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The sun had long set, an eerie darkness casting over the world outside the laboratory window.Hunched over a desk was a girl, pale and small, deep in concentration. Her notes scattered the surface; graphs, equations and sketches of an assortment of crystals, question marks, perhaps even food stains.She chewed at the tip of her pencil, humming to herself in thought. Next to her was a slick, black box of colourful rocks, each placed with care and labelled accordingly. Beside that, a mat, some strange instruments, and a slightly-charred glove.The girl set her pencil down with a huff and tucked her hair behind her ears, maneuvering over to the box of crystals. With a pair of tweezers, she plucked out two—one that shined almost as luminous as the sun, and the other a deep, ominous navy blue as the night sky. Careful, as if not to disturb them, she placed them on the mat and reached for a magnifying glass.Luka had warned her to exercise caution with these crystals. Of course she knew they were dangerous, but curiosity always drew her back to them.She studied their surfaces carefully, jotting down notes with her free hand on a notebook nearby. She chewed on her lip in thought.Her previous experiments and research had come up rather unsuccessful, and she seemed to be the only one brave enough to meddle with some of the most unpredictable crystals known to magic. Perhaps the long line of chaos and tragedies that plagued modern history when tampering with such materials kept most people away, but she—well, she could care less, knowing too much about the corruption of the world around her.Setting down her pencil, she reached for a pick and summoned a flame in her other hand, bringing it close to the surface of the darker crystal. Orange, red, purple light danced across its surface; deep inside, something began to glow.Intrigued, she started scratching at the surface with her pick, slowly chipping away small fragments of the crystal. They oozed a dark smoke. Odd, she noted in her mind, but remained indifferent.After carving a deep enough gash in the crystal, it began to spark, almost in protest. She paused, hesitating over whether to continue, to push the boundaries.But her curiosity got the better of her.Once again, she brought the pick to the surface—and almost immediately, a bright, white-hot light exploded from the desk surface, sending her back into the wall of the laboratory.The girl gasped, air being knocked from her lungs. Her vision went hazy, filled with black spots, and she tried to pick herself up off the floor after catching her breath, but her body had gone entirely numb; she flopped like a fish on the cold, stone floor.A sharp pain brought her attention down to her hand. There, she made a terrifying discovery.Black veins wound across her arm, like vines climbing the side of a building; her eyes travelled to the palm of her hand, where they gathered, eating out a hole in the fabric of her glove. In the centre of that hole was a rather unpleasant, throbbing black lump in her hand.Panic began to set in, and with all her strength, she crawled across the floor to her work desk; eyes scanning the surface for the crystal she’d been fiddling with moments before. It was nowhere to be seen.She grabbed for a scalpel, and with a deep breath, tried to slice into the mass jutting out of her palm. As soon as it grazed the surface of her skin, a terrible, piercing pain rocked her body, and she screamed, dropping the scalpel.The girl rolled over to throw up on the floor, tears stinging her eyes.This was bad. This was very, very bad.Her vision grew blotchy yet again, like something was trying to pull her under. It was angry, it was angry; wanted revenge. Don’t touch me .She coughed, this time, a black, metallic-tasting substance ejecting from her body. Dear god, was she dying?Fighting to keep herself awake, she crawled under her work desk, curling into a ball on the floor. Hot tears slid down her face, hitting the stones beneath her. Plop, plop, plop. She shuddered, another wave of pain passing through.Her vision blurred, the room turning bright white, then normal again. Something warm trickled from her nose. Blood? She couldn’t tell—her body could barely move.Her hand twitched, coloured black, purple, blue; looking hideously beyond any saving at this stage. The other crystals—that were once in her glove—seemed to have melted into her skin in an array of colours, like ice-cream on a hot, sunny day.Finally, her body gave in.Despite a moan of protest, the cold, welcoming hand of unconsciousness turned the room dark. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and soon, she was no longer there. She was no longer anywhere.

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It had happened the year before I transferred to Crypton.The reason why I moved all the way from the humble countryside to the big city, was because my father was offered work in the crystal mines beneath the outer suburbs. Although I was reluctant to the change, it was inevitable, given we were starved for income in the village. Besides, my grandmother had passed years before, and it was just my father and I, so there was nothing left to hold us back.We left the countryside with bittersweet feelings, and it was decided I would go to school in the city. I expected prestige and shining marble and wise-beyond-their-ears lecturers on my first day, yet came face-to-face with the aftermath of what historians dubbed The Worst Nox-Related Accident in Recent History.Nox was one of the many crystals mined from underneath Crypton, and was one of the many crystals that supposedly granted a person magical abilities.I hadn’t heard of it until I moved. Magic wasn’t something that could be afforded outside of the city, or was really necessary to possess. I only knew of terra, the crystal of earth, and aqua, the crystal of water, because the local mage in my village used them to ‘maintain harmony’. (But, in retrospect, it was more so just for show.)I hadn’t used magic myself—not until I attended college in Crypton. My father had told me it would be good to learn how to use it, considering it was so essential in our new home.“Your mother had a talent for it, so maybe you will, too.”He totally forgot to mention that my new school was under 'reconstruction' and would look somewhat post-apocalyptic. It soon sunk in that I knew nothing about this strange place; where kids could grow plants and set fire to them, where a girl my age could send an entire city into lockdown.Although some people had taken pity on my lack of knowledge about magic—having explained the troublesome past of nox, what had initiated the accident—they clammed up on the subject of the girl, the perpetrator. All I could devise was that a student—who was, although now a criminal, still regarded to very highly—absorbed some nox during an experiment, and consequently blew a hole into the side of the school.But her identity, or her whereabouts, or anything else about the event was forbidden to mention.When I tried to pry, Miku, the class president, had lectured me on not bringing up the past. She was forced to spoon-feed me because of her position as class leader and my position as a clueless new student, thus all I ever did was ask her ridiculously obvious questions.I'd asked what she meant, but she'd just rolled her eyes and told me to drop the subject.I thought it was strange, as I thought about most new things that came with city living, but I decided to keep my curiosity on the subject to myself.(Most of the time.)My tutor in magic, Luka, lead me down one of the far-east halls to her laboratory. Her heels clicked noisily against the stone floor, disturbing the awkward silence between us. The east wing was mostly abandoned due to some damage from the accident; only some professors kept their labs, but the classrooms were ruled inaccessible.I attempted to peer through the boards covering the windows of the classrooms we passed, catching glimpses of the charred remains of desks and chairs, tattered textbooks abandoned in a rush of panic. “If you keep looking, an ogre might gouge your eyes out,” Luka snapped over her shoulder, having sensed my ogling at the windows.I straightened and dragged my gaze back to the floor while the blood rushed to my cheeks.Upon reaching her lab, she instructed me to sit in a chair facing her desk with a warning not to touch anything. She took a seat across from me and began to rifle through some paperwork, humming to herself.Once Luka found whatever she was looking for, she looked back up at me.“Show me your hand,” she ordered. I obeyed, and she sighed. “No, your other hand. Your rune, Len.”I blinked, exchanging hands and placing my left palm out in front of her. My birthmark, consisting of a strange circular pattern, stared back up at us.They called them runes, here, the birthmarks; in the village no one cared much for them, besides the few fortune tellers who used them for reading your ‘future’. In the city, however, your rune defined the kind of magic you used—and how powerful you were, or at least that was what Miku had suggested.Luka’s eyes traced the lines and she would look away every few seconds to check her book, jotting down notes. She mumbled things like, “The moon in vertex…” and, “Yes, the sun is in dextera.” I understood nothing.Eventually, she set down her pen and looked up at me. “Will you be alright if I leave to grab some crystals from down the hall?”I nodded, although I didn't see the need for her to ask.When she left, I leaned over in curiosity, trying to read her notes upside-down. Most of it was indiscernible scribble and magic lingo I didn’t understand, at least not yet. Her desk was covered in similar notes—probably other student’s runes, as she was in charge of that department within the college.The door clicked open. I sat back in the seat as Luka walked in holding a black box.“We only have some temporary gloves for students to use with the crystals,” she said as she took her seat again. “You’ll need to talk to your father about maybe purchasing a proper glove for classes, though. For the time being, you can borrow ours.”She opened the box, pulled out a piece of black fabric and held it out for me to try on. It was a glove for my left hand, the hand with my rune, and cut off at the joints of my fingers. On the back of it was four pockets, arranged over each knuckle. I guessed it was for the crystals.“I think ignis, fulmen, ventus and stella will do best for you,” Luka continued, gesturing to the crystals sitting in the middle of the box. When I gave her a blank look, she clarified, “Ignis, the power of fire, is the red one. Fulmen, the power of lightning, is the yellow one. Cael, the sky, is cloudy, and stella, the star, is white.”Most were easy to guess what kind of magic they granted by her description. I pointed to stella. “What power does that one have?”Luka eyed the crystal, mulling over her response. “That one… is more so spiritual. I’ll teach you about it properly, later, but first you should focus on understanding and controlling the others.”I had almost no experience with spirituality, so that answer did little to quell my curiosity.“I chose these crystals according to your rune; your affinity to the sun and its elements is strongest,” Luka went on, plucking ignis from the box. “Can I have your hand, again, Len?”I held out my left hand for her to slot the red crystal into the innermost pocket. It grew warm, which travelled down to my palm. She scanned my face. “Do you feel it?”I assumed she meant the heat, so I nodded.“First, we’ll start with ignis,” she told me, turning to the bookcase behind her. She reached up and plucked a book from one of the shelves, setting it down on the desk between us. After sifting through the pages, she stopped on a page with a detailed illustration of the red crystal.“Ignis is one of the four main elemental crystals—all beginners learn with and use an elemental crystal. The other elemental crystals are called terra, aqua and ventus, respectively. I’ll teach you about them later, but right now we’ll focus on ignis. With ignis, you harness the ability to create and control fire.”She bookmarked the page she was on. “Your homework tonight is to read about ignis and become acquainted with it. Fire can be dangerous when used immaturely, so it’s best you research it, Len.”Luka then closed the book and handed it to me. I put it away in my satchel.When I looked back up at her, she held out her hand. “You can’t keep the glove and crystals until I feel you’ve developed your abilities, so I’ll look after them for you until the next lessons,” she said.I glanced down at the glove on my hand with disappointment, before tugging it off and handing it over. She placed it back in the box, along with ignis.“When is the next lesson?” I asked as she put the box in a drawer.“At the moment, every afternoon after school, if preferable,” she answered, turning back to her desk top to stack and file her paperwork. “Does this suit your schedule?”“Er, yes. I suppose." I didn't really want to spend an extra hour or so at school every day, but it seemed I didn't have much choice.“When I feel you’ve learnt enough of the basics, I’ll organise for the lessons to be once every week, and then eventually once every month to check in,” she continued. “Hopefully you’ll be up to date with your magic classes soon enough.”The first magic class I went to, I stood there, completely stumped by the teacher’s instructions. He soon realised I had no clue what was going on and sent me to the school advisor, who organised Luka to be my tutor until I caught up. The whole ordeal was a little humiliating.It seemed I’d missed a lot, though, so I was uncertain about Luka's positive outlook.I reached down for my bag, slinging it over one shoulder. “That sounds good.”Luka smiled at me, the corners of her blue eyes crinkling. “I have faith in your talents, Len. See you tomorrow.”“Thank you,” I said, before leaving.Miku cornered me when we crossed paths at the front gate of school. “How was it?” she asked. She must’ve had to stay late for class president duties.“How was what?” I asked back, before realising what she was referring to. She quirked a brow, and the tips of my ears burned. “Oh, um, it was good.”She glanced down at my hands, noticing they were bare. Her gaze then flicked back to mine. “So what were the crystals Luka gave you?”Everyone else in the school wore a glove—in fact, every magic user in the city wore a glove. It was the first thing that surprised me, having only seen it very occasionally in the village. I thought it was something only certain people were allowed to possess, but I was wrong.Miku had one, too. It was made of a sturdy, white fabric that never stained, with gold ridges over the knuckles—some sort of flexible metal for defence, maybe. She wore hers on her right hand, though.I struggled to recall the names of the crystals. “Um, ignis… and uh, I think it was fulven? Wait, fulmen, the lightning one. The other was… cael, maybe, and uh… the star one…” I trailed off, looking to her for help.Her mouth curved. “Stella?”“Yes.”Miku nodded her head. “Interesting,” she said, in a way that suggested she knew something I didn't. I cocked an eyebrow. “So did you use any magic?”“No,” I said. “I have to study ignis first before I can do anything.”She snorted. “Sounds like fun.”“Not really,” I told her with a pained expression. She laughed at me and we stopped walking, having already reached the navis terminal nearby the school.Miku sighed. “Well, I’m the west suburbs. It’s south for the mining families, right?” She looked over at me.I shrugged. “Probably. Is the west for smart people?”She laughed at me again as an answer, before starting off in the direction of the west-bound platform. “See you tomorrow, Len,” she said over her shoulder, before disappearing into the mid-afternoon rush of commuters.Once she was no longer in my line of sight, I shuffled off to my platform. I still wasn’t used to the navis. They were strange vehicles that used the canals around and under the city, made with complicated magic—such technology was unheard of in the countryside.The navis was akin to a large bubble in appearance, but it never popped and didn't feel wet to touch. Inside had seats lined with scratchy fabric and slippery handles that hung from the ceiling. They always smelt faintly of sea-water and distorted sound in a way that made it seem like you were always underwater.The first time I rode one, I was confused and terrified. But now, much of that fear had ebbed away to the familiar ache of motion sickness.I read the book Luka gave me on the ride home. The mining suburb, as people dubbed it, was the last terminal on the south line, so it took around an hour and a half to get home. It was so far away because the suburb was built close to the mine entrance. I didn't mind the commute, despite the distance.The city was huge, so huge I could hardly comprehend its size. There was the centre, where I went to school, and then the inner suburbs, and the outer suburbs—where I lived, and finally, the 'wasteland'; a mixture of slums, countryside, ruins and industrial.My suburb was closest to the slums and countryside sectors. My father had told me to never go to the slums, because it was supposedly riddled with danger. He knew that much to warn me, having heard horror stories from my mother’s childhood.I never knew why she had made the choice to abandon the city for some crummy village off in the middle of nowhere. When I'd asked my father about it, he only gave a cryptic answer of, “There are some things in this world, Len, that you are best not knowing.”She died when I was five, and no one uttered a word of how. I guessed it was something beyond my knowledge—something to do with her magic, or the city, or something like that. As much as I wanted to know what had happened, I kept my mouth shut, for I knew it wasn't something I could just ask.The temperature had dropped by the time I arrived home.Crypton winters were notorious for lots of snow and lasting chills, but I didn’t know what to anticipate. The village I lived in was further north, much warmer and temperate year-round. I wasn’t used to the significant temperature difference between day and night, especially as the colder months grew closer.I checked the message box on the wall near the kitchen for any news from my father and whether he’d be home that night. It was empty, so I guessed he hadn’t the chance to send anything yet. Usually, if he wasn't home by the afternoon, he wouldn't be home until the following day.While waiting, I finished up my reading on ignis and took a bath, changing into some warmer clothes.When I checked the message box again later, something had arrived, and as expected it was from my father. He’d written that an incident happened at the mine, so he wouldn’t be able to come home until late tomorrow morning.The message finished with, “Just call Lily if you need anything.” Lily was my mother’s sister—my aunt—but I didn't know her well, only meeting her a few times prior to moving to Crypton. She was sharp with her words and talked too much, and personally, I wouldn’t call her unless the house was on fire.I frowned at the message. If the incident was dire enough, I would probably hear wind of it tomorrow. If not, my father would probably tell me whenever I saw him next.Eager to kill time for the rest of the afternoon, I curled up at my desk and settled on tackling more homework.

