The Mathematics bell rang, and the students poured into the west corridor. Jordan slipped his parchment back into his satchel, still shaken by Professor Gavel's words. He just wanted a quiet moment, a breath of calm.
But calm was nowhere to be found.
At the far end of the corridor, Jayden leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed and burning. The crest of Scorpio glowed faintly on his chest, and in his hands he balanced a weapon Jordan had never seen before — a double-bladed flow scythe, its edges catching the light in cruel arcs.
"Walker." Jayden's voice was sharp, venomous. "Why were you in my dream?"
Jordan froze. "What—? I don't—"
"Don't lie!" Jayden pushed away from the wall, spinning the scythe with a fluid motion that hissed through the air. "I saw you. Standing where you didn't belong. You looked at me. You heard me. That was my domain!"
Jordan's breath quickened. "I… I don't know how it happened! I was just—"
Jayden lunged. The scythe's twin blades carved through the space where Jordan had stood a heartbeat before. Sparks burst from the stone as metal scraped wall.
Jordan stumbled back, hands raised, eyes wide. "Stop! I don't even understand what I saw!"
Jayden's teeth bared in a grim smile. "Then let me carve the truth into you. I'll give you your first death, Walker. And it will be so excruciating… you'll pray never to wake again. You'll go insane reliving it."
The scythe whirled, its shadows stretching long, deadly. Jordan's back hit the stone wall, his pulse hammering, fear flooding his veins.
Then—
Crack!
A sound like thunder split the air. The scythe froze mid-swing, its blades halting inches from Jordan's throat. A shimmering barrier of light pulsed between them, humming with restrained power.
Selora stood at the center of the corridor, her staff raised. Her eyes burned with cold authority.
"Unsanctioned battles are forbidden. Especially against an unarmed opponent."
She flicked her wrist, and the scythe disintegrated into ash and smoke. Jayden staggered, his arms snapping back as if shackled by invisible chains.
Jordan collapsed to his knees, breath ragged, the phantom weight of death still pressing against his chest.
Selora's voice cut through the silence, unyielding.
"Both of you. My classroom. Now. If you have fire to spend, you will burn it under my watch — not in the corridors like rabid animals."
Jayden snarled but said nothing, his eyes still locked on Jordan. Jordan, trembling, forced himself to his feet.
Renfo leaned against the railing above, his grin faint but his gaze sharp.
"Well now… detention. This'll be fun."
The corridor cleared, silence swallowing the aftermath.
And so, under Selora's shadow, Jordan and Jayden were marched toward their first detention — their fates tangled tighter than either could admit.