27th August

“You’re rigkht. It skhouldn’t even be pozzible. Lookz like the only way to find out is by bringing khim to me.” She suggested.

“Right. I’ll do as you say.”

Saying so I left the dusty room to get Yuki. My new objective, find Yuki and bring him to Miss Yelena as soon as my lectures after the break end.

During the lectures my mind swayed to different notions, thinking stuff like, “If only the break lasted a little longer…” and “Where would Yuki be now…?”. My ears were piqued when the professor announced the end of the lectures for the day.

I quickly rushed out of the class, my sight running wild searching for the target. As I got around the academy I realised Yuki had already left for the dorms. So fast? As I ran through the streets and alleyways of the city complex the only thing I could think about was Yuki doing something stupid yet again. If something were to happen to him everything I worked towards would be diminished. My ambition, my vengeance, all for nothing.

I entered his dorm apartment and smacked open the door, only to find a stupefied Antonio having snacks on his bed. “Wuh aur yuu dooing here Noumi?” He asked, his mouth full of food. “Where is Yuki?” I demanded. He quickly gulped up the food and stood up, “I don’t know ’e didn’t come back yet.” He replied.

“Weren’t you two in the lectures together? Where did he go then?” I pressed for answers, trying to piece together Yuki's whereabouts.

“’e said ’e wanted to go somew’ere, I didn’t rrreally ask. What ’appened toug’?”

“What about when he arrived after the lectures yesterday?” I inquired, hoping to gather any information about Yuki's behaviour.

“I wasn’t ’ere. I stayed late doing some trrraining of my own.” he explained, his expression puzzled.

“I see… Did you observe any changes in his behaviour recently?” I asked, sensing that he might have noticed something unusual.

“Well, ’e did ’ave some nig’tmarrres yestoiday, and today ’e left beforrre I even woke oop. Tell me w’at ’as appened.” He urged, his curiosity piqued.

“Nightmares? What kind of nightmares?” I pressed further, intrigued by the mention of forests.

“’e was saying some stooff about demons and forrrests.” He replied, his voice lowering as if recalling something unsettling.

“Demons and… forest?” I repeated, trying to make sense of Yuki's dreams.

“Yes… is-a Yuki in trrrouble?” He asked, his concern evident.

“No Tonio, he’s fine. I was just trying to find him. You don’t worry, I’ll go find him somewhere else.” I said, trying to reassure him.

“You soorrre? I cano come with you if you want any ’elp.” Tonio offered genuine concern in his voice.

“No Tonio it’s fine, but thanks. I’ll leave now.” I replied, appreciating his offer but wanting to handle the situation on my own.

My conversation with Antonio revealed more concerning information and I have no idea what to make of it. Only Miss Yelena can answer my questions now. I needed to find Yuki and I had to do it soon.

I walked back to the academy and headed right to the A Block. Though not allowed to use magic on campus without permission, I knew I had to do it. I had to find Yuki somehow. Determination fueled my actions as I closed my eyes and activated . With a deep breath, my sight left the bounds of my physical body, and I felt as if my consciousness soared through the walls of Avalon, penetrating its secrets in search of Yuki. The corridors of the academy seemed to stretch endlessly as I pushed my abilities to the limit.

As I delved deeper into my abilities, I could sense the strength leaving my body, and my willpower was put to the test. The strain was immense, but I couldn't afford to give up. My heart raced as I continued my search, trying to focus my energy on pinpointing Yuki's location.

Finally, just when it seemed like I might reach the limits of my ability, I spotted a glimpse of him. There he was, walking with an air of detachment towards the Bifröst. My breath caught in my throat as a mix of relief and worry washed over me. Why was he heading there? What was drawing him to such a place? It made me lose my focus and my ability got called off, but now I at least know where Yuki is.

My running was slowed down due to exhaustion from using but I pushed my body to reach the spot where I saw Yuki. He had of course moved on from the spot but I know where he was headed, the Bifröst. The muscles in my legs burned as I strived forward to the Bifröst, the only thing pushing me now was willpower. As I was running I could finally see Yuki, still detached from the world. “Yuki! Stop!” I yelled.

Yuki seemed to pay no heed to my call as he continued walking towards the Bifröst. His demeanour was distant, lost in a world of his own. I quickened my pace, the urgency in my heart overpowering the fatigue that gnawed at my body.

"Yuki! Wait!" I shouted once more, hoping to break through the invisible walls that seemed to surround him. But still, he didn't halt his stride. His steps remained steady, taking him closer and closer to the mystical gateway.

I finally caught up to him, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. "Yuki, something's wrong. You need to stop and talk to someone." My words were desperate, tinged with a hint of fear.

He turned to me, his expression void of any emotion. "I have to go. There's something I need to find." His voice was distant, almost as if he was speaking from another world.

