When Melanie, Adi, Axel, and Alice arrived at the huge lawn across the gate, they saw students forming a line across a man with long curly brown hair, black shades, and tan skin. Adi and Axel's eyes reflected a tint of recognition when they saw the man, Melanie wondered if that man was an outcast in the class, and Alice, on the other hand, was still occupied by the feeling of rough grass under her feet.

Upon feeling the presence of the group's arrival to the class, the man jerked his head towards their direction and his outfit was nothing formal like Professor Baroque's suit earlier because he was wearing a maroon muscle tee, sweatpants, and flip flop. He gestured them to join the line of students and Adi, being the wise and composed vice president, gracefully occupied the space after the last student then she was followed by Axel, Melanie, and Alice.

"For those who didn't attend the orientation, my name is Professor Devon, and I will be teaching you Power Enhancement course."

He looked around the students in front of him and slowly walked to one while still speaking to the whole class. "I don't like spoon feeding so expect what you need to do in order to enhance your power will not be given to you. However..." He gazed at the male student in front of him and then he slowly removed his glasses, revealing his glowing electric blue eyes.

The students gasped and watched that glow enthusiastically, expecting something interesting was bound to happen when suddenly, the light slowly diminished, and the professor looked only as fine as before.

The professor tapped the student's shoulders and gently squeezed it, "You need more counseling."

The corner of his lips rose up and he turned to face the crowd, "My power is not really of much use in the real battle, but you could think of me as a seer. A seer who could see other people's weaknesses."

"But lack of counseling is not my weakness, " the student subjected to his demonstration argued.

The professor cupped his face and hooked his dark shades to the neckline of his maroon muscle tee. "Come back again after you did what I advised you."

The professor walked over to the next student and the same routine occurred. His eyes glowed in different shades of blue and then he revealed his analysis according to the weaknesses he saw from the students' physical, mental, and emotional health.

"Try to eat more protein."

"Gain some confidence."

"Try to work on your thoughts first before trying new things."

"Focus on your growth..." mumbled the professor while gazing at Adi, "exceed your limitations if you must."

"Understood, Professor Devon, " replied Adi and bowed respectfully. The professor then moved to the next student in line and penetrated Axel's system.

"Be honest, " said the professor and pointed to Axel's chest. "To yourself and to other people."

The professor then turned and finally stood across Melanie. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw those purple eyes staring at him curiously while her lips were pursed like she was hesitant to hear what the professor had to say.

"New face..." said the professor and darted a disapproving glance towards Axel. "Perhaps his new toy," he thought.

He returned his gaze to Melanie and did the same thing as before. His electric blue eyes glowed brightly and tried to pierce into Melanie's system but instead of seeing Melanie as a piece of flesh with a bundle of nerves, muscles, and pulses altogether, he saw something different.

A glitching image of a woman with white hair and pools of crimson staring back at him with gleaming menace.

"Shit," he muttered and staggered back when his eyes were suddenly shut tightly and then, a cold and eerie voice echoed inside his head.

"Try once more and you'll lose your sight...forever."

His eyes opened in horror and fear instantly crept into his body when he noticed what happened. His body trembled and his hands tried to reach his eyes.

He could see nothing but darkness.

Despair tightened his chest as he tried to blink for a couple of times. His breaths turned quick, and his heart thumped aggressively until the sound of his chest rang into his ears. He thought he was going to faint.

He inhaled sharply and blinked even more. The vast darkness in front of him suddenly diverged and revealed a hazy sight of humans that resembled walking trees. He frowned and his pupils contracted as the light became overflowing until finally....

He finally regained his vision.

"You!" He jerked his head towards Melanie and was about to say another word when he noticed everyone's eyes watching his every move. He hissed and recoiled his hand instantly.

He cleared her throat, "You..." the professor trailed off. "Y-you lack experience. Try to take this subject seriously."

Melanie nodded her head and awkwardly smiled. "I will. Thank you."

The professor averted his eyes.

"Something inside her rejected my powers," the professor thought and gritted his teeth. "She's dangerous."

