Chapter—The Breakdown
Two days had passed.
For Aokiyama College, they were nothing special—ordinary days filled with lectures, hurried footsteps in corridors, casual laughter, and the quiet rivalry of glowing translucent panels hovering above every student's head. Stars flickered in different strengths: one, two, three, four or five. They shimmered like invisible crowns, silently announcing worth.
For Luke, those two days were not ordinary.
They were heavy.
Unmoving.
Every morning, he entered the campus the same way—head slightly lowered, shoulders relaxed but guarded, steps measured and quiet. He blended into the background like a shadow slipping along the walls. Above his head hovered a single, dim star. It flickered faintly, unstable, almost apologetic, as if it too knew it did not belong in a place ruled by brilliance.
Luke did not hate the star.
What he hated was what it invited.
The looks.
The assumptions.
The permission it gave others to decide his value without ever knowing him.
He told himself he didn't care. That he had faced worse things than stares. That after standing atop collapsing bridges and burning streets as Auron, a college campus should have been easy.
But this place was different.
Here, power wasn't hidden behind masks.
It was displayed openly.
And Luke was naked.
---
Lunch in the Classroom
The classroom was half-empty during lunch break. Most students had gone to the canteen, their conversations echoing down the corridor like distant waves—noise Luke could hear but no longer felt part of.
He stayed.
As always.
Sitting alone had become routine. Predictable. Safe.
Luke chose the desk near the window, where sunlight spilled lazily across the wooden surface, warm yet indifferent. Outside, the sky was clear, almost calm and peaceful, as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong.
He placed his lunchbox on the desk.
Opened it slowly.
The soft click of the lid opening behind him felt too loud in the silence. He paused for a second, listening—his breath, the hum of the lights, the faint ticking of time.
Then he began to eat.
Quietly.
Methodically.
Every movement controlled, restrained, as if following an invisible set of rules written deep inside him:
Don't look around.
Don't react.
Don't exist more than necessary.
Behind him, the classroom door slid open.
Luke froze for a fraction of a second.
Voices entered.
Laughing.
Loud.
Unapologetic.
Saying Lets explore this class.
He did not turn.
He already knew.
Kael's gang.
They walked into the room without urgency, without caution, like predators entering territory they already owned. Their presence alone shifted the atmosphere. A few students who had stayed back stiffened immediately, eyes glued to notebooks that no longer mattered.
Luke kept eating.
A voice rang out.
"Oh?"
Luke felt it before he heard it.
That sharp shift.
That sudden focus.
Kael had noticed him.
"Do you see that?" Kael said loudly, his voice thick with amusement.
The laughter behind him rose instantly.
"A rat," Kael continued, pointing openly. "Eating inside a school."
Luke's hand paused mid-air, spoon hovering inches from his mouth.
"I think this rat should be chased out," Kael added casually, tilting his head. "Before it spreads everywhere."
The gang laughed openly now—no restraint, no fear of consequence.
Luke said nothing.
He lowered the spoon.
Then slowly raised it again.
Took another bite.
The mocking sharpened, growing crueler—no longer playful, no longer masked as jokes.
"Does it even understand human language?"
"Maybe one-star creatures don't feel shame."
"Hey, rat—does your food taste better when you steal space from real students?"
Luke's fingers tightened around the spoon.
His chest felt tight, compressed, as if something invisible were pressing inward.
He tried to breathe.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Finally, he spoke.
His voice was quiet.
Controlled.
Barely holding.
"Why are you disturbing me?" he asked, eyes still lowered. "I've done nothing to you. Please… leave me alone."
The laughter stopped.
Silence dropped like a blade.
Kael turned fully toward him.
In two steps, he was there.
The next moment, Luke's collar was clenched in Kael's fist, fabric tightening against his throat as his body was lifted slightly from the chair. Luke's feet barely brushed the floor.
"You think you can talk back?" Kael snarled. "You low-category trash."
Luke's heart pounded.
Not from fear.
From restraint.
"How did someone like you get into this college?" Kael shouted. "Do you think merit matters here? Power decides everything!"
The aura inside Luke trembled violently, clawing at his ribs, roaring for release. It pressed against his chest, desperate, furious, wild.
Let me out, it screamed.
Before Kael could go further—
The classroom door slid open.
"What is happening here?"
Professor Soren's voice cut through the room—firm, sharp, unmistakably authoritative.
Kael released Luke instantly.
"Nothing, ma'am," Kael replied smoothly, stepping back. "Just a misunderstanding."
Professor Soren's eyes swept the room, taking in the overturned chair, Luke's pale expression, the gang's forced smiles.
As Kael passed Luke, he leaned close, voice low and venomous.
"You're alive because of her," he whispered. "Next time, you won't be."
They left.
The door slid shut.
The classroom remained silent.
No one spoke.
No one looked at Luke.
He sat down slowly, hands trembling, breath shallow. His spoon clattered softly against the lunchbox.
No one asked if he was okay.
---
"Luke."
Auru's voice echoed softly inside his mind.
Luke did not respond.
"Luke, answer me."
Nothing.
The space where Luke usually spoke freely—argued, joked, complained—was empty. Hollow.
Auru tried again.
And again.
No answer.
That frightened him.
Luke walked home without noticing the road.
The city blurred around him—traffic lights, passing faces, distant sounds—all unreal, like scenery behind glass. He felt disconnected from his own body, as if someone else were moving his legs.
At home, he forced a weak smile.
"I'm not feeling well," he told his mother quietly. "I'll rest."
Shuri studied him carefully.
"You look… different," she said.
"I'm just tired," Luke replied.
He didn't go to the base.
Shuri noticed.
But she didn't ask.
Luke locked his room.
---
The Breakdown
The door closed.
The lock clicked.
Luke leaned against it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
No tears.
No expression.
Just emptiness.
Then his knees gave way.
He slid down slowly until he sat on the floor, his back pressed against the door, shoulders slumped.
And something inside him broke.
The sob came suddenly—sharp, broken, uncontrolled.
Luke pressed his hands to his face, trying to silence it.
Failing.
His breath hitched. His chest burned.
Auru appeared instantly, kneeling in front of him.
"Luke—"
Luke shook his head violently.
"Those categories…" he cried. "They really matter, don't they?"
Auru stayed silent.
"Does power decide everything?" Luke continued, voice cracking. "Does the world only see strength, not people?"
Still no answer.
"In school…" Luke whispered. "No one treated me like this. Even when I was low category… they accepted me."
Tears fell freely now.
"Why here?" he asked. "Why now? Why me?"
His chest hurt.
His aura trembled violently, surging and recoiling like a wounded beast.
"I can't handle it," Luke said hoarsely. "I can't hold this anymore. I don't know why I'm losing control."
Auru reached out, his voice gentle but strained.
"Luke, control yourself," he said softly. "I can regulate your positive aura but i can't with this negative aura… but there is something else. Something that can help you a bit."
Luke lifted his head, eyes red, desperate.
"What is it?" he whispered. "Please… tell me.I could not handle it anymore.I want to unleash it."
Auru hesitated.
"There is a way," he finally said. "But for it… you have to ....."
Luke closed his eyes.
For the first time since becoming Auramaster—
He felt small.
---
End of Chapter