The three trudged through the dimly lit campus toward the Westhex Dormitories—buildings somehow even sadder than the academy itself. The boys' dorm had a massive hole in one wall, courtesy of a senior's failed "reality-bending" spell last semester. Meanwhile, the girls' dorm sat snugly beside a bog swamp, its windows permanently fogged by moisture. Frogs croaked like a choir, and mosquitoes launched their nightly air raids. The matron chanted fire spells around the dorm and flung them like flamethrowers. Without a word, they split up—still processing everything—and slipped into their respective dorms.
Niko sat on his creaky mattress. He stared at the floor but then turned over his hand. The glowing mark still shimmered faintly on his palm—like it was waiting.
"I think this mark has to do with something," he muttered.
Sitting up, he focused, holding out his hand toward a stack of books on his desk. Nothing moved. Next, he snapped his fingers and pictured fire. Not even a spark. Then, with more desperation than dignity, he stood, raised his hand, and shouted:
"FLAME ON!"
A muffled bang! came from the wall next door.
"S.Y.B.A.U.! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" someone yelled back. There were also muffled protests from the other side of the wall.
Niko flinched. "Sorry… What S.Y.B.A.U anyway?" he muttered.
He flopped back into bed, defeated. Whatever the mark was, it wasn't helping—yet.
As he drifted off, he didn't notice the pulsing light on his palm. Slowly, it spread—like ink in water—curling into runes and sigils that crept up his wrist and over his fingers. By the time he was asleep, his entire left hand was wrapped in a glowing, veined golden thread, rune-patterned glove.
Silent. Mysterious. Waiting.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm…
"WHAT WAS ALL THAT?!"
Lia exploded into her room, slammed the door shut, and collapsed against it. Her hands tangled in her hair as she scrambled to the mirror. There it was: a faint, golden glyph glowing on her collarbone. Pulsing gently. Smug.
"Oh my god, Mom is going to kill me," she hissed.
She rubbed at it. Nothing. Grabbed foundation. Dabbed frantically. The mark shimmered through like oil on water. Then the foundation melted. She gaped.
"NOPE. Nope nope nope—" She attacked it with makeup remover, cotton pads flying like confetti.
That's when she saw it. In the mirror. Behind her.
Floating. Judging. The Golden Grimoire.
"Wh-what now?" Lia whimpered, turning slowly. "What do you want?"
The book pulsed once. Then—
"GUUUUURL, YOU LOOK LIKE ASS."
The voice was high-pitched, sharp, and absolutely dripping in sparkly judgment. The grimoire twirled mid-air like it had invisible hips. If it had hands, they'd be snapping in a Z-formation.
"Get it together, hun. That panic ain't the look. But you've got potential as a goth girl tho."
With a puff of glittery energy, it vanished. Lia stood frozen, mouth agape. Then she dropped everything—cotton pads, foundation bottle, remover.
Clatter. Clunk. Silence.
Then—
"WHAT THE—?!"
* * *
Echoed from her window loud enough to send frogs in the swamp leaping for cover.
Back across the bog, in the boys' dorm…Rai slammed the shutters closed just as the shout reached him. He tossed his coat onto a hook and cracked his knuckles.
"Alright," he grinned. "Let's see what this thing's about." He sat at his desk and opened the Golden Grimoire. Blank. No runes. No glyphs. Not even a doodle.
"…The hell?"
He flipped a few pages. Gold-trimmed, sure. But completely empty.
"Flashy cover, gold pages... Zero content. Classic." he snickers.
RIP.
He casually tore one out. The book twitched.
Then—WHOOSH.
A swirl of dark ink burst across the page, violently forming a sentence:
"LOOK. I know you're thick-headed and have less brain output than a giraffe, but this ignorance is beyond my tolerance. HOW DARE YOU RIP A PAGE FROM ME?! IT HURTS!!!" wrote the grimoire.
"Read this and you shall forget me: ORELELELE. Repeat it three times." it adds.
Rai blinked. "What is this book even saying? Arele-lalelalo?"
Another sentence scribbled across the page:
"YOU CAN'T EVEN SAY IT CORRECTLY, IT STARTS WITH AN O! NOT AN A, YOU DOO-DOO!!!"
Rai narrowed his eyes. "Bossy book. Don't like it." He shut the book and tossed it over his shoulder.
POP.
It teleported back in front of him, floating mid-air, jittering with anxiety. New ink splattered:
"Look, I'm sorry. Please. Just say 'ORELELELE' three times. I'm an old book, I make mistakes. Forgive me 😭"
Rai shrugged. "Relax. It's just one page. You've got what—300 more to whine about?"
"I HAVE 444 PAGES. NOW I HAVE 443. YOU MONSTER!!!" the Grimoire cries.
