Solace stopped in the corridor before the classroom.
He reached up slowly, fingers brushing his earlobe. The earrings were cool against his skin when he fastened them, a faint hum passing through his skull as the artifacts activated. It wasn't painful. Just… subtle. Like the world stepping half a pace away from him.
The sensation faded almost immediately.
He exhaled, adjusted his collar, and stepped forward.
The classroom was louder than he expected.
Not in volume, but in reaction.
Chairs scraped. Someone inhaled sharply. A few whispers died mid-sentence. He could feel eyes on him, the way attention pressed against his back like static.
"Is that…"
"No way, he's back already?"
"Blind, right?"
"He shouldn't even be here."
Solace ignored all of it.
He tapped his cane once against the floor, mapped the space in his head, then walked straight toward his seat. His posture never wavered. He didn't rush. Didn't hesitate. He sat down, set his cane neatly beside the desk, and folded his hands.
Someone scoffed from a few rows back.
"Tch. What a baby. Should've just stayed home."
Another voice laughed quietly.
Solace didn't react.
If anything, his expression softened. Not because it hurt. Because it didn't.
The lecture began. Theory of Threads, introductory analysis. The professor's voice was steady, droning. Solace listened carefully, reconstructing diagrams in his head from memory, anchoring concepts through sound and rhythm rather than sight.
He was adjusting.
He always did.
The class ended with the scrape of chairs and the shuffle of feet. Solace stayed seated, gathering his thoughts, until familiar footsteps approached.
"Hey."
Lex's voice. Close. Controlled, like always.
"Don't get up," Vivi said immediately. "We're right here."
Phoebe spoke last, her tone lighter than the others, but not teasing. "Wow. First day back, and you already look like you're plotting something dramatic."
Solace smiled faintly and turned his head toward their voices. "Good to see you all, too."
Lex cleared his throat. "How are you holding up?"
"Functional," Solace replied. "Which is better than expected."
Vivi reached out, hesitated, then gently touched his sleeve. "You don't have to push yourself. We've got you, okay?"
Phoebe leaned against the desk. "Seriously. No hero nonsense. If you fall down, I'm not carrying you."
Solace snorted. "Cruel."
Lex shifted, lowering his voice. "We'll walk you back. Or wherever you're headed."
Solace nodded, then paused. "Where's Nolan?"
The air changed.
It was subtle, but he felt it. The way their breathing hitched. The half-second delay before anyone spoke.
"… He hasn't been coming to class," Vivi said quietly.
Lex added, "He hasn't really left his dorm."
Phoebe sighed, fingers drumming against the desk. "We've checked. He eats when someone brings food. That's about it."
Solace's smile faded, just a little.
"I figured," he said softly.
Vivi hesitated. "We thought… now that you're back… maybe we could go see him this evening."
Solace nodded once. "Yeah."
"Let's do that," Solace said. "He shouldn't be alone."
After a moment of silence, The memory of Nolan's Mother and Veyra surfaced.
He had heard what had happened from Phoebe.
For a moment, Sol clenched his finger tight until he felt the warmth of his blood.
His Blind eyes became moist, But without letting anyone see, He quickly composed himself.
I just don't know what to feel. I didn't think Veyra would give her life for us. No-No, That was wrong. "I didn't want veyra dieing on us, especially me." She would have absolutely given her life for us, But ..... Dammit!' I cursed
Without letting grief and regret overtake him, He decided getting up to leave, Sol grabbed his cane and got up.
The four of them left the classroom together.
***
The dormitory wing reserved for high-ranking students sat apart from the rest of the Academy housing.
Not grand. Just quieter.
The stone corridors were wider, the doors spaced farther apart, wards etched deeper into the walls. Rank wasn't about luxury here. It was about isolation. Fewer neighbors. Fewer people to get in your way.
Nolan's room was at the far end.
Rank Five. Solo quarters.
As they approached the iron gate separating the wing from the main corridor, footsteps echoed toward them.
Someone was leaving.
A boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen. Thin. Shoulders slightly hunched. He clutched a cloth-wrapped container to his chest like it was fragile. His clothes were plain, a little too worn for Academy standards.
He stopped when he noticed them.
For half a second, recognition flashed across his face.
Solace felt it instantly.
He knew that look.
The boy hesitated, then lowered his head and stepped past them without a word, unlocking the gate from the inside and slipping out. His steps were quick after that. Too quick.
Phoebe frowned. "Who was that?"
"Probably a runner," Lex said. "Some students hire people to bring food when they don't want attention."
Solace said nothing.
He knew exactly who that boy was.
Nolan's little brother. Sirius. Not by blood. By choice.
Solace let the gate close behind them.
The hallway beyond was silent.
Nolan's door stood slightly ajar.
Vivi knocked once, gently.
"Nolan?"
No answer.
Phoebe pushed the door open anyway.
The room was clean.
The bed was made. Desk cleared. No shattered furniture. No signs of someone collapsing under grief. The window was open, letting in cool afternoon air that stirred the curtains.
Nolan stood near it, staring out at the Academy grounds below.
He turned
And smiled.
"You guys took long enough," he said.
Phoebe blinked. "You look… fine."
"I am," Nolan replied calmly. "I just needed time."
Solace took a few steps forward, cane tapping softly against the floor. He stopped a short distance away. "Time for what?"
Nolan looked back out the window.
"To think."
Lex crossed his arms. "And?"
"And I'm done thinking."
There was something different in his voice.
Not despair.
Focus.
"I'm going to find the Church," Nolan said plainly. "Every branch. Every goon. Every person who signed off on what happened."
Vivi stiffened. "Nolan…"
"I'm going to kill them."
The word landed without force.
The room felt colder.
Solace inhaled slowly. "We're with you," he said. "But not like that."
Nolan turned toward him. "You lost your eyes."
Solace didn't flinch. "And I'm still here."
"You almost died."
Solace replied quietly. "I think we shouldn't let Revenge cloud our decision I'm not opposed to killing them, but we are weak, inexperienced and without proper planning we'll just die."
Lex nodded. "We'll bring them down. Expose them. Strip them of power."
Then Phoebe laughed.
"You're all too kind," she said.
They turned to look at her.
Phoebe leaned against the wall, arms folded loosely, expression calm in a way that made Solace uneasy.
"I don't care about winning clean," she continued. "I don't care about exposure. I don't care about courts or councils."
She met Nolan's gaze.
"I'm going to erase the Church."
Silence.
Lex frowned. "Phoebe."
"They killed my mother," she said, still calm. "They killed Sara. Veyra Died because of them. They used us. Lied to us. Experimented on people like they were tools."
Her eyes were sharp now. Cold.
"If burning the whole thing down is what it takes, then fine."
Nolan stared at her for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
"Good," he said.
Solace tightened his grip on his cane.
'I understood their decision. The church had killed both of their mothers. Nolan's Mother, which had been part of two months of cruel journey, had been killed by church. She wasn't a fighter. No. But she was a reminder for every one of their own mother, keeping everyone motivated to reach home. Most of all, she was just a mother reunited with her child. But this was church, They had The royals with them. They have an army that could dismantle Kingdoms and a strong political background. I want to kill church too. But Not by being emotional. Not by blinded by revenge.'
He exhaled sharply and said with a calm voice, "Just don't do anything reckless that will grab church's attention."