he silence in the room was heavy, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.
I opened the notebook again, my fingers brushing over the yellowed, almost damp pages. Nothing. Blank sheets, as if erased by time—or fear. Except for one. A page forgotten in the middle of the void.
"…they think I don't know. But I do. This is no ordinary pact. It's not an animal. It's… something else. A disguised Nemesis."
My breath caught.
I stood frozen, the notebook trembling in my hands.
A Nemesis. That word… It didn't belong in the mouth of a regular pact-holder. It spoke of something older, more dangerous, more… forbidden.
I murmured, almost without realizing:
— Geri… is he talking about you?
No response.
— Answer me.
A chill crept up the back of my neck. Not the silence of ignorance. A deliberate one. Calculated.
As if, this time, Geri refused to speak not out of caution… but out of fear.
I closed the notebook. The room suddenly seemed darker. I searched every corner—under the bed, between the floorboards, behind the worn tapestry. Nothing. Not a single clue. Only silence, dense with meaning.
He had left no trace. Or someone had erased it all before I came.
I stepped out into the hallway.
And that's when he was there.
A boy with a straight stance, clenched jaw, and leather-gloved hands. His uniform was spotless, tailored. Noble insignia embroidered on his chest. And his eyes burned with restrained hatred.
— Kim, he said coldly.
I didn't answer.
— You thought I'd forget? That you could come back after humiliating me? You tricked me. Like a coward.
I understood instantly. Kim had defeated him. Not through strength, but through deceit. A disgrace, for a noble.
— I'm not your enemy, I said quietly.
He took a step forward.
— And yet you're still playing your little game, huh? The lowborn who thinks he's invisible. The perfect student with poison behind his smile.
I tried to walk past. He pressed a hand to my chest, stopping me.
And then, without knowing why… a sentence slipped from my mouth.
— "Don't fear the serpent when it sleeps. Fear it when it forgets you."
My voice. But not my words.
His eyes narrowed. He reacted like he'd heard that phrase before. Like Kim had said it. A psychological trap. A coded provocation. And it had worked.
He raised his hand.
A wave of heat followed. Elemental magic, red and aggressive. Sparks danced around his fingers.
I had no time to think. He struck.
A flash of light.
My arm moved before I could even decide. A gesture, or maybe a spell… I didn't know. A rune lit up briefly on my skin, like a forgotten tattoo.
The blow was deflected. Just enough to spare me.
The shock knocked me to the floor. The other student stepped back, stunned and furious.
— You...! That's not you. This isn't... normal.
He turned on his heel and walked away without another word.
I remained on the ground, breathless. Hands shaking. A metallic taste on my tongue. And that same dreadful sensation:
I wasn't alone in my own body.
Back in my room, I stared at the soot-stained ceiling.
Then, quietly:
— Geri… will you tell me now?
He didn't respond right away. Then his voice rose, slow and low.
— You want to know who his companions were?
I held my breath.
— You should first ask… which ones betrayed him.