Kinsey stared at her friends from across the street, watching them all enjoy themselves at the Citadel’s bakery. Her eyes were cold as she watched them laughing with Zalgo. Beside Kinsey was Sylvie, who looked at the group and back at Kinsey with a knife-sharpening smirk.

“You see that, Kinsey? Instead of trying to work things out with you, they simply replaced you! You'll never be as close to them as you were in the beginning!”

“...They never truly cared. It was foolish of me to think they did.”

Sylvie giggled with a nod. “Indeed! I hope now you see what they really think about you!”

“Oh, but I already saw. You just confirmed my suspicions. It took you for me to see what's really going on.”

“Of course! As a demon, I can see lies and deceit from a mile away! You can count on me to show you the ropes of the darkness that resides in all of us!”

Kinsey grinned, narrowing her eyes with menace. “Darkness, eh? I'd like to learn a thing or two about that. I have a good enough hand on this Void Magic thing already, so I think I'm ready for whatever.”

Sylvie beamed and rubbed her hands. “Perfect! Now, where were we…?”

…

Alice opened the doors to her class. Everyone else was there and prepared, filling the classroom with chatter. Celeste noticed Alice and clapped to gain everyone's attention.

“Everybody's here! Now we're ready to begin!” Celeste announced.

“So… Since we already got the Basic and Advanced Techniques down, now what?” Kairy asked.

“Easy,” Celeste replied with a smile. “You must take everything you've learned and begin coming up with your Void Magic ability.”

Blair raised a brow and leaned forward in her seat. “Wait, really?!”

Celeste nodded with a grin. “Yes, really! You all learned each of the Techniques, so now you have the foundations needed to craft your very own Void Magic ability!”

The classroom erupted with cheers. Alice gave a blank stare in response, waiting for the noise to quiet down before speaking. “How do we begin doing that?” she asked.

“Well, it depends on the nature of your ability and how you wish to achieve it,” Celeste replied. “Is there anything you specialize in? That may be the basis for your ability.”

Alice scratched her head. “Well, I'm a seamstress and I ma–”

“And there you go,” Celeste cut her off with a raised finger. “So your Void ability will be centered on that.”

“But how does that translate to Possession?”

“Well, maybe Possession will give you a hard time, but if you could get adept at Conversion or Creation, you'll be onto something. However, both of those categories are tied second place as the hardest Aura Types to learn for a natural-born Possessor. But I never said it's impossible.”

“But I'm still stuck. How do I use those Aura Types in conjunction with my sewing skills?”

Celeste stroked her chin with a smirk and let her eyes wander for a while before looking back at Alice. “Hmm, well, if you take the Conversion route, then you can create a thread made of your aura and use your natural talent for Possession to manipulate it. Or, using Creation, you can simply conjure a spool and thread and use a combination of the Basic and Advanced Techniques to control the threads as you please!”

The rest of the class listened to the advice Celeste was giving Alice, taking mental notes.

“Interesting, thanks,” Alice responded. “So, I'm thinking about taking the Creation route. What do I do next?”

“It’s time to put that creative mind of yours to use then. Start imagining what your tools and whatnot will look like, then put it on paper.”

Alice shook her head. “No, I couldn't draw to save my life.”

“Well then, just imagine it like I said. Envision it. Meditate. Dream about it. Anything you can do will help. And then, it will appear before you. If you need extra help, then you could turn to Akari and Akumu for help. They're both Creators and already conjured their very own weapons.”

Alice looked at the twin sisters for a moment and turned her attention back to Celeste. “All right, I will.”

“Splendid! If you'd like, you can enter one of the training rooms here down the hall to your left, and meditate in order to manifest your ability.”

“Very well then. Is it okay if I ask for your help sometimes, by the way? I can imagine it's going to be quite difficult creating this ability.”

Celeste grinned. “Of course you can! And just so you know, it's not necessarily ‘creating’ an ability. It's more like ‘awakening’ it. Try thinking of it that way, and you'll make much quicker progress.”

“Got it, thanks again.”

“Mhm! Have fun!”

Alice made her way to the training room to her left, her eyes focused in determination.

She's gonna have one hell of an ability… Celeste thought.

…

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, trying to visualize the spool and thread you wanted to create. You imagined your hands covered in wire threads, and you tried to summon them into existence, but couldn't manage.

Your fingers tensed up as you focused harder on the mental image and tried your best to make it real. But your efforts were unsuccessful — the thread never manifested. Defeated, you clenched your fists.

Sigh…

You could feel your heart pounding in your chest as you struggled to maintain focus. That's when you heard a knock on the door.

Opening your eyes, you saw Rachel and smiled. You could use a cute face in these trying times.

