6 The Forming Trio
The air in the dormitory was thick with the smell of cheap soap and the lingering stench of the tanner's district. Kai was still catching his breath, his dramatic wheezing mostly for show.
"I can't believe we made it! That was incredible, Rimo! You were like a... a city rat! A really smart, fast city rat!" Kai collapsed onto his cot, grinning. "How did you know that path?"
Rimo stood by the window, staring out at the darkening hills. He could still feel the ghost of the cold, certain knowledge that had guided them. "I don't know," he said, and this time the words felt even more hollow. "It was just... there. Like a map in my head."
"A map of the city's sewers and back-alleys," a quiet voice observed.
They turned. Athena stood in the doorway, having been shown to the girls' dormitory and then immediately seeking them out. She had cleaned up, her face now free of grime, her dark hair damp and re-braided. Her gray eyes were calm and analytical, taking in the room, the boys, the dynamic.
"Most orphans from the forest don't have detailed mental maps of urban escape routes," she continued, stepping inside. "It's an unusual skill set."
Rimo flinched. She was doing it again—seeing straight through to the unsettling core of him.
"Hey, lay off him," Kai said, sitting up. Though his tone was defensive, his curiosity was piqued. "So he's got good instincts. It's cool."
"Instincts are one thing," Athena said, her gaze fixed on Rimo. "But that was specific, spatial knowledge. Ingrained muscle memory from disarming a bully is one thing. Intimate knowledge of a city's layout you've never visited... that's something else entirely." She tilted her head. "Amnesia is one thing. But ingrained knowledge this advanced... it suggests years of brutal training, of being made to navigate complex environments. Who were you, Rimo?"
The question hung in the air, more pointed and dangerous than when Elara or Kai had asked it. Athena wasn't asking out of pity or friendly curiosity; she was conducting an investigation.
"I don't know," Rimo whispered, the words a plea.
Thankfully, Elara chose that moment to appear, her expression a mixture of relief and sternness. "I hear you three had an... eventful day." Her eyes fell on Athena, and her expression softened. "You must be Athena. Welcome to Sunhaven. I'm glad you're safe."
Athena offered a small, polite nod. "Thank you for your hospitality."
Over the following days, the orphanage adjusted to its new resident. Athena was quiet, reserved, and fiercely intelligent. She spent most of her free time in the small library, devouring books on history, geography, and—most concerningly for Rimo—theoretical texts on magic and mind-altering conditions.
The trio slowly solidified, their roles becoming defined. Kai was the charismatic, magical powerhouse, the spark of energy and confidence that propelled them forward. Rimo was the instinct, the quiet center whose unnatural abilities were both a resource and a mystery. And Athena was the mind, the strategist who observed, calculated, and sought to understand the world through logic and knowledge.
One afternoon, they were in the training yard. Kai was practicing his fire magic, trying to shape the flames into a simple bird. The result was more of a fiery, flapping pancake, but it was progress.
"See? Control," Kai panted, sweat beading on his forehead. "It's all about fine-tuning your mana output."
Athena, sitting on a bench with a book on elemental theory, looked up. "Your form is inefficient. You're channeling too much mana through your core and not enough through your fingertips. You're wasting energy with that wide stance."
Kai scowled. "Oh, yeah? And how many firebirds have you conjured, Professor?"
"None," Athena said calmly. "But I understand the theory. And you're doing it wrong."
Rimo couldn't help but smile. Their bickering was already familiar, almost comfortable.
"Alright, smart-mouth," Kai said, extinguishing his bird. "Let's see you do better with this!" He lunged at Rimo with a practice sword, a playful but fast attack.
Rimo, relaxed and off-guard, brought his own sword up in a clumsy, telegraphed block. It was what he was supposed to do. It was what a normal boy with no training would do.
Thwack.
Kai's wooden blade connected solidly with Rimo's forearm.
A sharp, stinging pain lanced up his arm. It wasn't serious, but it was sudden and unexpected. And with the pain came a surge of something else—a hot, reflexive anger. It wasn't the cold calculation of his instincts; this was raw, emotional, and dangerous.
His vision tunneled. The cheerful yard, Kai's grinning face, Athena's watching eyes—it all blurred into a red-tinged haze. The world slowed down.
His body moved without his consent.
The clumsy block dissolved. His posture shifted, his weight settling into a low, predatory stance that was utterly alien to the orphanage's training style. His grip on the practice sword reversed, turning it from a clumsy bludgeon into a lethal, pointed instrument. The wood wasn't a toy anymore; in his hands, it was a weapon meant to kill. He saw the opening in Kai's defense—a tiny, almost imperceptible gap near his ribs—and he knew, with absolute certainty, how to drive the point through it.
Kai's grin vanished. His eyes widened in shock and a flicker of genuine fear. He saw the change. He saw the killer staring out from behind Rimo's golden eyes.
"Rimo?" Kai whispered, taking a half-step back.
The sound of his name, the fear in his friend's voice, was like a bucket of cold water. The red haze vanished. The predatory stance evaporated. Rimo stumbled back, his own practice sword clattering to the ground as if it had burned him. He stared at his hands, then at Kai's pale face.
"I... I'm sorry," he stammered, his heart hammering with a different kind of fear. "I didn't mean to... I..."
Athena was on her feet, her book forgotten. She looked from Rimo's terrified face to the lethal stance he had just abandoned. Her analytical mind was working, connecting the dots: the instincts, the city knowledge, the combat prowess, this sudden, violent shift in demeanor.
"That wasn't you," she said, her voice low and certain. "Was it?"
Rimo could only shake his head, unable to form words. The thing in the mirror wasn't just for looking. It was trying to get out.
Kai, recovering his bravado but still looking shaken, forced a laugh. "Whoa, easy there. I was just messing around. You don't have to go all... assassin on me." He tried to make it a joke, but the tension in the air was thick enough to cut.
The three of them stood in silence for a long moment, the easy camaraderie of the afternoon shattered. They were no longer just three friends having fun. They were a magician, a scholar, and a boy housing a monster, standing on the edge of a mystery that was far darker than any of them had imagined.