Without another word, she moved to the opposite end of the sitting circle—deliberately choosing the spot furthest from Kael. She smoothed her cloak down as she sat, legs crossed, expression perfectly unreadable.
Kael, naturally, dropped into a seat on the far left—elbow resting on a rock, one leg stretched out like he owned the patch of dirt he sat on.
Silas sat back down slowly between them, hands folded, eyes closed.
Rea leaned toward Blanche and whispered—not quietly—
"Oooooh they're gonna kill each other with eye contact."
Yuxin groaned.
"Wake me up when someone throws a rock."
Even Vila, from her perch on the tree branch, muttered:
"This energy is cursed."
But for now, they were all sitting.
In the same circle.
Breathing the same tense air.
And the war—the real one—was just... paused. For a moment.
The fire crackled softly in the middle of the camp.
No one had lit it. It had just... appeared, likely conjured by one of Kael's people to boil water. A small, flickering flame surrounded by mismatched stones and even more mismatched personalities.
Seryn Eloweth sat with perfect posture, sipping from a flask of faintly steaming herbal liquid—probably alchemical. Definitely expensive.
Around her, her trio of subordinates stood silent. Marleth leaned against a tree, scribbling in a notebook. Another examined the moss composition. The third just watched Kael's crew like they were diseased animals.
Kael, on the other hand, was lounging like he was at a summer barbecue. One leg crossed over the other, arms draped across a boulder behind him, his aura loud even when he said nothing.
His two subordinates were less polished: one chewed on some kind of dried meat like he was in an eating contest with gravity, and the other was napping—with a dagger still in hand.
Silas sat between both factions like a reluctant referee in a game of diplomatic dodgeball. Eyes closed. Back straight. Probably calculating which words would lead to the smallest explosion.
And then, of course, came the first shot.
From Seryn.
"I heard," she said, voice silky smooth, "that the eastern supply route just finalized a mana trade deal with Glassenreach. Record export volume in under three weeks. Efficiency is a beautiful thing, isn't it?"
No one answered.
She took a slow sip, then smiled without showing teeth.
"But I suppose some territories prefer… other methods of expansion."
Kael didn't even blink.
He leaned his head back, sighed like this was a boring dinner party, then responded—
"Yeah? I heard East also broke their fifth lab barrier containment this semester. That alchemist girl tried to use a sentient toxin as a study partner. Real impressive leadership."
Seryn smiled tighter.
"Scientific ambition requires risk."
"So does arson," Kael shot back, grin wide.
A beat passed.
Silas finally opened one eye.
"Do either of you plan to finish a sentence that doesn't bleed sarcasm?"
"No," both said in unison.
Rea clapped quietly from the side.
"Oooh, synchronized toxicity. I give it a nine out of ten."
Seryn cleared her throat delicately, then turned fully toward Silas, pointedly ignoring Kael.
"Anyway. I simply wanted to note that despite the tournament chaos, the East has experienced zero internal unrest. No brawls, no academic protests, no unauthorized experiments... aside from one or two controlled explosions."
Kael barked out a laugh.
"Controlled. Cute. Meanwhile the West's Pit broke its attendance record this season. Five sold-out brawls in one week. Say what you want, but people show up when you give 'em real fights."
Seryn raised one brow.
"Ah, yes. Nothing says 'social advancement' like underground fistfights and concussion therapy."
"It's better than cultivating mushroom cults in your alchemy caves."
Blanche coughed into her tea.
Yuxin, still lying on the grass, muttered—
"This is like watching my divorced parents argue about who's less toxic."
Vila nodded.
"Except no one wins."
Seryn continued, adjusting the silver brooch on her collar.
"It's just interesting, that's all. How quickly the Council starts raising eyebrows when certain factions can't seem to pass a single quarter without a disciplinary notice."
Kael picked up a rock and tossed it lazily between his hands.
"And yet, despite all that, no one seems interested in putting a leash on me. Makes you wonder who the Council really trusts to get things done."
Silas exhaled sharply. His patience had a timer. It was blinking red now.
"Enough. This isn't the Council chamber."
Kael smirked.
"Yet."
Seryn narrowed her eyes.
"Not if I can help it."
And just like that, the air shifted again.
Not hot. Not cold.
Just... coiled.
The conversation might have ended.
But the real fight?
It was still coming.
They just hadn't reached the bracket yet.
The air was thick.
Not with magic.
But with ego.
The kind that settled into the corners of a conversation and refused to leave. Kael leaned back, content in the chaos. Seryn sipped her tea like it was poison she intended to weaponize. Silas had gone into statue-mode—no emotion, no movement—clearly choosing the do not engage strategy.
But that peace?
Didn't last.
Yuxin, still lying on the moss with one knee casually hooked over the other, finally opened her eyes.
And groaned.
"God, and here I thought faction leaders were supposed to be intimidating."
A few heads turned.
Yuxin sat up halfway, propping herself up on one elbow.
"Y'know… cold, strategic, eerie aura, unpredictable—whatever. Turns out they're just as petty as first-years fighting over dorm beds."
Blanche froze.
Ruka quietly whispered a "Noooo—" under her breath.
Rea lit up like she'd been handed front-row seats to a meltdown.
Vila didn't even flinch. She was already eating again.
Seryn turned toward Yuxin, lips curling into that thin, professional smile she wore like armor.
"I do hope you'll remember to mind your manners, Miss Zhen."
Her tone was smooth. Too smooth. But her eyes?
Twitching.
"You are, after all, from the Eastern division, are you not? As such, a little respect toward your superior isn't optional—it's expected."
Then she turned to Kael.
Still smiling.
"Though if you're looking for a real display of childishness, perhaps the Western Faction could lend you a mirror."
Kael let out a low chuckle. The kind that rumbled from deep in his chest. The kind that usually came right before someone broke a wall.
"Seryn, Seryn… always so classy."
He leaned forward, bracing one forearm on his knee, his grin widening like a blade unsheathing.
"But let's not pretend you're better."
"Excuse me?"
"Please. You parade around with elegance and formulas and whispers in the dark, but at the end of the day? You're just a control freak in disguise, praying no one sees how damn much you hate being out of control."
"I don't—"
"Oh, you do. That's why you keep tightening the leash on your little Hollow. Because if even one person slips up, it reflects on you. And you can't stand cracks in the glass, can you?"
Seryn's fingers tensed ever so slightly around her cup.
Then her brow twitched.
Just once.
Not enough to break her face.
But enough to betray the fact that Kael had landed a hit.
And he knew it.
She exhaled. Smoothed her expression. Lowered the cup.
And stood.
"I don't think I'll be staying long."
Blanche raised a brow.
"Checkpoint's still active."
"Yes," Seryn replied sharply, brushing invisible dust off her sleeves. "But some of us have better things to do than indulge in... casual debate circles."
Rea grinned.
"Translation: she's gonna go scream into a flower and hex a tree."
Seryn didn't look back.
She adjusted her cloak, turned on her heel with calculated grace, and strode back toward the treeline, her subordinates falling into step behind her like shadows.
Not one of them spoke.
The only sound was the faint tapping of her boots against stone—and the fire crackling back to life.
Yuxin leaned back on her palms and sighed.
"...So I'm definitely getting expelled."
Blanche didn't even look at her.
"Yes."
"Worth it."
Kael, still grinning, leaned into the silence with a lazy drawl.
"Well. That was entertaining."
Silas finally opened both eyes and said, deadpan:
"This checkpoint has been a strategic disaster."
And no one disagreed.
The silence after Seryn's exit didn't last long.
It never could.
Not with Kael Dymont still around.