SAGE'S POV

"KYAAA!"

I instantly tensed, fighting the overwhelming urge to clamp a hand over my ringing ear.

Diyos ko. Ang lakas naman tumili ng babaeng 'to, dinaig pa niya ang isang opera singer eh.

"BESTIE, SAAN MO KINUHA 'TO?!"

Via's eyes were practically vibrating with pure excitement, her gaze utterly glued to the spider-silk bracelet resting on my wrist.

I let out a heavy sigh. Ayan na naman tayo.

"It's not something you should be fangirling about," I said flatly, gathering the textbook stack on my desk and jamming them into my bag.

"Oh, yes I should!" bago ko pa man maisara ng maayos ang bag ko, Via blurred to my side in a flash. She firmly gripped my wrist, hoisting my hand right up to her face to dissect the accessory. "Oooh! It's shiny!"

"Via—"

"OH MY GEMS!" Her violet-orange eyes practically twinkled as she tilted my wrist from side to side. "Nags-shine siya ng parang rainbow sa kahit anong anggulo oh! Perfection! Bumagay siya sa mga mata mo!"

I scoffed quietly under my breath.

"It's called light diffraction, Via. It's physics, not magick," I deadpanned, tugging my hand back out of her iron grip. "And no, it's definitely not perfection."

Isang madrama na buntong-hininga ang pinakawalan ni Via, inikot ang kanyang mga mata as if I was the one being incredibly difficult here.

"Girl, it's iridescence. And can't you see it?" She finally dropped my hand, planting her fists firmly on her hips. "That bracelet is no ordinary jewelry! It's magick! Pure, sparkly, dazzling magick! I absolutely must know where you excavated this specimen!"

"It was free," I muttered, finally zipping my bag closed.

"FREE?!" Her jaw dropped. "You got a priceless treasure like this for free?!"

Hindi ako sumagot. Isinukbit ko na lang ang mabigat na bag sa aking balikat.

"Alright, let me guess," she continued, pointing an accusing finger at my wrist. "Some Alkemi witch gave it to you, didn't they?"

Sandali akong huminto bago ako humarap sa kanya. "How the hell did you guess that?"

"Syempre, duh." She flipped her hair dramatically over her shoulder. "Tingnan mo yung texture. The fact that it shimmers like a crystal but doesn't feel cheap or brittle means it's magickally resilient. It literally looks like individual strands of spider silk woven together. It's far too innovative and strong to be anything standard. Only a high-tier alchemist could yield a luster like this. It's an enchanted polymer, isn't it?"

Napakurap ako. An enchanted polymer? She actually got the spider silk part right, too.

I suppressed a huff of pure shock. I always figured Via was just a superficial crow obsessed with anything shiny and glittering, but she was lowkey a genius-level jewelry aficionado. I hated to admit it, but that was a terrifyingly accurate deduction.

"Hindi ko alam ang pinagsasabi mo," I deadpanned. Wala naman talaga akong kaalam-alam sa mga ganyan.

She let out a knowing laugh. "Alam mo, try mo kayang itanong 'yan sa kung sino nagbigay niyan sayo. My witching senses are picking up some faint, highly steady frequencies woven right into the threads. Malay mo ba? Hindi lang pala siya basta na lang isang bracelet."

Huh. She actually makes a good point.

Siguro kailangan ko nalang kausapin si Rory mamaya—bukas—o kapag nagkataon na nakakasalamuha ko siya. The bracelet didn't feel malicious or dangerous. Malinaw sa akin ang kanilang intensyon nung binigay nila sa akin ito. But still, I had a creeping suspicion this little trinket was capable of doing a lot more than just sitting on my wrist looking pretty.

Napabuntonghininga ako at tinanguan ko na lang si Via.

"I gotta go now," maikling sabi ko bago tumalikod sa kanya at tinungo ang pintuan ng aming dorm.

"Saan ka pupunta?" Via tilted her head, completely thrown off.

