Lin sat alone in his chambers, the air around him heavy with fury. His eyes were locked on the window, where the moonlight barely reached through the drawn curtains. He had been silent for hours, but his thoughts were loud, chaotic even. His fists were clenched, nails digging into his palms. The reason for his anger? Kirin.Three whole days. Three damn days, and the bastard hadn’t so much as acknowledged his presence.Lin had assumed that Kirin was just another commoner, another peasant who would barely last through the entrance trials. When he first laid eyes on him, Kirin seemed ordinary. No power, no influence, no resources or wealth. Lin had expected him to disappear into the background like the rest. But instead, the boy had shaken the entire Academy.First, there was the beast. That walking electric eel. A rare monster most students wouldn’t dare to approach at Kirin’s level. Yet Kirin had fought it. And won alone at that.Then came the blade. A sword, carved with bare fists fro

Kirin didn’t speak.He stood there, frozen, Lin’s words still ringing in his ears.“Kirin Arcanus…”The name still rang in his ears like a curse, a name he didn't want to be associated by, his shame and disgrace, he felt weak, vulnerable. Open and laid bare.What Lin had done was drag it all to the surface like filth from the bottom of a lake. And now it was everywhere, his thoughts, his heartbeat, his breath. His throat felt tight, and for a moment, he forgot how to breathe.Kirin clenched his fists, but even that didn’t help.The room had gone quiet. He could feel the eyes of the others on him, but they were like background noise now.Lin had said it all. About the disgrace, the shame, the banishment. But what hurt the most was the shame of his parents, for him being blamed for their deaths.Their mysterious deaths.He wore the blame, why?Kirin’s world tilted slightly.He didn’t fall, but something in him did.He felt the sorrow creep up first, slow, heavy, like cold water seeping

Three days.That’s how long Kirin had been out.His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he noticed was the blinding white light above him. His head throbbed. His mouth felt dry. He blinked again, then groaned softly as he sat up.Everything felt stiff, like his body had just been forcibly patched back together.He looked down at his hands and saw that they were bandaged. His chest was bare, also wrapped in cloth. His limbs were bruised but no previous wounds.He checked his arms, his legs, then slowly sat up straighter on the bed.Then the thought hit him, 'Where am I?'The room was quiet and clean, very clean, too clean in fact. He glanced around.Around him were white walls, a wooden cabinet with some glass vials on a shelf. Beds lined the sides of the ward, most empty.He was in the medical ward.A flicker of panic hit his chest.'How did I get here?'“What happened…?”“Calm down,” a voice said from the corner.Kirin turned sharply, his heart racing, but he quickly exhaled whe

Kirin sat still on the bed, eyes locked on his shaking hand. The sting from the black lightning hadn’t faded. The room smelled of burnt wood and smoke. There were cracks along the walls and a hole clean through the door, but none of that bothered him as much as the thought that had just hit him.If his lightning and the unknown power were holding each other back… then what would happen if he was ever forced to use all of his lightning?What would happen if his essence ran dry?What if his lightning lost?He didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to imagine that.He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and exhaled sharply.Just then, the door flung open with a loud bang.Doctor Sid stormed into the room, face red and furious.“What the hell did you do, you lunatic?!” he shouted. “Do you think I built this ward just so you could decorate it with lightning holes? You want to be a demolition expert, join a building crew!”Kirin blinked, still dazed.“You already blasted half the studen

Kirin sat quietly, the letter spread out on the table in front of him after he had squeezed it, he had already read it three times, but the words didn’t change. They weren’t going away. Each sentence sat in his chest like a heavy stone.The Arcanus family was calling him.The elders, and even the head of the family, wanted to meet with him.They had written that they wished to discuss matters regarding his ties to the clan."Ties?" Kirin scoffed under his breath."What ties?"He had been thrown out like garbage. Blamed for a crime he couldn’t remember. Cast aside without trial or explanation. And now, now they were asking for a meeting?He leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the ceiling, but his thoughts were loud and fast.He didn’t know what they wanted. Power? Forgiveness? Control?Whatever it was, it didn’t sit right with him.He looked down again and read the second half of the letter.“A formal escort shall arrive at your academy dorm within two days. You are allowed to brin