The lecture hall buzzed with conversations and the scent of deep-fried food. Contraband, technically, but no one cared.
Students shuffled in with notes, breakfast, and coffee, scrambling to find seats.
Lucius strode in. The atmosphere was familiar, though he hadn't missed it.
Especially not with Aiden Frost sitting front and centre.
Still, no one seemed to care that he was back. That was fine.
He scanned the seats. Near the top, Seraphina waved him over.
He made his way up and slipped into the spot beside her.
"First day after suspension," she said. "How are you feeling?"
Lucius dropped his bag. "Caught a glimpse of Aiden Frost's face already. So yeah—off to a fantastic start."
Seraphina giggled, then turned back as the professor walked in.
The man placed his bag down and scanned the stands, his eyes locking on Lucius.
"I can feel the hostility from here," Seraphina muttered, flipping open her notes. "Professor Monrose doesn't forget grudges."
"Especially when he loses to a first-year."
"There's a first time for everything." Lucius shrugged.
Monrose pushed up his purple spectacles like a headband, holding his hair back.
"Welcome back to Theory 101."
Lucius stared forward as the lecture began. The professor filled the board with complex flux theories, most of which were useless in real combat.
But then again, most of these students would never see real combat.
The Thornes had once made that possible. With them gone, those opportunities had vanished too.
So what was the point?
Lucius glanced at Seraphina. She was taking notes diligently.
His gaze drifted to the faint marks on her wrists. Not out of pity, but respect.
She had kept going. Kept fighting, despite everything.
A quiet kind of strength he was only starting to understand.
It reminded him of his own scars.
Or where they used to be.
He rubbed his fingers across his wrist. The skin was smooth now, but the phantom feeling remained.
Seraphina noticed. "Jealous. Yours healed."
"Yeah…" Lucius said softly.
"…Still feel the same?" she asked, barely above a whisper, eyes still on the lecture.
Lucius scratched his head, hesitant. "I used to hate myself. My father gave me everything—top-tier relics, rare supplements. I was the golden child. And all I did was run when things got hard…"
She didn't reply. Didn't even look at him. Just kept writing.
"But… I think I get it now. The joy of carrying the spirit forward.
Knowing I didn't completely fail my family, it helps me sleep."
"Quiet down, Lucius Thornes," Professor Monrose said without turning.
Lucius raised a hand in apology.
Seraphina opened her mouth, searching for words. But she hesitated.
"…I can't pretend to understand," she said at last, voice low. "But maybe… it's time to move on?"
"Yeah… I'm working on it," Lucius replied, letting out a dry chuckle.
Seraphina nudged him with her shoulder. "You can do it."
Lucius smiled and leaned in. "You too."
She glanced at him, surprised. Then narrowed her eyes playfully. "You knew I could pull it off yesterday, didn't you?"
Lucius leaned back. "Please. You're talented. You don't need to fight for me to know that.
Even if you don't get the theory, your body gets the flow."
"Says the guy who soloed the 4th-floor boss."
"Heh… We all have our problems."
Monrose closed his notes and pushed up his glasses with a sigh.
"We'll take a short break. Ten minutes."
Chairs scraped, students stretched.
Murmured conversations stirred the air.
Lucius rolled his shoulders, letting himself relax. Seraphina twirled her pen, stealing a glance his way.
Then the shift. That quiet prickle of something unpleasant approaching.
Aiden Frost.
He leaned lazily against the desk in front of them, smug as ever.
"Lucius Thornes." He let the name hang like a bad joke. "Still showing up, huh? Thought you'd be too embarrassed after everything."
Lucius didn't respond. Didn't even look at him.
Aiden tapped the desk. "Must be exhausting—pretending you're still the golden boy."
Seraphina's fingers froze mid-spin.
Aiden leaned in slightly, voice lower. Sharper. "Or maybe it's easier now, with no one left to disappoint."
Lucius's jaw tightened. But his face stayed blank.
Before he could speak, Seraphina did.
Her lips curled into a smile. A calm, amused one.
"At least he's not pretending to be something he's not," she said, chin resting on her palm.
Aiden's smirk twitched.
Seraphina turned fully to him. "Must be tiring—being a flea that thinks it's a lion."
Silence.
A muffled laugh came from somewhere behind them.
Aiden's fingers twitched.
Lucius let out a breath, trying to hide his grin.
He'd expected to deal with Aiden himself. But Seraphina had sliced through the nonsense like it was nothing.
She leaned back with a smug glint in her eye.
Aiden muttered something under his breath and slinked back to his seat.
Lucius chuckled. "Didn't expect that."
"Someone had to shut him up," Seraphina said, flipping a page. Her grin lingered. "You should thank me. I saved you the trouble."
