They made their way through the slowly emptying hall. Valentina could feel the other students looking at her and heard them whispering. Some looked pitiful, others were gloating. She kept her head down, concentrating only on putting one foot in front of the other.

  "You have to stay strong," Vyxara muttered in her head. "Don't show them any weakness."

  When they reached the corridor, Valentina leaned against the cool stone wall and closed her eyes. She felt drained, empty and almost screamed in her mouth in frustration.

  Valentina opened her eyes and looked into the worried faces of her friends. She felt a stab of guilt. She couldn't tell them the truth, couldn't explain what had really happened.

  "I know I've really neglected you, I haven't been a good friend. I'll make it all up to you," she said quietly. "Really. I'll meet you guys later. I... I just need some time to think."

  Innogen nodded in understanding. "Of course. But remember, you don't have to go through it all alone, okay? We'll help you get ready for the tie-break."

  Valentina forced herself to smile faintly. "Thank you," she repeated.

  When her friends finally left reluctantly, Valentina was left alone in the corridor. The silence around her was oppressive.

  "So," Vyxara began, her voice unusually gentle. "Do you want to talk about it?"

  Valentina laughed bitterly. "About what? About how I made a fool of myself in front of the entire university? Or about how Faustus tricked us?"

  "Both," the demon replied soberly. "We need to understand what happened so that we can prevent it next time."

  Valentina sighed deeply and leaned back, her gaze fixed on the darkening sky. "What exactly was that artifact, Vyxara? How could it have fooled our perception so completely?"

  "It's an ancient thing, older than the Martyr, much older," Vyxara explained, her voice now serious. "The Rumenekamat called it the 'Eye of Deceit'. It is of demonic origin. It distorts reality around the wearer, making them see and feel things that don't exist."

  "But how did Faustus get hold of something like that?" asked Valentina incredulously.

  "That I don't know. These artifacts are rare," Vyxara admitted. "But it is dangerous. Not only for others, but also for the user. If he uses it for a long time, it can slowly warp his mind. Permanently. It wasn't uncommon for users of an Eye of Deceit to end up as drooling idiots."

  Valentina shuddered. As much as she hated Faustus, the thought of him exposing himself to such an artifact filled her with unease.

  "And there's nothing we can do about it," she muttered in frustration. "No one would believe us even if we could tell the truth."

  "Not directly," agreed Vyxara. "But we can prepare ourselves. Now that we know what we're up against, we can develop countermeasures."

  Valentina nodded slowly. Her mind was already beginning to develop possible strategies. "We must find a way to see through the illusions," she said quietly. "Or better yet, turn them against Faustus himself."

  "Exactly," praised Vyxara. "We'll make a good strategy. And we have a month to prepare. We'll use every minute of it."

  Valentina felt a new determination rise within her.

  "We'll beat him," she said grimly. "Even if it's the last thing I do."

  "That's my little Weaver," Vyxara purred contentedly. "But don't overdo it. Revenge is a double-edged sword, and I'd hate to find other living quarters now that we're starting to have so much fun together."

  Valentina nodded absently, her mind already preparing for the upcoming tie-break. She would have to do some research, perhaps there was something useful to be found in the restricted section.

  A soft rustling sound startled her.

  When she turned around, she saw Faustus Boarfend's shit-eating grin in front of her.

  "Faustus!" she shouted, her voice as hard as steel.

  He spread his arms so wide that his bulging doublet became even tighter than it already was. "You've forgotten to congratulate me on my victory so far, peasant wench. Well, aren't you going to give me a hug?"

  Valentina clenched her fists. "I know what you did," she hissed, "The Eye of Deceit. How did you get it?"

  Surprise flickered across Faustus' face for a moment, but he quickly caught himself. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said smoothly. "Perhaps you should spend less time reading fairy tales and more time practicing your pitiful Essence Weaving skills."

  "Don't lie to me!" Valentina hissed. She stepped closer, feeling the anger boiling up inside her. "You cheated. You used a demonic artifact to win!"

