Extra To Protagonist-Chapter 101: Awake

"You felt it earlier. That thing—whatever that pressure was. The timing lines up."

Elara finally looked at him.

And for once, she didn't have something calm to say back.

She just stared.

Nathan took another breath, tried to lower his voice.

"I don't know what's happening, El. But Merlin does. And I know you do too. At least more than me."

Elara didn't deny it.

That was the worst part.

Nathan's jaw tensed. "Is she dead?"

"No."

The answer came fast.

Sharp.

Nathan blinked. "How do you know?"

"Because I didn't feel her die."

He hesitated.

Elara's voice was quieter now. Steadier. But the edge was still there.

"Whatever took her didn't kill her. Not yet."

Nathan looked down the hall, like he could see the spot where she'd vanished. Like it might give him something back if he stared long enough.

"Then what did it do?"

Elara didn't answer.

Not right away.

"We need to wait for Merlin."

Nathan stepped back.

"Yeah," he muttered. "We do."

But his fingers were still clenched.

And something behind his chest kept telling him that waiting wasn't going to be enough.

—

He felt the ache again before he saw them.

It had crept up his spine halfway down the corridor. Not pain. Just pressure. Like his nerves were working harder than they were supposed to. Like his body was borrowing from something it hadn't fully repaired yet.

[SYSTEM CORE: 68%]

[STABILIZATION: IN PROGRESS]

[MANA INTERFACE: PARTIAL LINK ACTIV]

[AFFINITY OUTPUT: 11%]

[USER STATUS: LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY — ACTIVE]

The numbers were climbing. Slowly. Steady like breath.

But it still wasn't enough.

Not for this.

He turned the corner and saw them.

Nathan and Elara stood exactly where he'd left them, but something had shifted. Nathan's stance was wrong. Not casual. Tight in the shoulders. Jaw set. Like he was waiting for someone to tell him it wasn't as bad as it felt.

Elara was holding a book.

That was the first red flag.

She wasn't reading it. She was holding it like it weighed more than it should. Like it said something she didn't want to explain.

Merlin stopped walking.

They looked up.

Nathan's voice came out rougher than usual.

"She's gone."

The words didn't register at first. Not fully.

Then Elara stepped forward and offered him the book.

He took it before he could think too hard.

His fingers curled around the cover. Familiar leather. A faint crease near the bottom left corner. Seraphina's mark.

He flipped it open.

Dog-eared page. Page seventy-two. Which meant she'd read most of it already. Probably re-reading that section again, like she always did when something bothered her and she didn't want to talk about it out loud.

He turned another page. Nothing.

Another.

Still nothing.

Just absence.

He shut the book slowly.

"She wouldn't leave this behind," he said.

Nathan nodded. "I know."

His voice was quieter now. Less certain. Like saying it confirmed something he didn't want to believe.

Merlin looked at the walls around them. The floor. The corners of the hallway.

Everything looked the same.

But the silence was different.

It wasn't just quiet.

It was empty.

'Something scraped her out of the world. Clean.'

[THREAD ANOMALY: TRACED]

[LOCALIZED DISPLACEMENT — NON-FATAL]

[DOMAIN PRESSURE: STEADY GROWTH]

[VITAL SIGN: SERAPHINA ALDEN — TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE]

His grip on the book tightened.

She wasn't dead.

But she wasn't here.

The system confirmed what he already felt in his chest, too much space, not enough presence.

"I felt it when it happened," he said.

Nathan stared. "That pressure spike?"

Merlin nodded once.

"It wasn't just random."

"She was taken," Elara said.

Merlin looked at her. She wasn't guessing. She was stating.

And she was right.

The domain had reached out. Measured something. And decided Seraphina was the first.

Nathan was still standing there, holding nothing now, hands curled slightly like he didn't know what to do with them.

He was trying to keep calm.

Trying not to spiral.

Merlin understood that more than anyone.

'He's waiting for me to tell him what happens next.'

But he didn't have that kind of answer.

Just the one that mattered.

"We probably shouldn't split up to explore."

Nathan nodded. Immediately. No sarcasm. No second guess.

Elara didn't move, but he could feel her agreement in the way her stance shifted.

The hallway stayed quiet around them.

Still nothing from above. Still no alarm.

Whatever was watching the school hadn't finished what it started.

And Merlin knew exactly what that meant.

The system kept whispering behind his eyes. Warnings. Pressure readings. Status checks.

But none of that changed the one thing he couldn't ignore.

'I let this happen. I saw it coming. And I waited too long.'

He looked at the hallway again.

