In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed, drawing deeper into summer.
Stepping over the motionless body, Kael approached the judge like he always did. They exchanged a few quiet words before Kael turned and began his walk towards the cafeteria.
As he moved through the corridors, the sounds around him began to fade. Voices dulled. Footsteps softened. Until finally, the world nearly fell quiet.
Kael stood once more in his inner realm, the colossal red river swirling and coiling around him repeating its endless dance.
'I don't know if this will ever have any practical use… but I've made progress.'
'Normally, when someone splits their consciousness, the senses dull sharply. That's why people sit down, even lie down, to avoid losing balance. But it shouldn't have to be like that.'
These last few weeks, Kael had been reflecting deeply on a critical flaw, one that came with being a Luminaire. Every time he entered his inner realm, he was left almost completely defenseless. It was a vulnerable and deeply uncomfortable state.
When one split their consciousness, it divided into two parts. The first was the subconscious, the part that kept the heart beating, the lungs drawing breath, and the senses alert. The second was awareness, not the soul, not Thoughts, not will, but something more abstract. Something like a sense of self, a presence that observed, understood, and existed.
'I've managed to leave part of my awareness behind when I enter the inner realm. It lets me hear things, even feel, and hear parts of what happens outside while I'm in there. I can even walk now, all while keeping a fragment of my awareness inside the realm.'
'However this forces me to split my awareness in two… I can feel the strain it has on my mind.'
Kael retracted his split consciousness, returning fully to the present.
Sitting at a small table in the cafeteria, he raised a hand and gently massaged his forehead with his thumb and index finger.
"I managed to order and even hold a short conversation. I really have made progress."
He lifted his coffee cup and took a sip. His expression remained indifferent, but deep down, a faint sense of satisfaction stirred.
As he sat sipping his coffee, Kael's gaze remained distant, only sharpening when murmurs of concern began to ripple through the cafeteria. The voices grew louder, spilling in from outside. Something was happening.
He took his final sip and stood, making his way toward the growing crowd.
Outside, people had gathered in a wide circle, all eyes fixed on the center. One man was on his knees, while another loomed above him, unmoving.
Kael tapped a nearby onlooker gently on the shoulder.
"What's going on?"
His question was calm, almost casual, devoid of any tension. But the man he touched paled instantly, his face draining of color as he turned toward Kael like he had seen a ghost. He raised a finger to his lips, hushing him in a low whisper.
"Shhh... Are you insane? A Luminaire is here."
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned his focus to the center of the circle. His expression grew sharper.
The man beside him, still visibly shaken, couldn't help but speak again in a hushed voice.
"Apparently the Luminaire came to watch a fight... said he was bored. But some mortal accidentally bumped into him and argued back, must not have realized who he was. What we're seeing now... is the aftermath."
One of the men at the center of the gathering raised his voice for all to hear.
"Not only did you bump into me. You also dared to argue with me."
The man kneeling on the ground trembled, his forehead nearly touching the floor as he spoke.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't know you were a Luminaire. Please... spare me."
His voice was shaking, but the sincerity in it was unmistakable.
"Stand up."
The kneeling man hesitated, lifting his head slightly in confusion. But after a brief pause, he did as he was told.
The Luminaire extended a hand toward him.
For a moment, it looked almost gentle. He helped the man to his feet.
"Oh, thank you, thank you! I swear upon my life, I'll remember your kindness forever. Someone as merciful as you—"
The man clutched the Luminaire's hand tightly as he spoke, tears gathering at the edges of his eyes.
Without warning, the Luminaire yanked his hand free, before raising it high into the air.
Above it, a golden blade materialized, shimmering with condensed power.
Before anyone could react, the blade shot forward, so fast that only Kael's eyes could follow it.
It pierced straight through the mortal's throat without resistance, exiting cleanly before continuing its deadly arc. It tore into the crowd, slicing through the leg of an unlucky onlooker before dissolving into a mist of golden particles.
The man struck in the crowd fell to the ground, clutching his leg and screaming in horror. His limb, barely held together by a shred of skin and cloth, bent at an unnatural angle, the bone completely severed by the blade's passing.
The crowd was frozen in shock.
People looked around in confusion, their minds struggling to grasp what had just happened. But the moment of silence shattered as a single, raw scream tore through the air.
Every gaze snapped toward the man on the ground, clutching what was left of his leg.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then, as understanding sank in, three people nearest to him lunged forward. They pinned him down with desperate strength, muffling his cries by forcing a hand over his mouth.
"Stop screaming," one of them hissed, voice tight with fear.
The man holding him down was pale and shaking, but his grip was firm.
"Do you want to offend a Luminaire? If you value your life, shut up."
The Luminaire did not even glance their way.
He stood over the lifeless body, staring down with a look of pure disdain. Calmly, he swiped his hand through the air in a sharp arc, casting off the blood that had splattered onto his skin.
His expression twisted into one of clear disgust.
"Well. Now you have ruined my mood."
He scoffed and turned away.
The crowd immediately parted for him, stepping back several paces and bowing their heads as he passed.
Many held their breath. Others tried but failed to steady their trembling.
The only sound left was the muffled sobbing beneath the crowd's crushing silence.
This was the harsh truth of the world.
A Luminaire's life might be weighed down by obstacles and impossible expectations, but a mortal's life was crushed by horrors, helplessness, and despair.
A Luminaire was seen as above a mortal in every way that mattered.
If a mortal so much as looked at a Luminaire the wrong way, they might as well consider themselves already dead.
Luminaires could cut down mortals like grass, without facing any real consequences. No justice would come for the dead. No protection would rise for the living.
If anything, showing mercy toward a mortal was often seen as a weakness among Luminaires, a flaw in character. Mortals were not viewed as people, only as resources, as bodies to be used, or nuisances to be erased.
In a world like this, survival was not a matter of strength for mortals. It was a matter of being unseen and useful in any way they might be able to.
There were always a few odd Luminaires. Those who didn't believe mortals should be treated like livestock. Who saw them as people, not tools. But they were rare. Exceptionally rare.
'A blade pathway... Could he be from the Valthorne family too?'
Kael had already pushed the dying man to the back of his mind. His thoughts had shifted elsewhere.
'No. He was probably just a bored Luminaire looking for some cheap entertainment.'
Pushing through the crowd, Kael made his way toward the man who had been struck in the leg. A few people were kneeling beside him, trying to stop the bleeding with strips of cloth torn from whatever they could find.
As Kael approached, some in the group recognized him. They quietly stepped aside, making space without a word.
Kael crouched down on one knee. The injured man was pale, his skin clammy, his breath shallow. Beads of cold sweat rolled down his temples.
Kael spared him only a glance before turning his eyes to the makeshift bandage wrapped around the leg. With a quick tug, he pulled the cloth free, and blood began to spill once more.
"What are you doing?"
A young man nearby sounded alarmed. Another silenced him with a sharp look and a hand on his shoulder.
Kael ignored them. He studied the wound with calm detachment, peeling the torn fabric aside until the shattered bone came into view.
'It barely pierced through. Crushed the bone into fragments instead. A rank one mote, perhaps?'
He stood up without a word, brushing off his hands as he walked away, already lost in thought.
'I'll need to leave this place soon. I know too little to stay any longer. But it doesn't matter, I've already gotten what I came for.'
There were too many unknowns inside the fighting club. Kael had always known the Valthorne family kept an eye on it, but the depth of their involvement had surpassed his expectations. He was now certain. Lucian was one of them. A Valthorne.
But if Lucian was hiding in plain sight, who was to say there weren't more? Others, silently embedded, posing as ordinary mortals while watching from the shadows.
There were too many eyes on him now.