The figure of light stepped out of the mirror, one seeming leg at a time, and the hair at the back of my neck stood on end. The light was blinding. I would’ve closed my eyes against it if I could, but the light didn’t hurt my eyes at all. It was a different kind of light that.

This wasn’t the same being as the ones we saw last night. The energy was different. I could feel that it was different somehow—feel it building in my chest. Was this Ket’ha? Was this the Energy that flowed through Ket’ha?

Suddenly, the being of light seemed to start splitting into two, another being stepping out from the light as if it were another portal. My heart raced in my chest against the pressure building there. If I could've run in that moment, I would've. When you meet something that's unfathomably powerful, that was the only response no matter how strong you thought you were. Unfortunately, I couldn't run. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything at all to save myself, let alone anyone else in the room.

Was this how I was going to die? As a 17-year-old sitting in class on the first day of the first semester of my first year as a student at a magic academy? I hadn’t been able to do anything yet.

The being stepping out from the light looked like they were a human form made of liquid chrome. The surface of their form swirled and glimmered against the prismatic light of the being behind them, refracting in rainbow gem colors. I’d say it was beautiful if not for the distinct knowledge that this being could end me with a snap of their fingers.

My stomach churned as the chrome form twisted and warped until they took on a more human shape. Distinctive legs and arms. Shoulders and a head. Tall and masculine. Then there was skin, almost as white as the light they stepped out, that seemed to wrap itself around them. Clothes next, a white tunic like some sort of Greek god. Then eyes and a nose slid onto their face. Next ears and a mouth.

I wanted to vomit. In a matter of moments, there was a man that looked like he was in his twenties with eyes like lapis lazuli spheres. His long hair was as white as his skin. He was incredibly handsome, almost in a way that reminded me of Father, but he had an elegant beauty that reminded me of my second oldest brother as well. But his expression was cold and he seemed like he was made of stone.

He looked right at me. The light he'd stepped out from fell to the floor like a sheet and disappeared. I could barely breathe.

“Hello, Jerome.”

My original name—I hadn’t had anyone call me that in three decades.

[Notice]

Your Patron Shevira is requesting to Connect with your System. Would you like to accept?

Did I have any choice with him staring at me like that? Would the System even let me decline?

[Notice]

Your Patron Shevira is now Connecting with your System. You will receive no System Notices during this period. This could take awhile...

What did connecting even entail? The being continued walking toward me, a scowl on his face. He looked like he wanted to murder me, but I didn’t feel any murderous intent.

A hissing sound drew my attention away from the Shevira and back toward the desk, to Professor Zell. “Is it him?” she asked, pointing to me. She didn’t sound like herself. Her voice was low, husky. She wasn’t standing straight but slouching back as if lapsing into a more comfortable posture. “Is he the one?”

“How fucking bothersome,” the man said. He rubbed the frown wrinkling his forehead and sighed. “I appreciate the portal you made for me so I didn’t have to walk here, demon, but you should go back to Hell before I kill you. Consider it a thank you.”

Professor Zell hissed again. “But why would I do that, Di’at? If I kill you here, it’s all over anyway.” She let out a groan, her shoulders moving unnaturally until they broke with a crack.

“Fucking demons,” the Shevira said. “All the same. Go ahead, show me your true form, and then I’ll have you meet your end once and for all.”

Di’at? That was what she’d called him. My Patron Shevira was Di'at although Gerard had been born in the Month of Ket'ha? My mind rushed to recall where I’d heard that name as Professor Zell’s ankles and knees and hips broke at odd angles beneath her robe.

Professor Zell shrieked as her body grew, her limbs stretched. She had skin as dark as the night sky, but this demon’s skin was far darker than any human’s flesh could ever be. Fully a demon, she had the lower legs of a horse, a muscular form, horns, and her form was just the blackness of a void. Like the beings we saw last night.

This demon stood tall as beads of light began burning through her darkness where Professor Zell’s nose would be, where her sternum would be, and where her stomach would be. But this wasn’t Professor Zell anymore—and maybe hadn’t been for a while.

Suddenly the entire room grew hotter. The candles were blazing like torches. I bead of sweat crept down my hairline, and soon it’d drip into my face and I’d have trouble even seeing what was going on.

“Do you have a name, demon?” Di’at asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“Not one that I’ll give you,” the demon said, their tongue long and forked. Their mouth was more like a tear in their dark shape where their mouth should be. Their voice was distorted, almost had a static-like quality. “Not while you’re still in existence.”

[Notice]

Connection complete.

“Same answer as always,” the Shevira grumbled.

Then he exploded.

The demon laughed. It was an awful sound, and the worst of it was that I could move again. Everyone could move again, but we were all rooted in spot by the disturbing screech of laughter coming out of the demon’s mouth.

We needed to get the fuck out of here, so I grabbed Huxley’s wrist and lunged for the aisle. I was nearly knocked off my feet by an explosion where I used to be standing. The weight of Huxley was gone in that instant. I crouched instinctively.

The room filled with screams. The other students were rushing to get out of the room, and the fire had from the candles had started to catch on the wood seating. The room smelled of burning wood and clothes and hair and flesh.

The demon’s laughter grew, and the fire seemed to grow in response. The seating that had been hiding me from the demon was ripped from the ground and thrown across the room, crashing into one of the mirrors. What was there I could do in this situation? How could I fight a demon?

I recalled the ice spells that I knew, but before I could cast any of them, time stopped again. I couldn’t move. Except my heart was racing in my chest, surging in my ears as loud as the growing inferno beginning to encircle the room. I didn't want to die yet.

Di’at appeared beside the demon and grabbed them by the throat with one hand. “You thought that’s all it took to kill a Shevira? Hilarious. Now fuck off forever.”

With his other hand, he ripped the demon’s head off. Its mouth tore open and let out a primal shriek, and just as the being of light had seemed to separate into a chrome entity, the demon's head seemed to separate from Professor Zell's head as it burst into a million shimmers of light. Di’at tossed the demon’s body behind him as if it were a laundry bag, and it made a dull thud as it hit the ground and shattered into shards of light that disintegrated into dust.

I tried to move as soon as the demon was gone, but I still couldn’t do anything but shift my eyes. Di’at's gaze trailed around the room to finally land on me. His lip curled. He walked over and put my entire head in his hand.

[Notice]

Congratulations! You have completed the third part of your Quest [Meet your Patron Shevira]. Further rewards will be calculated after you complete the entire Quest.

Everything faded to gray.