Morning came quickly then excepted.
But instead of excitement or relief after the exam, something heavy filled the academy halls. It felt like cold wind, not the one that gives chill, but the one that makes the heart tense.
Students stand in the courtyard, they didn't laugh or talk. No group practice or training today. Instructors didn't yell at students during training.
Just whisper across the courtyard.
Kaen walked with Fin, Riku, Darren, and Draxion toward the cafeteria. The air around them felt heavy and tense. Every time they passed a group of students, they heard the same words, which were loud enough to hear.
"Did you hear? Captain Ryn hasn't been seen for weeks."
"I heard that he attacked a healer in the North Wing like an animal, similar to a solar beast."
"I heard that his body glows at night, like those beasts from solar fracture."
" He is losing control."
"Soon, he will become one of them."
Kaen slowed down.
His jaw tightened.
He curled his finger into a fist.
He tried to ignore the voices but they kept coming from every corner.
He stared at them his eyes filled with rage. Before he could speak anything Riku stopped him by placing her hand on his shoulder.
Inside the cafeteria, the whisper didn't stop; it grew louder.
Some students leaned closer to their food. Some covered their mouths. Some spoke loudly, as they wanted to act cool and get others' attention.
A group sitting next to them laughed.
" They should lock him up before he grows fangs like the beast."
Another muttered. " He should be either told to leave the village or just kill him before he kills us all."
That was the moment Kaen lost his patience and slammed the table with his hand.
BAAAAMHH!!
The sound echoed across the room.
Everyone froze.
"That's enough."
Students looked at him.
"Stop talking when you don't even know anything about him."
His voice was cold and sharp.
The students whispering at the table were now silent.
Kaen glared at them, one by one his eyes steady.
" Ryn saved a dozen people during the solar fracture. He saved children, soldiers, elderly people, and even strangers. He risked his own life saving them, fighting the beast when others froze in fear."
His voice shook not with fear but with anger.
" He saved me."
Silence spread across the cafeteria.
Kaen continued again, softer now, not yelling, but his words were heavy.
" He would not hurt anyone. Not without a reason."
No one replied.
But the silence around him didn't comfort him. Not even a little.
He heard a strange voice from his heart.
Then why hasn't he come back?
These made Kaen think about it.
They sat down again. Fin slowly pushed a bowl of soup toward Kaen.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
Kaen didn't look up, " No"
" Rumors are not true," Riku spoke.
But even she was not sure about it.
Darren swallowed. "Maybe he's just recovering. I mean… the Solar Fracture changed a lot of things."
Draxion rested his hand on the table and spoke calmly, but his words were heavy as if they carried weight.
" The council hides things from us for some reason."
Kaen looked at him, "What do you mean?"
Draxion kept staring at the table.
"If Ryn was fine, they would have shown him. They would have let him speak. They would have calmed the public."
His voice low.
"But they haven't, which means something is wrong."
Kaen's chest felt tight.
" So you think he is dangerous."
Draxion shook his head slowly.
" I don't know but the council always hide two things threats..."
He slowly moved his head and looked at Kaen.
" Or sacrifices."
The group fell silent.
No one touched their food after that.
Students around them spoke, but more softly now.
Kaen stared at his hand.
Memories flashed back Ryn's smile, his voice, his warmth, the hand that he placed on Kaen's shoulder that night when everything fell apart.
He remembered his words.
" Grow. Become stronger than fear inside you and live a better life."
His heart felt warm, as if warning him.
As something bad would happen.
He pushed the chair back and stood.
" I need an answer, I need to know the truth ."
Riku also stood, " Kaen."
" I can't sit here doing nothing when everyone else is calling him a monster with a reason."
Fin nodded, " Then we all stand with you."
Darren got up, his body shaky, but his determination far greater than fear. " Yeah, no one fights alone, we're all with you."
Draxion stood at last, " Alright, since you have made the decision, there is no going back on it."
" We will go to every extent to protect Captain Ryn."
Kaen nodded.
The five of them walked out of the cafeteria together not talking, not planning. Just walking.
Outside the wind blew, carrying dust and leaves. Faint light glowed from the fractured sky.
They moved toward the main building.
Riku pointed out that the main building.
" The council room is heavily guarded by soldiers they would not let us in."
"We don't need the council," Kaen replied.
His voice was cold and calm.
Fin blinked, " Then who will you ask?"
Kaen stared at the distant training field where faint light glowed.
" Someone who was there."
Darren asked, " Do you mean survivors"
Kaen nodded.
" Anyone who saw Captain Ryn last… before he disappeared."
They moved forward.
Their steps slowed down.
The academy suddenly felt bigger, darker, and full of secrets they had never noticed before.
The mark on Kaen's chest felt warm again.
Not burning. Not painful.
Like something inside him recognized this moment.
Like someone was calling him forward.
Someone far beyond the academy walls.
Someone he cared about was falling apart.
That night, just after dark, stars faintly shine in the sky.
He hears rumors.
Students still whispered.
Fear inside them grew.
Kaen stood in his room looking outside the window at the fractured sky where stars struggled to shine.
He whispered to himself.
" I won't let him become a monster."
His mark glowed beneath his chest.
The world around him was changing.
The hero who saved Survivor is now considered a monster.
And Kaen's path now was no longer just training.
it was destiny.