Orion turned back toward the forest—and stopped.
They were all there.
Every one of them.
His classmates stood scattered across the clearing's edge, some half-hidden among trees,
others fully exposed, all staring straight at him. No one spoke at first. No one moved. The air
was still, heavy with the aftermath of what they'd just witnessed.
Orion frowned slightly.
So focused.
He hadn't registered their presence at all.
That was… careless.
He noted it immediately, filed it away. In the future, he couldn't afford that kind of tunnel
vision—not even against something like that. Especially not against something like that.
He Aether Stepped once and appeared in front of them.
Up close, their expressions were clearer. Awe. Confusion. Suspicion. A little fear. Not of him—of
what he'd just fought.
He opened his mouth to ask why they were all here, then stopped himself.
He already knew.
He'd said five minutes.
It had been far longer than that.