She came in and closed the door behind herself, shaking her head at you with a mocking laugh.

"You know that you can ask me for help, don'tcha?”

You nodded. "Oh, yeah… I knew that… I just….”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Look, you're having trouble with your ability, aren't you?" She asked in a sympathetic tone. "So, since we're both working on our abilities, I'm willing to give you a hand, if you want.”

“Well… Thanks Rach, but if I recall correctly, your Aura Type is Projection: the furthest category from Creation. You'll have an even harder time than I will.”

Rachel shrugged. “But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try! My ability involves Creation too, and I'm going to work hard at it, no matter what it takes! I'll help you do the same thing.” she replied.

“That's good to hear. But I've just been having so much trouble coming up with a design for my creation. I'm no artist, after all.”

“Well, what are you picturing in your head?”

“Ehh… I'm thinking of gloves with metallic fingertips and wire threads running through them.”

Rachel nodded. “Got it. Lucky for you, I'm pretty good at sketching things, so I can help you out with that! So would you like to start with designing the gloves?" she suggested.

I nodded. “Sure thing. Thanks for reaching out.”

…

After you both agreed, you took off to a nearby table where several pens and pieces of paper waited for you. You sat down with Rachel and started discussing the shapes and features you wanted the gloves to have. You had a few questions for each other as you worked through the design process, and before long, Rachel finished drafting her plans on paper.

Now that you had an idea of what the gloves would look like, it was time to try to conjure them. You closed your eyes and focused your aura into your hands. You tried to picture the gloves Rachel designed in your mind, and then tried to manifest them into reality. Alas, you still couldn't conjure up the gloves, your fists quaking with frustration as you tried to create them.

“Damn,” you complained. “Forget it, I'll try again later when my mind is more clear.”

…Which is pretty much never, you thought.

“Fair enough. Let's head back to Cel and show her what we got.”

You both left the room and went to the main room, where Celeste was talking to the rest of the students. You stepped up to her and tapped her shoulder.

“Oh! There you go, Alice! Did you enjoy your meditation?”

You shrugged. “I couldn't conjure anything.”

Celeste smirked and shook her head. “My poor, sweet child! Conjuring something via Creation can take a very long time, especially if what you're trying to conjure is complex in either design or function. You and everyone else here seem to be true prodigies, so it may not take a month or longer for you to achieve it like ordinary people, but I still don't think you'll be able to achieve overnight success.”

You sighed and nodded. “Understood. I guess I'll just keep on trying then.”

“That's the spirit! Don't beat yourself down, you'll get there! As you must know, a Void Magic ability is an expression of your personality. You must think deeply about who you are as a person in order to unlock your Void Magic ability. Your abilities are tied directly to your very essence and being, so you must understand every aspect of your persona. This understanding comes from deep introspection and experimentation, which are essential factors in revealing your true potential. You're showing lots of promise already, so take all the time you need, even if that means staying in my Citadel for many months to come! But for now, you are all dismissed.”

All the students got up to leave, but before Kinsey could get take off, Celeste grabbed her arm.

“Hold on, Kinsey,” Celeste called out. “Could I have a word with you for a moment?”

Kinsey shrugged and huffed. “Sure.”

…

Celeste and Kinsey were sitting on the couch in the back of the classroom, the room filled with their silence.

“So Kinsey, I wanted to ask you about your aura.”

“Yeah? What of it?”

“I've noticed that it's pretty…volatile. Especially for an Extractor. Is there anything going on inside? Aura is tied to emotion, after all.”

Kinsey stayed silent for a moment. “It's…nothing serious.”

Celeste narrowed her eyes and frowned. “Don't lie, Kins. I can tell by your aura flow alone that something is off. Very off. Is there something you need to get off your chest?”

“Eh. It isn't anything that concerns you.”

“It actually does concern me, dear. As your teacher, it is my duty to make sure your overall health is upstanding. If there's anything you need to get out, then please do. Negative emotions massively impact your usage of your Void Magic abilities.”

“But it doesn't have anything to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me, Kinsey. You're my student. It's okay to let things out. Having someone to talk to during times of need goes a long way.”

Kinsey shook her head with a sigh. “It's not directed at you, though. You're good, you can go on about your day, goodbye.” Kinsey ended as she got up and headed to the door.

Celeste outstretched an arm and called out for Kinsey, but she could only watch as her troubled student stormed out of the room, leaving her all alone in the building.

Something's off. I can feel it, she thought.

…

“Here we go…” Alice muttered, heading out of her house to go for more lessons at Celeste's building, but not before a quick snack time with her friends.

