Death, Devotion, Dissonance

It became painfully obvious that behind the layer of normal stones, was another layer of ketricite. And it wasn't like the surface layer was thin like a normal covering layer would be, but was instead thick enough to hold up the floor by itself. And considering that the ketricite layer was as thick as that and that there was another layer of stone above it, it meant that the floor between the levels was at least half a meter thick.

Evin couldn't imagine how such a heavy thing could hold its weight, but he knew that whatever it was could be solved my magic. But however it happened, Evin didn't have the time to worry about these things.

<Something's happening,> the Voice warned. <There are… Runes drawn on the sides of the stones?> 

Evin beyond the dust and sure enough, he could see distinct etchings on the sides of the stones next to the gap the Voice made. Impossibly, the Runes started to shine with dark purple light, indicating that whatever spell was contained in them was activating. How could such a thing happen so close to ketricite, Evin didn't know, but he knew that whatever it was, it wasn't anything good.

<Jump away!> the Voice warned him and Evin hid behind the door again. 

Sounds of rubble falling could be heard behind him, and when he looked back, he noticed that the corridor between the two rooms turned into a ketricite one. The stones that made up the exterior layer of the ceiling and the walls had fallen onto the floor, making it so that the magic-negating aspect of the ketricite affected the entire corridor now. 

"What the fuck is happening?" Evin couldn't help but curse at the sight.

<The normal stone layer must be designed to peel of if a student tries to force their way through the walls,> the Voice explained after thinking a bit. <If the whole corridor becomes able to negate magic, then it becomes impossible to do anything crazy in it. Think about it, even with the ketricite layer between the normal stones, I can still create an explosion near the gap to destroy it. But I won't be able to do that if the whole room turns to ketricite.>

Evin thought about the situation and cursed.

<How are we going to get out now? We can't even turn ourselves invisible and go past them.>

<That's true, but it would also be the same for them. They won't be able to go through this corridor so easily, so at least we now have an option of holing up here for the time being,> the Voice said. <Actually, I'm gonna prepare some stuff, you try to buy some time with him.>

Evin looked towards the noble students who were appearing on the other side of the corridor and he saw Decatur among the fresh newcomers. 

'He looks spent,' were the only thoughts that came to Evin's mind when he saw the boy.

His always luscious blonde hair was now messily swaying around his head, and from the dark circles under his eyes Evin could tell that the boy was having trouble sleeping. The always well-maintained appearance he had was also gone, as Evin could see a large purple stain on his uniform. A faint smile appeared on his face when he saw Evin from across the room, but his gaze full of hatred told Evin what he was really thinking.

Even the people around him seemed affected by his mood. The usually cheerful and talkative nobles were all keeping silent around him, not even daring to make a single noise.

Then, Phel appeared behind the group, his face full of guilt and worry. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but his eyes briefly fell on Decatur and he closed his mouth.

<Since Phel's with them, I guess at least Dec wouldn't kill you when he gets your hands on you,> the Voice chuckled and began to work on a construct of Hard Air. 

It seemed to find the situation amusing, but Evin couldn't really agree with its views. He felt betrayed by Phel, who was friends with him for the past half a year. Even if he knew that Phel was torn between two choices, in the end, he still chose Decatur over him. 

'Why do I even have to deal with this in the first place?' 

"What do you want from me?" Evin shouted. 

"Resign from the Academy and stop being a mage."

'What the fuck is this delusional idiot talking about?' 

<Just keep asking him why. It doesn't really matter how the conversation goes, since they're going to start running towards you at some point, anyway,> the Voice suggested, seemingly shrugging with a faint smile on his face.

Evin could tell that the it was working on another Air bullet accelerator, but it was also much larger than the normal ones. It even seemed to have a tubular attachment that seemed designed to hold air inside it. The Voice was definitely preparing for battle and it was asking Evin to buy some time.

"Why?"

"Because I want you to."

'At least he's honest about his feelings. He'll make great friends with Arza.'

"Why?"

"Because the sight of you makes me want to vomit."

"Why?"

"Because everything went to shit from the moment you appeared in my life."

Evin began to realize how hopeless talking to Decatur was. The boy just wanted someone to blame and decided to take it all out on Evin. It pissed him off so much, thinking that he had to deal with so much shit, just because a spoilt noble heir couldn't handle the problems that came his way.

"Why?"

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Decatur growled, his face turning darker and darker.

Evin wanted to smile, seeing the boy act like this, but he managed to contain it… though it was hard to keep the glee from contaminating his tone of voice. 

"Why?" 

"All your talents and skills at casting magic, they way you talk like you're 10 years older than you are in reality, the snark remarks you make all the time… you think you're really smart, don't you?"

At this point, it was hard for Evin to keep the smile from appearing on his face.

"It's so sad to see you trying to rationalize your jealousy and fail so terribly," Evin wanted to keep asking why, but it became harder and harder to keep unresponsive. Decatur wasn't the only one feeling angry at the moment. At this point, he just wanted to hurt Decatur as much as possible, because he realized that it was impossible for the two of them to get along with each other. "Are you so pathetic that you won't even allow anyone to be better than yourself?"

"Shut the fuck up. You know nothing about me!"

"There's nothing complicated about you, Decatur. You're just sad piece of garbage who can't cope with shit without lashing out at someone. Maybe the next time you think I'm the source of every problem in your life, try looking at a fucking mirror."

"No. Just because you exist, everyone suddenly starts to feel the need to compare me with you. They always look at me like I'm not enough, like I'm unworthy of the things I possess. Do you know how that feels?"

<Since he's shamelessly spewing out such bullshit, there's no getting through him. He'll either learn to deal with his insecurities himself, or he'll be forced to learn under extreme circumstances,> the Voice interjected. <But that's not a problem for us to deal with. I'm finished with the preparations, so you can keep talking with him if you want, but we'll be fine even if they start running at us randomly.>

Evin stole a glance at the large air accelerator floating next to him and turned towards Decatur.

"Sure, people might compare us… but I'll bet they never actually asked you to be like me or be better than me, right? That's just some garbage goal you set for yourself randomly, one that you consistently fail to achieve," Evin was sure to fill his tone of voice with mockery and venom. "Just forget that pointless dream of yours and let me be. We can both pretend we don't exist for the next five years and go about our own ways. Don't you get tired of thinking about me all the time?" 

"I'll skin your body and feed it to the dogs if that's the last thing I do."

"Dec!" Phel shouted from behind him. 

"Shut up! If you want to, you can join your precious friend over there and die with him. If not, then keep your mouth shut or I'll make sure to ruin your life as thoroughly as possible. And remember that you 're not the only one who's going to face a hard time!"

Phel made a strained expression and faced downwards. Seeing the two's interaction, Evin understood that Decatur was most likely threatening to do something to the noble families under him, so the students complied to his wishes.

"You're already failing your brother's test, Decatur," Evin said.