When Control Slips
The bell rang sharply, signaling the end of the combat period.
Liu lowered her hand slowly, her breathing uneven.
Across from her, Ayushi smirked.
"Is that all?" she said lightly. "I expected more."
Liu didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Something had gone wrong the moment the fight began.
Her magic—usually steady, quiet, obedient—felt distant. Slippery. Like trying to hold water in her hands.
Ayushi tilted her head. "You hesitated. Again. What's wrong? Scared?"
Khushi groaned from the sidelines. "Can she just not talk for five seconds?"
Zia crossed her arms. "Focus, Liu."
But Liu wasn't focused.
Not on Ayushi.
Not on the fight.
That same strange feeling from earlier… it hadn't left.
It was worse now.
Pulling at her.
"End," the instructor called.
The match was over.
Liu had lost.
"Wow," Khushi said dramatically as they walked out, "you really let her win like that? Embarrassing."
"I didn't let her win," Liu muttered.
"Then that's even worse."
Zia glanced at Liu carefully
Quietly,
Observing,
but said nothing.
They moved toward the courtyard for lunch.
The academy courtyard buzzed with noise—students talking, laughing, magic flickering casually in the air.
Liu and her friends settled on a long stone bench.
Khushi dropped down beside her. "Alright, explain. How did you lose to her?"
Zia added, "She's not stronger than you."
Liu stared at her hands.
"…I don't know."
Not far from them—
A small crowd had gathered on the rooftop.
Whispers.
Snickers.
Mocking laughter.
"Look at her."
"She can't even defend herself."
"Isn't she from some average background?"
"Pathetic."
In the center—
Priya stood still.
Head lowered.
Hands clenched.
Trying not to cry.
Three nobles stood around her.
One of them stepped forward, pushing her lightly.
"Say something," he said. "Or are you too useless for that too?"
Priya stumbled back.
"I—I didn't do anything…"
"That's the problem."
Another shove.
Harder this time.
Kirti froze.
Her eyes locked onto Priya.
Something old.
Something buried.
"Kirti?" Zia noticed.
But Kirti didn't respond.
"Stop it," Priya said in a voice which felt like it was crying
They laughed.
"Or what?"
The next push—
was too strong.
Priya's foot slipped off the edge of the rooftop.
Time stopped.
Everyone was looking.
She was falling from the rooftop.
Gasps spread through the courtyard.
It was high enough.
High enough to hurt.
High enough to—
"PRIYA!"
Kirti's voice broke.
Liu stood up instantly.
Her hand shot forward.
"Levitation—"
Magic surged.
But again—
wrong.
Unstable.
Too much.
The air twisted violently around Priya—but didn't catch her.
Liu's eyes widened.
"No—no, wait—!"
The magic slipped.
Broke.
And then—
Something else answered.
The ground began shaking.
Shadows moved.
Then, a black shadow from the forest came.
A massive white wolf emerged from the shadows—its crimson eyes glowing, its fur shimmering like moonlight.
Powerful.
Controlled.
Alive.
He caught Priya.
Softly.
Like she weighed nothing.
Silence.
The wolf caught her.
Kirti stood there.
Breathing hard.
Eyes shaking—but focused.
Priya lay in the soft white fur, unharmed.
Her eyes slowly opened.
"…Kirti?"
Kirti looked away immediately.
"…You're still clumsy."
Priya smiled through tears.
"You still came."
"…Of course I did."
But the moment didn't last.
Because the air changed.
Cold.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Everyone turned.
Whisper spread- but nobody dared to talk.
Liu stood frozen.
Her hand still raised.
But her eyes—
empty.
Completely empty.
Dark markings spread slowly from her neck.
Crawling.
Alive.
Khushi's voice dropped. "…Liu?"
No response.
Zia stepped back. "That's not normal."
Khushi tried touching liu but Zia stopped her.
The air around Liu distorted,dark.
Magic flickered violently—
then twisted into something ancient.
Something unfamiliar.
Inside her mind—
a voice echoed.
Not hers.
"You hesitate."
"That is why you fail."
A flash—
Fire.
Destruction.
A woman standing alone against a broken world.
Liu gasped.
The magic exploded outward—
wild—
uncontrolled—
terrifying—
The ground shake.
Destroying the things besides her.
Suddenly a burst of magic occur.
Everywhere was smoke.
People stood frozen.
Her body collapsed.
Khushi caught her just in time.
"Hey—HEY! Liu! Don't do this—!"
No response.
But her breathing was stable.
Zia said " quickly, take her to healer."
They left in hurry.
Above—
far above—
on a quiet balcony hidden in shadow—
someone watched.
Still.
Unmoving.
Eyes glowing faint dark green.
Diana observed Liu carefully.
Every detail.
The loss of control.
The emptiness.
The mark.
Her lips curved—just slightly.
Not a smile.
Something colder.
"…So," she whispered,
"you're the one." "I think...it has begun "
Behind the crowd—
another figure stood silently.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Watching everything unfold without reaction.
Shelly de Lagrang.
And for the first time—
her gaze sharpened.
The game had begun.