Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sebek Zigvolt knew he was on the verge of death.

He lies trapped beneath a huge chunk of rubble that had fallen on top of him during the overblot of his beloved master, Malleus Draconia. It was a fast thing and felt like a slow agonizing loop of pain. He could feel his bones poking out of his skin, the way his limbs were scattered and how hard it was to breath. He could feel hands on his head, voices trying to talk to him but he couldn't think clearly enough to hear what they were saying.

He could barely see the color of a bright pink and silver in his blurry vision. He wanted to speak but every time he tried, he felt himself cough out something slimy to which one of the hands just stroked his hair. Sebek couldn't help but lean into this comfort one last time, he could only start reflecting on his life.

Is this what they call a self-reflection? Is it... really the end?

Was he a good guard to Malleus? Did he do a good job like he was told to? Sebek may never know the answers to his questions. All he knows is that death is an ending that he is experiencing. 

But, death didn't seem that bad in person. In fact, it felt peaceful without the pain at least. The only thing he felt was regret. He regretted not getting closer to the others. Especially his so-called friend group now.

The first-years, and how he felt like he had actual people to call friends, hang out with, create fun memories and to just be a kid. But Sebek wouldn't get to do that again, not anymore. The pain was getting harder to ignore as his whole head was muffling sounds. He knew there were other's trying to get him out from whatever was crushing his bones but he knew it was hopeless.

But... if he was given one last wish, he would wish to turn back time and fix all the mistakes he made to help the others. He wants to live again, seeing everyone else live their lives with him.

But, he's sorry for not being able to tell Malleus he was like a big brother to him.

He’s sorry for not telling Lilia that his cooking was getting better.

He’s… sorry, that he never got to tell Silver how much he appreciated him. For his words, actions, and memories.

The pain was getting unbearable, Sebek could hardly breathe anymore but one more color joined the pile, a dark black but with bright green piercing through each color, he can feel another hand join in as he laid there. He could feel warmth slowly envelope him as his breaths start to get shorter.

Next thing he knew, he felt himself close his eyes for the last time.

Then suddenly his eyes flew right open to bright blue and the sound of roaring flames.

It took a second before Sebek realized where he was. The ceremonial orientation at the beginning of the year. He was brought out from his thoughts when he heard the screams of other students running away from something in the middle of the room. It was Grim spewing out flames left and right, almost burning someone in the process.

I... What's going on? Wasn't I supposed to be dead? Why am I experience this again?

He couldn't think any more till a fire ball came barreling at him, Sebek didn't try to duck but instead stared at it coming towards him when he was pushed to the ground.

"AGH!" Sebek groaned as his body hit the ground hard, he could feel someone on his back and as he peeked over his shoulder his eyes widened. 

“Sebek! Didn't you see that fire coming at you? Why didn't you dodge?!"

Sebek knew that voice so well. From childhood to his death, he knew who it belonged to and he felt his eyes start to water. He turned his body around. As he  looked over his shoulder it was Silver. His face was clean from any blood or bruises, he wasn't wearing that armor when defeating Malleus. And that facial expression, he hasn't seen that face since the day he had gotten hurt from training alone in the woods during his childhood.

“...Silver?” Sebek softly says. Silver heard him and turned his face towards him. His eyes still blurry with sleep but his furrowed brows gave off the feeling of worry.

“Are you alright? You aren't hurt are you?"

“No. I’m fine, but… what is happening right now? Also can you get off me?" Sebek asks. Silver eyes widen a little but he got off quickly as Sebek picked himself up. He could feel Silver's gaze on him but Sebek's attention was watching Grim running away from two House wardens.

This is exactly what happened during the orientation. But then how did I get back here? I know this isn't that type of dream but it's still confusing... wait isn't Grim going to get Riddle's unique magic right now-

“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

That loud voice was Riddle Rosehearts. Sebek watched as Grim tried to get the collar off only to realize its not coming off and saw Azul Ashengretto standing right next to Riddle. He didn't get to watch the whole scene when Silver caught his attention.

“Come on Sebek, let’s try to find fa-Lilia right now.” Silver says and walks away from Sebek.

Sebek takes a few more moments looking around and notice the others in the crowd. Ace was chatting with other people from the dorm, Deuce was following his own Dorm leader, Jack was fixing his hood on his robes, Epel was yelling at someone, and lastly, Yuu and Grim was dragged away by the Headmaster.

This is a chance... I was given another chance again! Sebek thought. His hands were shaking a bit so he grabbed onto his sleeve as he looked at Yuu.

A plain stature but a strong will to protect the things they loved made Sebek feel a bit jealous towards them but ultimately, respected them so much over the time he had spent with them. They were the one the change things in the school, their influence was something Sebek wanted to seek as well.

Everyone... I want to protect you.

“Come on Sebek, Lilia already called the new freshman to follow along and that includes you.” Silver says as Sebek turns and spots him next to Lilia who was busy guiding new freshmen.

"Of course!" Sebek responds and follows the others as he tunes out Lilia's speech. He kept clenching his fists to make sure he was still alive. His lungs were healthy and his hands weren't filled with calluses from horse-riding or magic training.

If this is a dream… Sebek looks around and spots Lilia chatting with a few other freshmen. He makes eye contact with him and waves at Sebek happily. 

Then I want to make everything right this time.

And that starts with the Overblots.

Chapter Text

After a few hours of touring the dorm he knew from the inside and out, and other students prolonging the tour by asking questions he already knew beforehand, Sebek felt exhausted.

He knew that in order for his goal to work, he needed to make sure no one knew he came back from the dead. Or the future. Either one is bad enough if someone gets a hint of it.

He just needed to make sure neither Silver or Malleus finds out. 

Especially Lilia, who knows way too much about anything and everything and will start interrogating Sebek the moment he finds something suspicious. But Sebek knew Lilia only did so out of worry.

Before his death, Lilia started opening up a bit more to everyone. Talking about the past he finally accepted and the stories he learned over the decades of living. He never said it out loud, but both Silver and Sebek knew he wanted to leave behind a legacy before he passed away.

I also want to forget all the times he talked about our childhood… so embarrassing.

As he walks away from the group of freshmen  into the hallway, he heads towards where he thinks Malleus and Silver are at, but he feels a tug and then unexpectedly, a pull from his left arm then suddenly he finds himself in an empty room with nothing but a desk, chair, bed, and… his stuff?

Suddenly he heard a cough and when he looked above him, there floated the person Sebek desperately hoped that it was anyone else but no, it was Lilia Vanrouge.

What terrible timing this is! It's as if death made me unluckier!

Sebek then felt a change in the atmosphere and when he looked at Lilia, his face was shrouded with darkness to the point he was pretty sure a dark cloud spawned over him. Whenever Lilia grew this angry, everyone knew to stay clear from him but Sebek had nowhere to go and he wasn’t going to run away.

He wasn't a child anymore, he trained under Lilia so he shouldn't feel the need to flee-

“Sebek Zigvolt."

Nevermind. He was absolutely terrified.

“Sorry for the intrusion, but I have a question for you,” Lilia says, his voice laced with authority.

Sebek thought that he was discovered already.

I knew I couldn’t hide anything from him, he always finds a way to know! Even better than Rook Hunt himself! Oh if Ace were here he would have ran and laughed all the way back to his–

Sebek felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly and looked down to find Lilia’s gaze filled with worry.

“What’s going on Sebek? Silver told me about you freezing when that monster lit the place on fire,” Lilia paused before speaking again, “And I know you wouldn’t freeze unless you were hurt…” Lilia froze at his words before he started to fly around Sebek, scanning his body for injuries.

“You're not hurt are you? Did the fire get you or are you hurting somewhere else?” Lilia lifted up Sebek’s arm and pulled the sleeves up.

“I-I am fine Lilia-sama! I just wasn’t prepared for the sudden attack.” Sebek lied. “Anyways, is Waka-sama alright? Did the monster hurt him?”Lilia stared into Sebek’s eyes to which the boy grew a lot more anxious than before.

Oh I hope he didn't get caught onto the sudden topic change…

Sebek then heard a sigh from Lilia who just leaned against the desk. He watched Sebek for a few moments before another sigh, and a slow walk to the door.

“Don’t worry Sebek, you know Malleus wouldn’t be hurt by some random monster,” Lilia says then turned towards Sebek. “But I do hope you aren’t hiding anything from me.”

Sebek nodded his head furiously to which Lilia smiled at him.

“Good! Also this is your room for the school year! Take good care of it and I’ll see you tomorrow! Good dreams Sebek~.”Lilia left the room and the door slammed shut leaving Sebek confused and left alone.

It seems there is only one bed. Isn't this supposed to be a third-year room instead? How come Lilia placed me in a room like this? Nothing should have changed... unless something did change!

He quickly walked around the room looking for anything, but this room was an unfamiliar territory and he still had a lot to go before he knew what he was specifically looking for but everything seemed normal. If he was basing off of Lilia's room at least. He then found his suitcase right next to his bed.

I guess this is it then, I should unpack still.

Sebek thinks to himself as he opens the suitcase and unpacks his clothing and personal belongings. It felt weird now having his own bathroom this time but he had to at least leave a little space for extra storage options. As he gets closer to the bottom of the suitcase he found something very familiar to him. The portrait of his beloved liege, Malleus Draconia!

He missed this portrait.

Sebek had gotten the portrait as a gift from Lilia when he got accepted at NRC. He remembered how happy he was and how the faces of the others watched him with fond looks. It was a bit embarrassing remebering it as the months went on before Malleus overblot, he found himself mellowing out of his obesseion with his liege. He will always adore him but when hanging out with the first-years he sort of opened his eyes and realized his respect was a bit overdoing it.

I'm also sure this had gotten damaged due to Ace setting off a fire spell in my original dorm room. I screamed so loud that Lilia had to convinced me he would get another portrait for me in the future.

But that never happened did it? I never had a future to begin with did I?

...Let's just finish this task.

Sebek hung the portrait in a different place, right next to his closet instead. It was hidden from view and was kept in the dark, he felt since a qhile and throigh several revaluations he needed to tone his personality a tad bit down.The desk was underneath the window this time letting the moonlight light his room beautifully. It was calm, as if everything that Sebek had experience never happened and it was just a start to another dream but Sebek knows his death had happened, he can barely feel the pain anymore but that hurt in his heart was still there. 

Those fuzzy memories of his death were being blocked by his mind but the more he went back in his memories, the more he could feel the warmth and affection throughout his days in this school. His classmates, his friends, his family, all loved him in a way Sebek never once really felt when growing up. But those thoughts faded away when he realized his situation.

He stilled as he was brought back to reality.

…If I want to prevent those overblots, then that means changing the past with knowledge from the future. But how am I going to be able to do that when I only have knowledge from others perspective?

Sebek took out a blank notebook from his desk and sat down letting a lamp be his light for a bit.

If I want to change things wouldn't that cause a distruptance in time itself? This is hard, I want to keep the people I cared about but how much of change can I actually do before everything falls apart?

He draws a few faces in his notebook.

The first one is Riddle. From what Ace, Deuce, and Yuu have said about it, he overblots during one of his unbirthday parties. But they also said they faced some big monster in the mines when they tried to not be expelled on the first day.

He drew a mine and a monster with a large glass ball head. The description he was given when asking the trio.

If I think about this, I know I can't actually stop the overblot themselves. From what I learned, overblot is from the overwhelming use of magic and negative thoughts an overblotee has. If I can't change the person, maybe I can stop the blot itself?

Sebek huffed in approval and circled the head of Riddle and crossed out the overblot head.

I just need to get stronger.

Sebek puts away his stuff and starts getting ready for bed. As he does though, he finds himself staring out the window and spotting the full moon in the sky. Nothing was more calming than seeing the moon in its full glory.

“I just hope I’m doing the right thing.”

Chapter Text

“Hey Human! I have a question for you,” Sebek says as he spots Yuu and Grim walking in the hallways towards their next class. “What was the big monster you saw in the caves? Lilia-sama was asking about it and told me to ask you about the details.”

Yuu and Grim glanced at each other before Yuu smiled at Sebek.

“Well it was like those entity’s I saw when defeating the overblots,” Yuu says. Grim nods his head as well.

“Yeah! And they always look different from each other too! Except the ones in the mine but it was totally different!”

“Exactly,” Yuu points out but they snapped their fingers towards Sebek. “But they always have something in common with each other.”

“What shall that be?”

“The heads were always glass and filled with the blot and it looked as if its body was stitched together.”

“Like a stuffed toy?”

“Yep!”

“Thank you very much human! I shall report back to Lilia-sama as soon as possible!” Sebek yells and walks away after giving the two a wave goodbye.

“I HELPED TOO!”

Sebek woke up with a headache first thing in the morning. But the memory– or dream, he had just now made it so that he got up fast.

Quick! Before I forget, I need to write it down!

Sebek grabs the notebook from his drawer and a pencil before starting to write those thoughts on his bed.

Body is like a stitched stuffed toy… Most of them are based on the person and their values itself… and the entity’s heads are always made of glass…

Sebek stopped writing and stared at his words. None of this makes sense quite yet but with enough research, maybe he could start piecing things together. But their heads are always glass was definitely something to take account for.

The weak point is most definitely the glass head. Other than that I can’t think of anything else.

Sebek hummed to himself as he tapped his notebook. He needs to look into this further but without a lead, there isn’t much that he could do. Then, Sebek facepalmed into his notebook and groaned.

The caves! The caves that the trio found at the beginning of the year had an overblot monster!

They mention this during one of their lunches before Sebek had died and were talking about how they would have been expelled if they couldn’t find a magestone in there.

Sebek just sighed and looked at his phone and suddenly he jumped out of his bed and quickly started to get ready.

I’m three minutes late to the meeting with Malleus and Silver! Come on this shouldn'tbe an issue!

As Sebek got ready, making sure his uniform was on correctly, he looked in the mirror that was on his desk and saw the gel bottle he used for his hair for almost the entire year.

He then looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly had a memory come to him.

It was raining when he was training with Silver during their childhood. He remembers asking Silver to train with him after being told he wasn’t strong enough by the faes back at home.

It wasn’t raining when he asked but after an hour it started to come down which made Silver stop the training and told Sebek to pack up. But then he stopped and stared at Sebek making him feel a little weirded out.

“...What is it, human?” Sebek asked.

“You should keep your hair down from time to time.” Silver says as he packs away the wooden sword into his holster.

“Eh? What do you mean?” Sebek asks a bit flustered at that sentence. The rain pours down his hair getting rid of the day's gel and instead leaving a curly mess.

“I mean… you look…” Silver stutters through his words. “...good.”

Before Sebek could say anything Silver was already turning away and heading back to his home.

“We should get out of the rain before we get sick.”

Sebek just stared for a few seconds before also running back to Silver’s house as well. The rain was getting worse and he is sure he doesn’t want to get sick, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to protect Malleus-sama properly!

Sebek felt a little pain at the memory but then he sighed. It was the first time he actually heard a compliment from Silver himself. He didn’t think of it at the time but he should have listened to him.

Maybe then he would have felt a little more confident in his looks.

Sebek placed the gel bottle down and just combed his hair. He left the curls the way they are and made sure they were going to STAY THERE the whole day please!

He left the bathroom and grabbed his magic pen waiting for him on his desk and took a good look at his dorm room before closing the door behind him.

As he walks into the halls, he spots other dorm members chatting amongst themselves or grabbing other school materials they may need for classes. Sebek is pretty sure he remembers everything from the classes he took as he was the one who asked a bunch of questions and was called a “Teacher’s Pet” by Ace a lot.

Once he becomes friends with the group, he is most definitely going to get him back.

Sebek spots Silver and Malleus standing at the end of the hallway, chatting with one another. As he walks closer, Silver spots Sebek and has to do a double-take. His eyes were wide with shock and when Malleus looked over he also seemed to widen his eyes as well.

They seemed to be shocked. Is there something behind me?

Sebek turned his head and spotted no one behind him, so he isn’t sure why they had their eyes so focused on himself.

“You let your hair down…” Silver mumbled. Sebek just nodded and smiled.

“Of course! I figured I shall take your advice and let it down once in a while!” Sebek said and then froze.

Silver hadn’t mentioned his hair being down since childhood. Especially to the point where Sebek was willing to change it for him. He was not supposed to say something like that.

