.
Their headache worsened when Ace had suddenly provoked Grim, and as a result, ruined the one of the seven statues. Yuu had tried to stop them, of course, but neither of them would listen when they pleaded them to stop. As a result, the headmaster gave them the punishment of cleaning 100 windows in a single day for ruining one of the statues of the Great Seven.
The headache didn’t stop there though, as Ace had planned to ditch them. This resulted in Grim and Yuu chasing Ace as he had tried to retreat to his dorm through the Hall of Mirrors. Fortunately however, a dark-haired boy named Deuce had helped in stopping him.
Yuu sighed in exhaustion, finally relaxing after running like a wild goose just to catch up to the ginger. Yuu had thanked Deuce for helping them and explained their situation. “You ruined a statue of the Great Seven and now you’re trying to shirk your duties?! Are you mad?!” The Heartslabyul student had yelled at Ace, who was trapped underneath a cauldron that was summoned by the other boy.
Ace cried in pain as he got out from under the cauldron. “Shut up—wait, where’s that little furball?” Yuu frantically looked around as Ace voiced his question. Grim was nowhere to be found. Panicking, they looked out the window to see a small furry figure walking along the main street. “H-hey!” Yuu had called out. “He’s trying to ditch his duties now!”
Ace sighed as he brushed off the dust from his uniform and held his pen tightly in his grip. “Come on, you two, we have to catch that furball!” He said, dragging Deuce along with him. The other boy tried to protest. “Why me?! Isn’t he your problem?”
“You’re partially responsible for this now, and Yuu can’t use any magic so hurry up!” The ginger yelled, running out of the hall with Deuce following closely behind. Yuu had planned to follow them immediately, however, but a curious sight took a hold of their attention.
It was the strange teal-haired twins they had met yesterday. Jade and Floyd Leech, as they had recalled. The two were standing close to another boy, who Yuu recognized to be the silver-haired boy who helped in catching Grim during the orientation ceremony.
Yuu had wanted to approach them and greet them, but not before long, they had disappeared as a bright light enveloped them. Yuu was curious as to what had happened, but quickly snapped back to reality as they remembered the situation at hand. Quickly, they left the Hall of Mirrors, running around in search of the two who had been chasing the mischievous creature.
—
Soon enough, Yuu had found them. They were in the cafeteria, not that many people were around besides the two boys and Grim. Yuu quickly went to their side, beckoning to Grim to come down. “Grim, please, we have to get our punishment over with.”
The cat blew a raspberry in their direction. “No way! You guys have fun with that!” Grim had exclaimed from atop the chandelier. Ace and Deuce sighed in exhaustion after chasing him all over campus. “Hiding atop the chandelier is an underhanded move, you know!” The darker-haired boy exclaimed, gritting his teeth. He mumbled to himself before his eyes lit up, as if he had an idea.
“Why are you pointing your magical pen at me…?!” Ace had exclaimed, in which Deuce had responded with “I’ll launch you in the air to catch the furball.”
Yuu had a terrible feeling about this. And their gut feeling was correct, to their worst judgement, when the chandelier came crashing to the ground along with Grim, its light running out.
An exasperated scream sounded throughout the cafeteria when Crowley had appeared. “ENOUGH! What is going on here?!” He looked as if he had aged another 50 years when he had seen Yuu and the others. “YOU FOUR AGAIN?!”
Crowley started to lecture the four of them, and ended his lecture with an expulsion. This had caused all four of them to beg him for mercy. “Please! Headmaster, I have to attend this school!” Deuce had exclaimed, panicked. “I’ll pay for the damages if I have to, just please don’t expel me!”
“This is not just a normal chandelier. It is a magical chandelier that was designed to burn for an eternity. If we take in its historical value, it’ll cost around a billion Thaumarks. Are you really willing to pay that price?” Crowley had responded to Deuce’s begging. The colour that was left on Deuce’s face seemed to have disappeared completely. Yuu had no idea how much a billion Thaumarks had costed in their homeworld’s currency, but they knew it must have costed enough for Deuce to stare at the headmaster in shock.
“Can’t we just fix it with magic—” Ace had started, but Crowley clicked his tongue with impatience. “Magic is not all-powerful, my boy. Moreover, the magestone that was used to power the chandelier is broken. No two magic crystals are the same. This chandelier will never be lit again.”
The two boys stared in despair as they had thought their hope was all lost. But suddenly, Crowley had perked up. “Ah. I know. There might be a way to fix this chandelier.” He spoke clearly for the four of them to hear. “The magestone for this chandelier was mined in the Dwarf’s Mine. If you manage to get the same kind as the original, we may be able to fix it.”
—
And with that, the four of them had found themselves in the Mirror Chamber once again. This time, it was for the purpose of departing to the Dwarf’s Mine.
