Rachel's POV
Running my fingers over the smooth surface of the name on my ID card, I touched it. All of it was false. The name, the scholarship, the hope of a fresh start; it was all a lie I had to live. Standing at the university's door, though, I understood I could finally have a shot to vanish, to flee the past stalking me like a shadow. In the stillness, the echo of footfall all around me was disturbingly loud; the majesty of the structure appeared too great for someone like me. Dressed in neat clothes, students walked by speaking in quiet whispers. In this strange location, I had no idea where to go or who to trust. I had not come here to socialise. I had come here to disappear. To be nobody. Yet, even as I said this, my heart raced in my chest. The dread of being discovered never faded. Always lurking in the corners of my consciousness, it was like a continuous friend. The cult was always close behind and knew who I was. Could I get away from them for all time? The sunshine pouring through the high windows on the marble floors bounced off them and formed lengthy shadows across my way as I crossed the threshold into the main corridor. Every action seemed to be under a magnifying glass. I was unable to unwind. I would not. Not at this time. Reaching the main corridor, I inhaled the thick air and felt more like a stranger than ever. Other pupils went about around me; no one noticed. I was undetectable. After many years, I experienced a peculiar feeling of independence. It was then that I spotted him. Luka Solstice One could not miss his form. Tall, broad, with dark, wild hair falling into his sharp green eyes. Standing in the corridor talking to a group of kids, he was in the centre. His gaze turned to me nearly immediately. The air surrounding him crackled with an intensity I hadn't anticipated. His gaze fixed on me; in that fleeting second, the universe seems to slow down. It was drawing me in, like gravity, not just a look. Feeling naked, I froze; before I could turn away, he grinned. It was not warm. It was as though he knew something I lacked. Looking away was difficult; I wanted to act as though I hadn't seen how his gaze clung onto me like a magnet. Luka's gaze was unyielding; in that split second, all the commotion and noise of the corridor vanished. His gaze's pressure was all I could see, all I could feel. It was excessive. I sat up and pushed myself to go, but my feet felt weighted as though they were stuck to the ground. His focus was overwhelming and I had no way to flee it. What was this, exactly? Why did it seem so... personal? Luka stepped towards me, his presence filling the corridor as if pulled by some unseen thread. Like a wolf in human skin, he moved with smooth ease, every movement calculated yet with an edge. Though I had no idea who he was, I knew he was significant. Even strong. When he eventually got to me, there was a short pause during which I could sense my heart pounding in my ears. He was so near now that I could smell the slight hint of cologne, and the warmth of his body appeared to radiate towards me, urging me to move back. Luka remarked, his voice low like a gentle rumble in the back of his throat, "You're new." His tone was a declaration, a knowing, not a question. Ymir, correct? Though my throat was unexpectedly constricted, I found it difficult to speak. He kept staring at me, and I felt an odd heat rise up my neck. There was something about him that both attracted me and made me want to flee. He was interested, but it wasn't only out of curiosity. There was a depth there, a pull I couldn't grasp, and I didn't know whether I wanted to. I heard footsteps coming behind me, drawing closer before I could answer. I turned, wishing for a distraction, and spotted him. Mika, twin brother of Luka. He was just as intimidating, but in a different way. Where Luka had that calm intensity, Mika exuded wild, restless energy. His dark, brother-sharp eyes fixed on me, and I instantly sensed the burden of his gaze. At first he was silent, but I could sense the tension in the air between them. Ignoring it was impossible. The two of them. "Luka," Mika remarked, his voice cold but sharp. "I see you have encountered our new visitor." Even as Mika came closer, I could feel Luka's stare burning on my skin. Their shared look at me, as though they were trying to peel away layers I had not even realised I was hiding, left me disturbed. Mika's gaze stayed on me for a second longer before his lips curled up in an almost undetectable grin. It was difficult, playful, yet there was something behind it. A deeper meaning. Mika grumbled, "new girl." You are now in our domain. Here, things operate rather differently. His comments hung in the air, heavy with significance, and I couldn't help but believe they weren't discussing the university. Pack. This universe, whatever it was, and however I had come to be in it, was not what I imagined. I remained silent since I had no idea what to say, but