Three days had passed…
Since the mission in the ruins of Valeron.
Three days…
But the Academy was no longer the same.
In the hallways…
Students whispered in hushed tones whenever Sami’s name was mentioned.
“I heard he stopped a Void beast all by himself.” “Not alone…
Professor Celine was there.” “But the monster fled when he looked at it.” “My brother in the fourth year said the beast knelt before running away.” “No… they said it saw something behind Sami.” “What thing?” “Nobody knows.”
The rumors grew with every passing hour.
Everyone added a little something, and every version became further from the truth.
But the only truth was… no one looked at Sami the same way anymore.
Inside the lecture hall…
Students entered one by one.
The chatter filled the room.
Then…
Sami entered.
And not a single person said a word.
It wasn’t a silence born of fear, but of a feeling difficult to explain.
It was as if no one wanted to be the first to break the stillness.
Sami sat in his usual spot near the window.
He opened his book and began to read, as if nothing had happened.
Mira sat beside him, placed her bag on the table, and looked at him for a moment.
“Good morning.” He looked up and offered a faint smile.
“Morning.” She hesitated slightly.
“How is your hand?” He looked at her, puzzled.
“Which hand?” She frowned.
“The one you used to block the beast’s strike.” He flexed his fingers.
“Fine.” “Did it not hurt you?” “A little.” She stared at him for a long time, then smiled.
“You’re a terrible liar.” Sami laughed lightly.
“Is it that obvious?” “Very.”
From the back of the room…
Arian was watching the scene without appearing to watch.
He scribbled a small note in his diary: “Sami hides his injuries instinctively.” Then he closed the book.
Professor Celine entered.
Or rather…
Lysasara Feyn.
To everyone else, she was Celine.
To Sami… she was the only one who knew a piece of the truth.
She placed the books on the desk and looked at Sami.
She smiled—a very small smile that no one noticed… except for Arian.
He raised an eyebrow.
“This is the first time I’ve seen her smile at a student.”
After the lesson ended, everyone headed to the courtyard.
Everything had mostly returned to its usual routine.
Students training, others debating, some laughing.
As if life had decided to continue its path regardless of what happened.
Sami was heading toward the training arena, with Mira following behind.
“Wait.” He turned to her.
“What is it?” “You forgot your book.” She handed it to him.
He smiled.
“Thanks.” She raised an eyebrow.
“How many times are you going to forget your things?” “I don’t know.” She laughed.
“If I wasn’t here…” “I’d be lost.” Sami replied calmly: “That’s why you’re here.”
Mira froze for a moment.
Her face flushed slightly.
“You… you say embarrassing things without even realizing it.” As for Sami, he didn’t understand the reason for her confusion at all.
On the other side…
Kaelen stood with a group of third-year students.
Since his defeat, he had changed significantly.
He was no longer as arrogant as he had been.
He approached Sami, stopped in front of him, and stared for a few seconds before extending his hand.
Everyone looked on.
Sami shook his hand.
“You were strong, too.” Kaelen smiled.
“Next time… I won’t lose so easily.” Sami nodded.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Kaelen walked away, and for the first time, the students felt that the rivalry between them was no longer about hatred, but about respect.
But… not everyone was happy about that.
On the edge of the courtyard stood a new student from the Advanced Combat Division.
Tall, with a powerful build.
His name… was Darius.
He had arrived recently from a military branch, and since entering the Academy, he had heard only one name: Sami Koh.
“I’m tired of hearing that name…” He approached with slow, deliberate steps.
He stopped in front of Sami and said loudly enough for everyone to hear: “So, you’re the ‘miracle’ they keep talking about.” Sami looked up.
“Perhaps.” Darius laughed mockingly.
“You look weaker than I expected.” Sami didn’t answer and tried to step past him.
But Darius blocked his path with his arm.
“Where are you going?” Sami sighed.
“I have training.” “And I have a question.” He paused, then leaned in until his face was close to Sami’s.
“Is everything they said about you just a lie? Or has the Academy started handing out ranks to the lazy?”
Silence descended.
Inside Sami’s consciousness, the garden was quiet.
But Lira was not.
She jumped to her feet.
“How rude!” Valdrack said in a low voice: “Watch.” “Why?” Lira asked.
“Because this is the first time…” Valdrack replied, watching Sami, “…he has been insulted after he began to awaken.” Elysion closed his book and said: “A true Emperor might tolerate a blow. He might tolerate a loss. But he…” He raised his eyes.