Alice cleared her throat, and the professor instantly came out of his thoughts. His eyes landed on the familiar and he raised his eyebrows after a quick thorough scan of the young girl. His powers revealed that Alice was like a transparent film possessing tiny sparks of energy inside her. She was not even made of cells in the first place.

"You're not even a human, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not."

The professor was about to reply when Melanie stepped up and apologetically bowed down, "I-I'm sorry! It's my fault. I don't know how to hide my familiar at the moment and I—"

"It's fine, " the professor replied. "It's not even a big deal."

"It is ..." the professor trailed off. He was completely terrified of the existence of such a familiar in his mind. He gazed at Melanie, who was still remorseful of the incident and thought, "What the heck is she?"

He turned around and sauntered towards his initial position. He shoved the idea of having a strange and bizarre student in his class and proceeded to focus on the task given to him by the University. He then faced the class and announced the activity they were bound to accomplish for that day.

"As usual, you all will be going out of the University and return with the crystal I hid within the outskirts, " the professor instructed and showed the crystal settled on his hand. The students looked at it in awe.

"You must be here five minutes before our class ends. Students who fail to comply must face penalties for such offense, " said the professor and finally wore his shades again. "You may begin now."

As if on cue, the towering gate of silver and gold opened with a deep, full, and vibrating sound that reverberated to the ground making it tremble. Some of the students almost lost their balance upon the disturbance produced beneath their feet and some of them levitated to prevent manifesting the impact of such inconvenience.

"I, Devon Savannah, give you permission to leave the University in fulfillment of my course." The professor's voice echoed, and a ball of energy surrounded by geometric strings appeared across his chest. The ball of energy then burst and created a lilting sound and it formed into a hologram logo of the University of the Damned.

A raven that sits down on a crescent moon.

The symbols traveled in the air and burned to the students' skin like a tattoo.

"Just one reminder..." the professor trailed off that earned his class' attention.

"Come back alive."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

***

"Melanie, don't you ever get out of my sight, you understand?" said Axel right after they exited the University.

Melanie frowned at her and pouted. "I'm not brave enough to be away from you guys," she muttered.

Adi giggled, covering her mouth. "I completely understand why you're feeling that way, " she said and smiled. "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay."

"She's right, " said Alice. "No one can touch a single strand of your hair when I'm here, Master."

"Then what about this?"

Melanie gasped when Axel was only inches away from her face. She instantly flinched as Axel gently grabbed a strand of her jet-black hair and sniffed it. Melanie felt her face redden because of the gesture.

Alice's mouth gaped open, and her crimson red eyes widened in confusion. "W-what..."

Axel laughed. "You should have seen your face!"

"Even the mighty familiar cannot figure out your antics, Axel, " commented Adi then looked at Melanie. "Is she being nice to you?"

Melanie awkwardly smiled. "Y-yeah, she's..." she glanced at Axel who was also staring at her that moment. She gulped and added, "...nice to me."

The trip continued and Melanie could not help herself but feel nostalgic. She was fully aware of her fear towards the outskirts that she was trying to conceal deep inside her, and even though her first arrival at the Damned was considered a nightmare, she could not deny the fact that she had people around her now who accompanied her along the way.

"Like they are my friends."

The thought instantly took Melanie back to reality.

Even though Adi and Alice showed nothing but goodness to her from the time they met, the first person who showed her affection was also the person who tried to harm her and even if Axel was always there for her, she was still unable to trust anyone and see them as people close to her heart.

Melanie knew that the very reason why she was still with them was because she could not afford to be alone yet. She had no powers, and she had no means to protect herself from other people who wanted to harm her.

"Maybe the professor was right. I must take this subject seriously so I can learn by experience." Melanie thought and looked at her group. "I should learn from them."

"Wait."

The group instantly stopped on their tracks when they heard Axel's voice.

"What is it?" asked Adi in a hushed tone.

