The Devil's Spawn

ACT X: I DID IT

Yue is a well-composed man. He liked to keep a cool head no matter what situation he faced. That is probably why both the students and the faculty of Pristine Academy find him trustworthy and the epitome of a perfect being. The tall brunette rarely — if not at all, loses his cool. He aces all of his subjects with less effort, but like every flawed human being, Yue finds it hard to reflect what he is feeling on his face. Thus, his stoicism is seen as intimidating by some no matter how in tune he is with other people's emotions.

While he is trustworthy and approachable, others find it hard to talk to him casually as he, in their perspective, looked permanently bored. Not only that but the tall senior also has a habit of going off on long hours on end when discussing topics he finds interesting, which in turn, bore those who he is with. The female population finds him attractive but wishes he just shut his mouth — a fact that irritated Prism, the said brunette's little sister.

It always baffled people just how different the two looked. As a result, the two siblings are always mistaken as lovers during the first meeting, to which the two would hastily introduce the other as their sibling. Due to people and their heinous minds, Yue had decided to keep Prism's adoption into their family a secret, claiming they each look after their mother and father — and having not seen Yue's family despite owning the biggest mining company, most never really batted an eye.

Alas, they could not have kept their secret for long, and while it did not pose much harm, Yue had already begun to receive nasty remarks about his relationship with Prism.

It put a sour taste in the tall brunette's mouth. Everyone who came across him could tell the anger seething off of him despite the stoic face he is showing.

"Ignore them, ge*," Prism advised with a smile, one that Yue could not help but notice as forced. Her eyes held none of the twinkle it usually had in them, and that alone told Yue the dark-haired girl is affected by their careless comment.

But even when he tries his hardest to ignore, to have his composure intact, some people, awful and foolish, do not think twice before crossing the line.

"I bet the both of them fantasize about taking each other."

"I see no problem, they are not related by blood after all."

Loud whistles and cheers followed soon, and they had the audacity to giggle like little school girls after. Hearing them laugh right after saying something so unpleasant made Yue black out.

Before she could blink, Prism found her hand already empty, her palms holding nothing but air instead of her brother's arm. The next thing she heard were the cries of agony from the two random male students who tried to piss them off.

"Stop it, ge!" No matter how loud she called his name, Yue never stopped. His fist landed on each of their faces until blood oozed out of their nose and smeared across the brunette's fist.

Students piled up in front of the classroom and were horrified to find the academy's perfect student beating two guys to a pulp. As he did his assault, Yue's face remained emotionless, and his pair of amber irises reflected none of the usual light it had as he continued to pound his fist on the beaten faces of those who dared to say such inappropriate things to him and his sister. Students who witnessed the scene gaped as a chill ran down their spines.

Prism begged and cried for him to stop, and when Princess came after someone had reported the fight, the platinum blonde helped her friend in dragging Yue back in hopes of stopping him while they waited for a faculty member to arrive and diffuse the situation.

It did not take long for Sky to arrive with a faculty member in tow. It surprised the entire student body of the academy as well as all of the faculty members at the way the situation progressed. Who knew their perfect student who is always at the top of the class could get this violent?

Yue went unresponsive after, as if he really did black out and Prism refused to leave his side despite the urging of Hori and Onyx. Fortunately, there were no charges pressed on Yue for what he did, but the tall brunette did receive a two-week suspension. Because of his clean record, the young lad was given a generous amount of leniency by the school authority.

When their parents heard of it, Prism intervened knowing just how strict they can be when it comes to misbehaving. To her surprise, however, they were soft-spoken when asking him what urged him to do such an act that seemed so out of character for him. They were sympathetic even towards Prism who was also the butt of their insensitive joke — Prism does not believe that was a mere joke though, but instead, an insult towards them.

The unexpected incident was the talk of the entire academy for an entire month. Rumors had started to spread about what Yue and Prism's relationship actually is, and the tall male's popularity decreased. But the said male could care less, one thing that bothered him is the outrageous disrespect some kept on showing towards Prism and if it were not for Kou's grounding grip on his arm, Yue would have already beaten another unfortunate student.

Prism hated the rumors circulating about her and her brother. They were all outright disgusting and immoral. For a month, it became hard interacting with Yue inside school grounds. It even went to a point where Yue avoided her and pretended she did not exist. Never had Prism felt such a strong urge to rip out her hair in frustration. She knew why he did it, and she wished he ignored their jeers and mockeries.

It was one of their darkest days. They only got through it thanks to the friends that surrounded them, ready to shield them from those nasty rumors that threatened to sour their familial relationship.

And that brings the group to today's situation.

On the wide screen, Nana, Leon, and Onyx were shown to be trapped inside an incinerator with all of their limbs bound down. They screamed and thrashed but all it did was wash the energy out of their bodies faster than they could blink.

"They are in the basement!" Someone yelled and Kou, Yue, and King ran for the said room, only for them to kneel on the ground as the static noise came back on, the noise now paired with pressure so heavy, their heads feel like bursting.

"T-the screen!" Hiro exclaimed amidst the weariness he felt from resisting the heavy pressure of gravity that wanted to shove him flat on the ground.

Move or they die.

