The sphere hovered above the arena, unstable and hungry, drawing in power. Lightning split the floor, heat and pressure pressing down on everyone at once.  Everybody was looking at Rumiya.

Rumiya shook her head. “I’m sorry… they forbade me from using magic. I can only use secondary magic.”

The whispers spread again. Luka shook his in disappointment. He was truly getting angry.
Harabi decided to speak first. She asked her without understanding it. She had to know the truth. “And your primary magic?”

Rumiya turned away looking at the ground.  “It’s sealed.”

Gasps. Whispers. Harabi was some kind of releved and… she didn’t like to admit it but she was glad. She hated this part.

"Stay inside the barrier. Not a step outside,” Suddenly Luka said, briefly glancing around at everyone. “Adena, Eiles - the students’ protection is on you now.”

Luka left the barrier. For several long seconds, everyone inside the arena froze. The sphere in the sky still pulsed. Then the attention of those gathered was no longer on the barrier.

“It’s no surprise the daughter of the Sudzukawa family couldn’t help,” came a cold voice.

Like shattered glass, the phrase echoed through the space. Several heads turned simultaneously. The speaker was a girl with ash-colored hair. It was Noelle..

Rumiya didn’t say a word. She only slowly stepped back and hid behind Joon. He didn’t move. The silence dragged on until finally:

“She’s not obliged to. You heard it yourselves  her magic is sealed.”

But before anyone could object, Adena stepped forward. She didn’t turn to the others, continuing to look where Luka had vanished, but her voice rang out clearly:

“Sealed… yes. But for a serious reason. The Abyss magic. The very magic that destroyed the Sudzukawa and Kurosaki families. How interesting...”

 Everyone seemed to remember at once what they had tried so hard to forget. Adena voiced what hung in the air. The full weight of fear and prejudice fell on a single fragile figure. Harabi clenched her fists. Her heart beat faster. Adena’s words stirred in her not anger or agreement.

Her gaze involuntarily fell on Rumiya.

 She stood, shoulders slightly hunched. But in the next second, Rumiya lifted her head. Slowly. And her eyes met Harabi’s gaze. Harabi shuddered. Without realizing she turned away.

 She didn’t know why. Didn’t know what for. But she turned away.

 Blood froze... She tried to drown out this inner noise, to focus on the present, but every breath felt like a battle with her own memory. Then she suddenly felt a touch oh her shoulder -  Tatsuki.

 Their eyes met. Tatsuki gently nodded and gestured for Harabi to come to the edge of the barrier, where Viktor and his friends stood.

 Suddenly, the ground trembled. The arena’s surface was covered with a thin network of cracks. Adena frowned. Her gaze sharpened like a knife blade. She turned to Eiles.

 “Lower the barrier.”

 Everyone tensed. Eiles clenched her  teeth and raised his hands. The flame flickered. The fire curled inward, vanished, leaving behind only a barely noticeable warmth in the air.

 And then  everyone saw.

 The arena was empty. No whirlwinds, no lightning. Only a black spot at the edge, as if the earth there was burned to the core. And nearby - Luka. He calmly, methodically put his gloves back on. For a moment, no one dared even to breathe. Luka lifted his gaze.

 Other teachers, as if awakened by the storm, rushed onto the arena. Their hair billowed in the wind, and magic trembled in their hands. One by one, they encircled the space where the threat had just lingered. Their faces were tense, but Luka approached them calmly.

 He stopped before them, and among the adults a conversation began. They spoke with gestures, glances, fragments of phrases.

 The students watched. After a few minutes the teachers began to move toward their students. One by one, the children were taken away.  Without explanation. Without words.

 To the group where Harabi, Tatsuki, and Viktor stood came Mr. Kim. He waved a hand, signaling: it was time to leave. Harabi stepped forward without hesitation.

 She stood before him and at that moment she felt it. Someone behind her.

 Her body reacted before her mind. Her back tensed, her breath froze. But it wasn’t fear. Not a threat. It was… Rumiya.

 Harabi did not turn.

 Could not.

 Not now.

 She simply stepped behind Mr. Kim’s shoulder. Three of them. Not a word spoken. Their footsteps echoed in the arena’s dead silence.

 Mr. Kim walked confidently but quietly.To his left, shoulders slightly hunched, was Harabi. To his right, a little behind, was Rumiya.  Harabi heard her steps. And all she felt was disappointment. In herself. For turning away. For failing. Not now, not then, when it was needed most.

 Rumiya’s magic was not frightening. It was not darkness, not a threat. But… its essence was the same as Mire.

