Maya walked briskly through the quiet paths leading to the dormitories.
The cool night air doing little to calm the storm brewing inside her mind.
The faint sound of music and laughter from the first-year party still echoed in the distance.
Word had gotten out about the celebration, and of course, she was aware.
"Would Noah be there...?"
The thought floated in her head briefly, but she immediately dismissed it.
Noah wasn't the type to indulge in parties or social gatherings.
He preferred quiet study sessions, maybe even training alone.
It just didn't seem like his kind of event.
But then another thought intruded, sharp and bitter.
"It would be that bitch's doing... dragging Noah to the party with her."
Maya muttered under her breath, clenching her fists for a moment before she forced herself to regain composure.
She couldn't let herself get caught up in those feelings, not right now.
She needed to check on Noah.
For a fleeting second, she considered heading to the hall where the party was happening.
But the thought of navigating through the crowd was enough to push her in another direction.
It would be too noisy, too chaotic to find him there.
She tapped her watch and opened the messaging app, quickly typing a short message to Noah.
[You at the dorm?]
She waited for the familiar ding of his response, but it didn't come.
Frowning, she glanced at her watch again.
Nothing.
"That's weird... he normally replies fast," she murmured.
Noah was usually so quick to respond, especially to her.
"It's unlike him."
The unsettling feeling in her gut tightened as she continued walking.
She had left her bag in Noah's room earlier, and stopping by to get it seemed like the perfect excuse to check up on him.
Maybe he was just busy or asleep.
Either way, she could grab her stuff and catch up with him.
As she made her way to Ironwood Hall, the empty corridors echoed with the sound of her footsteps.
It was late, and most of the students were either at the party or tucked away in their rooms.
The hallways were dimly lit, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly as she climbed the stairs to Noah's floor.
The usual sense of calm that washed over her whenever she approached his room was absent tonight.
The world around Maya seemed to blur, her vision narrowing to just the boy in her arms.
Tears welled in her eyes, spilling over and streaming down her cheeks in silent, unrelenting sobs.
She held him tighter, as if her very touch could bring him back, as if holding on would stop him from slipping away.
Her tears dripped onto his lifeless body, mixing with the blood that covered them both.
The air in the room shifted.
The mana around her stirred, a dangerous, overwhelming pressure building in the small space.
A dark purple hue enveloped her, swirling with an intensity that matched the storm inside her heart.
Her breath hitched, and she slowly looked up, her eyes wide and glistening with tears.
Amy had stood up, her face a mask of shock and fear, but Maya's focus was razor-sharp.
"What did you do?"
Maya's voice was low, a chilling whisper that seemed to suck the warmth from the room.
Her eyes were dark, burning with fury and pain.
Tears still streaming down her face.
Amy took a step back, her lips trembling, but no words escaped.
Maya's mana pulsed violently, the purple energy swirling around her, threatening to consume everything in its path.
Her chest heaved with every breath, her heart pounding so loudly she could barely hear anything else.
She didn't care about the broken glass, the blood on the floor, or even the figure of Draven standing by.
All that mattered was Noah.
The lifeless body in her arms.
The boy who had always been there for her, the boy who made her feel safe and warm.
And now... he was gone.
The gnawing pain inside her swelled to an unbearable level, a deep, hollow ache that threatened to tear her apart from the inside out.
She couldn't stop the tears.
She couldn't stop the fury.
She couldn't stop the overwhelming, all-consuming agony that gripped her soul.
Amy took another step back, panic flashing in her eyes as Maya's mana spiked dangerously, the purple energy flaring brighter.
But Maya didn't move.
She didn't speak.
All she could do was hold Noah, her hands trembling, her heart breaking.
Her world had crumbled, and there was nothing left but the unbearable weight of loss.
She turned her head slightly, looking over her shoulder at Amy.
Her voice was cold, devoid of emotion, but the fury beneath it was unmistakable.
"What did you do...?"