"The mana particles are collected by the manacore from the atmosphere, much like oxygen is drawn in by the body. It is then processed within this core—meaning it's filtered of all impurities—and the resulting energy is transferred into the manapool, ready for use. There are several cases of…"

"Anna," a voice whispered urgently from the back of the class. Ashley, a girl with long white hair and blue eyes, nudged her friend, Annabelle, who was staring vacantly ahead. There was no response.

"Annabelle," Ashley nudged her again.

This time, Annabelle jolted violently, as though struck by lightning. She panted softly, blinking rapidly, frantically scanning the room before realizing she was safely seated in the lecture hall.

"Anna, what's wrong?" Ashley asked, frowning with genuine concern.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong," Annabelle stammered, offering a strained, hurried smile.

"Right. You're this disturbed over absolutely nothing. I believe you," Ashley said dryly, leaning closer. "Look, you can tell me. What's going on?" She nudged her one last time.

Annabelle shook her head, forcing the smile to widen. "No, it's truly nothing. I just had something on my mind."

"ANNA, tell me what's bugging you?" Ashley held her shoulders and asked.

"What do you want me to say? There's nothing wrong, I'm just...a little out of it these days."

"A little?" Ashley gave her a dry look.

"...Okay, maybe a lot," she said with an awkward smile, then returned the nudge to Ashley's shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Ashley paused, then nodded slowly. "Sure." She turned back to the professor, but her eyes kept drifting toward Annabelle.

'It's getting worse. Really, really worse,' Annabelle thought, running a hand through her white hair. Her eyes caught on someone who had been staring at her for some time, an observation she had only just registered. 'Selene.' She frowned, but the culprit only offered a sweet, unnerving smile before turning back to face the professor at the podium.

Anna clicked her tongue lightly and exhaled. 'I have to find a solution to this fast. I can't even focus anymore.' She clenched her fist beneath the desk.

Something strange had been happening to her ever since Eren left to...wherever he went. She would occasionally experience this overwhelming flood of raw, intense emotion—feelings so powerful they bordered on maddening. The last major influx included a terrifying wave of fear she had never felt before, not even during the worst torments Eren had subjected her to.

She didn't know the exact cause, but she had a rough idea: something must have happened to him. That was the only probable explanation, as after that last incident, the occasional emotional influx stopped completely. Not only that, but she now felt inexplicably liberated.

Since the very day Eren enslaved her, she had felt the sensation of an invisible chain binding her heart. It was likely imaginary, but the painful feeling was undeniably real. Whenever she thought about defying him, the chain seemed to tighten, the sensation piercing her heart like shards of glass. While it was likely psychosomatic—otherwise her heart would have been destroyed long ago—the point was that the feeling was gone. Completely.

'Maybe he's dead,' she wondered, accepting it as the most likely scenario.

But for some reason, a quiet, internal voice opposed that notion. Something deep within refused to believe he was truly gone.

"Yes, you," she heard the professor say. She looked up and saw a young man named Fred standing to answer a question.

"The Third Law of Enamic Fusion: The purer the mana processed from the core, the more effective the output."

"Partially true, but correct nonetheless. A round of applause. It seems someone has been studying hard." Annabelle tuned out the rest, leaning back on the bench and closing her eyes.

'What have you done to me, you bastard? Why am I feeling this way?' She pressed a hand to her chest, deep in thought.

"You know, you could just let him know how you feel," a whisper made her flinch. It was Ashley, staring at her with a knowing grin.

"What? No, I don't like him! In fact, I hate him! Why would I like someone like that? Why would you even say that?! I... I... wait, who are we talking about?" She finally registered the end of Ashley's statement.

Ashley gave a puzzled expression. "Jason?" She gestured with her chin toward a student seated farther down the row.

"Oh... oh, right. Jason," Annabelle sighed in relief, the tension draining from her shoulders.

"Anna, what is going on with you?" Ashley moved closer.

"N-nothing. I should be asking you—you're suddenly giving me the green light for Jason? T-that's new." She forced a smile.

"If I'm being honest, I'm not doing this because I want to. I just feel like you really need him right now more than ever. It would be heartless of me not to suggest it, seeing how...miserable you've been since you came back."

"Miserable?" Annabelle frowned.

"Yeah, we can all see it. You've been acting really strange. Also, you no longer stare at Jason for hours during lectures like you normally would."

"...Isn't that good?"

"Well, depends on your definition of good. Was it creepy before? Yes, of course it was creepy. But so is the current you. You're not acting like yourself."

"...Sigh. I'm fine, Ashley. Thanks for your concern, but I'm okay. I just have a lot on my mind right now," she said, then gave a genuine smile this time.

"If you say so."

DING-DING-DING.

"That's all we have time for," the professor said, gathering his materials.

"Come on, let's go." Ashley nudged Anna, grabbing her bag and skipping ahead toward the group that included Angelica, Jason, and the others.

"Sigh." Anna ran a hand down her face, then swept a quick gaze around the emptying classroom. Just then, her eyes landed on one person still remaining: Selene.

The young girl smiled sweetly again, then headed for the exit.

'What is wrong with that lunatic?' Annabelle wondered, a cold chill running down her spine.

She was certain the young girl was up to something.

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