February 10th, 2012 — Approximate Time: 8:48 AM

Asura Academy — Courtyard Stone Arcade

Perspective: Leena Grelynn

"That’s enough!" I stepped directly between Roman and Kaiser, my hands clenched at my sides. "You’ve said enough, Roman. Go buy your drinks somewhere else."

Daniel scoffed, taking a step forward. "Or what, Leena? You’re going to fight us? Look at him. He’s standing there like a moron. He doesn’t even have the balls to look us in the eye."

"He didn’t do anything to you!"

"He didn’t do anything to us?" Roman’s face twisted in pure rage. "We spent weeks practicing formations for the exam. 2 weeks, Leena! I burned through my entire savings on mana potions just to keep my shields up. And because this leech scored a single point, our class average dropped to the dirt."

Roman took a sharp breath, his fingers twitching.

"We lost 75% of our allowance! Do you know how we’re going to eat this month? How we’re going to buy materials? We are literally going to starve because this trash decided to sleep during the exam. We have every right to be angry."

I looked at them, my throat tightening.

They were right about the credits. The penalty was brutal, and for commoner students, it was a matter of survival. But directing all that hatred at Kaiser was wrong.

"Why are you even defending him?" Roman narrowed his eyes, pointing a finger at Kaiser. "He’s a loser. A literal zero. He doesn’t care about you, he doesn’t care about the class. Why are you standing up for him?"

I took a deep breath, planting my heels on the stone.

"Because he is my friend!"

The corridor went quiet for a beat.

Then Daniel burst into a loud, mocking laugh. Roman joined him, his expression turning to pure mockery.

"A friend?" Daniel wiped a fake tear from his eye. "An elf and a magicless commoner. What a beautiful pair. You must be really desperate for company if you’re calling a parasite your friend."

"Maybe she likes how pathetic he is," Roman sneered. "Makes her feel like she’s back in a noble house, having a pet dog."

My blood ran cold.

The word magicless stung like a physical slap, but their insults toward Kaiser made my magic react before my brain could stop it.

"I won’t forgive you if you say another word."

A sharp breeze whipped through the stone corridor, scattering dead leaves across the tiles. Green mana began to spiral around my wrists, the air humming with the pressure of a rising gale.

"How terribly uncivilized."

An elegant, melodic voice cut through the wind.

The draft died instantly. I froze, my heart dropping into my stomach as I recognized that specific, musical cadence. Only one race spoke with that precise, lilting rhythm.

Two students stepped out from the shadow of the arcade columns.

The boy, Novenol Dexus, had long, silver-blonde hair that fell perfectly over his shoulders and pale jade eyes.

The girl, Rinsha Giesto, walked beside him, her emerald hair tied in a high, flawless bun, her golden-hazel eyes scanning the scene with cold amusement.

Both of them were Class C elves. And both of them looked at me as if I were a stain on the marble.

"Must you always resort to violence, Leena?" Novenol adjusted his cuffs, his expression one of quiet disdain. "It is bad enough that you carry the taint of disgrace. Must you also behave like a barbarian in public?"

"Why are you interfering?" Daniel glared at Novenol, his hand resting on his sword hilt. "This is Class C business."

"Class C business?" Rinsha scoffed, her golden-hazel eyes flicking over Daniel and Roman with absolute disgust. "Do not group us with you, disgraced humans. We merely dislike seeing our race’s name dragged through the mud because one of us cannot control her temper."

She looked at me, her lips curling into a thin smile.

"Tell me, Leena. Why do you lower yourself to the dirt for 2 roaches? 1 who steals your credits, and another who cannot even cast a spark?"

"Who are you calling a roach?" Roman stepped toward them, his face flushing red. "You think because you have pointy ears you can talk down to us? You failed the exam too!"

"We failed because of aggregate metrics," Novenol replied smoothly, not even looking at Roman. "Not because of a lack of competence. And unlike you, we do not waste our breath screaming at deadweight in a corridor. It is beneath us."

I squeezed my hands into fists, my knuckles turning white.

"Kaiser is not deadweight," I muttered, my voice trembling. "He does his best. And he is my friend."

