If Kael had learned anything during his first few weeks at Arcadia Academy, it was that students had two innate talents.

Exaggerating.

And getting bored quickly.

Unfortunately, the Church of Order’s attack had combined both factors in the worst possible way.

Now no one talked about anything else.

Kael walked down one of the main hallways with Luna and the Little Fat King, trying to reach his classroom without drawing attention.

It was an impossible goal.

"It’s him!"

"The Bearer of Chaos!"

"The guy who defeated the Church!"

Kael sighed.

"I just wanted to study."

Luna smiled.

"Too late for that."

The murmurs grew around them.

"I heard he defeated ten inquisitors by himself."

"No. It was fifty."

"My cousin told me it was a hundred."

"My brother swears the cat ate half of them."

Kael stopped.

"Why do they always end up blaming the cat?"

The Little Fat King yawned.

As if that wasn’t his problem.

A group of first-year students approached cautiously.

"Is it true the Church of Order only pursues sinners?"

Kael opened his mouth.

Closed it.

And decided that honesty was the best policy.

"I have no idea."

The students exchanged glances.

"That sounds exactly like what a sinner would say."

"What?"

Luna crossed her arms.

"My brother is not a sinner!"

One of the students pointed at the cat.

"Then explain that."

The Little Fat King stared at him.

The student stepped back two paces.

"Forget it. I don’t want to know."

As they continued walking, Kael heard more rumors.

Each one more absurd than the last.

"They say Seraphine destroyed a mountain during the rescue."

"No, it was the cat."

"No, it was Kael."

"All three together."

"I heard Seraphine and Kael got engaged after the battle!"

Kael tripped over himself.

Luna looked away, whistling innocently.

She was clearly guilty of that rumor.

The problem was that wasn’t even the strangest rumor.

When they reached the central courtyard, they found a group of students gathered around Aurelion.

The guy was sitting calmly on a tree branch.

As always.

Enjoying the show.

"Aurelion!"

"You were there!"

"Tell us the truth!"

Aurelion smiled.

That smile of his that always meant trouble.

"What do you want to know?"

The questions came immediately.

"Is it true Kael defeated the entire Church?"

"No."

Kael sighed in relief.

"He only defeated the ones they sent."

Kael stopped sighing.

"That sounds much worse!"

Aurelion ignored his protest.

"Although I must admit, the scariest part was when Seraphina stopped looking like a student and started looking like a natural disaster."

The students paled.

"Really?"

Aurelion nodded.

"For a moment I thought we’d have to rebuild the forest."

Kael looked at Seraphina, who had just arrived.

She tilted her head slightly.

"I wouldn’t have destroyed it."

Aurelion smiled.

"I know.

You would have only destroyed half."

Seraphina seemed to consider that possibility.

"That’s true."

The students began taking notes frantically.

Kael felt a terrible sense of dread.

"Please stop feeding the rumors."

Aurelion looked at him.

"Rumors?"

"Yes."

"I’m just being honest."

"That’s what’s worrying."

Then Darius appeared.

Walking with his arms crossed and an expression of absolute exhaustion.

He looked like a man who had given up on understanding the world.

"Listen up, everyone."

The crowd fell silent.

Darius pointed at Kael.

"This idiot didn’t defeat the Church."

Kael smiled.

Finally, someone reasonable.

"Thanks."

"Because he practically did nothing."

The smile disappeared.

"Hey."

Darius continued.

"Seraphina did most of the work."

Aurelion raised a hand.

"Not exactly."

"And the cat did the rest."

Kael nodded.

"That’s much closer to the truth."

The crowd exchanged glances.

Then one of the students spoke.

"You understand, right?"

Another nodded.

"Yeah."

A girl sighed.

"He’s trying to hide his true power."

Darius’s eyes went wide.

"WHAT!?"

"It makes sense."

"It’s a classic tactic of legendary heroes."

"They hide their feats to avoid drawing attention."

Kael pointed at the crowd.

"No! I want exactly the opposite!"

No one believed him.

Darius put a hand to his face.

"You’re impossible."

Aurelion burst out laughing.

"You have to admit it’s funny."

"It’s not."

"It’s a little."

Darius was about to respond when a third-year student approached.

He looked nervous.

He looked at Kael.

Then at the Fat King.

And finally asked in a low voice.

"Is it true he devours souls?"

Kael looked at the cat.

The cat looked at Kael.

"That’s a good question..." Kael thought to himself.

Both remained silent.

Aurelion answered before them.

"Only the souls of annoying people."

The student paled.

"What?"

"I’m joking."

The student didn’t seem convinced.

He walked away quickly.

Kael turned to Aurelion.

"Why do you do this?"

Aurelion shrugged.

"Because it’s fun."

Darius snorted.

"You’re part of the problem."

"Thanks."

"That wasn’t a compliment."

While the students kept murmuring, Kael heard something new.

Something that made him stop.

"I heard the Church of Order is never wrong."

"If they’re hunting him, he must be dangerous."

"Maybe we should stay away from him."

For the first time that morning, the atmosphere changed.

The curious looks mixed with different ones.

Distrust.

Fear.

Kael lowered his gaze.

He knew it would happen sooner or later.

The Church of Order was respected in almost every kingdom.

If they considered him a threat, many people would assume they were right.

Luna frowned.

"They’re idiots."

Kael forced a smile.

"I don’t blame them."

Seraphina stepped forward.

Her expression didn’t change.

But her voice sounded firm.

"They’re wrong."

The entire crowd fell silent.

Seraphina continued.

"Kael is a good person."

It was a simple sentence.

Direct.

But coming from her, it had an enormous effect.

The strongest student in the academy had just publicly backed him.

The murmurs died down.

Aurelion smiled.

"I trust him too."

Darius snorted.

"I don’t trust him."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks, I guess."

Darius pointed at him.

"But I trust the Church even less."

Kael blinked.

He hadn’t expected to hear that.

Luna smiled proudly.

"See! Even Darius appreciates you."

"I don’t appreciate him!"

Aurelion nodded.

"That sounded exactly like something someone who appreciates another person would say."

Darius looked like he was about to explode.

Before he could respond, a blue window appeared before Kael.

Only he could see it.

[Preparing arrival of the Second Compatible Entity.]

[Time remaining: 59 hours, 21 minutes.]

Kael felt a chill.

He had been so busy dealing with the rumors that he had almost forgotten.

Almost.

But the clock kept ticking.

And he had no idea what would happen when it hit zero.

Seraphina noticed his expression.

"Is there less time left?"

Kael nodded.

She was silent for a few seconds.

Then she said something that surprised him.

"Then we’ll prepare together."

Seraphina took his hand.

Aurelion smiled.

"Sounds fun."

Darius sighed.

"I hate that my life has become this."

Luna raised a fist.

"We’ll get through it!"

Kael looked at his companions.

Then at the Little Fat King.

The cat was still sitting beside him.

As if he had decided that was his place.

And for the first time all day, the rumors stopped mattering to him.

Just a little.

Because if he had learned anything lately, it was that the real threats weren’t the academy’s gossip.

They were the things that appeared when that countdown hit zero...

And having a very fat gray cat that knocked out giant creatures with a slap.