The arena was deserted, its massive coliseum like stone walls now ominously silent, casting long shadows under the moonlight. Earlier, it had been alive with roars of excitement, the perfect stage for chaos. Now, it felt abandoned—except for one determined intruder.
She stalked through the arena, her movements sharp and deliberate as she searched for something. Her eyes scanned the ground until they caught a faint glimmer on the dusty floor. Kneeling, she pressed her fingers against the shimmering liquid.
Gold.
It wasn't just any blood. Her pulse quickened as she felt its strange hum, almost alive in her palm. She held it closer to the dim torchlight, her breath catching as the substance glowed faintly before dulling again.
"This…" she whispered, pulling a vial from her satchel to collect it. She worked carefully, methodically, as if this blood were a volatile treasure.
Her mind raced with possibilities. It wasn't human. It wasn't normal. The way it pulsed reminded her of something—something forbidden, ancient. Contracted magical beasts' blood. Not identical, no. But close enough to send her thoughts spiraling.
"Kyler… What are you?" she muttered under her breath.
Forcing him into a duel had been enlightening, but the discovery of this blood was far more valuable. It changed everything. She had expected power—potential—but this? This was something entirely different.
She held the vial up to the light, a cruel smile curling on her lips. "A magical beast in disguise, perhaps? No wonder he was so hard to pin down."
Her thoughts turned to Clip. Their initial plan had been to kidnap Kyler under the assumption he wielded some sort of powerful symbol. But this revelation? It was far better ammunition. If she could convince Clip that Kyler wasn't human—that he was some kind of transformed beast—they wouldn't waste time with a kidnapping. They would expose him, paint him as a danger to humanity itself.
"Oh, this will be fun," she murmured, slipping the vial into her satchel. She stood, her footsteps echoing as she left the arena. "Time to pay Clip a visit."
In the healer's quarters, chaos reigned. A group of healers surrounded Mord, each one more baffled than the last.
"I don't get it," one said, running his hands over Mord's chest, his magic flickering faintly. "No injuries, no poison… his body's fine. But his heart just… stopped."
"It's like his soul gave up," another muttered, leaning closer. "But why?"
Before they could hypothesize further, Mord shot upright, gasping as though he'd just emerged from drowning.
The healers jumped back, their composure crumbling as Mord's wide, terrified eyes darted around the room.
"It saw me," he whispered, his voice hoarse and trembling. "It wasn't human. It wasn't anything. It was… wrong."
"Mord, what did you—"
"I tried to kill him," Mord interrupted, his voice breaking. "And then I saw… it. That thing. It was nothing yet contained everything. It didn't even look at me, not really, and I… I felt myself being erased. Just standing near it—near that existence—it was like my soul was being torn apart."
The room fell silent, except for Mord's muttering. "I can't go near it again. I won't. I'll die. I won't exist."
The healers exchanged worried glances, murmuring amongst themselves about trauma and hallucinations.
In the room next door, Kyler sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes as he eavesdropped on Mord's rambling. "The hell's his problem?" he muttered, annoyed. "I'm trying to mope in peace here."
The noise didn't stop. If anything, Mord's whispers grew louder, more frantic.
"Ugh, fine," Kyler grumbled, pulling himself up and yanking the curtain aside. "Hey, 1 by 1 Lego piece, can you keep it down? Some of us are trying to scream internally in pain but can't"
Mord's gaze snapped to Kyler, his eyes wide with fresh terror. "It's here!" he screamed, scrambling back on the cot as though Kyler had morphed into the devil.
Kyler froze, startled. "What?"
"You! Stay away from me!"
Kyler blinked, then furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?" He raised his hands defensively but quickly changed his mind. "You know what? Whatever."
He flipped Mord off with an annoyed expression. "There. Take that. In the last part he mumbled Whiny bitch."
Pulling the curtain shut again, Kyler flopped back onto his bed. But as soon as he did, the paranoia hit.
"What if he's not just insane?" he muttered, staring at the ceiling. "What if there's, like, a ghost thing haunting me? Or worse, what if I'm the ghost thing?"
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
He cautiously peeked out from behind the curtain. Mord was still cowering in the corner, rocking back and forth. Kyler sighed. "Great. Now I'm the villain in someone's horror story. Awesome."
He slid out of bed, peering around the corner to ensure no one was watching, then bolted out of the healer's quarters. "Not my problem," he muttered as he sprinted down the hall.
Once inside his dorm room, he slammed the door shut, locking it for good measure. Leaning against it, he let out a shaky breath.
"Okay, this is fine. Totally fine. People freak out around me all the time. Probably just my aura of coolness or whatever." He paced back and forth, trying to convince himself. "Or, you know, it's not that, and I've accidentally awakened some ancient evil. Either way, it's fine!"
Throwing himself onto his bed, he pulled the blanket over his head, muttering, "No ghosts allowed. No horrors allowed. Just me and my bad decisions… and thoughts that are now stuck on ghosts…Dammit Cube why are you making me Paranoid."
Meanwhile, the woman walked confidently toward Clip's headquarters, the vial safely tucked away. She had no intention of sharing the full story—just enough to steer the plan in her favor. A beast masquerading as a boy. It was the perfect narrative.
"Let's see how long you can run, Kyler," she whispered with a smirk.
