"Her familiar is a humanoid?!"

"How is that even possible?"

The class buzzed like bees upon witnessing the unusual form of Melanie's familiar. Melanie instantly felt uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving but she chose to ignore it and approached the little girl named Alice who was still on her knees.

Melanie held both of her arms and gently pulled her to stand up, but Alice did not budge. Instead, she slowly turned her head towards the disoriented crowd and glared at them with her red eyes.

"Silence."

Melanie gasped when people in their class froze in an instant, the birds and leaves hovering over them stopped midair, and everything turned black and white. All sounds that she was aware of faded into nothingness.

Alice stood up and held both of Melanie's hands. She then lifted her face and met Melanie's gaze, "Master, why are you with these inferior beings?"

Melanie blinked and her eyebrows knit together. "Um, Alice, I am really sorry, but I don't understand what you're talking about. I think you might have mistaken me for someone else."

Alice scrutinized her summoner and clicked her tongue upon realization. "You're correct."

Melanie nodded a few times, still looking puzzled. "Yeah."

"Can I touch your forehead?" asked Alice out of the blue.

Melanie felt hesitant because of the strange question but with Alice's little girl form, she could not help herself from giving in. She then guided Alice's hand towards her forehead.

"Here," said Melanie.

For the first time, Alice's lips formed a smile, but it did not reach her eyes.

"I give you, my gratitude."

Alice grabbed Melanie's forehead and covered her eyes with her palm. A flash of light came out from her hand that burned Melanie's retinas. Melanie's eyelids drooped while her pupils traveled to the back of her head. Her body quivered intensely, and she almost lost her balance if not for Alice's clutch.

Moments later, when Alice finally noticed that Melanie could finally stand on her own feet, she removed her hand and took a step backward. She watched every strand of Melanie's jet-black hair turn white and nails grow longer and sharper. She then lifted her gaze and showed her glowing red eyes. She smirked and a fang glimpsed from her lips.

Alice noticed the difference and she lowered herself instantly, "Forgive me of my insolence, Master."

"Alice," muttered Melanie in a low tone. Her voice was cold and honeyed. "I see that this vessel has already awakened you."

"Yes, Master."

"But why did you call for me?"

Alice continued to stare at her Master's feet. "I believe that your vessel is unable to execute what a bearer must accomplish."

"Alice, look at me."

The little girl complied with her Master's orders and her eyes widened when her Master's face was right across hers in an instant. Her vision was instantly filled with those shades of red flowing from Melanie's pupils.

"Are you taking me for a fool?" Her voice contained cold fury.

The Master's cunning stare numbed Alice's tongue, but she was still able to force a response.

"N-no, Master."

Melanie reached for Alice's chin and gently caressed it. "Alice, you're important to me and I know you feel the same way too but..." she smiled, "you need to value this vessel if you want me to be with you again."

"But..." Alice trailed off when she was shushed by Melanie's finger on her lips.

"I need you to guide her until she's prepared to accept her fate. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, Master."

"Excellent. That's what I like most about you, Alice."

After Melanie said those words, she grabbed both Alice's hands and shut her eyes. The ends of her hair floated in the air, and it danced like they were submerged in water. Like a piece of canvass, drops of black ink spread through her white hair until it returned to Melanie's usual jet-black hair. She sighed deeply and her hair felt the gravity once again and settled on her shoulders. She opened her eyes and Alice met the same purple orbs that welcomed her when she was summoned.

Melanie frowned and looked around. Everything was still black and white, but she felt like she was missing something.

She looked at Alice who could not even look her in the eye. "Did something happen? You don't look fine."

Alice removed Melanie's hands on her then snapped her fingers to begin the flow of time again. The chatters and the colors appeared again like nothing happened.

Professor Baroque cleared his throat. "This sight is rare but it's not an impossible phenomenon, " he said, then looked at his watch.

He gazed at the class. "I believe we have already accomplished what we needed for today. You may now go to your next class." He glanced at Adi. "Please lead them to Professor Devon."

"Understood, " replied Adi.

Professor Baroque hastily jumped on the disc and flew out of the mini room after hearing Adi's response. He did not even look back to the class as he went out of the hall.

Melanie looked at Adi when she suddenly stood up. On cue, all of their classmates also did the same except for her and the sulking Axel.

"It was the same thing as before, " muttered Melanie while watching her classmates in trance. "You control minds."

"Yes," said Adi and directed her gaze towards the other students. "Professor Devon's class is next. Her room is located at the end of the corridor."

The moment she smiled, the class returned to their senses and understood what Adi just announced. They then hid their familiars and exited the hall.

"Um, Adi?" Melanie darted a glance towards Alice, who was still quiet the entire time. "Can you also help me to um, hide her?"

"Check your ring. The embryo might help you with that."

Melanie did what she was told to and brushed her fingers to the ring. A hologram description panel lit up and it showed an outline of Alice's detailed narrative at the next part. Melanie scanned the entire thing and did not understand most of it since they were all written in strange characters.

"Here," Melanie almost flinched when she felt Axel's body pressing against her back, "I may not know how to read shit too, like you, but Ace taught me the specific characters I must look for to hide my familiar."

