The moment the Instructor spoke far too gleefully,
"Mana synchronization, this means you're eachother soul halves—"
Both he and I denied it in perfect unison:
"NO WE'RE NOT!"
Then, like deranged mirror images, we pointed at each other.
"I HATE HIM!"
"I DESPISE HER!"
The students stared as if watching two soaked, furious street cats shriek at each other in an alleyway.
And then it happened again. Our mana tugged toward each other.
I let out a half-gasp and ran.
No, more accurately fled, like something unspeakable was biting at my shadow.
Behind me, he hissed, "Nope, nope, NOPE!" and sprinted in the opposite direction.
The tallest tower was my sanctuary.
Quiet. Windy. Blissfully empty.
Except today.
I teleported onto the rooftop, panting, trembling, one emotional push away from throwing myself off the edge.
And he was there.
Standing at the edge.
Staring at the horizon.
looking like a hero of a tragic memoir.
We locked eyes.
"No," we both said instantly.
"Leave, bastard," I snapped.
"You leave, freak," he snapped back. "I was here first."
"This is MY spot."
"I needed air."
"I need air MORE than you!"
"That's not how air works!"
We bickered. Loudly. Pointlessly. Violently.
At one point I actually stomped my foot hard putting a crack on the roof.
"I would rather synchronize with a reanimated corpse than YOU!"
He shouted back, "I'd synchronize with a blood-crazed monster before I accept THIS!"
The wind whipped around us like it was desperately trying to avoid being associated with either of us.
And then—
Nox materialized beside me, wearing the grin of someone watching their favourite drama unfold.
"Wow," he said sweetly, "who could have guessed? My prediction would actually come true." He smirked, "Soulmates."
"He is NOT—!"
"She is NOT—!"
We halted, glared at each other again.
Nox, vibrating with excitement, clasped his hands dramatically.
"Maybe you two should try other methods of synchronization—"
"NOX!" I shrieked.
I groaned, shoved my hands into my hair. "I refuse. I absolutely refuse. Goodbye. And don't follow me, Nox!"
And once again, I bolted.
Full speed.
Away from that vermin and my sadistic familiar.
I threw open the door to Damian's office so hard it banged against the wall.
He looked up mid-sip of tea, "Cecilia?" he asked, blinking. "You look distressed."
I collapsed into the chair.
"Nox is the absolute worst! And that vermin is a nightmare! And we Synchronized, SYNCHRONIZED!"
He froze.
Slowly lowered his cup.
"Mana… synchronization?" His voice cracked. "You and Asier."
I nodded miserably.
He inhaled sharply, held it
and then.
Laughed.
Unbelievable.
"Oh spirits… Cecilia." He rubbed his eyes. "Of all people you two—"
"It's NOT FUNNY," I snapped.
"I know," he said, still laughing. "It's just… unexpected."
I groaned and slammed my forehead onto the table.
He reached out and gently patted my head.
"Cecilia," he said softly, "mana synchronization isn't destiny. It's not a chain. It's not a promise. It's just… potential energy. What becomes of it is entirely your choice."
I peeked up at him.
"You're not mad?" He knew what I was implying.
"Mad?" Damian chuckled. "Why would I be mad when someone left such a cute gesture for me?"
He slid a cup of my favourite tea toward me, already prepared, as if he knew disaster would drag me here.
"Just so you know," he continued gently, "The choice is always yours, besides, I'll be on your side. Always."
My chest finally loosened.
I took the tea.
Sipped.
Exhaled.
"Thanks."
He gave me that small, soft smile that always undid me a little.
"Always."
A voice chirped from behind us.
"Are we done crying? Because this drama is pure entertainment."
Nox peeked out from inside the bookcase.
I grabbed the nearest book and threw it at his head.
—
The moment he'd escaped the classroom, he didn't stop running until he reached the tallest tower's rooftop, the same place he and that infuriating girl had just fought over.
He just… stood there breathing like he'd been dragged out of a lake.
His mana was trembling, something it had never done before.
"This—this is ridiculous," he muttered. "Impossible. Absolutely absurd."
He tried to steady his mana.
It still tugged.
Still reached.
Still reacted to her.
He shut his eyes, jaw clenching.
"Out of everyone in this world," he hissed under his breath, "why—why did it have to be her?"
A gust of wind swept the rooftop.
He didn't notice.
He was too busy unravelling.
