Silence of the Senses

2

image [https://i.ibb.co/9gP5RS6/toppng-com-line-dividers-png-1000x200.png]

Chaos erupted. Shrieking students, their faces contorted in terror, surged towards the exits. The purple mist coalesced, a dark, writhing mass lunging for the two unconscious boys.

The temperature plummeted, and a wall of shimmering ice materialised in Theo's hand, as if time itself had frozen a wave in mid-air, blocking the attack with a monstrous CLANG.

The mist didn't retreat; it simply changed form. The tendrils thinned, dispersing to a formless entity that seemed to press in on Theo from all sides. A chorus of whispers erupted around Theo: voices, from an elderly woman with a raspy cackle to a man's booming baritone, down to a child's giggle. A primal evil toyed with his emotions.

Theo's jaw clenched, but his posture remained unwavering as the smoke coalesced, not into a shapeless mass, but into dozens of pinprick spears aimed at him from every direction. He reacted with lightning reflexes, a shimmering dome of ice instantaneously forming around him, deflecting the onslaught.

With a powerful leap, he conjured a breathtaking blade of ice, the blue light pulsing with arcane energy. In one decisive swing, he unleashed a torrent of razor-sharp shards, the glistening icicles meeting the smoke with a clash of raw magic.

"Billie! Get the boys out of here, now!" Theo barked a command to a hulking figure by the entrance, his silver eyes darted towards the two unconscious boys sprawled on the floor.

"Move! Get out!" Frantic shouts echoed through the devastated hall, drowned out by the shattering of the chandelier as the smoke, with a malevolent hiss, reshaped itself into dark, writhing tendrils.

Jolted back to reality by the growing chaos, Ms. May slammed her hand on the ground. Earth erupted, forming a makeshift barricade by the exit, a shield for the fleeing students.

As Billie, a broad-shouldered teenager burdened with two unconscious boys, disappeared through the newly created passage, only two figures remained in the ravaged hall: Theo, his every move fueled by raw power, and...Eydis.

"Eydis, get back!" Ms. May's voice was lost in a furious barrage of explosions. The mist-forged vines ripped through the ceiling light, showering the room in a rain of glass. The world plunged into an inky blackness.

Silence slammed down, broken only by the frantic hammering of Theo's heart. The air hung still, the stillness unnatural. It was as if the very darkness itself held its breath. A creeping fear snaked down his spine – the mist, it wasn't just some random phenomenon, it was intelligent. Terribly intelligent! And it preyed on his weakness. His glowing magic made him an easy target in the dark. The mist, on the other hand, remained stubbornly cloaked in shadow, unseen.

Then, he felt it. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, goosebumps erupting across his skin. Pure darkness. Theo spun, his ice shield deflecting another unseen attack in the nick of time.

A hiss, a gust of wind – a swarm of tendrils launched themselves at Theo. His shield buckled under the impact, a spiderweb of cracks spreading across its surface. The clash of magic shook the hall to its very core. Windows rattled in their frames, plates clattered to the floor. Frost and ice shards erupted as his shield shattered, stinging his eyes and biting into exposed skin, leaving behind a trail of bloody pinpricks.

With a grunt, he re-conjured a new shield just as the last tendril struck. He could hear the panicked whimpers of the students huddled behind Ms. May's barrier. He gritted his teeth — he couldn’t fail them now.

“Just a little more!”

Theo abandoned defence, channelling his mana into a relentless attack. His ice blade hummed with a lethal energy, a blue flame cutting through the swirling purple mist. A war cry ripped from his throat as he cleaved through waves after waves of assaults with renewed ferocity.

One. Two. Three. He counted his strikes as his magic reserves dwindled with every blow. It felt like he was hacking at a never-ending tide, his muscles screamed in protest.

“Why?” He forced a breath through gritted teeth as he sliced through another shadowy tendril. "Why won't they stop?!"

Was he… was he losing?

Then, a surge of energy, sharp as a winter frost piercing his skin, jolted Theo. Relief flooded him – Astra had arrived!

"What's the situation?" she demanded, her icy crimson eyes scanning the inky blackness. "Why are you still here, Eydis?" The question was softer than Theo had ever heard Astra speak.

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

A sliver of moonlight, filtering through a shattered window, briefly illuminated Eydis by the door. Theo's heart lurched. He hadn't seen her.

He strained to hear Eydis's nonchalant reply while blocking another attack, "Theo's handling it."

Astra mumbled a single word – "leave" – as she shot out her hand. A pinpoint of white light erupted, expanding rapidly into a magnificent diamond blade. For a brief moment, the hall was bathed in its otherworldly light, revealing the swirling mass of violet mist coiling around Theo.

The mist lunged at Theo again. He swung his own blade, movements sluggish with fatigue. Astra watched, a dawning realisation sharpening her gaze.

"This is pointless!" she snapped.

Theo deflected another attack, gasping in frustration. "A little backup would be appreciated!"

"You're not hitting it, Theo!" Astra countered. "It dissolves to mist before your blade connects. You're draining yourself!"

Not… hitting it?

Shame burned through him. How could he have been so blind? He'd been played, the truth so obvious now it felt like a slap. Yet, a sliver of doubt remained. Every feigned attack, every illusory tendril, could have masked a genuine strike. Fear and exhaustion tangled into a knot, clouding his judgement.

He stole a glance as Astra. Her posture, rigidly positioned between Eydis and the mist creature, felt oddly protective. "Then what do we do?"

