The academy corridor was busy, and the silent tension between Emma and Arelia drew attention immediately. Some students slowed their steps, whispering, curious. A vice-director facing a third-year student wasn't something you saw every day.
Arelia noticed the stares and stepped back. Emma did the same, not out of discomfort, but to avoid turning the situation into a spectacle.
Arven lifted his hands slightly.
"Let's move somewhere else. Too many eyes here."
They walked to a quieter stretch of the corridor.
Emma crossed her arms.
"There is someone from the void infiltrated in the academy."
Arelia widened her eyes.
"What?"
Arven felt the tribal mark on his arm pulse like a heartbeat under the skin.
Emma continued.
"In the past few days, I've found traces of void inside the campus. Strong traces. But they vanish into thin air every time I try to follow them."
Arelia narrowed her eyes.
"So why bring Arven into this?"
Emma turned to him.
"Because he feels the void. Even without trying. If someone is hiding, he's the only one who can detect them before the trail disappears."
Arelia stepped forward, placing herself between them.
"He just went through a ritual. You really want to throw him into danger again?"
Emma didn't back down.
"If we do nothing, that danger will reach you anyway."
The air between the two grew heavy.
Arven interrupted before the tension escalated.
"I can help."
Arelia looked at him, clearly worried.
"Arven…"
"But I'm not doing it alone," he added.
Emma's gaze sharpened.
"Who do you want with you? Elara? Or Arelia?"
The mark on his arm pulsed harder, as if awaiting his answer.
Arven looked at Arelia.
"Arelia."
She blinked in surprise but didn't step back. Emma nodded.
"You start tonight. If the void is inside the academy, we can't waste time."
Arelia clenched her fist but agreed.
While Emma explained the meeting point, Arelia leaned closer to Arven and whispered:
"You trust her too much…"
Arven answered quietly:
"I trust you more."
The creature laughed inside his mark, a distorted sound only Arven could hear.
Emma walked ahead.
"Sunset. West building. Don't be late."
+-------+++++++------
When the sun touched the horizon, Arven left his dorm already dressed for a discreet mission: a dark reinforced jacket, flexible pants, and silent boots. Arelia arrived shortly after, wearing a short combat cape and an academy battle outfit marked with silver lines.
They walked together to the west building, home to the research wing. The windows were dark; the air was strangely still.
Emma was waiting, dressed in full combat gear, covered in faint runes.
"You're on time," she said.
Arelia exhaled.
"Let's get this over with."
Emma extended both hands.
"Take them."
Arven and Arelia exchanged a quick glance, then held her hands.
The air compressed. Wind whirled. Everything turned white.
They landed on solid ground again.
They were now on the opposite side of the island — a small forest rarely used for classes. The atmosphere was heavy, as if something unseen was draining the environment.
Arven's mark vibrated violently.
"There's something nearby," he muttered.
Branches cracked in the darkness. Pairs of red eyes lit up through the trees.
Emma raised her hand.
"Weapons."
Arelia summoned her soul-blade, a thin blade of solid light. Arven summoned his, denser and darker in tone.
The possessed animals emerged — wolves, foxes, deer — their eyes surrounded by black fractures spreading across their faces.
Arelia leapt forward, cutting down the first wolf. Arven dodged a charging deer and struck its side. Emma fought with precise bursts of energy that shattered the void's influence.
The more they fought, the more creatures appeared.
Arven wiped sweat from his forehead.
"They don't stop."
"There's a source close by," Emma said.
"Something feeding this swarm."
Arven closed his eyes and felt the mark pulling him.
"There. The trail goes that way."
They followed the void trail until reaching an old, rusted grate leading down into the academy's underground sewer system.
Arelia groaned.
"Of course it had to be here."
"Void likes isolated places," Emma said.
"Moist environments help its spread."
They descended.
The stench was strong, but worse was the feeling of being watched.
In a wider corridor, they found them — people.
Students. Maintenance workers.
All with dark, fractured eyes.
Arelia raised her blade.
"Possessed."
The group charged with unnatural speed. Arven barely dodged the first strike. Arelia moved like a streak of light, landing precise hits. Emma stayed back, firing condensed blasts that broke the void's control long enough to stun enemies.
The fight dragged on — intense, exhausting.
Arven's mark felt like burning metal.
When the last possessor fell, each body collapsed as if fainting. Their eyes cleared. The black cracks vanished into smoke.
Arelia knelt beside one of them.
"They're turning back to normal…"
Arven leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"This confirms it. The void's forces are already among the students. This isn't just infiltration. Something inside is influencing them."
Emma stared at him, genuinely surprised.
"Are you sure?"
Arven touched the throbbing mark.
"We fought them. Humans. Not beasts. Someone is spreading this from inside."
Arelia stood.
"We should tell Headmaster Huntelaar."
Emma's expression darkened.
"He is not trustworthy."
Arven frowned.
"Why? What's wrong with him?"
Emma turned away.
"I can't answer that. Not yet."
Silence filled the corridor.
Emma exhaled.
"That's enough for tonight. Arven, rest. You'll need it."
Arelia escorted him back to the surface.
When they reached the dorm entrance, exhaustion hit all at once.
Arven climbed the stairs, entered his room, and collapsed onto the bed.
The creature inside the mark laughed softly.
The night had been long.
And it was only the first.