Emil

The next few days passed in a blink of an eye. Emil suddenly found himself near the end of the first week of classes. Like routine, he stepped into the unusually rambunctious classroom for his morning lectures.

Today was the first day where he wasn’t immediately assaulted by a plethora of probing eyes stalking his every steps. It seemed the incident between him and Anna was finally beginning to lose its novelty.

Good grief.

He let out an exasperated sigh. Becoming the hottest topic on the first day of the semester was not how he planned to operate as an undercover student at the Academy. The amount of attention and scrutiny he received made it difficult to make any progress in his investigations. The constant fear of getting his cover blown also gnawed at the back of his head, turning his mind into a frazzled mess.

“Why the long sigh?” Anna asked as he took his unofficial seat at the back of the class. It took a few days, longer than he expected, but the fierce girl had finally softened a bit around him.

“Tired,” he replied, deliberately stretching out his yawn. The incident on the opening day had already bestowed him the reputation of an unserious delinquent. Emil decided to lean into it as his cover.

Even then, he didn’t need to do much pretending. Exalted Academy’s schedule was rigorous. Every student spent six hours of each day in lectures, followed by two hours of gruesome practical training to hone their Gifts. The few hours left in the day were spent eating, tackling homework assignments, and preparing for the next day.

Anna flashed him a smirk. “Glad to know I’m not the only sane person in this classroom of freaks. Seriously, where the hell do they get all their energy in the morning?”

“Probably hardcore drugs,” Emil said dryly. His seatmate was apparently a fan of dark humor.

“You think they’ll give me any if I ask them kindly?”

“I doubt it. Most of our classmates still won’t look at us in the eyes. You’d think we have horns sticking out of our heads or something.”

Anna gave him the side-eye. “And whose fault do you think that is?”

Dammit, I walked into that one. Emil winced, unable to think of a comeback. Luckily for him, Professor Callum soon entered the class, giving him an excuse to cut their banter short.

***

“You might have noticed that an Exalted’s Gift varies greatly from individual to individual,” Professor Callum lectured with a clear, authoritative voice, “The mechanisms behind how a Gift manifests during Awakening is currently not well understood. Some theories suggest that its form is malleable—shaped by an Exalted’s most vivid experiences. Other believe that Gifts are fixed upon birth, serving as a reflection of the soul.”

Are any of these theories even possible to prove? Emil frowned as he jotted down the notes. The first one might be possible if someone figured out a way to induce a natural Awakening on demand. And hopefully, the method didn't involve cutting someone apart. Those are quite painful. Emil knew firsthand.

His mind lingered as Professor Callum went to erase the chalkboard. He glanced to the side. Anna was leaning back against her seat, arms crossed, staring blankly ahead with a bored expression. Her notebook was firmly shut and her bag rested on the table as if she was prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. Emil turned to the clock. There were still twenty minutes left before this class was done.

…You’re telling me this is a top ten honors student?

“In order to quantify an Exalted’s potential, we instead measure their affinity with mana. One such metric is an Exalted’s Sensitivity.”

A faint azure glow suddenly bloomed from Professor Callum’s wrist.

“Not bad. I noticed a number of you were able to detect my Catalyst activating. Some of your eyes flickered. Some of your nose furrowed. Others might have heard a sharp buzz in their ears. Sensitivity measures how perceptive you are towards mana,” he said with a smile, “For most Exalted, their perception is instinctual. Just like how we can feel that the air is damp or light, Exalted can also feel the concentration and fluctuance of mana. But those with stronger Sensitivities may see mana visually, hear its resonance, or even smell its presence. Whichever sense is stimulated varies on the person.”

Emil leaned towards Anna and whispered, “Which one are you?”

“None of your damn business,” she replied, not even sparing him a single glance.

Hm, I guess she’s in a sour mood? Emil thought as he noticed her index fingers were tapping fiercely against the side of her arm. If it’s one thing he learned about Anna over the past few days, it was that she was unsurprisingly temperamental.

“For the last few minutes of class, I would like you all to form groups of three for your upcoming assignment.”

Emil slowly tilted his head towards his partner-in-crime. Anna had her eyes closed, grimacing like she was fighting some sort of intense battle inside her head. Then finally, after a minute of silence, she sighed as if resigned to her fate.

