I won’t spell it out. You know already—you’ve been dragged into the Abyss. Everything mirrors the Twelfth District, yet this whole tableau is woven from boundless Abyssal Aura.

Night Frost held a blister of pills, her flame burning gentle as embers. Soon, black vapor steamed off the tablets, stirring panic and fear like startled birds.

She swept her gaze over the gathered crowd. When the pills burned to ash, she spoke again.

“So don’t use anything here at random. Or you’ll join the ones lying on the floor. My companion should arrive soon. Her power can purge the Abyssal Aura inside you.”

Night Frost moved to the teacher and handed over the student list. Blade had given it to her after Dawnlight left, a roster of the missing. She wanted the teacher to check if anyone still hadn’t made it back.

A quick count turned sour—they were short four or five. Not in the return queue. Not among the ones collapsed here.

No doubt Night Frost’s workload just grew. She swallowed the urge to smack the disobedient bunch and continued.

“Also, this is the Abyss. The dead turn to wraiths. If you meet a face you knew, mourn them and move on. Rest while you can. It won’t stay easy.”

She went to a corner and glanced at Senior Su, eyes closed in weary calm. Night Frost dipped her head, then sat, not caring about the dust, arms wrapped around her knees.

Senior Su felt someone beside her and opened her tired eyes. She looked at the girl in a black-and-gold high-waisted dress. White hair lay smooth against her cheeks. Crimson-gold pupils held a maturity and resignation the face didn’t match.

Her pale hand rested on bent knees, but never quite stilled. Her thoughts drifted toward the window, wandering far.

Senior Su shut her eyes again. The Magic Maiden felt familiar. She’d heard that speech too. The voice kept tugging at memory.

Her mind slipped back to the transfer student from days ago—pupils so black they had to be lenses, sleek black hair like water, always staring out the window.

But that couldn’t be, could it?

Night Frost’s words earlier had said a 【Cantata Two】 【Order Keeper】 was aiming for an agent credential. It sounded unrealistic.

Maybe she was Night Frost’s sister or something?

Unbeknownst to her, the 【Cantata Two】 【Order Keeper】 was truly attending school to earn that agent title.

“Do you have a question?”

Night Frost pulled her thoughts back. She could feel Senior Su watching from the corner of her eye, so she asked first.

Senior Su jolted and buried her face in her knees. Night Frost found the posture a bit funny.

“No… nothing. You just look like a new classmate of mine.”

Understanding her doubt, Night Frost smiled. She trimmed the truth and offered something safer—she was a Twelfth District 【Order Keeper】, after all. Sharing details was a no-go.

“Oh, that’s my younger sister. She’s got some Mana but not much talent. Please keep an eye on her.”

Night Frost had made up “friends and family” more times than she could count. This, too, came easy. The two chatted for a long while.

Dawnlight wasn’t fast, yet not late. A light orb burst in the sky, announcing her arrival. Night Frost stood to greet her. Dawnlight slipped into the office building without effort.

Night Frost briefed her, then sat back down.

Dawnlight walked to a student clutching his stomach. Golden holy light flowed from her hands. Gentle sacred Mana entered his body, dissolving the Abyssal Aura bit by bit.

Dawnlight’s control was unquestionable. Some 【Cantata Three】 casters might not match it. Years of practice had honed that skill.

The boy’s face smoothed to peace. Night Frost did the math—purging one person took over ten minutes. More than ten lay here.

Boredom crept in. Night Frost called to Dawnlight, then went to search for the space channel.

She stepped onto the street. That prickle of being watched rose again, like frost along the spine. She stood still, calm as a lake at dusk, and asked,

“Who are you?”

A Spear formed in her hand. She scanned the buildings and aimed at the one most fit for hiding.

The bluff worked. Someone slipped out.

A silver-haired girl sprang from the back of the building. She was short, maybe in her teens, in a black-and-white checkered skirt. She stepped on the void and landed before Night Frost. Glassy eyes smiled, bright and playful. Night Frost answered with a helpless look.

