Sunlight creeped through the crack in the curtains, yellow light washing over a sleeping young man. His face scrunching as the light hit his eyes, causing him to pull the covers over himself.

  ‘Ugh…’

  Even though he lacked any aches or bruises, Soren found himself incredibly exhausted. He hadn’t even bothered to unpack his things, his suitcase was left partially open by the door.

  His new dorm wasn’t as spacious as his old room, but it was by no means cramped. It had a small wooden desk in the corner, with a padded chair. A large dresser sat next to his small bed. The room was cozy, making him want to stay curled up in the sheets all day.

  He had basically collapsed in the bed last night, as he was sure most other students did.

  ‘At least it’s warm here.’

  The sound of other students moving around caught his attention, drawing him out of the warm cocoon of his creation. Sitting up he stared down at his disheveled appearance.

  He smelled of sweat and shame. His dirt stained clothes clung to his skin, bits of dried blood stained his hands. Running his finger over the crimson stains, a sour expression appeared on his face.

  ‘I’m a mess… What’s new?’

  Casting the sheet aside, he stood up from the bed, his eyes looking around the room. It would take time getting used to his new environment, but this kind of change should be good for him.

  Though the common bathrooms did rub him the wrong way, having to navigate the halls of the dormitory just to relieve himself was tedious. Sniffing the air a bit, he raised one of his arms, pulling his head back quickly.

  ‘A shower it is.’

  The halls were busy, people were getting ready for the day, almost everyone that made it through the trial seemed just as exhausted as him. Entering the communal bathroom, Soren found an empty shower stall and promptly undressed.

  The stall enclosed him with two protruding tile walls and a grey curtain. Twisting the copper handle, he turned the water as hot as it would go. Water began to fall from the shower head, the initial coldness of the water chased away any lingering grogginess.

  Soon steam began to fill the room, as the other stalls got filled. Soren could hear the idle chatter from other students in stalls next to him, but he let the sound of water drown out their voices.

  ‘Ahh…’

  Any tension that lingered from his fight faded away, as his muscles relaxed. He thoroughly scrubbed his body, letting the dried blood and dirt wash away.

  It was strange. Even though he had nearly died yesterday, he showed no signs of having had a battle. Not a single cut or bruise remained, even the scares he had before the fight were gone.

  Running his fingers over his arm, he thought back to the burns he received in the tower. Now, his tan skin was untouched.

  ‘What incredible sorcery. My lungs were crushed, yet, I can breathe perfectly fine.’

  There was so much he needed to learn, his skill was rudimentary, everyone around him seemed so far ahead. Soren furrowed his brows.

  ‘Can I really do this?’

  His performance most definitely got him placed in one of the lower classes. So any progress he made would come slower, having a good teacher was vital for development.

  Turning off the water, he dried himself off, returning to his room. After a short period, he went downstairs. By now the class listing should be posted, a faint sense of dread hung over him.

  ‘I hope I didn’t screw myself. If I get a bad professor, then I won’t learn fast enough… How the hell will I find that monster?’

  Seline had always believed he imagined it, but Soren knew it was real. Killian turned into that thing, whether by choice or not. It was out there, all he needed to do was find the thing… and kill it.

  Even though he only saw it briefly, something told him he wasn’t nearly strong enough to kill it. He had hoped the academy would teach him enough to put an end to it, but now it didn’t seem likely.

  Stepping out into the spacious common area, he saw a big group of weavers crowding around a notice board. Their reactions varied from excitement to disappointment.

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  Walking past tables and chairs, he stood on the outside of the crowd, trying to peak over the dozens of bodies blocking his view.

  ‘Tsk… I can’t see anything. Do they have to chat right here?’

  Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Soren spun around to see the face of his new friend. Amon looked a lot better than yesterday, the shock from seeing his brother lose like that having worn off.

  “Can’t get past the crowd, huh?”

  Soren shook his head.

  “No. Not that I’m really eager to see how I fared.”

  Giving him a sympathetic nod, Amon helped him push through the crowd. Though, after a few seconds the group seemed to part for them. Scornful gazes fell upon the two.

