SilverCrest Academy

I vaguely remember the first time I set foot in this school. But I never knew why my family put me in this school until the teachers told me.

I was a mutant, and the government is hunting people like us. This school provided us sanctuary. It taught us how to control and harness our abilities. Though none of them paid much attention to me. I was just a minor mutant.

I had the normal abilities. A little bit of telepathy (and by little, I mean I could barely make out any thoughts in anyone), a bit of teleportation (the most I can do is to teleport from a table to another that’s literally a meter away), and I can to a bit of telekinesis. Other than that, I can’t do anything else.

Honestly, I didn’t know why the government would be so interested in us. We were different, yes, but we wanted to live normal lives as well.

In the academy, kids treated each other like normal people. Because to our eyes, we were normal, the outside world was different. The only people who were different were the empaths and telepaths. They sat there, sulking in the corners, glaring at every teacher who passes, and treats us like dirt.

I’ve always wondered why empaths and telepaths were so moody and emo. It wasn’t like we did anything to them. I knew one of their names, Esther. She was in one of my various classes. But other than that, we rarely see her in the school. Empaths and Telepaths have private lessons and classes with different teachers. Maybe it was because of their unusual abilities.

But if you don’t have those powers, then you have normal classes plus a special class that’s meant to train your ability.

I had most of the normal classes, and since I didn’t have a main, strong ability, I didn’t have a special class. But ever since I was a child, I had this strong urge to do something. I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. When I tried to do telepathy, the urge didn’t go away. And the same thing happened to telekinesis and teleportation.

When I consulted one of the overseers, they said that it’ll take time to develop new abilities, but as time past, I lost hope. The urge still didn’t go away, and I was turning fifteen soon.

My classmates and I had the same classes, so that was how we got to know each other.

I had a few friends, and one of the first friends I made was named Keirsha. She was very playful, in my opinion, she has a “big ego”. Well, she doesn’t really have a big ego, but she would sometimes joke that she was the supreme leader of everyone. But she loved to read, just like me, so I guess that was how we became friends.

Another one was named Kathryn. She was extremely shy, and she would look like a vampire if she wore Victorian Era clothes. She had brown hair, very pale skin, and grayish blue eyes. She enjoyed reading as well, and even though I talked to her a lot, she didn’t speak much.

A new friend that I had just made arrived not too long ago. Her name was Julie, and she liked reading. She was playful in some ways, and she was very nice. I don’t know much about her yet, but I’m working on it.

Two friends that I’ve made when I just arrived at the Academy as well were Makaela and Thomas. There was a time when Makaela and I didn’t really talk because we didn’t see each other (she just discovered her main power that year and had to take different classes). But now, we’re back to normal talking friends.

Thomas is a funny person. He and I both read the same books that we both loved, and we would talk endlessly during class (Makaela was really annoyed by it all the time). He could be over dramatic sometimes, but he’s a good person and friend.

We all have different abilities. Some of my friends tease me for not manifesting my power yet, but I know they don’t really mean it.

Keirsha has telekinesis, and I don’t know why (I seriously don’t know why), but she is gifted. She was one of the more powerful mutants with telekinetic abilities.

Kathryn has teleportation as her ability, and she is always the first one in class.

Julie has charmspeaking as her power. You could think of it like The Force from Star Wars. She could tell others to do something and they’ll do it. Sometimes she does it as a prank.

Makaela has Weather Manipulation. Just like Storm from X-Men, depending on her mood, she could change the weather. It could be a hurricane one second and a sunny day on the other.

Thomas holds the element of earth in his hands. He could make plants grow, rocks move, and soil rise if he wants it to. His power is dangerous, but he almost never does anything harmful. Mostly just planting flowers.

My classmates and I like to compete with other classes during school games. Sometimes we would just get together and plan to prank another class just for fun. Once we’re put in a class, you’ll most likely see those students in every other one of your classes, so you might as well have some fun with them.

So, here I am, sitting in class and waiting for the teacher to arrive.

“Hey!” a voice behind me said, “Hey, Angelise !”

