Night had come faster than Vincent expected. He already made sure his phone was ready to go to take pictures of the light source. His watch was firmly strapped to his wrist and ready to be used. He wasn't sure what to expect when he had to use it. The idea of messing with time and space with the Signed instrument was overwhelming. He added it to the list of everything that being a Signed brought as overwhelming.

Eventually, Vincent made his way downstairs. It was still free time so several groups of students wandered the halls waiting for the bell to ring to notify them to go to the food hall. Pushing his way through some of the students, he reached the front entrance. Will and Theresa were already waiting for him there.

"You two ready to go then?" Vincent asked.

The two nodded. Will patted his satchel. "Got everything on my end. I think we are good to go."

"Are the staff still working outside?" Vincent asked.

Theresa peered out one of the sets of windows that lay next to the doorway. "Looks like they are packing their things now. The sun is nearly gone."

Vincent took a deep breath. It was almost time. The palms of his hands already began to sweat. He was glad he wasn't going to need to hold anything until they got to the source. A part of him could sense that there were Aspected already waiting for him on the other side of the barrier. He felt it was time to tell the others.

"I'm pretty sure there are Aspected right on the other side of the forest edge," Vincent told them.

"Really? Do you see them?" Theresa asked as she moved back and forth trying to see them herself.

Vincent shook his head. "I sense them though. I think that's a part of my powers. It seems to attract them to me."

"That isn't great news for our current goal," Will admitted.

"It'll be fine," Vincent reassured, "I can free them like I did the snake if it came to it."

"We'll see how we fare soon enough. Won't be long now," Theresa told the two.

A few seconds later, the bell rang. It was time for dinner in the food hall. The three waited until they heard the halls fill with the sound of footsteps and chatter. It meant it was time to head out.

Will led the way out of the main entrance. The air was crisp and shocking. The school was warm and welcoming, so it was a surprise to Vincent's skin to feel the cold. His breath escaped his lips as they moved. The three quickly made their way to the stage that lay several yards away from Apsis' entrance. They ducked behind it to take a breather.

"Did anyone notice us?" Theresa asked.

Vincent peeked his head over the top of the stage. He scanned the school, from doorways to windows. No one seemed to be still and watching. Everyone was moving downstairs and distracted with other things. "I don't think so. Everyone is going to the food hall. No one is looking outside. At least not on this side of the school."

"Maybe the stars are aligned for us tonight," Will chuckled. "Let's head to the tent over there next." The Cancer Signed pointed to a large white tent that was a few yards from the stage. It was slightly more west than the stage, so they would have to move out into the open a bit.

Vincent leaned a little bit to see into the tent. He could see through it slightly as the flaps swayed in the cool breeze. "I think there is an entrance and an exit in the tent, so we can use the inside for cover."

"Benefic," Will replied. The more they all learned from Evans, the more their vocabulary became like his.

The three crouch-walked across the open area until they reached the tent. They took cover inside. The tent was housing several crates and tables. Vincent started to wonder what kind of tent it was going to be for the festival. He imagined his parents having a great time with whatever the school did for their celebrations.

"Just a few more yards till we're in the forest," Theresa whispered to them. She gazed out the back of the tent.

Vincent took one more look to the school to make sure no one else was watching. It was the same as before. He turned his attention to the forest. The constellation barrier illuminated the forest edge to Vincent. He felt it strange that the school was able to put it up without the ability to see it themselves.

"One last sprint...well, let's hope," Will said to the other two. Wraps began to appear around his wrists and hands. "Just in case," he added. Theresa and Vincent nodded. Vincent began to bring stardust around his hands.

"Let's go," Theresa said as she burst from the tent towards the forest. Will and Vincent quickly followed her. Vincent stared at the barrier as they all passed it. As soon as he stepped through, he felt an enormous amount of power bellow up from inside the forest. He didn't stop to contemplate it. He had to reach the source.

The three made it into the forest's edge. The thick line of the edge covered them from the school's view, but allowed the three to maneuver around easier. They all caught their breath. They had made it and were seemingly free to reach the light source.

"We did it!" Theresa cheered.

"Yeah we did," Will agreed with a smile.

Vincent didn't feel like celebrating just yet. He felt they were being watched. It didn't feel like the Aspected he had faced before, and that made him all the more worried. "We should keep moving," Vincent stated.

Will nodded. "You're right. We have to be fast. The sooner we get there, the quicker we can leave."