"Cerise is waiting for me at the glasshouse," I threw over my shoulder, stepping out into the corridor before she could drag out the conversation any longer.

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Aside from the standard, mundane lecture halls, the Academy featured highly specialized classrooms that were quite literally massive glasshouses. Sa loob ng mga transparent na mga istrukturang ito, madalas dito isinasagawa ang aming mga lab work at hands-on experiments na may kinalaman sa Natural Studies.

Kung sa ibang bansa, karaniwang tinatawag itong greenhouse. Ngunit dito sa Ashburn, hindi akma ang tawag dyan kundi glasshouse. Instead of standard emerald hues, the flora here was heavily dominated by deep, ethereal shades of violet and midnight purple. There were occasional patches of green, but they were moderate at best—sometimes even rare to stumble upon. It was a fascinating, bizarre botanical ecosystem, and I frequently found myself questioning what was actually wrong with these plants.

Nang makarating ako, nakabukas na ang mga pinto ng glasshouse. The scenery welcomed me with a soft, purple-tinted ambiance reflecting off the dense foliage. The air felt thick and warm as afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass ceilings in sharp, golden lines. A handful of students were lounging around the entrance, but it didn't take me long to spot a girl with distinct, deep cherry-pink hair sitting all the way in the back corner, her back turned to me.

Bumuntong-hininga ako, agad na pinagsisihan ang mga pinili kong desisyon sa buhay. Bakit pa ako pumayag na pumunta dito kung kaya ko naman palang gawin ito nang mag-isa?

Apparently, Headmaster Salem had been aggressively adamant about me getting tutored, even if only temporarily. Marami na rin kasi akong namimiss na mga lectures at practical activities nitong mga nagdaang araw nung na-confine pa ako sa infirmary.

Tahimik akong nagtungo ako sa kinaroroonan ni Cerise. She was crouched low to the dirt, her eyes narrowed through her round glasses as she meticulously inspected a cluster of strange, glowing mushrooms.

I let out a soft exhale as I closed the distance, offering a quiet greeting. "...Hey."

Cerise blinked rapidly a few times, as if forcibly breaking her intense focus away from the fungi, before looking up at me and quickly scrambling to her feet.

"Sythria! Hey, uhm... you actually made it."

I simply nodded, offering zero verbal filler.

"Hindi kasi ako sigurado kung pupunta ka eh..." she added hesitantly, nervously pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I mean—not that I thought you'd ditch. It's just, you know... after everything that happened."

Pinagkrus ko ang aking mga braso, I let out a low groan, my eyes drifting over the neighboring plants. "I didn't really have a choice. Salem basically weaponized guilt against me."

Mahinang natawa si Cerise. "Yeah, he... he tends to do that. A lot."

An awkward wave of silence crashed over us. Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I decided to just slice through the tension.

"So what's the deal? Are you officially my handler now?" I asked bluntly, my gaze flat.

"N-no! Oh god, not like that! Nandito lang ako para tumulong. Since... well, you've been entirely out of commission for a week."

"Right." I pressed my lips into a thin line.

Of course she was just here to 'help.' It was the only logical outcome when you missed consecutive days of magickal theory at an academy like this. Nakikita ko na talaga ang mga nakatambak na paperwork na gagawin ni Headmaster Salem kapag nagkataon na may bagsak ako sa mga subjects ko. Cerise wasn't here out of pure, unadulterated friendship; she was here to mitigate an impending academic disaster.

Fine. Whatever

Iginiya ako ni Cerise papunta sa isang kalapit na mesang kahoy. We sat down, and without exchanging any unnecessary pleasantries, we cracked open our heavy leather textbooks and began skimming the dense pages.

"What are we even supposed to be looking at today?" I asked, completely bewildered as I flipped through the complex botanical diagrams. "Just how far behind am I?"

"You're not actually that behind," she said, her voice reclaiming its usual light, optimistic tone. "Just... two core chapters and two assignment reports. But the mid-semester exam is literally a few days away."

