The rest of the week passed by slowly and uneventfully. For Pale, it was the same thing she'd come to grow accustomed to, save for the attack at the border – she spent the rest of her time away from class catching up on her assignments, spending time with Kayla and Valerie, and otherwise trying her best to understand her newfound magic. By this point, she'd come to accept that her mindset changing was what ultimately let her unlock her sjel. She didn't know if that was the reason for sure, but it was the only possible explanation she could think of that made sense.

And that opened up a whole new line of thinking for her, and not necessarily in a good way.

She was in class at the moment, listening to Professor Virux drone on about history. She was halfway paying attention, but mostly, she was stuck in her own head. Over the past few days, ever since the initial excitement of unlocking her magic had worn off, she'd suddenly had to face a few uncomfortable realities.

Namely, the role her creators had planned for her.

Professor Tomas' statement continued to echo in her mind as she listened to Virux's lecture. He'd been right to say that if humanity had wanted an unthinking, unfeeling drone, then they never would have created someone like her in the first place. But at the same time, they'd been so insistent that she stick to her initial orders and serve as a weapon that she couldn't help but feel conflicted.

And then there was the issue of returning home, which had also started to weigh on her greatly.

"Pale?"

Pale blinked as her thoughts were interrupted. Initially, she thought it was Kayla, only to recall that the two of them had opted to sit away from each other today. She turned and found Valerie sitting there next to her, a concerned look on her face.

"Is everything okay?" Valerie asked, her voice a whisper.

Slowly, Pale shook her head. "It's hard to explain," she offered.

"Try me."

Pale hesitated, then let out a sigh. "...Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if you were torn between returning somewhere that needs you and staying with people you've come to care about?"

Valerie blinked, taken by surprise. "...I don't know," she answered. "Can you be more specific?"

"Let's just say that a lot of lives are dependent on me returning from whence I came. But, at the same time… if I left, I probably wouldn't be coming back, and… I don't want to leave you and Kayla behind forever like that."

Slowly, Valerie gave her a nod. "I see. Well, in that case, I hate to say it, but you need to do what's best for you, Pale."

"But all those people-"

"You can't be expected to shoulder that kind of burden, Pale. Whoever told you that was being unfair."

Pale couldn't help herself. She bit her lip. "...What if they weren't?" she asked. "What if there truly was a way for me to save all those people? In that case, staying behind… that'd be selfish of me, wouldn't it?"

Valerie stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "This seems like a pretty heavy conversation to have in hushed tones in the middle of class. We'll talk about this more in the hall afterwards. Okay?"

Pale gave her a nod, and both girls went back to focusing on Virux's lecture.

The entire time, Pale continued to wrestle with herself, slowly counting down the minutes until she and Valerie could speak again."

XXX

The moment class let out, Pale took Valerie by the hand and raced out the classroom door. The two of them ducked into a nearby hallway, one that was only sparsely populated by students, and as they did so, Valerie gave her a concerned look.

"Talk to me," she said. "What's going on?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Pale hesitated. "It's… hard to explain, Valerie. Let's just say… there are certain aspects of myself I don't like discussing with people. Part of that would be who I really am as a person." Pale paused, her eyes going wide. "And believe me, saying that last sentence was harder than you might think."

"Okay, hold on," Valerie said to her. "Just… how many lives are at stake, exactly?"

"A lot."

"How many?" Valerie insisted. "A hundred? A thousand?"

Pale bit her lip. "...You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But rest assured, it's a lot more than that."

To her credit, Valerie didn't even so much as blink or give her an incredulous look. Instead, she took Pale's statement in stride, slowly nodding her head.

"Okay," she said quietly. "So a lot of lives are at stake and it's dependent on you returning home to help defend them?"

"Yes."

"Does this have anything to do with those strange weapons you carry?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I'm sorry I can't explain more-"

"Don't be; I get it. But… tell me, at the very least, that Kayla knows the true nature of whatever you're talking about?"

"She does," Pale insisted. "It's a very short list of people I trust with that kind of truth, and one of them is sworn to a blood oath to keep it secret. One day, I'd like to include you in that list, but… I'm not ready. I mean, we were just trying to kill each other a few short weeks ago, and-"

"Pale," Valerie gently interrupted. "I get it, okay? And I don't mind at all. If you feel you still need to keep some secrets from me, that's okay. I don't expect you to tell me everything about yourself, not in the slightest."

Pale let out a small sigh of relief. "...Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now, you said earlier that you're torn between staying here and leaving, and that a lot of lives are at stake if you choose to stay."

"Yes."

Valerie thought for a moment. "...It's not an easy decision, obviously," she offered. "And honestly, I don't think there really is a correct choice to make here, either."

"You don't?"

