The sun hung lazily in the sky, casting golden hues over the sprawling grounds of Lumina Academy. Students from both schools mingled and trained, laughter echoing across the courtyard. But Zane barely noticed the cheerful noise—his mind was still on the duel, on Sera, and on Valerie's strange behavior.
He walked beside Sera now, their hands brushing lightly with each step. She had returned to her usual teasing self, though a hint of tension still lingered in her eyes. Zane tried to break the silence.
"I really thought you'd go all out with your Sky Dream powers back there," he said with a soft smile.
Sera looked at him with a side glance, smirking faintly. "I didn't want to break the arena. Or her nose."
Zane chuckled, but Nyx piped up inside his mind, "You two are so dramatic. It's like watching a soap opera with mana bolts."
As they turned a corner, Zane suddenly froze. His eyes locked with Valerie's across the courtyard. She stood near a tall marble pillar, speaking to a group of students from Lumina, but her gaze—sharp and unwavering—was fixed on him.
Her expression wasn't angry. It wasn't sad. It was... unreadable. Her violet eyes bore into him with something between curiosity and calculation.
"She's still looking at you," Nyx whispered in his mind. "But it's not the 'I'm-in-love' look anymore. That's the 'I-know-where-you-sleep' look."
Zane narrowed his eyes. "What is she doing?"
Sera followed his gaze. "My sister?" she scoffed. "Probably planning her next dramatic entrance. Just ignore her."
The Valerie he met just days ago—bubbly, impulsive, a little too forward—wasn't the same girl staring at him now. There was something... cold beneath her smile. Something detached. Like she was looking through him rather than at him.
She finally turned away, rejoining her classmates as if nothing happened.
Nyx's tone turned more serious. "Keep your guard up, Zane. Something about her mana... it's different. Darker. Heavier."
Zane clenched his fist. He had seen things. Fought monsters. Unleashed powers most people couldn't even understand. But this wasn't brute strength—it was subtle, creeping, like a shadow stretching over the soul.
And deep down, he knew—whatever had changed in Valerie wasn't over.
It was only just beginning.