I started turning in my seat, “Yeah, Ethan–“

He blasted some frost into my face. I yelped and stood up, wiping it off of my skin. Ethan and his friends, on the other hand, were laughing their heads off.

“S… sorry…” he grinned, “You okay?”

I shook my head and glared at him, “What the heck was that for?”

“It wasn’t my fault! Takeshi told me to do it!” he pointed at the boy sitting next to him.

You see, Takeshi and I had this rivalry that lasted since the day we both came here. I don’t even remember who started it, but it was a sort of playful rivalry. Not the type that’ll get us both into trouble.

Because I didn’t have any special powers, I couldn’t really do anything about the teasing here and there. It really annoyed me.

“No, it was Ethan!” Takeshi grinned and pointed at his friend.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my table. I wasn’t really bullied for it, because people here were nice. But sometimes… ugh…

“Okay, look.” Ethan tapped my shoulder, “Dude, seriously, I’m sorry.”

I turned around, half bracing myself for another blast of frost, “No, it’s fine, really.” I shrugged.

Takeshi flicked his fingers and small bolts of electricity zapped Ethan’s wrist. “Ow!” he jumped, “What was that for?” he created a half closed fist and stabbed an icicle onto the back of Takeshi’s hand.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Keirsha sat down next to me.

“What are they doing?” she asked me.

I shrugged, “I have no idea.”

“Hey, tell him to stop!” Takeshi laughed.

Keirsha looked at me with an exasperated look and sighed, shaking her head, “Kids…”

I smiled, “No kidding.”

Ethan clasped both of his hands and opened them. There was a snowball.

“Hey, can you throw this at Chander?” he whispered, pointing across the room.

“Why don’t you do it?”

“Because he’ll know I did it!” he handed the snowball to me.

I sighed and tossed it towards Chander.

My relationship with Chander was neutral. He used to call me “bookworm” (and he still does, mind you) because I love to read (and I’ll get in trouble for it), and I just simply say a few things back to him. But we didn’t have arguments, so we were considered just plain “classmates”.

The snowball hit Chander’s back. He yelped as a thin sheet of frost spread across his back and disappeared.

He turned, “Ethan!” he stood up from his chair.

“What?” he gaped, “It wasn’t me!” he pointed at me, “It was her!”

I was taken aback, then I chided myself for being so stupid. Of course he was going to blame it on me!

Chander’s hands caught on fire. Yes, Chander’s ability was fire. That was why he was more sensitive to ice and water. Ethan loved to prank him, since both opposed each other’s abilities.

“Hey, peace!” Ethan put up 2 fingers, “She did it, not me!”

“She doesn’t have ice abilities!” Chander said, though I could see the corners of his mouth twitching.

The doors opened and more students poured in.

“Hey, Angelise !” Artemis (she’s a shapeshifter) came over to our table, “Whatcha doing?”

“Watching this.” I gestured at the ongoing fight.

“Hey! Watch it!” Takeshi ducked as little balls of flame pelted past him and onto Ethan.

I turned back and tapped the table. Where was the teacher?

Makaela sat down on her seat and looked at me, “Hi, Angelise .” she smiled and waved.

I pointed behind me and rolled my eyes, “I’m stuck here.”

She laughed, “Well, you better get used to it.”

Thomas sat down next to Makaela and grinned at me. I waved, “Hey, Thomas.”

“Greetings, children.” he said in a mock serious tone.

I chuckled, “So, how are you?”

Thomas opened his palm and grew a flower, “Meh, nothing much.” he nodded at the chaos behind me, “What’s going on?”

“Ethan started it.” I mumbled.

“You threw it!” he managed to shout.

“Yeah,” I turned, “well, you were the one who told me to do it!”

“Haven’t your parents ever taught you not to do something someone else tells you to?” Takeshi threw up his hands.

“Shut up.” I snapped playfully.

Another person entered the room. I looked to see if it was the teacher, but it was Esther. The moody telepath. Of course, no one stopped what they were doing to stare at her, because no one found her worth their time.

I still didn’t understand why telepaths and empaths in the school act like that. Do they have a cult? Or do they know something we don’t?

