Somewhere within the endless starry sky of the Nexus, where no light reaches and no sound is heard, a hazy figure sat upon a throne made up of the celestial sky. Its presence was both Ancient and divine. Moments later, the hazy figure opened its silver starlight-like eyes and gazed at somewhere far yet near, an amused smile tugging its lips as it slowly shut its eyes back…
***
Anna sat at the fifth bench of the fourth row, which was beside the wall, as she looked out the window with a smile. She caught a glimpse of birds flying in the distance, squirrels jumping from one branch to another. She looked at everything with interest in her eyes.
"Anna?" a voice called out to her.
Anna turned her head and looked at her green-haired friend, nearly the same height as her, just a few inches taller; her black eyes gleamed with innocence.
Anna stood up from the bench and replied.
"Hanna."
"Was she staring out of the window again?" a young and mischievous voice asked Hanna.
Anna turned her head back and looked at her dark blue, shoulder-length-haired friend, who looked like a doll due to her short stature.
She narrowed her eyes as she answered.
"Elise… I wasn't staring."
"Yeah, yeah," Elise rolled her eyes at Anna's reply.
"We should go to the cafeteria," Hanna suggested as she looked at both with a smile.
Anna and Elise nodded their heads, and the trio began to walk towards the cafeteria from the classroom.
Students filled the hallway as they chatted amongst themselves.
Moments later, the three of them sat at a table in the corner of the cafeteria and ordered some snacks and drinks.
"Elise!" a low, cheerful voice called out.
Elise turned around and looked at a brown-haired girl with a ponytail, whose light brown eyes were covered by eyeglasses. She had a cute face, but her slightly gloomy aura hid all of that as she spoke.
Elise's lips stretched into a smile as she answered.
"Hmm? Oh, Amaya!!"
"Can I sit with you three?" Amaya questioned as she shifted her eyes between all three of them.
Elise turned to look at the other two for their opinion. Anna simply shrugged at it, and Hanna agreed with a nod.
"Sure!" Elise turned to Amaya and gave her a thumbs-up.
"So what I was saying is that please don't forget that today is Jacob's birthday and you have to come," Hanna said while looking at Anna.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, stop bothering me," an annoyed Anna replied as she ate the snacks.
"Heh. Didn't you say the same thing during the engagement party of Lilya?" Elise joined the conversation and replied with a smug smile.
"Hmph!" Anna looked away, seemingly not interested in their questions anymore.
"Hey.. you guys.. have you heard about midnighters?" Amaya quested, her tone low.
The trio gave her puzzled looks and questioned her.
" Midnighters? What's that? "
Amaya blinked a few times and asked in a shocked tone.
"Hmm? What? You never heard about them?"
"Spill it out already!" Elise bawled.
"Ah... so, I heard that there are a few humans who get superhuman abilities at night and they call themselves Midnighters," Amaya said as she leaned forward in a low tone, preferably she didn't want others to hear her.
Hearing her, both Elise and Hanna rolled up their eyes, while sparkles could be seen in Anna's eyes.
"You sure?!" Anna asked with an excited look.
Amaya, who hadn't expected Anna to react like that, answered with a stutter.
"Ah… yes,"
"Hah.. Not again," Both Elise and Hanna commented as they heaved a sigh.
"You should stop reading and watching those novels and anime of yours, Anna," Elise said as she shook her head.
She looked at her with a puzzled look. How dare she make fun of the holy scriptures? Anna frowned and asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It makes you stupid!" Elise said matter-of-factly.
Hearing her, Anna tilted her head a little and questioned, her tone had a little amusement.
"But.. don't you have the lowest grades among us?"
"Um.." a voice escaped Amaya's lips, who had an embarrassed look on her face.
"Ah, I meant among us," Anna said while pointing at herself, Elise, Hanna, and an image of a slightly tanned pink-haired girl on her smartphone.
Elise looked at Anna with a deadpan expression for a moment and replied in an irritated tone.
"It's not about the grades!!"
*Ring* *Ring*
The break time bell rang, announcing the end of the break time and the start of yet another boring class.
The trio stood up from the table and began walking towards the classroom.
Anna stopped in her tracks and grabbed her chest as she felt a sudden discomfort.
'Not again... ugh!' Anna thought as a frown appeared on her face. Moments later, the discomfort vanished, and Anna began to walk again.
Hanna gave her a worried look and asked.
"You alright?"
"Yeah... It feels normal now." Anna smiled forcefully as she said so.
She looked at Anna for a few moments before nodding.
"If you say so," she replied and began walking towards the classroom.
A few hours later, the bell rang again, announcing the end of the college day and giving Anna the freedom she so desperately wanted.
"Finally, I am free," Anna declared, as if she had been trapped in a cage for years.
Anna walked towards the towering exit gates with her three friends.
"Anna, please don't forget about Jacob's birthday party," Hanna said solemnly.
"Yeah, yeah," Anna replied in a half-hearted tone.
Hanna's eyes were about to water as she pleaded to her.
"I beg you, please."
"Ugh.. you are so tense for no reason.. I'll be there at the right time, don't worry," Anna said with a deadpan look.
"Hah... Ok," Hanna replied, thinking of putting her faith in Anna.
The trio stood at the gates of the college as they waited for Anna's driver to come and pick her up.
As the trio chatted amongst themselves, within an alley far away from the college, a pair of green eyes stared at Anna with a sharp glint in them.
"Did you find out anything about her protector?" A gentle yet authoritative voice asked from behind the figure.
The green-eyed figure didn't turn and replied with a shake of its head.
"No… not yet."
"He is a slippery one." The green-eyed figure finished.
"Heh… It doesn't matter. We already placed a bait after all. A bait I am sure he will chew on." The hidden figure responded with a confident voice.
The green-eyed figure turned her head and looked at a brown-haired girl standing by the gates.
Her lips stretched into a creepy grin as she nodded.
"Yeah…"
"Let's go." The hidden figure ordered.
The green-eyed figure nodded and looked at Anna for the last time before it turned back and stepped deeper inside the dark alley.
After they left, silence returned to the alley, yet it felt like the silence before the storm.