"Now that you mention it, I think I haven't seen Axel's familiar earlier..." Melanie thought.

"Well, Melanie, looks like hiding your familiar is not an option according to your embryo."

"What should I do then?"

Axel shrugged and looked at Alice from head to toe. "I mean, her form is human. I don't think you need to conceal her or anything."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Melanie nodded. "You're right."

Axel grabbed Melanie's hand and pulled her up. Alice stood up too.

"Do you want to hear something interesting about Devon's class?" said Axel while guiding both of them to the disc.

"What is it?" asked Melanie.

Axel smirked. "His activities always happen outside the University."

Melanie stiffened and her eyes glistened from what she heard. Her memories from her first arrival to the Damned made her chest feel heavy and it made her freeze on the spot. She felt like time had rewound and the pain caused by the defilement she experienced returned to her at once like scars etched on her skin; no matter how many times her wounds are healed, the damage of the assault would always remain in her head.

"Master,"

Melanie turned her head towards Alice when she suddenly spoke and touched her arm. "Don't fret. I'll do my best to protect you."

"Alice..."

"Me too! I'll also do my best to protect you."

Melanie almost rolled her eyes when she heard Axel's reassurance.

"I feel like she needed to add the phrase, "because you're my toy." at the end of her statement." rebutted Melanie's thoughts.

She heaved a sigh of relief and gazed at Adi when she saw her in her peripheral vision. They both smiled at each other.

"They're right. I'm not alone anymore."

***

Luce stared at the window that showed the night view from their backyard. The glass reflected his dull green eyes and disheveled ginger hair; signs that he had been up for days that he had lost count. His hands gripped the sponge tightly as he used it to rub the dishes in the sink; foams scattered everywhere, and water dripped endlessly from his hands.

The voices coming from the living room, the chatters, the giggles, and the blathers disturbed him entirely as the thoughts came rushing in his head—thoughts about the woman with purple eyes, jet black hair, and beautiful smile that he missed the most; thoughts about why people around them forgot her that easily like her existence was erased right from its core.

Luce sighed. He set the last plate on the drainer and wiped his hands using the towel hanging on the holder. He stopped for a moment then pondered once again when he saw and felt the bracelet on his wrist. He brushed his fingers against the beads, and he swallowed a lump in his throat when the image of the girl he loved appeared in his head.

"Melanie..." he thought. "No matter what I do, everything reminds me of you."

If Luce would ask people how they think about Melanie, they would come up with a million reasons for him to stop thinking about her.

"Melanie is a cursed being."

"She is unclean."

"She is different from all of us and that is a sin!"

He leaned against the wall then looked up at the ceiling. Luce knows how many times he attempted to conceal the warm fuzzy feeling inside his chest whenever he thought of Melanie. He also forced himself to stop worrying and being bothered by her absence.

But he just can't.

Even though Luce has control over his thoughts, he could never dictate his heart.

He could not even sleep comfortably after he came to know that Melanie was exiled to the Damned. Endless questions kept him awake at night, wondering if she was still fine and if she was still alive. The mere thought of her lying on the cold ground in a pool of her own blood, eyes closed, and pale skin made Luce tremble with anger, frustration, and sadness.

Even though his home is safe from danger and his bed would give him the best comfort the world could offer, he would never feel secure now that he knew that Melanie was out there, asking for help.

Luce sighed deeply and quickly opened his eyes when his emotions were getting ahead of him again.

Trying to convince himself, he muttered in the air, "This is the tradition, Luce and you can never change it."

To distract himself from being miserable with the loss of his childhood sweetheart, he sauntered towards the salas where he saw his parents having a nice chat with a girl he did not recognize. Luce frowned and stopped for a moment to stare at them, but they quickly noticed his presence inside the room and turned to him with a smile.

"Oh, dear, " the mother said, then stood up. She gestured to the girl with blonde hair and faded blue eyes to stand beside her. "This is Dahlia. She lives next to our house, and she recently passed the Purifying Ceremony! Isn't that great?"

Luce faked a smile and looked at Dahlia. "Yeah, that's great."

"Hi, Luce, " said Dahlia, her cheeks tinting red. "Nice meeting you. Tita told me a lot of things about you."

Luce scoffed. "I hope they're good things though."

"Yeah!" the girl beamed without a thought. She instantly became conscious of her actions and retreated to her modest demeanor, "I mean, yes. She told me about your love of music and love of books. I-I think that's cute."

Luce raised his eyebrow and nodded. "Is that so?" he said, then reached out his hand. "I look forward to good things with you, Dahlia."

Luce's mother tapped Dahlia's back gently like she was saying "Go ahead, grab his hand!"

Dahlia flashed her beautiful smile and shook Luce's hands. "Likewise."

"Okay," Luce's dad said and pulled his wife to his side. "I think we should leave you two for a moment so you guys can talk, okay?"

"Yes, Tito."

"Okay, Dad."

When Luce's parents went upstairs, Dahlia returned to sit on the couch while Luce sat beside her. There were cups of lemon juice prepared on the table and a couple of bread and although the food looked enticing, the two showed no interest.

