Chapter Four — Cracks in the Light
The university campus buzzed with new life as the fall semester rolled in. Trees rustled with a crispness that promised change, and students rushed past each other with excitement or anxiety tucked into their backpacks.
For Vee and Zai, the shift from high school to university had come with both anticipation and a strange emptiness. Without Ene in the same city—let alone on the same campus—it felt like something vital had been left behind.
Still, Vee tried to find normalcy.
He had moved into a modest on-campus dorm with Zai. The room was small—bare walls, a pair of desks, two twin beds, and a lingering scent of cleaning spray—but they made it their own. Posters of martial arts legends lined Vee's side of the wall, and a bookshelf already strained under Zai's relentless academic obsession.
Their days started early. Vee had lectures in modern history and foundational defense science—a class meant to introduce the concept of global peacekeeping. It wasn't real military training yet, but it teased the life he had long dreamed of.
Zai, meanwhile, had landed in mechanical systems and drone engineering. He was thriving, already gaining recognition from professors for his sharp mind.
But not everything was so easy.
At lunch one day, Zai leaned across the cafeteria table with a smirk. "So, you gonna tell me about your new fan club or what?"
Vee blinked. "Fan club?"
Zai pulled out his phone, swiping to a photo. It showed Vee at the university library, completely unaware, as three girls from their department hovered near him, giggling behind textbooks.
"Seriously?" Vee muttered, more tired than flattered.
"They're calling you 'Silent Storm' on the course group chat," Zai said with a laugh. "It's either that or 'Sensei Vee.' I guess your martial arts rep followed you here."
Vee rolled his eyes. "They'll get tired soon."
"You say that, but one of them asked me if you're single," Zai added with a sly grin. "Twice."
That stung more than Vee expected. He glanced at his phone, opening Ene's chat. It had been three days since she last replied to his message—an old meme he had sent, hoping to make her laugh. Just a "seen" notification stared back at him.
He locked the screen and said nothing.
A week later, Zai returned to their dorm late, dropping his bag on the floor with a dramatic groan.
"Dude. You're not gonna believe who I saw today."
"Ene?" Vee asked before he could stop himself.
Zai's expression twitched. "No. Well—kind of."
He hesitated, which Vee immediately caught.
"What?" Vee asked sharply.
Zai scratched the back of his neck. "She was here. On campus. With Kael."
Vee sat up slowly. "Kael?"
"That transfer student in your Defense class. The cool one. Tattoos, calm voice, looks like he came out of an anime."
"…She knows him?"
Zai nodded. "Apparently they were in the same leadership camp two years ago. I bumped into them near the quad. Looked like they were… catching up."
Vee didn't say anything. He stood, walked over to his side of the room, and stared out the window.
"I'm sure it's nothing," Zai offered. "They were just talking."
But Vee knew Ene. He knew the way her voice changed when she cared. He knew the way she looked at someone when they mattered. If that look was now pointed at someone else—it explained everything.
Her silence. Her distance. The fading warmth.
That night, sleep evaded him.
Days turned into a slow unraveling of normal.
Ene finally called, asking if they could talk. Vee agreed, even though every part of him screamed not to.
They met at a quiet coffee shop near campus. Ene looked tired. Not physically, but spiritually. Her usual spark was dimmed.
"I'm sorry," she said first. "For not calling back earlier."
Vee nodded, keeping his emotions at bay.
"I just… things have changed, Vee. I didn't expect Kael to show up. It kind of… shook things."
He exhaled slowly. "Are you saying you want to end things?"
Ene hesitated, but nodded. "I think we need space. Real space."
Vee laughed bitterly. "You already took it."
That silence between them was unbearable. Two people who had once shared everything now couldn't even find the right words to say goodbye.
When Vee got back to the dorm, he didn't cry. He didn't scream. He just lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling, replaying the last few months like a broken film reel.
Zai noticed but didn't push. He simply left Vee a fresh protein bar and a cold energy drink on his desk the next morning with a note:
"Breakdowns make warriors. —Zai"
In the weeks that followed, Vee focused on himself.
He spent more time in the campus dojo, training alone. His punches grew sharper, more precise. The instructors began to take notice. One of them—a retired U.S. Marine named Sergeant Nash—offered to mentor him privately.
"You got something in your gut," Nash said after one session. "Something burning. Use it right, and you'll become more than just a fighter."
It was the first time someone had spoken to Vee like that in months.
Yet not all wounds faded.
Vee kept seeing Kael around campus. Sometimes with Ene, sometimes not. But the pain remained the same—sharp, unexpected, and hollow.
Zai tried to distract him with jokes, new projects, and even a spontaneous road trip idea, but Vee remained distant. Not cold, just… numb.
But one evening, while walking alone through the campus garden, something shifted.
He saw a first-year student getting picked on by two older guys—nothing violent, just subtle bullying, mocking his accent and clothes.
Vee stepped in.
"Problem?" he asked quietly.
The bullies shrugged, annoyed but not dumb enough to pick a fight in public.
After they left, the freshman looked up at him in awe. "Thanks. I—I didn't know anyone would care."
Vee just nodded, but something clicked inside.
He wasn't just drifting anymore. He was watching. Learning. Becoming.
That night, Zai came back to the dorm carrying a strange box.
"What's that?" Vee asked.
"Care package from my uncle. Old tech."
They opened it together. Inside were dusty components, broken drone parts, and a small metal disk glowing faintly with blue light.
"Huh. Weird. Probably junk," Zai muttered.
But when Vee touched it, something flashed.
For a moment, the world dimmed, and a sound like a heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Then everything returned to normal.
Zai didn't seem to notice.
Vee didn't speak of it—but something had begun. Something beyond him. Something waiting.
To Be Continued in Chapter Five: Fractures and Whispers