Ray woke to the sound of soft, repeated knocking.
"Who the hell is disturbing me?" He sat up, momentarily disoriented then he remembered.
'Today is the day.'
He stood, grabbed his bag, and walked to the door without bothering to freshen up.
Corvus stood on the other side. This time, he was wearing a tracksuit that allowed quick movements. He looked Ray up and down, then nodded. "Ready?"
Ray glanced back at the apartment. At the couch. At the wall where the TV used to be. At the floor where his core had shattered and Onyx had been born.
He turned back to Corvus.
"Ready."
He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
Corvus smiled, "So before we start our journey, are there any final things you'd like to take care of? Any special miss or mister?"
Ray carefully ignored the implication of the last question and shook his head. He had sorted everything out.
Onyx materialized, glaring at Corvus and the latter immediately turned to him.
"That reminds me. Your little friend will most definitely put you in trouble when you're in the academy especially if he keeps on popping up like this." Corvus turned to Ray.
Ray gritted his teeth. He knew that Corvus was right, but it wasn't as if he could control Onyx's appearance and otherwise.
But luckily, Corvus hadn't mentioned the obvious for nothing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an amulet with a small purple crystal embedded in it.
The silver chains of the amulet perfectly reflected the light around it while the crystal seemed to repel the very same light.
But what stood out the most to Ray was the peculiar aura emanating from the amulet—it felt like quicksand.
Ray's eyes widened. 'An enchanted item!'
Corvus held out the amulet. "Put this on."
Ray didn't move, only glancing between Onyx and the amulet, "What does it do?"
Corvus's eyes flicked to the space where Onyx stood. "It'll keep it quiet or hidden, at least for a while."
Ray looked at Onyx. Onyx's expression was unreadable—but his eyes were fixed on the amulet.
"Will it hurt him?"
Corvus raised an eyebrow. "Worried about your parasite?"
Onyx interjected, "Fuck you!"
Ray's jaw tightened, "He wishes but he is a part of me. If he hurts then I do."
Corvus was quiet for a moment. He placed his hand under his chin and nodded slowly.
"It won't hurt him. It'll just... make him harder to notice. Like putting a blanket over a light."
Ray reached out and took the amulet. The crystal was cool against his skin. The quicksand feeling intensified, then settled.
He put it on.
Onyx flickered. For a moment, he was almost transparent. Then he steadied.
He looked at his hands, then at Ray. For once, he said nothing.
Corvus turned and started walking. "Come on, we have a long journey."
***
Ray sat opposite Corvus in complete and awkward silence. He was occasionally thrown into the air as the carriage went over bumps.
He pulled back the cloth of the carriage and looked at the horse pulling it before closing it back.
'Why couldn't we use one of those self-driving enchanted carriages? I heard some of those don't even let the riders feel an accident.'
Of course, Ray only said this in his mind. There were many things he was but being greedy wasn't amongst them.
Onyx materialized, slightly translucent compared to before, "Why are we riding inside this torture chamber? He could afford to get that amulet but not a proper carriage?"
Ray tucked the amulet under his shirt and glared at Onyx, "You are really brazen. No form of gratitude."
Corvus turned to Ray and raised an eyebrow, "Has it materialized?" He asked, clearly referring to Onyx.
Ray nodded, 'So it works.'
Corvus nodded and turned away, clearly deep in thought.
'Makes sense. I doubt it's easy to suddenly aid an old friend's son.'
More time passed in silence with the occasional loud thud of the carriage as well as Onyx's refusal to shut his mouth.
"I hope that there's another Dave in this damn academy! A good meal is apparently hard to get unless they're trying to kill you." Onyx muttered directly into Ray's ears.
The latter's eyes twitched. 'Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay—'
Onyx started breathing into Ray's ears and he snapped, "STOP IT!!"
Corvus merely glanced at Ray as a reaction to his outburst. He turned back to staring out the window, lost in thought.
Onyx, however, grinned. "Aw, did I upset you? Poor little Ray. All grown up and going to acade—"
"I will jump out of this carriage." Ray seethed and Onyx's grin froze.
Ray met his eyes. "Try me. Let's see you feast with a broken body."
For once, Onyx had nothing to say.
The carriage bumped along in silence and Ray leaned back, closing his eyes.
'One step at a time.'
Corvus cleared his throat and Ray opened an eye to look at him.
"There are a few things you should know before we actually arrive at one of the station points of the academy."
Ray opened his other eye and sat up. This was going to be important.
Corvus shifted slightly, "Most people who plan to go here already know of these but your situation is… unique."
"Firstly, the actual location of the academy is unknown and is only accessible from station points around the country." Corvus started.
He continued, "Through these points, you'll register and get a token that allows movement to and from the academy. Remember that each movement is recorded and logged so be careful."
Ray nodded as he listened.
"Thirdly, this is roughly the middle of the academic year so don't be surprised by the unnecessary attention you're bound to receive." Corvus paused, thinking about what to say next.
"Lastly, be careful. The staff at the academy want what's best for the nation but what they think that is can be… unique. So be careful with whom and how you relate especially considering your situation."
Before Ray could ask what exactly Corvus was talking about, the carriage came to an abrupt stop.
They had arrived at a station point.