The Silverstaff Institute Arc
Episode 6: Meeting Ren Sato, An Aquatic Visit
February 27th, NE 567
Several months remained before the Freshman Tournament, but Silverstaff Institute had already begun preparing its newest students as though the event were tomorrow.
Ordinary lessons had become more difficult.
Practical classes had become more dangerous.
Even lunch conversations somehow transformed into debates over tournament rankings.
Most freshmen were excited.
Others were beginning to discover that attending one of Eolorial's greatest schools involved far more studying than the advertisements suggested.
High-Class Magic Theory
The classroom was unusually quiet.
Books covered nearly every desk, each filled with advanced spell formulas, aura diagrams, and magical principles that made several students visibly question their life choices.
At the front of the room, a glowing formation rotated above the instructor's desk.
It was an example of High-Class Enhancement Magic, a complicated system that strengthened the body by circulating mana through muscles, bones, nerves, and the user's aura simultaneously.
Most students were studying how to cast it.
Yin Pendragon was studying how to destroy it.
He sat near the middle of the classroom with his chin resting in one hand. His long red-and-black hair had been tied into a loose ponytail, though several bangs continued covering his left eye.
A thick book rested open before him.
Weaknesses Within Enhancement-Type Spellcraft
Yin's visible eye moved slowly across the page.
His eyelids looked dangerously close to closing.
Behind him, Amani Roya leaned forward.
She now wore shorter glasses that covered only part of her eyes. Although her sight had recovered after the entrance examinations, the sigils within her irises still became irritated whenever she pushed her mental abilities too far.
"Hey."
Yin continued reading.
Amani leaned farther over his shoulder.
"How are you doing?"
No answer.
She looked down at his book.
"Counter-studying?"
Yin turned another page.
Amani nodded thoughtfully.
"A reasonable practice. You can't use enhancement magic, so understanding how to dismantle it is useful."
Still no response.
"But perhaps you should focus on something more immediate."
Nothing.
"The Freshman Tournament is coming."
Yin's eye moved slightly.
"I don't know the rules yet," Amani continued, "but it sounds entertaining. Powerful students from every first-year class beating each other senseless while teachers pretend it's educational."
Yin remained silent.
Amani stared at the back of his head.
"Are you ignoring me again?"
Nothing.
"Just like when we were children."
She puffed out one cheek.
"Fine. Continue having a romantic relationship with your book."
Yin finally looked up.
"What?"
Amani's expression went blank.
"You heard none of that."
"I heard something about the tournament."
"That was nearly a full minute ago."
"I was concentrating."
"On what?"
Yin tapped the page.
"Enhancement Magic usually reinforces the entire body through connected mana pathways. If I interrupt the energy at one joint, the rest of the spell loses synchronization."
Amani looked closer.
"You plan to fight enhancement users by cutting their mana circulation?"
"Not their bodies."
"Good clarification."
"The technique would only slice through the magical flow."
"That is still disturbingly specific."
Yin smiled.
"If everyone else is learning how to use magic, I need to learn how to fight it."
Amani rested her chin against the back of his chair.
"You have been doing that since you were five."
"And I'm still alive."
"Through statistics that personally offend me."
Yin returned to the book.
Amani sighed and sat back.
She began spinning her pencil through her fingers rather than studying.
Unlike Yin, she had almost no motivation to memorize information she felt she could calculate during the test itself.
Yin slowly closed his eyes.
His attention expanded beyond the classroom.
Every person possessed a presence.
Some burned brightly.
Others felt cold, heavy, gentle, unstable, or sharp.
Magic created recognizable colors within his enhanced perception.
He could sense the instructor near the front.
A student channeling wind beneath the desk.
Someone hiding a small flame inside their sleeve.
Amani's mind magic felt deeper than most auras, like an ocean concealed beneath glass.
If I can separate every presence clearly…
Yin concentrated harder.
I'll be able to fight without seeing them.
The bell rang.
His eyes opened.
Students began gathering their books.
Amani stood.
"Time for Sakto's examination."
Yin's confidence weakened slightly.
"I preferred the book."
Aura Recognition Examination
Mr. Sakto entered the next classroom carrying a thick pile of test papers.
The mood changed immediately.
Students sat straighter.
Even those who normally spoke through entire lessons became quiet.
Amani dropped into her seat.
"Let's get this over with."
Sakto placed the papers on the desk.
