Dek ran to school, this time opting to go down a shorter route he had seen last night. And just as he thought the streets were there, each corner like the ones he had seen. So, he hadn’t just been dreaming, it was real. Despite being more tired than yesterday he felt he had more energy, he laughed in delight, he was a quin. He was finally one step closer to achieving his goal. He felt light, as he entered his home classroom on time. He spotted Emily who made a small smile, Dek ignored her and walked to his seat. He wasn’t going to fall for that trick again, the nobility could make someone else the butt of their jokes. He sat straight and focused on the lesson at hand and tried to ignore the rest of the class. He didn’t need them, he only needed Erica, together they would achieve his dream. One way or another, he’d get through this school and learn as much as he could then move on. No matter how nice this place looked, it was only a stepping stone for Dek. He could not forget that. Friends would only get in the way, though honestly, he didn’t want to make friends with any nobility, not after his last encounter with them.

At lunchtime, he went to the library. Emerald Grand Ridge Academy was known for its vast library on many topics dealing with the fifth element ether. And the school lived up to its name, as Dek entered the enormous room that constituted as the library. The shelves of books spread across the room and lined the walls, for several floors. There was no ceiling in the middle of the building, for at least five maybe six floors. Books spanned the entire purview. This was it, this was why he came to this academy in the middle of nowhere deep in the Emerald plains. He looked for the librarian’s desk and quickly found it, empty. A small sign was posted, *Out for Lunch*.

“Of course,” Dek sighed. He looked around to see if there was anyone else who could help him. But the library seemed empty. Dek walked around the long shelves, giving cursory glances hoping to find an inkling of what he was looking for, but to no avail. He decided he’d go up to the next floor, maybe he’d have better luck there. He walked through more shelves of books, ranging from cooking manuals to the herding of the great red buffalos. Nothing that could help him. He was about to give up and wait at the Librarian’s desk when he caught a glimpse of movement from the floor above. He quickly ran up the stairs, past the shelves and found a young woman. She was short even for a woman, barely hitting five feet, she wore a long grey sweater that reached down almost to her fingers. She had short dark hair that curled at the edges. Large thick glasses framed her forest brown eyes, that were currently giving Dek a suspicious look.

“What do you want?”

“H-hello, sorry to bother you. But, well, my name is Dek-”

“Dek what?”

“Oh, well just Dek.”

The girl’s eyebrows slightly rose and her shoulders visibly relaxed, “I didn’t expect to see a commoner here. There are very few at this academy.”

He sighed, “So I’m learning.”

The girl gave a small grin, “I’m Alice, just Alice.”

Dek’s eyes widened in surprise, “Ah, I see. Well, Al, mind if I call you Al?”

“Alice will do just fine.”

“Oh, okay, sorry, my bad. Um, yeah, I was wondering if you knew where I could find books that deal with the higher studies of ether gems in relation with quanta gem locks.”

“Huh? Well, I don’t know where to find those but I do know that books on the subject of ether are found on the fourth floor.”

“Ah, perfect. Thanks.”

“No problem, we commoners have to stick together.” Alice smiled.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Dek nodded without looking at her and jogged up the next flight of stairs.

Alice gazed at the young redhead’s back as he left. At first, she thought she would have to deal with a noble. But luckily for her she actually found another commoner, one who seemed to be interested in the higher studies of ether. Though only professionals, such as ether scientists, actually studied such thing. She supposed the boy was curious, or maybe he was on some kind of genius. Highly unlikely, but it’d be nice to have a commoner who stood above the crowd, noble and commoner alike. Dismissing her silly wish, she left.

After a few minutes Dek found a few books that dealt with the subject, satisfied, he waited for the librarian to return and checked out the books. He ignored the librarian’s quizzical look, then went to grab a quick bite to eat. He bought himself a sandwich once again and headed somewhere quiet to read.

The rest of the day passed by without issue. Dek walked home after school, along the way he bought a few groceries from the market stalls. When he got home he noticed Erica was gone. Probably out scouting the area, he guessed. Dek cooked dinner for two and ate by himself. He then went to his duffel bag and pulled out a small ornamented black cube the size of his fist. Grooves in various shapes coated the surface, five small amethysts were studded around the sides. The cube was in fact an ether quanta lock, the strongest lock ever invented by ether scientists. There were only a few such locks in the world, and they tended to be used for royal family vaults or the like and none of them were smaller than a carriage. Yet, here was one the size of his fist. It was the only thing Dek’s parents had left him. And it was the key to achieving his goal. He spent the rest of the afternoon reading, hoping to find a way to open the cube, but to no avail.

Eventually, he dozed off while reading. He woke up to find his body asleep at the table in the kitchen. He had gone ethereal again, or he supposed it was called astral projection, at least he thought that was what this ability of his was. To his surprise he noticed that a blanket was wrapped around his dormant body. Dek grinned and walked through Erica’s door. She was in bed sleeping, her armor and weapons on the floor next to her. Dek watched her sleep for a while. A part of him told him it was wrong to spy on someone like this, if not just down right eerie. But Dek didn’t care, Erica was all he had and he was all she had. At least that’s what he told himself. In a strange way, it felt soothing to watch her sleep, it reminded him of his goal and that they’d accomplish it together. Eventually he got up and walked downstairs and into the night town. After an hour or so of walking he caught a familiar dripping sound.

“No way,” Dek muttered. He could hear the sound coming from the ground beneath him. But he was in the middle of a street and didn’t know how to get down.

