Kael moved like a ghost.
Not silent—ghosts were clumsy compared to him. He moved like absence itself, like the air forgot it was supposed to carry his footsteps. The others kept glancing at him as Sensei dismissed them for the night, but every time someone blinked, Kael seemed to shift slightly, like reality couldn't decide where to put him.
The moment they left the main hall, the gang practically erupted.
Ayo grabbed Kasai by the shoulders.
"Bro! Did you SEE that guy? Tell me you saw that guy. Please."
Kasai exhaled shakily. "He walked past me and I swear… my body didn't register him. My skin didn't feel him. Like he's a glitch."
Reina folded her arms, visibly irritated. "Sensei really said our minds are too weak. I'll slap him one day."
Kaito muttered, "Triple lineage… Hades, Anubis, and Eshu? Is Sensei mad?"
Sefu shook his head. "If that's true, that boy isn't a teammate. He's a weapon."
Amara kept glancing down the corridor, making sure Kael wasn't suddenly standing behind them.
Nia whispered, "He feels like death. Not metaphorically. Like—actual death."
Only Lyssa wasn't talking.
She kept watching Kairo.
Because Kairo wasn't talking either.
He hadn't said a word since Kael whispered those impossible words:
I remember your father.
Now he leaned against the corridor wall, breathing slow, eyes dark. The Mark under his shirt pulsed faintly like someone tapping his ribcage from inside.
Lyssa stepped closer.
"Kairo… talk to me."
He shook his head.
"Kairo."
He didn't reply.
So she punched him.
Not hard—just enough to shock him.
He glared at her. "What was that for?"
"For pretending everything is normal when you're clearly fighting something," she said. "What did he say to you?"
He didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
Because Kael's voice suddenly came from behind them.
"He asked if you were alright."
Everyone jumped.
Kael stood in the middle of the hallway that had been empty seconds ago. His mismatched eyes reflected the torchlight strangely—gold glimmering warm, black swallowing all color.
Ayo yelped. "AH! Bro, warn us when you appear like that!"
Kael blinked slowly. "I didn't appear. I walked."
Kasai groaned. "That's WORSE."
Reina pointed at him. "Why do you walk like reality forgets you exist!?"
Kael tilted his head, genuinely confused. "Because… it does."
The group stared.
Kael took another step toward them. No sound. No presence. No air movement. He was just suddenly closer.
Kaito whispered, "I hate this. I hate all of this."
Kael ignored him.
He looked at Kairo.
Directly. Deeply.
"Kairo," he said softly. "You shouldn't worry."
Kairo's fingers twitched. "About what?"
Kael smiled gently.
"The dead."
The hallway dropped into silence like a stone thrown into a well.
Kael's eyes—especially the black one—seemed to widen slightly, drinking in the dim corridor.
"I hear them," Kael whispered. "Everywhere. Always. They talk a lot. They follow me. They follow you too."
Kairo stiffened. "The dead follow me?"
Kael nodded. "Yes. One follows you very closely."
Lyssa instinctively stepped in front of Kairo, blade halfway drawn, even though she knew weapons were useless at the moment.
"Kael," she said sharply. "Stop messing with him."
Kael blinked again. "I'm not messing with him."
Ayo muttered, "Bro, I think that's the problem. He's being serious."
Kael took another step. This one, unusually… the floor creaked.
Everyone froze.
That single footstep told them one thing: Kael had chosen to be heard.
Kael leaned slightly toward Kairo.
Close enough that only Kairo heard the next line:
"It wasn't your father who stole the power."
Something inside Kairo snapped taut.
Kael straightened. His faint smile remained, but his eyes—not the gold, but the black—held something deeper. Curiosity… or pity.
Reina swallowed. "What… what does that mean?"
Kael looked around at all of them, confusion returning to his face.
"You don't know?"
"Know what?" Kaito demanded.
Kael touched his own chest lightly, as if remembering something.
"The truth, of course."
Sensei's voice echoed from the far end of the hall before they could ask more — a voice cold enough to freeze steam.
"Kael."
Kael immediately stepped back, head lowered.
Sensei walked toward them, expression unreadable, but his presence oppressive. Even the torches dimmed.
"You're speaking too much."
Kael bowed slightly. "I apologize."
"I did not ask for an apology," Sensei said. "I asked for silence."
Kael's lips shut instantly.
Sensei turned to the rest of the gang.
His gaze swept over them like a blade.
"Rest. Training tomorrow will be… unforgiving."
Everyone obeyed without a word.
Even Ayo kept quiet.
But Kairo didn't move.
He stared at Kael, then at Sensei—
and a cold suspicion crawled beneath his skin.
Sensei's shadow flickered… and for a moment—just a moment—Kairo saw something beneath it.
Something familiar.
Something wrong.
As they all headed to their rooms, Lyssa whispered:
"Kairo… what did he mean? 'It wasn't your father'?"
Kairo didn't answer.
Because the Mark on his chest pulsed again—
Violent.
Warning.
Screaming.
Like it recognized the truth before he did.
Kairo closed his eyes.
Something is wrong.
Not just with Kael.
Not just with the gang.
But with Sensei.
And somewhere deep in the compound's dark halls…
Kael smiled to himself.