Everyone stared at Oliver in stunned silence. Kai knitted his brows, his voice laced with confusion and defense.
"What do you mean by that? Why on earth would Simon be a criminal?"
"Are you seriously telling me you don't know about the Blackburn?" Oliver said, his French accent thick with disdain. Toad seemed to recognize the name, nodding solemnly, but Finn remained clueless. He stared at them with wide eyes, his mouth still stuffed with food. Kai, however, didn't back down. He knitted his brows and retorted.
"So what about the Blackburn name? I actually think it sounds cool. A name is just a name, and a person is a person, right?"
The word "criminal" hung heavy in the air, weighing Simon down. He looked at Jack, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and desperate longing for the truth.
"Jack, you know, don't you? Please... tell me."
Jack looked up at Simon. The icy coldness in his eyes had been replaced by a complicated flicker of uncertainty. With a soft sigh, he pushed his plate aside, choosing his words carefully. Oliver remained silent, arms crossed, watching Jack intently.
"I think I told you once that there were six Chambers," Jack began. Simon nodded slowly.
"Now there are five, but there used to be six. That sixth Chamber belonged to Blackburn, Simon."
Simon's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Blackburn was originally part of Willowgate. Sir Blackburn was a man of legendary renown your ancestor. He was the only person in the history of Mythaion's Chosen who managed to master all forms of magic. Usually, a Chosen can only master one specific discipline. That is why his name remains etched into the very foundations of Willowgate..."
As Jack spoke of the glory, Oliver cut in with the dark twist.
"The Blackburns were a respected Old-Blood line for centuries. Everyone looked up to them."
Oliver paused, setting his fork down with a deliberate click. His icy blue eyes never wavered from Simon's pale face.
"But all of that prestige was destroyed by your father. Your father... is a murderer."
The spoon in Simon's hand slipped, clattering against his plate. A deathly pallor washed over him as his entire body began to tremble. To learn about a father he had only ever dreamed of meeting, only to find out he was a monster, was a pain beyond words.
"He hunted down Chosens and stole the magics they had mastered. He used a forbidden Dark Magic, the art of stealing magic through blood. Your grandfather killed himself because of your father."
Toad sighed heavily, casting a sympathetic glance at Simon. Jack remained silent, his gaze fixed on Simon's distressed expression.
"Because of his atrocities, all the Chosen united to imprison him, body and soul, in the Burgundian Hell Prison. They couldn't kill him; if they did, the stolen magic would backlash, causing an imbalance that would tear Mythaion apart."
Oliver delivered the final blow with cold precision.
"Because of his actions, the Blackburn Chamber at Willowgate was abolished. What was once a legendary name is now nothing more than a cursea threat to the very existence of Mythaion."
As Oliver's final words settled in the air, Simon felt as if a colossal boulder had dropped onto his chest, crushing the breath out of him. Tears welled up in his eyes instantly. He hated how easily they came, remembering how Mrs. Grabby used to mock him for being so thin-skinned and ready to cry.
All the excitement and wonder he had felt since arrivingthe magic, the warmth, the belonging vanished like a bird taking flight into the dark. In a single heartbeat, his extraordinary new life had been traded for the reality of being the son of a monster. This feeling was far worse than anything he had endured at the orphanage. Instead of sitting in this cozy, orange-lit room feeling like a criminal by blood, he suddenly wished he could go back to the cold, lonely walls of his old life, where at least the shadows were his only judge.
"My uncle was was among the Chosen your father murdered, Simon." Jack suddenly said softly. Simon looked at Jack through a blur of tears. Jack didn't meet his gaze. He kept his eyes fixed on his plate, his voice hollow.
"My father's brother. I've only ever seen him in photographs."
Simon felt as if the ground had vanished beneath him. His father wasn't just a murderer in history bookshe was the reason Jack's uncle was gone. The very person he had hoped to call a friend bore the scars of his father's sins. The room fell into a suffocating silence. Even Kai put down his spoon, the appetite gone from his face. For Simon, the warm orange glow of the room had turned into a toxic fog, making it impossible to breathe.
Jack looked at Simon and spoke, "I know you're not a bad person, Simon. But... what am I supposed to do if my father finds out I'm becoming friends with the son of the man who murdered his brother?"