When she sat down, I saw her ankles. There were red marks on them, almost as if shackles had been chained onto them. But then Esther shifted her feet and her dress hid them. I shrugged and looked back at the board just as the teacher arrived.

“I’m sorry for being late.” she said as she walked down the rows of seats. “There was a student that had to be dealt with.”

We nodded.

“Okay, as some of you know, today, we have an overseer.”

Everyone groaned. We hated overseers. They just stared at us as we did our little tricks. They make annoying comments and walked through the crowd like they’re the boss of everything.

Overseers are like representatives from other schools that protected people like us. They liked to compare their students to ours.

“Now, before you jump to conclusions,” the teacher said and leaned against the table, “I need to tell you that this overseer is different.”

Everyone stopped groaning, suddenly interested.

“He is young.” she said, “And he isn’t a teacher at any school, but he is extremely powerful.”

“Powerful?” I heard Keirsha repeat.

“Yes, Keirsha. Powerful.” she sat down on her desk, “You see, he’s not like any… person that you’ve ever seen before. What he’s capable of…” there was a gleam in the teacher’s eyes, “it’s beyond your imagination. And I want each and every one of you to behave your best. You are fortunate, and we are honored, to have him as a guest and overseer. Any questions?”

“What is it that he do?” I heard someone in the back call out.

She folded her arms, “I’m afraid I cannot explain. But you’ll see. And I can guarantee you that you’ll be impressed.”

As we went along with our classes, something outside caught my eye.

Our classroom was on the third floor, you see, and one side of our classroom has windows that show us an entire view of the school’s courtyard.

In the courtyard, I saw two teachers struggling with a student. She seemed to be screaming and fighting them, but they held her firm and injected something into her neck. I gasped and pointed outside, “Professor!” I cried, “There’s something being hurt outside!”

Everyone got up and ran to the window. But before they could do anything, the teacher closed the curtains.

“I can assure you, no one is being hurt.” she said firmly, “Angelise , I would like it if you stopped making up lies.”

“I’m not lying, I saw someone–“

“Enough.” she cut through my sentence, “Everyone, sit down.”

We obliged.

“If anyone mentions anything like this again, there’ll be harsh consequences.” she growled.

Everyone swallowed and looked at their desks. All except Esther, who was glaring at the teacher. I couldn’t help but wonder if what I saw was connected to the telepath’s hate for the school.

The Overseer

Class went by swiftly after that, but when I got out of class, I noticed everyone heading for the courtyard, where I saw the student being hurt.

“Where’s everyone going?” I asked Keirsha and Artemis.

“I have no clue.” Artemis shrugged.

“Maybe it’s the overseer.” Julie joined us.

“Alright, let’s go.” Keirsha went down the stairs.

The courtyard was full of people. Students of every age and class were there, and the teachers were standing by the front gate in four rows.

“Honor guard?” I whispered.

“Maybe.” Keirsha replied.

“Yeah, I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Julie said, “This guy’s powerful, remember?”

“And young.” Artemis added.

“Isn’t it a bit formal, though?” I said.

Everyone went silent as the doors opened. I was quite surprised, for he looked about twenty years old. Despite the teacher saying that he was going to be young, I never thought he would be this young.

He was dressed in a formal uniform, but it didn’t resemble any other school’s uniform. The uniform consisted of a black pair of pants, a dark shirt with silver buttons, and black coat. His boots were polished, and his gloves looked like they were made of real gloves. His skin was pale, and so was his hair. It was silver, like snow, and his eyes were a light color of turquoise. He looked less humane than any of us.

He strode into the courtyard, not casually, but not formally either. His back wasn’t completely straight, but his strides were even and his head was held high.

“He looks like he’s from the Victorian era.” Keirsha commented softly.

“Rhys Jäger.” our “principle” (I put quotation marks because I don’t want to say headmaster) said.

Jaeger? I thought to myself. What’s next? Max Akerman?

“Welcome to SilverCrest Academy.” he said and stuck out his hand.

Rhys Jäger looked at it before shaking it firmly. “How do you do, sir?” he had an accent. Maybe it was English? It sounded like a Shakespearean accent, though.

