"For those of you who are able to see demons, you'll be heading to the collection room to select your key with Liam," Dante announced as he pointed to Liam on his right, who smiled and waved.

"As for those of you who can't see demons, you're in for a treat. You'll be heading with me to the examination room," Dante stated with a grin that sent a shiver up Selena's spine.

Selena gulped as unease swirled around her insides before she got up from her seat. She headed toward the front of the room with a couple of other students.

"Just six of you? Well, whatever. Follow me," Dante stated. He strolled over to a side door in the room. It had a diamond-shaped golden doorknob. With a quick turn, he pushed open the door with ease.

Upon entering, Selena's eyes widened in surprise when she saw an all-white room. Her face contorted in confusion when she saw about twenty chairs bolted to the floor with straps on the armrests.

"Uh, what are those chairs for?" a man asked with concern in his tone.

"Oh, those. Those chairs are supposed to keep you secure in case something goes wrong in this trial," Dante explained with a lack of care in his good eye. He had dealt with it too much to care what happened since he had seen just about every scenario go down.

"You all proved you aren't cowards by not leaving. So, you might as well take a seat," Dante stated. He reached into a drawer, taking out a syringe that had a black liquid spinning around inside of it.

"Um, what is that exactly?" a woman asked, looking rather nervous as she sat in one of the chairs.

"It's demon blood," Dante pointed out while he gazed at the blood that was practically crawling around in the container as if it were alive.

Selena watched as everyone in the room went silent, fear written all over their features. Their chests rapidly heaved in and out as panic settled in. Bewilderment sank into their eyes as they gripped the seat cushions to provide some form of comfort to themselves from the anxiety tearing them up.

"Isn't that stuff dangerous to have just lying around? After all, if it gets into someone's wounds, it could prove quite troublesome," Selena brought up, wondering exactly what was going to be done with it.

"You're correct. It is dangerous. If demon blood were to get into someone's injuries and they get marked by a demon, they'd end up getting possessed. Forced to obey whatever that demon wants," Dante said ominously. He waved the syringe around in a circular motion, causing the contents to stain the glass in an inky black sludge.

"But quit whining about it. This blood has been modified, after all. So you won't end up getting possessed, and it gives you the ability to see demons. But don't think for a second that means you're safe; you're never alright when it comes to anything demon-related," Dante blurted out without holding anything back. His eyes screamed that this was everyone's last chance to leave before he proceeded with getting things started.

Everyone swallowed shaky breaths. They remained in their seats despite looking terrified out of their minds.

"Once this blood is in your system, you'll black out," Dante stated as he walked closer. "Then you'll be thrown into a nightmare. But be warned, despite it not being real, it can still kill you," Dante added as he stopped in front of Selena.

Selena placed her arms on the chair's armrest. She took a deep breath to calm down her nerves, only to feel her heart accelerate as the needle inched closer to her.

Selena flinched when the needle dug into her skin. Her mind couldn't focus on anything else except for the searing pain that flooded through her body like a tidal wave.

Selena struggled to keep her eyelids open as darkness crept in from the sides of her vision. She felt Dante secure the restraints on her wrists to keep her in place.

"Remember, your job is to summon your power in that state. By doing so, a key will come to you, which will be your chosen one," Dante explained. His voice seemed distant to Selena as she further drifted off.

"Failure equals death, so don't be an idiot!" Dante yelled to everyone as he finished injecting everyone with demon blood.

Those were the last words that Selena managed to hear before her eyelids became too heavy to keep open any longer.

—--

Selena's eyes shot open when a cold gust of wind brushed against her back, causing her body to shiver.

Where am I? Selena wondered. She looked around her surroundings only for her eyebrows to furrow in confusion. She saw gray mountains covered with snow around her and a dense forest not too far ahead.

A pained hiss escaped Selena's throat as a sharp pain hammered through the back of her skull. She placed a shaky hand against her forehead while she gritted her teeth. Wasn't I supposed to go to the academy? Selena weakly thought.

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to come find me? We are playing hide and seek, after all, aren't we?" a woman called out sweetly to her, urging her to move forward. The woman sounded upset, as if Selena had completely forgotten about her existence.

"Wait, we are?" Selena asked. She rubbed her temples in an attempt to cast aside her massive headache, only for it to end up going nowhere.

She huffed in frustration, "Why are we even playing that stupid game in this weather? Isn't it cold to you?" she called out, only to get a giggle in response.

"What do you mean? It isn't that cold. Besides, this game was your idea after all, so why don't you finish it? Once you find me, then we can head back home and warm up in front of the fireplace," the woman said, expecting Selena to finish what she started.

Why the hell would I be this dumb to start something like this? Whatever, let's just get this over with, Selena thought. She hugged her body tightly to provide what little warmth she could to her shaking form as she ventured forward toward the forest.

Selena reached out to grab onto a tree trunk when a dizzy spell overwhelmed her. Am I sick or something? I was fine this morning, she wondered. She softly shook her head when the feeling subsided.

"Do we really have to finish this game? Can't we just head back now?" Selena shouted while cupping the sides of her mouth to make her voice louder. She flinched when birds above screeched loudly before flying away.

"But, you're so close to finding me; why quit now? Come on, I know you can do it," the woman encouraged her.

Selena clenched her teeth in irritation. I want to turn back, but for some reason, something in my gut is telling me not to leave her, she thought.

Selena's face went pale when a dark color caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw a patch of snow covered in blood. The strong odor of death danced around the air like a sweet melody that threatened to never leave anytime soon.

Selena sucked in a sharp breath as she took a step back. Unsure of what to think, she screamed out, "Are you injured?! Why didn't you say anything sooner!"

"I might have scraped my leg a little, but it didn't seem too bad at the time," the woman said as she let out a nervous laugh.

"Quit playing around already; we're heading back now!" Selena snapped. She stomped forward in the direction where she thought the woman's voice had come from. She pushed aside all the tree branches that were blocking her path with each step she took.

A yelp escaped Selena's lips when a branch whipped backward and struck her in the face. "Oww!" she whined as she rubbed her nose with her hand. A sigh of relief left her throat when she didn't see any signs of blood staining her skin.

"It probably has been ten minutes. Cut it out already; I'm done playing," Selena announced as she exited the forest into a clearing. She placed her hands on her hips when she didn't see a single soul in sight.

Crunch!

Selena's shoulders tensed when a fallen tree branch snapped behind her, followed by a presence that made her feel sick to her stomach.

"What do you mean? You found me, after all. Seems like our game is over," the woman declared. But her sweet voice got drowned out by distorted grumbles.

Selena's face scrunched up when a bony skeleton gripped her right shoulder, causing her to scream out in a panic. She leaped forward to remove herself from its grip, only to gasp when her foot got caught on a tree root buried in the snow, sending her face-first into it.

Selena's body shook from the pain and the cold after colliding with the ground. She rolled around onto her back with all the strength she could muster, only for her eyes to widen.

What stood before Selena was a large shadowy mass. Her breath hitched when nothing but eyes appeared in the black void. Each iris shifted around in the sclera in a chaotic mess before the pupils focused directly on her, snatching away what little air she had left in her lungs.