"She's far too reckless. Loud. Infuriating. She is exactly like me. She mirrors the way I look at her and returns it with double intensity and threat."
His mana pulsed again, soft but unmistakable.
He slammed his fist onto an invisible wall.
"And that resonance should have chosen someone else, anyone else just not her, but the one I should be with..."
His voice cracked not with emotions, but out of sheer frustrated disbelief.
He dragged both hands through his silver hair, pacing in tight, sharp circles.
He stopped pacing and stared at the sky as it had personally offended him.
"I refuse," he growled. "I absolutely refuse this."
For a moment the rooftop was silent.
Then—
His mana reached out again.
Gentle. Persistent. Irritatingly familiar.
He snarled at the empty air.
"Stop that. Stop reaching out to hers."
A pulse.
He cursed under his breath.
"I'm not—" He exhaled harshly. "I… will not be accepting this. Not her or any of this. I've already promised someone else."
His voice dropped lower.
Quieter.
Almost defeated, but furious about it.
"She's… everything I shouldn't go near."
"She's dangerous."
A pause.
"And so am I."
The rooftop wind carried the last words away as he bowed his head caught somewhere between denial, shock, and absolute refusal to acknowledge what his mana was screaming.
—
"Cecilia, don't forget you still have to finish restoring the training ground," Damian reminded me, tone far too casual for the threat it carried. "And you will continue attending your classes even after your punishment ends."
Just like that, my good mood was shattered.
I glared at him. "Why do you say it like I'm planning to run the moment I'm done?"
"Because you were planning exactly that," he replied without missing a beat. "I know that face. That is the 'I will disappear the second my sentence ends' face."
I clicked my tongue.
How did he know that?
"I wasn't planning on doing that," I lied.
Damian gave me a look so flat it could've ironed mountains. "Your face is telling a different story."
Before I could argue, he blinked at me, as he finally registered the scene:
I, sitting on the office floor.
Nox on the floor too, acting like an armchair.
A thick grimoire spread open across my lap.
Loose papers covered in my handwriting surrounding me.
"By the way," Damian said slowly, "what are you doing on the floor?"
I didn't bother looking up. "Translating a grimoire for Vivi."
Damian stared.
"It's in an ancient language, so I figured I should translate it before giving it to her." I shifted a little to lean more comfortably against Nox's back.
Damian's voice rose with shock.
"You can read ancient language, Cecilia?"
"Yes," I said. "Nox taught me how to read and write it."
Damian looked between me and Nox behind me.
"Of course he did."
He walked closer, eyeing the grimoire with both fascination and a headache forming behind his eyes.
"And where exactly did you find this grimoire?" he asked.
I paused my writing, tapping the quill against the page. "I… don't clearly remember."
I turned sideways and looked at Nox. "Nox, do you know which dungeon I got this from?"
Nox stretched lazily, "I don't remember either. Wasn't it from the undead dungeon where you awakened your class?"
Damian choked on air.
"You've already awakened your class, Cecilia?"
He sounded even more astonished.
I blinked up at him, deadpan. "Yes? Why do you sound surprised every time I reveal something?"
Damian ran a hand over his face in tired disbelief.
"Because every time I think I have reached the limit of what you're capable of, you show me there is no limit."
Nox smirked.
I kept writing.
And Damian quietly questioned his entire understanding of my existence.
Damian lowered his hand from his face, exhaled slowly, then asked the most dangerous question in the world:
"Cecilia… What exactly is your awakened class?"
My quill froze mid-stroke.
I did not look up.
"I don't remember," I said flatly.
Damian blinked. "You… don't remember the class you awakened?"
"Nope." I flipped the page. "Ancient things happen in dungeons all the time."
"That is not—" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "—how awakening works."
I ignored him and continued writing.
Damian tried again. "Cecilia, your class determines your capabilities, future path, and overall—"
"It's a surprise," I said curtly.
"Awakening classes are not surprises," Damian deadpanned.
"They are when I say they are."
Damian stared at me like he wanted to argue but also knew better.
Nox whispered in a low tone, "She's avoiding the question because she awakened something terrifying."
I elbowed him. And he just grinned.
---
Vivian practically tackled me the moment I handed her the translated grimoire outside class.
"For me? You translated this? Cecilia, this must've taken hours!"
"It wasn't that hard," I said. It took me an hour but she doesn't need to know that.
Vivi held the grimoire like it was a sacred treasure.
