The sun had dipped below the horizon, casting the school in a dusky, violet glow. The tension from the Illusory Array Exam still lingered in the air, like an electric charge before a storm. I had barely managed to shake the haunting feeling the illusions had left behind, but there was no time to rest. The week had only just begun, and the school was preparing for the final stretch of tests leading into the upcoming festival.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger, darker, was on the horizon.
I stood at the edge of the courtyard, gazing out across the grounds. My mind was still clouded by the trials, the shadow of the Vermillion Bird, the reflection of my darker self. What did it all mean? What part of the prophecy was it pointing to?
"You've been quiet," a familiar voice broke through my thoughts.
I turned to find Aerin approaching, her silver hair glinting in the fading light. Her expression was neutral, but I could see the concern hidden in her eyes.
"Just thinking," I replied, forcing a smile. "I don't know how to shake the feeling that this is more than just an exam."
She stood beside me, glancing over the courtyard. "It's never just an exam," she said, her voice low but knowing. "The Illusory Array was meant to show you what you're hiding from yourself. Sometimes, the things we fear most aren't monsters or enemies—they're parts of ourselves we aren't ready to face."
I nodded, the weight of her words settling deep within me. I knew the reflection of myself in the illusion was a reminder that there were still parts of me I needed to understand, to confront. But it wasn't just about me. I could feel it—the pull of destiny, of something far greater than I could yet comprehend. The prophecy had been unfolding in pieces since the moment I arrived in this world.
"What happens if the prophecy comes true?" I asked, more to myself than to her.
Aerin glanced at me, her eyes softening with an understanding only someone like her could have. "That's a question we'll all have to answer. But don't forget—you don't have to face it alone."
Her words brought me a measure of comfort, but the gnawing doubt remained. If the prophecy was true, there was more at stake than just me or my friends. Something dark was awakening, and I could feel it, like a storm brewing far on the horizon, just out of sight. It wasn't just the darkness within the illusion. It was something far more dangerous, something tied to the very foundations of the world we lived in.
The next day, the school was abuzz with rumors.
"I heard Prince Kai Xu's missing," Mira whispered when I met up with her after class. "No one's seen him since yesterday. His dorm's locked, and the faculty's been searching for him all morning."
My stomach twisted into a knot. Kai Xu. Missing? I hadn't expected anything like this—at least, not this soon. The last time I'd seen him, he was his usual aloof self, but there had been a subtle change. He'd been quiet, distant, as though something inside him was shifting.
I immediately thought back to our last encounter in the library—the way he had looked at me with those piercing, troubled eyes. There had been something he hadn't said, something that had been left unsaid between us. And now, just as I had started to understand him a little more, he was gone.
I couldn't shake the feeling that his disappearance wasn't coincidental. The darkness I had felt in the illusions—the deep, gnawing fear—was tied to him. I didn't know how, but I couldn't ignore it.
Aerin, Mira, Caius, and I gathered in the dorm later that evening, the atmosphere heavy with the uncertainty of Kai Xu's disappearance. The campus was quiet, but there was an unease in the air. Students whispered about the prince's absence, and faculty members were on edge.
"We need to find him," I said, standing by the window and looking out at the darkening campus. "If the prophecy is real, if Kai Xu's connected to it… we need to get to the bottom of this."
Aerin crossed her arms, her usual calm demeanor replaced with a rare intensity. "We should inform the headmaster, get more help from the faculty. The last thing we want is to make things worse by going off without any plan."
Caius, who had been unusually quiet, spoke up. "But we can't wait. We don't know what's happening, but something's not right. The way the energy shifted after the Illusory Array Exam… something's coming. And if Kai Xu's in danger, we need to act fast."
I nodded, my heart racing. "I'll go search the areas he frequents. His usual spots around the campus—his study room, the library. I might be able to pick up something."
Mira's eyes met mine, her expression solemn. "We'll join you. Whatever it takes."
We spent the next few hours combing through every corner of the school that Kai Xu had been known to frequent. His study room was locked tight, and no one had seen him near the library. We reached the outer grounds, where a dense, misty forest stretched out beyond the school walls. It was a place few students ventured, but I knew Kai Xu had spent time here in the past—alone, lost in thought.
As we ventured deeper into the forest, I could feel the air thickening, growing colder. There was something about this place… it felt like a world away from the school. A hidden, forgotten place where secrets festered.
I stopped in my tracks when I saw something in the distance—a faint glow, pulsing in the gloom like the heartbeat of the forest itself. It was Kai Xu's aura, faint but unmistakable. I felt the pull again, the strange bond between us that seemed to grow stronger the further I ventured.
We approached cautiously, the eerie silence pressing in on us.
The glow led us to a clearing, where the ground was covered in ancient symbols, their edges worn and faded with time. In the center of the clearing stood a stone pedestal, and atop it lay a small, glowing orb. It pulsed with an inner light, flickering like the last ember of a dying fire.
I stepped forward, drawn to it. The sensation of power was overwhelming, like I was standing on the edge of a precipice. I could feel the threads of energy reaching out to me, pulling at my senses. There was no mistaking it—the orb was tied to Kai Xu. This was his hidden realm, a place where his true self was tethered.
But why had he been here? What was this place?
Before I could reach the pedestal, a soft whisper filled the air, the same voice I had heard in the Illusory Array. The reflection of my darker self. "You're too late," it whispered. "You cannot stop what is already in motion."
I froze, heart pounding. The voice was cold, distant. It was like the whisper of fate itself, echoing through the forest. A premonition of doom.
And then, in the distance, I heard something else—the sound of footsteps approaching. Someone was coming.
I turned back to Aerin and the others, ready to make a decision.
But deep down, I knew one thing: whatever lay ahead, the storm was already gathering. And this time, there would be no escape.