The morning halls of the academy buzzed with students rushing to their first lessons. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting long patterns across polished floors. Riven's focus was sharpened from weeks of training, Lily beside him, chatting quietly, her silver hair flickering faintly with contained sparks.
Suddenly, she stopped mid-step, eyes narrowing and a smile tugging at her lips.
"Hey!" she called across the hall, voice carrying. "You! The new student — the one with the… crazy mana!"
Heads turned. Students whispered, intrigued by her tone. Riven followed her gaze and saw him — a figure calm and pale, standing apart from the crowd. Crimson eyes flicked briefly across the hall, scanning without apparent concern.
Kairo.
He didn't move immediately, simply observing. The aura around him was subtle yet undeniable, a latent power that made others instinctively give him space.
Lily laughed lightly, skipping a few steps toward him. "I'm Lily, by the way. Ignis Lily. And you must be new here… right?!"
Kairo tilted his head, expression neutral. His voice was quiet, deliberate. "Yes."
Riven's eyes narrowed, studying him. He noticed the sword at Kairo's side, sheathed but ever-present. His crimson gaze flicked to the blade and back. Something didn't add up.
"You… mage? Or swordsman?" Riven asked finally, his voice carrying a subtle edge.
Kairo's lips curved faintly, almost imperceptibly. "Neither… in the usual sense."
Riven's brow furrowed. He didn't recognize the energy, the way it seemed untethered, not aligned with a House or class. His instincts flared. Something about him… unusual.
Lily, meanwhile, stepped closer, cheerful and curious. "Well, I like unusual! It makes life more interesting. Come on, don't just stand there — let's walk together!"
Kairo's crimson eyes scanned the surrounding students briefly, then he moved to fall in step beside her. His expression remained neutral, but the weight of his aura made even casual movement seem deliberate.
Riven followed silently for a moment, studying the boy from behind. The sword at his side, the calm, almost clinical composure, the strange, boundless mana — it all unsettled him.
"So…" Lily continued, chatting as they walked. "Where did you come from? What House?"
Kairo didn't answer immediately. Instead, his eyes flicked over Riven for the first time, noting the tension in his posture, the hard edge of someone trained to survive without the gift of mana.
"Not a House," he said finally, voice low but steady. "I go where I am needed."
Riven's hand twitched near his sword. Not fear — curiosity, calculation. No House. Classless. Mana… insane. And that sword… is it a backup, or…?
Lily, oblivious to the silent tension building, smiled widely. "Well, that's fine with me! I like classless types. Makes life… unpredictable!"
Kairo said nothing, simply walking beside her, his crimson eyes flicking once more toward Riven before returning forward.
Riven remained silent too, eyes narrowing, a mixture of intrigue and warning simmering beneath his calm exterior. For the first time in weeks, the courtyard chatter and academy buzz felt… different.
Something was coming.
The hallway was alive with noise — students leaning over banisters, whispers spreading fast as Lily tugged Kairo forward. His crimson eyes swept the vast chamber, memorizing every detail with detached precision.
Behind them, Riven's footsteps echoed heavier, his presence tense. His eyes burned on the sword at Kairo's hip.
Finally, his voice cut through the chatter like a blade.
"You never answered me," Riven said. "Mage… or swordsman?"
Kairo turned slightly, gaze cool and unreadable. "Neither. Nor both."
The answer was too casual. Too detached. Riven's hands curled into fists. He stepped closer, voice rising.
"Don't dodge the question. That blade — it means something. Tell me… are you a swordmage?"
The word dripped with venom. The air shifted. Students stopped walking, curiosity pinning them in place.
Kairo's crimson eyes flicked to him, then down at the sword, then back again. His answer was simple, without hesitation.
"No."
Lily exhaled in relief, moving between them. "See? It's fine—"
But Riven wasn't finished. His voice dropped, heavy with anger.
"Because if you are… I'll tell you right here, I hate swordmages. Parasites who hide behind steel when their mana runs dry. Half-breeds. Liars."
Kairo's eyes narrowed faintly. "…And if I were?"
Riven's blade was already halfway drawn. "Then I'd cut you down before you embarrassed that weapon."
The crowd gasped as metal sang. Lily shoved between them, flames sparking uncontrollably from her palms. "Stop! Both of you—!"
But it was too late.
Riven lunged first, sword flashing in a practiced arc. Kairo moved like water, bone forming in his hand to deflect the strike. The impact cracked through the hall, rattling windows.
Whispers erupted. "They're fighting!"
"Who are they—?"
"Isn't that the new one—Kairo?!"
Steel clashed bone again and again. Riven pressed forward with furious precision, every strike laced with years of pent-up frustration, the rage of a man fighting against the world that mocked him.
"You think your power makes you better than me?!" Riven roared.
Kairo's voice was cold. "No. My control does."
He twisted, bone blade curving unnaturally, catching Riven's steel and forcing it upward. A knee followed — quick, brutal — slamming into Riven's ribs and sending him skidding across the polished floor.
Lily cried out. "Riven!" Her flames surged, but she froze, torn between protecting one and stopping the other.
Riven staggered, blood at his lip, but his grip on his sword never wavered. He spat on the ground and charged again, movements sharper, more desperate. Sparks flew as steel and bone met again, rhythm like drums of war.
Kairo absorbed each strike, parrying, redirecting, never wasting motion. His crimson eyes never blinked, unshaken even as students cheered and jeered from the balconies.
Finally, Kairo shifted his weight. His bone blade shattered into spears mid-motion, spiraling around Riven in a cage of white. One cut shallow across Riven's cheek, another pinned his sword hand to the ground.
The hall fell silent. Riven panted heavily, kneeling, forced down by precision and sheer power. His sword trembled, useless against the bone pressing it to the marble floor.
Kairo stepped closer, his shadow falling over him. He didn't gloat. He didn't smile. His voice was calm, final.
"Enough. Accept it."
Riven's jaw clenched, but slowly, he lowered his head. "…I accept."
The bone dissolved, falling into dust. Kairo extended a hand instead of turning away. Riven blinked at it, confusion warring with pride.
"Why…?" he rasped.
Kairo's crimson eyes glinted. "Because strength alone isn't survival. Not in this place. Form a house with me."
The words echoed like thunder. Students gasped. Lily's flames sputtered out as she stared wide-eyed at the two of them.