After school ended, the halls of the academy slowly began to empty as students made their way back to the dorms or toward the training fields.
Izan walked through the courtyard toward the training fields, where Rin and Sayaka were already waiting for him.
But as he passed near Valeria's office, something caught his attention.
Two girls were standing outside the door.
Izan slowed slightly, his eyes drifting toward them without meaning to stare.
Both of them looked… unusual.
The older one leaned casually on a white cane.
Her white hair was teased high and wild, styled in dramatic gothic waves that framed her pale face like a crown of frost. Dark makeup surrounded her eyes, sharp and smudged in an artistic way that made her gaze look deeper, almost predatory. Her lips were painted a deep crimson, nearly black beneath the academy lights.
But what truly stood out wasn't just her appearance.
It was the presence she carried.
Even while standing still, the air around her felt heavy—like quiet pressure pressing against the room. Not hostile, not aggressive… but powerful enough to make anyone nearby instinctively pay attention.
She wore long white gloves, a black lace-trimmed dress, and white high heels that clicked softly against the floor whenever she shifted her weight.
Each small movement felt deliberate.
Controlled.
Confident.
Like someone who knew exactly how dangerous she was.
Beside her stood a younger girl who looked closer to Izan's age.
Her hair was long and straight, falling past her shoulders like a dark curtain. Unlike the older girl's flashy style, her appearance was simpler—but still unmistakably gothic.
Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner that gave her a cold, sharp look. Her expression remained calm and serious as she leaned lightly against the wall with her arms crossed.
But what caught Izan's attention most wasn't their appearance.
It was their aura.
The air around them felt heavy.
Not violent.
Not hostile.
Just… powerful.
Like something lurking quietly beneath the surface.
Izan realized he had been staring a little too long.
The younger girl noticed.
"Do you have a problem?" she asked flatly.
The tone wasn't angry, but it carried a clear edge of irritation.
Izan blinked, caught off guard.
"I—uh—no—I mean—"
Before Izan could finish, the older girl suddenly laughed.
A rich, amused sound.
"Ivy, relax," she said with a playful smile, waving her hand dismissively.
"He's obviously just stunned by our beauty."
She pushed herself off the wall and stepped toward Izan, her white high heels clicking lightly against the floor with each graceful step. She leaned forward slightly as she rested on her white cane, tilting her head as if examining him like a curious piece of art.
The movement felt dramatic—almost theatrical.
Like she had practiced making entrances.
Slowly, she extended her gloved hand toward him.
"My name," she said smoothly, her voice carrying a proud elegance, "is Morgan."
She then turned her cane slightly and gestured toward the girl beside her.
"And this quiet little storm beside me is my younger sister, Ivy."
Her eyes returned to Izan, studying him with clear amusement.
Her smile widened.
"And you are…?"
Izan hesitated for a moment before answering.
"My name's Izan."
He reached forward and shook her hand.
The moment their hands connected—
Pain shot through his fingers.
It felt like his hand had just been crushed.
Not broken.
But close enough to make his nerves scream.
Izan instinctively pulled his hand back slightly.
Morgan's lips curled upward.
A sly, satisfied smirk.
"What was that?" Izan asked, confused.
Morgan blinked slowly, her expression suddenly innocent.
"What was what?"
Her voice carried a teasing sweetness now, the tone almost childish as she mocked his confusion.
Izan stared at her for a moment, still a little stunned.
Then he shook his hand slightly, trying to ignore the lingering ache.
"…Who are you two?" he asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you around the academy."
Morgan leaned back against the wall again, casually spinning her cane between her fingers like it weighed nothing.
"We're part of the Shadow Council," she said smoothly.
Her eyes gleamed slightly.
"Under Valeria, of course."
Recognition flashed across Izan's face.
Then suddenly—
A massive shadow loomed behind him.
Izan slowly turned around.
His entire body froze.
Standing behind him was a huge skeleton wearing a dark cloak.
