David’s voice broke, ragged and panicked.

  “It started a year ago. A man approached me—he told me to watch the Delindors. Said I had to find a way into their house, map every detail, report everything about Ziraiah and Eryndor. At first, I refused, but… he threatened to kill me. So I did what he asked.”

  His words tumbled out, desperate, each one faster than the last.

  “After a few months, another man came. Said he’d taken the first one’s place. Then another replaced him not long after. But all of them wanted the same thing: information on the Delindors, and the power source that sustains Heful’s barrier. They pressed me to find the third Delindor. I tried… I tried everything, but I couldn’t. Even asked Ziraiah—she didn’t know. Then a few weeks ago, he appeared. That same day, Prince Zelion awakened.”

  David’s eyes flicked up, pleading.

  “By then, I was reporting to a woman. She told me to dig into Prince Zelion. I told her I’d finally found the third Delindor and that the palace would host a ball to celebrate the prince’s awakening. She ordered me to secure invitations for the ball—and a picture of the third Delindor to confirm his identity. I was supposed to meet her today… but someone else came in her place.”

  Valerius’s distorted voice ripped the air like broken metal.

  “WHY ARE THEY AFTER THE DELINDORS?”

  “I don’t know!” David cried, clutching at his broken hand.

  “WHAT DO THEY WANT WITH ZELION?”

  “I swear—I don’t know!”

  Valerius’s grip tightened on David’s throat, his masked face looming inches away. His voice scraped out, jagged and cold:

  “TELL ME SOMETHING, DAVID… DO YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT MY SISTER?”

  David’s chest heaved, eyes wide with fear, but he forced the words out between ragged breaths.

  “Y-yes… yes, I do.”

  Valerius tilted his head, studying him like a predator gauging prey. His voice rumbled lower, sharper.

  “Then why are you doing this? Why betray her? Why stab her trust in the back?”

  David’s lip trembled, shame flickering across his bloodied face.

  “I… I don’t have a choice.”

  Before Valerius could press further, a voice cut through the silence from outside the room.

  “David? Is someone there?”

  Valerius’s head snapped toward the door.

  It creaked open. A woman stepped inside, brown hair cascading down her shoulders. Her eyes widened in horror.

  “David!”

  She rushed forward, kneeling beside him where he lay battered on the floor. Her arms wrapped around him, trembling.

  “David, what happened to you?”

  She looked toward the window. It was open, curtains billowing in the night wind. But Valerius was already gone.

  “Guards!” she screamed. “Quickly!”

  ---

  In Eryndor’s chamber, the air quivered as a gust of wind preceded Valerius’s sudden arrival. He landed on the sofa, mask gone, expression hard.

  Alvin, holding a cup of water, jolted so badly he dropped it, glass shattering across the floor.

  Eryndor reclined on his bed, but his eyes were sharp.

  “How is it that you traverse so freely in and out? I find myself compelled to question the very security of this academy.”

  Valerius waved a hand lazily. “I have my ways.”

  He strode past Alvin with a casual nod. “Yo.”

  Alvin blinked, recovering, then offered a hand. “We didn’t get to talk last time. I’m Alvin.”

  “Lerius,” Valerius replied. Then his tone shifted. “Mind giving me and my brother some one-on-one?”

  Alvin hesitated, then nodded and slipped out of the room.

  The moment the door shut, Eryndor sat up. His gaze was ice.

  “What transgression have you committed, Valerius?”

  Valerius leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you take me for a fool?” Eryndor’s voice resonated, low and deliberate, his nose twitching almost imperceptibly. “All of our senses are heightened… including olfaction.”

  Valerius exhaled, smirking. “Well, that’s what I came here to talk about. Ziraiah’s boyfriend—that punk’s been spying on us. He’s working with the people who kidnapped us.”

  Eryndor’s jaw tightened. “What, did you inflict upon him?”

  Valerius shrugged. “Roughed him up. Got him to talk.”

  Eryndor’s eyes darkened. He rose from the bed, towering. “Valerius… did I not instruct you expressly to keep your hands from him?”

  “I didn’t touch him,” Valerius snapped. “Not until he started acting shady. I followed him for three days. I saw him hand over pictures—of me, of you, of Zelion—to one of the bastards who kidnapped us.”

  “And you expect me to credit such a fabrication?” Eryndor’s voice resounded, calm yet thunderous. “You sought merely an outlet for your temper, so you cloaked it with falsehood. I am… disappointed, Valerius.”

  Valerius’s jaw clenched. “I’m not lying.”

  “No one discerns you more completely than I,” Eryndor growled, his emerald gaze unblinking. “I know precisely the scope of what you are capable of.”

  Their gazes locked, tension thick as iron.

  Then—

  A sphere of mana erupted from Eryndor, flooding outward in all directions. An 80-kilometer radius bent to his perception. Every heartbeat, every whisper of life fell under his dominion.

  His expression shifted. Darkened.

  He had sensed David—injured, being rushed away in a carriage toward the hospital.

