I have been stuck in isolation since I emerged from the tunnel Rift and fainted where I stood. The school authorities claimed I was under supervision. Apparently, exposure to a Rift for too long was life-threatening for a low-ranked hunter like me.
I have been alone with only the apathetic voice in my head for company.
I didn't mourn.
I don't deserve to, not until I've done right by Lian.
So I listened to the scientists and doctors speak. I watched them. It wasn't until the third day that I realized I could see the different levels of their aura.
The lowest I'd seen glowed a muted orange, a step above my yellow. Breaking out was impossible, so I just listened.
They said a lot of things I didn't care to answer. They informed me Lian had been sent home for burial. I could only nod. Maybe my lack of emotion startled them, because soon after, I was sent for another round of psychological evaluations.
They wanted to know if the Rift had messed with my head. Maybe it had.
Maybe it hadn't.
Either way, I didn't care.
I didn't speak. Not when they told me to strip so they could poke and prod, not when several strands of my silver hair were cut off to send to the labs.
~~~
"Mr. Sable, are you listening to me?!"
The wiry man in charge of my evaluation snapped, his face red and sweaty. He paused to loosen his tie, and I could not help the small smirk that tugged at my mouth.
"Mr. Sable, you have to understand that we're trying to help you. You're a low-ranked hunter, yet you survived a Level One Rift alone. It's not adding up!"
I sighed. I've sighed a lot this past week.
"Did something else happen in that Rift?..."
Silence.
He kept going until they finally sent me back to my cell. It was a small space: a mattress, a desk, a mirror. I sat and stared at my reflection.
I still looked the same. Yet... so different.
I'd always been pale, but now my skin could rival snow. My hair was even lighter. The only hint of color was my eyes, a feverish, haunting blue. No wonder they refused to let me out.
I sighed again.
They'll let me out eventually.
And when they do, I'll make them wish they hadn't.
~~~
I was not surprised when I saw Professor Igarashi, instructor of Class F. Cold, aloof, unreadable. But she came for me, I knew she would.
She paused when she saw me sitting on my mattress. I was already dressed in the black colors of Aegis. Her eyes twitched.
"Sable, you've been released from isolation. Come with me."
She turned sharply, and I followed.
The moment we entered the school grounds, whispers followed. Students froze mid-step, phones lifted. Their stares burned into me.
"Everyone's staring," I said, voice dry.
She smirked. "He speaks. The doctors were sure you'd gone mute."
I refused to dignify the quip with an answer.
"They're staring because you look different," she added, before stopping in front of a door. "Well, go on in. I've got better things to do."
~~
Division F was as noisy as always. The forgotten class of the academy. But as I stepped inside, silence slammed into the room.
Every face turned to me.
Curiosity was etched on their faces. But they hesitated to speak, they were not even moving.
I was afraid of looking around more because I knew I would see the sight I was trying to avoid.
It was impossible.
My gaze landed on the desk next to mine, covered in chrysanthemums. Lian hated those. He preferred sunflowers.
He wasn't supposed to die. He wasn't supposed to leave me behind.
He would never shove me awake again, never chatter through lectures, never smile that blinding grin.
He was gone.
A wave of grief crashed through me, sharp and suffocating. The rage underneath it clawed at my chest.
[Warning: System is going into overdrive. Emotional shutdown advised.]
The system in my head was a Grade-A asshole, if you haven't figured that out yet. It never answered questions, and when I asked why it chose me, all I got was…
[Access to this information: denied]
But it did promise one thing: power.
Power to survive. Power to dominate.
And to do that, I needed to cultivate the Rift fragment inside me. It had been festering all week, a shard of volatile energy threatening to detonate.
I knew I needed to go into cultivation to enable a seamless transition, but there was never a safe moment.
I couldn't risk it before; the cameras watched my every move. But now? It was unstable, seconds from collapse. My body needed to stay cold, steady. Strong emotions were fatal.
So I swallowed everything, the grief, the rage, and lowered my head onto the desk.
~~~
"Kairo?"
I opened my eyes slowly. Kira Akari stood beside me, blonde hair gleaming, brown eyes soft. Lian used to call her the most beautiful girl in school. She didn't belong in Class F and she knew it, but luck hadn't been kind to her either.
"I'm sorry about Lian," she said gently. "He'll be missed."
Her hands twisted together, voice trembling. I could almost laugh.
"Do you know his last name?" I asked softly.
Her eyes flickered. Hope, confusion. Then guilt.
"N-no."
"Lian saw only you for the longest time," I said, voice flat, "and you don't even know his last name."
Gasps rippled around the room, but I didn't care. If niceness meant anything, then Lian would still be here, wouldn't he?
"We were invisible to you. No need to change that now."
I laid my head back down. I didn't need them.
I didn't need anyone.
Only the System. Only power.
And I would bring this school to its knees, or die trying.
~~~
The thought had barely settled when pain tore through me. The fragment in my core lurched, freezing and violent. Cold sweat broke across my skin.
[Core instability detected.]
[Vital systems... failing.]
[Temperature... dropping. Total system collapse: imminent.]
I was dying.
My arms glazed with frost, veins turning blue under the skin. The classroom temperature plummeted.
"Why is it so cold?" someone gasped.
"Turn the heater on!"
I staggered to my feet, breath fogging. I needed to get out…
"Yo, man, you alright?"
A hand gripped my shoulder. Pain exploded through me.
"What the hell! You're freezing!" the boy shouted, pulling back. I recognized the orange hair. Jin something. I shoved him away.
Then….
"Well, well."
That voice. That infuriating, smug voice.
Ryo Hasegawa strolled in with his usual entourage, hands in his pockets, eyes glittering with malice, and mouth twisted with poison.
He shivered slightly at the chill, but smirked anyway. All black…. festering rage wrapped in wickedness.
"What do we have here?" he drawled. "Kairo Sable. As I live and breathe."
He stepped closer, venom curling in his smile.
"It's been a while."