Archons of the Elite

Vol.2: S.S Voices

"Why should I believe you're real...?" I asked suddenly, the words leaving my throat as I slumped in defeat.

~Get up for a moment dear~

I did as I was asked, simply letting my tears fall as I felt my world collapse around me.

~Go to Ei's room, if you know where it is of course~

I began to walk, not even bothering to respond to the words, it's not like this would mean anything, I'll just say hi to her, that's all.

Eventually I reached the dorm and knocked nervously, the door soon sliding open to reveal the tall girl.

"Hm? Ichinose right?" She muttered, her hair slightly messy and a pair of headphones around her neck, the black jacket that hung loosely over her shoulders contrasting nicely with a tight purple shirt.

~Follow what I say, okay dear?~

I simply waited awkwardly for a moment before I heard the voice again.

~Tell her that you got the wrong door and giggle naturally, after you turn away say 'goodbye Raiden', trust me on this~

Raiden? Why would I...

"Oh sorry" I giggled nervously and rubbed the back of my head. "Wrong door, see you later Raiden!"

I turned away as I spoke and began to walk before a hand slammed next to my head, the girl putting me in a position I was kinda hoping she didn't know the meaning of.

She was so pretty up close like this... her face barely a few-

E-eh! Shut up Honami, this is not the time!?

"What did you say?" Ei muttered cautiously, her breath running over my face as I stood, pinned by her against the corridor.

~Say you heard Venti mutter it about her, okay dear?~

"S-sorry..." I whimpered "I heard Venti say it and just... I-"

Her expression softened as she stepped away, seemingly a little annoyed at Venti but I got the impression that the feeling wasn't particularly uncommon.

"I really do apologise, I misunderstood the situation, have a good day." Her voice had completely changed as she happily but awkwardly bid me goodbye.

~Told you I knew her~

As she walked away I felt shock set in and began to speak softly.

"H-how...?"

~Not saying, that's a secret between me and her~

I felt a soft giggle from within my head.

~This competition thing however, sounds like fun~

"H-hey" I began to mutter "just because I trust that you're real doesn't mean I trust you... Not with the fate of my class..."

~Oh? And you really think you can win? You saw Ei and Zhongli, not to mention you're far too... Weak~ It chuckled softly at me.

"Class B are united together, that's already a step in front of A and C. Not to mention even the school thought we were better than the lower two classes!" I argued with determination.

~And if the other classes used less... Savoury methods? What then? This isn't just your future on the line after all~

I grit my teeth as I felt myself lose the argument.

"Let them, we don't need to act like that to win!"

~Hmm... Let's see if that's true~

The words echoed in my mind as I desperately tried to keep hold of my morals...

"I'll prove you wrong... I know I will.."

My half hearted statement was greeted by an amused giggle as I walked back to my dorm, another sleepless night looming before me.

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Hey! I hope you liked this, it was mostly because I felt like class B would get absolutely crushed if it took Ichinose too long to develop so this seemed like a fun idea.

I feel like the voices identity is fairly obvious but I'm curious as to who people guess, I will say it's not a god, as I want any archons to be a tangible impact on the characters and world.

Maybe there's others, maybe there aren't, that's for you to figure out, so keep an eye out for people acting strangely strangely~ ;)

Don't worry though, I won't over do it :)

Hopefully this chapter was good, and yes I know it was shorter. Either way I'll see you in the next chapter!

Bye~