  Slowly, his eyes lifted back to Valerius.

  “…What have you done?”

  Valerius’s voice thundered in frustration.

  “He’s been spying on us for over a year! The same people who kidnapped us then are moving again now! They’re planning something for Zelion’s ball!”

  Eryndor’s gaze was glacial. “Judging by your past conduct, I have no grounds upon which to trust you,” Eryndor intoned coldly. “Now—where is this man you claim David answers to? Take me to him at once.”

  Valerius’s fists clenched. “…I can’t.”

  “Oh, you can’t?” Eryndor’s tone turned lethal. “Is your Sentinel not without equal? Did you not boast that you could perceive all within this city’s bounds?”

  Valerius ground his teeth. “I don’t know how, but I can’t feel him.”

  Eryndor’s voice cut like steel. “Get out. Before you enrage me further.”

  For a moment, the brothers stood locked in silence, eyes blazing against one another.

  Then Valerius turned sharply and launched through the window in a blur, vanishing into the night.

  ---

  Ziraiah’s dorm room was quiet, the soft scratching of her pen the only sound.

  Then the air shifted. A blur cut across the room, and Valerius stood before her desk, both hands slamming down onto the wood. The table groaned under the weight of his presence.

  His green eyes burned.

  “How long have you been together with David?”

  Ziraiah froze mid-stroke. Slowly, she set the pen down, eyes lifting to meet his.

  “…About a year. Why?”

  Valerius leaned closer, his voice edged with iron.

  “He’s not who you think he is. He’s been lying to you from the start. His job was to stay close to you, to spy on you—so he could get to the energy source at home.”

  Her lips tightened into a thin line. She sat back, folding her arms.

  “What are you doing, Val?”

  “I’m telling you the truth.” His voice sharpened like a blade. “I followed him. I saw him with one of the men who kidnapped us. He gave them pictures—of me, of Eryndor, of Zelion. He’s been reporting on us for over a year.”

  Ziraiah frowned, but her gaze wasn’t shaken—only cold, annoyed.

  “Val… do you hear yourself? That’s David you’re talking about.”

  “Yes. David.” Valerius slammed a fist onto the desk. Books rattled, ink splashed. “The one who admitted it himself. He said every few months a new handler comes to him, always asking about us. About you. About Eryndor. About the Heful barrier. He’s been their pawn since the beginning!”

  Her voice rose sharply. “And you expect me to believe that? That someone who’s been by my side, who’s cared for me for a year, was only pretending? That he never meant it?”

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  “He doesn’t care!” Valerius’s voice thundered. “He told me he was forced at first, but now he’s too deep. He gave them details about Zelion’s awakening, about the royal ball. Every word he’s spoken to you, every smile—it’s been part of the act. He was planted beside you like a dagger waiting to be twisted.”

  “Stop it!” Ziraiah shot up, silver eyes blazing. “You’re only saying this because you hate him. Because you can’t stand to see me with a guy I actually like!”

  Valerius recoiled as though struck. “Yes, at first I didn't like him, but things have escalated. This is about us protecting ourselves! You know what those people are capable of!”

  Her fists clenched. “No. I know him. He wouldn’t betray me.”

  “He already has!” Valerius shouted. “Do you think I’d waste my time making this up? I saw it! I heard it! He’s working with the Unbound!”

  “ENOUGH!” Ziraiah roared.

  Her hand lashed out.

  BOOOOM.

  The wall exploded under her strike, stone and plaster bursting outward in a storm of rubble. Dust filled the air.

  Her chest heaved, her voice shaking with fury and pain.

  “Get out. GET OUT!”

  Valerius stared at her through the dust, his jaw tight, his eyes wounded but defiant. For a long, burning moment, they held each other’s gaze.

  Then he vanished in a gust of wind, leaving her alone in the storm of her own anger.

  ---

  Her hands trembled as she grabbed a strek. She dialed David. No answer. Again. Still nothing.

  Her breath grew ragged. She slammed the device down, leapt through the broken wall, and rocketed into the night sky.

  At the academy gates, guards scrambled to open them, startled by the silver blur that tore past.

  Moments later, she landed at the Targreen estate. Servants rushed about in panic, torches and lamps blazing through every window.

  She seized a guard by the arm. “What happened? Where is David?”

  The man bowed, voice strained.

  “Miss Ziraiah, Master David was attacked. He’s been taken to the hospital.”

  Her eyes widened, then narrowed, blazing with fury.

  She launched skyward again, aura flaring like a comet.

  ---

  Across the city, Valerius sat on a public bench, a bottle dangling from his hand. He drank absently, gaze lost in the stars above.

  His jaw clenched as he muttered to himself. “Why won’t you just believe me…?”

  Then—

  BOOOOM.

  The air detonated.

  Valerius was ripped from the bench, hurled skyward in a blur. The world spun as his body flipped over itself.

  “What the—”

  CRACK!

  Her fist slammed into his chin mid-flight. The impact shattered the night air, ripping the clouds apart in a booming shockwave.

