"Ho-ra-ti-o!" Nora's called cutely, stepping into his classroom. He waved at her with a smile, and she smiled back.

"You're late today. What took you so long?" He asked, standing up.

"It's a long story." She replied with a groan. She motioned for him to sit back down and pulled a chair to his side.

"I don't think we have the time." Horatio said, checking his phone, it was four o'clock, the rift would be opening soon.

"This is more important than Sylvia." Nora said, way off the mark. She grunted, flicking her wrist dismissively.

Nora, leaned back in a seat, speaking in a careless manner. "So, there's this guy who asked me out earlier today." She said.

"That's...great?" Horatio guessed.

"It's bad!" Nora corrected. She sighed, looking down. "It's not like he's a bad guy or anything. It's just..." Her words fell off.

"Just what?"

"Well, the thing is...I've already got someone I like." She whispered. Horatio smiled.

"Look who's all grown up." He said in mock praise, "So…what do you want to do about it?" He eyed her lazily. Nora shuffled in her seat.

"Well, I've got a plan, just not a very good one." Nora’s fingers rapped on the table.

"Spit it out, any plan is better than no plan." He coaxed.

Nora was hesitant, she kept her eyes away as she spoke, "Alright, the plan, the plan...umm, the plan I got was for you to pretend to be my boyfriend." She said quietly.

Horatio sat there silently, his eyes focused on her. He chuckled, "I take that back, there are some plans worse than no plan." He said, "I didn't think of you to be the person to take the easy road." He chastised.

"I just thought it would be the best." Nora said.

"Just tell him you've got someone else in mind." He advised.

"Then everyone will have questions." She countered, "Look, we already come to school together, every day, it's believable."

"You could just ask the guy you like to help you in this."

"It's not that easy." Nora put her palm out. "This guy is pretty popular in my class. If there's not a good enough reason for me blowing him off I’d make some people really angry." She explained.

Horatio sighed. “What?” Nora asked.

“I’m just thanking my stars I never got in with the high-school drama. This sounds exhausting.” He groaned. “Alright, I’ll do it. On one condition.”

"What's that?"

"I haven't thought of it yet." He admitted. Nora gave him a sceptical look and sighed.

"So, you want a favour in exchange for helping me? That's fine." She agreed.

"It’s settled then. When are we doing this?" Horatio asked.

"Right now."

Horatio and Nora walked over to the back of the school. Horatio sighed, noting that he was going to be far behind time at this point. He wondered how Margulis would react when he finally showed up. Again, to his chagrin, Nora suggested, in efforts to make their act more convincing, to hold hands as they approached. Thus, Horatio's hand was in hers as they came up to the meeting point.

As they got closer, Horatio made out a blonde boy, one he remembered faintly. He grimaced.

"Him!?" Horatio asked. Nora looked up to him and raised a brow.

"Yeah, why?"

"Of course." He muttered, "I just expected to be dealing with someone younger." Horatio knew the boy they were coming to, and the other two who accompanied him. They sat across from him in class. The blonde was Aunedm Sefrych, a foreign transfer student who was rarely ever present yet his popularity and fame were off the charts. Horatio did not like him. Admittedly he was jealous of his popularity, but he also had a feeling Aunedm was not who he seemed to be. Always by his side were the large-built brothers, James and Erwin. They always wore heavy-set glasses that hid most of their faces. He could not read them, but he was afraid of them, their physical strength was visually telling, even compared to his own.

"Could this day get any worse?" He groaned.

Aunedm spotted them from afar and waved them over. Horatio would have rather ignored him altogether, but he was here to help Nora.

"Hello Aunedm." Horatio greeted, trying to sound pleased.

"Good afternoon to you Horatio, a pleasure to see you." Aunedm replied. His British accent was thick, almost too much so. Horatio nodded to the brothers and as always, received no answer. They rarely spoke, not just to Horatio.

"Alright, I don't really have the time, so I'll make this short. I heard you asked Nora out today, is that true?" He said plainly.

"Horatio!" She hissed.

"You are correct. Earlier this morning I finally worked up the courage to profess my undying feelings for Nora Gasal, my morning sun." Aunedm said.

'Talk normally you wierdo!' Horatio thought. Outward he sighed and said, "Well I've got to ask you to lay off, Nora's taken." Horatio said.

For a moment Aunedm stared wide-eyed, then he shook his head. "By whom if I might ask?"

"By me. Nora and I have been going steady for months now." He lied.

Aunedm looked like he was about to choke. "Nora, my dear is that true?" He asked.