"Your friend?" Rinsha let out a soft, pitying sigh that felt colder than my wind magic. "How pathetic. Truly."

"An elf’s companionship is a grace," Novenol said, his voice flat, devoid of any anger, which made it hit so much harder. "It is a privilege reserved only for those deemed worthy. Those who possess purity, strength, and merit. By linking yourself to commoner trash, you prove why the elders cast you out."

He stepped closer, his jade eyes looking down at me with absolute authority.

"You are not defending a friend, Leena. You are simply showing the world that you belong in the mud with him. Are you even worthy of being called an elf anymore?"

The words carved straight into my chest.

Worthiness. Purity. Rejection.

It was the same tone the elders used when they stood on the white stone steps, stripping my family’s name and telling me I was no longer fit to walk under the sacred trees.

I was impure. I was a disgrace.

The corridor seemed to shrink around me, the whispers of the other students merging into a single, deafening roar of judgment.

I couldn’t breathe. My wind magic vanished, leaving me cold and empty.

"You’ve got it backward."

A calm, deadpan voice broke the silence.

I blinked, my head snapping up. Kaiser had finally turned away from the vending machine. He was holding a can of melon soda in one hand, his expression as flat and bored as ever, but his eyes were locked onto Novenol.

"What did you say, deadweight?" Rinsha’s voice went icy.

"I said your logic is backward," Kaiser said, taking a slow sip of his soda. "High Elven culture—specifically the 3rd scroll of the Elvarian Purity Codex—states that an elf’s status is absolute. It cannot be raised or lowered by the presence of lesser beings."

Kaiser tossed the empty soda can into a nearby bin, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"By claiming Leena’s association with me makes her impure, you’re admitting your own status is fragile enough to be corrupted by a human. Nobility doesn’t look down to measure its height. The fact that you have to stand here and insult an exile to feel pure just proves you’re insecure about your own bloodline."

"You’re hypocrites."

I stared at him, my jaw slightly slack.

High Elven protocol? The Purity Codex?

How does he know that? That’s sacred text taught only to noble houses. A human commoner shouldn’t even know those words exist...

Novenol’s face flushed a deep, angry red, his elegant composure cracking for the 1st time. "You arrogant little—"

Before Novenol could step forward, a sudden, heavy pressure fell over the arcade. A localized wave of cold air swept through the corridor, freezing the puddles on the stone tiles and forcing everyone to take a half-step back.

"Is there a problem here?"

Rigel stepped out from the main hallway, his heavy greatsword resting over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the group with immediate hostility.

"I was wondering why you two were taking so long," Rigel grunted, his gaze locking onto Daniel and Roman. "Looks like the local grunts decided to block the path."

Beside him, Elfie stepped forward. Her blue eyes were wide, but they were already starting to lose their warmth as she looked at Roman and Daniel standing close to Kaiser.

"Get away from Kai." Elfie’s voice was quiet, but a faint purple spark of gravity magic flickered at her fingertips.

"Right now."

"I am the Class Representative, and I know you were trying to bully Kai." Elfie crossed her arms, her pink hair swaying.

"He’s a leech—" Roman gritted his teeth, not backing down.

"We should never bully someone over their results!" Daniel interrupted, suddenly smiling and nodding at Elfie.

"Sorry man, I gotta go."

Daniel patted Roman’s shoulder and immediately bolted down the hallway.

Roman stood frozen, his mouth open. "Daniel? Are you serious?"

"What do you have to say, Roman?" Elfie tilted her head, her blue eyes narrowing.

"My bad, original gangster." Roman looked at Kaiser, then let out a defeated sigh.

"If it weren’t for our cute class rep, I wouldn’t have given up so early. But we have plans for Valentine’s Day. Today’s loss is tomorrow’s defeat. Gotta dip!" Roman backed away, raising his hands.

He turned and ran, his boots squeaking against the stone tiles.

Did they seriously just fold in under a minute?

Well, if they did continue, Elfie would definitely attack 1st and talk later. I suppose it makes sense.

"What do you want, Novenol? Rinsha?" Rigel stepped forward, his eyes landing on the silver-blonde boy and the green-haired girl.

