The air had changed.
Not with a gust or a storm.
With something quieter.
A pressure.
Unspoken, but felt.
It was as if the sky had pulled a veil over the sun.
Even the light filtering through the windows seemed paler now.
Training fields no longer buzzed with idle chatter.
They rang with sharp clashes of effort.
Laughter came less often.
Smiles were smaller.
Although the halls of Eldris always carried the scent of ambition, it was now laced with tension.
Like steel sharpening steel.
Groups began to cluster tighter.
Conversations whispered away.
It seemed a higher focus was prevalent around the whole grounds.
Eyes glanced at the rankings, toward the training logs, toward the Elite Class dorms.
Everyone felt it.
The showcase was no longer just an announcement.
It was a countdown.
The cafeteria was quieter, save for the clinks of utensils and rustle of scrolls.
Training gear was littered on dorm corridors.
Everything smelled like preparation and pressure.
The commoners trained the hardest.
Some tried sharpening their ki or extending the resonance of their spirits.
Others lined up for meditation sessions.
A few of them even formed alliances; not knowing what could happen in the showcase.
They said it was for practise.
Everyone just wanted a moment to be seen.
In contrast, the Elite Class dorms pulsed with a different rhythm.
Quiet, cold confidence.
But even here, nerves still existed.
Seris stood alone on the roof some nights, arms crossed, eyes on the stars.
Fayl was everywhere - talking, joking, keeping the mood light.
But even he was beginning to take things serious.
Aelana's heat only rose as the days got closer. Anticipation at it's finest.
The quieter ones, like Rowen, Mira and Izan; remained quiet, focusing on reading scroll material or just observing...
Izan began training with Torin, the two giants forming a quiet bond.
Lyria also didn't speak much. Her beasts presence spoke more; it's shadow flickered in the corners of the dorm like a watching eye.
Naeva sat at her desk, staring at letters from home she never opened.
Jacob was absent. But everyone knew where he was....
But not everyone stayed silent.
Kalen Voss was unravelling.
He trained more than anyone, but it wasn't training anymore.
It was punishment.
His strikes were sharper, wilder, not precise.
His breath heavy before even warming up.
He looked like a mess.
Uniform wrinkled, collar loose.
He ignored everyone now.
The others saw this....
They didn't say anything.
Even Veyna kept her distance.
She watched with something unreadable behind her eyes.
She didn't talk to him anymore. She just looked.
Almost like she was waiting for something...
Some nights, he didn't return to his dorm.
No one knew where he went.
No one really bothered to check.
One morning, a cracked training dummy was found in the Ki Hall.
Smashed into the wall like it had been thrown.
Bruises were heavy on his knuckles.
They weren't from sparring.
And...
Every time Jacob passed by - laughing. Smiling. Composed.
Kalen's fists clenched.
Just a little tighter.
"He looks worse every day."
"Then say something."
"And have him bite my head off? No thanks." Fayl uttered.
Him and Selle going back and forth as they glanced at his rough appearance.
-----
Naeva leaned on the balcony of Elite Class's dorms.
Her eyes narrowed, as she stared at someone's movements in the courtyard.
It was Kalen.
He was straining himself.
No one trained like that alone.
"The fall always starts in silence," she muttered.
No one heard her as she turned around.
Tap tap tap
Tap tap tap
Walking through the dorms at night, even Seris passed by Kalen.
Once.
He didn't lift his head.
She paused for a second.
And then kept walking.
-----
Floating banners bearing planetary crests unfurled midair.
Spectral light displays ran from tower to tower, forming massive sigils above the courtyards.
With the academy having its own individual sector, the work needed was immense.
It was done nonetheless.
Construction golems rumbled across stone rings.
Battle arenas were carved through hand and magic alike.
Magic-light rigs hummed to life overhead, illuminating the grounds.
The dorms hummed with energy.
Students from all years peeked through windows and corners.
Foreign dignitaries arrived in cloaked ships, descending from the sky, silent and smooth, each more extravagant than the last.
"Did you hear...apparently the King is gonna make an appearance!"
"No way..."
The whispers unboxed as the days passed.
With one day left, even those who trained alone now shared glances in hallways.
Those who thought they were safe... tightened their gloves.
The Elite, usually untouchable, were seen training in full view.
Just enough to remind everyone of the gap.
Jacob was one of them, but never alone.
Kalen was not.
And that was starting to show.
Above, in sleek platforms suspended by magic, nobles, investors and foreign observers gathered; hailing from different continents...but also planets.
Their faces were unreadable.
Their eyes were hungry.
Instructors stood at the ready, arms crossed, watching the rolling tide.
Mireyna Varn muttered:
"They're earlier than expected."
Jael Cendric only nodded.
"Let them watch. This year's different."
------
Somewhere farther off.
Silent.
Unspoken.
The South Tower remained quiet.
One floor lit.
One boy.
Unseen.