Only two weeks had passed since Phenex.

  Two weeks… and his body still hadn’t agreed with the calendar.

  There were mornings when he woke up convinced he was still down there, inside the vent, with the metal vibrating around him and the air too thick to breathe properly.

  Other mornings, everything seemed to work… until he took one step too far.

  The world had not stopped.

  But something inside him had.

  Or maybe it was more accurate to say that two weeks had passed since a creature that should not exist tried to be born.

  Two weeks since Sona told him she would train him “until you stop being a danger to yourself.”

  Two weeks since Rias returned to the academy as if nothing had happened, with Issei and Asia now living with her.

  In the end, that was what it meant to live as an extra.

  The canon had passed. Or something close enough to it.

  Issei defeated Riser — he didn’t know exactly how; he wasn’t there to see it — received the heroine’s kiss, and now both of them lived together with Asia.

  Everything had returned to normal.

  Or so it seemed.

  Kuoh didn’t breathe the same way anymore.

  Morning light filtered through the windows of the main building as Kaelan crossed the courtyard. His uniform fit well, his backpack was light, his body relatively rested.

  The Resonance was still there.

  Not like a scream.

  Not like an alarm.

  More like a poorly extinguished echo.

  A cold pulse, buried deep, that didn’t push or warn… it simply remembered. As if something that had already happened refused to stay in the past.

  It didn’t hurt.

  But it wasn’t calm either.

  A cold, sunken pulse.

  As if it still hadn’t forgiven what happened in the vent.

  For a moment, the Resonance vibrated with a different tone.

  Not like immediate danger.

  But as if something, very far away, had opened an eye.

  Ancient.

  Tired.

  Hungry.

  Kaelan inhaled slowly.

  It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t calm.

  It was enough to remind him that something unfinished was still breathing somewhere in the Underworld.

  —…Arverth.

  The voice came from nowhere.

  Small. Dry. Direct.

  Koneko was already walking beside him before Kaelan even noticed her appear.

  She didn’t look at him.

  She just walked at his pace, arms crossed.

  —You look… —she searched for the exact word— …strange.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Kaelan sighed.

  —I slept badly.

  Koneko replied without looking at him.

  —That’s not sleeping badly. That’s “something is chasing me.”

  Kaelan almost tripped.

  —How—?!

  Koneko raised a finger.

  —I don’t want details right now. I don’t have enough chocolate to listen to you.

  Kaelan didn’t respond.

  The Resonance vibrated softly, as if recognizing her voice as something… comfortable.

  Or dangerous.

  Koneko added, more quietly:

  —Just… don’t die.

  Kaelan looked at her.

  She quickly looked away, as if she had said something she wasn’t supposed to.

  —I have training —Kaelan said, escaping the moment—. Sona has been destroying me lately. With the club tournament coming up and the strange things happening in the territory… she’s a little… stressed.

  Koneko walked away without saying anything else.

  It wasn’t abrupt.

  It wasn’t dramatic.

  She simply left the conversation where it was, as if she knew insisting wouldn’t change anything… not yet.

  She stopped half a step.

  She didn’t look at Kaelan.

  She looked at the ground.

  As if something down there wasn’t exactly where it should be.

  —Don’t ignore those pulses. They’re not normal.

  After classes, the entire Sitri team had gathered.

  They were holding practice sessions for the upcoming club tournament.

  The Student Council’s underground gym was active, but not tense. There were no magical alarms or real combat barriers.

  Only markings on the floor.

  Stopwatches.

  And Sona’s clear voice organizing everything as if it were just another routine.

  —Good —Sona said, adjusting her glasses while reviewing a magical tablet—. We’ll go over basic formations. No advanced techniques. This is a school tournament, not a Rating Game.

  —So I can’t summon anything big? —Saji asked, already in position, with a hopeful grin.

  —No —Sona replied without looking up.

  —Nothing medium?

  —No.

  —Something that explodes just a little?

  —Saji.

