October 29, 2025

Niji woke up at a very insistent knock on the door and felt a wave of hatred.

What time is it? Two a.m.? Three? Definitely not a time for guests.

But what if they’re black and whites coming for me?

And by the way... what is going on, exactly?

The girl sprang up and glanced at Dasnor, whose rest wasn’t disturbed for some miraculous reason—he was looking soundly asleep, his hair escaped the band and scattered all over the pillow. When the eyes of the mage girl had accustomed to the darkness, she could clearly see his chiseled muscles with black lines of the vast amplifier on them.

So, yesterday's events were not a strange dream. A pleasant feeling passed through Niji’s body, but as the knock on the door didn’t stop for a second, she had no time to enjoy the moment and got out of bed. The Elementalist hurried to put on her penguin-patterned PJs, her heart racing at an unhealthy speed. She wanted to collect her hair in its usual ponytail, but there was no band nearby. Niji quietly slipped out of the room barefoot, walked through the living room to the entrance and checked the video system—well, it was a black and white indeed.

“Rem?!” She opened the door a bit. “What are you doing here?”

“Niji!” His eyes shone with joy. “Oh, I’m so happy you’re ok! I was dead worried about you, with all that mess at the hotel…”

“Well, um… I’m fine.”

“Oh, did I wake you up? Sorry, you were such a night owl before…”

The guy seemed exhausted, but his crazy smile gave out a ton of enthusiasm. His navy blue checkered coat made him look even more pale and a long scarf that was wrapped around his neck two or three times was askew—a certain sign of haste.

Was it really so cold out on the street? Ah well…

“Um…” the visitor tried to peek into the room. “May I come in?”

“It’s… not exactly the best time. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“No, no, no, no! It’s an urgent matter! I’ll explain everything.”

“Urgh, fine. But keep your voice down, okay?”

Much to Niji’s displeasure, the Lackluster went into the apartment without taking off his shoes. She preferred the Eastern housekeeping traditions, and Rem was well aware of it. No matter what breaking news he was about to share, deep inside Niji wished him to get out of her place.

“We don’t have much time. Niji, you are in a grave danger! I finally have a proof that M.A.G.E. is up to no good! Remember I’ve told you about my artifact research?”

“Rem, why on Earth—”

“Wait, wait, wait, it’s important! Mind if I take off the coat?” Rem shrugged it off immediately and Niji saw mint-colored cardigan and a familiar belt with miscellaneous handy items—and the variety of them had expanded considerably. The Lackluster hung his outerwear on a hook in the room… and his hand stopped in mid-air. Niji followed his gaze and froze: Rem was staring at Dasnor’s motorcycle jacket and helmet that were kept there as well. Never in her life had Niji experienced such an awkward pause. She saw, almost literally, how a dark cloud had gathered over Rem’s head.

“I just… Niji, I just wanted to… I tried to… this half of the year was nothing but amplifiers for me… related enchantments and relics… just to help you out of it.”

“Rem…” she tried to reason but the mere sound of her voice blasted a hole in the dam of the Lackluster’s emotions.

“Why him, of all people?!” He hit the wall with his fist. “Niji, he is dangerous, I’ve told you that a million times! He’s a liar and a trickster! Do you know that he has a powerful cursed relic at his disposal?! This prick is a criminal and must be locked in jail!”

“Goddess, what… the relic?”

“And I’ve seen it on that very day.” Rem sighed bitterly, shaking his head. “I’m sorry I haven’t realized it earlier… just tonight it all became clear to me. What this thing really is…”

With trembling hands, he pulled out his smart from the coat’s pocket and poked his finger at the screen with a picture of a teal stone on it. She thought for a couple of seconds, and her eyebrows flew up in surprise. “But this is…”

The Lackluster turned his head sharply towards the bedroom. Niji looked back as well and saw Dasnor standing in the doorway, having nothing on apart from his black jeans and…

The amulet.