The next morning came slower than usual.
Kai didn't sleep well at all.
Every time he shifted, pain flared through his ribs and shoulder, dragging him back to the memory of yesterday, being on the ground, unable to move and unable to fight back.
"…Tch." he grit out irritated.
He opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling of his room. The soft light filtering through the curtains felt almost mocking in its calmness.
Everything looked the same.
Nothing had changed.
But something felt different than before.
Kai sat up slowly, wincing despite himself. His body protested immediately, stiff and sore, but he ignored it, pushing himself up anyway.
"I'm fine," he muttered, even though no one was there to hear it.
He stood, grabbing his uniform from the chair. His movements were slower today—not because he wanted them to be, but because his body forced them to be.
It irritated him. He grit his teeth and pulled on his blazer, adjusting it slightly before glancing at himself in the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes and he also looked bruised. In Kai's eyes, he was still standing.
"That's good enough." he muttered to himself. He took his bag and went downstairs into the foyer.
Another dull boring day at school.
'This time', Kai thought, 'it probably won't be boring because of all the looks'. Kai groaned inwardly at that thought. He saw Edgar come down. Edgar's gaze was different as the only thing he said was, "lets go." He then silently walked out, expecting Kai to follow. Kai just huffed and walked out after him, his raven black hair a bit messy as he didn't bother to brush. Edgar however, had neat hair. Kai just scowled slightly and told himself to stop the comparisons.
The car ride to school was even quieter than yesterday.
Edgar sat beside him again, his posture straight, and his presence steady, but there was something different about him now.
It was more alert, more watchful.
Kai noticed it immediately.
"You're staring," Kai said without looking at him. "It's annoying." He added.
"I'm observing. There's a difference. You would do good to write that down" Edgar said, glancing over at him.
Kai scoffed. "There is no difference."
Edgar didn't respond.
The silence stretched again.
Then Edgar said curtly, "You're not going anywhere alone today. We can't have another mishap happening because of your big mouth."
Kai's eyes narrowed slightly as he scowled. "I don't have a big mouth. I just have a silver tounge." Edgar scoffed and said sternly,
"I'm not asking. It's Leon's orders, and I advise you not to ignore him again so blatantly."
"I don't care." Kai said stubbornly. Kai was now fully looking at Edgar, and he was glaring at him.
Edgar turned his head slightly, his gaze sharp. "You should. I may be more easygoing than our older brothers, but I can't defy orders like you do. I know what self preservation is, unlike you."
Kais glared intensified at the comment. "What are you gonna do? Follow me around all day?" he asked, voice rising slightly.
"If I have to." Edgar said curtly and leaned back in his seat, arms crossed.
Kai let out a dry laugh. "That's pathetic."
Edgar's expression didn't change. "What happened yesterday was pathetic."
Kai stiffened at that and looked away immediately. "Shut up." He said stiffly.
The tension in the car thickened.
Before it could escalate further—
The car stopped.
They have arrived at school.
Kai opened the door before Edgar could say anything else and stepped out quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through his side.
He didn't wait for Edgar. He just fast walked away, not caring about Edgar's glared at the back of his head.
School felt… different today.
Not because it had changed.
But because Kai had. The bruises were obvious as he walked through the halls. He tried ignoring it, but Kai could feel the looks.
The whispers.
They weren't subtle at all. Anyone with at least a normal amount of hearing could hear everything clearly. They didn't need to be Superman or someone like that.
"They're saying he got beat up—"
"By three people—"
"Isn't he an Asterian?"
Kai clenched his jaw and tried to ignore all of it. "Idiots" he muttered under his breath. He thought he could just block it all out. It wasn't easy though. Many adults didn't realise school wasn't easy. Sure it was fun if you have a big friend group, if you're popular, and don't get bullied. But if you are a loner, like Kai, it wasn't all laughs and giggles. He had to face the constant looks of pity and envy and disdain because he was a weak Asterian. Kai was sure it was the same for other people like him, even if they werent rich.
Kai never was good at making friends. It was because of his family people didn't want to go near him. Funny, in every movie Kai watched, it was the opposite. People did want to go near the rich kid for the benefits. But then Kai thought that facing Leon wasn't worth anything extra luxeries.
Kai sighed as he continues walking down the hallway.
His steps were steady, and his expression blank.
Like it didn't matter, like none of it mattered. He was good at pretending. He's honed that skill over the years.
But inside, was different. Kai didn't even want to think about what was going on inside. It was a mess.
His fists clenched slightly.
Classes dragged slower than usual. It felt like the universe hated him.