His eyes moved toward her.
"I would not approach this examination carelessly, Miss Roya."
Amani leaned back.
"That sounded targeted."
"It was."
Several students laughed quietly.
Sakto began distributing the papers.
"This test has one of the lowest average passing rates within the first-year curriculum."
A few smiles disappeared.
"You will be assessed on your ability to identify magical affinities and aura structures through description alone."
The papers floated toward each student.
"You will also be required to modify incomplete spell formulas and construct a functioning High-Class magical sequence."
Amani looked down at the first page.
There were far too many symbols.
Sakto returned to the front.
"You have one hour."
He checked the clock.
"Begin."
Yin immediately started writing.
Aura recognition was the one magical subject where his lack of mana did not place him at a disadvantage.
He had spent years sensing other people's power because he could never produce any of his own.
Fire possessed an aggressive expansion.
Water flowed continuously through its user.
Mental Magic often felt quiet until it reached for someone.
Destruction Magic felt like cracks forming within reality.
Yin completed the first section quickly.
His eye moved toward Sakto.
The instructor stood beside the wall, observing the entire classroom.
Yin released a small amount of killing intent.
Not enough to harm anyone.
Just enough to test the instructor's awareness.
Sakto's eyes moved toward him immediately.
There was no surprise.
No fear.
Only recognition.
Yin smiled faintly.
He noticed.
Something was definitely strange about that man.
Several seats away, Wander Nozu was asleep.
His face rested against the desk while the examination paper remained completely blank beneath one arm.
The reason was painfully simple.
He had skipped breakfast.
Again.
Build-A-Weapon slept inside his bag, equally unconcerned with academic failure.
Amani finished earlier than expected.
She reviewed her answers once, decided they looked reasonable, and carried the paper toward Sakto.
He accepted it.
Unlike the examinations submitted before hers, Sakto did not place it directly into the tray.
He read every page.
Amani stood awkwardly beside the desk.
"Is something wrong?"
"No."
He continued reading.
"That answer took you eleven seconds longer than your others."
Amani blinked.
"You timed my answers?"
"I observe my students."
"That borders on unsettling."
Sakto finally nodded.
"Your practical reasoning remains exceptional."
Amani smiled slightly.
Then he tapped one formula.
"Your written notation is terrible."
Her smile disappeared.
"I understood it."
"I should not require mind-reading to grade your work."
Amani collected the insult with as much dignity as possible and returned to her seat.
On the way, she poked Wander's ear.
He did not move.
She poked harder.
"Wander."
His head shifted.
"Wake up."
One golden eye opened.
"Hm?"
"You have to submit a test."
Wander looked around.
Then at his uniform.
Then at the paper.
"Oh."
He sat upright.
"I'm in school."
Amani stared.
"Yes."
Wander looked at the unanswered questions.
"How much time?"
"Seven minutes."
He grabbed the pencil.
For the next several minutes, Wander filled the paper with whatever answer entered his mind first.
One question asked him to identify a high-level spatial aura.
He wrote:
Probably purple.
Another asked how to stabilize a fire construct.
He answered:
Hit it with a hammer until it behaves.
Wander walked toward Sakto and placed the paper down with a cheerful smile.
"I failed."
Sakto looked at the first answer.
His expression did not change.
"Most likely."
Wander returned to Amani.
"I appreciate his honesty."
Yin submitted his test moments later.
"That was easy."
Sakto took the paper.
"For you, perhaps."
Yin stretched his arms.
He still felt the instructor studying every movement.
The bell rang before either could say more.
Separate Classes
Students filled the hallways.
Amani adjusted the books in her arms.
"My next class is on the eastern side."
Yin waved.
"See you later."
Amani pointed toward him.
"Try not to assault anyone."
"I haven't assaulted anyone today."
"The day is young."
She looked toward Wander.
"You too."
Wander placed one hand against his stomach.
"I'm getting food."
"That may be safer for the student body."
Amani disappeared into the crowd.
Wander turned toward Yin.
"See you after class."
"Where are you going?"
"Combat Applications."
"That hall is in the other direction."
Wander stopped walking.
He looked toward the sign above him.
Then toward the opposite hallway.
"I knew that."
Yin did not believe him.
Wander's stomach growled.
"First, breakfast."
"It is nearly noon."
"Late breakfast."
He walked toward the cafeteria.
Yin continued alone.
