Silence spread across the academy at night.
The halls that were loud during the day were now empty and quiet. Moonlight slid through the tall windows forming silver lines on the floor.
The sky outside still glowed faintly with fractures and cracks. Cool breeze blew across the courtyard. Leaves fell from the trees. Birds rested in their nest.
Inside the quarters, most of the recruits were already asleep.
Some sat in a group and talked about training practice.
Kaen lay in his bed breathing softly. His blanket was pulled halfway up his chest. His face looked peaceful, but his body did not.
His eyebrows tightened, his fingers moved on their own holding the blanket, and his breathing changed, like he was having a nightmare.
It didn't look like normal sleep. It looked like he was fighting someone.
Down the hallway, quiet footsteps moved closer.
It was Riku.
She held a small cup of warm tea in her hand, but she wasn't thinking about it anymore. She was worried about Kaen all evening; he was struggling not just with training but himself, as if something was holding him back.
Something was changing in him. Something she didn't understand.
She stood beside her room, and the room was already open. She hesitated then slowly stepped inside.
There she saw Draxion sitting on his bed, reading a book. Kaen was sleeping beside him.
"Hi, Riku, what brings you here at these hours?" Draxion muttered.
"Nothing just worried about Kaen as he was struggling the entire day with his practice."
"Yeah, he is pretty much struggling while maintaining balance."
Riku sat on the bed beside Kaen.
Silence spread across the room.
Draxion broke the silence," I am going to visit the library, you will be staying here tonight?"
"No I will leave after some time," Riku whispered.
"Okay, then see you tomorrow." Draxion spoke.
Draxion left the room closing the door.
Kaen looked like he was caught in a dream he could not escape. His facial expression changed, and he clenched his fist, holding the blanket. His body moved in pain like somebody or something was attacking him.
"No... no please don't hurt them," Kaen screamed in pain.
Riku froze.
"Kaen... Kaen, are you alright?" she whispered slowly.
She didn't want to wake him she just wanted to check if he was okay.
Then her eyes turned towards Kaen's shirt, light glowing beneath it.
She saw a mark on his chest. The mark on his chest glowed faintly at first, then brightened golden.
It looked like a living heartbeat.
Riku froze.
Her eyes widened, her breath caught. The cup from his hands slipped as her hand trembled. The cup hit the ground.
SHHNNNNN!!
Tea spilled all across the ground, but she didn't even look at it.
Her eyes were only focused on Kaen.
She could only stare at the glowing mark.
Her body began to shake.
Memories rushed back, memories she tried hard to forget.
The day the sky broke.
Her family, her house.
Screams of people.
The smell of blood and burning corpse.
A massive beast falling from the sky with a glowing mark on their body.
And then she remembered Captain Ryn.
His body was glowing the same way.
Light yellow at first, then brighter and brighter like gold.
After which glowing cracks spread across her body.
And then… he wasn't Ryn anymore.
He became something else.
Something wild.
Something not human.
Something terrifying.
Riku's heart stopped for a moment. She took a few steps back without knowing it.
"No… no…" she whispered. "Kaen can't be like that… not like Ryn."
But she didn't leave she stayed beside him.
Kaen shifted slightly in his sleep. His facial expression changing again and again, he looked calm and innocent, like nothing was wrong.
Like he was not turning into a monster.
Just Kaen.
The boy who always helped others even when no one asked.
The boy who trained until his legs shook, his body burned out, but still kept going training hard every day.
The one who smiled even when his rivals mocked him. The one who keeps his promise to protect others.
But now he lay in bed like something was wrong with him. Struggling to breathe.
Riku stood there, her body shaking from fear, but she couldn't leave him alone.
She walked towards him and sat beside him. The mark on his body glowed again. Warm. She moved her hand stopping just above his chest, not touching but close enough to feel the warmth.
It didn't burn.
It felt like light passing through his veins.
She relaxed her shoulders and took a deep breath.
" Kaen ... Kaen, are you okay?" Her voice is shaky. " What are you turning into?"
He didn't answer.
But the mark on his chest glowed like it was responding.
For a long moment, she only watched him breathe. She could have called an instructor. She could have walked away and pretended like she saw nothing.
But she didn't.
But the fear inside her was not stronger than memories of Kaen. She feared what if they captured Kaen just like Captain Ryn.
She slowly closed her hand into a fist.
Her voice was soft and firm.
" I don't care what you're becoming," she whispered, "I'm not leaving you no matter what happens."
She wiped the spilled tea, placed the cup aside, and pulled a chair close to his bed.
She sat beside him, staying quiet, trying to protect him from strangers.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
Slowly the mark stopped glowing and turned normal.
Kaen was breathing softly. Sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened.
Riku leaned her head against the bed, eyes slowly closing. She didn't want to fall asleep but she stayed there anyway.
Because she didn't want him to wake up alone and see his body in these conditions.
Outside the window, the fractured sky glowed like it could feel something changing.
Inside the room was quiet. Only two things grew silently.
Kaen's hidden power.
And Riku's loyalty.
And when the morning came, Academy and Kaen changed; they would never be the same again.