I gazed at the cup of black coffee, its surface dotted with small droplets of oil that danced and jingled like tiny bells, unable to hold their form. I placed the cup on a plate, alongside a serving of classic French toast and a decadent salted caramel dish. With the plate in hand, I walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the master bedroom.
*Click*
As the sound of the door unlocking echoed through the room, I entered and saw Ruby, sitting up and awake, her naked form covered by a grey blanket.
"Good morning", I greeted her, placing the tray on the table near her.
"Did you make this?", she inquired, bringing her face close to the tray to take in the aroma of the food.
"Apparently", I replied with a slight grin.
"Aww, That's cute", she commented, her tone not quite as warm.
"I don't recall being in this room," Ruby said as she looked out the glass wall of the room, taking in the view of the sunrise from the 146th floor of the building. The height of the floor gave an expansive and refreshing perspective.
"This is my private space in the same building that your guild destroyed," I said, walking towards the dressing area attached to the room.
"I thought this building was ruined," she said, watching me with a puzzled expression. I simply gave her a teasing wink in response.
I placed the academy dress, which I had ordered to be brought over the night before, on the bed.
"You should get dressed," I instructed, gesturing towards the bathroom. "We need to leave in fifteen minutes."
Ruby rose from the bed, revealing her naked form, and made her way towards the bathroom door.
"Do you want to join me?" she asked with a suggestive tone.
I shook my head. "I'm already dressed and ready to go. So, I suggest you hurry. We can continue this later."
She stepped into the washroom with a sad expression, began to clean herself, and left the door open. "The invitation still stands," she yelled from inside.
"Be quick", I replied, declining her proposal.
Exiting the shower, she stepped into the room and dried herself with a towel before putting on the clothes I had laid out for her. "These fit perfectly," she said with a flirtatious wink.
Holding a piece of toast in one hand and a hair dryer in the other, she sat in front of the dressing table and extended the dryer towards me.
"Can you help me out?" she asked.
With a sigh, I walked over to her, took the dryer from her hand, and started styling her hair.
I ran my fingers through her sleek, straight tresses, admiring the smoothness of her locks, straightening her hair with my fingers as the drier brushed them off.
"You're surprisingly skilled at this," she said, her eyes briefly turning red.
"What's that smell? Something's burning?" I replied with a touch of sarcasm.
"Better drink your coffee before it gets cold," I added, ignoring her hostile demeanour.
She got up from the chair and walked over to the bedside table, taking a sip from her now-cold coffee. "Should I warm it up?" I asked.
"No, it's fine," she replied, downing the drink in one gulp.
"Shall we depart then?" I asked, extending my hand for her to hold in preparation for teleportation.
Instead of taking my hand, she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and said, "Yes, let's go."
Space around me distorted as the next second we were standing in my dorm's drawing room. A doctor who was sitting on the couch looked at us in surprise.
"Can't you use the door like a normal person?" The doctor asked in an annoyed tone.
Ruby turned her attention to the doctor and asked, "Who's the wimp?"
"Let me go first and then I'll introduce him," I replied, breaking free from her embrace.
Ruby looked around the room and said in amazement, "Your dorm is luxurious, it makes my room look small and poorly equipped in comparison."
"The allocation is based on rank," I explained.
"It just shows the extent of inequality within the academy," she noted.
"In a sense, it's not so much discrimination as it is an incentive for students to strive for higher rankings and perform better on exams," I replied.
"The doctor sitting on the sofa over there is responsible for treating a child who's currently staying in my room and was the victim of Karl's continues assault," I added.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for my earlier behaviour, doctor," Ruby said, her demeanour quickly returning to her innocent self.
"No problem," the doctor replied. "The child is awake but refuses to speak to anyone. I suggest you seek the help of a psychiatrist."
"Don't worry about that," I responded. "I think your job here is done. My shadow will take you home."
"Not him again!", The doctor rolled his eyes and disappeared with a scream, accompanied by my shadow.
Without any delay, Ruby permissively walked towards the door which she believed was the bedroom and opened it.
"Hi there," she greeted the small child on the bed who was huddled in the corner and watching her from the corner of her eye. Before I could step into the room, she signalled with her hand for me to stay back and then walked inside while I stayed outside to listen to their conversation.
"May I ask for your name, little one?" Ruby asked in a gentle, playful tone. There was no hint of danger or negativity in her words, only positivity.
The child responded timidly, "Remi."
"Hi, Remi. How are you feeling?" Ruby asked, still in a soft voice.
Remi didn't respond. I leaned against the door frame, observing the situation.
"You don't have to be so reserved around me," Ruby said, before getting on the bed and sitting next to Remi. She leaned towards her and whispered, "Are you scared?"
Again, Remi didn't respond. Ruby then held out her hand, and a small, dark flame materialised above her palm. Remi watched the flame intently, without flinching.
Ruby stretched out her hand in front of her with her palm facing upward as a small dark flame materialised above her palm. Remi was looking at those flames without batting an eye.
"Do you like this?" Ruby asked, nodding towards the flame that had disappeared, as she looked at Remi.
When Remi nodded, she asked, "Really?".
Then turned to face Remi as she instructed, "Then close your eyes for a moment and focus on my words".
"Trust me, I saved you and brought you here, I wouldn't hurt you," Ruby continued, taking credit for the rescue.
Without any further hesitation, Remi lowered her hands and revealed her face, closing her eyes. Ruby gently tapped Remi's forehead with her index finger and said,
"Imagine a force around you, any kind of force, and turn it into something that will help you feel secure and protect you from your fears."
"If your mind feels any discomfort, simply believe in yourself and create something that will make you feel safe. Don't push yourself if it's too much," she added.
Ruby stepped out of the bed and stood beside me, observing as the aura around Remi materialised into several flexible swords that rotated around her body. Each sword was so finely refined that it appeared to be just a sheet of paper, but that was far from the truth.
"Wow, I never knew this was possible," Ruby exclaimed, looking at Remi.
"Maybe the test subject is built differently," I commented.
"Shouldn't we stop this?" Ruby asked, sounding concerned.
"I wasn't the one who started this," I replied as the number of swords multiplied at an increasing rate, filling the room and destroying any furniture in their path.
"You're my husband, so start taking responsibility," Ruby scolded me.
"I don't remember getting married to anyone. Do you have any proof, like a marriage certificate?" I asked.
"Do you need any proof even after what happened between us last night?" Ruby asked, not acknowledging Remi. "Stop this."
"Okay..." I replied, taking note of Remi.
"<Cessation>", I said, as the swords suspended in the air suddenly vanished into thin air. Remi's aura became still, and she collapsed onto the bed, unconscious. The room was left in disarray, the only indication of what had just transpired.
"I have to go to class now," Ruby declared as she headed out of the room.
"What are you going to tell your teacher about your speedy recovery?" I queried.
"It's one of my abilities teach, you can check up on me, after all, a certain someone injected two hundred years' worth of life force into me", Ruby replied nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned that being seen leaving my dorm could lead to a scandal.
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