He examined his fingernails, unimpressed.
"If I had knees, I'd be on them right now. Just say the thing!! PLEASE!! 😭" plead the Grimoire.
Rai sighed, rolled his eyes, and said flatly: "ORELELELE. ORELELELE. ORELELELE."
A moment of silence.
Then—
"…Huh? What was I doing?" He scratched his head. Still clutched in his right hand was the golden page.
"What's this?" He sniffed it. "Smells like gold. Might be valuable. I'll keep it. Could be an investment."
He flopped into bed and began snoring almost immediately.
Back in Niko's room, the grimoire sat silently on his desk—glowing faintly in the moonlight. Seeing Niko asleep, it teleported near his head, only to be caught by Niko's left hand.
"What the?!" said the Grimoire. "Oh, the mark has settled in, I guess… I didn't know what I should expect from the three of you, but this place isn't what it used to be. Beggars can't be choosers," it muttered.
The grimoire glowed as it scanned the sleeping Niko's body.
"That's it? Just an average boy with common sense this time?! What have I done with this place..." it sighed and teleported back onto Niko's desk, settling like just another normal book.
* * *
Purple dusk bathed the Westhex dormitories in sleepy twilight. Then came the alarm.
WEEEE-OOOO! WEEEE-OOOO!
The fire alarm wailed like it was auditioning for a disaster movie. Water burst out from the sprinklers, soaking every single dorm room in a chaotic cascade. Niko blinked awake, already over it.
"Again? Every Monday? Well, at least the guy's consistent," he groaned internally.
Still half-asleep and ignoring the golden grimoire glowing softly on his desk, Niko shuffled to the bathroom for a quick rinse. A towel, a shrug, and a brush of his hair later, he paused. He carefully removed the towel from his hand and found the same cryptic mark, now wrapped around his hand like a glove. Amused, he tried the things he did last night—but again, nothing happened.
Sulking, he stepped out and locked his door behind him. The hallway was chaotic. Rai zoomed past on a flaming skateboard, laughing wildly with his jock friends. Niko gave the scene a flat stare and continued walking like this was all totally normal.
Outside, in the dry fountain courtyard between the dorms and the school, Lia stood waiting. Her look had changed—darker makeup, black lipstick, subtle glitter beneath her eyes. Niko walked right past her.
"Hey!" she called. "Where's the guy who got the book yesterday?
"Niko turned, puzzled. "Sorry… Do I know you?"
Lia folded her arms, her goth-glam look crinkling with emotion.
"It's me, Lia. The grimoire showed up in my room last night and said I need to 'work on my look.' So I did!" Her voice cracked.
"I even cried!" she says, as she covers her face.
"The grimoire talked?" Niko blinked. "Weird. I ran into Rai—he was fire-skating with the jocks. Maybe he'll pop up just like yesterday."
Together, they made their way to the teacher's office. Lia knocked on the door, then peeked inside.
"Excuse me…"
Niko trailed behind her. Mr. Mister, seated behind his desk and cloaked in shadows as always, didn't look up.
"What? Shouldn't there be three of you?" he asked, voice deep and unreadable.
"I'M HERE!!"
Rai popped out from behind Niko like a ninja surprise. But this time, nobody was surprised.
Lia furrowed her brow.
"Wait a second… haven't we done this already?" she murmured. "This feels like déjà vu."
Mr. Mister's eyes narrowed. "Done what, exactly… Miss Lia?"
"I think she's just confused," Niko said quickly. "Dick's twin pranked her this morning and she's still in shock. Like, literally."
Mr. Mister groaned and rubbed his face. "Ugh. Sokka and Likka… I get so many reports about those two, I've stopped reading them. I don't know why the headmaster didn't remove the twins in the first place, anyway. Even the police were involved, THRICE!" as he held up three fingers.
He straightened, tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Anyway. You three are model student performance score, and I'm obviously being sarcastic right now and I'm trying hard to do so." He stares at them.
"Now, to fix your grades. Investigate the abandoned building behind the school. Uncover its secrets and coming back alive is optional." shrugs him.
"Though if you do, I might let you pass." says Mr. Mister as he spins his coffee mug.
Niko blinked twice. "What kind of secrets?"
"The kind that might kill you, silly..." Mr. Mister answered, sipping his coffee like he was talking about the weather.
Lia tugged on Niko's sleeve, leaning close.
"We're doing this again?! What's going on?!" says Lia gritting her teeth.
Niko whispered back, "I have no idea. Let's just play along. Something's off."
As they left the office, Mr. Mister's dark eyes lingered just a little longer than usual—watching Niko and Lia with quiet suspicion.
* * *