The room was silent, the air frozen in a state of perpetual winter. As Luka's hand reached out for Suki's chin, his eyes glowing with an unwanted intimacy, Suki's consciousness fractured. The cold walls of the Academy melted away, replaced by the suffocating opulence of a memory she had tried for years to bury.
The memory began in a high-towering castle, illuminated by a thousand crystal chandeliers. It was a gala for the true elites," a ball where the air smelled of vintage wine and expensive perfumes. Nobles from the most powerful lineages clustered together, their laughter ringing like the clinking of their fine crystal glasses.
Amidst the swirling gowns and stiff suits, a young Suki Von Valerius stood alone near the refreshment table. She was a vision in blue—a garment that mirrored the deep ocean, adorned with jewels that caught the light like fallen stars. A single red flower was tucked into her black hair, which was streaked with sapphire blue. Even then, her skin was white as snow, and her lips were the color of crushed roses.
She was reaching for a piece of cake when another hand moved toward the same plate. She looked up, locking eyes with a boy who radiated a natural, golden brilliance. His blond hair was perfectly coiffed, and his deep azure eyes sparkled with a confidence that bordered on divinity. He smiled, and for a moment, the world seemed to brighten.
"Hi. What's your name?" she asked, her voice innocent and polite.
"I'm Luka. Luka Cinandra. And you?"
"I'm Suki Von Valerius. Pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," Luka replied, his gaze lingering on her a second too long. "Nice dress."
"Thanks," she said, feeling a slight prickle of unease she couldn't yet name.
"So, how do you like the party?" Luka asked, stepping closer to establish a conversation.
"It's fine. Nothing bad about it," she replied simply, hoping to move on.
"Would you care for a dance?" He offered his hand with a practiced smirk.
"No thanks. I'm not really into dancing."
"Well, you won't know how unless you try," he persisted, his voice honeyed with persuasion.
"I'm sorry, but no. Not interested. See you around, Luka." She turned and walked away, her blue silks rustling against the marble floor.
Luka watched her go, his smile fading into a dark, possessive grin. "She's different from all the girls I've ever met. That girl is going to be mine," he whispered to the empty air. "No... she's already mine."
Across the hall, their fathers—Philip Von Valerius and Harold Cinandra—stood clinking glasses of rare nectar. They watched their children with the cold, calculating eyes of men who saw people as assets.
"Look at them, Philip," Harold spoke, his voice booming with pride. "How about we betroth these two? It's the perfect way to strengthen our bond and ensure our bloodlines produce something even more formidable."
"Betrothed?" Philip mused, looking at Suki's retreating back. "I see no problem with that. You're a lucky man, Harold. To have a son with such pure divine blood... unlike those Veyrons. Their offspring was such a disappointment. Your son is a natural prodigy. By the time he matures and marries my daughter, he will help her tap into her true potential."
"To the future," Harold replied, raising his glass.
"To the future," Philip echoed. The clink of their glasses was the sound of a prison door locking shut.
-----
Months passed. Suki was enrolled in a training academy for young elites, a sprawling complex where she spent her days mastering the frost. She stood in a vast, empty field, practicing the conversion of water into ice. Her movements were like a ballet—gathering the moisture from the morning dew on the plants, swirling it into a horizontal line of liquid that danced around her. With a sharp breath, she froze the water into a jagged spear and launched it.
The ice spear hissed through the air, piercing a wooden practice dummy through the heart and encasing the entire figure in a shell of frost. She let out a sigh of relief. "First stage mastered."
"Whoa. Nice move there."
Suki jumped backwards, looking up into the branches of a massive tree. Luka was sitting there, his golden hair partially obscuring his azure eyes. He wore a blue jacket and shimmering black pants, looking down at her with an unreadable expression.
"Luka? What are you doing here?" she asked, her heart sinking.
"I've just been transferred here," he said, hopping down with the effortless grace of a cat. "But I'm a bit disappointed. I'm not in your sect."
"Really? I'm in the Norvice arcane order. Where are you?"
"I'm in the martial arts sect. I entered randomly, but it doesn't matter." He walked toward her, reaching for her hand. "The only reason I transferred here was to be with you, Suki."
Suki pulled his hand back, her eyes wide with bewilderment. "To be with me? Luka, I thought you came here to learn."