“Sister Night Frost~ how did you find me? I hid so well.”

The girl was Illusory Glass, no doubt. Who knew when she had slipped in? The watcher from before—also her.

“I guessed.”

Illusory Glass, hearing she’d been bluffed, wasn’t upset.

“I figured you snuck in. Got any news?”

From her expression, Night Frost guessed right again. Illusory Glass had slipped in at noon on the second day, sneaking into the 【Order Keeper】 branch and slipping through the passage.

From the students’ chatter, she had confirmed her suspicions. Her time reversal and Night Frost’s miracle had created a new future.

“What time is it outside now?”

“About the second night since they left inside.”

Illusory Glass wasn’t certain. She’d entered at noon, and soon after, the channel vanished. She was lucky to meet Night Frost.

Night Frost weighed the time. She had lived through four days and nights here; the fifth was falling. Outside, nearly two days had passed. So a day here lasted twelve hours.

From dusk to the next sunset.

Two sunsets left before the three-day mark. Then the 【Order Keeper】 would announce the missing students. Chaos would follow.

“Where did your exit open?”

“The mall center. It lasted only half an hour. This space had just closed when I met you. I wanted to test my tracking, and you ‘guessed’ me out.”

Night Frost let the boast slide. If the Abyssal Rift opened for only half an hour, that was a needle in the sea. Crossing the Twelfth District in that window was impossible.

Three problems now. Why did the list keep getting longer? Night Frost almost laughed at herself.

First, find the missing students. Second, locate the Abyssal Rift fast. Third, stabilize it, rally the students, and push them through.

Finding the missing ones should be doable. She and Dawnlight had run the District’s outer ring. No one was at the borders. They had to be close.

The dead here made it easy to sense the living. The Rift would be similar—its scent distinct in this echoing graveyard.

Night Frost lifted the list. Names and home addresses, all in the city center. If they didn’t want to stay in the office building, going home was the obvious choice.

Dawnlight and Night Frost had found no trace of life on the outskirts. Their destination could be inferred. The kids’ minds were easy to read.

Night Frost moved. She glanced at Illusory Glass and handed her a sheet. Illusory Glass was a 【Cantata Two】—good strength, good hands. Best to make use of it.

“I’ll help. Watch for Fallen Ones.”

Illusory Glass took the paper, scanned it, and called out her Blood Clan familiar, Caris.

Night Frost couldn’t gauge the Blood Clan’s level. Illusory Glass’s contracted creature was no simple thing. With three of them and six missing, pairs could cover the targets.

Illusory Glass took the business district’s west and south. Night Frost headed east, then north to scout.

Illusory Glass laid a layer of time acceleration on the team. With Night Frost’s Mana pushing, she reached her destination without strain.

The sun had just dropped. Night bled in. Low clouds pressed down like stone about to fall, weight sinking into breath and nerves. The sky bruised dark, seeding nameless dread.

The air wasn’t cool anymore. Moisture clung hot and heavy, a sticky damp that frayed temper the longer you stayed.

Night Frost heard sounds behind a door. Lights burned inside. An AC unit whirred outside, exhaling who knew what—cool air or Abyssal Aura. All signs said someone was there.

She climbed the stairs. Wraiths clustered in the hallway, drawn by the living. She cut them down as she passed, quick as rain sweeping dust from tiles.

She pressed her ear to the door. Silence inside, not a whisper. Her knocks drew no answer. She broke it open.

Crimson Gold Flame ate the security door. Night Frost lifted her skirt and slipped through, cat-quick.

The TV was on. The air conditioner breathed the Abyss. Plastic snack wrappers littered the floor. The basket beside the couch was empty; its contents had gone straight into his stomach.

She approached the student on the sofa. His face was chalk-white, eyes hollow, a faint curve on his lips. No breath.

Heat lingered on his skin. His pulse was a thread.

Abyssal Aura wrapped his body like tar. The mass in his gut had seeped into his tissues.

Night Frost set the clock in her mind. In a few minutes, he would be gone.