EQUINOX || The Catalysts Series, #3

XXXIII

It takes longer to remember the second time Lena resurfaces from the trance.

It takes a good few minutes for Lena to realise they are all standing in the fields of Arcane Academy, already lined up according to their own years and classes. Order at its finest, despite the catastrophe that happened, and despite the threat still existing now.

Students are beginning to wake up from the hypnosis—Lena isn't even sure if it's exactly that, but knows now that Professor Burgundy is some sort of empath that had tuned down all inappropriate emotions for the students to calmly reconcile. It was necessary, in light of the chaos.

But that doesn't mean Lena is comfortable being controlled like that; and apparently, so are the shuffling students—the ones who briefly remember, anyway. Some of them had their spells broken when Caelus broke the airspace.

Caelus stands directly behind her now, and behind him, Roen. He seems to be the only one who is completely aware of himself, the only one who wasn't affected by the trick Professor Burgundy was forced to pull to maintain order. He stands close to Lena, and she welcomes the comfort of his invisible passive barrier tugging on the edges. Other than that, she is not unhappy that he's being proximate.

She hasn't had the time to take a look at him properly since his reappearance—only their gazes locking—because immediately after, she'd fallen into the same trance as every other student, complying with the retreat order like a puppet. But she remembers the slightly dishevelled white hair, the smoke and ash coating his pale skin. His sleeve was torn, and his white shirt cut—and at the memory, she fights the urge to look back and take in his state once more, just to reassure herself that he's here again, and that he's himself. Where had he been warped off to during that short interval?

As of sensing her movements and scattered thoughts, Caelus whispers, "Pay attention."

Immediately conscious, Lena stands stoically, her eyes focused on the front. Arcana and the professors are keeping tabs on the students, cross checking RFIDs as an attendance measure. Meanwhile, the class representatives are tallying their class numbers with each professor. They want to make sure that no students are missing or left behind.

Despite the professors in front of them, some students begin chattering with hushed tones. Most of them are still bleary from the hypnosis, trying to separate fact from fiction, reality from daydream.

"What can you recall?" Caelus asks softly.

Lena almost turns to respond, her head already inclining to the side, before she pauses, stopping herself and recalling the time she communicated with Caelus in their own classroom. It seems so long ago when she's seated in front of him; where they talked freely and casually without anyone realising their constant hidden conversation during classes.

"We were in the middle of the game," Lena whispers to the wind, trusting it to carry the message to Caelus. Or, in this case, letting Caelus do his work of commanding the atmosphere. "No. Actually, the Annual Games' timer had just reached zero. And then the dimensional rift tore through the space, so like a lunar eclipse."

"Go on," Caelus encourages.

"Two of the Shadow Syndicate made themselves known, announcing their purpose... and striking a bargain. And the moment it's over, well, they did what villains do." She shrugs, knowing Caelus is watching from behind. "They retreated with the rift, only to place it elsewhere."

Lena can't stop herself, so she looks toward the sky. Perhaps it's her imagination, but the sky's a rather redder colour now through the protective barriers of Arcane Academy, as if tainted by the presence of the rift hovering in Sector Delphinus. It's unclear whether the threat is fully resolved.