As soon as he entered the teachers' common room in the Dark Mana Building, Addai took a deep, shuddered breath and placed his backpack on the table. The room – empty since Mr. Shire had gone on a mysterious leave – smelled of old, ragged books and miasma dust, plus the stale coffee Ajal had made earlier. Also, the administration hadn’t fixed the broken lamps next to the books, which made the gothic-themed room even darker.

Surprisingly, the room felt unbearably cold, though not in a physical sense.

It was dark and cold.

Addai passed in front of the cursed mirror and caught a glimpse of his image on it. He recalled Mr. Shire mentioning that the feeble “cursed” title was, in fact, a myth that older teachers told to scare new colleagues, providing them with something to use as a scare tactic.

“Those old geezers love to scare people, from students to teachers. They even managed to scare me once! haha!” Addai recalled Mr. Shire’s joyful laughter echoing in the room.

But now, only Addai’s faint chuckles echoed.

The teacher turned his heels and uncovered the so-called “cursed” mirror. His reflection, pristine and haunting, looked back at him under the room’s dim lights. His heterochromatic eyes were the same as when he first looked in the mirror many months ago. But something about them had changed, even if only subtly. They seemed to have more shine, a soft grace permeating the darker, more hidden nuances beyond his eyeballs and meat.

When he first saw his hair in the mirror, he couldn’t get the discomfort feeling that curled inside him when he brutally shaved his hair after a fury rush. It was an average evening, but he was being tormented by constant nightmares day by day, night by night and he couldn’t get rid of the disgusting events in a loop inside his head. So, when he saw the razor on the sink, he took it and randomly cut his hair until his heartbeat steadied again.

When he recovered his senses, the bathroom was a mess of blood and hair, and the one he always saw in the mirror finally vanished. A new, old person was born from blood and hair.

But now, the same person he tried to run away from was looking at him in the mirror.

It was a whole, new person with the same eye colors, hair, skin, moles, and lips.

Nothing was more cursed than he was. He couldn’t blame the mirror’s legend. So, he sighed and scratched his wrists, right where Mine traced the irregular lines he once saw and the ones Addai did his best to hide.

In a fleeting moment, Addai could hear Mr. Shire’s joyful voice echoing in his ears, loud and clear. “You’re bewitched!”

Addai chortled, his dimples faintly showing and his cheeks lightly blushing.

The one in the mirror did the same, of course, and Addai looked at himself right in the eye. He tilted his head to the side and smiled. Somehow, he wasn’t bothered by that person in the mirror anymore.

Plim. Plim.

Addai took his cell phone from his pockets and unlocked it. Two notifications popped on the screen (déjà vu, right?).

[MINE – 7 P.M.] I’ll be waiting for you at the teachers’ common room at the MB

[MINE – 7 P.M.] Take your time and don’t forget to take the book about Hell plants, I need it!

[MINE – 7 P.M.] Tysm!!!!(o^ ^o)

Addai smiled and stored his phone back in his pocket.

Placing the “talisman” sheet on the “cursed” mirror again, Addai made sure to let a small breach for the curious souls to catch a glimpse of the mirror and be scared by the older teachers – or even by himself. Well, it could be fun. Now, he had some books to look for and a delivery to make, so he needed to focus.

Unfortunately, the lights were precarious, so Addai snapped his fingers, and a small, light orb floated on the tip of his finger, illuminating their surroundings. Could he use his cell phone? Of course, yes – technology was always welcome. But with only fifteen percent of battery left it was a stupid decision. So, using mana was a cooler and wise decision.

Addai then walked among the tall shelves and hung scrolls, looking for a book about ‘Shadow Magic’ and Mine’s ‘Hell Plants’. It was dusty, messy, and even moldy, but he was adamant in fulfilling his mission.

“Section U… Section H… here!” Addai picked a mossy-looking book, taking care to not let the moss dirty his clothes further. “Now… the Shadow book,” he turned to the next shelf.

As Addai searched for the desired book, he noticed that two books were missing from the same section where he had taken Mine’s book. He was almost sure he had seen those with Mr. Shire a few days before the Masquerade Ball.

Maybe Mr. Shire was still using them, so, there was no harm. He would get them back when he was finished, just like he always did.

Two books were put in a leather backpack and placed aside, right next to the person’s feet. The person, well-dressed in a long, dark, and ornamented robe, carried a rare elegance with his hair slicked back and his fine, delicate facial features in the spotlight.

The person, rather a devil, wore dark leather gloves to hide his toxic nails and fingers. But the most poisonous part of their body was dangerously showing: his mouth.

“So, Aiden…” the devil started, placing his hand under his chin. “How will you proceed now that Agarath is arrested?”

In front of the elegant demon was an entity called Aiden, veiled by the room’s darkness. Aiden’s face, rather uncertain to distinguish the details, carried the same elegance seen in the other demon. There was something animal-like about him, perhaps a horn on his forehead or something else.

Despite these uncertain descriptions, Aiden was polished and, after clearing his throat, he might have found an adequate answer.

“I still have time… and I don’t want chaos… no, this is not what we want…” Aiden briefly explained, his voice tempered and calm like a cold lagoon. He then straightened his posture a little bit more and looked at the demon’s eyes, not blinking. “We don’t want chaos, right, Asmodeus?”

Asmodeus faintly chuckled and took off his leather gloves. His hands’ skin was twisted and burnt as if he had dipped them in a boiling pot of water. On their backs, a small diamond-shaped symbol glowed faintly in crimson.

“As you can see… I’m negatively marked by Rito so… yes, we don’t want chaos,” Asmodeus nodded.