Offered to the Triplet Alphas

[Xanthea] "Genocide..."

I blankly stared at Vincent as the word 'genocide' hung heavily in the air before it finally sliced through my bones like shards of glass.

One moment, I was numb and the next, thoughts stormed through my mind, crashing into the growing pit in my chest as he kept speaking.

"It was an experiment conducted on the entire population of the weak-bloods across all the nine packs of the Infernal realm..."

Vincent's deep voice grew darker with each word, his gaze distant, as if he were reliving a haunting memory.

"They didn't just kill them. They erased them. Every trace - gone. Nothing remained, not even their souls." His hand clenched into a fist on the table, knuckles white with tension. Karima swallowed hard, shifting uneasily in her seat.

"I-I-it's just an exaggerated story," she stammered. "Nothing like that ever really happened."

Vincent's gaze sharpened. "Then how do you explain the disappearance of an entire population?"

Karima shrank back, cowering under his intense scrutiny.

"True or not, it has nothing to do with us. So it doesn't matter," Karima frowned.

Vish leaned in, her voice low. "Medical practices in the Infernal realm aren't ethically regulated. Experiments on living subjects are normal here. But this... this experiment was so unimaginably horrifying that it shook the very foundation of evil itself. So, if it's true, it matters."

"Out of tens of thousands of weak-bloods, only one survived." Vincent's words were slow, his tone strained. "Just one."

His words resonated across the table. All of us exchanged restless glances with one another. I could feel my heart pound faster in my chest as I finally broke the deafening silence.

"Who? Who survived and what... what did they do to that person?" I asked, my voice quivering as I unconsciously made direct eye contact with Vincent.

"We don't know. We don't have to!" Karima's eyes darted around the room, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her shirt. "Stop it," she hissed, her voice barely more than a breath. "You don't know who's listening... we shouldn't even be talking about this."

Vincent's gaze flicked between Karima and me, his expression unreadable but cautious.

"No one knows the exact details, but rumors say he was the first and only weak blood to have activated his immortality genes, so they call him the First," he said, holding my gaze, his every word burying like a corpse in my chest. "Rumors also say that the First was just a kid. And he didn't just survive; he completed the experiment and then, once it was over, he massacred everyone involved, sssingle-handedly. And he's still out there, more monster than man. Honestly, anyone would have lost it after enduring such darkness," Vish said.

All the questions storming in my mind condensed into a single, desperate word: "Who?"

Vincent lowered his gaze and shook his head.

"We don't know. The identity of both the legendary healer who planned Forced Activation and the survivor who overcame it remain unknown till date. The records were destroyed, and anyone who dares speak about it vanishes. Forced activation wasn't a cure; it was a torture beyond a demon's endurance. Many lives were lost for nothing, way too many lives..." Vincent said absent-mindedly.

I took a tight gulp, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten.

"Stop talking as though it actually happened. These are just rumors. Just rumors ok?" Karima said, breathing heavily.

"There's no doubt that it happened. They just silenced everyone, erased all evidence, but they couldn't cover up the mass disappearance of weak bloods; the vacuum in our history; the imbalance in our realm and its aftershocks that were felt in the other realms," Vincent said darkly.

His aura pulsed with a subtle yet intense rage, making it clear that he harbored a more personal grievance and probably knew more about Forced Activation than he was letting on.

"Please... I don't want to hear any more." Karima's voice cracked, panic rising in her throat as she hugged herself tightly. "Did you forget what Professor Ashstone said? If they even suspect we know about it, they'll silence us forever. Just like they silenced him. No one's seen him since that day."

A small part of me knew prying any further could be dangerous, but everything inside me yearned to seek more answers and keep seeking answers until I found out why such a thing was mentioned in my mother's diary. Not just that - why did she, a mortal like me, have such deep knowledge of the immortals?

"Who is Professor Ashstone?" I asked, with half-hesitation and half-fear. "And... what happened to him?"

"Nothing!" Claude drawled dismissively. "Professor Ashstone just went on an extended vacation after retiring a bit early. It's nothing as dramatic as Karima makes it sound. He was an old man; he needed his rest, that's all!" I looked at Vish, and she instantly understood my confusion.