  The boy shrugged and went to his spot.

  Kaelan observed in silence from his assigned position.

  He wasn’t at the front.

  But he hadn’t been pushed aside either.

  The formations adjusted to his presence without revolving around him.

  No one used him as a reference point.

  And yet no one completely lost track of him either.

  Tsubaki stood a few meters away, practicing precise movements with almost surgical calm. She murmured internal counts while tracing invisible lines through the air.

  Reya and Murayama worked on their synchronization.

  Everything was… orderly.

  Very Sitri.

  —Arverth.

  Kaelan looked up.

  Sona was looking directly at him now.

  —Today I want control, not power. —Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it was final.— Simple movements. Reaction. Don’t force anything that isn’t stable.

  Kaelan nodded.

  —Understood.

  No questions.

  No jokes.

  That also said quite a lot.

  The training began with basic exercises.

  Footwork.

  Interruption simulations.

  Partner drills.

  Kaelan moved well.

  Too well for someone who had supposedly spent so little time in the Underworld.

  He didn’t stand out.

  And that was deliberate.

  Every time he felt the Resonance stir, he let it pass.

  He didn’t push it.

  He didn’t fully suppress it either.

  He simply… observed it.

  Just as he had been taught.

  Still, something was different that day.

  When Sona ordered the first position shift and everyone moved at once, Kaelan stepped back before stepping forward.

  Not technique.

  Reflex.

  A body waiting for a blow that never came.

  Two weeks weren’t enough to convince his muscles that the floor would keep being the floor.

  Tsubaki didn’t notice.

  Or if she did, she chose not to say anything.

  Kaelan breathed in and continued.

  —Partner change —Sona ordered.

  Kaelan ended up facing Tsubaki.

  She inclined her head slightly in greeting.

  —Arverth. Let’s keep a medium pace.

  —Sure.

  The exchange was clean.

  Precise.

  Neither of them tried to overpower the other.

  This was real practice, not a spectacle.

  Even so, Tsubaki’s brow furrowed slightly during one of the exchanges.

  —…Are you distracted?

  —A little —Kaelan admitted without excuses.

  —It’s not serious. But it’s not ideal.

  —I know.

  Tsubaki didn’t insist.

  She adjusted her stance and they continued.

  From the stands, Sona observed everything without missing a detail.

  Not only Kaelan.

  Everyone.

  But every now and then, her gaze returned to him.

  At the end of the session, when the fatigue was more mental than physical, Sona ended the training.

  —Good. That’s enough for today. —She closed the tablet.— Rest. Tomorrow we continue with simulations.

  The group began to disperse.

  Casual conversations.

  Light complaints.

  Nothing out of place.

  Kaelan took his water bottle and sat down for a moment, breathing deeply.

  The Resonance was still there.

  Quiet.

  Attentive.

  As if waiting for something that had not yet arrived.

  —Arverth.

  Sona stood in front of him.

  —Yes?

  —Before the tournament —she said— there will be a formal meeting with the Gremory peerage.

  She said it like administrative information, but she looked directly at him.

  —It’s an official meeting. Several members don’t know each other yet. It’s important to maintain proximity.

  Kaelan blinked once.

  —Understood.

  —It’s not an interrogation —she added.— It’s protocol. Even if people already know each other… things must be done properly.

  Kaelan nodded again.

  —I know.

  Sona watched him for another second.

  Then she adjusted her glasses.

  —Rest. And if you feel those “pulses” again… you tell me.

  It wasn’t an order.

  It was a careful warning.

  Sona turned and left.

  Kaelan stayed a moment longer, alone in the gym as it slowly returned to silence.

  Everything still followed the canon.

  Classes continued.

  Trainings advanced.

  The pieces were where they were supposed to be.

  And yet Kaelan couldn’t shake the persistent feeling that Kuoh was running on inertia.

  Like a breath being held.

  Waiting for the exact moment to finally be released.

  Some wounds don’t scream. They wait.

  See you in Chapter 2.