They understood the gravity of their situation, and when the thought of running for the basement was abandoned, the pressure from the invisible hand vanished instantly and the group could finally breathe properly. Huge amounts of air were inhaled by the occupants of the main hall. Their legs wobbled as they tried to stand up on their two feet after the bizarre incident that happened just recently.

"What do you want from us, whatever you are?" Yue angrily asked. The said youth grinded his teeth in frustration as both of his hands curled into fists, turning his knuckles white.

Once more, the black screen showed Nana, Onyx, and Leon now with their eyes closed inside an incinerator, waiting to be burned alive. Rose clasped her hands together and screwed her eyes shut while Sky muttered incoherencies beside her — prayers, is what Rose guessed but the said girl doubts that will save them from whatever mess this is that they are in.

"Are you, perhaps, the devil?" Sora asked, his clear voice ringing loudly.

"Sora! What the hell?" Princess exclaimed, her glare piercing like daggers.

But the said ash-blonde did not seem to care and only Sora shrugged. "What? It only makes sense if we go by the history of this mansion. How else will we explain the phenomenon from earlier with the heavy pressure from above? If I am correct, we are its next victims."

"Sora, can you please shut the hell up? You are not helping!" Hori screamed, agitation rising faster than she could blink. Sky and Rose were already not in their good state of mind, with the two becoming too scared out of their wits. Princess was already on the verge of losing it as she trembled uncontrollably.

And as they argued, several small white sheets of paper fell from the ceiling once again. The blood-red ink on the paper spelled a different message, one that shut all of them up.

"What the hell? How do you know? Just who are you?" Amber cried, her voice cracking. Tears streamed down her face but the brunette could care less from all the anger she was feeling for being played by someone they might all potentially know.

The message said: I revealed the truth about Prism's adoption into Yue's family.

"Only the fourteen of us knew about that — or at least it was only supposed to be us. But are you saying someone within us triggered that chain of events?" King asked in disbelief, the seed of doubt already planted deep within him as he looked at the people he called his friends one by one.

And when silence enveloped the group, with none daring to step up. Another rain of paper fell from the ceiling, the small sheet containing a different message.

This time, Kou caught one and read the message still written in red ink out loud. "Keep feigning innocence and one friend of your choice shall die by fire."

"Step up and I promise you we will talk this out," Yue coaxed, although only Prism could tell the memories from before have resurfaced in his mind and her brother is not the calm and collected version of himself he was showing currently.

"Just hurry! Please, I swear I will not get furious. Our friends' lives are on the line!" Prism chimed in, hoping whoever it was, they would finally admit their fault.

"This is ridiculous! Let our friends go, now! What will you achieve from this?! You won't dare commit murder!" Amber exclaimed, her voice cracking from how high her pitch has become. The brunette girl had gone desperate, her hands clasped in front of her chest, but the screen only showed Nana, Onyx, and Leon still in the incinerator.

Alas, as if to disprove Amber's statement, the volume is turned up and the group flinches as the incinerator starts to burn. Ear-piercing shrieks and desperate pleas for help soon filled their ears, the sound torturing their minds and scarring their souls.

"Stop! Can't just anyone admit they are at fault?! Sure, you had triggered something awful, but you could not have known!" Sky pleaded in a loud voice — a first ever since they came out of the basement. Alas, as if to disprove Sky's claim once more, the screen spelled words that made the group gasp in disbelief.

Every secret you confided with me went loose. It is I who instigated most of those rumors.

Do you want an example?

Princess, you are nothing but a fake friend, and Sky, selfishness allowed you to turn a blind eye.

"What the hell are you on?! Stop lying!" Princess screamed until her throat burned. Having had enough, the girl snatched the broomstick from Kou's hands and threw it into the television screen. Alas, it did no more than scratch the screen a little.

A beep resonated and a twenty-second timer began to count down in big red font.

"Hurry up! I don't want to die!" Nana sobbed from the screen, his throat sore from all the shouting. The flame only made them feel as if ants were biting their skin — millions of them, and as they wasted more time, the more the heat rose. It will not be long before the fire would eat them alive, and Nana prays they settle the problem down before it happens.

"At this rate, I do not care anymore, just admit it or they will die for real" Yue, for the first time, showed desperation as his amber eyes glistened. Prism knew he genuinely cared for his friends and was willing to let bygones be bygones if it meant that no one will be murdered.

"Ten seconds left," Sora reminded amidst the yelling.

"Alright, just step up. We swear nothing much will change," Kou stated calmly but even a fool knew it was nothing but lies. And everyone knew it.

"Stop being a coward!" Hori curled her hands into fists, the urge to punch something arising, and Hiro feared she might just do it.

Amber sobbed. "No, this can't be happening."

"Five...four...three…" Sora counted out loud.

All Prism could do is screw her eyes shut as she listened in on the urges of Onyx, Nana, and Leon on the other side of the screen. Please, she pleaded to any diety that had the heart to listen, entrusting her fear to them.

"One—"

"Fine! It was me! I did it!"

Prism's eyes shot open as her friend admitted, her voice loud and clear.

"I was the one who let your secret slip out. I'm sorry Yue and I'm sorry Pri," Amber sobbed.

That's right, Amber, her best friend.