  Faustus laughed coldly. "Oh, please. Just because you're too incompetent to keep up with me doesn't mean I'm cheating. Maybe you should just accept that you don't belong here. Go back to your farm, spread your legs for some yokel, and squeeze out some peasant brats. Follow your destiny. And let the real Essence Weavers do their work."

  Valentina felt something inside her threatening to break. Her hands went up and she already had the first unsightly patterns on her fingertips. "You arrogant, disgusting-"

  "Careful, little Weaver," Vyxara warned in her head. "He's deliberately provoking you. Don't get carried away and do something stupid."

  Faustus watched her with a smug smile. "What's the matter, Valentina? Can't you face the truth? That, despite all your efforts, you're just not good enough? That you're just a hardship case from the lower classes who was taken in out of pity?"

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Valentina was breathing heavily, her vision blurred with rage. She could feel the Essence threads gathering around her fingers, ready to do her bidding. It would be so easy to hurt Faustus now, to silence him...

  "No," Vyxara said, the voice like a whip in Valentina's head. "It's not worth it. He's not worth it. Think of the greater goal."

  With superhuman effort, Valentina forced herself to calm down. "You're wrong, Faustus," she said, her voice icy. "And I will prove it. In the tie-break, I will destroy you, in front of everyone."

  Faustus' smile widened. "Oh, I'm looking forward to it. It will be a pleasure to put you in your place once and for all."

  He looked at her with feigned pensiveness and sighed. "You're really keen on the prize money, aren't you? Do you need it that bad? I'll make you an offer: stop this nonsense here at the university and I'll put in a good word for you with my father so that he hires you as a housemaid. If you do reasonably well, he might even make you a bastard or two."

  If she listened to him for one more second, she wouldn't be able to control herself. With one last hateful look, Valentina turned and stormed away. She heard Faustus' mocking laughter behind her, but she refused to turn around.

  "You did the right thing," Vyxara said gently. "He will get his punishment, but not today and not here."

  Valentina nodded silently. She felt drained, emotionally and physically exhausted. She needed her friends now, needed some normality in this chaos.

  "Go to Innogen," Vyxara whispered. "You need to take your mind off this business for a minute."

  Her feet carried her to Innogen's room almost of their own accord. She knocked softly on the door.

  "Val?" Innogen's surprised voice sounded from inside. "Come in!"

  Valentina opened the door and entered. Innogen and Crispin were sitting on Innogen's sofa talking. Their worried looks almost made Valentina collapse.

  "I... I need you," she whispered, her voice brittle.

  Without hesitation, her friends stood up and pulled her into a tight hug. At that moment, Valentina finally let the tears flow that she had been holding back all day.

  Innogen and Crispin held Valentina while her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. The scent of Innogen's lavender soap and Crispin's familiar smell enveloped her like a comforting blanket. Slowly, the tears subsided and Valentina gently released herself from the embrace.

  "I'm sorry," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. "I didn't mean to get so... emotional."

  Innogen led her to the sofa and pressed a cup of warm herbal tea into her hand. "Val, you have nothing to apologize for. We're your friends, we're here for you."

  Crispin nodded in agreement. "Exactly. For better or for worse."

  Valentina sipped her tea, grateful for the warmth spreading through her body. She noticed the brief, meaningful look Innogen and Crispin exchanged and felt a twinge of guilt. She knew her friends were worried, that they had questions.

  Innogen sat down next to her, her blue eyes full of compassion, but also with a hint of concern. "Val, I know you're going through a hard time. But it won't stay that way, it will get better."

  Valentina swallowed hard. She wanted so much to tell her friends the truth, to tell them about Vyxara, about everything that had happened. But she knew she couldn't.

  "It's just... the pressure," she finally said. "The competition, the expectations. Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating from it."

  "I know," Innogen said, although Valentina could see the doubt in her eyes. "Let's think about strategies for the tie-break. Three heads are better than one."

  Valentina felt something inside her relax. Even if she couldn't share everything, the support of her friends meant more to her than she could express. She was so moved that she could have burst into tears again.

  "Thank you," she whispered, "you don't know how much this means to me."

