[Kill her!] shouted the voice in his head, nearly causing Cehedia to pull out his arca blade.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Oliver, somewhat worried.

"Hey, where are you going?" he shouted as Cehedia made a beeline for the raggedly dressed girl.

[S-stop] begged Cehedia trying to will back control of his body, but it was already too late, he was in front of the girl, his arca blade half-formed. The girl immediately turned around, her eyes frantically searching the space around her before landing on Cehedia. She took a quick glance at the black mist coalescing around his hands before launching an uppercut directed at his solar plexus.

*side dodge*

Cehedia's body moved on instinct, even as he wrestled for control of his body. At this point, the other students began surrounding the two, their excited whispers making it hard for Cehedia to concentrate.

The girl rushed at him, throwing a fast left jab towards his face. Cehedia moved into the punch before jerking his head to the side to avoid the jab. His arca blade was stuck in a continuous cycle of growth and degeneration. With every jab and subsequent dodge that was dished out, Cehedia's arm would sway to kill her, but each time it was about to impale her he managed to dismiss the blade.

*Left hook.*

The girl's punches were unexpectedly fast and fluid, nearly catching Cehedia at the side of his face.

*Side dodge*

Their fight seemed rehearsed, almost as if it were a dance, though their heavy breathing made it evident that this was no game.

*Right hook.*

*Duck*

Cehedia had been on the defensive ever since the scuffle began, yet between the two, she looked worse for wear. Her attacks were becoming more and more sluggish, and Cehedia seemed to be getting faster with every attack he dodged.

[What are you doing? We have to kill her. If we let her walk away, she'll take us out later on.]*

[Keep quiet! You aren't real. Give me back my body.]

[No.]*

"He's moving kind of fast for a cadet, isn't he?" whispered one of the students as Cehedia disappeared into thin air. A split second later he was breathing down the girl's neck, his arca blade fully formed.

"The same trick won't work twice," smirked the girl, before a cloud of red mist exuded from her back with an explosive burst, knocking Cehedia to the floor. The girl fell to her knees panting, her eyes staring at Cehedia's unconscious body in relief.

[See, if I hadn't stepped back just now she could've killed us. Now just fall asleep and let me handle this.]*

"The first years are kind of interesting. Who is this kid?" asked one of the other students with a sort of amused tone, however right as Cehedia's blade was about to strike through the girl's throat, something slammed him to the ground.

"Eh? I didn't even use arca, I thought he would be able to put up more of a fight," snarked a blonde-haired student dressed in a grey vinyl'd uniform. The last thing Cehedia saw were his deep yellow eyes staring down at him as if he were rubbish tossed out on the side of the street.

***

Cehedia felt a cold sensation wash over his face before opening his eyes with a jolt. In front of him stood the hall master, all seven feet of him standing behind several steel bars. Cehedia tried moving but found that he was bound by chains.

"Cadet Cehedia, it hasn't even been 7 hours since you got into the residence and already you've been involved in a fight and used a weapon to commit what others have reported as 'grievous' injury to another student."

"Usually, such a misdemeanor would result in immediate expulsion, but you've been given a second chance. Thank the stars that you only have to serve solitary for 3 weeks," said the hall master as he let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"You will only be allowed to use the toilet once a day. If you have to do your business in between you will be forced to stand in your own waste. Your nightly meal has been reduced by half and will be served to you at midnight. 5 points have been deducted from your student card for grievous misconduct and 500 regends have been deducted from your monthly allowance," he continued, pacing around in front of Cehedia's cell as he read the details of his punishment from a sheet of paper.

"You will report to solitary directly after classes each day. No time shall be allocated for student missions or supplementary training of any kind during the period of your incarceration. You will be allowed to attend orientation, however, after receiving your dhia frame you will be bound in enchanted chains and put back into solitary," he finished, before placing the document behind him.

"If it was up to me, I'd throw you to the inquisitors for interrogation. From what I heard you were trying to kill her, and unprovoked at that. Enjoy your time here." The sound of the hall master's footsteps receding echoed throughout the chamber, and once the doors were closed it was left pitch black.

[I can get us out of here, just let m-]*

[Just keep quiet.] Cehedia drooped his head and closed his eyes. The voice couldn't follow him into his dreams, and though his dreams were a cesspit of jumbled memories, where the line between fiction and reality was nonexistent, it was still the lesser of two evils.

***

~*♪♪♪*“Down by the river where devils walk, where souls lament and children weep, has god forgotten us? Down by the river where Angels sing, but not for us, but not for us.*♪♪♪*” 

"Cehedia!"~

"Huh!? Mom!?"

"It's nice to know you think so fondly of me, however, I'd prefer you refer to me as hall master Keigen," said the hall master as he stood behind the open cell doors.

"Eat up, you're going to need it," he continued, before shoving Cehedia's plate of food into the cell. Cehedia stared at Keigen with an annoyed gaze before shrugging his shoulders, clinking the chains that he was bound in.

"Ah," realized Keigen before holding out his hands.

"Psyche, attribute telekinesis," he whispered. A moment later the chains around Cehedia began to tremble, before coming undone and floating around him like a snake slithering through the air.

"Now eat. The orientation is about to begin."