The west wing of the school was quiet. Too quiet. On a normal day you'd hear distant chatter bleeding through the walls or the steady thud of a ball from the gym. Now the entire corridor felt stripped of sound, like someone had muted the world.
Axel slowed near the entrance of the old gym. The air around it felt wrong, heavier, as though something unseen was pressing down on everything.
Kade swallowed hard. "It was here. The whole wall shimmered like it was… breathing."
Axel rested his palm on the door. A faint pulse rolled along his skin, like his hand had brushed against a living heartbeat hiding behind the wood.
"It's thinning faster than I expected," Axel muttered.
Kade's fists tightened. "Do you need me to call the others?"
"No. The more people around this place, the more unstable it gets."
Kade didn't argue. He simply nodded, the kind of silent obedience that came from trusting Axel without limits, almost like a knight shadowing a king he'd chosen himself.
Then it happened.
Footsteps approached behind them.
Axel didn't bother turning. He already knew.
"Rin," he said.
Rin froze like a kid caught with stolen snacks. "H-How did you know?"
"You breathe too loudly."
Kade stared at him. "He really followed us…?"
"And Thorngage is closing in too," Axel added. "Tell him I ordered him to stay out of this." Before Rin could blink, Kade vanished like he'd stepped out of existence.
"What kind of speed is that?" Rin whispered.
Before the thirtieth second passed, Kade reappeared, dropping to one knee with his fist on the floor. "My…" He stopped himself, remembering Rin was there. He stood, keeping Axel's earlier conditions in mind.
"Primarch has already left. Should I call the others?"
"The fewer the people, the better," Axel said, turning the doorknob and pushing the gym doors open. "And Rin, it'll be smarter if you walk away now."
Rin inhaled sharply. "I'm not leaving. Not after everything I've seen."
"You saw nothing," Axel replied softly. "And you'll keep it that way. Go."
"He's trying to protect you," Kade warned. "Turn back while you still can."
Rin shook his head. "No. If something this dangerous exists, I want to know."
"Suit yourself," Axel said. "But if anything comes through that crack, you'll die before you understand what killed you."
He stepped inside.
Rin's legs trembled, but stubbornness rooted him in place. "All the more reason to keep going," he told himself under his breath.
Axel sighed, not annoyed, just weary. "You really don't understand what you're choosing."
Before Rin could answer, the gym doors shuddered with a deep, vibrating hum. A thin line of light tore down the middle of the wooden panels, widening like an eyelid peeling open.
Kade stepped back. Rin's heart stumbled.
Axel's eyes sharpened into something cold and deadly.
"Behind me," he said.
Rin obeyed without thinking.
A whisper leaked through the widening crack, soft and slick.
"…Axel…"
Rin felt every hair on him rise.
Kade went still.
Axel didn't flinch. He simply raised his right hand.
A faint star-like glow rippled over his skin, the same cosmic pattern Rin had seen earlier in what he thought was a hallucination.
It hadn't been one.
The doors blew outward with a violent crack. Splinters and dust shot into the hallway.
Axel snapped his fingers.
The incoming shockwave froze in midair, halted inches before touching him, like the world obeyed a command only he could give.
Rin gasped. Kade smiled faintly; it was the first time he'd witnessed Axel's power as a Phantom Creed member.
From the destroyed gym, something stepped out—shrouded in shifting smoke, limbs warped and thin, with eyes glowing like dying embers.
It grinned.
"Found you," the shadow hissed.
Rin's knees almost gave out. "W-What is that?"
"An Aether Shade," Axel said quietly.
Rin whispered, "A… monster?"
"No. A hunter."
The Shade lunged, letting out a screech that made the hallway lights flicker wildly.
Axel moved.
One moment he stood still.
The next, his hand was tightened around its throat.
No aura. No wind. Just impossible speed.
"Go back," Axel said.
The creature thrashed, screeching as invisible pressure crushed the hallway. The walls cracked. Rin and Kade staggered backward even with Axel dampening the force to keep them alive.
Kade knew this pressure. It was the same crushing weight everyone felt the day he awakened.
Light burst from the Shade's body like stars punching through fog. Then it shattered into dust, dissolving into the air.
Rin stared at Axel, breath caught in his lungs.
Axel didn't acknowledge the destruction. No celebration. No pride.
Kade smiled to himself. Axel's strength was the kind he admired but knew he could never reach.
"There will be more," Axel said.
Rin swallowed. "Axel… what are you?"
Axel finally looked over his shoulder.
His eyes weren't human.
And for a split second Rin felt a truth he wished he hadn't.
"Axel shouldn't exist in this world."
Aether Shade dust drifted through the hall like grey snow. Rin watched it scatter, both terrified and unable to look away.
Kade stepped closer to Axel. "That one was weaker than the others."
"A scout," Axel replied. "Testing the barrier."
Rin blinked. "Barrier? There's really something surrounding the school?"
Axel didn't answer. He brushed the remaining dust off his sleeve, more irritated by the mess than the creature.
"We're leaving. Teachers will notice the noise soon."
Kade moved to follow, but Rin raised a hand. "Wait!"
Axel paused. The hallway lights flickered once, twice, then died completely. In the sudden darkness Rin was blind. Axel and Kade weren't.
The drifting dust began swirling together, shapes knitting themselves back into existence.
Glyphs ignited in the darkness, burning white.
"It's forcing a manifestation," Axel said. "A Herald."
The lights stuttered back on.
"Already?" Kade whispered, stepping back.
Rin felt cold spill down his spine. "Is a Herald bad?"
"It's what comes before the real threat," Axel answered.
The lights flickered again. The glyphs kept forming, brighter, sharper.
Axel's mind raced.
"Is this a message? A warning? Or a challenge?"
Rin's breath caught. Something deep inside him shifted, like fate itself was tugging on his life.
He felt… rewritten.
The glowing glyphs hanging in the air pulsed with a low hum. The entire hallway felt like it was vibrating, even though nothing was moving. Rin couldn't look away. The symbols twisted and rearranged themselves as if they were alive.
Kade whispered under his breath, "It's forming a seal…"
Axel didn't respond. His eyes were fixed on the glyphs, but not with surprise. With recognition.
Rin swallowed. "You… you know what those symbols mean?"
"Yes."
"What do they say?"
Axel exhaled slowly. "It's calling me."
Rin went pale. "Calling you? Like… inviting you? Or threatening you?"
"Both."
The hallway temperature began to drop. A breeze curled through the school, carrying a faint metallic scent. Rin hugged his arms, teeth starting to chatter.