Edwin von Solaris — POV
The coffee in my cup had gone cold about forty minutes ago.
I was still holding it.
It gave my hands something to do other than shake.
We were sitting in a waiting area just outside the designated Sifting grounds. It was supposed to be some standard administrative hall—high ceilings, polished floors, uncomfortable benches designed to make you feel small and impatient.
Right now though?
It felt less like a waiting room and more like the inside of a tomb.
I stood up.
Walked to the window.
Walked back to the bench.
Sat down.
'Stop moving.'
'You're making Sarah nervous.'
But I couldn't stop.
My knee kept bouncing with this restless, frantic energy I couldn't burn off.
It had been too long.
When Voss and his goons marched everyone out of the dining hall, they said "one hour." One hour for the deep scan. One hour to check our souls for cracks and demons.
I glanced at the clock on the wall.
The hands felt like they were mocking me.
Three hours.
It had been three hours since Alden and Alicia walked away from us.
"Edwin," Sarah said softly.
I looked at her. She was sitting perfectly straight, hands folded in her lap. She looked calm—Saintess calm—but I knew her better than that. I could see her knuckles were white. I could see the slight tremor in her lower lip she was trying to hide.
"They're fine," I said. My voice sounded hollow, even to me. "It's Alden. He probably tried to negotiate the test scores or something. You know him."
Sarah didn't smile.
"The air changed, Edwin," she whispered.
I nodded grimly. I felt it too.
About an hour ago, the temperature in the entire sector had plummeted. Not natural weather. Not some random draft.
It was a flash-freeze.
The windows frosted over in seconds. Ice bloomed across the glass like spiderwebs.
That was Alicia. I'd recognize her mana anywhere. Cold. Precise. Usually restrained.
But that?
That was violent.
'She snapped.'
'Alicia doesn't snap unless the world is ending.'
And then, just as suddenly as it started, the cold vanished.
Not faded. Not melted.
Removed.
Snuffed out like someone pinched a candle flame between two fingers.
And since then?
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
I stood up again and walked toward the heavy double doors guarded by two Inquisition officers. Grey coats. Too clean. Too expensive-looking to ever see dirt.
"Hey," I said, forcing the Golden Boy grin onto my face. Hero charisma mode on. "My friends have been in there a while. Any update? Maybe they got lost in the hallway?"
The guard on the left didn't blink. "Step back, student."
"I'm just asking," I pressed, letting a tiny flicker of my Sword Expert aura leak out. Just enough to remind them I wasn't some B-rank extra. "Three hours is a long time for a check-up."
The guard turned his head slowly. His eyes were dead.
"Processing takes time. If you interfere, you will be detained."
Detained.
'Like Alden?'
The thought hit me like a punch.
I stepped back, raising my hands. "Alright. Fine. Just checking."
I went back to Sarah and dropped onto the bench beside her.
"They aren't telling us anything," I muttered.
"I can't feel them," Sarah said quietly.
I turned to her sharply. "What do you mean?"
She closed her eyes. Being a Saintess meant she was sensitive to life forces. Souls. Mana. The general 'vibe' of living beings. It was how she always knew I was hurt before I said anything.
"I could feel Alicia before," she explained softly. "She was angry. So angry it felt like a blizzard. And then… she just stopped. Like she went to sleep."
"And Alden?" I asked. My stomach twisted.
Sarah opened her eyes. They were wet.
"That's the problem, Edwin," she whispered. "I haven't been able to feel Alden since he walked through that door. It's like… he just ceased to exist."
I tightened my grip on the cold coffee cup until the ceramic groaned.
Alden.
The guy who acted like a background character but somehow ended up fighting A-rank demons. The guy who pretended he wanted to nap through the apocalypse but always stepped forward when it mattered.
'He told us to trust him.'
'Trust me.'
But trusting him was getting harder and harder when the Inquisition was involved.
"We have to do something," I said under my breath. "We can't just sit here."
"What can we do?" Sarah asked, looking at me with wide, helpless eyes. "Break in? Fight the Inquisition? Edwin, that's Kaelen Voss. And whoever is running the Sifting… if they can suppress Alicia…"
She didn't finish.
She didn't need to.
If they could take down Alicia without a fight, then Edwin and Sarah were just speed bumps.
I leaned my head back against the wall. I hated this.
I hated feeling weak.
I'm supposed to be the protagonist. That's what people call me. The Hero. The lightning sword guy with destiny written all over him.
But sitting here? Waiting for my friends to maybe be executed in some basement I couldn't even reach?
I felt like an extra.
Like the guy standing in the background while the real plot happened somewhere else.
'Is this how Alden feels all the time?'
'Watching everything. Calculating. Staying quiet.'
No. Alden doesn't freeze. Alden moves. Even when the odds are garbage, he moves.
