"Don't look at it."
The warning wasn't spoken aloud. It hit him like a sudden icy jolt, cutting through Kael's skull with a whisper. He stumbled, gripping the rail of the academy rooftop, bracing himself as the vision crashed into him.
Flashes. Shadows. A girl's voice — small and shaking.
Kael... don't leave me.
Then fire. And the world splitting open.
The rooftop disappeared, replaced by the image of a dim room half-swallowed in darkness. Aria knelt in the middle of it, hands clasped against her chest as if trying to hold herself together. Tears streaked down her cheeks, glowing faintly from the strange light curling behind her.
Behind her… the world burned.
Kael's breath hitched. He grabbed the edge of the vision, trying to pull more from it —anything— but it shattered like glass under pressure.
He was back. Morning wind brushing his hair. Students were gathering below. He could hear the normal sounds he was used to. None of it felt normal anymore.
Kael swallowed hard. "That's the third time this week."
His visions weren't supposed to repeat.
Or get clearer.
He wiped the cold sweat from his jaw and forced himself upright. The academy courtyard was buzzing— the laughter, the noise, the nervous chatter about the entrance exam. Today was supposed to be exciting.
But the echo of Aria's tears clung to him like a stain he couldn't scrub off.
He moved toward the rooftop exit. Halfway there, another flicker tugged at his senses— a small shift in the future. Not a vision, just a ripple. A moment waiting to break.
Kael paused.
A girl stood alone under the courtyard archway below. Her hood was drawn, her head down, with her backpack hugged tight to her chest. Students gave her a wide berth, whispering as they passed.
Aria.
Even from up here, Kael felt something strange push at him. Not dangerous. Just… off. Like the echo of a forgotten melody he almost recognized.
He'd never talked to her. Never even been close to her.
But the future kept showing him her tears.
And the world ending behind her.
He couldn't shake the weight settling in his chest.
The bell rang. Students flooded the main hall toward orientation. Kael jogged down the stairs and joined the crowd, forcing his breathing to steady.
The visions were getting worse. If he let them drag him too deep, it'll affect his exam and today was too important for that.
The Hero Academy only opened its gates once a year. Thousands applied with only a few hundred passing the written tests. While a few dozen made it to the final exam.
Kael was supposed to be focused.
But halfway down the hall, he felt that ripple again.
A shift. A warning. Something about the corridor ahead.
He slowed.
Then the lights flickered.
Not a normal flicker— every bulb hummed, dimmed, then brightened in a wave traveling down the hall like a breath being sucked in by the building itself.
The students stopped while murmuring.
A girl's muffled gasp cut through the noise as Kael turned his head sharply.
Aria stood at the far end of the hall, eyes wide, hands trembling slightly at her sides. The lights nearest her buzzed violently.
Kael took a step forward, by instinct not thought.
Another flicker came. This one was stronger.
A spark jumped from one light to the next.
Students backed away from her.
"What's she doing?" "I told you something's wrong with her."
Aria shook her head, clutching her sleeves. "I'm not— I didn't—"
Her voice cracked.
Kael didn't see a threat. He saw the same expression she wore in the vision.
The fear. The loneliness. The sense that something inside her was breaking.
He didn't think. He weaved through the other students and reached her just as the hallway lights flashed white—then shattered.
Glass burst downward.
Aria squeezed her eyes shut.
Kael grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him.
His ability reacted instinctively. Future fragments burst behind his eyes—where the glass would fall, how it would hit the floor, the angle it would bounce. He shifted the both of them two steps left.
Shards clattered harmlessly around them.
Aria gasped, startled by the sudden pull.
Kael let go of her wrist the moment the hallway stabilized. "You okay?"
She blinked up at him, stunned. "Why did you—"
He scratched the back of his neck. "It was about to hit you. Figured you wouldn't want that."
Aria opened her mouth to say something, but footsteps thundered down the hall.
A teacher pushed through the crowd. "Who caused this?"
Kael almost stepped forward. Aria beat him to it.
"It… it was an accident," she whispered.
The teacher frowned, eyes narrowing. "Again?" He turned and spoke into his wrist-band. "Another tech disruption. Notify maintenance. Running diagnostics now."
Whispers rose immediately.
"She did it again?" "Why is she even allowed here?" "She's a hazard."
Aria shrank into herself.
Kael's jaw clenched, his anger rising without even understanding why, but before he said anything, Aria lowered her hood further and hurried down the hall, disappearing into the crowd.
The ripple faded with her.
Kael tracked her through the crowd until she was gone.
His visions had always been confusing. Fragmented. But one thing was becoming painfully clear:
Aria wasn't just part of the future.
She was the center of it.
Orientation passed in a blur. Kael barely heard the instructors explaining the exam protocol. His head buzzed with the remnants of the vision.
Aria. Tears. Fire.
By the time students moved outside for the first trial, Kael's nerves were stretched thin.
He spotted Aria in the back of the group, arms wrapped around herself, eyes focused on the ground as if trying to shrink out of existence.
And in that second, Kael felt the future twist.
Another ripple. A warning. A new thread binding the two of them together.
Something was coming. Not in that moment. But soon.
He didn't know how he knew. He just felt it—like a pressure building in the air.
He tried to calm himself. Tried to breathe. This was supposed to be the start of a new life. Not… whatever this was turning into.
The instructor raised a hand. "Listen up! The entrance exam consists of three trials. Trial One begins now."
Students straightened.
Kael exhaled, rolling his shoulders. He needed to focus. His future wasn't going to fix itself. He couldn't let a vision ruin his chances.