Noah and Arlo walked side by side through campus, ignoring the stares and whispers.
It seed the stories had moved faster than them. Again. It had to be their classmates who changed early.
But they both ignored the increased attention. They had sothing to do.
Before long, they arrived at their dorm building. The dormitory was emptier than usual, with most students still in the cafeteria or outside enjoying the light of midday.
"Do you know where Ben’s room is?" Noah asked, turning to Arlo.
"Third floor," Arlo said without hesitation. "End of the hall, near the corner window."
Noah nodded. They reached the lift, the tal doors sliding open with a soft chi.
The mont they stepped inside, Noah felt a faint unease settle over him. His instincts told him sothing was about to go wrong, and he wasn’t in the habit of ignoring them.
When the lift doors opened again, both of them stepped out, and stopped.
The entire floor was silent. Far too silent. The air felt heavy and thick, as if there was sothing unseen mixing with the very air.
The walls and floor looked washed out, their usual vibrant colors muted into shades of gray. Even the light streaming into the corridor from the windows flickered weakly like a fire about to burn out.
Noah and Arlo exchanged glances.
"Sothing’s wrong," Arlo murmured.
They moved forward slowly, every sense on high alert. Their boots made almost no sound on the floor, and every step that clicked too loudly seed to echo for far too long.
"That one," Arlo said, nodding towards the far end.
Noah lowered his voice. "What do you see?"
Arlo’s glowing green eyes flickered as his Sight activated. He frowned almost imdiately.
"It’s strange," he whispered. "I can’t see inside. The room seems to have been flooded with mana. Soone’s poured so much power in there that it’s clouding everything. I can’t tell what’s behind it."
Noah’s eyes narrowed as he wondered who could’ve done that. "Then we find out the old-fashioned way."
They crept to the door, the air growing colder the closer they got. The faint sll of burnt ozone hung in the corridor.
Arlo reached out cautiously, exchanging a quick glance with Noah. Then he touched the knob.
The door creaked, moving under the lightest pressure. The hinges groaned, the sound unnaturally loud in the quiet.
Both of them froze, holding their breath.
Nothing happened.
Noah and Arlo shared a brief, tense look. Then, in perfect sync, they burst through the half-open door.
The room inside was a ss, with furniture overturned, papers scattered, and curtains torn down. The air reeked faintly of decay, but there was no movent and no sound. Nothing alive.
Except for Ben Stanley.
He was bound to a chair in the middle of the room and gagged, his wrists tied tightly behind him with rope.
His eyes were wide and wild with panic, darting towards them the mont they entered. He struggled weakly against his bindings, muffled sounds of desperation escaping through the gag.
Noah and Arlo scanned the corners, their senses alert for an ambush. When no threat revealed itself, they moved towards Ben.
Arlo crouched first, his green eyes flashing briefly as he looked Ben over. "He looks... strange," he muttered. "The mana around him’s wrong. It looks like..."
"Like what?"
"The undead were here."
Noah frowned, drawing closer. "Where are they?"
"They’re not here anymore," Arlo said grimly. "But the residue’s everywhere."
They pulled the gag free. Ben gasped, sucking in a breath of air before bursting into rapid, panicked speech. "Thank you! Thank you, oh gods, you have to help ! Please— help !"
"Calm down," Noah said evenly. "What happened?"
Ben’s breathing ca in short bursts. "I— I was getting ready for class, and they ca out of nowhere. They wore black cloaks and I couldn’t see their faces."
"They grabbed , then tied to the chair, and— and forced to drink sothing. A potion."
Arlo’s expression darkened. "That explains it."
"Explains what?" Noah asked.
"He’s been dosed with whatever transformation agent the puppeteer is using." Arlo stared in concentration at Ben. "It starts by corrupting the bloodstream, replacing living mana with Death affinity mana."
Ben’s face drained of color. "What— what do I do?!"
"Luckily, it hasn’t spread too much and is still in your stomach," Arlo said. "All you need to do is get it out. Quickly."
He untied Ben, who stumbled out of the chair, his eyes wide with terror as he fumbled at his stomach. "I— I can’t! I can’t—"
Noah didn’t wait. He stepped forward and drove his fist into Ben’s abdon.
Ben let out a strangled sound and dropped to his knees, coughing violently. Then, with a sickening retch, he vomited.
The potion ca out in a dark, viscous wave, hissing faintly as it hit the floor.
The stench that followed was horrific. It slled of burnt tal mixed with rot and acid. Even Noah stepped back, grimacing. Arlo covered his mouth and nose.
Ben collapsed sideways, gasping for air. "Oh gods..." he groaned, his voice hoarse.
"Better out than in," Arlo muttered, crouching to check the ropes that had been used to tie Ben. "You’ll live."
Ben nodded weakly, pressing his back against the wall, trembling as he tried to steady his breathing.
"What do you think?" Noah whispered to Arlo, eyeing Ben.
"His story checks out." Arlo replied. "A bit of the potion has seeped into his bloodstream, so he does have traces of undead transformation, but it shouldn’t affect him too much."
"Isn’t it strange?" Noah asked. "Why would the puppeteer leave him here, instead of taking him to their hideout?"
"Maybe they’re waiting for night?" Arlo shrugged.
Noah glanced at Ben, who was still catching his breath, before sighing. "Look around. See if you can find anything that points to the puppeteer."
"Alright." Arlo nodded and turned away.
Noah’s attention shifted to the rest of the room.
The walls were scratched, the floor sared with faint black residue, like dried tar. Near the point where the wall and ceiling intersected, sothing glistened.
He stepped towards it, eyes narrowing.
Then his instincts scread.
His head snapped to Arlo and Ben.
"Look out!" he shouted.
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