Yuri and Nova, both had found themselves standing in the hallway that the student council room was. Or at least what used to be of it. The destruction in the hall was evident, debris flung everywhere, and a majority of the decorations completely defiled and destroyed.
Exactly opposite from where they stood, there was a hole in the wall where the massive door of the student council once stood.
Beyond that hole, the student council room was completely destroyed. Nothing was left intact, and there was an even bigger hole beyond that, in which the rain poured in from.
There was a trail of blood on the floor leading from the center of the hallway to the student council room door.
Yuri and Nova both stood in silence as the analyzed the situation.
After a few moments, Yuri took a step forward. Slowly, he began to approach the door that led to the P.A. room.
Nova didn't move and instead watched as Yuri dragged himself there.
"So, what's going on with you?"
She asked. She didn't know Yuri all that well, besides the things that everybody else knew about him.
He was the defense force captain, no non-sense, strong, and the only person that he seemed to really talk to was Suijin. Apparently, he had a very long and extensive past with her.
Nova went over that information in her head as she awaited Yuri's answer. She didn't have to know the guy very well to understand that his words were cryptic and the expression on his face suggested he might be on track to do something...Ill-advised.
A few feet ahead, Yuri finally came to a stop. He reached down, before picking up a piece of rubble that once belonged to the door of the student council room. He analyzed it for a long moment, before finally responding.
"Nothing's wrong." His voice was shaky, uncertain.
Nova sighed, a bit irked, but she had expected that sort of answer. "Oh really?" She began to walk towards where he was standing. "I refuse to lie to you." She put on her best imitation of the exact voice that he had used. "You told her that instead of just saying that you understood. Cryptic don't you think?"
Yuri set the stone down on the ground, with the same care that you would a fragile piece of glass.
When Nova approached, she peeked at the stone, and it had words inscribed on it. They were cut off.
Amor vinci-
"Amor vincit-" Yuri
"Omnia" Nova finished for him. She had been to the student council room so many times on the account of Erika's actions that she had the inscription on their front door memorized. "Love conquers all."
Yuri finally turned around to face her. "Nothing's wrong." More heisitation. He then turned around and opened the door to the P.A. room.
When they entered, the room was i the same exact condition as all ways. It might have looked even better. Currently, there were two students inside. One was a girl with black hair who was standing by the mic, her eyes trained on the window beside her.
The other was a young boy who was monitoring the sound systems and making sure that everything remained online.
Both of their eyes snapped towards the door fearfully when they heard it open.
"We're not hostile." Yuri said while holding his hands up. Nova mirrored the action. "We come with a message from Suijin."
The girl was the first one to gain her bearings, nodding quickly. She tossed a look to the boy, who nodded before turning back to the sound system, turning up the volume, and hovering his hand over a button.
"Whenever you're ready." He spoke. His voice was shaking a bit.
"Calm down Brennan." The girl said as she noticed his shaking.
They boy nodded. "I'm fine Cath."
Yuri turned towards Cath and began to speak. HIs voice was eerily calm, a direct contrast to the way it had seemed hesitant and uncertain just a few minutes ago.
Nova noticed that.
"We need you to broadcast a message about two things. Number one, asking for any able-bodied students to maneuver to the front of the magic academy. Secondly, we want a message addressed to Raiden, telling him to come towards the front of the magic academy. Anyone who finds him should also take him with them towards the front. For description, he's pretty tall, pale skin, black eyes, and he's dressed in a black trench coat."
Cath nodded and turned around. She signaled for Brennan to turn on the system and she began to speak. She relayed Yuri's message much word for word. Just as she finished, Yuri signaled that he wanted to speak.
Once Cath moved out of the way, Yuri leaned in, taking a moment before he finally said.
"Suijin. Theres nothing wrong. Just focus on your own task." He stepped away, and the broadcast ended.
Nova stared at him for a brief moment, as he turned away. "I hope you realize that saying something like that will only end up with her being even more worried than she already was?"
Yuri didn't respond. He opened the door.
Nova was starting to get really frustrated with how he was acting. And the eerie calm about him ticked her off to the fact that he had already made a decision. And now he was going to execute.
However, all of those thoughts had no place in the current moment. Because when Nova turned around-
Yuri was standing there, frozen.
The door was wide open, however no light poured into the room.
Because there was a shadow blocking it.
There was a man standing in the doorway. He was dressed in all white. His suit bore not a single stain, scratch or mark.
He had a smile on his face. His hair and teeth where the same pearly white.