“You said something like that to him?” Malleus asked Silver. Silver just nodded slowly and looked away from Sebek only to sneak another glance at the boy who was just as confused as Malleus was.

“Well, let’s all head out now, we shouldn’t be late on the first day.” Malleus says smoothly. Silver and Sebek nodded their heads and walked on each side of him.

“I shall lead you to your classes Malleus-sama!”

“Of course Sebek, you also look good today as well.” Malleus says as well and starts to walk out the doors along with Silver following behind.

It… felt weird hearing Malleus compliment him when he had died during his overblot.

I just can’t understand what is happening right now… no matter! I need to focus or– oh crap! I’m falling behind! Why am I so distracted today?

As Sebek catched up with the pair, he didn’t see Malleus and Silver glance at each other behind his back. Their eyes filled with seriousness.

Sebek understood why Grim wanted to skip classes so badly.

This is actually getting boring. I already learned this and now I have to repeat this again?!

Sebek on the outside didn’t seem to be phased and was closely paying attention to the teacher speaking about what this class was going over and the expectations of the students. But on the inside, Sebek was slowly losing his mind over this

I think both Grim and Ace rubbed off of me. I can understand their pain of boring classes and unimportant information.

Sebek just huffed quietly and looked around the class.

He couldn't find any familiar faces but it made sense, he was the only one in the group to be in class 1-D but it was kind of disappointing. Not being able to see any of his friends– well, future friends at least.

As the teacher continued talking he took this time to be with his thoughts and his plan afterwards.

Since this is the last class until break, I’m pretty sure there will be a fight on the main road by Grim and Ace. If I remember correctly, they are only to be punished until Deuce, Yuu, and Grim start chasing Ace to a room with a chandelier and soon they will destroy it.

Maybe I can follow the group towards the cave, then I find some information on the blot once they leave.

Wait… wasn’t there a rock that Grim usually ate after they defeated an overblot?

…

HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT REMEBER THAT???

Sebek slammed his face onto his desk startling nearby classmates.

That is such an important detail! It makes my plan much easier! When I reach the cave, following them from the shadows, I need to snatch the rock once they defeat the entity and take it to my dorm room before Grim can sniff it out.

I just hope this plan actually works or else I’m screwed.

Sebek lifted his head back up and took out the notebook with his plans.

Might as well pass the time with safe-proofing it at least.

Chapter Text

When that bell rang and signaled for break, Sebek quickly got up from his seat and rushed out of the class.

His head is still hurting from this morning and it still wouldn’t go away no matter how much he had massaged his head. He spent the whole time safe-proofing the plan, making sure each and every detail was precise so that it wouldn’t fail at all.

As he walks away from class though, he heads straight to the nurse’s to somehow make this headache go away.

It was fine during class, but now the pain suddenly got stronger…

Sebek rubs his temple between his fingers and walks in the direction he remembers the nurse office being. He never really needed to go there at all, but maybe this was the punishment for dying and coming back.

Sebek wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings as the pain grew more intense as he got closer to a classroom when sudden;y he bumped into something hard.

OW- Wha? Did I just bump into a wall? What was that– NEVERMIND I JUST BUMPED INTO JACK!

Sebek stumbled back a little, the “wall” he just bumped into held onto his arm as Sebek stood his ground.

He looked up a bit and Jack Howl, his past friend, was looking at Sebek from what he could tell, surprised.

“You should look at where you are going.” Jack said with such a monotone voice, that Sebek couldn’t help but let out a startled laugh.

“I-I was definitely looking! You were the one to appear out of nowhere!” Sebek said back. Jack was shocked at the response but just scoffed.

“You don’t need to yell–”

“I was heading to the nurse’s office mind you,” Sebek said and walked around Jack. “Now excuse me while I head there.”

But he wasn’t able to get away since the hand on his arm tightened.

“Would you let go of me!” Sebek tried to free himself but he knew how strong Jack was when he wanted to be.

“...Why are you heading to the nurse’s office?” Jack asked.

Sebek stopped struggling and gave Jack a glare.

“That is not your business h-human! Now let go while I heal my headache!” Sebek yelled and Jack finally let go of his arm making Sebek speed walk out of there.

…I hope I didn’t say anything embarrassing! But I did call Jack a human even though he is a beastman… I just wasn’t expecting to talk to anyone from before!! It’s been a while but now that I just talked to Jack… 

I miss my friends.

Sebek felt himself tear up at the thought, but quickly wiped the tears away.

I can’t cry, not yet. I still have things to change and stuff to do so I need to make sure I have everything set out before I start seeing them once again.

Maybe then could I be friends with them once more…

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head.

Ow… I should actually find some painkillers or something for this stupid headache.

Sebek wondered as he made it to the nurse’s office and spotted no one in there.

…Why is it that everytime someone needs something the nurse isn’t here. At all.

Sebek just sighed and tried to look for any painkillers. He checked each cabinet, drawer, box, and even the bedside table but there was nothing.

“Where are they? Do they even have it stocked?” Sebek mumbled. “Do I really have to walk all the way to Sam’s shop to buy some?”

Sebek just plopped down on one of the many empty beds.

“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t just sell some medication without any authorization… right?” He didn't want to think about that possibility. Sebek looked around the room and then laid on the bed.

It’s quiet. I thought I would enjoy the quiet but now… I kind of hate it.

Sebek let himself relax into the bed. The headache was still present but the pain had subsided quite a bit. Maybe he should rest for a little. Perhaps then this pain will go away fully.

Sebek felt his eyes close.

Break time will end soon… I should only rest for exactly ten minutes…

He felt his mind go blank.

Fifteen… minutes…

…

Sebek slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a garden. He jumped up from his spot and hedges and heart shaped trees filled with red covered roses.

What. Why am I in Heartslabyul?!

Sebek got up from the ground and started to wander. He wasn’t very familiar with the maze but it felt as if he knew where he was supposed to be going.

It feels as if something is pulling me towards them… but who? Or what?

Sebek continued walking in the same direction. But he continued to admire all the roses. He could tell each one of them was beautifully painted to perfection, something he admired to have.

The size of the roses are the same as well… I wonder if each of them were artificially planted or if this is an actual plant? How long were these trees planted for– Oh look! There’s a blue one too…

…

Wait, a blue one?

Sebek took a closer look and there it was, the blue rose. Sebek looked forward and found many different colors suddenly popping up.

Yellow, orange, green and purple! It’s like the rainbow but roses! Why are there different colored ones? I thought there was a rule about the roses? Where is everyone too…

Suddenly he heard a strange noise. A rustle of the grass and leaves and faintly, the sound of laughter.

People? But where are they?

As Sebek got closer to the laughter got louder and Sebek felt himself lose focus.

I’m so tired… but I need to know what I’m being pulled towards too…

Sebek got closer and closer and soon he felt a wave of bright emotions. A bright orb appeared in front of him and maybe this was the thing that was pulling him.

Just… one more… step…!

Sebek reached towards the bright orb, his mind growing foggy but he was determined to not let this go.

Almost… there! Just… let me… HOLD IT!

Sebek grabbed the orb and suddenly the light grew stronger and covered his eyes in white light.

It went dark once more.

…

.S…ek!

..Is…okay?

…Idiot…

Wa…up!

Se..ek…Wak…p!

Sebek…up!

SEBEK!

Sebek opened his eyes at the scream and sat up from the bed. His whole face felt hot and his breath ragged as he was running nonstop. His throat was dry and his whole body was shaky.

“Sebek look at me!”

He turned to the voice and found Lilia looking at him in worry. His whole face was paler and his eyes were with unshed tears. His hands were on his shoulders as he stared into Sebek’s eyes.

Beside him were both Silver and Malleus, who were standing but also seemed to check Sebek.

“Wha…”

“I thought you said you weren’t hurt! I was so scared!” Lilia yelled as he hugged Sebek and squeezed him tightly.

“Agh! I’m… sorry.” Sebek mumbled and let Lilia huggedd the life out of him.

He turned towards the other two who also started to sit down on the bed.

What’s going on? How come these three are here?

“What… happened?” Sebek asked.

He heard a sniffle and Lilia let go of Sebek and stared straight at him.

“You never showed up for lunch, all of us got worried and I asked around to see if anyone saw you,” Sebek saw Lilia grab his hand. “Luckily, one of the dorm members from Savanaclaw, He introduced himself as Jack Howl, noticed you heading towards the nurse’s office.”

Lilia grabbed Sebek’s hand and squeezed it hard making him wince.

“Just what were you thinking!? You said you weren’t hurt but I found you in this room on the bed shaking!”

Sebek stared at his hands. He didn’t know what to say, he never really wanted to worry Lilia but hearing sounding like he was about to cry again made Sebek want to cry himself.

It was quiet for a bit. No one dared try to talk after Lilia asked a question and Sebek knew he needed to answer. But he didn’t know how to answer.

…Should I tell them?

A few moments of silence and then a sigh rang out and when Sebek felt a hand on his shoulder, he reluctantly looked up from his hands and saw Silver looking at him with his face.

“We're just worried,” Silver said. “This isn’t like you and it was scary to know that you were in the nurse’s office for something.”

“I just hope you don’t stay quiet when you are hurt or sick, Sebek.”

“I… I just…” Sebek stuttered out and then felt himself starting to cry. He felt all these emotions well up inside and suddenly he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Was it from the stress of coming back to the past? Was it because he pushed all this responsibility onto himself? Was it because he knew what was going to happen to the people he cared about?

Or was it because he died and never really thought about it?

Sebek didn’t know what it was but letting all the emotion out felt a lot better. He cried into the arms of Lilia who gave him a strong hug once more. He felt Silver rubbing his back and Malleus’s hand on his shoulder. It wasn’t much but for Sebek, this was his family. His home.

And even if he had to do this alone, Sebek knew he could count on his family to come save him.

Maybe in the future they would actually come save him.

Sebek felt himself weep into Lilia’s shoulder for as long as he felt the others' comfort and love. He didn’t know how long but he knew his eyes were all red and puffy as he felt a cup placed into his hands.

“Drink up Sebek, then we’ll let you go to rest some more alright? We all have classes soon so we’ll see you after school,” Lilia says. Sebek just nodded, feeling his voice is too dried out to speak.

“We’ll see you in the dorms. Make sure you grab something from the cafeteria, I’ll tell the cooks to make something for you.”

The three stood up from their spots and walked right out, saying their goodbyes and such. Silver gave a squeeze on the shoulder while Malleus gave one more pat on the head.

Sebek watched them leave the room and suddenly he felt a little lonelier. Sebek continued to drink the water as he thought about the dream he remembered.

This must be a sign of some sort, maybe It’s during the overblot or if I need to find whatever that was.

Either way, I need to make sure I head towards the caves tonight. 

Sebek sniffled once more and held the cup tightly.

I’m sorry Lilia, but It looks like I’m not getting any rest tonight.

Chapter Text

Sebek was busy eating his meal from the cafeteria that Lilia asked the cooks to make.

He found a small spot at one of the tables that was at the back of the room. It was only Sebek in the place but he made sure the cooks knew he had a pass from the nurse to have the day off.

It took a lot of nagging from Lilia, screaming from Sebek’s phone to convince the nurse to have him have a day off.

It’s the first day and I already skipped it… am I becoming a ‘bad boy’? Sebek wondered as he stuffed some salmon carpaccio into his mouth.

How Lilia managed to convince the cooks to make this, Sebek didn’t want to know.

This is delicious, maybe I could make some when the Culinary Crucible competition comes by…

Suddenly he hears hurried footsteps coming closer to the cafeteria. The sounds of shouts also echoing the halls outside the cafeteria doors. Sebek paused mid-eating and looked at the doors.

What was that– OH! ITS THEM!!

Sebek stopped eating to watch the doors burst open and reveal three familiar students running after a flaming cat.

What is this timing of mine??

“ARGH! Stop jumping around like that!” Ace yelled, trying to grab the moving cat.

“Heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!!” Grim taunted Ace.

Oh so this is how they broke the chandelier! Is it fine if I just… watch? Sebek thinks as he continues eating his salmon dish.

“...Nom.”

Sebek watches as Ace struggles to catch Grim and then Deuce seems to have an idea and points his pen at Ace.

“Why are you pointing your pen at me?!!” Ace yelled.

“Because I’m going to launch you.” Deuce said in the most serious voice that Sebek couldn’t help but snort at it.

I forgot how Deuce can say the silliest things but say it in such a serious tone. How amusing–

“Oh? And how come you aren’t in class?”

Sebek choked on his bite of food and turned his head to spot Dire Crowley sitting right next to him as if this whole thing isn’t happening right now.

“EHEM! I– um– was eating my lunch after recovering in the infirmary…” Sebek said. “Shouldn’t you stop this from happening?”

Crowely seemed to ignore Sebek’s question and instead leaned into his personal space.

“Hurt?! How come you got hurt on the first day?” Crowley asked. Snake felt shivers down his spine as Crowley seemed to stare into his soul.

“I just had a minor headache! Nothing too extraordinary.”

I should not tell him what Lilia and the others saw... But why is still talking to me?

Crowley stared at Sebek as opened his mouth to ask something before a sudden crash and then shouts of the others echoed through the room.

Sebek looked and saw the chandelier falling down and was about to move away until he felt something grab him towards the floor and hands around his head and back.

Crowley got up and grabbed him towards the floor, covering both him and Sebek inside his cape.

Wha–!!

Wood breaking and the floor shaking made Crowley hold on to him tighter. And it was quiet for a few moments until he could hear Ace cough.

“Ugh, it’s always those three,” He hears the Headmaster mumble. Crowley turns his head to Sebek. “Are you alright? You’re not hurt again, are you?”

Sebek shook his head. “No Headmaster! But I could have protected myself–”

“But I am responsible if you get hurt.”

That stopped Sebek from speaking and watched as Crowley let go of him and walked towards the commotion. Sebek didn’t know what to do so he followed Crowley behind him.

“If the headmaster finds out–”

“If I find about… what, dear Ace?”

The group froze and turned their heads towards the headmaster in sync. Sebek watched as their eyes landed on the headmaster first but then to himself, which he fidgeted in his spot.

“AH! It’s the Headmage Crowley…!” Ace said backing up, holding a dizzy Grim.

“You. Three. AGAIN?!” Crowley shouted. “First it was the burning statue, now you’ve destroyed a chandelier?!”

Crowley took a deep breath and slammed his staff onto the ground.

“Enough. All of you are expelled.”

“WHAAAT?!” Both Ace and Deuce screamed. Ace almost dropped Grim while Deuce seemed to be shaking. Yuu was in the middle of them and also shocked.

I remember them saying they were supposed to be expelled, but saying it so bluntly is kind of cruel…  

“Headmage, please! Give me another chance, I have to be here! I can’t get expelled!” Deuce pleaded. Yuu placed a hand on his shoulder as they also nodded their head.

“Unless you have a billion thaumarks, otherwise, you cannot be here any longer!!” Crowley says. “Even the magestone is cracked! Do you understand how hard it is for me to get another?”

The group seemed to feel defeated at that and Sebek almost. felt pity for them. Almost. He knew how it would turn out so he waited until Crowley coughed and had gotten their attention.

“Ah…! But there is another way for this chandelier to be repaired.”

“There is?!”

“The magestone that was powering the chandelier was mined from the Dwarf’s Mine,” Crowley smiled. “If you can acquire a magestone within the mines…then you can avoid expulsion.”

“I will do anything to avoid expulsion!” Deuce said.

“That’s a little…” Ace mumbled but Deuce ignored him.

“But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning…”

“I understand sir! Thank you for this opportunity—”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s hurry down there and get this done with.” Ace interrupted Deuce and dragged the group with him towards what Sebek assumes is the mirror chamber.

I should hurry up and follow them before they leave me behind… let me just finish my food real quick–

“Ah! But wait a second!”

That made everyone pause and look at the Headmaster.

He grabbed Sebek from behind him and dragged him to the front which Sebek was too surprised yo do anything.

pixture

“Could you bring this boy with you as well? I will need an extra pair of eyes so being this boy, what is your name?” Crowley asked Sebek.

“...Sebek Zigvolt Headmage!” He said, straightening his back and putting on a confident look.

“Yes, of course! The bodyguard for Malleus, isn’t that right?”

“Of course! Young master is the top most priority!”

Why the hell are you putting me on the spot?!