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The air was tense as I walked into school. Students were talking in hushed whispers, their eyes to the ground. Security guards were lingering on every corner, in every hallway, with solemn expressions. Something must’ve happened.I spotted Kaito, a classmate, loitering around in one of the hallways. I approached him, and he jumped out of his skin when I said his name.“Oh, it’s just you,” he said once he spotted me.I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”Kaito shook his head, eyes darting around nervously. He leaned in. “Didn’t you hear?”“Hear what?”“About the mine incident.”I thought back to yesterday. “Oh, yeah. My father mentioned something. What about it?”He gave me a frown. “Someone stole some crystals from the reserves,” he said. “Specifically, nox crystals. Everyone thinks it might be… her.”I raised an eyebrow. “The student who blew up the school?”“Yeah. That’s why there’s so much security around today. They think she might come back or something.”“Do you… think she will?”Kaito tugged at his uniform collar, before shrugging. “I don’t know. I don’t think so, since she was never that kind of person for violence, but… they say nox changes you… and…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence for me to know what he was going to say next.Everyone I'd talked to had said the girl hadn't been violent or vengeful, but from the day of the accident, she became an entirely different person.“Sounds scary,” I said.He folded his arms, musing. “You don’t even know. The day it happened, everyone was screaming and running and crying. No one knew what happened until it was over.”“Did… people die?”Kaito opened his mouth, closed it, before opening it again. “A teacher did,” he answered. He then narrowed his eyes, growing serious. “We're not supposed to talk about this, you know.”I sighed. “I don’t get it. Why can’t we talk about this?”He looked like he didn’t want to respond, but eventually, he asked, “Have you ever heard of the saying: the more you talk about something, the more you’re asking for it to happen?”"No," I said."Well, now you have."“Is that why no one says her name?” I asked.Kaito tossed his hands up, becoming frustrated. “Well, who knows. You ask too many questions, Len. If she comes to finish off the job today, I’m blaming it all on you.” He jabbed an accusing finger at my chest, before slinking off down the hallway.I watched him walk off. Odd guy.Miku appeared by my side a moment later, a curious expression on her face. “What did you do to ruffle his feathers?” she asked, clutching some books to her chest.“Asked too many questions.” Apparently.The corners of her lips twitched. “I’m not surprised. You seem to like doing that,” she said. She then peered over at me with a concerned expression. “Is your father well, by the way? I heard about the incident at the mine.”We started to walk to our classroom together. “Oh, yeah,” I said. “He didn’t come home last night, but he told me he couldn’t because of it. I haven’t heard from him since, so I hope so. I'm sure so.”“The mines have a lot of security,” Miku added, in an attempt to be reassuring. “If anything happened, he would be safe. The incident wasn’t hostile from what I heard. Just a theft.” She set her books down on her desk, a few rows in front of mine, and looked back at me.I let her words stew, twisting my mouth in thought. “Yeah, supposedly. He’s just as clueless as me about magic, though, you know? He probably doesn’t even know about the crystals he’s mining.”She smiled. “The more clueless, the better,” she said. Her eyes then dropped to the book in my hands. It was the one Luka had given to me. “Did you do your homework?”I glanced down at the book. “Yes. I even started reading about the other crystals Luka picked out, as well.”Miku opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. She then said, “It’s nice you’re eager about it.”Giving her a wry smile, I shot back, “I mean, I need to know this stuff to pass this semester, so yeah. I have to be.”She laughed. “Well, the grading system relies on both knowledge and ability, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.”“Wow, I feel honoured, those words coming from the highest achiever in our grade.”Miku didn't try to hide her smug expression. “I wasn’t always.”I pretended to be shocked. “There was someone more perfect than Miku? Unbelievable.”She just shook her head, smiling. “Perfection comes with its flaws, Len.”“Right.”I didn’t want to believe her, but she was telling the truth. There was no such thing as perfection—wasn’t that how it went? Besides, hadn’t that girl been a high achiever?The rest of the day went rather unproductively, with no sign of danger despite the paranoia. When I went to my lesson with Luka that afternoon, there was a security guard waiting outside her lab.Before I even got the question out, Luka told me it was just for the day, due to the issue at the mine. Her tone implied the topic was a no-go zone, so I kept my mouth shut.After we sat down, she leant back in her chair and fixed her gaze on mine. “So, how did you go?”“I finished the chapter on ignis, and since I had free time, I started on fulmen. I didn’t get too far, though, and I couldn’t find any information in the book on cael and stella.”Luka pulled my box from her drawer and set it down in front of me.“Cael and stella are in another book,” she explained. “I’m pleased you completed the homework, though. I was expecting you to read a page and give up.”“I guess I found it interesting,” I said.She smiled thinly. “Well, I suppose that’ll make things easier for both of us, then.” She then opened the box and handed me the glove.As soon as I put it on, I could feel ignis; a glowing red hot in the palm of my hand that flowed all the way to the pit of my stomach. I stretched my fingers, enjoying the strange sensation.Luka cleared her throat. My eyes snapped to hers and I lowered my hand to my lap. “Since we’ll be playing with fire today, it might be a better idea to practice your magic in one of the training rooms. I can’t afford for you to destroy my paperwork.” Her smile turned wry.“Right,” I said, dropping my gaze.We stood, and she lead me out of the lab and down into the west wing basement. I’d been to the basement before for a magic class, but that was in the first week I’d arrived. My magic classes had since been replaced temporarily with a study session until further notice, so I hadn’t the chance to go back.After fumbling with her keys, she unlocked one of the doors along the hallway and walked in. I followed after her.The room was smaller than the one I’d been to, with soundproof walls and a hard, concrete floor. There were no windows, either. Like the previous one, though, it smelt of nothing—which was a little uncanny. If I tilted my head to a specific degree, I could see the golden incantations running along the walls—I recalled my magic teacher explaining it was a protection spell of some sort.Luka held out her gloved hand in front of me.“This is the first exercise. I’m going to create a flame. I’ll pass it to you, and I want you to use ignis to maintain it.”I nodded, swallowing hard.She scanned my face, having sensed my uncertainty. “Don’t think too much about it, Len. Just feel the heat flow from your hand.”Luka clicked her fingers, and almost immediately, a flame burst from her fingertips. She rolled it back into her palm and looked up at me. “Are you ready?”“Yes,” I said.I held up my hand to meet hers, and the fabric of her glove brushed mine as she rolled her palm and passed on the flame. Heat surged to my hand, and for a split second, I had it there—hovering—before it flickered and the skin on my fingers exploded in a white-hot pain.I dropped the fire with a yelp, and Luka jumped away as it disappeared just above the ground.“Are you alright?” she asked, her eyes on my hand.“I’m fine,” I said quickly, lifting my fingers to check the damage. There were no marks, and the skin seemed untouched. “I just wasn’t expecting it to be so hot.”“Okay,” she said with some hesitation. “We’ll take it slower this time.” She created another flame and held it out in front of me. “Remember, you need to keep your mind focused on the heat in your hand. It shouldn’t hurt you if you control it right. Fearing it is the worst you can do.”She rolled it into my hand again, and this time, I managed to hold it for a few seconds, before it snuffed out.I looked to Luka, and she nodded in approval. “Good. Let’s keep trying.”We repeated the exercise over and over, until I could control it without it going out at all. She then taught me how to ‘desummon’ the flames myself, before we moved on to summoning fire on my own.Although a little difficult at first, the spells slowly became easier and easier to perform. It was all about the right movement, knowing the right feeling. The right technique.Luka wrapped training up once she was confident I could summon a flame, control it and desummon it on my own without major calamity.“These are just the basics, the first three steps to magic with ignis,” she told me as we walked back to her lab. The sun outside was already setting, casting a golden glow into the east wing. I hadn’t realised it’d gotten so late. “We’ll work on more complicated things as well, but I’ll get you to keep studying about fulmen. If you’ve finished that by tomorrow, we might try the basics with lightning… although it’s much harder to master.”“Does that mean cael and stella are more difficult?” I asked.“Yes,” Luka said without a beat. She pointed to ignis on my glove. “Ignis is a level one difficulty, in terms of controlling and maintaining the power. Fulmen, about a level three. Cael would be a four, and stella, a six. If you were a child learning magic for the first time, there would be several years between each level—but we don’t have years. That’s why I’d like you to focus on the easier magic for now, at least until you’re confident enough to handle cael and stella without killing yourself.”My eyebrows shot up at her morbid words. “How high does the difficulty go?”She packed away my box, this time not asking for my glove. “It goes to ten.”“Which crystals are level ten?”Luka paused to close her eyes, as if the question was painful. “Probably nox and lux, and similar variations—I'm unsure, as it’s complicated. Before you ask, I cannot discuss in detail about nox and lux.”My tips of my ears burned. “Oh, yes. That's understandable.”She opened her eyes and looked at me. “I’m letting you keep your glove for now, so you can practice in your own time with ignis. But on that note, Len, please be careful. Any magic, regardless of difficulty, can be dangerous if used recklessly. I'm sure you know of the last major incident, and I don’t want any more students being harmed because of misuse of magic.”I nodded and reached for my bag. “Of course, Luka. Thank you for your help today.”Luka gave a weary smile as she walked me out of her lab. “Be careful,” she reminded me before I left.On the way towards the main entrance, I passed Miku. She seemed deep in thought, not noticing my presence until I called out to her as she rushed past.Her eyelids fluttered and she halted mid-step, spinning around to face me.“Sorry, are you busy?” I asked.Miku’s eyes lit up and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, shaking her head. “Oh, Len! I didn’t see you. Did you just finish your training with Luka?” Her gaze hovered over my left hand, and I held it up to her like a child showing off some candy.“Yeah.”“You’ll have to show me your new tricks sometime,” she said with a grin. “Only ignis, though? No fulmen?”“Not yet,” I said with a sigh.“Thought so.” Miku glanced down at her arms, filled with some textbooks, as if she just remembered she was holding them. “Well, I was just running off to see Luka to talk about something. I better hurry before she leaves. I’ll see you tomorrow, Len.”Not letting me get another word in, she barrelled down the hallway, her long, teal twintails streaming behind her.

When I arrived at home, my father was already there. He popped his head out of the kitchen as I walked through the front door. “Oh, Len,” he said as a greeting. “It’s pretty late. Where have you been?”I held out my gloved hand to him. “I had a lesson with my tutor after school.”He leant in to get a close look of the crystal. “Let me guess… ignis?”“That’s right,” I said, lowering my hand. “How’d you know?”“Well, I’ve been learning a little as well,” he said, disappearing back into the kitchen. I followed him in. “But ignis was one of the crystals your mother had, back when we first met. I guess you truly are taking after her.”He didn’t look at me—gaze focused on cutting vegetables by the sink, preparing dinner.I never knew what crystals my mother used, but I'd never thought to ask about it, either. The topics of magic and my mother were always difficult for my father, and although it'd been at least ten years since she passed, I still felt hesitant to talk about her.“Sorry I couldn’t come home last night,” he started again, after a beat of silence. “I couldn’t get away. It was chaos after the incident. They insisted on having extra backup, at least until morning, just in case it happened again.”I leaned against the door frame of the kitchen and watched him as he moved about. “I heard someone stole some nox?”He kept his gaze down. “You did?”“Kind of hard not to, after the accident that happened at school,” I told him.“Oh, yeah. You told me about that.”“They had extra security today and everything. It was pretty tense.”My father looked up at me and gave a tired smile. “I can imagine. I heard some rumours about it in the mines as well, but it was as you’ve told me. They’re claiming that same girl stole them, but I wasn’t there, so I’m not sure whether that’s true or not. It’s scary such a powerful thing exists, though.”I nodded. “Any magic in the wrong hands can be dangerous.”He turned away to slide the prepped vegetables into a pot of stew on the stove. “You have a point,” he said. “Only the security in the mines really use magic, do you know that? It’s forbidden to use down there. That’s why they look for people like me. I guess it has something to do with the crystals.”My father had a rune, as did everyone—or most people. His was different, though.It was by definition undecipherable, rune gibberish, and no information left by the Ancient Ones covered the kinds of symbols on his hand. Other people, like him, were much the same. Those who studied magic and runes had tried to research it, to figure out whether they could use magic at all—but to no avail. It became a general rule these people were unable to practice magic.They called it enervis.Scientists had theorised enervis was either a genetic mutation, or that the runes belonged to an ancient—now extinct—set of crystals and symbols used by the Ancient Ones. Others believed they served to exist to balance magic, or were the anti to magic. No one was any closer to figuring the truth, yet, though—all we knew was that they had no physical or spiritual connection to the crystals we used in common magic today.That was why my father was asked to work in the mines.“No wonder the nox crystals were stolen so easy,” I mused aloud.My father paused mid-action, glancing over at me with his eyebrows raised. His mouth twitched, like he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scold me.I rushed to spit out an apology, but he beat me to it. “You’re probably right,” he said, looking thoughtful. “It would be all too easy to get in if you knew how to avoid security.”“Are the mine workers really that useless?” I asked, fighting back a grin.“We’re all terrified of magic, Len,” he said. “We wouldn’t stand a chance against one of you.”I hated the way he said that. One of you. For so long I’d been able to relate to my father—being innocently clueless about magic—but now that was different. Now I treading a path he could never.He noticed my silence and tried to fill it, continuing awkwardly, “But the thief didn’t use any magic, you know? It was strange. They just went in, stole the crystals, and left. Someone saw them, but you know with us, we can’t do anything anyway. I guess they knew that, as well.”“I’m glad no one was harmed, then,” I said quietly.My father walked up to me and reached out to rest a hand on my head. Although I’d grown a lot, he was still taller than me. I wondered how long it would stay that way.“Since you’re using magic now, I guess I’ll have to rely on you to protect me, huh?” He had a crooked grin.“I can’t do much at the moment to protect you, but I’ll try.”He ruffled my hair and stepped away to tend to the stew. I missed the warmth on my head. “When I get a day off, you’ll have to show me your progress.”“Sure."My father stared down at the pot, his lips curved, and I could see in his eyes that he was thinking.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A couple of days later, before I headed to another lesson with Luka, I stopped by Miku's desk to ask her a favour. I wanted to know about places to practice magic.She looked up from her book, where she was furiously scribbling down notes. Even though I couldn’t read them, she closed her notebook automatically.“What do you mean?” she asked.“I need to practice ignis in my own time, but I don’t want to set my house on fire.”Miku pursed her lips in thought. “Oh. Hmm. Good question,” she said. “There is a place I’ve heard people go to, but it’s a bit far from the south side.”I leaned against one of the neighbouring desks, folding my arms over my chest. “That’s fine. Where is it?”“In the north, behind the ruins,” she told me. “You’ll have to walk a fair distance, but it’s a good space, basically open land, no people or buildings around to damage. You should only go there during daytime, though.”“It’s dangerous?"“Not usually during the day,” she said. “But people have been known to go missing at night. It’s nearby one of the slum’s borders, so it's risky.”“Oh.”“Otherwise, I'm not aware of anywhere else. Most of us practiced at school when they gave us the time, so we didn't have to worry about that sort of thing. If you do end up going there, you should still be cautious, even during the day.”I stood straight, nodding my head. “Of course.”“Is Luka keeping you busy?” she then asked. “You’re here until late every day.”“Yeah,” I said. “Fulmen’s proving a bit hard to master, but I guessed that much. She wants me to practice with ignis outside of lessons in the meantime.”“Fulmen is a big jump,” Miku stated, resting her chin on her palm. “One of the hardest in its batch, I’ve heard.”I rolled my eyes. “Oh, joy.”“The harder they are,” she said to me before I left, “the better you are at magic.”I asked Luka about Miku's bold claim during my lesson, but she just scoffed and told me to focus.