The three began to move along the inner edge of the forest towards the west side. Will and Theresa seemed unmoved by what lie deeper in the woods. Vincent couldn't help but hold celestial energy at the ready. His free hand was ready to use the calendar if need be.

Soon they were able to reach the west constellation without any interruptions. "Well, I guess now we head deeper in, right?" Will asked.

Vincent nodded. Evans had figured it would be about an hour or two from the edge to the point of the light source, so they had a ways to go. His eyes were searching for the sign of any movement. He wasn't going to let an Aspected hurt any of them.

"I'm hoping if we do run into any Aspected, they will be in their natural state," Theresa whispered to the other two. "I'd rather have time to run away and not have to see what they looked like after they transform."

"I can agree with that," Vincent said. "If I see the sparkle, I'll definitely be letting you two know."

"It makes me wonder why they would be attracted to your celestial energy," Will explained. "They have never shown signs of being attracted to Signed before. I wonder if it is because you can free them. The fish in the arena even seemed to want to reach you."

Vincent didn't even think about that before. Perhaps they needed his help.

"Well if that is the case, shouldn't we let them come to Vincent?" Theresa asked.

"Probably would be a bad idea just letting them all come to us. There have to be thousands of them out here."

The thought of being overrun by massive scorpions, snakes, and rams did sound like an awful experience. He hoped they would only run into a few, if even any at all.

"Especially because it took all my focus to free the snake," Vincent admitted. "If there were more, we might be in danger."

"I don't know why they would attack if they want to be free."

Will shrugged. "Could be the inner animal wanting to be free while the Aspected power is out for blood."

The three continued their trek into the forest with a few moments of silence between them. Vincent figured they collectively wanted to keep as quiet as possible. He didn't see any sparkle from any Aspected yet, but Vincent still felt as if they were being watched.

About half an hour into their journey to the source, they began to hear rustling amongst the trees and bushes. The three readied themselves for whatever it was. Vincent tried to pinpoint it, but the noise seemed to becoming from all directions. Then, they heard growling.

"Please don't be lions," Theresa said out loud, wind picking up around her.

"We should be in luck there," Will started, "Leo tends to aim for more common four legged creatures." Several sparkles of Aspected powers began to shimmer out of bushes. "Dogs."

Vincent readied his sphere of stardust. He knew he could take care of a few of the almost people-sized canines. Their fur was long, especially around the neck, as if it was trying to replicate a mane. Their teeth and claws were long and shined with the celestial energy that Aspected gave off.

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"Uh, guys," Theresa said as she pointed to behind them. Vincent took his focus off the 3 growling dogs to see where she pointed. From their path, they could see dozen or more dogs prowling towards them.

"Run!" Will shouted. Theresa and Vincent didn't hesitate to. The three burst into a sprint, and it caused the Aspected beasts to do the same. Their large paws thudded in rhythm as the pack chased after them.

Vincent tried his best to send some of his spheres behind him, hoping to catch one or two with it to slow them down. He landed one and it caused the Aspected beast to be halted in place while the rest ran passed.

Theresa was blasting massive waves of wind behind her, slowing any dogs that were in the path down quite a bit. It also seemed to help the three of them move more quickly.

"If we get to a clearing, I think we could stand a better chance," Will explained. "We can't out run them forever. For all we know, they don't even need to breathe. The Aspected power is beyond natural understanding."

"So we have to fight them?" Theresa asked.

"I think so," Will responded back.

Several of the dogs began to flank the three. The large beasts attempted to dive for Vincent, but he managed to duck out of the way. Theresa also helped him by using her air energy to move him forward enough to dodge them.

"There! I think I see a clearing!" Will managed to say as they ran. Vincent could tell he was running out of breath. He felt the same, and imagined Theresa was too.

"Just a bit further," Vincent encouraged them.

The three broke into the clearing. It was a large circular space with almost nothing laying on the ground. They managed to turn and face the oncoming Aspected as they panted to catch their breath. The dogs slowed down as the thick trees stopped.

"I hope we can just scare them off," Theresa began. "I don't know if we will have the energy to fight them all."

Will seemed adamant about fighting. His watery wraps appeared around his hands and he entered a battle stance. Vincent readied himself beside Will, hoping that maybe if they fought and freed a few, the rest would run away. Stardust balled up above his open hand.

"There isn't a way the calendar can just get rid of them, right?" Will asked with a hopeful smirk.

"Sadly no," Vincent replied.

All the Aspected dogs eventually came out into the clearing. There were fifteen of them; large beasts staring at the three with hunger in their eyes.