Weapon Training
Yin's next class specialized in unfamiliar weapon use.
The goal was not to strengthen techniques students already possessed.
It was to force them to adapt when deprived of their preferred equipment.
Yin normally enjoyed that idea.
The other students made enjoying anything difficult.
The moment he entered, several conversations stopped.
Eyes followed him toward his seat.
Whispers began seconds later.
"That's the lowest-ranked freshman."
"The magicless one?"
"He only passed because of his family."
"I heard the headmaster personally forced the instructors to accept him."
Yin continued walking.
His hands remained inside his coat pockets.
One familiar noble student spoke louder than the others.
"If all you possess is physical power, why attend Silverstaff?"
His friends laughed.
"There must be an academy for barbarians somewhere."
Yin stopped.
For a moment, the classroom became warmer.
He remembered the noble he had punched through the main hall.
He remembered the frightened faces watching afterward.
He remembered Wander asking whether he wanted to become the monster they expected.
Yin turned toward the group with a bright smile.
"My reason for attending has nothing to do with you."
The noble's grin weakened.
Yin continued toward his seat.
He sat down before his anger could answer for him.
The classroom door opened.
A tall student entered.
His short white hair hung messily around his face, contrasting sharply against his dark skin. Bright crimson eyes moved across the room beneath the shadow of his hood.
The class became noticeably quieter.
Ren Sato did not speak.
He walked toward the rear and sat alone.
Most students avoided looking directly at him.
Yin sensed something unusual within his presence.
Heavy.
Controlled.
It felt as though the air around Ren had been compressed into invisible layers.
Then the instructor entered.
"Good afternoon."
Weapons appeared from storage racks along the walls.
"As announced yesterday, today's lesson will involve controlled practice matches."
The instructor raised one finger.
"First rule: You may not use a weapon you have already mastered."
A second finger.
"Second: The goal is disarmament. Deliberate injury is prohibited."
A third.
"Third: Technical movement only. Wild attacks will result in immediate removal."
A fourth.
"Finally, attempt to enjoy yourselves."
Yin looked toward the weapon rack.
The instructor began dividing students into two lines on an elevated platform.
Yin's first opponent was the same noble who had mocked him.
The boy smiled when he saw the pairing.
Yin did not.
The noble had been trained with nearly every conventional weapon since childhood. His family believed that mastery made him superior to less privileged students.
Yin had also studied countless weapons.
The difference was that no one in the classroom knew that yet.
Both approached the platform.
Yin selected a sheathed training katana.
The instructor immediately frowned.
"You are already proficient with swords."
Yin placed it back.
His eyes moved across the remaining choices.
He selected a long spear.
The noble chose a curved saber.
"I'm ready," Yin said.
The noble smirked.
"You'd better not fall too quickly."
"Begin!"
The noble rushed forward.
His saber came from Yin's right.
Yin adjusted the spear.
Then the noble changed direction and thrust the curved blade toward his head.
For one instant, Yin's enhanced perception sharpened.
The saber slowed.
His opponent's shoulders revealed the attack before the weapon completed its movement.
Yin stepped sideways.
He rotated the spear shaft and struck the noble's wrist.
The saber flew away.
Before it touched the ground, Yin pivoted and drove a roundhouse kick into the boy's head.
The noble flew several meters across the platform.
Students gasped.
Yin crossed the distance before his opponent recovered.
He placed the spearhead against the noble's cheek.
"You're disarmed."
A thin cut appeared against the skin.
The instructor's voice exploded across the room.
"Yin!"
Yin withdrew the spear.
The instructor climbed onto the platform.
"What did I say about injuring other students?"
"It was only a scratch."
"No injuries means no injuries."
The noble touched the blood on his cheek.
Fear replaced his earlier confidence.
The other students whispered.
"If he does that during practice…"
"What happens during the tournament?"
"He could've taken his eye."
Yin looked around.
He had won cleanly.
Yet all anyone saw was the cut.
The instructor continued scolding him before pointing toward the seats.
"This is your only warning."
Yin returned the spear.
"Very well."
He smiled as he walked away.
Inside, the satisfaction frightened him.
Part of him enjoyed putting the noble in his place.
That part wanted another match.
Ren watched from the rear of the classroom.
He said nothing.
But his crimson eyes studied Yin's posture, breathing, and the slight tremble in his hand after sitting down.
Yin felt the gaze.
