The moment Kiro and Ara stepped out of the dissolving light, the air shifted.Not from magic — from attention.
Dozens of eyes, sharp as blades, turned toward them.
The other Class Tau students stood in scattered groups, bruised, exhausted. Some glared at Kiro and Ara; others stared with something between awe and suspicion.
An instructor in silver-trimmed robes approached — not the one from earlier. This one's posture screamed military, not academic. Her gaze swept over them like she was cataloguing weapons.
"Kiro."Her voice was flat, but it carried through the hall.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, visor still tilted down.
"You reached the Core."
Kiro didn't answer. Her silence stretched long enough that Ara's fingers twitched toward her dagger.
"That is… uncommon," the instructor said finally. "Especially for an unclassified Talent."
The word unclassified landed like a stone in the crowd. Murmurs rippled.
Ara stepped forward, tone sharp. "We didn't cheat. We played your game and won."
The woman's eyes flicked to her. "Your shadows kept the guardian busy. But you didn't give the order that made it step aside."
The murmurs grew louder.
Kiro shrugged lightly. "Maybe it saw my helmet and decided I wasn't worth the trouble."
It got a few chuckles from the younger students. The instructor didn't smile.
"Report to the Headmaster's office. Now."
The walk through the academy corridors was silent, but not empty — Kiro could feel threads brushing against him, not physical but mental. Instructors trying to taste his presence. He let his mind fold inward, gold threads dimming until they were almost invisible.
Ara finally broke the silence. "You know they're going to pick you apart until they find something."
"Not if I pick first," Kiro murmured.
The Headmaster's office wasn't what Kiro expected. No grand banners, no throne-like chair. Just a round room lined with shelves, the air heavy with the smell of parchment and old wood.
The man behind the desk was lean, silver-haired, eyes so pale they almost glowed.
"Kiro," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite. "Sit."
Kiro sat. Ara remained standing by the door, arms folded.
"You've caused a stir," the Headmaster said, studying him like a puzzle. "The Labyrinth's guardian doesn't yield. Not to students. Not to anyone."
Kiro met his gaze evenly. "Maybe it was defective."
A faint smile ghosted over the man's lips. "If it were defective, you'd be dead."
The Headmaster leaned forward, voice soft. "What exactly did you do in there?"
Kiro didn't flinch. "I asked it to let us pass."
"That's not how constructs work."
"Maybe yours don't," Kiro replied.
Ara's mouth twitched like she was holding back a laugh.
The Headmaster's eyes narrowed. "You have a Talent. One you're concealing."
"Then prove it," Kiro said.
The room went very still.
For a long moment, the Headmaster just watched him. Then, without warning, a mental force slammed against Kiro's mind like a battering ram.
Most people would flinch. Kiro caught it. Threads bloomed gold in the space between them, twining into the Headmaster's presence. He didn't push back hard — just enough to let the man know he could.
The Headmaster sat back slowly. "Interesting."
He tapped a finger on the desk. "Very well. You'll stay in Class Tau. But understand this — if you disrupt the balance here, the Academy will end you before the kingdoms even hear your name."
Kiro stood. "Guess I'll have to behave, then."
Outside, Ara fell into step beside him. "That went… better than I thought."
"It wasn't a conversation," Kiro said. "It was a warning."
Ara smirked. "And you're not going to listen, are you?"
"Not if I find something worth breaking the rules for."
Far above them, in one of the Academy's unlit towers, a cloaked figure closed a crystal viewing orb."Found you," they whispered.