Jaden watched as Jamie walked towards the tower with vermilion banners fashioned at its walls, stepped inside its gates, and disappeared.

He shifted his gaze towards the main building of the academy, which was shaped into a white dome with gold and blue celestial and arcane glyphs all over.

'It's amazing...' he thought as he stared at the intricately designed walls of the academy with sparkling eyes.

A sigh escaped his lips before he lowered his head to look at the pups with a smile.

"Let's go to our dorm," he mumbled.

The pups lifted their small heads and looked at everything with black eyes that shone with raw, uncontrollable curiosity.

His smile widened upon seeing the waves of curiosity in the void-like eyes of the pups. He lifted his head and looked at the other towers that were visible from his position.

At the left was the House of War, which had the vermilion red banners; at the right was the House of Dream, which had a silver-light banner with a multicoloured hue of pink and light blue

Jaden continued his steps towards the left and looked at the other students. A few of them had confident expressions, and some had troubled expressions; however, most had no expression. What they had were hollow eyes, devoid of any spark of life, let alone curiosity or confidence. It was as if they were ready for death right at that moment. That was something he had seen before; it was the eyes of those who had been through too much... or who had seen too much.

"..." A solemn look crossed his face. They were his age, yet far too young for such eyes. However, there was nothing he could do about it—He was simply too weak to change anything.

He pressed his lips together and quickened his steps. The pups pressed closer to his chest and let out soft whimpers. He showed them a practised smile; it was a smile that made one think that he was the happiest man in the world or worlds.

However, the pups already knew him enough not to fall for a smile that was nothing more than a veil that covered his true thoughts and emotions.

At last, Jaden heaved a defeated sigh and muttered with a wry smile which still had a hint of solemnness to it, "You two worry too much. This world is just too fucked up... I cannot do anything but feel dark emotions."

The pups looked at him with eyes that seemed to say: We know.

Jaden bit his lower lip once more. A few drops of blood dripped down his lips as he remembered the birth of the pups. Beings created by the War Duke only to prove his point that to become equal to the gods, one must create life itself.

'Fucking bastard!' He cursed the dead duke in his head as he walked by the House of Moon, which had white banners, and the House of Nature, which had green banners.

Soon, he stood before a tower draped in black banners. A frown etched on his face as he looked nearby. There were barely any students near the House of Shadow.

"What the hell...?! Where are the other students??" He questioned as he looked around comically.

As he did, a soft voice called out to him.

"Umm..."

The sound was barely above a whisper, but Jaden was still able to hear it. He turned towards the sounds and his eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Miss Rabbit!" He muttered.

She tilted her head, confusion flickering in her eyes.

"Miss Rabbit?"

Jaden's eyes widened, and he suddenly bowed and mumbled rapidly.

"I-I didn't mean any disrespect. It's just that you make me remember rabbits!!"

Her eyes sparkled into understanding as she let out a chuckle and asked meekly, "So... you are also a shadow marked?"

'I should ask her about the lack of students.' He thought before answering.

"Yes, I am."

"That's surprising..." she muttered while slightly shifting her glasses.

Upon hearing her words, Jaden raised an eyebrow and questioned.

"Surprising? Why do you think so?"

She suddenly fidgeted and spoke, "I-I meant doesn't the mark awakening usually depend on one's personality..."

Jaden's eyes gleamed. He looked at her in amazement and thought, 'More information, huh... I'll suck you dry! … That sounded wrong. Eh, who cares?'

He looked at her in confusion and spoke, "What are you talking about? I do not know anything about that."

The girl stopped fidgeting with her fingers and stared at him with a stunned look. She closed the distance between them and asked with a smile—one that looked more like arousal than happiness.

"Y-you don't know that one's personality can affect the mark they will awaken?"

'Whoa! Whoa! Why is she smiling like that?' He thought with a scared look on his face. He staggered a few steps back and answered.

"Y-yes, I don't know of that."

Her smile widened further as she clasped her hands into a fist and spoke with a smile that looked as if she had won a lottery of billions.

"W-well, aren't you lucky! I'll tell you about it. You see, one's personality can affect the mark they awaken... Those with a cheerful personality usually awaken the mark of the sun, while those with a calm personality usually awaken the mark of the moon... Those with a restrictive personality awaken the mark of storm, while those with a guardian-like personality awaken the mark of nature... Those with an aggressive personality awaken the mark of war, and those with a crafty personality awaken the mark of dreams... Lastly, those with gloomy, meek or secretive personalities awaken the mark of shadow."

Jaden listened to her words and thought, 'Her words do match the personality of the others, but...'

"Doesn't that mean most would awaken the mark of shadow?" He questioned.

She looked at him with a solemn expression, raising her glasses with her left hand for a moment and questioned, "You think so because how hollow most students are, right?"

He nodded, and she continued.

"They simply didn't have that personality before or during the awakenings; instead, they became like this afterwards... sometimes dreams affect more than reality. But for us both are the same... are they not?"

______

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