The classroom reeked of smoke and scorched wood. Ash drifted in the air like falling snow, settling on broken desks and cracked tiles. The silence after the battle was almost louder than the fight itself.
Kaito exhaled, his blue flames finally dimming into nothing. His hand trembled, not from weakness but from restraint. The fire wanted to roar again, to stretch its wings and consume everything in sight. He clenched his fist tighter, burying the hunger deep.
Ryo whistled low, breaking the quiet. "Well… that was insane." His grin returned, but it was thinner than before. "Guess the newbie's not so helpless after all."
"Helpless?" Mira's silver eyes snapped to Kaito. Sparks still danced faintly across her hands. "He wiped out more of them in two minutes than all of us combined. You saw that fire. That wasn't normal."
Jin's icy breath fogged in the air as he crossed his arms. "She's right. No one's ever heard of blue fire. It doesn't belong to any element we know." His gaze narrowed. "Which means he's hiding something."
Kaito's pulse spiked. He forced a crooked smile, shrugging like he didn't care. "I told you already—I don't know what it is. It just… happens when I need it."
Elara's voice cut in, calm but firm. "Arguing won't help. The Shadowspawn nearly broke through us. If Kaito hadn't stepped in, we'd all be gone." Her plants loosened their grip on the shattered floorboards, curling back into the earth.
Liora, still pale from exertion, brushed ash from her cloak. "They weren't just here for us," she said quietly, her golden eyes glancing at Kaito. "They wanted him."
Kaito stiffened. "Me?"
Daxen, silent until now, spoke at last. His voice carried a heavy weight. "The Shadowspawn don't move without reason. If they attacked here, and at this scale, then yes… you were their target."
A chill settled over the room.
Kaito opened his mouth, then closed it again. The truth pressed against his chest like a burning secret, but he couldn't say it—not yet. If they knew he was once a dragon, they'd never trust him. Maybe they'd even fear him.
So instead, he shook his head. "I don't know why they'd want me. I've never even heard of them until now."
Aria's gaze lingered on him, unreadable. "Maybe not," she said softly. "But whether you realize it or not… you're part of this now."
The others murmured in uneasy agreement.
Kaito turned away, staring at the blackened marks his flames had carved into the walls. He could still hear the faint echo of roars in his mind—the dragon's memory, his memory. But he swallowed it down, sealing the secret tighter.
For now, he was just Kaito. Just a boy with strange fire.
But deep in the ashes of the battle, he knew the truth: the enemies had found him once. And they would find him again.