Corvus exited the carriage immediately and Ray had no choice but to follow. After hearing Station Point, Ray had imagined an office of sorts but he couldn't have been farther away from the truth.
The station point was a wooden platform with a metallic arch that reached almost 100 meters in height. It stood on the edge of a forest.
Ray turned back and his eyes widened. 'So that's why it felt like I was being thrown around.'
The road leading to the station point had been left completely underdeveloped—riddled with natural bumps and rocks that made the journey nearly unbearable.
Ray's eyebrows knitted. Something wasn't adding up.
He turned to Corvus, "I thought the academy was supposed to be secretive. How come there's no security guarding the station point? A terrorist could just waltz through and murder the future strongholds of the nation."
Corvus let out a loud laugh and Ray frowned, "Thanks, kid. I needed the laugh."
He pointed to the platform where the arch was fixed on and Ray followed his finger.
Ray noticed small carvings engraved into the platform. 'Is that an enchantment?'
As though hearing his thoughts, Corvus responded. "As you said, the academy holds the future of the nation and its security can't be left to mere humans—who can be bought out or bribed."
"The security measures on it are the enchantments, all three of them. For reasons I'm sure you understand, I can't tell you what they are." He quickly added as soon as he noticed Ray's mouth open.
Ray frowned. He understood the reason for the secrecy but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.
Gripping the amulet beneath his shirt, Ray turned to Corvus, "Will any of the enchantments reveal… You know what?"
Corvus opened his mouth but paused. His eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head slightly, "Honestly? I don't know. Probably, probably not."
Ray swallowed a lump. Probability had always been his enemy for as long as he could remember and expecting it to work for him this time was foolish.
'But it's not like I have much of a choice.' He turned his back to Corvus.
"So how do I enter?" He asked while keeping his eye fixed ahead of him. Onyx, who had been silent all this time, finally vanished.
Corvus stepped beside Ray and placed a firm hand on his shoulder and the latter flinched from the unexpected contact. "Don't worry, I'm here with you."
They took a step forward and another and another until they climbed up the platform and stood before the arch.
Corvus continued walking and Ray followed, trying not to accuse him of being rude for not answering his question.
As soon as they crossed the arch, something in the world shifted.
Ray felt as though he was being ripped apart and thrown back together in quick succession. He opened his mouth to scream and almost threw up.
He squeezed his eyes shut to bear the pain as much as he could. The world fixed itself and he found himself being thrown roughly against the floor.
Ray jumped to his feet, much against his body's protest, and forced his eyes open.
He was on another wooden platform and a similar arch to the one he had passed through was behind him but everything else was different.
The place he saw around him seemed to be straight out of a fairytale. The sky was blue and violet with pink flashes.
Blue grass surrounded the platform from all sides. The field he was in gave way for some buildings in the distance.
Ray's jaw dropped, "What?!"
Ray slowly turned in a circle, taking in everything. The platform creaked under his feet like nothing he'd ever heard.
"Corvus?" He asked.
No answer.
Ray spun around. The arch was there. The platform was there but Corvus was gone.
Ray's heart hammered, 'He was right behind me. He was—'
A smooth voice came from behind him, "Hey! What are you doing there?" It wasn't Corvus's.
Ray turned and saw a girl about his age standing at the edge of the platform, arms crossed. Her wide brown eyes scanned him with open curiosity.
"I don't recognize you. I get it, you're a new student. First time through the arch? Yeah, most people throw up. You handled it better than most." She muttered rapidly as she twirled her black hair in her fingers.
Ray's mouth opened them closed and opened again.
"Where's Corvus?"
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Who? If that's your friend then I'm sorry to say but I don't know who that is."
She quickly turned her head both ways and took a step forward. "I am Amy, nice to meet you."
Ray took a step back and Amy frowned slightly, "In case it wasn't clear, this is usually where you tell me your name."
Amy tilted her head, "Don't you understand me? I'm pretty sure I'm speaking normally. Plus you spoke not too long ago."
Ray smiled wryly, "I'm sorry. My name is Ray."
While Ray was dumbstruck at the bizarre situation, he still remembered Corvus's warnings.
Amy smiled widely, "Ray!!! Such a nice name. Can we be friends? Most people don't like talking to me." She pouted.
Ray stared at Amy for a long moment, 'Can we be friends? So direct. It is like she doesn't have any filter.'
He thought briefly of his life, 'Most people don't like talking to me either.'
"Okay." Maybe it was the mystical atmosphere of the place but he agreed.
Amy's face lit up, "Really?!"
Ray nodded slowly. "Yeah. Okay."
Amy reached him in less than an instant and grabbed his arm. "Great! Come on, I'll show you around. Registration first, then food, then—"
Ray's eyes widened. 'What?!'
She dragged him off the platform, still talking.
Ray glanced back at the arch. At the empty space where Corvus should have been then back at Amy, 'Where are you?!'
As they walked through the field, Amy hadn't stopped talking.
"So why were you in the middle of the field when I arrived?" He asked, interrupting her story about her third pet rabbit.
Amy tilted her head a little, "I was avoiding my friends. They don't want to leave me alone. I like exploring and finding new things and people… like you!! You're interesting."
Ray smiled weakly, 'She has no idea.'
They soon stopped in front of one of the buildings in the strange space. The registration office.