Eleven: The Sequel of AlterMyth

Gravity

Prologue

A tense, persistent air lingered over Baelz Hakos as she walked through the halls of the Occidental College. Cognitive dissonance planted doubts of all shapes and sizes in her mind and made her head spin. Ever since she got off that bus, she felt like her world had been turned upside down somehow. She felt like she was being dragged about in multiple different directions.

Bae nursed a mild headache that never fully went away because of it.

Something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out exactly what.

And yet, walking together with Irys calmed her down. The Nephilim's presence blew away the tense air and gave Bae peace.

"You feeling alright, Bae?" Irys asked.

"Yeah." Bae answered, managing a small smile.

Barely. But I am now.

Thanks to this peace, Bae gathered her thoughts and got her bearings and station in life in this strange place.

She and Irys were second-year students at the Occidental College. They haven't declared their majors yet and were still figuring out what it was they wanted to do in life, just like their many peers. Neither of them were in clubs or organizations - not yet, at least - and their social standing was average in every sense of the word.

They were just two more faces in a sea of many, sitting comfortably on the proverbial fence.

From the way that Irys spoke to Bae and called her, the two of them were childhood friends - but Bae couldn't quite figure out how it was they met. Any time she tried to rack her brains for that fact, her headache threatened to resurge. The further back in time she tried to recall, the stronger Bae's headache got.

All she knew was that when they met, Bae was upside down for some reason.

What the heck was I doing back then?

Bae just furrowed her brow and kept walking.

She followed Irys to the grand lecture hall for their First Period classes. On their way there, they passed by the two other passengers of the odd bus: the tall girl with long, dark-blue hair and the shorter one with pretty brown hair and an R-shaped hairpin. Those two ladies had a large entourage following them around, orbiting them like the Telstar and Sputnik satellites.

The two of them strutted around like they owned the place, kitted with the latest fashion of London's most popular High Streets - differentiating themselves from their orbiters. Their powerful personalities and sharp clothing - pushing the school's dress code to the limit - made the crowd of students following them almost seem to blur together.

It made her wonder how two highbrow individuals could stomach slumming it with the plebs in public transport.

Bae watched the two prominent ladies closely. The two of them seemed familiar, but their names proved elusive. Irys saw Bae stealing glances at them and smiled.

"You've taken an interest in them too?" Irys prodded curiously, "I can see you looking their way a lot."

"Oh, I'm just..." Bae started, trying to weasel her way out. However, Irys' gaze on her persisted - until she ultimately admitted, "Yeah, I was."

Irys' smile widened. She folded her arms and hummed proudly.

"That owl girl with the hairpin's Mumei Nanashi. The one hanging around her all the time's Kronii Ouro. We're in the same class as them for First Period." Irys joined her hands together and revealed, "They look young, but they're third-years and transfer students! Can you believe it?"