All That Glitters (WayV) - Volume II

Time

"It's fishy. It's a little too fishy."

Tungmei threw her book down. "Bruh, we cooked fish a week ago. Does it really still smell like that?"

Meixing laughed. "No, you dummy! We're talking about this whole thing." Tungmei just knew what she was talking about in an instant. 

Fangsu sighed. "I don't know how to accept the fact that . . . I've found my mom. It feels so weird to me. I-It's so sudden."

Meixing nodded. The whole thing was crazy to her. Things just took a turn during their senior year of college. It was so strange and such a foreign thing to experience. 

"I did some research," Fangsu said suddenly. She got out of her seat on the couch and ran to her room. She frantically searched her shelves, her bed, and her backpack before finding a thick leather-bound book in the corner of her room. Fangsu ran back, flipping the pages as she took a seat. 

"I was reading about witch history the other day, a little before I magically appeared in the Magicine. I found something interesting and I wanted to show you." Fangsu showed Meixing the book, Tungmei leaning over to look at the words.

"There's an infamous witch named Aradia." Fangsu saw the expression on Meixing's face contort into disgust and fear all at once. "What's wrong?" asked Tungmei. 

"Aradia. She's more ... notorious than infamous. She was known for persecuting the Memoralises. She thought they knew too much and wanted them out. Then she fell in love with a human." Meixing paused, seemingly thinking her words through. 

"They had a child," she continued. "And you two can probably guess. Their child, a boy, was shunned. So was Aradia. The princess wasn't really happy about that, and her last words before she disappeared were 'I'll be back.'"

Fangsu felt chills. "Did ... Did she ever? Come back, I mean." 

Meixing shrugged. "Who knows? As far as we know, she's not strong enough. She's lost power. But you know what they say. Legend has it that if you kill enough witches and wizards, their power transfers to you."

"I thought that was a myth." 

Meixing shrugged again. "There are mixed opinions on that one. They say it really is possible. We don't really know."

Fangsu shook her head. "I dunno man. Everything's so weird now. So much happened in such little time."

Tungmei took an apple from the fruit bowl and walked around the counter, tossing the red apple in the air and catching it in one smooth go. 

"I think we're running out of time."

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"What a day." 

Kunhang had his backpack slung over one shoulder as he trudged back to their dorm over at Dominatus. He realized over the past weeks that whenever he felt down, the only thing that made him happier was thinking about Fangsu. It was strange to him. He'd liked other girls before, but Fangsu was so different. She wasn't like the other girls he'd encountered. Fangsu had her own aura, her own chill vibe that made Kunhang fall for her, even more, each time he saw her. Not to mention the way her beautiful hair flowed in the wind-

'I'm definitely feeling better,' Kunhang thought with a smile. 

He reached his dorm, expecting to see YangYang and Dejun hanging around in their tiny living room, so naturally, he was a little taken aback when the dorm room was quiet. He'd just come back from his night class after all. They should've been making some sort of ruckus like they usually do. 

Kunhang dropped his bag in his room, yawning as he stretched his arms. Then he became suddenly aware of how quiet it was in their dorm. The place was pretty dark, unlike it usually was. Kunhang had figured that his friends had just gone to sleep early. Now, he was starting to question that. 

Kunhang felt his heartbeat race and his heart pound louder as he walked out of his room and into the living room. He heard a rustling and wanted to believe that it was just the boys playing a trick on him, he really did. Kunhang was about to reach the lightswitch when he felt a hand over his mouth. His eyes grew wide as he swiftly turned himself around and tries to land a punch. He heard an unfamiliar voice groan in pain, and he felt chills. The voice was deep and coarse, the last thing he wanted to hear in the dark living room. 

Kunhang was about to land another punch and make a run for it, but he felt a hand grab his ankle. The last thing he remembered was the pain that shot through him as his body hit the hard ground and the darkness that followed. 

It was a matter of time.