I set off to hunt down the place Miku had recommended the following day, taking the navis all the way to the opposite side of the city. The closest terminal stopped ten minutes away from the ruins, but that was only because it was a popular tourist spot, or something like that.Miku had been kind enough to drop me a map after my lesson yesterday, highlighting the spot she thought was best. She’d been running past to see Luka again, muttered something about needing help with research. The trek to the place—which was dubbed rather dramatically as Rainweep Valley on the map—was just under an hour, up and over a steep hill and through a shallow creek in a small, damp forest. My legs were burning by the time I broke the trees, which revealed a vast, open field. My eyes burned at the sudden exposure to sunlight.It was rather quiet, besides the low hum of the cicadas in the trees nearby. There were no other people—at least, no one I could see. I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead and set my belongings down under a lone tree a fair distance from the mouth of the forest, then began to run through my exercises with ignis.It’d been at least over an hour, or even more, of attempting the splitting technique; a spell to control fire with both hands, instead of just my left. Every time I managed to ease part of the flame into my right hand, it’d disappear within seconds. I was growing frustrated.After I let out a loud huff, a voice said from above, “You’re doing it wrong."Caught off-guard, I flinched, and the fire tumbled out of my hand and onto the grass. Before it could spread, I stopped it, leaving a smouldering patch by my feet.“Nice control, though,” the voice added, confirming it wasn't some sort of figment of my imagination.I looked up into the branches of the tree towering over me, squinting as I searched for the source of the voice. A pair of blue eyes peered back down at me from between the green leaves, and eventually, a girl lowered herself to the ground next to me.Cautious, I put a bit of distance between us.She was strange in appearance; dressed from head-to-toe in a dark attire, the only skin visible being the skin on her head. Her arms bore long gloves that finished above her elbows, and her shoulders and neck were hidden by loose sleeves and a long cloak. Her pants reached mid-thigh, and underneath was a pair of thick tights and high boots.It wasn’t near cool enough during the day yet to wear such an outfit, so I wondered how she wasn’t melting.The girl folded her hands behind her back and looked me up and down. “You’re not from here, are you?” she asked.“No,” I said. I was wrapped up with trying to figure out whether she’d been in the tree the whole time, or if she somehow snuck up there without me noticing.Her lips twitched, intrigued. “No one in this city is so acquainted with the sun.”I understood she was referring my skin; years of working on farms outside in the village had turned it golden and freckly. Others had made similar comments about my complexion since I’d moved, too. Meanwhile, I was a little envious of their smooth, untouched skin.Her gaze then moved down to my left hand. “And you look too old to be learning basic magic.”“I wasn’t brought up with it,” I said. It was my turn to interrogate her. “Who are you? Were you in that tree the whole time?”The girl noticed the edge in my voice and held up her hands. “Relax,” she said. “I climbed it while you were busy playing around with fire.”I frowned.After acknowledging I wasn’t going to comment, she added, “I'm Rin. Who're you, sunshine?”I hesitated. elling a stranger who I was could be dangerous. Despite that, I settled with introducing myself just barely—I decided I’d figure out later if that was a mistake.Rin raised an eyebrow. “Len,” she repeated, rolling the name off her tongue. “Cute.”I furrowed my eyebrows, disagreeing with her judgement.She took a step forward, and I almost jumped away from her. “I’m not going to eat you,” she said, having sensed my hesitation. “I mean, if I wanted to, I would’ve done so already.”“Sorry,” I said. “It’s just… you came out of a tree, and I thought I was alone.”Her eyes laughed. “I get it. I’m sorry for spooking you.”I took a subtle step to the side, uncomfortable by our proximity.“I was watching you practice. You were doing splitting wrong,” she continued, now ignoring my discomfort. “Just because your right hand doesn’t have a rune, it doesn’t mean it’s useless. You need to use both hands to engage in combat—people wouldn’t use both if it was a burden.”My ears burned. “I get that.”Rin looked amused by my defense. “Yeah, you get it, but you need to feel it as well.”“I’m… I'm not asking for a lesson from you. I don't even know who you are.”She held her hands out in front of her. “I know,” she said, her lips curving into a smirk. With a subtle movement of her right hand, a flame burst from her palm. I noticed she didn’t need to click her fingers like Luka had. “However, you’re not going to get anywhere if you keep doing what you’re doing, and I can't bear leaving you alone after witnessing such a woeful attempt.”Her left hand then twitched, another flame appearing. She then proceeded to juggle the two flames between her hands.“This is what it looks like to master splitting,” Rin continued, before desummoning her magic. “You’ll be able to balance the element—the power of ignis—between both hands, and not just your rune. You shouldn’t have to rely on one hand to power the other, if you get what I mean.” Luka had mentioned the same thing, but didn’t go into as much detail.I nodded slowly, a tad humiliated by her mockery of my skills. She watched me, but seemed oblivious to my embarrassment. “Hold out your gloved hand,” she said. “I’ll talk you through it.”Reluctantly, I lifted my hand, palm facing the sky. She placed her opposing hand underneath mine and I cringed, but she didn’t remove it.“Create a flame,” she instructed.As uncomfortable as I felt, I obeyed, allowing the heat to focus and grow in my palm. Then I clicked my fingers and a small flame burst from my fingertips.Her lips twisted, as if she was holding in a laugh. “Okay, while you control that, I want you to prepare your other hand to do the split.”I lifted my right hand and she cupped her free hand underneath. The fabric of her glove felt cool and smooth against my bare skin.“Channel ignis to your other hand,” she said. “It’s just like how you do it with your rune hand.”As I tried to follow that instruction, she guided my left hand over to the other.“You’re losing focus. Don’t pay attention to what I’m doing,” she ordered.“How can you tell?” I asked.Her eyes flickered up to meet mine briefly, and at that moment, they seemed unnaturally dark. “You’re asking me questions,” was her answer.I snapped my mouth shut, unnerved by her eye colour, and tried to steer my attention back to my right hand. The skin in the centre of my palm grew warm, similar to the way my left hand did.As this happened, she tilted my left hand up against my other hand. The heat of the flame licked at my bare skin.“Now,” she continued, her voice soft, “split the flame.”So I did. The flame halved, sliding into the palm of my right hand. She guided my hands apart, so I was left standing with my hands out, holding a small flame in each.Rin dropped her hands from mine, watching the fire. “Don’t let them dwindle,” she said. “Focus on balancing the energy. Ignis isn’t weak.”She began to count using her fingers, leaving a beat of silence between each number. When she reached ten, she told me to extinguish them.“See?” she said. “It’s easy. Your technique just wasn’t right. Now, try it again without my help.”I sucked in my bottom lip. I was annoyed somewhat by her cocky attitude, but I couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt about that, too. She had been helpful, even if a little prideful of her knowledge.When I repeated her steps, the technique came easier than it had before. She nodded with every right movement, and winced when I started doing something wrong. Eventually, I managed to split the fire again—without her having to guide me through it.Rin grinned after I managed to hold the magic there for another ten seconds. “Good. You’re a fast learner.” She reached out to steal a flame with one finger, before performing some intricate trick where she let it slide over the back of her hand.“You don’t have any crystals,” I realised, noticing the lack of detailing on her gloves.Her gaze switched to mine, and she dropped her hand, the flame disappearing with it. She paused a moment, reading my expression. “I do,” she said. “They’re just not on my hands.”“You can do that?” I asked.“The hand is the best place to wear them, maybe,” she told me, “but I don’t wear them there.”I wanted to pry more and ask where they were out of curiosity, but decided against it. Something told me she wouldn't give a straight answer.Rin folded her arms behind her back once more and cleared her throat, eyeing me with a look of curiosity. “So, what other crystals do you have?”“Other crystals?” I echoed.“You don’t have a set? Most people have four crystals they draw their power from.”“Oh, right,” I said. “I do have others, but I can’t use them yet.”She raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to elaborate.“Well, there’s ignis, of course,” I told her, stalling. For some reason, I thought it was strange she wanted to know this sort of… information. It was kind of personal, and she was still a stranger. A stranger who I was very friendly with, but nevertheless still a stranger. “I’ve also started studying fulmen, but I haven’t exactly managed to get a grip on it yet. Cael and stella are the other ones, but my tutor refuses to give them to me until I have the other two crystals mastered.”Rin hummed in thought. “You really are the definition of sunshine,” she commented. Before I could question what she meant, she continued to pry, “So you have a tutor?”“Well… yes. I go to school, and since I’m so behind, they gave me a tutor to catch up.”She snorted. “So, you’re trying to cram at least ten years of knowledge and practice into some extra lessons,” she said. “I see. Which school did you say you go to?”I couldn't recall mentioning the school to her before, so I found the phrasing of her question a little strange. I paused, before asking, “Are there other schools in the city?”Rin gave me a weird look, as if I spouted the most nonsensical question ever. “Yes, there are,” she said. “Let me guess—you go to Crypton Central College of the Magic Arts, don’t you?”I didn’t want to say yes, but I guessed my facial expression gave the answer away, because she snickered at me.“There are other schools in the city, but they don’t specialise in magic,” she continued. “Crypton Central is probably the most notorious, so that doesn’t surprise me, really.”“Do you go to school?”Rin hesitated a moment, like she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to answer or not. Eventually, she just said, “I used to.”“Used to?”She stared at me. “Yes. Used to.”I said nothing, uncomfortable from her gaze.Sensing this, she dragged her eyes away with a heavy sigh. “So, how are you liking school?” she then asked.“It’s okay,” I answered. “I don’t have many friends and everyone seems kind of weird, so I keep to myself most of the time.”“Weird?” Her lips curled, but she didn't look back at me. “Have you ever thought that you’re the weird one, Len?”I frowned. “Weird, yes, but a different kind of weird to you people.”Rin laughed at me. She then held out her hands. “Well, weird boy, can I see your palm?” She nodded down to my left hand.I squinted at her. “Why?”“I want to see your rune.”“Do… is this a normal thing people do in the city?”“Have people not asked to see your rune?”I hesitated. “Well, only to see what crystals I should use, and… once, my grandmother made me go to a fortune teller to find out about my future.”That made Rin laugh again. “A fortune teller? I never knew they existed outside of folklore. What did they tell you?”After a moment of hard decision, I slipped off my glove, holding it tight in my other hand. “You don’t have fortune tellers in the city?” I asked, genuinely surprised, and she shook her head. “I can’t remember what she told me. It was mainly because… I don’t know, something to do with my mother. She died when I was young, so.”Her gaze softened a bit, as she reached down to grab my left hand. She then turned her focus to the rune. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said down to my hand. “Does that mean you’re with your father? Or is it just you and your grandmother?”“My grandmother also passed away.”“Oh," she said awkwardly. "Well, sorry for asking."Rin ran her thumb down the centre of my palm, and it tickled. At that moment I became painfully aware of how close she was; her hot breath fanning against the skin on my hand, and the very faint smell of firewood from her hair. I could see the light freckles on her cheeks and the shadows her eyelashes cast upon them.Heat began to climb up my neck and blood pooled into my cheeks.“It’s fine,” I said with a delay, my voice sounding strained.Rin then lifted her head to look at me, noticing the shade of my face. She released my hand and took a polite step backwards. “Hm.”Pretending what just transpired never happened, I looked down at the rune on my hand, before slipping the glove back on. “What did you see?” I asked her, when she made no notion to speak.“What?”“My rune,” I said. “Why did you want to look at it?”Rin’s lips parted, before she closed them again. She rolled her shoulders. “Um. I just… I’m interested in runes. I used to research them, before… I stopped going to school. I was curious to see how well yours matched with the crystals that were chosen for you, that’s all.”I stared at her a while, before I asked, “Can I ask a rude question? Since you stared at my hand for five minutes.”She quirked an eyebrow, but I didn't miss the nervous expression that flashed across her face. “Sure.”“Why are you wearing so many clothes? Like the gloves. It looks uncomfortable.”Her shifted her weight, averting her gaze to the ground between us. “Well,” she said, drawing out the syllable. “I’m… I have an affliction. To put it simply.”“Oh,” I said.“It’s not contagious, you heathen.”I flushed. “I… I didn’t say it was.”She opened her mouth like she was going to add something, before snapping it shut and squaring her jaw.I took the chance to speak again. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be offensive. Just curious.”Rin shrugged her shoulders, but I could tell she upset about something. “I wasn’t offended. I expected the question.”I watched her, waiting for her to say something else, but she kept her eyes down. Her eyebrows knit together and she chewed on her bottom lip, as if deep in thought.When it seemed like she had nothing else to say, I took it as my chance to leave. This situation was very odd.“I should go,” I said, reaching for my bag.Her eyes followed me as I turned to the direction I came from.I looked back at her. “Do you come here often?”“I live nearby,” she said, as if it would answer my question.For a moment, I tried to recall if I saw any houses on the way here, but the area was almost bare of any structures. I thought that was unusual, but for once in my life, I didn’t press on the subject.There were a lot of things that were odd with this girl, and that said enough. If I mentioned this encounter to Miku—or even Luka—I’m sure they’d be concerned. It didn't seem particularly normal. Or safe. But I was an idiot.“Maybe I’ll see you around,” I told her, before setting off to the line of trees in the distance. I heard her say something in response, but I didn’t look back.When I reached the mouth of the forest, I let curiosity get the better of me and looked to see if she was still there. The field was empty.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin wasn’t there the next day I went back.Her guidance and practice had been worth it, though—Luka seemed pleased when she saw my progress at our next lesson.“I’m surprised you mastered some of these tricks so quickly,” she said after I demonstrated some exercises.“I had a bit of help,” I admitted.She raised an eyebrow. “Help?”“A… friend helped me with my technique for one of the exercises,” I elaborated. I decided it was better not to go into detail.“Oh,” she said. “Are they from this school?”“No."Luka eyed me with a hint of curiosity. “Okay, well, keep trying to master the other exercises I gave you for ignis—for now, let’s give fulmen another go.”After handing me fulmen to put into my glove, we left to go to the training room yet again. Fulmen felt different than ignis; it was subtle, but it crackled with movement—a bit like static. When I held it in my bare hand, my skin would go numb and prickly, the weight of it heavy in my palm.Luka told me fulmen was not one of her own crystals, so although she could perform some tricks, she was quite limited with her examples. She had mentioned getting another tutor who did use fulmen, thinking it’d help with my progress, but it seemed it was just the two of us again for the lesson today.Fulmen worked differently to ignis. I didn’t have to click my fingers to recall it, but rather summon it to my fingertips, drawing on the crystal and the electricity in the air to power it. Lightning had no distinctive shape—it moved around freely, uncontrollably, so the user would have to contain it. The summoning wasn’t so difficult for me; it was making sure I didn’t electrocute someone within a three metre radius accidentally.Despite the constant threat of danger, Luka tried her best to guide me through, but to no avail. Although I could draw on fulmen for lightning, and desummon at will, I couldn’t control it.Yet again, I had to leave fulmen behind.“You’re getting it,” Luka commented after the lesson had finished. “You really are. I just need to find someone who is a fulmen user, because they’d be able to teach you better.”I ran into Miku again on the way home, so I asked her about whether she knew anyone who used fulmen.She tapped her chin in thought. “Hmm… I do—I mean, I did. I used to know someone. But we… haven’t talked in a long time, so I can’t ask them for you.”“Do they go to our school?”“No,” she said quickly. Her expression was sort of unreadable, like she was trying to guard her thoughts. “I can’t think of any teachers at school who use it, either. I’m sure there’s someone, but Luka would be combing the database already to find them. And I guess, you can’t pick any old person—they would have to be somewhat decent at magic to be able to teach it to you properly.”I frowned. “Yeah… it’s just kind of annoying. I can’t seem to get one thing, so I’m not allowed to keep fulmen yet—but Luka can only help so much, and she can’t tell what I’m doing wrong to be able to solve the problem.”Miku sighed. “Magic is tough,” she admitted. “I really do wish I could help, but my elements—they’re like, the complete opposite of yours.”“You’ve never actually told me what crystals you use,” I said.She smiled, narrowing her gaze. “Would you know the names if I said them?”I grinned. “Try me."She chuckled. “Okay. Well, instead of ignis, I use terra. In place of fulmen is bestia. Your cael is my sano, and your stella is my anima.”I nodded slowly. “I know terra is the crystal for earth,” I said. “Bestia is the crystal for animals, right? You can communicate with animals that don’t speak like humans, or something like that.”“You’re partially correct,” Miku said. “I can communicate and become one with the beasts.” Become one—as in, transform into a creature? I’d heard of such magic, but not what crystal was in control of that power. “What about sano and anima, though?”“Oh… well, I’m unsure of anima since I haven’t studied more complex kinds of magic, but I think I heard somewhere sano is a healer, right?”She pursed her lips. “Yeah. That’s correct. With sano, I can heal physical wounds—sort of like a nurse. I mean, most nurses or doctors in the city are sano users. It takes up a lot of energy, though, so we’re encouraged to not use it often.”“I guess that makes sense,” I said. “What’s anima?”Miku stopped walking. I realised we’d reached the terminal already. “You should find that one out yourself, Len,” she said, before reaching out to pat me on the head. When I scowled, she just laughed at me.“It’s not something weird, is it?” I asked her before she left.She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and dropped her hand down to fiddle with her bag strap. “Not as weird as stella,” she answered, a cheeky glint in her eyes.After we waved goodbye, we parted ways. Once again, I commenced the long journey home.

