UNDER THE LUNAR ECLIPSE

CHAPTER 1-MIDNIGHT BROTHERS

Ping!

The sound of an empty glass being tapped with the tip of a small fork seemed to draw the awareness of a girl who was sleeping in an upright position on a sofa in a warmly decorated room, surrounded by bookshelves filled with neatly arranged books.

The girl jolted, lifting her head to sit up. She straightened her back simultaneously, blinking several times to see clearly what had just awakened her.

An empty glass sat still on a square-shaped wooden table in front of her. There was only an empty glass on that wooden table. "Good morning, Alessandria!"

Once again, the girl was startled because on the opposite side of the table, there was an old man with perfectly white hair standing and facing her, leaning against the wall of the room. The old man was holding an empty glass in his left hand and a small aluminum fork in his right hand. This instantly made the girl aware of who had just disturbed her sleep.

"Who? Do I know you? How do you know my name?!"

Rather than speaking with a polite tone, Alessandria exclaimed loudly. Her voice succeeded in making the empty glass in front of her vibrate slightly.

Not immediately responding, the old man walked towards the girl. Very close, until only a table separated them. He then smiled with thin lips, a mustache that had turned white seemed to move along with the muscle pull on the man's cheek. The girl blinked once again, trying to remember who the old man in front of her was. But in vain.

"Nicholas Flamel, now you recognize me, dear. And even though it's quite clear that you're much younger than me, it seems you still don't know how to be polite to an old man like me."

The man took something out of his neatly brown-colored jacket and offered it to the girl. Five candies neatly packaged in plastic with different colors.

The girl was distracted and stared at the five candies. Her stomach suddenly growled as she did so. She couldn't remember why she was so hungry, and seeing five candies with different colors tempted her to take them all. She did it without hesitation. Quickly separating the plastic wrapper and collecting the contents in her hand.

Green, red, blue, brown, and the last one was black. The colorful candies didn't make the girl curious at all. She immediately put all five candies into her mouth quickly, as if someone else intended to snatch them away.

"It seems you're very hungry, dear. Usually, students in this school will only take one color according to their preference," the old man explained, sounding a bit sympathetic.

"What? School?" the girl suddenly responded with a question as she just heard the word coming out of the man's mouth.

"Of course. I am the headmaster of the school for special kids like you, Flame Boarding School."Didn't I tell you during our first meeting? Ah, it seems you've forgotten. You don't even remember my name, even though I mentioned it back then," Nicholas spoke very slowly, his voice deep and slightly hoarse due to his age.

The girl, still busy enjoying the sweetness that melted in her mouth, raised one of her thick eyebrows, indicating that she didn't understand anything the man was saying.

"Do you really remember nothing?" The man bent his body to speak closer. However, it was in vain, as the girl just shrugged lazily.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Before the old man could open his mouth again to speak, the only door in the room made a sound because someone knocked on it from the outside.

Click...

A tall, slim man with pale white skin had just opened the door without waiting for approval from the person inside. The man bowed immediately upon seeing Nicholas.

"Percy from Flame Boarding School Heroes, ready to take the new student to introduce the school grounds," he said calmly before raising his body to stand upright again. "Ah, Percy, you came early, dear. I haven't even had a chance to chat more with Alessandria. Alright, you can take care of her, dear, do your duty." Nicholas walked past the table to approach the man named Percy who had just appeared.

"Thank you, Professor Nicholas," Percy said sincerely.

"Come here, Alessandria. Enjoy your free time and your first day at Flame Boarding School!" Nicholas called out friendly.

Hearing her name mentioned, the girl reluctantly got up, leaving the sofa that had made her comfortable. Approaching two strangers she had never seen before.

"Lessa, just call me Lessa!" she protested a bit unhappily.

"Lessa, a good nickname. But Alessandria suits you better, dear. It makes you look tougher."

Lessa just frowned at Nicholas's comment about her name. She didn't care, and it was clear she didn't like it at all.

"Don't you want to introduce me to this school?" Lessa ignored Nicholas and threw a question at Percy.

