They hid inside a storage room after the encounter with the faceless girl.
The electricity had been restored. Rilian was sitting on the floor, still in shock, his mind still trying to process everything that transpired.
"This is not how it was supposed to be. No—no!" Yarin murmured, groaning in disbelief, walking back and forth.
Yarin stopped and looked at Rilian, "Please tell me this is just a dream."
"Believe me, that's what I was telling myself when that faceless girl was chasing me," he said.
"And you…" Rilian continued. "You were holding that gold scythe earlier, then it vanished in the air… what are you?"
She let out a muffled groan, as if trying to swallow the sound.
"I'm an Aether Weaver," Yarin said.
"A what?"
Yarin sat on the floor, leaning her back on the door. "A sorceress," she said.
"I came from a lineage of sorcerers," Yarin continued. "There is a spike of aether once every century. It will cause Corrupted Aethers to manifest."
"Crap, this is too hard to absorb. And you're the Aether Weaver?" Rilian asked.
She rolled her eyes. "I just told you that."
"You did?"
She let out a puff of air, making the streaks of her bangs sway.
"Yes, I am an Aether Weaver. I was chosen from birth." She pulled the sleeve on her shoulder, showing a mark. "I was trained my whole life for this."
"But you…" she continued. "You are not supposed to be the Aether Vessel."
Rilian shook his head. "I don't understand."
"The Aether Vessel is supposed to be an object," she said. "An amulet, a mirror, a dagger… not a human."
"And… of all the people, why you?"
"So I was cursed again?" Rilian murmured to himself.
"You are cursed?" she asked.
"I always thought I'm cursed—never mind," he replied abruptly. "How do you know that I'm the—"
"Aether Vessel," she said, finishing the word.
"Yeah."
"There are different sorcerers," she said. "Fateweaver is one."
He stared blankly.
"A seer," she said plainly.
Rilian nodded.
"My mother is a Fateweaver," she continued. "When I was still young, my mother saw a vision that the Aether Vessel would be found here at this school, as well as the first Corrupted Aether. And so I need to study here."
"During your performance earlier, I saw that you were glowing with pure aether—sorcerers are the only ones who can see the aether glow."
"So… what will happen to me?" Rilian asked.
"I don't like this either… but I will be needing you. The eliminated aethers need to be sealed in the Aether Vessel—you. If not, they could manifest again."
"Crap!" Rilian muttered.
Yarin stood up, wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Let's go. It's too hot here."
Just as they opened the door, they were startled—Zeke was passing by.
"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Zeke exclaimed. "Sorry… did I just—"
"No!" Rilian said in panic, eyes darting around the closet. "We were—uh—counting brooms?"
Yarin closed her eyes, her face tight, trying to stop herself from screaming. Then she lifted a finger at Zeke, "Make sure you don't tell anyone about this. Or I'll kill you."
Zeke raised both hands. "Yes, Ma'am!"
Yarin turned to Rilian and said, "You're an idiot. Make sure you explain everything to your friend." Then she walked out.
When Yarin was gone, Zeke leaned closer to Rilian, grinning. "So… want to tell me why you and Miss Goth Girl were sweating in the storage room?"
Rilian groaned. "It's not what you think."
Zeke nodded sarcastically, still grinning, and started walking away.
"Zeke…" Rilian started, then sighed, chasing after him. "You won't believe me… but there was… a monster."
"Ohhh… scary," Zeke said. "What kind of monster? You two fought it?"
Rilian crumpled his face and thought explaining would only make it worse.
* * *
The next day at lunch, Rilian walked through the cafeteria with his tray, passing tables of students.
As usual, girls smiled and giggled when he passed, but that day it didn't bother him much. After his strange encounter with Yarin, many questions arise.
He scanned the room and found her in her usual spot. The far corner of the cafeteria, alone and facing away from everyone.
When he reached the spot, he set his tray down and sat across from her.
Yarin snapped her head up, eyes wide.
"Who told you that you can sit here?" She said and quickly looked at the nearby tables, checking if there were familiar faces around. "I don't want to be associated with the girls who are crazy about you."
"Sorry, I just need some answers," Rilian said. He leaned over slightly, lowering his voice. "Last night, I could feel the faceless girl's presence. I wasn't able to sleep well."
"I can't help you with that. I told you that Aether Vessels are objects. You think my ancestors can talk to objects?" she answered, just as low as Rilian's voice. "Go away."
"Not fair," he said.
"We'll talk somewhere else," she said. "Maybe find me on WispChat and we'll talk there instead. Never talk to me here in school."
"Fine," Rilian said. He stood up and took his tray. As his eyes darted around looking for a free seat, he saw Zeke and Caleb waving at him from the other corner.
"Oh no, did Zeke tell Caleb about last night?" he thought as he walked towards them.
Rilian sat on a free seat across from them. His eyes met Zeke's, silently asking if he told Caleb. Zeke gave him a quick shake of his head, understanding what he meant.
"Hey Rilian," Caleb said. "Why are you there talking to Yarin?"
Rilian looked at Zeke again. This time Zeke shook his head faster and raised a hand just enough for Rilian to see his two fingers flicked.
Rilian hesitated, "Uhm—"
"You two are friends now?" Caleb cut him short, then leaned over. "Can you ask if I may have her number?"
Zeke's eyes widened, biting his lip, looking at Rilian with a shocked expression.
"That's… that's too old school," Rilian said. "WispChat, she's on WispChat. I'll tell her you will add her."
Caleb smiled, then suddenly frowned. "Wait, but since when did you start talking to girls?"
"Last night," Zeke butted in. "After the fangirl chase, she helped him hide. You know she's the only girl who doesn't like Rilian, right?"
"Crap, this is getting worse. I'm screwed," Rilian thought, nodding at Caleb with a fake smile.
They ate their lunch, and when they were almost done, Zeke said, "Hey guys, have you heard of the rumors?"
"About Mr. Chavez?" Caleb answered.
"I don't. Why, what happened?" Rilian asked.
"We were told that he's on leave, but rumors say he's missing," Zeke said.
"I heard that authorities forced their way into his house. They found that his place was wrecked—even his piano was torn into pieces," Zeke continued.
That stopped Rilian from having his last bite. "Did someone break into his house?"
"That's the thing," Zeke said. "There were no signs of breaking in."
"Meaning he's the one who wrecked his house," Caleb added.
Rilian frowned, "He would never do that. You know how he is with taking care of music instruments—even the ones here in school. How much more of his own."
Caleb shrugged his shoulders while Zeke nodded, and Rilian's thoughts wandered.
* * *
It was after school. Rilian was walking in a narrow alley going home. Holding his phone, he opened WispChat app, typed in Yarin's name in the search bar.
"I forgot her last name," he muttered to himself. "It sounded like… weather."
"Ahh—I remember, Rane."
Search results showed, and he clicked her account.
Rilian smiled, looking at her profile picture. She was wearing a bright smile, something that he'd never seen before.
He clicked the add button, and then a chill ran down his spine.
"Crap! Here she goes again!"
He stood still—his body felt like it was being held, as if entangled in the long, cold limbs of the faceless girl.
Then he heard her voice, hushed, eerie, and clear as if she was just there in the narrow alley, whispering directly to his ear.
"Mr. Chavez."