Arcadia Academy – Duel Grounds, NoonThe sun beat down hard, hot and heavy, like it was watching.A crowd was already gathering, voices low and full of tension.Kai pulled at the sleeve of his training tunic and stepped into the ring. Across from him stood Cyrus—Class A’s star student, his hair tied neatly, his green eyes sharp and steady.Just before Kai could move away, Lina grabbed his arm.“You don’t have to do this,” she said softly.He looked at her. Calm and quiet. “He called me out”…“It’s a trap.”He smirked faintly. “I know.”⸻Earlier that Morning – Class E HallCyrus had arrived unannounced. Calm, elegant, and deeply unsettling.“Trial matches are open this week,” he’d said, voice smooth as silk over a knife’s edge. “I’m requesting a public duel. With Kai.”The room fell into stunned silence.“You sure you want that?” someone muttered.Cyrus tilted his head. “Absolutely.”Kai had stood slowly. “What’s your angle?”Cyrus smiled. “You’ll find out.”⸻Back to the Duel Grounds

Arcadia Academy, Central HallThe halls buzzed.Kai didn’t need to listen to know what they were saying. He could feel it. Like static in the air. Heads turned, eyes narrowed, voices dipped just enough to pretend they weren’t talking about him. But they were.“That was Tyrant magic.”“He redirected flame—like he’s done it a thousand times.”“Is he… reincarnated?”He moved through the crowd like he was walking upstream. Shoulders square. Face unreadable. But inside, his thoughts were loud.They’d seen too much.And worse… so had he.He hadn’t meant to use Rafe’s move. It had slipped from his body like instinct. A twitch. A reflex. And yet it fit him like it belonged.That scared him more than anything.At their usual table, Lina sat with Mae and Alen, watching Kai’s slow approach. Something in her had changed since last night. She didn’t know what, only that it was heavier than before.“Kai,” she said softly as he sat beside her.He didn’t answer.Mae looked around. “People are treatin

Three Days Later – Arcadia Academy, East Wing Kai could feel it. Not just the stares anymore. Something more precise. More practiced. Eyes followed him wherever he went. Not openly—but just long enough. Just subtle enough. He’d catch the flick of a head turning when he entered a hall. The sound of footsteps that always stopped when he stopped. The breath behind him when he walked alone. The Circle was watching. And they weren’t being careful anymore. At first, he thought it was paranoia. The aftereffects of the memory vision. But by the second day, he was sure. On the third, he started testing it. A quick turn in the courtyard. A pause mid-staircase. Every time, someone vanished just out of view. They were following him. Or—someone was. ———- Potions Lab Professor Lin spoke in long, droning tones about “the delicate balance of alchemical threads,” but Kai barely heard her. He pretended to copy notes, his gaze fixed on the back of the room—where a girl from Class

Arcadia Academy – Training Grounds, MorningThe dueling field shimmered under morning light, its runes pulsing faintly as professors and students filed into the stands. Dueling season had begun. Promotions. Demotions. Power plays. Everything that made Arcadia what it was—a place where status meant survival.Kai stood at the edge of the arena, arms crossed, eyes locked on the ground as whispers rippled through the crowd.“That’s the guy who redirected flame in Class E…”“I heard he’s a Tyrant reincarnated.”“Why is he being considered for promotion? Shouldn’t he be in chains?”Lina sat tensely in the second row with Mae and Alen beside her. Her gaze never left Kai.Professor Merin raised a hand, his voice magically amplified. “Class E student Kai has been offered a Rank Challenge. He may duel any opponent within his tier or lower for a chance to rise.”Another professor leaned in. “Strange. Class E never gets early duels.”“Stranger still—he didn’t request it. Someone nominated him.”K

Arcadia Academy, Abandoned Practice HallKai stood beneath the cracked dome of the old hall, the moonlight slanting through broken glass like ghost fingers. Dust floated in the air, undisturbed for years—until now.He had the grimoire clutched in one hand, pages fluttering wildly in an unnatural breeze. In his other hand, a piece of flint hovered above a pile of parchment—Rafe’s spells. Torn from the book’s binding. Each one humming with power and menace. Each one a piece of the monster he’d once been.The memory of what he’d seen still clung to him: the spell that should have saved him sabotaged, twisted, poisoned by another’s hand.Someone from the Circle had betrayed Rafe.But who?And more importantly—why?“I need answers,” Kai muttered, his eyes scanning the spells again. “Not ghosts.”But the grimoire whispered louder the longer he stared.“Dominate. Conquer. Rule.”Three words etched into one page glowed faintly.They were beautiful spells. Perfectly crafted. Efficient. Brutal.