"Nothing from you, sparkless servant," Novenol sneered, not even turning his head. "We were simply speaking to the disgrace of the Grelynn house."

"We both came from the Elvarian capital, Leena. We are noble-born. We know exactly what your family was before they were stripped." Rinsha smiled, her gold-hazel eyes sharp.

My chest tightened. I took a step back, my fingers digging into the fabric of my dress.

"Watch your mouth—" Rigel reached for his sword.

"Hold your tongue," Rinsha interrupted, raising a single finger. A gust of wind mana flickered, silent and heavy, pressing against Rigel’s chest to stop him.

"We all know what happened. You ran away from the capital with a slave kid. You dragged your mother’s name through the dirt." Novenol took a step toward me, his jade eyes cold.

"They had to burn your childhood room, Leena," Rinsha added, her voice dripping with fake pity. "They used purification fire to sanitize the temple where you once walked."

"Your family crest was turned into a joke for the merchant guilds," Novenol said. "The village children are taught to spit on the road when they pass your empty estate."

"Your father abandoned his titles out of sheer embarrassment," Rinsha murmured. "He fled to the frontier like a dog."

"And all because you wanted to hold the hand of a human slave," Novenol continued, his expression disgustingly calm. "You turned your back on your own bloodline."

"You turned the proud Grelynn crest into a joke for the merchant guilds," Rinsha added, stepping closer. "Now you’re playing house with a magicless commoner. Look at you. You’re weeping like a weak human child. Real elves do not have such pathetic, fragile tear ducts."

"Your tears just prove how diluted your blood has become," Novenol concluded. "You are not worthy to be called an elf."

The tears finally spilled over my cheeks.

I wiped them quickly, but the cold weight of their words was already crushing my chest.

I felt small. Like the 10-year-old girl standing on the white steps, watching my family’s banners get burned.

"Apologize. Right now." Rigel drew his iron broadsword with a loud, metallic ring, pointing the blade directly at Novenol’s throat.

"We are classmates! You are of the same race! How can you say such cruel things to her?" Elfie’s face flushed with irritation.

"I do not see them as worthy, Elfina," Novenol replied, his voice flat. "Apart from you, the others here are unworthy of our speech, let alone our respect."

He turned his jade eyes back to Kaiser, his lips curling. "And you. What did you say about me earlier, you sandbox philosopher?"

"How is a 1-credit leech even aware of our culture?" Rinsha stepped beside Novenol, glaring at Kaiser.

"I guessed it." Kaiser said.

"Stop, Novenol. There is no point talking to the rust-brained tool or the gutter elf. Let’s go." Rinsha sighed, touching Novenol’s shoulder.

"Draw your wand, Novenol. Let’s settle this with a duel." Rigel’s face went red, his veins bulging on his neck.

"A duel?" Novenol sneered. "You expect me to taint my magic by sparring with a servant?"

"If I win, you and Rinsha apologize to Leena. In front of the entire class." Rigel adjusted his grip on the broadsword.

"And when you lose? Will you return to the dirt where you belong?" Novenol asked, his jade eyes cold.

"I won’t lose. I’ll take both of you on." Rigel spat.

"I don’t need to fight. Novenol alone is enough to sweep you away." Rinsha scoffed.

"Actually, I reject it." Novenol said, turning his back. "Duel protocols are for peers. You are not my peer, stray."

"Are you scared, noble?" Rigel asked.

"Scared of a sparkless child who swings a heavy iron toy?" Novenol laughed.

"Then prove it. Unless elven nobility is just talk." Rigel stepped closer.

"You speak very loudly for someone who had to be saved by a girl’s magic." Novenol turned his head back.

"Name the time and place. Or admit you’re a coward." Rigel demanded.

It’s useless.

In elven culture, duels are sacred. Nobles do not fight commoners or disgraced exiles.

To them, engaging in combat with someone of lower status is an act of self-pollution. Novenol will never accept.

"I’ll fight you too!" Elfie stepped forward, her gravity aura flaring. "Challenge both of us!"

"We decline." Rinsha said coldly. "We have no reason to fight a Rank Zero, and no reason to touch a servant."