"Look," Vish said, "Vincent read about this experiment somewhere. Reading disturbing resssearch is his hobby. He wanted to know more about it, so we went to Professor Ashstone for answers."

"We thought it would be fun seeing the professor laugh these rumors off like we did. I thought I'd finally see my best buddy, Vincent, make a fool of himself, but professor Ashstone's panicked reaction was something else entirely. That was a hell of a day for us-" Claude let out a breath, which was a partial chuckle and a partial sigh.

"And I hope you haven't forgotten about it," Karima said sternly, in a warning tone. "He didn't just warn us to shut our mouths. He cut our points, mixed some strange potion in our drinks. If Vish hadn't sensed the poison, who knows what might have happened to us?"

"Professor probably wanted us to forget all about this," Vish said. "It was a mildly manipulated poison. We just pretended to drink it and made sure to ssstay out of his radar and then he retired. End of story, Karima."

"I don't want to be silenced or disappear into thin air just because I know something I shouldn't. I have worked hard to get here," Karima sobbed, her voice breaking. She wiped her eyes furiously, as though trying to erase her memories. "I can't just throw it all away, so if you try to pry any deeper, then I am out."

She stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor as she turned to leave.

"They will not come after us for talking about it... unless we make ourselves noticeable. But if you keep acting like this, Karima, then they are coming for you first," Vish said in an enraged tone, leaning back in her chair. Karima turned towards us and silently sat back in her chair.

Letting out a deep breath, Vish continued, "panicking is only going to draw more attention, Karima."

"Seriously, your emotion control is worse than a child's," said Lana, sitting proudly. "You should be ashamed of yourself. I am much better than you."

Karima's shoulders trembled as she pressed both hands against her mouth, stifling sobs that shook her entire frame. Her wide eyes darted around the room, as if she was expecting some invisible forces to steal her life away. "Hey, relax," Claude chuckled. His voice was light, but there was a tightness around his eyes, like he didn't want to let the fear show. "It's just crazy demons doing crazy stuff. Nothing to fear; demons do crazy stuff all the time." He tried to lighten the mood, but almost everyone just took a deep breath amidst the pressing gravity.

"After that day, we promised we would never talk about it again, so you must promise us to never bring it up again or try to pry any further. Nothing good could come out of something as dark as that event," Karima said, looking at me. "Keep your curiosity under control."

"I am curious though... where did you hear about it?" Vincent asked, studying me closely.

"Just... heard of it somewhere..." I said, taking a nervous gulp.

"It's not something you just hear somewhere-" Vincent narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

I looked into his eyes and questioned him back, "where did you read about it? Can I see the article? I am sure it's not something you can access easily... somewhere... or conveniently know which professor to ask about it..." Vincent's eyes darkened at my words. Guess we both had secrets we were eager to uncover but reluctant to reveal.

"Hey, give it a rest already, you two. Our next lecture is about to begin. It's anatomy. I need to go search for my skeleton. Devil knows where he runs away all the time," Claude said, getting up from his chair. "See you guys in the lecture hall," he said and flew out of the cafeteria.

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"I have my genetics lessons. I'll get going as well. See you guys later," Karima said and left.

"I'll have to collect my skeleton from my locker as well," Vish said, getting up.

"And mine is-"

Cosmos' barks abruptly cut Vincent off. All of us turned to see the alive skeleton being helplessly dragged across the cafeteria floor with its leg clamped between Cosmos' drooling jaws.

"Well, never mind," Vincent sighed, getting up from his chair. He rushed over, attempting to pry Skelly free from his healing partner's grip. "How many times do I have to tell you? You can't eat Skelly, Cosmos. Let her go..."

"That looks so funny!" Lana giggled as she watched Vincent engage in a frantic tug-of-war, trying to rescue Skelly from Cosmos' jaws before he chewed her femur away.

"Xanthea, if you don't mind, I can give you a preview of the anatomy classes so far. That way, you won't be completely clueless, and I'll get to revise what I've learned," Vish offered.

"Sure! Thanks! That would be really helpful," I said, smiling as I followed Vish with Lana.