"Please stop calling me that…and yes, it is true." She said, "Horatio and I are close, I didn't want to tell you that this morning because there were too many people around and I didn't want to hurt your image." She said.

Aunedm reeled back. His eyes moved from Nora to Horatio and an emotion flashed over his face for a moment. "I understand, my apologies." He said half-heartedly. "If it pleases you, I would like to exchange a few words with Horatio, as his classmate." He asked.

Reluctantly, Nora nodded and Aunedm stepped back, motioning for Horatio to follow. He was hesitant, noting that someone like Aunedm did not take to being told ‘no’ this easily. Nonetheless he had little choice. They stood clear of Nora, just far enough for her not to hear them.

"Horatio Peppingar." Aunedm began, "I did not expect you to reach this far after your debut with Margulis." He said.

Horatio shook his head with a dismissive laugh, "Margulis and I aren't a thing, we just talk and-"

"There's no need to put up the act." Aunedm cut in. "I must warn you though, whatever you find within her, you must keep it to yourself. And no matter what, do not tell them about it." He said finally and left before Horatio could raise a question. He stood rooted to the spot as Nora approached.

'Them?' He pondered. 'Who was he talking about? Don't tell me-' He realised just as Nora got close.

"What did he say?" She asked, pulling him out of his mind.

"Oh, Aunedm? Nothing much, just congratulating me on the 'relationship'." Horatio said.

"Sorry I made you go through this with me." She apologised. He shook his head.

"I would say you did the right thing, for people like that, their image is everything to them." He said. "Let's go home."

Horatio walked with Nora down familiar streets, watching the sunset on their way. They barely spoke, each to their own thoughts, until they exited the suburbs.

A memory came to Nora that she tried to ignore. She looked at Horatio.

"I'm sorry about Friday." She said.

"You told me that already. I've forgiven you." He said and left the conversation at that.

"But that thing-"

"I told you not to ask questions. There's a lot going on I can't afford to tell you. I suspect the same is with you, if I'm to believe all the stuff Sylvia apparently told you." He said.

Nora did not continue the conversation. It seemed to her that the reality she had grown to love was breaking down yet everyone around her just pushed that fact away. It was terrifying, and reinforced the idea she had to get closer to the one within for the sake of her safety. Perhaps his reaction was warranted, after all it was through their ties that her parents had died, on that day as well the lines between reality and fiction had also blurred.

She had spoken to him the night before, unknowingly knocking on his door the very moment he scampered up the window and into his room. Now she was learning that was the intent of the one within, who seemed to stand against their desire to keep the veil drawn between the three of them. Horatio had been inspecting the blade Margulis had gifted him when the first knock came, pushing his energy through it to take note of its etchings and powers. He had been startled, and the blade had vanished in his hands, seemingly absorbed into him. And then they talked.

They soon left the area. It was like magic, how everyone had no recollection of that moment when Horatio had stopped the char. Supposedly those two, Aiden and Servia had wiped the memories of the people here. He did not understand a lot about the void, even closing that rift on Saturday while giving him a wealth of information, left him with more questions. He understood their desired, those Voidwalkers. They all seemed to be kin in that sense, once the veil was lifted, too much changed too quickly.

They came into the Elysian Plains and passed the park. Horatio and Nora both refused to comment on it, afraid of the kind of conversations that would spark. They continued till they reached their home. As they were walking past the gate, Horatio's phone buzzed in his pocket and he allowed Nora to go on ahead as he stopped to check the message.

It was from Sylvia, and it read "Sorry for the late message, I have to work overtime today and won’t be home till late. Watch over Nora alright."

Horatio smirked, 'Even better.' He thought. The less people around the lower the risk of them accidentally stumbling or being pulled into the neutral plane. He pushed his phone back into his bag and stood. But a thought flickered in his mind. ‘Sylvia is always late, why did she mention it today?’

"Horatio Peppingar." A low growl came from behind him. He jumped in surprise, turning swiftly.

"Margulis..." He said weakly, giving a broken smile. Margulis eyed him incredulously.

"Do you know how late you are?" Margulis asked, her voice commanding.

"Sorry, I was held up." He apologised.

"You'll be sorry alright. The rift has gone and evolved in the time you were floundering about with that girl of yours." Margulis said.

"Don't make it sound weird, Nora is like a little sister to me." Horatio said.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Sure, because a little sister keeps making goo-goo eyes at her older brother. Face it kid, she's head-over-heels for you. You better burst that bubble because I'm not letting her come between us." She said.

"You say that like we're in a relationship."

