Five minutes thirty seconds. Ragnar's heart was pounding erratically. He'd ran all the way from Eternal heaven court, not daring to catch his breath. Nearly had a heart attack twice when he almost collided with night patrols. He had been moving too fast and didn't see them. Moments he'd nearly collided into wards and alarm systems, and barely saved himself using swift moves like shifting his upper body in another direction. Currently, he was in Emerald lake, just beneath the old stairs of the side entrance. He quickly typed on his phone. “Open the door. I'm inside the lodge.”Five minutes forty seconds gone. He had to climb two flights of stairs and enter the room within twenty seconds. That was assuming Thane was currently holding his phone in his hand. His chest was too tight for comfort, lungs burning, throat parched and dry. Sure his physical strength had improved, but he didn't have much spirit energy stored up. He was doing all these with normal human power, which was never s

Vonn dragged in a ragged breath, his chest bubbled and he bit down on his tongue. If he laughed the show would be over. Instead he focused on counting how many minutes had passed. Back to the evidence. Ragnar's back had finger scratches, a bite mark on his shoulder. Thane’s arm was tightly wrapped around him, their chests touching, clothes on the floor. The guards and inspectors instinctively looked away. The inspector swallowed the lump in his throat, then looked again, as if trying to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. Vonn quickly blocked them, arms outstretched. “It's definitely not what you think.”Seeing curious students about to enter too, he rushed to push them back and locked the door. The guards were transfixed, not even knowing what to say or do. The inspector looked at Vonn. Vonn looked away, avoiding his eyes. Vonn tapped Thane slightly. Eight minutes had passed, Ragnar should be waking up. “Vonn, get out. I'm exhausted.” He mumbled sleepily, arm tightening a

Thane’s boots whispered against cold stone as he paced. Three chimes of the calling bell had already bled through the window, each one heavier than the last, and Ragnar still hadn’t opened his eyes. Steam curled from trolley after trolley of food the chefs had brought, dishes thick with condensed spiritual energy, rare herbs, beast meat that cost more than most families saw in a year. The aroma should’ve made him salivate. Instead, his throat tightened. Eating without knowing if Ragnar would even survive felt like betrayal.“After everything we burned for this,” Vonn hissed from the bed, voice frayed at the edges, “you better not bomb this tournament.” He slammed a fist into the mattress. “Why does everything turn to knives when you’re involved, Ragnar?”Thane flicked him a side-eye and kept walking. He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Because the ugly truth was he agreed. If Ragnar couldn’t stand nor fight, then every sleepless night, and compromise they’d swallowed would worth less than

Ragnar’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. He could already guess what it was but he simply couldn't walk up to someone and start making blatant accusations now could he? “Yo! Isn't this our celebrity gay couple?” Someone asked loudly, approaching the three of them.“Gay couple?” Thane's face went pale, his chest tightening. His brain worked fast, trying to understand where things went wrong. Vonn had locked the door, making sure no students entered, or saw something that might be used to spread rumors. Was it the guards? Did they intentionally leak this incident so that students will deal with them since they themselves were unable to do anything? The boy's loud words made more people attracted to the commotion. Ragnar’s eyes focused on him. It was Cypher Rothmere, a member of Thane's Rothmere family. However, he was from one of the side branches, not a real Rothmere. [Side branches are often impure bloodline made up of kids of illegitimate ancestry, children born from alliance with

Ragnar froze, same with others. His eyes narrowed. “What is this gangster about to do?” Thane muttered behind him. Apparently, Ragnar wasn't the only one with a bad feeling about this. People began to whisper. Professor’s eyes narrowed. Every of the twenty one officials on the stage turned towards them. Some of them were already turning colder, eyes hardening. A gray haired professor who was among the referee panel crossed his hand behind his back, lips pressed together into a thin line. “Martial arts is sacred, and a powerful test of strength. This tournament doesn't just determine your future but that of many others. Fairness is the first milestone. If anyone is caught cheating or breaking the martial rules or the school’s contest rules, they wouldn't just be punished, they might be forever banned from joining future tournaments or academy missions.”Ragnar exhaled and waited to hear what Kelvin would say. The old professor turned to Kelvin, brows drawn together in a strict frown