Tears of Souls: Lament at Midnight

The wind swept away the thin clouds that veiled the moon, revealing a full moon that made the night seem even more serene. It was nearing midnight, and the entire academy was silent, save for the faint chirping of insects. However, in the southwest corner of Humus Academy, in Professor Aubrey's laboratory, a group of unexpected visitors arrived. With a soft click, the lock disengaged. Several young men and women cautiously pushed the door open a c***k, their faces a mixture of nervousness and excitement. "Vina... are you sure it's okay for us to be in here?" A petite girl nervously tugged at the sleeve of the leader. "Don't be scared, we're just taking a look." The red-haired girl at the front shushed them. "The old man isn't here, Candace has been up for two days straight and is catching up on sleep. This is too good an opportunity to miss." The other teenagers nodded in agreement. "Exactly, we're just investigating a supernatural event, not here to steal anything." "We've already investigated six of the 'Seven Wonders of Humus,' we can't give up on the last one..." The red-haired girl nodded solemnly. "We can't graduate with regrets. Besides, as seniors, it's our duty to debunk rumors for our juniors!" The petite girl seemed encouraged, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she nodded vigorously. The group of mischievous teenagers cheered softly and crept into the dark laboratory. There were several rows of shelves in the room, filled with bottles and jars, some containing substances, others empty. "The Midnight Mourners" - it was said that a senior had left his workbook in this very laboratory and didn't realize it until he had finished his assignments for other subjects. When he returned to the lab in the middle of the night, he witnessed a horrifying scene. Rows of black shadows stood in the laboratory, all weeping in unison. Accompanied by the midnight chime, it was as if they were holding a funeral for someone. Of course, the legend went on to say that the senior committed suicide soon after. And anyone who entered the laboratory at midnight after that would see "black shadows" with the senior's face... The red-haired girl walked to the window and glanced at her pocket watch in the moonlight. [11:56 PM] Only four minutes until midnight. Everyone began to wander around aimlessly, pointing at the objects on the shelves, including the petite girl. There were dried herbs in the bottles and jars, unknown specimens preserved in liquid. But most numerous were the gemstones of various shapes and sizes, casually tossed in the corners. As the girl walked, her gaze was drawn to a particular object. It was an exquisite diamond-shaped gemstone, unlike the others, it was kept separately in a small glass bottle. The upper half was almost white and transparent, but one could still see colorful lines flowing within. The lower half was red, the color deepening towards the bottom, like a drop of blood that had fallen into water and frozen. The girl couldn't resist reaching out, carefully lifting the glass bottle containing the gemstone for closer inspection. She couldn't be sure, but she felt a faint glow emanating from the gem. She held the bottle up to the moon outside the window, hoping to get a better look. Without warning, a dark shadow darted past the window. Although it was fleeting, the girl still noticed the momentary change in light and shadow. Her hand trembled, and the glass bottle slipped from her grasp, shattering on the floor. The sound of the crash startled the others in the room. The red-haired girl in charge rushed over to her, her voice a hushed but urgent whisper, "What are you doing?!" The petite girl's legs trembled, her lips moving but no words came out. She grabbed the arm of the person next to her, her trembling finger pointing towards a window. Woo... Woo... A boy looked around, swallowing nervously. "Th-this... this is..." Woooo... Woooo... The sobbing grew louder, and everyone present could hear it now. At the same time, the room suddenly darkened, and a black shadow shot out from in front of one of the windows, swaying rapidly in sync with the intensifying wails. The petite girl couldn't bear the terrifying sight and let out a shriek, only to have her mouth quickly covered by the person next to her. "Clang—clang—clang..." The midnight chime rang out, accompanied by the screams of the terrified teenagers, continuing until it had struck twelve times. Vina's face darkened. She had thought that covering the screamer's mouth would be enough, but she hadn't expected her friends to break into a chorus. "Open your eyes wide and take a good look, you scaredy-cats!" She marched over to the window and yanked the "black shadow" aside. Just then, the wind blew the clouds away from the moon once more, and everyone finally saw the true form of the "black shadow" in the moonlight. It was, rather predictably, the laboratory's curtain... "There are no 'Midnight Mourners,' it's just the window that wasn't closed properly." Vina pulled the curtain aside to give everyone a clear view. "The frame of this window is a bit warped, there's always a gap." A gust of wind blew through the gap, creating a "wooo" sound. Everyone present looked at each other, relieved, and let out a collective sigh. "So that's all the 'Seven Wonders of Humus' solved!" A boy excitedly pulled out his notebook, scribbling away with a triumphant grin. "I can't wait to see next week's school newspaper, hahaha..." Vina raised a hand to silence them, speaking quickly, "You guys must have alerted the night patrol with all that noise, we need to get out of here." The teenagers quickly agreed in hushed tones and, after making sure the hallway was clear, scurried out one by one, keeping their heads down. Vina was about to leave as well when she noticed that the girl who had screamed first was still slumped on the floor, unable to stand. She stared blankly in the direction of the window, shards of glass scattered around her. Vina looked around and called out to one of the boys who hadn't left yet. The two of them went over and helped the limp girl to her feet. "Emily? Wake up, we have to go." Vina was exasperated to