Rai stopped in his tracks.
"Wait... Who's Bell?" he asked.
Niko's face went pale—frozen, like he'd just seen a ghost.
"Is the fame getting to your head, Mr. Famous-o?" Rai scratched his head, confused.
Niko twitched. His eyes darted left and right, scanning the hallway like someone was watching him.
Then—without warning—he bolted.
"I'll see you later..." he called back.
"Derp," Rai muttered, hands on his hips, but his face began to grimace.
At the central fountain outside, Lia was lounging with her Queen Gang—laughter, lip gloss, and magical gossip filled the air.
Then Niko crashed into the scene like a wrecking ball.
"I need you to come with me. Now," he said, deadly serious.
Lia blinked. "Umm... what's going on?"
"Ooooooh~" one of her friends squealed.
"Get 'em, girl," a third-year winked, nudging her.
Without another word, Niko grabbed her hand and pulled.
"Wait—hey! What the—Niko!" Lia stumbled after him as he dragged her through the crowd.
"Just—trust me. It's happening again."
"What's happening?" she asked as they stopped near the stone archway by the main building. Students passed nearby, but no one paid attention.
Niko turned to face her, eyes intense.
"Tell me. Who's Ashbell?"
Lia blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Yeah... what are you talking about, Mr. Successful?" a third voice cut in.
Niko spun toward it.
Rai stood there, smirking—but something was off.
"Hello, Niko," said the Rai-looking figure. "It's me—Bell."
"What the f—"
"Shhh." Bell pressed a finger to Lia's lips before she could finish the curse.
"Relax. We boys made a deal," he said. "Niko, me, and Rai. We're in this together."
"You absolute—" Niko lunged.
Bell swatted him away effortlessly. "Hey. Chill."
Lia stepped back, tense. "What is happening right now? Why do you look like Rai?"
"Because I am Rai," Bell said smugly. "Well—at the moment."
He turned to Niko, shaking his head.
"You brought her into this, not me. I'm just playing along. You're the one digging up your own secrets."
He raised both hands in mock surrender.
"EXPLAIN THIS, NIKO. NOW!" Lia snapped.
Niko clenched his jaw, still glaring at Bell, who wasn't helping at all.
Finally, Niko sighed. "Alright... It started a few days ago."
* * *
A few days earlier, in the boys' dorm...
The dorm was quiet, the soft hum of enchantment fields buzzing faintly in the background.
Niko sat on the floor, surrounded by wires, gears, and a half-disassembled defense glove. His desk lamp flickered under the energy drain from his experiment.
Sparks flew.
"Ugh. Still shorting out... I need more time," he muttered.
Then it hit him.
"...Bell," Niko called casually, not looking up. "Can we loop a day? Just once. With our memories intact? I need time to fix this glove before the club report."
POP.
A shimmer tore through the air above his bed. Bell appeared mid-flip, arms folded behind his head like he was lounging.
"You want to loop a whole day?" Bell blinked. "For... what, homework?"
"It's not homework," Niko grumbled. "It's a prototype. A non-magical defense shield. Still doesn't work. I just need one clean day for trial and error."
Bell floated down slowly, amused. "So let me get this straight—you want to mess with time and reality... just to pass a gear test?"
"Not pass. Prove," Niko snapped. "If I can't show results by Friday, the scholarship gets cut. No club. No upgrades. No tuition help."
Bell drifted in silence. Dangerous? Probably. Fun? Definitely.
"...We can do that," he said at last. "In theory."
"In theory?" Niko lifted his brows.
"Yeah. But it'll cost you," Bell replied.
"How much magic?" Niko asked, gesturing vaguely.
"Not magic," Bell said, grinning. "Real stuff."
"Define 'real.'" Niko crossed his arms.
"I'll need a tether. Something to anchor your mind during resets," Bell said.
"Like what?" Niko started to worry.
"Your body," Bell answered, grimacing.
Beat.
"You're kidding." Niko leaned back into his seat.
"Nope." Bell tapped his chest. "While you're looping, someone needs to walk your body around in the real timeline."
"Someone?" Niko stared at him.
"Me," Bell said, spinning in the air.
Niko's eyes narrowed. "Bell—"
"Relax. I won't do anything dumb. Just walk, breathe, maybe grab a snack," Bell said, eyes wandering.
"That's possession," Niko growled.
"That's logistics," Bell replied.
Niko glanced at the glove. Then at Bell.
"...Just one day," he said, raising a finger.
Bell held out his shimmering hand. "Deal?"
Niko shook it.
* * *
Back to the present...
"You idiot—!" BONK.
Lia smacked Niko's head.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"For making a deal with that!" she yelled, pointing at Bell.
"And why are you in Rai's body now?! Don't tell me—"
Bell puffed his chest proudly. "Yup!"
BONK. Another smack.
"OW—hey! That wasn't in the contract!"
"You possessed my classmate, looped reality, and dragged Niko into some magical body-rental scam!" she barked.
Bell raised a finger. "Technically, Niko asked—"
"SHUT UP," Lia snapped, throwing a fit.
"...Yes ma'am," Bell muttered, kneeling immediately.
Niko groaned. "You didn't have to hit so hard..."
"You didn't have to loop time, Niko!" Lia said, hands on her hips.
"I was trying to finish a project!" Niko said desperately.
"You're possessed!" Lia countered, leaning forward.
"I'm multitasking!" Niko blurted.
Lia scowled and turned toward Bell.
"Then what did Rai ask you for?" she said, nearly losing her mind.
Bell rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well..."
* * *
Same room, right after Bell and Niko made the deal...
KNOCK KNOCK
"Who's there?" Niko called.
"It's-a me, Rai," came the muffled voice.