Its hollow eye sockets stared down at him.
Izan's face instantly dropped.
His eyes widened so much it looked like they might pop out.
His heart began racing.
Then the skeleton's jaw suddenly dropped off its face and clattered onto the floor.
The skeleton began laughing.
Morgan burst into laughter as well, leaning against the wall while trying to catch her breath.
Ivy simply stared at them both, completely unimpressed.
The skeleton bent down and picked up its own jaw.
Then it placed it back on its face.
Izan pointed at it in shock.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" he shouted.
"THAT IS NOT NORMAL!"
"And why are you a skeleton?!"
"Who are you?!"
The skeleton laughed again.
"I'm Jack," it said cheerfully.
"From the Shadow Council."
He extended his bony hand toward Izan.
"You must be Izan."
Izan nodded slowly.
"I'm guessing Valeria already told you about me."
Jack nodded.
Izan hesitated, then shook his hand.
The moment he touched the skeleton's bones—
A freezing shock ran through his arm.
The cold felt unnatural.
Izan quickly pulled his hand away.
Jack laughed loudly.
At that moment, another voice appeared from behind them.
"What joke did I miss?"
A woman stepped forward.
It was Yara.
Morgan smirked.
"Jack scared Izan to death."
Yara burst into laughter immediately.
Her laugh was loud and carefree—almost like a child's.
Morgan's smirk quickly turned into a look of mild disgust.
Jack simply stared at her with a blank expression.
Meanwhile, Ivy and Izan both looked completely confused by the behavior of these grown adults.
Yara slowly stopped laughing when she noticed no one else had joined in.
"…Why isn't anyone laughing with me?"
Jack shook his head.
Morgan sighed.
Yara looked genuinely hurt.
But after a moment she quickly shook off the sadness and clapped her hands together.
"Anyway!" she said brightly. "How have you been, Izan? I heard you fought Drex and awakened your first Kitsune form!"
She clapped excitedly like a proud fan.
Morgan nodded slowly, clearly impressed.
Jack began clapping too.
"We heard about it from Valeria," he said.
Izan scratched the back of his head slightly.
"Yeah… but it could've gone better," he admitted. "If I actually worked on my wind powers."
He sighed.
"I still haven't used them yet."
Yara's eyes lit up instantly.
"Oh! That's perfect!" she said excitedly.
She grabbed Jack's shoulder and pulled him forward.
"You should train with Jack!"
She said it like she had just solved a huge problem.
"He's the jack-of-all-trades after all," she continued proudly. "He can use the main six elements, including wind."
She leaned closer to Izan.
"And he's one of the most powerful out of all of us."
Izan blinked in surprise.
Jack's skull somehow managed to blush.
He waved his bony hands nervously.
"It's nothing really— I mean— it's not a big deal—"
He started stuttering slightly.
Morgan smirked from the wall.
"He's so easy to fluster," she said casually.
Jack's blush somehow grew even worse.
Izan chuckled a little at the scene before asking,
"So… why are you all here anyway?"
Yara stretched her arms lazily.
"Two of our members are currently in the Storm Country," she explained. "And the other two are on their way here."
"So not all of us are around."
She shrugged.
"Valeria wanted a private meeting."
She sighed lazily.
"Looks like we've got more work to do."
Morgan nodded in agreement.
"We'll be busy working soon," she said. "So we won't really be around much."
While they were talking—
Another voice suddenly cut through the conversation.
"Why are you speaking with the Shadow Council members instead of coming to train?"
Sayaka.
Izan froze the moment he heard her voice.
"…I forgot."
He quickly straightened up and bowed repeatedly in apology, nearly panicking.
"I'm sorry! Their appearances were just really interesting and I got distracted!"
Sayaka sighed.
Meanwhile—
Morgan, Yara, and Jack suddenly noticed Rin standing nearby.
Their eyes lit up instantly.
They rushed toward her.