Luka plucked me from the hallway the following day during my lunch break to talk. “I’m going to call off the rest of your lessons this week,” she told me.Since we couldn’t do much on fulmen until she found a better-suited teacher, she figured she’d give me more time to practice with ignis. We then planned to meet up at the beginning of next week to discuss progress, and she said she hoped by then she’d find someone to help me. Once she did find someone, we would commence the daily lessons once more.It was somewhat good, as I was growing a little tired of going to the lessons every day only to fumble around with fulmen and make no progress. I finally had more time to focus on ignis, instead.For the rest of the week, I went north after school to practice with ignis in the valley. Luka had tasked me to look into other exercises, so I did my research with books during the commute.While I managed to learn some more, others didn’t come as easy.Rin didn’t turn up on the days I went, but that was no surprise. I wasn’t really expecting to meet her again.Miku stopped me one afternoon at the terminal after school, out of breath from running. She had her bag on, some manuscripts tucked under an arm.I gave her a curious look. “Are you okay?”She fixed her skirt once she regained composure. “Oh, yes, I—um. Sorry, I just—are you heading north to practice?”“Yeah, why?”She seemed nervous about something. “Could I borrow you for a bit this afternoon? It’ll be at the ruins, so near where you’re heading, anyway.”After a moment of thought, I agreed to it. It seemed like it was urgent.Once we took a seat on the northbound navis, I turned to her and asked, “Why are you going to the ruins?”Miku fiddled with her pigtail. “It’s… um, for some research I’m doing. For Luka. I can’t say too much, since it’s sort of confidential, but near the ruins there’s a library that holds a lot of old manuscripts by the Ancient Ones. She wants me to try and find something for her.”“There’s a library?” I echoed in disbelief. The ruins were mostly deconstructed architecture left behind by the Ancient Ones—there were no structures that resembled a library nearby.She looked at me. “It’s sort of lowkey,” she said. “Like, underground lowkey. Not many people use it, except for scholars who are researching stuff about the Ancient Ones. The place kind of gives me the creeps, though.” She shuddered for dramatic effect.“Oh.”“Sorry for dragging you with me,” she continued. “It’s just good to go there with others, just in case, since the place is just riddled with… bad energy, or whatever. I thought I’d ask you, since you would be heading in that direction anyway.”“It’s no problem,” I said with a shrug. “This sounds more exciting than running over ignis exercises all afternoon.”Miku smiled something earnest, and my heart stopped for a second, before starting up again.We chatted idly about schoolwork for the rest of the trip, and I discovered Miku’s favourite class was some disaster dubbed as Crystal Chemistry. I didn’t take the class because I was utterly clueless, but it was interesting listening to her talking about the subject, even if I didn’t exactly understand all of what she said.She explained that Crystal Chemistry focused on the property of crystals and what powers they possessed, and how they reacted with different runes and the like. She was particularly interested in the more obscure crystals, like nox and lux, and how they worked.“You see,” she was saying, as the navis pulled up at the ruins terminal and we disembarked, “the Ancient Ones have a lot of manuscripts about people using nox and lux, and by that logic, we should be able to, too. But most—if not all—of us are incompatible with those crystals, or supposedly that’s what we’ve found. We can’t seem to find any information on how the Ancient Ones used the crystals, or whether they had to do something for them to be used safely. So I want to figure out how to make them usable for us… or something like that.”I was nodding along, although a little lost by her words. “So, what happened at school—was that what happens to people when they use one of those crystals?”Miku frowned. “Yes. It’s strange, but… in controlled trials, nox and lux were shown to sort of… possess people. Sort of like, clouding their judgement. They became extremely hostile and powerful. We’ve seen similar things happen before in other crystals, typically the higher level ones, but that was in people who were either too inexperienced to use them, or didn’t have compatible runes. That’s why some people think that only people with special runes can use them… but there’s been no evidence confirming that.”“What happened to the people? The people in those trials?”She didn’t look at me. “I think most of them died. Not in a nice way, either.”I stopped asking questions after that.Miku lead the way down a rough stone path, hidden mostly by overgrown grass and debris. I'd never have noticed it unless I knew what I was looking for. The path passed through the ruins and followed along the perimeter of the forest. Finally, we stopped before a peculiar structure tucked away amongst the overgrowth. It jutted out of the ground, like a small platform, with some waist-high concrete pillars arranged in a particular pattern around it. A strange language was etched into the stone at our feet.I watched as Miku stepped forward, slipping her glove off her hand and placing it palm-down over the top of one of the pillars jutting out from the structure. A minute passed, and just as I thought nothing would happen, the ground beneath our feet began to rumble.The stones in the centre of the structure sunk down beneath the surface, forming a staircase. I heard Miku sigh with relief, before she turned back to me and beckoned me to follow her down the stairs.“Could you give us some light, Len?” she asked as we edged down into the darkness. “The lighting down here is pretty woeful.”I obeyed and summoned a flame, holding it out between us. It provided a small amount of light to our surroundings. The staircase we were climbing down was long and narrow, and the air was damp and musty, somewhat oppressing. When I looked behind me, I saw nothing but empty darkness—the entrance must’ve closed.We reached another door at the end of the staircase, and Miku pressed her palm against a panel on the wall. After a pause, it slid open with a reluctant groan.We entered a large room with dirt walls like it'd been carved out of the earth. Torches were fastened along the walls, providing dim, orange light. The fire within them wasn't natural fire, but something akin to magic. The room appeared to be filled with thousands upon thousands of towering stone shelves, crammed with aged manuscripts and other important artifacts.Since there was no need for my magic anymore, I let the flame in my hand disappear.“It’s huge, isn’t it?” Miku asked when she saw my face.“I didn’t know what to expect,” I said.She smiled. “The information contained here is tens of thousands of years old,” she explained, leading me down one of the aisles. “The dates on the manuscripts go back as far as a hundred thousand years. Can you believe it? The Ancient Ones living for so long?”I didn’t know much about the Ancient Ones, if anything at all. The church in my village worshipped them as gods, and the tiny school I attended in childhood only mentioned them a couple of times in nursery rhymes. From what I gathered, they were simply our ancestral civilisation. I didn’t know what had caused them to disappear, though—or how we defined whether to class a part of our history as Ancient Ones history, or our own.Miku probably knew more than I did, though. The city people always seemed to know more.“Aren’t we direct descendants of them?” I asked, as she scanned the labels on the shelves. The labels seemed out of place—probably newer than most of the contents in the library, put there by a researcher. “So technically, they’re still alive.”She ran a finger through the layer dust on the shelves, before wiping it off on her skirt. “We’re not them, though. We don’t have the knowledge or the technology they had. So, while we may share our DNA with them, what they were or what they lived for is long gone.”My mouth twisted, not understanding the concept. It was strange how people worshipped others who were probably the same, or similar, to us—just living at a different time.Miku hummed to herself. “We might have to go digging,” she told me, shooting an apologetic expression. “Usually, the information about the crystals is at the back of the library, so we should start there, first… but the other people who use this place don’t always put things back in the right place.”I gave her a look. “No one maintains the library?”She shook her head. “No one wants to spend a long time down here.”“Why?”“It’s creepy.”I arched an eyebrow. “In what way? Is it something to do with the ‘bad energy’ or whatever you mentioned before?”Miku pouted. “The place is notorious for being haunted, or at least that’s what I hear. There are tons of stories, but I won’t go into detail because I don’t want you running out scared on me.”“I’m not scared of ghosts,” I said.She didn’t seem to believe me.We continued to weave through the aisles, further and further back into a section of the library where the light of the torches didn’t reach so well. The air was colder, more stifling, and dust and mold seemed to riddle everything around us.Miku had wrapped an arm around mine along the way. I knew she was afraid, although she’d deny if I asked.She came to a halt when she spotted something ahead of us. Quietly, she said into my ear, “It seems like we’re not the only ones who have visited recently.”I followed her gaze, spotting a footprint in the dust on the ground a few metres from us. “Scared it’s a ghost?” I teased.She answered with a scowl.We moved forward, Miku stepping around the footstep with caution, as if it would explode at any moment. Eventually, she stopped to start combing through the manuscripts on the shelves.Not looking at me, she asked, “Could you have a look around and see if you can find anything on nox?”When I opened my mouth, her gaze snapped to mine and she quickly added, “Don’t ask, just look.”I pressed my lips together and turned away, meandering down another aisle to sift through the dust.Most of the manuscripts I found were on basic magic, with an occasional mention of intermediate magic. Ignis and fulmen were in there, too, and I spied some on cael and stella. I tried to refrain from getting distracted by my curiosity though, reminding myself there was no use in reading them if I was still so inept at my second element.I managed to find one that mentioned nox, some sort of complicated script on the spells a person could use upon mastering it. I tucked that under my arm and moved onto the next shelf, my motions falling into something robotic.While looking through that next shelf, I sensed a presence and my gaze fell to a pair of familiar boots standing beside me in the aisle. I sucked in a sharp breath.As I glanced up to see who it was, I heard Miku call, “Len, are you okay?”A set of wide, blue eyes stared back at me. I fumbled for my words. “Y—yes, I’m fine. I just—I was surprised by a bug, is all.”It was a poor excuse, but for some reason, something told me not to tell her the truth.Miku’s voice was closer this time. “Alright,” she said after a moment of hesitation.Rin held a finger to her lips, reaching out to wrap her hand around my wrist. She tugged me down another aisle, putting some distance between Miku and I.“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice low.I glanced behind me, worried Miku would round the corner any second. “I could ask the same thing,” I whispered.She scanned my face. I realised we were standing awfully close, but didn’t move to put distance between us. “Just looking for something,” she told me cryptically.“Oh.” Her hand was still tight around my arm. When I looked down at it, she came to her senses and quickly released me. “Well… I’m doing the same.”“Really,” she said, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes dropped to the manuscript I had found earlier. She plucked it from my grasp. I made no motion to stop her. After glancing over the contents of the manuscript, she told me with a hint of amusement, “This is a bit advanced for someone of your level.”“It’s… for a friend,” I admitted.Rin sucked in her lips, musing. “Right. The girl you spoke to before.”“Yes.”She narrowed her eyes. “Why nox?”“I don’t know,” I said. “Some super top secret research, or something of the sort.”“Hmm,” was her response. “Nox is dangerous.”I eyed her. “Thank you. I’m well aware.”Rin handed the manuscript back to me. “Strange the college is researching it, considering what happened to one of their students,” she said.“You know about that, too?”She gave me a knowing smile. “Of course I do.”Something inside me prickled at that, and it occurred to me that this entire interaction was strange. It was wrong. Something was pressing down on the back of my mind, heavy and terrifying, and at that moment, a thought struck me like a blow to the chest.I opened my mouth to ask a question, but before I could get it out, Rin cursed and ran away. I didn't follow.There were footsteps approaching from behind and I spun around to face Miku, who was staring at me with an expression of concern. She had one hand pressed to her chest.“Len,” she said, sounding breathless. “There you are. What are you doing?”I swallowed. “I—er, got lost,” I lied.Miku tilted her head with a frown. “I heard voices, so I came running. Are you sure you’re alright?”“Yes, um, I’m fine.” I handed over the manuscript I found, and she took it cautiously. “Maybe there are other people down here as well?”After looking at the manuscript quickly, she tucked it into the bag she had over her shoulder. “Maybe,” she echoed, sounding uncertain. “I think we should head off, anyway. I’ve gathered enough information for now.” She held out the bag, showing a number of other manuscripts tucked inside.I nodded in agreement. I glanced back over my shoulder one last time, expecting to see Rin behind me, but it was only the two of us.Miku gave me a weird look, but reached out for my hand and pulled me after her as we headed for the exit. Not another word was spoken between us until we reached the navis terminal.“Aren’t you going to practice, today?” she asked when she noticed I had followed her all the way into the terminal.I shook my head. “I think I’ll take a break and go home.” Part of me didn’t want to go—I didn't really want to entertain the possibly of running into Rin again. For some reason, the whole interaction between us in the library had irked me.There was something off about her, but I couldn’t place a finger on what.Miku hesitated, before taking a careful breath. She seemed relieved. “Thanks for coming with me today, Len.”“It’s fine.” I gave her a smile. “I’m glad I could be of assistance.”She mirrored my expression. “I appreciate it.”“I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”Miku nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course.” She took a step away and gave a small wave. “See you later. Be safe.” Then she turned, heading off in the direction of the navis that went back to school.I watched her walk away, my chest tight. Rin’s concern over the manuscripts had made me a little concerned, too. Nox is dangerous, her voice said in my head. For some reason, it sounded like she was speaking from experience.But maybe I was reading things too much.