  Doing their best not to mind the crowd, they stood in front of the bored. They both started searching for their names, Soren starting from the bottom. However, after searching the remedial classes, he did not find his name.

  ‘Strange.’

  Moving to the basic classes, he encountered the same problem. His name was not present.

  “I can’t find my name!”

  Panic set in. Did they not enroll him? His performance was bad, sure, but not letting him take classes was absurd. Was it because of Killian? Amon shook Soren by the shoulders.

  “Look! Look!”

  Following his gaze, he read the student names for one of the advanced classes. First he found his friend's name, then Cyra’s. Finally, his eyes fixated on his name.

  His mouth dropped open slightly, genuine shock and disbelief filled him. He not only avoided getting placed in remedial classes, but he landed himself in one of the advanced ones.

  ‘I… I did it!?’

  It seemed Amon shared his enthusiasm, both of them wearing wide grins. Soren was so happy, he had to stop himself from letting out a victorious cry. Amon turned to him, still shaking his shoulders.

  “We made it… We actually made it!”

  Looking back at the board, the name of the instructor was present at the top. Their Instructor was known as Hanami. Neither of them seemed to know the name, even so, they taught an advanced class.

  Whoever this Hanami was, they had to have been strong. They would definitely make it easier for him to advance his weaving, possibly even help him translate Julian's journal. Whatever the case, he will learn tomorrow.

  Amon and him walked away from the crowd, taking their place on a small sofa. The velvet couch was surprisingly comfortable, almost everything in this building was of high quality. Though, what else would you expect from the most prestigious academy Sancture had to offer.

  “Do you know anything about our professor?"

  Amon shook his head.

  “No. The name isn’t familiar to me.”

  Feeling slightly disappointed, Soren leaned back against the sofa.

  “Well, at least it’s an advanced class.”

  Following his lead, Amon relaxed back into the couch as well. His lilac eyes seemed more at ease than before. Though there was still a bit of nervousness in his voice.

  “I’m surprised you made it… I half expected to see your name on one of the stupid classes.”

  Shooting the boy a glare, Soren struggled to stop the smile forming on his lips. Eventually his resistance faded, letting out a sincere laugh. Amon returned the laughter, the two of them sharing a much deserved celebration.

  It was strange. Soren had only intended on helping the boy out of pity, he never really intended on making friends. But after learning of their similarities, he felt obligated to stick around him. Soren had spent most of his time alone, only occasionally being around Seline or Callagen. He never actually had a friend before… Were they even friends?

  ‘The only experience I’ve had was with my siblings… Though, I’m not sure that counts. But this feels like something friends would do. I don’t think he’s had much luck when it comes to friendship either.’

  The two of them continued to chat, there was no real purpose of the conversation, the topic shifted to a variety of things. But it was still nice.

  …

  After a while the two parted ways, each heading to their respective rooms. They had agreed to meet up in the common room before heading to class tomorrow. Stepping into his dorm room, he stared at the half open suitcase, letting out a deep sigh.

  Soren spent the better part of an hour unpacking his belongings, once finished he set the now empty suitcase in the corner of the room. Moving over to the desk, he flipped through the infuriating complex pages of the old man’s journal.

  ‘I wonder what you know about him?’

  Absentmindedly fidgeting with the ring on his finger, his thoughts drifted to that girl. She didn’t seem real, the way she moved, even how she used sorcery. They all seemed off, like they didn’t fit her. She had copied the sequences Hudson used, but how? Even with the ring, Soren couldn’t copy a person’s spell as they casted it.

  Yet, she did it with no relic, nor any sequence. What was her secret?

  Shutting the journal, he stood up from the desk. He carefully tucked the book in a drawer, walking over to his bed.

  ‘There’s more to this girl, but it’s not my business to find out.’

  He needed to refocus himself, he didn’t have time to be a normal student. Julian was his top priority, no matter how much he wanted to forget. If he didn’t do it, then who would? Any chance of a normal life was taken away from him, even after Julian, and even after he found Killian. This was his fate, he had no choice.

  ‘Stronger… I need to be stronger.’

  Collapsing into the sheets, Soren let sleep take him. Until he had a way of reaching Julian, learning more was his only goal.