Kyler sat on the edge of his bed, catching his breath after his chaotic escape from Mord's hospital room. "Alright, no more heart attacks today," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm safe. Safe and sound in my—"
"BOO!"
A cacophony of noise erupted as the closet door slammed open, and three figures tumbled out, landing in a heap.
Kyler's scream echoed through the dorm room, somewhere between a banshee wail and a startled cat. He nearly fell backward off his bed. "What the hell?! Are you guys trying to kill me?"
"Technically," Todd piped up, brushing dust off his hoodie, "you'd only be dead if you hit your head on the floor. Science, man."
"Why are you in the closet?" Kyler demanded, clutching his chest.
"To test your reflexes," Smokey said nonchalantly, adjusting a pair of crooked glasses with no lenses. "And clearly, they suck."
Fin, the shortest of the trio, gave a dramatic shrug, flipping his messy hair. "Todd's idea. I just wanted to sleep, but nooo, it's 'let's scare Kyler since he's not back yet."
Kyler glared at them, though his heart was still racing. "You could've given me a warning! What if I'd attacked you? I could've thrown a left-right goodnight!"
"Oh no," Todd said dryly, smirking. "Not with our reliable human shield." in unison Smokey and Todd held up Finn.
"Yeah, terrifying," Smokey added, holding up his hands in mock surrender.
Fin looking betrayed could only mock cry and fell onto the empty Kyler's bed uninvited, stealing his blanket. "Seriously though, why were you screaming earlier? Did you see a ghost? Or was it just your reflection?"
Kyler huffed, crossing his arms. "If you must know, I…Was committing various crimes." Kyler felt that if he told them that he was scared of ghosts it would be the end of him.
The three roommates exchanged glances.
"Okay, that's hilarious, But what were you actually doing?" Todd said, bursting into laughter.
Fin snorted. "You? Scared of that? You can't even handle a jumpscare!"
"Hey!" Kyler protested. "I have a very sensitive fight-or-flight response."
"More like 'flight' every time," Smokey teased.
"Wait when did I give you my name?"
"The door with room assignments."
The banter continued, their laughter filling the room, and for a brief moment, Kyler almost forgot the bizarre events of the day. But as the humor settled, a sense of foreboding lingered.
"Rise and shine!" Fin's voice rang out like a trumpet blast as he dramatically threw open the curtains.
Kyler groaned, pulling his blanket over his head. "Five more minutes. Let me dream of my world where you didn't exist." (I couldn't sleep because they were snoring.) Kyler could only whine internally.
"Dream all you want," Todd said, already tying his shoes. "But you're gonna miss the hash brown breakfast if you don't get up now."
"Hash browns?" Kyler muttered, peeking out from under his blanket. His stomach didn't rumble at the thought, and for some reason, that struck him as odd. Shouldn't he be starving after yesterday's incident?
As he sat up, Smokey walked past, holding what looked like a toothpaste tube. "Heads up, Todd," he said, casually tossing it across the room.
Todd caught it with one hand and grinned mischievously. "Kyler, have you brushed your teeth yet?"
"Why?" Kyler asked, immediately suspicious.
"Oh, no reason."
Within seconds, Todd was on him, trying to squirt the contents of the tube into his mouth. Kyler screamed, narrowly dodging the prank. "Is that wasabi? You are evil!"
Todd cackled. "What's the matter? Can't handle a little spice?"
Fin doubled over in laughter, while Smokey shook his head. "Classic. But maybe wait until after breakfast. Can't prank a guy on an empty stomach—that's just cruel."
Kyler glared at them all, climbing out of bed. "You three are the actual horrors in my life."
As they headed to the cafeteria, Kyler couldn't help but notice something strange. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty. No grumbling stomach. No urge to rush to the bathroom like Fin, who sprinted down the hall yelling something about "nature's call."
The cafeteria was already bustling with students, the smell of bacon and eggs filling the air. Kyler grabbed a tray, piled it with food to blend in, and followed his roommates to a table.
"Dibs on the orange juice," Todd declared, snatching the last carton.
"Figures," Smokey muttered, sipping coffee. "You'll still be whining about 'no dessert' by lunch."
Kyler picked at his food, pushing the eggs around with his fork. Something felt... off. He watched his roommates wolf down their meals with varying levels of messiness. Todd had ketchup smeared across his cheek. Fin, somehow, had managed to spill syrup on his elbow.
And Kyler? He didn't feel the slightest inclination to eat.
His mind began to wander.
Why don't I feel hungry? Why don't I ever wake up needing the bathroom? That's... not normal, right?
A vague memory surfaced—something about blood.
"Earth to Kyler!" Fin snapped his fingers in front of him.
Kyler blinked. "What?"
"You've been staring at that fork like it insulted your family."
"Just... thinking."
Todd grinned. "About what?"
Smokey raised an eyebrow. "What's really on your mind, Kyler? You've been weird since yesterday."
"Nothing," Kyler said quickly, standing up and grabbing his tray. "Just need some fresh air. Don't wait up!"
As he walked away, his mind churned with questions. Why am I not normal? Do I not have to eat or drink? If so, then it makes sense why I don't have any waste to go to the bathroom. But why do I... why have this if not to pee… wait, don't answer that.