The sunset painted the campus in amber and gold, and Noah couldn't help but notice how the light caught in Sophie's hair as they lounged beside her Clexus. The hover-car's gentle hum reminded him of everything she represented – wealth, power, a world he'd never truly understand.
But for now, they were teasing.
"I still can't believe you tapped out first," Noah smirked, leaning against the cool tal of the Clexus.
Sophie scoffed, crossing her arms. "Excuse ? I think we both know who tapped first."
Noah chuckled. "You sure about that? Because I distinctly rember—"
"I swear to God, Noah, don't even try it," she cut in, but the grin tugging at her lips betrayed her.
Their playful back-and-forth had been like this since leaving her apartnt. Their own little ga.
But then Sophie sighed, her expression shifting. "Okay, real talk."
Noah straightened, sensing the change in tone.
"My dad wants to know when we're doing that dinner."
Noah froze.
He had fought Harbingers on hostile planets. Stared down the gaping maws of Category 3 beasts. He had thrown himself into battle without hesitation, knowing that one mistake ant death.
But sitting at a dinner table with Minister Reign?
His mouth went dry.
"Sophie," he started, exhaling slowly. "I need a bit of ti to prepare for that. I hope you understand."
She studied him for a mont, then nodded with a small smile. "Of course, Noah. I know it's a lot. Springing this on you, I an. The whole reason we even connected in the first place was because neither of us wanted the attention. Or the expectations. And now, I'm putting you right in the line of fire."
Noah reached out, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm happy to go through this with you. Just… let figure out how to not die from anxiety first."
Sophie laughed softly before leaning in. Their lips t, the soft hum of her Clexus the only background noise in the quiet mont.
Then soone cleared their throat.
Sophie tensed imdiately, her posture shifting from soft intimacy to defensive alertness.
She was the one facing the dorm area. She saw him first.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sharper than before.
Noah turned, and the mont his eyes landed on the figure standing a few feet away, he understood her reaction.
Raven.
The kid from 1A.
Everyone knew that fight.
Noah Eclipse vs. Raven.
It had been one of the most talked-about clashes on campus. "Zombie Boy" versus one of 1A's finest.
Noah saw the way Sophie's entire body remained rigid, ready. He had to calm her down.
"It's alright," he said, placing a hand on her arm. "We're good now."
She snapped her gaze to him, brows furrowing. "Wait. What? How?"
Noah shrugged. "We just are."
Sophie stared at him like he had just said the sky was green.
How did boys even work? One minute, they were literally trying to kill each other. The next, they were what—best buds?
Raven, standing a little awkwardly, lifted a shy hand in a wave.
Noah caught that and couldn't help but smirk. He sotis forgot just how much of a star Sophie actually was.
It wasn't just that she was the prettiest girl in the entire academy. She was also Sophie Reign—the daughter of the Minister of Defense. She was practically untouchable.
Raven, like most, probably didn't even know how to act around her.
Noah, however, clocked sothing else.
The backpack.
Raven raised an eyebrow slightly, the unspoken signal clear.
'Right, Business,'
Noah turned back to Sophie, stepping in to hug her. "I'll see you later tonight, okay?"
Before he could pull away, she grabbed his wrist.
Then she kissed him again, this ti softer. More deliberate.
When she pulled back, her lips were barely a breath away from his ear as she whispered, "Be careful."
Noah blinked.
Sophie pulled back, but her grip remained firm.
"Rivalries in the academy don't just settle like that," she said, her eyes flicking toward Raven. "Sothing about this doesn't sit right with ."
She wasn't wrong.
But Noah felt she was just being paranoid.
"I know Raven," he reassured her. "We're past all that now."
Sophie didn't look convinced.
But Noah couldn't stay. Not for this.
He gave her hand a final squeeze before pulling away, turning to Raven. "Co on."
With that, they walked off.
Noah didn't look back.
But he knew Sophie was still standing there, watching them disappear into the campus.
The two boys moved silently through the paths of the academy, passing rows of storage units and old supply containers stacked like forgotten relics. The container area of the school was quiet at this hour—no curious eyes, no prying ears.
When they reached a rusted blue container, Raven stopped.
Noah waited.
Without a word, Raven unzipped his backpack and pulled out a small pouch, tossing it to Noah.
Noah caught it midair and loosened the drawstrings, peering inside.
Three beast cores.
Just three.
He plucked one out, rolling the crystal-like sphere between his fingers. Dull green hue. Weak glow.
"Category 2," Raven said, arms crossed. "My hunter guy got wrecked fighting a Category 3. Still in the hospital trying to piece himself back together."
Noah nodded once. No questions. No unnecessary words.
He understood the risks.
Beast core supply wasn't guaranteed. Every hunter fought their own battle before the trade even happened.
He cinched the pouch closed and slipped it into his pocket, already turning to leave.
But Raven stepped in his path.
Noah stilled.
Raven reached back into his bag and pulled sothing else out.
"Sorry one more thing," Raven said shyly as he brought out the thing.
A tablet.
He held it out. "This one's for ."
Noah narrowed his eyes. "And?"
"I've been trying to fix a bug problem."
Noah stared at him. "Why are you giving it to then?"
Raven exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know Kelvin. Thought maybe he could help."
