From her spot behind the stone pillar, Ember watched with a mix of shock and frustration as Liam suddenly halted mid-step, stood still for a moment, then turned and calmly walked back the way he came.
"What the hell is this kid?" she thought, narrowing her eyes as he diverted to the longer path leading to the cafeteria. "Why did he stop? There's no way his Myst perception or danger sense is that sharp—especially not from this far away."
She leaned further against the pillar, her mind racing.
"No matter how well-trained he is at this point, detecting danger you're not even aware of isn't something most students can just pull off. Then again..." Her brow furrowed. "I've seen his performance during last semester's exams. The things he pulled off... no kid his age should even think the way he does."
Her eyes followed Liam's retreating form. "Maybe Gordon's right about him being a piece of the puzzle in our problems. But still..." Her hands clenched slightly. "I want nothing to do with Galen. If this kid is linked to him, then all of this is one giant ticking time bomb."
She sighed and activated the rune crystal on her bracelet. It blinked once before projecting a floating image of Gordon from the chest up.
"Any luck?" he asked.
"No," Ember replied, her tone clipped. "I tried to get him at one of his usual routes, but he just... didn't take it today. Turned back at the last second."
"What a pain," Gordon muttered, rubbing his temple. "I swear, I can't rely on you for anything."
"You've got some damn nerve saying that, treetrunk," she snapped.
"Shut that useless mouth of yours," he shot back. "Tell me—do you know where he's headed now?"
"He's still going to the cafeteria. Just took the long path from the knight training wing," she said.
A slow smile spread across Gordon's face. "What a lucky break. I'm already in that hallway... and it's empty."
"Great. For once, you might actually be useful. Do whatever you want with him—I'm going to stay on Sheila and look for an opening." She cut the call without waiting for a reply.
As the projection faded, Ember exhaled deeply and began to walk away.
"I just hope this doesn't blow up in our faces," she muttered under her breath.
Back in the quiet hallway, Liam walked with steady steps, his expression calm but his mind anything but.
'What the hell just happened back there?' he thought, the strange sensation still lingering in his body. 'I felt danger—real danger. But I didn't see anything. Nothing at all. Just... instinct.'
He frowned, eyes darkening slightly. 'Still, that voice... it warned me. Why?'
The memory echoed in his mind—"Don't use this path."
'It wasn't Grandpa's voice, but it felt familiar... Like that thing from my consciousness. The one I spoke to months ago.'
Liam's jaw clenched. 'But that bastard told me to prove my worth. Said he'd end me himself if I didn't. Why would someone like that warn me? Why help me?'
His fingers curled slightly, irritation bubbling beneath the surface.
'Whatever the reason, I don't like it. Everyone's playing games, and I'm stuck at the center of something I don't even understand. Semester just started, and it's already spiraling into chaos.'
He exhaled sharply, eyes narrowing as he continued down the long, empty hallway.
"What a damn pain," he muttered.
After several minutes of walking through the quiet hallway, Liam kept his senses sharp, his eyes scanning every shadow and corner for anything unusual.
'Way too quiet,' he thought. 'Everyone's probably at the cafeteria by now. And I've got maybe thirty minutes left for lunch.'
Just as he rounded a corner, three familiar faces emerged, blocking his path—Chris, flanked by his usual goons: Lucian and Logan.
"Well, well, what a pleasant surprise," Chris said, arms spread with mock enthusiasm. "Isn't it just wonderful to run into one of the flame freaks I despise so much?"
His smirk twisted into something cruel as he took a step closer. "You know, Hunter, I've had something stuck in my heart for a while now..."
"Might just be your blood refusing to circulate. You should get that checked," Liam replied flatly.
Chris laughed sharply. "Would you look at that? The brooding bastard knows how to make a joke."
His laugh cut off, expression hardening. "But I'm not here to play games. I'm not even here to beat you up—yet. I'm here to warn you."
"Tell him, boss!" Logan chimed in, puffing his chest.
"Shut up, Logan," Chris snapped, eyes flashing. "When I'm talking, you shut your damn mouth."
"Y—yes, boss. Sorry, boss," Logan muttered, shrinking back.
