Jaden's expression turned dark at her sharp words, but he didn't say anything.

Maria heaved a heavy sigh and slumped in her chair before she said, "I am sorry for acting like that..."

He nodded, still silent.

She looked at him with a worried look and spoke, "You need to think over your decision of leaving the academy..."

He lifted his head and looked at her with a frown.

She stared into her eyes and added, "You don't have to worry about anything, I would help you find a way to regain your memories... tell me what you have found till now."

He nodded and said, "I believe that I need to enter the shadow realm if I want to regain my memories, but there is no clan or holy land related to the shadow..."

She listened to him and replied in a low voice, "You must have heard that shadows don't like to move in light, right?"

A puzzled expression appeared on his face as he thought, 'What is she trying to say?'

"So why are you trying to find them in light?" She leaned forward and questioned with a tilted head.

His eyes widened as he thought, 'Why did I not think of it?'

A chuckle escaped her lips as she pointed out.

"See, that's what I was talking about... they must have already contacted you using their own methods, but you are simply too busy being paranoid."

'They already contacted me?' He thought and tried to remember what could point to them.

"Do you remember seeing anything out of place? Or meeting someone over and over again?" She asked.

He shook his head and muttered, "I don't remember..."

"Go back to your dorm for now," she ordered, stood up from the chair and walked out of the office.

He stood there for some time before turning around and leaving.

A few moments later, he reached his dorm, unlocked the door and walked inside.

Just as he stepped inside, two furballs ran towards him. He blossomed a smile and picked up the devouring pups in his arms.

"Bre..."

"Bru..."

Both of them lowered their heads, and the sight pulled a frown from Jaden. "I'm sorry, you two," he said gently, "but I can't take you to class. We still have our evening walks, don't we? So don't be so down."

They lifted their small heads and looked at him with tearful eyes. He tightened his embrace and mumbled, "I am sorry."

The devouring pups let out soft whimpers, and he began to feed them his mana, 'Sleep for a bit longer today,' he thought.

A few minutes later, he finished feeding the devouring pups, and both of them entered the embrace of sleep.

He stepped into the bedroom, gently laid them on the bed and stepped out.

He walked into the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water as he tried to remember anything weird and strange that had happened to him till now.

"There are simply too many things for me to point out a single one..." he muttered with a sombre face.

A few minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom and walked into the study room. Just as he stepped inside, his eyes fell on a diary flipped over the table.

He frowned, walked over to the table and picked it up while mumbling, "Where did this come from?"

He flipped the pages, but all of them were blank. His frown deepened as he muttered, "What's up with useless dairies today..."

He closed the dairy and looked at the cover.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he looked at the mark of a snake biting its own tail on the cover, "This..." he mumbled, "I remember now, this mark... this has to be related to the shadows."

"But... what do I do this?" Just as he said those words, he remembered a person.

A person he had met over and over in the past few days.

His eyes began to burn with determination, his grip around the diary tightened as he stepped out of his dorm and began to descend the stairs.

A few minutes passed, and he reached a door. He knocked on the door, and a soft voice answered from inside, "Coming!"

A few moments later, the door creaked open and a pair of brown eyes peeked out.

The eyes narrowed slightly, and a confused voice asked, "Jaden?"

"Yes, it's me, Zaria," he replied.

She further opened the door and asked, "What's wrong?"

"There is something I want to talk about. Can I come in?" He said while hiding the diary behind his back.

"S-sure!" She answered, completely opened the door and stepped aside while gesturing him to enter.

He gave her a slight nod, walked inside and asked, "Which room?"

She pointed to her left and mumbled with a flustered look, "B-Bedroom."

He nodded, stepped inside and sat in the chair placed beside the entrance, and she sat on the bed while fidgeting with her fingers, "So... what do you want to talk about?"

He stared at her for a few moments and spoke, "You don't have to continue this act."

She frowned at his words and asked with a tilted head, "What are you—"

However, before she could finish, he lifted the diary and said, "I want to know about the shadows."

She blinked at the diary in confusion — until the mask of a meek girl cracked, and a wide grin split her face. "Finally. To be honest, I thought I'd grow old before hearing that from you."

She stood up from the bed, hooked a finger beneath Jaden's chin, and lifted his head with a bright, teasing smile. "You really made me wait, didn't you?"

He met her gaze, leaned forward and replied dryly, "Your methods were just that bad."

______

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