"Come in."
Rai peeked around, then shut the door behind him.
"AHA! Gotcha!" he pointed at Bell.
"What now, Rai..." Bell groaned.
Rai suddenly bowed. "Master Bell! I need your help!"
Bell sighed. "We've done this multiple times, Rai. You serious? Again?"
"Pleaseeeeeee... I can't get her out of my head..." Rai started sobbing.
"Her?" Niko raised a brow.
"AHAHAHA—damn, Rai. Didn't think a jock like you would be a simp."
"SHUT UP! You don't know what love at first sight is, you cold-hearted man!"
Bell twirled lazily above. "You know the cost, right?"
"Doesn't matter!" Rai clutched his chest. "As long as she sees me as a man, I'll do anything!"
Bell spun like a fidget spinner. "Hmmmmm... let me think."
"Hey! That's not fair!" Rai pointed. "You helped Niko right away!"
"You've been eavesdropping?!" Niko growled.
"There! I admitted it! Happy?!" Rai folded his arms.
Bell and Niko shared a glance.
"How are you gonna impress her anyway? She didn't even look you in the eyes," Niko asked, concerned.
"That's... That's private." Rai looked the other way.
"Well, we can't help you if you're not being honest with yourself," Bell said. "Besides, she's the Lightkeeper's great-great-granddaughter. What are you gonna do with that?" Bell started to shiver.
"I don't care if she's the Lightkeeper herself. I don't know... it just clicked. She's the one," Rai said, pressing his fingertips together like a shy maiden.
"This is so not you, big guy..." Niko covered his face in shame, giggling.
"Hey, don't judge me! You'll understand love too one day!" Rai threw another fit, then sighed deeply. "It's not just some 'puppy love.' To be honest, ever since we met Bell at the basement of that abandoned building, I've been having these visions..."
Bell's attention sharpened.
"Visions? Are you serious?" Bell asked, suddenly grave.
"Yeah... my dreams feel vivid. Real. Like, I saw Lia and Niko together and—"
"WHOA WHOA WHOA, what the hell?!" Niko was stunned. "Me and Lia? Broooo, you're tweaking now. For real." Niko scrubbed his face in disbelief.
"Hey! The vision I had was so real we even aged!" Rai insisted.
"It's just a dream, Rai. It's nothing," Niko shrugged.
"IT'S NOT!" Rai clenched his fists.
Bell, still serious, broke the tension.
"Alright, alright, alright... That's enough. Both of you," he said with a sigh. "...Alright then."
"YAAAAAY! You guys are the best!" Rai hopped in joy.
"Are you serious about this, Bell?" Niko asked with concern.
"Don't take him as just some fool in love, Niko. That vision he had... I think there's truth to it," Bell answered firmly.
"You're kidding..." Niko murmured.
"Nope. Not this time. The worst is yet to come..." Bell's eyes showed clear worry.
Or was it fear?
* * *
Back to the present...
A long silence followed as Niko and Bell exchanged glances. The air felt heavier than before.
Then…
"THAT'S IT?! He used the time loop to impress Phoebe?!"
"At least he's making progress... maybe," Bell muttered.
Lia collapsed into a crouch, head between her knees.
"You boys are so stupid..."
She stood, fury in her eyes. "From now on, you're with me, Bell. No excuses!"
"No wonder we've been stuck on Monday for three days straight!" She pulled her hair in frustration.
"It's been repeating three times?!" Niko's face turned pale, his mouth agape.
"I think something's seriously wrong. Every morning the boys' dorm fire alarm keeps blasting. Turns out it was YOU!" She jabbed a finger into his shoulder. "There were three different professors in Aether Defense Class, and each day you got blasted across the field by fire magic!"
Bell's expression suddenly turned grave. "Lia, are you sure?"
"Dead sure, you dummy! You think the stuff you're pulling doesn't cost anything? It's even messing with my vision now—sometimes I see this black rift above the sky." She pointed upward.
All of them looked up.
And there it was.
A black slit—like a tear in space—hovering silently above them. Not huge. But very real.
The air felt brittle. Like glass, just before it shatters.
Bell's face drained of all color, pale like a filleted fish.
"Oh..." he gulped. "We're cooked."
* * *
Far far away, outside Westhex Academy...
CRACK.
A bulb suddenly burst. No electrical surge. Nobody's touching it.
Shadows swallowed the aluminum hall.
A robed elder raised her head from a worn grimoire. "What's happening?"
A second figure approached a big hourglass in the middle of the room filled with papers and books. Its sands flowed upward.
"Again," he muttered. "That makes three in this week, Head Keeper."
He touched the glass. It burned. "Temporal friction. Someone's been looping in three days straight."
A third voice, dry and bitter, emerged: "Bell is loose again, isn't it?"
The Head Keeper's face darkened. "It's not 'loose.' It's being used."
"Shall we move, Head Keeper?" asked the man.
"No. Not yet. Let Martha and Reginald handle it. They'll manage." she replies
A younger scribe hesitated, as he write something by holding a clip board. "What about Bob?"
The whole room tensed.
"What about it?" snapped the Head Keeper.
"It should've been noticed that too. For It's happening closer than we are now. Westhex is literally what Bob built to fight us. The temporal friction is happening on its home turf. Right?" answer the young scribe nervous.
The room went silent.
The Head Keeper tapping on her forehead for a while and starts writing something on her desk, like a formula. "I see... Then we shall see how Bob handles time itself. Bob can't play god forever anyway, it's been hiding from us and there's something wrong going on right now. Like a celestial being is in play now. This is way beyond our science."
Her eyes glowed faintly, like fading embers.
"If Bob keeps letting this happen, let it burn with them. Like what it did to our organization before..."
* * *