The four rivals turned away.
That should've been the end of it.
It wasn't.
The floor lurched.
Not a tremor — a jerk, like the entire academy had been yanked sideways by something massive and angry.
BOOOOOM.
The hall shook violently. Chandeliers shattered mid-air, raining crystal shards across the marble floor. Students screamed as pillars cracked, spiderweb fractures racing across the walls.
"—WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" someone yelled.
Kaiden staggered, boots sliding as the ground tilted again. Jehyun nearly fell before Gray grabbed his sleeve with his good hand.
"Earthquake?!" Jehyun shouted.
"No!" Gray snapped. "That wasn't natural!"
The four rivals stopped mid-step.
Slowly.
Every single one of them turned back toward the center of the hall.
The red-haired guy's grin was gone.
The water girl's Flow stirred instinctively around her ankles.
The lightning guy's sparks snapped erratically.
And the violet-robed boy—
He frowned.
The academy groaned.
A deep, metallic sound echoed through the structure, like something massive scraping against the world itself.
Then—
"—ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS."
The announcer's voice blasted from the overhead speakers, distorted by interference.
"THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS ARE TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY AND PROCEED TO THE COLISEUM. FACULTY ARE EN ROUTE. REMAIN CAL—"
The sentence never finished.
The far wall of the academy exploded inward.
Not cracked.
Not shattered.
ERASED.
Stone, steel, glass — gone in an instant, sucked outward as if reality itself had been torn open.
A hole. Massive. Jagged. Still expanding.
Wind screamed through it like a wounded animal.
And then—
A shadow filled it.
Something huge moved beyond the breach.
The temperature dropped.
The light dimmed.
A presence slammed into the hall so hard that Kaiden felt it in his bones.
Students froze.
Someone whispered, barely audible.
"…That's Eclipse Beast."
The thing stepped forward.
It didn't fit.
Too many limbs. Too many joints. Armor-like hide layered over muscle that pulsed unnaturally, glowing with veins of corrupted Flow. Its head scraped the ceiling, horns tearing through reinforced crystal like paper.
Its eyes—
Too many.
All of them locked onto the students.
Then it roared.
The sound hit like a physical force. Several students were thrown backward, bodies smashing into walls with sickening cracks.
Panic exploded.
"RUN—!"
"COLISEUM! MOVE!"
"I CAN'T—!"
But then—
Something changed.
The fear… snapped.
These weren't civilians.
They were Flow users.
Fifty students who had survived trial after trial.
Someone screamed, "WE CAN TAKE IT!"
And like a bad decision made all at once—
They rushed it.
Fire surged first. A dozen flames slammed into the monster's chest.
Lightning followed, cracking like thunder.
Water spears. Stone lances. Wind blades.
For half a second—
It looked like hope.
Then the eclipse beast swung.
One arm.
Casual.
A shockwave erupted.
Three students were cut in half instantly.
Blood painted the floor.
Another was crushed into the wall so hard his body simply… stopped moving.
A scream cut off mid-note.
The hall went silent.
The monster stepped forward again.
A student charged screaming—
The creature's claw went through his torso and lifted him.
For a moment, he was still alive.
Then the monster squeezed.
And dropped what was left.
Kaiden's breath caught.
Jehyun gagged, clapping a hand over his mouth.
Gray stared, frost shaking violently around his feet.
"…Holy sh—" Gray whispered. "They're getting wiped."
The remaining students froze in horror.
The confident ones.
The loud ones.
Gone.
The four rivals moved.
The red-haired guy launched forward, heat erupting around him. "MOVE OR DIE!"
He slammed a flaming punch into the creature's knee.
It worked.
The monster staggered.
The water girl followed, trapping its leg in a spiraling vortex, freezing layers instantly.
Lightning struck next, blindingly fast, hitting exposed joints.
The violet-robed boy raised a hand.
The air collapsed.
The monster screamed as pressure crushed inward.
Kaiden's eyes widened.
"…They're actually hurting it."
Gray swallowed. "Top four… no joke."
But even then—
The monster adapted.
Its hide shifted. Hardened.
It roared again and slammed its fists down.
The shockwave sent the four skidding back.
Still standing.
But breathing hard.
Kaiden scanned the hall.
Broken exits.
Collapsed corridors.
Fire everywhere.
"No clear escape," he muttered.
Jehyun's voice shook. "Kaiden… professors aren't here yet."
Gray clenched his jaw. "I'm fighting."
He stepped forward—
Kaiden grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't."
Gray snapped back, "Kaiden, people are dying!"
"And you will too," Kaiden shot back. "Your arm's wrecked!"
"I don't care!"
"I do!"
The monster turned.
It saw them.
Its many eyes locked onto Kaiden.
The wind around him reacted violently, spiraling upward.
The violet-robed boy glanced back sharply.
"…It's targeting him."
The monster lunged.
Kaiden stepped forward.
Gray's eyes widened. "KAIDEN—!"
Kaiden inhaled.
Deep.
Slow.
The wind wrapped around him.
Not like armor.
Not like a weapon.
Like recognition.
"I'll stall," Kaiden said, voice steady despite the chaos around them. "You two stay back."
Jehyun grabbed his sleeve without thinking. His fingers were shaking. "You're insane."
Kaiden glanced back, lips twitching into a weak grin.
"Yeah," he said. "Probably."