Her eyes sparkled.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
"You're the best. The absolute best. I don't know how to ever repay—"
"Do well in your exams," I said. "And stop collecting weird stones," I finished.
She gasped. "How do you know about my stones—"
But she shook it away and hugged the book again.
"You're amazing, Lia!"
My ears felt warm.
I ignored it.
Cassian stared at Vivian's shiny new book, then at me, then back at the book.
"What about me?" he said. "Do I get something too?"
He sounded like an abandoned puppy.
I sighed.
"I also have something for you."
His eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yes. I got it from the archives," I said, taking it out of the item bag and gave it to him.
He lit up instantly. "What is it?"
"A collection of advanced swords and spears forms recorded by old empire knights," I said. "Very old. Very rare."
He looked like he was seconds away from crying with joy.
"You got that… for me?"
"You said you wanted to improve your stance," I said. "So I found something."
Vivian grinned. "Cecilia is so thoughtful!"
I shrugged. "I was already in the archives so I found it for him."
Nox added unhelpfully, "She fell asleep there and knocked over three relics."
Both of them laughed loudly, brightly, and genuinely.
For a moment, the three of us walked together.
Vivian was clutching her grimoire like a miracle.
Cassian practically bouncing with excitement.
And me… pretending their happiness didn't make something warm unfurl inside my ribs.
Nox floated beside me, whispering smugly:
"Look at you. Collecting ducklings again."
I shoved him.
But I didn't deny it.
If only every day could be like this
simple, warm, annoyingly loud, and painfully human.
If only I didn't…
I miss that part of my life so much.
That part I can never speak of.
Never revisit.
Never fully mourn.
Maybe then…
Maybe I could enjoy these moments without feeling that small, sharp tug under my ribs.
Without that quiet ache that never fades.
Without pretending that warm things don't scare me more than monsters ever did.
Vivian and Cassian walked ahead laughing, bickering, and bumping shoulders.
Nox drifted beside me humming, pretending he didn't notice the distant look in my eyes.
But he did.
He always does.
And still, he said nothing.
He just stayed close.
I lowered my gaze and followed behind them,
holding onto the moment with both hands,
even as a part of me whispered:
'You don't get to have this.'
'You lost that right a long time ago.'
But for now…
just for now…
I walked with them anyway.
"Lia, why don't we go to the dining hall?" Vivi asked, eyes bright with hope. "Eat something and then head to our room."
"That's fine with me," I said.
We both turned to Cassian.
He cleared his throat. "I… have a prior engagement."
I narrowed my eyes. That tone was suspicious.
"But," he continued, "if Cecilia doesn't mind eating with us, then…"
He looked at me with big, hopeful puppy eyes.
My stomach dropped.
No.
He wasn't—
He better not be—
"You're not talking about that vermin, are you?"
"Yes." He nodded earnestly. "I promised him, and he doesn't have friends. Just like you, Cecilia."
I stared at him, betrayed on multiple levels.
Vivi chimed in helpfully, "It's true. He sits alone. It's sad."
"I don't care if he sits alone, he deserves—"
Then they both hit me with matching pleading eyes.
Big.
Shiny.
Manipulative.
And Cassian delivered the killing blow:
"I know why you don't want to sit with him. Vivian told me everything. And I want to laugh really, I do, but if I do, you'll murder me during training."
I turned my slow, murderous glare on Vivi. She immediately looked away, whistling off-key like a guilty bird.
"Fine," I snapped. "We can eat together."
Both of them visibly relaxed.
But Cassian wasn't done.
"Oh, and you promise you won't fight with him?"
"I can't promise that."
"Cecilia!" they both shouted.
I sighed, "Fine. I won't fight with him."
A beat.
"But if he starts something, I will absolutely finish it."
"Cecilia," they groaned.
I smirked.
They really should've known better by now.
The dining hall buzzed with the usual evening noise until Cassian walked in with Vivi and me behind him.
That vermin was already there.
Sitting alone.
With his expression annoyingly neutral.
And completely unprepared for what was about to walk through the doors.
Cassian brightened and waved in his direction, and that bastard actually lifted a hand in return.
Vivi elbowed me gently. "Be nice."
"I am nice," I snapped.
"You're… something," she murmured.
Then he saw me.
He froze.
And for a heartbeat, he looked like someone had just told him his mana core was cracked.
