Midnight held the training grounds in a quiet, suffocating stillness.
Then it broke.
A surge of blue Fallless energy erupted from Grenzabell, violent and uncontrolled, bursting outward like something alive finally tearing through its cage. The air cracked. The ground beneath him split faintly, dust lifting into the night as the glow swallowed his figure whole.
For a moment…
It was beautiful.
Pure blue.
Perfect resonance.
Then his body gave out.
The light collapsed with him.
Grenzabell dropped hard, knees hitting first, then his hands, then his face nearly following as blood spilled from his mouth, dark against the cold stone. His arms trembled uncontrollably, veins strained, skin split in thin lines where the energy had forced its way through.
It wasn't control.
It was survival barely holding together.
Footsteps pounded across the field.
"Grenz!"
Dawncer rushed in, grabbing him before he could fully collapse, dragging him up roughly, panic cutting through his usual confidence.
"Are you alright?!"
Grenzabell didn't answer.
His dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but blood slid beneath them, tracing down his cheeks like something broken behind the glass. His breathing was uneven, sharp, like each inhale hurt more than the last.
Dawncer's grip tightened.
"Dude , what the fuck do you think you're doing?" his voice cracked, louder now, angrier, desperate. "You've been training for three days straight! No rest, no stopping , what are you trying to become?!"
He shook him slightly.
"Leave it alone, damn it! Before you die by your own hands!"
Grenzabell's body swayed in his hold, barely upright.
The blue energy still flickered faintly around him, unstable, like dying fire refusing to go out.
Blood dripped steadily onto the ground.
And yet…
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Messy.
Broken.
Beautiful in the worst way.
Like someone reaching something they were never meant to touch… and paying for it with everything.
Grenzabell lay half-supported in Dawncer's arms, his head tilted back toward the sky. The night felt distant now, like it belonged to someone else's body. His breathing came in uneven fragments, each one carrying more weight than the last.
"…Dawncer," he murmured quietly. "Do you have a dream?"
Dawncer hesitated only a second.
"Yeah," he said firmly. "I want to be someone people can rely on. Someone they can look at and feel safe. In short… I want to represent something in people."
Grenzabell let that sit in the air for a moment.
Then, in a low, cracked voice, almost too honest to be comfortable:
"…I'm pathetic, right bro?"
Dawncer looked at him.
"Yeah," he said simply.
No hesitation. No softness. Just truth.
Grenzabell didn't react at first. Instead, a faint, tired breath escaped him, almost like laughter that never formed.
"…I don't even have a dream," he said quietly. "I think I forgot it. Or maybe I never had one."
His eyes stayed on the sky.
"I feel like I'm myself… but also not myself. Like something is missing, but I don't know what."
A pause.
"…I don't have a dream," he repeated. "But I guess… for now… I just want to fulfill a promise I made to someone."
His voice weakened further.
Then, suddenly, softer, almost like a child asking something too big for the world:
"…Why does everyone have a dream?"
The question never finished settling.
Grenzabell coughed sharply.
Then again.
Blood.
Dark and sudden.
Dawncer's expression snapped from frustration to alarm instantly.
"Hey , hey! Grenz!"
Grenzabell's body went limp mid-breath.
Unconscious.
But even as he collapsed fully into Dawncer's grip, faint blue Fallless energy still clung to him instinctively, like a body refusing to let go of something it barely understood.
Dawncer cursed under his breath, tightening his hold.
"Idiot…"
Without waiting, he lifted him and ran.
Across the silent academy grounds.
Through empty halls.
Past locked doors and sleeping students.
Straight to the hospital wing.
He didn't stop until Grenzabell was placed inside.
And then, for once, Dawncer didn't joke, didn't boast.
He just stood there for a second longer…
Before turning and leaving the room quietly.
Morning light cut through the academy windows, but Class Delta didn't feel awake.
