"The prophecy came true." 

A man said, laid down on mud mixed with blood. His own blood spilling from the hole in his chest.

"Someone you hold dearest, whom you love from depths of soul, will take you heart away"

He moved his hand over his chest. The heart was gone. She took it. The heart that was filled with love for her.

It started raining, adding more to his misery. But the rain didn't reach his face. Someone covered it.

 He heard a sniffle as tears fell down his cheeks, not his tears.

Exhaustion overwhelmed him, his eyes too heavy to open. But his hands moved towards her cheek and pinched it. Just like he always did.

'Why am I doing this?'

He was comforting her, when she did the opposite.

She hurt him. His heart was gone, but there was still a pain on the inside, a storm raging in him. The wanting to cry and shout was still there.

But hating her was impossible. 

"Do you hate me?"

He asked, but only the rain and the sniffle reached him. 

"Was this for the best?"

He couldn't help but question. Never in his imagination did he think of this. Love was the only thing he expected from her.

The sniffling grew louder. Tears wet his face. He no longer had the strength to wipe them away.

"If you're happy, then it must be for the best. But that bastard…he will come for you so-"

A cough racked his body, blood spilling from his lips. His life hung by a thread, unravelling it as the minutes passed. He couldn't even speak anymore, and kept coughing.

Life started flashing before his eyes. Some regrets and mistakes, he fixed, some happy moments he ruined, and the love that was never fulfilled.

Only thing left was-

Death

It was now taking him away. He was somewhat glad. Having to live after all that has happened was too cruel.

But as selfish and pathetic he was, he wanted to hear it.Those magical words for the last time. Instead, all he got was a-

"Sorry."

A word he despised above all.

'******

'

"Just how many students are here?"

 A young man fixed the small red brochure attached to the black coat he wore and carried his luggage. The train station leading up to the streets, every pavement, every block was filled with students.

His green eyes glimmered under the afternoon light as he put on a small black hat to block it.

The train station was so crowded, he barely found any space to walk on. All the people near him also wore the same uniform he wore. A white shirt, decorated with a tie. The boys wore black pants, and the girls wore skirts up to their knees. All of them wore the black coat like he did, except the brochure was missing. 

Pushing the crowd and going ahead wasn't right, so he just waited for the crowd to move and it did…. at a snail's pace. 

' I should have listened and left early in the morning.'

 It was too late to regret and blame his own laziness, as he took one step at a time, trying not to step on the person's leg ahead of him.

Walking like this felt boring. Since he was tall, he peeked above the crowd and looked around the bustling street. It was the first time he ever visited Neon, and it didn't disappoint.

The structure and colour of the building were monotone, but the decorations and paintings outside added life to it. The shops were busy, and the vendors didn't complain. 

 The young man, with curiosity, looked at those shops for something that piqued his interest. His shoulder bumped into the person next to him.

"Ouch."

The girl was shorter, and his shoulder bruised her forehead. Annoyed, she looked to her side.

For a moment, the bright sun didn't let her see his face, but once it was clear, she couldn't help but awe.

His skin was the kind of porcelain white that beautiful dolls have. Every feature on his face, the shape of his nose, lips and eyes, looked like they had been sculpted with such precision that it felt almost eerie. Under his left eye, the touch of a mole added more to his beauty. And those green lush eyes, mesmerising, pulled in and held the girl in a place she never wanted to leave.

The attire he wore was the same as hers. So she decided to strike up a conversation with him. Until their eyes met.

The darkness, that hatred, froze her. The way he looked…..no judged her, shook her to the core. Why would he look at her this way? She didn't deserve this.

Those eyes, just a second ago, had the essence of a lush green land. But a forest is alluring only during the day,. At night- it's always a topic for sinister stories. 

She looked down. Her mind... her soul — would remember this for her whole life. Her eyes caught onto the brooch decorated in the blazer's pocket.

She could tell who it was. That made her sweat even more. The boy beside her wasn't just an ordinary aspiring student like her. 

He was different. A flower only to admire, never to touch. The thorns on it were too sharp to hold on. And a flower could kill with just a look.

The boy noticed the state she was in. He wanted to assure her. That is fine and apologise for bumping into her. But these damned eyes of his.

'Talking to her is going to make it even worse.'

The girl quickly moved away from his side, and the boy couldn't help but sigh. Another addition to the collection of rumours and misunderstandings about him.

Once the academy was near, the surrounding site changed. The buildings were taller, marbled, and a lot fancier than the ones he saw back.

The academy was in sight. The students were about to enter, and a voice rang around the whole arena.