“Then you shall go with them and make sure they don’t get too hurt on their quest!” Crowley pushed Sebek to the group causing him to stumble into Yuu who quickly got a hold on him. They all seemed to be frazzled by this but watched as Crowley shooed them out of the cafeteria and closed the door behind them.

“...” 

It was still for a few moments. No one knew what to say and Sebek as well didn’t know what to do at this point.

This wasn’t part of the plan at all! None of Sebek’s plans or any of his backup plans have anything to do with this happening so Sebek had only one option.

“Well! I am in charge of you by orders of the Headmage, so I shall protect you with all my might!” Sebek yelled. Placing a hand on his chest and a small form of a salute.

Just follow along and everything will turn out just fine...

“I- I’m not sure what just happened but come on! We can do introductions on the way, we just need to hurry so that we make it on time!” Deuce said and quickly grabbed Ace and rushed towards the mirror chamber.

“Wha- Hey! Let go of me!”

“Waah?! Wait up and explain what just happened!”

Sebek watched as Grim also ran to the duo before turning his head towards Sebek and Yuu.

“What are you waiting for humans?! Hurry up!”

Sebek and Yuu looked at each other before catching up with the others.

I have no idea what just happened… Sebek looked at the people he was following, But this is an opportunity I sure am not going to miss this opportunity!

Just stick with the rest of the plan and everything will work out just fine.

The group of five walked along the path towards the mines inside the forest. It was quiet except for the occasional yawn from Ace. No one dared to speak to each other but everyone knew it was getting awkward.

“...So why were you in the cafeteria? Sebek, right?” Yuu asked the question, looking up at him to which the others listened as well.

“Yeah! How come you were there and not in class? Are you a rule-breaker~” Ace followed up with a teasing voice.

Sebek scoffed at that notion. “Nonsense! I was eating my late lunch since I had just recovered from being in the infirmary.”

Everyone paused from walking to just stare at Sebek. Sebek was confused at the reaction before having the self-awareness to realize what he just said.

Oh… that sounded like I just accepted this mission, but I was forced upon this–

“WHAT?!” Deuce yelled. “You’re hurt and didn’t say anything to the Headmage?!”

“I– I assure you I am fine for this! It was only a headache.” Sebek reasoned. It seemed to relax the others but they still seemed skeptical.

“That’s still worrying but still…” Yuu said. Sebek only just looked away.

They walk for a little longer before spotting the mine.

“So this is the Dwaf’s mine… long ago it was apparently abundant with magestones.” Deuce commented.

“Urgh… who knows what lurks in there…” Grim shivered at the thought, hopping onto Yuu’s shoulder.

“Look, I can see a house. Maybe we can ask whoever lives there about the mines?” Ace suggested to which everyone agreed.

The moment they entered the house, Sebek could smell the stench of rotting wood and the dusty air.

Ugh... Me and my strong sense of smell...

“I am confident to say no one is here anymore.” He said. Everyone started to look around the house. It wasn’t too dark but most corners of the house were shrouded with shadows.

“Bwah! I got a spider web on my face! Henchmen get it off of me!” Grim swatted the webs and Yuu helped wipe off the rest of it.

“Look at how tiny these desks and chairs are,” Ace pointed out, to which Sebek noted. “One, two… Seven! Itś like a clown car in here!”

“Perhaps this was the miner’s house. They must have been dwarf’s since this place is called the Dwarf’s Mine.” Said Sebek.

“Ohh! You're right!” Ace agreed. “Well, this isn’t getting us anywhere, if we’re going to find a magestone then we have to go into the mines.”

“...Sure.” Deuce said. Ace heard the stutter in his voice and smirked.

“Is Juice scared?”

“My name is Deuce Spade!” Deuce yelled and walked out the door in a fast manner to which Ace snickered and followed along.

“Are you scared Sebek?” Yuu asked.

Am I scared? I don’t think I am but I wasn’t here when they fought the entity…

“Of course not. I’ve been training in dark places all my life! And besides, I am here to protect you so I can’t be scared.” Sebek said. He went with the obvious option of lying.

Yuu only nodded but Grim tilted his head.

“Training? Oh! Right! You’re a bodyguard!”

Sebek nodded and Grim seemed proud to remember that detail.

“Anyways, let’s hurry to follow those humans to the cave's entrance!” They all took their leave and Sebek closed the door to the house.

Hopefully the cave isn’t too bad. I’m not sure what kind of monster they spotted but if they defeated it, then it can't be too bad...

...Nevermind, I think I should be scared.

The group stood in front of the cave entrance where Sebek could feel the impending doom from that pitch, black, hole.

“WHAT! You want to go in THERE? It’s pitch black!” Grim shouted and hid behind Yuu and Sebek’s legs unconsciously.

“What, you're scared of the dark?” Ace asked.

“Mwah?! I-I’m not scared of anything! Not like Deuce there!”

“HEY!”

“I’m taking the lead. You all follow me!” Grim jumped in front of the group and headed inside the mines. Sebek and the others followed and to Sebek’s surprise, Grim’s flames were bright enough to light the way while also the gems reflecting off said light.

It’s kind of pretty, most of these gems are rare as well. Perhaps I can grab three for them…

Sebek found himself admiring the gems instead of helping the others find a magestone.

Maybe one of the blue ones for Silver… or perhaps a green one? I should grab a red too for Lilia–

RUUUUUUMMMMBBBLLLLEEEEE

“What was that?!” Ace screamed.

“Quick! Move behind that corner over there, something’s coming!” Deuce shouted, pushing everyone behind the corner.

Sebek made sure to stay in the front as he peered over the corner along with the others but Sebek had his hand out to make sure none of them were in sight.

The ground shook and a faint voice was heard speaking.

“Hee hee hee hee! Visitors! The first of them in ten years!”

“Do make yourselves at home… You can stay here forever!!”

There are two voices... Are they Ghosts? Instead of the entity? But how come they are in here with it?

Perhaps... they are the missing miners…!

“More ghosts?! They’re floating around here too!” Ace whisper-shouted.

“If we stopped to fight, we’ll never get anywhere,” Deuce said. “Let’s just go another direction and keep moving.”

“Sure~ But don’t act like a team leader when YOUR the one who pulled that stupid stunt!” Ace said.

Deuce glared at Ace. “Oh? I’m pretty sure it all started with your window-cleaning punishment!”

Oh no… the arguing happened even before they got close?! How did they even become so close in the first place? Sebek thought as he watched the two go at each other's throats.

“So we’re bringing up ancient history now?”

“It is not ancient history–”

“This all started when that furball torched that statue!”

“Myah?!” Grim seemed startled by being involved in the fight but instead he snarled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have made fun of me, then!”

“Be quiet!” Sebek yelled, making the others quiet. “You keep fighting and you’ll never find that magestone!”

I forgot how annoying they kept fighting… Was I like that with my Malleus rants? Was I that annoying?

Sebek pinched his hand.

I got to stop thinking about useless things right now, things are starting to heat up.

...IIvvv…oooouuuu….

“Wh-where’s that comin’ from…?” Ace muttered.

Everyone looked around themselves, their stances in fear with Sebek also nervous.

If this is what I’m thinking… then this should be the entity!

…neeevvaaaa…iiivvv…ooouu…

Sebek almost gagged at the strong smell of rotting flesh and ink. The smell kept coming closer each time they moved back.

I feel like I’m about to pass out…What am I smelling?

Sebek looked at the others and saw that they don’t seem to be affected by the odor Sebek is smelling.

Am I the only one smelling this? Ugh…It’s only getting stronger!

Stoooonneeesss….nevvva give stoooonnneess…!

When the entity got closer Sebek saw what the group had to face. A glass head with blot swirling inside, excess black goo dripped from its body as if its sinking into the ground. Its body was red and it was carrying a pickaxe with even more blot hanging off of it. The cherry on top was the hat looking like an elf hat.

“AH!” Ace and Grim yelled together, holding onto each other.

“So there are stones here!” Deuce nonchalantly said, as if there isn’t a blot monster right in front of him.

“You idiot! Are you outta your mind?!” Ace screamed at Deuce.

“But we need a magestone or else we’ll get expelled! I’m going in– woah!”

Sebek grabbed Deuce’s collar and brought him backwards. He stepped in front of the group holding his magic pen and pointing it at the monster.

“The only way to get through is to fight it! If you really need that magestone, then I suggest preparing for battle!” Sebek yelled.

The others seemed to still at that but a moment later and they took their pens out rushing besides Sebek, leaving Grim and Yuu in the back.

“Let’s beat this bitch to the ground!” Deuce growled, slammed his fists together.

“Whoa! What did you just– nevermind, let’s destroy this monster!” Ace said, also standing tall.

“You two! Make sure to stay out of the way and find that magestone while we deal with this!” Sebek instructed Yuu to which Yuu nodded.

“Eh?! How come I’m not doing anything?” Grim shouted.

“You’re protecting Yuu so make sure they stay safe!”

“So I’m a bodyguard then… I will do my best! Come on henchmen, let’s find that stone!” Grim shouted and ran with Yuu to find the mage stone.

Sebek took one look at the monster and the other two on his side.

This battle might be hard but I’m sure we’ll beat it.

Sebek readied his fighting stance. He smirked on the oncoming battle.

Come on monster, show me how strong you are...!

Chapter Text

….aaAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH…!!

When the enemy roared, it shook the ground causing it to crack in the floor and walls. Gems fell out of their sockets and Sebek could hear the faint noises of Grim and Yuu searching for a magestone.

Let’s finish this quickly!

Sebek knew this fight was going to be tough so with the amount of fighting experience he and Deuce plus Ace has, he needs to make do with what he’s got.

“Ace! Use wind magic to damage the enemy! Deuce! Try to get the monster unarmed by catching it off guard!” Sebek ordered.

“Got it!”

“On it!”

Ace jumped back a bit and started to pour out wind magic. The magic pooled around his magestone before bursting out with fast slashes, damaging the enemy on its side. The enemy gurgled before letting out a loud roar.

….Yoooouu…..!!!

The entity slammed his pickaxe into the ground causing it to shake and crack in the middle. The crack got bigger and Sebek quickly jumped out of the way before the ground split in half.

“Whoa! This guy is strong!” Ace yelled. He threw in another slash of wind before dodging another attack from a pickaxe.

“I… I summoned something heavy!” Deuce yelled and his pen glowed a bright blue before magic swirled over the beast.

Suddenly a cauldron landed on the entity’s glass head, hard enough that it cracked at the top. It dropped its pickaxe which Sebek was able to push it out of reach into another entrance.

Deuce saw the cauldron confuse the enemy so with an impulsive decision, he rushed at the enemy intending to kick at it.

“Wait, Deuce stop—!”

Suddenly the enemy swung its arms around. One of its arms hits Deuce’s leg causing him to be off guard and slammed into a rock wall. Making him stumble onto the ground. Sebek was about to come to his aid when suddenly large black spheres flew straight towards him, causing him to dodge out of the way but farther from the others.

Luckily, Ace was there to grab Deuce out of the way and make sure they were far from the range of attacks.

“You okay Deuce?!” Sebek asks, making sure to summon ice projectiles towards the enemy. The ice managed to get rid of the black spheres but black goo suddenly splattered around Sebek.

It’s hard to do lightning magic in an enclosed space…but I think I can try with the pickaxe…

“I’m alright, but that… thing, it hits hard so keep away from his arms.” Deuce hissed as his side seemed to get worse. Sebek only nodded and rushed into the battle making sure to find any weak points in the entity’s stance.

Sebek tried to fire off another ice projectile but the entity swatted it away and only seemed to grow more agitated.

It’s strong…! Was it this strong when they fought it themselves? 

“Sebek! Watch out!”

Suddenly Sebek was brought out of his mind as he felt an impact on his back and suddenly he found himself thrown across the floor. He managed to land safely but the damage to his back felt as if he was suffocating.

Shit… that hurts! This thing can hit hard– how is it so strong?!

“Are you alright?!” Sebek heard Ace yell out.

“I’m fine! Keep aiming at its head! There’s cracks on it so keep at it!” Sebek called out.

“Got it! Summon thee cauldron!”

Another cauldron was dropped on the entity’s head. It roared once more, seemingly getting bigger.

Sebek scans the cave for anything useful. He then spots the discarded pickaxe right next to him and quickly picks it up.

If I need to break the glass then…

“Ace! Can you try any water magic?” Sebek asks and quickly starts to form magic around his magestone and transfers it to the pickaxe.

“I can try! I’m not good at water magic yet though!”

“That’s fine! Just flood the ground below it!

“What are you thinking of?! You’re not trying to kill us are you!!” Ace screamed. Deuce coughed as Ace accidently shakes the poor boy.

Sebek shook his head and aimed his pen at the ground once his pickaxe was imbued with magic.

“I’m not! I’m going to freeze the water and then throw the pickaxe at it,” Sebek dodged another sphere coming at him. “Just make it stop moving for a second!”

“Alright! Deuce, help me with this!”

“Stop shaking me then!”

The duo got ready with their magic, pointing it straight underneath the monster. Their magestones forming the magic getting bigger and brighter with each second. Sebek readied his pen as well making sure to keep an eye on the head for the opening.

The enemy continued to grow angrier and seeing that the students were still seemed to be more careless in his attacks.

When a black goo sphere headed towards the duo, it was destroyed by blue flames. Sebek looked behind him and saw Yuu and Grim joining the battle.

“We found a magestone!” Yuu yelled. “Grim, make sure to protect those two!”

“Myah! Of course henchmen! The absolute Grim shall do it’s best–”

“Stop with your boasting and help you furball!”

“Shut it Ace!”

Their magic grew brighter and soon a stream of water burst from the pen flooding the ground beneath the entity.

…Urrggghh….Huuuuuuhhhh…?!

The water continued to pour out as the duo seemed to struggle with the remaining magic coming out. 

“Freeze the water!” Sebek yelled out the command and as soon as he said it, his pen shot out a burst of magic and suddenly the water froze in seconds.

AAACCCKKK!!....Yo..oouu..uu….iiiddddiioooottt!!!....!

Sebek ignored the entity and quickly rushed forwards, holding onto the pickaxe as he jumped as high as he could from all the training Lilia pushed him through.

It was as if everything went in slow motion, the monster seemed to pause its struggle as it watched Sebek bring down the same pickaxe it used to fight with. Sebek made sure to pour his strength into this hit as he got closer to the head.

The monster looked upon the boy and nodded his head so little that Sebek could have missed it if he wasn’t this close to destroying it.

Suddenly a wave of emotions and strong scent of ink entered his nose as Sebek felt himself almost passed out from how much was spilling out of the entity. But he couldn’t give up right then and there, he needed to push through.

The moment the pickaxe touched the glass, it cracked...

Then shattered causing Sebek to let go of the pickaxe and drop to the floor.

The monster was a mess now, pieces of glass on the floor but the entity wasn't moving. The ball still had some blot left in it. Sebek looked closely at the cracked glass head.

What...is that? ...WAIT-

Suddenly, black smoke seeped out of the cracks and soon spilled out in growing black smoke. Sebek tried to escape but it was as if the thing was sentient as he felt it grab onto his arms and legs, making him unable to move away.

He peeked over his shoulder and saw the others also struggling to move out of the smoke. But the one thing that was concerning was all their magestones were glowing brightly. The pens have fallen out of their hands, but the gem still glowed as if magic was being used.

“Guys–Cough–Ack!” Sebek tried to speak but his lungs felt as if they collapsed and he abruptly coughed. The smoke was getting to his lungs and it was getting harder to breathe.

He watched with blurry vision as the others suddenly collapsed one after the other. Yuu was the first as then was Grim who couldn’t keep his flames awake. Deuce was next to Ace as he collapsed and Ace followed with him.

What’s going on? This never happened…I’m sure…

Sebek coughed once more and fell to the ground. His pen landed next to his face. Through all the smoke, he spots something happening to his magestone.

Is the stone…collecting the smoke?

It was as if the magestone was purifying the smoke, the green glow of his pen getting brighter–almost hurting his eyes at the light.

“Hah…cough!” Sebek gasps as he tries to take any air in. He couldn’t keep himself from staying awake. He knew he was going to faint but the stone…

He needed to find the stone, so he had to get up and walk!

My pen is sucking the smoke away… If I use that as a mask… then I can get to that stone.

He grabs the pen right next to him, covering his face with part of his blazer as he gets down to the ground and crawls towards the stone.

