"Wait a minute! The entire chase for the Midnight Tail happened in the old Southern Wing. There were no mention of sighting of the cat outside of the old building until your encounter. What makes you visit the old Corona Fountain in the dead of night?" Cathy pointed out. Marcel remained quiet. "So, why did you go there?" Fray pushed for an answer. However, Marcel kept his lips shut. The three maintained their gaze on Marcel, further pressuring him to get him talking. And then, Marcel broke. "I was drunk, alright!" He paused and continued. "It was the night of the double moon when my ex-girlfriend dumped me! Then I got really drunk and went wandering around the campus." Hearing Marcel's words, the trio went silent. "Thanks," it was all Kenneth could say before they left Marcel alone. Tears rolled down the corners of his eyes after the confession. The truth turned out to be something none of them were expecting. The trio later regrouped in their club room, formulating their next plan.
"It was a mere coincidence that Marcel stumbled upon the black cat…" Fray's voiced trailed after pointing out the obvious. "I still don't think this is a MERE coincidence. Something doesn't sound right." Kenneth said. "We could go investigate ourselves this coming double moon. It's just a few days away." Cathy went through the evidences once more. "Sounds like a plan," Kenneth nodded. Fray agreed as well. The trio then prepared themselves for the night of the double moon. Nirvana have two moons orbiting around her, making her timeline totally different from Earth's. And once every 6 months, both moons will appear as half moon under the night sky of Idan. The day when it occur will be known as night of the double moon or double half. For other dwellers of Nirvana, a double half moons are merely a natural phenomena that occurred every so often. However, a double half is a significant event for the magic realm. The phases of the moons affects the magical output of certain spells. Therefore mass celebrations were held by various cults and secs, worshiping the auspicious event. "This might get pretty dangerous, are you guys sure you're up for it?" Kenneth asked his friends at noon prior to night of the double half. Kenneth was no stranger to battle. He had enough battle experience during his adventures with his friends in Yume. However, he couldn't say the same for his new friends. He barely knew them but from his physique, Fray might have seen some fights. Cathy on the other hand was a bit hard to tell fro her appearance. Most people are unable to tell how powerful a caster is until he or she started using their spells in combat.
"I might not look the part, but I do have some deadly spells under my sleeves," Cathy replied. "My father's in the military and I'm trained in self-defence since I was a boy." Fray answered. "I see," Kenneth nodded. Kenneth knew whatever they said wouldn't make a difference, only on the battlefield would he get to know their true strength. "See you guys tonight then," Kenneth waved after they finished their meeting. He left the Southern wing after that and walked down the familiar path to his dorm. He stopped at his favourite deli to get a quick bite before returning to his dorm. Many residents were busy decorating the streets to prepare for the celebration ahead. "Kenny, here's your favourite bread. We'll be closing early today for the double half." Mr. Esteban - the deli shop owner said. Kenneth gave the man a thumbs up and left. He slept soon after eating to prepare for the anticipated long night ahead. When he woke up, the sun had already set and the dorm was dead silence. Most of its occupants were outside enjoying the festival. Kenneth glanced at a chest underneath his bed. "Better safe than sorry," he thought to himself. A cacophony of people cheering, loud music and fireworks can be heard as Kenneth exited the dorm entrance. The vibrant lights and sounds of the ongoing carnival in the town square brightened the usually sleepy town. After taking a detour through the ongoing carnival, Kenneth made his way to the campus, towards the old Southern Wing.
Both Fray and Cathy were already inside the club room when Kenneth entered. "Let's go," Cathy said. The trio left their club room and headed to the Corona Fountain in the garden compound. At first glance, there was no feline to be seen nor was there any other animals around. The old Southern Wing was a deserted as it could be. Only the occasional chirps and trills of insects; the faint cacophony of the ongoing festival in the Academy Central could be heard. "There's nothing here," Fray said while searching around the fountain. Cathy went around the other end of the fountain and found nothing unusual as well. "I think this Marcel guy is too drunk to remember what happened." Cathy said. "I think so too," Fray nodded. "Let's not dismiss the words of a drunkard so soon. There might be something we have missed." Kenneth moved closer to examine the fountain. There were faint scratches on the column of the fountain. However, it was obscured by the falling water. Kenneth parted the curtain of water with his psionic energy. Interestingly, the scratches were gone as soon as the water parted. It reappeared after Kenneth left the flowing water alone. "What are you doing?" Cathy asked. Fray got curious as well and gathered beside Kenneth. "There seems to be some writing there. But it's so faint." Kenneth showed them what he found. The other two moved closer to have a better look. "It's not very clear," Cathy said and repeated the same move as Kenneth did. Again, the faint etches disappeared. "Hmm…" Cathy tried a few spells of her own to decipher the writing but to no avail. Fray on the other hand wandered aimlessly around the garden compound. Kenneth retreated a few steps to gain a better view of the entire fountain since he was unable to cast any decipher spells like Cathy did. As he moved away from the fountain, the strangest thing happened. The etchings on the fountain suddenly became readable!
