I remember that accursed voice.

Full of malice and evil that lay beneath the sacred soil.

Inside a church and within a blade.

A sword wielded by a being of red.

It spewed sanguine for many years until its owner was finally vanquished.

Or so they thought.

For it rested inside its own creation.

Waiting for a new vessel.

And out of the many students it had seen with its piercing gaze.

It had chosen me.

That deep voice full of misery.

I remember it fully.

Speaking only two words to turn me into a puppet.

That hopelessness.

To be chained within my own body.

My arms and legs moved on their own.

And my mouth wouldn't move no matter how desperately I wanted to scream.

Even now I could see.

How close were my fingers to touching that handle.

How close was my mind to being fully controlled by that thing.

Until I felt something push me back.

They were small and quick.

Donned in black feathers.

They had saved me from becoming a husk.

And even if I only saw them for a split second.

For the rest of my life, I will never forget what they did.

*RING* *RING*

As I opened my eyes, the white ceiling met my sights.

I hurriedly turned off the alarm that I had set within my bracelet.

And with one press of my finger, the entire room was quiet again.

I was about to get out of bed and take a shower but I saw an announcement on the holographic screen.

{Classes are suspended for the entire day}

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

That was a pleasant surprise but I could not help but raise my eyebrow.

For within the message, it didn't state why they would suddenly suspend classes.

But I didn't think any more about it.

I finally got up from my soft bed and took a quick shower before changing into my clothes.

Since I had free time today.

I wanted to read more books in my usual spot.

I wonder if Reynold would care to join me?

Probably not, since he has other people to hang out with other than me.

Feeling slightly dejected that I had only made 1 friend so far, I shook my head.

And continued to make my way towards my usual reading place.

As I reached the cafeteria, I decided to order some snacks to keep me company whilst I read.

"May I have a pack of sweet grapes, a hamburger, and one bottle of cold water, please?"

After ordering I hurriedly walked to my bench to finally quench my hunger and boredom.

As I sat down the sound of the fountain behind me caressed my ears and the cold morning air occasionally made my black hair flutter.

And with the book that I held with my hand, I escaped from this world into another.

Engrossed within the world created by words.

As I read I let out a small laugh,

Ian is so clumsy.

How is he going to win over Layla if he's so shy?

But as I was about to turn to the next page.

My eyes widened that made me almost drop the sweet grape I was eating.

A presence so familiar.

As a shadowkind, our magic lies in resurrecting the bones of the dead.

To make them our own.

And this feeling.

I hurriedly gaze my eyes to the side.

And as I saw what this familiar feeling was coming from.

My eyes widened.

Small and donned in black feathers.

It was alive and at the same time was not.

It wasn't in the form of bones but at the same time, it had the same sensation of being a summon.

But that wasn't the reason why my mouth stayed wide open.

It was the same crow that had saved me here and in the cathedral.

I had no idea what to do.

Out of the blue, it just appeared.

With its brown eyes, it looked at me.

Wait no,

It wasn't looking at me,

It was looking at the grape in my hand.

"D-do you want some?"

I carefully offered the crow the sweet grape.

And as I did it immediately ate it with its beak.

*CHIRP*

I let out a chuckle.

"Do you want more?"

*CHIRP*

I set aside the book that I was reading and took a grape from the plastic pack.

"Here,"

But instead of giving it directly to its beak, I laid the grape on my palm.

It hopped closer and now rested on my lap.

As I saw the crow this close to my eyes.

There was no longer any doubts in my mind.

Even if its form wasn't in bones.

This crow was definitely a summon.

But then who?

Who did it belong to?

*CHIRP*

But before I could think about it any further.

The greedy crow in my lap started to ask for more.

I let out a small smile before I took another sweet grape and fed it.

And then slowly I reached my other hand into its feathers.

I was expecting it to flinch but,

No.

It let me caress its dark feathers while it ate the sweet grape in my palm.

As I observed the crow closer, I noticed that it was a male.

He and I sat there near the fountain.

And while I caress his feathers, memories of the past flashed back through my mind.

The time when I got bullied and the time that I almost died.

Both I was saved by this crow.

"Thank you,"

I fought back the tears that were forming in my eyes.

"For saving me,"

But then the crow shook his head.

Huh?

*CHIRP* *CHIRP*

I couldn't understand what he was saying.

But then,

"Not me, Not me,"

The crow talked,

It wasn't him?

"Master did, Master did,"

My eyes widened.

"May I ask who your master is?"

"Can't say, Can't say,"

What?

Why can't he tell me?

"Please?"

"I-I just want to express my thanks."

He aggressively shook his head.

But before I could try to persuade him further.

"Master calling me back, Master calling me back."

His entire body turned black and soon disappeared.

"Wait no!"

And as he did I was left there with a burning question in my mind.

Who?

Who was his master?

I took a deep breath to compose myself to think about what to do.

I-

I have to tell Reynold.