The cheers still echoed long after the fight ended.
Jayden walked through the narrow hall behind the arena, the roar of the crowd fading into the dull hum of torches and footsteps. His clothes were damp with sweat and mist, but his heartbeat was calm. Too calm.
He'd won.
And yet… victory felt hollow.
Every duel, every cheer — it all smelled like smoke. Like the ruins of his home.
He adjusted the strap of his pack and stepped into the open courtyard that divided the dueling grounds from the dormitories. The marble walls glowed faintly blue under the late afternoon light. Around him, other students moved in small clusters, chattering about their matches, laughing too loudly.
He felt their eyes when he passed.
*The gutter rat.*
*The slum-boy who shouldn't have survived.*
He heard it in the way they stopped talking when he was near.
Jayden didn't look up. He'd lived through worse than whispers.
A voice called out anyway.
"Hey, hero!"
Kael leaned against a stone archway, arms folded, lightning flickering idly along his knuckles. His hair, a mess of gold and static, caught the sunlight like threads of fire.
"That was one hell of a performance," he said, grin easy and wide. "Didn't think you had it in you."
Jayden stopped beside him. "You didn't think I had it in me, or you hoped I didn't?"
Kael laughed, pushing off the wall. "Both. You made half the crowd choke on their pride. Dorran hasn't stopped swearing since my fight, but after yours, even the instructors looked impressed."
Jayden tilted his head. "You enjoy the attention?"
"Of course." Kael threw his hands up. "Attention is currency. Reputation keeps you fed around here."
Jayden's gaze lingered on the lightning arcs dancing across Kael's fingers. "Then you're rich already."
Kael smirked. "You're catching on, water boy."
For a moment, the tension broke. They stood side by side, watching the sun bleed gold across the academy rooftops.
"Still," Kael said softly, "that move at the end — the wall of water? Never seen anything like it. Who taught you that?"
Jayden's jaw tightened. His fingers brushed the faint mark beneath his left eye — the one that had burned during the trial, unseen by anyone else. "No one," he said. "I figured it out."
Kael studied him for a beat longer, then shrugged. "Fair enough. Everyone's got their secrets. Just make sure yours doesn't get you killed."
"Good advice," Jayden said. "You should follow it too."
Kael barked a laugh, the sound bright against the settling dusk. "I like you, Jayden. Don't die before the next tournament. I need someone interesting to beat."
Jayden almost smiled. "You can try."
---
That night, Keystone Academy glittered beneath a canopy of elemental lights — flames drifting through the air, motes of frost glowing like stars, storm wisps swirling above the dueling rings.
Jayden sat by his dorm window, staring out at the sprawling city beyond the walls. From here, he could see the faint haze of the outer districts — where the canals choked with smoke and filth. Where his family had died.
His reflection stared back from the glass — tired eyes, sharper now, colder. The faint shimmer of his sigil pulsed under his left eye before fading.
He clenched his fist. *Water control, precision, adaptability.*
That was what the instructors said mattered most for elemental mastery. But none of them spoke of the pain that came with it — the pull of power, the way his veins hummed when he reached too far, the ache that came from holding more than he should.
He'd been remade in the water's image — silent, patient, unstoppable.
But even rivers could drown cities.
---
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Jayden turned. Kira stood at his doorway, her crimson uniform half unbuttoned, eyes reflecting the same flame that always seemed to live behind them.
"You move quietly," Jayden said.
"You brood loudly," she replied. She walked in without invitation, her steps soundless on the stone floor. "You fight differently than the others. Not trained. More... reactive."
"Is that a compliment?"
"It's an observation."
She leaned against his desk, arms folded. "You weren't surprised when they called your name today. Most people tremble their first time in the arena."
"I've had worse days."
Kira studied him. "People are talking, you know. About how you survived that lightning raid in the outskirts. About how your entire block burned, and you came out alive."
Jayden's stomach turned cold. "Rumors."
"Maybe." Her eyes softened, just barely. "You don't have to confirm anything. But for what it's worth, you fought like someone who's already lost everything."
She turned to leave, pausing at the door. "Don't drown yourself chasing strength, Jayden. The Codex doesn't care how hard you fight — only how far you fall."
When she was gone, Jayden stared out the window again.
The Codex. Silent, ancient, uncaring.
And yet… in the dark, when he closed his eyes, he could almost feel it. Watching. Measuring. Waiting.
---
Outside, the storm banners shifted in the wind.
Somewhere deep inside him, the Eye of Creation pulsed — quiet, steady, patient.
Jayden whispered to the night,
"I'm not done yet."