  They began to exchange ideas. Crispin suggested focusing on the strengths Valentina had shown in the earlier rounds. Innogen emphasized the importance of calm and focus and suggested exploiting Faustus' weaknesses.

  As they spoke, Valentina felt her anger at Faustus flare up again. "He'll pay for this," she muttered, more to herself than to the others.

  Innogen and Crispin exchanged an alarmed glance.

  "Val," Innogen said carefully, "I know Faustus is a pig, but... You sound like you seriously want to hurt him."

  Valentina blinked, surprised by the intensity of her own feelings. "I... no, of course not. I just meant that I'm going to beat him in the competition."

  Crispin put a hand on her arm reassuringly. "We understand that you're angry. But don't let him upset you like that. If you really hurt him, you'll be in tremendous trouble. Commoners aren't allowed to raise a hand against a noble... um, or however you call it when it comes to Essence Weaving."

  Valentina forced herself to smile, even though she was boiling inside. She knew her friends were right, but they couldn't understand what was really going on.

  "Calm down, little Weaver," Vyxara whispered in her head. "Your friends mean well. Use their support, but don't lose sight of your goal."

  Valentina took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. I won't stoop to his level. I'll beat him with my skills, fair and square."

  Innogen smiled, visibly relieved. "This is the Val we know and love."

  They spent the rest of the evening discussing strategies and swapping stories. For a few precious hours, Valentina felt normal again, surrounded by friends who loved her.

  When she finally said goodbye, Innogen hugged her tightly once more. "Don't forget, Val," she whispered with a smile, "one more month and you'll have won the competition and then I'll want you all to myself for a whole week."

  Valentina nodded with a laugh, a lump in her throat. She knew she couldn't tell her friends everything, but their unconditional support gave her strength.

  On the way back to her room, she felt the tension in her body dissipate.

  "You're lucky, little Weaver," Vyxara murmured appreciatively. "You have true friends. Resilient. That's useful."

  Valentina closed the door to her attic room behind her.

  "Well," Vyxara spoke up, "what do you think of this day?"

  Valentina snorted bitterly and dropped onto her narrow bed. "A disaster. A complete bloody disaster."

  "Not quite," the demon replied. "You may have lost, but you're still in the race. And more importantly, we now know what we're up against."

  Valentina sat up, her eyes sparkling in the semi-darkness. "Yes, a cursed demonic artifact. How the hell are we supposed to fight it?"

  Vyxara giggled softly. "Oh, I have a few ideas. But first we need to talk about your anger, little Weaver."

  "My anger?" Valentina jumped up and began to pace up and down the narrow room. "I have every right to be angry! Faustus attacked my senses, he humiliated me, he-"

  "I'm not saying your anger is unjustified," Vyxara interrupted gently. "But you have to control it, use it. Blind rage will get us nowhere."

  Valentina stopped and stared out of the window.

  "What do you suggest?"

  "We have to be clever," explained Vyxara. "The Eye of Deceit is powerful, but it also has weaknesses. We have to exploit them."

  Valentina nodded slowly. "And how do we do that?"

  "Research, practice and a bit of... creative thinking," the demon replied with a hint of mischief.

  A grim smile spread across Valentina's face. "You think we should bend the rules a little?"

  "Oh, more than a little, little Weaver. We'll bend them until they almost break."

  Valentina felt excitement rising inside her. "What exactly are you planning, Vyxara?"

  The demon laughed softly. "You'll see about that. But first you have to promise me something."

  Valentina hesitated. She knew by now that making promises to a demon could be dangerous. But did she really have a choice? "What?"

  "Promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to win. That you won't back down at the last moment."

  Valentina swallowed hard. If she made that promise, there would be no going back. But then she thought of Faustus' sneer.

  "I promise," she said firmly. "Whatever it takes."

  She felt something in the air change, as if she had just signed an invisible contract.

  "Excellent," Vyxara stated contentedly. "Then let us begin."

  "Thank you, Vyxara," she said. "For everything."

  "Don't think I’m helping you out of pure generosity. No, no, no," Vyxara purred, amusement laced in every syllable. "I like to see where this goes. And the way it's heading right now, I'm sure it will all be worth it for me in the end."