"How is it even possible?" Cathy couldn't believe her eyes either. Kenneth stared at the strange writing and then at the moon light that shone down from the night sky. Each of the moon's light converged just in front of the Corona Fountain. "It's not just pure Magic. The lady sure puts a lot of thoughts into creating this. The path of both moon light overlapped one another and the water of the fountain. It gives a rarefaction effect that couldn't be duplicated by any spells." Kenneth explained. "What does it says?" Fray asked as he stared cluelessly at the engravings. "It's in the Ancient Tongue," Cathy explained. She rotated her left wrist in a semi-circle to cast a quick spell. It was an exploration spell. Since computers and software never existed in the Magic Realm, the mode of information transmission evolved down a very different path, a magical of course. The Magus Codex was created to house all the known spells in the Magic Realm and other important literature. It was akin to an internet connected by Magic. It was made accessible through an exploration spell known as Branch. Branch allowed the caster to access the information contained in the Magus Codex according to the caster's level of competency. Just like how a firewall works, a caster couldn't access a spell beyond one's capability to cast it. Cathy slowly scanned through the transcriptions on translation of the Ancient Tongue to decipher the engraving. She switched her focus from the engraving to the codex and back, repeating the process again to double check her translation. After a solid 15 minutes later, she cracked it. Cathy gave them the thumbs up and said "The translation roughly means 'The brightest moon appears in the darkest night' - 'Lé TuMè ObiTayét no Parlâk JãN Svëtlinâ'."
As soon as Cathy finished reciting the ancient text, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the fountain. "Look!" Fray pointed. The creature that moved towards them were exactly as Marcel had described it to be. A black house cat no different from the one Mr. Dickson transformed into. The feline climbed onto the basin of the fountain and began drinking from it. Fray was the first to move. His footsteps were stealthy and light. He was quick to position himself behind the feline for a surprise attack. Before his friends could warn him, it was already too late. The transformation took mere miliseconds. In the period brief as the blink of an eye, the black house cat changed into a large panther. Fray crossed his arms and took the full blow of the panther's paw. He was lifted off his feet from the initial strike. The follow-ups swing of its tail sent Fray tumbling to the dirt. There were blood trails all over. Kenneth intercepted the black panther before it could deal a finishing blow. His dual lightsabers managed to repel the pounce of the large feline. Cathy on the other hand rushed towards Fray to check on him. "How bad is he hurt?" Kenneth asked without taking his gaze off the black panther. "His wounds are bad, but he'll live." Cathy replied while casting a healing spell.
The black feline had its gaze locked onto Kenneth. It took deliberate slow steps a short distance from Kenneth, sizing him up. "I'll distract it, you get help and get Fray to safety." Kenneth half yelled before charging towards the panther. The feline was agile despite its size. It dodged most of Kenneth's thrusts, slashes and stabs. Although Kenneth managed to land a good number of hits on the cat, it didn't leave a single mark on its fur. "I'll stay and fight!" Cathy said with some fine trembles in her voice."You'll die if you do!" Kenneth barked. In the split second that Kenneth was distracted, the feline attacked! It leapt towards Kenneth with its claws aiming for the neck. Its claw found nothing but air. The feline ended up landing directly beside Kenneth. Kenneth side stepped at the last moment. He then stabbed the beast at point blank range. It was at that moment when he found out why his attacks were not working. The beast's black fur absorbed Kenneth's lightsaber completely. The darkness of the fur was unlike anything Kenneth has seen before. It was like staring into a black hole, completely devoid of light. Meanwhile, Cathy's spell was ready while Kenneth engaged with the feline. A strong bolt of lightning struck the panther directly on its head. Again, it remained unscathed. Without warning, the panther unleashed a sharp screech that brought Cathy to her knees while temporarily dazed Kenneth. Fortunately for Kenneth, he recovered quick and escaped a fatal blow. The swipe of the panther's paw generated a tailwind so strong that it ripped Kenneth's armor in half and left multiple laceration wounds over his right shoulder and chest.
"Cathy!" Kenneth retreated further, putting distance between himself and the panther, at the same time, try drawing it away from his friends. However, it didn't work. The panther turned towards the unconscious Cathy and the injured Fray. "Dammit!" Kenneth cursed. He deactivated his lightsabers and dashed towards his friends in his overdrive mode. He positioned himself between the beast and his friends. He bit his lip as the panther drew closer. Their lives were at stakes and it sent chills down his spine. It had been a while since Kenneth was in such a life-and-death situation. With a quick cast, a magical storage portal was opened. And from it, came a familiar hilt - a pommel with the shape of an eye. It was Lenny's Demon Edge! The panther stopped advancing the moment the portal opened. It seemed to be hesitating. It flinched as Kenneth withdrew the sword from the portal. The Demon Edge shone in a radiant light blue in Kenneth's grip. "You shall not pass!" Kenneth took a defensive stance, preparing to fight to the death.