44 The Dark

Ranking Explanation:

The Cifidel Academy is comprised of 1000 students in total, within the range of 12-20 years old.

500 of those students are broken up into lower ranks that compete amongst themselves. The 500 hundred are; lower-blue ranks, green ranks and orange ranks.

The total amount of students has dwindled since Izzy has arrived. Since she arrived very late into the year and the inter-class wars happen every 4 months. Right now the total 1000 students are estimated around 850 now.

There should be 200 lower blue-rank students, 150 green ranked students and 50 orange ranked students. However, there are only 6 orange ranked students. Meaning, the others have been weeded out, killed or have left the academy of their own accord.

The top 500 hundred are broken up similarly. With 200 higher ranked blue students, 150 purple ranked students and 50 white ranked students. These top 500 do not compete in the annual inter-class wars. They have their own separate competition that happens at the end of the year.

The top 10 who win the inter-class wars will compete against the 500 but still move up. The academy does this to keep the social and power hierarchy in place. Most of the lower 500 are lower ranked nobles and commoners. To keep them from ascending the academy deliberately makes the system of power ranking difficult, for the lower 500.

The winning of 5 matches to ascend a rank is not done consecutively. You can lose and win but as long as you manage to win 5 matches you will go up a rank and stay there.

There are about 36 matches a day over a period of 2 weeks. Allowing all 500 students to compete within that time frame.

( Note: Even though the rules specify that students cannot kill. This does not mean that deaths don't happen. On average in a year about 300 students will die. If not in the class competitions they will die on excursions and missions given out by the school.)

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During the night, Izzy who had fallen into a deep state of sleep suddenly woke up. Her eyes were wide open looking into the darkness of her room but she could not move. Fear overcame Izzy and her breath quickened.

She frantically tried to move her head to look around but only her eyes could move. In her struggle, Izzy peered over the edge of her bed and saw something darker than her darkness in her room. It looked like something was hanging onto the rails of her bed and looking up over at her.

Izzy wanted to shut her eyes but she felt that if she did something terrible would happen.

[ Danger Detected] Izzy heard the loud ring of her phone in her pocket. Its vibrating sensations returned some feeling to her numb body. But, she still could not move.

From the edge of her bed, Izzy focused her eyes on the figure that rose to a standing position. She realised that whatever it was had actually been hunched over the edge of her bed. Now it unfolded it's body in a mechanical manner, it twitched in the darkness and Izzy wanted to scream.

[ Warning! Interference-] static exited the phone and Izzy tried to scream. She screamed in her mind hoping that Theonymphi could at least hear her or feel what she was feeling.

The figure now stood as tall as the ceiling looming over her bed. It's face was without expression, where its eyes should have been were two black holes that had a yellow glint in them. Its 'mouth' appeared to be a single slit and Izzy swore it looked like the thing was smirking.

It stuck out its long arm that was equipped with sharp claws. Frozen in place Izzy let out a desperate yelp as the cold claws glazed against her skin.

In a growling voice the thing said " Where is it?"

Izzy could not respond but felt the hairs on her body stand up when the thing spoke. Izzy's silence seemed to anger the being at it stabbed its claw into her arm. The pain jolted Izzy out of her paralysis and she screamed.

" Where is it?" The thing moved to her face and lifted her off the bed into the air.

" Argh! I don't have what you're looking for. I swear!"

Izzy looked into its hollow souless eyes.

" Then I will find it through you!"