Noah chuckled.
Raven caught it.
And he knew why.
Before their big fight, Raven had dragged Kelvin into their ss too. Kelvin, Noah's best friend, had no reason to do Raven any favors.
"You really think he's gonna help you?" Noah asked, arching a brow.
Raven shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to ask."
Noah humd, flipping the tablet in his hands.
"Why not just take it to a better-skilled technopath?" he asked. "There's gotta be plenty who could fix a simple virus."
Raven's jaw tensed slightly. "Can't trust anyone else with it." Then, locking eyes with Noah, he added, "But I trust you."
Noah blinked. 'Oh…?'
That was probably the dumbest thing he'd heard all day.
Still, he held back the laugh that threatened to escape. "Sure. Okay," he said instead, pocketing the tablet. "I'll see what I can do."
Which really ant: he'd see if Kelvin even cared enough to look at it.
At the last second, Raven added, "I could've given it to my friend in Year 3, but he couldn't even do anything about it."
Noah paused.
Wait.
A third-year student failed to fix this thing… and Raven thought a first-year like Kelvin would magically solve it? No doubt he didn't rate kelvin, his own best friend but in this context, he couldn't see how Raven made the logically sound decision that kelvin could fix it.
'This guy, man…'
But Noah just shook his head and turned, walking away. Whatever ss this tablet held, it wasn't his problem yet.
---
Noah made his way back, hands in his pockets, thoughts weighing heavier than the cores tucked inside.
Raven didn't even ask what he needed them for anymore. Just handed them over, no questions.
Maybe he wanted to keep this master-and-student thing going. It was still wild to Noah that Raven—a 1A student—was so willing to do his bidding just because he'd kicked his ass in combat.
But weirder things had happened.
His mind drifted. Nyx and Storm.
His dragon and wyvern.
They were the real reason he needed these cores.
And he was running out.
That was the problem. Storm had been eating like crazy the last ti he checked, and now that he thought about it, he should've noticed the signs. The wyvern was getting close to evolving.
Which ant his supply wouldn't last.
Then what?
Raven got him what he could, but it wasn't enough. If only he could tell him why—tell him everything. That he had a system only he could see. That he had two mystical beasts locked inside an interdinsional domain. That if he didn't keep them fed, all hell would break loose.
But yeah. That would go over well.
Noah chuckled. The whole city was still in shock over what happened at School 8 the night before.
They hadn't even seen anything, and they were panicking. Military scanners went crazy the mont Nyx showed up near the 8th academy.
If just the dragon's presence caused that much chaos…
What would a hungry Nyx have them doing? Evacuating? Changing planets?
The news kept spinning theories, trying to classify the energy. They knew it was a beast, but it didn't fit their system.
Not a Category 5.
Not sothing they could define.
And that alone was terrifying.
Even to Noah.
Because Nyx?
Nyx wasn't even done growing.
Noah stepped into the dorm and tossed the tablet onto Kelvin's desk.
"Take a look. Just see what's wrong with it."
Kelvin barely glanced up from his own tablet, eyes flicking over the device before finally picking it up. His brows furrowed.
"Since when do you own a tablet?"
'Right. Should've expected that question.'
"It's not mine," Noah admitted.
Kelvin snorted. "Obviously. Whose is it?"
"Raven's."
Kelvin imdiately looked disgusted and threw the tablet back on the desk. "Then why am I touching it?"
Noah sighed. "Just check it out. Apparently, it has so bug he can't fix."
Kelvin folded his arms. "Raven, Mr. I'm-Too-Good-for-1B, ca to you for help?"
Noah shrugged. "Guess he trusts ."
Kelvin scoffed. "Sounds like a dumbass move."
Noah chuckled. It really was.
Kelvin finally picked up the tablet again, muttering under his breath as he turned it on.
Noah exhaled, already heading for the door. "I'll be back. Just need to handle sothing real quick."
Kelvin smirked. "Sophie?"
Noah saw the look on his face and instantly knew what his friend was thinking.
Still, he said, "No."
Kelvin leaned back. "You know you can talk to if you need to, right?"
Noah waved him off. "Sure, sure."
"I'm serious." Kelvin's tone shifted. "You haven't been yourself since the cave incident. Always moving, always busy. We barely even hang out anymore."
Noah paused at the door, then closed it and sat on Kelvin's bed.
'Haven't been myself?'
He hadn't noticed. But thinking about it now…
Between keeping the Void System and his unlikely pets a secret, he had shifted his routine. Days with Sophie, nights in his domain practicing chi circulation. He still hadn't gotten a system quest, which ant no way to improve his stats.
'Damn. Have I really been ghosting him?'
He looked up, smirking. "Arcade's still open, you know that?"
Kelvin mirrored the smirk. "That where you were headed?"
Noah hesitated.
He'd been planning to et Lucas about the mole situation, see if he had any breakthroughs.
But Kelvin didn't need to know that.
So he shrugged. "No. You were right. I was heading to Sophie's. But I guess one night hanging out with my bro wouldn't hurt."
Kelvin tossed Raven's tablet onto the bed, grabbed his own, and pulled on a hoodie. Together, they stepped out of the dorm, locking it with their key cards.
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