Morning settled over Hachi Academy with a quiet heaviness, the kind that hung in the air before a storm—not the weather kind, but the kind made of nerves and expectation. Students walked the inner courtyards with mixed energy: some half-asleep, others too tense to speak, all of them aware that evaluation cycles had begun.
Orin stepped out of his dormitory with Wake and Starke at his sides. The door closed behind them with a solid wooden click. The breeze carried the faint scent of beast-steel dust drifting from early drills. It reminded him he wasn't a wanderer anymore. He wasn't a bystander to other people's hunts.
He was here, at Hachi.
And today, he would be measured.
Kahn-Ra padded silently beside him, the chosen bobcat form appearing unassuming until one looked into his eyes. Students did look. Some stared too long before quickly turning away. Others whispered the second Orin passed them.
"That's no normal cat…""It watches you like it understands everything.""What even is that thing?"
Kahn-Ra didn't react except for a single twitch of his tail—just enough to quiet three first-years at once.
Wake smirked. "He loves messing with people."
"He's not doing anything," Orin said.
A voice slid into his mind like warm smoke over cold stone.I need not 'do' anything. Their instincts speak truth before they understand it.
Orin didn't respond.
They walked through the tall crescent arch—its carvings of ancient Monari glowing faintly with leftover Radiance. The warmth brushed over Orin's skin. Starke hissed and rubbed his arms.
"That arch is too hot. Absolutely too hot."
"It's literally ambient Radiance," Wake said.
"It feels like fever ambient Radiance," Starke grumbled.
Kahn-Ra's dry thought drifted across Orin's mind.Your companions are remarkably expressive for simple observations.
"They're nervous," Orin answered mentally.
Nerves can sharpen instinct, Kahn-Ra replied. Or dull it.
Wake raised a hand as they reached the eastern path. "Alright. Reminder: you're the only one getting evaluated. We're just moral support."
Starke saluted dramatically. "We will cheer. We will clap. We will cry if necessary."
Kahn-Ra looked at him.
Starke lowered the salute. "…We will mostly be quiet."
The evaluation yard gate came into view—heavy shard-wood reinforced with beast-steel plates, each carved with a runic web that shimmered like heat mirage. A single Elite guard stood watch, spear tipped with a honed Cragspike Raptor talon.
As the group approached, the guard nodded. "Name for evaluation?"
"Orin Slain," Wake answered before Orin could.
The guard checked his roster. "You two are observers?"
"Yes, sir," Wake said.
Starke nodded emphatically. "Yes. Absolutely. Strictly observing. Probably whispering encouraging things."
Kahn-Ra moved forward, his golden eyes locking on the guard.
The guard stiffened. "…And you brought that creature again."
Orin wasn't thrown off. "He stays with me."
The guard began to argue, but stopped the moment Kahn-Ra blinked slowly, gaze unbroken.
"…Very well," the guard muttered. "General Lox will decide."
The gate creaked open.
Wake's hand hovered near Orin's back. "You got this. Don't overthink it."
"I'm not," Orin lied.
Kahn-Ra brushed his thoughts with calm control.You will act. Not react. Remember that.
The evaluation yard absorbed their footsteps with beast-steel sand. Shard-wood pillars circled the arena—slashed, gouged, battered by decades of training. Some marks were too deep for any normal weapon. Orin recognized the signature patterns from beasts Sonny once described during hunts.
General Lox waited near the central pillar.
Wake straightened.
Starke stopped fidgeting.
Kahn-Ra sat with regal stillness.
Lox nodded once as they approached. "Slain. Ashfall. Starke."
His eyes shifted to Kahn-Ra.
"And you brought your… companion again."He dipped his head in a small, almost respectful nod toward Kahn-Ra."Very well. He behaved last time. No interference."
Orin swallowed and bowed slightly. "Understood, sir."
Kahn-Ra's mental tone sharpened in dry offense.Behaved implies restraint rather than choice.
"Please," Orin replied silently. "Not now."
Lox clasped his hands behind his back. "Ashfall, Starke—observe from the sideline. Speak only if spoken to. Move only if I command it."
Wake nodded. "Yes, sir."
Starke nodded too hard. "Absolutely—100%—no interfering."
Kahn-Ra's eyes cut toward them.
