The sickness came slowly.
Not all at once, and never enough to cause alarm. Just one or two students at a time were yawning more often, dragging their feet, forgetting minor things like names or spell forms they'd practiced for years.
By morning, they'd feel "mostly better."
By evening, they were coughing again.
No one noticed the pattern. No one except Yue.
It started with a boy in Haku's lecture. Ezra. Always sharp, always precise, but one afternoon he slumped mid-equation and apologized for forgetting the formula for phase-wave convergence.
Yue didn't miss the look on Sofia's face.
It was mild. A little curious. Almost like… she was measuring something.
A week later, two other students fell behind. Then a third.
And in every case, Sofia was nearby, helpful, polite, gently offering to "review" material or "help reinforce" a sigil. The students always said yes. Who wouldn't? Sofia Vivaldi was perfect. Helpful. Sweet. Generous.
And her smile always lasted just a second too long.
Yue watched her. Closely.
She wasn't afraid; she didn't do fear. But she knew something was off. Deeply, dangerously off.
Not because Sofia had gotten better. No.
Because Sofia had stopped blinking as much.
Because the air behind her shimmered for a moment when she was upset.
Because one student's veins had glowed faintly red under Yue's perception before they collapsed in class.
None of the faculty noticed.
Not even Haku.
He was brilliant, but he wasn't looking at magic the way a cultivator did. His tools, his theories, his instruments, all logical, grounded, too narrow. He'd catch a wave, maybe, or track energy movement in a room. But he wouldn't recognize the hunger inside it. Not like Yue could.
Sofia wasn't casting spells anymore.
She was feeding.
Yue finally made her move.
She waited outside the east wing library. Sofia always came here after lectures, a habit Yue had tracked for five days straight. Always with the same book in her hands. Not reading it. Just holding it. Like a prop.
This time, Yue stepped from behind the column before Sofia could pass.
The two locked eyes.
"Yue," Sofia said, graceful and poised as ever. "You startled me."
"No, I didn't," Yue said calmly. "You knew I was there. You're too sharp to miss a footstep."
Sofia tilted her head. "You've been watching me."
"I have."
Sofia smiled. "Should I be flattered or worried?"
Yue stepped closer. "Neither. But you should stop."
"Stop what?"
"Whatever you're doing to them," Yue said. "Ezra. May. That one boy who used to sing during lunch but hasn't said a word in three days. You're bleeding them. Not all at once. Just enough."
Sofia's smile didn't falter. But her eyes stopped being green for a half-second, Yue saw the flicker. Deep red. Not the red of rage. The red of control.
"Those are heavy accusations," Sofia said softly. "And dangerous ones."
"Not for me," Yue replied, voice steady. "You see, I'm very good at being underestimated."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Sofia took a step forward. "You think I'm the villain. But I'm not. I'm the only one paying attention."
"To what?"
"To what this world should be," she said, voice low. "You cling to Haku and his laws. But what if that's just another prison? What if power wants to grow?"
Yue's fingers twitched, hidden in her sleeve. Her aura remained still, unreadable. But her instincts screamed strike now.
She didn't.
Not yet.
"I don't care what you want," Yue said. "But if you hurt one more student, even a little, we're done talking."
Sofia's smile finally vanished.
She leaned in. Whispered near Yue's ear.
"You think Haku is untouchable. That he's more powerful than all of us. That's why you wait."
Yue didn't blink.
"You're wrong," Sofia whispered. "He's not more powerful. He's just better at pretending."
And then she was gone, turning down the hall with perfect grace, the scent of old parchment and lavender in her wake.
Later that night, Yue stood in the garden.
Wind stirred the blossoms.
She hadn't told Haku. She wouldn't.
Not yet.
If Sofia wanted to play with wolves, Yue would let her.
But only once.
After that, Yue would remind her why wolves had teeth.
Yue didn't wait for the sun.
She moved fast and quietly, slipping past the early risers, past the wards that buzzed with weak detection runes, out to the far end of the campus where no one ever looked twice.
Behind the garden shed, she pressed her hand to the dirt wall. The air shimmered.
