Chapter 8
"Sir… it's been two days straight since we've searched the area, and still nothing of Rowan or his friend has been found."
The female enforcer's voice carried a quiet exhaustion as she placed the document carefully on the male enforcer's desk. Dust clung to the edges of her boots. Her hands trembled slightly, whether from fatigue or unease, even she did not know.
"Is that so…" the man replied, his voice low and heavy.
He lifted the document, eyes scanning each line slowly. The room felt smaller as silence thickened between them. Reports of blood traces. Broken stone. Signs of combat. No bodies.
"Hmmm…" He leaned back. "Take it to the palace. Call the team back."
There was something in his tone — not dismissal, but resignation.
The female enforcer nodded. She pulled the hood of her dark cape over her head, hiding the flicker of guilt in her eyes before stepping out. The hallway outside felt colder than before.
Two days.
No sign of him.
---
Deep inside the dungeon, Rowan's world was nothing but stone, silence, and survival.
His palms pressed against the cave floor as he pushed himself up again. Ten push-ups. His arms trembled.
He dropped to his knees.
Meditate.
Slow breathing.
Inhale.
Exhale.
He could feel it now — the Atherion. Not just as energy, but as presence. It drifted around him like living mist. Blue orbs shimmered into existence, circling his body slowly, responding to his breathing rhythm.
"Hmmm…"
His eyes remained closed, his mind sinking deeper. The fear that once screamed inside him had dulled. Hunger sharpened his focus. Betrayal hardened his resolve.
For a brief moment… he felt peace.
When he opened his eyes, the blue orbs dissolved into the air.
He reached for the snake meat he had prepared earlier. He stared at it longer than necessary.
This was survival.
He knelt and sparked another small fire, adjusting the flames carefully. The smell of roasting meat filled the cave — earthy, raw.
"Heh… it's almost like I'm in the Stone Age," he muttered bitterly. "Making my own fire. Hunting alone. Sleeping on stone."
His lips curved slightly.
"And worst of all… stuck in a cave dungeon."
He picked up the cooked meat and stared at it.
Two days without food.
His stomach twisted violently.
"Here goes nothing."
He took a bite with his eyes shut tight, bracing himself. He chewed slowly. Swallowed.
A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
He opened one eye.
Nothing.
He took another bite. Then another.
Soon he was eating faster, hunger overtaking caution. By the fifth bite, he no longer cared.
When he finished, he leaned back against the cave wall, breathing heavily.
"Ahhh… a full stomach."
His hand rested over his abdomen as relief washed over him.
"I guess starving for two days was worth it…"
But the relief didn't last.
His eyes shifted toward the bag of weapons beside him, the same bag he had carried for the very people who left him to die.
A slow exhale escaped him after searching it.
"Still… nothing useful."
Back at the capital academy, polished marble floors reflected the golden chandeliers above. Nobles filled the hallway — laughter, whispers, pride.
And then she walked through.
Celestia.
The crowd parted instantly. Conversations died mid-sentence. Fear wasn't loud...it was respectful silence.
"Celestia!!!"
She stopped.
She did not turn.
"What do you want… Miss Seraphin?"
Her voice was calm. Too calm.
"Why with the formalities, Celestia—"
"It's Princess to you."
The words were sharp enough to cut.
"Now speak. Quickly."
Seraphin's lips trembled. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"I miss you…"
The hallway seemed to hold its breath.
Celestia's eyes darkened slightly.
"Is that so? If I remember correctly… you were the one who cut ties."
"But how was I supposed to spend time with a commoner—"
"He is my friend!"
Celestia turned abruptly. Her eyes burned.
"And is that why? Why you staged him?!"
Seraphin stepped back, heart pounding so violently she feared others could hear it. Students stared. Nobles whispered.
"I… I don't…"
But the accusation hung in the air.
Celestia looked at her one final time. disappointment far deeper than anger before turning and walking away.
On the academy rooftop later, the wind pushed through her silver hair as she stared at the horizon.
Two days.
Yet she still refused to cry.
But her fingers trembled against the railing.
---
Inside another classroom, Yohan sat casually with a small snake coiled inside his desk. He stroked it gently.
"I wonder… could Rowan really be gone?"
The snake hissed softly.
"I know… he doesn't have much Atherion. But you saw it too, didn't you?"
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"The way he looks at people. The way he stands even when mocked. Even though he's weak… there's something about him."
The snake hissed again.
"Exactly. As if his abilities were locked away. As if the world made a mistake labeling him."
He leaned back slightly.
"If he had awakened from the start… he would've been something this world couldn't tame."
The classroom door slid open.
Ethan entered.
The air shifted.
Their eyes met briefly.
"You know… keep talking to that snake and you'll never make real friends," Ethan said casually, sitting down.
"Makes me wonder," Yohan replied calmly.
"Wonder what?"
"If you were afraid of his growth."
Silence.
"Whose growth?" Ethan asked, though he already knew.
"Rowan's."
Yohan smiled slightly.
"Were you afraid he'd surpass you?"
Ethan scoffed.
"If he were capable of that, he would've survived. Either way there's no point speaking of the dead."
"In your report, you said you didn't see clearly what happened after," Yohan countered smoothly. "So what makes you so certain he's dead? No body has been found."
"If they find remains," Ethan replied coldly.
"Indeed…"
Yohan's eyes gleamed.
"To think the capital may have lost a potential hero."
"A hero?" Ethan laughed sharply. "An F-rank hero?"
"An F-rank you saw as a threat."
Gold light ignited in Ethan's eyes.
"You watch your mouth."
Purple energy flickered around Yohan.
"Or what?"
The air between them crackled.
Later, inside the arena, students gathered in a wide circle.
Ethan's golden aura exploded outward, wind blasting across the arena. Dust spiraled violently. Students shielded their faces.
Yohan stood still.
Unmoved.
Ethan summoned his golden sword — embedded with Atherion crystals, diamonds, rubies, glowing magnificently.
"Feel honored," he said. "You get to face the family emblem of the Vale."
He stepped forward.
The aura vanished instantly — compressed into lethal focus.
Yohan closed his eyes.
"Hmmm… I'll try to hold back," he murmured with a grin. "No promises."
When he opened his eyes...
The arena trembled.
"There won't be a need for me to use everything," he said calmly. "Let's make this quick."
---
Back in the cave.
Rowan adjusted the daggers behind him and picked up the bow.
"Hmmm… it's too quiet here. Isn't this where I hunted the snakes?"
His instincts screamed, eyes shot up, his body shivered.
Then–
A massive shadow slowly covered him from behind.
His breath froze.
"Ohhh boy…"
He slowly tilted his head upward.
And locked eyes with a massive beast towering above him.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
And this time… there was no one coming to save him.