"You can’t decline." Kaiser said, leaning against the column.

We all looked at him.

"According to Elvarian dueling law, the moment a noble publicly insults the lineage of an exile, they initiate a Purity Dispute." Kaiser explained, taking a slow bite of his gum. "Under the 4th covenant, the exile’s knight has the right to demand a trial by combat. If you refuse, it is a legal confession of false slander."

"A confession of slander means you lose your family’s merit standing in the registry." Kaiser continued, looking at Novenol. "You’ll be stripped of your titles, just like Leena’s family was. So, do you want to fight, or do you want to head back to the capital as commoners?"

Novenol froze. Rinsha’s eyes went wide, her composure completely shattered.

How... how does he know that? That’s an ancient, obscure law from the old courts. Even I forgot about it.

"Well? Are you still too pure to fight, Novenol?" Rigel grinned, raising his blade.

"Fine. After I win, you will grovel in the dirt and know your place." Novenol’s jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his wand.

"And when I win, you and Rinsha will apologize to Leena." Rigel said.

"Like that’s ever going to happen." Novenol spat. "I am not going to lose to a servant."

They stared at each other, the air between them practically sparking with magic.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a cold sweat breaking out on my palms.

"Rigel, please. You don’t have to do this." I hurried beside him as we walked back to the clearing. "Novenol’s family has practiced the Dexus sword-and-wand arts for generations. They have their own magical arts."

"I don’t care about his family." Rigel kept his eyes forward, his grip tight on his iron broadsword.

"They use gravity-pinning!" I warned, looking at his broad shoulders. "They can make your sword too heavy to lift mid-swing. You’ll be helpless!"

"Let them try. He insulted you. That’s all that matters."

"But if you lose—"

"I’m going to win. I have to."

His voice was flat, leaving no room for argument. I bit my lip, trailing behind him in silence as we reached the Whispering Clearing.

Rinsha stood at the far edge of the grass, her arms folded. Kaiser, Elfie, and I sat down on the wooden bench, leaving the open field to the 2 boys. Rigel raised his heavy broadblade, while Novenol drew a sleek, white-silver wand from his sleeve.

"Rigel shouldn’t be fighting him." I whispered, my fingers knotting together in my lap. "It’s too dangerous."

"Rigel is strong." Elfie said, her voice completely calm. "His base is heavy like a rock. He will win, Leena."

"Yeah. Rigel is like a cockroach." Kaiser murmured, leaning back with a lazy expression.

"You can step on him, but he just keeps crawling. He’ll win."

They both sound so sure.

They believe in him without a 2nd thought. But why can’t I? Why am I the only one terrified?

"C’mon Rigel, you can do this!" Elfie cheered, waving her hands.

Rigel didn’t look back, keeping his eyes locked onto Novenol.

"Finish it early, Novenol." Rinsha called out from the sideline. "The morning air is bad for my skin."

"Rigel! If you lose, you better become a girl for a week!" Kaiser shouted.

Rigel almost stumbled on the grass. He whipped his head back, his face burning red. "Shut up!"

Did he seriously just say that?

In the middle of a life-altering duel, Kaiser is making jokes about gender-bending? He is completely unpredictable... And how did he even know Elven law?

"How did you know the 4th covenant of the Purity Dispute?" I asked, looking at Kaiser’s flat profile. "I grew up in Elvian lands and even I didn’t know that."

"I read it in a book."

"What book?"

"Kai used to read me a lot of books back at the orphanage," Elfie chimed in, smiling warmly. "About magic, old courts, and different cultures. He knows everything."

That’s not possible.

Those ancient laws and protocols are written in dense, restricted volumes of the Elven Kingdom. How could a human orphanage in the frontier have access to that knowledge?

"A servant playing knight." Novenol flicked his wand, a ring of silver light humming around his wrist. "You should have stayed in the mud, stray. Your presence here is an eyesore."

"Your mouth is the only thing that’s impressive, Novenol." Rigel raised his heavy blade. "Let’s see if your magic can keep up."