Astra didn't respond immediately. Her gaze darted between Theo and the creature, assessing it. Then, a spark ignited in her crimson eyes.

"Mist... water..." she muttered, then yelled, charging forward, "Freeze it!" Her blade sliced through a shadowy vine with a sizzle. The attack was so swift, so precise, it caught the creature completely off guard. With a SHRIEK, it recoiled violently.

Registering Astra's words, Theo's eyes burned with an even brighter intensity. "Stay back!" he said, focusing his magic. The air around him grew frigid, a swirling vortex of frost.

But the mist, pulsating with a malicious energy, seemed impervious. Astra's blade met another tendril, dissolving it momentarily, yet the monster simply reformed, like a hydra regenerating its lost heads.

It adapted to her speed with an unsettling intelligence.

Theo gritted his teeth, veins pulsing in his forehead as he pushed his magic to a breaking point. The surrounding air crackled, the temperature plummeted below zero. His eyes lit up as he saw the edges of the mist begin to crystallise with frost.

Theo snarled as he poured more mana into the air. In a flash of blinding light, the mist ceased its chaotic dance and solidified. Before them, a breathtaking spectacle unfolded: countless tiny amethysts, each glittering like a captured teardrop from the night sky, coalesced into a frozen dreamscape. A faint tinkling, like a thousand tiny wind chimes, filled the air.

"Astra, NOW!"

On cue, Astra rocketed forward, shoving him away from the crystalline ice with a strength that belied her slender frame. A celestial fire danced around her diamond blade as she spun with lethal grace. Each swing of her blade wasn't a mere slash, but a crackling explosion of light, shattering the amethyst crystals into a glittering snowstorm.

As the last crystal shards disintegrated, they released a burst of ethereal violet light that hung suspended in the air for a moment before fading. The hall stood silent, broken only by the soft drip of melted ice and the ragged breaths of Theo, slumped against the wall.

The mist? Utterly vanquished.

Theo's vision swam. Then, he saw Eydis again, her soft wavy hair catching the sliver of moonlight. In her amber eyes, as she turned and walked away from the wreckage, there flickered a hint of something...unreadable. Anger? Regret? It didn't matter.

The mist was gone, and for now, that was all that mattered.

----------------------------------------

The cityscape of Alchymia City shimmered outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a dazzling network of red and gold streaking across the streets far below. Jazz music played a calming counterpoint to the usual urban chaos, but it did little to soothe the furrow in Adrian's brow. He meticulously sliced his Rib Eye, his mind a million miles away.

"Lost in thought again?" Athena asked, wiping her lips with a napkin.

Adrian chuckled, a touch strained. "Can you see what’s troubling me?"

Athena raised an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Not this again, brother. It's probably another one of your…entanglements. Keep the conversation PG-13, shall we?"

Adrian grinned. "Thena, such thoughts are simply unbecoming for a gentleman of my stature."

A genuine smile bloomed on Athena's face, peeking beneath her napkin. "Oh, please, brother. Once was enough for a lifetime of therapy."

Adrian laughed, a rich sound that momentarily filled the space between them. Then, his expression sobered. "The sudden rise of Thomas Blackwood's senate campaign...Doesn't it strike you as odd?"

"Odd? It reeks of manipulation. Preparation teams take months to mobilise. In Thomas' case, it's like he materialised out of thin air."

"And the timing," Adrian added, rubbing his temple. "Strangely convenient. Now, Tiffany's misfortune becomes his political platform. And her connection to the purple smoke...could there be a link to Thomas as well?"

A dark suspicion coiled in Adrian's gut. "And the missing students? All with political connections that could benefit Thomas. Isn't it just a tad...too convenient?"

Athena swirled the red wine in her glass, her golden eyes flashing with anger. "Perhaps. The upcoming Fundraising Gala could be an opportunity to infiltrate their operation."

Adrian's eyebrows shot up. "You'd be attending...as Athena Van Nassau?"

A faint, unreadable smile played on Athena's lips. "Van Nassau is my birthright, after all."

"A name you haven't used in public for years," Adrian pointed out. "Just Athena. Why the sudden shift?"

"Silence in the face of cruelty is the same as becoming its accomplice," Athena replied. "Don't you feel that weight, Brother? Dean Saito apparently did. He even wrote it down."

“Dean Saito said that?”

"Eydis."

Adrian blinked. "First Astra, now you? I really need to meet this Eydis.” His eyes glinted with genuine curiosity. “But are you sure about using your power on Thomas, unsolicited?"

"Let's just say, if it meant investigating the smoke, your Council would likely turn a blind eye."

"Thena. Rebellion? Have I stumbled upon an alternate universe?" he teased.

Athena's retort died on her lips as a tremor vibrated through her phone. With a muttered apology, she excused herself. Her voice, usually serene and confident, took on a clipped urgency as she answered.

"Food poisoning... magical food contamination? Understood."

Adrian stilled, his knife hovering mid-air. The muffled conversation crackled with barely contained panic. Athena's brow furrowed as she listened intently.

"Locking down the Dining Hall might be a good first step," she said into the phone. "Clear out the food. We need to contain this...and figure out how that purple smoke reached St. Kevin's."

As the phone cut off, Athena turned to Adrian. "Perhaps, you'll stay here for a few more weeks?"

"Perhaps so. Looks like things just got a whole lot more complicated... back at St. Kevin's."