Hindi ko maiwasang tumahimik at sumimangot na lang. Ilang araw nalang? Damn. Sakto. Sabi ko na, time management ko na lang ang naghihintay para maghukay ng sarili kong libingan kung sakaling palpak ako sa exam.

"B-but I have all my personal notes from last year! If you want to use them," suhestiyon ni Cerise.

Before I could even nod, she was already pulling a thick, beautifully organized notebook from her satchel. The lingering awkwardness quickly dissolved into the therapeutic rustling of parchment and the low, rhythmic murmur of Cerise's academic breakdowns.

Isang oras na ang lumipas simula ng tutoring session namin. I had anticipated a grueling, painful silence, but what I got instead was a flawless, highly meticulous rundown of the recent Natural Studies modules, complete with Cerise's neat handwriting and hand-drawn, color-coded diagrams of toxic flora and their specific active properties. Mahaba ang kanyang pasensya, marahan niya akong tinuruan sa buong oras, almost as if she was consciously trying not to spook me.

It was a bit overwhelming at first, but shockingly... I was actually absorbing it. Cerise was an elite educator.

But as the lesson progressed, hindi naman nakatakas sa tingin ko ang simangot sa mukha ni Cerise. Beneath her pleasant demeanor, I unknowingly sensed something heavy from her energy.

"Ah, do you need a quick break?" Cerise asked softly, pausing mid-sentence. "Pwede tayong tumigil dito bago tayo tumungo sa susunod na chapter..."

"I'm fine," I answered immediately, my eyes narrowing as I locked my gaze onto her. "I think you're the one who needs a timeout."

She visibly flinched. "E-eh? Me? What? No, I mean—ayos lang ako."

Napabuntong hininga ako at tinuloy ang pagsusulat sa notebook ko ang mga natutunan ko sa kanya kanina. "You've been talking at a literal higher frequency for the past sixty minutes straight. Hindi ka ba nauubusan ng laway sa kakaturo mo sa'kin?"

"Ah..." She laughed nervously, a lone bead of sweat forming near her temple. "I guess I just got carried away. Naisip ko lang kasi—sabi ni Headmaster Salem na kailangan mo raw ng tulong para maka-catch up and I... I'm just trying my hardest to be useful. Ayun lang."

My breath hitched slightly. I hadn't meant to sound entirely hostile.

But something about Cerise's relentless, unwavering helpfulness always made my skin itch. It felt like I constantly owed her a debt just for existing in her vicinity. Pero heto siya ngayon... halatang kabado. Apologetic, but she still chose to show up for me.

Maybe that's what made it worse. I simply wasn't equipped to handle people putting in real effort for my sake.

"For someone who's just giving a presentation on plants... you're way too wound up," I said flatly, looking at her out of the corner of my eye.

Hindi ko naman siya pinilit na gawin ito eh. She could have easily turned down the request and walked away. She didn't have to push herself to the brink of a panic attack for me.

"Eh, ano kasi..." Her voice trailed off. She cast her eyes down toward the grassy floor, letting out a hollow, defeated sigh. "Things have just been... incredibly heavy lately. You know, everything."

I couldn't exactly argue with that. Her anxiety didn't surprise me in the slightest.

Dito sa buong campus ngayon ay naaabala na dahil sa mga sunod-sunod ng pangyayari kamakailan lang. From the spider plague to my own literal trial, to the suffocating tension radiating from the Consilium... the entire student body was running on pure survival mode. I could actively feel the sharp, jagged edge of mass paranoia suffocating the atmosphere. It felt like a thick, collective dread, dragging everyone's sanity down into the dirt.

"I get it," I replied quietly, nodding in understanding. "It's a lot. Everything has felt completely unhinged." Napatingala ako sa mga glass panes. "It almost makes you wonder if we're all just sitting around waiting for the next catastrophe to drop."

Marahan akong napapikit ng mga mata hanggang sa nakarinig ako ng may hagikgik mula sa hindi kalayuan. Napadilat ako ng mga mata dahil napagtanto kong pamilyar ang boses na aking naririnig.