Every minute felt longer, heavier.
Kai didn't pay attention, like always.
Not to the teacher, not to the lessons, and definitely not to his classmates whispers and stares.
His thoughts kept drifting away.
Back to yesterday.
Back to Leon and his ever so criptic words.
'Barely.' He said.
Kai's jaw tightened.
"…Next time," he muttered under his breath. He would not fail next time.
Kai felt one pair of eyes on him. He glanced over, and saw one of his classmates. His name was Tyler, and for some reason he had orange hair. He also had black nerdy glasses, and he also had orange eyes. But his personality was anything but nerdy. He was the mysterious guy in the school that nobody knew much about apart from his name. He somehow felt older than he looked. Kais intrusive thoughts were thinking that he looked like a tiger, but that was just stupid. Tyler was looking at Kai and Kai suddenly felt uncomfortable. He looked away, and tried listining in time the teachers words. Just then, the final bell rang.
Students flooded out of the building, voices rising, laughter filling the air.
Kai moved with the crowd, but his mind was elsewhere. He though back to Leon, what happened yesterday. Then his thouhts drifted to Tyler's gaze. Kai felt shivers down his spine. He glanced away around, watching out for Edgar.
He didn't wait for Edgar.
Didn't look for him.
Didn't care.
"I'm not being followed around," he muttered. He wouldn't willingly find Edgar just so he could follow Kai around.
He stepped outside, the cool air hitting him lightly. And then, he felt it.
Kai stopped in his tracks.
Something was... off. The air felt different from usual.
It wasn't heavy like Leon's or fiery like Cale's or sharp like Edgar's.
But, strange. Unfamiliar.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"What is that?" he muttered.
He turned his head.
And saw her.
She stood near the edge of the school grounds, slightly apart from the others.
At first glance, she didn't look out of place.
But, something about her wasn't normal. Kai thought she felt like a tree or forest.
Her black hair fell neatly over her shoulders, smooth and almost too perfect. Her green eyes stood out immediately—bright, sharp, almost glowing in the light.
And her clothes weren't school uniform. Actually, they weren't any clothes that Kai has seen before.
They were… different.
Elegant, which made them look like leaves, but Kai knew that wasn't the case because that would be ridiculous. It looked almost like something out of another world.
Kai frowned slightly.
"Weird." he said a but loudly. He didnt care if this girl heard him. If she didn't want to be called weird, she shouldn't be standing outside a school in weird clothing staring at him.
But her clothes wasn't all that caught his attention. It was her aura.
Kai could feel it. It was faint but unmistakable.
Different from anything he had ever felt before. Kai walks though crowds every day. Every humans aura is different but the same. This aura was way off course. It wasn't like human power.
Not like his brothers, or strangers, or even the president that Kai had the luxery of meeting, much to his dismay.
It was something else entirely.
The girl turned her head and looked straight at him.
Kai froze for a second because her gaze locked onto him instantly.
Like she had been waiting. Somehow the gaze felt similar to Tyler's.
"You're staring," Kai said flatly, walking toward her without thinking.
The girl blinked once, and looked at Kai's grimy uniform. She then tilted her head slightly.
"You can see me." she said, almost surprised.
Kai stopped a few steps away, frowning. "Yeah. Should I not be able to?" he asked, his voice annoyed as always.
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she studied him.
Carefully.
Like she was trying to confirm something.
"…Interesting," she murmured.
Kai's patience snapped slightly. "Okay, you're being weird. What do you want?" he asked impatiently. Kai crossed his arms and stood there, trying to mimic Leon's pose when he's annoyed because in his experience, it works.
The girl smiled slightly at that.
"You're Kai Asterian." It wasn't a question.
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Who's asking?" he asked sharply.
The girl straightened slightly.
"My name is Lya. Nice to finally meet you in person. Ive only observed till now."
Kai didn't react, but inside, he felt uneasy. It was almost like she's been watching him but never interacted. Kai swallowed hard and said, "Okay. And?"
Lya watched him for a moment longer.
Then she stepped closer, much to Kai's discomfort. He was used to personal space, having grown up with 3 stoic brothers.
And the moment she stepped closer, Kai felt it stronger.
That strange aura of hers.
It wasn't overwhelming.
But it was different and weird.
"You don't feel like them," she said quietly.
Kai frowned. "Them?" he asked why a raised eyebrow. Kai knew he should have been uneasy talking to a stranger, but he somehow didn't feel any danger so he went with it.
"Your brothers." he added.
Kai's expression hardened instantly. "How do you know about them?"
