Location: Academy Central Plaza — Morning
The sun rose blood-red over the Academy.
The once-celebratory air of the tournament had turned heavy, full of suspicion and tension.Whispers snaked through the halls like invisible serpents:
"Did you hear? Prince Kael was attacked!""Assassins? Inside the Academy?!""Someone high up must have ordered it…"
And yet, the person at the center of it all—Kael Solaris—walked through the bustling plaza with a calm, regal air, as if he hadn't danced with death just hours ago.
He wore his Academy uniform with a black cloak fluttering behind him, his golden eyes sharp and unreadable.
Everyone turned to watch him.Nobles, commoners, even teachers—they all felt it:
Something had changed.
Kael was no longer the "powerless prince" to be mocked.He was a storm barely contained beneath human skin.
Confrontation at the Council Tower
At the towering Council Hall, where the Academy's most powerful figures met, Kael burst through the grand oak doors without announcement.
The Twelve High Councilors turned in outrage.
Among them sat Lord Varkas—the Minister of Internal Affairs—the very man who ordered Kael's death.
"Prince Kael!" barked a silver-haired councilor."You dare storm into an official meeting?!"
Kael didn't bow.He didn't kneel.
He simply walked to the center of the hall, his black cloak dragging across the marble.
"I'm here," he said coldly, "to make something very clear."
The councilors scoffed.Lord Varkas smirked behind his jeweled hand.
But Kael's next words froze the air itself.
"The next person who sends cowards after me…""…won't live long enough to regret it."
A heavy silence fell.
Several councilors paled.The younger ones even stepped back instinctively.
For a brief moment, a golden glow flickered around Kael—like a sleeping dragon baring one eye.
Lord Varkas forced a chuckle.
"P-Prince Kael, surely you misunderstand—"
Kael turned his gaze on him.It wasn't anger.It wasn't hatred.
It was pure, icy contempt.
"Pray that I do, Lord Varkas."
Without another word, Kael turned and left, his boots echoing against the marble like a war drum.
The storm had officially begun.
A New Presence Appears
As Kael exited the tower, a strange sensation prickled his senses.
Someone was watching him—not with hatred, but with intense curiosity.
He turned.
Across the courtyard stood a girl he hadn't noticed before.
She was beautiful in a dangerous, magnetic way—long silver hair, dark purple eyes like twin vortexes, dressed in a uniform slightly different from the others.
She leaned against a tree, arms crossed, smirking.
"You're more interesting than the rumors say," she called lazily."Kael Solaris, the 'failure prince' who moves like a god."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"And you are?"
The girl's smirk widened.
"Aria Nightshade. Top of the assassin division.""Maybe you should be more worried about people like me than old fools like Varkas."
Then, she winked—bold, mischievous—and disappeared into the crowd like a shadow.
Kael chuckled under his breath.
"Interesting indeed."
Another piece had entered the board.
Meanwhile: In the Harem Dormitory
Back at the dorms, Kael's girls were in chaos.
Zara: (throwing daggers at a target) "Whoever dared attack him—I'll gut them myself!"
Mira: (fuming) "We should have been there!"
Velcia: (scheming) "Let them come... I have new spells to test."
Selene: (worried) "I sensed a new energy around Kael... something dangerous."
Evelyne: (determined) "We must grow stronger too. If the world wants war, we'll give it to them."
They were no longer just girls admiring him from afar.
They were preparing themselves—to fight beside him, or to die trying.