Estrella Academy: Into the Other World

The cold breeze of air woke me up from my peaceful slumber. Why is it cold? I don't remember turning my air conditioner that high. I slowly opened my eyes. But I immediately closed it as soon as I saw my surroundings. Where am I? The silence going around here almost pierced my ears. The freezing wind is embracing my whole body. And the trees made the place narrow and dark. I'm glad the moon is big and round tonight. It gives me enough light to see. I'm in the middle of nowhere. In a forest How the hell did I get here? I know I need to be calm. I'm following the breathing technique to be calm, inhale, then exhale, but that doesn't make me feel good! How can I be calm? First of all, How did I end up being here? I did remember sleeping in my apartment. Is It a dream? Yeah, It must be. It's just a product of my imaginative mind. But it feels so surreal. I did slap my face just to be sure, and it hurts so bad. I immediately stopped when I heard a noise from the dry leaves. That means someone's coming. The noise is getting louder, and I know it's getting closer. I became extra cautious each second. Even if it's a dream, I can't be sure if someone can hurt me here. And if it's a dream, how to wake up? But even after a couple of minutes of waiting, nothing came out. Maybe It's just a cat? Yeah, for sure. But the thought of it being just a cat didn't make me feel any better. The feet sound heavier than a cat's. And it continues to walk. I felt a weird connection that's pulling me towards it. So I walked and followed the steps of whatever that thing was. I don't see any signs of dangerous things while following it, but it made me nervous, of course. I'm also curious now what will I see once I get there? The force connection that's pulling me stopped when I reached a tall rectangle stone. There's something written on it. So I unconsciously read it. It says, "The awakened soul will return to its home." After I read it, I expected that the vast rock would split in half, and a shining, shimmering light would come out. But I'm disappointed that none of that happens. Instead, a man with a black mask appeared right in front of me. "Who are you? What are you doing here? It's a sacred place, and you can't be here." The man with a mask threw a lot of questions at me. all at once If he's confused, so am I. It's not like love to be here. So I faced him with an exasperated look on my face. "First, I, myself, don't know why I'm here. Second, I'm as confused as you do! And last, if this place is indeed sacred and not just anyone should be here, then why are you here? Don't tell me you're a guard patrolling here because you don't look like one." He became silent for a moment. I can tell that he's nervous. So he's also not supposed to be here. After a moment of nothing, he started talking again. But he ignored my accusations. "You can read the prophecy? How? No one has ever read that before. Not even the Headmaster and the Administrators. So how could you? Who are you?" He walks forward to the Stone where the prophecy was written, and he gently touches it. "No one can even see it. We just know that something was written on it. Because some Castrians saw it, they saw what happened 20 years ago, here where we're standing." I asked him right away what happened 20 years ago. "There are four nations here. Castre, it's the biggest nation and has the largest population among all. It also has Estrella Academy, the only school that teaches students to become more powerful. Trodant, the land of the mythical creatures, is the most peaceful place you'll ever find here. Affiarity, It's where the Royal family lives. And lastly, the City. People with no abilities that are called Phynx live there. I ask him what about that day. "Even though I didn't understand what happened that day, my mother did. It was exactly 20 years from then, Affiarity began their actions on claiming the Stone of life. They disagreed with the administrators that it should be on the Castre's care because it was originally their property. And not to mention the power of that magical Stone. It was beyond imaginable. It can take someone's life and can resurrect it afterward. The Queen was on her deathbed, and no one could heal her, so she died. The King was left in despair. It feels like they took his only strength was taken away from him. Hatred swallowed his consciousness. He couldn't find any joy in his life from that day. Then his daughter, Princess Lea, told him about the Stone of Life. That's the day the King proclaimed war against each other's land just to get his only hope." He stopped talking then he glanced at me. The light coming from the moon made my vision clear enough to see his eyes. It was filled with darkness and loneliness. I don't know what's the reason behind those eyes. And yes, they got the Stone of Life. He goes to his castle to use the Stone on his beloved Queen. But nothing happened. He became insane. He felt betrayed. He was deceived. The King thinks that maybe it needs sacrifices, so he killed every single person he saw. Unluckily, he got my father and almost caught my mother." "I'm so sorry to hear that." "Then the Administrators came along with the Headmaster, and they managed to stop the killing spree of the King. But the King is so powerful that he cast his last spell before they could take his breath. He then said that