see her still in shock, she hadn't expected her to be so easily frightened. She had her companion help the girl up while she quickly picked up the glass fragments from the floor and tossed them into a nearby wastebasket. She then casually placed the diamond-shaped gemstone among the pile of other gems in the corner. "There, there, you'll be fine after a good night's sleep." She comforted the girl while she and her companion helped her out of the lab. The girl's eyes remained fixed on the room. In the moonlight, the shadows inside seemed to multiply, growing darker and darker. They had all been hunched over, but as their numbers increased, their bent backs slowly straightened, and their featureless faces slowly turned towards her. Bang! The door slammed shut, cutting off their line of sight. *** Humus Academy was the most renowned magic academy on the continents of East and West France. Not only did it boast the most talented mages from both continents, but its alchemy and potion departments were also highly regarded throughout the land. Although it was a weekend, Candace woke up according to her usual schedule. 6:58 AM. She glanced at her pocket watch, yawning as she tied up her long hair and walked over to the table to start her morning tea routine. She placed a red crystal into the indentation on her alchemy burner, set the small crucible aside, and placed her kettle on top. While it was extravagant to use magic crystals to boil water, it was a habit she had developed over ten years and couldn't easily break. If she didn't have a cup of hot tea in the morning, she felt like something was missing for the rest of the day. As the aroma of black tea filled the room, Candace opened the window and leaned against the frame to wake herself up. The occupant of the other bed in the room stirred, burying their head deeper under the covers, clearly not planning on getting up anytime soon. "I'm going to the shop to deliver some things today, do you need anything?" Candace asked as she changed, giving the lump under the covers a pat. "If not, I'm heading out. The tea's on the table, drink it while it's hot. Don't wait up for lunch." A hand slowly emerged from the covers, giving her a wobbly thumbs-up. Candace shook her head in amusement. It seemed her roommate would be spending her weekend in bed as usual. After adjusting her collar and cuffs in the mirror, she picked up two jars of dried herbs and prepared to leave. As her fingers reached for the key hanging on the wall, she felt a twinge of something amiss. Her key chain was usually hung on the third hook from the left, but now it was on the second. She took the key chain, twirled it lightly in her hand, and frowned. Candace looked back and forth between the hook and her roommate, who was still bundled up in bed. "Vina, did you..." BOOM! A sudden explosion interrupted her question, followed by the sounds of screams and running footsteps outside. Candace could tell that the explosion, while close, hadn't originated from their dormitory building. She clutched the two glass jars and rushed back to the window to investigate. It wasn't their dormitory building that had exploded, but the laboratory building next door. Black smoke billowed from the building, and it was impossible to tell which professor's lab had borne the brunt of the blast. Candace couldn't make out the details from this distance, but the gossiping girls in the neighboring dorm had already whipped out their telescopes and were buzzing with speculation. "That's quite a big explosion, which professor would be up this early?" "Good thing it's a weekend, someone would be in deep trouble if this happened on a weekday." "Move, let me get a closer look... hmm... looks like it's the third floor? There's still fire!" "No way, no way! The third floor is Professor Aubrey's area, isn't he still away? Professor Corwin has been covering his classes for two weeks now." "Same for our class..." "Ah, I see Professor Corwin and Professor Ana!" "Oh, thank goodness..." As Candace listened, something clicked in her mind, and she abruptly turned to look at the bed behind her. Her roommate was sitting up in bed, her red curls a mess, making her face seem even paler than usual. She had obviously heard the commotion outside. "You touched my keys?" Candace's eyes widened in disbelief. "Did you really sneak into Professor Aubrey's lab in the middle of the night to check out that legend?" Vina's eyes darted around before she finally shut them tight, deciding to come clean. "Alright, alright, we went... but we were only in there for five minutes, we didn't do anything!" Candace glanced at the thick smoke outside and then back at her restless roommate, her expression screaming disbelief. "Really! I wouldn't lie to you..." Vina ran a hand through her messy hair, exasperated. "It was just that legend - 'The Midnight Mourners.' We went to prove it was fake, that's all!" Candace pressed, "You didn't touch anything in the lab?" "Of course not... well..." Vina's voice faltered, and she snuck a cautious glance at Candace. "Emily got spooked by the curtain and accidentally knocked over a small glass bottle..." Seeing Candace gasp, she quickly explained, "There was no specimen inside, just a stone! Nothing happened when it fell, so I put it back on the shelf." Candace had a sinking feeling she knew what had happened. She turned and opened her drawer, retrieving a pair of earrings. The main part of the earrings was a diamond-shaped gemstone, the upper half encased in a metal triangle, leaving the lower, deep red half exposed. She pressed a small protruding piece of metal, and the triangle opened, releasing the gemstone into her palm. Candace held the diamond-shaped gemstone between two fingers. "Was it like this one?" "Yes, yes, just like that." Vina, still barefoot, hurried over to her side. "See, nothing dangerous." Candace: "..." Candace silently closed the earring, covering her face with one hand. "We're doomed." Knock, knock, knock. The two girls, suddenly silent, turned towards the door. "Miss Candace Nymeros." A stern female voice came from behind the door. "Please make yourself presentable, Professor Artem is waiting for you at the Headmaster's office."