Vernal 36th, 4364; Morning, 07:43

Sixthday, Vernal 36th, 3–…4,364; Morning, 07:43 [3248521158]

"Do you have everything you need? Textbooks? Homework? Pencils? What about your lunch? Your favorite juice box was in the--"

"Mooommmmm! I know how to get ready for school. I'm already eight years old, you know?" It was a classic scene. A mother fretting over her child walking to school with her friends. A daughter declaring her independence quite early, cheeks puffed in annoyance.

"I-I know..." her mother stuttered, twiddling her fingers nervously. "It's just... it's your first time walking to school without me. And I know you remember where to turn left at--"

"Linx Street, I remember." She rolled her eyes at her mother's behavior, a little peeved, but still answering nonetheless.

"Y-yes. And I know that the street is safe. Everything should be fine, but..." She had trouble finding the words, trying to express how much she loved her daughter, how much she wanted to keep her safe. Her life had been full of misfortunes. Her former husband was a cheating dirtbag, while her son had passed away soon after birth. Her daughter was all she had left, so she couldn't help but feel anxious. However...

"Come on mom, I'll be fine. After all, I'm Ruya Ainsley! Daughter of the greatest mage!" she exclaimed, pointing one finger towards the sky. It wasn't true, of course. Ruya's mother was a bit below average when it came to spellcraft. Just a little white lie to give her child some strength. But in that strange role reversal, it gave her a hint of solace instead, draining the tension that had built up in her body.

"Pfft."

"Shh Suzu! Can't you see they're having a loving moment."

"You're not holding back either Marie!"

Ruya's friends stood near the edge of the driveway, struggling to hold back their laughter. Seeing that, Ruya's mother let out a giggle of her own.

"M-mom!" Ruya yelled, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Of course you are sweetie," she leaned down, placing a kiss on Ruya's forehead. "Have a fun time at school. I love you."

"Suzu and Marie are right there!"

"And?" the mother sassily grinned. "What about mine?"

"Urgh. You too, mom," Ruya grumbled, returning with a peck on the cheek. "See you later!" Waving backwards, she quickly rushed towards where her friends were still laughing, one of them even stumbling across the sidewalk.

"'I'm Ruya Ainsley, daughter of the greatest mage!' That pose was hilarious," Suzu heaved, mocking Ruya with her own cutesy pose. She was a rather rude child, but a rudely honest one. She never held back on what she felt, always matching others with a feverous intensity. Though, she could only get away with it as one of the four Madonnas at BAL Elementary, not that any of them knew what 'Madonna' meant. It was just a word they all liked.

"Come on, Suzu~ I thought it was super cute. And that kiss at the end? Absolutely beautiful," Marie gushed through dreamy eyes, clasping her hands like a young maiden in love. She was also one of the four Madonnas, though her looks leaned more towards the cute side compared to Suzu's roughness. However, she had a bad tendency to romanticize everything. Love between a couple? Between a mother and daughter? It was all the same in her mind, and it was absolutely priceless.

"You two..." Ruya sighed, knowing this would happen. She was well aware of her friends' proclivities, though she chose to ignore her own. "What about Belle?"

"She came down with a cold apparently, so she's staying home today," Suzu promptly responded, finally managing to calm down.

"Oh great..." Ruya muttered. Anabelle, or Belle as her friends called her, was the last of the four Madonnas, and also the most normal of the group, at least compared to the other three troublemakers. "I mean, I hope she feels better."

"Eek! What a cute bond!"

"I'm not sure cute is right word, given that tongue click."

"...let's just get going already." Ruya decided to ignore them.

"Sure sure." "Okay~"

BAL Elementary was quite close to Ruya's home -- a brief ten minute walk, turning left at Linx Street. It was a rather peaceful one too. Flowers dotted the lawns of nearby houses. Birds chirped in song as the breeze danced along. Some other kids walked in the same direction, chatting with their friends, sometimes sneaking a glance at the Madonnas. They were exceptionally beautiful. And as for what these beauties were doing...

"Did you get to take a look at the two suns? They were like two stars dancing through the sky! It was so sad having to watch them part," Marie raved with a sorrowful look upwards. The Winter sun Gerluzon had already swapped places with the Vernal sun Calidis, indicating that spring was in full swing. In fact, it was a bit warmer, though the kids still wore long sleeves to keep themselves from getting sick.

"But they are two stars circling around each other?" Suzu tilted her head in confusion. "That's literally what a sun is."

"Wait, really?!?"

"Obviously. Right Ruya?"

"Yeah, they taught us that last year. Don't you remember?"

"Um..." Marie averted her eyes.

"Marie..." Ruya pinched her nose. "Didn't your dad tell you to keep your grades up? Or else--"

"Ap bap bap! You don't need to remind me!" she huffed. "And I am! But how do you expect me to remember something from a year ago?!? Especially something that doesn't affect my grades anymore."

