An eerie silence settled over the academy after the portal vanished, but it didn't last long; the academy alarm blared suddenly, sharp mechanical shrieks piercing everyone's ears, declaring the highest state of emergency.
Supervisors began evacuating the halls, their shouts rising above the noise of debris: "Out! All students, leave the academy immediately!"
Kealen and Janero stood frozen, eyes fixed on the teacher sprawled on the ground. The sight was horrifying; his hands, once controlling gravity itself, were utterly shattered and twisted, and his chest soaked in blood, staining his formal robe a deep crimson. The once-mighty teacher now looked like human wreckage, destroyed by the fury of his pupil.
Their reverie was broken by a sharp cry from Teacher Selene, her pale features suddenly visible, her voice sharp with fear: "Kealen! Janero! What are you doing here? Go home immediately… class is canceled; the academy isn't safe today!"
Healer mages rushed to the teacher, green healing halos swirling around his broken body. Kealen and Janero silently retreated, moving through fleeing students without a word. The weight of events left no room for conversation.
At the outer gate, Janero paused, looked down, and said hoarsely, "I'll go home, Kealen… goodbye."
Kealen didn't reply, only offered a small nod. The friends separated, and Kealen walked through the city streets, which felt alien and desolate that day. Within hours, he had lost everything: his gentle friend Elthra, who had died quietly, and Noctis, who had vanished into mystery and madness.
He arrived at Hanabi and Namiru's home, pushed the door open slowly, expecting their usual bustling, but the house was silent. No one in the living room, no one in the kitchen. On the table, food was neatly covered, beside it a small note in Hanabi's handwriting: "We'll be late, urgent guild mission. All is fine, don't wait for us."
Kealen sat alone before the table, the food he loved untouched. He poured himself a glass of cold grape juice, and as he lifted it, he froze. On the surface of the juice, the light's reflection tricked him into seeing a familiar face… golden hair, green eyes shimmering softly.
"Elthra?" he whispered, voice trembling.
Kealen flinched, tears falling. He rubbed his eyes hard and looked again, but found nothing. It was only a mirage his exhausted mind had created. He ate mechanically, swallowing dry bites as tears silently burned his eyes. Inside, he was completely shattered.
He climbed to his room upstairs, each step heavy as if the gravity the teacher had used still pursued him. He lay on his bed in his clothes, staring at the dark ceiling. The room was unusually cold.
"Is my unique power a curse?" he asked bitterly. "Everyone I get close to ends up broken."
He raised his right hand in the air, focusing on the point he had learned in class that day, and whispered, weak and broken: "Release halo."
A pure silver glow emerged from his palm, calm and serene like moonlight, dancing gently over his fingers. The light was beautiful, yet lonely in the dark room. He closed his hand abruptly, letting the glow vanish, and murmured as he shut his eyes, trying to escape reality:
"I… I have to sleep… I just have to sleep to forget everything that happened."