"They say that curiosity kills the cat".
Neila grabbed a brown journal and quickly flipped through the pages, her eyes flying through all of the words.
"But it seems that the cat has nine lives".
"What kind of metaphor is that"?
Hoshimi stared through the glass chambers, his mouth slightly agape as he dragged his finger across the glass surface.
"I really can't believe that he would be hiding something like this here".
His eyes started to soften, his warm breath fogging up the cold surface of the glass.
"He's playing around with the souls of witches, playing god are we"?
He rubbed his chin.
"He has books upon books filled with photos of a single girl, the patriarch must've been a pedophile". Neila kept flipping through the pages. "I can't believe that he'd be obsessed with a middle schooler".
She threw the book onto the ground, her pupils glowed a bright blue as her mana started peering through.
She had her hands in her pockets as she started wandering around, staring at all the scattered pieces of paper.
"A middle schooler huh"?
Hoshimi bent over, staring at the book Neila dropped.
"I doubt Audrey would know about this kid but the head butler might know, he's the only person that even met the patriarch".
Neila glanced his way from behind a pillar, her eyes narrowed.
[I can't read him, at all. He has this stoic blank face and that mana might be unstable but it isn't fluctuating.]
Hoshimi's violet irises glowed faintly as he stepped closer to one of the glass cylinders, air bubbles formed from the child's mouth, he looked to be no older than 6.
"He's alive, I can feel the mana radiating off of him". His eyes glowed even brighter.
[Not even an adult would have this much mana, let alone a kid but his mana signature. There's something off about it, like it's splitting apart]
Neila tilted her head, golden hair spilling over her shoulder as she looked through the paper.
"He's forcing a reincarnation into these children, he's fucking deranged".
A smile spread across her face.
"This really is some interesting research though".
She crouched, tapping her finger against the base of a pod, watching the frost creep outward like veins.
"Even I wouldn't dare think of something this maniacal, the patriarch must've been insane. Playing god is one thing. Collecting dolls to stare at while pretending to be divine-that's something else entirely".
Neila tilted her head, her golden hair catching what little glow the pods gave off. "It's as if he's splitting one soul into many pieces." She smirked, eyes glinting. "Like slicing a cake for children's birthdays. Only, the cake is consciousness."
"Stop making such grotesque analogies, you're going to make me barf".
Hoshimi reached into his pocket for his phone, the brightness emanating from the screen lit up the room.
The moment he opened it, notifications started flooding through his inbox.
"I forgot that they live-streamed the entrance exam, I wonder how they managed to even find my account".
He opened the camera, quickly snapping pictures from every corner of the room.
Neila walked up to him, her eyes narrowed and a mischievous expression on her face.
"Imagine being butchered and stitched together like Frankenstein's monster, how pitiful of these peasant children".
She threw a dismembered hand towards him, the cold surface of the child's hand connected with his face.
"What are you going to do now? Report him to the cops"?
"He's a prime minister, you think the authorities will do anything? The laws surrounding witches are iffy at best, he's going to find some way to maneuver through the law anyways".
Hoshimi grabbed the paper from her hand and kept repeatedly taking photos.
"So you're just going to keep playing the dutiful little archivist? You have no sense of agency. You're nothing but a cardboard cutout, you're just pretending to care about these kids, I can see it in your eyes".
"What are you talking about"?
A soft smile spread across his face, an expression not really reaching his eyes.
[I don't know these kids, why should I care about them if I don't even know their names]
"Of course I care about them, it's in human nature to nurture kids".
[She's right, the only person that could ever get something out of me was Reina]
"But it's more important to understand what is happening, rather than just reacting to it".
Neila crouched at his side, chin resting on her palm. "So clinical. Almost as if you've done this before." Her smirk deepened. "Tell me, you witch, why are you doing this? You seem disinterested in everything yet you're trying to figure out what's happening, you're contradicting yourself".
"It's a task I was given and it's something I will follow".
Her condescending tone rang.
"How robotic of you, following instructions blindly like a dog".
She smirked, her eyes thinning into slits.
[She's right, I'm really following in Reina's footsteps, I can't believe that I'm slowly becoming more like her, she said it herself too]
The ceiling started to shake a little, the rain was pouring, even from the basement, you could hear the storm outside.