"Oh my god she's tiny!" Jack said excitedly.
He crouched down slightly to look closer.
"You're so small and cute!"
Yara leaned down beside him.
"Look at her cheeks!" she said excitedly. "They look so squishy!"
She lightly poked Rin's cheek.
Morgan walked forward more slowly, studying her carefully.
"So this is Rin Amagawa…" she said with interest.
Her eyes narrowed slightly with admiration.
"You're incredibly strong for someone your age."
"Your control over light is impressive."
Rin stood there in the middle of them.
Completely surrounded.
Yet she looked utterly bored.
Not annoyed.
Not embarrassed.
Just… used to it.
Sayaka chuckled quietly at the scene.
Nearby, Ivy watched silently.
A small hint of jealousy flickered across her face.
Izan noticed.
He glanced toward her.
At that exact moment, Ivy looked back.
Their eyes met.
Her face instantly turned red.
She realized he had noticed.
Embarrassed, she quickly looked away.
Before anything else could happen—
Valeria stepped out of her office.
"What is all this commotion?"
Everyone immediately froze.
Then the Shadow Council members straightened up quickly.
"Sorry," they all said.
Valeria sighed.
"Go do something productive instead of crowding my office."
Jack, Morgan, and Yara all looked slightly disappointed.
They slowly walked away.
Ivy followed behind them quietly.
Valeria rubbed her forehead.
"Those Shadow Council members are a headache…"
Sayaka smirked slightly.
Izan and Rin followed behind them as they left.
The group eventually arrived at the second training ground.
Sayaka turned toward Jack.
"Jack," she said calmly, "can you train Izan for a bit?"
"Maybe give him some tips."
Jack immediately perked up.
"Of course!"
Without warning—
A gust of wind suddenly lifted Izan straight off the ground.
"WOAH— WAIT— HEY—!"
Izan's body floated several feet into the air as wind spiraled around him.
He flailed slightly.
"HEY— PUT ME DOWN—!"
Jack laughed.
"Relax! I'm just helping you feel wind mana!"
Meanwhile Sayaka turned toward Morgan.
"Morgan," she said.
"Can you train Rin for a little as well?"
"I've heard you can control shadows."
"Just like Rin controls light."
Morgan leaned on her cane.
Her elbow rested on the black orb at the top, while her other hand supported her chin as if the cane were a small table holding her weight.
A slow smirk formed on her face.
"Sure," she said lazily.
"Why not?"
Her eyes drifted toward Rin.
"The Amagawa girl is interesting after all."
She glanced upward.
The sky had turned deep red as the sun began to set.
"Besides…"
She smiled slightly.
"Night is approaching."
Ivy leaned quietly against a nearby tree, her back pressed against the rough bark as she watched the training area.
Sayaka stood a few steps away, observing calmly with her arms folded.
Morgan slowly straightened from her relaxed position against the cane.
Her eyes shifted toward Rin.
"Have you ever turned into light itself?" Morgan asked casually.
Rin blinked.
"No," she admitted. "I don't know how to."
Morgan's lips curled into a small smirk.
"Watch."
She tapped the ground lightly with the tip of her cane.
At her feet, a small circular shadow formed on the ground beneath her.
Then—
Her body dissolved into it.
Morgan vanished completely.
Only the shadow remained.
The dark circle suddenly moved across the ground, sliding smoothly like living ink.
Rin's eyes widened.
Sayaka raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed.
The shadow began moving faster.
And faster.
Soon it was darting across the ground so quickly that Rin couldn't even see it anymore.
The only thing she could sense was Morgan's aura.
But even that was confusing.
It felt like her presence was everywhere at once, surrounding them from every direction.
Rin's senses struggled to keep up.
Then suddenly—
A hand touched her shoulder from behind.
Rin spun around instantly, her heart jumping in surprise.
Morgan stood there, perfectly relaxed.
A smug smirk rested on her lips.
"Voilà."