Blaze finally woke, the remnants of a nightmare clinging to his chest. His sheets were still twisted around his legs, and the dawn light slicing through the small dorm window felt sharper than it had any right to be. He swallowed hard, trying to push down the memory of claws, teeth, and that unblinking eye, but it lingered like fog in his mind.
The room was quiet—as quiet as a shared dorm could be. Akira was already up, leaning lazily against his bedframe, sharpening the tip of a practice sword. Kai lay sprawled across his mattress, arms folded behind his head, eyes open, watching the ceiling like he was calculating something invisible. And then there was Tatsuya, still seated in the corner, perfectly still, like a statue, his gaze tracking Blaze without moving a muscle.
Blaze rubbed his eyes. "Morning already?" he muttered, voice hoarse.
"You're up," Akira said with a smirk, not looking up from his sword. "Thought you'd sleep through the first bell after yesterday's… excitement."
Blaze flinched at the reminder. "Yeah… I, uh… I guess I didn't sleep much."
Kai let out a low whistle. "Not the only one. That thing back there… it must have gotten under everyone's skin." He sat up, tossing his blanket aside. "Course, we're all still here. For now."
Blaze nodded slowly, staring at the floor. He could feel the knot of tension in his stomach tighten as he remembered the monster's gaze, but seeing his dormmates calm, almost casual, gave him a sliver of relief.
"You don't have to talk about it," Akira said suddenly, glancing at him. "But if you want to… we can."
Blaze hesitated, his tongue dry. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but nothing came out. Tatsuya's eyes never left him, patient, observing.
"I—" Blaze started, then swallowed. "Just… how do you… handle it?"
Akira shrugged, finally looking up. "Some of it's practice, some of it's nerves. Mostly, you just… move forward. Can't let it stop you."
Kai grinned, tossing a small bundle of cloth over to him. "Exactly. You'll get used to it. And if you don't, well… at least you've got company."
Then Tatsuya spoke, his voice was calm—too calculated.
"Most don't make it past the first trial."
Blaze shuddered. Tatsuya's words twisted inside him like ice, only working to amplify his inner self-doubts; he'd already been wondering if he was even cut out for all this.
Akira chuckled lazily and added. "Eh I'm sure you'll be fine, after all—us three made it no problem." He said while gesturing to himself, Kai, and Tatsuya.
Kai nodded in agreement and stretched, shaking off the stiffness of sleep, while Tatsuya remained perfectly still, expressionless.
Blaze sighed, quieter than he meant.
"Maybe you're right… I'm tougher than I give myself credit for."
Akira smirked and nodded approvingly.
"Looks like you still got some fire in ya after all, Lucifer."
The walk to the dining hall was brisk, filled with other first-years whispering nervously about yesterday's events. Blaze followed behind the dormmates, still feeling raw and exposed among the crowd. The smell of breakfast hit him before he even entered: eggs, roasted meat, and bread that smelled like it had just come out of the oven.
As Blaze shuffled into the line, a sharp elbow drove into his ribs—intentional enough to hurt.
he looked up to see someone he recognised, a girl from his class he had noticed the previous day, her scarred face and eyepatch stood out amongst their peers.
"Hey, watch where your goi—"
He froze as he noticed the pissed off glance she gave him, even though he hadn't even finished his sentence it was clear that she wasn't in a very good mood today.
"What was that?"
She demanded, eyes flashing."
"Nothing… sorry."
He backed down with a forced swallow.
She scoffed at him and continued cutting the line.
Blaze's heart still raced from yesterday, and even small contact felt like a threat. Akira's hand landed on his shoulder.
"Easy," he said. "Don't get your ass kicked."
Blaze flushed but nodded. Kai nudged him with an elbow, grinning. "See? This isn't a monster—it's just breakfast chaos."
Blaze managed a small smile, feeling the tension in his chest loosen for the first time since leaving the dorm.
The first-year training grounds were expansive, a mix of outdoor obstacle courses, wooden dummies, and practice arenas. Blaze's heart sank at the sight of the instructors already waiting, eyes sharp and calculating, without Akira's easy confidence or Kai's casual humor, the space felt colder. Larger. Like the academy was finally looking at him directly.
"Line up."
The command snapped through the yard.
They obeyed instantly.
The instructor paced in front of them, boots striking stone with measured precision. His gaze passed over each student, sharp and uninviting, but when it reached Blaze, it lingered—just a second longer than necessary.
Blaze's stomach tightened.
