Corelia stood frozen, heart pounding as she hovered in the stillness of the room. Vic had turned, his gaze cutting straight through the space where she stood, though she knew he shouldn't be able to see her. His eyes locked on the invisible point where she hovered just beyond reach.
"Who are you?" Vic asked, his voice low but sure. "Why are you here?"
Corelia's breath caught in her throat. She couldn't move, couldn't comprehend. He wasn't supposed to see her—she was concealed by the spell. Her heart pounded in her chest. She froze mid-motion, her hand still suspended in the air. His eyes didn't waver—they were still fixed, as if he was staring straight at her. She wanted to deny it, wanted to tell herself this was just a trick of the mind, a fluke but he didn't look confused. He looked certain.
Vic's eyes didn't move. They stayed fixed unnervingly precise on the exact space where Corelia stood, though there was nothing there to see.
No shadow.
No reflection.
No distortion in the air.
And yet he looked directly at her.
"Who are you?" he asked again, his voice quieter now, but heavier… grounded in certainty rather than confusion.
His brows pulled together slightly, like he was trying to understand something just beyond reach.
"I can feel you."
Corelia held her breath, waiting for him to break the tension, to look away. But he didn't. He just stood there, as if he knew exactly where she was, even if she wasn't supposed to be seen and as his gaze held hers, an unsettling thought crept in.
What if he could see her after all?
Her thoughts which were usually clear and controlled scattered for the first time since she stepped into the room.
Impossible.
She was invisible.
Not just hidden or removed. Her presence was masked, her energy sealed, her existence folded neatly beneath layers of magic no ordinary being could perceive but yet he wasn't guessing.
He wasn't reacting blindly.
He was responding to her.
"No," she whispered under her breath, barely audible even to herself.
Her eyes narrowed, searching his expression for a flaw some sign that this was coincidence, instinct, anything that could be explained but Vic didn't look confused. He didn't look afraid, he was so certain she was here.
Corelia took a careful step back then another. Her gaze never leaving him trying to create some distance between them and regain control.
"I know you're still here," Vic said.
That did it.
Corelia didn't wait another second, she lifted her hand sharply, the calm precision she had carried all night dissolving into urgency. The energy surged at her fingertips were no longer soft or measured but quick, reactive and Instinctive.
The pulse of magic flickered and in the next second she was gone.
The room fell silent and calm,Vic didn't move immediately. He stood there for a moment longer, eyes fixed on the space she had just occupied.
Then slowly his gaze shifted.
"Gone," He murmured.
Across the city Corelia reappeared in her room, the change was abrupt. The silence of her room crashed into her senses as her feet touched the ground, unsteady for just a moment before she caught herself.
She didn't move or speak. Her gaze remained unfocused, like she was still halfway between where she had been and where she stood now.
"What… was that…?" she whispered.
Her voice was softer than usual. Not calm or the usual composed tone, It was filled with uncertainty. Her hand lifted slightly, as though she could still feel the trace of that moment lingering in the air.
The way he had turned.
The way he had looked at her.
Corelia lowered her hand slowly.
No.
That wasn't possible but It just happened right Infront of her, she needed answers.
Without another thought, she turned and moved quickly, her steps sharper now, urgency replacing the quiet grace she usually carried. She pushed her door open and hurried down the hall.
"Lydia—"
She reached Lydia's door and pushed it open without knocking.
"Lydia—"
Lydia screamed.
"AH—! I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING WRONG—!"
Corelia stopped,staring at her confused.
Lydia was on her bed, half-standing, half-sitting, her laptop open, phone propped up against a stack of books, wires everywhere like she was running some underground control center:
Jax and Mishell mid-date.
Multiple chat comments flying across the side. Hearts. Reactions and Usernames that looked very illegal.
Lydia threw her hands up instantly.
"I WASN'T DOING ANYTHING WRONG—!"
Corelia just stared at her blankly. Lydia slowly lowered her hands.
"…Okay," she admitted cautiously. "Maybe slightly illegal."
Corelia didn't react or even glance properly at the screen, her mind was still somewhere else.
Lydia squinted at her.
"Okay, wait. That face..." She pointed.
"That is not your usual 'I'm silently judging your life choices' face."
Corelia finally spoke "I went to see Vic."
Lydia blinked. "Oh okay great, for the spell that's good.."
"He knew I was there."
The room went quiet for a minute Lydia sat up straighter..
"Wasn't he suppose to know?".
"I was Invisible, spell bond".
Lydia paused, trying to make sense of the situation
"Hold on, rewind back, what do you mean knew?" she asked slowly. "Like… sensed something weird? Or like knew knew?"
Corelia shook her head faintly. "He spoke to me as If he could see me."
Lydia froze. Corelia stepped further into the room now, her thoughts spilling out as she tried to make sense of them.
" I don't know If he actually saw me" she said. "But he felt every movement. Every time I got close, he moved away. Not randomly but Intentionally like he knew exactly where I was, even warned me not to touch him."
Lydia's mouth opened slightly.
"That's not normal."
"I know," Corelia said quietly.
"I couldn't even place the spell."
That settled heavily between them.
Lydia leaned back slowly, processing.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"This is really bad".
"I know right". Corelia responded.
"He knows you are a witch". Lydia said, which sounded very stupid to Corelia.
Corelia turned slowly giving her a 'are you serious look'.
"Really? That's all you can say". She asked.
"Well I had no Idea Vic Is a psychic, makes him even hotter".
"It's pointless coming here". She turned to leave
"Wait!" Lydia screamed, her expression seriously for a minute then slowly drifted Into something far less serious.
Corelia didn't like that tone.
"You said he just got out of the shower, right?"
Corelia's expression didn't change.
Which was exactly why Lydia continued.
"And you were in the room…"
"Lydia." Corelia warned.
"And Invisible…"
"Lydia."
"So you saw everything?, you don't have a super camera to have recorded his body?"
Corelia stared at her, long, flat and unamused.
"I'm not in the mood."
Lydia raised her hands quickly. "Okay! Okay, fine—serious!" She sat up again, frowning now. "But that's actually insane," she added. "If he can feel through that kind of concealment… that's not just instinct."
Corelia's gaze lowered slightly, her voice softened.
"I've never seen anything like it."
And for the first time there was something unfamiliar in her tone.
Back at the apartment Vic stood alone in his room.The air had settled and the warmth from the shower has slowly faded. The silence had returned, whatever had been there was gone.
He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his still-damp hair before moving toward his bed. His movements were calm but his mind wasn't.
"It's been a while," He murmured.
He lay down on his bed staring ahead.
Not at anything in particular but not unfocused either.
A memory surfaced, faint at first then clearer. A younger version of him standing in a quiet hallway, much smaller. The lights dim even the air felt different.
"Vic?"
A voice called from behind him.
"What are you looking at?"
He hadn't answered because he didn't know the answer to that question, even thenhe had felt it. That same presence and energy, the subtle distortion in the air when something else was there.
Something no one else could see.
At first, he thought it was nothing other than Imagination or fear but It never went away, It grew with him for years. He was always aware whenever a ghost or spirt Is standing close to him and ove time he had learned to live with it.
To recognize It and work with It even communicate.
This was either a gift or a curse.
He still didn't know but it had always been part of him.
And tonight, In a very long time It had returned again. Stronger, clearer and more closer than ever.
Vic turned to his left side staring at the window.
"…Who are you…?" He murmured.
Because whatever had stood in that room, whatever he had felt It wasn't normal and somehow he knew this wasn't over.