Rumors spread faster than fire in a forest.
They slipped through the city in fragments—between merchants counting coin, guards leaning on spears, and children huddled at street corners trading stories too thrilling to be real.
"They say a man stopped a robbery without casting a single spell.""No, it was a beast—a blue-eyed wolf that attacked first.""I heard his weapon glowed, even when he didn't strike."
By midday, the story had changed three times.
In a crowded tavern near the east gate, tankards slammed against scarred wood as voices rose over the din. A trader leaned close, lowering his voice. "Swear on my coin, I saw the girl after. Shaken, but untouched. Said he didn't even raise his voice."
A guard scoffed. "Everyone's a hero in a story. Probably just another sellsword."
"Then explain the dog," another man cut in. "Husky, white as frost, eyes like frozen glass. It stared down two men twice its size. They ran."
At the academy, whispers crept through stone halls like ivy.
Students paused mid-step when Kaito passed, their conversations dying abruptly. Some stared at the spear. Others at the husky padding silently beside him. Dex's presence alone seemed to sharpen the air.
"Is it true?""They say he doesn't need magic.""That dog isn't normal."
Aria heard it all.
She stood near the balcony overlooking the lower courtyard, arms folded, listening without looking. Every retelling stripped something away and added something else—until the truth was barely recognizable.
No flames, she noted. No loss of control.
That bothered her more than the stories that claimed otherwise.
Kaito, for his part, said nothing.
He moved through the academy as he always had—hood up, spear secured, Dex at his side. The husky ignored the attention entirely, eyes scanning, alert, loyal.
But not everyone dismissed the rumors.
Far beyond the city walls, in a place where stone met frost and shadow clung to the ground, a hooded figure listened to a messenger kneel and speak.
"A man and a beast," the messenger said. "No magic witnessed. Weapon unknown. Dog with icy eyes."
The hooded figure smiled faintly.
"Find him," they said. "Anyone who can act without revealing their power is far more dangerous than one who cannot."
Back in the city, Kaito paused at the edge of the training grounds. Dex sat beside him, tail still.
"They're talking," Kaito murmured.
Dex looked up, eyes reflecting the sky.
"Yes," Kaito continued quietly. "That means we are getting popular." Kaito chuckles.
The wind carried the whispers onward, shaping them into something sharper, something heavier. Heroes, monsters, guardians—names formed long before truth ever could.