“Very well, thank you.” the teacher gestured at the students, “These are our students at SilverCrest Academy. If you would like a demonstration, I would be happy to–“

The man held up a hand, “No, it’s alright.” he said softly, “I would just like to see the school, if you don’t mind.”

“This guy’s weird.” Julie commented.

“No he’s not.” Keirsha said, “He’s just very formal, that’s all.”

“Excuse me?” Julie smiled, “Do formal guys have old English accents and say ‘How do you do, sir’?”

I shrugged, “Maybe.”

Artemis tilted her head, “I like him. He seems very nice. At least he doesn’t want to stare at us.”

“Knock on wood, Artemis.” I warned playfully.

She knocked on the cement, “There. Done.” she stood up, “Come on, I don’t want to be late for class.”

As we walked, I said to Keirsha, “He has the last name of a character.” I murmured.

“From where?”

“Attack on Titan.” I replied.

“Ugh… again with that?” she rolled her eyes.

“No, I’m serious!” I held up my hands, “His name is Rhys Jäger!”

“Jäger means hunter in German, Angelise .” Keirsha muttered.

“I know that!” I grumbled, “It’s in the theme song.”

“Oh my god…” she looked away.

“No, seriously! You know,” I started humming the theme song before saying, “Jäger!”

“Yes, and you once said the entire first line is in German.”

“It was in the trivia! I means something like ‘They are the prey and we are the Hunters'” I quoted.

“How are you the hunters if you’re the ones being hunted?” Keirsha asked me, frowning.

“No, what it means is, we’re the hunters because we’re the ones who are hunting them down! They’re just eating humans because they need to survive.”

“But they’re the ones wiping you out of extinction, not the other way around.”

I threw up my hands, “I know what? Forget it!” I groaned.

“But first name is Rhys.” A slow smile started forming on her face.

I grinned, “and” I ended for her and we both laughed.

Our next class was manifesting. Some mutants had more than one power, but most don’t. We found this class pretty much useless, but it wasn’t to me. I had the urge to do something, but no matter what I did, I would always walk out of the classroom with no power. That hollowness that keeps me up at night would still be there every day.

“Try again tomorrow.” the teacher always said, but it never happened.

I walked into the classroom and sat down. The teacher nodded at us and we got to work.

I concentrated on the urge. What it meant, and what it wanted me to do. But every time I reach out for it, it just becomes stronger and pulls away. I feel like it’s so close yet so far. I tried sudden thoughts, but nothing worked. All I felt was a void; a pit of darkness.

Then I saw the overseer walked over to our classroom. He knocked gently.

The teacher answered, “Oh, hello.” she smiled, “Come in!”

He stepped through the threshold and looked around. I looked down at my desk and avoided eye contact.

He asked a few questions silently before walking around the class. He didn’t watch the others for more than a few minutes, but once in a while, he’ll say something to someone who was struggling.

Then he came to me. I concentrated on reaching that emptiness, but I still couldn’t do it.

From his pocket, he drew out an old fashioned fountain pen and placed it gently on the table in front of me.

“Turn that into a quill.” he said quietly.

I looked up, surprised. But he didn’t say anything else, so I just shrugged and imagined the fountain pen as a quill.

Nothing happened.

“Find the resemblance between the two.” he murmured.

Well, they were both writing utensils. And they were used around the same era… I think. They could both be black, and they required ink to work. Only the rich were able to use these objects.

Was it just me or did the pen become thinner?

“Concentrate.” I almost didn’t hear him. “Shut out everything else.”

I diverted all of my concentration to the pen. There was nothing but the pen. Turn the pen into a quill. There was nothing but the pen. Turn the pen into a quill. I started chanting to myself.

There weren’t any major changes at first, just the pen becoming thinner and longer. I didn’t pay attention to those changes, but the next thing I knew, I was looking at a quill.

I gasped. The emptiness in my chest was gone. I felt fuller, more confident.

“Class.” the teacher was smiling at me, “I think Angelise has manifested as a Manipulator.”

Everyone clapped (it was etiquette). Artemis and Julie came over, “Good job, Angelise !”

I was still blinking at the quill. That was… weird, yet satisfying.

