Silence consumed the dormitory.
Not normal silence.
The kind that came before disaster.
The silver-eyed boy stood at the top of the staircase beneath the flickering chandelier lights, his dark uniform soaked from the storm outside while students stared at him in absolute terror.
No one moved.
No one even breathed properly.
And Nyra—
Nyra felt like the world had stopped spinning.
Because the moment he spoke that name—
“…Seraphine?”
—something inside her soul shattered.
Pain exploded through her chest so suddenly she nearly collapsed.
Images flashed violently across her mind.
Fire.
Blood.
Silver wolves howling beneath a crimson moon.
A hand holding hers tightly.
And silver eyes staring at her with unbearable sadness.
Nyra gasped sharply.
The visions vanished immediately.
The dormitory returned.
The silver-eyed boy still stood there.
Watching her.
Like she was the only person in the world.
Students nearby slowly backed away from him in fear.
One girl whispered shakily:
“Why is he outside the bell tower…?”
Another student looked pale.
“He never leaves.”
Liora’s grip tightened around Nyra’s wrist painfully.
“Don’t talk to him.”
Nyra barely heard her.
She couldn’t stop staring at the boy.
He looked human now.
Completely human.
No smoke.
No shadows.
Yet those silver eyes were unmistakable.
The ghost.
The soul-sucking ghost.
But how?
The boy slowly descended the staircase.
Each step echoed unnaturally loud in the silent dormitory.
Students immediately moved out of his way.
Terrified.
Some lowered their heads.
Others avoided looking at him completely.
Like even eye contact was dangerous.
Nyra’s pulse quickened as he approached.
Up close—
He looked older than the other students.
Maybe twenty.
Tall.
Sharp jawline.
Dark hair falling over tired silver eyes.
There were scars visible beneath the collar of his black academy uniform.
Old scars.
The kind left by blades.
And despite how calm he appeared—
Loneliness surrounded him like another shadow.
The boy stopped directly before Nyra.
Only inches separated them now.
His expression slowly cracked apart.
Not anger.
Not cruelty.
Endless pain.
“…It’s really you,” he whispered softly.
Nyra’s chest tightened again.
“I don’t know you.”
The words clearly hurt him.
His eyes lowered briefly.
“I know.”
That answer somehow felt worse.
Liora suddenly stepped between them.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
The boy’s expression became unreadable instantly.
“I wasn’t speaking to you, Liora.”
Nyra blinked.
“You know each other?”
Liora looked uncomfortable.
Everyone in the academy knows him.”
Students nearby became visibly nervous hearing that.
One boy whispered quietly:
“Don’t say his name…”
Another student quickly muttered a protection prayer beneath her breath.
Nyra frowned.
“What’s happening?”
Liora hesitated.
Then quietly said:
“…His name is Kael.”
The whispers around them grew louder immediately.
Nyra noticed genuine fear spreading across the students.
One girl even began crying softly.
Kael ignored them completely.
His eyes never left Nyra’s face.
Like he was terrified she might disappear if he looked away.
Nyra swallowed nervously.
“You’re the ghost.”
Several students gasped loudly.
Liora cursed under her breath.
Kael remained silent for a moment.
Then:
“Yes.”
Nyra’s heartbeat stumbled.
Hearing him admit it so casually somehow made everything even more terrifying.
“How are you alive?”
Kael’s expression darkened slightly.
“I’m not.”
Cold silence spread again.
Nyra stared at him.
The air around Kael felt strange now.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Like reality itself bent unnaturally around him.
And suddenly—
Nyra realized something horrifying.
She couldn’t hear his heartbeat.
Not even standing this close.
Liora slowly pulled Nyra backward.
“You need to leave.”
Kael’s gaze sharpened instantly.
“No.”
The single word carried enough force to make nearby students flinch.
Liora glared at him.
“She just arrived.”
“And she’s already being hunted.”
The room became silent again.
Nyra frowned.
“Hunted by what?”
And for the first time—
Fear appeared in his silver eyes again.
“The Vein King knows you’re here.”
The whispers inside Nyra’s head screamed instantly.
“RUN.”
“HE REMEMBERS.”
“THE SEAL BREAKS.”
Nyra grabbed her head painfully.
Kael stepped toward her immediately.
But the moment he touched her arm—
The lights exploded.
Darkness swallowed the dormitory.
Students screamed.
Black smoke erupted violently around Kael’s body.
The floor beneath them cracked apart.
And suddenly—
Something laughed.
Not Kael.
Something else.
A deep monstrous laugh echoed through the darkness.
The walls of the dormitory began bleeding black liquid.
Students panicked.
The chandeliers swung wildly overhead.
Then a voice thundered through the room.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Inhuman.
“SERAPHINE.”
Nyra froze.
The voice continued laughing.
“YOU CAME BACK TO ME.”
Pain exploded through Nyra’s body.
She collapsed to her knees screaming.
Memories flooded her mind violently—
Chains.
A throne made of bones.
A gigantic crimson eye opening beneath the earth.
And herself—
Standing before it covered in blood while thousands of voices cried around her.
Then suddenly—
Warm hands grabbed her face gently.
Kael.
His silver eyes burned brightly through the darkness now.
“Nyra.”
His voice cut through the pain instantly.
“Look at me.”
The monstrous laughter continued echoing around them.
The academy itself began shaking violently.
Students screamed downstairs.
Something huge moved beneath the building.
Kael held Nyra carefully.
“Listen to me.”
His voice became desperate.
“If the Vein King fully awakens—”
The floor cracked open nearby.
Black tendrils burst upward screaming.
Kael immediately pulled Nyra closer protectively.
Silver fire suddenly erupted around his body.
The darkness recoiled instantly.
Students stared in horror.
Because ghosts were never supposed to use holy fire.
Kael looked back at Nyra one last time.
And quietly whispered words that made her soul ache.
“I failed to save you once.”
His silver eyes trembled slightly.
“…I won’t fail again.”