  “You ASSHOLE!” Ziraiah’s voice thundered across the city, raw with fury.

  Blood sprayed from Valerius’ mouth as Ziraiah’s punch rocketed him skyward. His body tore through the air until it slammed into Heful’s barrier with a deafening BOOM. The shockwave rippled downward, rattling windows across the city. Glass shattered, citizens screamed, and buildings trembled under the force.

  Inside his villa, Pungence stirred from sleep. His eyes cracked open lazily, irritation and amusement mingling in his gaze.

  High above, Valerius plummeted—only to land softly on an invisible cushion, a trampoline of compressed force suspended in the air. He wiped his nose, smearing blood across his fingers.

  “The hell is wrong with you?!” he roared.

  “What’s wrong with me?” Ziraiah’s voice cracked like fire. She hovered opposite him, flames building along her outstretched arm. “What’s wrong with you, Val? This isn’t Earth—you’ve crossed the line!”

  “Ziraiah, wait—listen to me!”

  “I won’t listen to shit!” Her flames flared brighter, blazing like miniature suns in her palms.

  Valerius raised his voice, desperate now. “Calm down! There are people down there!”

  “Oh, don’t worry about them,” Ziraiah spat.

  Valerius’ jaw clenched. “You really want to do this?”

  On the ground, Pungence stepped outside in nothing but loose shorts. He couldn’t see them through the night sky, but he didn’t need to—he could feel them. He took a slow drag of his cigarette, smoke curling from his lips as he smiled.

  “Can’t call yourselves siblings if you don’t fight, huh?” His voice rolled like thunder. He exhaled, his smile fading. “But not in my city.”

  Two hundred kilometers above Heful, the battle raged.

  Dozens of glowing orbs blinked into existence around Valerius. One touched his cheek— BOOM!—and he was hurled into the others. Each explosion sent him pinballing through the sky, fireballs bursting with every impact until the heavens lit like a festival of fireworks.

  Then, a massive cushion of force, spanning the width of Heful itself, materialized below them. It sealed the city from above like a colossal disk.

  “I’ll give you ten seconds,” Pungence muttered through smoke.

  In the sky, Ziraiah’s arm ignited. A colossal fist of condensed air wrapped around her flaming arm, pulsing with unbearable pressure. She threw the punch.

  The fist expanded as it flew, swelling larger, faster, until it collided with Valerius.

  BOOOOOM!

  He shot across the sky, smashing into the far end of the barrier.

  “Ziraiah, stop this!” he shouted, weaving through the air with Thunder Stride as she unleashed a storm of fireballs. They screamed after him, twisting in midair like homing missiles.

  He dodged left—one followed. He cut right—another curved after him. Below, the citizens of Heful watched in awe and terror, their necks craned as the night exploded in colors. To them, it looked like fireworks.

  Then the air itself turned against Valerius. It grew dense, heavy, crushing around his body. Invisible currents coiled around his limbs like serpents, strangling his speed. His chest constricted. He gasped—just as the pursuing fireball slammed into him.

  KA-BOOOOM!

  The sky blazed white as if the sun had risen in an instant. Then it darkened. Clouds gathered, black and thick, roiling with fury.

  Lightning cracked.

  Valerius’ eyes widened as the storm twisted into a massive, glowing face carved in cloud, its maw yawning wide.

  “You wouldn’t…”

  The storm answered with action. Hundreds of lightning bolts ripped free, splitting the heavens. Each bolt reflected in Valerius’ emerald eyes as his skin shimmered green with fortis.

  CRRRRRAAACKKK!

  Bolts of light rained down, illuminating Heful from horizon to horizon. Citizens shielded their eyes; towers shook.

  From his chamber, Eryndor’s head snapped toward the sky. In an instant, he vanished.

  Pungence, still smoking, exhaled as he felt Eryndor’s presence streaking toward them. He made a hole in the massive cushion just wide enough for him to pass.

  Ziraiah, meanwhile, had already launched forward. Her body blurred at Mach 2000, her fist engulfed in flame. She roared as she closed in for the strike.

  Valerius’ chest burned. He bared his teeth. “Fuck it. You're really starting to piss me off.”

  He braced, fortis flooding his arm. He swung.

  BOOOOOOM!

  The sound tore through Heful. Citizens staggered as if the sky itself had cracked open.

  And then—

  Eryndor was there.

  Both his arms stretched wide, each hand catching a sibling’s fist mid-swing. The force ripped his skin raw. Blood streamed from his palms, dripping into the night.

  But he held them.

  The air went still.

  The sky—silent.

  Valerius’ and Ziraiah’s fists trembled against his grip, their combined power shaking the very clouds.

  But Eryndor stood between them, unyielding.

  His emerald eyes burned with quiet authority as his voice cut through the thunder, calm but commanding, every word carrying the weight of judgment:

  "Temper your rage, or I'll be forced to educate you both on restraint."

  ---

  To Be Continued...