When he looked back, Ren had already turned away.
Yin removed his notebook.
"I need better control."
He began writing.
Battle Tactics
Amani sat behind a fortress of books.
Maps of historic battles covered her desk.
Formation diagrams floated around her.
A written assignment waited unfinished beneath her hands.
She lowered her forehead onto the table.
"Why does tactical education involve this much history?"
Beside her, Sabito Tanaka leaned closer.
"So, hypothetically…"
Amani closed her eyes.
"What?"
"If my opponent is a ranged fighter protected by a gravity barrier, how should I approach?"
"Obscure their vision and conceal your position."
"Ice walls?"
"Yes."
"What if they can sense me?"
"Send a distraction."
"What kind?"
"Something loud."
"Could I surpass light speed?"
Amani slowly raised her head.
"Not through ordinary acceleration."
"What about magic?"
"You would need to distort space-time, ignore mass, or use an ability that changes the distance rather than your actual speed."
Sabito nodded and wrote everything down.
A minute later, he returned.
"What if the gravity user can bend space?"
Amani's pencil snapped.
"Sabito."
"Yes?"
"Find someone with gravity magic and fight them."
He blinked.
"Right now?"
"I do not care."
Amani pushed the books away.
"I am attempting to concentrate."
Sabito nodded quickly and turned back toward his own work.
Amani touched the edge of her glasses.
Ever since the entrance examination, she had questioned whether her mind abilities were truly an advantage.
Täuschung could remove consciousness.
Her mental control could defeat opponents stronger and faster than herself.
But every mind she entered left something behind.
Thoughts.
Memories.
Emotions.
Too many at once could blind her or destroy her ability to recognize which thoughts belonged to her.
She had started meditating each night, attempting to build greater mental capacity and separate foreign information from her own mind.
The progress remained uncertain.
Her instructor stared blankly toward one of the windows.
He had spent nearly ten minutes doing so.
Amani frowned.
The man frequently appeared distracted.
Sometimes he stopped speaking halfway through a lesson as though listening to someone else.
Something at Silverstaff felt wrong.
And it was becoming harder to dismiss.
Combat Applications
Wander arrived late with food in both hands.
Every student looked toward him.
He stopped near the entrance.
"What?"
The instructor pointed toward the empty seat.
Wander sat down quietly and continued eating.
Attention followed him.
His entrance examination results had made him one of the most recognizable freshmen at Silverstaff.
He hated it.
In the Land of Dawn, people avoided him because they feared what he was.
Here, they surrounded him because they wanted to understand his power.
Both felt uncomfortable.
Wander lowered his head and waited for class to begin.
Across the room, Ren Sato sat alone.
Ren watched the blacksmith carefully.
Several students approached the demon during the break.
That alone was strange.
Almost nobody willingly spoke to Ren.
One boy leaned toward him.
"Ren, we need your help."
Ren looked surprised.
"With what?"
The students pointed toward Wander.
"That freshman is dangerous."
Ren's crimson eyes shifted toward him.
Wander was quietly eating bread.
"He scored higher than everyone during the magical capacity exam," another student explained. "Now he's using it to threaten people."
"He attacks students."
"He ignores the teachers."
"They can't punish him because he's too strong."
Ren frowned.
Nothing about Wander's current behavior matched their description.
Still, Ren knew dangerous people often looked harmless when authority was watching.
"Why tell me?"
"You're the only person strong enough to stop him."
For once, someone had approached Ren because they needed him.
Not to insult him.
Not to order him away.
To ask for help.
That made him lower his guard.
"I'll speak with him."
The students exchanged satisfied smiles before retreating.
When the lesson ended, Ren followed Wander into a quieter corridor.
He placed one hand against Wander's shoulder.
Wander stiffened.
Crowds still made him uneasy.
Being touched unexpectedly made it worse.
He turned.
"Need something?"
Ren studied his face.
No obvious hostility.
Still, the accusation remained serious.
"You're Wander Nozu."
"Yeah."
"My name is Ren Sato."
Wander waited.
Ren's presence changed.
The air inside the corridor became heavy.
Pressure expanded within ten meters.
Floor tiles cracked beneath Wander's boots.
His shoulders lowered beneath the increased density.
Wander's golden eyes sharpened.
"So this is a fight?"
"I would prefer it not to be."
Ren's voice remained quiet.
"You have been accused of attacking and threatening students."