Dawncer sat slouched in his seat, eyes heavy, exhaustion still clinging to him like dust he couldn't shake off. Across from him, Fally and Thyssara stood, blocking his view like a quiet trial.
Thyssara's voice came first, sharp.
"Why did you let this even happen?"
Dawncer blinked slowly, still half stuck in the night.
Fally leaned forward slightly, worry breaking through her usual calm. "Grenzabell is in the hospital because of you letting him sneak out. At night. Alone."
Thyssara's tone hardened.
"You knew he was unstable. You knew he was pushing himself too far. And you still let it happen."
Dawncer exhaled through his nose, rubbing his face once as if trying to wake himself fully. Then he snapped.
"Let it happen?" he shot back, voice rising. "You think I had some authority over him?"
He stood slightly now, chair scraping.
"Since when does anyone here have enough authority to stop a dreamer from chasing his goal?"
Silence flickered through the space.
His eyes sharpened, tiredness now replaced with something raw.
"Grenzabell is trying to become something," he said firmly. "Something all of us are supposed to be aiming for."
A beat.
"So instead of lecturing me… maybe we should've been helping him."
The door creaked open slowly.
Grenzabell stepped in.
His movements were off balance, like his body still hadn't fully agreed to wake up. Each step felt delayed, slightly uneven, as if exhaustion was still pulling him backward while he tried to move forward.
Dark sunglasses still covered his eyes, hiding the damage, but his face said enough on its own. Pale. Tired. Stripped down to something fragile.
He looked around the room, forcing a small voice through his fatigue.
"…Oh. Hey guys."
A pause.
"Is everything alright? Why are you all making those angry faces?"
No one answered immediately.
Fally moved first.
Fast.
Before Grenzabell could even process it, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
Not gentle.
Not careful.
Just real.
Grenzabell froze in place, surprised by the sudden force of it.
Then she pulled back slightly, still holding onto him, and looked straight into his face.
Her expression wasn't soft.
It was sharp.
Angry in a way he had never seen from her before.
"Why the fuck are you hurting yourself?" she asked.
The words hit heavier than any slap or training ever had.
Grenzabell blinked behind his sunglasses, clearly thrown off, like his brain was searching for the version of Fally that always smiled and couldn't find it.
"…I'm sorry," he said quietly after a moment.
His shoulders lowered slightly.
"I won't do that anymore."
Victoria entered the room without ceremony.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Her voice cut through the chatter.
"Schedule change."
A pause followed as every student straightened slightly.
"The Fallless Examinations will now be held in the Lawless City of the North. They have requested to host it."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the class.
Victoria didn't react to it.
She simply began handing out name tags, moving down the rows with efficient precision.
"You will travel in groups of five. Go to the parked cars outside and assign yourselves accordingly."
She dropped a tag onto Grenzabell's desk last.
He caught it slowly.
Around him, voices started rising again, students already breaking into strategy discussions.
Grenzabell turned his head slightly.
Behind him, Thyssara and Dawncer still hadn't resolved their tension. It lingered between them like a drawn blade, neither willing to lower it first.
Grenzabell exhaled softly.
"…Our exams are about to start," he muttered under his breath, almost to himself. "This is our chance to make a name for ourselves."
He glanced forward again.
"We should all pick different teams… talk to others… build something."
Victoria's voice snapped the room back into order.
"Uniforms. Fully worn. Now."
Students quickly adjusted coats, ties, caps.
Her eyes swept the room until they landed on Grenzabell.
"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" she asked flatly.
A beat.
Then she turned away.
"…Actually, I don't care. Just don't disappoint me."
Her voice rose slightly as she addressed everyone.
"Class Delta will top the charts in every region. This is a national-level competition. Work your best, everyone."
The room tightened with pressure.
Victoria paused at the door.
"Move out."
Groups formed quickly under Victoria's command, like pieces locking into a system that didn't allow hesitation.
Grenzabell ended up in a mixed group of five, two boys and two girls already sizing each other up, testing silence more than words. He simply sat at the edge of their circle, adjusting his dark sunglasses, saying nothing.
