"It's been more than two minutes she might be drowning". The lady said, moving closer to the pool.
Corelia's heart hammered in her chest violently, she has never been this scared in her entire life, sweat easily trailed down from her head to her body.
Each step the lady took made Corelia panic the more, she was completely out of it.
If she takes one more step closer to the pool, their secret would be out.
Corelia thought, and without wasting more time she was prepared to cast a forgetful spell on the lady before it's too late. She held her necklace and was about to chant when Mishell suddenly emerged smoothly, gasping loudly as if she had been underwater far longer than intended. Her hair clung to her face, water streaming down her shoulders. The necklace was already back around her neck..
Corelia let down a sigh of relief.
The lady just stared down at Mishell unimpressed.
"Well the next time you both break the rules you are not leaving unpunished," she said sharply, "I'm only letting you off because....."
Just that moment before the girls could react something changed.
The air around the pool transformed.
It wasn't sudden.
It wasn't loud.
It was… wrong.
A pressure slid through Corelia's chest like cold fingers wrapping around her heart, Mishell could feel it also, it was like a trance they both fell into, everything felt distance, they could no longer hear the woman complaining even though she was right infront of them, her voice faded into a background noise.
Corelia's vision blurred for a second.
Then—It hit.
A pulse.
Not sound. Not light.
Magic.
Dark, sharp, and deliberate.
She gasped, instinctively gripping her necklace. The pearl burned against her skin, glowing brighter than it ever had before inside her palm. She could feel the ocean calling—no, warning, it was warning them.
Mishell froze mid-movement, Her body stilled, Her eyes snapped toward the far end of the pool, pupils dilating like a predator sensing blood.
"You feel that?" she whispered.
Corelia nodded slowly.
The water trembled again.
Not violently—but like something had just exhaled beneath the surface of the world.
Images flashed through Corelia's mind without permission, black water swallowing light.
A woman standing barefoot on cracked earth, her shadow stretching unnaturally long. A smile that was not meant for mercy but revenge.
Corelia's breath hitched.
What are these visions I'm seeing??.
Somewhere—very close—something ancient had just brushed against their presence, testing the waters. The magic carried intelligence. Hunger. Recognition.
As if a thread had been tugged.
Mishell slowly backed toward the pool's edge, her voice low and tight.
"That wasn't random."
"No," Corelia whispered. "That was a signal, we are at the right place."
The necklace pulsed again, heat flooding their veins. Mishell's heart raced—not with fear, but with something worse.
Awakening.
And they knew—without doubt—
They were no longer hunting Araxie.
She had found them first.
The sound of the whistle brought them back to reality "Are you both listening? Get out" She yelled "Now."
They didn't wait.
They ran.
By the time they reached their door, they were out of breath, their lungs burned from lack of oxygen.
"You almost got us exposed," Corelia snapped, as soon as they entered their room.
Mishell exhaled slowly. "I know I'm sorry about that."
"This isn't the ocean," Corelia continued, turning to face her. "There are rules here. Eyes everywhere. If someone finds out what we are—"
"Sometimes risks are unavoidable," Mishell cut in calmly.
"That wasn't unavoidable?" Corelia asked sharply. "That was carelessness."
"Okay okay my bad... But shouldn't we talk about what just happened?" Mishell reminded her. "We both felt that, it was her"...
"Well we can't be too sure, Yes true it was a dark presence and sense of powerful magic but we couldn't detect where it's coming from, but at least now we know we are at the right place" Corelia responded quietly.
"We have our first clue" Mishell waved her hand casually, a faint shimmer passed over her clothes and hair, drying them instantly.
"Mishell again?" Corelia sounded frustrated this time, Mishell would always use magic.
"You don't expect me to sleep in wet cloths, do you?". She asked.
Corelia just stared at her. "What if someone had seen you change?"
"We are in the room, who would see us? You need to stop overthinking."
Before Corelia had the chance to respond, a hesitant voice interrupted them.
"Um… hello?"
Corelia who was backing the door spurned around shocked.
Lydia was standing by the door.
"How did you get in?" Corelia asked, startled.
"The door wasn't locked," Lydia said quickly, holding up a set of keys. "I came back to return these and—wow." Her eyes swept around the room. "How did you clean up so fast? And the decorations… everything's unique. I see you like the feeling of being underwater, cause in here is giving the vibe".
Mishell stiffened.
"Hey," she said sharply. "No underwater talk."
Lydia was right, their room really looked like they were underwater, starting from the wallpapers to the lightening and deco's.
"It was just a compliment, I love the deco" Lydia responded, she was a little bit flustered at Mishell sudden words. "I was just admiring them, didn't mean—"
"It's okay," Corelia said gently. "You're welcome here anytime."
Her face lit up. "Really? Thank you, at least one of you is welcoming" she replied smiling warmly at Corelia while eying Mishell.
Mishell cleared her throat. "You should probably go, we were about to take a nap".
Lydia hesitated. "Nap without having dinner? we could order takeouts".
"We're fine, we ate already" Mishell said flatly.
"Oh....Alright..uhm.... I would see you tomorrow then". Lydia forced a small smile.
She turned to leave and Corelia walked her to the door.
"I don't think she likes me," Lydia whispered.
"She doesn't really do well to being nice to new people," Corelia said softly. "But trust me you would love her once you get to know her, she just needs time to adjust to the new environment."
"Okay I understand, anyways see you tomorrow".
Lydia waved goodbye and left..
When the door shut, Mishell pulled out a calendar and a marker.
"What's that for?" Corelia asked.
She circled today's date.
"Just marking the day we stepped into hell," Mishell said sarcastically.
"It's not that bad" Corelia responded.
"I hate it when you say that".
"I know it's bad, i was just trying to be positive". Corelia swallowed hard. "I hope this whole mission ends well."
"It will, hopefully" Mishell replied.
Far beyond the college walls—beyond concrete and music and human ignorance—a figure stood alone in the shadows, eyes glowing faintly as the pulse faded into the night.
A slow smile curved her lips.
"So," a voice murmured into the dark, rich with amusement, "the sea has finally sent her children."
Her fingers curled.
"Let the game begin."