My stomach growled suddenly, though. All that concentration must’ve made me hungry. I instinctively thought of food.

All of the sudden, the quill changed into a bowl of pumpkin soup. Everyone gasped.

“Impressive, Angelise .” the teacher smiled some more.

I breathed heavily. I felt more powerful, but it was pushing my limits a bit too far. I tried to change it back into the fountain pen, but all I did was change it into a piece of parchment.

“Control it.” Rhys Jäger said, “Don’t let go.”

I mentally tried to grab onto that sensation and put it down, but it slipped away and I found myself looking at a knife.

Everyone started backing away.

“Angelise ,” his voice was firm, “control your power.”

“I’m trying to.” I pressed my temples and focused. My eyes got blurry.

As I started to panic, the things it changed into got more and more dangerous, until I found myself looking at an old fashioned bomb.

Everyone screamed, but Rhys grabbed my wrist and slammed his hand onto the bomb. It changed back into a fountain pen, and at the same time, I felt the power leave me. If I was standing, I would’ve stumbled. I felt so weak and tired, but worst of all, empty.

The room was silent, the only thing I heard was my heart beating and everyone’s heavy breathing.

He straightened slowly, but didn’t let go of my wrist, “I took your power away, Angelise .” he said in a low tone, “And I will not give it back unless if you control your power the next time you use it.”

Everyone was shocked, even the teacher. So this guy was a manipulator and he had the ability to steal powers?

“Will you control your power?” he said.

I felt like breaking down, but I inhaled deeply and nodded, “Yes.” my voice shook. I couldn’t stand that emptiness.

Rhys squeezed my wrist and I felt full again, not as weak; much stronger.

“Then I will take my leave.” he strode to the door without another word and shut it gently.

“Angelise , are you alright?” the teacher walked over and touched my shoulder, “Do you need to see the counselor?”

I shook my head, “No… but, is it alright if I don’t do anything else for now?” I whispered.

“Of course.” she nodded and walked back to her seat.

Keirsha leaned on my table, “You okay?” she asked seriously.

I nodded, “Fine.” I said.

She patted my shoulder before joining Julie and Artemis.

“Hey, you alright?” I found a couple of boys standing in front of me.

“Yes, I’m fine.” I repeated.

“That was pretty cool, you know.” Ethan commented, “Except for the part when you turned it into a bomb.”

“Thanks.” I mumbled.

The rest of the class past swiftly. Rhys Jäger left the classroom right after he returned my manipulating power. Keirsha stayed by my side, making objects float and just doing simple work.

When the bell rang, I gathered my things and went out into the hallway. Now that I discovered my power, I felt kind of relieved. But knowing that I can’t control it yet scared me. How can I use my power if I can’t control it?

“Angelise .” a voice behind me said.

I turned, “Mr. Jäger!” I exclaimed.

He looked like he was about to say something, but what came out of his mouth was, “Please, don’t call me that. Just call me Rhys.” he beckoned me forward, “I must talk to you.”

I looked around. No one seemed to be in a hurry, so I shrugged and followed him.

We came to a more deserted hallway before he slowed down, “Angelise , I’ve seen more than you can imagine.” he started, “I’ve seen mutants who could control time; mutants who could change everything with a single thought.” his voice got lower, “Mutants who are so powerful they’re almost godlike.”

“I thought those types of mutants are almost never seen.” I whispered.

Rhys nodded slowly, “Yes, it’s true. Here.” he said, “But they’re out there.” he looked at me, “Angelise , I’ve also seen mutants who have suppressed their powers for so long that they explode in an instant, at the least expected moment.”

I blinked, “And… you believe that’s what happened to me?” I tilted my head.

Rhys’s shoulders rose and fell, “How long have you not used your power.”

“Well, I’ve never technically used my power until today.” when I saw his confused gaze, I explained, “You see, it started when I was maybe around six. I started feeling this emptiness in me. It wasn’t physical, but I knew I wasn’t imagining it. It got stronger and deeper as I got older. At times, it’ll keep me up at night. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels as if something extremely important to me was missing. And up until today, it was always there. I would try to focus on what the emptiness meant, but I couldn’t reach it. Today, when you told me to manipulate the pen, the void finally filled up, and I no longer felt empty.”

