The boy who could bend fate—maybe.
The classroom smelled of scorched metal and fear. Broken chairs littered the floor, shards of rusted iron glinting under the flickering lights. Liam's hands were still shaking, his heart hammering like a war drum. He hadn't moved after Finn struck down the Decay. Not out of awe—though there was plenty of that—but because he couldn't fully believe what had happened.
A body lay crumpled near the door. The Decay member was gone—or dead, Liam didn't know the proper word for it. Its glowing eyes had been extinguished, its form unmoving, lifeless. Finn stood over it, violet aura still faintly glowing around him, metal shards hovering like obedient soldiers.
And the teacher… the teacher was frozen, staring at the scene with wide, terrified eyes.
"Finn… what… what did you do?" he whispered.
Finn's gaze flicked to Liam, then back to the lifeless figure. "I defended everyone," he said, his voice calm—too calm for the chaos around them. "It came for you. For all of us."
Silence swallowed the classroom. Every student avoided looking at the body. Some were crying, some were pale, and some—like Liam—were too shocked to even speak.
The sound of boots echoed in the hallway. The principal, along with a small group of teachers and local law enforcers, barged in. Their faces were tight with fear and fury.
"What happened here?!" the principal demanded, eyes darting between Finn, Liam, and the metal-sprinkled classroom.
Finn straightened, letting the violet aura dim slightly. "They attacked us. I defended myself—and everyone else," he explained.
The principal's jaw tightened. "Killed… someone?" His voice dropped to a whisper, trembling. "Do you even realize what you've done?"
A few students muttered under their breath. Liam noticed their whispers: he's a killer… he's dangerous…. The fear in the room shifted subtly, from Decay to Finn. Liam's stomach churned. Even heroes in this world didn't get applause. Not when the rules were so cruel.
Suspension Debate
Within hours, the orphanage and school administrators held a meeting. Liam and the other children sat silently in one corner while Finn stood silently on the other side.
"Technically," said one of the teachers, "Finn committed homicide on school grounds. Even if it was a Decay… we have to follow protocol."
Another teacher shook his head. "Protocol? Protocol won't save the rest of the city when Decay comes back. If he's suspended, we're putting everyone at risk."
Arguments erupted. Liam watched, heart pounding. This world didn't make sense. Heroes could kill—and the system punished them anyway.
Finally, the principal made a decision. "Finn will remain under supervision, but he will be restricted from interacting with other students directly until further notice. We can't ignore what he did, but we also can't ignore what could happen if we remove our strongest defense."
Finn nodded, expression calm, almost cold. Liam swallowed, unsure if he was scared of Finn or inspired. Probably both.
Aftermath in the Classroom
The students filed back to their desks. Broken chairs were left where they fell. Liam sat quietly, eyes on the metal scraps at his feet. He didn't know if he was safe, if Finn was safe, or if anyone would survive the next attack.
"I… I never want to see that again," whispered a classmate.
Liam's mind wandered. He had no Will. No Manifest. Just trembling hands and a body that wanted to hide behind someone stronger. But he couldn't. He had to watch, learn, survive.
Finn, meanwhile, cleaned up the scattered metal shards with unnerving precision. Liam noticed something strange: every motion Finn made, even cleaning, had perfect control over the tiniest pieces of metal. No matter how small, how broken, how rusted, it obeyed him. Violet Mode wasn't just for fighting. It was a total command over the world's metal—and he had it at just twelve years old.
Liam realized something terrifying: he was powerless. And in a world where Decay killed with a glance or a pose, powerless was the same as dead
That evening, Liam lay in his small bed in the orphanage. Outside, the city lights flickered, shadows dancing like broken memories. He could still feel the residue of metal energy—the slight tug of Ferra in the air, not coming from him, but from Finn.
A whisper of fear brushed through his mind:
They will come again…
And Liam shivered. He had no Manifest. No Will. Just the faint heartbeat of a boy learning that in this world, survival itself was a skill—and the smallest misstep could be your last.