“…does not accept an insult.”
Sami felt something.
For the first time in a long while, a warmth started in his chest and slowly spread through his veins.
It wasn’t anger.
It was a strange sensation, as if something inside him refused to bow.
“What’s the matter?” Darius sneered.
“Swallowed your tongue?” Sami slowly raised his head.
His eyes weren’t as calm as everyone was used to.
It wasn’t that they had turned red; it was that his gaze had become… heavier.
For a brief moment, Darius felt something choking him, then it vanished.
Sami spoke for the first time, his voice calm—calmer than usual.
“Move your hand.” Darius smiled.
“And if I don’t?”
In the garden, Lysasara sighed as she looked at the Four Horsemen.
“It has begun.” Valdrack smiled a barely visible smile.
“Not rage… but dignity.”
In the real world, Sami pushed Darius’s arm away with his right hand.
A simple move, but it was so precise that Darius lost his balance by half a step.
His eyes widened.
“How…?” He attacked immediately—a straight punch to the face.
Sami ducked slightly.
The punch passed his hair without touching him.
Then he grabbed Darius’s wrist, twisted it in a short motion, and Darius lost his balance completely.
Boom!
But Sami let him go immediately and did not counterattack.
Darius stood up quickly, his anger boiling over.
He gathered his Aura into his fist.
“Don’t look at me like that!” He lunged.
This time, he was faster and stronger.
But Sami was reading his movement before it even began.
He dodged the first, then the second, then the third.
Every step was calm, as if he were walking, not fighting.
Students began to whisper.
“He’s not attacking.” “He’s… controlling the rhythm of the fight.”
Darius screamed and unleashed his strongest strike.
Only a few saw it.
Just a glimpse, as if the air itself had bowed in respect.
Darius’s fist stopped centimeters from Sami’s face.
His entire body froze.
He couldn’t move forward, nor could he retreat.
He felt that if he took one step… he would collapse.
Sami looked at him and said calmly: “Are you finished?” Darius’s lips trembled.
He couldn’t respond.
Sami turned and walked away.
Just like that.
As if the fight hadn’t been worth finishing.
Darius remained standing, looking at his back.
And for the first time in his life, he understood that defeat… is not always by falling.
Sometimes, it begins when you realize your opponent never considered you an enemy in the first place.
Night fell over the Imperial Capital.
The sky was overcast with clouds.
At the top of the Council Tower, Arian stood alone before the Imperial Crystal.
The blue light reflected on his calm face, yet he felt no calm.
Since his arrival at the Academy, every report he wrote made things more complicated.
Sami didn’t act like a tyrant, a madman, or even someone seeking power.
He acted like a young man… trying to live his life.
And that troubled him more than anything.
He reached out toward the crystal.
It lit up, and the Council emblem appeared.
The familiar voice reached him: “Arian Solvis. Present your report.” He breathed slowly.
“There is no change in the target’s assessment.” Silence followed.
Then came the reply: “Yes, there is.” Arian froze.
“What do you mean?” The voice of the Council Chairman appeared this time, cold… as usual.
“The Council has reached its decision.” Arian felt his heart sink.
“What decision?” The crystal paused for a second.
Then, a single word appeared: EXTERMINATE
He stared at it for a long time, as if his mind refused to read it.
“An extermination order,” the Chairman said without hesitation.
“The target has exceeded the level of surveillance. His existence poses an unpredictable danger.” Arian raised his head.
For the first time in years, he objected.
“Sir… the evidence is not enough.
I am still gathering—” “Gathering time is over,” the Chairman interrupted.
“Begin the execution.”
Silence filled the room.
Arian clenched his fist.
Inside him, there were two voices.
The first… the voice of a soldier raised on obedience: “Carry out the order.” The second… the voice of the analyst who had seen the truth with his own eyes: “Do you kill someone… because you fear what they might become?”
He closed his eyes, then opened them.
His face returned to its usual calm.
“Your orders… are understood.” The crystal went dark.
Arian remained alone.
He looked out from the tower window toward the distant horizon, where the Resonance Academy lay.
He whispered in a voice barely audible even to himself: “…I hope you are wrong.”
He turned slowly.
In his pocket, his student ID still bore his new name: Arian Solvis.
But his smile this time… was not the smile of a student.
It was the smile of a man… who had been ordered to kill the first friend he had begun to believe in.