Chris turned his attention back to Liam. "Now, where was I? Right. A warning. This semester, Hunter... it's going to be hell for you and your little crew. Last semester, you all hogged the spotlight—and I'm going to make sure you pay for that. Every last one of you."
His green eyes burned with a venomous kind of hatred.
Liam sighed internally. 'He really hasn't changed at all. That whole show during the simulation was just a way to boost his own ego—and clearly, it wasn't enough.' His jaw clenched. 'Why is today so damn annoying? It's not even halfway over.'
Before he could respond, the voice returned—calm, commanding, and echoing inside his head:
Liam's heart kicked up a beat. Sweat pricked at his brow.
"The voice again." He shifted slightly, glancing past Lucian—who, as always, lingered a few feet behind the confrontation, clearly uninterested in being directly involved.
Gordon was approaching from the far end of the hall, eyes locked on Liam with a wicked smirk stretched across his face.
Chris hadn't noticed.
"Hey, bastard, are you even listening to me?" Chris barked, annoyed at Liam's silence. He stepped forward and slapped a hand onto Liam's shoulder.
"Hey! I'm talking to—"
It happened too fast for any of them to react.
Liam's hand shot up, grabbed Chris's wrist, twisted it sharply, and with a smooth pivot, flipped him over onto the floor. Chris hit the ground with a dull thud, groaning in stunned confusion.
Lucian and Logan stood frozen. Even Chris didn't understand what had just happened.
'I didn't mean to do that…' Liam thought, briefly stunned by his own reflexes.
He glared down at Chris, his voice colder than steel. "Touch me again and I'll break more than your pride, mortal."
Without another word, he turned and sprinted toward the left corridor, away from Gordon's approach.
"What the hell are you two waiting for? Go after him!" Chris snapped, pointing furiously down the hallway.
Logan took off at once, scrambling after Liam without hesitation. Lucian, however, just sighed and turned in the opposite direction.
"I'm not missing lunch for your drama again," he muttered as he walked away.
"Coward," Chris spat, scowling.
Meanwhile, Gordon had already picked up his pace the moment he saw Liam dart off. Taking a sharp turn, he moved through a side corridor that would intersect with Liam's current path.
"I knew it. That kid knows something," Gordon thought, his jaw tightening. "No one runs like that unless they've figured something out. Just using him as a distraction won't cut it anymore… I'll have to kill him."
Despite the exertion, his pace didn't falter.
"Normally, I wouldn't be running , but… Lord Sylvathar's blood didn't just boost my magic—it gave my body a serious upgrade, too." He grinned, a twisted satisfaction curling at his lips.
Liam ran fast, his eyes scanning the corridor ahead, muscles pumping with perfect coordination—but something was off.
He wasn't fully in control.
What he did to Chris earlier wasn't planned. Sure, part of him wanted to do it, but his body had moved faster than his conscious will. Even the words that came out of his mouth carried a sharper, colder edge than he intended.
And now, it was happening again.
But he didn't have time to panic.
"I don't know how I'm running , but I'm glad I am," he thought. "Why would Gordon be after me? Did he figure out I know about him and Lady Ember? Dammit… what happened to the whole 'get Sheila' plan? Now they've added me to the list?"
His irritation surged.
"I doubt they want me alive. And even if they do, nothing about this feels normal. But one thing's crystal clear—"
He gritted his teeth, swerving hard into another corridor that would have brought him face to face with Gordon.
"—No one's claiming me today."
But just before the paths could cross, Liam vanished—melting into his shadow with Shadow Passage, slipping through the floor like smoke.
In an instant, he emerged back at the previous hallway, stepping out from the shadow of the pillar near where Chris and his gang had confronted him.
The area was empty now.
"Perfect timing is a blessing," Liam muttered as he bolted toward the cafeteria without looking back.
Only seconds later, Gordon arrived at the hallway Liam was supposed to come through. He stopped, scanning the area with narrowed eyes.
"Where the hell did he go?" he hissed, furious. "There's no way he just vanished."
He clenched his fists. "His affinity's fire. He shouldn't be able to disappear like that."