Cassian gave him a cheerful wave. "Sorry, I'm late! I bought the company!"
His gaze flicked from Cassian… to Vivi… to me… and then back to Cassian.
"Company," he repeated flatly. "You brought her."
I smiled with the friendliness of a venomous snake. "Aww. Missed me?"
"As much as I miss mana poisoning."
"Funny," I said sweetly. "Because looking at you makes me want to drink poison."
Vivi buried her face in her hands. "Please sit down, Cecilia."
But he wasn't done.
"She had the entire department shaking today. And you," he pointed a finger at me, "Brought her here like she's a normal person?"
"Don't need to praise me", I gasped dramatically. "And I'll have you know I'm perfectly normal unlike you."
"Both of you sit down!" Cassian whisper-yelled, sweating.
We sat.
But sitting did absolutely nothing.
He leaned back, arms crossed. "Why are you even here? Did you run out of victims to terrorize?"
"I said I wouldn't start a fight," I replied calmly.
"Good," he said. "Because you'd lose."
The table went silent.
I blinked slowly. "Say that again, you mana-deficient, spark-spitting, half-boiled—"
"Oh look," He interrupted dryly, "she's malfunctioning."
"I will set you on fire."
"Please do," he muttered. "At least then I'd be warm."
"Warm? You'll cry when holding a hot cup."
He leaned forward, voice sugar-sweet and venomous. "For your information, I play with fire like it's a toy. It's you who'll cry holding a hot cup like a delicate flower."
I smiled sharply, slow and dangerously. "I'll show you who's the delicate flower among us."
"Oh?" He lifted a brow. "Going to pluck me?"
I leaned in, voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "More like uproot you. Entirely."
"You can try," He shot back. "But last time someone tried that, I buried them."
"As expected," I muttered. "You look like the type to have bodies hidden under the floorboards."
"Don't be ridiculous," He said with a shrug. "As if leave any evidence behind."
Vivi choked on her soup. Cassian silently prayed.
He rested his elbow on the table, chin on his hand, eyes glittering with that infuriating calm. "Do you threaten everyone this casually, or am I just special?"
"You're special," I said. "Like a plague. Specifically, the kind that wipes out livestock first."
"Bold words," he murmured. "From someone whose mana flares like a rabid dragon."
"Oh, I'm sorry, does my existence inconvenience you?"
"Deeply," he replied without hesitation. "You're a walking catastrophe with impulse-control issues."
"That's rich coming from someone whose mana is trying to strangle mine but can't do it," I hissed.
His voice softened into something colder. "I was holding back."
I laughed sharply, humourless. "If that was you holding back, I'd love to see what you're like when you're trying to kill someone."
"You," he said, "wouldn't survive it."
"Try me."
"I will."
He didn't blink.
Neither did I.
Mana crackled faintly between us, an invisible tension sharp enough to cut.
Cassian glanced between us, horrified. "Cecilia, you PROMISED, you wouldn't fight!"
"We're not fighting," he said calmly.
"No," I agreed. "We're just discussing murder."
"Mutual murder," he corrected.
Someone at a nearby table whispered, terrified, "Are they flirting or planning a double murder?"
"Both," another student whispered.
We ignored them.
His chair creaked as he leaned closer. "Say one more word, and I'll drag you outside."
I smiled sweetly. "Why wait? I can ruin your life right here."
His expression didn't change. "You're already doing it."
We stared at each other.
The air practically hissed.
Then—
A spoon clattered as Vivi slammed her hands on the table. "You're going to get expelled!"
"She started it," He said instantly.
"I did not," I countered. "But I will finish it."
"Oh please, you can't even finish a sentence without sounding like a tragic orphan."
"And you," I snapped back, "couldn't go an hour without causing structural damage!"
Cassian clutched his head. "We're dead. We're actually dead. The headmaster is going to kill all four of us."
Just then—
A message appeared, "Miss Florence… Asier, the headmaster… wants you in his office immediately."
Of course he did.
He stood slowly, glaring.
I stood too, matching him.
"Ladies first," he said mockingly.
"Please," I scoffed. "If I go first, you'll stab me in the back."
"Tempting."
We walked side-by-side toward our impending doom, still muttering threats under our breath.
And the dining hall?
It stayed frozen, silent, traumatized.
Someone whispered:
"I think they're soulmates."
Both of us spun around and said at the exact same time:
"WE'RE NOT."
To be continued....