 And that made her chest heavy. Goosebumps ran cold and treacherous over her skin. Her thoughts grew foggy. Step by step, she seemed to walk through a haze. The world was there, but she barely saw it. Only one sound remained real  - quiet, broken footsteps behind her.

 The academy’s main hall greeted them with muted light and the distant ringing of voices. Mr. Kim stopped in the center. He turned to the girls. His face was serious, slightly tired, but not stern. Rather… human. For the first time that day.

 “The magic lesson ended much earlier than expected,” he said quietly but clearly. “Other students’ lessons are still ongoing, but yours was interrupted.”

 He paused, as if deciding whether to say more. Then continued:

 “Everyone from the main families is asked to return to their rooms.”Mr. Kim sighed. “Return to your rooms. We’ll send attendants if you need anything. And please… be careful on the way to the dormitories.”

 The girls nodded in unison. But Harabi was the first to turn and walk away. Step - another step. Steady, purposeful. Her thoughts tangled, her feelings muted.

 She knew.

 She felt.

 Rumiya stayed behind.

 But now… that was not her concern.

 Harabi walked toward the dormitory like an automaton.She stepped out of the academy building - step by step.. The doors clicked softly behind her, and only then did she allow herself a true breath. Deep, trembling. The air outside was fresh, scented with lilac and wet earth.

 This incident had knocked her off course. Abyss magic. And everyone knew to whom that magic belonged.

 Mire Sudzukawa.

 The very one.

 The one said to have killed…

 Harabi stopped. Her heart clenched. Her hands trembled. Even the air around seemed heavier.

 Meruka Kurosaki.

 The name sliced through her thoughts like a rusty blade.

 Killed…

 Rumors spread like ink in water. Some said it was a lie. Others said Meruka simply disappeared. Others claimed she was only wounded, hidden away.

 But the fact remained:

 Meruka Kurosaki disappeared because of Mire Sudzukawa.

 And soon after Mire herself vanished.

 Harabi swallowed hard. The world blurred before her eyes. She didn’t believe those words. Or tried not to. Because the truth was too… unbearable.

 Meruka was her sister.

 The word “was” burned.

 And Mire was Rumiya’s sister.

 She tried to drown it out. Harabi abruptly turned.Turned toward the park - where no people were. She needed to get away. Be alone. Sort through her thoughts without hearing other voices, without seeing other faces.

 She walked, not noticing the paths. The ground beneath her feet was firm, but everything felt unstable. Her heart pounded. Thoughts tangled, crashing into one another like waves in a storm.

 Why couldn’t you look her in the eyes, Harabi?

Rumiya was not Mire. But her magic... her gaze...

 Harabi walked to the fountain deep in the park.. It was sheltered by trees, and students rarely came here. It was the one place where Harabi could be alone.

 She sat on a stone by the edge of the fountain. Her fingers dug into her bangs, clutching the roots of her hair.

 She was disappointed.

In herself. In her reaction. In how she looked away.

 She, Harabi Kurosaki, had reached out to Rumiya at the very beginning. Reached out despite the whispers, despite the family names.

 Sudzukawa and Kurosaki two families whose histories were written not with ink, but with pain.

And she, naive, had thought... hoped...

That it might be possible to forget everything. To start with a clean slate. Rumiya Sudzukawa. Harabi Kurosaki.

 “Can people like us…” she murmured aloud, “…really mend relations?”

 She knew there was a chance.

But didn’t know why she wanted it. Why she reached out then, why she suffers now. Why she can’t forget, even though the whole world demands exactly that. And this revelation - Rumiya’s magic…

  She fell silent. For a long time, she stared into the water, as if searching for an answer that wasn’t there.

 Finally, she sighed and lifted her head. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  “Enough,” she thought. “Thinking about it doesn’t help.” And when she opened her eyes again her gaze caught something in the branches.

 Purple Hair?

 She squinted.

 Yes, there, on a thick branch of the nearest tree, sat a girl.One leg hung down, the other pressed to her chest. Purple hair flowed freely, swaying in the wind.

 The girl looked into the distance- not at Harabi, not at the fountain.  Harabi tensed. Something in the girl’s posture felt familiar. The face in half-shadow, but...

 She knew her.

 “Wait…” Harabi whispered. “She’s from my class…”

 Exactly. The one. The new girl.

From Soleil.

 Aisha Rarelight.

Harabi recognized her immediately « the very girl they’d briefly bumped into that morning in the classroom. A newcomer, just like Rumiya. Like herself  - Harabi. 