"Well let's get this over with," Will said as he brought water out of nowhere. He tossed it at the closest Aspected from them. It splashed and made the dog shake his head in confusion. After a few moments it snarled and charged.

Vincent watched as Will met the first dog with ease. The dog leapt through the air, letting Will slide underneath it and give it a swift punch to the stomach. Seconds later, the dog was landing on the ground as star dust.

"You just going to let me have all the fun?" Will asked as he looked back at the other two. Theresa and Vincent looked at each other. They gave each other a shrug and a smile and charged out beside Will.

The dogs were kind enough to take their turns in attacking. One by one the dogs charged one of the three kids. Will used his unarmed techniques to deal with them up close. His use of water and gravity made it easy for him to move around the Aspected, whether it be below them or above them.

Vincent did his best to try and replicate what happened with the snake. He held them at bay, the celestial energy holding their legs back, the beasts trying with all their might to continue at him. After focusing really hard, the dog was freed from the Aspected.

Theresa ended up not using her Signed weapon, and used the power to hold them back with air. She did it until Vincent was able to free the ones she was holding back.

Soon enough, there were less than half of the dogs. The freed ones ran away from the clearing. The remaining Aspected seemed to not give them any attention.

"Just a few more," Will announced without breaking his concentration on the Aspected in front of him.

Before either Vincent or Theresa could react, Will moved into action. Without breaking a step, Will moved through the remaining Aspected and rid them into stardust.

"Wow," Vincent stated impressed.

Will stood up straight and let out a sigh of relief. His watery hand wraps disipated. Vincent and Theresa both watch Will then sit on the floor for a few seconds until he laid on his back.

"I am exhausted, but wow was it easier to take them on in the open," Will told them. He let out a light cough and looked up to the other two. "I guess I should have held back a bit to help you do what you do, huh?"

Vincent shook his head. "I feel we did what we had to do. If you hadn't, they probably would have swarmed us."

Theresa nodded. "We got the ones we could." She sounded saddened by the idea that Vincent couldn't get to them all. He hoped he could find a better way to deal with Aspected as he learned his powers.

"Well that's good to hear. Give me a few moments and we can keep going."

Vincent and Theresa sat down next to Will. They all were glad to get a break away from the Aspected. Vincent wondered how long it would last. He could still feel eyes on him from somewhere in the forest. Vincent took time and lifted the stardust up. He dispersed it into the sky, hoping to send it to the celestials.

Only a few minutes passed and Will was ready to go. They all agreed the sooner they got to the source, they could get out without more problems. They continued deeper into the trees.

"Shouldn't be too much farther," Vincent said as he looked to his phone. He figured with the running they had to do, they probably saved time.

"Sooner the better," Theresa replied.

Vincent led the other two as they journeyed on. He could almost feel the power coming from whatever the source of light was.

The forest went on for another half hour before Vincent finally could see light beading through the weave of trees. "There!" he exclaimed to the others.

"Where?" Will asked.

"The light beyond the trees! That must be it," he replied.

Will frowned. "I don't see any light."

Both of them looked to Theresa. The Libra Signed frowned and shook her head. "I don't either."

"Let's get closer and see," Vincent decided.

They moved carefully around several more trees. Vincent could see his celestial energy bursting from his hands without his command. He began to wonder if it was a Celestic Signed power. He looked over to the others to see a similar situation. Will examined his hands as gravity-defying water weaved around his fingers.

"There is something powerful here," Will told Vincent, "It might actually be a Celestic thing to see it, similar to the sparkle you described Aspected and Signed giving."

"I think it's in another clearing," Theresa stated while she pointed beyond the last few trees.

The three entered the new clearing. Vincent could barely manage to look. Light glared out from the ground in a column.

"I see no light, but I feel its presence," Will said as he began to examine the clearing. "Looks like a small crater of sorts. Perhaps a meteor landed?"

Theresa and Will began to take pictures with their phones. Vincent couldn't help with how bright it was.

"Is there anything in the crater?" he decided to ask.

Will entered into the light column. Snapping photos along the way, he peered into the crater. "It looks as if something *was* here, but isn't anymore. Perhaps the scholars had already found it, not knowing what it does. Or maybe Aspected took it."

"Didn't Evans say they gathered here?" Theresa asked. "I don't see any signs of Aspected anywhere."

Vincent frowned. "Could they cover their tracks?"

Will came out of the column. He shrugged and began to look over his photos.

Vincent edged closer to the light and reached out to see if he could touch it. "The answer has to be here." As Vincent's hand passed the light, his hand began to dissipate into stardust. He shouted and pulled his hand back.