"You really are stupid," Suzu shrugged her shoulders. Marie was a lost cause in her mind.

"That's not the point..." Ruya let out another sigh, yet she couldn't stop a small smile from appearing on her lips. Sure, she felt exasperated, but it still made her happy for some reason. That was simply how close they were as friends.

"There's that smile," Suzu beamed.

"Huh?"

"You can't hide it~ The boys are definitely swooning at the sight. See, look over... oh." Marie stopped, glancing back and forth.

"Hmm? What's up Marie?"

"I think we turned down the wrong street."

"Did we?" Suzu looked around too. "Ah yeah, we definitely did. We were too busy staring at Ruya's smile."

"H-hey! Don't blame me for all this!"

"But you weren't paying attention either," Suzu needled.

"W-well! It's not like we're lost anyway. Let's just go back and--"

"Oh? How peculiar. I didn't expect to see anyone else today."

The girls froze. At first, they all thought they imagined it. After all, the path around them was a familiar street, and none of them sounded like an adult man. Plus, everything was normal; the birds still sang their song, and the breeze still flowed along.

"Though I guess this is the fourth time."

Then they saw it: something none of them understood. It appeared to be a black haze in the shape of the person, flickering like a burning candle. Its white eyes glanced over, intrigued by the visitors, but not enough to stop what it was doing.

"One moment," it spoke casually, as if performing a routine task. "I need to finish this up first." The girls' eyes gradually lowered, until they could finally see its so-called handiwork.

With practiced hands, it stabbed into a middle-aged man's stomach using the blood-red knife in its hand. He writhed around in pain, trying to scream, but his pinned body barely moved; no sound escaped his lips. With its other hand, it yanked out the man's intestine, blood and bile spitting out from peristalsis. A bit splattered on Ruya's face, but other than that, it was a regular day, like any other.

And as such, the girls screamed a silent scream, with not a whisper getting out.

Even with the breeze and the birds, it was deathly silent, as if it commanded everything it could see. It was insanity. Sheer absurdity wrapped up in excessive normality. And yet, they couldn't look away. No... they couldn't move. Their bodies were frozen in fear.

I have to run, Ruya thought, and thought. But that was all she could do. Her fingers barely twitched as the chill running down her spine grew colder.

CRACK

"Oh? How interesting." In an instant, it appeared beside Ruya, peering down as though it had discovered a new specimen to study. In its hand was the man's head, spinning atop its finger like a basketball. "It's been a while since someone has been able to resist, albeit a bit lackluster. Regardless, you should make a fine resource to learn from. Well, assuming you're a bit more talkative."

Ruya took a step back, hand clutching her neck.

...huh?

"That's better," it responded, tossing the head like common trash. "It seems you are quite resilient." Although it was speaking, the words went in one ear and out the other. Only one thought dominated Ruya's mind:

Something's wrong.

Something had happened, yet she didn't know what. How was she able to move? Why was she clutching her neck? Her head was still attached to her body. And that's normal... right?

No no no. I can't think about that right now. I have to get away. Putting aside her unease, she immediately started to back away, bumping into Suzu and Marie behind her.

"Are you okay?" Ruya whispered. "Squeeze once for yes, twice for no."

Suzu and Marie barely squeezed her hand, but it was a squeeze nonetheless.

"Can you run, then?"

A beat of silence. Then, another squeeze, a bit stronger than before. She had no idea what that meant; she was facing the other direction. However, Ruya chose to trust her friends, trust that they could run away.

"Then, on the count of three."

"1."

"2."

Ruya turned around...

"3!"

...and found herself lying on the stone cold pavement. A tiny shove was all it took. Just the hint of betrayal, marred by a hideously crying smile.

And out of the corner of her eye, she could see it, watching in amusement.

"Hmm, what interesting friends you have there," it chuckled, throwing a disinterested glance at the retreating figures. "Well, you are more useful than those ‘friends’ who left you to die, so it's not like it matters anyway... oh? What's this? Have you broken already? Over such a measly squabble? That can't be so.”

Its words seemed so far away. Ruya could barely process what had happened. She couldn't understand... no, that wasn't it. She did understand. She just didn't want to. Her friends, two of the people she trusted the most in this world...

...had left her to die.

Objectively, they were all kids. They weren't mature enough to think of others yet. So, of course they would prioritize their own well being. Suzu and Marie, with their minds paralyzed by fear, were simply trying to escape. Neither of them thought to use Ruya as bait; they probably wouldn't even remember the little shove.

But to Ruya, it felt like the entire world had shattered. Her eyes turned cloudy as it slowly picked up her limp body by the leg. In its other hand was the heads of her two friends, faces frozen in terror.

"Let's see if I can fix that."

Crack.