Professor Kerunu said goodbye to the last of her student as they filtered out from the lecture hall after class. She looked down at her phone as she got a message from her daughter. [How long until you're done?] She responded that she was just finishing up and started to pack up her things. She turned off the main screen of the lecture hall, and got another message. [Some of your old classmates are here to meet you, they just went downstairs.] 'A pleasant surprise.' She thought. Paloma ran through a list of potential visitor in her head as she walked towards the door. 'Robin, maybe, she was always hanging out before. Charles definitely wouldn't...' She walked out into the hallway and was immediately put into a chokehold with a nuggie.

  "Gah!" Paloma screeched at the surprise attack. The hand giving her a nuggie did not relent. The captor's stubble beard scratched against her neck. His breath a steady cool knife passing her ear. "A teacher? Really?" A woman's voice spoke from in front of Paloma. The clicking of heels on the floor sounded as the woman approached. A hand grabbed Paloma by the chin and turned her to face the stranger. "She doesn't look anything special, who is she?" The man holding Paloma spoke. "Oh no one important. But she's perfect for what I have planned, and I know her quite well."

  Professor Kerunu racked her brain trying to remember where she'd heard that voice before. He sounded like he had a grudge against her. Something not many people should have. "Now now. You should've figured it out by now. But I won't tell." The man giggles for five seconds straight.

  "So what do you want?" Paloma spat back, as she did she slowly lifted her foot and readied to stomp it on the man's. "Calm down little girl. You're in no position to fight two professional assassins." The man's brazen introduction shocked Paloma. Who could want her dead? "Now don't get your head in a ditz, we're here to warn you." The accomplice looked at the man. "We are?" "We are!" With that slight shift in the conversation Paloma took action and slammed her foot down.

  Nothing happened.

  "Did you think that would do anything?" The grip around her throat constricted further. "Remember dear. We're here in good faith. We're giving you help. So be a little nicer to me, eh?" Professor Kerunu didn't know what to do, her mind was racing fast, and heart; faster. "SO LISTEN UP!" The man shouted into her ear, jolting her into focus. "In a few seconds, you'll get an invitation to a high school reunion party. Accept the invite. Trust me, you'll want to be there that day."

  *Ping!*

  "There you go." The man's grip shifted so her shoulders were unconstrained, and she could reach inside her pocket to retrieve her phone. Sure enough, an invitation was sent to her. The details weren't important right now, she didn't bother to read them, she just replied that she would be there. Better to handle the immediate situation before anything else is put on her mind. "There. Done. Would you be so kind as to release me?" Before the man could respond the woman knocked Paloma out with a swift punch to the face.

  Barivure shakes the numbness of her hand off as she backs away from the unconscious professor. "So are you going to tell me what that was all about?" Nicholas just smiles at her. Then puts a finger to his lips and draws a circle in the air. Seeing the gesture Barivure listens carefully, and in the distance she hears footsteps walking away, their pace and force a clear indication of someone trying to quickly sneak away. She was shocked, she didn't notice anyone in their vicinity when they had arrived, and certainly no one approached. 'Impressive...' Nicholas on the other hand was still listening, tracing where their mysterious eavesdropper was going. "They turned left at the top of the stairs and right at the end of that hall, but I lost track afterwards. Come along. I thought you wanted a perfect track record?"

  The two assassins sprinted off. They rushed upstairs, passing by Mercedes as they turned down the left hallway. Mercedes was jolted by their sudden appearance and flinched her glass pad out of her grip. It landed hard on the floor and a few cracks splinted around its edges. Thinking quickly Mercedes knew something was wrong. She didn't bother to pick up her tablet and rushed downstairs to see her mother.

  Mercedes cried out upon seeing her mom crumpled over on the floor outside of her lecture hall. "Mom? Mom?!" She rushed over and tried to roll the professor onto her back, it took some effort but eventually she got it. Mercedes checked all over her mother for signs of damage. Some bruises were starting to form on the forehead and around the collarbone. "Come on! Wake up!"

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Mercedes always had a plan for anything. She was prepared and ready for the wildest of scenarios that she could come up with while daydreaming. But when they actually happen, it's terrifying. No matter how prepared you think you are. "-up. Come on! Come on!! Please wake up!" Mercedes was starting to cry. She pulled out her phone and dialed the hospital.