Rhys looked like he was deep in thought, “So you never gained access to your power until today… how old are you?”

“Almost fifteen.”

“So nine years.” he murmured, “You never used your power for nine years.”

“But I couldn’t reach it.” I pointed out.

“Yes…” he stopped walking, “Angelise , sometimes when a mutant couldn’t gain access to their power, there are two reasons as to why. One: Someone is forbidding them. Two: They’re so gifted that their body can’t respond properly to it.”

“So… which one is it?” both didn’t sound very good.

“Hm.” he shook his head, “Do you remember when you first came here?”

“Barely, but a little.”

“Did anything unusual happen before this emptiness happened?”

“Not that I can recall any.”

“Do you still feel emptiness?” he asked.

I concentrated, “Uh… yes,” the more I focused, the deeper the void actually was, “I still feel quite empty.”

“You have nine years worth of strength.” he said, “That could really do some damage.”

“Such as?” I said.

Rhys raised an eyebrow, “Such as manipulating the very essence of this world to your will.”

I felt my jaw drop, “I could… I could do that?”

“What you did in class?” he snorted, “That was just a fraction of a fraction of what you could do.” his gaze darkened, “I knew someone who had the same problem as you… and, if not for The Sacrifice…” he shook his head and his eyes cleared, “Regardless, you must control yourself, no matter how tempting it is to do more.”

“But if I push it down, wouldn’t it get worse?” I asked.

“Yes, Angelise.” Rhys sighed, “But if you ease it bit by bit, then it’ll wear off eventually. Self control is extremely important to people like us, always remember that.” 

Nikolai Lysandre Cassiel Jäger

I knew this was a dream, and normally, when I realize I’m dreaming, it ends. But this one didn’t.

I was standing in a huge cavern entirely made of a type of crystal or glass. It seemed like ordinary crystal, but I had second thoughts when I saw a young man chained up in the crystal.

He was maybe a bit younger than Rhys, around seventeen or eighteen. His hair was black, but his eyes were silver, and it glowed as if there was a light underneath them. He was kneeling on the ground, his wrists and ankles chained and bound by the crystal. On his neck was a collar made by the same crystal, and his head was bowed.

I felt something cool and touched my neck. On it was the same collar, made from the same crystal. But I wasn’t chained, in fact, I had a subconscious feeling that I had to wear the collar in order to be safe.

His eyes flickered towards me, “Hello.” he looked up and smiled.

I blinked, “Excuse me?”

His tilted his head, “Don’t people in your world say hello nowadays?” he asked politely.

This guy was chained up, and had a collar on his neck! Why would he say hello to me?

“Uh… hi.” I sounded so stupid.

“Can I help you?”

“You’re… you’re chained up.” I pointed out dumbly.

He rattled them and nodded, “Yes, I know.” he looked around the cavern, “I’ve been chained for three years now.”

My eyes widened, “Three… three years?” I stuttered.

“Yes.” he looked at me, “May I know your name?”

There was something wrong here, “Angelise.” I said automatically.

His smile widened. It looked so innocent, sweet, and kind. But I didn’t believe it was honest. “Mine’s Nikolai. Nikolai Lysandre Cassiel Jäger.”

“Sorry, can you repeat that?” I frowned.

“Nikolai Lysandre Cassiel Jäger.” he said patiently.

“Jäger?” I repeated, “Are you related to Rhys Jäger by any chance?”

“Ah… Rhys.” he looked into the open space of the cavern, “Rhys Kiran Ash Jäger. Yes, I’m related to him. He’s my dear old cousin.”

“Your cousin?”

Nikolai’s gaze went back to me, “Yes. Also known as the very man who put me here.”

“Who’s cousin would put his own family into prison?” I couldn’t manage to speak above a whisper.

“Mine, apparently.” he chuckled, “Well… couldn’t blame him. What I did to the people here made your so called ‘World Wars’ look like play fights.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you not know what I am, Angelise?” when he met my blank stare, he sighed, “No?” he tugged lightly on the chains. They rattled. “People who my abilities don’t have a name, since they’re so rare. But long story short, I can will anything I imagine to come true whenever I want to.”