"Go ahead!"

Getting approval from Nicholas, Percy didn't hesitate. He opened the way for Lessa to leave the warm room. "Let's go!"

Lessa walked following Percy. Despite being hungry, the girl had to keep up with Percy's fast pace while observing her surroundings. They walked through a long corridor that seemed deserted. There were only one or two people they passed, both wearing thick long coats. Lessa recognized the coats as the uniform for her new school, the details of which she couldn't remember how she ended up there.

"I will take you to the main hall where everyone gathers," Percy finally spoke up. Lessa seemed to furrow her brow, disagreeing.

"Hey, how about you take me to the dining area first?" Lessa offered without any hesitation. Percy abruptly stopped his steps, then turned to look at Lessa for a few seconds.

"What?" The girl didn't know what was wrong because Percy stared at her with accusing eyes.

"Listen, Lessa. I lead here, so I will tell you when to go to the cafeteria. And, you're clearly younger than me, I'm your senior. Shouldn't you pay more attention to your manners?" Percy sounded annoyed. Meanwhile, Lessa looked at him with an incredulous look. In her heart, she didn't understand why two people in a row were lecturing her about how to be polite to the elders. Was that really necessary?

"Okay. But, can you hurry up? I'm really hungry," Lessa complained, rubbing her flat stomach covered by a thin piece of fabric she was wearing.

Although the girl agreed, Percy still couldn't find a polite sentence from his mouth. He was annoyed but decided to ignore it this time. Lessa had just passed a giant door made of sturdy wood to enter a very large room with a very high ceiling. Small fires seemed to be burning in glass cups neatly arranged as if floating in the air under the ceiling of the room.

"Welcome to the hall, Flame Boarding School!" Percy exclaimed, then spread his arms confidently.

Lessa, of course, ignored him. She was more interested in the contents of the very large hall. She was still standing in front of the entrance.

On the sides of the giant hall, hundreds of comfortable-looking sofas were neatly arranged, and most of them were already occupied by people. Lessa unknowingly smiled when she saw something very grand for the first time.

Until a high-pitched girl standing not far in front of her suddenly screamed,

"KYAAA! THE MIDNIGHT IS HERE!!!"

The girl's voice instantly created a commotion in the large hall. Those who were sitting immediately stood up, while those standing immediately turned around. Everyone now faced the same direction, namely the main entrance of the hall. Curious, Lessa also turned around to see what was happening Two tall athletic men walked with casual strides into the hall.

One of them raised his large right hand high and waved it in the direction he came from. The uniform jacket he should be wearing looked powerless, hanging on his shoulders. He had an undercut hairstyle with slightly curly hair on top. His sharp eyes with long, curly eyelashes moved to find Lessa.

"Who's this pretty girl?"

Lessa was unaware that the man was referring to her until he actually stopped in front of her.

The girl was stunned because she had just realized what made the entire hall suddenly do the same after her eyes managed to see the man's face up close.

Slap!

"What are you doing, Lucas?!"

The second man suddenly appeared, slapping the raised hand of the first man who was about to touch Lessa's face before she could realize it. Lessa was shocked by his loud voice and the incident that happened too quickly.

What are you doing, Lucas?!"

The second man suddenly appeared, slapping the raised hand of the first man who was about to touch Lessa's face before she could realize it. Lessa was shocked by his loud voice and the incident that happened too quickly. The second man had a heavier voice. He stared at Lessa through his sharp eagle-like eyes. Cold, Lessa could feel the cold aura as the second man approached. Despite that, she had to admit his charm. His face had sharp and perfect lines, his jaw hardened after he finished speaking.

"Rendall!"

Dap! Dap! Dap!

Bukkk!

A slender girl suddenly ran, intentionally rushing towards Lessa, not wanting the attention of the two men to be focused on her.

Lessa, who knew nothing, was thrown hard, but a large hand suddenly pulled her.

And when Lessa opened her eyes again, which had been momentarily closed, she could see a pair of dark blue eyes staring at her from very close.