The roar of the crowd still thundered in Vadel's ears as he stepped out of the arena tunnel. The hum of fluorescent lights overhead replaced the heated roar of the match, but the tension in his chest hadn't faded.
The metallic tang of sweat still clung to him, though his breathing was steady. The fight had been a draw, but he could feel it in his bones—it had been far from meaningless. Celia wasn't just strong. She was dangerous in ways he couldn't yet measure.
"You're thinking about her too much," EON's voice cut into his thoughts. "Should I remind you that Hung's lackeys have tried to kill you six times this month? Or that your dorm room is still bugged? But sure—let's daydream about Silver Hair."
Vadel loosened the strap of his katana sheath, ignoring the AI's needling. "If she's in my path, I need to understand her. That's all."
"Uh-huh. And the way your pulse spiked when she smirked at you is just tactical appreciation, right?"
He didn't answer. The quiet in the hallway was broken only by the muffled noise of the next match starting behind him.
By the time he reached the locker area, a small group of students had gathered, eyes bright with curiosity. Some whispered. Others stared openly. Being the scholarship student in Aureus Helix Academy meant he already drew attention, but the match had just tripled it.
A tall boy with dyed green hair leaned against the lockers, smirking. "Not bad for the kid who supposedly got in here without a gene."
The murmurs swelled.
Vadel stopped just far enough away to meet his gaze without crowding him. "Supposedly?"
"Rumors say you've got nothing special. No heritage bloodline, no inherited traits. Just a pity scholarship from the board."
Vadel tilted his head. "Rumors have a way of getting people hurt."
The boy's smirk faltered just enough to be satisfying.
EON's voice hummed. "Your restraint is admirable. But I give it two weeks before you break someone's jaw in this hallway."
A metallic clink echoed as Vadel stored his katana inside the locker, locking it with a swift twist of the dial. The room was still heavy with the aftermath of the match, but there was something else under it now—an undercurrent of wariness.
Not fear. Not yet. But enough to make people think twice before trying to test him.
"Vadel."
The voice was calm, light, and unmistakable. He turned to see Celia standing just beyond the doorway, still in her academy combat uniform. The faint scent of ozone clung to her, but her flames were long gone.
The other students shifted uncomfortably, suddenly very interested in leaving the room. Within moments, only Vadel and Celia remained.
"You fight differently," she said. Not as a compliment, but as an observation.
"You mean without screaming and throwing fire?" he asked.
Her lips curved faintly. "I mean you measure everything. Most here don't. They overwhelm. You… wait."
He closed his locker and stepped past her toward the hall. "Waiting isn't weakness. It's survival."
Her eyes followed him as he walked away. "Survival won't always be enough."
For a moment, he paused. The words weren't meant as a threat—but they weren't exactly comfort either.
EON chuckled in his head. "She's interesting. I like her. You should keep her alive."
"I keep myself alive," Vadel muttered under his breath.
He didn't look back.
---
By the time he reached his dorm, night had already draped itself over the academy. The windows framed a cityscape lit in silver and neon, the hum of distant aerial traffic bleeding into the quiet room.
Vadel locked the door, ran a quick EON scan for bugs, and only when the AI confirmed it was clean did he sit at the desk.
On the table lay a folded piece of paper.
He didn't touch it.
EON's tone sharpened. "That wasn't here when we left."
"No," Vadel said quietly. "It wasn't."
He reached out slowly, unfolding the note.
A single sentence was scrawled in tight handwriting:
Hung doesn't forgive.
Vadel's jaw tightened.
"So… do we pretend we're surprised, or skip straight to planning how to kill him?" EON asked dryly.
"Neither," Vadel said, crumpling the note and tossing it into the wastebin. "We keep moving. Let him keep thinking I'm just another scholarship wolf."
And in the quiet, as the city's glow painted long shadows across the floor, his eyes stayed fixed on the darkness outside.
Because somewhere in that darkness… Hung was watching.