Gossips!

✦ Aether's Dorm Hunt Disaster ✦

A few minutes later…

"Huff! Huff! — Aether! Where the hell is your dorm?!" Claire's voice cracked through the still dormitory corridor, sounding halfway between exhausted and homicidal. Her face was flushed, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to her temples. Her hands were propped on her hips, glaring back at Aether like she wanted to set him ablaze on the spot.

Lena, who had been trailing right behind, lifted her head and squinted around as if hoping the right door would miraculously appear. "Why is there no number 113 here? Are you sure you're even living in 113, Aether?" she demanded, her expression shifting to suspicion after making the same hopeless loop around this floor for what felt like the twentieth time.

Aether leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed, doing everything in his power to keep his grin from splitting wide across his face. Watching them run circles was almost therapeutic. "Hehehe… told you lot you couldn't do it. Accept your defeat gracefully. Oh, and don't forget the important part — you owe me food."

Claire rounded on him so fast her hair whipped over her shoulder like a dagger. Her eyes were wide, cheeks puffed with outrage. "This little p—!"

But she didn't get to finish her undoubtedly colorful insult because Aether straightened up, clapping his hands together with maddening nonchalance. "Alright, alright. Let's go."

Her teeth ground audibly. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? Hey — you — don't just treat me like I'm a ghost and keep walking!"

Aether didn't even slow his stride, though inside his mind he was practically rolling on the floor. "Haha… even I had a hard time finding my dorm when I first moved in. Did she really think she could just waltz in and track it down like some human compass? Never, not in a hundred years!" He cast a quick glance over his shoulder at their thoroughly bewildered faces. "It's priceless. Look at them. It's so good I might actually burst into laughter."

Lena, Zheny, and Hinata were all clustered on the landing of the staircase, each one wearing matching looks of annoyed confusion. Clearly none of them had figured out yet why they'd ended up using the stairs three separate times in their doomed hunt for a phantom dorm room.

Then, finally, like the grand reveal of some absurd comedy act, Aether stopped at the very end of a long hallway on the fourth floor. With a smirk worthy of a stage villain, he swept his hand out. "We're here. Behold."

All of them turned and looked — eyes widening. There it was, etched into the brass plaque of the door in plain, mocking clarity: 113.

Zheny actually rubbed her eyes. Claire took a step closer, squinting. Hinata tilted her head, and Lena just looked like she was trying not to slap someone.

"Why on earth is this dorm placed all the way back here at the end of the hallway on the fourth floor?" Claire practically shrieked, her voice echoing down the long corridor. She spun around to glare at Aether's smug grin. "Are you proud of this or something?!"

"So there really was a dorm 113," Zheny muttered under her breath, sounding half betrayed. "For a second there, I honestly thought you were just… fantasizing or something."

Aether gaped at them, dramatically clutching at his chest. "Oi! Oi! Oi! What do you take me for, huh? Sure, there's an age gap between us, but I'm not some tiny kid who makes up imaginary dorm rooms just to mess with you."

He let out a long sigh, though inwardly he was still hugely entertained. "Forget it. I'm way too tired to argue with them right now. Who needs a logical reason to get exhausted anyway? That's just one of my special protagonist perks — random fatigue. Bwahahaha."

Aether jutted his thumb toward the door. "Anyway, wanna come in? Have a look around? Witness the majesty of dorm 113 for yourselves?"

Claire raised an eyebrow. "We'd actually love to, but…" She checked a small crystal time charm clipped to her belt and winced. "Ugh, it's already pretty late. Maybe next time, okay?"

With that, the girls waved, promising a proper visit later. Aether watched them descend the stairwell before slipping inside and shutting his door with a small sigh.

He leaned back against it, arms folded behind his head. "Of course I knew it was late. That's exactly why I offered. If I'd just closed the door on them outright, they'd have thought I was rude. This way I look like a perfect host… while also guaranteeing my peace. Genius."

✦ Schemes & Soap ✦

He pushed off from the door and headed for the cramped little bathroom, stripping off his shirt along the way. "Now then… since everyone's left, it's time to think. Seems like the secret I wanted to keep under wraps can't really stay a secret anymore."

He turned on the tap, steam quickly fogging up the small mirror. Aether sighed, staring at his faint reflection. "There's going to be a big bang tomorrow, no matter how I slice it. It's just… dammit, it's way too early for this mess. Should I just kill that Ryan clown and be done with it? Nah, not worth the trouble."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Arghhhh! I'll see how it plays out tomorrow. Maybe it won't be as troublesome as I think."