"He's got a plan," I said firmly. Mostly to convince myself. "Alden always has a plan. He probably annoyed the interrogator so much they're drafting a strongly worded complaint right now."
Sarah let out a small, watery laugh. "He would do that."
"Exactly," I grinned weakly. "He's probably lecturing them about the inefficiency of their torture methods."
The word lingered.
Torture.
We both knew the Inquisition didn't write complaints.
My hands started shaking again.
'Please be okay, man.'
'Don't do anything stupid. Just survive. We need our strategist.'
We needed our friend.
*****
Sarah von Solaris — POV
The air smelled faintly like ozone and old fear.
It was subtle, buried under cleaning spells and polished stone, but I could smell it. The leftover trace of high-tier magic clashing.
I sat next to Edwin, posture straight. I had to be steady. If Edwin broke, the team broke. That was my role. The anchor. The light.
But it's hard to be light when the darkness feels this absolute.
'Where are you, Alden?'
I reached out with my mana again, sending thin, invisible tendrils toward the Sifting grounds.
Usually sensing Alden was difficult. His mana always felt… flat. Like a stone. Or a tree. Ordinary.
But if you focused—if you really focused—there was depth. Like staring into a well with no bottom.
Now?
There was nothing.
Not the Void he used in his sword arts.
This was absence.
A hole where a person should be.
It terrified me.
Did they seal him? Move him?
Or did they—
'Stop.'
'Don't think about funerals. Think about dinner. We're all going to have dinner after this.'
I looked at Edwin. He was trying so hard to act brave. His leg bouncing. Jaw tight. Making jokes.
But his eyes were scared.
He felt useless.
I reached out and placed my hand on his knee. He froze, then looked at me.
"Breathe," I said softly.
"I am breathing."
"Breathe slower."
He exhaled a long, shaky breath. "Sorry. I just… I feel like I should be breaking down that door."
"If you break down that door," I said gently, "you might ruin Alden's plan. And then he'll be annoyed at you. Do you really want Alden annoyed at you?"
A weak smirk appeared on his face. "He's terrifying when he's polite-angry."
"Exactly."
We sat quietly.
Then the doors opened.
We both jumped up so fast I almost tripped over my robe.
But it wasn't Alden.
It wasn't Alicia.
It was a man in a dark coat.
Walking steadily. Carrying someone in his arms.
My heart stopped.
Orion von Valerion.
And in his arms—
Alicia.
She was limp. Her silver hair spilling down like liquid moonlight. Eyes closed. Pale.
"Alicia!" I gasped, stepping forward.
Edwin was beside me instantly, hand twitching toward his sword before he remembered who he was facing.
Orion didn't slow down. His face was stone.
"Is she okay?" Edwin demanded, blocking his path. Brave. Stupid.
Orion stopped. Looked down at him. The pressure from him wasn't aggressive—just heavy. Like standing near a glacier.
"She is resting," Orion said flatly.
"Resting?" I blurted. "She looks unconscious! What happened in there?"
For a brief second, something flickered in his eyes. Fatigue. Regret.
"She overexerted herself," he said. "The Sifting is taxing on high-sensitivity bloodlines. I am taking her home."
"What about Alden?" Edwin asked sharply.
Orion paused.
One second.
Two.
'Why isn't he answering?'
"Mr. von Astra," Orion said slowly, "is undergoing a… more extensive evaluation."
"Extensive?" I echoed. "Why? He's only A-rank. Why would he need—"
"Because he is unique," Orion interrupted. "And unique things require careful study."
He stepped around Edwin.
"Do not wait for him," Orion said over his shoulder. "Return to your dormitories. The sun is setting."
"Wait!" Edwin shouted. "Is he safe? Is he hurt?"
Orion didn't turn back.
"He is alive."
That was all.
Then he was gone.
Leaving us in the cold waiting room.
I looked at Edwin. He looked at me.
"Alive," he repeated quietly. "He didn't say safe. Just alive."
I sat back down. My legs wouldn't hold me anymore.
'Alden… what are they doing to you?'
The void I felt earlier came back to my mind. The absence.
The Sifting wasn't a test.
It was a dissection.
And our friend was on the table.
"He's not coming back tonight," I whispered.
Edwin stood staring at the empty doorway. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles split and bled.
"No," he said in a low voice I barely recognized. "He's not."
He turned to me. The Golden Boy mask was gone. Something harder stood in its place.
"We need to get stronger, Sarah."
I looked up at him.
"If we were stronger," Edwin said, tears finally spilling over, "we wouldn't be sitting in the waiting room."
I reached for his hand.
"I know," I whispered.
As night fell over the Academy and shadows swallowed the spires, I bowed my head.
I didn't pray for victory.
I didn't pray for glory.
I prayed for one simple thing.
'Please let the boy who wants to be a background character survive the spotlight.'
'Don't die, Alden.'
But the silence from the Sifting grounds gave no answer.