The late afternoon sun draped the academy grounds in warm gold, a quiet glow settling over the stone walkways and trimmed fields like a soft blanket. Arios hadn't realized how much he missed this particular hour of the day—when most classes had concluded and the world settled into a slower rhythm, neither rushing forward nor pulling anyone along with it. Just… breathing. Existing.

Lucy walked a step to his right, arms behind her back, her ponytail bouncing lightly with each step. On his left, Liza dragged a wooden skewer of candied fruit through the air like a wand, occasionally pointing at birds as though declaring them guilty of crimes only she understood.

This was normal. And normal was rare at Ironsong Academy.

"Do you think," Liza said as she took a triumphant bite of her fruit, "that the cafeteria auntie is using magic? Because there is no way food tastes that good without some kind of sorcery."

Lucy sighed. "Not everything delicious is a crime, Liza."

"I didn't say it was a crime," Liza replied with mock offense. "I said it should be a crime that we don't get second servings."

Arios almost smiled—almost. He didn't know when it happened, but these little exchanges had become the kind of thing his mind returned to unexpectedly at night, like a warm ember that refused to go out.

They turned past a fountain, where water carved thin arcs of shimmering blue mana into the air. The stone benches circling it were often occupied by studying students, but today only a few first-years practiced quiet spell formations, struggling to make their runes align.

It felt peaceful. A rare state for this academy, and an even rarer one for Class D.

Lucy slowed her pace, glancing at the training fields in the distance. The faint sound of clashing wooden swords echoed from the direction of the dueling arena.

"Tomorrow… they'll announce more details about the final exam," she murmured.

Arios felt her words touch something deep in him—something sharp and attentive. The next exam… the private island… the rumors of students failing out in waves.

"Yes," he replied. "They will."

Liza, having finished her candied fruit and now mourning its death, dusted her fingers. "And when they do, we'll be ready. Because we have Arios. And Lucy. And me. Obviously me." She flicked her hair dramatically, as though an audience of thousands were applauding her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Confidence is good. Delusion, less so."

"It's only delusion if I'm wrong," Liza countered.

A silence followed—not awkward, but thoughtful.

Arios didn't always know how to say what he felt, not in the same easy way they did, but he was learning. Slowly. Carefully.

"Whatever happens," he said quietly, "we face it together."

Lucy looked up. Liza froze mid-dramatic pose.

And both nodded.

They didn't say anything else for a moment. They didn't need to.

A Walk Through the Greenhouse Path

The trio eventually reached the conservatory walkway—the greenhouse corridor students often used when the weather was cold. Vines coated the overhead arches, blooming with noctiluna petals that sparkled faintly even before the moon rose.

Arios slowed, studying a cluster of blue-white blossoms. Mana swirled softly in their cores, pulsing like a heartbeat.

Lucy noticed. "Pretty, aren't they?"

He nodded. "They only bloom when someone with calm mana walks near."

"Oh?" Liza stepped forward proudly, chin high.

The flowers did not bloom.

Lucy covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Liza stared at the petals, betrayed.

"I am calm," Liza said, voice tense. "I am the calmest person alive."

The vines did not respond.

Arios spoke gently. "Maybe it's more about inner stillness."

"I have inner stillness," she insisted. "It's deep. Very deep. Probably too deep for the flowers to detect."

Lucy surrendered to laughter this time, and Arios felt something shift in his chest. A small thing. A fragile thing.

Joy.

Not loud or overwhelming. Just… present.

A Moment by the Water

They reached the academy's small lake—a quiet expanse reflecting the orange-pink sky. Students rarely trained here; it was a place for reflection, not competition.

Liza skipped a pebble across the surface. It bounced twice before sinking.

"That was terrible," Lucy said flatly.

"It was a warmup." Liza tossed another. This one bounced four times.

Arios found himself watching the ripples. The sky shimmered upon the water, fractured but beautiful.

"We've come a long way," Lucy said softly, following his gaze. "Back then… we were barely functioning as a team."

Arios remembered. The suspicion. The unspoken fears. The scars left by betrayals they hadn't chosen.

He also remembered something else:

Pokner's fractured trust gradually mending.

Regulus, despite hatred, beginning to doubt his own certainty.

Damian Ravencroft's warning—that storms were not over.

And yet, here they were. Walking by a quiet lake, talking about cafeteria magic and flowers and skipping stones.

He inhaled slowly. Exhaled even slower.

"We'll make it through the final exam," he said.

Lucy nodded once—sharp, resolute.

Liza threw her arms wide, as though embracing the entire sky. "And after we do, I want ten servings from the cafeteria. I'm manifesting it."

Arios let out a breath that could almost be called a laugh.

On the Walk Back

As the evening bell chimed, they turned toward the dorms. Students were already retreating inside, lights flickering on behind windows.

Lucy walked a little closer than before, her shoulder occasionally brushing his. Liza talked about strategy, though half her ideas involved "ambushing the examiners for bonus points," which was… concerning.

The academy felt safer this way. Not safe, but safer.

Arios glanced at his friends—no, his companions—no… the word surfaced before he could prevent it.

My people.

He walked on.

The sky above Ironsong Academy deepened into a velvet twilight, deep blues washing across the horizon. Stars flickered awake one by one, faint yet steady. The air carried the scent of pine and old stone as Arios walked the arched corridor leading toward the High Council Chamber — a place he had visited only a handful of times, and each visit had marked a turning point.

