18. The Core
1713 Words
The sound of Isla’s sandals clacking echoed through the quiet hallway. In this usually bustling place, there weren’t many people passing by right now.
They were all busy preparing for the arena exam, or too exhausted after taking the written exam.
Isla glared at her friend. “Rivan, make sure this is important—we have the arena exam coming up soon. If not, I’ll—”
“Trust me, this is important! Keep walking,” Rivan cut in without looking back.
Isla glanced at Talia, opening her mouth to whisper softly. “What’s wrong with him?”
Talia shrugged, remaining silent. Yet her gaze remained fixed on Rivan’s back. His thoughts were unreadable, but from the young man’s face, Talia could tell something was wrong.
“What do you know about that shield?” Rivan asked suddenly. “Tell me.”
Isla blinked, then scratched her head. “Okay, so… I heard this from an upperclassman at the market. Apparently, the academy’s shield isn’t just a single layer—it’s three layers. The outer layer keeps the Echoes from getting close. The middle layer slows them down. But the core—"
She paused for a moment, instinctively lowering her voice, "—that’s the part that’s actually keeping them out. If the core weakens even slightly, the other two layers become useless."
Rivan turned, the anxiety in his voice growing more pronounced. He grabbed Isla and Talia by the hand. “Quick, show me where it is.”
“Somewhere near the basement of the east wing. That’s all I know.” Isla tugged nervously at the collar of her nightgown. “But Riv, this is just market gossip. How reliable do you think it is—”
“This is a valuable lead, Is!” Rivan cut in again. He kept dragging the two girls along at a brisk pace.
Isla’s brow furrowed; her wrist ached. “Slow down, you’re hurting me!”
Even Talia roughly brushed Rivan’s hand away. She glared at the young man in annoyance. She rubbed her wrist before speaking. “Can you explain what’s going on? Your rough behavior and that ‘secret’ of yours aren’t going to help right now.”
"We need to know the truth, Rivan Aster," the girl added, staring intently at Rivan.
Rivan fell silent. He didn’t know what to say—or rather, what could he possibly say? Was there any guarantee they would believe him?
He opened and closed his mouth; his hesitation only made the two girls more frustrated. Finally, Rivan stated one thing for certain.
“In a few hours, Echo will attack the academy. I know this sounds crazy, but all of this is absolutely real!” he explained. The anxiety and gravity on his face intensified.
Isla and Talia exchanged glances, unsure whether to believe him or not. Talia sighed, looking at Rivan once more. “How do you know?”
“I—” The young man’s voice suddenly trailed off. With his head bowed, Rivan felt Talia’s probing gaze and a hint of Isla’s curiosity.
But how exactly was he supposed to tell them he could rewind time? Nathan had already warned him that, for now, no one else should know the full extent of his power.
Even without Nathan, Rivan himself was hesitant to tell them. He always felt that if others knew more about his power, it would have fatal consequences.
“I believe you.” Suddenly, Isla’s shout snapped him out of his reverie.
Rivan reflexively looked up, seeing the girl smiling at him. For the umpteenth time, Rivan was grateful to have Isla as his friend.
“Let’s go, we don’t have much time.” This time it was Isla’s turn to drag Rivan and Talia along. “And you’re coming too, Peacock.”
“I can walk on my own, let go of me, you old hag.” Talia roughly brushed Isla’s hand away. She wiped it repeatedly, before, with a frown between her brows, she followed them again.
Soon after, they arrived at what they believed to be the core of the shield.
It was a dark corridor with minimal lighting. They had no choice but to use the light from their cell phones; Rivan stared at the corridor walls. Unlike the corridor where he usually trained, these walls looked dilapidated. Weeds grew in the cracks, and the walls were covered with cracks and small holes everywhere.
The air here felt damp and had a slightly musty smell. Rivan rubbed the tips of his thumb and ring finger, which were stained with mud and dust from the walls.
“It seems to be around here. But I’m not exactly sure either—besides, who would make a shield core here?” Isla glanced around, hissing.
On the other hand, Talia seemed so disgusted by the place that she was reluctant to look at it any longer. The frown on her brow, combined with her slightly pursed lips, made it clear she regretted coming along.