Wander looked toward the figures hiding near the distant corner.
He understood immediately.
"Those idiots sent you?"
Ren lifted one hand.
"I want the truth."
The pressure increased.
Wander's orange markings glowed.
"If you wanted the truth, you could've started without trying to crush me."
He stepped forward despite the density field.
Ren's eyes widened slightly.
Most humans would already have collapsed.
Wander was not entirely human.
"I won't use my power directly against you," Ren said.
"How polite."
Wander's arm darkened into hardened alloy.
"But I will prevent you from hurting anyone else."
Ren touched the wall beside him.
Destructive Art: Null.
The structure between them began fragmenting.
The destruction moved through the floor, cutting off Wander's path rather than targeting his body.
Wander punched downward.
Metal Knight Art: Eruption!
A serpent of magma burst through the floor.
It consumed the spreading destruction and rushed toward Ren.
At the final moment, Wander pulled his arm upward.
The magma serpent passed over Ren's shoulder and struck the ceiling instead.
Ren looked back at the smoking hole.
"You missed."
"On purpose."
Wander lowered his fist.
"You didn't attack my body either."
Ren's pressure field weakened slightly.
Wander pointed toward the students watching from the corner.
"Tell me exactly what they said."
Ren hesitated.
"That you scored highest during the magical examination."
"That part is true."
"That you flaunt your power, attack students, and ignore instructors."
Wander stared at him.
Then he slowly turned toward the hidden students.
They began moving backward.
"That part is complete garbage."
The students ran.
Wander's eye twitched.
"They've been starting trouble since the term began. They insult my friends, pick fights, and hide behind other people when someone responds."
Ren's field disappeared.
"They lied?"
"Straight through their teeth."
Ren looked down.
He had wanted to help.
Instead, the first people who voluntarily asked for his assistance had used him as a weapon.
"Damn it."
He covered his face with one hand.
"I believed them."
"That was stupid."
Ren looked toward him.
Wander shrugged.
"I do stupid things constantly. You'll survive."
Ren lowered his hand.
"I apologize for the damage and for accusing you without proof."
He extended his hand.
"I would like to begin again."
Wander looked at it.
"Wander Nozu."
He accepted the handshake.
"Ren Sato."
"I'm a second-year student."
Wander glanced toward his bright red eyes.
"A demon?"
"An Aswang."
Ren waited for fear or disgust.
Wander only nodded.
"Cool."
Ren blinked.
"That is all?"
"I'm probably not human either."
That answer was so casual that Ren almost laughed.
Wander released his hand.
"Don't worry about the hallway. I can repair it."
He looked toward the corner where the students had disappeared.
"After I repair their personalities."
"Do not injure them."
"No promises."
"Wander."
"I'll use words."
Ren did not believe him.
Wander began walking away.
"See you around, Ren."
Ren watched him leave.
A small smile appeared across his face.
"See you."
For the first time since entering Silverstaff, someone had learned he was a demon and treated it like the least interesting thing about him.
Oceania, One Day Earlier
The Duke of Oceania stood before the windows of his private chamber.
"Have you located her?"
A knight lowered himself onto one knee.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Where?"
"Silverstaff Institute."
The duke turned sharply.
"An academy?"
"Yes."
"Our tutors possess superior resources. Why would she abandon them for a school?"
The knight remained silent.
The duke rubbed his forehead.
"That girl has always been a headache."
Amani Roya was not merely his daughter.
She was one of Oceania's greatest future assets.
Her intelligence, magical potential, and bloodline made her politically valuable.
Allowing her to wander freely among foreign kingdoms was unacceptable.
"Bring her back."
The knight bowed.
"Of course."
The duke's eyes narrowed.
"Use force if necessary."
Cyprus, leader of Oceania's royal guard, left that evening.
He belonged to the Demi-Shark race and was widely considered the strongest warrior in the nation.
He carried a signature weapon across his back and traveled with enough guards to invade a small territory.
Cyprus did not understand why Amani had fled.
He understood even less why the duke had never simply confined her.
She possesses too much potential to waste.
He watched the road toward Silverstaff.
Once she returns, she won't be leaving again.
After School
Amani sneezed while leaving the tactical building.
She rubbed her nose.
"Someone must be speaking about me."
Then she noticed a disturbance near the courtyard.
Students were gathering at a distance.
Amani followed their attention.
