Caelus didn't stop running until he hit the third floor custodial closet.
He slammed the door shut, locked it, and collapsed onto a pile of stiff, chemical-smelling mops. His lungs were burning. It felt like he had swallowed broken glass.
He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the sound of boots. Waiting for the door to be kicked in. Waiting for Sylvia von Aethelgard to drag him out by his hair and finish what she started twelve years ago.
She leaned in, Caelus thought, his brain misfiring. I threatened to break her, and she leaned in.
The memory was vivid, horrifyingly high-definition. The way her eyes had gone half-lidded. The flush on her neck. The way her pulse had hammered against the thin skin of her throat, right under his thumb.
"She's insane," Caelus wheezed to the dark room. "She's actually lost her mind. She wants me to hit her? Is that it? Is she mocking me?"
It had to be a game. A cat playing with a mouse before the snap. Look, I'm so unafraid of you I can pretend to be aroused. It was the ultimate insult.
He grabbed his left wrist. The skin was red and angry.
[CALCULATING...]
The text hung in the air, pulsing slowly. It had been calculating for three minutes.
"Just kill me," Caelus whispered. "Stop doing math and just kill me."
Life Force: 00:48:15
Forty-eight minutes.
He leaned his head back against the shelving unit. A bottle of industrial cleaner dug into his shoulder blade. He didn't move it. The pain was grounding. It reminded him he was still a biological entity and not just a plot point in a bad joke.
[CALCULATION COMPLETE]
Caelus flinched.
Action: Intimidation / Physical Dominance.Target: Sylvia von Aethelgard (Key Heroine).Target Reaction: Elevated Heart Rate (140 BPM), Pupil Dilation, Hormonal Spike.
The System paused. It seemed to be considering its next words carefully.
Assessment: Fear response indistinguishable from... intense biological excitement.Verdict: Task Failed Successfully.
Caelus stared at the blue window. "What does that mean? What is 'failed successfully'?"
Reward: +2 Hours.Bonus: The "Confused Predator" Achievement.
A rush of cold energy—like mint water flowing through his veins—washed over him. The burning in his wrist subsided. The numbers unscrolled, spinning backward.
Life Force: 02:48:15
Caelus let out a breath that was half-laugh, half-sob. He wasn't going to die in a broom closet.
He looked at the achievement.
[Confused Predator]You have successfully terrified a target so badly they developed a coping mechanism. Or you have awakened something dark in them. The System is not a therapist. Good luck.
"I hate this," Caelus said. He rubbed his face with his hands. They were still shaking. "I hate this world."
He sat there for ten minutes, just breathing. The closet smelled of bleach and old water. It was the same smell as the prison cell they had kept him in before the execution.
Get up, he told himself. The Entrance Ceremony starts at noon. If I'm not there, the Prince will notice. If the Prince notices, I die.
He pushed himself up. He dusted off his suit. There was a smear of purple beetle blood on his cuff and a streak of dust on his knee. He looked like a nobleman who had been rolled down a hill.
"Perfect," he muttered. "I look like trash. That fits the role."
He unlocked the door and peeked out. The hallway was empty.
He stepped out, moving quickly toward the Great Hall. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the few straggling students rushing to the ceremony.
He needed to be invisible. He needed to be a background extra.
But the world, as he was learning, had very different plans.
------------------------------------------------------------------
[LOCATION: THE WEST WING CORRIDOR - 5 MINUTES AGO]
Sylvia was still standing there.
She was leaning against the wall where Caelus had pinned her. She hadn't moved. She hadn't fixed her collar, which was still rumpled from his grip.
Her hand came up, touching the spot on her neck where his thumb had pressed.
"He's weak," she whispered.
Her voice was trembling.
"He's so weak. He's shaking. He's terrified."
She closed her eyes, and a shudder ran through her entire body.
In the past timeline, Caelus had always been composed. Even when he was being "evil," he was distant, cold, untouchable. He was a statue of arrogance.
But this Caelus? This Caelus was raw. He was messy. He was desperate.
"He threatened to break me," she murmured to the empty hallway.
A dark, twisted smile spread across her face. It wasn't the smile of a hero. It was the smile of someone who had found a new religion.
"He's trying so hard to push me away. He's trying to be a monster to protect me."
She pushed herself off the wall. She adjusted her sword belt.
"It won't work, Caelus," she said softly. "You can break me. You can do whatever you want. But you can't make me leave."
She started walking toward the Great Hall. Her steps were light, almost dancing.
"Next time," she promised herself, "I won't let him run away."
------------------------------------------------------------------
[LOCATION: THE GREAT HALL ENTRANCE]
The doors to the Great Hall were massive, carved from blackwood and reinforced with steel. They were designed to intimidate.
Caelus stood before them. He checked his clothes one last time.
Be arrogant, he reminded himself. Be the villain. Don't look at Sylvia. Don't save anyone. Just sit in the back and sneer.
He pushed the doors open.
The sound of a thousand students chatting died down instantly. The sheer acoustics of the room amplified the creak of the hinges.
Heads turned.
Caelus froze. He had expected to slip in unnoticed. Instead, he had made an entrance.
"Look," someone whispered. "It's the Third Son."
"The Trash of Valerius."
"I heard he blew up the infirmary this morning."
"I heard he saved the Saintess from a venomous beast."
"Which is it? Is he a hero or a lunatic?"
Caelus kept his face blank. He walked down the center aisle, looking neither left nor right. He channeled every ounce of his aristocratic training. Chin up. Eyes bored. You are better than them. You are trash, but expensive trash.
He found a spot in the back row, near a pillar, and sat down.
He exhaled.
Life Force: 02:35:00
He was safe. For now.
He glanced to his right.
Three rows down, surrounded by a group of admirers, was the Second Prince. Lucas. The man who had ordered Caelus's execution.
Lucas was laughing at something a girl said. It was a perfect laugh. Practiced. Golden.
Caelus felt a spike of pure, cold hatred in his gut. It wasn't an act. It wasn't for the System. It was his own.
You killed me, Caelus thought, staring at the back of the Prince's head. You used me, blamed me, and killed me.
Lucas turned.
His eyes—bright green and full of fake warmth—scanned the crowd. They landed on Caelus.
The Prince smiled.
It was a small nod. A greeting between the "Hero" and his "Villain."
Play your part, Caelus, the smile said. Make me look good.
Caelus gripped the armrest of his chair until the wood cracked.
[NARRATIVE OPPORTUNITY DETECTED]Event: The Prince's Speech.Villain Objective: Disrespect the Future Emperor.Reward Potential: High.
Caelus looked at the prompt.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the squashed apple he had stolen from the cafeteria earlier. It was bruised. It was ugly.
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and took a loud, crunchy bite just as the Prince stood up to speak.
Showtime.