“Looking forward to working with you,” Emil said, wearing a cheeky smile as he held out his hand.

“Oh, screw off.” She slapped his hand away, visibly irate. “I hope you have someone in mind to be our third.”

They both scanned the room. Most of the class seemed to be in full groups already.

“Ummm, he-helloo…”

Emil nearly jumped out of his seat, startled by the soft voice that crept behind his back. He spun around. A weary girl with disheveled hair was eyeing the floor in front of him. How did I not notice her? He narrowed his eyes, perplexed.

The new girl stood there with her hands hidden behind her back, slightly trembling. She had droopy eyes, decorated by dark bags pooled beneath the eyelids. Her skin had an unhealthy complexion. A mole was nested on both of her cheeks.

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“…Ellen, was it?” Emil asked, not yet confident with his names. Thankfully, the girl glanced up and nodded; her face glowed with a pleasant surprise.

“I’m Emil. This is Anna. Although I’m pretty sure you know that already,” he said, scratching his head, trying to ignore the scathing look from Anna’s direction, “What’s up?”

“U-Um, h-here!” Ellen suddenly offered him a cloth pouch. A sweet, warm fragrance leaked from within. Curious, Emil took a peek inside. There were cookies. Freshly baked.

“I-I’m wondering if there’s still a spot left in your group,” Ellen whimpered softly.

…Is she trying to bribe us with food? Emil fought the urge to smile. “There is, but you didn’t have to—”

Anna suddenly snatched the bag out of his hands.

“Yes! Of course, there is! Welcome!” she declared with a feral glint in her eyes. Her hands immediately reached inside the bag and shoved a piece in her mouth. “Ellen! This is amazing!” Anna muttered in between bites as she ravenously devoured the pastries one by one.

Emil didn’t know how to respond. He shot a glance at Ellen, who was smiling delightfully while watching the red-haired monster feast on her offerings.

“Okay…I guess you have the monster’s approval, but are you sure you want to join a group of two delinquents?” he asked.

“A-Anna is an honors student, so it should be fine…academically,” Ellen mumbled, before her head suddenly dropped low, “W-Well, t-truthfully, everyone else seems to already know each other so…”

Ah, she got left out.

“Alright then!” Emil clapped, trying to uplift the mood. “If you’ll have us, then welcome to the group of misfits!”

“Hey! Who’s a misfit?! Speak for yourself, dammit!” Anna protested, her mouth still in the midst of chewing. Apparently, the presence of sweets in her blood consumed all of the girl’s rationality. She continued to complain, “If you hadn’t been an idiot on the first day, then my life would have been so much easier!"

Suddenly, she was sulking, wrapping herself in a gloomy veil that seemed nigh impenetrable. Ellen calmly scrolled up to her and lightly patted her shoulders, seemingly unfazed by her stormy mood, before producing another bag of pastries hidden somewhere on her uniform. Anna accepted it without question and continued her feast in silence.

Emil stared blankly at the bizarre sight, flabbergasted.

…I have no idea what is going on, but I think they just became best friends.

***

Night fell on Azure City.

Emil crept along the rooftop of a building with a cat-like agility, careful not to make any unnatural sounds that would alert the residents beneath. An ebon cloak draped over his body. The lower half of his face covered by black cloth.

It was his standard night gear for an investigative outing.

Once he approached the edge of the rooftop, he broke into a sprint and jumped. A sense of weightlessness enveloped his body as he soared through the air. He enjoyed the brief sensation of flight before gravity promptly dragged him down.

“Oooof!” He groaned, his arms barely managing to grapple onto the edge of the next rooftop. With some difficulty, he finally managed to pull himself on top.

Shit, did I gain weight? This sort of maneuver never posed a problem for him before. He pinched the bottom of his stomach—indeed, where there used to be hard muscles had now softened into a lump of fat.

I need to submit a formal complaint to the cafeteria to make the food less tasty.

He crouched down, recollecting on the past week at the Academy while catching his breath. The first few days were nerve-wrecking. The endless scrutiny was already bad enough, but Emil also had to fight to suppress his combative instincts. Being in the constant presence of other Exalted drove him insane.

In the end, he found a way to cope by leaning into his image as a delinquent. He based his behavior on the most frivolous person that he knew—Van.

