Zeph’s POV

Someone was shaking me awake and I woke up with a jerk to see it was Arlo.

"Get up, something has happened. I think Serene is missing. I can’t feel her anywhere." He gaped at me with utmost seriousness and I quickly clambered out of the bed, grabbing my shirt from the nearby chair, I put it on.

"What? How?" I asked rushing towards the door.

Arlo was now waking Mikasim up. He yawned and stretched his arms before waking up. Arlo turned to focus his attention on me.

"I don’t know, there is a commotion going on among Senseis. I check up on her every few hours from a distance and I can’t sense her presence anymore." He shifted his gaze to Mikasim and continued:

"Mikasim, come with us and see if you can trace her scent." Mikasim rolled out of bed and we headed downstairs, he sniffed along the way. My heart sank with every step I took. What could have possibly happened to Serene? As we descended the stairs, Lavaria Sensei was standing at the bottom with a grim expression.

"Head to the Enchantment Hall and don’t come out under any circumstances." He pointed in the direction of the Enchantment Hall.

"What’s wrong?" I queried, trying to access what had happened. Wanting to know where Serene was.

"Nothing, do as you people are being told and wait for further instructions. Move along now." He ushered us forward. My heart filled with despair. We turned the corridor and Arlo stopped us and said:

"We should sneak out if we go to Enchantment Hall it would be difficult to leave it. Let’s go find Serene." We nodded in agreement and turned to the other corridor that lead to the grounds.

Mikasim was sniffing all along but before we could slip out Shumal Sensei caught us.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" She shouted, her usual smile no longer visible on her face. Her eyes held anger. We stopped in our tracks as she approached us.

"Get to the Enchantment Hall," She yelled at us and she began to lead the way.

"Where is Serene? What has happened?" I could no longer hold myself back. She turned to glance in my direction, a sadness has crept on her face.

"I don’t know," she replied, her face falling. Anger and rage filled me at her answer. A small grunt left Arlo’s lips.

"What do you mean you don’t know? I want to go find her." I shouted clenching my fists.

"We are working on that. Kilamin and Artins have gone to look for her. For now, I want to keep you people safe."

"Safe from what? What’s going on Sensei?" Arlo asked in an irritated tone. His jaw clenched. She didn’t answer but kept walking quietly. Arlo murmured something under his breath.

She opened the door to Enchantment Hall and ushered us in. I stood there defiantly. My mind was racing at the thought of her being taken away by the unknown enemy. She must be feeling so alone right now, the mere thought made me shudder.

"Zeph there is nothing you can do right now except wait. I promise we will find her and bring her back safely. Just don’t do anything stupid for now. Go in, don’t make me force you." Shumal Sensei was different today, and I could see she was under a lot of stress. I sighed and said to her:

"Please, find her. Let me help in the search. I beg of you." My frustration was evident in my words.

"I can’t endanger your life as well. Leave it to us elders. I promise we will find her." She gestured to Mariela Sensei who was inside, she took us in and I unwillingly followed her as the door behind me closed with a thud.

"Settle down, no one is leaving here until I say so." Mariela Sensei’s voice reverberated in the hall. I could see some seniors were already inside. I spotted Zilver and made my way to him.

"You have any news?" I asked as he turned toward me.

"Serene has been kidnapped and Ayrden is in a coma. That’s all I know for now. I am sorry Zeph." He responded in a grim tone as he placed his hand on my shoulder, and I gritted my teeth in annoyance.

"What happened to Ayrden?" Arlo inquired from behind me.

"They found her like that in the ground outside. Serene and Ayrden were taking a walk and Suri was with them. But then Serene disappeared, the barrier had not been breached so no one from outside could have come in. They are trying to analyse what happened?" Zilver filled us in with the details he knew.

"I should have been there with her. I didn’t know she had gone for a walk so late at night." My whole frame was shaking with anger and disappointment.

The door opened again and Ralph’s team stepped inside. Ralph rushed towards me and asked: "What had happened." We filled him in and he was furious. We all were but there was nothing we could do other than wait. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Arlo was pacing the hall and I didn’t see him sit for even a second. Dria, his girlfriend occasionally tugged at his arm but he would brush her off. Alvene and Ralph were sitting in a corner, deep in conversation, anguish evident on their faces. Tanzil was resting her head on Mikasim’s shoulder with her eyes closed, trying to get comfortable, while I stood with my back against the wall. Worries washed over me as her smiling face flashed in my mind again. We should have kept her safe and all of us had failed.

The door opened again and Shumal Sensei entered and gestured to Mariela Sensei who rushed toward the door. Her face was white as a sheet as if she had seen a ghost. I rushed towards her but she took Mariela Sensei out and closed the door.

Arlo reached the door before me and pressed his ear to the door and listened. The door was thick and I knew I couldn’t listen through it but Arlo could.

After a few minutes, he moved back and indicated me to do the same. I stepped back and Shumal Sensei stepped inside. She came towards me and halting a few steps away she peered at me with sad eyes before speaking:

"Zeph we found her but she is unconscious for now. Mariela has gone to treat her, she will pull through." Her eyes didn’t speak her truths.

"What is it that you are not telling me? How hurt is she?" I could hardly hold back my emotions at this point. I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder and I knew it was Ralph.

"Stay strong for her. She will need your strength. I will take you to her when she is conscious." She touched my arm before moving ahead and went toward a bunch of girls, huddled together, leaving me furious.

Once she was out of earshot Arlo spoke quietly to us: "Barrier around the Dark Realm has been broken... Our world is no safer."

"What?" I questioned with gritted teeth my head spinning. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard.

"Yes, and Serene is in a bad shape. She has lost too much blood. At least that’s what Shumal Sensei told Mariela Sensei." Anger and anguish had muddled on Arlo’s face as he gave us this information.

I was transfixed on the spot, the world seemed to whirl around me, and Arlo appeared to be speaking from somewhere far away. Ralph steadied me as I almost fell back from all the overwhelming news. I wasn’t ready to lose her.

"Easy, Zeph. She will be fine. You have to be strong for her." Ralph whispered to me while Arlo’s eyes darted to me, they held heartache and grief. I was barely holding back tears, and I hardly ever cried in my life.

"I want to go see her," I growled at Ralph.

"Not in this state, let her heal. You can’t do anything for her right now." Ralph tried to put some sense into me but my mind refused to listen, and my heart ached for her.

"Why am I so weak? Why can’t I do anything for her?" I covered my face with my hands, unable to reel in all the emotions that were threatening to overpower me.

"You are not weak. You are her strength, give yourself some credit." I looked up from my hands in disbelief because these words were said by Arlo and not Ralph and I just stared at him, unbelievingly. He patted my shoulder and gave me a small smile before walking away. I had never seen him smile before.

Zilver and others rushed towards us and we filled them in with details. Everyone was stunned at the revelation that Barrier had fallen. Murmurs began to spread as we looked at each other with horror-stricken faces. It won’t be long before monsters will attack our Institute and we had no clue if our barrier was strong enough to hold the creatures of the dark.

We were about to find out, real soon...