As he crawls and pushes through the pain and suffocating smoke, he reaches out towards the stone trying to grasp it as he gets closer and closer. The more he got closer, the more the smoke was getting thicker. Sebek placed his pen in front of him, letting the magestone take the extra smoke that was spewing out.

It’s right there..! Just a few…more steps, and I can grab it!

Sebek reached his arm out a little more, and finally. His hand had grabbed the stone and then the smoke stopped. As if it was an off and on switch. He pulled the stone closer to him and felt the hard surface. It was smaller than he had imagined.

I…I did it…!

Sebek quickly stored the stone inside his hidden pocket of his blazer. He felt the relief of his plan fully working until the end. The exhaustion clinging onto his body as he collapsed to the floor.

He knew he couldn't stay awake for any longer and the sense of achievement and adrenaline made him even more tired.

He felt his eyes closing once again and a single thought ran through his head.

Looks like…I’m going back to the nurse’s office…

…

…Sorry Lilia-sama…

Chapter Text

“Father? Why are you on the ceiling?”

Silver looks up and spots Lilia pacing back and forth on the ceiling. He’s stepping hard enough that Silver can see the faint tracks of his shoes staining the ceiling.

“Sebek is missing,” Lilia says and drops from the ceiling right in front of Silver. “And I have no idea where he is at the moment!”

Silver eyes widened at that, “You mean he isn’t in his room?"

“No! I checked the infirmary again, he wasn’t there, then I checked the entire school and found no sign of him,” Lilia continued to pace back and forth.

“Then I asked Jack once more and he hasn’t heard anything from the boy either!”

“Well, they had just met–”

“AND GET THIS!” Lilia grabbed Silver by the arm and shoved a phone screen in front of him. “There was a group of students who broke the chandelier!”

“How is that possible?” Silver murmured. Lilia clearly heard him as he fell dramatically onto Silver to which the boy caught him.

“Sebek…” Lilia paused, “Sebek was supposed to be eating in the cafeteria!”

Both Silver and Lilia jumped at the thought. The idea of Sebek getting into trouble was not impossible but if he was caught and was falsely accused of causing the incident, then perhaps he is with the headmage!

“Get to that bird's office!” Lilia shouted and ran straight towards Crowely office. Silver right behind him.

I’ll message Malleus later, but Sebek…

Please be okay!

Sebek felt the loneliness again. His mind was once again empty as he floated around in his subconscious. Nothing was going to wake him up for a while…

…Not unless a sharp pain to his head wakes Sebek up in pain.

“OWCH! Wh– What was that?!”

“It was me ya’ twerp!”

Sebek woke up holding the back of his head with his hand. That pain was getting weaker but the idea of something hurting him while being so vulnerable makes him on guard.

“Where are you?!” Sebek yelled out. He looked around and spotted himself in a grassy field. In the distance was nothing but soft clouds looking like cotton candy. 

“...Really kid? Look down for heaven's sake!”

Sebek looked down and spotted a short person staring at him with a glare. His hands on his hips as he taps his foot onto the ground.

What. The. Fu–

“Oi! Stop getting lost in that small head of yours and listen to me!” The short man says. He raises his fist at Sebek and Sebek couldn’t help but back away from the man.

“A-alright, but who are you? And where am I?” Sebek asks first.

Where is everyone else too..? I should be in that cave with them!

“Tch, always the young ones askin’ too many questions,” The man says. He strokes his long, white beard. “You're in a mindscape where the power in the magestone collects too much magic and causes you to essentially ‘Daydream’ in a way.”

That did not explain anything at all. Except, maybe the dream part…

“So, I’m basically asleep right?” Sebek asks.

“Yes! How dense are you?!”

“I am not dense! You are a terrible explainer to someone who needs explanations!”

The two just glared at each other. Sebek made sure to keep eye contact on this short, mean man. But the man just laughed in his face and slapped his knee.

Sebek watched as the man just continued to laugh before continuing to stroke his white beard.

“Well, I can’t argue with that logic. I mean, you did just destroy my evil spirit.”

“Of course! That entity was about to kill my friends— wait… hold on- that was you?! As a spirit?!” Sebek yelled to which the man just chuckled once more.

You sir, are making me very angry–

“Sorry kid, I usually have that effect on others.” The man just simply said. Sebek paused at that.

“Wait, you can hear my thoughts?”

“This is your subconscious. This is your magical dreamscape.” The man just said without a care for Sebek’s confused mind.

“Well– forget about that, but you are the one who was in that…form? Also what’s your name?”

The man just hummed and sat down on the grass. Sebek didn’t know what to do but it felt like an invitation, and perhaps he may be here for a while. So, Sebek sat down next to the man, kneeling with his legs tucked in.

“I wasn’t originally in that form. It was only when I saw the death of my family that I lost control of myself and turned into a terrifying monster. I was sealed there to keep from destroying anything outside of the cave… but I lost myself.” The man says, “The house you might have seen outside the cave, that was my brothers and I’s house. We were miners and we met someone kind that day…”

Sebek continued to listen quietly to the man. He hasn’t gotten a name yet but perhaps letting the man let out his story may do that trick.

“I didn’t like them at first, but they showed me kindness and I was so grateful for that. The queen however… she didn’t like that at all.”

Queen? Does he mean the Evil Queen?

“She did everything in her power to kill that person, but me and my brothers… We mean sure that the Queen didn’t harm our– my savior.” The man said the last part softly, as he stared into the clear blue sky.

This story… must be referencing the nemesis of the Queen! But if this was what really happened… then what are the other stories of the Seven actually like?

“That person was my true friend… but I watched as they left me all alone once again. My brothers tried to follow her but they ended up getting themselves killed; being accused of intruders!” The man slammed his hand into the ground in anger. Sebek jumped at that.

Jeez! That scared me… but getting killed for false accusations? Who was this person?

Sebek watched the man as he caught his breath before he continued to stare into the sky once again.

“I lost myself to anger and completely destroyed my entire being for decades…maybe that’s why my names ‘Grumpy’.” The man– Grumpy said. He turned towards Sebek and held out his fist to him.

Sebek pointed to himself, as he watched Grumpy get a bit more angrier.

“Oh… are you giving me something?”

“Shut up and hold out your palm!”

Sebek quickly did just that and the man placed a small red rock in his palm. It was smaller than a pebble and yet it shone so brightly. The red hues mixed with almost a purple tint. Sebek continued to stare at the gem but made sure to bow down to Grumpy.

“That you very much sir! I will treasure this gem for the rest of my life!” He yelled.

The man just waved his hand. “Yeah, yeah, stop with all the dramatics. But, make sure it transfers to ya’ pen, it's a magestone made of the purest magic there is.”

Sebek did a double-take on that.

“Wait what–”

“Now you betta’ wake up! Or else your friends might think ya’ dead!”

I– Wait, why is everything getting fuzzier?!

“Wait! But I still have some things to ask!” Sebek said, trying to reach Grumpy, but the man seemed to be farther away now.

“See you later kid! And make sure you connect the stone with your magic! Good luck kid.”

“Wait–!”

Suddenly Sebek felt himself black out but with one final look at the man, he felt comforted.

Not again!

Grumpy watched as Sebek faded out from the fields. His soft smile on his face as he turned towards the sky once more.

“I finished my goal, my friend. Perhaps I could have a small chat or two with you and the others…” Grumpy mumbled. He was fading out as well.

“That kid… he will do great things.”

Grumpy said his final words and soon disappeared along with the winds.

His story is completed and now he is finally at rest with his family. Cherishing his memories and passing on his own story one last time.

Goodbye Grumpy. He will be remembered.

“He's still not waking up!”

“Quick! Grim, use your fire but scorch Sebek but very lightly!”

“I don’t think that is a good idea–”

“Of course my henchman!”

FWOOSH—

“ACK! What the hell?!” Sebek woke up with pain to his hand and tucked it into himself as he sat up. He turned to the source and spotted Grim being held by Yuu.

Ace and Deuce are also standing behind them as they also watch Sebek.

“That worked! You're an amazing human!” Grim yelled, throwing his paws up in celebration.

“Of course I am,” Yuu says and drops Grim onto the floor ignoring the hissing. “Are you alright Sebek? We woke up before you but it’s been about thirty minutes.”

“Yeah! You were all sprawled out in that disgusting puddle of goo and were barely conscious!” Ace said. “Me and Juice over here and to drag you out of it.”

“I swear you’re doing this one purpose– But I was the one who pulled you out! Not this guy over here!” Deuce yelled.

“I don’t know man, it was more of a team effort– AGH! Hey! No punching!”

“That wasn’t even strong!”

“That was for me!”

“Weak.”

“You little—”

“Thanks for getting me out of there!” Sebek yelled in order to get the two to stop fighting. Yuu threw him a grateful look and Grim seemed to be even more annoyed.

“But, what happened to the magestone?”

“Oh that? We still have it, but you weren’t waking up and these two were very worried.” Yuu explained. They showed the gem inside their blazer pocket while Ace and Deuce fumbled with their words.

“N-No! We just wanted to make sure we didn’t get in trouble again!”

“Yeah! We weren’t stalling!”

Ace glared at Deuce.

“Anyways, we have to get going or otherwise we won’t make it by sunrise!” Ace explains. The others agreed as well and Deuce made sure to hold onto Sebek as he had trouble walking.

“Let’s all also go to the nurse’s office to get checked.” Yuu mentions.

“Yeah..I have to go there, once again…” Sebek mumbled.

“You actually defeated it?!”

The Headmage screamed at the top of his lungs. So loud that Sebek thought it could rival his own yelling.

“Ow! Watch it! I don’t need to go deaf right now!” Ace yelled back making Crowely 'squawk’ at the boy.

“No respect! Where have my good students gone?”

“Through hardships and preventing expulsions from our headmage.” Yuu bluntly said. “I still can’t believe you sent us to a monster-filled cave.”

“You son of a bi–MMPH!”

Yuu quickly covered the mouth of Grim who clawed at their hand which led to no results.

“Where did he learn that word?” Deuce whispered to Sebek.

“Probably Ace.”

“Hey!”

“Ahem!” Crowley coughed getting attention from everyone. “Perhaps I must say, the way you have dealt with the monster, considering you don’t have any magic…”

Crowley lifted his staff off the ground, a few centimeters at least, and lightly tapped it back down causing magic to swirl around the staff in hues of dark blues and gold.

Everyone watched as the magic soon swirled over Grim and Yuu, their clothing changing and a collar forming around Grim’s neck.

It’s like watching a live performance!

Sebek took in this sight like a starving fish. He never once saw the Headmage use magic before, so seeing this is an absolute delight.

If I work hard enough… Perhaps I could do something like this?

“In light of the circumstances, you and Yuu will share a single enrollment at Night Raven College.”

“Myah! I…I get to go to this school? Really?!” Grim stared at Crowley and once the man nodded, he jumped into the arms of an awaiting human.

“MYAAAAHHH! I FINALLY DID IT!!” Grim said happily. Yuu hugged Grim tightly.

“WE did! And, you got a magestone too!”

Sebek saw the glint of the gem, a nice purple color.

“Now, I assume you know what to do Yuu?” Crowley asks. He points towards Grim who was busy showing off his newly magestone and collar to Ace and Deuce who were teasing the animal back.

Yuu nods and then Crowley uses more magic to form a camera in front of them.

“Is that… a ghost camera?” Sebek said. He grabs the camera from the air and inspects the outside of it.

“Oh? You know what these are?” Crowley asks.

“Of course! My grandfather owns one of these in his house, he doesn’t use it anymore but it was the same exact kind as this one!”

“Well, that leaves you to teach Yuu how to use it. What I want is for you to take plenty of photos of your time here. Perhaps it will be important in the future.”

Sebek hands the camera to Yuu who takes it gratefully.

“I won’t let you down sir.”

“Well of course, with all my generous actions, perhaps you will understand my meaning to my words,” Crowley pushes Yuu towards the other three.

“Now, the hour is late and it is time for you four to get going! Run along now!”

Oh, it is late isn’t it? I need to get back before Lilia starts destroying the entire building—

“Ah! Sebek, please stay here for a moment.”

Fuck.

Sebek stopped in front of the door and watched as the others looked back towards him with pity faces. He watches as the door slowly closes in front of him and all he has to do is turn around.

I can feel that pressure behind me… What did I do?!

Sebek slowly turns himself around and sees Crowley sitting on top of his desk, in a relaxed stance.

“Now, you didn’t do anything wrong…” Crowley trails off leaving Sebek to sweat his butt off. “But I think that gem inside your blazer might be off putting.”

Huh?! HE CAN FEEL THE GEM?! How strong is this thing??

Sebek opens his blazer, being very aware that Crowley was watching his every move and takes out the small gem from a hidden pocket. He holds it out for Crowley to take, but the man shakes his head.

“I will not take it from you, but I just wanted to see what an old friend left,”

That got Sebek’s attention.

An old friend? Did he know Grumpy?

“Did you… know him?”

“I did. Once in a lifetime. He was the grumpiest and utterly mean guy for a dwarf,” Crowley looks behind him and stares through the window. “But he was a friend of mine. And I’m happy he found someone to carry on his magic through them.”

Sebek looked down at the gem for a moment.

Continue his magic? Maybe… This is what could change the future? And the overblots too? Perhaps… I could save Malleus too?

But why would he give it to me? And how does he know I traveled back in time?

How does Crowley know I died and came back?

Sebek was so deep in thought that he had forgotten that he was inside Headmage Crowley’s office. But, for a moment, he finally had a clue to solve all these mysteries.

A hand was placed upon his shoulder as Sebek looked up and saw those yellow beady eyes through the mask.

“Good luck Sebek Zigvolt, and let this be a lesson,” Crowley places a claw up against his forehead and suddenly Sebek passes out into the arms of the teacher.

“You never know who you will run into next. Fear locks the light in darkness,” Crowley swirls magic around Sebek’s body and teleports him into the nurses office.

“Courage is the key.”

Chapter Text

There are about twenty-seven squares in each tile of the ceiling…

Sebek stares at the infirmary ceiling with bandages covering his torso and arms. He almost looks like a half covered mummy but without being, well… dead.

I swear on the Seven and my grandfather that this’ll became my room soon… Even the nurse made a joke about it!

Sebek groaned as he tried to lift his arms to cover his face but only winced in pain. They didn't hurt until the nurse pulled the bandages tight on his arm. Maybe that was supposed to be a warning for him.

It wasn't his fault that he had gotten injured this badly, he was basically doing it for the greater good! And Malleus. Definitely Malleus.

Sebek turns his attention towards the infirmary door. The others had just left not a while ago after being cleared to go to classes after the nurse excused them. The others protested to stay with Sebek which gave him these feelings but he appreciated the sentiment.

He waved them off and told them to focus on their studies or else they'll fail the upcoming midterms coming soon to which Deuce immediately ran out along with Grim. The other two chased after the pair, not before telling Sebek to get well soon.

He stares at the door, hearing the clock tick by as each second felt like a whole hour. He was starting to get antsy in his bed, not being able to move for the past day was making Sebek lose his mind.

Hopefully I'm not missing out on anything… But I'm just glad to have the stone on me.

He carefully feels the stone in his hidden pocket, tracing each edge with his finger making sure the stone was there.

I need to figure out the components of this stone, is it magical? It has to be since it powers a blot form… but how?

Sebek sighs and relaxes into the bed some more.

Maybe I should get some more rest before thinking, I need to get better in order to protect Malleus and the rest of the impending future.

Sebek snuggles into the pillow and as he evens out his breathing, he hopes he is able to have a good rest.

Sebek woke up to someone poking at his arm.

He groggily opens his eyes, making sure to blink away the sleep and was about to glare at the person who woke him up.

I was having a splendid sleep right here! Who the hell–

Sebek pauses and stares at the person- or rather, a professor.

Oh my Seven, that's Professor Crewel Divus.

Crewel was sitting next to Sebek carrying a vial filled with a clear liquid, his face in his normal annoyed look and in his normal get up.

“Welcome back to the living pup,” Crewel says. He swirls the vial and brings it to Sebek’s face. “Here, drink this up. It'll fasten the healing process more.”

Sebek obediently sat up and took the vial, then gulped it down.

If Crewel Divus tells you to take something, you better take it.

Sebek learned that the hard way during one of his classes in his past life.