my heart raced uncontrollably. I moved awkwardly as the tension between the two brothers increased with every second. Then, Mika unexpectedly stepped closer and in front of me. His hand brushed a stray lock of hair from my face. Though his touch was gentle, the force of it shocked me and caused my breath to catch in my throat. Though my body let me down, I wanted to draw away and be still. It was the energy that sparked between us, not simply his touch. I couldn't identify something, some odd force that passed between us in that straightforward action. It seemed basic. Like I was inexplicably linked to him. Where he had touched me, my skin tingled; I felt a great wave of heat sweep through my body, causing my heart to beat. It was unlike anything I had ever gone through. I wished to talk, to tell them both to stop, to let me room. But I was unable to. Something deep inside me paralysed me. Mika's eyes danced with delight. "You sense it, don't you?" Though it was a low murmur, his voice struck me like a physical force. I gulped down. "What, what do you mean?" Mika, however, only grinned his knowing grin and kept his fingers by my cheek for one second longer than required. You know, Rachel, he said softly. The draw was something magnetic, something unarguable I could not ignore. Mika's presence charged every second I spent near him like an electric current in the air. Every look, every word seemed too weighted, too weighty. It seemed as though he were pulling me in and I couldn't help it. "Ymir," he whispered once again, his voice low, yanking me from my musings. I smiled nervously, my lips twitching. You are not from here, right? Dark and piercing, his eyes looked to be staring straight through me. He had an unusual ability to make me feel as though he was looking for something within me, something I had not even identified about myself. The intensity made my heart race, yet I couldn't turn away. He knew something, I could sense it. I froze when his palm brushed mine as he handed me a folder. The surge of warmth from the point of contact made me blink quickly, almost as if it could shake the odd, disturbing sensation that had buried itself deep inside me. Mika simply smiled, but her grin had something in it that made my heart race even quicker. Casually looking at me, he enquired, "Where's your next class?" Though my body was still tight from the quick touch, I managed to mumble the name of the building as I didn't believe my voice. The way he studied me, the way he moved with effortless ease, told me that he was always in charge, always calculating. He was the kind of person who appeared to feel every little change in the air, every alteration in someone's energy. What about my energy? My energy seemed like a tempest he was attempting to control. The atmosphere surrounding me changed. Luka showed up. His presence was alluring, but in a different way. Where Mika's energy was wild and raw, Luka's was calm, controlled, a power in its own right. His gaze fixed straight away on me, a knowing flash between us that set everything inside me on edge. Though the two brothers said nothing, their rivalry was felt strongly, sharply, and electrically. And in that moment, I questioned whether I would ever be able to negotiate the space between them without totally losing myself. Though they said nothing or moved, the tension between them hummed in the air. Their draw both scared me and made me feel tied to them. It seemed as though they were linked to me more deeply than mere attraction. I couldn't get rid of the impression that this was more than only me fitting into a new existence. This was a new set of chains, not a fresh start, and I was only figuring out how to wear them. In the classroom, in the library, in every part of this new universe, their presence stayed with me. I could not concentrate or think clearly. It was not only their appearance, their might, their fortitude. It was something I couldn't identify, something other. Though clear, the pull between us seemed risky. Ignoring it every time I attempted to shove it to the back of my mind just made it stronger. I had come here to fade into the obscurity of university life, to abandon the past, to vanish. But I was drawn further into the attraction of their universe instead. And no matter how much I tried to separate myself, there was no avoiding it. Standing outside on the university steps, the wind pulling at my hair, I found myself Sprawling and strange, the metropolis lay before me. I had imagined leaving the life I had known would be liberating. But here, in this location that ought to have been shelter, I felt imprisoned. Looking down at the university below, I questioned whether I should feel relief or dread. The brothers' draw was inescapable; the nearer I went to them, the more I felt as though I was falling into a location I could not leave. Their unsaid challenge's weight was crushing. They were strong. Overly strong. And I was only... myself.