Yin stood at the center of the courtyard.
Ten students surrounded him.
Several belonged to the same group that had been provoking him throughout the week.
Yin's hands were clenched.
"I'm giving you one final chance."
One student laughed.
"Or what?"
"Leave me alone."
Someone shoved him from behind.
Another grabbed his long hair.
The world inside Yin's mind became silent.
A feminine voice whispered through the silence.
Give in to your rage.
His visible eye widened.
Then everything blurred.
When Yin returned to himself, the courtyard had become quiet.
The ten students lay around him.
Some were unconscious.
Others were barely moving.
Blood covered Yin's knuckles.
Several scales along his hands had torn away beneath the force of his own attacks.
He breathed heavily.
His body hurt.
He could not remember every strike.
Only fragments.
A fist.
A scream.
Someone begging.
The whisper laughing inside his head.
"I…"
A black portal opened beneath the unconscious students.
Yin stared.
He had not created it consciously.
One by one, the bodies sank into the darkness.
The portal closed.
No evidence remained except blood and cracks in the courtyard.
"Y-Yin?"
He turned.
Amani stood several meters away.
Her face had gone pale.
She was not frightened because he fought the students.
She had watched Yin defend himself before.
She was frightened because he did not stop when they could no longer fight back.
Because he had hidden their bodies.
Because the expression on his face did not belong to the boy she had known since childhood.
Yin's heart tightened.
"Amani…"
He looked down at his hands.
"I didn't mean to…"
She did not move.
Yin slowly approached.
"You know me better than that."
His voice trembled.
"I would never…"
He stopped within arm's reach.
For the first time, Yin had placed genuine fear inside his closest friend.
Amani took a breath.
She placed one hand on his shoulder.
Her eyes closed briefly.
When she opened them, her voice had become calm.
"I know that wasn't completely you."
Yin looked toward her.
"But something inside you is becoming dangerous."
His eyes lowered.
"No one is safe from losing control," Amani continued. "Not even you."
She tightened her hand gently.
"You need to take a break from fighting before you hurt yourself or someone you care about."
A loud horn interrupted her.
The sound echoed across the entrance plaza.
A luxurious carriage stopped outside the Institute gates.
Oceania's crest was painted across its doors.
A powerful voice rang through the courtyard.
"Guardians of Silverstaff Institute!"
Students gathered near the entrance.
"I command you to bring Lady Amani Roya, daughter of the Duke of Oceania, forward immediately!"
Whispers spread instantly.
"Lady Roya?"
"She's the duke's daughter?"
"Why is royalty attending without guards?"
Amani closed her eyes.
"Worst possible timing."
She looked at Yin again.
"Rest."
"I can help."
"No."
"Amani."
"You aren't yourself right now."
She touched his forehead.
Mental energy flowed into him.
Drowsiness spread through Yin's mind.
His knees weakened.
Then something adapted.
A strange marking appeared beneath the clothing covering his left shoulder.
A cold voice echoed inside his consciousness.
Mental Manipulation Resistance: Fifty-Six Percent Complete.
Yin's eyes widened.
Amani's magic no longer worked as effectively as before.
Still, his exhaustion overwhelmed him.
He fell against the courtyard wall and closed his eyes.
The Aquatic Visit
Cyprus stepped from the carriage.
He was tall and powerfully built, with sharp teeth, ocean-colored armor, and the predatory presence of a shark beneath calm water.
When Amani approached, he smiled.
"Lady Roya."
"Cyprus."
"What are you doing at this establishment?"
"Learning."
"You had tutors."
"I wanted better company."
Cyprus chuckled.
"Your father is furious."
"That sounds like his problem."
Several students listened nearby.
Amani pointed toward a narrow passage between two Institute buildings.
"We should speak privately."
Cyprus nodded.
"As you wish."
They entered the passage.
Amani pulled her hood over her head.
"I assume you came to bring me home."
"That is exactly why I'm here."
"I'm not returning."
Cyprus's smile remained.
"Your absence was not authorized."
"I am old enough to leave according to Oceania's laws."
"Those laws apply to ordinary citizens."
Amani's expression hardened.
"They apply to everyone."
"Not to someone who may inherit political authority."
Cyprus stepped closer.
"I will not return to the duke without you."
"Then don't return."
His smile disappeared.
"You misunderstand your position."
Amani's sigils began glowing.