Will looked up from his phone. "What's wrong?"

Vincent examined his hand carefully. It was still whole. "My hand. It began to turn to star dust as it passed the light."

Theresa walked over to them. "That was really strange," she told them.

Will looked to where he imagined the light was. "That is...interesting."

Before they continued in conversation, they heard a photo snapping come from the woods. The three turned and looked into the trees. The trees seemed to hold more darkness to them. Vincent wasn't sure if it was because the light or not.

The darkness began to seep out into the clearing floor. Vincent and the others braced themselves.

"Who's there?" Vincent shouted. It was the eyes he felt from before.

Out of the woods, Cole melded out of the darkness. He held a phone in his hand and a large grin on his face. "Oh just wait until I get this picture back to the Heads. You all be in so much trouble for being out here."

The three looked to each other. Theresa frowned angrily. "Cole, you're out here too. Having that photo is evidence that you were here."

Cole laughed. "You don't realize the power I hold. The Heads will believe anything I say. Oh, Mr. Shepherd, my phone must have gotten taken by one of those freak Aspected when I lost it near the forest."

Vincent frowned. "They wouldn't believe that, would they? And how did you know about the other kinds of Aspected?"

Theresa let out a sigh. "I'm sure they will believe him. It was the reason why he gained early access to Apsis. He's their prodigy star Signed."

"That's ridiculous," Will stated.

"My beef isn't with you two. It's with the new kid," Cole said.

Vincent's fists clenched. "To think I tried to extend friendship to you."

"Oh yes. That did help me get closer to you. It made it easier to spy on your secret meetings."

"Evans!" Theresa exclaimed.

Cole let out another laugh. "He's probably being removed from his Head status right now. Or even better, fired."

"Why would you do this?" Vincent demanded.

"Because I am the star. Your fake Zodiac is just an attempt to steal my limelight!"

"I haven't done anything to oppose your popularity, Cole. If anything, Celestic goes highly unnoticed in school," Vincent explained.

Cole shook his head ignoring what Vincent said. "It's time to settle who's Zodiac is better." Cole summoned his Signed weapon.

"I don't want to fight you," Vincent stated.

"It'll make it easier to beat you then."

Vincent looked to the other two. Will and Theresa looked at him as if to say, you can beat him. He took in a deep breath. "Fine." Vincent's energy started to ball up into a sphere.

Just as Cole was about to charge to Vincent, several trees around the clearing began to creek and shake. The ground rumbled deeply. Vincent looked around. From the clearing's edge, several Aspected people began to walk towards them. Will and Theresa let out screams. "What are those?!" Will asked.

"I think those are the Aspected people," Vincent replied. The people were barely even that anymore. They were still on two legs with two arms, but most of their bodies were converted into Aspected beast parts. Some having large crab pincers, and some having deformed bull horns.

"I'll deal with you later Vincent," Cole said. Before anyone could react, Cole used darkness to grab Will's satchel.

"Hey!" Will called out as Cole disappeared into the woods.

"We have to get that back!" Theresa yelled.

Vincent watched the slow moving people waddle towards them. He looked back to the other two. "You two hurry and see if you can catch him. I'm going to try and help these people."

Will and Theresa looked around at the Aspected. They then looked back at each other. "Are you sure you want to stay? You don't have a lot of fighting experience," Will told him.

"I don't think I'll need it. Hurry before he gets too far."

Theresa and Will nodded and went into the woods. Within seconds, they were out of sight. Vincent turned to the Aspected that shambled towards him. "I hope I can help you."

The celestial energy around his hands began to shoot out towards the wave of Aspected. Several of them were slowed even further, but a few continued towards him. He wasn't able to spread his power out far enough.

"Come on, Vincent," he told himself out loud. He focused all his might to try and separate the Aspected from the person. He could see the tug of stardust from the person. "Almost there!"

Right when Vincent felt he was about to succeed, he heard a grunt come from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see an even more massive Aspected person about to bring their hoof arm down on top of him. Vincent stopped using his power to move out of the way. Unlucky for him, it was towards the pillar of light.

Vincent landed on the ground a second after the hoof slammed where he had just been. He opened his eyes to see light surrounding him. Slowly his entire body began to dissipate into stardust. He quickly tried to stand and reach the border, but the Aspected people surrounded the edge and blocked his exit.

He didn't feel pain as he turned to stardust. Instead he felt empowered. Before he could do anything, his vision changed from the forest to a familiar land of black sands.