The Academy's spire loomed over the dawn, its black crystal tip catching the pale light like a blade. Inside, the Grand Hall buzzed with hundreds of new students, their robes stitched with their House colors — gold for Solara, silver for Lunaris, crimson for Ignis, and deep blue for Umbra.
Rayan's robe? Plain black. No crest. No House.
The whispers began instantly.
"Is he a servant?"
"No — he's the one who survived the Crowned Beast."
"Rumor says he's cursed."
Kael slapped a hand on Rayan's shoulder, grinning like they'd been friends for years.
"Ignore them. We're survivors, not social climbers."
Rayan didn't correct him. Truth was, Kael's loud loyalty already made him more valuable than most people here.
The first lecture was held in the Circle of Aether — a massive amphitheater with spell diagrams carved into the marble floor. The instructor, Archmage Varlen, swept in like a storm cloud.
"Magic," he began, "is not a gift. It is a predator you must learn to control before it eats you alive."
Rayan absorbed every word, but his attention was yanked elsewhere — across the room, the silver-haired girl was leaning casually against a pillar, her eyes locked on him as if she'd been expecting him to notice.
When their gazes met, she smirked.
Varlen's voice cut through.
"You there — black robe. Stand."
Every eye in the amphitheater turned to him.
"If you are truly worthy of surviving an unregistered trial monster, then bind me."
It was a trap — Rayan could tell from the faint curl of Varlen's lips. The man wanted to humiliate him. Cassian, seated near the front, looked positively eager to watch it happen.
But humiliation could be useful… if flipped.
Rayan raised the Grimoire and murmured the Binding of False Flesh. Chains shot toward Varlen — and stopped just inches short. But instead of breaking, they shimmered and multiplied, binding not the Archmage… but Cassian.
Gasps filled the hall as Cassian fell out of his chair, struggling against the restraints.
"My aim's still rough," Rayan said flatly, "but at least I caught something dangerous."
Laughter rippled through the students. Even Varlen's eyes glinted in amusement.
"Interesting. We will… test you further."
After class, Kael jogged up with an apple in hand.
"Here. You didn't eat breakfast. Don't make me babysit you and fight off giant monsters."
It was a small thing, but Rayan noted it. A friend who feeds you is a friend worth keeping.
From the shadows of a nearby archway, the silver-haired girl watched, her expression unreadable.
That night, the Grimoire revealed another line:
Page 6: The enemy you humiliate will remember it longer than the friend you save.
Rayan closed the book slowly. Cassian wouldn't let this go — and that was exactly what he wanted.