"And you misunderstand mine."
Cyprus released a small portion of his power.
The walls trembled.
Water condensed from the air around him.
"I am the strongest warrior in Oceania."
"I'm aware."
"My Demi-Shark blood allows me to level this Institute with less than one percent of my strength."
"That sounds needlessly dramatic."
"I could kill you before you completed a thought."
Amani remained silent.
Physically, he was correct.
She could not compete with his strength.
His speed surpassed hers.
A direct battle would last less than a second.
Fortunately, Amani rarely fought directly.
Cyprus moved.
His hand pierced through her stomach.
Blood spread across her clothing.
Cyprus froze.
Amani's voice came from behind him.
"Too slow."
He spun and attacked again.
His fist passed through her face.
The image disappeared.
Another Amani stood against the wall.
"What?"
Cyprus struck again.
And again.
Each attack felt real.
Each time he blinked, she stood somewhere else.
His breathing quickened.
"What are you doing?"
Amani walked toward him.
Cyprus tried to move.
His body refused.
He looked down.
Nothing physically restrained him.
Amani stopped in front of him.
"You entered my influence before you threatened me."
She lifted one finger.
"Strength means very little when your mind cannot trust your senses."
Her fingertip gently touched his chest.
Cyprus fell.
The alley disappeared.
Darkness swallowed him.
He continued falling through an endless void.
Seconds became hours.
Hours became years.
Then pain arrived.
Spears pierced him from every direction.
Meteorites crushed his body.
His bones shattered and reformed only to break again.
He screamed.
There was no physical wound.
His mind created every sensation.
Cyprus tried to awaken himself.
Nothing worked.
Amani appeared within the darkness.
She looked enormous from his perspective, her glowing eyes hanging above the void.
"Listen carefully."
Cyprus trembled.
"You will tell my father I was never found."
He nodded desperately.
"You will tell Silverstaff this visit was a misunderstanding."
Another nod.
"And you will never return here to take me by force."
"Yes."
"I couldn't hear that."
"Yes!"
The illusion vanished.
Cyprus collapsed inside the alley.
Only several seconds had passed.
His armor remained undamaged.
His body had not been touched.
Yet he shook as though he had survived a century of torture.
Amani crouched beside him.
"Are we understood?"
Cyprus nodded.
He stumbled toward the carriage.
The guards stared at their leader.
He climbed inside without speaking.
"There has been a misunderstanding," he announced weakly. "Lady Roya is not here."
Amani stood in full view several meters away.
None of the guards questioned him.
The carriage departed immediately.
Amani wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.
Her eyes burned.
Cyprus possessed a stronger mind than she expected.
Maintaining the illusion had nearly pushed her sigils too far again.
"Problem solved."
She turned toward the courtyard.
Then her expression became serious.
Yin's problem remained.
An Awakening Resistance
Yin opened his eyes several minutes later.
His back ached from sleeping against the wall.
He stretched until his spine cracked.
"Ouch."
The strange voice remained inside his memory.
Mental Manipulation Resistance.
Fifty-six percent.
His body was adapting to Amani's power.
That should have been impossible.
Yin searched for her aura.
He sensed it near the entrance.
Something felt wrong.
Her mind was calm on the surface, but her power carried fresh strain.
Someone from Oceania had come for her.
Yin stood.
He still remembered the fear in her eyes.
That hurt more than every insult the Institute had thrown at him.
Deep Within Yin's Consciousness
Will Breaker watched through Yin's eyes.
Her mature form sat within the endless darkness, long grape-colored hair flowing around her body. Her hollow purple eyes shone with quiet satisfaction.
Behind her slept the Dragon of Judgment.
Its body stretched beyond ninety thousand kilometers and continued farther into the void. One horn alone resembled a continent.
Chains covered its scales.
Each carried ancient seals designed to keep its power dormant.
Will Breaker placed one hand against the dragon.
"Pain."
The darkness pulsed.
"Humiliation."
Another pulse.
"Fear."
Energy moved through the chains.
Every negative emotion Yin experienced was being transformed.
Not into ordinary mana.
Into fuel.
The Dragon of Judgment's lost power slowly gathered beneath its sealed scales.
Will Breaker smiled.
"This suffering will return what was taken from you."
She rested against the sleeping creature.
"Just as it has in every cycle."
One of the chains cracked.
Only slightly.
But enough.
To Be Continued ➡️