Januar slowly woke up.

While he was opening his eyes, he simultaneously raised his arm to inspect the area on his chest.

It took a moment before his vision was able to focus.

"Januar! You're back, is everything alright?"

Kay knelt next to Januar, supporting his back with one arm, but he wasn't the only one. Constantine knelt on Januar's other side, a bit hesitant whether to support him as well.

Kay had already flashed him a sharp look, but Constantine didn't waver in the slightest.

Finally, Januar's mind caught up with the current situation and he jumped up from the ground.

"Where's Fred?"

Before Kay was able to respond, Januar had already found the answer.

Although Frederic was nowhere to be seen, upon closer inspection Januar discovered two strange cards lying not too far away.

His heart jumped.

What a lucky coincidence!

Fred had also entered a 'Realm'.

Januar quickly gathered his cards that had fallen to the floor and ran into the school again, who knew when Fred would return.

Only after Januar reached the safety of a toilet cubicle, did he finally have time to take a breather.

"So, how was it?", asked Kay expectantly, "You didn't die this time, right?"

Januar grimaced slightly.

"It was alright, but I still died, it just wasn't as painful this time."

He shot a harsh look at Constantine who was leaning against the door of the cubicle with a pitiful smile on his face.

Januar suppressed the urge to snort in contempt. Kay soon followed suit, glaring at Constantine again.

Constantine flashed Kay a bright smile in response.

But this was their usual rivalry, so Januar didn't pay attention to them.

"So, what happened? There's no newcomer this time."

Januar was also confused by this, he initially thought that he would welcome a new person each time he completed a 'Realm'. Although it didn't feel like his 'Complete' was tied to much effort, the only thing he really did was die, Januar thought self-mockingly.

Still, he at least wanted to know what was different this time, so he took out the new card.

 

After reading the skill descriptions, Januar observed the picture, lost in thought.

The scene depicted two people sitting together, a shawl of fluffy feathers wrapped around them, while fireworks illuminated the night sky above and the black sea below them with sparkling light. Almost as if they were floating in space. If only one of them didn't have a dark stain on his chest and was already slipping from his sitting position.

It was a nice picture. And probably Januar's favorite until now.

But... maybe he only felt that way because he didn't associate it with some sort of heartwrenching pain and trauma.

Januar opened his mouth.

"Castiel, won't you come out?"

Kay and Constantine straightened their posture.

"You mean there is actually another one?!", Kay grumbled, "What's with that attitude not even coming out to meet us."

The card lit up briefly.

Suddenly a tall figure appeared in front of Januar, with his head hanging down.

"I'm sorry."

The regret and anguish in Cast's voice were obvious.

Januar felt a sting in his heart and after he hesitated for a moment, he followed his first instinct and reached out his hand to pat Cast's light brown hair, which was no longer hidden by the brown cap.

Together with the patting, Cast's tense muscles relaxed.

After remaining like this for about a minute, Januar withdrew his hand, and a slight delay later Cast also raised his head again.

Januar smiled awkwardly while looking at Cast. He glanced around, but no one said anything, not even the usually so talkative Kay.

"Well, Castiel, you... probably already know who I am, so these two are Kay and... Constantine... respectively."

Januar pointed from one card summon to the other.

"And this is Castiel."

Kay furrowed his brows seeing the lack of greeting from Cast's side, but ultimately nodded with his arms crossed.

Constantine didn't say anything, he just smiled brightly as usual.

In actuality, Cast and Constantine stared at each other for a long time, which caused his smile to widen even further.

And Kay's mood to sour.

"You shouldn't develop any good feelings towards that scum, he killed Jan."

"Didn't we all kill Jan in some way?"

The atmosphere instantly became awkward after Constantine spoke.

Unspoken guilt hung heavily in the air.

Januar wanted to glare at Constantine again, but at that moment the bell rang.

He instantly tidied up and returned the cards to his card pouch.

"I have to return to class now, you can decide if you want to stay or not, Cast."

Cast nodded but didn't disappear, which probably meant he was curious about Januar's class.

Januar ran down the hallway towards his classroom.

When he arrived, everyone had already sat down, and even the teacher was already standing at the podium.

"So, you are here. We almost thought you left, Mr. Stolz."

Januar whispered a short apology and sat down at his desk.

As soon as he had stepped inside the classroom the familiar glares from his classmates returned.

Compared to this, the 'Realms' almost felt like a short vacation, although he died in them every time.

But Januar soon noticed that there was something different, a glare sharper than the others. And when he looked around, he found Frederic staring intently at him.

Januar stiffened.

When their eyes met, it seemed to trigger something, because Frederic suddenly rose from his seat and announced with a loud voice.

"I want to challenge Jan to a duel."

This shook the entire class, even the front row and teacher turned around with startled expressions on their faces.

"Mr. Eifer what is this about?", the teacher asked in shock.

Fred glanced at the teacher with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Every student can challenge any student with a Soul-Realm Card to an official duel."

The smarter classmates all gasped hearing Fred's words.

What did his words mean?

Simple, Januar had completed at least one 'Realm' as well!

And the fact that it was Fred who challenged him, meant that Januar had received a very strong skill.

As Fred very rarely did the dirty work himself, only if it was absolutely necessary.

The teacher also was no fool and realized the hidden meaning in Frederic's words.

"So, Mr. Stolz, will you accept or not? Duels give bonus points, no matter if they are won or not and I will have you know that your grades are still only barely scraping the passing grade after the last exam."

He decisively chose to help Fred, as he wanted to know what kind of skill Januar had received as well.

Maybe he would be able to find out how Januar had cheated in their last exam.

Pressured by the teacher and his fellow classmates, Januar bit his lip.

Now, even if he wanted to refuse, he really couldn't.

With his head lowered, Januar muttered:

"I accept."

 

 

Small Theater:

While Cast was being comforted:

Kay and Constantine:... Why am I jealous?