But he was determined to find the golden pool again. An idea dawned on him; if he could touch things despite being in this form than it should go both ways, right? He focused on his feet and willed them to stop touching the ground, suddenly he fell through the earth. He continued to fall for several seconds until he finally landed in a bright room. Well, more like he tumbled and fell face first into the ground. Luckily, he couldn’t get hurt in his ethereal form. As he got up he recognized the room to be the same one he had been in last time he was down here. The same stream of golden liquid was leaking through the wall. Except this time there was a crew of masked men around it, each with several measuring instruments in hand and journals. They all worked silently.

Dek was really starting to worry about this place and debating if he should tell Erica about it. But then he’d have to explain how he had gotten here and about his ability. Once Erica knew Dek was a quin she’d take him out of school and make him focus completely on mastering his ability. Which wasn’t a bad thing per se, but he needed to first learn as much as he could from the academy. After that he could work on his ability with Erica, besides he felt he was doing pretty well so far.

Dek walked around the masked men and their work, trying to understand whatever he could, but it was useless, their writing was foreign and he couldn’t understand it. Well it didn’t seem as if they were doing anything dangerous so Dek thought it was fine, it’s not like it was going to affect him anyway. He walked away and tried to find the way back up, but he couldn’t. He had hoped the masked men would unwittingly show him the way out but they just kept working hours on end. He was forced to wander for a while until he woke up in his physical body.

The next day Dek made himself a quick breakfast, said goodbye to Erica, and headed to school. Once there he continued to read on ether locks, while ignoring the looks he’d occasionally get from the students, including Emily and John. At lunch, he’d quickly eat while walking, which was uncomfortable but he didn’t care, he tended to eat a light lunch anyway. After eating he headed to the library. He stayed reading until dusk, where Alice happened upon him.

“Oh, hello.”

“Uh, hi. Alice, right?”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect to see anyone here so late.”

“Why, is it weird?”

“No, just uncommon I guess. Most people rather spend their time elsewhere. I’m the only one who’s normally here this late. So, what are you reading?”

“Just a book on triple and quadra gem locks. Hoping to get some insight.”

“Wait, so you actually understand what they’re saying in those books?”

“Well, yeah. Why else would I be reading them?”

“Not even the professors read those kinds of books. Are you some kind of genius or something?” Alice asked, a bit of hope in her voice.

“Um…” Dek wasn’t sure how to answer such an abrupt question.

“S-sorry. I’m being too forward. Well, the sun is setting so I better get going. It was nice seeing you.” Alice bowed her head in an apology.

“Alright, take care.” Dek said as he pulled out his lantern.

“Is that a gem lantern?” Alice asked in surprise.

“Yes?”

“Where’d you get one? Can I see it?”

“I bought it. Sure.” Dek wasn’t sure why she was so excited.

Alice sat down next to him as he showed her the glowing quartz inside the lantern.

“It’s beautiful.” She said as she gazed at it.

“Have you never seen one?” Dek asked in disbelief.

“Well, not this close up. I’ve only seen a couple at festivals and such. They’re too expensive, most people can’t afford them, well barring nobles of course. I’m surprise you were able to get your hands on one.”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course, it’s amazing. They aren’t just pretty but they also can’t cause fires. Which is why they are allowed in the library, unlike a regular lantern. If I had one I’d be here reading far after sunset.”

“Well, you can have this one. As thanks for helping me earlier.” Dek slid the lantern over.

“I can’t accept this. It’s too precious.” Alice raised her hands in refusal.

“It’s fine, I have a spare at home.” It also didn’t hurt that Alice was cute.

“Are you sure? Like, really sure?” Alice said, eyes widening as she looked at the glowing stone.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thank you so much!” Alice smiled. “Wait, until I show my sister, she’ll be so ecstatic.”

She had a beautiful smile, it reminded him of his mother. Of better times.

“You’re welcome.” Dek smiled.

They spent the next hour reading together. Alice studied for her classes, Dek read about more gem locks. Though he had been there to focus on his research, he didn’t mind hanging out with Alice. By then end of the night he realized she was becoming his first friend in two years.

After they parted, Dek went home. Once he got there he did more research. He didn’t bother with the homework, he already knew all the material they were covering in class. Erica would occasionally stop by and check up on him, in her own rude way. Afterwards, Dek fell asleep and woke up in his ethereal form. He first watched Erica for a while before exploring more of the town and school, until he woke up the next day, exhausted. This became a routine for him. Every day he’d wake up tired though he was learning to manage it better each time. He’d go to class, ignore the lecture and study on ether locks. Occasionally he saw Alice at the library where they’d chat for a bit before heading their own ways.

When he got home he’d cook dinner and then study some more. When he slept he’d go into his ethereal body. He’d wander the apartment for a bit before ending up in Erica’s room, where he’d notice her now familiar purple glowing hand. Then Dek would just talk to her for a while, though she couldn’t hear him. He talked about his school, his parents, his travels with her. And while he did he watched her sleep; noting each feature of her face, from the smallest freckle to the way her hair covered her ears. Sometimes, he’d touch her hair. And on the nights where he recalled the day he lost his parents, when the pain felt so real he couldn’t breather, he’d hold her hand. Her warm hand enlaced with his own, would calm him down. He knew she’d normally be angry at him for touching her, but Dek tried to imagine that she wasn’t asleep and instead was listening to him as he let free his emotions. A silent listener, who’d always be there for him. And so, it became something like a habit to stay with Erica every night at least for a while. After his nightly visits, he’d go wandering around town though he never visited the golden pool again, deeming it not worth the trouble.