The Alchemical Star

Cain's heart grew cold, and he swallowed a mouthful of air as he listened to the boy's angry words. He knew too well of the hidden implication of his words. Telling Mrs. Petra was only the beginning. What happened next would surely squash him to the ground, making him wish he was dead. That is, if he wasn't already.

'My scholarship. My future. No, I can't let it all go down the drain like this!' Cain felt a wave of fear grip his cold, beating heart. 

He gazed at the boy and stressed, "Dez… we tell no one!"

"You don't have a say in this," Dez hissed and turned around to the others as he tried to gain their support.

Gradually, the murmurs became unified, and the kids all stood behind Dez as if to show their current alliance.

Dez stared at Cain with a newfound confidence radiating. "See that? We damn right want the same. We are gonna tell Mrs. Petra, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Fucking bastard!" Roy growled, clenching his fist. "You think I am just gonna—" 

Roy raised his hand to hit an unaware Dez but halted abruptly as Cain took a brief but loud sigh.

"Ahh," Cain breathed in the silence, and then said, "Fine."

One single word. Yet, it captured everyone's attention as if they were held at gunpoint.

"What did you say?" Dez cautiously asked.

Cain repeated, "Fine."

"Fine?" Roy looked at Cain with curious eyes.

Dez frowned. "Fine? You get what this means, right? I expected a bit more resistance, but I guess that is all you are in the end. Just mouth, no action. Kekekeke."

Cain flashed a smile, hidden with a certain vileness. "Fine. Fine, let's inform Mrs. Petra about what transpired tonight."

"Yes. It is good you understand," Dez sneered.

Cain smiled and continued, "While we are at it, let's also mention your frequent night adventures and how you sometimes return with spots of blood on your shirt."

His face seemed absent as he muttered his thoughts without thinking, "I always guessed you were involved with the underworld, but we might as well let Mrs Petra draw her own conclusions. Right, Dez?"

Dez's words were stuck in his throat as he seemingly struggled to speak. He glared at Roy, who ridiculed him with a mocking grin.

Roy pointed at another boy. "Shall we also tell the missus about your constant escapades to the girls' dormitory after curfew? A few days ago, Billy was kicked out of the orphanage, remember her? Poor Billy with a fucking bulging belly. Wasn't she one of your 'friends'? The missus would like to hear that story."

"Don't you dare!" The boy pushed past a terrified Dez and brought his burly body right in the face of Roy as if to scare him.

Feeling the advantage swirling in the air, Cain calmly spoke, "No, it is not a matter of dare or dare not, since we are all going to be revealing our secrets. We all have something to tell Mrs. Petra, don't we?"

His calm words flew into the heads of the boys. They understood the underlying threat hidden beneath that harmless voice. If anyone spoke to the director, then Cain would do the same. After all, they all had secrets!

They frowned almost instantly.

Roy said, "We all have something to lose."

"What happens when Mrs Petra finds out?" Dez raised his brows and stared at Cain.

Cain replied with a determined tone, "I bear the consequence, and you feign ignorance. You have no memory of what happened today. Is that not so?"

"Fine!" Dez grunted. Shortly after, he left with the others.

Cain felt a sense of relief as he realized he had managed to pull it off. 'Ahhh. Luckily, I knew about what they feared the most. I can't imagine what would happen to me if I was kicked out.'

He looked at his trembling hand and let out a sigh. Finally, it was over.

"Hahaha, Cain… you lucky bastard. I thought you were a goner!" Roy broke into fits of laughter. He fell to the ground and continued laughing like there was no tomorrow.

Cain smiled. Part of it was also due to Roy's help. If Roy hadn't backed him, they might have beaten him up. He saw the look in the eyes of the boy, who squared up to Roy. It was without logic and full of violence.

"Thanks for helping," Cain said to Roy.

However, Roy slapped Cain's shoulder and snorted as if to say it was no biggie. It was in this rare moment that Cain felt the warmth of a friend. 

'Is this how it feels? It's not a bad feeling at all.' A smile spread across his face.

"You good, bro?" Roy called out.

Cain snapped out of his reverie and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"You look like you are crying. It's fucking cringy. Can you stop? It's making it hard to look at you," sneered Roy.

"Is it any worse than your face?" Cain retorted with a hint of curiosity.

Roy acted as if he had been shot and clutched his chest, donning the exaggerated expression of mock pain.

....

Charmire1–Lower District.

In the dimly lit evening, Cain decided to skip work and instead headed to a public library. It was an old building nestled between the impoverished slums and the lower district. Therefore, rarely anyone went there. And the books they had were almost all out of date.

However, to someone like Cain, the library was better than nothing. It was quieter than the others and had few readers that actually came by. The library was basically a haven for those in need of solitude. 

He usually came here to study, but today, he had something else on his mind.

"The Alchemical Star…." Cain mumbled as he fixed his gaze on the open page on the table.

Drawn on the pages, brown with age, was a circular symbol etched with triangular patterns and mystical markings—an emblem that exuded the aura of profound antiquity. As he scanned the page, Cain slowly became aware of what this preternatural symbol represented.

The Alchemical Star.

The Mark of David.

The Eye of Apollyon.

The Primordial Key.

The Timeless Will.

Across ages and civilizations, it had worn different names, but its essence remain unaltered throughout history.

Facing the enigmatic diagram, Cain felt an eerie sense of familiarity wash over him.

'The Alchemical Star… a relic dating back to the lost ages.'

His sight trailed to his left palm. Etched onto the thick skin of his hand was something resembling a tattoo. It looked almost drawn to perfection, and carried an aura of novelty, as if it was always meant to be there.

It was the very same alchemical star!

Earlier this morning, during his routine bath, he had noticed the crest on his hand. It scared the hell out of him since it appeared out of nowhere. Yet, the symbol was not the last thing he noticed about himself.