Fade in from darkness: Kael feels the sharp tug of teleportation and lands unceremoniously in the academy courtyard.
He groans, sprawled on the ground, Zaida perched on his chest, unbothered as always.
Kael mutters humorously about surviving a trial that almost killed him several times:
"I swear, if anyone asks me to run, dodge, or die again before lunch, I'm going to curse the whole academy into next week."
Zaida tilts her head, somehow appearing simultaneously judgmental and unimpressed. Kael notices small inconsistencies in her memory—she doesn't react to references to the trials as she used to.
"I'm your girlfriend?" Zaida asked, her head tilted slightly as she looked back down at him, still sitting on his chest.
"No. Get off me." Zaida stood from his chest only to climb back onto his shoulder as soon as he finished dusting himself.
Kael stumbled backward as officials swarmed him, shaking hands, patting his free shoulder, and tossing him titles that sounded impressive but felt heavy in his mouth.
"Contract Master — Undead Variant," one whispered, eyes darting toward Zaida, who perched perfectly still, staring at the crowd like she was judging their life choices.
"Yeah, yeah, I survived… barely," Kael said, bowing dramatically. "Can we get a medal, maybe a nap, and a sandwich? Preferably in that order." His voice was low, no one but Zaida heard him.
A few students snickered; most just stared. Whispers floated like ghosts across the courtyard: "The undead contract kid… he survived all trials… alone… with that… thing."
Kael felt Zaida twitch at the murmurs, her stitched mouth pulling into an almost-snarl.
"Relax, she's not going to bite—at least, not me… probably," he muttered.
Then a familiar voice cut through the applause and chatter.
"Finally! Someone sane!"
Jorin landed beside him in a blur of panther shadows. His black panther had evolved—or devolved, depending on who you asked. It now stood on two legs, muscular and towering, voice low and rumbling like gravel sliding downhill.
"Meet Titan," Jorin said with a smirk. "Talks too much, thinks too little."
Kael's eyes immediately narrowed as Zaida hissed—a sound halfway between a growl and a squeak of pure disgust. Titan froze as his eyes landed on her, then bared his teeth. "I do think plenty," He said, his voice deep and articulate, "and I definitely don't like her."
Zaida's green eyes flared. "Finally… a worthy nuisance," she muttered under her breath.
The courtyard transformed into an impromptu battlefield of stares. Titan flexed, pacing in a predatory circle, voice echoing in the stunned crowd. Zaida crouched, stitched fingers twirling in anticipation. The two locked eyes, and the air between them seemed to crackle.
Kael groaned. "Oh, this is going to be fun. Or horrible. Probably horrible."
Titan hissed again. "I loathe you."
Zaida's reply was a single, eerie tilt of her head. "Ditto."
For a moment, everyone else might as well have been invisible. The courtyard became a stage for the first proper face-off of pet versus pet, like a cat-and-mouse game amplified tenfold. Kael and Jorin tried to intervene.
"Do not touch her hair, bro. You know she hates that. Kael said with a bored expression on his face as Jorin was about to do something so stupid it'd make sense if Zaida couldnt eat his brain—because there was literally nothing to eat in that big head of his.
Jorin grinned. "Listen she's cute and all but i dont need her green ass essence anywhere around my son— she's scary as hell she finna give him nightmares, gosh."
Kael pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whatever, man."
Titan let out a low growl, circling Zaida, while she bounced lightly, her eyes never leaving the humanoid pantha.
"Alright, alright," Kael said, stepping between them. "You both want to test boundaries? Fine. But do it after lunch, please. I'm starving, and I don't need either of you turning the courtyard into a war zone before sandwiches exist."
A few students whispered again, leaning closer to watch the tension unfold, while others kept a safe distance.
Zaida hissed, Titan growled, and Kael muttered, "If they kill each other, I'm blaming the academy… and their parents… and probably the universe."
As the chaos simmered, Kael's eyes flicked upward. From the balcony, the shadowy figure remained, watching silently, cloak billowing slightly in the wind.
"Yeah… yeah, I see you," Kael muttered, nudging Zaida. She ignored him, still staring down Titan as though her stitched hands could shred it with pure willpower.