There was no trace left.

Just three of them now.

And the quiet.

Still growing.

—

The quiet had started to feel normal again.

That was the worst part.

They just stood there. Three of them now. One less than they should have been.

Merlin glanced at Elara.

Still steady.

Still unreadable.

But her hands were tense at her sides now. The kind of tension that didn't come from fear. The kind that came from knowing something had slipped past her.

He knew that feeling.

Then he looked at Nathan.

Nathan wasn't shaking, but his hands hadn't moved in a while. His jaw was clenched. Shoulders locked too high. Like he was waiting for someone to tell him it wasn't real.

Merlin took a breath.

It didn't help much.

"We go back to the dorms," he said quietly.

Nathan blinked. "What?"

"We need to rest. Eat something. Sit down."

Nathan just stared at him.

Elara didn't move.

"I'm not joking," Merlin added. "If this gets worse, we need to be ready. Not worn out."

"You think I can sleep right now?" Nathan asked.

Merlin didn't answer.

Because it wasn't a question. Not really.

Nathan ran a hand through his hair. The motion was rough. Frustrated.

But then he nodded.

It wasn't agreement.

Just trust.

"I'm coming back tomorrow," he muttered. "If you don't let me help then, I swear to god—"

"I know."

He didn't say thank you.

Nathan turned and walked off without another word.

Elara stayed.

Her eyes didn't leave Merlin.

He met them.

"I'm not doing anything stupid," he said.

"That's not what I asked."

"You didn't ask anything."

She held his stare for a second longer. Then finally looked away.

He gave a small nod.

Then she followed after Nathan, her steps silent as ever.

And just like that, he was alone.

Again.

He waited until their footsteps had faded completely.

Then he moved.

Not fast.

Not slow.

Just steady.

His hand brushed his coat. He checked the edge of the thread roll he'd packed earlier. Still there. Still unused. Good.

[SYSTEM CORE: 69%]

[AFFINITY RESONANCE: STABILIZING]

[USER CONDITION: MODERATE]

[WARNING: LOCAL DOMAIN STILL ACTIVE]

He turned left, then right, cutting across a corridor that hadn't been used in hours. No students here. No noise.

The courtyard came back into view.

The bench was still there.

So was the crack in the ground.

The vines hadn't grown.

But they hadn't retracted either.

Just resting.

Waiting.

He stepped closer.

Carefully.

Each footstep landed softer than the one before.

No twitch.

No motion.

Just presence.

'You're not done yet.'

The system didn't ping him this time.

But the pressure was back.

Not loud.

Not sharp.

Just there.

A quiet hum under the bricks.

He crouched again, slow.

The same way he had the first time.

And this time, he didn't pull away.

He let his fingers rest gently on the edge of the stone.

Not to provoke.

Just to feel it.

The warmth pulsed once.

Subtle.

Not natural.

He closed his eyes.

'Seraphina's still in there somewhere. I don't care what it costs me. I'm pulling her back out.'

The vines didn't answer.

They didn't need to.

He already knew this wasn't over.

But this time, he wasn't walking away from it.

—

Her eyes opened to stone.

Rough, gray, uneven.

Cold against her back.

Seraphina blinked once. Then again. The air smelled stale. Dry. Like an old cellar that had been locked for years.

Her heart was already beating too fast.

She sat up too quickly and caught her breath halfway, shoulders tight, hands bracing against the floor.

'What—what is this?'

The ground beneath her was solid. Stone blocks, uneven at the edges. Cracks between them. She looked up.

The ceiling arched overhead. Also stone. A narrow vault. Built.

Not a dream.

Not magic.

A hallway.

A real one.

She turned. The corridor stretched both ways. Narrow. Only wide enough for two people at most. The walls were the same, stone brick, aged and a little wet. No markings. No windows. No lights.

But she could still see. Faintly. A dull glow, barely enough to color the air.

She didn't know where it was coming from.

But it was enough to show her the truth.

'This is underground.'

She touched her chest. Then her sides.

No satchel. No dagger. No belt.

Just her school uniform.

Her heartbeat spiked again.

She stood slowly, bracing one hand against the wall.

No dizziness.

That surprised her.

'I'm not hurt. Just… moved?'

She tried to think. Last thing she remembered.

She was near the hallway by the planter wall. Then something cold. Fast. A pull.

Nothing after that.

Then here.

Wherever here was.

She swallowed.

The silence wasn't total. Just empty.

The kind of quiet that came after footsteps stopped.

She called out.

"Hello?"

Her voice echoed. Faint. Damp.

No answer.