Tonight would be no different.

Lucy walked at his right, her expression composed, yet with a tension beneath the calm, like a string drawn too tight on a harp. Liza trailed slightly behind, for once not verbally declaring their inevitable greatness or ranting about cafeteria food conspiracies. Even she seemed to understand the gravity of the moment.

At the heavy double doors, two senior guards — cloaked in silver-trimmed navy — inspected the council summons each of them carried. When they read Arios' name, their eyes lingered an extra second before they stepped aside.

The doors opened.

And the room breathed power.

The Council Chamber

The chamber was circular, built from dark polished stone, its center illuminated by suspended orbs of cold blue mana that cast shifting light like reflections beneath deep water. Eleven seats formed the ring, though tonight only seven were filled. Students from top classes, handpicked and relentless.

At the highest seat, presiding like a hawk overlooking a battlefield, sat:

Damian Ravencroft.

Student Council President.

A man whose silence carried more weight than most people's speeches.

His hair was obsidian-black, his eyes a sharp steel gray that missed nothing. If Arios was a blade sharpened through hardship, Damian was a blade forged for war.

"Arios Pureheart," Damian said, not loudly, yet every ear caught it. "Class D's representative. Approach."

Arios stepped forward, Lucy and Liza remaining by the wall among other spectators and aides.

Damian studied him, hands steepled. "The final exam is upon us. By ordinance of the Academy Charter, students will travel to Isla Nocturna — a territory designated for high-threat assessment. You understand the implications."

Arios nodded once. "Yes."

Another council member — Seraphine Vale of Class A, silver-haired and sharp-tongued — leaned forward.

"The island changes every decade, adapting its mana ecosystem. We still don't know the full state of its current cycle. You and your class will be entering what may be an unstable territory."

"Unstable," Liza muttered from the sidelines, "is council vocabulary for monsters and death."

Lucy shushed her.

Damian did not look away from Arios.

"Class D's performance has improved," he said. "Considerably. Some might call it remarkable. A few—" his gaze sharpened, "—might call it suspicious."

A murmur passed across the chamber. Arios held his expression steady.

Damian continued:

"But we deal in evidence, not superstition. And this exam will determine whether Class D remains within the Academy or falls into historical footnote."

Lucy released a quiet breath. Liza clenched a fist, eyes narrowed.

Seraphine conjured a glowing map above the table showing an island shrouded in dense forest, rivers threading through like veins, mountains rising jagged and dark.

"The exam scoring rubric will be issued at departure," she said. "However, consider these known elements:

Points earned through exploration and subjugation

Relics buried within marked sites, if you survive retrieving them

Team integrity — lose too many members, lose all qualification

Rogue mana zones — unpredictable, lethal, avoid if possible

Tampering is suspected. We do not yet know by whom.

A flicker of concern moved through a few council members at the last line.

Arios caught it. So did Damian.

The president tapped a finger once against the desk. "There are forces that would prefer Ironsong's power remain fractured. Do not underestimate the possibility of outside interference. Or internal."

Arios felt a chill slip between his ribs. Internal sabotage. Again.

Lucy's gaze went to him—unspoken understanding passing between them.

Liza muttered, "If Regulus shows up to cause problems, I swear on every cafeteria pastry—"

"Liza," Lucy whispered, "focus."

"I am focused. I'm focused on justice."

Damian dismissed the projection. "Arios."

"Yes."

"You've faced illusions, entrapment, assassination attempts, and the consequences of others' sins. Yet your class stands."

A pause.

"This island will test more than strength. It will test resolve, trust, and conviction."

Arios spoke, voice low but clear:

"We won't break."

Damian's eyes narrowed slightly — approval? Calculation? Something between them.

"See that you don't," he replied. "This academy has need of those who endure."

The words hung in the air like a verdict.

The session adjourned.

Outside, the corridor was cooler. Quieter. The hall torches hummed with soft flame-mana.

Lucy stepped closer. "That was… intense."

Liza popped a piece of mint candy into her mouth. "The president definitely knows something. Did you see his face? That man is a walking chessboard."

Arios didn't answer immediately. His thoughts were still on Damian's words.

Internal interference. Unstable territory. Class D on the brink.

And beneath it all, a familiar sensation:

Eyes watching.

They began walking back toward the dorms, their steps echoing across empty stone.

Lucy looked at him carefully. "You're thinking about it again."

"Yes."

"The island?" she asked.

"And what waits there," he replied.

Liza walked backwards in front of them, arms folded. "Well, whatever waits, we'll punch it, stab it, zap it, or run from it. Preferably the first three."

Arios almost smiled.

Almost.

They reached the courtyard. The moon had risen now, white and watchful. The academy towers stretched upward like spears aimed at the heavens.

Arios paused, looking out across the training grounds, the dorm lights, the dark treeline beyond the walls.

This place had changed him.

Broken him.

Reforged him.

And tomorrow, their path would carry them away from its stone walls and into an island of shifting dangers and unseen puppeteers.

Lucy touched his sleeve gently. "Rest tonight, Arios. We'll need our strength."

Liza yawned loudly. "I'm already resting. In spirit."

Arios exhaled.

The exam was no longer just a test.

It was a battlefield.

A threshold.

A beginning.

"We move forward," he said.

Together, they returned to the dorms.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.