Nightfall blanketed Essentia Academy in silence. The silver moon hovered just above the dorm roofs, casting a pale glow through the tall windows of the boys' quarters. Crickets chirped softly in the distance. It was peaceful.
Too peaceful for Kagetsu.
Inside his dorm room, the only source of light came from a single flickering candle, placed carefully on a desk. The flame danced like a ghost as Kagetsu sat alone, hunched over an old piece of parchment. His hand moved slowly, pen gliding across the surface with purpose. Every letter was sharp. Deliberate.
His usual grin was gone.
The lazy smirk. The sarcastic tone. The half-lidded, smug expression that made people underestimate him.
All gone.
What remained was something hollow.
A boy with too much silence in his chest.
Hey Gramps,
It's been three months.
I haven't forgotten what you told me.
Strength isn't about fireballs or flashy spells, it's about resolve. And mine hasn't wavered.
Even now… even without an Essentia.
Yeah. Still no spark. Nothing stirred. Nothing awakened. While everyone in this academy bends the elements to their will, I'm still just… me. Empty. But I've been training anyway. Bit by bit.
I'm getting stronger.
You'd probably scold me for staying up this late again. You always told me rest was as important as training.
But how can I sleep? When the man who took everything from me is still out there, still breathing?
Killing him isn't just something I want to do. It's the only thing keeping me going.
Kagetsu paused. His eyes lingered on the words. His hand trembled slightly, but he didn't stop. The emotion didn't show on his face, but it soaked into every line of that letter.
He dipped his pen again. The ink was darker now.
Like blood.
Sometimes, I wonder if I died that day too.
The day I lost them.
People see me now, cracking dumb jokes, pretending I'm just another lazy student who doesn't care about anything.
But inside?
It's just noise. Cold, empty noise.
I laugh because I have to. I smile because I'm expected to. But I haven't felt anything real since that day.
Since he killed them.
He clenched the pen, and a drop of ink smudged the edge of the page. He didn't care. He kept writing.
But I'll hold on. I'll keep pretending. Because one day, he'll show his face again. And when he does…
I'll be ready.
No magic. No Essentia. Just me. And everything he took from me.
I'll bury him with my bare hands if I have to.
Kagetsu.
The pen dropped.
He folded the letter in silence,
Gently, he lifted a loose floorboard beneath the desk and slid the letter in with the rest. Each one written over sleepless nights like this. None of them ever sent.
If the academy would have found out, his Vengeance would've been ruined.
He couldn't take the risk
He replaced the board and sat back in his chair.
The candle flickered again, casting his shadow across the wall.
That's all he was now.
A shadow with a grin painted on its face.
"Soon," he muttered to the empty room.
No one answered.
The wind blew in through the open window, rustling the curtains. From outside, the academy looked like a dream. A fantasy. A new start.
but for Kagetsu?
it was just a stepping stone