"We're bonded Horatio. No earthly relationship can get to this level." She said. "Now enough chatter, we have a category two rift to close."

"Why is the category so important?" Horatio asked.

"You know, for a person who should be the epitome of intelligence, you're not really smart." Margulis said.

"My intelligence does not span the Void and its dealings." He said.

"This particular rift is category two because we left it for too long yet the forces behind it did not have the individual strength to break it open." She said. "If you've noticed. the area around your town is just a bit darker than the outside. With these two inferences we can conclude that the creatures behind the rift are the shroud." She said.

"The shroud." Horatio said, trying out the name. "They don't see, to be emitting any energy for me to absorb." He noted.

"That's because the shroud are decomposers of energy. In the Umbra realm they seek out light and consume it, storing it in their cores. There wont be much to absorb from here alone, perhaps in the rift the story might be different." She said.

“With how much you know you could handle this on your own.” He laughed, “You got a textbook on this or something?”

“Three years of training. While you spent your childhood having fun I studied the rifts, and now I’m teaching you.” She informed.

Horatio scoffed, “What fun? Being left out for being a freak? Pretty hard to have fun when any exertion gets your head up 10 lumens. I didn’t exactly have this normal life you’re so fond of.” He said. Margulis was silent for a moment, her lips straightened out.

“Sorry.” She said and turned back to the rift.

"Horatio, before I open the rift, I want to instruct you on how this battle will go." She called to him. "The shroud are limitless, as decomposers they rely on numbers for survival. That means we should be more focused on closing the rift instead of fighting off the shroud. But if it becomes necessary to clear them, focus on their cores, their body is made of shadow and only their cores are physical, got that?"

"Every last bit." Horatio said and with Margulis, he walked to the centre of the street where the rift was located.

"Ready?" She asked. He nodded and began feeding his energy into the rift.

"External energy assimilated, status: OK." The Analyst reported, its voice was stable, just as expected. Horatio thanked her mentally as he took his body into his hands.

Horatio and Margulis both watched the street, monitoring the rift.

Right on cue, a glassy shattering rang forth as the rift broke open. It was smothered, as though being heard from another room. They waited for a moment, two, but the neutral plane did not form.

"Fuck." Margulis cursed and reached for Horatio's hand, screaming "Get your hand out of there!" She was a moment too late as a dark shadowy claw reached out and grabbed Horatio's hand, pulling him into the rift.

"What the!?" He felt his feet lift of the ground as the hand pulled with force that did not seem possible. He was swallowed into darkness as he left his world.

Back before the rift Margulis cursed as she grasped empty air. The rift had become anomalous and had spawned the neutral plane in the Umbra realm.

"Horatio? Can you hear me?" She called out. The shroud had been shrewd in their dealings, they had separated them and carried Horatio far. She could not rely on his help now. She had to stick to the plan and invert the neutral plane otherwise he would be stuck in the Umbra realm.

A shadowed foot shambled through the area, forcing its way out of the darkness of the other world and into the light. Another foot followed after, then another and another. Several humanoid appendages grappled their way into the space. Different forms and sizes fighting each other for escape. She cursed, they were invading, that would make her work harder.

Margulis just hoped she would not have to deal with more that just this, the creatures in Umbra were far more dangerous than most of the other realms.

Their current enemy was the shroud. A hive mind of shadows that took corporeal form. Humanoid shapes with missing and mismatched limbs being commonplace but are not adverse to changing shape to fulfil their primary objective, to feed.

"Shine, from the realm of light, Seraph's Grace!" Margulis set a sigil above the rift, etched into it was the image of daybreak. Bright ethereal light poured out of the sigil, searing into the shadows below.

Margulis had fashioned this simple spell as a means of quick deployment of high-intensity light. It was especially useful against the shroud as it took advantage of the shrouds' only instinct.

The shroud, were simply guardians of balance, if the balance was perfect darkness. They existed solely to consume light, in all shapes and forms from photonic wavelengths to abstract renditions. This was to keep the dark world dark. They stored this absorbed light in their core, which was also their weakest and only vulnerable point.

"Go for their cores," Horatio remembered Margulis advised. He reached his hand into his abductor's chest and grasped hold of a smooth crystal. Closing his eyes he clenched hard, forcing energy into his hand. The core shattered like a cheap toy. Light spilled out, eons of absorbed light spread through the space, bathing it in an eerie glow. Horatio finally opened his eyes to find he was completely surrounded, yet the shroud did not move. They stood absorbing the energy of their fallen brethren.