The mask worked. His flippant attitude dropped people’s guards and gave him a façade to hide his anxiousness. Gradually, the amount of interest in his actions dwindled. People began to dismiss him—at a prestigious Academy filled with serious and ambitious aspirants, no one wanted to be involved with a delinquent.

I understand now why Van acts like an idiot. He smirked. He had a ton of fun making Anna irritated with his frivolous behavior. Van must felt the same way. Gradually, Emil found himself beginning to enjoy his days at the Academy.

He suddenly remembered the human subject that the witch showed him.

A shiver shot down his spine, rattled by the disturbing memory as it crawled out from his subconscious. Emil winced, feeling his stomach stir with revulsion. He was reminded of the grotesque tumors, pulsating madly across the victim's face, along with the various mutilations smeared across their body.

You're not here to have fun. You're here to do a job.

Find evidence of Azure City’s heinous experiments. It was only for that reason why he was allowed to be here. Emil leaned over the edge of the rooftop—the smile on his face vanished as he focused.

Small specks of lamplight glowed from the ever-present darkness. He was currently within the main district of Azure City’s Second Sector. With Exalted Academy at its center, the city was divided into ring-shaped sections orbiting the campus. The First Sector, closest to the campus, housed nobles and influential elites of the Academy. The Second Sector was the most densely populated, filled with Ordinaries and the occasional lower ranked Academy affiliate. This area of the city was further divided into smaller neighborhood districts. Lastly, there was the Third Sector—the outer ring of the city which was mostly unpopulated, consisting of sporadic settlements, slums, and wilderness.

“I suggest patrolling the boundaries of the Second and Third Sectors to start,” the witch’s words echoed in his head, “Look for specific personnel of interests. Researchers. Scholars. Academy staff members. People that shouldn’t be roaming around in the dead of night. You can usually tell by how jittery or anxious they look while alone. If you’re unsure, just go for it. No savory character should be venturing into the Third Sector anyways.”

With those words in mind, Emil perched atop of the rooftop, watching the streets. The main district of the Second Sector was covered in towering buildings, filled with apartments to accommodate the large population. Using the slight difference in heights, he hid beneath the shadows of the moonlight.

The occasional patrol would pass by below. Sentinels. Affiliates of Exalted Academy who served to maintain order in the city. They were distinguished by their dark blue uniforms that mimicked the radiance of Azurite. Each of them was an Exalted with exceptional mana sensitivity.

I should be fine as long as I don’t use my Gift. Emil continued his observation, unfazed, remaining as still as a scarecrow.

Boooong!

The low blare of the midnight tolled from the distance. Like Dannan, Azure City also had an enormous clocktower that served as the universal measure of time within the city. Emil went prone. It was during this one moment at midnight where the Sentinels were likely to glance skyward.

In the corner of his yes, he noticed a figure trekking brisky into the Third Sector. Underneath the moonlight, he could just barely make out the person’s physique. Fairly tall. Masculine body. Walking with a slight trot. Their head was on a constant swivel.

Looks anxious enough to me.

Emil followed the man as he turned the corner into a narrow alleyway. The alignment of the buildings blocked his line sight. Not wanting to lose his only lead, he leapt off from his vantage point. Like a feline, he jumped from surface to surface in complete silence, rapidly descending the height of the building.

Thud!

He landed safely on the ground. Emil quickly scanned his surroundings. Once he confirmed there was no Sentinels nearby, he sprinted towards the alleyway where the man was last spotted.

Darkness engulfed the space. He advanced with caution. Narrow walls flanked his sides closely, offering no more than two shoulder lengths width of space.

Did I lose him? Emil strained his eyes, trying to see beyond the veil of darkness. It was futile. Not without the aid of the moonlight. It was eerily silent as well—no audible signs of footsteps against the asphalt ground. He briefly considered circulating his Azurite pendant to generate light, before quickly dismissing the idea.

Instead, he continued to advance slowly, curious as to why his lead decided to venture down this particular alley.

Suddenly, the air was suffused with a foul stench. The smell was rancid, reeking of a familiar ferric undertone. He immediately pinched his nose and looked down.

What the fuck?

There was a corpse was slumped on its side. Its face unrecognizable. Bones protruded from the rotting flesh. As he glanced closer, Emil found distinct scratches and incisions that couldn’t have come from a human.

Someone was killed. And it looked like they had been eaten alive.