"Phew..." Deuce breathed a big sigh of relief as he slumped over, "We managed to avoid expulsion. That was a close one!"
Yeah, no kidding!" Ace grumbled.
Oblivious to their tiredness, Grim sang out loud while hugging the brand new magic stone dangling from his ribbon, "La la la la la! I'm a student at Night Raven College! La la la! I'm gonna be the top mage on campus in no time. Enjoy eating my dust, boys!"
Hearing this, Ace sneered, "Big words for a sentient pile of lint who's literally only half a student. Still... Good for you."
Oh? Hoshi raised a brow curiously. That's quite a change.
"I guess we're schoolmates now." Deuce smiled as he turned to them, "Grim, Hoshi — Welcome to Night Raven."
"The pleasure is all mine!" Hoshi smiled as she muttered, "I just hope this all goes well..."
"Okay, seriously, can we quit it with that stuff?" Ace sighed.
Deuce chuckled, "Heh. We'll be seeing each other all the time now. We'll also see what a pleasure that turns out to be. Especially you, Ace, since we're in the same dorm."
"Yeaaah, can't say I'm jazzed to see your smug, self-important scowl every day." Ace grumbled in dismay.
"But still..." Hoshi hesitated, "Isn't this an arcane school? But, my magic..."
Ignoring Ace, Deuce reassured her, "The way you squared off against that monster even when you didn't have a bit of powerful magic showed a whole lot of guts. With steel nerves like that, you'll be fine. Even in this school."
"Say, what's the deal with you sometimes talking like a punk, anyway?" Ace pointed out bluntly in confusion.
"Huh?! D-do I? I think I talk pretty normal." Deuce replied nervously.
Not wanting to care anymore, Ace yawned, "Whatever. Let's just get back to the dorm. After nearly getting expelled, the last thing we need is a curfew violation."
"We're from Heartslabyul House, by the way. What dorm are you guys in?" Deuce turned to them curiously.
"The dorm we're in has been abandoned for years…" Grim grumbled in dismay, "We've taken to callin' it "Ramshackle House." The ol' dump is literally full of ghosts. Yeesh."
"Hey, count your blessings." Ace grumbled as he gestured to Deuce, "I'd rather deal with ghosts than have to see this guy's smug, self-important scowl every day."
"Better than your lazy, dopey grin." Deuce scowled.
"Keep bawling, crybaby. I haven't forgotten how you almost wept when he said you were expelled." Ace smirked before hurrying down the hall, "Catch ya later, Hoshi."
"Oh, um-" Hoshi was about to called out to them but the two were already running down the hall shouting and scolding at each other. She sighed in defeat, "Those two seem like they're made for each other."
Grim nodded in disappointment, "Man, maybe they're the type who bond through squabbling? Anyway, Hoshi, let's get back to the dorm!"
"Tomorrow when we wake, it won't be as janitors." Grim teared up again as he cheered, "Finally, finally... My glorious education as a proper Night Raven College student is about to begin!"
"All right, then, let's go back too, shall we?"
She picked up the happy go lucky grim and made her way through the halls.
.....
Back in the headmaster's office, the room was clean and spotless as the headmaster stood there before the seven portraits of the great seven and lost in deep thoughts. The light were dim as the door opened with a knock.
"It looks like everything has been temporarily resolved, has it not?"
The nurse walked in and the elderly woman followed suit. The elderly woman frowned hesitantly, "However, is this really all right?"
"It is nothing I could not handle." Crowley sighed as he sat back down in his chair, "It is a long time since I've seen others aside from the five of us... Thank you for coming. How have things been?
"Everyone has been sleeping for a very long time. None are waking except for a few lucky individuals. Everything is in a literal stand still. Hunger, Thirst, Slumber, Twisted Wonderland. Some are almost about to lose it and it's taken a toll on some of our counselors. Even counselors need counselors themselves at this point. If Olympus corp did not awaken, we would not know how to take the next step forward." Abi shook her head with a heavy sigh, "Twisted Wonderland has finally been twisted on its axels. Just what has the world come to?"
"What do we do now?" Uku questioned with a frown, "Amongst everyone here. Only we know what's going on."
"We need to wake her." Crowley replied.
"Her?" Uku raised a brow.
Crowley turn to Abi and responded, "Counselor Abi, when you last spoke with those in Briar Valley, how did they respond?"
"The officials denied a response and told us to bring her in. However, the queen actually graced us with her arrival and gave her approval this time . Her words forced others to give in. This... is very different from back when we first approached this topic." Abi shook her head, "She must've known."
Uku frowned, "Looking at her report now too, it was clear as day what was wrong with the kid."
"What was the problem?" Abi frowned, "I was so busy attending to the child's needs I should have asked you what was wrong with the child that the two of you had to step out. This time, I also specifically asked the two to keep a distance."
The two men glanced at one another with a troubled look as Crowley heaved a troubled sigh and opened his mouth.
.....
One hour ago…
"You're sure of this?" Crowley crossed his arms and frowned, "You've never doubted your own knowledge and experience till now. How are you sure it isn't a behavior reaction?"
"Because I've done this multiple times already, sir. This is not some kid trying to be strong. Her reaction and her instinct indicates that she has indeed lost a large portion of her sense to feel pain and this is not the only problem. I suspect there are more secrets hiding under this one symptoms. One of which would be her lack of elements and maybe an inability to express her emotions to the fullest. Didn't you say she didn't seem as scared as you thought she'd be? Was this not your original reason for calling Counselor Abi here?" Uku pointed it out with a frown, "That you suspect something else other than a dull sense of pain? Just how many times have we gone through this already? I recall the last time we talked about this, you were the one lecturing me."
After a long moment of silence, a small smile graced Crowley's face as he said wearily, "So... You are aware, after all. Not just you, but also Counselor Abi."
Not being able to help but feeling a small sense of pity, Uku sighed, "It's been a long time, Headmaster Crowley. We're back..."
Crowley took in a deep breath and nodded his head warmly, "Welcome back, you two..."
.....
A silent wind brushed past the branches as the mines once again became silent after the fiasco of sounds. Amidst the darkness, two dark robed figured appeared from the shadows as a childish and stubborn voice pouted in annoyance, "This is getting boring!!! How much longer before the real fun gets to begin? Coming back to this tattered, broken world is so lame!"
"If this is so boring, then you shall go and handle the... 'other'... job." A cold and rough voice stated.
"Blegh! There's no way that's the job for the wielder of light! We should be going around and eliminating the darkness! Instead here we are dressed like those stupid seekers and lurking around in the darkness! What fun is that?!" She responded in disgust, "It's always the same outcome anyway."
"To empty stagnant water is a must. However, without proper preparations, those water would be overcome with pests. To clean a lake, you must include the infection from within."
"Again with the flowery cryptic talk? Ugh! It's just so confusing! Just get straight to the point! Do you want me to reveal the corruption of the villains? How about it?! I've been itching to do something nice for a while now."
"Patience." The cold voice lectured her, "It is still too early..."
"But, there's no way that girl will ever awaken anyway! I mean, just take a look at her happy go lucky self! Nobody will notice if we-"
"Enough!" His voice cuts her off as it sent a shiver down her spine, "Or does my words mean nothing to you?"
They quickly shook her head before respondingly meekly, "No, sir..."
"Hmph..." The old man turned to the mines as he approached to an old broken generator, "There's nothing to be concerned of. Everything is going according to plan. Eleven trillion years within this world, we've waited. What's another year? Do not fret. The end is nigh. As for that girl..."
He raised what looked to be a giant key and swung it down which cut the generator into two as a chuckle could be heard, "This will be her last play..."