Chapter 56: Hunting Shadows
Sarah crouched behind the fallen carcass of what Elena had identified as a Thunder Wyvern, her pale eyes scanning the horizon while the professors debated their next move. The cave systems Harold’s group had found were still hours away, and something was driving the local predators toward their position with increasing urgency.
’Where are you, Kael?’ The thought surfaced unbidden, and she pushed it down with practiced control. Three days of survival had taught her that dwelling on uncertainties was a luxury she couldn’t afford. But sometimes, in quiet moments like this, her mind drifted to the white-haired boy who’d been just as lost and frightened as she was when they’d faced down their kidnappers together.
His SS-rank fire manipulation should have made him one of the most dangerous people in this rift. If anyone could carve their way through the nightmare landscape, it would be him. So where was he?
"Sarah," Damien approached quietly, his footsteps careful on the uneven ground. She looked up, noting the hesitation in his posture. Before the rift, they’d barely spoken beyond polite Academy courtesies. Damien had been part of Kael’s circle, while she’d been the controversial carpenter’s daughter everyone whispered about.
Three days of shared survival had changed the social dynamics considerably.
"The professors are still arguing about which route to take," he said, settling into a cautious crouch several feet away. The distance wasn’t accidental. Everyone in their group had learned to give Sarah space when her temporal abilities felt unstable. "Professor Leo wants to scout for other survivors first. Harold thinks we should head straight for those caves he found."
Sarah nodded, her attention divided between their conversation and the distant sounds that spoke of organized pursuit rather than random predator movement. "What do you think we should do?"
"Honestly? I think we’re all making decisions without enough information." Damien’s voice carried the strain of three days spent watching friends die to creatures that shouldn’t exist. "But I know staying here isn’t an option."
He paused, studying her profile with the careful attention of someone trying to read emotional weather patterns. "You’re thinking about Kael again."
It wasn’t a question. Sarah felt heat creep up her neck. Apparently her concern was more obvious than she’d thought.
"Aren’t we all worried about the people we can’t account for?" she replied carefully.
"I suppose." Damien’s expression grew distant, troubled in a way that went beyond their immediate circumstances. "Though I’m probably more worried about him than most. We were close. At least, we used to be."
Sarah waited, sensing there was more he needed to say.
"Ever since the awakening ceremony, we haven’t really spoken," Damien continued, his voice carrying regret that seemed to surprise him. "I mean, we’d share meals sometimes, have casual conversations in the halls. But not like before. Not like when we were actually friends instead of just classmates with different rankings."
"The rankings changed everything for everyone," she said quietly.
"They did. And maybe that was bound to happen eventually. Kael’s SS-rank fire manipulation, your time abilities, all the political maneuvering that came with them." Damien shook his head. "But I keep thinking about our last real conversation. This was before the ceremony, before he awakened, when he was still just the overlooked Ashford son who read too much and asked questions that made people uncomfortable."
Sarah had never heard this perspective on Kael before. At the Academy, she’d known him primarily through his public appearances: the white-haired boy with impossible fire abilities who’d survived their kidnapping and earned royal attention. The person Damien described sounded entirely different.
"What was he like before the awakening?"
"Observant. Quiet, but not in a shy way. More like he was always listening, always processing information that other people missed." Damien’s tone grew more animated as he described his friend. "He had this way of asking questions that made you realize you hadn’t actually thought through your assumptions. Never confrontational about it, just methodical."
"That doesn’t sound like someone who’d struggle with awakening," Sarah observed.
"That’s what I thought too. But ever since that first ceremony, since his classification stone malfunctioned..." Damien’s voice trailed off, uncertainty creeping in. "He’s been different. More guarded, more deliberate about everything he says and does. Like he’s constantly calculating angles that the rest of us can’t see."
"The failed awakening probably affected him more than he let on," Sarah said, trying to offer some comfort despite her own concerns. "Having something that public go wrong, then having to wait for reclassification while everyone speculated about what was wrong with you..."
"Maybe. But it felt like more than embarrassment or stress." Damien frowned, clearly struggling to put words to something that had been bothering him for weeks. "You know how most people change gradually? They adapt to new circumstances bit by bit. Kael changed all at once. Like someone flipped a switch and suddenly he was operating by completely different rules."
The description sent an odd chill down Sarah’s spine. She’d undergone her own transformation since arriving at the Academy, from terrified carpenter’s daughter to someone who could age a man to death without flinching. But that change had been gradual, shaped by circumstances and necessity.
"Different in what way?" she asked.
"More focused on everything. More isolated, I guess. Like he was viewing the whole world through some kind of strategic lens instead of just living his life." Damien’s expression grew troubled. "The kidnapping incident, the way he handled the royal audience, even how he interacted with other students afterward. Everything became calculated, purposeful. Even our friendship felt like it was being evaluated for usefulness."
’Trauma changes people,’ Sarah thought, though she found herself wondering about her own behavioral shifts since awakening her abilities.
"I know trauma changes people," she said aloud. "Maybe nearly dying does that to someone. Makes them more careful, more deliberate about survival."
Damien looked directly at her. "You would know better than most."
The observation hit closer to home than Sarah was comfortable with. She had become more calculating since the kidnapping, more willing to do whatever was necessary to protect herself and those she cared about. But unlike Kael’s apparent overnight transformation, her changes had felt organic, natural responses to circumstances rather than fundamental personality shifts.