Valerie shook her head. "No. I mean, my gut says the right thing to do is to return home and save as many people as possible… but you need to take care of yourself, too. How many people back home do you have a close connection to?"

"Zero," Pale answered.

"And that's what complicates things."

Pale hesitated. "...If it helps, they don't know I'm here," she said. "I haven't been able to contact them for a long time, and vice versa. They almost certainly think I'm dead, and have been for a while. And… if I'm being honest, there's no telling that there'll even be anyone left to save by the time I make it back, since it's been so long."

Valerie was silent for a few seconds as she considered what to say next. "I can't tell you what to choose, Pale," she said. "But I can tell you what I would pick."

"And what would that be?"

"Personally? I would choose to stay. But it sounds to me like it's not that simple – you have some kind of duty or higher purpose tying you there. Am I correct?"

Slowly, Pale nodded. "You are."

"Then that might change things for you. But if it were me… I would stay here. I mean, if you decide to head back, it'll probably be permanent. It's likely there isn't anyone there to save. If there are, will they even need you to save them again?" Valerie shook her head. "Besides, assuming they're still around, they think you're dead already, anyway. The way I see it, there's no harm in letting them continue to think that. How much time do you have to make a decision?"

"A lot."

"Then what I would do is think on it between now and then. Maybe you'll come up with a different answer, I don't know. But what I do know is that, whatever you pick, you need to commit to it. Does that make sense?"

Pale gave her another slow nod. "It does."

"Good." Valerie flashed her a thin smile. "Then let's get going, class is about to start."

XXX

Classes soon ended for the day, and the first-year students found their way to the mess hall. Pale came filing in alongside Valerie, and the two of them sat down a table length away from Kayla, Cynthia, and Cal. Something about the arrangement made Pale uneasy; Kayla had already explained why her and Valerie were nothing more than acquaintances, but that wasn't enough to satisfy Pale. She didn't want to find herself torn between two friends, especially not after what her and Kayla had already been through together.

In any case, however, she and Valerie simply sat down and ate in near-complete silence, with only a slight bit of small talk between the two of them to pass the time between mouthfuls of food. It wasn't anything surprising to Pale; given the heavy conversation she'd had with Valerie earlier, as well as the fact that, at least on some level, she was keeping Valerie away from the more sensitive parts of her past, things were bound to be a little awkward between them for a day or two, she figured. But they'd get over that in due time.

After all, Valerie had gotten over Pale nearly blowing both her legs off at the knee. Compared to that, this was nothing.

They both finished their respective meals and were about to stand up and leave the room when, to Pale's surprise, Headmaster Albrecht stepped up on stage and clapped his hands together once, getting their attention. Immediately, the room went deathly silent, and all eyes were upon him as he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"As some of you may already be aware, your first big examinations will be occurring soon," he said, his voice resounding and carrying across the room. "The exams will be one-on-one, however each of you will be assigned a study partner to assist you with preparing for them. You will not be allowed to select your partner; rather, your partner will be selected for you by the staff based on their observations of how you interacted with the rest of your peers."

"Where is he going with this…?" Valerie wondered aloud under her breath.

"The purpose of this exercise is to build cohesion," the headmaster insisted. "Upon leaving the Luminarium, you will all be going your separate ways. It is highly unlikely that you will remain attached to your current friends and roommates while out in the field. It is important that you are able to work with anyone you may come across out there. You do not have to necessarily get along with them, however you do need to be able to work together to achieve a common goal."

As much as Pale hated to admit it, the headmaster was talking sense on at least some level. If nothing else, this would at the very least assure that people would grow accustomed to working with others they may not have been familiar with.

"Your study partner has been posted to your respective dorm rooms already," the headmaster announced. "We have slid a piece of parchment under each door, on which is written the name of your partner. And before you ask – we are keeping track of who is matched with who, so don't even try to swap partners."

A small groan of discontent went up through the assembled students at that bit of information, though the headmaster didn't seem to care. Instead, he motioned with his hand.

"That is all," he said. "Dismissed."

With that, he walked off, leaving them alone. Pale and Valerie exchanged a glance with each other, neither one sure of what to think.

"Well," Valerie said, "might as well see who we've got."

Pale didn't argue, and the two girls set off for their dorms.

XXX

Sure enough, when Pale opened the door to her dorm room, there were two folded pieces of parchment paper lying on the floor within. One of them had her name written on it, and the other was addressed to Kayla. Pale placed Kayla's on top of her bed for when she came back, and then picked up her own and opened it. Inside was a single name; she wasn't surprised at who it was, given the headmaster's speech, but at the same time, she was disappointed. Her brow furrowed, and she grit her teeth in rage as she read the name printed across the interior of the paper.

Joel Magnus.