"Look at you! Such a gorgeous red color, but still not quite as lovely as my little carnivorous cherubs back in my dorm room~"

Vanya.

My gaze hardened as I locked onto her. She was positioned far off in the right wing of the structure, cooing over some volatile, viney beast as if it were a harmless newborn puppy. Then, my eyes dropped from Vanya's face to the specific flower she was actively caressing...

Oh.

A sharp, violent gasp escaped my throat as my memory flared to life.

Holy hexes.

That specific red plant I had spotted before—Naalala ko tuloy yung isang halaman na biglang nawala pagkatapos ng bangayan namin ni Vanya noon. I even remembered Cerise's terrifying warnings regarding its exact classifications...

The Crimson Hemlock.

The exact flower Vanya was touching right now wasn't technically the Hemlock itself, but that haunting, intensely familiar shade of blood-red triggered an instant wave of panic, unlocking something far more sinister within my mind.

"Sythria?"

Napaigtad ako nang nararamdaman ko na may isang kamay na pumatong sa aking balikat.

I violently jolted as a warm hand pressed onto my shoulder. I turned to find Cerise's brows knitted in deep concern. She followed my line of sight toward Vanya before turning back to me, her expression dropping into a heavy frown.

"Is something wrong, Sythria? You completely checked out for a whole minute."

"Do you ever think about how perfectly coordinated everything was that day?" biglaang tanong ko na siyang ikinagulat ko rin.

"What day?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Mariin akong napapikit ng mata at huminga ng malalim bago ako sumagot. "The day of the spider plague outbreak."

"Oh." Kinikisap-kisapan ako ni Cerise, a flash of genuine shock washing over her features. "Yes. Honestly, all the time. It was horrific." nag-aalinlangan niyang sagot, napatungo siya't nakatingin sa mesang kahoy. "Pero opisyal na nilang idineklara itong isang aksidente, di ba? Sabi nila, an alchemist was mishandling restricted toxic compounds or something."

I pressed my lips together, fighting the spike of pure irritation at the convenient lie the entire academy had blindly swallowed. "So, you just blindly believe whatever narrative they feed you?"

She let out a slow, shaky breath, a flicker of profound guilt crossing her eyes. She went quiet for a long moment before finally whispering, "...Ewan ko." She sounded like she was actively trying to convince herself. "I guess siguro... Ayoko lang isipin na may higit pa sa kanilang sinasabi. I don't want to imagine there's something worse going on. I mean—Bakit naman magsisinungaling ang Consilium tungkol sa isang bagay na ganito kalala? That's... that's definitely not something they would cover up. For sure."

Her voice lost all its momentum at the end, entirely uncertain.

Napalunok ako at nagiwas ng tingin sa kanya. "Paano kung sabihin ko sa'yong hindi aksidente 'yon?"

Napahawak si Cerise sa kanyang dibdib, nanlaki naman ang kanyang matang tiningnan ako. "Kung hindi aksidente... ano pa nga ba ang pinag-uusapan natin dito?"

"This might seem entirely left-field, but do you remember that specific red plant you warned me about? Yung parang isang halaman na mahigpit pinagbabawal sa lab unless may permit ka?"

Sumimangot siya. "Sythria, you have to give me more details than just 'red.' There are dozens of restricted red plants on the botanical toxicology index. Danger and the color red are practically synonymous in our field."

Tsk. She's not wrong. It could be anything.

Palihim kong sinulyapan muli si Vanya. May kung anong kirot ang nararamdaman ko sa aking tiyan nang makita ko ulit ang pulang bulaklak na kanyang pinaglalaruan ngayon.

That Crimson Hemlock—kasing kulay ito ng sariwang dugo. It was too precise. And Vanya happened to be around that time when I saw that plant for the first time. It vanished right after our confrontation.

Akala ko naiimagine ko lang ang halaman na 'yon dahil sa biglang pagkawala nito.

But... What if my eyes hadn't lied to me?