Horatio needed to get back into the neutral plane. Margulis had made a point of stressing the danger the rifts posed, He felt the dark energy pour into him many hundred times stronger than what he had gotten on Saturday and that was enough to confirm her assertation. He ran.

Horatio could feel Margulis' energy and ran in its direction. He took each opportunity to weave a trail of light by smashing cores, keeping the shroud off him.

"Come, with a thunderclap," Margulis chanted. She held two sigils, a flame-red one and one of light and merged them together. "A mirage of flame, Thunderbolt!" She called and sent zapping energy coursing through the surrounding cores, stunning them.

She raised her hands, setting another sigil above the rift. She spoke no words as she sent her energy through it. She needed more, but she was unable to destroy their cores with her magic.

Horatio was nearing the neutral plane. He heard growls telling him direwolves had been alerted of his presence. 'Hell no.' He thought, he still had some healing injuries from Saturday’s battle. He pushed his energy into his legs to speed himself up. He was almost there and could see Margulis now, and the several dozen shroud filling the neutral plane.

Horatio scoured his body, collecting every bit of dark energy in him. He focused on it drawing on as much as he quickly could and directing it towards his palm. He pulled energy from the realm itself, drawing the black curtain around him.

As he rapidly approached the Horde, an area of faint darkness murked above Horatio's skin, smoothly flowing towards his right arm.

"Free energy control, right arm," Horatio commanded, his voice reverberating coldly through the energy that begun to agitate.

He had to focus, cutting off the analyst he mentally grabbed the fabric of the realm, the energy it held, he was nearing the end of his calculations.

His energy responded quickly, pooling swiftly into his hand, compacting into a sphere no bigger than a tennis ball. He jumped up and into the neutral plane shooting high into the air.

"You know what to do!" Horatio called to Margulis. More than fifty shroud had come through the gate with even more to come. He trusted in Margulis, she would be able to turn the tide in their favour.

Horatio and Margulis both agreed that shrouds were simple enemies, the Horde, however, was an unparalleled force that could annihilate a small town in less than thirty minutes. Once too many shroud came together, they were unstoppable, yet their communal presence brought their one exploitable weakness.

"Calculations implemented." The Analyst reported from within Horatio, he aimed, gripping the sphere with expert precision. He carefully lined up the shot, cocked his arm, and let loose.

The ball whizzed through the air, faster than the eye could see. Perfectly it zipped on its predetermined path, colliding with the first shroud core.

Horatio hung in the air, completely focused on the energy sphere, using his will to guide it. In the instant it hit the first core, he changed its properties, softening its once he was sure it had done definitive damage to the core.

The ball wrapped about the core, its latent kinetic energy still pushing it on its path. Then it was flung in a new direction, on a collision course with another core. Horatio hardened the sphere again.

In this manner, Horatio precisely controlled the ball, sending it crashing through all the horde shrouds' cores, leaving them unstable.

"That should do it." He said, using his hands to shield his eyes. Horatio had destabilised their cores, enough such that they were on the brink of shattering. Their cores were capacitors and in this state, any more light absorbed would break them, releasing all the stored light, all of it.

"That should do it." Margulis announced and they both closed their eyes.

On cue the runaway reaction started, a cacophony of devastating energy. Horatio heard several unceremonious shatterings as their pooled light whipping the air. More angry bright light came, as the cores destabilised into an explosion one after another, until there was only silence.

Horatio slowly drew his arm away, blinking away the spots that still managed to form in his vision. The world looked ethereal about him, all surfaces near the blast were bathed in brilliant light, positively glowing. They had been returned to their world, the neutral plane blown inside-out.

"Nice work Margulis!" Horatio praised.

The destabilised shrouds had been destroyed, but the rift remained. The Horde inside only stopped to absorb their fallen brethren's light. Margulis did not respond to Horatio.

He looked off the road to where she was standing. It took him a while to notice but she was rubbing her eyes in obvious discomfort.

Horatio rushed to her. "Are you okay?" He asked, barrelling through the gate, his voice was wobbly with panic. Margulis looked up as if trying to find him from his voice alone.

"Dammit!" He cursed, nearing her. "Stop rubbing it." He held her hands away from her eyes. Horatio looked into Margulis' eyes and a horrifying realisation dawned on him.

"Horatio?" Margulis called our uncertainly. "Where are you?" She asked, her hands groping at the air. Her eyes moved about, they were pale pink unfocused discs.

"I'm right here." He put his hand before her and she grasped it, firmly like a lost child. "It's going to be alright, trust me." He said. He was unsure of what he was saying. He looked back at the rift, if it wasn't dealt with, the Horde would come through again. If that happened, and he didn't have Margulis to depend on...

