Sunlight peeked through the window, casting slow-moving beams across the polished floor.
Sion sat cross-legged on his bed, bathed in that soft morning light.
A thought had been bugging him.
Kale was a Gifted—that much was certain. So what did he mean when he said he had Awakener's powers?
From what Sion understood, Awakeners were ki users. Superhumans, sure—faster, stronger, tougher than most—but still a tier below the Gifted.
The Gifted, like him, were different.
Born with innate powers. Rare. Feared. Revered.
Unpredictable.
No one really knew how gifts worked, or why they manifested. At one point, people tried to categorize them—rank them by power and function.
That system didn't last.
Too many lower-ranked Gifted tore through higher-ranked ones like paper. The hierarchy collapsed under its own contradictions.
Awakeners, at least, had structure. Levels. Progression.
Level 1 to Level 7.
But even at the highest level, they could still lose to a single Gifted if they weren't careful.
So if Kale—already a strong Gifted—now had Awakener powers too...
That wasn't just rare. That was dangerous.
But what nagged Sion the most wasn't the concept.
It was Kale's tone.
The confidence.
The certainty in his voice when he said it.
It wasn't pride. It was something deeper.
What am I missing? Sion thought.
Maybe I don't know enough… I did grow up in a village, after all.
He glanced toward the bed on the other side of the room.
John was still asleep, sprawled out like he was wrestling dreams.
Sion narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
He seems to know more than he lets on... Maybe I should ask him.
Sion stood up and walked over to John's side.
"Are you interested in some homemade food?"
He asked.
"Yes!"
John shot up from his bed with incredible speed.
Then, he froze, looking around, confused.
"Huh? What happened?"
He asked no one in particular as his eyes were still half shut. He had instinctively reacted to food.
Sion stared at him with disdain for a while.
"I said are you interested in some homemade food?"
He repeated.
"Yep." John's eyes cleared at the second mention of food.
"Okay." Sion nodded. "But, you have to answer some of my questions first."
"No problem." John nodded with a second thought.
"You are an Awakener right?" Sion asked out of the blue.
"Huh?" John eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"I didn't. But I do now." Sion shrugged. "Anyhow, do you know if it is possible for a Gifted to also be an Awakener?"
"Nope, that is impossible." John answered.
"What?!" Sion was taken aback.
"It is impossible. How are you a gifted and not know this?" John tilted his head. "Gifted cannot have another form of power."
Sion stared at him for a while.
He took a deep breath in. Then asks:
"Say, theoretically, if a gifted happened to gain an Awakener's power, what does that signify?"
"Well, that, that is the theoretical Hybrid lots of factions of power are trying to create." John paused. "It is rumored even the academy is trying to create one."
"This so called hybrid, how strong exactly would one be?"
"Hmm, I don't know. It is just a theory after all." John shrugged. Then he paused, "are you by chance a hybrid?"
"Are you?" A voice came from behind: Cyn.
"No." Sion waved them off. "It is Kale."
"kale? You mean the prince?" John brows furrowed.
"Yea." Sion confirmed.
"How did you know?" Cyn asked.
"You don't have to worry about that." Sion said.
"If what you say is true, then won't the Academy have confiscated him or something?" Cyn asked, still a bit skeptical.
"Confiscate? He isn't a tool, Cyn." John scoffed. "He is the fucking fourth prince of the Kingdom."
"Plus, I don't think they operate in that way." Sion added quietly.
The three stayed quiet for a while, each to their own thoughts.
"Say, does that make Kale the strongest?" Cyn broke the silence.
"Nope, Anessa is stronger, like way stronger." Sion answered without much thought.
Cyn and John's brows both furrowed.
"Then are you stronger?"
John asked.
"Hmm...." Sion stroke his imaginary beard.
"...I better get prepared. I am late for my date."
The sentence echoed in the room as Sion's form dispersed.
"He ran."
The two left in the room muttered simultaneously.
A while later.
Sion stepped out of the Beast King's male bath house, the steam trailing behind him like fading mist.
He wore a sleek black tunic—fitted just right. Medieval in cut, but regal in its detail. The fabric hugged his frame with subtle weight. His features looked sharper now, skin a little paler from the steam, hair damp and longer than before, falling in gentle waves to his neck.
There was a soft golden glow in his eyes now—faint, but there.
The single earring at his left ear caught the morning light.
He looked good.
Even he knew it.
He walked casually down the path, tugging the last strap of his bracer into place. His mind wandered briefly.
Cyn… which bathhouse would she even use?
The thought drifted through and vanished just as quickly.
Because ahead of him stood another student.
Tall. Built. Tense.
The guy squinted at him like trying to solve a puzzle.
Sion slowed.
The student stepped into his path.
"Badge," the guy said, his tone sharp. "You look like a noble, but I've never seen your face."
Sion raised a brow. Didn't answer.
"Let me see it," the student said again, more forceful this time. "You from a backwater house or something?"
There was a short pause.
Then, before the student could even blink—
Thwack.
Sion's hand moved like wind.
A single strike to the side of the neck.
The student collapsed mid-sentence, hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Sion looked down at him.
No emotion.
Just a breath.
Then he turned—
And walked away without a word.
---
Sion walked into the Infernal Home courtyard with a slight frown.
His hair was still damp.
This is why I prefer staying my normal self... This hair is bugging me.
He ran a hand through it again, squeezing out water as he walked, not paying attention to his surroundings—
Until he nearly bumped into someone.
They both stopped just in time.
Sion looked up and blinked. "Oh, hey."
"Hey," Dara replied, laughing softly.
"What's so funny?" Sion asked, genuinely confused.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
She arched a brow, smile tugging at her lips.
"Of course not."
"Of course, yes," she countered. "You've got super instincts. No way you'd almost run into someone by accident. Not with your senses."
Sion smirked, raising both hands in surrender."Okay, you got me."
Dara laughed, shaking her head.
"Anyway," she said, eyeing him, "why do you look so different?"
"I don't know what you mean." He deadpanned.
She just stared at him.
He broke eye contact, scratching his head awkwardly.
"So, a tour, right?"
"Tch." Dara scoffed, letting the dodge slide.
She pulled out a scroll, unrolling it partway with a flick.
"This is a random teleportation scroll. It'll drop us somewhere in the Outer Edge. No idea where. I bought it so the tour wouldn't be boring."
Sion shrugged, amused."As you wish, princess."
"Yes, sir, hero." Dara grinned, tapping the scroll lightly against his chest.
A golden beam of light shot down—and in an instant, they were gone.