Rumors travel fast in Beast Academy. But fear? Fear run faster.
By sunrise, everybody already heard what happen. They said a shadow creature with red glowing eyes rose from the ground. They said the summoning altar shattered like glass. Some said it was a demon. Some said it was death. But no one said the truth. That it was just Coker.
Inside the academy, students whisper while starin at him like he's cursed. Coker didn't care. He walked through the halls with that same old shirt, same torn shoes, but now every step he took felt louder than thunder. Not cause of sound, but cause of what follow him. His shadow still twitch sometimes even when he stand still, like it ain't used to bein quiet.
"Why he still here?" one girl whispered.
"He cheated. That ain't a real beast," another boy said.
"He's dangerous."
Coker sat alone at the back of the Beast Theory class. The teacher, a tall man named Master Renn, kept glancin at him but never say nothin. The board was filled with talk about spirit bonds and beast ranks, but none of that meant nothin to Coker now. His beast didn't follow those rules. It wasn't summoned. It was awakened. And it was hungry.
When class ended, nobody wanted to leave first. Everyone waited for him to go. He stood up slow, and the chair creaked behind him. Then he walked out like the shadow of the building itself.
Behind the dorms, far from eyes, Coker sat with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes.
"Why you choose me?" he whispered.
There was no voice.
But the shadow around him moved.
It didn't speak with words. It spoke with feeling. Pain. Anger. Hunger. All the things Coker hid inside him for years. It was like the beast didn't come to him—it was always there. Just waitin.
Suddenly, a sound snapped him out his thoughts. Heavy footsteps.
Three boys walked into the alley. Upper class. Strong ones. One had a flame lion. The other had a thunder hawk. The third didn't summon his beast yet, but his arms looked strong enough to break bricks.
"You think you special now?" the lion boy said.
Coker didn't move.
"We don't need monsters in this academy," the hawk boy growled.
Then the third boy stepped forward. "We gonna teach you what happen when trash try to act like royalty."
Coker looked at them, eyes calm.
"You sure you wanna do this?" he said soft.
The boys laughed.
Then the shadows moved.