Crewel is scary when things don't work out the way they're supposed to.

The vial tasted like nothing, like drinking a small glass of water. Sebek suddenly felt himself get a bit colder making him cover himself in the blanket.

Whoa…! It suddenly just got chillier, but the pain is gone!

“Of course, I made sure to add extra lavender petals to this.”

Oh, I said that out loud didn't I?

“Yes you did pup.”

“...Ahem! If you may, could you tell me why you are here Professor?” Sebek asks. Slightly embarrassed but overall curious as to with Crewel being at his bedside.

He can't really remember interacting with the professor in his past life. Just questions here and there for class.

Many questions.

“When that bird brain came waltzing into my classroom demanding a healing potion, I for one, do want to know what happened,” Crewel leans back into his chair. “And then when the infamous pup was mentioned to me, perhaps I found something interesting in this one.”

Sebek gulps as Crewel let out a devious smirk.

Weird thing to start with…especially calling the headmaster ‘bird brain’, but I'm infamous?

“Infamous?”

“Well, mostly amongst the teachers. The nurse certainly had something to say about you Sebek Zigvolt.”

Damn. Pulling out the full name AND the nurse talking about me? The most embarrassment I have ever felt. At all. And I yell a lot.

“Haha… Um Professor?” Sebek fidgets with the stone in his pocket.

According to my past life, I remember Ace mentioning about the Science Club being able to use the lab freely to their hearts desire…

Perhaps I may be able to use their equipment to study the stone?

“Hm? What is it?” Crewel turns to Sebek. 

“Is there…” Sebek nervously fiddles with his blanket. “Are you still in charge of the Science Club?”

Crewel widened his eyes just slightly to Sebek’s words. He never really expected a freshman to know about the clubs right now.

‘Perhaps that bird is right about his suspicions…’ Crewel thinks.

“Yes, I am in charge of the Science Club, but please tell me how you know?” Crewel looks at Sebek’s face. He sees the way Sebek’s facial expression squeezes on itself before going back to that neutral look.

“Well… I heard one of the third years talking about the club activities and I wanted to see which one would fit me the most.”

“So you choose the Science Club?”

Oh gosh… this may not work anymore! Please don't let my luck run out right now!

“I- I just wanted to see if I can do a good job! In order to serve Malleus-sama as well as I can!!” Sebek shouted.

“And I really do enjoy potionology and how to make certain brews and spells from all kinds of plants. Especially flowers since I remember collecting a lot for Silver back then–”

“Alright, I understand pup,” Crewel interrupted Sebek’s tangent.

Sebek let out a sigh, then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turns to Crewel who shows a soft expression towards him.

“But, you have to know you don't have to prove yourself to everyone alright?” Crewel gave him a somber look.

I… What? What does he mean?

Before he could ask his question out loud, Crewel got up from his seat.

“Now, I have some work to do. I hope to see you in class this time, pup.”

And with that, Sebek watched the professor walk out the door. 

“Um, wait!” Sebek yelled out.

Crewel stops in his action and turns to the boy.

“Can we still join other clubs even if you're in one already?”

Crewel took the time to think before only smiling.

“Come talk to me once you get the hang of the club.” And just like that, the professor leaves the room.

He stared at the door for a few seconds before flopping back down on the bed. His heart was pumping with nervousness but he felt a smile creeping up on his face.

With this… I can finally start dissecting this stone! Hopefully it isn't as hard as it seemed like last time…

Sebek watched as the cauldron exploded once more in a mushy puddle of black and purple goo.

He stands there as goo drips front the sides of the pot. He was alone in the lab room but that doesn't mean he still can't feel embarrassment.

His protective goggles and lab coat are all covered in goo, changing that pure white fabric into a deep purple.

Nevermind. This is terribly hard…

Sebek walks over to the cleaning supplies and the waste bucket.

Perhaps I should also sign up for the Equestrian Club again…

Chapter Text

It has only been a week since Jack Howl entered this school. And yet, it already felt like half the year had gone by with the amount of bullshit he had heard.

It was non-stop talking and gossiping about a group of freshmen who broke a chandelier in the cafeteria.

Jack was still kind of pissed at that since it was closed for the time being until they could fix it up. Including the kitchen which he didn’t know how it got caught with the destruction since it was in another room but it did.

From what he heard from the other seniors in his dorm, it shouldn’t take more than a day since they found a replacement already to which the Headmaster was all happy and proud for some reason.

Let’s just say, Professor Crewel was more irritated in class today.

Jack continued his path to his next class even if it was break time, he needed to make sure he was on top of his work so that he could set an example for his little siblings. He didn’t even get to the next hallway until he collided with a wall.

Or at least, that’s what he thought it was until he heard a yell and immediately grabbed onto them. He caught a green haired classmate with bright yellow eyes.

Jack let go almost instantly and was instead asking questions. That seemed to tick off the boy but Jack watched their face and was surprised to feel something.

Was it recognition? But he never met this boy until this moment. It could be concerning, since he told him he was heading to the infirmary, but it still didn’t make sense on why that person was familiar to him.

Jack spent a good few seconds just staring at the boy as he walked further away from him and soon continued his own walk. He should just focus on the school day for now.

And yet, he couldn’t.

That guy was on his mind the entire time and he could do nothing but be annoyed. Not even the words of his fellow dorm members smack talking about the other dorms could get rid of this guy.

Two upperclassmen came up to him asking for a student with the same description as the gy he bumped into. He wanted to ignore them but they seemed like nice people only worried for their classmate to which Jack couldn’t help but tell them he went to the nurse’s office.

But what was even worse was that now he couldn’t help but think of the guy.

Every time he saw something green he was just reminded of that face which his mind was filled with some type of fondness for the guy. But how come he’s feeling this when he doesn’t even know the guy's name? No matter how hard he tried to forget, those yellow eyes kept popping right back at him.

He could feel his tail start to wag and needed to physically grab onto it to make it stop. If anyone from his dorm saw this, they would’ve spread that notion to the entire school in under a minute.

He became a bit embarrassed at his actions and ultimately made his way to his next class. It was boring to say the least, not much to note on but the fact he watched a lot of people collapse during P.E because of the workout. Mr. Vargas was busy laughing with the other students and Jack couldn't help but be worried for his first year here.

Survival for the fittest Jack supposes. 

The school day ended with no more accidents and Jack couldn’t help but be happy about that. He just needed to freshen up and…

“Sebek! There you are, how come you are so late?”

“Human! I was busy helping out with the science club and checking out the equestrian club as well.”

Jack paused in his steps and watched the same boy, with striking yellow eyes and bright green hair walk past him to a group with two Heartslabyul students, the non-magic human and a cat.

“Eh~? Don’t we check out clubs next week?” The redhead asks.

“Of course! But being on top of things makes it easier to serve your master!” The green– Sebek says back.

“What a smart way to think! Maybe I should start heading to different clubs before other students get to them…” The blue one mumbles only to be hit on the arm by the redhead.

“Oi! What was that for?!”

“Sebek probably got permission to visit early, and even if we did we might just be called ‘nerds’!”

“You think there’s a cooking club?”

“There might be one… considering there was a culinary room at this school.”

“Myah?! That means I could try some delicious snacks?”

“Maybe Grim, or, perhaps it’s a beginner’s class which means lots of burnt food.”

“EH?!”

Jack watches as the group interacts with one another. The atmosphere around them seems so comfortable, even if it has barely been a week. Yet they got along so well when he wasn’t able to talk to any of his roommates.

Is there… any way I could get to hang out with them?

Jack watches as the group walks the opposite direction of him. He watches as each of them talk to one another and laugh with each other, and Sebek… Jack wants to get to know more about him.

He turns away and walks back to his dorm room.

I need to get ready for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Nothing happened to Sebek once he made it through half of his classes. Other than Mr. Vargas pushing every single freshman on the track and making them vomit out their breakfast, and his potionology class shut down after making too many explosions, Sebek was feeling pretty good for this day.

That is… until he spotted Ace in a familiar heart-shaped collar sitting at their table in the cafeteria.

Before that thought though, Sebek was honestly quite shocked to hear about the new renovations made to this school.

Sebek was also surprised to hear the cafeteria was already repaired but he was even more so when the group invited him to eat with them from now on. He told Lilia what had happened and the fae just responded with a big smile and pushed him off to the others.

Now he sits with the others, eating his food quietly as he listens to everyone chat with one another. He was having a good time, being able to hang out with his friends once more made him more determined to fix the future.

He hasn’t really thought about the future a lot. He was more worried about the stone but maybe this might be a high priority instead.

He glances at the collar around Ace's neck and tries to think back into the past life, but he can't quite remember much.

Maybe I should refer back to my notes for a bit… I do remember Riddle Rosehearts being the first overblot according to Yuu said in the past,

Sebek finished the last of his soup and got up to clean his tray.

If I could somehow prevent that from happening… would it create a somewhat better future? But how did he overblot anyway?

He walks back to his spot and just hangs around them for a moment longer.

Maybe then he could get some clues.

“I still can’t believe we had to fight those guys… what is their problem anyway?!” Ace says. Yuu shrugs and continues to feed Grim like a baby.

“Could it maybe be Grim skipping the line…?”

“I just don’t get it! Aren’t I a nice guy?” Ace interrupts Sebek.

That got a bunch of stares from everyone making Ace blush in embarrassment before he sputtered out his next words.

“O-okay! A bit mis-wording there, but I’m pretty sure they were the ones that started it first! Right?”

Sebek wasn’t there when the fight happened, but he was there at the end of it where Deuce scared the other students who were watching with a snarl. It was pretty amazing to see the switch between nice to mean.

I wonder what Deuce looked like as a delinquent…I’m pretty sure he had blonde hair? Or was it still blue?

“I still can’t believe bullying happens in this school…” Deuce mumbled and was consoled by Yuu.

Sebek shook away his thoughts and turned to Ace. “What is with that collar? Did you do something wrong to earn that?”

Ace gave him a glare to which Sebek scooted away from him.

“My dorm leader gave me this after I ate a tart. He didn’t even do a double take nevertheless let me talk him out of it!” Ace scoffed. “Then he gave me a damn collar and kicked me out! I had to stay at Yuu’s place for the time being.”

Oh really? Is that why Yuu looks very angry today?

Sebek finds Yuu glaring daggers at Ace who was busy looking anywhere but the prefect. There was definitely something else Ace wasn’t telling him about but before he could ask about it, Grim interrupted him by pawing at his face.

“Well what’s up with the dorms anyway? Why are they so different from one another?” Grim speaks with his mouth full.

“Grim, that is disgusting–”

“Because each dorm is based on one of the Sevens.”

Sebek and Ace jumped out of the way to find someone standing between them. Sebek was more surprised because he couldn’t even tell someone was there. The student had bright orange hair and a phone in one hand.

Next to them was a tall green haired student, with glasses and a soft smile. Sebek thinks he recognizes him but he can’t quite place a name on his face yet.

“Ugh! You’re the dude from this morning!” Ace shouts.

Sebek tilts his head. “This morning?”

“Yeah! He’s the guy who tricked us into painting the roses red!” Grim says.

Sebek turns to Yuu who shakes their head and mouths ‘later’.

“I didn’t trick you, you know! It’s not like I wanted to do it either but rules are rules.” The guy shrugs his shoulders.

“You look so happy about it though.” Deuce mumbles to which the guy leans onto Deuce playfully.

“There, there, Deucy~” The guy pats Deuce’s head. “The rules don’t matter outside the dorm, so Cate here is just your very gentle senior!”

“P-please stop calling me that!”

“Haha, that’s just how Cater expresses his affection, you know?”

“Wait… who are you?”

Trey Clover. The man who resembles my father. I remember the picture he gave me on my birthday and the fact he always seemed to care for us freshmen.

Sebek couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed with the memories flowing in of his family back at home.

I regret not calling my family often or visiting. Especially my father, but perhaps in this new life I could redeem myself, just a bit.

“I heard all about it from Cater. Sorry for the trouble our dorm mates caused you yesterday.”

Sebek moved a bit to allow Trey to sit in between him and Ace, realizing he blanked on part of the conversation.

“And he casually sits right here…” Ace mumbles.

“Come on– We’re in the same school so we should get along,” Cater shoves his phone into Yuu’s face. “Give me your number!”

“I don’t have a phone.” They said, bluntly.

“...Oh,” Cater looks back at Trey and turns to Yuu with a smirk. “It’s okay! Just take a deep breath in and out…”

What a weird way of telling you're a phone addict… but phone’s do come in handy once in a while.

“Cater, back away from the kid.” Trey says.

“Oops! Sorry!” Cater backs away but leans on the table. “So you guys were talking about the dorms right? Big bro will teach you everything about it!”

I don’t need the rundown of everything that is common sense, but I need to join the Science club since it has the necessary tools in order to do experiments on the rock…

And to do that, I need to ask a member.

Sebek turns to Trey and taps him on the shoulder.

And with my luck, it seems a member is right here :)

“I have a question regarding clubs.” Sebek asks.

Trey raises an eyebrow, curious to what Sebek has to say.

“Oh? Most freshmen don’t know about the clubs yet until a week later,” Trey says. “I’m assuming you want to join one already?”

“Of course! I’ve set my eyes on two clubs and was perhaps wondering if we could join two!”

“Hmm… As long as the club leader and the schedules don’t overlap each other, I see no problem with it.”

Yes! That's one part of the steps completed! Now I just need to talk to Crewel since I heard he's in charge and obviously since he’s the potionology teacher–

“But what kind of clubs are you thinking about? Since you seem familiar with the clubs already.” Trey asks.

“Well…” Sebek trails off his sentence.

It should be fine to tell him right? He's a member anyway and maybe he could get me into the club no problem.

“I was perhaps thinking of joining both the Equestrian and Science club!” He says proudly.

Trey raises an eyebrow and has a smug look on his face.

“Really? Maybe I could help you get into one of those clubs,”

Sebek snaps his head towards Trey, his eyes shining like stars startling Trey a bit.

“Really?! I– ahem!” Sebek coughed, making sure to keep his voice from being a megaphone. “Sorry about that! I would be delighted if you could!”

Trey only chuckled. “It’s alright, I'm happy to help a new freshman and a fellow green haired classmate.”

“You are correct! But I feel like our hair is two different shades.”

“You are right… Say, I never gotten your name since you're from a different dorm,”

“I am Sebek Zigvolt! Personal guard of Malleus!”

“Oh! That's impressive, but I feel like I heard that last name somewhere… Say, is your father a dentist?”

“He is! I think you're thinking of his business Z–”

“And your friend here is from Diasomnia! Front that green vest to their cold company makes it really hard to approach them!” 

“Eh?” Sebek tilts his head.

“...You sure? It seems they just needed a little push onto others.” Yuu says.

“I seconded that.” Ace nods along.

Seems like Trey and I got lost in our conversation.

But… Do we actually look very cold to others?

Sebek couldn't help but think about that for a bit.

“But! Isn't that a kid over there?”

“Oh we do get some child prodigies here, but that's actually a Junior. His name is–”

Sebek ducks out of the way.

“Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge.”

“WHOA!” Ace shouts out loud and ducks away from Lilia.

“Lilia!” Sebek looks at Lilia with a frown to which Lilia responds with a smirk.

“Hello Sebek! How is having lunch with your friends going?” Lilia asks.

“It’s going well, but why are you here?” Sebek responds.

“Well, I just wanted to pop in and give my two senses in our dorm, my child!” Lilia says and pats Sebek on the head.

“Plus, it seems you have an apparent interest in my age?”

The others gulped nervously with the dark aura seemingly surrounding Lilia. Sebek, knowing Lilia for a long time, continued to be oblivious.

“Despite my boyish charm, I am not a child,” Lilia smiles. “But, we are schoolmates so you should not feel scared to talk to us! I hope Sebek showed the true nature of the Diasomnia dorm!”

Yeah… I'm pretty sure helping out back in those caves really set the tone of ‘feeling welcomed’ to them.

The others made sure not to make eye contact with him.

I swear if they say anything bad about MY dorm in MY presence I will send them straight to h– Oh! Silver is looking over here.

Sebek waves to Silver who nods back and continues on with his meal. It might have been a bit lonelier since he wasn't there but Sebek will make sure to make it up to him.

“Well… they do have the reputation of having many special students.” Trey comments.

