Headmaster's Office...
The door shut softly behind Alaric.
Jojo sat behind the desk again, this time with a more solemn presence.
Alaric stood quietly for a moment, unsure if he should sit.
Caroline gave him a nod and guided him to the chair beside her.
Jojo folded his hands.
"I've seen the curse,"
He began, looking directly at Alaric.
"It's there. The seed of it."
Alaric tensed.
"____"
"But,"
Jojo continued,
"Right now… It's immature. Like an unripe fruit. Cutting it out now would only harm the soul it's rooted in."
Caroline exhaled slowly,
"So… we wait?"
Jojo nodded.
Nod~
"Yes. You wait. But not idly."
He turned his eyes back to Alaric, sharp and unwavering.
"They need each other now more than ever. Not as rivals. As sisters. That bond… it needs to be strengthened."
Alaric swallowed the lump in his throat.
"How?"
Jojo leaned forward.
"Give them time. Real time. Make them live. Laugh. Cry together. Go on trips, share memories. Family vacations, small moments, even mundane things. Let them be teenagers."
Caroline whispered,
"So… the stronger their love becomes, the more mature the curse becomes?"
"Yes,"
Jojo said.
He turned serious again.
"But if they fight… even a shouting match… bring them to me. Immediately. Don't let the darkness root deeper. Even words can feed it if left unchecked."
Alaric looked down, guilt washing over his face.
"I should've told them sooner."
Jojo's voice softened.
"No. You were trying to protect them. But now is the time for truth and healing."
Caroline reached over and gently took Alaric's hand.
Jojo stood.
"You can contact me anytime. But from now on, no secrets. If you want to break the curse… we do it together."
Alaric stood too, voice rough with emotion.
"Thank you."
Jojo smiled faintly.
"Don't thank me yet. We've only just begun."
The door to the Headmaster's office clicked shut behind Jojo.
He took a moment to exhale, rolling his shoulders before he looked around—
And found Klaus leaning lazily against the wall, arms crossed and face indifferent, but his eyes sharp as ever.
Jojo approached.
"Where's Inadu?"
He asked casually, glancing around the hallway.
Klaus didn't look at him at first.
"Wandered off to the library,"
He replied with a shrug.
"Said something about chatting with the students. She's fascinated by the idea of running her own school."
Jojo raised a brow, amused.
"Well, she is chasing her dream."
Klaus gave a wry smirk.
Smirk~
"She's more interested in how things function… Ones who don't get shackled, hunted, or manipulated. It's personal for her."
That got Jojo's attention.
"Let's go,"
He said, turning down the corridor.
Library...
The large double doors of the library creaked open, and soft murmurs filled the air.
Students sitting in clusters, some reading, others chatting.
Toward the far end, sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting a soft glow over two figures deep in conversation:
Inadu, eyes alight with excitement, and Hope, calmly listening with a small smile on her lips.
"…and I was thinking,"
Inadu was saying,
"Not just witches, but a place where others like hybrids, werewolves, even gifted humans could learn together. No labels. Just power, guided and supported."
Hope looked intrigued.
"That's… ambitious. But I get it. That's kind of what this school tries to do—minus the humans. Alaric says the curriculum is balanced between traditional education and supernatural control."
Inadu beamed.
"Do they have practical sessions? Like, combat? Elemental control? Healing?"
Hope chuckled.
Chuckle~
"Every week. Plus field training with guest teachers. It's a whole system—daily classes, weekend mentoring, and magical ethics seminars."
Inadu practically bounced on her heels.
"Ethics! Yes! That's what they never taught us when we were young—why power matters, not just how to use it."
Jojo and Klaus reached them just in time to hear that last bit.
"Looks like someone's planning to open the Hollow Academy,"
Jojo teased lightly.
Inadu turned and grinned.
Grin~
"You heard?"
"We heard,"
Klaus said dryly, though a faint spark of pride flickered in his gaze.
Hope smiled at her dad, then turned to Jojo.
"She's been asking about how we run things here. She's serious."
"I can tell," Jojo said, stepping closer.
"Maybe when you're ready, I'll help you set it up."
Inadu laughed.
"Deal."
Klaus gave a long-suffering sigh.
Sigh~
"Great. Another sanctuary full of teenage nightmares and overpowered delinquents."
Jojo smirked.
"You're just grumpy, you're not the headmaster."
Hope raised an eyebrow.
"Please. That school would be on fire by day three."
Inadu laughed again, full and bright—
Like someone tasting a new future she'd never believed possible.
Jojo, Inadu, Klaus, and Hope were still deep in conversation when Jojo's phone suddenly buzzed in his coat pocket.