Lucius huffed a laugh. "Right. How's dinner sound then?"
* * *
5 Hours Later, Thornes Residence
Lucius slurped up the last bits of his noodles and set the container back on the table.
He looked to Seraphina. Her face glowed under the starry night sky, city lights painting the backdrop behind her — almost reminiscent of the first time they met.
"This reshtarhant'sh thinsh ur preshhy goot! Uren't dey!" Seraphina said with a stuffed mouth. Gravy covered her lips and smeared her cheeks.
"Oh, definitely," Lucius said, wiping his mouth. "And I can't believe how cheap it was, either."
A brief lull hung between them.
"Great place you have here…" she said, finally swallowing. "This scenery is truly amazing... Thanks for inviting me."
Above them, galaxies shimmered in the endless dark. The stars flowed like liquid across the sky, drifting as time passed.
Flocks of birds soared overhead, making their final flight of the night in search of rest.
The two on the balcony had already found theirs.
"You pick the restaurant, I pick the view," Lucius said, sipping warm water. "Anyway, you were going to tell me about Aiden?"
"Oh, yeah! The Frost family." She shoveled more noodles into her mouth, completely unladylike for someone of her status — but maybe that was the point. No one here cared. That made it a kind of sanctuary.
"Right… apparently there's going to be another deep expedition. This time, the Frosts and the Larks."
"Wowww, who would've seen that coming?" Lucius said sarcastically, waving his arms. "Their army sizes are way too small. They won't even have enough people for logistics."
"Well… that's the problem." She swallowed her next mouthful and chased it down with water.
"In their proposal to us — and to the Nightwells, and the Bureau of Dungeon Exploration — they said they wouldn't be needing one. Logistics, I mean. They're planning to blitz the 4th floor."
"The fuck? That's suicide."
"That's what we said." She sank deeper into her chair, legs spreading slightly, one foot tapping a restless rhythm. "They said the boss wouldn't be there. Since you killed it."
Lucius scoffed. "Takes a certain kind of arrogance to think the dungeon's floors are that simple."
Seraphina stuffed the last of her noodles into her mouth and stacked her container on top of his.
"The problem is, they're risking the lives of everyone who blindly follows them. Two whole families of fucktards thinking a few shiny relics make them invincible."
"Alessandro, huh… Class of '95?"
"Yup. The golden generation." She looked at Lucius with a crooked grin. "Probably where they got that unfounded arrogance. Go, Lucius! I summon thee to beat those asses up!"
Lucius burst out laughing. "And trigger a full-blown political war? Risk the safety of the citizens over something so petty? I'll pass."
He paused. "Anyway. Why are you bringing this up?"
"Look... I don't want to push it, but… I thought maybe you could follow them in. Stalk them into the dungeon. Just in case things go south." She traced idle patterns into the metal side table. "Of course, we hope nothing happens. But… you never know."
"Come on… you know how I feel about going back in." Lucius stood and walked over to the railing.
He reached into his back pocket, pulled out a box of cigarettes, and slid one between his lips.
"Oi! Jasper told me to keep you off those." Seraphina darted forward, but Lucius was faster — already lighting it before she could stop him.
"Well..." he said, taking a long drag.
The smoky warmth filled him.
A warmth he couldn't get from his own Flux.
With the release of smoke, his mind went blank.
Numb.
Relaxed.
In a flash, Seraphina snatched the cigarette from his mouth and burned it to a crisp between her fingers. "Heh."
Lucius looked at her with tired eyes.
Expressionless as the smoke drifted from his lips.
"Regardless… I don't want to go back into the dungeons," he muttered. "These dungeons… all they do is harm. People say the dungeons giveth and taketh. But for me? They've only ever taken."
He stared out into the sky. "They took everything from me. The only thing they gave was pain… suffering… and a false hope."
Seraphina said nothing.
Just a small nod.
Then, she walked to her backpack and pulled out a file marked Confidential.
She strolled over and placed it on the railing beside Lucius.
"I know you don't want to go back," she said. "Truth be told, I wouldn't either, if I were in your shoes. But… there are poor souls who won't know better. If something happens down there, you'll be the only one who could save them, Lucius."
He didn't want to.
But his heartbeat wasn't just his own.
Everything he learned — everything he was — pointed toward protecting the city. Safeguarding its future. His legacy, his teachings, his family… they had all been built on that one truth.
That was what they would've wanted.
And if it had been them… they would've done the same.
Lucius took a long breath of cold air.
Then opened the file.
Inside: a contract.
It granted its bearer the right to freely enter and exit the dungeons.
A privilege held by only one person.
Granted by the Bureau of Dungeon Exploration, Eryndale.
"Abyssal Guide."