“Of course! We have the great Malleus in our dorms and with his magic being undefeatable!” Sebek jutted out his chin.

Lilia laughs and nods. “Malleus is pretty well known around here,”

“But it's such a shame how the rumors surrounding him are untrue…” Lilia sighs before jumping up onto the table.

“Well I have to get back to my table! I'll see you later Sebek!”

And with that, everyone watched Lilia walk away as if he didn't even say anything.

“...That was weird.” Ace says. Grim nods with him.

“That’s Lilia for you, but I do hope nothing bad happens when I get back…” Sebek mumbles the last part, only Trey raising an eyebrow indicates he's heard him.

“Say, how is Malleus, Sebek? Do you have your own words for him?” Cater asks.

If I actually do think about it, Malleus really is just a normal student. If you take out his magical abilities AND his genetics, I say he's more introverted.

“He is one of the strongest and top five of the best mages so I only have respect for him!”

As if I say my thoughts out loud!

“That's some good news right there! But speaking of best mages, I suppose our housewarden can be considered one as well.” Cater says.

“No kidding!” Ace points a finger at himself. “Our dorm Riddle put this on me for eating one piece of a tart!”

“You did eat it without permission…” Yuu says.

“You did? That is a rude thing to do.” Sebek states. Ace seems to slouch.

“But… I mean, I didn't know it was someone's I was just hungry after our, um… trip.” Ace looks away and fiddles with the lock on his collar.

“Perhaps you should have grabbed a snack from the cafeteria instead.” 

“But I thought it's closed at night? We did come back at midnight anyway…” Ace slumps before he sees Deuce pointing behind him.

“What? What are you doing Deu--A-agh?! Housewarden?!” Ace jumps back.

Riddle is here! Seems like this was the beginning of his overblot, hopefully I'll be able to prevent it!

Sebek watches the others chat with Riddle who was busy scolding Ace who is busy hiding his face from everyone.

And maybe, I could understand what had happened to him.

Sebek only has a few days at most to figure out a solution and with an opportunity from Trey to join the Science club…

Sebek has gotten a head start.

Let the story begin!

Chapter Text

If Silver could read only one person's mind for an entire day, he would pick Sebek with no hesitation.

It's not like Silver wants to invade Sebek’s mind but what he has been doing the past days or so is making Silver very suspicious. 

“So you’re saying that this kind of plant is more poisonous if soaked in water?”

“Of course! I– Er- my mother, discovered this when washing some new plants she discovered when she went foraging!”

“Interesting… it seems you enjoy the outdoors as well?”

“Indeed!”

‘What is even happening right now?’ Silver thinks as he looks between the two.

What a weird combination. Never once thought the two could get along so well, but life does have its moments.

Silver watches as Sebek and Jade Leech continue to chat with each other while walking towards the next class.

It’s actually relieving to see Sebek not having any problems socializing with others.

Unlike back at home…

Silver remembered Sebek being shunned away from the other faes more harshly than he was despite being a human.

He had to watch Sebek get thrown around by the other kids while also gossiped about by the adults.

And yet, Silver had no idea what to do. He didn't want to make the situation worse and since he was a human, it would have made Sebek become even more targeted than before.

But Silver regretted that action.

“So, how about joining my club this year?” Jade asks.

Sebek shakes his head. “I'm already trying to join in two as of now! So adding a third seems a bit overwhelming…”

Jade's eyes widen at that but his smile is ever so persistent.

“Oh? So it seems I met a hardworking classmate then. Isn't that right Silver?”

“...Yes.”

“But I wouldn't mind joining in once in a while,” Sebek says. “In fact, I hope I could come on one of your hikes next time!”

“Oh? That seems like a wonderful idea!”

Jade smiles with his teeth showing.

This is my first time seeing Jade smile so wide like that…

Silver watches as the two wave each other goodbye and Jade walks away towards his next class.

“Now, I shall head to my next class right now–”

“Are you okay, Sebek?”

That just came out of nowhere.

Sebek tilts his head to the side in a confused manner.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I… Nevermind. I'll see you at lunch.”

“Eh?! But we're going to the same room! Where are you going? Come back!”

Silver quickly walks away leaving Sebek to catch up to him but he had something else on his mind.

If I'm already acting like this… Will I ever become a good knight?

Today was sort of odd.

Sebek felt as if there was a huge misunderstanding going on and when he tried to ask around, most people just walked away from him and whispered to one another.

Did something happen? Why is everyone acting so weird around me?

Sebek couldn't help but feel a little bit self conscious of himself.

Just ignore them, they aren't worth the effort.

Sebek calmly walks back to his dorm room. He was supposed to be having a meeting with Professor Crewel about his joining the Science club but that got canceled due to the room being covered in toxic smoke.

No one was harmed except a person's ego, from what he heard from Trey through text.

That's the funny part. He now has more people in his contacts than in his previous life. It felt… odd to say at least.

Normally, he would only reserve it for people he truly cared about.

(Like the group and his family but we won't count that)

Funny how things change from knowing things, my actions are already shifting the future.

Sebek began grinning to himself, making sure to have a step in his walk but then he heard more whispers pointed towards him.

But when he looked at the students talking, they turned and walked away.

Okay, this is actually getting serious. If I tried to retrace my steps and think clearly on this. These little humans are most likely insulting me behind my back!

Sebek groaned and hastened his footsteps.

I only have a few more steps before I get to my dorm room.

He was only ten steps away when he felt something hard hit the back of his arm. He almost growled but kept his cool to turn around.

Son of a bi– Wait… What the Sevens?

Sebek picked up the thing that was thrown at him and found himself perplexed.

It was a jewelry box adorned with small gemstones at the sides. It wasn't anything very fancy, but instead, a simplistic type with a straight edge and no rough designs.

A Silver box with a few gems on the side… Who in their right mind would throw something like this? Let alone me?

Sebek took a look around only to find no one in sight. Not even the whispers or chatter the dorms usually had.

It was oddly silent.

This is very suspicious. I need to see if this box is held by a curse or some sorts!

Sebek carefully tucked the box under his arms and brought out his phone.

Lilia should help me with this. It's too dangerous to bring Malleus here and I don't want Silver to be affected by whatever this is.

Sebek found his contact and began to text the old man.

S: This box was thrown at me and I have no clue whether the culprit nor the box is! I am in my dorm room.

[Picture of the Silver box]

L: THROWN???!!!

L: R U OK?

L: NO INJURIEBDS CORRCT??

S: Nothing I couldn't handle! Just felt something off with it.

L: gave me a good scare there!

L: don't worry!! I'll be there in a jif!

S: Thank you Lilia!

Sebek pockets his phone away and walks back to his room.

This could be a clue to my goal but why was it given to me this way?

And who gave the box to me?

He didn't know what to do but it only took small steps to getting closer to his end destination.

Sebek just has to be patient.

While I wait for Lilia, perhaps I could sort through the mushrooms I was given from Jade!

After meeting up with the Jade Leech-

(How he did it, he does not know)

He had gotten a basket filled with unfamiliar mushrooms and plants from his latest camping trip.

It was pretty nice of him to do this. He seemed especially happy when I mentioned discovering different mushrooms as well.

It was a cute meet up that Sebek found himself enjoying. Past life, he would have never even made friends with the guy nevermind at the beginning of the school year.

But having this type of advantage where the reputation of the Leech twins was very well known and having a connection to them made it worth it.

And even then, Sebek still had genuine fun with Jade.

Maybe it's because I learned and now am more confident in myself…

Oh well, looks like this might take a while considering Lilia’s unconventional means of traveling on time.

…

…

…

“It has been over an hour! Where is he?!” Sebek yelled and got up from his desk.

He had already finished sorting through the mushrooms and was busy studying to keep his mind occupied.

“I thought he'll be here quickly but he isn't even answering my texts!”

Sebek paced back and forth in his room.

“Did something happen? Surely he'll come soon…right?” He mumbled.

But before he could come up with an answer, a sudden knock at his dorm startled him.

Maybe this is Lilia!

He opened the door only to be greeted with Silver panting as if he just ran all the way here.

“Silver?! What are you doing here? And where is Lilia–”

“Something happened to Lilia at the Heartslabyul dorm!”

Shit.

Chapter Text

How in the wonderland did this monster get here?

Lillia dodges an oncoming boulder quickly hiding behind a fallen table as he peaks over it. In his sight was a gruesome, black liquid thing . Its body was covered in tattered red clothing covered in that black goo as its head was shaped as a heart but glass and more black goo were leaking from it.

The amount of showers I’ll need to take will be insane–

“Lillia-sama! Look out!”

Lillia was tackled away from the table as a large tree was thrown where he was a second ago. The student who tackled him was Riddle Rosehearts.

“Are you alright?” Riddle asks. 

“I’m fine, Riddle. But are you hurt? You were in the middle of it when that thing appeared.” Lillia responds. Riddle shakes his head.

“I’m alright but I am not so sure about my garden, can’t believe this monster goes and destroys the Queen’s hard work!”

Riddle was about to get up and shoot a spell before Lillia brought him down with a sharp tug on his arm. “Careful! We don’t know what that monster is, so there’s no idea what the monster could do once we aren’t fully prepared.”

Riddle only huffed but nodded.

I wonder what happened to allow such a monster to appear, I hope Trey is alright though. He and I got separated when we went to do some other tasks.

Before the monster arrived, Lillia was invited by Trey to help the boy bake for the upcoming un-birthday event. The other dorm members were too busy with other things so Trey had to ask Lillia for assistance. Although they have never really hung out often, Lillia still happily accepted.

It was more or less Trey teaching Lillia how to bake rather than the two of them baking together. It was a delightful experience in Lillia’s eyes as he walked out of the kitchen with a huge smile on his face and some pastries to take back to the dorm.

But he felt like he was missing important information.

Did I forget to do something? Maybe I forgot to turn off the oven… no, Trey was able to do that, maybe I should check my phone just in case–

It didn’t take long before that thought was interrupted by the monster.

Which leads to the situation as of right now. The monster was roaring loudly as it continued to wreak havoc amongst the garden, students were escaping left and right, some tried to flee but were busy hiding. The monster didn’t seem to have a motive, just continued to destroy everything in its pathway.

The surrounding area was turning more dullish in color as if the monster was sucking out the color from the ground. Suddenly the monster ripped a heart tree and threw it across the air heading straight for the pair.

Lillia curses and grabs Riddle by the arm forcing the two of them to hide behind a rose bush as the tree flies above them and slams into a table nearby.

“Do you know what that thing is?” Riddle asks Lillia, his hands were shaking a bit but he kept a stern expression.

“I’m not sure… but this cannot be a coincidence,” Lillia says. “Riddle, I need you to get Headmaster Crowley as fast as you can.”

“I- Of course, but will you be okay?” Riddle asks.

Lillia felt the urge to hug the boy with the sudden character development but squashed it down.

“I will, but hurry since Crowley is one lazy crow.”

Riddle nods, ignoring the insult and quickly heads towards the exit. Lillia makes sure to keep the boy safe while he escapes. The more he uses his magic however, the more his magic feels weaker with each spell.

What is going on? My magic is getting weaker, like it’s draining it away… this monster is still going strong, just what is going on?

Lillia kept his focus on the monster but he heard a cry from his left and turned to see a pair of students escaping with one another. This caused an opening for the monster as it roared and threw a chair towards Lillia.

Lillia dodged but not fast enough as he was struck by the leg of the chair causing his left arm to get cut deep. He stumbles to the ground and manages to stay upright but his arm starts to bleed out drenching his uniform with blood.

Dammit… I’m bleeding out. This is going to scar a bit.

Lillia tries to get up and run but he hisses as the pain flared in his arm making him stumble to the ground. He tries again but something bright comes shooting towards him, fast.

I can’t dodge this–

He closes his eyes expecting pain but nothing. Nothing happens until a loud un-human-like screech rings throughout the garden and with a small peak from his open eyes, he spots a familiar black-haired man.

“There you are, you stupid crow…” Lillia says. Crowley huffs but keeps his attention to the monster which was busy fighting off Crowley’s magic.

“What is happening to my school…” Crowley mumbles. He throws another spell at it, this time a shining blue but the monster snarls but was hit by the spell before it disappeared.

“Agh… It’s gone.” Crowley says. “Lillia, what happened here– Wha!”

Crowley was pushed away by two students that came running towards Lillia.

Sebek and Silver? Why are they here?

“Lillia!” The two shouted together.

Lillia sees Silver and Sebek running towards him with worried looks. In a flash, Sebek is already kneeling next to him while Silver stays standing, pen in hand as he keeps an eye out for any more danger lurking around but still takes a few worried glances at Lillia.

“Sebek? Silver? What are you doing here?” Lillia asks but grunts as Sebek helps him sit up.

“I should be asking you that! I was waiting for you back at the dorms ‘till Silver informed me of your battle!” Sebek explains. He winces at Lillia's injury but places his hands on the other’s back.

“Dorms..? Ah! You mean your text message!” Lillia remembers about his message he sent to Sebek before this fiasco started. He had totally forgotten about his meeting with Sebek since he was busy helping Trey and his dorm.

“I am so sorry about that Sebek,” Lillia says. “I didn’t mean to I was just very busy and–”

“Are you alright there Lillia?” Crowley asks, his footsteps are very soft but his tone betrays his concerned voice. “I am not sure if I was able to seal it off since it disappeared on me but I perhaps damaged it enough to–” Then his eyes widened at the sight of Lillia’s bleeding side.

“Oh sevens! We need to get you to the infirmary quickly! You two, make sure everyone else is safely evacuated to the cafeteria.”

Silver and Sebek nod as Crowley says something under his breath as he grabs onto Lillia’s arm and suddenly, the two of them disappear in a burst of dark blue smoke. It was the two of them now.

“Come on Sebek, let’s see if there are any more students around here.” Silver says. But he pauses before turning to Sebek once again. “And… let’s talk after this.”

He wants to talk? Hopefully it isn’t anything too serious… but knowing him, he probably has a few questions. Sebek thinks.

“Alright, but we should go and visit Lillia once this is over.”

Silver nods and runs off in one direction leaving Sebek to search the opposite side. There was nothing much to look for, the whole garden was turned into shreds. Tables were thrown everywhere, there were multiple trees missing and half the hedges were torn away. It looked like a battlefield had taken place.

But at the center of it all lay a suspicious puddle of black goo, the same looking goo that Sebek had seen in the cave with the others. But something else was there, something very familiar.

Is that..? No way, did it leave behind a stone?!

Sebek cautiously looks and finds a familiar black stone. Almost an exact replica of the one from the cave.

I can’t believe it… it was the same monster the others fought in the caves. Perhaps it was destroyed since it left behind a stone.

Sebek looks closely at it and notices a faint glow in the middle of the stone. A red hue so dimmed that he could barely see it without the sun.

It looks the same, but maybe it’s different considering it’s in a different place? I’m not sure how it looked like, maybe I could ask Lillia or Headmaster Crowley for details. This could be a good time to test things out though.

Sebek took out his pen and waved it around the rock. Nothing happens. So he waved it around the goo.

…Nothing happens.

Well this is great. Last time my pen was able to absorb the goo like it was starving. Maybe it was goo instead of that fog? But what does it mean…

Sebek was deep in thought once more he didn’t notice the pen shaking in his hand before it shot out and hovered over the puddle.

“Wh- Hey!” Sebek tries to grab the pen away but the amount of force that kept it there made it harder.

The pen started to absorb the black goo as the green gem turned black little by little.

Sebek watches as the pen continues to absorb every last drop of it before it stops and falls back into his hands as if it didn’t have a big meal. The pen even did a small burst of magic before completely stilling.

“...You are just like Grim, you know that?” Sebek says to the pen.

As if it’s going to start talking back. Sebek scoffs but places the pen in his pocket and heads off into the hedges.

Got to do that check around the place first. Hopefully everyone escaped safely. Wonder how Silver is doing considering I’m having the time of my life. Sebek sarcastically says in his mind.

Sebek quickly makes his checks around the garden. Making sure if there are any students in need of help or there are any more chances of a monster just going to appear out of thin air once more.

He was about to turn around when he heard multiple voices and footsteps quickly heading his way.

Please don’t be another monster. I can’t handle another one so soon!

“Stop right there– Eh? Yuu? Deuce? Grim?” Sebek pauses in his attack as he sees the three also freezing in their place. He’s surprised that they are running into the garden but with a quick look, Deuce is carrying what looks to be shopping bags. Presumably from Sam’s shop.