A cut in space opened like paper peeling.
She stepped through.
No one saw her leave.
The sky in the cultivation realm wasn't blue; it was a deep void lit by stars that never moved. Mountains floated. Rivers hung like strands of glass. Everything here was quiet, and violent, and alive.
Yue landed on a cliff of dark stone, sharp wind tugging at her sleeves. She didn't waste time.
Cinder was already there.
Red robes, black nails, silver hair braided tight. She didn't smile.
"You came," she said. "So. Who's dying?"
Yue didn't flinch. "A girl. Student. Something's inside her. Not demonic. Not pure. Feels... ancient."
Cinder's eyes narrowed.
"She's been draining people. Lifespan. They feel sick for a day or two but don't know they've lost years."
Cinder made a face. "That's a merging."
Yue already knew the word. Still hated hearing it out loud.
"She's willing?" Cinder asked.
"I don't know. Maybe not at first. But now... Her aura's wrong."
"Then you're already behind," Cinder said. "You want to save her?"
"I want to know if it's possible."
Cinder turned, stared into the skyless dark. "Only two options. Cut the soul out early, while it's still soft. Or kill the host before the merger finishes. Clean. Final."
Yue didn't move. "I need a third option."
Cinder raised an eyebrow. "That weird God of yours."
"Haku."
"Yeah. Him. Still pretending to be weak?"
"Not pretending. He's just... different. Thinks sideways. He works with logic. Makes magic look like math."
Cinder smirked. "Sounds boring."
Yue didn't answer.
"Fine. Ask him. If anyone can fake a ritual strong enough to pull a merged soul out by tricking the binding, maybe it's him. But don't wait too long. You feel it, right?"
Yue nodded once. "The pressure."
"Then hurry. If she's started the draw... someone's going to vanish."
Back in the mortal world, Alex was already gone.
He didn't mean to go far. Just trail Sofia for a bit. Watch her pattern.
She'd been too clean lately. Too polished.
Too confident.
He saw her pass a note to a second-year with dark circles under his eyes. Then she laughed too easily at Bernard's joke. That alone would've been nothing.
But the way she looked over her shoulder just once, like she wanted to be seen, that's what got him moving.
He followed.
Into the lower wings.
Into a corridor no one used.
Down steps that didn't belong to any official blueprint.
Her voice echoed back toward him. Calm. Soft.
"Curious?"
He didn't answer.
"I like that about you, Alex," she said, turning to face him. "You want to know how things work. You don't just accept them."
"I know what you're doing," he said.
"No," she replied. "You really don't."
She opened the next door.
He followed her in.
And the door shut behind him.
Yue reappeared in the garden before dawn.
The portal sealed behind her like it had never been there.
She didn't bother with the long path back to the dorms. Just walked straight to Haku's study.
He was already awake, sitting at his desk, half a cup of tea gone cold in front of him.
"You're back," he said. "That was fast. Normally, when you don't come home, you stay out at least 3 to 4 days."
"Not fast enough."
Yue shut the door behind her.
"There's something wrong with Sofia."
"I figured," Haku said. "She's been... off."
"No. I mean wrong-wrong. She's draining life force. It's not just her anymore."
He leaned back. "Possession?"
"Merging," Yue said. "Old soul. Ancient maybe. It could be an echo or a remnant. But it's smart."
'So it's the horror genre in the school episode? Great, at least teachers don't usually die in these'
He nodded slowly. "You talked to someone?"
"Cinder. She's seen this before. Told me we should kill her."
'That's what cultivators always say, dear.'
"And you're asking me... what, if we should?"
"I'm asking if we can save her."
Haku didn't answer right away.
Before he could, someone knocked.
It was Niko.
"Sir, did Alex sleep at your place yesterday?"
Haku's heart sank. "No, why?"
"He's missing. He didn't come back to the dorms."
The words settled into the silence like a sharp crack.
Haku stood.
Yue already knew.
"She's started," she said. "She took him."
Haku grabbed his coat, eyes cold now. Focused.
"Then we get him back."