Hell, Vanya literally possessed advanced plant magick.

I suddenly recalled a muffled argument I had accidentally overwritten weeks ago—Audra shouting at Vanya for almost getting caught. Hindi nga lang ako sigurado kung may naalala ako na may tinutukoy ba sila kung anong halaman ba talaga 'yon, but I distinctly remembered Audra's fury over a dangerous plant this childish garden-gremlin was secretly hoarding.

'Reasons? Really?! That thing you've been obsessing over, you kept it just for some foolish, trivial collection! We both know damn well that plant is the likely cause of that FUCKING CATASTROPHE!'

Audra had never explicitly named the catastrophe. But now? I would stake my entire life on the fact that she was talking about the spider plague.

Oh, wait. Everything is clicking into place.

Mabilis akong lumingon ulit kay Cerise. "The Crimson Hemlock. That is the exact plant I'm talking about."

Cerise's expression blanked as she paused to mentally sift through her memory files. Then, her eyes went entirely wide.

"Oh—Naalala ko na. I did tell you about that. That plant isn't just standard-level dangerous, Sythria—it is actively blacklisted by the supreme Consilium," she said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "If anyone is caught possessing even a single root of it, they are looking at immediate, severe charges."

Dahan-dahan akong tumango, the puzzle pieces locking together.

"Uh-huh. Possession is a massive offense..." pag-uulit ko sa sinasabi niya at saka pinasadahan ko ulit ng tingin si Vanya. "...and someone over there has been acting like they've been playing with something they really shouldn't have."

"Teka—ano bang pinagsasabi mo?" Cerise followed my gaze, her eyes darting frantically between me and Vanya as her brain tried to process the connection. "Is this about her?"

I briefly met her eyes. A sudden hesitation gripped me, nakikipag-debate pa kasi ako sa sarili kung pwede ko ba siyang kausapin tungkol dito.

I mean... mapagkakatiwalaan ko naman siya, 'diba?

I lowered my gaze back to the text on the desk, my fingers mindlessly tracing the edge of the parchment without reading a single word. Nagpakawala ako ng malalim na hininga bago ako sumagot sa mababang boses. "I think... The Crimson Hemlock might be the exact catalyst that triggered the entire outbreak."

Cerise gasped, her features twisting in disbelief. "Eh? Paano mo naman naisip 'yon?"

"I accidentally overheard Audra and Vanya having a massive fallout," I hissed, clicking my tongue and crossing my arms so tight it hurt. I stared blindly into an empty corner of the glasshouse. "Audra let something slip—it was offhand, but it stuck with me. She said her problematic gremlin of a friend was obsessed with tracking down a possible, exotic, highly illegal plant."

My scowl deepened. "And apparently... they almost got flagged by the Consilium."

Bakas ang pagkabalisa sa ekspresyon ni Cerise dahil sa mga pinagsasabi ko. "Seryoso ka?"

Tumango ako. "Audra believes the Consilium already suspects Vanya, and it sounded like the higher-ups are actively circling them. The plant they were fighting over has to be the Crimson Hemlock. Which means it's the direct source of the entire lab disaster."

"If that's what they said... then investigators must have found botanical traces of it within the wreckage," she murmured, her academic brain taking over.

"Parang ganun nga." It made perfect sense.

Kusang pumasok sa isipan ko nung nagkaroon ng malubhang insidente sa academy. Headmaster Salem and the high-ranking faculty were at the place where the source of catastrophe first happened. I had assumed they were just trying to contain the biohazard, but in reality, they were likely hunting for the smoking gun behind the mutation. Tiyak ako na may nakita silang kakaiba roon.

"Kung totoo man iyon, then something I experienced during the actual spider attack makes a hell of a lot more sense now," pag-aamin ko.

"What do you mean?"

"I managed to slash one of the big sized spiders," I paused, the vivid memory replaying in high-definition behind my eyelids. "It bled. Bright, vivid red."