“Sebek? Why are you here?” Yuu asks. “And what happened to the garden?!”

“Yeah! This place looks like a garbage dump!” Grim adds on. “And smells a bit… weird.”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure either but when I arrived with Silver, there was another one of those monsters from the cave.” Sebek says.

Three pairs of eyes widened at the news.

“Another one? But in the dorms?!” Deuce says. “This is getting out of hand, did you tell Headmaster Crowley?”

“He was already here when we arrived,”

“Already there? What happened when we were gone…” Deuce mumbles.

“Myahh?! The crow already destroyed it?! How come we missed it? What happened?” Grim asks, getting all close to Sebek.

Sebek pushes Grim a little bit away from his face and rubs his neck a little. “It’s a long story but me and Silver had gotten a message saying there was a battle against a monster in this place and Lillia was involved in it.”

“Lillia? Is he alright then?” Yuu asks.

“He’s alright but he is in the infirmary right now getting treated. Silver and I were tasked to make sure the garden was cleared by Headmaster Crowley.”

“Man… this is not starting off as a good year for us.” Deuce says. The others agreed with him.

“What about you three? How come you are appearing right now?”

“Well, we were helping out with an unbirthday event and were tasked by Trey to grab supplies from Sam’s shop when we heard the commotion from there.” Yuu explained.

You can hear it that far? That monster must have been very loud, maybe other dorms might have heard it.

“Do you think Trey and Ace are okay?” Grim asks. The others also seemed to think about that but Sebek nodded his head.

“I saw the two of them in the main building running up here,” Sebek says. “Both of them seemed fine when I almost bumped into Ace cause he was in the way.”

“That’s good, hopefully no one else was badly injured.” Yuu digs around their bag and takes out their phone. “I’ll message Ace and see if he wants to meet up somewhere, do you want to come along Sebek?”

Sebek shakes his head. “I’m alright, I want to check on Lillia first before I do anything else.”

The others nod and waved their goodbyes as Sebek was now heading back towards the exit. He texted Silver saying he’ll meet him at the infirmary to which he replied with a period.

Seems it’s going to get a lot busier now… let’s grab that box first and bring it over to Lillia. Everything today was very weird. Hopefully I’ll get some answers.

Sebek reached his dorm room and made sure to look around first. His room was locked before he left but he was to be extra cautious.

Nothing’s out of the ordinary, no broken windows, no signs of entry, then it should all be good! Let’s check the box then.

Sebek opened his desk drawer where the box was located only to find nothing there and a single piece of paper.

The box is gone?! How did someone get in if everything was locked and secured? Apparently not considering it’s gone! Why is this happening!

Sebek checked other places and found nothing moved or touched, only the box was taken and that was it. He finally looked towards the paper and picked it up. It only made him even more confused.

This… is not going how I planned my chance to go like…

Thanks for taking care of my gift!

You should watch out for other of my 

gifts too!

• C.Nya

This cannot be happening right now. Am I going crazy? I think I’m going crazy.

Sebek panicked and sat in his desk chair re-reading the note. But what was even more confusing is the fact it was signed. Seemingly on purpose too.

And who is “C.Nya”?!

Chapter Text

“Lillia, please just lay back down.” Sebek says as he pleads with Lillia who was busy doing everything else except resting.

Sebek watches as Lillia sorts through the ‘unorganized’ files cabinet or helps other students who walk into the infirmary while Sebek has his head in his hands.

I forgot how stubborn he was with his health!

“Lillia for Seven’s sake please rest! Your side is still healing!” Sebek grabbed the back of Lillia’s shirt and threw him onto the bed.

“Ack– Oh come on Sebek! It’s not like a scratch can hinder my helpfulness!” Lillia says, puffing up his chest dramatically. “Besides, you should be in class young man!”

Lillia pushes his finger into Sebek’s chest, poking him. “Aren’t you missing important information? What happened to my studious little boy?”

Sebek continued to let Lillia probe him and listen to the many rambles of a parent. He can’t help but smile, remembering how many times Lillia would be so worried for them whenever we get hurt. Especially after that close call with the monster back in the cave.

Still, I should make sure not to get hurt anymore.

The bell rings, leaving Sebek to leave for class. “I have to get going now Lillia, I’ll come visit again during lunch alright?”

“Don’t worry about me! Just go and hang out with friends during lunch alright? I’ll find something to entertain myself with.” Lillia smiles and waves at Sebek.

Sebek only shakes his head with a smile and closes the door only for him to turn around and get spooked by a short red-head.

“AH– Riddle Rosehearts?!” Sebek shouts. “I– Um, How are you doing?” Sebek laughs a little as he leans against the door awkwardly.

Sebek can see Riddle get suspicious at him but that face quickly turns into worry.

“Is Lillia alright?” He asks. “He was the only one left in the dorm still and I heard he had gotten hurt.”

“He’s–”

A loud crash followed by a shout came from the infirmary. A faint laugh can be heard and a familiar bird noise follows.

The two looked at the door before Sebek sighed once more. “He is doing alright. He wasn’t hurt too badly so he should be up by tomorrow. Besides, I think he has some company right now...”

How did he even get in there so fast?! I just left like a couple seconds ago too…

Riddle let out a sigh of relief before fixing his uniform a bit. “That’s good. He protected me during the attack… I wanted to know if he was okay or not. It was my duty to keep the dorm safe and–”

“But you did? You grabbed our headmaster and he came to stop the disaster,” Sebek says. “That’s a way to keep the dorm safe!”

“But– I left someone behind and they had gotten hurt!”

“But you saved them still. Isn’t that good enough?” Sebek responds, leaving Riddle to go silent. “I’m grateful that you’re the one who helped Lillia out during that attack, you know, Lillia always talks about you in high regards! Thank you for taking care of him!”

Sebek bows towards making the other stutter out his words.

“I– You– But he–”

“Oh! I hope you will allow me to join the Equestrian Club once it opens up to new members! I heard about a few activities I will certainly enjoy.” Sebek says. Riddle just stares at the other in disbelief.

“...Right! My name is Sebek Zigvolt! Bodyguard of Malleus and a new student at NRC!”

I completely forgot I had not met Riddle yet! I acted like I knew him from the very start!! Nice going at keeping things on the paper Sebek!

Sebek paused his thoughts when he heard a small giggle. He looked down and saw Riddle smothering his laugh in his hand.

“Hah– Ahem!” Riddle covered his laugh with a cough. “I will think about it once club admissions have started opening. I heard a lot about you from those two underclassmen, including the Headmaster as well. It is a pleasure to meet you Sebek.”

Are you serious?! Crowley has been talking about me?! And to the other housewardens as well?! I am not going to catch a break am I?

“I hope those two haven't caused any trouble to you, as they have to me.” Riddle grumbled that last part. 

“Not at all! …Well, only a few minor accidents but they are my– friends.” Sebek hesitated a bit on the ‘friends’ part but he believed they were.

“Have they caused trouble to you?”

Riddle let out the biggest sigh Sebek had ever heard from the red-head. His whole face was filled with resentment but with a tinge of fondness.

“A lot of it was them not following the rules but… I learned a valuable lesson when cleaning up the garden.” He trailed off.

Sebek was about to ask about that but then he hears the second bell go off indicating class is about to start in a few minutes.

What bad timing! This stupid bell! It’s like my luck has seriously ran out right before the main event has happened!

…I think I took some words from Ortho’s influence. No time to think about that!

“I need to get going or else I won’t be able to make it to my class on time! It was very nice meeting you Riddle-senpai!” Sebek yells as he runs away.

“Don’t run in the halls–!” Riddle shouts but Sebek didn’t hear him as he continued running. 

Riddle watches and winces as Sebek trips over himself past a corner, almost landing face first into the ground making nearby students stare at him. 

“…Just call me Riddle.” Riddle mumbles. He felt a small smile tugging at his lips as he shook his head to the others' antics. He never noticed, but a red gem is slowly growing brighter in color.

 But he turns around to open the door to the infirmary only to be hit with an oncoming pillow to the face.

“BAAH?! What was that?!” He yelled as he grabbed the pillow off his face.

“Ah– Mr. Rosehearts!” Lillia says and ducks behind his propped up bed like a makeshift shield.

The scene before him was comical. There were two big pillow forts on either side of the room, beds made to look like walls as Lillia was at one side holding two pillows in both arms while on the other showed the Headmaster of the school Crowley using magic to make many pillows float in the air.

“Ah! If it isn’t Mr. Rosehearts! What brings you here today– ACK!” Crowley was interrupted with a pillow hitting him straight in the stomach making him tip over other pillows behind him and falling to the ground hard.

“You idiot! I told you to watch the door!” Lillia shouts at the other.

“The bell had rung! Students should be in class– please stop hitting me with pillows Lillia!” Crowley runs around the room with Lillia hot on his trail.

“Truce! Truce please!!”

“ SHUT UP! ”

Riddle winced as Lillia slams Crowley with a pillow and pins him down by smothering his face with it.

…Someone save me!

Lillia grabbed Riddle and used him as a meat shield as Crowley tried to hit Lillia with a pillow without trying to hit Riddle for the second time.

Please!!

“Hello Sebek! I thought you were supposed to be at lunch right about now?” Trey asks. He was in full lab gear and already brewing up a potion in a cauldron.

“Please do stay back a little, we’re testing out something new and we don’t want any accidents to happen.”

Sebek nods and steps back a little. “That’s alright! I only came looking for Professor Crewel! Is he here?”

Trey shakes his head. “Not at the moment, I heard he was going to his office for something and won’t be back until a little later.”

Has my luck really fallen?

“Alright, I guess I can come back later and–”

“Oh? And who do we have here~? Someone with a little more flair to the room?”

Sebek jumps and quickly turns around to see Rook Hunt up in his face, like he was dissecting him.

“Uh– Hello there! I am Sebek Zigvolt!”

Was Rook always in the Science Club? I can’t seem to remember at all… maybe because I was never really interested in the club before.

Rook raises an eyebrow but only smiles a bit too wide for Sebek’s liking.

“Oh Chevalier des Roses~! How come you never mentioned a new face to moi before?” Rook says. “A new member to that as well!”

“Well, we still need to talk to Professor Crewel about that,” Trey says. “Then we can think about admissions once clubs start opening up in a few days.”

“Of course! But why don’t we show our new member something fun?” Rook says with a smile.

“Rook, please do not do anything not allowed again.”

Rook only hums but pushes Sebek towards where the extra Lab coats and safety gear is located at. Sebek took the cue and started to gear up. He made sure to grab the rock from the garden into his lab pocket to which Rook noticed it.

“Oh? May I ask what you have collected?” Rook points to the rock Sebek held in his hand.

“I– this? It’s my, um– hobby!” Sebek said.

Forgot he had a sharp eye! A good one too… no wonder Epel always talked about Rook’s sense of secrets.

Rook’s smile does not move but Sebek could swear it was growing brighter. Sebek placed the gem in his pocket and followed Rook to where Trey was currently stirring a pot filled with something blue.

“May I ask what you are brewing?” Sebek asks. He peeks over the pot to see the blue liquid shimmering with gold in it.

“Well, this is a normal potion to boost a person’s mind. In more detail terms, when someone drinks a small vial of this,” Trey grabs a ladle and pours a small amount into the smallest vial on a nearby table.

“It enhances their mind into magical energy to which it will be expelled through their body into a powerful burst of magic externally.”

“...Why are you making this?”

“For fun!” Rook says and grabs what looks to be different magical herbs and just drops them into the cauldron which Trey stops stirring to stare at Rook.

“Are you serious? Adding more of those berries makes the potion become vulnerable to explosive Rook!” Trey sighs and grabs a few more vials from the shelves. “Let’s just pack this up before it actually explodes.”

“I know, but maybe this could be something used for events and such that need large explosions to create beautiful performances!” Rook follows Trey.

“It’s still an explosion, Rook.”

Sebek was left alone next to what is apparently a very dangerous filled cauldron. He obviously wanted to see it in action but if it was this dangerous then Sebek is fine without ever being next to it.

“I wonder why they would make something like this for?” Sebek says.

Something started to shake in his pocket but was noticeable till he felt strong heat from it. Sebek took it out but even with thick lab gloves, he could feel the searing heat coming from the rock.

What is it doing?! Is it… reacting to the cauldron?

Sebek slowly brought it near the cauldron and slowly watched it grow redder but when he took it back it turned back to black. He did it a couple of more times before smiling with new information.

Whatever this potion is made of, it’s creating a reaction to one of the blot monster’s rocks! If I brought the other, would it turn a different color too?!

Sebek was busy thinking that he didn’t notice someone else passing behind him. When he stepped back a little something bumped into him causing him to stumble forward to only drop the rock straight into the cauldron.

Sebek watched the rock slowly melt into the liquid turning the blue and gold color to more of a bright red.

“...Uh oh,” Sebek says. “I don’t think this is good.”

He watched as the cauldron grew a brighter red, almost blinding before dulling into a more muted red. Almost black. Just like the stone.

Trey and Rook walked over with boxes filled with vials not noticing the color has changed.

“Sebek, can you help pour this into these vials? Don’t want to waste anything.” Trey asks. “Rook please don’t start dipping the vials into the cauldron, we need to be practical about this.”

“Of course~ I won’t do anything dangerous, but maybe we should add some more thunder leaves–”

“I’m going to stop you there now.”

Sebek just stared at them, glancing between Rook, Trey, and the changed cauldron.

Does he… not notice it changed? Should I even mention it?

“Trey, isn’t the potion supposed to be blue instead of red?” Sebek asks. Trey only looked at him confused. Rook turned around as well but the smile never left his face.

“Oh? Are you thinking of something different? We’re making the stamina boost potions for the Spelldrive club!”

…What?

“Spelldrive? I thought you were making a magic enhancer potion?”

Trey looked even more confused. “Magic enhancer? Not sure about that one, we would need Professor Crewel’s permission to even make it in here.”

“Even so, that’s supposed to be a green color.”

I am so confused. What is going on?! Did the stone do something to change their perception?! Why am I the one wondering about this?

Sebek noticed nothing else had changed, most other club members didn’t even bat an eye, in fact, when Sebek tried to find the person who bumped into him, most other clubmates were not even near him at all.

I… did something happen when that stone fell into the cauldron? Am I going crazy?

Sebek looked around the room till he spotted something blurry passed by, he quickly headed towards the door leaving behind Trey and Rook to call out to him. As he runs out the door, he spots the same blurry person but with a faint purple to it.

“Hey! Wait!” Sebek yelled to them. He had no idea why he did but something was telling him to follow them.

He followed their trail through the hallways, past every corner, bumping into different students on his way but he made sure to keep that faint purple in his sight.

I can’t let them get away! Something happened back there and they must have something to do with it!

Sebek ran until he was outside of the campus, away from other students, and in the forest behind the campus. Alone.

Sebek stopped and was catching his breath. His lungs were burning and his legs were getting tired, he felt himself lose a lot of energy but catching that figure was his priority.

“You… You had something to do with that didn’t you?” Sebek asked. He had no idea where this figure was but somehow asking into the air felt right.

A rustle of leaves made Sebek turn around and grab onto his pen only to realize he doesn’t have it on him.

Shit. It’s in my uniform jacket!

Sebek kept his eye at the specific part of the forest making sure nothing jumped out at him. It was a tense silence, seconds passing without any action keeping Sebek on his toes.

His heart was hammering out of his chest, the nerves he was feeling was indescribable but Sebek kept his head held high and was ready for any attack.

Only to find something thrown to the floor right in front of him.

…What?

Sebek looked back up. “Did you just throw something at me and run away?! What kind of tactic was that?!”

Sebek only huffed but kept his guard up as he approached the object. A small black box wrapped in a red ribbon. Attached to the ribbon was a purple tag. He lifted the box up and flipped the tag over to read it.

Keep this safe for me okay~?

See you at the Un-birthday!

C.Nya

Sebek huffed. The same name from the last letter and he still had no idea who this “C.Nya” person was! But knowing it was the same one he was chasing through the school to here gave him some confirmation.

Un-birthday? Isn’t that a Heartslabyul tradition? Ace and Deuce did mention something like that back then, is it a sign? But I am curious about what's inside… just a small peak wouldn’t hurt.

