SHLINK
An ice spike tore through the silence, whistling through the air before piercing the girl in front of Austin. His eyes widened in shock.
"What the—"
The girl's skin began to lt like wax, revealing the twisted face of a demon beneath.
It wasn't Valerie.
The one he'd been holding, the one he'd kissed—it hadn't been her.
Another spike that stabbed the demon and froze it to death.
He turned quickly, heart pounding, and there she was.
The real Valerie. Standing a few feet away, her hands trembling, and tears running down her cheeks.
"V-Val… I didn't realize it wasn't you—"
"Don't touch ." Her voice was sharp, raw. She stepped back as his hand instinctively reached toward her.
Austin froze, his fingers curling into tight fists. His heart felt heavier than ever.
"I...I didn't know. It looked exactly like you." His voice cracked, his grief laced in every word. "There wasn't a single thing that felt different."
But Valerie shook her head.
"How could you not realize it wasn't ?" Her voice trembled with pain—an ache deeper than betrayal.
Austin wanted to say more, to explain, to reach her—but what words could fix this?
And right now, Valerie didn't want his closeness, didn't want to hear his voice.
She just wanted to be alone with the hurt that was far colder than any ice spike she could conjure.
She stepped back, holding her other arm tightly as though that was the only way to keep herself from falling apart. "Leave alone for so ti. Please."
Austin's hand remained half-raised, his lips parted—but no words ca out. What could he say?
He wanted to hold her, to beg for a chance to explain, but deep inside, he knew. If the roles were reversed, if he had seen her doing what he just did, he'd feel the sa.
Helpless and ashad, he lowered his hand. His gaze dropped to the sand as she turned away.
He didn't follow her.
Valerie didn't know where she was going—she just walked. Step after step, as if the motion alone could pull her away from the images clawing through her mind.
That kiss… the tenderness… everything she had seen between them, even though it wasn't her.
She might have forgiven a mont of weakness once, back when her heart was still learning what it ant to love him—back when he had been lost in Rhea's shadow.
But not now.
Not after everything they'd been through together. Not after the mories, the laughs, the dreams they dared to share. This wasn't a mistake—this was a betrayal. And it hurt in places she never thought could ache.
Her steps eventually brought her far from the beach houses, and she collapsed onto the sand without realizing it.
DHAK.
She didn't cry loudly—her pain didn't co in sobs or screams. Instead, it settled in her chest like a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe, harder still to think.
She stared at the waves, but they offered no comfort. Her eyes glistened, and the tears rolled down silently.
That's when a gentle voice called out, "Are you okay?"
She flinched.
Turning her head, she saw a boy standing a few steps away. Soone she vividly rembered.
His eyes were soft with concern, and he didn't approach too quickly, as though respecting the fragile space around her.
"You're crying…" he said quietly. "Is everything fine?"
It was Trevor—the sa boy who'd helped her once before all this chaos began.
For the first ti since seeing that heartbreaking scene, Valerie's eyes t soone else's... soone who didn't carry the weight of betrayal.
And sohow, just seeing genuine concern—untouched by lies—made her throat tighten all over again.
.....
*Blob*
Austin breathed slowly under the water, feeling the cool embrace of the sea around him. There were still more than ten minutes before the effect of Aqua Lungs would wear off.
He moved carefully, his eyes scanning the sandy ocean floor for the small, glowing blue pearls Phil had ntioned earlier.
'Valerie shouldn't be here yet… right?' He had told her to co an hour later, and it had barely been half of that.
Right after returning to the beach house, he quietly slipped back into the water, unable to wait. Maybe it was silly to chase after sothing like this—a pearl said to reunite lovers in the afterlife—but even if it was just a story, there was sothing about it that touched his heart.
He imagined Valerie wearing the pearl. Maybe in her hair, catching the sunlight like a soft glimr. Or maybe as a small anklet, sothing delicate yet precious. The pearl itself was beautiful, but if Valerie wore it, it would beco sothing truly aningful.
It wasn't about myths or wishes.
It was about her.
Sothing about the idea of giving her that pearl made the world feel just a little more right.
Even if no one else understood, he did.
And that was enough.
Dbik
Austin whipped around, his back instinctively hitting the coral wall behind him. Sothing had just moved—fast.
He reached into his inventory and summoned a small capsule, snapping it to life. A soft glow spread around him, cutting through the dark water with limited reach. The silence pressed in tight, yet his instincts scread otherwise.
'There's definitely sothing here...'
He was a whisper away from summoning his Shard but he didn't call it yet. Scar's presence had a ripple effect underwater, especially with the kind of inhabitants dwelling in this zone. He couldn't risk endangering the underwater residents' lives.
He continued swimming carefully, eyes darting around, every muscle on edge. The tir on his Aqua Lungs flickered.
[5 min 00 sec remaining]
"Should I retreat?" he whispered internally, gritting his teeth. But if he did, he wouldn't get another shot at this today—and tomorrow, he'd be back at the academy. No second chances.
He made his decision and started swimming downward, hoping to reach the shell and get those blue pearls
That's when he saw it.
Two crimson eyes—glared through the dark water. Wide apart. Larger than his head. And worse…
More began to appear.
A dozen. No—twenty.
"Water dragons…" he muttered.
The water around him churned subtly as they slithered into visibility, red eyes cutting through the dark like torches. And it wasn't just above him—his gut twisted as he sensed movent beneath as well.
"They're surrounding ."
Not hiding anymore.
This wasn't random.
They had waited for him. Let him dive in. Let him stray deep enough. And now, they were closing in.
He glanced at the tir again.
[Ti remaining: 4 min 36 sec]
His grip clenched.
This was going to be tough.
°°°°°°°
Rhea was sitting on the roof of the beach house, gazing quietly at the stars scattered across the night sky.
The other two had gone to bed, though she doubted either would truly sleep. Taya seed to want to talk, but sensing the mood, Rhea had excused herself and climbed to the rooftop—one of the calst spots around.
Letting out a deep breath, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, closing her eyes.
It was peaceful.
The gentle whisper of waves, the soft rustle of the sea breeze—it made her heart a little lighter.
'What might he be doing right now…'
Before coming here, she had visited Morkel. She had asked if he wanted to co along, but he was overwheld—constantly pulled in by the students for classes, advice, or simply his presence. It wasn't possible for him to leave.
She had been spending more ti with him lately. He was, after all, the only other person in the academy who had truly known Rudolph other than Austin.
So, he understood.
He understood her silences.
He didn't grow irritated when she fell into long spells of thought, staring into nothing.
He didn't ask her to move on.
He didn't pretend to understand what she had lost.
He just stayed there.
And sotis, that was enough.
Rhea opened her eyes again, glancing at the moon that hung like a silver scar in the sky.
"You idiot… you better be safe."
Her voice was barely a whisper, carried off by the sea breeze.
She didn't know why, but tonight, her chest felt a little heavier than usual.
It was then that her brows knitted...a very uncomfortable sensation assaulted her, making her stomach wrench.
She looked up, her eyes glowing and her Shard instinctively appearing in her hands.
From the shore...she saw them, more than fifty beings getting out of the water and marching towards the beach houses.
The numbers were growing, and all of them extruded a presence that gave her the chills.
'An ambush...despite knowing Valerie and Austin is here?' No, they both were out, gone sowhere just the two of them. That ans, this was a well planned ambush.
Rhea got up, holding her blade in left hand and the crossbow in the other.
Just because Valerie and Austin weren't here doesn't an she would let these maggots harm her schoolmates.
"I have been itching to train a little anyways."
It was ti to slaughter.
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.
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