Chapter 2: The Shadow of a Suspicion

Academy 47, ancient and imposing, pulsed to the rhythm of enchantments and whispers.

Though it seemed peaceful to visitors, those who studied there knew its walls recorded every secret, every anomaly.

And since the night before, a heavy silence loomed over the campus.

A monstrous creature had been annihilated in an instant.

No trace.

No official witnesses.

But some eyes had seen.

Whispers had begun.

Yohan Poherty had said nothing.

As always.

He walked through the corridors with his usual slowness, hands in the pockets of his black uniform.

Other students stepped aside without daring to look at him.

Yet he had done nothing.

Not a word. Not a single aggressive gesture.

But his silence was becoming loud.

Too loud.

In the grand hall, Gépété was chatting with two classmates.

His gaze followed Yohan from afar.

Student 1: “You think he really destroyed that thing?”

Student 2: “He doesn’t even have active magic. How could he have done it?”

Student 1: “Exactly. No one’s ever seen his results. He’s always neutral — not strong, not weak. Too neutral. That’s suspicious.”

Gépété frowned.

He had seen something the night before.

It wasn’t clear, but he had felt a presence.

A strange pressure around Yohan.

And that creature…

It had disintegrated as if something had rejected it from this world.

That morning, a magical control exercise was announced.

Students were to analyze unstable cursed stones and detect traces of corruption.

Professor Karesh: “Pair up. I remind you that these stones can drain your vital energy if not mentally controlled.”

Students rushed to find partners.

Yohan remained still at his desk, eyes blank, as if he expected to be left out.

Professor Karesh: “Poherty. Alone again, I see.”

Laughter rippled through the room.

Yohan didn’t react.

Gépété (from the back of the class): “I’m working with him.”

Silence fell across the room.

Student: “Huh? You? You got a death wish or something?”

Gépété: “I do what I want.”

The professor shrugged and wrote down the pair without comment.

In the experimentation room, the stone pulsed with a dark glow.

Fragments of black energy leaked out intermittently.

Gépété slipped on reinforced gloves.

Gépété: “This stone reacts to fear. If you panic or lose mental stability, it strikes back.”

Yohan stepped forward and placed his bare hand on the stone.

Gépété: “Are you insane?!”

But it was too late.

The stone trembled, cracked, then silently shattered.

A pale light filled the room.

No shockwave.

No heat.

Just… void.

Gépété stared at him, speechless.

Gépété: “You… You knew it would do that?”

Yohan: “I just wanted to check.”

Gépété: “Check what?”

Yohan: “If it recognized me.”

That evening, in a hidden chamber beneath the Academy, five professors gathered.

The headmaster stood with arms crossed, eyes fixed on a glowing red crystal.

Professor 1: “The magical pressure recorded yesterday… it exceeds human limits.”

Professor 2: “You think it’s him? That boy?”

Headmaster: “I don’t think. I know. And if he can’t be contained… we’re all in danger.”

Professor 3: “We have to test his resistance. If he survives the Beast of the Void… then he’s no longer a student.

He’s a threat.”

Yohan lay on his bed, eyes open.

Shutters closed.

No sound.

He never really slept.

He knew.

He felt the changes.

The atmosphere around him had shifted.

Something was coming.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Slow. Heavy.

Then — a creak.

Right outside his door.

Yohan didn’t move.

But his shadow… stretched across the wall.

And it wasn’t alone.

To be continued...

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