He would never take a look into someone else’s gift, it was invasive! But, he is a different person, and had numerous people who broke the rules a lot.

Sebek debated with himself and his morales before sighing and tucking the box away in his borrowed lab coat.

I’m not going to look into it. That’s not who I am and perhaps it's a personal gift from the ‘C.Nya’ to someone at the dorm.

“I’ll keep it safe, but don’t expect me not to figure out who you are!” Sebek said to the air. He had no idea if the person was still here or not but it was a precaution.

As he turned around to get back to the campus, he had not noticed glowing yellow eyes watching his every move. Every word.

Sebek felt a shiver but ignored it in hopes it was just the wind.

By the way… I should really come up with an excuse to Trey and Rook for running off. Maybe I could say I was constipated?

…I need to work on my lying skills.

Chapter Text

Jade thought this year was the best for long-distance viewing of entertainment of the freshmen class. The amount of events that had happened over a couple of weeks has been so exciting for Jade that he couldn’t help but keep a wide smile on his face the entire week.

“What’s got you so happy there Jade? Your smile is making Azul more annoying.” Floyd said as he took a bite out from his food.

“Oh, nothing at all,” Jade glances at a table filled with different students from different dorms. “Just enjoying the view.”

Floyd gives him a side-eye but shrugs it off and swallows the rest of his food in one bite before getting up to grab another portion.

Jade nods but continues to take glances at the table. Two were from Heartslabyul and one from the Diasomnia dorms. It was strange but so fascinating to see such a variety of students all gathering at one table. Even the infamous magicless student and that monster from orientation was there as well.

“Isn’t it still misleading to dormhead?” The spade boy said.

“It’s fine, we already have that tart back at Yuu’s place! We can handle it!” The heart said as he leaned against the spade who sighs.

“We?!” The monster says. “There ain’t no way I’m getting in trouble you caused!”

The monster leaps onto the heart who shouts and swats the monster but is unsuccessful. The spade tries to get the monster off but gets hit in the face with the tail as the magicless student calmly eats his food.

“Ack! Get him off me!”

“I’m trying! I summon thee–! ”

Before the spade could use his magic the Diasomnia boy grabs the monster’s tail and throws it at the magicless student who catches it and holds it against their body undeterred by a struggling weasel.

“We should not be using magic so freely!” The green haired student shouts at the spade who cowers behind the heart. That is when Jade felt something familiar about the student.

It seems that they are the freshmen I met earlier. Sebek Zigvolt was it?

Jade found himself staring at the other who possessed something more entertaining than ever before. When he first met the student, they never feared or looked at Jade with fear in their eyes but with indifferent eyes.

It wasn’t until Jade mentioned his club to which the boy seemingly glowed. Jade found himself chatting with the other with no malice or an undertone but genuinely having a conversation about his enjoyments.

He was a bit saddened when they had to separate to their respective classes but Jade felt as if that was that but over the day he kept spotting the same green head everywhere he went. It was as if he finally opened his eyes to something bizarre.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I AM BEING STALKED!?”

A shout brought Jade from his thoughts and as he looked over the group was already walking out of the cafeteria with the others surrounding Sebek like a protective pack.

Stalked? Perhaps this is something worth listening for.

Jade smiled even more and turned back to his brother who was busy speaking with their other classmates.

Let’s observe this a little more… get him alone first, then I can find out more.

“Uh, Jade? You still got that smile going on there.”

Chapter Text

Today was the day of the unbirthday, a day where everything went downhill for the dorm leader of Heartslabyul. Where the first overblot of the year happened and yet Sebek felt the most confident he has ever felt against an overblot.

Fighting his own liege, he felt more than scared seeing him transform into that overblot version of himself, he wasn’t prepared but he was more than thankful for when the others kicked him out of his trance.

But that’s all gone now, he had failed till the very end and didn’t even know if his liege survived or not. The memories are getting blurrier and the past knowledge was slowly leaving his mind, everytime he tried to remember he couldn’t really think about anything.

I could write it down and just forget it the next day, if this keeps going on will I ever get the chance to save my liege or else… them?

Sebek walked up to his dorm’s mirror and found himself hesitating for a bit. The pressure and overwhelming sense of something about to happen was hard on him. Sebek couldn’t help but fiddle with the bottom hem of his school uniform.

Through the mirror he could barely see the others waiting for him, chatting with one another and watching them laugh at something said. It felt all so bitter sweet, will the others move on from his death? Will they be as happy as they were back then?

…Let’s just head towards them now.

Sebek took one step through the mirror and was now in the mirror chamber.

The others stopped talking and turned towards him. Deuce was the one to smile and wave his hand as they rushed over towards him.

“Hey Sebek! Happy that you decided to join us!” Deuce said.

Sebek nods but still questions the other on a detail he noticed. “Isn’t it specifically for only Heartslabyul doommates to attend? I’m sure I am not from your dorm.”

Ace scoffed. “So what? Yuu is coming with us and taking the weasel with them, so why not add you in as well?”

“MWAH?! I am NOT a weasel you orange-headed idiot!”

“Who are you calling an idiot?!”

“Can you all stop fighting for one minute?! We still need to get to the party on time and you need to deliver that to Riddle!” Yuu yells at the two who pout.

Ace grumbles but adjusts the tart in his hand but smirks towards Sebek.

“So, you went with a different hairstyle huh? It doesn’t look too awful but not my cup of tea.” Ace says. Yuu glares at Ace who shrugs.

“What? I’m just saying my opinion, ain’t that right Deuce?”

Deuce was staring at Sebek mumbling words that Sebek couldn’t decipher but he did hear a few words of “gel” in there. Felt like a detail Sebek was willing not to question about.

“I wanted to look good for the unbirthday you called about! Being professional is all about appearance and attitude!” Sebek responds.

“Yeah but you’re from a different dorm, so I’m #positive that you won’t work!”

The group turned towards the voice as Cater was walking towards them all smiling and such.

“Cater! Wait, what do you mean he won’t work?” Yuu asks.

“Oh! It’s a part of the unbirthday rules and such, and since you’re already a plus one, having a plus two is not cool,” Cater then smirks. “But! I can make and exception especially to my underclassmen friends~”

Ace grimaced at that.

“I can invite him as my plus one! Now let’s get going or this party might start without us!”

Cater starts pushing the group into the mirror and Sebek couldn’t help but take in the dorm. He has been here for a few times but never had he been after the renovation for the overblot’s destruction.

It isn’t the best dorm in Sebek’s opinion, he will always enjoy the atmosphere of Diasomnia but it was coming in a close second place.

“Alright! I’ll just need to hand in this tart, say sorry to Riddle and–”

“Oh! Looks like other me’s back~”

Ace was interrupted by another Cater showing up wearing his gym uniform. The others let out a startled noise as they switched their gaze from the two Caters.

“I– There’s two Caters?!” Deuce stutters pointing between the two.

Just then another Cater appears from the opposite side wearing his lab uniform.

“Holy shit there’s more! Is this a dream?! Are you a triplet?” Ace asked the Cater wearing the school uniform who shrugs and shakes his head.

“Nope! Just a feature of my unique magic, Split Card!” Cater says and waves his pen around as other Caters come walking towards them.

This feels like a nightmare somehow… I do remember them mentioning this but this is bizarre! Oh my Sevens there's more coming–

“Who is the real one?!” Sebek says and looks around.

“Hehe~ Well that would be me!” Cater in the gym uniform waves his pen around and all the other clones disappear in a flash of cards. “I was worried! You guys are so late so we need to get a head start ASAP!”

“Wait what is going on–”

“Weeell,” Cater draws out the word and leans closer to the group. “We’re kind of short handed at the moment and these clones are so exhausting to make but I promise to take you to Riddle after this is over!”

Ace, Deuce, and Grim groan.

“Here we go again…” Ace mumbles.

“Come on! And besides you got more help involved as well!” Cater points at Sebek who is getting a brief rundown by Yuu.

“So that’s what happened? That seems a lot better than what I did earlier…”

“Earlier? Well we should go and help anyway, I think we’re painting the roses red once again.” Yuu says and grabs a nearby bucket of red paint and paintbrushes.

“Is it hard? What do I need to do?” Sebek asks. Cater hums but smiles.

“All you have to do is envision the flower the color red!” Cater points his pen at a flower. “Like this!”

Sebek watched as the magic turned the flower red. It seemed like a simple spell but magic was always magic to Sebek no matter the difficulty.

“Alright! I can do this!” Sebek said. He points his pen at a white rose.

Red… Flower red… turn red!

Sebek used his magic and suddenly the flower was a mix of red and blue.

“E-Eh?”

“Yeah… It’s very difficult in the beginning,” Deuce says. “I still struggle a bit.”

“Psh! When I get this collar off, I can show you real magic!” Ace yells at the duo and is slapped in the face with Grim’s tail.

“Shut up! No talking from someone who needs to say sorry!” Grim yells back to which another argument between the two starts. Yuu was busy trying to get in between them while also painting the flowers manually.

“Man, if we weren’t on a time crunch I would totes take a pic for my profile!” Cater says.

“Anyways, let’s get this going!”

The others groaned as Sebek felt pumped up.

“Is this… huff… good enough Cater?” Deuce pants as he waves his tired arm towards the red roses.

“Looking very good! I’m surprised you caught on so well Sebek!” Cater says to the boy who puffs his chest out.

“Of course! I wasn’t my liege’s guard for nothing!”

“That reminds me, how were you able to join us since you’re supposed to be his guard?” Yuu asks.

“Maybe he bribed the guy with some tuna!” Grim interjects.

“No Grim, that’s just you being a glutton.”

“Henchman!”

Grim pouts but nuzzles into the prefect's hand as Sebek pauses for a moment and grimaces at the recurring memory coming to light. It took a lot of courage to speak to Malleus and Lilia but he managed to get their approval with Silver smiling at him and saying something about making friends which Sebek promptly ignored.

“A lot of talking was done but! I managed to convince my liege that this was a productive assignment!”

Besides, I have this present to give to Riddle. Maybe I will get an opportunity here. And also that overblot to stop.

“Wow! He seems a lot nicer from what you say Sebek!” Yuu says. “I wonder what he looks like…”

“Well–!”

A loud trumpet interrupted the pair and the group turned to watch from a distance the party starting.

“All hail the leader of Heartslabyul, the red sovereign himself… Riddle Rosehearts!”

A group of students shouted and Sebek watched Riddle walk down and pat the tables as if he was royalty. It was not as intimidating as Malleus but Sebek could respect the amount of power Riddle has of his dorm.

“We salute you, Housewarden Riddle!”

Riddle walks down the tables as he checks the decor, each detail scrutinized underneath the red-heads eye as he hums and flicks his head around.

“The garden roses are red, the tablecloths are white,” Riddle says. “This seems like a proper unbirthday party. Is there a dormouse asleep in a teapot?”

“Of course. And as a precaution, we’ve prepared some jam to spread on his nose.” Trey says with a bow.

Riddle nods. “Good.”

With this, the party shall go according to plan. Riddle thought and continued to inspect the party once more.

Back to the group, the others stare in awe at the party decorations and the dorm uniforms.

“What amazing clothes! This is what you’re wearing?” Grim asks.

“Yep! Aren’t they fierce? At the forefront of fashion and look so good on magicam!” Cater says and uses his pen to change his clothes. “Well, as a reward for your kindness, shall I dress you up?”

Cater points his pen at Ace and Deuce and uses magic to change their clothes into the Heartslabyul dorm uniform.

Sebek and Yuu stare at the spell as the duo take a look at their new clothes.

“Mwah?! Do me!” Grim says to Cater who chuckles and changes the bow on Grim to a red and black bow.

“Whoa!”

“Lookin sharp!”

“I look amazing! Mwah!”

Sebek felt giddy watching an advanced spell, hoping to do something like that one day. It may seem mundane but Sebek was always weak to magic. But something unexpected happened to him. As the others tried to get Yuu to compliment them, Cater sharply turns to Sebek with a smirk.

“Well, we can’t leave someone else out can we?” Cater says and shoots a spell at Sebek who watches with fascination as his school uniform was switched to the Heartslabyul dorm uniform instead. His hair changed from the slicked back style to his hair down like he usually does.

The others were also surprised but Yuu was the most ecstatic.

“You look fantastic Sebek!” Yuu says, clapping their hands together.

“Whoa… he looks even more cool!” Deuce mumbles, his eyes filled with stars.

Ace was the only to be gobsmacked and annoyed. Cater whistles and smiles with a pose.

“Looking #Cool Sebek! Aren’t I the best?”

“No way…” Sebek couldn’t help but look down at himself. He never wore anything besides his dorm uniform out in public and yet here he was, wearing a different dorm uniform!

I feel this is some kind of betrayal to my own dorm…

Ace sputters and points to Sebek. “He’s not even from this dorm!”

Yuu snorts and pushes up imaginary glasses. “As they say, clothes maketh the man.”

Ace looks at them in disbelief.

“Now, let’s tear this party up! Hurry and get to your seats! Yuu, Grim, Sebek, you’ll sit at my table for now.” Cater says and pushes the others towards their spot as they all sit down and wait for the party to officially start.

I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, changing the future, wearing new clothes! This feels all too overwhelming but…

Sebek looked around and found himself next to Riddle as the other sat down in his throne.

I’m in the front seat of this!

Riddle looks around and spots Sebek right next to him which startles him a bit but he coughs and looks at Sebek with a questioning look.

“Sebek?” Riddle whispers “What are you doing here? You’re not from my dorm.”

“I’m not but I was invited and I have something to give you!” Sebek says.

“You do? I suppose that is within the rules… the others are still finding their seats so I supposed you could give me the gift! Please present me what you have.”

Sebek nods and opens his blazer to find the box in one of the hidden pockets. He let out a sigh of relief knowing the spell Cater did did nothing to his items. He took out the black box and placed it in front of Riddle.

“I was told to give it to you by someone named C. Nya. Not sure if you knew the person but they seemed to know you.”

Sebek felt nervous as he watched Riddle who was staring at the box with an indifferent expression, but unknowing to him, Riddle was going through a turmoil.

I can’t believe Chen’ya used him! I recognized that initial anywhere! How did he bring this to Sebek anyway?! Oh my Seven’s!

Riddle coughed a bit and grabbed the box and placed it to the side.

“I shall put it aside for now, thank you Sebek. I hope you enjoy the party.”

Sebek nods and leans a bit in his chair.

That went well! It didn’t seem like Riddle knew who it was or else he wouldn’t accept it, speaking of which, shouldn’t Ace be bringing up the tart by now–?

“Uh… Housewarden, sir…” Ace walks up to Riddle with the tart in his hand. He was nervously fidgeting in place as he kept his eyes in front of him.

“Ah. It’s you. That tart thief.” Riddle said monotone. It took a lot of effort not to laugh at that on Sebek’s part, maybe the nerves were handling that.

“Yeah… so, I wanted to apologize for the tart that I ate and went and replaced it with a new tart.” Ace explains and sets the tart on the table.

“Hm? And what kind of tart…” Riddle trails off as he looks at the clearly chestnut tart in front of him.

A chestnut tart…. How DISASTROUS! Bringing a CHESTNUT tart to an unbirthday party is against the rule! Why must I–!

Riddle was about to scold the teen but looks at Sebek and stops himself. He felt something different looking at the teen who was looking at Riddle as if he was something worth respecting. Someone worth staying for.

I… But it’s agains the rules… but he isn’t from this dorm but still gave me respect. Maybe this is a valuable lesson to learn for…

“I… According to The Queen of Heart’s rule 562: “One must never bring a chestnut tart to an unbirthday tea party” but you must have not known therefore,” Riddle took the chestnut tart and placed it to the side. “I shall accept your apology.”

The rest of the dorm was in shock. Their Housewarden was willing to accept an apology and was breaking a rule?! Trey and Cater were the most shocked but Ace just smiled and pointed to his collar.

“Could you take this off now?” Ace asked. Riddle sighs and uses his magic to reverse the spell.

“Do not break any more rules in the future or else I will have your head.”

Sebek looked at everything and everyone but yet felt himself glowing with accomplishment.

Is this a step forward?! Did I actually do something?! Oh my Seven’s I did something!

Sebek was internally celebrating as Riddle declared the unbirthday party to begin with everyone cheering.

But there was something else lurking in the dark, something sinister waiting to be released.

Something shaking in a box.