ny on one of the narrow medical beds in Graheel Hospital, his right arm heavily wrapped in thick, clean bandages. His face showed a mixture of exhaustion and mild difort, but he managed to stay attentive. At his bedside stood his close friend Jafar, who watched over him with concern. Opposite Jafar, a doctor wearing scrubs stood with a clipboard in hand, shuffling through sheets filled with n''s medical information. She reviewed his charts, asionally ncing up to make sure n was following along as she exined his injuries and the rmended course of treatment. Her voice was calm yet thorough, guiding n through his current condition with both professionalism and empathy.


    <strong>Doctor</strong>: “I must say you''re very lucky. There won’t be any permanent scarring or damage. I’m going to prescribe you a special salve to go on your arm. You’ll need to apply twice daily until used up. And you’ll have to keep it wrapped up in the meantime.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “How long will it take to heal?”


    <strong>Doctor</strong>: “With the salve, two to three weeks before the bandagese off. It could be quicker if you have healing magic applied to it daily; unfortunately, we can’t offer that at this hospital. We’re short staff on healing mages, and your injury is not serious enough to warrant daily application of healing magic. You’ll have to seek out other healing mages outside our hospital if you want that, which won’t be cheap. Although, if you want to risk it, you could try seeking a Silverwing student in training. They might be willing to heal you as part of their education, and your injury is not serious enough that a misapplication of healing magic would cause any damage or make it worse. But, it would hurt quite a bit if they mess up.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “Thank you. I have a friend in the Silverwing College that might help me out.”


    <strong>Doctor</strong>: “If you''re going to get help from a Silverwing student, would you like some painkillers as part of your prescription?”


    <strong>n</strong>: “Knowing her, that might be for the best.”


    <strong>Doctor</strong>: “OK then. I’ll send your prescription down to the hospital pharmacy. Once they get that filled, you''re free to leave. It might take an hour, so getfy,” she said before walking away.


    The female doctor pulled back the white curtain that sectioned off n''s small corner of the bustling hospital ward and stepped out, her footsteps fading as she left. Once she was out of earshot, Jafar, who had been sitting quietly beside n, leaned forward, his face filled with concern. He nced around to ensure they were alone before finally breaking the silence.<strong>Jafar</strong>: “What were you thinking? Sticking your arm in that thing.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “I panic. I didn’t know what to do. Only that I needed to get that guy out of that thing. I thought that maybe putting a strong ward around my arm would protect me, but I guess not.”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “You''re lucky you didn’t lose your arm.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “I know, I know. Sorry for making you worry.”


    Jafar''s expression shifted to one of deep concern as he looked at his injured friend, brows furrowed in sympathy. He nced around cautiously, noting that n''s bed was only shielded by a thin white curtain that offered little privacy. The surrounding ward buzzed with activity, and Jafar realized that any conversation they had might easily be overheard if he wasn’t careful. Leaning in close, he lowered his voice to a whisper, hoping to keep their words private amidst the constant surrounding ambience.


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “n, I think we need to tell Mitra about Cid,” he whispered.


    <strong>n</strong>: “No. That’s not happening,” he said bluntly.


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Come on. He was trying to kill us. He had us walk into that situation to get us eaten by that slime monster.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “You don’t know that. He told us we would find a clue there, and admitted he didn’t know what we would exactly find. He’s probably just as clueless about this whole thing as we are.”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “And you believe him?” he said while shaking his head in disbelief.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Yes! If he wanted us dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. You saw what he did to Sorin!” he whispered aggressively.


