The morning sun barely reached the academy's courtyard.
Students lounged in clusters, some practicing basic wind manipulations, others just idly watching the fountain ripple.
Sael Ardyn leaned against a pillar, book in hand, casually flipping pages upside down. His dark hair fell over his eyes, half-shadowing the faint smirk playing on his lips.
"Alright, brats," he said, voice echoing lazily. "Today, you're going to learn how the stuff inside you works. The energy you waste flinging around like idiots."
A few students snorted. Some groaned.
Avelyn sat off to the side, notebook untouched. Her gaze didn't linger on the courtyard; it was on the streets outside the academy, replaying the events from last night.
Four men. Crates of lifa catalysts. No traces left behind. And that figure—the one they called Lucent Shade.
She shook her head slightly, pretending to take notes, letting the lecture flow over her. But her mind ran simulations, tested angles, tried to anticipate the attack again. Something about it didn't add up.
"First," Sael continued, tapping his book like it contained the secrets of the universe, "you've got lifa. Everyone knows about it. It's energy. It comes from you. It can be shaped, pushed, thrown, or—" he glanced at a student who had accidentally thrown a tiny wind gust into the fountain "—mishandled like that. Don't be stupid."
"And then there's mana," he said, voice dropping a little, "which isn't exactly common. Corrupted beings usually have it. It's… messy, unpredictable, but powerful if you know how to handle it."
He let it sit there, eyes scanning the courtyard lazily. "Now, some of you have unique skills. Some have one. Some have two. Doesn't matter much. It's not about having them—it's about how efficiently you can use them. Efficiency beats raw strength any day."
Avelyn's gaze flicked back to the courtyard. Kaien moved easily among the students, reacting to every shift in their lifa like he could see possibilities they couldn't even imagine. Nav's wind control was smooth, precise, almost unnaturally so. And Sael… Sael could use something otherworldly without leaving a trace.
Her pen hovered over her notebook, unwilling to mark it down, because she wasn't sure what she was witnessing could even be recorded.
"Now," Sael said, closing the book with a soft snap, "tomorrow, you'll meet someone interesting. Lisa. Fire and lightning affinity. Controls her aura in ways that… well, let's just say you'll feel attacks you can't see, only sense if your ki is sharp enough."
The mention of her name made a few students glance up, curious. Avelyn's ears picked up the slight rise in tension, a subtle change in breathing across the courtyard. Her mind noted it. Someone could manipulate lifa without leaving traces. That detail alone made her suspect the figure from last night might not have been alone—or that there were others like him.
Sael stretched, tilting his head back. "Remember, it's not about throwing your energy around recklessly. It's about knowing the framework you're in. The rules. The bones beneath the flesh. You brats can't play properly if you don't know how the machine works."
A student raised a hand timidly. "Uh… Sael, you mean everyone has skills?"
"Exactly," Sael said with a lazy shrug. "But some of you just don't notice them. Skills are tools. How well you use the tool… that's what matters. Not everyone can swing a hammer, but the guy who can? He makes a house. The guy who can't? He breaks his own foot."
Avelyn's mind couldn't let it rest. She thought about last night—the absence of detectable lifa, the force that crushed the air. Lucent Shade moved like he was bending rules she didn't even know existed. And now, Sael was teaching them the framework. Was he… preparing them?
She shifted in her seat, pen finally touching paper, but not to copy notes. She sketched angles, distances, and timing in the alley. Small details. Tiny ripples of wind, shadow, the movement of dust. All adding up.
Sael glanced at her casually, eyebrow raised. "Yes, you're thinking too much. Good. Don't stop."
The courtyard sun climbed higher. Students carried on, some laughing, others testing small bursts of lifa. But Avelyn stayed fixed on the calculations in her head. Tomorrow, Lisa would arrive, and she had a feeling things wouldn't be as easy as Sael made them seem.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, the echo of last night lingered. Lucent Shade didn't leave mistakes. And Avelyn intended to find out why.