Winter had pressed the Academy into silence. Outside the window, large snowflakes were falling in a slow, silent dance, slowly erasing the Academy grounds beneath a sweep of white.
The yellow light of the courtyard's magic lamps shone through the half-open curtains into the room, casting lines of light and shadow on the carpet.
The room was warm. The faint scent of woodsmoke from the heating system lingered in the air.
Sarah was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees. A book was open on her lap, but her eyes weren't moving over the words. Her gaze was on the snowflakes hitting the glass and melting.
Across the room, behind the desk, Maria sat.
The sound of the pen on paper scratched the silence of the room.
Maria was writing her overdue assignments with mechanical speed.
Sarah sighed, creating a faint mist in the cool air by the window.
"Maria... I feel like the Academy is still suspicious of us. The Warden's looks, the random inspections... as if they're waiting for us to make a mistake."
Maria's pen stopped for a moment, but she didn't turn around.
"Because they still have the right to be. We broke the law, Sarah. Trust doesn't come back with a Council ruling."
The silence thickened again.
Then, the darkness in the corner of the room, where the wardrobe's shadow fell on the wall, changed.
The shadow "rippled." Like the surface of dark water when a stone falls into it.
Sarah didn't notice at first, but Maria, attuned to the slightest shift in silence, put down her pen.
She slowly raised her head and stared at the corner of the room.
In the heart of the darkness, two red points glowed.
Ruby eyes.
They blinked.
And then, the shadow creature (Shadow Stalker) slid out of the wall like smoke turning solid.
The creature came forward slowly. Its steps on the wooden floor made no sound.
It was no longer the bloody, trembling creature of the incident day wrapped in bulky shadows. Its fur had become shinier and its movement smoother. But it was still thin, worn down by winter hunts and the cold forest life.
Sarah half-rose on her bed. Her body tensed at first (instinct of fear), but seeing the creature's calm gaze, her shoulders relaxed.
This wasn't a monster anymore. This was their shared secret.
The creature went toward Maria.
Maria turned in her chair.
The creature brought its head forward and, with a movement that was a mix of respect and longing, rubbed its face against Maria's shin. Its tails wrapped around Maria's ankle.
Maria reached out and touched behind the creature's ear.
A soft, unconscious touch. For a moment, the stony mask of Maria's face slipped, and a very faint, but real smile settled on her lips.
Seeing this scene, Sarah smiled.
"Came to see if you're still alive?"
Maria looked at the creature, which had closed its eyes and was enjoying the petting.
"Or maybe it came to make sure I'm still here and haven't run away."
Eventually, the creature had enough of petting (or maybe got bored). With a silent leap, it landed on Sarah's bed.
Sarah was startled but didn't pull back.
The creature sat on the blanket and stared at Sarah. Then, with its paw, it gently tapped the open book on Sarah's lap.
Sarah laughed.
"I think it doesn't like History of Magic."
Sarah untied the ribbon she used to tie her hair. She waved it in front of the creature's face.
The creature's ruby eyes widened. Its pupils became round. Its hunting instinct awakened, but not to kill, to play.
The ribbon moved. The creature jumped.
Sarah laughed and pulled the ribbon up. The creature stood on two legs and tried to catch it.
Sarah's laughter echoed in the room. A sound that hadn't belonged in this room for weeks.
Maria watched them from behind the desk.
Her roommate... the girl she was supposed to keep her distance from... was now playing with the Academy's most dangerous wanted creature.
The atmosphere was warm. Safe.
In that small room, a fragile kind of belonging was born.
After a while, the game came to an end.
The creature sat back on its hind legs and stretched, like a cat waking up from a nap. It twitched its long ears and glanced at the dark window. It was time to go. Its territory was the forest, not this warm, carpeted room.
Sarah watched with a smile.
"Is it leaving?"
Maria inclined her head.
"It shouldn't stay long. It's dangerous."
The creature moved toward the wall beside the wardrobe. Where the shadows were thicker.
Its upper body sank into the darkness of the wall to use its innate magic (Shadow Movement) to exit the building.
SNAP!
A sharp electric crack snapped through the air. Like a bird hitting invisible glass.
A blue, trembling light flared across the wall.
The creature was thrown backward violently and rolled on the carpet.
"Hissss!"
The creature jumped up in terror and took a defensive stance. It looked at the wall. The wall looked normal, but something was there.
Sarah half-rose.
"What happened?! Did it fall?"
The creature tried again, this time cautiously, aiming for the shadow beneath the bed.
It tried to sink into the shadow.
Zzzzt!
The same blue light flared again—the same violent recoil.
The creature whimpered and pulled back. It was confused. Shadows, which were always its friends, were now rejecting it.
Maria stood up from behind the desk and quickly went to the window.
"Wait... something is wrong."
She opened the window. Cold air and snowflakes rushed inside.