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “n, I think I figured out what Cid’s doing. I''m pretty sure he was using numerology to predict the future.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “Are you saying he figured out where that slime monster would be with numerology? How do you know that?”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “It is not just the slime monster, it is everything weird about him, we’ve seen so far. When we found those strange mathematical forms, I had suspected It was rted to numerology at the time. When we brought those notes to my friend to get analyzed, it gave us a date when Cid went to the library to murder Sorin. I’ve seen Marie use numerology a thousand times, and when we talked to him earlier today, I saw him definitely use numerology magic. It is what he used to direct us towards the creature, and what he used to kill Sorin.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “How did he murder Sorin with numerology? I thought it was just an inurate type of divination.”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Chaos theory suggests that if you have enough information about the initial condition, you can predict where something will be in the future. If he has that kind of information, it might be possible to set off a series of events to make certain things happen. A domino effect. He does all kinds of weird stuff by moving things into weird positions, like with what you told me about what his roommate said. He sets things up like dominoes and then causes a chain reaction. That’s how he made that chandelier fall on Sorin. He set it up to fall exactly where he knew Sorin was going to stand.”


    n nced down at theyers of bandages wrapped around his injured arm, letting Jafar''s words sink in. What Jafar had just exined sounded surreal—a method to predict the future with precise uracy, even to the point of altering it by orchestrating improbable or impossible events. This was something that not even the seers of argon could do. It all seemed far-fetched, something he would have dismissed instantly if he hadn’t witnessed what Cid had done to Sorin. Yet, despite the evidence he’d seen, doubts still lingered in his mind. The whole concept felt like something out of a twisted fantasy, and he struggled to reconcile it with the reality he knew.


    <strong>n</strong>: “If what you''re saying is true, that might also exin why none of us detected any aether when that chandelier fell, he set that all up ahead of time. But how is that possible? I remember Marie saying it takes a lot of information to get any prediction with numerology magic. She had to make that giant machine topensate for it and had to feed a lot of information, and still didn’t get super urate predictions. Wouldn’t what you''re suggesting take even more information than what Marie was doing, predicting where a person is going to be in the future? And not just one person, he would have to know where multiple people and things would be in the future for this all to work.”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Umm, who reced you?” he said, surprised by such a thoughtful response from n.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Really? I expected better of you. I know I give off the impression of a meathead to people, but I’m not an idiot. I just don’t like reading theory.”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Sorry, sorry. But, yeah. You''re right. However, I still think he’s doing that. That he figured out somehow topensate for the information like Maire’s machine, but to a much greater degree. That is why I think he knew that slime thing was going to be there and had us walk into it.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “I don’t know about that. I still think there would be easier ways of getting rid of us, and if that was his attempt, he didn’t do a very good job. We’re both still alive. I’m not too sure about this theory you''re creating about him.”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “I’ve also been thinking, what if Cid had been working with Sorin? What if it was kind of falling out with the two of them? Sorin was doing all kinds of experiments, giving undead ego was unheard of. What if the numerology thing was also something Sorin was researching, and Cid was working with him on that?”


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    <strong>n</strong>: “I don’t think so,” he said while shaking his head. “Remember Sorin’s interaction with Cid in the library? It didn’t seem like they knew each other. I don’t know what their rtionship is, but I’m still giving Cid the benefit of the doubt."


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Why! Why do you trust—”


    Suddenly, the curtain sectioning off n''s bed slid open with a faint rustle. Jafar immediately fell silent, his head snapping toward the entrance to see who had intruded. In stepped a figure both of them recognized instantly—long silver hair cascaded over a dark blue robe adorned with the emblem of the Silverwing College. It was Sere, her expression a mixture of anger and concern. Her sharp gaze flickered between n and Jafar, making it clear that she was both upset and anxious, as though she’d hurried there the moment she heard the news.


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “You two are such idiots! I looked away for two minutes, and one of you already got yourself into the hospital!” she half yelled while approaching n.


    As Sere approached, n instinctively raised his bandaged arm in a defensive gesture. He knew all too well that when Sere was angry, she wasn’t abovending a few hits to get her point across—he still remembered the sting of her textbook smacking him when he''d made that ill-advised joke about her being an angry woman. This time, he hoped the sight of his injured arm would keep her temper in check. With a wary expression, he braced himself, half-expecting her to ignore his attempt at self-preservation.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Please don’t hit me! I’m an injured man!”


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “What do I take me for, a sadist?”


