"Class is out for today. Congratulations you all made it through your first day of school," the teacher announced, clapping her hands together. "Remember, you are required to wear the school-issued uniforms. No personal modifications."
Chatter broke out across the classroom. Chairs scraped against the floor as students gathered their things.
I grabbed my books, stopped by my locker, stuffed everything into my backpack, and headed for the front gate.
That's when I heard her.
"Hey!" a voice called out. "Sorry we couldn't sit together at lunch. Want to tomorrow?"
It was the redhead girl from earlier now smiling sweetly and twirling a lock of hair around her finger like nothing had happened.
"I'm Calila, by the way," she said, stepping closer. "Want to walk home with me?"
She winked.
I blinked. "Sorry, but… I'm waiting on a few people."
Her expression dropped like a switch had been flipped. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and dramatically tossed her purse open.
She fished out a pen, scribbled something on a piece of paper, and handed it to me.
"My number. In case you need anything."
Then she turned on her heel and walked off, a small crowd of girls already gathering around her.
I stared at the paper in my hand for a moment.
She seemed… completely different than earlier. Maybe she was just in a bad mood then?
I waited near the gate for a few more minutes.
Then I heard it bickering, getting louder and closer.
Aqua and Olsen.
Of course.
"Aqua, you can't talk about our clan leaders like that," Olsen snapped, his voice sharper than I'd ever heard. "They raised us since we were babies!"
His fists were clenched. He wasn't letting it go.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aqua huffed, crossing her arms and turning away. "They're just a bunch of worthless sacks of bones."
"Why you" Olsen started, taking a step forward.
Then he noticed me standing there.
He went quiet. His expression shifted quickly from fury to embarrassment.
I guess they argue a lot.
"Sorry about that," he said, trying to calm down. "She keeps disrespecting our elders. Anyway let's go."
His face was still red with frustration.
When I first met Olsen, I thought he was calm, collected. But even he has a breaking point.
We started walking toward my house.
Halfway there, Aqua suddenly stopped in front of a convenience store. "Wait. Snacks," she announced, already heading inside before we could respond.
Olsen sighed and followed her. I waited outside, staring up at the sky. The air felt heavier than usual.
Once she returned arms full of chips, candy, and something I think was an energy drink we continued on.
Eventually, we reached my house. It sat quietly behind tall iron gates, ivy climbing the brick walls like ancient veins. The silence around it was different… like it was holding its breath.
The moment we stepped inside, I led them straight to the library.
The real one. Not the hidden one.
Not yet.
"Young master, do you need any snacks for you and your friends?" one of the maids asked as she peeked into the room.
"No, thank you," Eli said politely.
"Alright then. I'll notify you when dinner is ready." She bowed and quietly stepped out, the door clicking shut behind her.
"Wow," Aqua said, dropping into one of the velvet chairs, "I thought all rich people were stuck-up and treated their maids like trash."
"Aqua!" Olsen scolded, swatting her lightly on the back of the head. "You can't just say things like that! Apologize!"
"Sheesh, alright! Chill!"
"It's okay," Eli cut in with a small smile. "She doesn't have to apologize. Honestly… I think that about half the kids at school fit that description."
That made them both laugh.
They remembered the after-school scene the expensive bags, loud gossip, fake laughs. All those bratty attitudes dressed up in perfect uniforms.
Olsen shook it off first. "Alright. We need to start searching. Where should we begin?"
His eyes were already scanning the shelves. There was a glow in them like he was in his element.
Eli hesitated. His fingers brushed the edge of an old shelf.
"…What about my parents' book?" he said. "Earth to Magic."
His voice was low. Nervous.
But something inside him whispered that it was the right place to start.
"I'm home!" Ruby's voice echoed from the front entrance. "They had a two-for-four sale today I picked up some pretty good things."
She walked in with grocery bags in both arms, humming.
"Has Eli come back yet?"
"Yeah!" one of the maids chirped. "And he brought friends. They're in the library."
Ruby's humming stopped for half a second.
Friends? she thought. Has Calila already gotten close to him?
If so, it would make things... easier.
She walked down the hall toward the library, heels soft against the marble. As she got closer, she heard raised voices.
"You idiot! That's the wrong genre we're not looking for romance novels!" Olsen shouted.
"But Suho is so dreamy," Aqua replied with an annoyingly calm tone. "All he wants is her, and she keeps ignoring him…"
Ruby opened the library door with a smile fixed on her face.
"Eli, you finally made friends. And they're... lively," she said, scanning the room.
How could she fail at something so easy? she thought behind her grin.
"So, who are your new friends?" she asked sweetly.
Olsen tensed the moment he saw her. His hand froze mid-page. He didn't answer.
Aqua noticed too. Her usual sass disappeared. Something was wrong.
Eli stepped closer and whispered, "What's going on? Why didn't you introduce yourselves to Ruby?"
Olsen's eyes widened, and he whispered back, "Ruby?"
His voice dropped another level.
"It can't be that Ruby…"
"Hey!" Ruby's voice snapped. "You two over there are you being rude to me?"
Aqua suddenly perked up, putting on a fake smile. "Oh no! Sorry, Ben hasn't done his homework, and he wanted to ask Eli if he could help him!"
