Aaron stood there, a sheepish smile forming on his face.
"Did I pass?"
Cassandra's smile deepened.
Phantom's Dash wasn't something one learned easily.
It was an innate skill—something gained through prolonged mastery and relentless training. For most, it took months.
A year, if not more.
Aaron had done it in under an hour.
For a brief moment, she simply looked at him.
The warmth in her eyes was unmistakable.
So was the quiet satisfaction.
Cassandra stepped closer
much closer—
Then wrapped her arms around him.
Her breath was warm against his ear as space twisted around them.
"You've passed…" she whispered softly. "You are one heck of a…..remarkable treasure...Meet me here tomorrow. Six."
In the next instant—
They vanished.
And reappeared in front of the dormitory building.
Cassandra released him, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
Around them, students moved about—returning from their days with their respective guilds and adventuring groups, voices low, energy lingering in the air.
Like a spell shattering, the moment broke.
The surrounding students finally noticed.
Aaron had just stepped out of Cassandra's embrace.
Eyes twitched.
Expressions stiffened.
Confusion spread—
Then something darker.
How…?
How had someone like him—
A Soul Branded—
Caught the attention of someone like her?
And then—
As if it wasn't enough—
Cassandra turned slightly and blew him a subtle kiss before disappearing into glowing embers.
Silence.
Then—
Tension.
Aaron stood there, frozen.
Surrounded.
I am so done for…
His gaze lifted slowly to the growing horde of students—
Jealousy clear in every stare.
Suddenly, a boy came waltzing through the students, who parted like fish before a shark.
A blond-haired boy behind him, followed several others. Everyone clearly knew him—that much was obvious from their reactions—but Aaron didn't recognize him. He hadn't been paying attention during the awakening ceremony at the time.
The boy slung an arm over Aaron's shoulder and began leading him away.
"I bet no one is going to need… Mr. Soul Branded, right?" he said casually. "Anyway, my good… bro, my name is Trevor…"
Aaron's face remained blank.
"Uh… okay. You're Trevor. So what?"
He had no idea who that was supposed to be.
Trevor's anger spiked."Haah… you don't know Trevor, huh?"
He ran a hand through his hair, exasperated.
"But you do know House Stormrider, don't you?" His voice sharpened. "My name is Trevor Stormrider—and you will listen to me, you useless Soul Branded thing."
His voice rose, cutting through the air.
"Oh—and there goes my temper. Forgive me…" His tone shifted, though the edge remained. "You seem to have some kind of connection to Archduke Cassandra. Care to explain?"
His grip tightened as he pulled Aaron along, dragging him toward the back of the dormitory building.
"Let me have access to her as well, huh? Just tell me. Start talking." His voice dropped, colder now. "My brother has been trying to get her for years… so what exactly is going on between you and Cassie?"
The already Crimson Eyes of Aaron turned an ever deeper and menancing shade his pupil alternating between circle and slit he felt a strange possessiveness he couldn't quite explain as he said:"Why do you care what is going on between both of us, is none and I repeat none of your…..Damn business!"
"Hey… boys. Did you hear that?"
Trevor's voice carried—light, amused.
"Aaron… you're quite daring." His gaze dragged over him. "What tier was that lowly summon of yours?"
A pause. Then a smirk.
"Oh, I know. 2.0. And humanoid, at that."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Look at you… your eyes are twitching. Is that what all Soul-Branded look like when they start going mad?"
Silence pressed in.
Trevor exhaled.
"...Pathetic."
His tone dropped—cold.
"Well then."
A step forward.
"Prepare to meet your doom."
His gaze sharpened.
"Show him."
A tear split the air beside him.
Not opened—torn.
Lightening sparks outward as something stepped through.
A panther.
Massive.
Its body moved like coiled muscle beneath night-black skin. Gold-lined patterns traced across it—glowing faintly—before lightning erupted along its form. Arcs of electricity snapped and crawled over its limbs, hissing against the ground.
The air thickening
Heavy
Oppressive
Tier 4.0.
—
Aaron stood still.
He felt fear that….compared to all he had seen,
that was a predator…
—
The panther moved.
It didn't charge.
It arrived.
Impact—
Fangs drove into his shoulder.
Deep.
A wet, tearing sound.
Blood spilled instantly—dark red, running down, soaking into cloth, dripping to the ground.
Aaron's body shifted with the force.
Nothing more
—
Null emerged from shadow.
Silent.
A dagger already in his grip.
He moved—
The panther didn't look at him.
Didn't acknowledge him.
Crack—
A single motion—
A swipe
Clean
Violent
Null's form snapped sideways, launched across the courtyard. Stone cracked on impact as his body slammed into a distant wall—then dropped.
Still
—
Silence fell
Thick
Students watching
Waiting
—
Aaron inhaled.
The air warped.
Something gathered—not around him—but into him.
Darkness condensed at his mouth. Dense. Heavy. Compressing into unstable spheres that pulsed with muted distortion.
His canines lengthened.
Not fully.
Just enough.
His pupils thinned—
Slits.
Something predatory flickered behind them.
Not emotion
Instinct
Hunger
—
He looked at the panther.
And the world… tightened.
Sound dulled.
Air compressed
For a fraction—
Everything stilled.
[Infernal Discharge]
—
Then—
BOOM—
The charge erupted.
Not released—
torn free
It struck the panther point-blank.
Its head snapped back as the beam crashed into its eyes. Heat flared—violent, searing—warping the air around the impact. Lightning scattered wildly across its body, destabilizing.
A sharp, distorted snarl tore from it.
Its jaws released.
Aaron dropped with a dull Thud.
—
Trevor flinched.
Barely.
A flicker.
Pain laced through the bond—brief, sharp.
His smile faltered—
Then hardened.
"I don't know what you just did, Aaron…" His voice cut through the silence, edged with something tighter now.
Controlled.
"But it doesn't matter."
His gaze darkened.
"Fang."
A pause.
Slowly Trevor's face turned cruelly like as if crazed, he said in a cold tone of execution:
"Finish him."