  On the ground floor a hunt was taking place. Barivure and Nicholas had split up and were trying to chase and flank who ever had overheard their little session with Paloma. "Anything?" Barivure's voice sounds over Nicholas' ear piece. "Still nothing. I'm impressed. Not many people can hide from members of the Red Court so well. I mean... I could understand escaping you. But me no- Wait." He stops talking. Putting and ear to the softly flowing wind of the hallway. A smile creeps up his face. He starts running down the hall. He turns the corner and fakes continuing by softening his step while standing still, just around the corner. A patient waiting game began. Nicholas listened as footsteps began to approach his location. Slowly, carefully, and with fear evident in their gait and breath.

  Mercedes called for the authorities, warning about the two strangers who had assaulted her mother. Paloma was still knocked out, but was breathing, so all Mercedes could do was wait. Waiting was something she wasn't good at. Normally she would just read a book as whatever she needed approached from the inexhaustible march of time. Of course putting panic in a corner would only let it fester, so little Mertz panicked while waiting.

  Just as the mysterious stalker neared the corner Nicholas pulled out a silenced pistol from his back pocket, braced it forward and rolled around the corner. He readied his sights on his target and- there was no target. "What?" He was absolutely certain that someone was right there around the corner a moment ago. He listened again. Nothing. Just the low hum of the building's machinery in the distance. Nicholas put away the pistol. He walked away, still listening for signs of his target.

  There is was again. Someone was following him. Him! A professionally trained assassin and master of espionage was being tailed by an amateur. But for some reason he couldn't find them. He was supposed to be hunting them, not the other way around. Nicholas spun around hoping to find that pesky stalker, but to no avail. Frustrated Nicholas voiced his retreat. "We're approaching the deadline, let's go. Eavesdropping that conversation isn't going to put a sinch in our plan."

  Barivure scoffed at her partner's attitude. He had jeopardized their mission and was only sounding slightly agitated. "Alright, then you tell me why we even did all this in the first place." A short laugh cut through the call. "Maybe... Maybe." "Don't give me that shit. I only went along with this because we already placed the gremlins and it's not like mercury has the technology to handle those little fuckers. So shut your mouth for any other reason than to tell me why you wanted some random teacher to go to a class reunion- Which to be honest she probably would've gone to anyway." The pause over the line was longer than expected as Barivure waited for a response. "Taking that into account: I guess this was pointless. Oh well." The woman proceeded to cuss out the fool as they made their exit.

  As the two Red Court members escaped from Corvis University sirens wailed, announcing the police's approach. In a hallway on the first floor of Weiber hall, near the northern side and close to the elevator stood a shaking student.

  An invisible student.

  Hwang was afraid. He had planned to get RAFE into the university servers today, but had instead witnessed a small part of an assassin's plan. For fear of what more they could do he escaped from the scene, but they heard him and started a hunt. It wasn't long. Barely ten minutes. But holding your breath is draining. Hwang followed one of them as silently as he could to make sure he didn't do anything more. The close calls were now hitting him with their full force of fear. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

  When Nezha had first appeared and flipped the table labeled 'Hwang's Life' it didn't quite feel real. When RAFE entered Hwang's mind for a moment and shattered Hwang's preconceived idea of the conscious mind, it didn't quite feel real. Even when the stress had hit him from acting out of his normal routine to go about spreading RAFE to as many people as he could, it still didn't feel real. All of those events felt like some great story playing out around him. Even if he was inside them. Even this terrifying scene was like some deep theatre performance. Only once it was over did the weight of the show, the world, hit.

  Hwang needed a way to stay stable and sane if he was going to achieve divinity. He was already taking anti-depressants and did daily meditation, at least when he could fit them into his every shrinking schedule of showing up for a single class every three to four days and playing video games most of the rest of the time. Playing games is important, what can he say. Hwang doesn't work. His allowance is plenty enough to sustain himself. A consequence of that is that his ambition was as low as it gets. Until recently. Godhood is a pretty damn good motivator. But he won't get anywhere unless he can calm down. 'I can't keep having these panic attacks.'

  Perhaps he should stay watching the show. Detach himself. From himself. The stage seems a lot more inviting when you're not the one preforming.