The stone path behind the dorm still pulsed faintly with ki, like it was half-awake and dreaming. Darius stood in front of it with his hands in his jacket pockets, not moving, not touching anything. The symbol carved into the floor — the half-circle with three vertical lines — felt like it was watching him back.
The Boundless Nexus flickered a soft warning.
[Unstable Echo Residue Detected]
[Threat Level: Low]
[Observation Advised – Entry Not Recommended]
"Yeah, no kidding," he muttered under his breath.
Just as he turned to leave, footsteps clicked softly behind him. He didn't spin around — just shifted his foot slightly, ready to bolt or block.
"You're not the first to feel the pull," a calm voice said.
A girl stood there. Cloaked, face half-covered, but her tone wasn't aggressive — just… tired.
"What pull?" he asked, playing dumb.
She gave a short laugh, not amused. "The kind that doesn't stop even after you walk away."
"Who are you?"
"You won't remember me, even if I told you." She looked past him, toward the symbol. "Don't open that door when it breaks. Let it rot. That's all."
Before he could ask another thing, she turned and walked off. No dramatic exit, no vanishing act. Just walked away like she'd dropped her groceries.
[Unregistered Echo Signature Detected – Trace Locked]
[Memory Node: Secure]
[Continue Surveillance – Passive Mode]
Darius stared after her for a moment longer, then turned back to the symbol.
He didn't know what door she was talking about, or what "break" meant, but one thing was clear — he was already knee-deep in something the academy either didn't know about… or pretended not to.
He got back to the dorm just as the lights auto-dimmed for sleep cycle. Arjun was snoring like a broken pump on the top bunk. Juno sat on the window ledge, polishing the hilt of her blade. Scarface, the quiet one, was back in lotus position like he'd never moved.
But there was someone new.
Another guy stood at the far wall, halfway through unpacking his bag. Broad shoulders, clean uniform, and calm, unreadable eyes.
"Oh," Juno said casually. "They added a transfer into our room."
Darius looked at him. "Didn't know rooms could be five-person."
The new guy didn't even blink. "I didn't ask."
Arjun stirred. "What the hell, man, it's crowded already."
Juno chuckled. "Complain later. You snore like a dead ox anyway."
The new guy zipped his bag and turned around. "Riven Vale."
That was it. No clan name. No region. Just that.
Darius gave a small nod. "Darius."
They didn't shake hands. Didn't need to.
Scarface opened one eye for a split second when Riven passed him, then shut it again. Darius caught it. Some kind of recognition.
This academy room was getting weird by the minute.
Later that night, when the dorm was mostly quiet — except for Arjun muttering in his sleep about spicy dumplings — Darius sat awake, eyes on the ceiling.
"You saw the mark too, didn't you?" Riven's voice came quietly from the corner bed.
Darius didn't respond at first.
Then: "What mark?"
Riven gave a soft snort. "No need to play dumb. You're not the only one it touched. I saw you near the courtyard path."
So he'd been watched.
"And?" Darius asked, still not turning to look.
"And you're walking on a very thin thread." Riven's tone wasn't threatening — more like a warning. "There are things under this academy they don't teach in the classrooms."
"Yeah? You here to teach them?"
"I'm just here to stay alive." He paused. "You should try that too."
Darius finally turned his head. The room was dark, but he could make out Riven's silhouette — sitting cross-legged, calm, like this was just another night in a haunted academy.
Riven continued, voice quiet. "Some of us weren't born to break reality. Some of us just want to survive it."
That hit a little close.
Neither of them spoke again.
Elsewhere in the academy, an elder sat alone in a low-lit study, flipping through glowing tablets showing entry scans from the latest batch.
He stopped on two names:
Darius Acheron – Compatibility Gate Flicker: 0.6 seconds
Riven Vale – No flicker. But no baseline ki signature either.
That wasn't supposed to be possible.
The elder leaned back, eyes narrowing.
"Two anomalies," he murmured. "Neither from foreign realms. Both too quiet."
He turned to a shadow in the room. "Keep eyes on both. But don't interfere. Yet."