Novenol didn’t answer. He swept his wand, and his body suddenly glided across the damp grass. He moved with zero vertical oscillation, sliding smoothly as if he were skating on ice.

A trail of silver light followed his hand, a humming sound filling the clearing. With a swift flick, a high-pressure jet of wind and water shot toward Rigel’s chest.

Rigel adapted instantly. Instead of dodging, he brought his heavy broadblade down in a clean, vertical sweep, slicing the pressurized current in half and spraying cold mist across the clearing.

He lunged forward, closing the distance in 2 steps.

Novenol skated backward, his feet sliding effortlessly over the dirt. He raised his wand, casting a gravity-pinning wave.

Rigel’s broadblade suddenly felt 3 times heavier mid-swing, pulling his shoulders down. But instead of fighting the weight, Rigel let the downward momentum carry him, spinning low to sweep the grass.

Novenol was forced to jump, his perfect gliding composure breaking for a split second as he hopped over the iron blade.

Rigel recovered instantly, using the upward momentum of his spin to deliver a heavy diagonal strike.

Novenol quickly projected a solidified light plate in front of him.

The iron broadblade slammed against the silver shield with a loud, metallic ring. The impact vibrated through the clearing, pushing Novenol back 3 steps, his boots digging deep into the wet dirt.

"Yes! Keep going, Rigel!" Elfie cheered, jumping up from the bench.

I clutched the edge of the wooden seat, my breath catching. Rigel had actually pushed a noble-born elf back.

Novenol adjusted his collar, his silver-blonde hair slightly messy. He stared at his wand, his jade eyes darkening.

"I expected too much." Novenol said, his voice dropping its light tone.

"I’m going to try now."

Perspective: Rigel Ravin

My grip on the iron hilt tightened until my knuckles turned white.

I am Leena’s knight. I swore a silent vow to protect her, to be the shield she lost when they dragged her name down. I will never let anyone insult her. I will fight for her pride and dignity, and I will win.

"Vael’eth porta, aquae et spatium. Fluctus aeternus, per porta siderum, conflue et dele!" Novenol’s wand flared, a massive circle of glowing blue runes expanding around him.

A swirling blue orbital portal materialized in the air beside him, humming with dense, pressurized elven magic. Water elemental mana poured through the rift, forming floating, high-velocity spheres.

I lunged, but the moment I stepped forward, a portal opened directly beneath my feet.

A jet of pressurized water blasted upward. I twisted my body mid-air, barely dodging the stream, only to see another portal open right in front of my face.

I was forced to throw my weight backward, my boots skidding across the wet grass.

"I recognize that sorry face of yours." Novenol murmured, his wand flicking with absolute precision as he summoned 3 more portals around me.

"You’re the one she lost everything for."

Anger, hot and heavy, boiled in my chest.

I threw myself forward, swinging my broadblade with everything I had.

The heavy iron tore through the air, aimed directly at his neck.

"Aethelis vael, varda’en porta. Siderum cataclismus!" Novenol whispered, his eyes glowing with bright jade light.

A massive, circular orbital gate flashed open directly in front of my blade. It fused the pressurized water with raw celestial mana, creating a giant drilling spear of liquid light.

I couldn’t dodge. The attack was too fast, too wide.

I needed a barrier, a shield, anything—but my magic wouldn’t answer.

The blast slammed directly into my chest. The sheer kinetic force shattered my breath, throwing me high into the sky like a broken doll.

Before I could gravity-stabilize, Novenol flicked his wand upward.

"Sinking dance." he muttered.

The water drilling through my chest split into 4 liquid whips. They wrapped around my limbs mid-air, slamming me back down into another water blast that shot from the ground.

The impact tore my skin, blood spraying into the mist. My ribs cracked, the agony blinding me as I free-fell and hit the stone floor of the courtyard with a heavy, sickening thud.

"You can never beat Novenol with a close-range sword." Rinsha said from the sidelines, her voice dripping with boredom.

"A mage will always surpass any assassin."

I looked up through the blood dripping into my eyes.

Novenol hadn’t moved a single step. Since he said he would try, he had remained in the exact same spot, casually flicking his wand.

The sheer humiliation burned worse than the wounds.

