The three students—Amos, the boy, and the girl with scarlet hair—stood in a triangle.
Leah was behind Amos, feeling even more crushed than the others by the aura of the three students.
The whispers were growing louder, some of them clearly audible now:
"Isn't that the new student council president?"
"Look, that's Anna, the new president of the student council!"
Now understanding the girl's intervention, Amos remained puzzled by the aura radiating from both her and the boy.
"They have an aura similar to mine... If I understood Cloack's explanation correctly, they're not regular humans either. Maybe they also have..."
But before he could finish his thought, the girl cut him off, sounding irritated.
"Hey! You two, answer the question."
The boy, crushed by the combined pressure of Anna's and Amos's aura, gritted his teeth and replied arrogantly while pointing at Amos:
"H-He's the one who tried to atta—"
But before he could finish his sentence, Amos gave him an even darker glare. The boy shut his eyes, an expression of defeat washing over his face, then collapsed to his knees, unable to bear the pressure despite his own aura.
Anna, the student council president, walked over to Amos and placed a hand on his shoulder. Amos was surprised.
"Enough. That's enough," she said gently.
Amos sighed, then cleared his mind. Naturally, his aura faded. The girl did the same. The boy, out of pride, waited a few more moments before retracting his aura as well.
Seeing the situation calm down, the surrounding students slowly dispersed.
The girl let go of Amos and stepped away. The boy turned with an arrogant air and walked back toward his group of minions.
Amos's mind was overflowing with questions.
"That girl... what was her name again...? Ah, Anna. Her aura was stronger than that other idiot's. Our three auras are different. Mine inspires fear, Anna's demands respect, and that boy's evokes admiration. But because of his personality, his aura doesn't manifest properly—it feels weaker somehow..."
Leah grabbed Amos by the arm, her face slightly pouting. She pulled him toward the classroom. Amos, surprised and lost in thought, let himself be dragged along and chuckled at Leah's expression.
"What's up with you all of a sudden?" Amos asked, clearly amused.
"Even if she's the student council president, it doesn't give her the right to grope you like that," Leah replied, looking away with that same pout on her face.
Amused by Leah's response, Amos decided to tease her a little more.
"Wait... are you jealous?"
Leah's cheeks turned crimson. Hearing Amos's words, she let go of him and instinctively pushed him, realizing she was showing all the signs of jealousy.
"N-No! Not at all! What kind of idea is that?!"
Amos smirked, wanting to push her buttons further.
"Then tell me, why are your cheeks so red? And why did you look so annoyed just now?"
Leah, clearly flustered by the teasing, walked ahead to avoid the topic.
"Hurry up, we're gonna be late for our first class!"
Though Amos enjoyed teasing Leah, he decided to let it go and followed her toward the school entrance.
They arrived together at their first class of the day.
As they entered the room, everyone noticed them. A group of students rushed over to Leah. With all eyes on her, Amos, as usual, found himself alone and isolated. He accepted it silently, his face indifferent, and sat down.
Leah, now surrounded by students, was clearly flattered by their attention and compliments.
"Wow, you're so pretty!" some girls said.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" some boys asked. At that question, Leah instinctively glanced over at Amos, who had been listening. When she saw his gaze meet hers, a surprised look appeared on his face.
Realizing Amos had caught her glance, Leah turned back to the students quickly, her cheeks flushed, trying to avoid giving him any ideas.
Amos, overhearing the compliments about Leah's beauty, looked at her quietly.
"I never really paid attention to how she looks before..."
The sun's rays were highlighting Leah's features—her brown hair glowing with golden undertones, her smile, which always managed to make him smile in return, and her blue eyes, which he'd looked into countless times.
Amos's gaze lingered on Leah, slowly realizing how lucky he was to have her by his side.
A small chill ran down Amos's back as he sensed a new presence to his right. It wasn't Anna's or the boy's—it was different. This one brought a sense of anticipation, like the moments before a war.
He turned his head.
A boy with medium-length blond hair stood beside him. The aura was coming from him.
The boy turned to Amos with a smirk.
"Hey Amos, I'm Yoan. I saw your fight with Lucas, and I gotta say, you impressed me."
Amos blinked, confused.
"Lucas? Who's that?"
Yoan, already expecting that question, answered smoothly:
"The guy you fought, you know, the day that black sphere kept you from dying."
Amos, intrigued and surprised by his boldness and calm demeanor, responded:
"Then why aren't you avoiding me like everyone else?"
Yoan smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. I don't judge someone based on just one thing."
Amos, his tone softening, wondered if Yoan was also... different.
"I know this might sound crazy, but... do you have, like... powers?"
Yoan smirked, clearly prepared for that too.
"Anna—the student council president you met this morning—organized a meeting. You, me, Lucas, her, and another student I haven't heard anything about."
Amos, catching on quickly, replied insightfully:
"So I guess there's something connecting the five of us."
"Yeah. She'll explain most of it."
Before Amos could ask anything else, Professor Nike entered the room, silencing the class instantly.
The students quickly returned to their seats. Leah sat down to Amos's left. When Principal Nike sat at her desk, she gave Amos a small smile.
Remembering past events, Amos smiled back.
He turned to Leah.
"So... your first day of classes."
Leah, still shaken from the wave of questions earlier, responded:
"It was... intense. But I don't think I'll have any trouble making friends," she ended with a playful, smug tone, clearly trying to tease Amos.
Amos rolled his eyes.
"Pfff, shut up and focus on the class."
Leah and Amos shared their first class, but then realized the rest of their schedules were different, so they split up.
Throughout the day, Amos found it impossible to concentrate. Questions bounced around in his head:
"They all have unique auras..."
"Does Cloack know about this?"
"Who is this mystery person who's like us..."
As the day came to an end, Amos tried to find Leah but couldn't.
"She must have gone back already."
Yoan suddenly appeared behind him, patting his shoulder.
"There you are. The meeting's about to start. Come on."
Surprised by Yoan's appearance, Amos nodded.
"Alright. I wonder who the fifth member is..."
Yoan seemed to share the same curiosity.
"Me too. Trust me."
Amos and Yoan headed toward an isolated classroom. Their steps felt heavy; most other students were either in their dorms, walking around the campus, or already home.
Yoan opened the classroom door. Amos followed him in and immediately spotted Lucas already there. Lucas gave him a cold glare but sat back down when Amos returned it with his own.
Amos looked around the room but didn't see Anna.
"Where's Anna?"
Lucas, already sitting, answered:
"She went to get the last member of the meeting."
Amos sat down as well, anxiety rising within him as he imagined who it could be.
He looked at Yoan and Lucas—they seemed just as tense.
They waited in silence for a while, until the door handle creaked. Anna entered first—and standing behind of her was someone familiar.
Amos's eyes widened in shock.
"Leah?!"
End of Chapter 7