The rain fell softly against the windows of Hollow High Academy, turning the morning gray and uneasy.
Inside the nurse's office, whispers about the rooftop incident spread through the school like wildfire.
Jinx sat on the edge of one of the infirmary beds beside Pixie. Across the room, a bandaged student lay unconscious beneath a thin blanket, breathing slowly.
Pixie leaned closer, lowering her voice.
"They're saying he tried to jump," she whispered. "But something feels off."
Jinx nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on the pale student.
"Yeah," she murmured. "His soul energy didn't feel hopeless. It felt… terrified. Like he saw something before he fell."
A quiet voice interrupted them.
"They're calling it suicide."
Both girls turned toward the door.
Dante leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, crimson eyes unreadable.
"But the blood smears on the roof led to the edge," he continued calmly, "not over it."
Pixie narrowed her eyes.
"You checked the scene?"
"Of course I did."
Dante pushed himself off the wall and stepped inside.
"And whatever was there," he added quietly, "it was darker than me."
Jinx frowned, thinking back to the chaos.
"Rika was nearby when it happened," she said slowly. "I swear I caught her perfume in the air."
Pixie groaned.
"The 'IKA' girl?" she muttered. "Ugh. She's weird."
Dante's gaze darkened.
"She's not just weird," he said quietly.
"She's hiding something."
Later that day, the classroom felt strangely tense.
When Rika Akane entered, conversations died instantly.
She moved gracefully between the desks, her posture perfect, her smile sweet enough to fool anyone who didn't know better.
Rika stopped beside Jinx's desk.
"Jinx, darling," she said lightly. "That poor boy… how tragic."
Her icy blue eyes sparkled with something unreadable.
"You're not getting too emotionally involved, are you?"
Jinx slowly looked up from her notebook.
"Why?" she asked coolly. "Worried my heart might explode?"
Rika laughed softly.
"Heavens, no."
She leaned slightly closer.
"Just saying… some people attract darkness more than they think."
Across the classroom, Dante's crimson eyes locked onto her.
For a moment, the lights flickered.
Then everything returned to normal.
But the tension remained.
The cafeteria buzzed with uneasy conversation that afternoon.
Jinx and Pixie sat at their usual table, both unusually quiet.
Pixie leaned closer.
"I saw her the night before the fall," she whispered. "By the east wing. Alone."
"Doing what?" Jinx asked.
"Staring at the statue garden."
Jinx frowned.
"Something about her aura isn't right," she said. "She's not like other vampires. It's twisted… colder… older."
A chair scraped against the floor.
Dante sat down beside them, though his tray remained untouched.
"I know what she is," he said quietly.
Pixie blinked.
"Then tell us."
Dante shook his head.
"If I say it out loud, it might trigger her instincts," he replied. "And if she feels threatened… the body count goes up."
Pixie swallowed.
"So what do we do?"
Dante's gaze shifted toward Jinx.
"We wait," he said. "And we watch."
His voice softened slightly.
"And we protect Jinx."
Jinx blinked in surprise.
"Protect me? Why?"
Dante's expression turned serious.
"Because you're the one she's afraid of."
Silence fell over the table.
Jinx stared at him.
"Afraid… of me?"
Dante leaned back in his chair.
"You don't remember who you were, do you?"
Jinx's heart skipped.
"What are you talking about?"
Dante met her eyes.
"I've been studying you," he said quietly. "Your past… your energy… everything."
His voice lowered.
"You were something powerful once, Jinx."
Something flickered in his crimson gaze.
"Something that made demons like me… feel human."
Jinx could only stare at him, stunned.
That night, the girls' dormitory was silent.
Jinx tossed restlessly in bed, the conversation replaying in her mind.
Eventually, she drifted into a shallow sleep.
Then—
A whisper.
"…return to the flame…"
Jinx's eyes snapped open.
"…before she remembers…"
The room was dark.
Cold.
Jinx sat up slowly, her heart pounding.
"What the hell…?"
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked toward the mirror.
The glass fogged as if breathing.
Then something appeared behind her reflection.
A glowing rune.
It pulsed faintly with crimson light.
Jinx stared at it, frozen.
"What the hell is happening to me?"
The rune flared brighter.
Then—
Blackness.
End of Chapter 6