Starke whispered, "We probably will interfere…"
Wake whispered back, "Obviously."
Orin took his place at the center.
At the northern archway, footsteps approached.
Instructor Draeve entered the yard—broad, scarred, gauntlets heavy with embedded Monari fragments. His presence hit like heat off a forge, tangible even from a distance. Jagged scars ran across his armor—deep ones, the kind earned fighting creatures most people never lived to describe.
Wake muttered, "Oh, come on…"
Starke sagged. "Why him?!"
Kahn-Ra's mind-voice dropped low and cold.This one has slain many Monari. His aura remembers violence.
Draeve stopped in front of Orin, looking him up and down. "So you're the one causing chatter."
Orin didn't answer.
Lox spoke. "You will evaluate Orin Slain only."
Draeve smirked. "Good. Group work irritates me."
He rolled his shoulders. "Test one: durability and reflex."
Orin braced.
Draeve vanished.
Air displaced behind Orin—NO sound,NO warning—only Kahn-Ra's lightning-sharp command:
RIGHT—NOW.
Orin twisted as a gauntleted fist slammed toward his ribs. He deflected a fraction of the impact with his arm, but the shock still rattled him. He staggered, breath forced from his lungs.
Wake moved—Starke shouted—but Lox barked, "OBSERVE!"
Draeve circled casually. "You blocked. Not well. But not terribly."
Pain pulsed across Orin's ribs. He forced breath back into his lungs.
Kahn-Ra spoke in razor clarity.He carries fragments of a Howlcliff Gorilla in those gauntlets. Shock spreads beneath muscle. Brace from the spine. Do not meet his weight directly.
"Got it," Orin answered silently.
"Test two," Draeve said. "Instinct."
He vanished again.
Orin's senses sharpened—the breeze,the sand shifting lightly behind him—and Kahn-Ra's next command hit like a hammer:
LOW.
Orin dropped.
A sweeping kick sliced the air where his head had been.
He rolled forward, springing to his feet and slashing upward with his cleaver. Draeve caught the blade in his palm—gauntlet screeching—but his footing slipped half a step.
Wake's eyes widened. Starke's jaw dropped.
Draeve grinned. "There it is."
He pressed forward again, quicker this time. Orin dodged, pivoted, redirected.
The world blurred between instinct and memory.
Kahn-Ra's voice cut through each second.Left shoulder. Back foot. Drop weight. Counter.
Orin moved—not perfectly, not calmly—but with a new sharpness.
Wake's fists clenched as he watched.Starke held his breath.Lox's eyes narrowed in interest.
Finally, Draeve raised a hand. "Enough."
Orin's chest heaved. Sweat trickled down his jaw. His ribs throbbed like fire, but he stood tall.
Wake hurried to his side. "You okay?"
"Later," Orin whispered.
Draeve studied him. "Unstable. Unpolished. Sloppy footwork."
Wake glared.
Starke muttered, "Rude…"
Then Draeve added, "But your instincts? Rare. Very rare."
He stepped closer, voice lower. "Your eyes changed mid-fight. Not human. Not beast. Something in between."
Orin's breath caught.
Kahn-Ra went silent but not absent.
Draeve continued. "You remind me of Blood Hunters infused with Diamond-class Monari blood."
Wake's head whipped around.
Starke made a noise like a dying kettle.
Orin's pulse spiked.
Kahn-Ra finally murmured:He sees your shadow, not your truth.
Draeve stepped back. "With discipline, you'll be dangerous. With failure…"He shrugged. "We'll bury you outside the walls."
Lox nodded once. "Evaluation complete."
Orin tried to steady his breathing.
"Slain," Lox continued, "you pass your initial assessment. Mid-tier training begins tomorrow."
Wake exhaled in relief.
Starke collapsed to the ground. "My heart… I lost my heart somewhere during that."
Kahn-Ra stepped lightly around Starke's sprawled form.He is dramatic. But loyal.
Orin stared at the sand beneath his feet.
Not fear.Not pride.
Just understanding—that he had stepped onto a path he could not walk backward.
Kahn-Ra nudged his mind gently.
You grow. Growth invites trials. But you will not meet them alone.
Orin nodded.
He didn't know what tomorrow would look like.
But for the first time since the forest, he wasn't afraid of the next step.