I forced my trembling arms to push myself up, my knees shaking. "I’m... not done."

A sudden, concussive water shot blasted directly into my shoulder, slamming me back into the dirt.

"You are determined, stray, I will give you that." Novenol said, looking down his nose at me.

"But you are weak. Determination without power is just a slow suicide."

If only I had magic.

If only my elven blood wasn’t so dry, I could have cast a shield. I could have countered.

No. Stop wishful thinking, you idiot!

Kaiser did not have a single drop of magic, yet he survived the dungeon collapse. This noble elf is far weaker than what Kaiser survived. Stop holding yourself back! Fight back!

I roared, forcing my broken body to stand. I threw my hand forward, channeling every ounce of mana in my veins. "Glacies hastam!"

A tiny, fragile shard of ice materialized in the air, trembling.

Novenol didn’t even blink. He waved his wand, and a massive water serpent devoured my ice shard instantly, the blast slamming directly into my chest.

The explosion of water and wind threw me backward, a cloud of steam and mist rising from the wet tiles.

As the smoke cleared, a heavy boot pressed down directly on my cheek, grinding my head into the stone.

"Rigel!" Leena screamed, running toward the field.

"Do not step forward, Leena. The duel is over. He shall grovel now." Novenol raised his left hand, stopping her in her tracks.

Novenol looked down at me, his heel putting more pressure on my skull.

"Know your place, stray. You ruined her life. You dragged a noble house into the dirt, and now you play the knight to ease your own guilt."

"You think of yourself as some sort of protagonist who can defy fate through sheer will alone." Novenol sneered, his jade eyes cold. "It is delusional. You are nothing."

Novenol lifted his foot, turning his back on me as he walked toward Rinsha.

"Stop right there!" Elfie stepped onto the grass, her purple gravity aura flaring violently. "I won’t forgive what you did to him. Fight me!"

"That attitude does not suit you, Elfina." Novenol stopped, glancing over his shoulder with a calm, analytical expression. "I will not embarrass myself by fighting a Rank Zero. Let’s go, Rinsha."

"Coward! Stay here!" Elfie screamed, but they simply walked away, their figures disappearing down the stone corridor.

Leena fell to her knees beside me, tears streaming down her face. Green healing light gathered around her palms as she reached for my bloodied chest. "Rigel... please, let me heal you. Hold still."

"Don’t." I gritted my teeth, swatting her hand away with the little strength I had left.

"Rigel? What’s wrong? You’re bleeding—"

"I said don’t!" I choked on the blood in my throat, staring at the cold stone tiles.

I couldn’t look her in the eye.

I wanted to be her knight. I wanted to prove that she didn’t lose everything for nothing. But I lay here in the dirt, my head crushed under the boot of the very people who ruined her.

I am unworthy of being healed. Every green spark of her magic is a reminder of the noble heritage I stole from her. Healing a failure like me is just a waste of her mana.

I’m just a slave who got too arrogant.

Kaiser stepped forward, forcing my jaw open and pouring a bitter, high-grade healing potion down my throat. The liquid burned as it knitted my broken ribs, but the moment the physical pain dulled, I dragged myself up and ran.

I forcefully left the courtyard, ignoring Leena’s cries and Elfie’s calls.

I couldn’t look at them. The sheer embarrassment of the defeat suffocated me.

I was a sore loser. I couldn’t even take a loss like a man.

Throughout the day, I just wandered the city streets, the crowds passing by like blurry shapes. I couldn’t talk to anyone. I couldn’t do anything.

I hated myself.

I hated this useless fate that gave me such weak, dry mana, locking me out of the arts that everyone else could perform without effort.

I hated my own emotions, always flaring up, always toying with me and promising that if I just swung my sword harder, I could protect her.

Instead, I could only struggle helplessly against a wall of absolute talent, forced to stand by and watch while others took everything away.

Leena was a noble. She had a bright, pure future in the white halls of the capital.

But she saved a useless slave like me, and because of that, she lost her titles, her home, her family, and was forced to live in a muddy, decaying village.

I ruined her life, completely. I dragged her down to my level, and yet I had the audacity to call myself her knight.

