Blaire is currently in her room, tired from their earlier outing. She's finished bathing and now lies on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She closes her eyes until darkness envelops her completely.

She finds herself sitting in a beautiful garden. This place isn't new to her as she often comes here.

Suddenly, the expected guests appear before her. She isn't surprised because she knows they will come. As usual, their faces are still blurry. She knows she's dreaming again.

"How was your day, Blaire?" a woman's gentle voice asks. Soft, cold, and delicate—that's how their voices always are.

"I'm fine, Mother." She calls them Mother because that's what they told her to call them. She also calls other women that. For men, it's Father.

"That's good to hear," another one of her Mothers responds.

"But something troubles my mind..." She hesitates to say it, but she does because maybe they're the only ones who can provide answers.

"What is it, our Blaire?" one of her Fathers gently asks.

"I was called by beings they called destined. Do you know what that means, my beloved parents?" She's confused by what's happening. She wants answers to her questions.

"You will know in due time, Blaire," another one of her Fathers softly replies. She knows he's smiling even though she can't see his face based on his tone.

"I hope so, my Fathers and Mothers," she says dejectedly. She sighs. They won't give her the answer she wants.

"Blaire, there are things and events we can't rush. Everything has its own time, so just wait," another one of her Mothers advises. Blaire just nods in response.

"There's another thing bothering me, my Fathers and Mothers. There's someone who can influence and change my emotions. But I'm confused because when he's not with the group, and the group is happy, I'm infected with joy. But when he's around, I'm more affected by his lack of emotion..." she tells them.

"But the other day when he laughed, I was also affected by him. And I discovered a new emotion because of him," she adds. Her Fathers and Mothers exchange looks.

"Don't worry, Blaire, because that won't harm you," her Father, the one who spoke first among the men, gently reassures her.

"Perhaps, Father," Blaire replies. They hug her before...

"Snow, wake up!" Blaire is jolted awake by a shout outside her room, knowing it's Aubrey.

"I'm awake!" she grumpily replies. Because of this interruption, her beautiful dream was cut short. Yes, she still feels emotions even without anyone influencing her. But if Chaos is with her, there's really none, unless he also shows emotion.

She reluctantly gets out of bed and heads straight to the bathroom.

After 30 minutes, she finishes showering. She puts on her school uniform and lets her long hair loose. She exits her room and heads downstairs. She sees Aubrey in the dining area, so she goes there.

"Good morning, Snow," Aubrey greets her happily.

"Morning," she replies quietly and sits opposite her friend. She doesn't pay attention to her friend because she knows she'll be influenced again. She notices mushrooms on the table, which piques her interest.

They eat quickly, so the atmosphere remains quiet. They finish quickly and brush their teeth together.

They leave the dorm and walk down the hallway. Many students are walking, heading to their respective classrooms.

They arrive at their classroom and take their seats. Their teacher hasn't arrived yet, so Aubrey and her other classmates keep chattering.

"Snow, I heard there's a competition happening today. Whoever your trainer is, that will be your partner. They'll see if anything has changed after our first training session," Aubrey informs her. Blaire looks at her because she doesn't know anything about that news.

Everyone falls silent when their teacher arrives. He stops in front and looks at each of them one by one. "My charmer and mage students, I want to inform you that there will be a competition today. We'll see if anything has changed, and we'll also test your abilities."

Just as her friend said, there is indeed a competition happening. Blaire's classmates become excited.

"Quiet!" the teacher shouts, so they all fall silent again. "Your trainer will be your partner. Now, head to the arena to meet your partners," their teacher instructs. He leaves afterwards, so they all start leaving.

"I'm going to see my baby again!" Aubrey says excitedly. Blaire stands up and walks ahead, and Aubrey reluctantly follows because she didn't join her earlier.

When they arrive at the arena, they see students looking for their partners—some standing, some talking, and some just sitting around.

Approaching them is a man, Chanon—the trainer of Aubrey. Blaire glances to the side when she feels a pinch on her arm. She sees Aubrey's face, contorted as she pinches her arm. Blaire takes her friend's hand and pulls it away from her arm because she feels the pain too. Aubrey looks at her, puzzled.

She doesn't pay attention to Aubrey and redirects her gaze to Chanon, Aubrey's trainer, who is now close to them. Blaire furrows her brow because she feels something strange in Chanon's presence. He wasn't there when they first met, so she's confused why his presence feels different now. It's like there's a sinister energy surrounding him, trying to hide, but it can't escape Blaire's perception because she's skilled at it.

"Hi," Aubrey greets Chanon shyly. Blaire knows that Aubrey doesn't feel anything strange about the guy, so she's still trying to be cute.

"Hello, beautiful ladies," he greets them with a smile, and Aubrey seems to melt. Blaire observes his every move and knows something is off. But she doesn't want to jump to conclusions because she's still confused about his changed presence. Nevertheless, she thinks of something that might answer her questions.

The man moves closer to Aubrey. Truth be told, Blaire is worried about her friend, but she still hopes nothing bad will happen.

"My dear students!" Everyone's attention is caught when someone speaks through the microphone, and they see that it's HM. "Today, the awaited competition will take place! Prepare yourselves. In this competition, you need to be the first to reach the treehouse and retrieve the golden flag! Each time you're hit by an enemy attack, your life in the game will decrease, and when it's depleted, you'll be automatically brought back here. Check your pulse to see how many lives you have in this game," HM explains at length. They look at their pulses and see the golden lines engraved there. Four golden lines.

"Remember, there are fierce creatures in the game, but they are just illusions, and you need to find their weaknesses to eliminate them from the game," HM adds, and Blaire senses the fear among her classmates, including Aubrey.

They see HM create a portal before facing them again. "Get ready because the game is about to begin! May the strongest survive!" HM shouts, and other students start entering the portal.

Blaire nervously bites her lower lip because she hasn't seen Chaos since earlier. Aubrey and she have already said goodbye to him. She scans the area, hoping to see him, but he's still nowhere to be found, so in frustration, she takes a step towards the portal alone.

Before she could take a few more steps, someone speaks behind her, stopping her in her tracks. "You can't go without me." She jolts because he whispered in her ear, feeling his warm breath. She realizes he's holding onto both her arms and gently squeezing them. Her heart beats faster, and her face heats up, her eyes turning red.

"Let's go," Chaos urges her and gently pushes her to walk. Only now does she realize she's been holding her breath.

Slowly, her eyes turn purple again. Despite her confusion, she continues walking while the man nudges her along.