Lya didn't seem bothered to reply.
"I know a lot of things," she said simply.
Kai stared at her, his suspicion rising.
"Are you spying on us or something?"
"No." she said simply.
"Then how do you know my name?"
Lya hesitated just slightly. Her eyes held wisdom that Kai didn't feel like he wanted to face.
Then she said—
"Because you're family."
Silence.
Kai blinked once. Then twice. He responded after 30 seconds.
"…What?" he was still as he stared at her incredulous.
Lya held his gaze, completely serious.
"We're related."
Kai stared at her for a long second.
Then, he laughed. He held his stomach as he laughed.
"…Yeah, okay. Sure." he chuckled.
"I'm not joking." Lya said seriously.
"Neither am I," Kai shot back. "That's the dumbest thing I've heard all day."
Lya's expression didn't change.
"You don't know," she said quietly.
Kai's laughter faded slightly.
"Know what?" he asked, feeling incredibly uncomfortable again under her wise stare.
She looked at him carefully.
Like she was deciding something.
"Your mother." She stated.
Kai's expression froze.
The air shifted subtly. He looked at her again, trying to keep his face stoic, but it wasn't working. His stoic facade was slipping as he kept talking to Lya longer.
"…What about her?" he asked, his voice quieter now.
Lya stepped closer again.
"You don't know where she came from."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "She's dead." he said bluntly. Kai tried acting like he didn't care, but he actually did. The sad truth was, in his family, nobody shared their feelings. It was everyone for themselves. Unless it was a life or death situation, his family just wanted to keep their little modern empire strong. Kai never talked about his feelings to anyone after his parent's death.
Kai looked at Lya as she said, "I know."
That made him pause for a moment.
"Then stop talking about her like that."a Kai said, and to his dismay, a bit if emotion came out. Lya didn't back down.
"She wasn't fully human."
Silence.
Kai's heart skipped slightly.
"What?" he asked, eyes narrowing.
"She was half elf." Lya finished.
Kai stared at her.
"You're insane. Completely delusional."
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are," Kai said, his voice rising slightly. "Elves aren't real."
Lya's eyes flickered slightly.
"They are." she said.
"No, they're not." Kai shot back.
"They are," she repeated calmly. "You just haven't seen them. What do you think I am?" Lya asked. "I am an elf, and I'm using magic to hide my ears."
Kai shook his head, stepping back slightly. "No. I'm not doing this. I will not deal with this right now"
Lya watched him carefully.
"You felt it, didn't you?"
Kai stopped.
"…Felt what?" he asked uncertainly.
"My aura."
Silence.
Kai didn't answer, because he had.
"It's not like yours," Lya continued. "Not like human magic."
Kai's jaw tightened.
"So what? That doesn't mean anything."
"It does." Lya said calmly.
She took another step forward.
"And you felt it because you're not fully human either."
That hit harder than anything else she had said.
Kai's breath caught slightly.
"That's not true."
"Isn't it?" Lya asked. "You are a quarter dark elf, and so are your brothers. Why do you think Leon is so powerful in this human world? It's because elven magic is higher than human magic."
Kai didn't respond.
Because for a second, he was speechless. He was doubting his own existence."
Lya's gaze softened slightly.
"I came to find you."
Kai looked at her again.
"Why?"
"Because you belong there."
"Where?" Kai asked wearily.
She pointed slightly—
Not at the school.
Not at the city.
But somewhere else.
"Arwin."
Kai frowned. "What in the world is that?"
"My home."
She met his gaze directly.
"And your mother's home kingdom. She's a princess, you know. My father's older sister."
Silence fell between them.
Heavy and Unreal.
Kai let out a quiet breath.
"This is insane."
Lya didn't argue.
"I can show you."
Kai hesitated.
"…Show me what?"
"The reality. Everything you have thought true about this world isnt."
Kai looked at her.
Really looked at her.
At her calm expression.
At her strange, unfamiliar presence.
At the way nothing she said sounded like a lie.
And for the first time, he didn't immediately reject it.
"If you're lying," he said slowly, "this is a really weird way to do it." Kai was always suspicious, but he wasn't dumb.
Lya smiled.
"I'm not lying."
Kai hesitated for another second.
Then he said,
"Fine. But not today. Edgar is already probably looking for me."
Lya nodded. "Alright. I won't be able to come back until 5 days have past. It's the time frame." Kai just stared at her and nodded. "Alright.." Lya then turned around and walked away. She then said one last thing. "Oh and, say hello to Tyler for me" Kai's eyes widened as she walked away.
That confrontation changed everything.