  Aisha was from Soleil, belonging to none of the Great Families. She wasn’t supposed to be here now. Kids like her should have been in class at this hour. And yet...She sat in the tree.

  Harabi, still clutching her swirling thoughts and worries, was about to call out to her when... Birds arrived.

 At first, one. Then three more. Then a whole flock - light as the rustle of wind - surrounded Aisha. Pigeons, tits, sparrows. They perched on branches beside her, some even on her shoulders, hands, and knees.

 But Aisha wasn’t afraid. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t panic.

 She laughed.

 Quietly, sincerely, like a child who has nothing to hide. Her voice rang clear, like a drop of water falling into a spring:

 “Missing me, I see? Can’t live a minute without me? Brought the new kids? How nice... Hope they’re not as stubborn as the last ones.”

 Harabi froze.

 She was speaking. But not to her.

 Aisha’s voice was warm but not directed downward, not to Harabi. She was talking to someone. But to whom?

 Something about it felt... unbelievable. Too strange.

 Harabi frowned, glanced around and, following her instincts, activated her Add Magic.

 A thin veil of enchantment wrapped around her body. Invisibility descended, and Harabi moved toward the tree, stepping silently on the grass. She came close. Stood beneath the tree and looked up.

 Aisha smiled brightly.

 In her palms rested two birds: snow-white, with sparkling eyes. Another sat on her shoulder, tilting its head as if listening intently.

 She was talking to them. To the birds.

 “Yes, yes, I know, it’s too early,” Aisha sighed, rolling her eyes. “But I just couldn’t stay in that classroom, I had to get out. Don’t you feel how the air is trembling? Everything here is mixed up…”

 "See? You agree. So I’m not crazy,” Aisha snorted and, turning her head, stared directly at where Harabi stood.

 Harabi’s heart froze.

 Aisha suddenly squinted. Smiled a little wider, as if she’d sensed something - but kept silent.

  Aisha abruptly fell silent, turning to the birds with a soft but firm gesture.

 “That’s enough, fly away,” she said quietly. “This isn’t for you.”

 As if understanding, the birds chirped shortly and took off together in a wave. Their wings beat almost in unison, and moments later the branch was empty.

 Then, without warning, Aisha jumped down. She landed right in front of Harabi. Aisha straightened without losing an ounce of balance. Her eyes were serious, attentive.

 “I know you’re here,” she said calmly. “The animals noticed you.”

 Harabi froze.

 “Animals?” flashed through her mind.

 “You don’t want to be seen. But I’m not here to harm you,” Aisha continued, her voice still calm. “I was just curious who among everyone would dare come closer.”

 Harabi didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t say anything. The enchantment still held. After a few seconds she sighed. The magic faded.

 And before Aisha appeared a girl -slim, with coal-black hair falling smoothly over her shoulders. Her eyes were dark blue, like a night sky before a storm.

 Aisha flinched.

 Her expression changed instantly. The faint mockery and confidence vanished.  She took a couple of steps back and bowed.  But… reluctantly.

 “I am Ha…” Harabi began quietly, but was cut off immediately.

 “I know who you are, Miss Kurosaki.We’re in the same class. You’re from the main Nox - Kurosaki family.”

 The bow didn’t change. It wasn’t a gesture of respect, but a reminder. Between them.

 Harabi frowned.

 ‘Enough. Why are you bowing?’

 Aisha flinched slightly. Silent for a moment. Then said:

 “A foolish question, Miss Kurosaki…”

 “There is no hierarchy in the academy,” Harabi interrupted sharply. “No one is obliged to bow. Especially you. We’re in the same class.”

 Silence. Then  laughter.

 Aisha stood, straightening with unexpected ease. Her eyes no longer hid, but the playful spark was gone.

 “Hierarchy doesn’t apply to you,” she said. “The children of the Great Families.Among everyone else, it’s still very much alive. Even if no one speaks it aloud.”

 Harabi stared at her intently. Aisha continued:

 “I don’t need to bow. But if I don’t, next time my name will be on the “not recommended for study” list. The academy has no official hierarchy. Only an unofficial one.”

 Harabi pressed her lips together. Her silence spoke louder than words.

 “But I didn’t bow to please you.” Aisha’s voice suddenly became quiet. « I bowed because I knew who you are and my place.”

 “And if the Sudzukawa... no...” She stopped herself, then sighed heavily. “If any of the elders find out I didn’t greet the main daughter of Kurosaki - consider me crossed out.”

  Harabi narrowed her eyes.

 “Wait... Why the elders?” suspicion crept into her voice. “You first wanted to say Sudzukawa, then stopped. Why?”