He looked out of the window, the moonlight casting faint shadows across the room. He still had a couple of hours before sunrise.
Ezra paced back and forth, his thoughts restless. He rarely saw his roommates—let alone Atlas, Nora, or Rowan. That didn't really bother him; he had time for himself, more time to study, more time to figure things out on his own.
He sat down, holding the book in his hand, the pages rustling quietly as he flicked through them once more. His fingers lingered over the names, the ink smudged in places, and then he reached it—Shirley's names
"Why is this so confusing?" he muttered, his voice barely audible in the quiet room.
"I somehow find Shirley's name in a prison record in the school's library… that wasn't even in the school's archives."
"This really doesn't make sense at all," Ezra thought, frustration bubbling up. With a deep sigh, he closed the book and shoved it under his bed.
'I should go ask that good-for-nothing teacher if he knows anything about this.'
He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, the cold fabric brushing against his fingers as he pulled it on. Without a second thought, he left the dorm, stepping into the stillness of the night. His footsteps echoed softly in the quiet halls as he made his way toward the woods.
The cool air hit him as he exited the building, the dark trees ahead beckoning him forward. It didn't take long to reach the cabin, the familiar sight of the wooden structure coming into view. Ezra pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Ezra stood in the doorway for a moment, eyebrow raised in disbelief. This was the person he'd come to seek answers from?
But then again, he had come early. With a quiet sigh, Ezra stepped back out of the cabin, his thoughts swirling with the strange circumstances. He needed answers, and wasting time wasn't an option.
He made his way toward the lake formed by the waterfall, the sound of the water crashing against the rocks filling the air. The cool mist from the waterfall hit his face, refreshing but adding to his frustration. He looked around briefly, before walking over to a nearby well where he grabbed a bucket, filled it with cold water, and carried it back toward the cabin.
He stood there for a moment, holding the bucket, wondering if this was really the best way to go about getting his teacher's attention. With a resigned shake of his head, he lifted the bucket and tossed the cold water over his teacher.
The teacher wiped the water from his face, his expression a mix of annoyance and confusion. But as he pulled his soaked hair away from his face, Ezra's gaze snapped to his eyes. In the dim light of the cabin, the green slits of his pupils gleamed, almost serpentine in appearance. The emerald hue was dark and rich, and they glowed faintly in the low light. The sharpness of the slits unnerved Ezra, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end for a brief moment.
Ezra froze for a heartbeat, the unexpected sight sending a ripple of unease through him. 'Was this… normal?' His mind raced, trying to process what he was seeing.
The teacher didn't seem to notice Ezra's discomfort as he ran a hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh. "I didn't ask for this, you know. But now that you've woken me up—what is it you need?"
" …uhhh . Class?"
And that's how he ended up meditating in front of the waterfall, the cold water splashing against him as his ears rang with the sound of the rushing cascade. His clothes were soaked, his body shivering uncontrollably in the chill of the early morning air.
'Is this bastard trying to kill me?' Ezra thought, teeth chattering as the cold gnawed at him.
He'd been sitting there for over an hour, cold water relentlessly splashing down on him, as his teacher instructed him to clear his mind.
"Free yourself from all distractions and close your eyes," the teacher's voice echoed over the roar of the waterfall. "Focus on your breath, on the resonance that flows through you. Feel it, don't think about it. Let it connect to your core."
Ezra's body was numb from the cold, but he forced himself to follow instructions. He had no clue what that idiot was talking about. Something about his soul realm and the power it was supposed to unlock.
"Feel the pulse of your energy," the teacher continued, his voice calm but commanding. "It's always there, like a hum in the back of your mind. Don't force it, don't chase it. Just let it come to you."
Ezra closed his eyes, his breathing shallow from the cold. He focused, but all he could feel was the raw, freezing air on his skin and the pressure of his wet clothes. There was no pulse, no hum, just the relentless sound of water crashing around him.
"Focus," his teacher's voice urged again, softer now. "You'll never reach your full potential unless you connect with your resonance."
Ezra tried again and again, but it was no use. His body was too distracted by the cold, his mind struggling to grasp the concept of what he was supposed to feel.
'Is this guy making stuff up?'
"Are you out of your mind?!" Ezra finally shouted, his frustration rising. "You expect me to focus while being bludgeoned to death by this freezing water?"
The teacher didn't respond immediately, instead walking over with an air of indifference, almost as if he didn't care at all.
With a deep sigh, the teacher turned away.
"Focus on something else then," he said, dismissing Ezra's words with a flick of his wrist. "You'll have to find your way through this on your own. Don't expect me to baby you."
With that, he walked away, leaving Ezra to freeze alone in the waterfall's brutal flow, the cold sinking deeper into his bones.