It was early evening, the air cool and heavy with the threat of rain.
Lira hurried through the quad, the chronothite solution vial secure in a small bag, her heart pounding with the weight of her secrets.
She spotted Nico approaching, his face lighting up with relief.
"I was just coming to look for you," Nico said.
"I have it," Lira said, showing him the bag with the faintly glowing solution.
"The boys are waiting in Theo's dorm. Practice starts soon," Nico said.
Darel approached, his expression cold and urgent. "We need to talk. Now," Darel said.
"Can it wait?" Lira begged, her voice tight.
"Seriously," Darel said, his tone unyielding.
Lira handed Nico the bag, her fingers brushing his. "I have to go now," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She followed Darel, her steps heavy with unease.
Nico watched her go, a nagging feeling settling in his chest. Something's wrong, he thought, sensing more than a survey behind her guarded eyes.
Theo's dorm was cramped, the air thick with anticipation.
Rowan sat cross-legged on the floor next to Asher, who lay sprawled on Theo's bed, staring at the ceiling.
Theo sat on a chair, its back turned so he could rest his arms and head.
"I've always wanted to ask, do you have any roommates?" Rowan asked, breaking the tense silence.
"Yeah, one, but he only comes back at night. A Year 2 to be precise" Theo replied.
"What's taking Lira so much time?" Asher said, impatient, sitting up.
"I thought Nico went to look for her," Rowan said, glancing at the door.
Nico burst in, holding the small bag. "I've got it," he said, catching his breath.
"Finally," Asher said, relief washing over him.
They closed the windows, locked the door, and gathered around a small table, the chronothite solution glowing faintly in the vial.
Asher pulled out the blank note, his hands steady but his breath uneven.
"Before I go on," Asher said, breathing heavily, tense, "I just want to say, all we've been through so far has led to this moment. This note holds what's next. We don't know what to expect we're in this together."
"Found Four," Theo said, his voice firm.
"Yeah, that. Nico, do it," Asher said.
Nico took the note and dipped it into the solution, then laid it on the table to rest.
The air grew thick, tension filling the room alongside their heavy breathing.
Black writing slowly emerged, and Nico read aloud as it formed: "There's—a—rift—in—Clocktower—Find— it—there—Asher."
"A rift in the clocktower," Theo said, puzzled. "What does he mean, rift?" he continued, his brow furrowing.
"Maybe he wanted to write something else," Rowan assumed, his voice uncertain.
Asher's head throbbed suddenly, a sharp pain lancing through his skull. He screamed softly, clutching his temples.
"What's wrong with you?" Rowan asked, alarmed, leaning forward.
"I'm trying to remember something, but my head doesn't want me to," Asher said, his voice strained.
"I remember Morgan saying something the night I met him."
"That's true. You met with Morgan that night. You never told us anything you discussed," Theo said, leaning closer.
Asher tried to recall, but the pain intensified.
"I can't remember," he said, frustration mounting after trying hard.
"What do you mean you can't remember?" Rowan asked, his voice sharp.
"I can't remember anything. I only remember meeting Morgan, then running back out. That's all," Asher recalled.
"Calm down," Rowan pressured.
"Do you remember meeting Morgan in the bathroom that same day, before you met with me?"
"I never met Morgan in the bathroom. I only remember going to the bathroom—"
Asher's head flashed with a blurry memory, and he let out a low scream of pain.
"—then I met with you. I remember telling you I was going to meet Morgan. I think that's all," Asher said, panting.
"Something is damn wrong," Rowan cried, his own unease growing, his vision's six-armed shadow lurking in his mind.
Asher's scars began to glow faintly under his sleeve. He stared at them, heart racing.
"It's them. They aren't letting me remember.
When I went beyond my limit at the CCT, the cost was probably a memory,I know I felt something leave me"
"That's fucking scary shit right there," Theo said, eyes wide.
"We can't continue to dwell on the past. We have to move forward," Asher said, forcing himself to focus.
"What do you think Morgan meant by 'rift'?" Nico questioned, staring at the note.
"It could be a figure of speech, who knows?" Rowan said, his voice shaky.
"Or it could mean something more," Theo said, brainstorming.
"That thing that killed Morgan, which I saw a bit—it had a normal figure, two hands and legs, but I couldn't see anything else but shadow. It aura wasn't normal for a human being."