"Dear students. Make a line and enter the school premise one by one"

'Sound magic.'

Though there wasn't anyone around except the crowd of students, the voice rang in everyone's ears.

The students started to align themselves accordingly without causing any mess. They didn't want to make a poor impression on the very first day they stepped inside the academy.

The boy also got in the line and waited for further instruction. After the line was formed, a stream of golden light flashed by them. Everyone was confused except him.

'That's a quick scan.'

It was to check if there were any imposters among the students and their luggages as well. Fortunately, nothing was wrong, and the line started moving inside the academy's main gate. 

Then the same voice rang over again, calling a particular student's name

"Valerius Felix, please make way to the front of the gate. We request the other student to let his pass"

'What a welcome.'

Felix held his hat as the crowd looked around for the man to put on the spotlight. Once they spotted him, they made a path for him. None of them complained and moved. Nobody gossiped. They didn't want to get on the bad side of the Valerius, especially their treasure.

Felix took long strides as his pace increased. He looked confident, but it was awkward to be stared at by this many people as if he was a lion at a zoo.

He felt many emotions behind their gazes. Respect, fear, obsession, and some hatred, but a lot of it was fear.

But one stood out to him. He turned back and glimpsed a silhouette going away. In a blink, the someone was gone.

'Am I day dreaming?'' 

He clearly saw something move. What? That was too blurry for him. But the outfit the person wore was definitely the academy's uniform.

'So someone decided to hide their strength, in a place where it matters.'

Why? He wanted to figure it out, but at the right time, at his pace.

He reached the gate and looked ahead. The ten-storey building was a marvel of architecture and befitting of the reputation of Arcadia, the best academy in amongst the West and Eastern empire. The blend of blue panelled glasses and the red bricks reflected the inter-playing of light, and gave life to it.

Felix didn't look at it too long, as now he had to navigate to his dorm.

'Does such a fancy academy not have a map?'

As he thought of that, a small brochure flew towards him. Ahead of him were stacks of brochures on a table that floated towards the students, courtesy of brilliant magic. And a perfect method for them to flex for being a fancy academy.

Felix looked through the brochure. Arcadia was divided into ten different sectors. The building ahead, which he had entered and only knew of when he came here half a month ago for his written exam, was Sector I.

He wasn't curious about the other ones, unlike the other examinees, who took a full tour of the academy. He skimmed through the brochure and found his dorm in Sector VIII, where every first-year student lived until the term ended.

It took quite a while to get there. After all, the academy was half the size of Neon, and the city wasn't small either. 

He reached Sector VIII, which was surrounded by a large metal gate, almost two storeys high, where one guard quickly checked his luggage and let him in. They then looked through some notes and handed him a key.

"That one is your dorm, and this is the key to your dorm. You are in…..room number 10."

"Thank you."

He took the key and walked straight.

Sector VIII didn't have just a single dorm, but multiple ones, and the one where he was staying stood out from the rest. That one was the smallest but the largest in breath. It even had its own nameplate etched into the building.

"Arcadia's Future"

'And they say there is no discrimination in every growing garden of Arcadia.'

Once he reached his room, 10 which was also his rank amongst the two thousand students. He opened the door and set the luggage on the floor, and looked around. A queen size bed, a closet with too much room, a desk large enough for three people and a freaking chandelier.

' Why do I need a chandelier? Brighter light doesn't equal a brighter future.'

*Ting*

Again. The same sensation. It didn't last long. But this feeling was different.

It wasn't alertness or fear, but wonder.

Someone was genuinely curious about him. Not because of his name, his family, and the position he held inside Arcadia. But the desire to know about his existence.

It thrilled him.

'It's not boring as I thought would be.'

He quickly opened his luggage and took out a pair of suits that the academy had asked them to bring.

Why?

The first day of Arcadia didn't start with an early morning opening ceremony. Every student had to arrive at their dorm an hour before 6 pm. And before eight, they had to get ready in formal outfits for an event.

It was a social event, made for the freshmen to get to know each other and form social connections. To the low-status nobles, it was an opportunity to get on the good side of the high-status who treated the event as a hassle.

As for the commoner, it was a survival event. befriend them but not cross a line that could cost their life. Each word they spoke needed to be calculated. Otherwise, the three years in the academy would become hell.

Taking out a neatly packed suit from his luggage, he laid it on his bed. He went to the bathroom and, as he was taking a shower; he looked at the mirror ahead.

"Disgusting"

If anyone heard him, they would scowl. It's like when a beautiful person says beauty doesn't matter.

But Felix was different. Only he could see it. And hoped what he saw ceased to exist, wished for this nightmare to be over.