soon, someone would come to avenge him." "It's been 20 years, and nothing happened. They all said that the King is just faking that damn spell. But my mother saw the uneasiness written on the face of the Headmaster. How can they be sure that's just a lie?" "And now we can guarantee that it's you. To tell you the truth, we're not guards of this cursed place. I'm an assassin. And it would be best if you will come with me peacefully. You're the one who will avenge the King, right? You're that someone from the prophecy. You're a threat to us. You need to die right away to prevent disaster." I ran immediately as soon as I realized that my life was in danger. I can't afford to die here. I ran and ran continuously, without any direction. I can't find a place to hide, and there's nothing here but the woods and trees. My mind's panicking, and all my thoughts are shuffling. That made me struggle to think of a possible way to end this dangerous marathon. Fudge. Do you know the thing that only happened at the movies? It happens. A cliff That's it. I have nowhere to go, and those guys are getting close to me! It's a cliche, but I have no choice, don't I? I don't want to die, but I also don't want to be caught by those weirdos. I have dreams! "Poor girl, there's no else to go. It might be cruel to you, but we need to protect ourselves, right? Oh, don't cry." I can't see a bit of sincerity on his face. Instead, I saw a mocking face that sure made my blood boil. "Was that a joke? Because that's funny. And one more thing, I'm not a girl," I replied with an annoying grin. I looked at my back. Am I sure I'm going to dive off this cliff? I don't have a parachute or any gears here—just my whole body and air. The height is not a joke. I glanced at his eyes once again. I hope this is also the last. "I'm not a girl; I'm a woman." He laughs at me, but I just smile at him. But before he could utter a word, I already jumped off the cliff. I didn't even see the annoyance in his face. I just heard his angry shout. My problem now is how I will land safely? There's no way I could. I can already see the sharp gigantic rocks that can pierce my whole body. I see no rocks up there! Am I really going to die here? Here? Now?? I closed both of my eyes. This is my first time praying since both of my parents died. Please let me live. Minutes passed, I felt no pain in my body, and I felt like I had already landed. I slowly opened my eyes, and believe it or not, I'm here, in my room, comfortably lying on my bed. So it is a dream. A lot of things happened, I can't digest any of it. But I still remember it vividly. What time is it? I crumbled my eyes, and I wore my glasses. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It's currently 5:00 am. I have enough time to prepare our breakfast before going to school. I took a shower first and blow-dried my hair. I picked my uniform, no need to choose because it's all the same. White blouse and a navy blue jacket with a black tie that matches the color of my not-too-short skirt. What can I cook for today?? hmm, let me see. I walk through the fridge, and I saw some veggies, eggs, and bacon. I also looked for the rice cooker because I remember we have a bowl of leftover rice from last night's dinner. I'm going to make a simple but delicious breakfast, Our favorite breakfast. I'll cook fried rice with bacon and eggs, and of course, the coffee. The thought of it made me hungry already. I boiled water for the coffee, and I start to cook. After I finished, I shouted my sister's name. I think she's already up. "Luna! Breakfast is ready. Let's eat." I shouted at the top of my lungs. "So loud! I'm coming!" She shouted back with annoyance. Probably because it's still so early, but it's 6:00 am. I need to go to school by 7:00 am, and Luna also needs to go to work. It's only me and my older sister who lives here, in our tiny rent house since both of our parents died in an accident. I was just 10-years-old back then, and Luna was 15. We don't know any relatives of our family, our parents never once mention anything about their family background, and Luna and I weren't curious about it either. We're lucky our parents leave us their savings, and that's what we used to survive until my sister got a stable job. Now I'm 20, and my sister is 21. We didn't even know how we managed to make it till now. We're both sad and miserable. Agony and loneliness filled our hearts. During those days, we barely leave our room. Especially me. That accident leaves a deep scar on my heart. How can a 10-year-old girl accept the tragic news that her parents have been taken away from her? I was so immature and even blamed my sister for our loss. But I'm so blessed to have Luna by my side, and she didn't turn her back away from me and stay instead. Even she's also suffering from the same tragedy. And I'm so grateful for every sacrifice she made so that she can give anything. She became my mother, my sister, and also my best friend. "Wow, that smell's nice! Is that your fried rice? Woooow!" Her reaction whenever she saw the food that I cooked for us made my day. She never missed a single day. "Are you just going to smell them? Let's eat!" She let out a soft chuckle as a response then we started to eat "Hey, I told you to write down a recipe on how to cook this wonderful fried rice of yours. I am not lying. This fried rice is good." Luna always asked about