"You mean humans can become a Corrupted Aether?" Rilian asked.
Yarin nodded, her eyes still scanning the backyard. "Corrupted Aethers are attracted to negative emotions. It's like food to them. Sometimes they leave the human body as soon as they can manifest a physical form. But other times they choose to stay, using the human body."
"The ones like these…" Yarin continued and walked towards the broken fences. "They're more dangerous."
Rilian followed. "Because they kept on feeding on the negative emotions?"
Yarin turned. "Right."
"And obviously it went out into the neighborhood," Rilian remarked, looking at the fences.
The golden scythe in Yarin's hand faded, and her stance shifted to a more relaxed one. "And we lost track. Beyond these fences, there are no more aether marks."
"It means… the Corrupted Aether form only went this far, right?" Rilian said.
Yarin turned fully to him. "Not bad—you're catching on. He went out in a human form."
* * *
Rilian went straight to bed as soon as he got home. He felt exhausted from everything that had happened that day.
Then his phone buzzed.
It was Caleb:
"I added Yarin on WispChat. But she hasn't responded yet. Have you told her?"
Rilian frowned. "Crap, I forgot."
He opened the chat thread with Yarin and typed:
"Hey, Yarin. I need a favor."
"What is it?"
"Ahhhm… Caleb added you to WispChat, can you confirm? Please…"
"Are you trying to ship me?!"
"No, no, no! I was telling them about us…" Rilian panicked, imagining her furious face at the moment, that he accidentally pressed the send button without finishing the sentence.
"About us?!!!" Her message radiated with fury.
"Crap!" Rilian almost dropped his phone. "Why do I always make things worse?"
"Sorry, I accidentally pressed send. I mean, I was telling them about us talking at the cafeteria. Zeke told Caleb that you helped me hide… you know, that chase during the festival night. Zeke even told him that you clearly don't like me…"
For a second Rilian's finger hovered on the phone's keyboard staring at the last sentence. Then he continued:
"Zeke even told him that you clearly don't like me. But Caleb asked for your number. I told him that we are 'FRIENDS' now, and I will tell you that he will add you in WispChat."
Rilian stared at the chat for a few minutes, but Yarin didn't reply. "She's totally pissed off," he told himself. He was about to drop his phone when Zeke's message appeared:
"Man! Have you heard the news?!"
"What news?"
"Principal Wells is found dead in school!"
Rilian's heart pounded in his chest. His thoughts immediately went to Mr. Chavez and the Corrupted Aether.
He clicked back on Yarin's thread:
"Have you heard? Principal Wells is found dead in school."
"Yes, I was about to message you. But let's rest for the night. I'm sure school is swarming with police right now. And that your parents will no longer allow you out. We'll check tomorrow."
Rilian dropped his phone on the small table beside his bed and it buzzed again. Yarin had another message:
"I added Caleb."
Rilian stared at his phone, wondering why the message felt so different. His fingers hovered for a few minutes, then he typed:
"Thank you!"
* * *
The next day, school was suspended. The news about the death of Principal Wells was all over social media. It wasn't just him—two guards on duty that night had also been found dead. Authorities discovered that all the CCTV footage that night had mysteriously malfunctioned.
Rilian messaged Yarin:
"I really have a feeling that Mr. Chavez is involved in the deaths at school."
"I think so. That's why we're going tonight. 11:00 p.m."
"That's very late… I'm not sure I can sneak out. And how do we even get into the school?"
"Figure it out. If it's really a Corrupted Aether, we need to stop it before it kills again."
Yarin messaged again:
"Also, wear something to cover your face. And stretch out. We might need to climb in from the back of the school."
Rilian buried his face into the pillow and groaned.
* * *
Night came, Rilian stood in the narrow alley behind the school. He was wearing a black cap that hid most of his hair, big dark shades covered his eyes, and a black scarf was tied around his neck. For a moment, he felt like a spy from some action movie. But when Yarin hadn't arrived a minute past eleven, the thought of him as a spy quickly shrank.
He started to worry and kept glancing down the alley, unsure which scared him more—running into the police or running into the Corrupted Aether.
Rilian was relieved when he saw Yarin walking in the alley, dressed in a tight black outfit and matching boots. Her hair was tied back in a braid.
As she approached, her lips curled as if she were holding back a laugh.
"Why are you late?" Rilian asked. "And… what's so funny?"
"You do realize it's midnight, right?" she said, pointing at the shades, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
"This is the closest I got," he muttered.
"Take it off," she replied. "It'll just make it harder to see. Or worse, it might fall."
Yarin glanced up at the school wall. "I'll need you to cast more aether."
"What do you mean?" he said. "And… how?"
"On the second night of the school festival, when you were playing the piano, you were glowing with a lot of aether," Yarin said. "You need to bring back that emotion."
Rilian took off his shades and slipped them into his pocket.
He closed his eyes, fingers tapping against his leg, as if pressing on invisible keys.
"That's it," Yarin said softly.
Then Rilian felt as if something warm was coming out of his chest.
He opened his eyes and saw faint golden light streaming from him into Yarin's hands. She pulled and wove it into a rope, coiling it around her arm.
"This is enough," she said, shaping the tip of the aether into a lasso.
She spun it with her right hand, dropped her arm to gain momentum, then hurled it upward. The glowing lasso coiled around an iron spike on the wall, then she quickly pulled to tighten the knot.
Rilian gave a long whistle, admiring the swing, looking at the aether rope tied above.
Yarin's brow furrowed. "You mean… you can see the aether?"
Rilian nodded. "I can see it, faintly. Am I not supposed to?"
"Back in Mr. Chavez's house, you couldn't see the aether, right? she asked.
Rilian nodded again.
"Hmm… That's odd," Yarin muttered.
"But it's better this way—it would be harder if you couldn't see," she added, pulling up the mask from the back of her suit. It covered her face, leaving only her eyes visible. Then she gripped the rope and started climbing the wall. "I'll wait for you on the other side."
Rilian pulled his scarf up over his mouth. "Good thing I tried wall climbing during our family vacation," he whispered to himself, then he started pulling himself up to follow.
It took him a while, and when he finally made it down, Yarin was already sitting cross-legged, chin resting on her hand.
"Sorry—"
"Let's go," Yarin cut him off, stood, and walked ahead.
Yarin led him, slipping between school buildings, careful not to be spotted by the roaming guards.
Soon, they reached the hallway going to the principal's office. Yarin summoned her aether scythe and pointed the tip at the ground as she walked, checking for any aether marks. Rilian followed close behind, heart pounding louder and louder as they neared the office, glancing back from time to time.
"I haven't found any aether marks," Yarin said softly.
"Maybe it's not a Corrupted Aether?" Rilian whispered. "Let's go back now."
"We're already at the office," Yarin said, holding the doorknob. Her hand glowed and it unlocked. "If there are no aether marks inside, we go back."
Yarin pushed the door slowly and stepped inside.
"The Corrupted Aether was here," she muttered.