The bell rang for lunch, snapping everyone back to their routines—or as close as anyone could get. Kael grabbed Jorin by the arm.
"Come on. Sandwiches, not civil war."
Jorin chuckled, leading Titan and Zaida behind him. "Oh, this isn't over," he said, voice low. "Not by a long shot."
Zaida muttered under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like, "Finally… fun."
And Kael groaned again, muttering to no one in particular: "I may survive demons, but keeping these two from killing each other? That's definitely going to be the real trial."
The trio arrived at the dining hall, a vaulted chamber filled with long tables, glimmering chandeliers, and the faint scent of cooked meats mixed with herbs. Students buzzed in clusters, chatting and casting occasional curious glances at Kael.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Jorin muttered as they approached the table. "We can't just sit anywhere—strategic placement matters!"
Kael rolled his eyes. "Strategic placement? The only strategy I have right now is: survive lunch without my zombie or your pantha eating someone's face."
Zaida perched neatly on the edge of his chair, tilting her head as though she actually understood the conversation. She blinked at him, stitched lips twitching in what Kael suspected was a judgmental smirk.
Kael's eyes darted toward the dessert section. There it was: the biggest slice of pie he'd ever seen. Without hesitation, he reached for it.
"Ha! Victory!" he whispered, just as Zaida turned her head and glared.
He froze mid-reach. "Uh… yeah… nothing… nothing to see here," he muttered, lowering his hand. She blinked at him once more, then returned to her posture of eternal judgment.
Jorin snorted. "You're pathetic. Pie diplomacy? Really?"
Kael grinned. "Shut up. This is war. You ever seen someone fight for pie?"
As they settled, Kael noticed subtle, almost imperceptible cues in the hall: flickers of green in the corners, faint whispers brushing against the edge of his consciousness. Entities—or perhaps other students—were aware of the shard's energy he now carried.
"Mommy, look, I'm famous and haunted at the same time," he muttered under his breath. Jorin snorted, nearly choking on his drink.
"Legendary, that's you. Tell me about your trials, how'd it go?" Jorin asked, stuffing his face with bread that was laid on the table as decoration. Not for consumption but neither of them cared.
As Kael and Jorin both shared their experiences, Zaida paused mid-bite—or mid-stare, it was hard to tell—and tilted her head toward an empty aisle. Kael followed her gaze and saw nothing. "Still… noticing things," he murmured. Her shard-linked memory must be fading slightly; she was reacting instinctively rather than remembering past lessons.
Their food arrived.
Kael and Jorin had their usual meals—roasted meats, fresh bread, and vegetables. Zaida, however, received a small bowl of what looked like animal organs, slumped and unappetizing even by Kael's adventurous standards. Titan, on the other hand, received thick, bloody meat steaks, perfectly cooked.
Titan sniffed the organs warily. "What… is that?" it growled in a low, rumbling voice.
Zaida sniffed his portion, green eyes narrowing. "Disgusting," she hissed, before picking at it with her stitched fingers like a reluctant connoisseur.
The two pets glared at each other, muscles tensed, claws flexed, and teeth bared—not quite ready to fight but clearly ready to make their displeasure known.
Kael leaned across the table, eyes narrowing. "Titan, I swear, if you touch her, I will personally—"
Jorin mirrored his stance. "Zaida, don't even think about touching his steak. Or the meat in front of him. Got it?"
Both pets froze instantly. Their growls and hisses died mid-air, replaced by tense, calculating stares. Slowly, each pet took a cautious bite, ears flicking but no further confrontation. The subtle intimidation of their masters—Kael's calm menace paired with Jorin's natural authority—had done the trick.
Kael muttered, "You two act like teenagers fighting over leftovers, but… same energy, I guess."
Jorin snorted. "At least we're feeding them, unlike last trial where your 'pet' tried to eat someone alive."
Zaida glared at him silently, but her small twitch of amusement betrayed her. Titan grumbled under its breath but didn't make another move.
Kael finally took a bite of his pie, leaning back and savoring it. "Victory at last," he muttered. "Pie wins again. The true measure of survival."
Even as the hall buzzed with chatter, Kael couldn't shake the feeling of prying eyes, the faint green shimmer lurking just out of reach. Something was watching—not overtly hostile yet, but attentive.