    Arge part of n wanted to say "yes" and risk a wittyeback, but he bit his tongue, holding back. He knew better than to provoke Sere; even if she didn''tsh out now, she''d find a way to get him backter, when he least expected it.


    Sere''s gaze drifted down to n''s injured arm, wrapped tightly inyers of bandages. Her usually steely expression softened, and a look of pain flickered across her face. She couldn’t hide the empathy in her eyes as she took in the extent of his injuries, a silent reminder of the ordeal he’d endured.


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “What happened?”


    <strong>???: </strong>“That’s what I want to know as well.”


    Everyone’s attention shifted to the opening in the curtain where Sere had entered, as a gruff, middle-aged man stepped through. Dressed in a weathered brown trench coat and a slightly battered fedora, Joe strode in with his usual no-nonsense air. His eyes, though sharp, softened slightly when theynded on n. He hade to check up on him as well, bringing with him the quiet, reassuring presence of someone who had seen and handled more than his fair share of crises like the one n had gotten himself in.


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Joe? What are you doing here?”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “I’m the leader of our group. Of course I''d be checking up on you guys, especially with the bullshit I heard you two got caught up in.”


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “Your Joe?” she asked, as it was her first time meeting him.


    Joe paused mid-sentence, his attention drawn to Sere, who had asked his name. As he studied her, his gaze lingered on her striking silver hair—a distinctive hallmark of the Lockheart family. He couldn''t help but sigh as he guessed who Sere was.


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Silver hair,” he mumbled. “You''re a Lockheart?” he asked her.


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “Yes. My name is Sere. I’ve heard a lot about you from uncle Murdock.”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “I doubt it was anything good.”


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “No. Uncle Murdock said you''re a loose cannon and the bane of his existence.”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “That sounds about right,” he said, not sounding surprised about what Sere was saying about him. “Anyway, what in the world did you two get yourselves into? A slime monster?” he said while turning to n and Jafar.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Yeah, we came across a slime monster. There was a guy that was trapped inside it, and I stuck my arm inside of it to pull that person out,” he said while raising his injured arm to emphasize his point.


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Yeah, n managed to get the guy out of the slime creature and then we tried to run away from it, but it chased us down. We tried firing a bunch of spells at it, but nothing worked. It just kept reforming and chasing us. I tripped and it almost got me and then n managed to cast lightning magic on it, which managed to stop it.”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “You can cast lightning magic?” he said while looking at n with a raised eyebrow.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Um, I''m not very good at it. I just barely managed to haphazardly fire off lightning magic to hit and destroy that creature. That’s why there was so much damage on that street. It was mostly my fault.”


    When n unleashed his lightning magic at the creature, his attack hadn’t been carefully aimed, and the raw energy arced wildly in every direction. Bolts struck and shattered nearby windows, scorched the hoods of parked cars, and left dark burn marks on walls and pavement, reminiscent of jagged welding scars. Inadvertently, n had done far more damage to the surrounding area than the slime creature ever had, transforming the scene into a chaotdscape of charred and sparking debris.


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Still, that’s impressive. A first year already able to cast fusion magic is already impressive, especially lightning magic. I heard that’s one of the more difficult types of magic to cast, let alone control. Maybe that crazy training you two are going though must be actually working.”


    The mention of Mitra’s training made Sere visibly cringe. She didn’t want to admit it, but even she had to acknowledge the results: both n and Jafar had made remarkable progress in their arcane abilities under Mitra’s guidance. Despite the intense, and at times extreme, nature of their training, it was clear they had grown stronger because of it—something she couldn''t easily dismiss, no matter how harsh the methods seemed to her.


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Anyway, what happened after that?"