A beat of silence. Then — "Hey, where's my soap? …Ack!"

And so, in the tragic quest for his slippery bar of soap, Aether lost the war with gravity. Down went his backbone, a glorious sacrifice to the cruel gods of wet bathroom tiles.

✦ The Next Day: The Hallway Fiasco ✦

The very next day, Aether stood silently in one of the wide hallways of the academy. His arms were crossed, his eyes half-lidded, his posture the image of calm.

If someone had passed by just then, they might have thought, There stands a boy at ease with the world, perfectly serene.

They would've been dead wrong.

"Why? Why? Why is it already ten times more troublesome than I thought it'd be?!" Aether was screaming inside. His composure was a total lie, an elaborate mask to cover his internal meltdown. "It seems like rumors have spread to every damn corner overnight. Everyone's looking at me. Do they honestly think I can't tell they're whispering about me?"

Another long sigh threatened to claw out of him — the sigh of a man fully resigned to the consequences of his own failed precaution.

Suddenly a voice called out. "Hey, Aether!"

He turned, relieved to see it was Morgan, waving as he jogged up. Aether tried to brace himself. "Ah great, he probably heard too…"

Morgan was blunt as ever. "Hey, is it true? You've got a sister in this academy… and she's one of the Chosen Ones too?"

Aether let out another sigh, smaller this time, more tired than pained. "Yeah. Sorry for not telling you earlier. I had my reasons."

To his surprise, Morgan just shrugged with an easy grin. "Nah, don't mind it. Doesn't change anything."

Something warm squeezed in Aether's chest. "If only everyone was like Morgan…" he thought. It would've made all this so much simpler.

But fate wasn't feeling generous.

"Hey! Hey! Look who it is!" That ugly, gloating voice cut through the hall like nails on glass. "It's our Claire's little brother — the one without any magic. Big difference between siblings, huh?"

Ryan had arrived, trailed by a few of his own lackeys. The instant he spoke, hushed conversations sparked all around them. Heads turned, eyes darted between Aether and Ryan, curiosity and nastiness churning together.

Aether's patience snapped. He was too done for another sigh, lest the very laws of narrative throttle him for overusing it. Instead, his next breath came out in a cold, clipped voice. "What do you want?"

Though his tone dropped icy, he didn't let a single thread of his power leak out. Too many bystanders. Too many innocent eyes.

Ryan just smirked, ignoring the warning. "Hey now, don't be so cold to your future brother-in-law."

It was at that precise moment that Ryan's funeral was booked.

Aether's expression went completely flat. Then, with a small inhale, he activated his magic — the unique, quietly terrifying gift that even his closest companions knew little about.

Time itself froze.

The world went silent. Aether could see dust motes hanging midair. Students stood in statuesque confusion, mouth half-open, eyes unblinking. Even Ryan's smirk was caught in place.

Aether didn't bother speaking. "Why waste words? He can't hear me anyway."

He walked right up to Ryan, drew back his fist — and slammed it into Ryan's gut. The hit was solid, echoing faintly in the absolute stillness. Ryan bent slightly, locked forever in that snapshot of agony.

Then Aether leaned down, whispering even though the boy couldn't hear, "Watch your damn mouth, scum."

When he snapped his fingers, time lurched back into motion.

Ryan let out a strangled shriek — "ARGHHHHHHHHH!" — clutching at his stomach as his knees buckled. He collapsed to the floor, eyes wide and wet. "W-Wh-What was that?! Who hit me?!" he gasped, scanning frantically. "No one was even close… was it him?"

Then his eyes rolled up and he slumped over, unconscious.

Chaos immediately followed. Students shrieked, backing away. "Ahhh! What happened?! Why did Ryan suddenly collapse like that? Did someone attack him?"

Amid the growing commotion, Aether slid quietly into the dispersing crowd, face as innocent as a lamb. "Who would ever suspect the powerless non-gifter, right?" he mused, nearly amused.

"I didn't think I'd use my magic on trash like you… but I have to admit, it felt pretty damn good. Now then — time to find Claire."

And with that, as if nothing earth-shaking had just occurred, Aether disappeared down the hall, hands tucked in his pockets, whistling a soft, careless tune.

✦ To Be Continued

(Jojo'z Theme intensifies)