"The truth is," Luka said, his voice dropping into a low, intense register. "Ever since that ball, I fell in love at first sight. I tried to deny it, but I couldn't. I'm confessing to you now. It's not a bad thing, falling in love, right?"
Suki stood frozen. She was young, unprepared for a proposal of this magnitude. "Look, Luka... I understand, but I'm just not ready for this. My feelings don't match yours. I'm not in love with you. Can't we just continue as friends?"
The word friends stung Luka like a physical blow. He let out a short, insincere laugh. "Just friends? You're joking, right?"
Suki didn't blink. Her silence was her confirmation.
"Suki, don't make my coming here be for nothing," Luka's voice turned sharp, his divine aura simmering beneath the surface. "We should be more than friends. If your feelings won't cooperate... then I will have you by force."
Suki's blood ran cold. She recognized that tone—it was the same selfish, predatory trait she saw in his father, Harold. "What do you mean by that, Luka?"
Luka pushed his hair back, looking up at the sky before fixing her with a terrifyingly calm gaze. "You're mine, Suki. And I'm not going to allow anyone to get close to you. Not ever."
WHACK.
Before he could say another word, Suki's fist connected with his jaw. The force was enough to twist his head to the side, but Luka didn't move. He didn't skid back neither did he even flinch. He slowly turned his head back to face her, a dark, bruised mark appearing on his cheek.
"What a lovely punch," he said, his eyes filled with a terrifying vacancy. "You see, no matter what you do, it changes nothing. I'm having you, Suki."
"You're crazy!" she screamed, her anger flaring. "Don't you dare harm anyone!"
"That depends entirely on you," Luka said, walking away with a dark grin. "See you around, Suki.
The following day came by, Suki returned to the Novice order for morning lessons. Desperate for some normalcy, she found her best friend, Celina, and they spent the day laughing and discussing their training. It was the last moment of peace Suki would ever know.
The next morning, Celina didn't show up. Suki waited, worried her friend was sick. Then, the news broke. A girl had been found dead, lunged against a wall, her body pierced through—not by a beast or a demon, but by a human hand.
Suki fell to her knees in the middle of the hallway, tears streaming down her face. She knew. She remembered Luka's warning. Luka, you monster! she screamed internally. But she knew that in this world, a demi-god like Luka was untouchable. There was no authority high enough to punish him.
She began to isolate herself, afraid that any friend she made would become a target. One afternoon, while strolling the streets alone, she found a stray puppy. It was hungry and shivering. Softening, she fed it a cookie. The puppy rolled over in joy, its tail wagging furiously.
For weeks, the puppy was her only secret joy. She brought it snacks every day, patting its head and feeling a flicker of happiness. Then came the fateful day.
She arrived at the spot with a bag of homemade treats, only to stop dead in her tracks. The bag fell from her hands, cookies scattering across the pavement. The puppy lay in a pool of blood, its head pierced through by a single, precise bolt of light magic.
Footsteps approached. Luka walked toward her, his hands in his pockets, that same darkened grin on his face.
"Hello Suki. How have you been?"
"Luka, you beast!" Suki's aura flared, the ground fracturing and freezing instantly.
-----
The memory shattered. Suki blinked, finding herself back in the frozen room at Vanguard Academy. Luka's hand was inches from her face.
With a sharp, icy breath, she froze the air around his hand, the ice so intense it shattered the sleeve of his jacket. Luka pulled back, his hand regenerating instantly from the frostbite.
"Don't you dare touch me, you monster," she spat, standing up and backing away.
Luka straightened his jacket, his expression indifferent. "I see. Still holding that old grudge? Suki, all I ever did on that day was just to try get closer to you. You were the one who caused those tragic things to happen. If you had just accepted me, they would have still been alive."
He turned toward the door, his golden presence filling the room one last time. "Anyway, I just came to let you know that you've been chosen as one of the guests of honor to oversee the upcoming entrance exams. I'll be there as the Chief Inspector."
"..."
Suki didn't respond. She simply stared at him with a gaze that could freeze the sun.
"I'll take that as an 'okay.' I'm leaving. See you around, Suki."
The door clicked shut, leaving Suki alone in her kingdom of ice, her heart beating with hatred. "Curse that bastard."