Lindy and Randal stayed with Damian after Sarah left.

"How are you holding up?" Lindy asked. "I can't imagine what you went through in that cell."

Damian was honest. "The worst part was the boredom and being alone, but other than that, it wasn't too bad. Luckily, I was only in there for a few days… Still, why did it take so long for you to get me out?"

"It wasn't easy convincing Sarah to help," Lindy explained. "Without her ability, we had no way to prove you were telling the truth. All the evidence was stacked against you."

The headmaster—and everyone else involved, including the librarian and one of the officers—had thought of everything to make sure Damian couldn't defend himself.The only reason he escaped that setup was because of Mitra. The fact that she had woken up that night was what saved him.

Speaking of her, she was right there with him. Mitra hugged him tightly. "I don't care if this comes back to hurt me. I'm just glad I could save you."

But that hug marked her as an enemy too. By siding with Lindy and Damian, Mitra had placed herself on the wrong side of the headmaster's faction.

On the other hand, they had gained a new ally: Randal. He didn't say much, not in public, but from the way he acted it was clear he was standing with Lindy now.

Later, the entire academy gathered in the courtyard where the headmaster stood on a raised platform. He did everything he could to clear Damian's name and make sure he was officially out of trouble.

Most of the students accepted it, and the anger toward Damian faded—many of them had hated him, believing he was some kind of infiltrator sent to harm the academy. After the announcement, the blame shifted entirely to the headmaster. He became the new target of their frustration.

"And how are we supposed to feel safe here?" one of the recruits shouted. "If this almost happened to him, what's stopping it from happening to us?"

That was the thought weighing on everyone's mind. If Damian could almost be destroyed by false accusations, then none of them were safe.

The headmaster had to answer question after question, trying to calm the crowd. Damian could tell he was getting angry beneath the surface, but the man did his best to keep it hidden.

Back with Lindy, Damian asked quietly, "So what now? Do you think they'll try to set me up again?"

"Not for now," Lindy said. "Sarah can project Mitra's memory online for everyone to see. If she does that, the headmaster's reputation will collapse and he'll lose his position."

"Then why doesn't she just do it?" Damian asked.

If they already knew the headmaster was behind it, wouldn't it be better to expose him now and let someone else take over?

"It's not that simple to replace a headmaster," Lindy explained. "But just the fact that she has that memory gives us leverage. It should buy us time—maybe a month of peace. In that time, we need to dig deeper, find more, and figure out a way to protect ourselves."

If Sarah revealed those memories, the headmaster would eventually lose his position—but not overnight. It would take time, and the process would drag on.

During that time, he would only grow more desperate, pushing things faster and making one last attempt to crush Lindy and Damian. It wasn't worth the risk.

Later, Damian headed to the cafeteria to finally get a decent meal. After spending so long in that cell, forced to eat the same food as the other prisoners, he needed something better.

Inside the cafeteria, eyes followed him everywhere. The students couldn't stop staring.

Curt hadn't managed to see him during the trial, but now, with everything over, he came to sit with him. Mitra joined them as well.

"To be honest," Curt admitted, "I didn't think you actually saw something that night, Mitra. But when Damian got accused, I knew it had to be the person you saw out there."

Mitra wasn't angry with him for not believing her before. It was hard to expect anyone to accept something like that without proof.

"Now we're targets too," Mitra told Curt. "How does that feel?"

"Honestly? I'm fine with it. No way I'd let one of my only friends rot in prison for something he didn't do. But… I don't know what happens next."

Despite his words, Curt was afraid. He wanted to stay at the academy, to study, to grow stronger.

Getting into this place hadn't been easy, and he didn't want to lose it.

But there was no way of knowing what would happen now.

Everything was about to change.

"Lindy told me we'll have some time of peace. During that time, we need to uncover more about what's really happening in this academy," Damian whispered. "I hope you two can help me."

"Of course we will. We're all in the same boat now," Mitra replied.

The three of them talked while Damian ate, then he finally returned to his room to rest somewhere decent.

The next day, classes would resume, and he wanted to be in better shape.

The moment he hit the bed, Damian was out—sleeping like a rock.

After so many days on the cold, damp cell floor, it felt like pure bliss.

The next morning, Mitra had to wake him.

"Try not to oversleep," she said. "Curt and I are heading to breakfast. Meet us there."

It took Damian a while to drag himself up. Deep down, he didn't want to, but after everything that had happened, he hadn't been given a single day off.

In fact, he was already behind—he'd missed several days of classes.

He hadn't lost much in the morning lectures, since those were Lindy's, but the afternoon ones… he'd fallen far behind.

Still, he forced himself to get ready. After washing his face and fixing himself up a little, he made his way toward breakfast to join his friends.

But the moment he stepped out of the dormitory, someone grabbed him by the arm.It was Randal.

He pulled Damian aside, around the back of the building.

"No cameras here," Randal said. "We can talk without drawing attention."

Even though they had spoken a little before, Damian still didn't fully trust Randal. From the very moment they met, Randal had treated him harshly, and it wouldn't be easy to shake off that feeling.

"First, I want to explain why I acted that way toward you," Randal said.

Damian was caught off guard. That was something he had wanted to know for a long time.

"You remember the officer who handled your entrance exam for the academy?" Randal asked.

Damian's mind flashed back to that day—the officer he had knocked down during the test.

"He's a friend of mine. He told me you had shown real talent after taking him down. That's why I treated you the way I did. I was testing the waters, to see if you truly had potential."

It wasn't what Damian had expected to hear.

"So you acted like that just to see if I could endure it?" Damian asked. "And when did you change your mind? Was it after talking to Lindy?"

"Actually, it was after that trial in the forest. I watched you fight, and for a new recruit, your skill was honestly impressive."

"Oh?" Damian raised an eyebrow.

Randal hadn't pulled him aside just for an apology. He went on, saying he had spoken with Lindy and heard everything she had shared with him. She had told him quite a lot.

"I'd noticed there was something strange going on in this academy too," Randal admitted. "But I never had proof, and I never dared to dig deeper. Now, things are different. Now I want to help."

"Anyway, we'll talk more another time. Staying here too long will draw attention. Leave first, and don't tell anyone we spoke," Randal said.

Damian did as instructed. He left and went to meet Mitra and Curt for breakfast. By the time he arrived, the two of them were nearly finished.

They didn't complain—both knew Damian was exhausted, and that was the reason he had taken so long to show up. They chatted briefly before each of them went their own way.

Damian headed to Lindy's research room. She was already waiting for him when he arrived.

Sitting on the couch, Lindy said, "We need to start being bolder. What do you think about trying to infiltrate the underground tonight?"

Caught off guard, Damian replied, "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I was just rescued yesterday."

"It's the perfect time. They won't expect us to make a move so soon," Lindy said. "Randal will help us. This time, we won't be alone."

Her mind was already made up. There was nothing Damian could do but follow along.

"Well, if that's what you want," he said, "but how exactly are we supposed to break into the underground?"

Smiling, Lindy answered, "We'll put together a plan today. Sit here with me."

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