Rivers of the Night-Chapter 281: Ready
Chapter 281: Ready
Theron awoke the next day and calmly cleansed himself as though he hadn’t experienced much of anything the previous day. When he walked out of his hotel room, he was surprised to find that Sigil was leaning against the doorway, waiting for him.
A gentle smile graced his face. “Good morning.”
Sigil looked over. “Your expression of surprise is very good.”
Theron blinked. “Well, I am.”
“Are you? I somehow doubt that you of all people would walk out of your room without checking if there was someone waiting outside first.”
Theron opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but then closed it like he couldn’t figure out exactly how to respond to the jab.
Sigil obviously hadn’t been able to sense Theron’s Third Eye, yet he was so sure.
“You left her behind,” Sigil said calmly.
“My wife, you mean?” Theron asked. “I only did what made the most sense.”
“You still call her that?”
“Am I not legally a Vermouth? Why wouldn’t I?”
Sigil gave Theron a deep look, his head tilting to the side. The two were shoulder to shoulder, one leaning by the doorway and the other still standing within it. It was as though they couldn’t be bothered to face one another.
What made Sigil the most annoyed was that right now, he couldn’t find anything in Theron’s face that would make him hate the latter. All the stories about the arrogant Theron weren’t here right now, and he was just the same delicate, gentle teenage boy that he had first talked to all those weeks ago.
“A man doesn’t leave his woman behind,” Sigil said calmly.
Theron smiled a bit sadly. “Unfortunately, I’m not a man yet.”
After saying this, Theron walked away, and Sigil felt a bit shell-shocked and frozen. The words were so simple, but they seemed to reframe everything.
Theron… would only be turning 15 two months from now. He was very much still a child, and somehow the world, including Sigil himself, seemed to have completely forgotten that.
**
Theron stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his head tilted to the skies as the booming thunder of the crowd roared around them. The earth shook and quaked, their excitement boiling over into a fever pitch.
The drama in the last few days might have made things more tense, but they had also increased the excitement of the spectators several times over.
The arena, formed of brown and black stone, carrying pillars that soared dozens of meters into the air and housing spectator boxes for the elites that hung up as high as the clouds, seemed to have become a vessel for the emotions of an entire population.
However, Theron felt almost disassociated from it. Maybe he should have been nervous, especially since he would be the first up as a First Year, but his heart hardly changed.
There was a smoothness to the cadence of his breath right now that resonated not with the bandwidth of the crowd, but his own rhythm.
The five Empires and their participants stood in a pentagonal formation, an elevated platform of the same shape between them all. It could be said that the number of gazes on Theron was quite substantial.
Faustin Sangun seemed to be among the most adamant, the sneer on his face heavy. He looked quite convinced that Theron had been avoiding him all the while.
But the First Year genius of the Firewings was also quite adamant. It seemed that whatever distaste Thessa had was transferred over. Though it made sense, Theron had personally embarrassed Thessa more than just once.
What was more interesting was that Thessa was the Second Year representative of the military stream for her Imperial Clan. She was only 16 or 17 years old this year, so she was certainly young enough. But it smelt of avoiding Theron, because at that age, she was the second youngest behind Theron himself.
If she said she wanted to be a First Year, no one would refuse. But she hadn’t.
However, neither of these few were the people Theron was paying attention to. As he looked into the skies, he could feel the one amongst them all that stood out the most.
And it was actually Chopra Sangun, the Fourth Year military stream genius of the Sangun Clan, and the reason the Gold Clan was now one short of eight.
There was a dense scent of blood coming from this young man.
He had deep brown skin and flowing black hair. It was hard to describe him as anything but a beautiful man, especially with how his red eyes glowed with a hint of mystery and hidden sharpness to them.
Of everyone here, Theron felt like this man was a blinding sun in the midst of the night, burning with a strength and power that suppressed all others.
Suffocating in presence and yet so subtle to most others. It was almost like he was pointing a blade right at Theron’s head.
Slowly, as the final explanations of the tournament were sent down, Theron finally looked at him.
Chopra’s indifferent, almost dull appearance brightened just the slightest bit. It was akin to a predator that had found their prey.
However, in that moment, Chopra felt something else as Theron’s hair swayed slightly in the wind. As though the bristling mane of a lion, it shifted, the roar of a beast blasting a heated wind against Chopra’s face.
Chopra’s pupils constricted, his brows raising just the slightest bit. His own hair seemed to be blasted back by the illusory roar, but by the time he focused on Theron again, he was already stepping forward along with the other First Years of the academic stream.
Theron Galethunder of the Nightingale Empire.
Sura Firewing of the Firewing Empire.
Faustin Sangun of the Sangun Empire.
Drake Gold of the Gold Empire.
Lyn Auran of the Auran Empire.
“Welcome, juniors. Today you’ll be whetting the palette, introducing us to the day’s events, and planting the first flag for your Empires,” the host provided by the Sangun Clan spoke out boldly. “You all know the rules in this relay tournament. How you perform will decide the advantages your seniors will have… or the disadvantages. Ready yourselves!”
“Wait.”
As the host was about to announce the details of the first round, Faustin interrupted, his gaze landing on Theron.
