All of them sat in the ASUV once again as it stood a few meters away from a monstrous metal wall.

The academy was surrounded by thick metal walls forming an octagon. A crowd was gathered at all of the gates, and the guard knights were keeping the crowd in control.

"It looks more like a prison than an academy," Jaden commented with furrowed brows, forcing Maria to let out a chuckle.

"The walls are to keep us safe..." Jamie added while shaking his head.

Jaden turned his head towards him and asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Safe from?"

Jamie lifted his hand and pointed at himself as he muttered darkly, "...from ourselves."

A confused look appeared on his face as he tried to understand the meaning behind his words. But no matter how he looked at it, no matter what he imagined, the words did not make sense.

To save him from further confusion, Maria explained.

"You remember about the restriction on entering the dreamgates, yes?"

Just as she finished, the words struck him, and his eyes widened in dawning realisation.

'That makes sense, they would not stop entering the gates just because the academy tells them to... so the academy simply stops them from going out.'

"Everyone is only allowed to exit the academy for three hours... and that is only possible when it is ensured that there are no active dreamgates or gatebreaks," Jamie answered.

But his answer caused a frown to appear on Jaden's face.

"If we can only leave when there are no active dreamgates, then how did we fall into one?"

His question froze all of them, and Maria was the one to answer.

"That dreamgate opened right beside where you all were... as if it were your fate to fall into it," Maria replied darkly.

Hearing her, Jaden looked at Jamie from the corner of his eye as he thought.

'He did not tell her about Selina? Also, how did Selina know about that dreamgate in advance? Did she get help from someone with Prophecy Magic?'

He rubbed his face. Suddenly, the tall gates of the academy groaned as they began to open. Maria turned to them, ruffling their hair with a wide, almost motherly smile.

"Go. It's time."

Jaden gave her a slight smile and nodded while Jamie gave her an annoyed look and glanced at Lane from the corner of his eye. Lane also looked at him with a smile through the rearview mirror before both Jaden and Jamie stepped down from the ASUV.

Maria leaned back in her seat and looked at Lane with an expressionless face as she muttered, "You can't stop yourself... can you?"

Lane's expression darkened as she lowered her head.

Seeing that, Maria shook her head and looked at the ceiling of ASUV as she continued, "You remember what mother had said when she found out what you both had done at his fifteenth birthday, right?"

Lane's body trembled at the very memory of the War Marquise; her breath caught in her lungs.

"If I remember correctly, she had said... not to act like a whore..." Maria spoke slowly, but suddenly a wide smile split her face like a sharp blade as she added, "But... I do not think she can care about such anymore. I do not want to be that person, but... I believe it would be in your best interest to stay away from him."

Lane suddenly clenched her fists and took a deep breath before turning towards her with eyes that burned with defiance.

"I will not stay away from him. He's mine," she hissed, defiance burning through her trembling voice.

Upon hearing her words and seeing the flames of defiance burning in her eyes, a wide grin creased her face as Maria began to laugh like a madwoman.

"Hahahaha!"

***

Jaden and Jamie approached the tall metal gates of the academy. Their steps were slow, as currently the other students were also entering the academy.

As they walked, Jaden suddenly questioned.

"Is there anyone that I had bad relations with?"

A thoughtful look appeared on Jamie's face, and a few moments later, he replied with a shake of his head.

"No one that I remember."

Jaden nodded his head and looked at the students who were entering the tall metal gate, and asked.

"Is there anyone as close to me as you and the others?"

Jamie once again shook his head and added doubtfully, "I do not know... We fell into that gate in the first week, after all. Most of us knew you before the academy." He turned towards Jaden and mumbled, "Somehow..."

A frown appeared on Jaden's face.

'I knew all of them before the academy? How is that possible...?'

Just as he was about to enter the endless spiral of his thoughts, Jamie called out, "Everyone has entered, let's go."

"Ah, yes," Jaden mumbled. The two quickened their pace, slipping past the metal gates. Just as they did so, a guard knight stepped towards them and checked their student badges.

The guard knight eyed the pups that were staring back at him with their big black eyes full of curiosity. He shifted his eyes to Jaden and spoke.

"Get your pets added to the pet list at the House of Nature."

Jaden gave him a slight nod before turning to look at the academy.

The academy was a large white dome flanked by seven towers that rose like spears into the heavens, each crowned with banners of a different colour; each colour represented the mark they belonged to.

All of the towers were high enough to touch the sky, yet none were visible from outside, despite the walls not being that tall.

'Is that Illusion magic?'

As they walked near the academy, Jamie spoke.

"You should go to the House of Shadow, your dorm should be there."

Jaden stopped in his tracks and added while scratching the back of his head.

"This is goodbye, huh?"

Jamie shook his head at his words.

"I wish. But it isn't. We take all classes together—except the ones associated with our marks."

He stepped towards the tower with red banners and continued, "The House of Shadow lies opposite mine. You'll find it at the far end."

______

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