Melanie roamed her eyes around and tried to focus her senses to their surroundings. The establishments around them were all rusty buildings with no signs of recent use and the floors were also filled with dry blood and various types of dirt that looked like abstract painting. The sky was covered by dark clouds like it was brewing a thunderstorm above them.

"Who's there?!" shouted Axel.

A sound rustled meters away from them.

Melanie turned her head to the direction and almost choked a squeal when she saw an arrow flying between her eyes. She held her breath and was not even given a chance to blink when someone threw their body on her just in time for her to dodge the attack.

Melanie gasped and quickly lifted her gaze to meet the eyes of the person who saved her.

Dark eyes.

"A-axel..."

Axel smirked at her and cupped her face. "No time to be mesmerized, darling. Let's save our ass first, shall we?"

Melanie nodded dazedly and she sprung to her feet along with Axel. They both found Adi who was peeking at the corner of an alley and gesturing to them to take cover.

"Fuck!"

Melanie almost stumbled over when Axel suddenly pushed her in full force. She was immediately caught by Adi who was hiding in the corner at the very critical moment. Melanie stiffened as she heard Axel's scream from behind. She was about to peek out from the alley to take a glimpse at Axel when someone grabbed her arm.

Melanie looked back and saw her familiar staring intently at her.

"A-alice..." stuttered Melanie and choked her cry. No words came out from her mouth.

"I know what you want. I'm going to do my best to grab Axel from the chaos. Just promise me..." she said and glanced at Adi for reassurance before returning her gaze at Melanie, "...stay here. With the vice president."

Melanie bit her lower lip and nodded. "Okay I promise."

When Alice went out of the alley, Melanie reached out to Adi but before she could even touch her, a dagger slashed through the gap and pinned on the wall. Adi and Melanie stared at each other and decided to run away from the clashing battle. The attacks came simultaneously but they eventually subsided as they travelled.

They both panted when they decided to stop inside an abandoned building.

"What was that?" asked Melanie, keeping both of her hands on her knees. "We're just going to find the crystal, right?"

"Outskirts is a dangerous place." replied Adi. "Those crystals can be sold for a month worth of food."

Melanie could not believe what she just heard. "You mean..."

"Yes," said Adi as if she was reading Melanie's thoughts, "they are hunting us down because they wanted the crystals."

"But we haven't even found one yet!" blurted out Melanie.

Adi shook her head. "Axel already gained 3 earlier."

"What? Are you serious? Why didn't I know that?!"

"I don't know..." trailed off Adi and averted her eyes, "I actually know but it's rude for me to tell that I was hearing the voice inside your head, right?"

"Ah, um..." Melanie was speechless. "I, um...it's okay. I guess?"

"Anyway," Adi summoned her familiar and settled her fox on the ground, "We need to regroup with Axel and Alice. The sooner the better."

"I agree," said Melanie and looked at the fox who was currently sniffing the ground for their scent, "I hope your familiar finds them soon enough."

"Yes, and—"

Adi was cut off by a thunder resonating over them and it was followed by a torrential, pouring rain with some random lightning strikes.

Melanie and Adi instantly panicked, "The scent!"

Adi picked up her fox and was about to suggest Melanie for them return from their previous post when she noticed the dark towering figure behind the girl.

"Melanie..." she called out. "When I say run, run, " she whispered.

Melanie was not able to understand it at first but noticing the horror in Adi's face, she instantly knew...that someone or something was behind her.

Adi mustered her strength to control the dark figure's consciousness and she instantly paid the price. Her fox disappeared and she collapsed on the floor, quivering in pain. She raised both of her hands and gritted her teeth.

"Now..." she gasped, clutching her head, and then she faced Melanie, "Run!"

Melanie pursed her lips when she noticed Adi's gaze and she was not able to protest.

She ran.

She ran as fast as she could.

Her knees were trembling, and she could not even think of anything else but to escape from the danger lurking around the corner. She bailed her fists and refused to look back. Adi sacrificed herself to create a chance for Melanie to break free and she must do the next right thing.

She must regroup with Axel and Alice and find their way back to Adi to save her.