After Deuce had chanted for the Dark Mirror to transport them to the Dwarf’s Mine, the four of them had been enveloped by a bright light, and soon found themselves in a different location. The sudden change of scenery had left Yuu nauseous. They had never experienced anything like this before. In front of them, they saw a small cottage in the middle of a silent forest. A quiet stream flowed under a small bridge.
Curious, the two students and janitorial staff entered the cottage after knocking on the door. The dust was thick and made it hard to breathe. “Hello? Is anyone home?” Yuu had called out. There was no response. “I guess it’s abandoned.” Deuce noted.
Taking in their surroundings, they saw that the tables and chairs seemed a bit too small for adults. There were seven in total. The cobwebs were thick, indicating that the home had not been used for many years.
“It’s pointless to stay here. Nobody seems to be here.” Ace had sighed. “We better head to the coal mine. It’s our best shot at finding a magestone.” The other three nodded in response.
—
The four had found themselves in front of an ominous cave entrance. From where they stood, the mine had appeared pitch black. No light could be seen from the inside. Grim had made a fuss about it, but after another provocation from Ace, decided to enter first.
On the inside, the cave walls had been littered with various colourful stones, there had been mine cart rails along the floor and signs that used to tell the directions of what was where. Deuce suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Ace to bump into him. “H-hey! What gives…?!” Deuce shushed him.
“There’s something there!” He had exclaimed. And the dark-haired boy was right. Two ghosts had appeared before the squad. Startled by the ghosts’ sudden appearance, the four had started to run deeper into the mines.
Not before long, the ghosts had disappeared and they were in a deeper, much darker part of the mines. The four had sat on the dirty floor, catching their breath. Ace and Grim had started cursing at each other, with Deuce being dragged on into it. They were blaming each other for the predicament they were in and Yuu had almost had it with the three. “Stop it, you guys!” They had exclaimed, but none of them would listen.
“...won’t give…...y…”
This startled Yuu, causing all of the hairs on their arm to stand on end. “U-um. Guys. I think I heard something.” They backed up into Deuce, causing the boy to look their way. The other two stopped bickering to see what was going on.
“Crysssssstal……is……mine…” the ominous voice seemed to be coming closer. Soon after, a strange monster appeared before the four. Terrified, they had darted back towards the cave entrance and back into the forest from whence they came.
Their bickering didn’t stop after they escaped the monster. It only worsened when Ace had suggested they give up and get expelled. For the first time, Yuu had seen a different side of Deuce, he spoke like a delinquent and even threw threats in Ace’s way. Yuu’s patience had reached its limit. “Well, how about we all face expulsion then?! Why can’t you all just get along?” they yelled. They were tired. They were powerless in a world where magic was everything. And now they have to deal with a terrifying monster just to fix something that these three idiots had broken due to their stubbornness.
Amidst their anger, they suddenly had an idea. “That’s it! Why don’t you all put your magic together? We have to work together to face this threat.” Yuu had clapped their hands, as if they had thought of a great plan. The three stared at Yuu like they were talking nonsense. Deuce had refused to work together with Ace, still bickering with him. Grim, however, had somehow made up his mind. “It’s still less lame than getting expelled on the first day, though.”
With that, the four had put their heads together in order to think of a strategy. Yuu explained their idea to the other three as they nodded in agreement, finally deciding to work together to get rid of the threat.
The four found themselves back at the entrance of the mines once again. Grim was shaking, either from fear or nervousness. Yuu had patted his head in order to calm him down.
The four then decided to put their plan into action. Grim and Yuu had been on two different sides, and were tasked to lure the monster away from the cave entrance. After a while, it was finally far away enough for Ace to put his magic into action. Yuu had yelled out their signal, and billowing winds had been conjured by the ginger-haired boy. Grim took this as his cue to summon his flames to create a vortex of flame, trapping the monster. “Deuce, now’s your chance, it’s stuck!” Yuu had called out to the last boy.
Deuce inhaled and exhaled, pointing his magical pen towards the monster. His face was twisted into a serious scowl as he summoned a cauldron, trapping the monster underneath. “GRAAAAAAAAAGH......!” it had screamed, as if in pain.
The four quickly retreated inside the dark tunnel, in search of the magestone they needed to fix the chandelier. “Stop…! The……crystal…is mine……!”
After a while of running, they finally found a clear crystal that sparkled in the dark. “This must be it, we should go—” The monster started screaming, it had almost broken free from the cauldron that kept it trapped. “Ack! Deuce, it’s getting out from under your cauldron—throw more stuff onto it!!” Ace had demanded, shaking Deuce as the other boy pointed his pen.
