Two weeks had passed since their last conversation in the library. Acma carried on with her academic life, assuming Zyma had gone on a mission.

With her newfound free time, Acma spent more time with the girls and became increasingly interested in their conversations about guys. The girls often asked her about Zyma, suspecting there was something romantic between them. However, Acma quickly dismissed their suspicions by showing them the bruises and scars she had acquired from Zyma's training.

Acma: That jerk, he's broken my wrists countless times!

Girl #1 (whispering): I heard he's kind of a monster.

Acma: He really is a monster!

Zyma was adept at separating personal and business matters. Although he hadn't explicitly discussed it with Acma, she understood that, for him, ensuring she was strong enough and safe in real battles was his top priority.

Acma learned that Zyma seemed to treat boys and girls customers differently. The boys seemed to scare of him. Many had approached Acma with cryptic questions like these:

Boy #2: Zyma, scary man, ya?

Acma: Um… yes, I guess.

Boy #2 (whispering): Acma, can I ask you something?

Acma: Sure, what is it?

Boy #2 (whispering): My brother said... Your mentor... is a GF?

Acma: Yes, he is a GF guy. Why are you whispering? Doesn't everyone know that?

Boy #2 (whispering): … Like, you can summon him whenever?

Acma (nodding reluctantly): He's always on time with a grand entrance out of nowhere, ya.

In contrast, while his words often came across as flirtatious based on what the girls said. She wasn't sure how to interpret this.

"He could say sweet things to anyone," she thought. Would it be possible that he already had a girlfriend? Maybe. What could she expect from an undefined relationship with a shady salesman?

During Zyma's absence, Acma was occasionally paired with Raddie. He proved to be a diligent student in S21, and it seemed that Miss Xu intended to have him as her partner once Zyma's mentorship ended. Raddie was kind to Acma, offering his assistance even before she asked, especially when it came to anything she didn't yet know about Balamb Garden.

Timeth seemed to keep himself occupied with numerous requests for help with homework from his S21 classmates. He introduced Acma to a few more students who were willing to pay extra for tutoring. Of course, she didn't mind earning more to afford a few Holy spells.

Acma approached Shrewdya seeking advice on starting a small armory shop. Shrewdya happily provided her with detailed guidance. Despite the valuable information, Acma decided to postpone the venture until summer. She wanted to dedicate more time after the SeeD exam to research profitable items before making a huge investment.

Observing how Shrewdya prepared items to be an efficient healer who could support the entire squad, Acma realized that being a mercenary was akin to an industry on its own right. Success required more than just talent. It demanded resources and networks.

Following Trepie #23's instructions, who kept giggling at Acma's newbie questions about Triple Triad for some unknown reason, Acma stepped into the elevator and made her way to the second floor. There, she asked a muscular guy for a couple of starting cards. Upon hearing her request, he responded with a perplexing question that left her confused.

"Why don't you get a better starter deck from Joker?"

"Joker? Who?"

The guy seemed equally puzzled. "Oh... you... Never mind," he muttered, handing her the requested cards. "Here, take them."

Balamb Garden is full of weirdos. She thought, quickly walking away to escape his judgmental gaze.

Acma made her way back to her room, fixating her gaze on the cards depicting low-level monsters. Trepie #23 had provided a fleeting introduction to the origins of this card game, seemingly steeped in ancient craftsmanship and mystique. Legends whispered about a secretive guild called the Card Masters who passed down their expertise through generations. These craftsmen and craftswomen meticulously created each card, infusing them with a touch of magic and capturing the essence of the creatures they represented.

The Card Masters employed a combination of rare materials, such as enchanted parchment made from sacred flora and ink infused with the essence of mythical beasts. They then painted intricate designs onto the surface of the cards. The whole process could take months to complete.

Cards could represent all creatures possessing magical power, including monsters, GFs, humans, and sorceresses. The numbers on each card reflected the stats at prime time of a creature.

While there could be multiple cards of the same monster, human and dark GF cards are unique. It was believed that when a soldier perished, their spirit returned to their card. Therefore, soldiers often entrusted their cards to loved ones before embarking on missions.

Not everyone could have their own card. Becoming a SeeD was one way to get qualified. Queen of Cards, one of the most well-known masters, usually visited Balamb town after SeeD exams to accept card-making requests through Balamb's CC group.

When Acma asked Trepie #23 about the members of the CC group out of curiosity, she only received a knowing smile from her friend.

"You'll discover soon enough."

Acma was baffled. Her friend's discretion made her believe that CC group must be a cult.

As Acma shuffled her deck, she heard a knock on her window. Startled, she then smiled upon recognizing the familiar figure outside.

"Coming!" she called out, opening the door.

But before she could react, she was unexpectedly attacked and fell into a deep sleep.

Acma jolted awake as a bucket of water splashed over her face, instantly triggering a throbbing headache. Blinking her eyes open, she found herself lying on the floor of Master Miyagi's kitchen.

"What..."

Her hands were tightly bound behind her back, and her feet were also securely tied together with her own lasso. She heard a heavy sigh but couldn't turn herself to see her kidnapper.

"Who are you?" she murmured.

"That's my question for you, pupil," a familiar voice replied.

"Zyma? What's going on? Why are you tying me up?"

"Who are you working for?" he demanded.

"What are you talking about?"

He scoffed and began to approach Acma who gasped in fear as she saw a burning Shuriken closer to her face

"I'm an impatient assassin, you know."

"Please," Acma pleaded, terror filling her voice. She had never seen Zyma's eyes so filled with bloodlust. "What's happening? Is this some kind of stress test?"