She giggled in a way that made Eli flinch.
Ruby raised an eyebrow… then slowly turned away.
"Alright," she said. "But remember keep your grades up."
As soon as her back was turned, her smile dropped completely.
"It… it can't be the same Ruby," Aqua whispered, her voice suddenly small. "The elders said she was dead."
Eli looked between them, confused and alarmed. "Why are you both acting so scared? What's going on with Ruby?"
Aqua glanced down at the floor, her usual sarcasm completely gone.
"Ten years ago, when our clan first learned about the Collision… we celebrated. Everyone did. Except for one person."
She raised her eyes slowly to meet mine.
"Ruby," I said, the name landing heavy on my tongue.
"Yes. Ruby," Aqua confirmed. "She was from a clan called Se Rene one of the most powerful, right alongside ours, the Abarice Clan. She married our Chief… and had a daughter."
"But none of it was real," Olsen continued, voice low. "It was all a plan. She used the marriage to gain access to our most ancient secrets."
I felt something twist in my stomach.
"She wanted the Blood Prints," Olsen said, now pacing slightly. "The Abarice Clan's most sacred magical documents. We're water elementalists, but we have a rare branch of magic…"
He looked up, eyes filled with something close to awe. "The Red Sea. Or Kai."
"Only the strongest among us even know how to unlock its power," Aqua added. "We were too young to see the documents ourselves, but we knew they were important. Vital."
"On the night she betrayed us…" Olsen began, his tone darkening. "Ruby killed the Chief. Then she broke into our secret library."
"Our parents tried to stop her," Aqua said, her fists clenched. "They weren't strong enough…"
Olsen wrapped his arms around her as her voice cracked. "The elders stopped her in the end. They recovered the documents… but told everyone she was dead."
"But she's not," Aqua whispered. "And if she's here… if she came back just before the Collision…"
They both turned to me and froze.
I was glaring, trembling with a storm of emotion. But slowly, I took a breath. I calmed my face. My voice came out quiet but steady.
"To be honest… I thought this whole trip to the library was a waste of time. I didn't believe in magic."
I looked them both in the eyes.
"But everything lines up. Ten years ago, Ruby shows up out of nowhere asking for a job. Ten years ago… my parents vanished."
Their expressions darkened with realization.
"I think it's time to stop pretending this is all coincidence," I said firmly. "Let's go to the secret library."
Even as I said it, part of me resisted.
Ruby? The woman who raised me like a son?
I tried to remember clearly ten years ago, she'd walked through our front door, asking for work. We weren't even hiring. But she said she needed money for her family. My parents hired her on the spot.
Come to think of it…
I've never met her family. Not once.
I led them through the house, toward the basement one of only two known paths to the secret library.
Only family members knew how to access it.
"So… what exactly is this secret library?" Aqua asked, trailing behind. "Why is it even secret?"
I shrugged. "I don't know much. I didn't spend a lot of time in there. But my dad used to take me when I was little to read."
"What kind of books?" Olsen asked, curiosity already lighting up in his voice.
"I… I don't remember."
I paused. The hallway suddenly felt colder.
Why couldn't I remember?
There were whole stretches of time from when I was younger that were just… blank.
Could magic really be real? Could my parents have used it… on me?
"We're here," I said, stopping in front of a blank concrete wall.
Aqua frowned. "Uh… Eli? That's just a wall."
"That's not just a wall," Olsen said, stepping closer. "It's a door. But how do you open it?"
"Just wait," I told them.
A mechanical voice echoed from the ceiling.
"Detecting presence. Please place your hand on the scanner to your left."
I pressed my palm against the smooth panel.
"Identity confirmed: Eli Whitlock. Access granted."
With a deep rumble, the wall slid open.
We stepped inside.
Aqua gasped. "Whoa… This might be the biggest library I've ever seen!"
"This isn't just a library," Olsen added, his eyes wide. "There's tech here too advanced stuff."
Even I was speechless.
The library stretched out in a perfect circle, rising and falling through twenty levels.
Shelves of books. Transparent data screens. terminals.At the bottom: a full battle arena with polished floors, training dummies, and a wall of weapons that looked brand-new. Swords, guns, bows, everything.
We'd entered from the 9th floor, through a balcony that overlooked the massive structure. Slowly, we began descending the spiral staircase.
"How are we supposed to find anything about the Collision in this?" Aqua moaned, spinning around dramatically. "There must be thousands of shelves!"
"There's a catalog system," I said. "At the bottom, there's a computer that tells you where everything is."
"Well that's a relief," Olsen grinned. "Once we find the books… Eli, want to spar with me?"
I smirked. "Sure. I took a few fighting classes myself."
(I left out the part where I flunked out of most of them.)
Still, Olsen's face lit up. I didn't think he'd be the type to get excited about something like that but apparently, I was wrong.
We reached the ground floor and found the main computer.
I typed in the keyword: "Collision."
A flat voice responded:
"All documents related to 'The Collision' are located on Floor 4, West Wing."
We exchanged glances.
"Let's go," I said.
And together, we started back up the stairs heading toward the truths hidden on the fourth floor.