School life across the colony and in the academy moved on like nothing had happened.
Training sessions still ran every morning and classes still went on with lectures about theory, control, and history that most students slept through and tagged as boring. The Oval Academy didn’t slow down for near-death experiences with a Skavvern or alien invasions. It never had, really.
Ares had been gone for two days, and Axel counted the ti without aning to. Two days gone, and now he had eighteen days left.
Rick didn’t know any of that. He sat across from Axel in the cafeteria, laughing loudly as he shoved food into his mouth like he always did. Sa smile with the sa nervousness.
If anyone looked at him, they’d never guess he had almost died once already and was living on borrowed ti.
Kinsey sat with them too. She had been having lunch with them ever since Ares left. In a way, she was avoiding him because of the kind of energy he gave off.
Every ti she had lunch with them, she paid for the food without saying anything, tapping her wrist device once and standing aside while the rest of them carried their trays.
Axel had noticed it again.
[19,875 CNTs.]
She always had a lot of money on her at all tis, and she never bragged about it or showed it off.
It was unexplainable. She ca from a rich family; her family na would an sothing. But "Kit" wasn’t famous. It wasn’t powerful, and it didn’t show up anywhere, so it didn’t make sense.
Rick rested his back in his chair and sighed happily.
"Oh boy, I needed this. The class earlier almost killed today."
Axel always tried to force a smile whenever Rick spoke to ease his tension.
Two days ago, Rick had asked about Ares. It hadn’t been casual either. He noticed the empty bed and the missing presence. Ares didn’t disappear quietly. He took up space even when he said nothing.
Axel had made sothing up on the spot. He explained that Ares had a family ergency and had to leave the academy for a bit. Rick had frowned, asked one question, then nodded like he accepted it.
He didn’t push it any further.
All the while, Axel hoped Ares was alive. He hoped even more that he’d found sothing that could assist Rick, Jayden, and Kora.
Ever since returning to Earth, Jayden and Kora had gone back under the radar like they always had. It was a normal thing for all Lumina 1s to fly under the radar so as to avoid unwanted attention.
In the back of Axel’s mind, he realized how the universe felt bigger now.
There were Thaldorians, Skavverns, Demons, Demon Slayers...
People used to think Earth was everything. Now it felt like one small corner of sothing massive and hostile. The more he thought about it, the heavier his head felt.
A sharp snap broke Axel’s thoughts.
Kinsey snapped her fingers right in front of his face.
"You’ve been staring at nothing for five minutes," she said.
Axel looked around. "I have?"
"Yes," she said flatly. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Axel replied.
It was a lie, and she knew it. But Rick was there, smiling and clueless, and Axel wasn’t about to tear the world open in front of him.
Rick stopped chewing.
"...Actually," Rick said slowly, "there is sothing... sothing going on with ."
"What is it?" Axel asked, intrigued.
Rick rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly unsure. Regardless, he revealed it.
"I’ve been having these weird dreams," he began.
"Dreams? What kind of dreams?" Axel asked.
"I don’t rember all of it. Only just flashes. So, I’m in this alley inside the school. It feels... wrong, like sothing bad is about to happen. Then all of a sudden, soone attacks . I couldn’t see who it was because everything was blurry. But you’re there, Axel. You’re always there."
After Rick finished, Axel didn’t speak. He and Kinsey exchanged a quick glance. Just one, and that was enough for them to know what he was talking about.
"Do you rember who attacked you?" Kinsey asked.
Rick shook his head. "No."
Axel knew exactly what he was talking about. That was the day Dane attacked, he evolved, and he wiped Rick’s mind clean.
Why the hell is he having flashes of that day?! Axel panicked inside. Was it because he almost died? Did brushing death loosen sothing?
For the first ti that day, Aurora decided to speak.
"That is not possible," she said calmly. "A demonic mind wipe cannot be undone. Especially not when it was done to a puny human... well, unless the demon was weak or sloppy. It does remind of soone I know. His na rhys with Paxell... you should know him, dear host."
Axel clenched his jaw. He leaned forward and forced his voice to stay normal.
"It’s just a bad dream, Rick. You went through a lot. Your brain’s probably trying to make sense of it."