"Such a convincing actress," Zyma smirked. "Where are my Guardian Forces? I'll count to ten. If you don't give me a name, say goodbye to your pretty face—or perhaps those crazy eyes of yours. It's no fun living in the dark." He held the flaming red Shuriken closer to her cheek.

"One."

"What happened to your GFs?"

"Two."

"Please, I really..."

"Three."

"I've been at Garden the whole time. I don't know about your GFs."

"Four. Five."

"Others can vouch for me. You can check the security cameras. I've been spending time in the library with Timeth and others..."

"Six. I'm not joking. Think harder, Acma. I have all night, and your little brother or boyfriend can't help you now. What a great show you put on."

Acma's heart raced, her mind searching desperately for any clues.

"Seven."

"I haven't told anyone about the GF Cavern, not even Timeth. I slept with your bandana on, and you took random routes both ways, remember?"

"Eight."

"What about Sean?"

"For Hyne's sake, you think I would suspect him and not you, the mysterious cunning new girl?"

"I don't know anything, I swear!"

"Who do you work for?"

Acma shook her head, tears streaming down her face, as the heat of the Shuriken drew nearer.

"Nine." Zyma continued counting. "Ten!"

"GALBADIA!"

Galbadia!

Acma screamed, not wanting the burning metal to harm her. She had endured torture since she was a child, and she didn't want to relive those experiences at the hands of someone she loved.

"Please," she quickly added, her voice trembling. "I'm not involved in the disappearance of your GFs. Galbadia has influence over me, but they haven't contacted me in a long while. I'll tell you everything. But please, trust me, no one has asked me anything about your GF Cavern, not even in my sleep."

Zyma forcefully threw the Shuriken aside and sank back into his chair.

"Talk," he commanded.

Taking a deep breath, Acma slowly sat up.

"Quick!" Zyma yelled, startling Acma, urging her to continue her story through tears and trembling.

"I was born through an in vitro research project that aimed to produce powerful magic carriers. They… Galbadian scientists mixed human genes with those of monsters. Tens of thousands of children like me and Timeth were born that way. Only the ones with magic abilities and innate powers were kept alive for further experimentation. I have a twin sister - Elutia. She possessed the strongest magic core of us all. They subjected us to constant danger and torture to trigger our innate abilities and Limit Breaks. It wasn't possible to measure our abilities at the time so… You can see the scars on my legs under my leggings. There's a mark with my barcode."

Acma motioned for Zyma to check her scars, momentarily capturing his attention, but he quickly dismissed it and signaled for her to continue.

"They unleashed monsters to chase a dozen of us in a race. They treated us like rats. They discovered Timeth's time freezing ability, but his twin counterpart has a way more potent time freezing power, so they didn't keep him. Somehow, I always passed their most dangerous tests although I had no abilities. They think I would make a good spy because of my quick thinking, so they sent me along with Timeth to Trabia. There are others like us, but we don't know each other's identities."

"So far, Galbadia has never made an attempt to contact me and Timeth directly," she continued. "However, occasionally they would have someone slip a piece of paper under our door to remind us of our duty. They hold our weaknesses hostage. In my case, it's Elutia, so my notes are always signed with 'A E' for our code names Alma and Elutia. I wanted to train as a SeeD not because I want to go on missions, but because I want to be strong enough to rescue her at some point. I need top level access to gardens' system to know her whereabout. They broke her legs when she was little to make sure she couldn't escape. Compared to her, I've had a relatively good life after being sent to Trabia."

Acma paused and looked at Zyma, aware of his watchful gaze. He was skilled at reading people in interrogation. He should have known that she was telling the truth.

"That's my entire story. As I mentioned before, I haven't spoken to anyone, nor has anyone approached me regarding your GFs. Have you checked on Sean?" she suggested.

"Really? Do you think Sean could do this to me?" Zyma replied, anger in his voice.

"What's happening? I can't be of any use if I don't know what's going on. Please, try to understand my perspective, Zyma."

Zyma kept covering his face, trying to calm down.

"When did you discover that the GFs were missing?" Acma inquired.

"Last night. Half of them were missing, and the ones that couldn't fly were killed," Zyma replied, his eyes turning red with anger.

"Oh no... Basilisk is dead?" Acma gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing. "That's horrible. I'm truly sorry. I swear I'm not involved."

Zyma maintained his gaze at Acma.

"I want to help you. But keeping me here is a waste of time. Please, can you answer my question? Have you spoken to Sean? I don't mean to suspect him, but he could be in danger."

Zyma let out a sigh. "No, I immediately thought of you. You're the only one we recently showed the cavern to."

"Oh no... Tatulia..."

"She's Sean's long-time girlfriend, and they just got engaged!" Zyma exclaimed, suspecting Acma of redirecting his attention to Tatulia.

"Didn't she work as a librarian at the Garden? Many of the Galbadian spies are positioned there to control the flow of information. Some were even summoned during the Galbadia attack in the war. Zell's girlfriend, Arya, is also a spy. I know this for certain because she saved my life during my last race before I was sent away from the research camp. We met in the library on my very first day here, just before she left for the Deep Sea Research Center."

"I know Arya… But Sean was always cautious. Tatulia even drank the Sleep Potion."

Acma responded promptly. "I'm willing to bet that Tatulia has a tracking device implanted in her neck. We all had it at one point. You can see the scars behind my hair."

Zyma rose from his chair and tipped her chin up forcefully. "We'll come back to Balamb and I'II talk to Sean. I know you're a good liar, I won't let my guard down. If you dare to run away, I won't hesitate to kill you. Understood?"