What am I?

Stefan looked around him and there was nobody. Not a single soul insight.

Where did everybody go to?

The girl was still moving like she was in a trance and the Vocra's claws were almost on her.

Fuck…

Stefan knew if he wasted any more second, the girl would be dead and the Vocra gone, and he would have himself to blame for it.

In a flash, he had appeared in front of the Vocra and just when she was about to dig her claws into the girl's back, Stefan held her hand.

"Stop now…" the screamed at the Vocra, who turned to look at him. The Vocra's eyes shimmered with an eerie radiance, as though the dark matter itself pulsed within.

The Vocra looked at him and as though released from the trance which she was caught in, the other girl fell down.

"What are you?"

The Vocra asked. It has the same confused expression the other Vocras had when they looked at him. The same confused expression he had when he stared at that mirror.

"What am I?" Stefan asked the Vocra, at this point he was as confused as them. He really needed to know what he was before he the test, he needed to know if he posed a threat to anyone.

The Vocra chuckled;

"Vocratis would be impressed. A Vocra who has destroyed his soul contract and retained human soul."

The air became silent. As though there was great noise before, Stefan could hear the loud beating of his heart.

He was… he was a Vocra?

Stefan had turned into a Vocra?

All color drained from his face and the girl chuckled;

"It's a pity. I would have loved to show you to Danis myself but you have seen me, so I cannot risk you telling on me."

Before Stefan could muster the thought to defend himself, her free hand drove like a dagger into his chest. He could feel the beating of his heart around her hand, and his free hand immediately grabbed her hand preventing her from pulling it out.

The darkness in the girl's eyes intensified and demonic markings surfaced on her skin.

"Now die!"

She yelled as her strength surged.

Stefan's heart beat slowed as her hands clamped around it. His blood shot eyes closed shut, as intense pain coursed through his whole being.

His hand around the girl's own trembled as he struggled to hold it put.

He had survived a lot. Through the forest, and into a mirror. He finally got to the school, he was not about to die like this. He was not about to die like this.

Stefan shut his eyes close and concentrated on the beating of his heart. He was not sure how he killed the Vocra in the woods, but he knew he had it inside him.

Whatever that power was, he needed it now.

Voom…

Voom…

Voom…

Stefan could hear pulsing of energy in his head, so much that he felt like he had levitated. The crushing pain he had felt in his chest had disappeared and he immediately opened his eyes.

His eyes slowly opened and his sockets had turned completely black. His veins coursed with dark matter and dark red mana pulsed from his body.

He looked at the Vocra in front of him and her face looked like she had seen a ghost;

"NO… this is not possible! You cannot…"

"Shut up… you talk too much." Stefan cut her words shut as he dug his hand into the right part of her chest and pulled out her core, crushing it within his hands.

Pulling her hand out of his heart, he let her fall to the ground. In a second, she shrivelled up like the Vocra he had killed in the woods.

Stefan stumbled backwards as he came to be. He raised his hand to his chest which was bleeding profusely now as he tired to stop the blood, but nothing was happening.

Stefan started seeing double. He blinked as he tried to walk toward, but his legs let go and he slumped to the ground.

The last thing he saw before everything went dark was a pair of brown eyes peeking up at him.

….

Squeeze…

Clean…

Stefan felt a cold rag wipe his forehead. He was too weak to open his eyes so he left them shut.

The person who was cleaning him hummed a song as she wiped his face. After a few second, she began undoing his buttons.

Stefan wanted to stop her but he was too weak, so he just lay still as she undid his buttons and wiped his body.

"His wounds are healed already." She murmured as her fingers carressed the spot where the Vocra had dug it's claws into.

After cleaning his chest, she stood up and walked away from the bird. Stefan could hear movements around the room, but he did not open his eyes.

He just listened.

He heard the sound of water, followed by the soft placing of the bowl on a flat surface.

Then the girl began walking towards him again, and this time his eyes fluttered open.

She stopped walking and looked at him; "you are awake."

Stefan blinked. It was the same girl from yesterday. It seems she wasn't mute after all.

Stefan looked around him.

He was lying on a grand four-poster bed with a canopy of crimson velvet. The bed was draped in soft, white sheets and covered with two fluffy feather pillows. Rich, milk-colored curtains framed the tall windows, just opposite the bed. A writing desk was positioned beside the windows, its polished oak surface gleaming in the sunlight.

Stefan looked around the room, admiring its spaciousness and luxurious furnishings. The room was too well-furnished for a student's room, he realized.

From what he remembered, most of the mages at the academy stayed in shared dormitories. Only the guardians and other high-ranking mages had rooms to themselves.

The walls of the room were painted a soft cream color, and the floors were covered in thick, Persian rugs. A vanity table with an array of bottles and jars stood in one corner of the room, and a full-length mirror hung on the opposite wall.

On the other end of the room was a large bookshelf filled with books and scrolls. On the second shelf was a collection of potions and elixirs, their colorful liquids shimmering in the sunlight.

Four large pots of water stood in the corner of the room, and an adjoining door led to a private bathroom. Her clothes were neatly arranged on a cabinet beside the door, and various jewelry boxes were placed on top of the cabinet.

Stefan looked back at the girl, was she royalty?