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the following day I saw Rin again. I’d summed up the courage to return to my usual spot to practice, and like she knew, she was there waiting for me in the tree.She dropped down in front of me as I’d walked over to set my belongings beside the trunk. I almost screamed, but settled for a very audible gasp of surprise. Her lips turned up in amusement.“Rin,” I said, immediately putting distance between us. I was still uncertain from our strange rendezvous in the library.Rin folded her arms over her chest, looking up at me from under her dark lashes. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said as a greeting.I quirked an eyebrow. “Why?”“Suddenly appearing, and then running off,” she elaborated.“Right. That was quite the weird… coincidence.”She rolled her eyes. “I sometimes stay down there. It’s safe and not many people are willing to venture into a so-called haunted library. I heard voices, so I went to investigate—and I saw you. I was surprised.”“You… stay down there? As in live? ” I asked. I didn’t try hiding my confusion.Rin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding my gaze. “My living situation isn’t the best, so…” She trailed off. “I don’t want to talk about it, though.”I frowned. Living situation not the best? What did that mean? Was she homeless? Kicked out of home? This girl became more and more peculiar by the minute.“Anyway,” she continued, “I know you practice here every day, so I thought I’d make it up to you for… what happened yesterday.”Rin reached down into a pocket in her pants and pulled something small out with her hand. She held it out to me on her palm. It was a small, yellow crystal.Fulmen.I stared at it, disbelieving at first. Then I asked, “Where did you get that?”The corners of her lips turned down. “It’s a spare. You can’t keep it of course, but I thought I’d come help you train with fulmen since… I noticed you still have only ignis.”It was weird. I was sure taking the crystal from her wouldn't be like accepting a gift from the fae, but it felt as such.“What…” I said, before pausing. “Why? I mean, is fulmen one of your crystals?”Rin lowered her hand. “Yes,” she answered. “Ignis, too. I know fulmen is difficult to master, and I guessed as much that was the case with you. So I thought I’d offer to help you, in exchange for you not asking questions about yesterday.”I eyed her, suspicious. “Why don’t you want me to ask questions?”“Because you do,” she said. Then she took a breath, and I didn’t miss her tremble with it. “Also… I know you’re suspecting something. Aren’t you?”The question I never managed to ask yesterday, I recalled. I nodded.“I want to keep my secrets, Len,” she continued. “So I’ll help you master fulmen if you promise to not ask questions about information I don’t want to disclose.”I didn’t want to agree to her conditions, let alone be involved with anything regarding her. There was a part of me that feared what she was hiding, because people were never that eager to hide things, unless it was something horrible. But another part of me, a desperate part, wanted the help she offered with fulmen.After stewing over my decision a few moments, I held out my hand to her.As Rin reached to place fulmen in my palm, a relieved look to her face, I said, “I have one question.”She hesitated, her hand retracting a little. Her mouth twisted, and I could tell she was going to deny.“One question,” I repeated, before she could get a word out. “Just let me ask it. You don’t have to answer.”Rin’s lips parted, and for a moment, she stood there, calculating. Eventually, she exhaled through her nose and asked, “What is it?”“What are your other two crystals?”She stared at me, reading my expression. The question I knew could be answered literally, but I was hoping she’d answer in another way. She wouldn’t, though.Even if I was suspecting something, she wouldn’t confirm it.Rin dropped fulmen into my hand, retracting hers like it’d touched something hot. “Umbra and messor,” she told me. “No more questions.”I made a mental note to research those later.We moved on to her promise in the deal—practicing with fulmen. She was a good teacher, better than I’d expected. Mostly patient, informative, although a little short-fused at times.“You need to ground yourself, Len,” she explained, when she’d pinpointed the problem with my technique. “If you don’t ground yourself and become a neutral force, the lightning will sought after something with an attractive charge.”After hours of meticulous attempts, I finally managed to control fulmen. Even Rin was impressed, though she tried her best to act nonchalant.Unfortunately, the sun was starting to draw low in the horizon. I’d lost track of time. I didn’t want to stay in the valley any longer, especially with what I’d heard happens after dark. Besides, it would take a few hours to get home, so I decided to wrap up practice.I handed the crystal back to Rin, who blinked a little cluelessly at me.“I need to go home,” I told her.She lowered her gaze and pocketed fulmen. “Right.”As I gathered my things, I thanked her for the help and she offered a small smile.“I’ll help you again, tomorrow, if you want,” she said to me as we walked back towards the ruins. The forest was a lot more dark and sinister at this time of day, an eerie silence, so I was glad I wasn't alone. The forest was the perfect place for someone to jump out of the shadows at any moment and attack.I hummed in thought. “If I come tomorrow,” I agreed. I didn’t look directly at her, but watched for a reaction out of the corner of my eye.Rin’s mouth twitched. She said nothing more.When we reached the edge of ruins, she stopped in place. I looked back at her.“This is as far as I’ll go,” she said.“Right. The library.”She nodded.As I turned to walk away, she called out my name and I paused.“Thank you for trusting me,” she said, her voice soft.Trust was a strange word to use. I didn’t know whether I trusted her. Was making a promise with her trust? Was letting her teach me magic trust? Maybe some would see it that way. But I didn’t know her. I was suspicious of her. I was, maybe, a little afraid of her.I didn’t look back, but I held up a hand in a wave to show I’d heard her. The words were stuck in my mouth. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to be honest, either.There was a long silence before I heard her leave. I glanced back over my shoulder to where she stood, and stared into the foreboding darkness of the forest. Then, I started off towards the navis.

At school the next day, I found myself in the library during my lunch break researching Rin’s crystals. I didn’t know why I cared so much, but I guessed it was a due to my suspicions about her.Miku found me with my head buried in a book, reading a passage about messor. When she saw what I was reading, she raised her eyebrows in question and took a seat across from me.“Why are you reading about crystals?” she asked.I shrugged. “They’re interesting.” It was partially true—I did find them interesting.She grinned, her eyes twinkling. “Oh, a future crystal researcher we have here?”I pulled a face. “It’s kind of creepy when you sound so excited,” I said. I closed the book. “Just because I’m interested doesn’t really mean I want anything to do with them.”Miku reached up to play with a strand of hair, her bottom lip pouting. “Disappointing, I thought I’d finally have someone I could bond with.”“We’re not already bonding right now?” I teased with a grin.She rolled her eyes, before sliding the book out from under my hands. She flipped it back open to the page I was on before, glancing over it. “Do you know,” she said, pointing to a drawing on the page, “that messor is a cousin to sano?”I arched an eyebrow. “How so?”“Well,” Miku continued, “sano is the healer crystal, right? And messor is associated with death. Someone who uses messor can bring people back to life, a little like how sano can heal a dying person.”Messor was a strange, albeit concerning, crystal to learn about. It was dubbed the crystal of the God of Death, however ominous that sounded. Whoever used it channeled their power from ‘death’… although, that was something I was yet to fully comprehend.“I don’t see it,” I announced after a moment of thought.Miku grinned. “I wasn’t expecting you to. It’s… up there with anima and stella. Sort of a complicated concept. Not a kind of magic people use frequently. Messor is pretty handy for murder cases, though.”I didn’t bother asking her to elaborate on what she meant. The topic made me feel uncomfortable. Especially when it was related to Rin, another topic that made me feel uncomfortable.I decided to change the subject, before she could say anything more. “How’s the research going?”When she gave me a blank look, I clarified, “The manuscripts we went looking for the other day. Were they helpful for Luka?”Miku brightened. “Oh, yes! She said the manuscripts were exactly what she was looking for.”I didn’t know whether she was just being nice, but I believed her. “That’s good.”She reached over to place a hand on mine. “I really appreciate the help, Len. We really appreciate it. And thank you for keeping quiet about it, as well.”I froze at the intimacy of her gesture, heat climbing to my cheeks. I managed to force a smile and squeak out, “S-sure.”Miku gave my hand a rough pat, before pulling away and standing. She went to walk off, but hesitated, turning back to me. There was a hint of pink in her cheeks—or perhaps that was just me being hopeful.“Len,” she said.“Yes?”“Sorry for springing this on you suddenly,” she continued, averting her gaze to her hands. “I just wanted to know if you’d like to come to my home over the weekend to study for our upcoming History exam?”I blinked. The thought of being alone with Miku, in her house, was a little daunting. I didn’t know why.Blood rushing in my ears, I said in a hoarse voice, “Yeah. Okay.”She paused, looking surprised, as if she wasn’t expecting that answer. Then she smiled something so bright it lit up the entire room. “Awesome! Let’s talk more after school. We can exchange details then.”With a bounce in her step, she disappeared out of the library. I stared down at the desk in front of me, wondering why my heart was beating so hard.

Luka was surprised to see my sudden improvement. I couldn’t tell whether she was happy about it, though.“Have you been practicing, or something, Len?” she asked, after I successfully demonstrated the control exercise. She’d folded her arms over her chest, and her eyebrows were drawn together. “There’s no way you could’ve pulled this off with no practice.”I was flustered again, for some reason. There was a flutter of guilt in my chest, too. “I… well, yes. A… family friend has been helping me,” I lied. There was no way I could admit to Rin teaching me. I had a feeling doing so would be very bad.Luka scanned my face. “I see. So, you know someone who uses fulmen?”Determined to not insinuate the strange circumstances I’d practiced in, I choked out a measly, “Yes.”She frowned a little. “Interesting.” She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt a moment, before taking a steady breath. “Well, I’m glad… you’ve found someone who can help you with fulmen. Perhaps, if possible, you can ask them to come in sometime during your lessons with me?”I nodded. “Er, yes. Perhaps.”Luka watched me a few moments more, as if waiting for me to crack and admit otherwise. I knew she suspected something of my behaviour, but I didn’t know why she didn’t point it out. Eventually, she moved on to explaining a new exercise to work on, seeming satisfied enough with the progress I’d made.After the lesson, she handed me another thick book; the second volume to the one I’d been told to read originally. “It might do you some good to study cael in advance,” she said. “I doubt we’ll get to it any time soon, but if you’re more familiar with it, it’ll make the process easier.”While I put the book away in my satchel, returning the first volume to her hands, she continued casually, “I heard from Miku that you’re reading about other crystals. Do you enjoy that, Len?”I cleared my throat awkwardly. It felt as if Miku had ratted me out, although I wasn’t really trying to hide what I was doing. “I guess,” I answered. “I’m just curious to know what crystals people can use.”Luka smiled. “I’m glad for you.”I smiled back, unsure of what to say.Before I left the room to go home, I stopped in the lab doorway and looked back at her. “Should I come back tomorrow?” I asked.She paused to think a moment. “Maybe every second day, for now,” she instructed.We said our goodbyes and I hurried home. I was eager to make it back before it grew too cold, and eager to read about cael.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Miku’s house was up in the hills of the city; a fortunate neighbourhood, I could tell. She greeted me at the closest navis terminal and walked me to her home—a grand, white building with sweeping roofs and delicate accents. When I complimented it, she seemed a little ashamed.I wasn’t surprised, though. I already knew Miku came from a wealthy family; her parents worked in the government, somewhere, and naturally that meant they were well paid. “The houses they give the mining families,” she said, “they’re not bad, are they?”I looked at her, and she glanced away, pretending the path was more intriguing. “No,” I answered honestly. “They’re just average. Maybe small for you, but I don’t have a big family, anyway.”“Oh.” Miku laughed, sounding uncomfortable. “I was… just curious. People around here make it sound like a hole, but I doubt the government would be so… classist and cruel.”I raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t compare to this neighbourhood, I suppose.”She grimaced. “Yes, this one is… fairly pompous. I hate it, sometimes.”We reached the front porch. It was just as white as the rest of the house, with marbled stone as the floor and a large, glass door. Miku scanned her rune on a metal slate next to the door, and a beat passed before we heard a soft click. She then opened the door and entered inside.I followed after her into the entryway. It was large and neat, unlike the cluttered one at home. Miku gestured to a shelf on the left for me to place my shoes, meanwhile putting hers away in the cupboard to the right.The entryway sat at the end of a short, wide hallway, which opened up into a foyer. Two tall, curved staircases to the upper level were in the centre of the foyer, and a fancy glass chandelier hung from the ceiling above them. The glass reflected splashes of colour across the marble floor, catching the mid-morning sun peaking through the large windows in the foyer.Miku looked even more ashamed when she saw my expression. “It’s a lot, I know,” she said. “My parents like to let people know we’re very comfortable.”“I guess if I had the money, I would, too,” I said.She flushed, as if she disagreed with the sentiment, and lead me up one of the staircases and down a narrow hall to our left. About halfway down the hall, she stopped before a white, wood-carved door and opened it, ushering me inside.It was a bedroom, and like everything in this house so far, it was large and immaculate. A double bed was to my right, and draped over it was a duvet with a delicate floral pattern. Straight ahead was a desk with a bookshelf and a large bay window, comfortable seats and a tiny table nestled between. On the left was a vanity and another closet, with a similar design to the bedroom door.Miku closed the door behind us and sighed, passing me to fumble with the papers on her desk. I walked further into the room, mesmerised by how bright and clean everything looked.