this thing every time, and my answer never changed. "And I told you that I already sent you a dm, sis." But the truth is, she's the one who taught me how to cook this. And now, she somehow forgot it. "Maybe I'm no good at cooking? That's so embarrassing!!!" She even shakes her head. Then we laughed at each other. I suddenly remembered my weird dream. "You know I had a strange dream last night. It's also kind of creepy," I said. "What happened in your dream? Is it a bad one?" She curiously asked. "Kind of? In my dream, it's in the middle of a forest, I was sort of reading a prophecy written on a stone, and someone caught me. He thinks I'm a threat to their nations and wants to kill me right away to prevent disaster," "And it's weird because It's the longest dream I've ever had and also the only dream I can still remember the moment I woke up till now, vividly," I added. I stopped drinking my coffee and looked at her because she didn't react yet. I was surprised to see a face full of nervousness. Was my dream that scary? Maybe, " O-oh, it's just a dream. Don't worry about it. Don't w-waste your time on that nonsense product of your brain. Oh my, look at the time! It sure flies." Yeah, maybe I'm thinking about it too much. "Oh shoot! I'm going to be late for school!" I glanced at my wristwatch, and it's already 6:30 am. Traffic starts at this hour. "Do you still have money? Do you need some more?" She's in the middle of taking out her wallet, but I stopped her. I smiled and shook my head. "No need, I still have enough money here. Treat yourself with that instead. I'm going to head off first! Have a nice day at work!" ~~~~ I started to walk to the bus station. It's not that far from our house. And I personally love walking, plus the weather today is so lovely. But before I could go to my destination, I started to notice that there's someone who's been following me for a while now. A middle-aged guy, He wears black jeans pants, a gray shirt with a black jacket, and a black hat that covers his upper face. He has this mysterious aura that makes him scary and dangerous. I am not judging him, I swear. I just feel it. My instincts can't be wrong. I joined a couple of people who also walk near me, so he can't just grab me. I won't give him a chance. The bus is coming. I don't need to wait. I immediately hopped in as soon as it stopped. I started to sweat when that guy sat beside me. The wind is whispering cautiousness in my ear. Telling me, I'm close to danger. I'm aware of my surroundings, especially to the guy beside me. Stella, you can't be careless in this kind of situation. I was careful the whole trip to school, and I am thankful nothing happened. But the guy said something before he vanished in my sight, and that made me stunned for a moment. "Strange men whom you do not know aren't always dangerous. The ones you love the most might be the ones who'll give you danger. I believe our path won't end here, young Stella." What does that mean? What does he want to convey? The one I love the most? There's no one here that I treasured but my sister, Luna. Does he think I'm not going to let myself be fooled by a stranger who's spouting lies? I don't even know him, but how does he know my name? Nah, what a nonsense. "Nonsense? Ms. Francisco. You, spacing out in my class is indeed total nonsense. Not because you're the smartest student here doesn't give you the authority to ignore me, your teacher. Get yourself up together." The teacher hits the table that brings me back from reality. I didn't mean to think out loud. "Hey, Stella? What happened that made you spaced out like that? It's the first time you got called out by our teacher. Once in a blue moon." My friend, Lyn, Asked worriedly in a quiet tone. "It's nothing. No need to worry," I reply in a whisper. "Oh, okay, if you say so. And hey, you'll go with us this weekend, right?" She's been bothering about this thing since the day before yesterday. They're going on a beach vacation. The school isn't over yet; they already planned for a break. But since I don't have plans this coming weekend, I'm planning to come along. I'm sure Luna is cool about this. "Perfect! We're going shopping tomorrow for the necessities to make our outing fun and memorable! I'm so excited!" I can't lie, I'm also looking forward to this sudden vacation. It's good to have some fun for a while. I've been busy these days. I'm always in my room, not doing anything but studying. There's a possibility I might have a hunchback for always sitting at my desk. "Who's coming beside us again?" I asked curiously. "You, me, Angel, Aron, Beck with his girlfriend, Yvonne, and her two other friends, Cassey and Eva." She answered. "But I don't get along with Yvonne. You know she's always mad at me for no reason." I'm stating facts. I don't get her. She's always fussing and even made a rumor about me. "I know that, but Beck said she insisted on coming with Beck, or he can't come with us. Our poor friend has no choice." Yvonne's presence made me uncomfortable, and I know that mine made her blood boil. If she can't stand me, I can't stand her either. "Don't worry about that girl, just ignore her, okay?" "What can I do? I can't just back out because of her, no." "I love that you're confident right now, that's awesome!" I said that, But I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe I'm just exaggerating? I don't know.