Missing

Eliisabet laid in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It had now been just over a week since they had joined Regnum's School Of Sicarius and six days since Avic's death. Eliisabet was caught in a cycle of depression. So much had happened ever since they left Initium. It didn't feel real. Avic was dead and other depressing factors weighed her down.

Custos stood by the door with his arms folded and his back leaned against the wall. He watched Eliisabet closely, observing her depressive episode.

"Eliisabet, what do you plan to do? Should we quit the School Of Sicarius and go back to Initium or do we continue our journey?" Queried Custos.

"How can you be so cold, Custos..? Avic died! He died before I even got the chance to apologize..."

"Eliisabet—"

"Don't call me that! Please... I don't want to be Eliisabet right now... Eliisabet's facing too much pain..."

"Sigh... Regina then... What do you plan on doing next?"

"Custos, that's not the issue!"

"Then what is the issue?"

"Avic died! How can you care so little?!"

"What do you want me to do? Do you expect me to get on my knees and start crying?! I can't do that and you know it! Of course, it's painful to know that something like that happened to Avic! He was my best friend! But that's exactly why I'm asking what it is that you want to do?!"

Custos then stopped as he realized he had lost his temper. Due to this, he averted his gaze and apologized.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to lose it like that. I'm just trying to figure things out. But I can't do that if you're not being straight with me. You still haven't told me what happened between you and Avic. It's obvious that you're hiding something. On top of that, it seems you don't know what you want to do next. If you're so indecisive then nothing will change. Besides, the second round begins tomorrow. If we don't show up then we can't become Sicarius."

Eliisabet took a shaky breath and slowly sat up on her bed, "One of the main reasons that I decided to be a Sicarius was because of Avic... He encouraged me... He was someone who was misunderstood and viewed differently from who he actually was. I relate to that... So when he suddenly decided that he'd become a Sicarius, I couldn't help but believe that I had to do that too... I hoped that maybe then I'd be able to confront the harsh reality of our past..."

"I thought as much. Avic was someone you looked up to. It only makes sense for you to feel that way. However, just because Avic's gone doesn't mean that you should give up. You should keep pressing forward. I doubt that lazy idiot would want to see us go into a depressive episode because he died. If you want to keep moving forward then you already know that I won't leave your side."

Eliisabet gripped her sheet tightly between her fists. She knew Custos was right. It was a difficult decision but she had to move on. She had to find the courage to keep moving forward.

"Let me know what your decision is by the end of today. I'll be back later to hear it," said Custos as he pushed the door open to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going out for a bit. I don't know what it is but I have this strange feeling that something bad is going to happen. Not to mention that we still haven't found that Delilah girl. But whatever is going on, I intend to find out what it is and deal with it accordingly. As for you, stay here and don't leave the apartment until I return."

Custos then walked through the door before closing it behind him. This left Eliisabet alone to contemplate what she needed to do next.

Just then, as soon as Custos left, she could feel a slightly cold chill in the air. She rubbed her arms and took a deep breath. It was strange how the room temperature had suddenly shifted.

"What's going on here..? Where did this cold come from?" She muttered to herself.

As soon as the words left her lips, Eliisabet heard a sudden knock on her room window. This immediately put her on guard. If the sudden cold wasn't strange enough, the knocking on the window was even stranger. Their apartment was as far up as the fourth floor. It didn't make sense for any normal person to knock on the window when it was that high up. There wasn't even a platform on the outside to step on. It was very strange.

Despite this, Eliisabet carefully picked herself up out of her bed. She then grabbed her yari which was hidden underneath the bed before moving closer to the window. Quickly, she then shoved aside the curtains and placed her yari in front of her, ready for battle.

However, to Eliisabet's surprise, no one was there. All she could see was the evening sun preparing to set over a mountain in the distance. This left her significantly confused. It didn't make sense. As if to make her even more uneasy, the cold in the room had completely dissipated.

"I'm sure someone or something had to be here. That wasn't normal..."

From the corner of her eye, Eliisabet glimpsed a small envelope hanging from the window's ledge. It rattled gently in the wind. It seemed to be some kind of letter. Carefully, she then opened the window and picked the letter up. It was a little crushed and cold to the touch. She was certain that someone had left it there for her.

Slowly, she then opened the envelope before taking out a piece of paper. On the piece of paper was a strange letter that was written by someone with very bad handwriting. Carefully, she then read.

"If you want to know the truth then make it to the third round of the School Of Sicarius' competition. The third round will be a tournament between students. You will need to pass the second round to proceed. Failure is not an option."

Eliisabet then looked down at the bottom of the letter to see another message.

"PS: Burn this letter once you have read it and keep the contents of it to yourself."