Moments later, you saw something that you would have never thought you'd see here of all places: a Depraved. The small being wasted no time in jumping up for a quick attack. You extended an arm in defense. To your shock, the creature was frozen in midair, unable to budge an inch. Your eyes went wide and you gasped. You were using Possession, and it was working. You then took advantage of this and swung your hand forward, sending the creature barrelling into a wall. It then dissipated into nothingness.

That's a first… you thought. You dusted off your dress and then kept on walking.

The group was already gathered around the usual table, which was decked out with various foodstuffs of dubious nutritional value. But, there was something off. You blinked, and then it clicked.

…Kinsey, you thought.

“Hey Alice!” Kairy greeted.

“It's big Al! What's up?” Blair joined.

“Hey… Um, where's Kins?” you asked.

“Beats us,” Rachel replied. “She hasn't shown up in some time.”

“I didn't even get a response from her door yesterday,” Zalgo added. “Last time I talked to her, she was pretty upset, like something was bothering her.”

“That's…not really surprising.” you replied. “She can be pretty uptight at times, you just gotta get used to it.”

“Well… Let's just hope she's doing well. I know she won't miss class, so we'll see her then.” Sharline said.

You shrugged. “Yep, we should.”

…

Upon entering the building, you and the others were met with a fretting Celeste.

“Alice! I'm glad you're here,” Celeste said. “We have a big problem.”

"What's the trouble?" you asked in a hesitant voice.

"There was an attack from a horde of Depraved here in the citadel," Celeste explained. “That shouldn't be possible. This realm was created by me via Creation, so no Depraved should be able to enter this world. The only way one can enter this citadel is through invitation. In other words, someone in the Citadel is responsible for it.”

You furrowed your brows and took a step forward. "Who was it? Who attacked?"

“I don't yet know the perpetrator's identity," Celeste said.

"Then what do we do now?" Zalgo asked.

"I'm investigating the matter as we speak," Celeste said. “I have a few leads, but I wanted to talk to you guys first."

"What is it?" you asked.

Celeste shut her eyes for a minute, took a deep breath, then opened them a moment later with a stern gaze. "...There's an impostor among us," Celeste said.

You stepped back, blinking at Celeste. "An impostor? Among the residents of this citadel?" Alice asked.

"Yes, dear. That's the worrying part," Celeste said. "I reckon it may be someone we know.”

"You're saying it could be anyone here? Even me and my friends?" you questioned.

"It is a possibility," Celeste said. "That is why I wanted to speak to you all. I believe you know us well enough to distinguish who it could be."

"I… I'm not sure, Celeste," you responded, scratching your head. "Surely none of us would do something like that. Maybe I'm not seeing what you see."

"Please, Alice," Celeste said. "Think back on any odd behavior you may have observed that could possibly point to something bigger than just acting strangely."

You frowned, looking down at the floor. "Well, you see… it's not much to go on, but… it's Kinsey. She hasn't been acting like herself lately. She's more withdrawn. At first I thought she might just be going through something, but now I'm not so sure."

Kairy shook her head. “No, I just don't see Kinsey doing something that drastic! She doesn't have any connection to the Depraved, either! Maybe it was the twins?”

Akari closed her book and looked up at Kairy with a piercing gaze. Akumu put a hand to her mouth and gasped before she pouted and crossed her arms. “R-really?! You can't just throw me and my big sis under the bus outta nowhere like that!”

“Well, I dunno,” Kairy responded. “Just saying, I know it can't be any of my friends. We have nothing to do with Depraved at all.”

“But you HAVE to admit that Kinsey's been acting pretty…off lately. It could be her for all we know.” Rachel chimed in.

Celeste nodded. "I see, I suspected as much. That is the same conclusion I reached. It's just… I don't know what to do, Alice, Rachel, everyone. I'm afraid to accuse her directly, but if it is her, then this is much more serious than I thought."

"I understand, Celeste," you said. "But if she is the culprit, then we need to act quickly.”

“Yeah,” Zalgo added. “Maybe I can look into some things — ask a few questions, see if anything comes up. But I agree, we should proceed with caution for now."

"Yes, please do," Celeste warned, sighing in relief that her students were taking the matter seriously as well. "Just be careful. And please keep me informed of anything you discover.”

"Of course," you said. "You're the one who let me and my friends reside in this citadel in the first place, so I'll see what I can figure out. I promise."

"That's all I can ask for," Celeste replied, giving you a warm smile. "Thank you, Alice."

"You're welcome, Celeste."

With that, you and your friends turned to leave, but not before Celeste called out to you once more.

"Don't forget what I said about caution, alright?" Celeste warned.

"Will do," you replied with a nod, waving to your teacher as you headed off in search of Kinsey.