It was a quiet winter evening. The wind carried a faint chill, brushing softly through the still air of the academy grounds. A lone crow pecked at the ground, pulling a worm from the earth.
Sitting on a wooden bench, Seren watched the bird with a small, absent smile.
His gaze drifted upward — to the sky, where the sun hung half-veiled behind drifting clouds, painting the horizon in pale orange.
"How long is he going to take?" Seren muttered, his voice tinged with impatience.
A few moments later, footsteps approached from behind.
"Let's go," came a familiar voice.
Seren turned, irritation flashing in his eyes. "Where the hell were you for so long?"
"Studying about holy crystals," Rakral replied, feigning confidence. "Trying to enhance my knowledge."
"Don't fool me," Seren said, frowning. "You were hanging out with Ansli again."
Rakral raised a brow. "Don't make a big fuss about it. Let's just go home. I want to train for the upcoming test."
"Oh, like I don't?" Seren thought bitterly, standing up from the bench. "Wasted my time waiting here."
They went to the stables, untying their horses. Soon, hooves thundered against the cobblestone road as the two raced side by side, the wind biting at their faces. The sun dipped lower, shadows lengthened, and the world grew quieter — only the sound of wind and hoofbeats filling the air.
"I'm tired of this loop," Seren said suddenly, fatigue dulling his eyes.
Rakral glanced at him. "What loop? What are you talking about?"
They slowed their pace slightly.
"This daily loop," Seren muttered. "Academy to home, home to academy… over and over again."
Rakral chuckled. "Then what else do you want? You should be grateful. We were lucky — commoners getting into the Avren Warriors Academy in the capital."
"Yeah," Seren said quietly, "lucky and unlucky at the same time."
His gaze grew distant, a shadow crossing his expression.
The memory surfaced before he could stop it—"Do you even have the slightest idea what you've done?" a man's voice roared, trembling between fury and fear. "Do you know what will happen if they find out?"
A boy lay motionless on the floor. Bruises marred his skin; blood pooled beneath him, dark and heavy. The silence that followed was suffocating, pressing against Seren's chest like a stone.
Then — the sharp sound of hooves splashing through shallow water pulled him back to the present.
"Hey, you alright?" Rakral asked.
"Yeah…" Seren murmured.
"Did you forget about the race home?" Rakral said, forcing a grin to ease the tension.
"Absolutely not," Seren replied, his tone sharpening again.
Their horses surged forward, wind rushing past.
"I won!" Rakral shouted.
"No, I did!" Seren countered, eyes glinting.
"You both won," a cheerful voice called.
They slowed to find Kavini Kael, Seren's mother, waiting at the door with a bright smile.
"Not again," Rakral muttered, half-laughing.
"See you in the morning," he said as he turned to leave.
"Yeah. Don't be late," Seren replied.
Rakral waved, heading down the dimly lit street toward his own home. The sun had long vanished, and the city was cloaked in silence. Seren tied his horse to the post, fed it a handful of fodder, and went about his evening chores.
Hours later, a frantic knock shattered the calm. Seren opened the door cautiously.
Rakral stood there — pale, eyes wide with fear.
"What happened, Rakral? Why are you here at this hour?" Seren asked.
"My… my father," Rakral stammered, voice trembling. "He's not home yet. He went to the farm… and he hasn't come back."
Seren didn't hesitate. He grabbed his sword, strapped it across his back, and mounted his horse.
"Let's go," he said.
Together, the two rode into the cold night, the echo of hooves fading into the distance.