“Why do you like me, Anya?” he asked her. He stood still like a statue, but his deep, calm, serious voice terrified her.
“What?” she asked him, without blinking.
“Why do you like me?” he asked again.

Unable to decide on what to say, or unable to even think straight, she merely stared at him. It felt as if the world was still, and she was the last person alive. She was afraid to blink in fear of losing where he was.

“You are scaring me Michael,” she finally said.

“I’ll tell you why,” he started talking, “I have always been like this. I have always been silent, quiet and antisocial. I have never liked you; I have always treated you badly and I have practically used you in multiple occasions for my personal benefits. You fear me right now, because you can’t see my face. I’m hidden in the shadow. If I was standing in the light, you’d see my handsome face and be lost in its beauty. In short, you liked me Anya, because I am beautiful.”

Anya listened to him quietly, afraid to make any sound. He was right; he was scary, and she was frightened.

“After proclaiming to me for months that you like me, you come to me now and vouch for Thomas. If you are having this conversation with me, then you must know at least a part of my reason for hating my mother. And yet, you decide to do otherwise.”

He placed a step towards her. “Why Anya? Why would you do that?” She moved a step backwards.

“Are my looks that significant to you? Is being with someone who looks like me, that important to you!?” he asked as he lunged towards her and got a hold of her neck.

Her weak arms tried to get him off her and help her escape, but they couldn’t do much. She tried to call his name, but no sound came out. All she could see was his handsome face in its worst form; hair wet with sweat falling over his face, bulging eyes, grunting teeth and snarling at her.

She could feel each finger of his hand, tightening around her vocal cords and closing off whatever was left of the little circulation of air in her throat.

And then, he swung her around. She felt the grip on her neck go loose, but she was flying away from him. Her hand almost caught his fore finger but couldn’t grab it in time. Now, she was falling backwards and could see herself engulfed by fire from all sides.

Michael listened to her cry rise from the holy pit. He watched her body roll in the fire trying to put off the inevitable. But he didn’t feel remorse. He couldn’t feel remorse. He couldn’t feel anything but anger to every single one of her kind.

Suddenly, an overpowering pain went through his chest. He writhed in pain as he fell on the dark wood of the prayer room floor. The pain spread through his body and into his head. His eyes rolled backwards as his body froze in a tangled form, and then fell motionless on the floor.

A green light slowly emerged from the fire pit and within a second, spread in all directions, engulfing and destroying everything around.

**

“Michael! Hey! Wake up!”

Michael felt someone lightly tapping on his face. With extreme difficulty he opened his eyes and saw Grace standing in front of him.

“Are you up?” asked Grace, “Are you okay?”

Michael slowly sat up, holding his head. Coughing at the smoke, he looked around. He was still in the prayer room, which however looked like a war was fought in it. The furniture destroyed, windows shattered and everything else in sight completely broken. Grace sat in front of him, observing him.

“How did you get in here?” asked Michael.
“I walked in after the explosion. I wanted to make sure you were alright,” Grace replied.

“He is okay,” said another voice.

That’s when Michael noticed the presence of a third person in the room. On the other side of the room, a man stood idle. He wore clothes like that of Sir Antonio, but he looked very young. A quite handsome man with light brown eyes, that shone in the reflection of the fire pit, and a chiseled jaw.

“I’m waiting,” he said.

“Just a second,” said Grace and he leaned forward. Without any warning, he ripped off Michael’s t-shirt. Michael tried to grab his hand, which Grace completely ignored as he moved back.
As both men stared at Michael, Grace said, “There it is.”

Following their gaze, Michael stared down at his own chest. What he saw there, was something he had never imagined he would see. Three sixes were engraved onto his chest, right over his heart. All the scars he had, had disappeared. He was staring at a perfectly beautiful unharmed body.

He stood up in astonishment and looked at their smiling faces. He asked, “Who are you?”

Grace smiled and said, “You, Michael, met me for the first time in this school. I, however, have known you, seen you and have been observing you for a little longer than that.”

After pausing for a second, he continued, “It was me who showed you to Antonio, and explained to him how good of an addition you’d be to our school. Antonio trusted me. I was in his good books for a long time.”

“Antonio?” Michael was surprised at how casually Grace addressed the professor.

“You showed me to Sir Antonio? What do you mean?” Michael asked feeling intrigued.

“Michael, I have been around for a long time. I was waiting for you to turn eighteen, happy birthday by the way, to bring you here. To this point of time. To this very second of time. You see Michael, everything to this point has been written.”

Grace continued, “Bringing you to this school, getting you into the Privileged, the book in the library, Anya! It all had to be done. And I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.”

“The book? You led me to it?”

“No Michael. The book called you, and you heard its call! I merely placed it at the library.”
Michael shook his head as he tried to grasp the details.

“Anya? She told me that you asked her out?”

Grace nodded and said, “And I was thrilled to know that you weren’t interested in her, even though I got her to throw herself on you multiple times! Or Sia for that matter! You see Michael, you were written that way. You had to be asexual by all means; not attracted to anything or anybody; no feelings of love or remorse.”

“I don’t understand. I can’t understand anything,” Michael felt helpless with all the information dumped on him.

Watching him squirm uncomfortably, Grace said with a wicked smile, “Michael, you were born to overpower the rule of Abiel.”