Classes moved fast at the Ascenders Academy, but tension moved faster.
Every hallway echoed with pressure—between ranks, squads, rumors, and the unspoken desperation to rise.
Kael didn't chase it.
He observed.
While others dove into training sims and sparring rotations, he stayed on the edge. Watching Rift simulations from the glass deck above the south wing, absorbing everything.
Lightning-based Desyre clashed with hardlight blades. A girl manipulated stone pillars with a flick of her hand. One cadet even summoned twin serpents made of steam.
Too many tried too hard.
"Still spectating, I see," Levi said, appearing beside him with two bottled waters and a towel around his neck.
Kael accepted one with a nod.
"You know," Levi continued, "eventually someone's gonna call you out for ghosting every sparring slot."
Kael raised a brow.
"I'm serious," Levi grinned. "All this mystery is cool, but don't be that guy. C'mon let's spar."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
Levi leaned closer. "What?, scared I'll outmatch you?"
That made Kael smile—barely.
Five minutes later, they stepped onto the third training floor.
It was packed.
Somehow, word spread fast. Students lined the edges of the mat with lunch trays and curious stares. Sparring between a known A-rank and a quiet C-rank transfer? It was enough gossip fuel for a week.
Levi stretched, rotating his neck. "You good with no powers?"
Kael nodded. "Works for me."
A drone hovered above them with a soft chime.
Match Start.
Levi moved first. His footwork was sharp, fluid—pulses of soft gravitational push guiding his limbs mid-air, just subtle enough not to count as cheating.
Kael blocked cleanly, letting hits slide past his guard. He gave ground without losing control, countered with soft parries and deflections instead of raw force.
Levi came in with a wide arc.
Kael caught it with one hand.
"I forgot to ask," Kael said mid-motion. "What's your rank?"
Levi grinned, dropping low and sweeping. "A."
Kael flipped back, hands brushing the mat.
That explained a lot.
Because even if he was holding back, normal Ascenders shouldn't be able to push him around. Not even close.
Not unless they were actually good.
Levi lunged again. Kael met him mid-strike, caught the gravity shift in Levi's heel, and spun it aside.
The match ended with a breath of silence—neither flat on the mat, but both still standing.
Polite claps followed. A few mutters. Some were disappointed it didn't end with blood.
Kael turned to grab his towel—
Only to find a tall man waiting near the benches, arms folded.
Professor Selros.
Sharp eyes. Rift tactics faculty. One of the stricter ones.
"Navarro," he said, voice quiet but firm. "Got a minute?"
Kael followed him a few steps away from the crowd.
"I watched the whole match," Selros said flatly. "You're better than that."
Kael blinked.
Selros stepped closer. "You were holding back."
Kael met his gaze, unreadable. "Was I?"
"Don't play dumb," the professor said. "You matched Giarden's tempo too precisely. Let him lead. Adjusted just enough to stay even. That wasn't testing your limits. That was containing them."
Kael didn't flinch. "I don't see the problem."
Selros narrowed his eyes. "The problem is pretending you're average when you're not. Do you think he's not worth your sweat?"
Kael didn't answer. His silence was deliberate.
The professor glanced down at his tablet. "C-rank. No recorded Awakening. No registered Core ability. That's the record. But I've seen too many matches to miss what I just saw."
A pause.
Then more quietly—"Are you hiding something?"
Kael shrugged once. "Maybe I'm just lucky."
Selros didn't smile. But he didn't press further.
Instead, he stepped back. "Luck won't save you in a Rift. Neither will pretending. Watch yourself."
Kael gave a respectful nod and turned to leave.
He didn't look back.
But he felt it.
Eyes were starting to shift.
Not suspicion.
Not yet.
Just… curiosity.
And Kael knew how dangerous that could become.
----------
By the time they reached their dorm, night had already swallowed the sky
The lights were dim. A faint blue glow from the window cast soft lines across the dorm floor, where Levi's hoodie lay in a crumpled heap. The buzz of the academy outside had long faded, replaced by the gentle hum of ventilation and the occasional distant thud of automated security drones.
Kael lay on his lower bunk, hands behind his head, staring up at the frame above
"You know," Levi said after a long pause, "you did better than I expected."
Kael glanced up. "How so?"
"I mean, C-rank with no registered Core? You kept up with me. That's not normal." Levi leaned over the edge of his bunk, smirking.
"You sure you're not secretly an A-rank who just forgot to fill out the paperwork?"
Kael gave a small shrug. "You're the one who held back."
"I didn't," Levi said, serious now. "Not as much as you think."
Kael didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Levi lay back again, arms folded behind his head. "You've got timing, instinct... something more. I don't know what it is, but it's there. Guess it just hasn't cracked open yet."
Kael finished wrapping his cloth, setting it neatly by his bag. "Maybe it never will."
Levi snorted. "Yeah, right. If that's you without a Core, I'm screwed the day you get one."
Silence settled between them for a while. The kind of silence that only comes after shared sweat, training, and old trust.
Kael shifted, lying back on the lower bunk.
Get some rest," he mumbled. "Tomorrow's not an easy day."
Kael shifted. "Why? What's happening?"
"You'll find out tomorrow," Levi said, voice fading as he rolled over. "Trust me… you won't forget it."
Kael stared at the ceiling for a long time after that, thoughts slow and silent.
He didn't know what was coming.
But he had a feeling something was about to change.