Simon stared at him in silence, deeply understanding Jack's inner turmoil. But Kai had absolutely zero patience for such logic.
"You are talking pure bullshit, Jack! You know that? You're being dramatic. If your father knows Simon's father was the killer and still chooses to hate Simon, then your father is stupid."
Kai's sharp outburst left everyone in the room stunned.
"A father is a father, and a son is a son!Hating each other for crimes you didn't commit is just childish. And you! French boy! If you think Simon is a criminal just because his father was one, your brain is like a shrimp's—full of nothing but crap!"
Oliver pointed a trembling finger at Kai, his face flushed with indignation. "You... you are incredibly rude! Do you even know who I am? I am Old-Blood! My father is one of the wealthiest among the Old-Bloods, and my mother is a French model as well as an Old-Blood Chosen. We aren't just rich in Mythaion; our influence reaches the Ordinary world too! And a guy like you dares to talk to me like—!"
Kai didn't let him finish. He stood up abruptly,
"I don't care who or what you are! I wouldn't care if your father was a king instead of a tycoon! Get it? In my eyes, you're just someone who judges others based on their parents. If anyone here lacks respect, it's definitely you!"
"What!? As if someone like you understands the meaning of respect!"
"I understand it a hell of a lot more than you do!!"
The two were inches away from a physical brawl.
"Please, stop fighting!" Finn pleaded, his voice thick with anxiety.
"We just got here. Let's try to get along. We're roommates, after all."
Finn looked terrified, genuinely worried they might get expelled from the Academy on their very first night.
Kai ignored Finn's plea. His only focus was protecting Simon, whom he knew to be a genuinely good person. He remembered his father's words: "One true friend is worth more than a hundred acquaintances." He refused to let a friend as valuable as Simon be cast aside.
"And another thing," Kai added, his voice sharp and decisive. "Weren't we chosen by the Gods? If Simon's father is truly such a threat to Mythaion, why would the Gods choose his own flesh and blood to be here? It's simple: the Gods clearly aren't as narrow-minded as you lot."
Jack stared at Kai for a long moment before shifting his gaze to Simon. Oliver, however, wasn't about to back down.
"You think everyone the Gods choose is inherently good?" Oliver countered. "Not every Chosen is a saint—you only have to look at Blackburn to see that!"
Kai rolled his eyes. He felt a sudden urge to literally punch some sense into Oliver's narrow-minded skull, but he restrained himself.
"Fine. If you want to keep seeing him as a criminal, go ahead. But as far as I'm concerned, Simon is my friend."
He then turned his gaze toward Jack. "And Jack, you can do whatever the hell you want. Understood?"
Simon looked up at Kai, his heart racing. His eyes were filled with a mix of awe and deep admiration for Kai's bravery. He looked down at his own hands, which were twisting nervously in his lap. Inside, he was a battlefield of guilt and a growing urge to fight back. Part of him felt responsible for his father's sins, yet Kai's words whispered a different truth—that he was his own person, separate from the blood in his veins. But Simon remained silent, his head bowed under the weight of it all.
The tension finally snapped as Oliver turned on his heel and marched toward his bed. His spot was located on the left wall, sandwiched between Finn and Jack. He yanked his silk pajamas out of his expensive suitcase and headed straight for the door at the foot of Jack's bed—the shared bathroom.
Kai watched Oliver disappear behind the door and muttered under his breath, "Jerk."
Without another word, Jack stood up and walked over to his bed. He climbed the ladder and pulled the privacy curtains shut, retreating into his own world. Both Kai and Simon watched him until he disappeared behind the fabric. Kai let out a frustrated huff and headed to his own bed. His spot was on the opposite wall from Oliver's, with Toad positioned at his feet and Simon at his head. Toad followed suit, climbing into his bed in silence.
The meal had lost its appeal after the confrontation. As Finn began clearing the table and covering the leftovers, Simon stepped in to help. Finn looked at him with a small, supportive smile.
"Are you okay? Those guys... they're pretty scary, aren't they?"
Simon managed a faint, gentle smile. "I'm okay. Thank you," he replied softly.