The ceiling's trembling grew into a low rumble, dust slipping from between the wooden beams. The storm outside battered against the estate, wind shrieking like a beast gnashing its teeth.
Hoshimi slipped his phone back into his pocket, violet irises flickering with faint light. He ran his palm across the glass pod one more time, feeling the mana pulse beneath his skin.
"I think we should go back now, the staff might get suspicious".
[I really need to get back to Kira, I've never left her alone for this long, she's a walking bomb]
The rumbling above grew sharper—footsteps. Heavy, frantic. Someone was running across the floorboards overhead.
"Hey Neila, did you fix the hole in the floorboard up the slide"?
"I don't do work meant for peasants, do you think that I would spend my effort on something like that"?
Neila slid down from the desk, her golden hair swaying like a pendulum. Her eyes sharpened, no longer playful, but alert.
"So how are we going to escape".
"We"?
Hoshimi raised an eyebrow.
"Huh"?
Neila crossed her arms.
"You're not escaping out of here"?
She immediately scanned the room, searching for an exit.
Hoshimi immediately disappeared into thin air.
Neila's eyes widened as she looked around.
"Where the hell did he go"!?
"He left me here, that piece of shit".
He climbed his way out from the way he came from.
The open window outside blew the rain towards Hoshimi's face, the soft carpet underneath was damp.
"She'll manage, it's not my fault if she gets caught".
He made his way back towards the dining hall, slowly opening the door as the bright lights met his face.
His eyes narrowed.
The hall was back to how it was, before Adrian's outburst, the table was neat and tidy.
The long oak table gleamed, polished to perfection. Silverware sat aligned, wine glasses refilled, plates replaced. Not a single trace of Adrian's madness remained.
Kira sat beside Audrey, she was smiling, both of them were.
They were very similar after all, the only difference was their personalities.
Audrey sat up upright, posture flawless, lips curved in a faint smile. Her eyes, however, were shifting between her normal green eyes and black like her soul was fighting for control. Beside her, Kira sat, smiling a little too wide, she had made a friend after all.
The butler moved silent between them, pouring a glass of wine for Hoshimi.
His eyes widened as he held the glass in his hands, twirling the red liquid.
"I don't drink".
The butler smiled softly, an expression that didn't reach his eyes as he spoke in a calm and cool tone.
"Come on sir Shirogane, this wine is quite exquisite, you should try it".
"I don't drink, it's not the alcohol, I just don't like the taste".
Hoshimi handed the glass back into his hands and walked towards Kira, staring down at the two of them.
"I told you". Kira muttered quietly, too nervous to speak up. "I told you that I'll be able to make a friend". Her hands shook softly. "Come on Hoshimi, don't you have anything to say? Aren't you proud of me"?
Hoshimi crouched slightly and smiled at her.
"I'm glad that you two could get to know each other".
"Hey".
Audrey crossed her arms, her eyes slightly widening.
"Since Adrian is out of commission, I want to explore the outside and I want you to accompany me".
"Why me"?
He raised an eyebrow.
"Couldn't you get one of your guards to come with you"?
Audrey quickly glanced around the room as she whispered into his ear.
"I don't trust them, they all feel off somehow like Adrian is controlling all of them from behind".
"Fine".
Hoshimi's tone was stern, he place one hand on his hip.
"I'll accompany you to wherever you wish to go".
He ran his fingers through his hair, his other hand slowly gripping onto his phone in his pocket.
"I wanna follow too".
Kira twirled her hair as she spoke nervously, she stared down at her shoes.
Her voice was small, almost childlike, but it rang across the polished dining hall like a dropped pin.
"Of course you can".
Time: 01.30
The moonlight shone through the window, the wind blowing against the curtains of the balcony.
Hoshimi sat in his bed.
He leaned against the headboard, phone in his palm, violet eyes reflecting the glow of the screen. He hadn't typed a word—just scrolled, again and again, through the photos he'd taken in the basement. Each pod, each twisted face of a child, each scrap of paper.
Kira was snoring right next to the bed next to him, sleeping soundly as if she wouldn't ever be woken up by any kind of noise.
He stood up and walked outside, towards the balcony, his cold feet pressed against the cold pavement.