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Um, the slime was destroyed, It exploded outward from the lightning magic, covering the whole street in slime. ”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “I see. That tracks with what I heard from the other police officer that arrived at the scene. What I don’t get is why you two were there in the first ce?” he said while examining both Jafar


    Jafar showed no visible signs of nervousness, but he hesitated, words catching in his throat as he struggled to respond to Joe''s question. Uncertain about whether he should reveal Cid''s identity, he remained silent, clearly torn. Sensing his friend’s difort, n quickly stepped in, redirecting Joe''s attention away from Jafar and onto himself, skillfully easing the tension and sparing Jafar from the difficult decision.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    <strong>n</strong>: “We heard a rumor about people going missing in the area. I didn’t feel like we were making much progress finding clues. So, me and Jafar decided to follow up on that in the off chance it might be connected."


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Huh? So you heard those rumors too. I was going to look into that soon.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “You were?”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Yeah. Everyone is having a hard time figuring out where Jixi went. In the absence of any good information, you look into other unlikely areas. Since some of our prime suspects have mysteriously disappeared, I thought about looking into any recent missing person reports. But, It seems you two beat me to it. Anything happened after that?”


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “Um, afterward, the man we rescued began moaning in pain. We tried to help him, but a smaller version of the slime creature was inside of him and burst out of his chest screaming, killing the man.”


    Sere''s eyes widened in horror as she listened to the ount of a creature bursting from a man’s chest. Shocked, she instinctively raised her hand to cover her mouth, stifling a gasp as her mind struggled to process the gruesome image.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Yeah... and then the police arrived, and I was rushed to the hospital.”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “I see…” he mumbled before turning away from the tree students and crossing his arms.


    Several seconds passed in silence as Joe appeared lost in deep thought, his gaze unfocused. Finally, n broke the silence, his voice tentative as he decided to speak up again.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Mr Joe—”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Just call me Joe,” he said, not liking people saying “Mr” in his name.


    <strong>n</strong>: “Um, right. Joe, are we in trouble?”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “With me? No. I’m just d you two are OK. But, Mitra is gonna want a word with you two. I was told to pass on a message to you, that you two are to report to her as soon as you get out of the hospital. So, if there’s any punishment, it’sing from her,” he said while turning back to face n and his friends.


    A shared look of dread crossed both n and Jafar''s faces, instantly sinking the mood in the room. Having trained with Mitra long enough, they knew all too well how severe her punishments could be—unforgiving, painful, and intensely unpleasant. The thought of her wrath made them tense; they both knew she would likely discipline them. If not for recklessly tangling with the slime creature, then certainly for n''s defiance in using lightning magic unsupervised. They braced themselves, already anticipating the pain and regret her inevitable punishment would bring.


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Oh, there is one more thing I want to ask,” he said while ignoring the mood shift in the room. “Was that slime creature translucent or red by chance?”


    n and Jafar exchanged a quick, startled nce, surprise flickering across their faces at Joe''s unexpected question. His words had caught them off guard, and for a brief moment, they looked at each other, both wondering how best to respond.


    <strong>Jafar</strong>: “It was red. How did you know?”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Shit, fuck, damn it! I really didn’t want to hear that. This makes things so much moreplicated.”


    <strong>Sere</strong>: “What’s going on?”


    Joe nced over at Sere and was abruptly reminded of her presence—a detail he had momentarily overlooked.


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Should I even say? You''re not part of our operation. Ah, whatever. Just keep this a secret,” he said, before beginning to exin his finding to n and Jafar. “You see, that translucent slime we found was a type of mold. So, I went and talked to a… mold expert, and they told me about a specific cult that deals with mold slime. They''re known as the <em>Consuming Ooze</em> cult. They are apparently able to transform mold slime into horrific slime monsters that devour people. And, the slime creatures they create are usually red in color, from what I understand.”


    Everyone looked shocked at what Joe had just exined to them.


    <strong>n</strong>: “That sounds like exactly what we were dealing with! That slime creature was red and clearly trying to devour that guy.”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “And that is a problem. Maybe more so than if it was just any other cult, even <em>Rattle Bone</em>.”


    <strong>n</strong>: “Huh? Why?”


    <strong>Joe</strong>: “Because, the <em>Consuming Ooze</em> cult doesn''t exist anymore. It is an extinct cult.”


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