The morning light spilled over the courtyards of Veyl Academy, soft and golden, making the banners ripple gently in the breeze. Students were already gathering at the mess hall, trays clattering, voices filling the space with laughter.

Khael walked alongside Ceyla, trying to look calm even though his throat felt tight.

"Why are we here?" Ceyla asked, crossing her arms. Her tone was sharp, but there was no real bite to it.

Khael smiled faintly. "Let's eat as Team 9. It seems like Juno can't accompany us since he's busy with his siblings at home." He chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ceyla scoffed, turning her head away. "Hmmm."

But her thoughts betrayed her composure.

(Me and Khael only? Is this… a date? No, no, no… idiot, stop thinking that! Khael is just like that… he's kind. This idiot…!)

A blush crept across her cheeks as she shook her head quickly, trying to rid herself of the idea.

Khael, meanwhile, stared at her back as she shook her head. His stomach twisted.

(Is she angry that I invited her? Is she uncomfortable? Damn… maybe I shouldn't have pushed it.)

He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.

"What are we waiting here for?" Ceyla asked impatiently, eyes flicking toward him.

Khael snapped out of his spiral. "Uh—yeah, let's go."

They walked together through the academy halls, the smell of roasted meat and warm bread wafting toward them. Ceyla kept her arms folded, pretending she wasn't flustered, while Khael kept stealing glances at her, wrestling with his own thoughts.

(This is my chance to get closer to her. After all, I don't want her to become a villain… not in this timeline. I want her to be her. The real Ceyla. The one who fights beside us, not against us.)

He clenched his fists lightly.

(Let's bond with her… we've already fought together, bled together as a team. We've talked through missions. This should be easy, right? Right, Khael? You can do this… just don't screw it up.)

They entered the mess hall, sunlight catching the long wooden tables where groups of rookies were already seated, joking and eating noisily. The warmth of the room contrasted with the cold shadow pressing on Khael's mind—he knew what was coming, what was lurking just beyond these peaceful days.

Ceyla sat down, leaning her chin on her hand as if she was too bored to care. Khael sat across from her, forcing himself to relax.

But before he could say anything, the floor shook.

It was subtle at first a faint tremor, the clink of cups rattling against wooden tables. A few students laughed nervously, thinking it was nothing.

Then, the tremor grew into a violent quake. Plates fell, bread scattered, cups rolled across the floor. Screams erupted.

Outside, the sky darkened unnaturally, clouds swirling into a storm that seemed to devour the sun itself.

Khael's eyes widened. His heart sank.

(No… it's too soon. It wasn't supposed to happen yet. Not today… not now.)

The air split open with a sound like tearing metal. From the horizon, shadows writhed and a figure stepped through, towering and oppressive.

The students froze. Some cried out. Others simply couldn't move.

Someone had arrived.

The mess hall roared with panic. Students tripped over benches, some clutching each other, others frozen in terror as the storm outside thickened, pressing against the academy walls like a living thing.

Khael pushed up from his seat, hand slamming against the table to steady himself.

"Ceyla… run. Help the others." His voice cut through the chaos, low but sharp, commanding.

Ceyla's head snapped toward him, her storm-gray eyes narrowing. "Why?"

The ground shook again, dust sifting down from the rafters. Khael's gaze didn't leave the horizon those writhing shadows, that colossal figure pressing through the veil of reality itself.

"Something is coming."

Ceyla's fists tightened. "No. I won't run. I won't leave you."

Khael turned, finally meeting her eyes. His face was grave, all traces of boyish awkwardness gone. His normal eyes turned orange-dragon eyes burned with a fire that wasn't entirely human.

"Trust me. Help the rookies—get them out. Keep them alive. That's your fight right now."

Her heart thudded in her chest. She wanted to argue, to throw herself into whatever madness was about to unfold but she saw the way he looked at her. Not pleading. Not afraid. Serious. Unshakable.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, voice sharp but trembling at the edges.

Khael exhaled slowly, lips curving into the faintest shadow of a smile. "A plan."

Ceyla froze. He wasn't joking. That wasn't false bravado. He had something.

Her jaw clenched, and she leaned closer, her voice a growl. "Okay. I know you have a plan. Just don't die—or I'll kill you myself."

Khael gave a small nod. "Deal."

Ceyla's stormy eyes lingered on him for a second longer before she spun away, shouting at the rookies. Her voice cracked through the fear as she barked orders, pulling them into a line, dragging the panicked ones to their feet.

Khael stood alone now.

His hand pressed against the ground, feeling the pulse of Shinrei in the academy's veins. His mind raced back to Shigeo's words, his lazy genius motto echoing in memory:

"What a complicated world… simplify it. Arrays don't need to be grand. They just need to be clever."

Khael closed his eyes, steadying his breath.

(Let's open the array… inspired by Shigeo's method. A trap for sins. A cage of wind and dragon fire.)

When he opened them again, glowing lines of orange and green spread across the floor like a living map, circling the mess hall, spiraling outward toward the courtyard.

Outside, the towering shadow took its first step into Elysera.

The invasion had begun.

The academy groaned like a wounded beast. The walls rattled, lanterns swung wildly from the ceiling, and the air itself hummed with a pressure that made it hard to breathe.

Students screamed and shoved each other in panic as the floor split in places, thin black cracks leaking whispers of Void.

Shigeo stood with his hands in his pockets, expression flat, though his sharp eyes tracked every tremor, every flicker of shadow. Beside him, Saya's braid whipped as the air shook.

From the far end of the hall, a creature slithered in, a twisted silhouette with too many limbs and a mask-like face split down the middle. A Voidborn.

A rookie shrieked and fell back, but before the creature could pounce

CRACK!

Shigeo stepped forward lazily, his hand flicking like it was nothing. A surge of lightning-storm Shinrei pierced the Voidborn, splitting its mask in two. The creature howled, convulsed, and dissolved into black mist.

He exhaled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Tsk… what's going on…"

Saya's eyes narrowed, her hands clutching her chest as if she could feel something beneath her skin. "Shigeo… I feel a strong presence. Outside. Stronger than anything I've ever felt."

Shigeo tilted his head, almost annoyed. "Yeah. I know…"

To be continue