Max and Vivian walked down the street while looking at the early morning sky. They had an excited look on their face as soon as they saw Fabien's home from afar. The lights were on and they didn't see anything strange. They didn't waste a second to ring the bell even though Vivian fidgeted and bit her lip. She had no idea why she felt nervous every time she went into his home, even though they were friends for a long time. A grin crept up on her face. Max noticed it as he smirked at her. He rolled his eyes as he turned back to the door.
Someone opened it which looked like a pretty lady with the same blue eyes as Fabien. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and wore a pretty dress that instantly gave off a lingering flowery smell.
They smiled at her as they tried to peek inside.
"Hi, Mrs. Bullion.", Vivian said.
"Hi, mom.", Max also said. Ariane just laughed at her son’s friend’s silliness as she moved out of the way to let them in.
"Come on in, kids, I didn't expect you coming to the party. Fabien didn't tell me anything.", she said, welcoming them inside. They looked around the house with a fascinated look as they came in. Fabien's home was always well decorated but today, more ribbons were hanging from the wall than ever. She did her best to do this all alone. Vivian cleared her throat before turning back to Ariane.
"He never invited us. He told us it's just a family thing.", Vivian said, tilting her head in confusion. Ariane did the same.
"That's cute. But he told me a different story today. Where is Fabien by the way?", she asked them. Fabien told her that he would spend time with Max and the rest.
"I thought he was in his room?", Vivian asked, looking up the stairs. Ariane shook her head in confusion.
"Uhmm. No. He called me an hour ago and said he would be spending time with his friends... Like going with you guys to bowling.", she said, crossing her arms. Max sighed while rolling his eyes. What is that guy up to again...
"No. He ditched us because he said he promised to celebrate with his family the whole day. We even planned something for him but he was in a rush to go home...", he said, scratching his cheeks. He remembered that Fabien said he had to go somewhere first.. But it was already dawn.
"Fabien usually never tells me lies... Maybe he’s meeting up with another friend.", Ariane said with a thoughtful look, but Max immediately interrupted her.
"But he would tell both of us something... I can't imagine the guy going somewhere but a date with a girl.", he said, sighing in amusement, but it didn't seem to make Vivian quite happy. She instantly made a disappointed face as she tried to hide her pout. Fabien would never hide something like a "girlfriend" from her.
"I'm calling him.", she said as she already put her phone out. Max took it instantly away from her.
"Relax. He said he had to go somewhere for a second. Let him breathe for a moment.", he said, rolling his eyes. He walked over to the couch while falling on it like a dead rat. Ariane smiled while nodding.
"Right! Just make yourself at home like always. I invited some of the relatives since they were pestering me to see Fabien again.", she said while excusing herself from them for a moment. She seemed to be still working on something. The girl looked down on Max as she fell right next to him.
"You're right. We came here to just check up on him anyway. Hi Magery!", she said, noticing a little girl walking down the stairs. Fabien's little sister instantly smiled as soon as she noticed Max and Vivian. Magery jumped on the couch between them as she opened her mouth for an hour-long chit chat like always... The mood became lighter as time passed on and on. But Fabien didn't seem to arrive at the doorstep...
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The air became heavy in the forest as police officers one by one surrounded the lake. Or at least, they looked like ones. Fabien always had to ask himself... Who were they? Why were they examining the forest of all places? More importantly... Why was a highschool student there...
They were talking about something but Fabien was too far away to hear a word.
"Lucian...", one of them said, approaching the blonde-haired student. The boy turned to the old police officer and sternly crossed his arms. His golden eyes were cold and quick-witted. With one look, he demanded the officer to speak up immediately. The man gulped before continuing.
"We didn't find a trace of magic in the forest. At least not a black one..", he said, pulling a worried grimace. Lucian fell into thought as he put his fingers on his chin.
"That's strange. So he must've saved all his mana energy while hunting here..", he said with a calm and deep voice.
"There may be no trace in the forest but the water has a grade of 423..he must've used it as a portal.", a girl said with long green hair. She seemed to be at the same age as Lucian from her young appearance and her eyes were amber-colored like yellow leaves. She kneeled in front of the lake while showing Lucian a device that looked like a gauge.
Lucian pulled something out of his pocket which turned out to be a small bottle of liquid. But it was burning bright in purple color.
"I got the perfect way to find out...", he plainly said, opening the bottle. He spilled it into the sea which made everyone around him stare in confusion. But soon they realized how the water turned dark... It first mixed into a red color like a sea of blood but suddenly turned all black. Everyone widened their eyes as they saw a giant black area at the lake which almost looked like a black whirlpool. It was an eerie sight. They noticed traces of black magic all over it...
"Bingo. Now we know how he escaped at least.", he said, calmly. The group was quiet for a moment.
"But he isn't in the godly world right now... So he must've used it to go into the human world and then in the magic world. But since the forest didn't show a trace of magic or anomaly for 2 years... There is a high chance he might've gone on another hunting trip.", a boy said, his eyes sharp like a tiger. His hair was messy and dark with a lot of spikes in it. He also looked at the same age as a high schooler. Lucian sighed while looking over the area.
"No wonder. After sucking the life of this town... I'm glad the citizens were smart enough to move away.", he said, turning back to his team. The spiky haired guy joined in again.
"He might be at the end of the world for all we know..", he said, rubbing his head. There is no way they would find a trace of him that fast again. Lucian just smirked while shaking his head lightly.
"No.. You may not notice it. Even though black magic was not involved in this forest, I can feel a high amount of psychic powers being used here.", he said, following the forest with his eyes. He could see the traces of red magic as they hovered like perfumes in the air.
"I can sense something like that easily. So he might've returned to this town from time to time again... Maybe at night?", he said, quite unsure. Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from behind. He instantly turned back while looking at a hill, not far from him. There were just empty trees and the wind waving through the leaves.
"But what reason does he have to?", the girl asked, bewildered. Lucian seemed not to hear her as he kept on staring sternly at an empty hill. Was I imagining it? He asked himself.
"Lucian?", the girl asked again, pulling him out of his daydream.
"I thought I heard something. Must be a rat.", he simply answered, turning back to the "crime" scene.
Meanwhile, Fabien ran away as fast he could while clenching his chest. He recalled the images he just saw and goosebumps appeared on his skin. He slowed down his pace and leaned against a tree, almost out of breath. The image of the black lake reappeared through his head again and again. I have to keep going. He thought as he forced his legs to move.
After a while, he was calm again... But he couldn't forget what he just witnessed. What did they talk about? Why did the lake suddenly turn all black... It felt like he was staring at the depths of the Abyss. More importantly... Who was the guy with the blonde hair?