Then he stepped forward.
And the air changed.
It wasn't dramatic at first — no explosion, no roar. Just a sudden stillness, like the world itself was holding its breath.
The remaining students felt it.
A pressure rolled outward from Kaiden, subtle but undeniable. Papers lifted from the floor. Loose debris trembled. The wind didn't howl — it waited.
Someone whispered from the back, barely audible.
"…That's not just Flow."
Kaiden moved.
He didn't sprint.
He flowed.
Wind compressed beneath his feet and released in a silent burst, launching him forward in a blur. The distance between him and the Eclipse Beast vanished instantly.
The monster swung.
A massive claw tore through the air—
Kaiden slid under it, coat fluttering, the claw missing his head by inches.
"Okay," he muttered, eyes sharp. "That was close."
He twisted mid-step, palm tightening around his dagger.
The wind screamed inward.
First Form: Piercing Gust
Kaiden thrust forward.
The dagger didn't just stab — it detonated.
Compressed wind exploded from the tip, a focused lance of pressure that slammed into the beast's joint. The impact sounded like a cannon firing. Armor cracked. The creature staggered, one massive leg buckling as the shockwave tore through it from the inside.
The Eclipse Beast roared, pain finally punching through its dominance.
Kaiden didn't stop.
He kicked off the creature's own limb, flipping backward as wind caught his body mid-air, redirecting him effortlessly. He landed against a shattered wall, pushed off again, momentum chaining perfectly into the next movement.
Gray stared, frost flickering uncontrollably around his feet.
"…That movement," he whispered. "He's not reacting."
Gray's breath hitched.
"He's ahead of it."
Kaiden felt it too.
The wind wasn't responding to commands.
It was anticipating.
Every dodge came a split second before the attack. Every step felt guided, like invisible hands were nudging him into the safest path.
The beast adapted fast.
Its body shifted, corrupted Flow surging, armor thickening where Kaiden had struck. It slammed both fists down, shattering the floor and sending a violent shockwave ripping outward.
Kaiden crossed his arms—
Too slow.
The force clipped him.
He was launched through the air like a ragdoll, smashing into debris with a sickening crunch.
"KAIDEN!" Jehyun screamed.
Kaiden coughed, pain exploding through his ribs as he rolled to a stop. Blood slipped from the corner of his mouth.
"…Ow," he muttered, spitting red onto the floor.
The Eclipse Beast loomed over him.
All its eyes locked on one target.
Kaiden.
It raised its arm, corrupted Flow surging, the air warping under the sheer force—
A wall of ice snapped into place.
The arm froze mid-swing.
Gray stood there, teeth clenched, frost roaring violently from his right hand, veins standing out on his neck.
"I said," Gray growled, voice shaking but furious, "we fight together."
Jehyun moved instantly, planting himself beside Gray, shield raised. His knees were trembling — but he didn't step back.
"You're not alone," Jehyun said, swallowing hard. "Not this time."
Kaiden looked at them.
Then he smiled.
"…Figures."
The Eclipse Beast shattered the ice with brute force, charging again, rage boiling over.
Kaiden stood.
And this time—
The wind rose.
It spiraled around him, slow and deliberate, lifting dust, blood, and debris into the air. Green light traced faint patterns along his arms and shoulders, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
The surviving students felt it clearly now.
A presence.
Not oppressive.
Not violent.
But undeniable.
Someone whispered, voice shaking with awe.
"…Now I get it."
Another swallowed hard.
"So that's why he became a vessel."
Kaiden inhaled.
Deep.
Everything went quiet.
The beast lunged.
Kaiden stepped forward.
Second Form: Silent Sever
No shout.
No warning.
Just a single, clean motion.
Kaiden drew his blade across the air.
For a split second—
Nothing happened.
Then the world split.
A massive green shockwave erupted silently, slicing forward like a guillotine made of wind. The floor peeled apart in a straight line. The pressure crushed inward, tearing through the Eclipse Beast's armor, flesh, and corrupted Flow all at once.
The monster staggered, its roar cut short as the shockwave carved straight through its torso.
A delayed explosion followed — air detonating outward, slamming the creature back and pinning it into the far wall.
Kaiden dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
The wind slowly calmed, fading back into a low, restless whisper.
The beast wasn't dead.
But it was hurting.
Badly.
The remaining students stood frozen.
No one cheered.
No one moved.
They just stared.
Then—
"ENOUGH."
The word didn't echo.
It commanded.
The air split open as faculty descended like living disasters.
A blade of pure Flow cleaved through the battlefield, slamming into the Eclipse Beast and forcing it flat. Chains of light erupted from the ground, wrapping around its limbs, its neck, its core.
Seals burned into existence.
Pressure crushed down so hard Kaiden was forced fully to the ground.
The monster screamed as it was pinned.
Then—
Silence.
Broken.
Heavy.
Kaiden sucked in air, chest burning.
Gray let out a shaky laugh, frost retreating as he leaned on his good leg.
"Bro… next time… warn me before you became a freakin' main character."
Jehyun laughed too — breathless, almost hysterical.
"I think… I just aged ten years."
Kaiden didn't laugh.
He stared at the restrained Eclipse Beast.
At the blood soaking the floor.
At the shattered academy.
The wind curled around him faintly.
Hungry.
Watching.
And far beyond the academy—
The west wind shifted.
Not gently.
But knowingly.