“Um,” she said, turning to me with a shy look. “I’ll go grab us some snacks and a drink. Just… settle in and make yourself comfortable.” She then left the room in a hurry.I dumped my bag down next to the sitting area by the window and surveyed the view of the neighbourhood from it. I could see down into a tidy, almost picturesque garden, and over a few rooftops of neighbouring houses and the tops of well-groomed gingko trees. In the distance, glittering skyscrapers of the city centre loomed against the horizon like the jagged glass of a broken window. I’d never had the chance to look at it like this, but it was then I noticed it was quite beautiful in its own way.Then I turned to look at Miku’s room a little better, curiosity getting the better of my manners. At a glance it seemed too clean and bare, but on closer inspection it was well lived in. On her vanity she had a clutter of various self-care products, ones I’d never seen and cared less for, alongside a display of bright hair accessories—some of which looked familiar. Her desk wasn’t exactly neat; fresh eraser shavings scattered the surface, and dog-eared books sat arranged in a pile in no particular order, beside some unmatched photo frames.The photo frames featured some familiar faces, classmates as such, as well as what looked to be a family portrait. It seemed Miku was an only child as well, and her parents wore strict expressions.My eye caught something peculiar amongst the photos, and after checking over my shoulder Miku wasn’t watching, I leant in to get a better look.One photo was of Miku alongside another girl, posing in front of what seemed a beach or lake. They were close—grinning widely, their arms linked together—but that wasn’t what drew me to the picture. The girl she was with looked eerily familiar; short blonde hair, blue eyes, a soft face. I knew her. I knew her better than I should’ve.I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—or who I was seeing, but somewhere deep down inside of me, it confirmed my worst fears. It made sense in a terrifying manner.I heard the click of the bedroom door opening over the blood rushing in my ears, but I couldn’t draw my gaze away from the photo. Miku walked into the room with a tray of sweets and tea, unbeknownst to the horrifying realisation I was experiencing.Upon setting down the tray on the small table by the window, she turned to me, a curious expression on her face. Finally, I wrenched myself upright, my gaze falling to my knees.“You were looking at my photos?” she asked, or more so presumed, with the quirk of an eyebrow.I flushed and swallowed, wiping my clammy hands against my shorts. “Sorry.”Miku smiled politely, stepping up to her desk to gaze at her collection. “There’s no need to apologise, Len. They’re there to be looked at.”I couldn’t help but stare at the photo of Miku and that girl again. She followed my gaze and stiffened, but quickly forced a nonchalant demeanour.My mouth moved before my brain could protest. “Who is she?” I asked, obviously referring to the girl she was with. Of course, I knew who she was, but some part of me didn’t want to believe it.There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “She’s… an old friend,” she answered in a soft voice.A beat of silence passed between us, before I asked, “Is she—”“We should get started on our study, Len,” Miku interrupted, her gaze snapping to mine. There was an edge in her voice, and I knew it was a warning to not press on the topic. “It’s nearly noon.”I stepped away from the desk, trying to suppress the swirling of emotions rising in my chest. “Right. We should. I’m sorry.”She looked like she wanted to say something else, but pressed her lips together and averted her gaze. We then gathered our books and took a seat by the window, and commenced studying about a distant time in a world much like our own. We spent most of the day studying, and did not revisit the topic of the girl in that photo. I couldn’t help but mull over it the entire time, though.One particular thing that bothered me, while we were studying, was the lack of explanation in our textbook behind the disappearance of the Ancient Ones and what signified the uprising of our modern society. It seemed to gloss over such a significant change, as if it was hardly a turning point in our history. But how could an intelligent civilisation completely disappear without any reason?I voiced my concerns to Miku as we packed our things late that afternoon. The sky outside was a brilliant orange as sunset began, and it cast a warm hue into the room. For some reason, the sight of just that was as magical as what our hands could do.Miku listened to me as I complained, and when I finished, she said, “I never really thought about that.”I paused to look at her. “What do you mean?”She shrugged her shoulders. Her skin seemed to glow under the light. “I mean, at school there was never any emphasis put on the end of the era of the Ancient Ones, and the start of our modern one. So I never really thought much of it.”“Not at all?”Miku shook her head. “Maybe once I might’ve wondered about it, but I’ve always sort of assumed some sort of mass extinction happened, or something, to the Ancient Ones. Like they all got the plague, or something like that. I guess it was never really a point of concern for me. It’s just history.”I fastened my satchel closed and stood straight, staring at her. I couldn’t comprehend why she was so complacent over it, but Miku was peculiar in that way. There were some things she tended to gloss over and avoid, even though I felt she shouldn’t.“It’s always felt like something important has been omitted,” I said, defensive of my questioning. “Never mind then.” I knew I was being obvious in my sulking, and so I decided to give up with the conversation.She took a step towards me. “Len.”“Yes?”Miku scanned my face, as if searching for something, although I didn’t know what. “It’s interesting how you’re so curious and quick to question everything.”I averted my gaze. “Is that bad?”“No,” she said. “Well, maybe sometimes. But I find it interesting. I like that about you.”My face grew warm and I couldn’t bring myself to look back up at her. She had taken another step closer to me. “I didn't realise it was a likable quality.”Miku laughed. She was so close I could feel her breath hitting my cheeks. “City people are so boring and willing to believe everything they hear. It’s a breath of fresh air, if anything.”I finally looked at her. Her cheeks were flushed as well, and this time I was certain it wasn’t my imagination. My heart was beating hard against my rib cage. I was so scared she could hear it. “I was sure I’d annoy you with it, eventually.”She smiled at me. “Not ever.”Something in my head told me to close the distance between us. I didn’t know why. It was a stupid thought. But then I did it.I kissed her on the mouth, and it was quick, and I pulled away just as quick because I was terrified I’d made some awful move. But when I saw Miku’s face, she did not look at me with disgust or horror. She just gave me this very soft look, and it made me want to kiss her again.So I did.This time I didn’t run away as fast, and her lips pressed back against mine. Her hands gripped the hem of my shirt, pulling me towards her. I reached up to cup one side of her face, her skin soft under the tips of my fingers. My head was pounding with excitement and shock, and I was sure that if she hadn’t heard my heart earlier, she would definitely hear it now.We pulled away, breathing heavily, our faces the shade of crimson. Miku reached down to hold one of my hands and squeezed it hard. My heart just about burst from my chest.“You like me?” I asked, unsure if I’d just dreamed up the last five minutes of my life.She laughed. “Yes, Len. I like you.”“Well, I like you too.”“I know.”We smiled at each other. Although part of me wanted to stay put forever and bask in this moment, a small voice in my head reminded me I had to go home. I cast a look out the window beside us, noting the sky fading to a deep blue.“I should go,” I told her softly.Miku made no effort to hide her disappointment, but she nodded in understanding. “I’ll walk you to the terminal.”I gathered my things and we walked down to the entryway together. Once we were outside, out of view of the house, her fingers reached for mine and we held hands. She didn’t let go until we reached the navis.After a quick hug goodbye, I spent the rest of my journey home thinking about what had just happened. It seemed surreal, but the warmth left from her touch convinced me it wasn’t a dream.I was on such a high, it didn’t bother me when I arrived at home to see no lights on in the house. When I checked the message box, something from my father had arrived, simply stating he was covering a night shift. Usually I would be a little concerned or disappointed, for I didn’t enjoy being alone in the house at night, but my mind was just Mikumikumiku.Of course, as I walked through the house towards my room, the feeling was not enough for me to be oblivious that something was amiss.I couldn’t tell how or why I knew exactly, but there was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that made me feel like someone had been there moments earlier. Perhaps my father had found time to come home between shifts, but I found that unusual, as he seldom ever did so. Nevertheless, I tried to convince myself it was possibly just that.I was wrong to think otherwise.As I entered the darkness of my bedroom and turned to search for a light switch, someone approached from behind. In one swift movement, they had me bound and placed their hand over my mouth so I couldn’t scream for help.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

My immediate reaction was panic.I wriggled in the stranger’s grasp in an attempt to get away, although a poor decision. As expected, their grip was like iron. Some degree of self-defence kicked in and I managed to jut an elbow into their stomach, earning a grunt of pain.The intruder then hissed, “Hey! Hey. Hey. ”I froze. Something dreadful washed over me.“Promise you aren’t going to scream,” they whispered. I nodded, and their grasp loosened so I could move.“Rin,” I said, putting as much distance between us as possible. “What are you—how are you—how do you know where I live?”I couldn’t see her face in the darkness, but I could see her silhouette. “Research,” she answered cryptically.“You’re in my house. You don’t even know my full name.” Perhaps I would’ve been calmer, had I not seen what I’d seen at Miku’s house earlier that day. But I did, and a million thoughts were running through my mind, and Rin was the last person I wanted to see in my bedroom in the middle of the night. Not to mention, she also grabbed me with no warning whatsoever. “That is true,” she said.A pregnant silence filled the empty space between us. I was trying not to panic. She was… I didn’t have a clue what she was doing, or why she was in my room.“Look, I know by doing this I’ve betrayed your trust, but…” I never trusted you, I wanted to say, but I held my tongue.“But you have to believe me when I say that there is danger.”I shook my head. I didn’t want to listen to her or believe her.Rin sensed my reluctance. She sighed. “Len, I…”“Who are you?” I asked, not letting her finish. “Who are you really? ”She was quiet. Then she assumed in a low, weak voice, “You know already.”“I want to hear you say it,” I said. I didn’t know why I was acting so defiant, despite knowing everything and how much a risk it was to be talking to her. A part of me wanted to run away and hide. But another part of me… it kept me there.Rin took a breath. She found my bed and sat on the edge of it. A streetlight from outside my window hit one side of her face. Her eyes were dark and her cheeks were wet.“My name is Rin Kagamine. I was born and raised in Crypton. My parents work in the media—or they did, I’m not sure if they still do. I used to attend Crypton Central College of Magic. I was the top students there. One day, while researching for an assignment, my carelessness caused a nox crystal to fuse with my rune.”She fell silent. I supposed she didn’t need to explain what happened next, because I already knew.I didn’t know what to say, or what to do. My knees were weak. My hands were trembling. There was a faint ringing in my ears, amongst the stark silence of my bedroom. To hear her admit it, I didn’t know if it made the situation better or worse.“I’m not here to hurt you,” Rin said. “I don’t want to hurt you. But because of me, you’re in danger.”“Why?”She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I’m not allowed to exist. I’m not supposed to exist. I’m a walking experiment. They’ve been after me, trying capture me and… since I interacted with you, they’ve noticed you, too.”I frowned into the darkness. “Who… who’s they ?”“You know. The Silencers.”“The… what?”Rin didn’t answer. Instead, she exhaled loudly. “There’s something about you, Len. I don’t know what it is. But it’s made them interested in you. You’re in danger.”At that, my knees gave out and I sunk to the ground. I couldn’t comprehend anything she was saying. “So… what do you want me to do? Why are you telling me this?” What’s the point? “It’s my fault,” she said. Her voice trembled. “I hurt anyone who gets too close. It’s my fault, so it’s my responsibility. You don’t need to do anything.”“So I just sit here and wait for them to come after me?”“No.” Rin stood from the bed and moved towards me. I didn’t move. “I won’t let them hurt you. I won’t. This is my responsibility. I just wanted to tell you just… just in case.”I didn’t speak. I couldn’t.She crouched in front of me and planted both hands on my shoulders. She was so close I could see her face clearly, despite the lack of light. Her eyes were so black, so deep, so peculiar. I had to avert my gaze, because there was something terrifying about them, something endless and drowning.I remembered that smiling girl in Miku’s photo, and my chest grew tight.“You can’t tell anyone about this,” she urged. “You mustn’t utter a word of it to anyone, not even your father. They’re everywhere. You don’t know who you can trust.”“How can I know to trust you? ”Rin was rendered speechless at that. She stared, before closing her eyes and taking a breath. “I would never hurt the person I love,” she said. “If I hurt you, I would be hurting that person, and I would never forgive myself.”
What?
Before I could question what she meant, she moved away. “I can’t meet you in the valley anymore. You shouldn’t go there either. I know that means you can’t practice magic, but I’m sure you’ll find some way around it.”She then began to rifle around in the pocket of her coat, pulling out something small and pearl-like. It glowed slightly in the dark, glinting in the light from the window. She tossed it to me and it fell into my lap.It was a stella crystal.“In case of emergency,” she said. “But don’t be stupid—it’ll kill you, and I mean it. Definitely don’t let your tutor find out you have one, either.”I eyed it with a sense of uncertainty, before I picked it up and slipped it into my pocket. When I glanced back up, Rin was gone.