To be honest, Rivan was starting to doubt whether the core of the shield was actually here or not. But no matter what, he couldn’t just leave; this was the only clue they had.
“Let’s just look around for a bit. If it’s not here, we’ll look for other information. But hopefully it really is here,” Rivan replied, sounding a bit uncertain.
Isla let out a resigned sigh at her friend’s stubbornness. Talia, who had been silent all along, snorted in annoyance but still agreed to help.
The three of them split up to search every corner of the room. But after searching for over an hour, there was still no sign of where the shield’s core was.
Isla wiped the sweat from her brow, then patted down her pajamas. “It really doesn’t seem to be here.”
“…Let’s look for a little while longer.” Rivan clenched his fist; he wasn’t about to give up that easily. Especially with the attack drawing ever closer.
The sound of Talia’s footsteps silenced Isla, who was about to speak. Both of them reflexively turned toward her.
“We can’t keep searching blindly like this,” she said firmly. “Let’s tell the teacher or Nathan; they know more about this than the new students.”
“You’re right, Riv. Let’s just tell them,” Isla added, joining in to persuade them.
The room fell silent for a moment. Rivan fell silent; his mind stopped working for a second. Why hadn’t that occurred to him from the start?
He quickly nodded in agreement. The three of them immediately rushed out of the room, looking for a reliable adult to help with this.
In the hallway, as they were busy looking around, Rivan caught a glimpse of lilac hair blowing in the wind before it disappeared around the corner.
“LUNARA!” the young man shouted happily. He rushed over to her.
His breathing was a bit ragged before he finally caught up to the girl. Rivan took a breath, calming himself.
“Luna, what are you doing here?” he asked with a bright smile.
The girl looked surprised to see Rivan, but a moment later she chuckled softly. Lunara handed him a handkerchief. “I just ran into my younger brother. Wipe your sweat first.”
Rivan’s face flushed; his cheeks felt hot. “Th-thank you. By the way, Luna, you went to school here, right?”
“Yes,” the girl replied, a hint of confusion in her voice.
Rivan’s blue eyes lit up immediately, and he asked again. “Do you know where the academy’s core shield is?”
The girl blinked, looking pensive. Then a sweet smile curved her lips. “Yes, I know. Why? Do you want to go there?”
The young man nodded vigorously, staring at her with sparkling eyes. He waited eagerly for her answer.
“The core of the shield is in the place where you often train.” Lunara laughed at the young man’s expression of disbelief. “Do you need me to show you the way?”
“N-no, thanks, Luna. I’ll go ahead. I’ll treat you to a meal when I’m done,” Rivan replied.
He waved before hurrying off to find Isla and Talia so they could head straight to the shield’s core.
Meanwhile, Lunara simply smiled as she glanced to her side, watching Rivan leave. “You don’t mind a little hint, do you, Rei?”
Only silence answered her, before a soft snort was faintly heard a moment later. It made Lunara chuckle again.
“So…” Lunara’s gaze swept back briefly. “How long are you going to follow me, Mr. Loence?”
.....
“This is the right place this time, right?” Talia’s voice sounded.
Rivan nodded, his hand pressing against a wall near a painting. The sound of the walls scraping against each other echoed loudly in the hallway.
A moment later, a door opened in front of them. “Let’s go.”
Rivan’s words snapped the two girls out of their fascination with the paintings lining the hallway. They stepped inside.
Exclamations of wonder filled the air; the beautiful view of the garden made the two girls unable to hold back their voices. Rivan made his way through the garden, guided by his memory. He had spent every day training with Nathan here.
But he never knew that this place also held the core of the shield. Rivan turned around and looked at his two friends. “Let’s split up again. Yell out when you find it.”
The three of them split up again, searching through the park. Rivan crouched down among the bushes and trees. “It’s not here… I wonder where the shield core could be…”
Rivan moved aside the balls from his practice the day before that he hadn’t had time to throw away. But his movements stopped; he sat cross-legged, rummaging through the balls while examining them one by one.
“This isn’t it… this one isn’t either,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head, feeling overwhelmed by it all.
Until Talia’s shout perked him up. “I FOUND IT!”
- Writer