And he had his hands wrapped around Yuri's neck.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
A broadcast had just finished playing over the P.A. system. Hikaru and Aura were halfway towards their destination when the girls voice had come over the P.A. system.
According to what she said, the student council president Suijin had asked for everyone to head towards the front courtyard of the magic academy.
That made sense, Hikaru could sense that there was a major battle going on over there. Hikaru felt guilty about not heading there as quickly as possible, however she had to handle this first.
She needed to find Raiden and make sure he was okay.
Thankfully, she was given an excuse to do that with the second half of that message. The girl had instructed anyone who found Raiden to take him with them towards the front of Theta magic academy.
Hikaru was shocked to hear his voice over the P.A. system.
Why would they call for specifically him?
However, Hikaru didn't remain confused for long. Her mind instantly reached for one of the worst possibilities, and that was the idea that they had discovered Raiden was a target of some sort.
As soon as that thought entered her mind, she increased the pace of her movements. She moved quicker, not even bothering to take care on the slick surfaces that she was jumping to and from.
"Hikaru! Slow down!" Aura called out to her.
Hearing Aura's voice, Hikaru slowed to a stop and looked back at her. Aura landed next to her and studied her face with a concerned expression.
"Remember what you told me?" Aura didn't have to ask to know that Raiden was the person Hikaru was looking for. Instead, she reciprocated the same words that Hikaru had told her.
"If you need to, you could talk."
For an odd reason, Hikaru found it a bit embarrassing to talk about the reasons she was so adamant in searching for Raiden. In her own mind, she hadn't completely decided what she felt.
No, she had already known, she just wasn't ready to confront it yet. And so instead she kept it general.
"He's an idiot. One that would die before he asked for help, because he doesn't think he deserves."
Saying it aloud made Hikaru wonder what made a person like that? What past experiences could leave someone who's that talented believing they're not.
Aura looked at Hikaru for a few moments, before giggling.
"What exactly is so funny!" Hikaru replied, her face turning slightly red.
The moment they shared was interrupted by a massive collum of lightning that erupted from the arena, consuming it completely.
Hikaru's expression of shock and scream was lost in the blinding light and defeaning sound of the explosion.
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An empty void.
Not a single sound, not a single sight, and not a single thought.
Drifting, falling, drowning, but there wasn't anything to ground any certain thought.
I couldn't have been drifting, nor falling, nor drowning, because there was nothing.
Nothing to ground myself.
I was in an empty void. I was doing nothing. Being nothing.
It was almost as if I never existed. [1]
Floating in that void, there were no thoughts running through my mind. My life did not replay once again before my eyes. I didn't reminisce, I didn't ponder, and I didn't wonder.
It was clear as day proof.
I was empty.
At the core I would always remain empty.
A void.
There was nothing to Raiden Chisaki. And they would never be.
From the moment he was born.
To the moment he died.
So pitiful I started taking in the third person?
The voice in my mind asked.
Which voice, I thought to myself.
Me.
HIM.
or HER.
Completely split and completely shattered.
There was nothing whole about me.
Slowly the void started to be permeated by thoughts.
Regrets I had.
Apologies I didn't have yet to give.
Questions I didn't ask and answers I didn't receive.
And now I was going to die.
From above, there was a light. A small but bright light.
At the same time that light appeared, I heard a voice.
An angelic and sweet voice that I recognized.
My own mom.
She was singing. The same lullaby she did when I was a baby.
"Over the rainbow"
That was the song she would sing. I ended up researching the lyrics. It was the firstb thing I did when I first learned how to use a computer.
I read the lyrics over and over again.
I imagined my mother's angelic voice singing to me.
I would cling to those memories. To my mother's nice treatment.
They would help me live.
And now, they would be with me when I died.
Slowly, I reached a handout. Slowly, my fingers stretched out, creeping towards the warmth of the light. My mother's voice was getting louder.
I could feel it now. The warmth I had gone without. I wanted to melt into it completely. I might have been crying. I might have muttered, "mom" to myself. I couldn't be certain.
I was losing myself in it.
At that same moment, I felt hands on my shoulders.
Cold hands.
They softly caressed my shoulders, as a shadow leaned in from behind me and began to whisper into my ear.
Her voice was silky, smooth, calm, cold.
Her touch was cold, reassuring, something that stood out against the warmth enveloping my body.
■■■■■: Raiden. You're not done yet.
[1] Go and take me off of your wish list.
Go on cause I'm keeping distance.
Go and tell him that I NEVER EXISTED