Easier said than done.

Melanie squealed when her feet slipped, and she fell on the ground. She forced herself to get up but was instantly stopped by the scene in front of her.

"W-what..."

A couple of kids wearing ragged clothes sat on the ground and had nothing in their hands but a pair of swiss knives and raw flesh. Their eyes reflected emptiness like they had witnessed layering despairs that wounded their fragile souls and made them lose their childhood innocence.

No toys.

No joy.

Those kids had nothing to worry but survival.

Melanie looked at the other side of the street and she saw older people wearing the same type of clothing and noticed that they had sunken dark eyes, dry hair, and bodies slightly contorted by exhaustion, grinding themselves every single day just to put food in their children's mouth.

Melanie had tears forming in her eyes, trying to make sense of the reality she never ever thought existed, not even in her wildest dreams.

Everything she learned, everything people made her believe, and everything she knew...

"They were all lies?" Melanie wondered.

She never ever thought of The Damned to be like that; a society suffering in poverty and barely surviving every single day, and not even a trace of salvation where they could also live-in luxury and peace, at least, the same luxury she experienced at the University.

Ever since she was a child, almost every person she met was fixated to the idea that being different within the society is a sin and therefore, as a countermeasure, they needed to be separated from the whole since they would contaminate the remaining pure. People around her also pointed out that those cursed people could prosper on their own.

"They have special abilities. Of course, they can provide for themselves."

"It's better for us to get separated from them. We may not know but they may be building a kingdom at the outskirts as we speak."

Melanie did not think about it that much before because she was always taught that the Sanctified race was once inferior to the other. However, ever since the great leader paved its way to the authority and honed the plans to separate the cursed and the pure, the once inferior beings climbed to the top and managed to live a normal life without cowering in fear every second.

One must be proud to be part of the Sanctified race.

They were weak but they managed to defeat the strong.

They were merely humans, but they grabbed the victory from the monsters.

Melanie was educated to view the Damned as a den of monstrosity where humanity ceases to exist.

Doubts filled her system and she suddenly heard Adi's voice inside her head that only amplified her suspicions.

'Those crystals can be sold for a month worth of food."

Melanie blinked and looked at the people around her once more.

"What if these people..." she gasped,"...were only driven to insanity?"

"She's one of the students at the University! Search her!"

Melanie quickly stood up when she felt the ground shaking. She lifted her gaze then saw people brought down everything they were carrying earlier. They were all glaring at her like she was their precious meal they could enjoy their feast on.

"I have no crystals!" screamed Melanie and started to run away. But before she could even go up to a distance, someone caught her in their arms.

Melanie struggled, "Let me go!"

"Shut up, dimwit, " said Axel and squeezed her arms. "It's me."

"This feels like deja vu." Melanie thought.

Melanie felt a presence before her, so she turned around. A lady with sun-kissed skin, colors of ice and fire in her eyes, and silver hair stared back at her with a wink. People trying to chase them fell to the floor with a thud with blank dull eyes and drooling mouths.

"I stole their sense of hunger. That could buy us time for now."

"Thank you, Ace, " said Melanie and finally removed Axel's hands from her. "If not for you..."

"Shush, I don't need that pretty little gratitude of yours, " Ace said and sucked her lollipop then crossed her arms. "If you really want to thank me, feed me your emotions."

"I will if I know how, " Melanie quickly replied that made Axel laugh and Ace shook her head.

"Naive."

"I know but first," said Melanie and looked at the both of them. "Let's find Adi and Alice."

"Alice was already in your ring, " countered Ace. "I gave her instructions on how to be with you instantly. I was not aware you don't know how to summon her."

"I...um, you might want to teach me sometimes."

"Okay. Well then, let's find Adi," mumbled Ace and faced Axel, "take the lead."

Axel grabbed Melanie by the hand and gestured to Ace to walk along with them. When they were about to pave the way back, Melanie heard a familiar melodic voice inside her head.

"Open your heart to the truth and I'll be able to help you."