Cerise's mouth parted in confusion. "Hindi naman nagdudugo ang mga gagamba eh—at least not, absolutely not a shade like that."

"Alam ko. And it literally sizzled the second it splattered onto my skin. It wasn't standard blood; it was a volatile chemical compound, that, I'm sure. Something was fundamentally wrong with those creatures." I pressed a finger against my temple, trying to dull the sudden, throbbing ache beginning to form. "And if the Consilium is desperately trying to write it off as an 'accident' caused by bad potion-making... fine. Pero—"

My voice sharpened, cutting through the air.

"—Nakausap ko naman si Rory."

Bahagya siyang nagulat ng mabanggit ko ang pangalan ng lalaki. "A-anong sinabi niya sayo?"

"Kumbinsido siya na hindi iyon isang pagkakamali. Rory said his formula calculations were flawless—the whole thing felt entirely staged. Like Arachne was intentionally targeted and fed something toxic." I took a sharp breath, the atmosphere between us growing incredibly dense. "Someone did that to his familiar. Someone orchestrated the entire thing. They altered his materials without him knowing."

I turned to Cerise slowly, my voice dropping to a quiet, lethal frequency. "And weren't you and Kane actively trading blows with the campus traitor... during the exact same window of time the outbreak occurred?"

Kaagad siyang sumagot. "Yes, we were completely ambushed." A flash of lingering trauma surfaced in her eyes. "The grandis brooch was stolen right out from under us."

I let out a low hum. "And all of that just magickally happened to transpire at the exact same hour as a massive, catastrophic plague outbreak?"

She sat entirely stunned, unable to find her words. "The timing..."

"It's far too convenient to be a coincidence," pagtatapos ko sa kanyang sasabihin.

Marahas akong napabuntonghininga bago ko inihulog ang kasindak-sindak na realization na nabuo sa aking utak. "Which means the traitor likely engineered the entire spider incident on purpose. It wasn't an accident—it was a massive, brilliant distraction."

She stared at me in absolute horror, visibly shaken. "That is a... a massive assumption, Sythria."

"I know. But it doesn't feel like random bad luck anymore. It fits together too perfectly to just ignore."

"T-they would really g-go that far?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Dahan-dahan akong nagkibit-balikat. "They're already involved in a series of kidnapping cases targeting lone witches. Turning an entire lab into a biological weapon? Yeah, I definitely think they would."

Napansin ko namang naninigas sa kinauupuan itong si Cerise. Her mouth opened, then snapped shut. Beneath her aura, I felt a sudden, turbulent spike of energy—a suffocating wave of guilt and unadulterated fear.

"...Cerise?" mahinang tawag ko sa kanya.

She hesitates, her hands twitching in her lap. "There's... there's something I never told you."

I felt instantly glued to my chair, entirely frozen as her words began to weigh heavily on my ears. I stayed quiet, allowing her the space to speak.

"Nung nag-festival... yung gabing magkasama kayo ni Geo na iniligtas ako dahil nasa labas ako ng boundary," she bit her lower lip, turning her head away as her shoulders began to visibly tremble. "Hindi... Hindi ko nga namalayan na nandoon ako."

My brows knitted tightly together. "You—what?"

"Hindi ko matandaan kung paano ako nakapasok sa forbidden zone. Ang naalala ko lang ay parang nahihilo ako 'nun. Like something was aggressively distorting my vision, blurring everything around me. And then seconds later, I was just there. Kaharap nung devourer." Nabasag ang kanyang boses, a tremor running through her frame as she hugged herself. "Hanggang ngayon... minumulto pa ako sa nangyari. I don't understand why or how that happened to me."

Nanatili akong tahimik at hinayaan lang siyang magsalita.

"If you and Geo hadn't broken protocol and shown up..." Her voice broke completely, tears gathering at the rims of her eyes. "Patay na sana ako ngayon."

I frowned deeply, the weight of her distress vibrating through my own senses. "...But weren't you explicitly sent out there on a specialized mission?" marahang tanong ko.