Rowan's face paled, his vision's six-armed, red-eyed shadow not matching Theo's description. Sweat beaded on his brow, discomfort rising.
"This might sound crazy," Theo continued, "but what if that thing is in the rift? A rift it created to hide. No wonder no one's spotted it."
"It still doesn't make sense," Rowan said, his voice unsteady. "It came out to kill Morgan, and that's it. I've heard of kids vanishing, but Morgan's death was different."
"What do you mean?" Asher asked, leaning forward.
"Whatever that thing is, it's new," Rowan explained, his hands fidgeting. "It's more than making kids vanish."
"I think I get what you're trying to point out," Nico said, his voice low.
"Whatever's out there, I don't think it's hiding. It's plotting," Rowan said. "And we're not the team to handle that type of shit."
"What are you proposing?" Asher asked, his eyes narrowing.
"We mind our business and not get in its way," Rowan answered. "It's just five years, and we're out of here."
"Dude, did you hear yourself?" Theo said, mocking.
"You just said it could be plotting something, and now you're asking us to sit and relax, watch it execute its plan that could lead to the end of the world? Oh wait, sit and relax sounds like a good plan, I'm just saying."
"So what do you want us to do? Go after it?" Rowan asked, mocking back.
"Yes," Asher said softly, his voice resolute.
He pulled out a note from his pocket and showed it to Theo and Nico.
"Run, it's coming for you," Nico read.
"That note was dropped by my door, by who knows who?" Asher said.
"If that thing is actually coming for me, I'm not going to let this opportunity go by at all. I don't want to force anyone to follow me, but one thing's for sure—I'm not running."
"I'm not running either," Theo said. "We started this shit, we end this shit."
He placed his fist forward. "You've got one."
Asher and Theo shared a brief moment, a moment that breathed, we are in this together.
"I mean, what's the chance we'll make it out of here anyway?" Nico said. "Being with you guys has made this place worth it. I think we can make it if we try."
He placed his fist with theirs. "You've got Two."
"You guys are joking right now," Rowan cried.
"We literally have no idea what we're dealing with, and the next thing is to put ourselves right on the line? If you guys die, I'll be tagged as a coward who left his friends to die and have to live through shit in this shitty Academy and we're not letting that happen."
He placed his fist with theirs. "You can call it a Fucking Three."
"I guess we're going with Theo's plan," Asher said. "The Found Four — is official." He joined his fist with theirs.
"Yayy, Go Theo," Rowan said, teasing Theo.
"Shut the hell," Theo said, playfully punching Rowan.
Rowan reacted, accidentally bumping the table, spilling the chronothite solution onto the note that read "Run,it's coming for you".
"Now you've made a mess on the note," Nico said.
He picked it up, and another message emerged.
"A new message," Nico said, alerting the others.
He read as it formed: "He can be defeated. I've seen it. Morgan."
"You can thank me later," Rowan said, smirking.
Asher held the note, his scars still faintly glowing. "Theo, you remember how you said you saw Morgan creating three small pieces? I think this is one of them."
"But I didn't see him write on any of them," Theo said.
"Maybe he had already prepared them," Nico assumed.
"Maybe he knew his fate beforehand. He was a prefect, after all. He ought to have had phenomenal skills."
"The good news is he can be defeated," Rowan said. "We just have to find the other two notes. They might hold other clues."
Not long after, there was a knock on the door. The four stared at each other, puzzled.
"I'll get it," Asher said.
He opened the door and found a blank photo lying on the floor, with no sign of who dropped it.
"What's that?" Rowan asked.
"I don't think we have to find the last piece," Asher said, shutting the door.
"I think they're following a sequence or command Morgan might have placed on them."
"What does the note say?" Nico asked.
"It looks like a blank photo. Is there any solution left?" Asher asked.
"Just little," Theo said, holding the bottle.
They poured the little solution that remained onto the photo.
An image started to form, but it was slow, barely visible. "Why is it taking time? Is it because we used a little solution?" Asher asked.
Nico grabbed the book Blake gave them from his bag. He flipped through pages.
"I think I saw something about revealing images," Nico said, tracing a page.
"Revealing images can take about two to seven weeks."
"Two to seven? That's too long," Theo cried.
"We have no option. We'll have to wait then," Asher said, his voice heavy with resolve.