The academy halls buzzed with whispers as Aiden made his way to lunch. Three victories in the combat evaluations had transformed him from a joke into something the other students couldn't ignore. Some watched him with curiosity, others with fear, but none with the contempt he'd grown used to.
"Did you see what he did to Lisa Brennan?"
"Made her completely docile with just a look."
"I heard Robert Kane is still having nightmares."
"Maybe hypnosis isn't as useless as we thought."
Aiden found Sarah waiting at their usual table, but her expression wasn't the warm smile he expected. She looked troubled, almost afraid.
"We need to talk," she said as he sat down.
"About what?"
"About what you did today. What you did to those people." Sarah's voice was quiet but firm. "That wasn't just defeating them, Aiden. You changed them. Lisa hasn't spoken above a whisper since her match. Kevin can't remember what happened to him at all."
Aiden picked at his food, not meeting her eyes. "They're fine. The effects are temporary."
"Are they? Because Lisa's friends say she's been different ever since. Calmer, yes, but also... empty somehow. Like you took something away from her."
"She was a bully who hurt people for fun. Maybe being calmer is an improvement."
Sarah leaned forward, her healer's instincts clearly bothered by what she'd witnessed. "That's not the point. You don't get to decide who someone should be. You don't have the right to reach into people's minds and change them."
Aiden finally looked up, meeting her concerned gaze. "Don't I? Everyone else uses their talents however they want. Marcus burns people with lightning. Catherine crushes them with barriers. But when I defend myself, suddenly there are moral concerns?"
"It's different and you know it. Physical injuries heal. But messing with someone's mind, their personality, their memories..." Sarah shook her head. "That could be permanent damage."
The conversation was interrupted by approaching footsteps. Marcus Aldrich stood beside their table, flanked by two of his usual followers. His handsome face wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Aiden Cross," Marcus said pleasantly. "Congratulations on your victories today. Very impressive."
"Thank you," Aiden replied carefully. He could sense the threat beneath Marcus's polite words.
"I have to admit, I underestimated your talent. Hypnosis seemed so... harmless. But watching you work today, I realize I was wrong." Marcus's smile turned cold. "You're quite dangerous, aren't you?"
"I'm just trying to pass my evaluations like everyone else."
"Of course. Nothing wrong with ambition." Marcus glanced at Sarah, then back to Aiden. "Though I hope you understand there are limits to how far ambition should go. Some lines shouldn't be crossed."
The warning was clear. Marcus was telling him to know his place, to not rise above what the nobility considered acceptable for someone of his background.
"I'll keep that in mind," Aiden said.
Marcus nodded, satisfied that his message had been delivered. "Excellent. Enjoy your lunch."
After the nobles left, Sarah turned back to Aiden with worry clear in her eyes. "He's right, you know. About the lines that shouldn't be crossed. What you're doing with your talent... it scares people."
"Good," Aiden said quietly. "Maybe if they're scared, they'll stop treating me like garbage."
"And then what? You become the thing everyone fears? Is that really what you want?"
Before Aiden could answer, she gathered her things and stood. "Think about it, Aiden. Think about what kind of person you're becoming."
Sarah left him sitting alone at the table, her words echoing in his mind. But as he watched her go, another emotion began building beneath the guilt and confusion.
Anger.
Sarah didn't understand what it was like to be powerless, to be mocked and threatened every day of his life. She came from a middle-class family, had a useful talent that everyone respected, never had to fight for scraps or watch her mother work herself to exhaustion just to survive.
It was easy to have moral qualms when you'd never been desperate.
That evening, Aiden made his way to the academy's archive library. The main library was always crowded with students, but the archives in the basement were rarely visited. Dusty shelves stretched into darkness, filled with old textbooks, research papers, and forgotten records.
He wasn't looking for psychology books this time. He wanted to understand the academy itself, the power structures that kept people like him at the bottom while elevating those born into privilege.
What he found was worse than he'd imagined.
Financial records showed that most "scholarship" students like himself were brought in as examples, meant to prove the academy's fairness while actually serving as targets for the noble children to practice on. Combat training designed to favor flashy displays over tactical thinking. Grading systems that rewarded style and presentation over actual results.
The whole institution was rigged to maintain the existing order.
Aiden was reading a particularly damning report about "acceptable casualty rates" in combat training when he heard footsteps approaching through the stacks. He quickly hid the document and pretended to study a textbook on hero history.
"Working late?"
Aiden looked up to find Professor Blackwood standing nearby, his thin face wearing its usual disapproving expression. The combat instructor had never liked Aiden, but his tone tonight seemed different. More calculating.
"Just catching up on some reading," Aiden replied.
Blackwood stepped closer, studying the books on Aiden's table. "Hero history. Admirable. Though I wonder if you're learning the right lessons."
"What do you mean?"
"Heroes are remembered for their noble deeds, their sacrifices for the greater good. Not for..." Blackwood's eyes glittered. "More questionable methods."
The instructor knew. Somehow, he'd figured out that Aiden was using his talent for more than just self-enhancement and basic hypnosis.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Aiden said carefully.
"Don't you? Three opponents, three very different outcomes. Kevin Marshall doesn't remember losing consciousness. Lisa Brennan has been acting like a different person. Robert Kane woke up this morning convinced that gravity doesn't affect you properly." Blackwood smiled coldly. "Quite the mystery."
Aiden remained silent, waiting to see what the instructor wanted.
"Talent evaluation reports are due tomorrow," Blackwood continued. "Mine will be very detailed. Unless, of course, we can come to an understanding."
Blackmail. The instructor wanted something in exchange for keeping Aiden's secret.
"What kind of understanding?"
"Nothing too difficult. Small favors from time to time. Perhaps you could help some of my less gifted students improve their focus during training. Or maybe help certain troublemakers develop better attitudes toward authority."
Aiden felt sick. Blackwood wanted him to use his hypnosis on other students, to alter their minds for the instructor's convenience.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then my report will note serious concerns about your talent's psychological effects on opponents. Recommendations for extensive testing, possible restriction of your abilities, perhaps even expulsion for the safety of other students."
The threat hung in the air between them. Aiden could see his future crumbling. All his progress, his growing power, his chance to rise above his origins - all of it could disappear with one instructor's report.
"I need time to think about it," Aiden said finally.
"Of course. Take all the time you need." Blackwood turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and Aiden? Don't consider trying your talent on me. I've been teaching here for fifteen years. I know all the tricks."
After the instructor left, Aiden sat in the empty archive, surrounded by evidence of the academy's corruption and faced with an impossible choice. Comply with Blackwood's demands and become his puppet, or risk losing everything he'd worked for.
But as he thought about it, a third option began to form.
Blackwood assumed Aiden's hypnosis worked like the basic techniques described in psychology textbooks. Verbal commands, direct eye contact, simple suggestions. The instructor had no idea how much Aiden had progressed beyond those limitations.
A plan started taking shape. Dangerous, yes. But then again, Aiden was learning that power always came with risks.
He gathered his things and headed back to the dormitory, mind already working through the details. By tomorrow night, Professor Blackwood would learn exactly what kind of student he'd tried to blackmail.
And Aiden would learn just how far he was willing to go to protect his newfound power.