Kaz sat in his room, surrounded by chaos—the kind that wasn't loud but gnawed at the back of your mind. He had just found out some major details about the silver-haired boy. His name was Axion, and he was part of a clan. Big one, by the sounds of it. It must've been rough on him, Kaz thought, being hunted by the same wolves that once called you blood.
That was the thought rattling around his head as he half-listened to what was happening in hand-to-hand combat class.
Ryuma strolled over to the pompous Lloyd with an arrogant smile stretching across his face. Kaz knew he was up to something—he just didn't know what. After getting under Axion's skin, it was clear Ryuma wasn't satisfied. He wanted to dig deeper, to do more harm. That man was a real psycho.
"Hey, Roach," Ryuma said, voice dripping with mockery. "Let's spar."
His eyes pulsed red, alive with something feral, as he waited for an answer.
Lloyd was sweating, hesitant to answer. Either way, he looked like he was already in trouble. The rumours surrounding Ryuma were enough to make anyone nervous. Imagine leaving a top-tier clan—no, one of the three biggest clans in the world—and spitting in their face on the way out. Beating down evolved and even sages... that wasn't something a normal novice could pull off after their first crawl out of the rift.
"Well, you see, Ryuma, si—"
Ryuma's eyes glowed a bit brighter. Lloyd flinched back like a bug scurrying from the light.
"Yeah, a light spar sounds great, Ryuma, sir."
They got into stances. Ryuma sank low, crouching to leg level, his arms dangling loose like a predator ready to pounce. Lloyd's stance was a lot more normal—basic, even.
Lloyd made the first move, a clumsy overhead kick. But at that moment, the whole room fell dead silent. Anyone watching would've felt it—the cold that gripped their bones, the invisible hand choking the air from their lungs.
Ryuma was already behind Lloyd.
His fists were clenched, each one pressed against either side of Lloyd's neck, like a lion clamping down on the throat of a gazelle. Lloyd struggled, twitching, gasping. His arms and legs kicked out, weak and desperate. He wasn't sparring anymore—he was dying a slow, ugly death.
When it looked like Lloyd was about to go limp, Ryuma suddenly blasted back and slammed into the wall with a heavy crash.
It was Axion.
Ryuma got up, brushing the dust off, barely phased by the hit.
"I told you..." Ryuma said, his voice low and sharp. I'll send you to your family if you get in my way."
The thing was, if Ryuma ever went on a rampage, it would take a Sage or higher to stop him—and most of the academy staff were only Evolved rank. The government was the weakest power on the board, barely hanging on with a handful of Hero-level Evolved. The rest sat comfortably at Sage rank, too important and too overworked to bother with a school crawling with green Novices and second-rate Evolves.
Kaz watched everything unfold with a mix of awe and dread—most of it aimed at Ryuma. The guy was unnatural. Doing things like this at Novice rank? It was unheard of. His Trait had to be broken, no other explanation fit. Paired with a body honed to perfection, the difference was staggering. If Kaz was built like a peak-condition athlete, then Ryuma was a heavyweight bodybuilder with the reflexes of a sprinter. In the same category—technically—but leagues apart.
Axion's eyes glowed with a deep, unnatural green — not with anger, but with a silent storm coiling behind them. Determination surged in their depths, a tempest barely restrained. Beside him, Ryuma's gaze burned red, seething with predator's fury.
Ryuma reached out and gripped Axion's arm, his hand flaring crimson for a heartbeat — a warning, or perhaps something more. But Axion brushed it aside with cold indifference as if the gesture meant nothing.
Ryuma's eyes narrowed. The irritation that flared wasn't from being pushed away.
You could cut the tension with a thought—that's how thin the line was. Ryuma looked one breath away from throwing a punch, and Axion was already shifting, ready to block.
But then the room went dark.
A pulse of dread crept up Kaz's spine, and the controlled chaos wrapped around his body shattered, vanishing like mist.What was that? he thought, heart, lurching.
Without hesitation, Kaz bolted from the room. He had to know what just happened.
That was his biggest flaw—he couldn't mind his business. Honestly, it was a miracle he hadn't gotten into bigger trouble already.
He sprinted down the hall, cutting corners too fast, feet pounding the floor. After a few chaotic turns, he finally slowed, his breaths ragged.
The hand-to-hand combat class was cloaked in thick, unnatural darkness. Not a flicker of light.
Kaz couldn't leave things alone... but there was one thing he cherished even more than information: his life.
And whatever this darkness was—It felt like it could take that from him in an instant.
a few moments later the dread in Kaz's heart died but only a tiny bit as the darkness recieted four people were in the middle of the combat class with the rest standing far away from the four in the middle Lloyd was on the ground he must have fell backward in fright and Axion was standing there indifferently the silent storm in his eyes was gone and ryuma looked angry the eyes of a predator was completely replaced with rage he floating in the air with strings of darkness almost chains like keeping him in place there was a girl
she wore a business suit all black her hair was straight and white snowand had a red patch on the side of her hair she also had ivory skin and was a couple of years older than the rest of them her eyes though was black and dull it was otherworldly her voice was soft a carefully chosen volume to not alarm the other students
"I apologise for my brother's behaviour today," the girl said, her voice flat and far too calm for the chaos that had just unfolded. "Due to this incident, we've decided to bring in a government officer to act as both a teacher and a guardian for the remainder of the academy term."
But she didn't look sorry.
She looked bored—like someone watching mice scrap over crumbs, already tired of the spectacle.
Her gaze drifted lazily across the room until it landed on Kaz.
"Kazeem Steel," she said, her tone sharpening slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be heading to your evaluation?"
"Shit," Kaz thought, a flicker of panic hitting him. He'd been too caught up in the chaos to remember the evaluation.
But… maybe this actually worked in his favor.
If he played it right, he could lean into the rarity of his Prime Trait—make it sound impressive enough to seem like he had no shot at ever getting a Divine. A little misdirection never hurt.
A slow grin tugged at his lips.
"Well, since you're already here," he said, voice casual, "you look like someone with enough authority."