Horatio realised he had to make a choice here, only he could not think logically. His mind felt jumbled up, his hand began to shake.

"Margulis, I, I don't know what to do." Horatio's voice shook. He clenched his fist in frustration. "I can't leave you." He looked into her eyes again. Still pale and unfocused.

"Then you fail." Margulis sighed. Horatio stared at her quizzically, still panicked and rushing through several analyses. Then it struck him, like a sledgehammer to the gut, what Margulis had meant. He stopped, stepping back in surprise and horror. As he looked into her eyes they slowly turned back to the glossy crimson he knew them to be.

"Remember always; the mission over your partner, we have to keep incompatibility at a minimum or nothing would matter anymore." Margulis lectured. Horatio stared wide-eyed, his face a myriad of conflicting emotions.

"You. You..."

"I was testing you, at any moment while you were worrying about me the shroud could have come through." Margulis stated matter-of-factly, "It was quite entertaining seeing you panic like that. I suppose we could call that your punishment." She said moving past Horatio towards the rift. She smiled.

"Though, it was quite nice of you to come running like that, and the way you spoke so earnestly, are sure you don't want to confess right now?" She laughed, Horatio huffed.

Margulis shook her head, "I guess you didn't fail after all, but that comes later. I'll deal with the rift."

Margulis stepped forward stretching her hand towards the rift. Two dawn-bearing sigils formed before her. "Pierce the sky, with shining light, Light Lance!" She called. Her energy shot into her hand forming on her palm.

"Wait." She said, closing her palm and dispelling the spell. Horatio picked up on the uncertainty inherent voice and followed her gaze.

"What!?" Horatio felt a sudden hotness flush through him, his pulse quickened, and adrenaline dumped into his bloodstream. "That's...impossible." Horatio stared unblinkingly at a figure that stood still. A panicked woman, with silver hair and blood-red eyes. And behind her was a dark figure, almost impossible to notice from a distance. A nauseating realisation hit Horatio.

"Sylvia!" He yelled, throwing himself inner direction. He realised she must have been pulled into the neutral plane as it blew back. Her timing could not have been worse.

"Horatio wait!" Margulis called out to him.

Horatio pushed his body as fast as it would go, cycling his energy recklessly to push him faster. At late afternoon using this much energy would have adverse effects on him, especially after filling his cells with so much external energy. He just couldn't care at this moment, not when his sister could be in danger. He did not have any more rift energy to power him, the only thing he had was his unformed energy and... the Flauna.

The shroud behind Sylvia held out a hand tenderly, as though it was looking to protect her. Horatio forced himself faster, knowing it was only a front to take her light.

"Don't take its hand!" Horatio yelled, coming closer. "Flauna!" Horatio commanded, forcibly drawing out spirit fire. His body singed against the flame but he kept moving, closing the gap instantaneously.

Horatio's flaming fist punched through the shroud, scattering its shadow and exposing the core. He grabbed hold and pulled the crystal out of its chest.

A shadowy spike darted towards him. He dropped low, dodging it.

Horatio pointed his flaming hand on the ground, using a blast to right himself. He tried to jump back but his legs wouldn't move.

"Dammit, don't you dare stop now!" He cursed.

Another spike came out, skewering Horatio through his shoulder. His fingers flinched for only a second but that was enough for the crystal to slip through.

"Sylvia run!" Horatio felt the shroud's feeders dig into him. He felt his consciousness slipping.

He lashed at the shroud, hitting only shadow. His eyes passed over Sylvia once more, her eyes wide in panic she watched him struggle against the shadow.

Using the last of his energy Horatio grabbed hold of the core once more. The pain in his shoulder was excruciating. He pushed his energy and clenched his fist, sending blinding light into his eyes, that was the last thing he saw before he slipped into darkness.

Margulis saw the flash from where she stood. Panic took over her. She watched as Horatio self-destructed and as he fell to the floor. She watched Sylvia, the woman was filled with panic. She turned her attention to the rift, it was stabilising after the blow-back, in just a bit it would re-form and the shroud would come again.

Margulis pointed her hand, her breaths coming heavy and quick. she formed the sigils, two bright ones and tried to make a chant. No good, she felt nausea building up and she sigils destabilised. She dropped to her knees, barely able to keep herself upright. She tried to stand, slowly shuffling out of the yard and onto the street. Her eyes met with Sylvia's. She swallowed and once again tried to form the sigils.

Her emotions were interfering, she was losing control of herself. She closed her eyes and began the chant.