The academy hummed with post-trial chaos. Holo-boards flickered with rankings, laughter and curses tangled in the corridors, but for Kael the noise felt distant, muted, as if the world had been dimmed around him. His focus lingered on the echoes of the Red Wasteland—the pulse of red light, the surge of instinct, and the fleeting figure he had glimpsed in the mist.
He stepped from the arena, Aria beside him, moving with precise, deliberate steps. Her gaze flicked toward him once, assessing—not warm, not friendly, just measuring the unknown.
"Keep your focus," she said, voice calm, clipped. "That flicker in the arena… it could get you killed if you don't control it."
Kael swallowed, the ache behind his eyes still pulsing. "I—I don't know what happened," he admitted. "It wasn't deliberate."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, the faintest frown forming. "Doesn't matter. You reacted. That's all the system cares about. Control it before Stage Two. Don't be reckless."
The shadows stretched long across the courtyard as the sun dipped low, crimson light cutting sharp lines over polished stone. Kael's vision shimmered at the edges. Whispers of motion tugged at his senses, subtle and insistent. It wasn't fatigue. Something deep inside had stirred again.
Aria's tone remained even, precise. "Your eyes flashed red. The logs picked it up. Headmaster Valen will want to see you."
Kael's pulse quickened. That flicker hadn't been voluntary—something inside had answered before he could act. He blinked, trying to steady the sudden intensity behind his eyes.
She glanced at him once more, then turned away, her movements smooth, almost imperceptible. "We move when they call. Don't get distracted."
As dusk deepened into violet, Kael's Crimson Sight pulsed again. Echoes arrived unbidden: fragments of distant memories, fleeting emotions, glimpses of people and places he had never known. The power was growing, threading through instinct and fear, brushing the edges of perception.
He pressed his palms to his temples, forcing the images back. Naming things—breath, floor, air, Aria's presence—kept the sensations at bay.
A quiet knock interrupted the moment. A junior instructor appeared. "Pair Twenty-Seven, the Headmaster summons you to the observation deck. Immediately."
Kael's pulse raced. The weight behind his eyes throbbed like a warning, a promise. Stepping forward, he kept his gaze ahead, aware that someone had noticed his flicker. The academy had recorded it. The only question: would the Headmaster protect him—or expose him to the shadows waiting just beyond?