While they were clearing the table, Oliver returned from the bathroom. Without sparing them a single glance, he climbed up to his bed and yanked his curtains shut, following Jack's lead. Once everything was tidy, Finn pulled the light switch, plunging the room into a heavy dimness. Everyone retreated to their respective beds, but Simon couldn't bring himself to lie down just yet. Instead, he sat on the windowsill nearest to his bed, gazing out into the night.
The window, located right at the center of the far wall at the end of the aisle between the beds, allowed the silver moonlight to spill across the floor. In that quiet glow, Simon watched the shadows of Willowgate, his mind wandering through the whirlwind of truths and tragedies he had uncovered tonight.
As Simon gazed outside, a rustle caught his attention. From the bed at his feet, Kai peered through the gap in his curtains.
"Not asleep yet?" Kai whispered.
Simon turned to look at him. In the soft glow of the moonlight, Kai's face was clear, his eyes bright with alertness. It was obvious he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon either.
"Yeah... I can't sleep," Simon admitted quietly.
Kai pulled back his curtains and climbed down the ladder. He pulled out the chair from the desk beneath Simon's bed and took a seat opposite him.
"Me neither. To be honest, I'm kind of regretting how I handled things earlier," Kai sighed.
"Not the words I said, but how loud I was. I should've just stayed cool and slayed him quietly."
A small smile played on Simon's lips.
"Slay?"
"Yep! Social media slang. It means to totally crush someone with a comeback."
Simon smiled again, a bit wider this time. Forget social media—he had never even owned a phone, so none of this was familiar to him.
"Is that so? I didn't know," Simon replied honestly.
"Mate, you're seriously behind the times. What are you, a Gen Boomer?" Kai teased with a grin.
"I didn't exactly have a phone, you know," Simon laughed softly. "At the orphanage, all we had was a TV. And even then, we were only allowed to watch it at certain times."
At the mention of the "orphanage," the smile slowly faded from Kai's face. He hadn't realized Simon came from such a background, and a wave of sympathy washed over him. Not wanting to make Simon feel awkward or pitied, he quickly and smoothly steered the conversation in a different direction.
"Mate, in that case, I'm going to have to teach you everything. The trends, the slang… damn, I should've brought my phone." Kai said with sigh and leaned back to seat.
" When I got to the gate at the Dock, the guard told me that devices from the Ordinary world weren't allowed in Mythaion, so I had to leave it behind. It's so unfair, you know? I had to say goodbye to my precious baby right then and there."
Simon smiled. Talking to Kai made him feel more at peace than he had all day. It was as if a heavy burden was being lifted from his chest, layer by layer. Yet, there was one question he had to ask.
"Kai... aren't you afraid of me? My father is a murderer. What if I turn out just like him? They say madness runs in the blood."
"Are you crazy?" Kai blurted out, looking at him as if he had grown a second head.
"You still don't get it, do you? It's simple: a father is a father, and a son is a son. My dad always says that just because he's a doctor, it doesn't mean I have to be one. You become who you want to be. The idea that you must be like your parents is just weird, don't you think?"
Kai's logic was refreshing, cutting through Simon's existential dread like a knife. Then, Kai leaned in with a smirk.
"Besides, your whole situation is giving me major Star Wars vibes. Have you seen it?"
"I've seen it on TV," Simon replied.
"Yeah! You're Luke Skywalker, and your dad is Darth Vader. Pretty cool, huh? You've got major Main Character energy," Kai said enthusiastically.
Truth be told, the moment he heard that Simon's father was a murderer, Star Wars was the first thing that popped into his head. People often called him weird because his mind tended to drift toward the 'unserious' whenever things got too 'serious.'
Simon gave a soft laugh. "Is that so? To be honest, I only watched Star Wars when I was really little, so I don't remember much."
"Oh, in that case, you've met the right person! Let me tell you all about it."
And just like that, Kai began explaining the entire Star Wars lore—the Jedi, the Force, and how a son could stand in the light even when his father had fallen into darkness. Their hushed whispers filled the dim room. Everyone seemed to be fast asleep, but behind his closed curtains, Jack lay wide awake, silently listening to every single word.