By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, I was sitting alone on the cold stone steps of a deserted alleyway. It was around 11 PM. The winter wind bit through my torn shirt, but I didn’t care.

"Yo, found you." Kaiser’s voice broke the silence.

I didn’t look up as he walked into the dim light of the alley. He was holding 2 warm cans of tea.

"Leena and Elfie were worried, so I came to check on you. And look, we meet." Kaiser sat down on the step next to me, offering a can.

"Leave me alone." I muttered, keeping my head buried in my knees.

"No, can’t do." Kaiser popped his can open, taking a slow sip.

"Why are you even here? To show pity?" I stood up, my fists trembling as anger and sadness washed over me.

"I envy you, Kaiser. I hate how you just stand there and everything works out for you, while I’m stuck in the dirt. I hate it!"

"There is nothing to envy about me," Kaiser said, his voice flat. "You’re better off being yourself, Rigel."

"Shut up!" I screamed, kicking a nearby metal trash can. It clattered loudly against the stone, spilling trash across the alley.

"You can say that because you can do everything! You helped Elfie become Rank Zero. You pulled strings behind the scenes to make her the Class Representative, giving her the spotlight so she could be the center of attention. You do everything, while I do nothing!"

My voice cracked, tears finally spilling over.

"Leena and I were almost expelled during the entrance exam, and we only survived because of your pity!"

"Calm down. You’re overthinking it." Kaiser said, his expression unchanged.

"You think I’m just giving up on a whim?" I cut him off, my chest heaving. "You think I haven’t spent every single day of my life since we ran away terrified that I’m not doing enough? I left the only home I had, watched Leena give up her family and her future, just to end up here. You think I can just shrug that off?"

I choked on a sob, my knuckles white as I clenched my fists.

"It was so much easier to believe that if I worked hard enough, if I swung my sword until my palms bled, I could balance the scales. I wanted to believe I could protect her. But the reality is that I’m completely useless. No matter what I do, I’m just a slave swinging a piece of metal. There’s no path forward for someone like me. None."

I stared at him, demanding answers through my tears. "I train every single day. Yet I couldn’t even touch him. How could I have defeated Novenol? How can I help Leena if I’m this weak?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Calm down. I understand, but I can’t help you, Rigel." Kaiser took another sip of his tea.

"The only thing you can do is understand yourself and train with Elfie."

"What shit will that achieve?" I spat.

"You’re too fixated on Leena to find yourself." Kaiser countered, his gaze turning serious.

"I’m not here to give you answers. Work harder, and defeat Novenol next time."

"I... I can’t stand looking in the mirror!" I collapsed back onto the stone step, burying my face in my hands. "I act like a proud knight, standing tall next to Leena, but I’m nothing but a fraud who can’t back up a single word. I talk as if I’m some tragic protector, but when it matters, I’m just a weak kid who gets his head ground into the dirt."

I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in the empty alley.

"I don’t achieve anything. I can’t even cast a basic spell. Yet I have the nerve to complain about fate, to cry about how unfair the world is. It makes me sick. I’m a pathetic joke, Kaiser. I’m a parasite pretending to be a savior."

Kaiser stood up, tossing his empty can into the bin. "Speak to Elfie tomorrow."

He turned and began walking away, his figure disappearing into the darkness of the main street.

"What if it was you?" I called out to his back, my voice shaking. "If they did that to Elfie... if they humiliated her and forced her to grovel, what would you have done?"

Kaiser stopped. The alley went dead silent. He slowly turned his head, his eyes ice-cold, devoid of any human light.

"I would ensure Novenol ate his own words." Kaiser’s voice dropped to a freezing whisper.

"Rinsha would have carried him back to where he came from with broken arms and limbs."

He turned back and walked away, leaving me alone in the dark.

I sat back down on the cold stone steps, burying my face in my knees as the tears finally spilled over.

Perspective: Leena Grelynn

I lay flat on my bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. The silence of the room was heavy, filled only with the echo of Rinsha’s insults and the sight of Rigel’s blood on the stones.

A soft chime vibrated against my pillow. I pulled my phone out, the bright screen illuminating the dark room.