She shook her head rapidly. "No! I didn't have a single shred of mission clearance on me. That's exactly why the Consilium got involved. They claimed my case fell entirely outside the academy's standard jurisdiction. Kinikwestyon nila ako, na parang ako ang totoong nagkasala kahit hindi naman talaga. I told them everything, but it didn't matter to them. I broke a core law. They said I should have known better, pero Sythria... alam kong hindi ko malalabag ang policy na 'yun eh."

"...I know you wouldn't," I murmured softly.

"My mentor had to physically step in and negotiate on my behalf, and now there's this... this permanent stain on my records. Until this case is completely resolved, the Consilium's sanctions heavily restrict me from participating in any major field operations."

She swallowed hard, forcing her voice to steady.

"Nung una, I truly believed I had just experienced a massive mental lapse. Pero simula nung marinig ko ang lumaganap na mga balita ngayon—lalong-lalo na nung nagkaroon ng misyon sila Geo tungkol sa pagkawala ng mga witches... they explicitly mentioned that those victims were being lured out. That they acted entirely detached, like they didn't even comprehend what they were doing. Like an invisible force was pulling them into the dark." mahabang litanya niya. "What if that exact same force happened to me, too?"

"You think your incident is connected to the kidnappings," seryosong puna ko.

She nodded rapidly.

"Then that means you weren't a rule-breaker, Cerise. You were a target." I paused, my jaw tightening. "Which means this traitor has been playing a much longer, much more calculated game than any of us realized."

Cerise went entirely quiet, visibly haunted by the sheer scale of the realization.

I took another sweeping glance around the glasshouse. My eyes narrowed into a sharp slit before I pivoted back to her. "Why didn't you say anything about this before?" maingat kong tanong sa kanya.

"Walang maniniwala sa akin eh." Her voice was dangerously small, a single tear finally escaping her dewy green eyes. "I know how insane my story sounds. Kasi kapag mali ako sa mata nila, nagmumukha lang akong isang kabiguan na trying hard gumawa ng mga excuses." She paused, exhaling a shaky breath. "Doctor Doru is already risking so much of his own standing just to financially support my grandmother and my little brother. And now, I have the Consilium breathing heavily down my neck."

"Cerise..."

"Hindi ko kayang mawala lahat ng pinaghirapan kong buuin, Sythria... H-Hindi ko kayang magkamali ulit."

Tahimik kong sinulyapan ulit si Vanya. She was still completely lost in her own world, acting entirely oblivious despite the gruesome, catastrophic news actively enveloping the realm.

Noong una, it was difficult to piece together. Nabawi ng grupo ni Geo ang grandis brooch noong kanilang misyon at ibinigay ito kay Kane. For a brief moment, it seemed as though they finally had something concrete to work with. The brooch should have been enough to give Kane and the authorities a place to start. Then the spider outbreak happened. Nagkakagulo ang buong akademya, at sa gitna ng kaguluhan, nawala ang brooch. Kung sino man ang nasa likod nito ay tiyak na inaasahan na ang ebidensya ay makakarating kay Kane. No doubt about it, this traitor was frighteningly cunning.

If there really was an apex predator pulling our strings from the shadows... Vanya was starting to dance a little too close to the flame.

Natigilan ako sa kalagitnaan ng aking pag-iisip nang may isang pamilyar na nilalang ang bumagsak sa desk namin.

"HOOT! HOOT! HOOT!"

"...Stolas?" I tilted my head, thoroughly bewildered. Wala naman akong sinabing puntahan niya ako dito ngayon ah?

Stolas let out a series of demanding, urgent hoots as he dropped a distinct, royal-purple envelope directly onto my open textbook.

Dahan-dahan ko naman itong kinuha, saglit kong binalingan si Cerise na tinanguan lang ako para basahin ang nakapaloob sa envelope.

I broke the wax seal, unfolding the thick paper. My eyes instantly locked onto the single, chilling sentence written across the center:

'Report to WICCA Warden Captain, Kane Devon, ASAP.'