“What’s happening?” Heena turned her eyes between me and Rame. We had the same question. Victor quickly turned his body and ran towards the other end of the hallway. If this building had the same blueprint as others, then there should be another staircase at the opposite side. We followed him, only to bump our heads to another tall wall. With the two staircases absent, we had no other way to descend other than jumping into the central garden. Although, jumping from this height even with our shield on would definitely kill us.

“What should we do now?” Rame asked. Even the all knowing Victor was confused by these turn of events.

“We should find the cause and eliminate it.” Dwell said in a calm tone as if he knew what all of these were. But inside, he might be just as frightened as we all were. Being very bad at expressing himself, made him seem calm.

“But who is causing this?” Heena looked around widely to find any clue, any noise or movement that could help us. However, none was found.

And then, everything around us paused for a movement. The air between us froze. Our steps felt immensely heavy and our heartbeats halted, just for a second. We were in the presence of something. That thing was watching us from above, then from behind, as if it was glaring at us with its thousands of eyes from every direction.

We had no place to run, no place to hide. It was present everywhere around us. So all we could do was stand still.

“Who are you?” The brave boy Victor asked. He could open his mouth even under this pressure! He truly was a remarkable one.

Instead of answers, Victor got a powerful hit from an invisible force, which threw him to the wall. Yet he didn’t fall to the ground. Something kept him straight up.

Runne and Dwell ran towards him, however, an invisible wall stopped them from nearing Victor.

“Fuck, what is this now?” Dwell cursed and took out his plated gloves. As he wore it, the gloves started to radiate a faint green glow. He activated the gloves and started punching the invisible wall. I could see and hear the impacts his punches were making, confirming the existence of a false wall, even though his punches made very little effect.

Runne started to summon red mana into his palm, concentrating them until his skin started to burn, and blasted it into the wall. They also had the same effect.

Rame started helping them. He started to follow along the invisible wall to find its origin. But was met with a real wall on his path. This false wall seemed to originate from beyond the real wall and hence, the origin was also unknown. Heena helped Rame to enhance his weapon, but that too failed.

While all were busy trying to break the wall, I simply gazed inside.

There was Victor, unconscious, yet was standing due to some unknown force. And his body was gathering mana from around him.

“Runne, is that normal for him?”

Runne stopped his futile attempts of breaking the wall and turned towards Victor, whose veins were faintly glowing in red. It was like his whole body was gathering mana from the surrounding, all his body parts absorbed mana at the same time, which should be impossible for any Academy student.

“How is he doing that?” Heena frowned as everyone halted their action.

Victor opened his eyes. It was glowing red, like a metal piece kept inside a burning furnace. The wall around him disappeared as Runne quietly stepped toward the red hot Victor.

“Victor, what is happening to you?” He asked. Victor turned his head and examined Runne as if he was seeing him for the first time. His eyes moved to me, then Rame and scanned each one of us.

He raised his hand towards Runne and released his mana, turning Runne into ashes.

“Weak”, the creature that killed Runned said.

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Maybe it was the heat that burned him and turned him into dust, or he used mana to turn him into dust, which was impossible in theory. Though it happened so fast that no smoke or light was there before he was ashed.

“AHHH…” Heena screamed. I too wanted to do the same, yet the fear in me caught any voice that tried to escape my vocal and pushed it back into my throat.

“Run”, before any of us could process it completely, Rame started to run away. We followed him. However, it turned to be futile as another invisible war appeared right in front of us.

“Shit. Shit. Shit..” Rame blurted as he used everything under his ability to break the wall.

Degradation may work, but we don’t know what this wall is made up of. Maybe Dampening will work,

I tried everything I know to, however none could destroy it. We didn’t even know if the wall took any of the damage.

Even in this cursed situation, I could clearly hear its steps approaching.

It was there, standing just behind us, with the same curious face.

“You came for me?”, it asked.

It was staring at me. It was asking me.

"Knowing this was destined to be our final meeting, still you came, Niphreal."

What was it saying? Other’s eyes filled with fear and confusion, just like mine.

“May the land of Solavel turn our fate”, it said and appeared ahead of me, like a magician.

With a spike of pain in my abdomen, my vision went black. The taste of bloody iron sickened my tongue before I lost my consciousness.

My body was burning like I was standing below the rays of hundred suns, naked. The ache under my skin killed me every time I tried to move. My head felt like it would explode just by having any more thoughts.

I steadily tried to open my eyes. The eyelids seemed hard, as if they were glued using mana binds. Yet, I forced it open. Something inside me made me do it .

What was it?

There they were. Rame and Heena, together. She was behind him while he covered her under his arms.

They are alive, oh god. I sighed.

Suddenly, the memories of pain started appearing in me.

Yes, Victor, he killed Runne. Then he struck me. Then…

Then what?

Why was I still alive? Where was Victor? Dwell?

I pulled my body up using every bit of remaining strength I had. My eyes gazed around and caught Victor standing many feets behind me. He was facing the other side.

My weakened body pushed me away from him. Though, for some reason, Victor didn’t move.

Each step, less distant than the last one, nevertheless I walked towards my friends.

“Don’t come near me”, Rame shouted.

In fear, my body turned around to see Victor, who stood exactly at the same position.

“If you take any more steps, I will kill you.” He held his kitchen knife pointing at me.

“Wh….at..?” Words barely escaped my mouth as my cheeks were dead. My jaws felt like they could detach and drop any moment.

But Rame was pointing his knife at me. I again walked,

“I said DON’T WALK,” he threw the knife at me. It whizzed past, grazing the edge of my ear, leaving a sharp sting.

The knife he threw landed on a lifeless body. It was not of Runne, but..

“Dw..el..!”

Both Runne and Dwell were dead. Victor killed them. But why was Rame acting like that?

As I regained my limbic senses, I felt a cold liquid on my hands. It was blood.

It was Victor’s blood.

How did I know that?

The waves of memories again started to hit.

Dwell was there. In front of me, however, there were hands around his neck. Whose?

The hands gradually rose his body above, suffocating him. His body was shaking and his soul was leaving him.

The grip tightened as the fingers pierced into his flesh. Blood poured out and soaked the hands in red.

His movements stopped. Drops of blood dripped through the fingers of the gripping hands. Even after death, the hands didn’t let him go.

And then, I saw it. In Dwell’s lifeless eyes, I saw a face which was familiar. A face that I have seen countless times in my life. A face which I would see every time when I was in front of a mirror. The killer was Shane Ryder. Me!

Yet, the expression he had never belonged to me. The grin which extended between his ears, the eyes that lusted for more death. He was demonic. A Shane that this world had never seen, and never should have.

The reality pulled me back. Rame was there. Heena too. Her eyes were dreadful. Probably because of me. Her face told me she was hiding from a monster. The monster that killed Dwell and Victor mercilessly. The monster called me.