Kal's small footsteps echoed down the empty stone corridor, sharp and lonely in the vast school building.
"Mom…?" His voice trembled as it bounced off the cold walls.
He tried again, louder, the fear pressing against his ribs.
"Mom! Mom!"
No answer. Only the distant rattle of a window frame in the wind.
"Mom! Ahnnn...!" Kal cried, breaking into a run as he burst through his classroom door.
He froze.
His teacher lay collapsed on the floor
,twisted, unmoving, her robes darkened and stiff.
Kal knelt and nudged her shoulder with shaking hands.
"Teacher? Teacher… please, I can't find my mom… please help…"
His fingers brushed her cheek.
Ice-cold.
He jerked back, breath catching.
A sudden stickiness under his soles made him look down.
His tiny feet stood in a shallow pool of blood,hidden until now by the dim morning light.
A soft metallic scrape cut through the silence.
"A witness…" a man's voice murmured lazily from the window. "A child. Quick death, then."
Kal turned.
A man with golden hair stepped from the shadows, his boots polished, his weapon glinting like a shard of the sun itself.
He smiled at the boy_slowly, and cruelly.
Before the man could lift his blade, footsteps pounded from the hall.
"Kal!" Sophia burst in, eyes wild. She swept him into her arms, shielding him with her whole body.
"Please, my lord," she begged, voice cracking. "Have mercy. My son saw nothing. We will stay silent. I swear it. Please… he's just a little boy…"
The man let his gaze wander over her trembling form, his lips curling.
"And why," he said, "should I care?"
He grabbed Sophia by her hair and yanked her upward. Kal clung to her waist, legs shaking uncontrollably.
Sophia cried out, but kept her arms locked around her son.
"I beg you… he can barely speak clearly. He won't tell a soul, my lord… please…"
Kal pressed his face into her chest, sobbing, trying to disappear into her warmth.
The man's eyes lingered on Sophia,hungry, calculating.
His boots thudded slowly across the floor, each step heavier than the last.
"For a mother," he breathed, tilting her chin up, "you're quite a sight."
Sophia's heartbeat hammered against Kal's cheek. Her hands trembled violently.
"Why don't you come to my chambers tonight?" His smile spread like rot. "Entertain me… and I may consider sparing your little family."
"My lord, a commoner like me..."
Her words cut off in a gasp as he yanked her hair again.
"Don't pretend to be above your place, bitch," he snarled. His face hovered inches from hers. "If you don't want the brat to watch, then obey."
Kal's body shook with raw terror.
"No! Don't touch my mom!" he screamed.
The man's expression darkened.
"You bastard."
He raised the weapon.
"Please!" Sophia cried. "He's only a child! I'll, I'll do whatever you want. Please… spare him…"
She folded herself around Kal, turning her back to the blade, bracing for the blow.
Before the knife fell...
A voice called from outside the window.
"My lord! I have the little girl you wanted."
A knight stepped into view, a small limp body slung over his shoulder.
The golden-haired man clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Fine. Lucky day for you, bitch. Another time."
He slid his blade away and vaulted out the window with effortless grace.
His voice echoed as he vanished.
"Today's my reward. Can't wait to taste the ripping meat… haa…"
Silence suffocated the room.
Sophia knelt, tightening her hold around Kal.
"You're safe… you're safe… are you hurt?"
Kal could only cry.
"Mom… I won't tell anyone… please don't leave me… it was so scary…"
She hushed him, carrying him away as knights stormed the school, sealing off the bloody hallways.
The next morning, the commoners climbed the stairway to the graveyard, hands full of flowers.
They whispered prayers, cried quietly, and laid blooms around the covered bodies.
Sophia arrived with Kal.
The murmurs rose immediately, sharp as thorns.
"Isn't that Sophia?"
"She refused to cooperate with the knights."
"Suspicious, isn't it?"
"Maybe she's involved."
Kal felt the stares like needles against his skin.
He squeezed his mother's hand but kept quiet,fear shackling his tongue.
Sophia tightened her hold on his arm and bent slightly toward him, offering a small, strained smile,trying to shield him from the cruelty around them, even as her own heart trembled.
The day passed in silence.
In the classroom, Luke approached Kal.
"My mom said your mom didn't help the knights," he muttered.
Kal's jaw tightened. "She did nothing wrong."
"You're lying."
Sonia stepped beside Luke, chin lifted.
"Your mommy's a coward. My mom would've fought!"
Something snapped inside Kal.
"Take it back," he growled.
"No."
"I SAID TAKE IT BACK!"
He lunged, grabbing Sonia's hair, yanking her to the ground.
"Let go! It hurts! Teacher! Teacher!" she screamed.
"Take it back! My mommy's not a coward! She's the strongest!" Kal shouted, pulling harder.
Luke bit his hand.
Kal cried out but didn't release Sonia,instead, he raked his nails down Luke's cheek.
Kids shrieked and scattered.
A teacher rushed in, pulling them apart.
Sophia arrived after the principal's call, bowing deeply.
"I'm so sorry… my son..."
"He doesn't look sorry at all!" Sonia's mother snapped.
"Kal," Sophia pleaded softly. "Say sorry."
Kal stood stiff, breathing hard.
"I will not. I didn't do anything wrong."
Gasps rippled.
"How dare he?" Luke's mother growled.
"Kal…"
Sophia's voice trembled.
Her hand rose before she could stop it.
The slap echoed through the room.
Kal's eyes widened,betrayed, wounded and then overflowed.
He ran.
Sophia stared at her palm, horrified.
"What have I done…?"
"Some mother," Sonia's mom hissed.
"Shouldn't give birth if you can't act like one," Luke's mom said as they stormed away.
Sophia found Kal locked in the washroom.
"Kal? Sweetheart?"
"No! I don't want to talk to you!"
"Stop this nonsense and come out! If you don't, you won't eat tonight!"
"Fine! I don't want your food!"
"Fine. Then I'm leaving. You won't see me again."
Silence.
Then the door opened a crack.
Kal burst out and hugged her, crying into her stomach.
"Please don't go…"
Sophia knelt and embraced him tightly.
"I'm not going anywhere, Kal. But why did you hit them?"
"They… they called you a coward…" Kal whispered, voice shaking. "I got angry…"
Sophia closed her eyes. Her throat burned.
But she stroked his hair and said only, "Let's go home."
The next day, Sonia and Luke sat far away from him.
Miles quietly slipped into the seat beside Kal.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kal muttered.
"You… won't fight again, right? It scared me last time."
Kal nodded.
"No. I promised my mom. I won't fight stupid people anymore."
A loud gasp rang out.
"Hey! Look! Virelle's hand caught fire!"
The entire class rushed forward.
Virelle held her hand up, bright embers flickering along her palm.
"Sir,my hand...it's burning!"
The teacher grabbed her hand, then laughed with relief.
"No, no! This is good! Your attribute is awakening!"
Virelle's eyes sparkled.
"So I'm… an arcane?!"
"Not yet," the teacher said, patting her head. "But someday."
"I want to awaken too!"
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
The classroom burst into excited chaos.
The teacher smiled.
"You will. All of you. Keep practicing. Don't give up."
Kal watched the flames dance on Virelle's hand.
For a moment, he forgot yesterday's darkness.
But only for a moment.