"I wonder, what would Reina have done"?
He leaned against the railing, feeling the cold breeze run through his black hair.
Then a sudden rustle
A knock echoed at the door. Light. Hesitant.
"…Hoshimi?"
Audrey's voice.
He slid the phone into his pocket before answering.
"Come in."
The door creaked open, moonlight spilling over her frame. She wasn't wearing her uniform, but a simple white nightdress that brushed her ankles, almost spectral in the half-dark. Her hair was unbound, spilling down like a golden ink.
Audrey walked into the room, leaning on the balcony beside him. Her eyes flickered again, from black to green and green to black.
"I've been practicing like you said".
She snapped her finger.
"Vigil Hexa".
A translucent hexagon materialized from thin air, its reflective surface shone against the moonlight like a magnifying glass.
"I can only manage one though".
Hoshimi clapped slowly.
"Congrats, I just showed you how to do it once and you've already managed to create one in a couple days".
"Anyways, it's been a while since I could sleep this well".
She leaned against her palm.
"It's one in the morning and you don't look at all drowsy".
"It's because I slept well last night, this was the only time that Adrian didn't appear in my sleep".
Her eyes softened as she stared at the tall buildings in front of her.
"The night is quite pretty isn't it? At least it's prettier than the day".
"Look up at the sky, you can see Aries, the star constellation. I can't believe that it's already fall".
"Aries"? Her emerald green eyes stared up, her golden hair ran down her shoulders. "Hey I wonder, what's the difference between the god and the constellation"?
"It's a coincidence that their name sounds familiar". He gripped the handrails slightly tighter. "Aries refers to a flying ram that was sacrificed, its Golden Fleece was hanged on an oak tree to dedicate it to Ares, the God of War".
"How come you know something as obscure as that"?
"My stepmother took me to the library a lot, but she was kinda bitchy about it too, she forced me to read a lot when I was younger".
[Reina would kill me if she heard me calling her a bitch, but this place is secure, even someone like her can't infiltrate]
"Hey Hoshimi, do you love your stepmother"?
His mouth slightly opened, his teeth peeking through slightly as he smiled at her. "Of course I do, she was the first person to show me any actual affection".
"Then how do you feel about your mother then"?
"I feel indifferent", his eyes softened. "She abandoned me when I was young, but I could also understand what she was going through from her perspective". He dragged his fingernail across the steel bar. "I was at fault for my father's death after all, it can't be helped".
"I'm not going to poke any further, I guess it must be a sensitive topic for you".
"I don't really care, I've guess I've gotten numb to things around me". He twiddled his thumbs. "I killed him with a kitchen knife, a small blade was all it took for my mana to pour out and blast a hole through him, I was terrified. I guess my way of coping was to hide it all away".
Audrey grasped his head, slowly stroking his hair, a smile across her face.
Hoshimi's eyes slightly widened,
"What are you doing now? Have you fallen for me"?
She started to chuckle a little.
"Of course not, for someone like you"?
"Oh pray tell, what's so wrong with me"?
"The fact that we bonded so quickly makes it seem like you managed to manipulate me somehow". The moonshine lit up her face, highlighting her face, pretty enough to become a model.
"I needed to gather information about your siblings, but I guess I didn't really get anything from you".
"You're wondering about Elias right"?
Hoshimi leaned back against the railing, his violet eyes dulling as though the name itself weighed on him.
"…I'd be lying if I said no, I know what he's planning due to the patriarch's hint, and it won't be pretty, I wonder how he's going to stop him."
"They're playing some psychological game again, something so complicated that I can't understand". Audrey's lips curled into a bitter smile. "But listening to you, I guess that it'll all work out well in the end, all I hope for is Elias' safety".
"Don't worry, all he wishes for is your safety, that I promise you".
Her fingers brushed along the balcony rail, tracing invisible sigils with absent-minded grace. "After our mother died, he changed. I told you that a member of the Shaw family was in our household, they used to be friends, he really admired her and then suddenly stopped talking".
Audrey's voice wavered.
"No, Elias cut him off. He never spoke her name again".
She narrowed her eyes. She didn't press further, but her expression said she'd filed it away.
Instead, she asked, softly:
"Do you believe Elias is dangerous?"
"No".
"Not yet, at least".