Prelude to Chaos: Part III — The Phantom Limb

The 30th Degree Student Dormitory suspended itself in a bubble of golden twilight. It was not merely a building, but rather a chaotic ecosystem of adolescence and raw energy, bustling with the most powerful students of Sol Academy who spent their evening excited about the upcoming tournament, chatting away merrily amidst the architecture which was alive, literally!

The banisters of the grand staircase were carved from slumbering woody vines which had a naughty subtle consciousness that would occasionally shift to trip a running student, and the ceiling of the common room was an enchanted fresco that mimicked the weather outside, though it often rained popcorn instead of hail stones when the seniors practiced transmutation spells and what not.

And then there was the Common Room, wherein the mood was electric.

Books fluttered all about like a flock of anxious pigeons scavenging the area, rustling their pages as they looked for a shelf to nest in whilst tiny, giggling flames and globes of water, amongst other elemental sprites, danced around the crystal chandeliers, playing a dangerous game of tag, where being caught meant instant vaporisation for both parties.

In the midst of all of this, Noah sat in a corner, sinking into a plush velvet armchair that seemed to be trying to swallow him whole, or rather he wished to disappear into it.

"You are going to get disqualified before you even step into the ring, Rain!"

Summer taunted as she stood by the fireplace , her square glasses reflecting the green flames as she levitated three different textbooks in front of her face, reading them simultaneously whilst engaging in the banter. "Using a Class-C combustion spell in a spar is not 'strategy,' it's attempted murder."

"It's called winning, Summer," Rain retorted, crossing her arms. She was leaning against a pillar, looking every bit the weary mother of the group. "The Tournament isn't a written exam like you book nerds are used to and if you spend even three seconds calculating the trajectory of a fireball, you're going to eat it before you cast a defense."

"I calculate in nanoseconds, thank you very much. Unlike some people who think with their fists."

"Oh, shove it up your..."

"Guys, please!" Kami interjected, sliding between them with a nervous laughter. His curly ginger hair bounced as he held up his hands in surrender. "Can we not kill each other? We have to save that for the Japanese."

In the center of the room, hovering high near the ceiling on a floating cushion, lay Azrael. He had his hood pulled over his eyes, his arms crossed behind his head, trying his best not to get annoyed by their petty fighting.

"Can you all shut up?" Azrael mumbled, his voice muffled by his sleeve. "I'm trying to visualize victory. And by victory, I mean a nap. If I can picture it, I can do it!"

"Victory?!"

The door to the girls' wing banged open as Runa burst in, holding a dress that was currently sewing itself with magic needles made of raw energy.

"Did you guys see him?!" she squealed, doing a twirl that sent the light-needles scattering. "Instructor Silver! He walked right past the Greenhouse just now and he looked so... rugged! He had a cigarette in his mouth and he looked like he hadn't slept in a week. It was… dreamy."

"He looked like he wanted to murder someone," Rain corrected dryly as she pictured flashbacks of arduous training with her mentor.

"Exactly! He’s so mysterious!" Runa sighed, hugging herself in a sensual way, much to Rains chagrin.

“The grass is always greener on the other side..” Rain mumbled to herself.

Everything felt normal, just like any other day in the dorms with all the bickering, the magic, the hormones, it was an average night, save for the excitement for the festivities to come, but not to Noah. For him, sitting in the corner, it all felt terribly wrong, like a painting with the vibrance stripped away and the color scraped off.

Why is it so quiet? Noah thought, rubbing his chest and clasping his shirt near his heart.

The noise in the room was overwhelming, yet a silence screamed in his ears. He scanned the group and saw Rain scolding Summer, Azrael sleeping, Runa spinning in circles, Kami smiling nervously.

Someone is missing, Noah thought. Someone loud. Someone annoying. Someone who should be sitting in that empty chair next to Kami.

He stared at the empty spot. The space seemed to warp, like heat rising off pavement or a mirage in the middle of the desert as he was pulled into a flashback.

The sunlight refracted off the dust motes in the classroom as Noah lunged forward, grabbing the tail of the red fabric.

“Meline, give that back to me!”

“Never!” Meline laughed, dancing out of his reach. She held his bandana high above her head, her honey blond hair whipping around her face like a halo as her sweet, mesmerising eyes were crinkled in pure delight. “If you want your bandana back, you have to apologize to me, Noah!”

“For what?”

“For being grumpy! Smile for me, Noah. Just once!”

She smelled like vanilla, Noah’s favourite flavour of ice cream and her bright radiant personality seemed to him like a mixture of sunlight and joy personified.

"Noah?"

A voice snapped him back to the present where Rain was looking at him, the concern etching a frown onto her face. The room had gone quiet and even Summer had lowered her books as they all collectively gazed at Noah who seemed too quiet for his own good.

Noah blinked, his hand trembling as he lowered it from his temple.

"Where is she?" Noah muttered.

"Who?" Rain asked gently.

"Meline," Noah said. The name felt heavy, like a ton of weight refusing to escape his mouth.

"She... she went home, right? Instructor Ezekiel said she got sick."

The silence in the room changed. It shifted from confused to suffocating.

Kami flinched so hard he dropped the book he was holding. It hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Yeah," Kami choked out as he bent down to pick up the book, his fingers fumbling with the cover as he refused to look at Noah. He couldn't, the memory of his unrequited love and their act of passion in her final moments still fresh in his mind. "Yeah, Noah. She got sick. Her parents... they came and got her last night."

Kami replied, forcing a terrible, hopeless smile, one that looked like it was held together by shabby staples. "She probably won't be back for the Tournament. You know how strict her folks are."

"Right…" Noah whispered, staring at Kami’s shaking hands. "She got sick..."

He looked down at his own palms and for a split second, a hallucination flashed over his vision where his hands were coated in a warm, wet red. Even as it was a blurry memory, Noah could feel the sticky viscosity of it.

Blood?

He blinked, and his hands were clean.

Just a nightmare, he told himself, but the phantom pain in his chest, the feeling of a limb that had been severed, wouldn't go away, it refused to leave him, hanging over him like a dark cloud of gloom and doom.

"I need to sleep," Noah said abruptly, standing up

"But we're going to the Opening Ceremony soon!" Runa chirped, though her voice lacked its usual bounce, sensing the mood shift thanks to Noah’s depressive state. "Don't be a party pooper, Noah! We need to stick together! How will we defeat the Japanese if this is how you’re behaving?! We need you!"

"Leave him alone, Runa," Azrael mumbled from his floating cushion, his eyes closed but his voice sharp, cutting through the tension with an air of maturity that was unexpected of him. "The guy looks like a corpse, let him rest."

“SHUT UP!” Noah shouted out at the sound of the word ‘corpse’  but realised the others had no idea of what had transpired at the shed, leaving him in a precarious position where hiding the secret and tending to his emotions both took precedence. He needed to remain calm and escape, before the others found out the truth.

Noah didn't say another word as he turned and walked to the boys' corridor, his footsteps heavy on the enchanted wood as he rushed to his room and closed the door in a hasty fashion, shutting out the noise, the magic, the lies, the happiness, everything. He sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the blank stone wall.

I miss her, Noah thought, a single tear escaping his eyes, hot, confusing, tracking down his cheek. I don't know why, but I miss her so much it hurts he thought, enveloped by the deafening silence.