Jasmine arrives at Maia’s house alone, as Natanael is still recovering. She stands there, lifts her head, and grumbles to herself.

"Come on, just take the girl and her mother to school, without losing your patience with Mr. Myrddin Wyllt," she knocks on the door and starts to smile.

"I’M COMING!!!" Maia’s voice echoes from inside with a shout. After about two minutes, Maia comes down all dressed up and smiling, carrying a full backpack on her shoulder, but she notices something and asks:

"Where’s Natanael?" the girl asks, surprised to see her alone.

"Colorful clothes?" Jasmine is surprised by Maia’s new colorful aesthetic as she starts whispering in her ear, "He’s recovering and asked me to apologize for burning your diary, which was possessed by a spirit." Maia gets upset but replies:

"If it was necessary to protect me, then it’s fine. And as for my colorful clothes, I just wanted to stand out. If everyone at school looks as sad as you guys, I’ll be the most energetic one there." Maia’s mother appears, saying:

"Shall we, children?" The woman smiles as she closes the door.

"Let’s go, we just have to take a bus first." They go to the stop and board a bus.

After two hours on the road and the heat of the bus’s broken air conditioning, Maia ends up dozing off on her mother's lap several times, thinking about what the new school and her life there will be like. When she finally looks up, she is in front of the school and sees a huge building. Feeling a heavy presence from it, she sees a billboard that reads "School of Combat Against Dark Arts" and goes straight to Jasmine, whispering:

"Don’t you think it’ll look like a 'School of Combat Against Dark Arts' to her?" the girl asks, curious.

"Of course not. The headmaster cast a spell so that wouldn't happen; she’ll read something else," she whispered back, laughing at the girl for not knowing.

"And it really is 'Tecchio Religious State High School.' I like the sign; the students here must be very dedicated," the mother admires the billboard.

"Told you," Jasmine starts laughing as the automatic gate opens and they enter. "Let’s head to the principal's office," Jasmine says, bowing her head and thinking, *“This is going to be the most boring part.”*

When they enter the office, they see a young adult figure with a wise appearance, his gray hair almost the same tone as the walls.

"Are you coming back again?" the man scratches his beard while thinking.

"We came to enroll her," Jasmine says in a cold, direct response.

"But haven’t you done that before?" the man says, and Maia’s mother is surprised.

"No, we haven't. This is our first time here. Sorry, he’s developing Alzheimer’s, but he’s already getting treatment," the wise man smiles upon hearing this but returns to his papers.

"Alright then, let’s do the enrollment. I love new students, I love this job. Just sign here, ma'am." The man puts the paper on the desk, and the woman reads and signs it.

"Maia, I just came to warn you that he is cursed. I don’t know the original story, but I know he sees the future backwards. It’s as if, to him, tomorrow has already happened but yesterday hasn't. It’s like at the end of the beginning of time, he dies and is born into a new timeline. Only he knows how to break this curse, but I don’t know why he doesn’t try," Jasmine whispers to Maia.

"Ma'am, may I have a word with your daughter? She reminds me of a friend, Arthur," he says, looking at the girl with a certain curiosity.

"Of course, go ahead, Maia," the mother smiles, confident in the school, and Maia walks out the door.

"Interesting... you remind me of my friend Arthur, but in the infinite timelines I’ve seen, I haven’t seen you. Maybe you are the one who will break this curse, or perhaps you have some connection to breaking it. Or you might just be a normal person in others, I don’t know. Maybe you weren't even supposed to exist; maybe you are a glitch. Arthur is also the result of my manipulation, but I wanted to tell you to be careful and don’t try to face people much more powerful than you. At most, hold them off until I arrive. And above all, you must run from masked wizards, like last time—and yes, wizards, not 'Melancholies,' as you asked me before," the man says while thinking about things that have already happened.

"I think I understood what you meant. It’s too much for me, you know? But I think I’ll understand it later on," the confused girl is surprised and tries to process it.

"I’m going to put you in the same class as Jasmine; she will take care of you and show you the school," he points outside as if asking them to leave, and they do.

When they arrive at the dormitory, Maia goes to see her new room and her clothes while talking to Jasmine about it.

"My God, what a beautiful room! And the clothes aren't exactly what I expected, but I can customize them. I’ll be able to mix them with my Versace pieces, and I’ll keep my Pandora jewelry here," she smiles, and Jasmine is surprised and asks:

"Where do you get so much money?" Jasmine taps her chin while thinking.

"I have an aunt who is rich and gives me money from time to time," Maia smiles, remembering her family.

"It’s good that the headmaster even put us in the same dorm. I’m going to introduce you to some cool people," Jasmine smiles and starts thinking about how things will be now with Maia and her friends.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! I sincerely apologize for my long absence; life got a bit hectic, but I am back and fully committed to continuing this journey with you all. I truly appreciate your patience and support. Stick around, because things are about to get much more intense!