The academy didn't feel the same after the Selection.
It looked the same. Same tall structures, same polished floors, same banners hanging from the walls like reminders of who mattered and who didn't.
But the air had changed.
Kael noticed it the moment he stepped through the gates.
People moved differently.
The chosen walked with quiet pride, surrounded by attention. Conversations followed them. Eyes tracked them.
The rest?
Background.
Kael walked between both worlds.
Unnoticed… but not invisible.
Not anymore.
Classes had barely begun when the tension broke.
It started small.
A sound.
Metal scraping against stone.
Then—
An explosion.
The ground trembled. Windows shattered outward in a violent burst of glass and sound. Screams followed immediately after, sharp and chaotic.
Students froze.
Some dropped.
Some ran.
Chosen ones looked around, confused—waiting.
Waiting for instructions.
Waiting for authority.
That was the difference.
They had power.
But no control.
Figures moved through the smoke.
Not students.
Not staff.
Armed.
Calm.
Efficient.
Intruders.
Not random.
Planned.
"Everyone down!" someone shouted.
Too late.
One of the intruders raised his hand—
A pulse of force slammed into the hallway, sending bodies crashing into walls.
Chaos.
Real chaos.
Kael didn't move.
Not yet.
His eyes tracked everything.
Entry points. Movement patterns. Weapons. Targets.
They weren't here to kill randomly.
They were searching.
And then he saw her.
Across the hall.
Pinned behind a broken desk.
Not chosen.
Not protected.
Just… stuck.
Her breathing was sharp, uneven. Eyes wide, trying to stay quiet.
Invisible.
Like he used to be.
An intruder turned toward her.
Slowly.
Too slowly.
Kael moved.
No announcement.
No warning.
Just motion.
The man stepped forward—
Kael was already there.
The strike came fast—
Kael slipped to the side.
His body… shifted.
Again, that same wrongness.
The attack missed by something that didn't make sense.
Kael's hand snapped forward—
Palm strike to the throat.
Clean.
Controlled.
The man collapsed without a sound.
The girl stared.
Didn't speak.
Couldn't.
Kael didn't look at her.
Not yet.
More footsteps.
More enemies.
Three this time.
Better armed.
More aware.
"Kid," one of them said, voice low. "Move."
Kael didn't.
The first one rushed him.
Fast.
Trained.
Not like the alley.
This one knew how to fight.
Kael stepped in.
Strike came—
He twisted.
Caught the arm.
Redirected—
Elbow.
Impact.
But this one didn't drop.
Good.
The second attacked from behind.
Kael felt it before it happened.
Not instinct.
Not fear.
Just… awareness.
He shifted—
Too smoothly.
Too early.
The blade missed.
Barely.
Kael spun.
Low kick—
Connected.
The attacker stumbled—
Kael followed—
Twisting motion—
Kick → pivot → backstep
Distance created.
Now they hesitated.
That same hesitation.
That same break.
Kael stepped forward.
Again.
Slow.
Measured.
The third one tried something different.
A device.
Energy flickered—
A burst fired—
Too fast to dodge.
Kael's body reacted—
Not faster—
Earlier.
He moved before the attack fully existed.
The energy blast scraped past him, tearing into the wall behind.
Silence.
Short.
Heavy.
"…what are you?" one of them muttered.
Kael didn't answer.
He moved.
And this time—
He didn't hold back