I opened my eyes and saw the darkwood door in front of me once more. It stood tall and unmoving, with serpents coiled around it, as if they were born from within.
No one was beside me; I was alone as I ventured forward. I didn't know why, but I pushed the door. It was heavy and refused to budge.
The dark serpents locked their eyes with mine, telling a shrewd tale I couldn't hear. And even if I could, I wouldn't comprehend it, a foreign yet familiar paradox, a dark contrast to light, deeper than light itself, as if it embodied a riddle of wrongs.
"Wrongs... Huh?" What is even right? From the moment I entered the world, I was met with mockery and forced to become someone else. I longed for change, but it wasn't a change I chose, and knowing that left a bitter taste behind.
A voice, a sound echoing to me, alluring yet ominous, sent shivers through my body, though my heart remained calm. I followed my intuition, dulled as it might have been, and chose to believe.
Believe... but what is there left to believe in anymore?
The door opened at my touch, and the heaviness became as light as a feather. Inside the room stood a mirror, adorned with intricate embroidery. It was beautiful, artistic, though time had darkened and rusted it. Once vibrant carvings still held the power to mesmerize, and mesmerized I was.
I reached for it, my hand in the air, my right hand touched its surface... COLD, it was COLD...
The mirror reacted to my touch, producing faces, faces, faces...
The faces were mine, but with different attire. Yet, the face was me.
What was happening? The room was groaning. I was scared. What was happening? I tried to run, but couldn't move. My position remained the same. Why...
My eyes jolted opened. I was sweating... It had been a nightmare. I stood up, moonlight spilling into my room. It was bright but gentle on my eyes. I looked toward it, letting it bring a sense of calm to my mind.
---
"Today's class is Alchemy," my roommate exclaimed.
The dorm room was shared by two students. My roommate was the serpentine guy from the upper class. His name... If I remember correctly, it was...
"Dorian Serpentine," he said firmly, with a hiss.
"You managed to summon a creature from the miasma itself? Is that true?"
The question was mostly rhetorical, as the teachers and faculty had already confirmed my status.
I replied, "Yes."
A faint smile appeared on his face. "Welcome to the upper class."
The murmur of noise came from beyond the door. Today, I was attending an upper-rank class where everyone was seated near their friends. Groups of two had already formed, and in front of them lay a table with various herbs and glass apparatus.
At the larger table near the front, where Professor Emilia Cimon would be, there were various extracts. Some moved like living creatures, resembling blobs of slime. Others were parts of animals' bodies, still clinging to life. The scene was bizarre and frightening at the same time.
I noticed an empty seat next to a girl with striking red hair and brown eyes, dressed in a dark robe adorned with the academy's symbol, a wounded griffin. It was an unusual combination, as most dark mages and necromancers typically had hair ranging from brown to black, with rare mutations resulting in white hair. No known family had red hair.
I decided to take the seat. "Is this spot taken?" I asked.
She looked at me in surprise, her words tumbling out in a startled stammer, "N...No!"
"Can I take the seat?" I asked sincerely.
"Y-Yes, of course," she replied, her timid voice buzzing nervously.
She somewhat reminded me of Anton. Her hand almost knocked an ingredient off the table as she hesitated to respond. If I hadn't held the table firmly, who knows what might have fallen or broken.
The table was laden with an assortment of bizarre and esoteric plants, along with parts of animals, some emitting fumes from the glass apparatus. It almost seemed alive, dancing in the air. It reminded me of my chemistry class, though it was nothing like this, it was more contained. This was wild and surreal.
"This is for purification. The plant Agoria Utercus contains Ulberic, and for today's class, we need Ulberic to synthesize the Darkness of Abel Hanth," she said, meeting my gaze as it flickered between the ingredients on the table.
"Oh yes, that it necessary." I didn't know what she was talking about, but nodded and acted like I did. It was strange the words she used didn't feel like part of any textbook I had read.
I introduced myself to her and learned her name was Marlene Lephoros.
A name associated with illness.
However, she didn't look sick to me. Why this title was given to her remained a mystery, and out of respect for her, I didn't inquire. Yet, my curiosity was piqued, and she noticed.
All these years of theater were useless; can't I even hide my expression? I thought to myself.
Soon, the class began, but I couldn't keep up with everything the professor said. I had to rely heavily on my partner for help.
Today we had to perform a synthesis by combining and nurturing the womb of a grotesque creature known as the Sea-Beggar, eventually turning its fresh skin into a medium for the growth of the plant extract Ulberic, from which some engineered cells will grow. It was a tiring yet fulfilling class, taking a lot of time to prepare the incubation and filter the material for pure substances. Luckily, there was no need for extra precautions like sterilization, as the dark mages from the academy had created this room with a magical circle that handled it. The only challenge was taking precise measurements of the material, which was painstakingly difficult in itself.
Professor Cimon was still helping the students who were struggling, but we didn't need her, well, my partner didn't at least. She completed the process with precise and calculated order. Even if there was any doubt, she would answer it for me. I rarely went to the professor, mostly just to give the impression I needed help, as my partner usually answered my questions before I even realized I had them.
I tried talking about other things with her, but she hesitated and sometimes didn't even respond; her full focus was on achieving the proper yield.
I glanced over at another table after being freed, where chaos was breaking out. It was both funny and amusing as one of the students made an error during incubation, causing his cells to grow into fully matured forms, their roots thrashing out of the pot.
Amid this bizarre scene, my eyes slowly shifted to the necromancer prodigies: Abigail Moriarty, Enzo Marcescente, and Dorian Serpentine.
Abigail and Enzo were working seamlessly together, while the Professor stood nearby, commending them for accomplishing something extraordinary. I couldn't quite catch the words from a distance, as the noise drowned most of it out.
Dorian, meanwhile, was with a man with stark white hair, a gaunt frame, and piercing purple eyes—the same man I had bumped into a couple of days ago. He was the one who saved me from being possessed, clearly an upper-class dark mage.
Here we are, meeting again...I said to myself.