“Ah—um. Here, take this, and this!” He had exclaimed, summoning cauldron upon cauldron. “Can’t you think of anything else to trap it under?!” Ace had criticized, in which Deuce responded with an offended gasp. “Sh-shut up! I’m at my wit’s end here, I can’t think of anything else. Let’s go before it recovers!”
—
They were nearing the mirror when the monster had caught up to them, screaming at them to return the magestone. “It just won’t let up!” Ace had exclaimed.
“It’s weaker now, we should be able to take it down, right?” Yuu blurted out all of a sudden. The three stared at them in disbelief, but decided to put their strengths together in order to take the monster down.
After an intense battle, they had managed to defeat the monster. It screamed in pain as it disappeared, leaving a black stone on the ground. The four had celebrated, jumping into each others’ arms, relief taking over them. “You guys seem to be getting along well now.” Yuu had commented, which caused the other three to pull away from each other. “It’s nothing like that! Yuck!” Ace’s face twisted in cringe. Grim’s attention was on the black stone on the ground, however. He picked it up in curiousity, examining it. “What’s this?” He inquired, sniffing the stone. “This smells really good.”
Yuu’s face twisted into disgust. “Are you seriously going to eat trash from the ground?!” they exclaimed, their voice sounded horrified. Grim ignored them and stuffed the stone into his mouth. For a moment, the creature was silent.
“A-are you sick? Are you okay? Grim—” Yuu had started to worry. Fortunately, the creature exclaimed joyfully instead. “This tastes amazing!”
The two boys from Heartslabyul sighed. “Come on, we better hurry back before the headmaster finishes our expulsion papers.” With that, the four of them hurried back to the academy through the mirror.
Crowley, however, did not expect the four of them to actually search for the magestone to fix the chandelier. He had told them that he was nearing the finish of their expulsion papers, causing Ace and Deuce to have an outburst. “We almost died back there! You were sitting here in your fancy room while we were fighting some weird monster—” Grim had cried out. This had piqued the headmaster’s interest.
“Monster?” He brought his hand to his chin, as if in thought. The four exchanged looks with each other and recounted their endeavours in search of the magestone. The headmaster was silent for a moment, until he suddenly burst into tears. The four was startled by his sudden outburst. “In all my years of being headmaster at Night Raven College… there had never been a moment where mages combined forces to defeat their enemy!” He had said in between sobs.
After a short while, Crowley had regained his composure. “Yuu. Without a doubt, you most definitely have the talent of a monster tamer!” He had said, grabbing Yuu’s shoulders in a firm grip. Yuu was overwhelmed by Crowley’s sudden actions. They stood in silence as Crowley continued on. “I will rescind Mr. Trappola and Mr. Spade’s expulsion. And alongside that, I will let you enroll in this school.”
Shocked gasps sounded throughout the room. “Eh?!”
“You cannot use magic, however, which proves to be a problem… but that is where Grim comes in!” Crowley continued to explain. “I will give the both of you the right to enroll into this academy as one student. But on one condition. You shall not let another incident like yesterday happen ever again.” Yuu nodded, their pupils darted all over the room as they were unable to process the full situation. Crowley let go of Yuu and turned towards Grim. “Alright. I will give you the symbol of your status as a student in this College, a magestone, to you, Grim.”
A bright flash enveloped the room. Once they regained their sight, Grim had a magestone tied to their ribbon. “It is usually in the form of a magical pen, but since Grim is a… special case, I have decided it would be best to customize it instead. Aren’t I ever so gracious?” Crowley praised himself, looking pleased. Grim looked down at his magestone and cradled it in his hands for a moment before jumping up in joy. “I-I’m finally a student at Night Raven College…!”
“Well, isn’t that great?” Yuu finally managed to speak, their headache slowly fading. Crowley was not done explaining, however, as he turned to Yuu once more. “Since Grim is not accustomed to human customs, I am appointing you to monitor him and get him out of trouble!”
The two Heartslabyul boys exclaimed in shock. “It’s only their first year and they’re already a housewarden?!”
Crowley tilted his head to the side, his hand placed on his chin once more. “Ah. I suppose that does make them the housewarden, yes.” he nodded to himself, eyes closed. “Alright. I will entrust this device with you, too. It is named the Ghost Camera. Use it to record your memories of your time here. And also when a certain someone is causing trouble so you can report to me.”
Grim gulped as Crowley shot him a look.
“Right. It’s getting late. Return to your dormitories, everyone.” Crowley ushered the four of them outside, and closed the door behind him.
The two Heartslabyul students waved Grim and Yuu goodbye, and went back on their way to their own dorm. The remaining two had walked back to Ramshackle Dorm as Grim wailed in joy at finally being able to enroll at the academy.
The newly appointed prefect was looking forward to what the future would hold, but little did they know that their fate was already entwined with danger, mystery and heartbreak.