Nana places her hand on the piece of bark and mutters a word. The rune on the wood glows softly, and Nana starts the stopwatch in her hand. When the wood disintegrates, she stops the stopwatch and glances at it. Noting down the time on her paper, she makes some calculations.

She writes down all of her observations. “Too much,” she mutters. She draws the rune that was on the bark and takes a book off one of the bookshelves. Placing the book gently on the table among various others, she flips through it to a certain page.

Suddenly, she turns to look in a direction, and then waves her hand. A black hole opens. She steps through and it closes behind her, right before a boy walks around the corner to the space.

“This musty old library really needs to be better taken care of,” he says, sighing. He notices the book on the table and pauses before moving to take a look. “Amount of mana, rate of mana, mana waste…” he reads aloud. “What is this, a space rune? But it’s not quite a space rune…” He contemplates for a moment before his eyes widen and he gasps. “No way… is it a combined rune? But those were lost a long time ago…”

The boy looks around the library, and finding no one, he walks closer to the book. He reads the open page and his jaw drops open.

“Well, this is unlike you, Seth.”

He flinches and spins around to see a girl exiting a black hole. “W-what’s unlike me? Do you know me?” he says, his eyes wandering to the green gem in her hand. “And did you just use dimensional magic?”

Nana freezes for a second, and then facepalms. “Stupid habit.” She waves her hand and the portal closes. “You should always be wary of your surroundings, no matter how much something shocks you. And yes, I did.”

“Who are you?”

“It’s bad manners to ask before introducing yourself.” She puts a hand on her waist and shifts to one side. “I’m Nana Streak, the Headmaster’s daughter.”

“But the Headmaster doesn’t have a daughter.”

“Yea, officially, he doesn’t. I’m adopted, unofficially.”

“Oh. Well I’m Seth. Seth Sazonia.” He holds out a hand to shake.

Instead of shaking it, she places the gem in his hand. “Here. A present.”

He looks down at the gem. “What’s this?”

Walking over to the table, she replies, “Something for me to know and for Four to find out.”

“Four?”

She stops gathering the papers on the desk and turns to stare at him. “Your father?” Observing his blank stare, she sighs. “Oh, come on, you don’t even know Bastion’s nickname?”

“Well, no. I just didn’t expect someone outside to know it. Speaking of, how do you know it?”

Nana shrugs. “Secret.”

“Then how can I trust you?”

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“Isn’t the fact that I know the nickname enough?”

Seth rubs his chin. “Yea. I guess so.”

“Then what reason do you have to distrust me?” She finishes gathering her papers and returns the books to the shelf.

“Are you really the Headmaster’s adopted daughter?”

“Whether I am or not, you can ask the Headmaster. As for who I am if I really am adopted, anyone can figure it out, with enough time. I suggest, if you do, to keep my existence a secret from the MB. If that’s all, I will be going.”

“Wait-” Seth reaches out to her a little too late as the portal closes behind her and the only trace left of her in the library is the stone in his hand.

----------------------------------------

“I’ve searched through the databases. There is no trace of a ‘Nana Streak’ anywhere, not even amongst the files on Schindler.” The man speaking on the projected screen looks directly into the camera. “Seth, you know better than accept a random object from an unknown person.”

“Father, she knows your nickname.” Seth, hands held behind his back and his feet shoulder-width apart, looks to the image of Bastion Sazonia sitting in his chair. “Only those close to you know it.”

“Yes… we need to check on that.”

“She can use dimensional magic.”

“You saw the portal open? She didn’t just disappear?”

“You doubt my eyes?”

“You’re questioning me?”

Seth hangs his head. “No sir.”

The man looks at the boy for a long time before sighing. “There are only three people known to have dimensional magic: Alyssandra Wills, Kieth Drake, and Moira Covenant. The rest, the Morana Family, have disappeared. There is no known dimensional user by the name of Nana Streak.”

Raising his head again, Seth asks, “Could it have been one under a disguise?”

“It’s possible, however, unlikely. Wills has been holed up in her tower for years now, I see no reason why Drake would disguise himself as a girl, and Covenant has never been good at disguising her rather strong accent.”

“Then could it be one of the Morana Family?”

“That’s nearly impossible. The Morana Family has completely disappeared ever since their prosecution hundreds of years ago. Besides the occasional mention in textbooks, any traces of its existence have been completely wiped out.”

“But what if… what if they didn’t disappear but merely hid in a separate dimension?”

“That is possible, but why reveal themselves now?”

“Perhaps the answer lies within the gem she gave me.”

“If it’s true that she is one, then we should keep this under wraps. Much of the MB will not take kindly to its return.”

“Could they have returned under another identity? Aliases?”

“They could have.” The man leans back in his chair. “It’s nearly impossible. Hiding over a hundred people? No one in their right mind would take the risk.”

Seth’s eyes wander to the gem on his desk next to the projected screen. “Are you sure you don’t know anyone possible? Come to think of it, she seemed to know me fairly well, personality-wise.”

“She did?”

“When she appeared, she said, ‘This is unlike you, Seth.’”

“And this was before any interaction with you?”

“Yes.”

Bastion strokes his stubbly chin. “Could she have observed you from afar? You said she was wearing the student uniform.”

“I searched through the school database and there is no student named…” Seth’s eyes widen. “Could it possibly be?”

“What?”

“The blank space above my name on the leaderboards. Everyone always thought it was a mistake, even some of the teachers.”

“You’re saying that could be her?”

“It’s possible. If she really is the Headmaster’s secret adopted daughter, it’s possible that she did take the tests and her name was just deleted. If she was around on campus, someone would know who she is.”

“Perhaps the Headmaster would be inclined to tell you, since you already know. I will make time to visit you tomorrow to pick up that stone.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, Father.” Seth salutes and the screen turns off.

Seth lies down on his bed and covers his eyes with his arm. “Nana Streak,” he mutters. “Nana, Morana. It can’t just be coincidence, right?”