"So um," mumbled Dahlia. "How are you today?"

"Fine. How about you?"

"I'm fine, too. Thanks. The weather is great, is it not?"

"Yeah, it's great."

Luce sighed when Dahlia leaned back slightly while frowning. Her expression showed discomfort towards their awkward situation. Luce noticed that and decided to turn his head in her direction, then he raised his hand to cup her face. Dahlia's blue eyes widened and her cheeks instantly reddened.

"L-Luce..." she gasped.

Luce continued staring and proceeded to tuck an errant lock of hair behind Dahlia's ear. The gesture obviously made the girl blush more, but he only focused on the dark marks engraved on the girl's temples.

"What caused this?"

Dahlia quickly covered her temples with the back of her hands, "W-what are you talking about?"

"You guys were electrocuted at the ceremony," said Luce and trailed off, "I knew it..."

"Luce, you know it's prohibited to talk about the ceremony outside the light space!"

"Y-yeah," Luce retreated his hands. "You're right."

"I appreciate that you're concerned for me, " Dahlia amended quickly. "But really, it's fine. At least I am clean and pure unlike that girl who turned out to be a cursed being walking among us. Can you even imagine? She was sitting beside me during the entire ceremony!"

Luce grabbed both Dahlia's shoulders and gently tugged her because of what he heard. He pursed his lips and then asked, "What happened to Melanie?"

Dahlia frowned and her face filled with disgust. She then shoved Luce's hands off her shoulders and blurted out, "You know her?"

"S-she's..." Luce tried to contain himself then added. "She's my friend."

"Was."

Luce's eyes widened when he heard his mom's voice. He looked back and saw his parents looking at him dubiously. His mom who had the same green eyes glared at him while her arms were crossed across her chest. His dad stood behind her frowning and grimaced at the sight of his son.

"Oh, Dahlia. Forgive my Luce. Maybe his association with Melanie brainwashed him to draw him to her. Don't worry. We got everything under control, " the mother said, emphasizing the last words.

Dahlia stood up and giggled. "It's okay, Tita. I understand, " she said then approached Luce. She gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll come back tomorrow. Thank you for having me."

"You'll always be welcome here."

After the floral scent of Dahlia left the room, Luce felt the penetrating stares coming from his parents on his back.

"Luce," his father called.

Luce sighed, felt vulnerable for a moment, then turned to face his parents. They were already sitting on the couch and turning on the television. The table adorned with food and beverages before was already squeaky clean and devoid of dirt.

"This is our last warning."

Luce looked to his father when he started speaking. His brown eyes looked straight, his back leaned back on the chair, "You never knew Melanie, understood?"

"Yes, father." replied Luce as he stared at the floor.

"Also, after your classes, you'll be hanging out with Dahlia. The schedule is as is. Spend some time with her and don't ever bring up the ceremony nor the cursed girl again, you understand?"

"Yes, father."

"The Harlows will be celebrating tomorrow with their newborn child. Act in your best behavior."

Luce secretly clenched his fists upon hearing the news. "Yes, father, " he replied.

"They are Melanie's parents! How could they replace her that easily?" he thought.

"You may go to your room now."

Luce did not even dare to look up to meet his father's gaze when he was talking. He walked straight up the stairs and entered his room without a second thought. He shut the door behind him and crawled into his bed. His thoughts grew louder again.

Ever since he was born, Luce was told what he should be. Although the talents and skills he had were all recognized and even his passion for books and music were supported both financially and figuratively, his future was already set in stone.

He had to enter the University his parents chose for him. He needed to choose a career that was similar to his father, get married in a particular age with a girl that his parents picked for him, and lived his entire life with a house that they would be building together.

Everything all seemed to fit in together.

Except that they did not even give him a chance to choose for himself.

Until he met Melanie.

She was his sanctuary.

She was his hope.

She was his salvation.

Melanie was his home.

Whenever he felt down and exhausted, just knowing that he would see her smile at the end of the day was already enough to lift up his mood. Luce knew that even if everything seemed so messed up, as long as Melanie was there beside him, he always had a reason to look forward to the days ahead of him.

Now that Melanie's gone, his happiness also went with her. He could not find the reason to go on further anymore. Luce never desired anything but to live a simple life with Melanie; seeing her face every morning and kissing her goodnight at the end of the day. He could never wish for more.

But at the same time, he knew he deserved that pain.

He was aware that she also experienced being sheltered by her parents, but she saw that treatment as a form of love and never resented them for it.

Just like how Sanctified kids were raised to believe.

Luce, on the other hand, is different.

He looked at the mirror beside his bed and the reflection flashed an ominous smile back at him. Its grin was spread up until its ears and almost a second away from severing its own lips. The reflection whispered some gibberish words in the air and even though Luce did not know the language, the worlds flew into his head, and he quickly understood what they meant.

A familiar gaze came from Luce's green eyes like the reflection had been a part of his life ever since. He clenched his hands beneath the sheets.

"I don't care what it will cost me. I want her back."