Aden stood in the blood-soaked clearing as the academy guards poured in from every direction, lanterns bobbing between the trees like floating eyes. Spears pointed at him from all angles, tips glinting coldly in the scattered torchlight.
Aden did not remember taking a step.His vision blurred from exhaustion, blood loss, and the lingering shock pulsing through his fractured core. But the moment he turned, everything sharpened into chilling clarity. The clearing was no longer a quiet patch of forest. It had become a hunting ring.
"Drop the weapon!"
"Get on the ground now!"
Aden didn't move.
He was breathing hard, every breath scraping against the cuts on his ribs. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. The guards closed in slowly, shields out front, eyes locked onto him like he was a beast cornered in a cage.
Which, in their minds, he probably was.
Half of them were visibly shaking. They recognized him. They knew exactly who they had surrounded. The heir of the most powerful household in the empire. The rumored strongest of the Five Heirs. The prodigy who supposedly awakened aura by age twelve.
If he chose to fight, they wouldn't stand a chance.
One of the younger guards whispered to another, voice trembling, "He's covered in blood. That's all from tonight?"
"Shut up," the older one hissed. "Don't provoke him."
Another guard swallowed hard. "Is he… is he about to attack us?"
Aden didn't answer any of them. He didn't even lower the blade. His shoulders lifted and fell with every breath. Sweat and blood dripped down his jaw.
Aden's jaw tightened. The ache in his core pulsed again, this time sharp enough to make his knees threaten to buckle. He forced himself still.
Not now. You cannot look weak now. Focus.
Think.The book said Claire dies and I get blamed.Then treason. Then execution.If they take me now, the story writes itself.
A commander stepped forward, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Vasco, listen to me. Put the sword down."
Aden raised it instead.
A ripple of panic shot through the formation.
One guard shouted, voice cracking, "Get back! Everyone get back!"
The entire line flinched backward in a messy shuffle, shields scraping against each other. A few raised their spears high, bracing for a charge that could cut half of them down before they blinked.
Aden's muscles coiled.
I refuse to die here.
"Don't make this worse!" the commander barked.
Aden exhaled slowly.
I do not have time for this. Claire is probably still running. The Public is everywhere. And i am stuck in here...
He took a step forward.
The entire back of the formation jolted like someone had struck them. A few guards even tripped over each other, scrambling to put distance between themselves and the boy who had not said a single word.
"Hold formation!" the commander barked.
They did not.
Aden's patience snapped.
"I will not repeat myself," he said, voice low and rough from the fight. "Stay out of my way."
The commander froze, sweat beading across his brow.
The guards recoiled in terror.
"Stay back!"
"Don't let him-"
"He's going to kill us!"
Aden almost laughed. Not because it was funny, but because of how twisted the situation had become. They were terrified of him. And they had every reason to be.
He opened his mouth to speak again.
A thunderous voice cracked through the forest.
"STOP!"
Wind blasted across the clearing in a sudden rush. Lantern flames flickered violently. Leaves whipped into spirals.
Every guard froze.
Aden stayed still, sword lifted.
A bright sphere of magic descended from above, illuminating the clearing like a second sun. The figure inside it dropped with controlled force, boots touching the ground behind Aden.
Archmage Lora Zinren.
Her presence alone changed the air. Even the guards straightened unconsciously.
Aden didn't turn.Not yet.
Lora scanned the scene with quick, sharp eyes. Bodies everywhere. Blood across the ground. A single boy standing in the center of it.
Her voice cut through the quiet.
"Lower your blades. I will handle this."
The guards stepped back, but their spears stayed raised. Their hands still shook.
Aden didn't lower his sword.
The trees around them rustled with the weight of the moment.
Lora exhaled once.
And the standoff began.