"Today, you learn control, stamina, and focus," one instructor barked, voice carrying across the yard. "Mistakes will be made. Fear will show. We will correct both."
Practice weapons were handed out next.
Blaze took the wooden sword in his hands, feeling the familiar weight and texture, this wasn't the first time Blaze had wielded a sword yet the memory of claws from yesterday lingered in the back of his mind, rendering him as a total amateur.
He stepped up anyway.
"Begin with basic forms," the instructor barked.
Blaze raised the sword, copying the stance he'd been shown.
The first strike was clumsy. Too wide. He overcorrected on the second and nearly lost his balance. Heat crept up his neck. Focus, he told himself. Just focus.
He swung again.
This time, something felt… different.
The wooden blade stopped inches from the dummy's surface—not because he decided to stop, but because his body did. A shiver ran through him, sharp and sudden, like a warning.
A heartbeat later, the dummy's arm swung loose, knocked aside by another student's misjudged strike. If Blaze hadn't stopped when he did, it would have smashed into his shoulder.
He stared at the space where the blow would have landed.
I didn't see that coming, he thought.
I just… moved.
"Don't freeze," an instructor snapped from somewhere nearby.
Blaze swallowed and resumed the form, pulse hammering. He didn't question it. Not yet.
The next drill was the obstacle course.
They ran in groups of five, timed and watched. Blaze's legs burned almost immediately, breath rasping in his chest as he vaulted low walls and ducked under hanging chains. On the third obstacle, a swinging beam swept across the path.
Blaze didn't look.
He ducked anyway.
The beam passed inches above his head.
He stumbled, nearly falling, but caught himself and kept running, heart slamming against his ribs. His mind scrambled to catch up with what his body had already done.
That should've hit me.
He crossed the finish line gasping, vision swimming. Sweat soaked his uniform, muscles shaking with exhaustion. Some students finished faster. Others failed outright.
Blaze barely noticed.
The instructor marked something on a slate. When he looked up, his eyes flicked to Blaze again—brief, unreadable.
The final exercise was sparring
Blaze was paired with someone who just couldn't stop showing up, the eyepatch girl,
she raised her sword confidently.
"Hn, you again?" She spoke in a condescending tone, making Blaze feel even smaller in this situation, he thought to himself
Why did it have to be her?
"Ready?" She asked.
Blaze nodded, throat dry.
She lunged immediately.
Blaze's body moved before fear could take hold. He stepped inside the strike, blade snapping up in a short, sharp motion. Wood cracked against wood. The impact jarred her arms, but the attack deflected cleanly.
They both froze for a second, but she shrugged it off and attacked again.
A swing to the ribs, surely he couldn't avoid it this time.
But again, Blaze just moved… too fast for even him to comprehend what he just did.
The girl blinked with her remaining eye. "How did you—"
Blaze didn't answer. He couldn't. His heart pounded too loudly, a strange heat spreading through his chest—not panic this time, but something tighter. Focused.
The instructor raised a hand. "Enough."
The spar ended.
As they stepped back, Blaze realized his hands were steady.
Too steady.
Around him, first-years whispered, some impressed, some confused. Blaze kept his eyes forward, jaw tight. He didn't feel victorious.
He felt watched.
By the time training ended, exhaustion dragged at his limbs, but his mind refused to settle. he was about to leave the grounds when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see the girl, hands on hips—she eyed him up and down before speaking.
"So, how'd you dodge those hits?"
Blaze didn't know how to respond, so he just told the truth.
"I dont know… It was almost like… my body moved on It's own…"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Moved on It's own?"
she asked, clearly wanting him to elaborate.
"It was like instinct just took over and i just moved before i even knew what i was doing."
Blaze stammered, clearly having never experienced anything like it before.
The girl studied him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she scoffed under her breath.
"Instinct," she repeated. "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."
She turned away, then paused just long enough to glance back over her shoulder.
"Name's Riven," she added. "You'd better remember it."
And then she was gone.
Blaze stood there, unease curling low in his gut.
Instinct didn't explain how his body had known.
Didn't explain the heat still humming beneath his skin.
Didn't explain why, even now, it felt like something inside him had opened its eyes.
As he left the training grounds, Blaze caught his reflection in a polished section of stone—sweat-soaked, exhausted, eyes sharper than they had been that morning.
For the first time since arriving at Beastfall Academy, the fear wasn't what unsettled him most.
It was the quiet certainty that next time—
He wouldn't need to think at all.