[Kaiser]: Found Rigel. He’s fine. Don’t worry and get some sleep.

[Elfie]: I was so worried! Thank goodness. Kai, is he hurt?

[Kaiser]: He’s fine. Just resting.

[Leena]: Thank you, Kaiser. Truly.

[Kaiser]: Sure. Goodnight.

His status dot turned grey as he went offline. I stared at the screen for a moment before opening a private chat.

[Leena]: Elfie, can you talk for a bit?

[Elfie]: Okie.

A second later, the screen lit up with an incoming voice call. I pressed it against my ear, pulling the blanket over my shoulders.

"Sorry to call so suddenly," I whispered, my voice sounding small in the empty room. "I just... I wanted to hear your thoughts."

"It’s okay. What’s wrong, Leena?" Elfie’s soft voice came through the speaker.

"I’m worried about Rigel. He always puts me before himself. He took all those hits, got humiliated, and yet... it just makes me feel so guilty. It makes me worry."

"Kai makes me feel that way too," Elfie murmured. "Sometimes it feels like they carry everything while we just watch."

I rolled onto my side, clutching the pillow tightly. "Elfie, can I ask you something? Usually, I ask Rigel when I’m stuck on something, but... this is something I can’t ask him."

"What is it?"

"Am I doing the right thing?" My voice trembled, the vulnerable question slipping past my lips before I could stop it.

"Choosing Rigel... over the companionship of my own race? Am I wrong to turn my back on the elves?"

"You are doing the right thing, Leena." Elfie said, her tone filled with sudden, quiet certainty. "You shouldn’t tolerate those who look down on the person you care about. If anyone talked about Kai like that, I would do the same."

Elfie paused, the gentle hum of the line the only sound in the dark.

"Pride isn’t about bloodlines or ancient rules. It’s about who stands beside you when you’re at your lowest. Rigel was there for you when no one else was. That’s worth more than the capital’s respect."

I let out a slow breath, the tight knot in my chest loosening slightly. "Thank you, Elfie. That... makes me feel a lot better."

"Get some sleep, Leena. I’ll see you at the training spot tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Elfie."

The call disconnected, and I let the phone slide onto the mattress, lying flat on my back once more.

I stared at the white plaster above me, wondering if I had simply been spoiled by my past.

Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes as I remembered my parents, their faces soft in the warm light of our old estate before everything fell apart.

We didn’t have you because we wanted you to do something for us, Leena. my father had said, his gentle hand resting on my head.

We had you because we wanted to do something for you.

And my older sister, who used to carry me on her shoulders through the blooming gardens, laughing as she whispered, You don’t always get what you want. And what you want may not always be what you need. I always wanted them to stop slavery, to stop seeing others as property to torture and hurt. I hated the cruelty, but I never imagined that everyone would hate me just for thinking that way, turning me into a disgraced, exiled girl.

Ask whats right for you.

But then Kaiser’s voice from this morning echoed in my mind, calm and steady as he defended me against the nobles.

’You’re hypocrites.’

He defended me like he would for Elfie. Arguing against Novenol just because he saw something in me that others couldn’t see.

Respect?

And then I remembered Rigel’s face from the cold night we fled, his hands scraped and bleeding as he held mine.

Let’s start here, Leena. From square 1! What matters isn’t how we got here, but how it ends. I’ll be your knight, Leena. I’ll carry your burdens so you never have to stand alone again.

My life had changed so much since then.

I picked up the phone again, my thumb hovering over the screen. I opened a private directory and scrolled past the group chats until I found a user named koolboy223.

My heart believed I was doing the right thing. Elfie did, too.

But what would Kaiser think?

Did it matter? He was just my friend. He would probably agree with me, too. It was the best path, and it was what my heart wanted.

Yet, as I stared at the quiet chat box, the cold weight of isolation pressed down on me. Even with Rigel by my side, even with Elfie’s validation, I felt completely unseen by the world, walking a tightrope over a dark abyss where no one could truly reach me.

I can’t ask Rigel without feeling guilty... and...

I closed his profile and whispered into the empty, silent room.

"Do I always want what I can’t have?"