I hardly slept after that encounter. I desperately wanted to talk to someone about it, to find out more of what I’d been dragged into, but I was too scared. Part of me wanted to confide in Miku, because she was close to Rin—and, surely, she would be someone I could trust, right? But whenever I tried to bring up the topic with her, I didn’t have the heart to keep going.The stella crystal I was given had been tucked away for safety in my bookcase. If my father happened to stumble across it, I knew even with his limited knowledge, he would still have some questions, so it was better hidden from plain sight. But I wasn’t really sure what to do with it, especially considering I still knew absolutely nothing about stella’s powers.Rin didn’t make herself known to me for a while, but sometimes it felt as if someone were watching me, and I wondered if that was her.That, or the so-called Silencers were watching. I didn’t know what they were, or who they were, or what kind of purpose they served, but the name implied they were not some benevolent force. It got me thinking if there was something deeper to this place. If it really wasn’t as picture-perfect as it appeared on the outside.I continued to go through daily life as normal as possible, or as normal as I could with the notion that I was in danger hanging over my head. I attended lessons with Luka, and improved at fulmen very slowly, while continuing my study of cael. She ended up allowing me to use one of the practice rooms at the school after lessons, and that meant sometimes I could walk to the navis terminal with Miku at the end of the day.Miku didn’t mind showing affection in secret, as many of our ‘study dates’ ended up just being us kissing for hours in her bedroom, but she was reluctant to even so much as hold my hand in public. When I asked her why one day, she looked visibly upset.“My parents are against me dating anyone while in school,” she said. “It’s not that I don’t want to be affectionate with you all the time, Len, it’s just that I’m worried someone will see and report it to them.”I’d never thought about that, but I supposed her parent’s seemed like the type to be strict. Sometimes, when they were around at her house, they would instruct her to keep her bedroom door open while we studied.“Maybe we can study at my place,” I suggested to her. “Then you won’t have to worry about having to keep things a secret from them.”Miku was hesitant. “I wouldn’t know what to tell them, though.”“Do you not go to other friend’s houses?” I asked.She twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “Well, not lately. But they would force me to tell them who I would be with, and so I don’t think it’d work.”I frowned. “I’m sure there’s something we could do.”Miku looked sullen. “Perhaps.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m sorry, Len. I know you don’t want to date someone with so many boundaries…”“It’s fine,” I assured her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “I understand. I don’t mind. We can work this out, alright?”She looked at me with sad eyes, and it broke my heart to see. It was as if she was a prisoner in her own life.It was then I truly understood what she meant by perfection and its flaws. The cost of perfection was to be flawed. I began to use my study periods to research on stella in the school library. The books there certainly weren’t as detailed as Luka’s, but I figured it was better than being clueless, if the worst possible thing were to happen (but I was hoping it never would, at least, not until I was ready).From what I could comprehend, it was fabled stella drew its power from the sun and stars. Bright, strong, warm. Unstable, even, was one of the words written in the textbooks. That's reassuring, I thought. It also had some other kind of power, and that I was yet to understand. Something to do with creation, or positive energy, or the universe—and I guessed, there was a reason why it was the last crystal I was to learn.“All you do in study lessons is… study,” a voice said from behind. I was in the library again.I sat upright in my seat, disconnecting my face from the pages. It was Kaito, and he held a look of disgust.“I, um,” I stuttered, caught off-guard.He raised an eyebrow, pulling up a seat beside me. “Crystals, huh,” he said, with a sort of acidity to his words. “I can see why Miku likes you.”To be honest, I was a little intimidated by Kaito at times. He had a switch, and sometimes I worried if I tripped it, he’d become an entirely different person—and not in a good way.I flushed. “What… what do you mean?”He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “I see the gross looks you shoot each other across the classroom. It’s obvious.”“Oh.” That… was not good.“I’m genuinely impressed,” he continued. “She’s always been very guarded and disinterested in guys. But you… you just waltz right in and sweep her off her feet.”I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable by his presence. This conversation had a bitterness to it, I could tell. But a stupid part of me had to ask, “Do you like her?”Kaito was taken aback by my forwardness. He blinked once, twice, before smirking. “I did.”I didn’t know how to respond.“I did, but I gave up, because she’s Miku. Impenetrable. Mysterious. It’s not like I could ever get past Rin anyway.”Both of us stiffened at that name. Kaito’s eyes went wide with realisation of his slip, and he averted his gaze, acting as if it never happened. I knew better not to question.“I… I see,” was all I said.Feigning nonchalance, he threw his shoulders. “Consider yourself lucky you were deemed good enough for her attention. I don’t know what she thinks of you, but anyway.”The words stung, but I knew that was what they were meant to do. Kaito saw me as some sort of rival and the point of the conversation was to establish my inferiority. He was right. I didn’t have a lot going for me. I was borderline failing most of my subjects, especially the magic-specific ones, and I had no particular strengths. Despite my many cons and lack of pros, Miku—a high-achieving, popular student—still pursued me. It made little sense.I didn’t say anything, just gazed down at the pages of my book. I had nothing to defend myself with.Kaito stared at me a moment longer, before harrumphing and standing from his seat. “We’ll see how long it lasts,” he said. “Everyone knows that getting involved with those crystals only ends in tragedy, anyway.”He left, and I sat there in silence, pretending to read my book but not really comprehending the words in front of me. I didn’t know why Miku liked me so much, when I was so unspectacular and stupid in comparison to others. I didn’t even know why, or how, I somehow came to know Rin, who was just as involved in all of this chaos. But he was right, in a sense. It seemed those crystals were a bad omen, and I was only getting myself involved in something I knew nothing of.I understood why Rin was scared for me. People were watching, and they were noticing.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The leaves on the trees around the city began to change colour as the weeks crawled by. I soon had to rub my hands together for warmth in the early mornings, the tips of my fingers almost frozen solid from the crisp autumn air. Miku was waiting by the front gate of the school when I arrived.She found my whining about the temperature drop amusing. “You really haven’t experienced this kind of climate before, have you?”I fiddled with ignis in my glove, trying to steal some of its warmth. “No,” I said.She chuckled and reached out to cup my hands between her own. They were no warmer than mine—if not colder. I complained about that, and she just laughed at me a little more.“Have you got plans for this afternoon?” she asked as we entered into the main building. I breathed a sigh of relief as the temperature shifted to something warmer, a little more liveable. “Actually, yes,” I said, glancing at her with a hint of guilt. She was probably wanting to ‘study’ again, but I already had other plans. “I need to buy a glove. Luka chided me yesterday about giving back the one she’d lent me, so. I’ve finally saved enough allowance to be able to afford a half-decent one anyway.”“Oh.” Miku raised her eyebrows in interest. “Mind if I tag along?”“Can you do that?” I thought about her parents and their clear suspicion towards me.She gave a sly look and hummed. “I can… make some white lies to get around it, providing I don’t stay out too late.”“Like what?”“Oh, Luka asked me to help the clueless new student with buying a glove… Since I’m the class president, I can’t get out of it…” Miku spoke with exasperation and held a hand to her forehead, acting as if this task was the last thing she wanted to do.I grinned. “Wow, it’s such a chore, isn’t it?”“The class president excuse always worked. I used it a lot when—” Miku stopped to think, before repeating, “I used it a lot when I was younger and wanted to get out of studying at home.”I knew she wanted to say something different, but I pretended to not notice. “I guess the label comes in handy sometimes.”She pulled a face. “Yeah, apart from being a nuisance almost 99% of the time otherwise.”“Will you volunteer for the position next year?” I asked.“Well, unless someone with more passion about it suddenly appears between now and then, I don’t think I have a choice.” I raised an eyebrow, to which she clarified, “If no one puts their hand up for the position, which no one with a single functioning brain cell would, I’ll probably just get asked to do it again by default because I’ve got the experience and a nice track record.”“Sounds complicated,” I said.Miku nodded in agreement, her lips pulled into a line of frustration. “I guess not being class president would only give my parents more reason to keep me inside, though.”I didn’t answer, deciding silence was just as appropriate for such a negative topic. We reached our classroom shortly after, and the conversation died there as we went our separate ways during the day.Miku followed up on our conversation during lunch, though. “I contacted my parents just before,” she said, pulling up a seat to my desk and setting her lunch down between us. “It took some convincing, but they’re letting me go for an hour or so. Don’t let me get home late.” She finished her order with a grin.“Well, that’s a lot of pressure.” I was half-joking, half-serious. I took a bite into my sandwich I made in a hurry that morning—there were no leftovers from dinner, so I had to think of an alternative. I could only find bananas for the filling though.Miku eyed my sandwich with a hint of both curiosity and disgust. “Sorry, I tried to get longer, I didn’t want to push too much. They’re really on my case nowadays.”A part of me was nervous knowing that. Was it because of me? Were they becoming suspicious? The idea of Miku getting into trouble was terrifying. What would happen if they found out? She had never really said.“That’s okay. You can just point me in the right direction if we don’t have enough time,” I said, trying to push away the sudden onslaught of nerves. “I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me, anyway.”She smiled at me, a gentle look in her eyes. “It’s fine. They’re just paranoid, Len.”I nodded, although her words did little to reassure me. Speaking of paranoia, it’d been a while since Rin had last appeared. Part of me was relieved, but another part felt anxious.Perhaps she was trying to stay away for my sake, but I couldn’t help but worry she’d run into trouble. What would happen to her if she was caught? Would she be killed? Although I knew little about nox, and probably even her, was it worth executing her in the name of justice? An unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that, perhaps, justice didn’t really matter in the city.The further, the deeper I looked into this metropolis of glass and stone and magic, the more sinister it became.I tried to leave that thought alone for the sake of my own sanity, though.We rushed to find a glove that afternoon, but even if we went as fast as we could, Miku could only spend so much time before having to leave. She did help a lot, though, and by the time she left, I had narrowed down my options to two.One was a black fabric, similar to the gloves at school; of course, it was more detailed, less raggedy, and had some more reinforcement in it for wrist and hand support. It was also specific to ignis users; having a very high heat resistance. I didn’t think I’d need to take that into consideration, too, but Miku explained to me that once I was able to do more complicated spells, I did not want to risk my glove catching fire.The other glove was white, like Miku’s. The designs were different, of course; hers was much more expensive, so mine was lacking in the fanciness aspect, but it seemed practical. It was also good for ignis users.I was torn between the two. Black and white were such simple colours. Sure, they had their pros and cons… but I was indecisive. I couldn’t just pick one. But I couldn’t afford both.A shop assistant appeared by my side to ask if I had any questions, having been watching me staring at the gloves for the past fifteen minutes. I shook my head no. The woman hummed, leaning forward to peer at the gloves I’d picked out. “Just trying to make a decision?” she asked.“Yes,” I said.“Well, white stains easily, although this kind is easy to wash and is waterproof, as well as fireproof. With the black one, well, you just can’t tell when it needs to be washed,” she mused.Her commentary was not helping.Then she asked, “Was that girl your girlfriend?”I straightened up and looked at her, my cheeks burning. “N- yes- maybe,” I stuttered out, not sure which answer I should give.The shop assistant raised an eyebrow. “She had a white one on, as well. How about matching with her?”I looked back down at the white one, considering her suggestion. Well, that was kind of cute… although, to be honest, I didn’t think Miku would care much if I matched her (and nor did I, really). “White complements your complexion better, anyway,” she added, as if sensing my uncertainty.She gestured to a nearby mirror for me to compare, and I checked. The black was a little dark against my skin tone—the white seemed to stand out better.Well, to heck with it. I held up the white glove. “Okay. I’ll get this one, then.”The shop assistant looked somewhat proud she’d managed to convince me to choose her suggestion, and toddled off eagerly to the register to ring up my purchase. I placed both gloves back on the display and hurried after her.Alas, the glove was not cheap. If anything, far from cheap. I barely scraped by with all my savings to afford it. I supposed it was because it was all that whatever-proof that made it expensive, but that had me wondering; how much did Miku’s cost?“Would you like to put it on now, sir?” the shop assistant asked.I nodded, and she removed my new glove from the packaging and handed it over to me. I quickly exchanged gloves and stones. The fabric was a little different to the other one, and I could tell would take time to get used to, but other than that, was comfortable enough.So that was one thing to check off the list, at least.I called it a day and headed home. I hated shopping in the city, truth be told. It was too crowded, and it always felt like a hidden pair of eyes were watching you.Perhaps I was just becoming too paranoid, with everything happening, lately.  One late autumn afternoon, I ventured down to Luka’s office to ask her questions about an upcoming magic exam I had to study for. I took one look at the mock paper handed out during class, and my mind instantly melted, and I knew that I was doomed otherwise.So, as much as I didn’t want to spend my afternoon in her office yet again, I decided, at least trying to pass would suffice, right?Besides, I still had to return the glove I’d borrowed, which I’d been forgetting to bring to school every other day. Yesterday, during one of our tutoring sessions, Luka finally lectured me enough to force me to remember to bring it.As I wandered down to her office, I stole a few looks into the classrooms that had been sectioned off in the incident. Recently, they had started slowly doing reconstruction and cleanup, but had to do it ‘with care’ (as Miku claimed) just in case there were any… unstable crystal fragments lying around, or something like that.I reached Luka’s office and knocked on the door a few times, listening for an answer. It didn’t come. I knocked again, no answer, before I let myself in. She had told me several times to just make myself comfortable if she wasn’t there, so I simply followed those instructions.Tossing the long-overdue rental glove on her desk, I took a seat and began rifling through my bag for the mock-test papers. I hoped she wouldn’t leave me waiting too long.As I was glancing over the incomprehensible nonsense I was supposed to understand, the window to my left creaked open, and someone started crawling into the office.I looked up, thinking it was Luka making a very unusual entry, but much to my surprise (and slight horror), it was… Rin.“Um,” I said, not quite sure what to say really, as she dusted herself off, completely unaware I was sitting in the office.She stiffened and looked up at me like a spooked cat.Before any of us could say—or do—anything else, to make the situation even more odd, Luka opened the door and walked in with a mug of coffee.She stopped in the doorway and looked at the both of us, who were looking at her with wide eyes.Her coffee shattered on the floor, and she glanced down at it, before putting a hand to her forehead. Then, as if nothing ever happened, she locked the door behind her, stepped over the broken glass and puddle, and took a seat across from me.Not once did she acknowledge Rin. “Is something the matter, Len?”I croaked, before clearing my throat. “I—um, is this a bad time? My uh… my questions can wait until tomorrow.”Luka opened her mouth to answer, but then Rin stepped closer, turning our heads.“Funny story,” she said, with a crooked grin. “But this isn’t the first time we’re meeting.” She then gestured to me and back to herself.Luka narrowed her eyes. “Why… am I not surprised.”“Uh,” I said, standing from my seat in an attempt to escape this very unexpected situation. “Well, I put my glove on your desk—and I can just come back tomorrow regarding my other concerns—”“Sit down,” Luka ordered, and I obeyed. “You too, Rin.” She gestured to a lone chair in the corner of the room, which Rin shuffled over too, perching on the edge. She cupped her hands on the desk in front of her, giving us a stern expression. “First of all, Rin, I told you not to come during daylight—if someone saw you, heaven forbid all hell would break loose, and you would be dead.”Then she focussed her gaze on me. “And Len. We can discuss your questions in a moment. But first—” Her professional and uptight facade broke for a moment, as she reached up to grab two fistfuls of her hair and let out a very long, loud sigh. “How did you two meet? Why do you know each other? Just—not only is it incredibly dangerous, but—”“I know,” Rin interjected. Her voice was loud, but it wavered. “I know how dangerous it is. It’s my fault. I approached Len first.”I looked back and forth between them. I just wanted to understand, first and foremost, why Rin was in Luka’s office in the first place. Had Luka been keeping in contact with Rin this whole time? Despite everything?(I knew I wasn’t one to judge, because I was in a similar situation, but still. Luka was a teacher, so to say I was shocked about this situation was maybe an understatement.)Luka lifted her head and rubbed at her eyes. “I just—Rin , how many times do you have to disobey my orders? You’re only putting yourself at more and more risk, let alone having landed yourself in this situation in the first place. And now Len is—oh , Len, how much do you know?”I shifted in my seat and looked down at my knees. “I know enough.”“Luka,” Rin started again. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have talked to him, but he’s the only one I have talked to. I promise. I haven’t even tried talking to Miku. I didn’t even know he went to this school until it was too late—”“Rin,” Luka said firmly. “You know that if something happens, I can’t help you, right? I can’t help you—I can’t even help Len. There’s only so much I can do for you, to protect you. They’ll kill me too if they find out.”Rin looked incredibly guilty, her fingers scrunching up the hem of her shorts. Her bottom lip trembled.“We have this discussion every time you come here,” Luka said, looking weary. “I can’t lecture you constantly over your carelessness.”She hung her head. “I know. I’m sorry.”Luka exhaled, then sat upright in her chair, resuming her regular demeanor. “Anyway,” she said, crossing her legs and leaning back in her seat. “Why did you come? What’s wrong?”Rin stood from the chair with slumped shoulders and shuffled over to the desk. It was clear she was sulking—a first for me to see. She peeled off one of her gloves—her right one, to be exact—and held out her hand to show Luka. “It’s getting worse.”In the palm of her hand—where her rune should’ve been—was a gaping black hole. Inside, it glittered slightly, like the flesh of her hand was crystallised. On the back of her hand, four other crystals had been embedded into the skin on her knuckles. And the rest of her skin, up until her elbow, was greyish and covered in black, web-like veins.The sight of it was a little nauseating.Luka reached out carefully to touch the back of her hand, bringing her palm closer for inspection. She frowned. “Hmm. Is it painful?”“Sometimes when I use magic, but that’s—that’s pretty normal,” Rin answered. “But recently, I’ve been losing feeling in my hand… and I’m worried. This morning, I couldn’t feel my hand for several hours.”A moment of silence passed between us, as Luka seemed to be calculating in her mind what to do next. “I’m sorry, Rin,” she said eventually, her eyebrows furrowed. “There’s not much I know. Although Miku and I have been scouring all the manuscripts we can for information, we still haven’t found anything about your situation—there aren't even similar experiences like yours with other crystals.”Rin started putting her glove back on. “I guessed as much,” she mumbled. Her eyes had changed, were as black as ink. “I just… I don’t know what to do. It’s like the crystal is eating me from the inside-out.”Luka hummed. “It probably is.” She then wrote some things down on a spare piece of paper, probably notes about Rin’s… situation. I understood now why she wore such long gloves. “Is there anything else? How are your nosebleeds?”She shrugged. “Every day, almost.”“You’re not feeling lightheaded or anemic?” Luka asked.Rin shook her head. “Not as far as I’m aware of.”Luka frowned. “Hmm…”I didn’t know the situation with Rin was so… grim, so dire. Nosebleeds? Being eaten from the inside-out? I was all of a sudden terrified for her. Although she had yet to really win over my trust, the reality of her situation was starting to make me understand more of what was going on.“Well, thank you for coming by to tell me that—” Luka paused. “—But next time, please don’t come in the middle of the afternoon when the possibility of me having a visitor is high. You might not be so lucky.”Rin nodded, looking down at her feet.“You should go now,” Luka told her.“Yes. Thank you for your time.” Rin turned to head for the window, but paused, turning back to face me. “Oh—and, nice glove, Len. Matching with Miku?” she asked.I flushed. “Uh. Um. Thanks.” I avoided her question.Rin smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was something sad in her expression, deep down; not on the surface, but I knew it was there.Then she was gone.Luka put her head down on the desk, sighing. “Len,” she said. “I’m so, so sorry.”“It’s fine,” I responded automatically; a bad habit.She sat up and grimaced. “It’s not fine. Rin shouldn’t have been talking with you at all. What did she do or say to you? She hasn’t… done anything to you, has she?”“Apart from sneaking up behind me in my bedroom, no,” I said, which Luka narrowed her eyes at. “She… is actually really helpful. I know I wasn’t completely honest, but she’s been the person who has been helping me with learning ignis and fulmen.”Luka pressed her lips together, not overjoyed to be hearing this now. But she seemed to hold back her lecture about accepting help from strangers, or whatever it would be. “Rin was a very good student, so I expect nonetheless she’s a decent teacher, too,” she said. “The reason why she was so smart and such a high achiever was her ability to question everything. Her curiosity, much like you. But that was also her downfall… and now she… well, she’s…”“A wanted person?” I offered.“She’s going to die,” she finished, rather bluntly. My heart stopped for a moment. “Whether it be from nox or from the authorities, I don’t know. But she’s going to die. It’s inevitable. This is why you can’t play around with nox and lux, Len.”Something heavy was sinking in the pit of my stomach. Of course, maybe I was aware of the circumstances—Rin was definitely in danger, one way or another—but to hear it said so frankly was tough to swallow. Did Rin know it? Was she aware of it?After I didn’t respond, Luka changed the topic, clearing her throat. “So, what was it you came here to ask me about?”“Oh,” I said, remembering my mock-test. I pulled it out and handed it to her. “I’m absolutely clueless about this and I don’t know what to do.”She scanned the pages and frowned. “I see… And your test is when?”“Next week.”“Oh dear. Well, I can help you study for it as much as I can, but if you’re really that lost, I might not be able to help you score very high.”“That’s okay,” I said. “I figured, might as well try, right?”Luka smiled slightly. “Okay, well, let’s give the first problem a go while we’re here, then, and see what we can do from there.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As I’d left Luka’s office that one afternoon, she’d given me a stern warning.