“So like a god?” I gasped.

“Actually, more powerful than a god.” he said, “Gods have limits, for example, they can’t just kill off each other with a single thought.” his smile didn’t seem so friendly anymore, “But I can.”

“Then if you can make anything happen, why don’t you get out of here?” I asked, resisting the urge to run off.

Nikolai snorted, “This thing that’s holding me,” he rattled his chains, “and the crystal-like solid that makes up the cavern? They’re the result of The Sacrifice.”

Wasn’t that something Rhys mentioned?

“As long as they’re touching something, I can’t do anything to that object. To be confined here is to take away my power completely.”

“Why is it called The Sacrifice, then?” I asked.

“If there is to be balance in nature, one cannot have so much power.” Nikolai said, “So when I was born, it tipped the scale. To balance it out, a sacrifice had to be made. And not just an animal sacrifice, that’s for other things. A power like this… the sacrifice had to be worth a lot in order to counter my power. It had to be worth so much that the world would feel its loss.” he looked into my eyes, “Do you want to know what it was?”

I nodded, “Yes.”

Nikolai’s smile was bitter and sad, “Exactly 24,601 loyal defenders of the land gave up their mercy, compassion, love, kindness, honesty, pride, and happiness for the sake of the world. They are known as Hell’s Angels, or The Damned. They could never feel love again, nor smile. All that is left of them is anger, hate, shame, and grief. Some of them weren’t even adults yet. But they gave it all up so that there was something that could control me.”

“What did you do, then?” I shook my head, “They gave it all up to keep you under control. What did you do?”

Nikolai’s sad smile didn’t waver, “It was just an accident, but they couldn’t forgive me. I was too dangerous.”

“What exactly did you do?” I emphasized the word “exactly”.

“That is something that I never want to discuss again.” he nodded at me, “What are you doing here, Angelise?”

“It’s a dream.” I shrugged, “I’m not awake yet.”

For a moment, there was cruel amusement in his eyes, then it was gone, replaced by a sweet smile, “Then, wake up, Angelise.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that you dreamt of a guy?” Keirsha grinned, “Ooh! Who is it?”

I flushed, “Shut up, Keirsha. I told you, it was just a dream!”

Julie smiled, “Yeah right, Angelise!”

I spotted Rhys talking to a couple of teachers, “Uh, I’ll catch up on you guys later.” I ran towards him.

“Rhys!” I shouted.

He turned around, “Angelise.” he frowned and turned to the teachers, “Can you excuse us, please? Thank you.” he murmured.

“Rhys.” I skidded to a halt in front of him, “I had the weirdest dream yesterday.”

He blinked, “If you came to talk about dreams, Angelise…” he started, sounding annoyed.

“It’s Nikolai Lysandre Cassiel Jäger!” I blurted out.

His skin got paler and his turquoise eyes widened.

“Does that name sound familiar to you?” I said in a quieter voice.

He grabbed my arms and started shaking me, “What did he tell you?” he said frantically, “Did he do anything?”

“No, nothing!” I shook my head, “He just told me his name, what The Sacrifice was, what he was, and how you put him in prison.”

“Don’t look at me as if I have no heart, Angelise.” Rhys growled, “I knew exactly who I was sending to prison, and it pained me to do it. But what must be done must be done.”

“He refused to tell me what he did.” I said.

“And I’ve sworn to never speak of it again.” he let go of me, “Get to class, Angelise.” he said darkly, “We’ll talk later.”

Things started to get weird during lunch. So first, Nikolai (apparently) managed to persuade the “headmaster” to bring in a few guests to oversee the school. And since overseers bring guests from other schools all the time, the “headmaster” agreed.

Rhys came to me when I was walking towards my friends.

“Angelise, we need to talk to you.”

I frowned, “We?” I looked behind him, “What–”

“Come on.” he grabbed my arm without another word and pulled me out of the cafeteria.

There were a few secluded places in the school, and the gardens were one of them, since the only people who actually go there was the gardening club. There were five people there. And they seemed to be talking about something.