"What do you mean? Find what? Yuki, you're not making any sense!" I pleaded, reaching out to touch his arm, hoping that my touch would bring him back to reality.

“Just get lost, Naomi,” he said, slapping away my arm. It seemed there was no stopping him, I had to once again break the rules. Never had I thought that someday someone would make me break the rules of Avalon, my morals and my ethics were compromised. But what has to be done needs to be done. I placed my palm on his chest and used . His movement was constricted before he could try stopping me, all of the mana slowly flowed into me. As I regained my strength Yuki dropped to the ground, not being able to move a single muscle in his body… just like he did on his first day here…

I stood there, my heart pounding in my chest as I watched Yuki struggle. His eyes held a mix of anger and pain, but also a hint of vulnerability. For a moment, I thought I saw a crack in the stoic facade he had erected, a glimpse of the Yuki I knew from before.

"You can't keep running away, Yuki," I said, my voice wavering with emotion. "I know something's wrong with you, and I won't stand by and watch you suffer in silence."

He tried to speak, to protest, but he was powerless to do so. I took a step closer, reaching out to touch his arm, hoping that my presence could bring him back to reality.

"Look, I'm worried about you," I continued, trying to find the right words to break through to him. "You don't have to carry everything on your own. We're your friends, and we're here to support you."

He tried to pull away from my touch, his eyes flickering with a mix of confusion and frustration. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice laced with bitterness.

“Because I care about you, Yuki.” Saying so I used my abilities to make him unconscious. The extra strength I got from him by using would help now to carry him back to Miss Yelena.

⛧ ⛧ ⛧

"Zo tkhis is khim." Miss Yelena contemplated, her piercing gaze fixed on Yuki, now strapped to a chair in her dusty old room. "I’m zurprized you ended up using magic to find him," she commented, her accent thickening with intrigue. "Not only did you use zight ability but also used zomething az controverzial az . Tkhat’z quite bold of someone obedient like you izn’t it?"

"Can you just fix him?" I interjected, my voice laced with exhaustion and annoyance.

"Rigkht. It’z time to wake khim up," she declared, her eyes focused on the task at hand.

I utilized , transferring some of the back into Yuki to bring him back to consciousness. After a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze heavy and distant. Then he turned his attention to us and glared as if a stranger now occupied his body. "WHERE AM I?" he bellowed, his voice coarse and unnerving, sending a shiver down my spine.

"We need to act rigkht now," Miss Yelena stated firmly. She moved swiftly towards Yuki, her abilities surging. Her eyes shimmered with a purple hue as she gently tapped Yuki's forehead, causing his eyes to glow similarly. He fell eerily silent, his soul seemingly departing his body.

...

Minutes passed, and Yuki began to stir again. His eyes turned red, but before anything else could happen, Miss Yelena employed , and the red light left his body. After a few seconds, he returned to his normal state. Confusion etched on his face, he opened his eyes and asked, "Where am I? What happened?"

"This is Miss Yelena, Yuki," I reassured him, trying to remain composed. "She fixed whatever was wrong with you."

"Wrong with me? What is wrong with me? And why am I not in my bedroom?"

"You were pozzezed, kid," Miss Yelena explained bluntly.

"Possessed by what?" I inquired, my concern growing.

". Zomeone was commanding him."

"Commanding me? Who?"

"I don’t know. But you do. For no reazon would you suddenly get pozzezed."

"I know? How would I know?"

"You tell me, kid."

"I just said I don’t know."

"Then tell me what you know."

"I… I don't recall anything."

"Take it easy on him, Miss Yelena-" I tried to calm the situation, but she interrupted me, her gaze unwavering.

"Tkhere's no time to waste," Miss Yelena insisted, her determination unyielding. "We must get to the bottom of tkhis. Your possession may be a key piece to a bigger puzzle."

Yuki's eyes darted between us, his confusion palpable. "I can't remember anything unusual," he muttered, frustration evident in his voice. "It's like there's a void in my memory."

"Tkhen let's fill that void together," Miss Yelena suggested, her tone softened. "You need to try and recollect what happened before you woke up in my room."

After thinking intensely Yuki replied, “No… I can’t remember anything.”

“Nothing? Maybe something lke a dream.” I suggested.

“...No.” he sulked.

“Lookz like I’ll khave to do tkhis my way.” Miss Yelena said, taking command.

She walked up to him and aggressively grabbed his forehead and tried using one of her abilities again, but then backed off quickly. “Wkhat tkhe khell!” She exclaimed, “Tkhiz kid khas very ztrong mental barrier.”

“What? How?” Yuki and I exclaimed in unison.

“I don't know. Maybe it'z defence meckhanizm implied by khis body due to wkhat juzt khappened." She said, "In any caze, we can't find out wkht happened now. You two zhould return to your dorm, it'z zarting to get dark outside."

We agreed with her and left for our dorms...