Whatever you do, keep your distance from Rin. Although she may have good intentions, she’ll only land you in more danger.
But I didn’t know how to follow that advice. That girl just seemed to appear out of thin air, giving me little chance to run away. However, I didn’t have to worry too much from then on; Rin must’ve listened to Luka for once, making herself scarce. She didn’t appear in my life for weeks and weeks, almost as if she’d disappeared into thin air.I couldn’t help but worry. I didn’t know why. There was a part of me that had warmed to her, felt concern for her, but I knew it was useless, given the situation she was in.When I finally summed up the courage to ask Luka more about what happened to Rin a few weeks after what had happened, she gave me this look . Upon seeing I was determined to get an answer, she sighed in defeat, fiddling with the papers on her desk.“Rin was, of course, a top student, alongside Miku,” she explained with reluctance. “The two were very hard workers, and did a lot of study on crystals, even after school hours. Rin often used the student laboratory in the east wing for research and experiments for her extra-credit assignments. We trusted her, so often we would just let her sleep there overnight.”I tried to imagine sleeping at school, but the thought made me shudder. This place was already eerie enough with what happened, but I still couldn’t stand being here by myself at midnight.“It was partially my failure, my responsibility for what happened. I was too lax, I let her use nox and lux for research, and only let her off with a small warning. Of course she knew of the risk, but…” Luka sighed. “One night, she went too far with one of her experiments. As you know, something she did caused the crystal to imbed itself into her palm. Rin had passed out, and a teacher found her under the desk the next morning. What happened next… well, I’m sure you know about that.”I frowned.“She was frightened, in pain, and perhaps not even… there ,” she continued. “Of course, the teacher that found her didn’t survive. She blew up the entire laboratory. I tried to calm her, my responsibility as her overseer, but it was like a beast had awoken within. By the time authorities had arrived to contain her, she’d destroyed half the building and ran off. Before I knew it, there were warrants out for her capture. She was seen as a risk to the public, understandably.”I’d never heard the full story, only bits and pieces. Of course, I didn’t really understand how Rin—the Rin I knew—could destroy the school in the way that she did, but if she wasn’t, well, all there , I suppose it made sense.“Does she remember doing it?” I asked.Luka shook her head. “She has no memory of the incident, supposedly. She told me she could only remember passing out in the laboratory, and waking up in a valley near the Ruins. She cried when I told her what she did.”I stared down at the stacks of paper between us. “Wow…”“That’s why you need to be careful,” she said, her tone turning sharp. “We don’t understand what she’s capable of, or how the crystal affects her behaviour. One day, she could just snap like she did on the day of the incident—and, well, I don’t need to elaborate on what would happen next.”“Her eyes,” I said, recalling something important. “Her eyes turn black sometimes. Is that because of the crystal?”Luka frowned, but nodded. “Her eyes turn black when she experiences a strong, negative emotion. We haven’t really… confirmed if that is something dangerous, but… well, the crystal has had a lot of strange side-effects on her. It could just be nothing.”Right. The nose-bleeds, the black veins, the numbness… the list of her symptoms seemed pretty intense.As if reading my mind, Luka continued in a soft voice, “She’s suffering.” A sad expression washed over her face. “I know she’s suffering, even if she doesn’t let on as much.”That night she came to my house… had she been in pain? She had been crying, and her eyes were dark then, too. “But… you needn’t get caught up in Rin’s situation,” Luka said, noticing my concerned expression. “It isn’t your burden to carry, Len. I know you feel you’re involved now—but you’re not. You don’t have to be. This isn’t your problem. Rin will be fine… for now.”I let out a breath and nodded, although her reassurance did little to change how I felt. Regardless of whether or not it wasn’t ‘my problem’, I felt like Rin had become entangled into my life, and now her condition and safety had me worried, too.“Is that all you wanted to ask me about?” Luka asked, reaching for her cup of—probably cold—coffee. She took a sip.“Yes. It was just about Rin… and everything.”She put the cup down. “Well, now that I’ve told you, don’t go around asking people about it,” she told me. “No one likes talking about it. Besides, you’ll only draw attention to yourself.”I reached for my satchel, slinging it over one shoulder. “Got it.”Luka’s eyes then went wide, as if she remembered something important. “Oh, Len,” she said. “I’ve been meaning to ask you—how did your test go?”That’s right. She’d helped me study almost every afternoon for the test that week. I’d completely forgotten about telling her my results.“Uh… I failed.”She blinked, as if surprised by the answer, before relaxing her shoulders a little. “That’s too bad,” she said, a little disappointment showing on her face. “Well, let’s hope you do better next time, hmm?”I shrugged my shoulders, doubtful. “Let’s hope.”She gave me a smile as I left, and I headed back down the hallway towards the front entrance of the school. There was no heating in the halls, so it was just as cold inside as it was outside. I glanced out a window as I walked, seeing that it was snowing, and grumbled to myself.I wasn’t very prepared—both physically and mentally—for winter. My dad and I had to venture out a few weekends ago to buy some half-decent warmer clothes to survive, because the fireplace in our house did little to keep out the cold.The ground outside was icy and unpleasant. I slid my way towards the navis, almost falling flat on my face a number of times, and wished that I had better-suited shoes for this weather.Although, to be honest, the snow was a beautiful sight—just from a distance, like from a window inside a warm building.As I waited on the platform for the next navis to come, I had the feeling someone was watching me. I glanced around, and for a moment, thought it was my imagination—but then I caught a strange-looking boy staring at me from across the platform.He was lanky and pale, had white hair and cold eyes. His attire was odd; sleek, grey-coloured, almost futuristic. As soon as our eyes met, he stepped away and disappeared behind the wall of a building.I frowned. Something in the back of my mind told me to be on guard. It’d been a while since I went over Miku’s, given the situation with her parents being difficult. Finally she invited me over one weekend, and said to me very seriously, “We really should study, though, Len, since our finals are coming up in a week.”She had a point. Winter vacation was sneaking up, and that meant final exams, too. Although I knew already I would do poorly—at this stage, the only subject I was doing half -decent in was History, sadly—studying with Miku meant more time with her.Besides, she was supposed to be going away for winter break, so I wouldn’t get to see her for two weeks anyway. I, however, had nothing special planned, as my father would be working during that time anyway. (He kept suggesting the awful idea of visiting my aunt, though, but I couldn’t think of anything worse to be doing with my time. No offence to my aunt.)Miku met me at her terminal, dressed in a thick coat and a large, fluffy scarf. She looked very cute—well, she always looked cute—but today, she looked especially cute. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, and snowflakes dusted her long hair.“It’s cold today, isn’t it?” I said to her, as we set off down the familiar route to her house.She laughed. “It’s cold every day, Len.”My ears burned. “Well, yeah , but…”Miku just patted my shoulder. “Winter will be gone before you know it,” she said.I sighed. To be honest, by the sounds of it, spring was not much better. It was peak allergy season, and the weather was a little crazy—warm and sunny one day, snowy and miserable the next. At least with winter, I knew it was going to be cold, and it wasn’t some luck of the draw whenever I went outside.“So, how are you feeling?” she asked, as we entered through the front door of her house. The inside was comfortably warm and smelt of firewood. As Miku took my coat to hang in the entryway, I asked, “What do you mean?”“You know, about exams and all,” she answered as she shrugged off her coat.“Oh,” I said. “Pretty bad, honestly.”She chuckled. “Really?”“I’ll be surprised if I pass even one,” I admitted.“Oh, Len. I know you’re not that bad.” Miku led me up the staircase to her bedroom, where she shut the door behind her. When I looked surprised, she explained, “My parents will be out for a while.”“Look, maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration…” I said, going back to the topic of exams. “But every time I think I might pass something, I don’t, so I figured, might as well expect the worst instead of being disappointed every time.”She shook her head with a smile. “An interesting way of thinking, at least.” As she walked over to take a seat at the bay window, she paused and gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry my bedroom’s a mess. It gets this way around finals. You know…”To be honest, I’d hardly noticed the difference. Sure, her desk was a little more in disarray, and her bed wasn’t made, but… It was still cleaner than my own room, which was in a permanent state of chaos.“It’s fine,” I reassured her, taking a seat across from her. She’d already set up her study materials and had snacks and drinks ready at hand. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”“Well,” Miku said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I was thinking we could have a look at Basic Mathematics first, to ease you into it. Then maybe move on to something a bit more mind-bending, like Magic Physics.”“Both equally suck,” I told her.She smirked at me. “That’s too bad. Well, let’s get started, since we only have so much daylight right now…” She stopped to think, tapping her pencil on her chin. “Hmm. How about we take a break at two?”I shrugged. “Sounds fine with me.”Miku beamed. “Okay! So, let’s look at page 83…”  We had only just finished tackling Basic Mathematics when Miku stretched and glanced at the time, before saying, “Oh, shoot! It’s three already. We totally skipped our break.”I rolled my neck and yawned. “I didn’t even notice.”She frowned in thought. “We might not even get around to looking at Magic Physics… oh man.”“Sorry,” I said.Miku looked at me, waving her hand in front of her face. “No, no, don’t apologise. The stuff we were covering is tough. Even I took a while to get my head around it.” She set down her pencil on the table between us and sighed. “Well, anyway. Let’s take a short break. Maybe we can squeeze a bit of the physics in…”I stretched my legs out as she stood, pacing over to the edge of her bed. She flopped down on the mattress, then patted the empty space beside her, gesturing for me to join.When I hesitated, she smiled and said, “Let’s relax for a bit, Len.”Nodding, I jumped up and sat down beside her. She threw her arms around my shoulders and pulled me back against the mattress, giggling. She pressed her face into my shoulder, pulling me into a tight embrace.I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close, my lips pressed against her forehead.“It’s been a while,” Miku said into my shirt.“Yeah,” I agreed.She sat up with a sad look. “I’m sorry, Len, about my parents. I…”I shushed her, placing a finger on her lips. “It’s fine. I know it’s hard for you. I’m happy to put up with it.”Her eyebrows furrowed. “Why are you so nice?”“Because I love you,” I said, the words just tumbling out. I gaped for a second, not entirely sure what I’d just said. Even Miku seemed surprised, but her face eased into a smile and she reached out to cup my cheek in her hand.“I love you too, Len,” she said.We then closed the space between us, kissing each other on the lips. I pulled her down on top of me, rolling onto my back, and she moved so that she was straddling my hips. My hands roamed over her back, her waist, her hips and thighs.Miku sighed. She deepened the kiss, tracing the tips of her fingers down my face, my neck, my collarbones, to the collar of my shirt, where she fiddled the buttons undone.My hand had barely reached under the fabric of her shirt, grazing the soft skin of her stomach, when we heard a gasp that did not belong to either of us.Miku flew off me so fast, the sudden cool air was like a punch to my face. I blinked up at the ceiling, dazed a few moments, before I sat up, following her gaze to the doorway.There, with her mouth hanging wide open, was her mother.The woman, for a moment, stood in shock, her hand still resting on the doorknob. Miku began to stutter out, “Mum—” but the woman snapped out of her stupor, her hand dropping to her side.“What’s going on here?” she asked, her voice shrill. Her eyes flickered between our faces, wide, angry.Miku tried again. “Mum, it’s—”The woman stepped forward, hands clenched into fists. “You— Miku , you lied to us. You said you were only studying with—with that boy , not… fornicating with him, or whatever!”“His name is Len,” Miku said, bristling. Although there was fear in her eyes, there was a flash of anger, too. “And we were studying.” She pointed to the table, messy with our textbooks. “Look!”Her mother’s nostrils flared. “You’ve disobeyed your father's and my wishes, Miku. We never agreed to this. We never agreed to you having a boyfriend.”“But Mum! ” she wailed, her face going red. “No!” her mother snapped. She turned to me, jabbing an accusing finger in my direction. “You are to leave. Pack up your things and go.”Miku stumbled off the bed to reach for her mother’s arm, but the woman slapped her hands away. “Please!” she cried. There were tears in her eyes.I stood slowly and walked over to the table, packing away my belongings into my satchel with trembling hands. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what I could do.As I was cleaning up, her mother continued, “You’re not welcome in this house ever again. And Miku—no more friends. No more study dates. You’ve proven enough to me that I can’t trust you.”Miku began sobbing loudly into her hands. A part of me was being torn up, hearing her cry. But at that moment, I felt so weak. I couldn’t stand up for her. I couldn’t even stand up for myself. I’m sorry, Miku. As I headed toward the bedroom door, Miku looked at me with large, teary eyes. “I’m sorry,” she blubbered to me, reaching out. Our hands brushed briefly, before her mother stepped in, filling the space between us. “Len, I’m sorry—”Before I could do or say anything more, her bedroom door slammed in my face.I stood outside for a moment, listening.“Mum, please ,” Miku begged. “Don’t do this, please—”“Shut up!” her mother shouted. Miku went quiet. “This is the last time you disobey us. From tomorrow, you won’t have anything to do with that boy. You hear me?”“ No! ” Miku screamed. “You can’t do this!”“When your father hears wind of this, Miku—”It was then I stepped away and started stumbling down the hall, empty, numb. I couldn’t bear to listen anymore to Miku’s crying. It was at that moment I hated myself for not being stronger.Once I reached the front gate, I looked up at Miku’s window. Her face peered down at me through the curtains, glistening wet with tears in the afternoon sun. She pressed her palms and forehead against the glass, and closed her eyes.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, even though she couldn’t hear me.When I reached home, I said nothing to my dad and just went straight to bed. He tried to talk to me through the door, but after getting nothing out, he gave up, and I spent the rest of the day staring up at the cracks in the ceiling until I fell asleep.