BUZZ. BUZZ.
A strange tone—
Different from a normal ringtone.
Jojo's brows furrowed as he pulled it out.
INCOMING CALL – S.A.R.A. (Strategic Assistant & Recon AI)
He accepted it.
"Talk,"
He said simply.
Sara's smooth, digitised voice crackled through the speaker, unusually urgent.
"Jojo, I intercepted a distress signal—origin: rural outskirts, 30 kilometres northeast of your current location. The source is a panicked woman. She attempted to contact local law enforcement, but her call was rerouted mid-transmission."
"Someone hijacked the signal—kept it from reaching the authorities."
Jojo's eyes narrowed.
"____"
"Play it."
There was a short buzz, then a frightened voice burst through the line, barely coherent:
"Please—someone—anyone! We're trapped—something's wrong—time's not moving right—we keep repeating—there are things out here. Monsters—hunting us. This isn't normal—we can't get out—please help us!"
The message cut off with a scream followed by static.
Klaus, now alert, raised a brow.
"Let me guess. Another poor soul who stumbled into something older than they could handle."
Inadu turned serious.
"A time loop with monsters? That's either cursed ground… or a sealed dimension leaking through."
Jojo slid his phone back into his pocket, expression unreadable.
"The call came to Sara because during my last stay, I left her tapped into the law enforcement grid. She scans anything that sounds… off."
Hope leaned in.
"What's the plan?"
Jojo turned to her, then to Klaus and Inadu.
"I'm going to check it out. If this is some kind of loop, it'll need to be handeled with care."
Inadu's eyes gleamed.
"Want company?"
Jojo considered it.
"You're in?"
Inadu smirked.
"Please. I've been cooped up for too long."
Klaus sighed.
Sigh~
"I knew this would happen the moment she said school."
He glanced at Hope.
"You are not going, young lady."
Hope nodded, sensing the rising danger.
Nod~
She wanted to accompany Jojo, but she knew her father wouldn't allow it.
Jojo turned toward the door.
"Sara, send coordinates.."
"Already done, Jojo. GPS active. Local atmospheric readings are… unstable."
He looked at Inadu, motioning for her to follow.
"Let's move."
Jojo strode toward his car, coat billowing lightly in the wind. Inadu walked beside him, excited yet focused.
Behind them, Klaus remained near the school steps, arms crossed, watching Hope with a rare softness in his eyes.
Hope pouted.
"You're not going with them?"
Klaus rolled his eyes.
"I came here for you, not to babysit temporal horrors. Besides, let's call this father-daughter bonding."
Hope didn't look convinced, but nodded.
Just as Jojo and Inadu reached the school gates, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena approached from behind.
"Jojo, wait!"
Caroline called.
He paused and turned, one brow raised.
"____"
Bonnie stepped forward.
"We just wanted to thank you—for helping with the twins. That was... not something we could've handled without you."
Elena added,
"You came here to help us. We were grateful for it"
Jojo gave a short nod.
Nod~
"It's my job. They're not the first cursed person I've helped—and won't be the last."
He turned to leave again, but Bonnie stepped in with a sly smile.
"What kind of job are you rushing off to now?"
Jojo's eyes flicked to hers.
"Time loop anomaly. Monsters. Possible sealed dimension leakage. Could be cursed land or something else."
That made all three women stop in their tracks.
"A time loop?"
Elena echoed, eyes widening.
"And monsters?"
Caroline added, glancing at Bonnie.
"Like… your kind of monsters or—?"
"Hard to say until I see them,"
Jojo said flatly.
"But I need to go. The longer it runs, the worse it gets for those trapped inside."
Bonnie, clearly intrigued, took a step forward.
"Then let us come with you."
Jojo paused.
"____"
"____"
Even Inadu looked surprised.
Caroline crossed her arms.
"We're not strangers to magic or danger, Jojo. And it might help us understand what you do… better."
Jojo considered it.
His eyes moved from Bonnie, who had magical power and a sharp mind, to Caroline, who had combat experience and emotional strength, to Elena, who—
While now human again—
He was still no stranger to peril.
"____"
"…Fine,"
Jojo said after a long moment.
"But listen closely—once we enter that loop, reality won't follow the rules. Stay close. Don't trust everything you see."
Inadu gave a playful smirk.
Smirk~
"Ooooh, a field trip. I like this version of the day."
Bonnie grinned. "Let me grab my things."
Elena exchanged a look with Caroline.
"This better not be another creepy forest with bugs."
Jojo turned on his heel and headed for his black custom SUV, now unlocking with a soft chime.
"It's always a creepy forest."
The dark SUV cruised smoothly along the winding roads outside Mystic Falls.
