"Morning, Yugo! Yesterday was a lot to take in, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, tell me about it..."
The morning after Dogma's group had visited Luminous Academy, Yugo walked into the classroom and raised a hand in response to Melt’s greeting. He seemed distracted, lost in his own thoughts since the day before. Elena, noticing his gloomy expression, spoke up with concern.
"Are you okay, Yugo? You've got such a dark look on your face! You’ve gotta keep a smile on your face, okay?"
"Go easy on him, Elena," Marcos said, gently chiding her. "It isn't just Yugo. Everyone in the academy is reeling. Yesterday’s revelation was simply that staggering."
Marcos looked around the room, checking on their classmates. When Yugo followed suit, he realized that every single person in the room wore a similarly dejected expression.
"Everyone really is shaken up..." Melt murmured.
"It’s only natural," Setsuna added. "First, we’re told Reincarnators exist, then we’re told they’ve been hiding right here at our academy. After a double strike like that, anyone would be rattled."
"But I wonder if that story was even true..." another student wondered. "We got swept up in the atmosphere at the time, but there’s no guarantee that what that Dogma person said or the Oracle itself is actually correct."
Now that a night had passed since the assembly, the students had regained enough composure to feel conflicted. While they had been overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation at the time, some were now starting to doubt the validity of the claims. To be honest, the concept of an Oracle seemed dubious—it was the kind of thing someone could easily fabricate to manipulate people.
Still, they had no evidence to disprove what Dogma had said, and the sense of an unsettling presence closing in on the academy was very real.
"If the Reincarnators really disappear, will those mysterious incidents like the Great Hole really stop happening?"
"Who knows?" Marcos replied, a troubled look on his face as he toyed with his bangs. "Personally, I’d be happy if those inexplicable incidents ceased. But the idea of letting someone die in exchange... it’s still hard to stomach."
Because Marcos hadn't seen Yugo since the assembly, he didn't realize quite how much his friend’s internal state had shifted, so he didn't find his somber behavior particularly out of character.
"I see... you’re right. 'Excluding' the Reincarnators to solve the problem means those guys would be killed, wouldn't they?"
"They certainly weren't pleasant people," Melt said, "but I don't hate them enough to want them dead. I just hope the Oracle turns out to be wrong."
Yugo’s heart sank even further. He was struggling more than any of them, haunted by the thought that he was one of the very existences that should be excluded to save the world.
As a heavy silence settled over the room, Raiha spoke up, directing a question toward Yugo.
"Um, excuse me. Is Ryuga-san not with you?"
"Ah, right. When I woke up this morning, he’d already vanished from the room. He left a note."
"What? What do you mean?"
"He just said he had something to investigate and not to worry about him. He didn't give any details. Sorry."
Ryuga’s disappearance was the other weight on Yugo’s mind. He assumed his partner had his own suspicions about Dogma’s claims and had gone to investigate on his own, but why had he left without saying a word?
Just as Yugo was pondering Ryuga’s motives, the classroom door burst open. Yui lunged inside, nearly collapsing.
"Yugo-san!"
"Yui-chan? What's wrong? Why the rush?"
She was gasping for air, clearly having run at full tilt. Yugo’s first thought was that she was panicked over Ryuga’s disappearance, but the sheer desperation in her eyes told him this was something far worse. Barely able to speak, Yui screamed.
"Fee... Fee’s been taken! That Dogma woman and her group—they took him away!"