Nearby, Dawncer gravitated toward a group of boys only, their energy loud and competitive, already exchanging confident laughs and shoulder bumps.
Fally was pulled naturally into a group of women, their tone lighter but still focused, a balance of strategy and calm coordination.
Thyssara didn't hesitate at all. She walked straight into the strongest-looking group in the batch, as if it was already decided before she arrived.
Soon, the academy grounds filled with movement as students boarded the parked transport cars. Engines hummed. Doors shut. Conversations sharpened into anticipation.
And then… they left.
One by one.
Until only silence remained in the departure zone.
Except Grenzabell wasn't there.
Victoria stood still for a moment longer than necessary.
"…Where is he?" she muttered.
Somewhere in the city below, Grenzabell was casually inside a small shop, buying a lighter, completely detached from the fact that an entire national-level examination had just begun without him.
Time slipped.
When he finally returned, the scene had already changed.
Twenty-five massive flying cars hovered above the ground, engines stabilized, students already seated and waiting.
Every other class had left.
Every vehicle was aligned.
And every single one of class Delta was waiting for one person.
Grenzabell.
The silence that greeted him was heavier than anger.
Victoria appeared in front of him in an instant.
No warning.
Her hand struck his head with a sharp slap that almost knocked his sunglasses loose.
"GET ON YOUR CAR," she snapped coldly. "NOW."
Grenzabell didn't even get a chance to explain.
She grabbed him by the collar and pushed him toward the nearest transport.
The doors sealed.
Victoria stepped back.
Then snapped her fingers.
All twenty-five cars ignited with synchronized precision.
They lifted.
The ground shrank beneath them.
And the academy disappeared behind clouds as the entire fleet moved north, toward Lawless City, where the examinations had already begun without mercy waiting for anyone.
Fally sat with her group, but her thoughts kept drifting.
Grenzabell had been… different lately.
Not just tired. Not just stressed.
Something else.
Like he was always reaching for something just out of sight and forgetting what it looked like halfway through.
She frowned slightly.
Then one of the girls in the group suddenly perked up, eyes lighting.
"I really envy those other classes girl," she said casually, almost like it was the most important thing in the world.
Fally blinked.
"…envy?"
Something about the word envy caught her off guard.
Then she smiled.
Just a little.
And leaned into the conversation like she hadn't been thinking about anything else at all.
In another car, Thyssara leaned back against the seat, arms crossed.
The silence in her group was structured, efficient… and already boring her.
She exhaled slowly.
"Too quiet," she muttered under her breath.
Elsewhere, Dawncer was fully comfortable.
Laughing loudly, already leaning into conversation with his new teammates, flexing slightly as he spoke about training and strength like it was a language everyone should understand.
"You just need discipline," he said confidently. "Muscles aren't just for show, they're for respect."
His group laughed with him.
He liked that.
In Grenzabell's car, things were less smooth.
A red mark still lingered on his cheek where Victoria had slapped him earlier. He held his sunglasses carefully in place, adjusting them as he leaned back with a long, tired sigh.
The vehicle shifted slightly mid-flight.
Something slipped from his pocket.
A small black box dropped to the floor.
He blinked.
"…Shit?"
He reached down, picked it up quickly, and stared at it for a moment before slipping it back into his pocket understanding why it felt important.
Outside, the wind pressed against the glass as the fleet continued north.
On top of the front flying cars, Victoria sat alone, coat pressed lightly by the wind.
Her eyes traced the horizon.
Lawless City lay far ahead.
Unpredictable. Hostile. Hungry.
For a moment, doubt flickered in her chest.
Are they ready for this?
A breath.
A rare moment of hesitation.
Then she closed her eyes slightly and exhaled.
"…No," she whispered.
A pause.
Then softer, almost unwilling:
"But they'll have to be."
She opened her eyes again.
And for once, instead of controlling everything…
She chose to trust them.