***

Vincent had to bribe Cosmos with a bone meal, but in the end, which was right before the anatomy lecture began, he saved Skelly from being chewed up alive.

Unlike the other skeletons, Skelly and Boredbones were the only well-behaved and calm skeletons in the lecture.

The other alive skeletons played pranks on the professor and ran across the lecture room, laughing creepily with their eerie, chattering teeth. They scared people by having their skulls roll under the benches and then screamed loudly.

Six students, along with the professor, fled from the lecture hall until the owners of those skeletons controlled them, by threatening them with potions that caused osteoporosis.

"That potion is nothing but just a heavy concentration of alcohol and tobacco," Vish said. "I keep it to keep my skeleton in control or he would join the others in no time."

"No wonder the bones are so scared of it," I said.

"And now you know why we are so behind in our anatomy lectures," Vish said.

"Good for me. I didn't miss much. Thanks to the skeletons," I said, and both of us broke into chuckles.

After anatomy, I attended three more lectures with Vish, Vincent and Claude and their healing partners.

Everything appeared to go smoothly as I blended in with the other students. However, once the regular lectures ended, the nagging concern for the two kids in my fit-it-all resurfaced and haunted my mind again.

I had considered every reasonable idea I could think of to protect them, but none seemed practical. But I was sure of one thing: I could at no cost take them with me to the castleBelongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

I walked through the hallways, cradling the fit-it-all against my chest.

I shivered just at the thought of what the triplets might do to me, to the kids, if they found out, especially Raven.

He warned me to stay away from Zosha and here I was carrying her in my pouch.

anywhere near the demon lords.

After the anatomy lecture when Boredbones went back in there, he told me that Zosha had recovered. She was conscious, but still fast asleep since healing herself used up most of her energy. And the boy cried silently to sleep again.

I knew this couldn't go on. I had to get them out of the pouch and keep them safe somewhere... but where?

"It's evening, and they're still searching for the squirrel all around the forest. On top of that, security around the campus has tightened, making it difficult even for me to slip them out of here. Vincent and Claude have gone to check if the coast is clear. Let's wait until they return," Vish said, walking beside me.

"We can't teleport them out of here, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, you heard the announcement earlier, right? Students aren't allowed to teleport out of the campus today," Vish said. "Teleportation blockers are all around the campus."

"Even if we get them out of here, somehow... where will we keep them?" I mumbled.

"We can't keep them with us in our dorms, they can't ssstay on the campus, we can't even leave them with the other weak bloods. Weak blood colonies beyond the pack borders will be the first place authority will go looking for them." Vish said, thoughtfully. "Our best shot is releasing them in the wild and hope they don't get caught. Our squirrel savior knows how to stay hidden and survive all by herself." "But-"

Chirp! Chirp!

Vish's canary hovered above us, flying in circles until it perched on Vish's stretched out hand. It tweeted and sang and when it finally turned silent, Vish looked at me.

"Oh no. Getting them out without being noticed will be impossible now. Anary scanned the area. There's soul scanning incantations all around the grounds and the officials are inspecting everyone who is entering or leaving the campus." Vish said. "What!?" I furrowed my brows, feeling my palms grow clammy.

"The moment we ssstep out of the uni building, we'll come under that incantation, which means..."

"They will find out that there are two extra souls in my pouch, right?" I looked at Vish and she nodded.

What now? My heart thundered in my chest as I peered at the stretched out mouth of fit-it-all.

I need to think of something, fast.

Huh!?

I felt a gush of wind and when I lifted my gaze; I saw Vish and Lana standing far away from me at the extreme end of the hallway.

I blinked, confused.

What-

What just happened?

Weren't they walking beside me right now?

How did they go so far, so quick-

"Found you..." a whisper ran down my neck like a shiver.

I widened my eyes, my body freezing in place as I clutched the pouch tighter against my chest.

There was someone behind me. He had separated me from the others in a blink, and I didn't even notice him until he spoke.

My breath hitched as I tried to step away, but a cold, metallic sting against my throat stopped me.

"I know what you are hiding. Don't move... the blade against your neck is smeared with poison that can kill you instantly. Stand still... you are under arrest."