"Maybe the wall shadows are blocked. Try the physical way."
The creature understood Maria. It jumped onto the window sill. The outside space was open. The forest could be seen in the distance.
The creature lunged and jumped.
But its body hadn't fully left the window frame when...
BOOOOM!
The air shook.
A transparent, hexagonal (honeycomb) wall made of light appeared in the empty space outside the window.
The creature hit the magical barrier hard and was thrown back into the room.
The window panes rattled from the vibration.
The creature fell to the floor and crawled under Sarah's bed, trembling with fear.
Sarah covered her mouth with her hand.
"Something's in front of it! Like an invisible wall!"
Maria closed the window and drew the curtain. Her face had turned to stone, but her mind was working fast.
"Security system..."
She turned her gaze to Sarah.
"After the explosion incident, the Academy Council didn't just punish Varon. They upgraded the defense system of the dormitories and other buildings too."
Maria drew an imaginary design in the air with her finger.
"This is a 'Core Filtration Barrier'. It blocks any being with an unregistered mana signature."
Sarah asked confusedly:
"But... it came in! I saw it come out of the wall myself. Why didn't it stop it when coming in?"
Maria looked at the shadow under the bed.
"Because the nature of this creature's magic is 'Camouflage'. When entering, its body had completely merged with the shadow and could slip through the cracks of the security system. The system didn't notice it."
She took a deep breath.
"But now... now that it's inside the building and has taken physical form, the security system has identified its 'Mana Core'. The system doesn't care where it stands — inside or out; it just stops passage through it. Now that the creature is inside with its physical form, it's acting like a cage."
Sarah went pale. She whispered slowly:
"Meaning... meaning it's trapped here?"
Maria gave a brief nod.
"Like a rat in a trap. Can't pass through the wall, nor the window."
A heavy silence filled the room, but this time it was a silence full of danger.
Past midnight. the steady, heavy steps of the night patrol echoed through the hallway. The guards had become more sensitive after the recent incident.
The creature under the bed wasn't in good shape.
It was a wild creature. Being trapped in a confined space, with magic walls shocking it, had made it nervous.
Bzzzz...
The light of the study lamp started flickering.
The shadows in the room had become unnatural. The shadow of the chair stretched and crawled on the ceiling. The shadow of the wardrobe hung in the air like black smoke.
Sarah looked at the walls in terror.
"Maria... it's losing control. If it continues like this, it'll explode again like that night!"
Maria knelt and tried to see under the bed. The creature's ruby eyes were glowing and full of stress.
I have to take it out. Tonight. Before it takes the whole dorm with it.
"Shadow and window are closed. Only one way left."
Maria stood up and looked at the wooden door of the room.
"The main door."
Sarah said terrified:
"The door?! Are you crazy? The hallway is full of guards! The main dorm door is locked too!"
"I know. But the new security system focuses on 'Environmental Barriers' (walls and windows). Physical doors usually have mechanical locks, not magical."
Maria picked up her coat.
"I'll take it down myself."
Sarah stepped forward.
"Alone?"
Maria grabbed Sarah's shoulders.
"You stay in the room, Sarah. If I get caught, I don't want you involved. One person sacrificed is better than two."
Sarah fell silent.
But in her eyes, there was a different fear. Fear of being "left behind" again. She wanted to say "I'm coming too," but Maria didn't give her the chance.
Maria hid the creature under her coat and went toward the door.
Sarah's gaze was fixed on the closed door. Her hands were clenched.
Going alone again...
Maria closed the room door.
The hallway was in semi-darkness. Only dim magic lights at both ends of the hallway were on, creating long shadows.
Maria pressed the creature tight to herself.
"Shhh... not a sound."
They moved forward slowly. Maria used the shadows of the columns as cover.
Heavy boots pounded on the staircase.
Clack... clack... clack...
Patrol guard.
Maria held her breath and hid behind a wide column.
The creature trembled in her arms. The scent of its fear mixed with the sharp polish of the floors.
The guard's magic lantern light fell on the opposite wall. Maria's shadow was stretching.
Close... too close.
The guard passed and turned toward the west corridor.
Maria quickly left her hiding place and ran toward the staircase.
She descended the stairs quickly, silent as a shadow. Only one floor left to the ground floor and the exit door.
The stairwell was drowned in shadow.
Suddenly, her foot twisted inside the slipper she was wearing, and she lost her balance.
She was falling. If she fell, the creature would be thrown from her arms, and the noise would wake everyone.
In a fraction of a second, she made an instinctive decision.
Instead of grabbing the railing, she committed to the fall. She jumped the last three steps to land on her feet in a controlled manner.
Thud.
She landed softly, but in the dormitory's absolute silence, even that small sound echoed.
From above, a guard's shout came:
"Who's there?! Who's downstairs?!"