Rick laughed nervously. "Yeah, yeah, you’re probably right, Axel."
Axel hoped that was enough.
Suddenly, two figures stopped beside their table. Without even needing to look up, Axel knew they were trouble. Surprisingly, they were second-year trouble.
When Axel looked up, he saw that one of them was smiling like he had done the lottery or sothing. But that one wasn’t the problem.
It was the other student. He wasn’t smiling at all, and Axel recognized him very well.
Drax Tan. The self-proclaid king of the second years.
Axel’s fingers twitched under the table seeing him. Even up until now, he didn’t understand how Drax had blocked the ID skill that day during Ares’s fight. The system had simply... refused. Like Drax wasn’t sothing it could read.
Drax’s eyes settled on Kinsey first, then Rick, and finally Axel.
"Well," he said with a calm voice. "Look who survived long enough to eat lunch."
The cafeteria noise around them felt suddenly very far away, and Axel knew that whatever peace of mind he had left was about to end.
---
Drax pulled out one of the empty chairs and sat down ever so casually. Even the scrape of the chair against the floor was loud enough to draw a few glances, but no one said anything. It was safe to say that Drax was a bit famous, and no one could really say anything when he was around.
He rested his back, crossed his arms, and fixed his eyes on Axel.
"You know," Drax began casually, "life’s been... rather very interesting lately."
Axel didn’t respond. He stayed still, watching him as he was already on edge. This wasn’t a social visit.
"Ever since you beat my star fighter," Drax continued, clicking his tongue. "Luke Fern. Yeah, that one." He smiled faintly. "I’ve had ups, I’ve had downs. A little disrespect here from the seniors who even feared , a little murmuring there from weaklings. People are now like they suddenly forgot who I am."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued.
"But it’s nothing I couldn’t handle."
Axel felt Rick shift beside him. Nervous and confused. Rick didn’t even know why Drax was here, but he could tell it wasn’t good.
Drax pushed off the chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Truth is, Axel, I was ready to let you walk away after that fight. I really was. But for so reason, everywhere I turned, I kept seeing your godforsaken face. People saying your na and whispering about you like you were sothing special... That concerned ."
"I don’t want any trouble," Axel finally spoke out.
Drax laughed softly. "Good. Because I’m not here for trouble either," he said.
Axel didn’t believe him for a second. Only a fool would.
"Things were about to move on. Then Luke, my buddy, cos running his mouth one night. Tells about this underground ring. Says he dumped so nobody into a fight and got embarrassed. He also said he got banned..."
"Imagine my surprise," Drax said slowly, "when I found out that nobody was Axel Vaelon."
"That little fight you won against my buddy? Cost over five thousand CNTs."
Rick’s eyes widened. Axel wasn’t all too surprised. He had gotten 10,000 CNTs from that fight. He could only imagine that so people would bet such high amounts.
"And I want it back. Imdiately," Drax finished.
The air around the table went cold. Axel exhaled through his nose.
"I fought without abilities. Luke cheated by using his, and I won fair and square. If you lost money on that, that’s not my problem," Axel said boldly.
Rick swallowed and leaned forward before Axel could say more. "P-please," he said, voice unsteady. "We don’t want any issues. Can you just... let this go?"
Rick was pleading, whereas he didn’t know the whole story behind the underground fight. Drax chuckled.
"That’s cute," he said, glancing briefly at Rick before returning his attention to Axel. "But no."
He stood up slowly. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the very hard way."
Axel didn’t move. Sothing inside him shifted instead. He suddenly rembered that he wasn’t that weak, pathetic human he used to be, letting people like Kaze walk over him to get what they wanted. He had acquired a system, turned into a demon, and now he was a Shadow Demon. A Level Five Shadow Demon Imp.
Axel clenched his fists beneath the table as red energy pulsed quietly beneath his skin. He raised his head and t Drax’s eyes without flinching.
"Bring it on."
For the first ti since he arrived, Drax looked genuinely surprised.
Before he could respond, another presence fell over the table. Then another.
Axel recognized them instantly.
Kade, one of Dasha’s n. Beside him was the other.
Kade ignored everyone else completely and addressed Axel.
"Dasha wants to see you," he said flatly.
"The Nexus Field is open, and your first challenge is today."
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