Trees lined either side, the light filtering through their leaves in shifting patterns.
The inside of the vehicle was quiet until Jojo, eyes on the road, spoke casually:
"So Elena… you're human, right? Why tag along for a job like this?"
The question was simple, but the tone carried weight.
Elena blinked, exchanging a glance with Caroline, then Bonnie.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Slowly, she cleared her throat.
"Um… I'm not human,"
She said, carefully.
Jojo's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
"I am a vampire. How I became one it's a long story. But… I'm definitely not human now."
Jojo's hands briefly stiffened on the wheel.
From the passenger seat, Inadu snorted, trying to suppress a grin.
Grin~
"Did you forget to scan her with your sixth sense, mighty Ghost Rider?"
Jojo gave her a blank side-eye.
"I was… focused on the mission,"
He muttered flatly.
"Oh sure,"
Inadu teased,
"Mr. 'I Sense Sins in Sleep' didn't notice a double-soul vamp-girl in his backseat."
Caroline raised an eyebrow.
"Double-soul?"
That caught Jojo's attention again.
With a subtle breath, he extended his supernatural senses—
Like a current of flame tracing through the unseen.
His Rider instincts surged to the surface.
And then he felt it.
Two souls. Occupying one body.
Intertwined, yet distinct. One dormant.
The other alert, pulsing with emotion and memory.
Jojo's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly.
"…Interesting,"
he muttered.
Bonnie noticed the flicker in his expression.
"What did you see?"
Jojo didn't answer.
"____"
Inadu, still amused, leaned toward him.
Jojo's thoughts drifted. In his mind, echoes of past events warped and twisted.
Canon timelines branching like rivers.
And this one?
Fucked sideways.
Even before he got involved.
Silence fell again.
Then, his phone buzzed.
BUZZ.
Sara's voice came through the speaker system.
"You're five minutes out. From reaching the last signal where the call came from."
Jojo cracked his knuckles.
"Perfect,"
He muttered.
As Jojo drove, the sound of rain suddenly intensified—
Hammering against the windshield.
The sky above darkened unnaturally, a thick wall of black clouds rolling in with impossible speed.
Thunder cracked, echoing like distant roars of something ancient.
Bonnie furrowed her brows, peering out the window.
"That's not a normal storm."
Inadu leaned forward, her expression serious.
"We just crossed a boundary… this place is sealed."
Jojo's eyes flickered with Ghost Rider fire for a split second as he slowed the car.
"We're in a dome,"
He said darkly.
"Something… wants isolated this place."
Flashback...
5 Days Ago...
Outside the Town Border of Glore Valley...
A battered old pickup truck pulled to a stop near a fog-covered wooden sign that read:
"Welcome to Blackwood County – Population ???"
Spray-painted beneath it:
"TURN BACK."
Clover stepped out of the passenger side, her boots crunching on the gravel, soaked in the chilly mist.
Her jaw was clenched, her expression unreadable beneath the hoodie shadowing her face.
Beside her, Abel—
Quiet, dependable, and clearly worried—followed without a word.
Clover held a wrinkled photo in her hand.
The picture showed her sister, Melaine, smiling with a journal tucked under one arm.
"She was last seen near here,"
Clover murmured, half to herself, half to the wind.
"She has to be here…"
They walked into the only shop still open in the ghost-town-like strip—
A strange little general store filled with survival gear, lanterns, odd charms, and a heavy scent of pine and decay.
Behind the counter stood an old man who welcomed them.
His name tag simply read: "Milo."
Clover walked up and held out the photo.
"Have you seen her? Please. Her name's Melaine. She's my sister. She came through here five days ago…"
Milo stared at the picture for a long moment before looking up with a solemn shake of his head.
"Many come through here… looking for someone. A mother. A daughter. A brother. A friend. They don't always leave."
Abel shifted uncomfortably.
"What do you mean, 'don't always leave'?"
The old man's voice dropped lower, eyes seeming to pierce through the veil of reality.
"They go to Glore Valley. That's where they all go."
The name felt wrong in the air, like a whisper caught between two breaths.
"____"
"____"
"Glore Valley…"
Clover repeated, heart pounding.
"She's there?"
Milo didn't answer directly.
"If she went missing here… she must have gone there. Just pray she hasn't crossed the wrong path."
Clover gathered her remaining four friends: Abel, Nina, Max, and Megan.
She told them what the shopkeeper said.
Despite their hesitation, the group agreed—
They would search Glore Valley together.
It was the only lead.
That night, they lit a campfire near the entrance to the valley.
The wind howled. The fog never lifted.
They left under the solomn watch of the shop owner.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!