“… no, that boy with the scar! You’re talking about the guy called Draco Malfoy!” one of them argued, “I’m talking about the guy called… what’s his name? Ron Weasley? Yeah, I think that’s the one.”

“No! It’s the guy called Crab!” a short girl snapped.

“No, that’s the person who follows Malfoy everywhere he goes! Gods, this world has great books, but they’re so confusing–”

“I think you mean Harry Potter?” I corrected automatically.

All five looked at me, and I flushed, “Harry Potter was the boy who lived. He got the scar from Voldemort. It… it was a result after he tried to kill him.” I explained quietly.

“Another reader!” a young man of Asian and European descent shoved to the front and stared at me, “You read books of this world?”

“Uh… yes?” I said, confused.

“I didn’t bring her to talk about books, Levi!” Rhys snapped.

I couldn’t believe it. Rhys’s last name was Jäger, and this guy’s name was Levi!

“If you don’t bring two readers together to talk about books, then what do you suggest they talk about?” Levi countered.

“Nikolai Lysandre Cassiel Jäger.” Rhys said in a dead serious tone.

Levi’s expression went from sarcastic to serious, “What happened?” he said quietly.

“Did he escape?” a girl with dyed pink and blue hair clenched her fists, “I swear to the gods that I’ll pound him after what he did!” she growled. “I’ll rip him apart! I’ll kick his–”

“Calm yourself, Marie.” a girl with long black hair and a slim, tall frame held up a hand, “Listen to what the girl has to say.” she had a slight accent that sounded Russian.

When everyone diverted their attention to me, I said, “I had a dream.” I said, “In the dream, I was in a cavern, and Nikolai saw me. He and I talked for a while, exchanged names, talked about what he was, and what The Sacrifice was.”

“Did he ask what you are?” the girl with long black hair asked.

I shook my head, “No, he didn’t bring it up.”

“Oh, you didn’t mention, Rhys.” Levi turned to him, “What is she?”

“She’s a manipulator.” he said, “And, according to what we know, she’s a rather powerful one.”

“But, my friend Keirsha has very powerful telekinesis, and she didn’t have any problems!”

“Your bodies are different, and so are your minds. She may be physically or mentally more powerful than you. But don’t worry about it.” Rhys explained quickly.

“But, can’t you take his power away?” I asked him.

Rhys sighed, “Yes, I can.” he said, “But, one: I can’t handle that kind of power. Two: Even if I can, I doubt Nikolai would let me get close to him. He could read my mind and find out what I was up to if he wanted. Three: People with his ability is extremely rare, almost one in a cosmo, so there are numerous daring, stubborn people who want to study him.”

“But once you take it away, can’t you… I don’t know, channel it into something and destroy that object?”

“We are not sorcerers or mages, Angelise.” Rhys said, “We can only use our abilities to a certain limit.”

“Maybe I can manipulate his mind?” I said, “You told me that I needed to release nine years worth of power.”

“Yes, but a little by little.” he countered.

“So what now?” Marie prompted, “Do we take her back with us?”

“No.” Rhys said, “She’s not fully trained. And she isn’t powerful enough to make a difference in our world.” he looked around, and in a quiet tone, “Remember our duty here.”

“I still don’t understand why they expect us to free every single one of them.” Levi muttered, “We’re just a group of six.”

“Five people and a member of House Jäger.” the girl with long black hair said.

“No.” Rhys looked at them, “One member of House Jäger, and five of the loyalist, bravest, and best warriors I’ve ever met.”

They shared a few unspoken words with each other before Rhys turned to me, “Are you sure all you said was everything that happened in the dream?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Thank you, Angelise.” Rhys said, “You may go.”

“Wait, hang on!” Levi pushed himself to the front, “You have any books you can tell me about?” he asked almost excitedly.

I blinked, “Uh… what have you read exactly?”

“Levi.” a man dressed in black that I didn’t notice before spoke up, “We cannot stay here for long.”

He sighed, “Alright, fine.” he looked at me, “I’ll come when I have time.”

I nodded, and was about to leave when something in my mind told me to stop, “Wait.” I turned, “You guys said something about ‘your world’. What did you mean by that?”