Rad’s jaw remained clenched, fingers still pressed between his teeth, when—
An arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder.
Rad jolted violently, his entire body stiffening as if struck by lightning.
For a split second, panic consud him.
He shook instinctively, shoulders tensing, and whipped his head to the side—
Only to find Drey standing beside him.
Drey’s arm was draped casually across his shoulder, his grip relaxed, almost friendly.
Rad stared at him for a few seconds, chest rising and falling rapidly.
Drey’s expression was neutral, faintly amused, as though unaware of the storm raging inside his mind.
"It’s just you..." Rad muttered under his breath, more to himself than to Drey.
His pulse gradually slowed, but the tension in his chest did not fully disappear.
His mind still felt restless, almost as if sothing terrible lingered just beyond his field of vision.
He lifted his gaze forward, and he couldn’t help but freeze for a second.
A boy with dull brown hair was leaning casually against the wall a short distance ahead of them.
One foot was pressed against the stone, arms loosely folded.
His posture was relaxed, and filled with confidence.
Rad’s throat went dry instantly.
"L-Lloyd..." he stuttered.
Sweat began forming almost imdiately at his temples.
Since he had been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t even realized when he got in front of the boy.
Lloyd pushed himself off the wall slowly.
A smile stretched across his face.
At first glance, it appeared harmless.
But if one looked closely, there was a weird edge beneath it.
The corners of his lips tilted just slightly too far upward.
His eyes, however, held no warmth.
"What’s wrong, Rad...?" Lloyd asked.
He tilted his head slightly, studying him.
"You seem a little... spooked."
Lloyd straightened fully and began walking toward him.
His shoes made faint sounds against the floor as he closed the distance.
Rad’s palms grew damp.
He swallowed hard, trying to steady his breathing.
Lloyd stopped just a few feet away.
His lips stretched again, into that sa, unsettling smile.
"What’s wrong...?" he continued softly.
His gaze sharpened.
"It can’t be that you’ve been... avoiding , right?"
The pause before the last word lingered longer than necessary.
Rad felt his stomach drop.
He gulped audibly.
Then, almost imdiately, he forced a smile onto his face.
Even though he tried to make the smile seem as natural as possible, it still felt stiff.
"W-What...? No... no..." he stamred quickly, shaking his head a little too fast. "I would never. We’re friends... rember?"
His voice wavered slightly on the last word.
He let out an awkward chuckle, the sound hollow and strained.
Drey’s arm remained over his shoulder for a mont longer.
Then Drey removed it casually, giving Rad’s shoulder a light pat.
He stepped slightly aside, glancing at him with a faint frown.
"You’re... acting weird, man," Drey said, brows furrowing just a little.
The words were simple, but Rad felt like he was being cornered sohow.
"I-It’s just that..." he began, his voice coming out thinner than he intended.
His eyes darted briefly between Lloyd and Drey before settling sowhere on the ground.
"I saw him..."
Lloyd’s brows rose in confusion, not know who Rad was talking about.
"Saw who...?" he asked.
Rad swallowed again.
He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears as he forced the na past his lips.
"Noah..." he whispered at first.
Then louder.
"I saw Noah today."
The mont he spoke those words, silence descended between the three of them.
It was as though the world paused for half a second.
Both Lloyd and Drey’s eyes widened almost simultaneously.
Drey’s jaw parted slightly.
"That’s impossible..." he said imdiately, his voice cracking. "He’s... he’s..."
He couldn’t finish it.
The word caught in his throat like sothing toxic.
Lloyd’s gaze darkened.
His lips moved.
"...Dead," he muttered flatly, finishing the sentence for him.
The word felt heavier spoken aloud.
The three of them instinctively glanced at one another when Lloyd said it.
A quick exchange of looks, the mory or what happened replaying in their heads at the sa ti.
Drey’s breathing grew uneven.
A thin sheen of sweat began forming on his forehead before he even realized it.
His fingers twitched at his sides.
Rad shifted uncomfortably where he stood, feeling the air grow suffocating around them.
His stomach churned, and his hands wouldn’t stop trembling.
Lloyd was the only one who still kept his composure to an extent, but his face squeezed into an irritated frown.
He wanted to believe he had misheard what Rad said, but he doubted there was any reason for Rad to lie to him.
So many thoughts started racing through his mind, each one making the frown on his face deepen even more.
’How is he alive...?’
’Was he never dead?’
’Did we miscalculate sothing?’
’No... that couldn’t be...’
They had checked and confird that Noah was indeed dead before burying him.
So then, how co he was already back in the academy the next day.
Even if he had indeed survived, there was no way he would be back in the academy so quickly with how battered they left him.
’Could it be... that soone actually saved him..?’ he thought. ’A magus?’
The possibilities spiraled violently in Lloyd’s mind, one after another.
Each one worse than the last.
His jaw clenched subtly.
Then he turned his gaze slowly toward Rad.
"Where..." he asked, his voice low now, colder. "Did you see him?"
Rad felt that stare like pressure against his skin.
He hesitated.
His lips parted and closed again before words finally stumbled out.
"He’s... he’s in school right now."
Lloyd blinked once, then he suddenly let out a light chuckle.
His hands slowly curled into fists at his sides.
"That fucking bitch..." Lloyd muttered, his eyes hardening in frustration. "I’ll make him wish he had died that night."
And standing there, between the two of them, Rad felt the air grow colder despite the sweat clinging to his skin.
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