Chapter 231: Darkness in You
Trust is difficult or even impossible to mend once broken.
People generally avoided those who had broken their trust once due to the simple fact that it is too risky to forgive and forget. The pain from being betrayed was ingrained inside the mind and body so deeply that it’s natural to avoid the source of that pain.
Even if it’s guaranteed that the source would change, the pain still prevented people from believing.
Bree had been the source of his comfort from the moment he enrolled in the academy.
And that closeness makes it even more painful.
Kai wanted to believe that he already felt it all, already numb to the sensations that a betrayal could give him—but he was wrong. Just remembering his memories with Bree made it really hard to breathe.
Her smiles. Her soft words. Her demanding touches. Her encouragements.
Each one was a hot blade stabbing into his heart.
Giving another chance felt like suicide.
"I can’t possibly trust her again." Kai averted his gaze, staring anywhere—but Matilda’s face. "She has bad intentions from the very start. From the moment she approached me, she already thought of using me. That ruined everything about her."
"Does that really make a difference?" Matilda questioned. "Is her first intention that much more important for you compared to what her intentions are now?"
"Of course, it made a difference! It changed everything. I can’t see her the same way."
"People can change, Kai. You changed from being the weak person you were back then to this—strong version of you. I changed from your enemy who stabbed you in the back to your ally. I’m sure she can change too from wanting to take advantage of you to something... else."
"Why do you have to make this so complicated?" Kai massaged his forehead. "Is it really that bad for me to feel betrayed? Do I really need to torture myself with this?"
He was trying so hard to forget about this, and then this happened.
Somehow, he was backed into a corner again.
"No—it’s not that your feelings are wrong. Just that it would be better for you to let it all out. Hate her. Be angry at her. Curse her. But talk to her. Do you think holding it inside is good for you? You already carried a heavy weight, Kai. No need to add more when you don’t have to.
"You haven’t even returned to your room. Talitha is worried."
Kai looked up to the sky.
He stared at the drifting clouds as if the answer would appear if he looked hard enough.
It was entirely up to him how to deal with this situation.
Forgiveness... It’s not like she scarred me by copying my Legacy Imprints.
His anger towards Bree wasn’t the same as his anger towards Matilda. His anger towards Bree was more like a disappointed anger, as the image of goodness in her in his mind was shattered due to this truth.
But realistically, she didn’t do him any harm.
Yes, she copied his Nigh-phantom and even his connection to the night.
Yet it’s not at his expense.
Kai didn’t lose the Nigh-phantom Legacy Imprint, and his link to the night didn’t wane.
Just that Bree could now use one of his abilities, that’s all.
"I was under the impression that the two of you are not on good terms," Kai glanced at Matilda sharply, not expecting this to come from her. "I thought you disliked her. Yet you’re defending her now. Why?"
Matilda paused and maintained eye contact.
She then hovered closer and placed the palm of her hand against his chest.
Even through the fabric, she could feel his heartbeat.
"You have a darkness in you, Kai. Hiding somewhere inside where you can’t reach." Her gold, glowing eyes looked up into his eyes again. "It’s swallowing you without you knowing, and I’m afraid that this would give it the chance to take you away."
"A darkness...?"
A Supernal inherited the power of their Patron God through the Legacy Skill and Imprint, but there are subtle powers that couldn’t be measured. One being the connection to the night like Kai had.
Athena is the Olympian Goddess of Strategic Warfare.
Her Supernals are normally excellent commanders, inheriting her genius in battle.
But she’s also the Olympian Goddess of Wisdom.
Sometimes, though rarely, her Supernals can tap into her wisdom and gain insight from it.
Perhaps that’s what was happening to Matilda right now.
She saw darkness in me. Is it the Goddess...? I can’t imagine that the Goddess have ill-intent towards me, but I can’t be sure either. But then again, what can I even do when she decided to swallow me? I’m a mortal, and she’s a Primordial Goddess.
No... That’s not right. The question I need to be asking is what is her relationship with Athena?
Kai couldn’t default his mind to suspecting the Goddess of the Primordial Night.
If anything, she was the one who was on his side.
He should suspect Athena more than his own Patron God.
Or perhaps this was purely Matilda’s intuition.
Either way, he would keep this in mind and check this darkness she talked about.
"Besides, it’s not like I dislike her because she did something to me. Just that she’s getting way too close to you."
"Hm? You dislike her because she’s getting way too close to me?"
Matilda froze.
Behind her mask, Kai could see that her pupils dilated as if she was in shock.
And without saying anything, she turned around and flew back.
"Did she like me or something?" Kai crossed his arms, contemplating while watching her fly away. She wasn’t rushing, but she wasn’t going away leisurely either. "No, that can’t be right. She looked fine ever since that night, so she mustn’t have feelings for me."
He eventually shrugged and continued to circle the academy, continuing to train.
For the last few months, Kai was extremely focused.
In order for him to secure his victory in the Dragon Ring tournament, he would need to at the very least reach Grade-3 Awakened Supernal. And to achieve that, he needed legal mana ores or null crystals.
There are only three ways to get his hands on those.
One is to complete an achievement. Another was to convert null gems into null crystals in the factory. And the last one was the rewards from the quarterly group ranking that was going to be settled in a few days.
Of course, what happened to Bree fueled him with more determination to get stronger.
Pain, if channelled properly, could also be a good thing.
However, the other reason for his maniacally intense hunting session was that he needed to gather enough null crystals—and mana ores to break through to Grade-3. Only then would he be assured that he could win the Dragon Ring tournament.
Every single null gem that he obtained was brought to the factory.
And they were then turned into null crystals.
Beyond that, killing Star Beasts—or Awakened Monsters and presenting proof of the kill also earned group points. But since all that mattered was the proof, it was not long before friction sparked between him and the more opportunistic students circling the same prey.
Some tried to steal from him or even pressure him to hand his proofs over.
None were successful.
And with Kaelmorath and Perion helping him with the hunt, killing Star Beasts became even easier. He could kill two if he was lucky enough to encounter two in one night. But consistently, he always killed one.
It allowed him to gather a good number of null crystals.
Right now, he was in possession of fifteen null crystals and twenty-five legal mana ores.
Completing the Star Beast Slayer achievement rewarded him with fifty legal mana ores, and Kai gave half to Bree without hesitation—just as he had promised. The next achievement’s rewards were meant to be hers.
Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.
After what happened, he decided only to give her half of it.
He thought that she would refuse, but surprisingly, she didn’t, and he was thankful.
It would be a hassle if she did.
On top of that, Kai was also accumulating usable exp and saving it.
According to Noxian, he had only one remaining slot. He could only learn the name of one more Nightborn—bound by the limits of his two Primordial Locks. With two Nightborns already claimed from the first floor, he saw no reason to search for another.
Instead, he was going to prepare himself to find one on the second floor.
He could only do that once he became an Aspirant Supernal.
Even though another one would help him grow stronger for the tournament, he reckoned it’d be a bit of an overkill and a waste. Barbara and Chester are his main enemies. Neither should be that much stronger compared to the seniors he faced.
So, he should be fine as long as he reached Grade-3.
Just to really make sure.
And that’s why he was solely focused on doing exactly that.
Once the time struck five and the sky turned slightly golden-orange, class was over.
The students went ahead to do whatever they wanted to do.
It was the same for Kai—he approached the others already gathered in their clusters. His gaze settled on Bree, deep in conversation with Dorian. A slow exhale steadied him. "Let’s get this over with. As long as she doesn’t hurt me or drag me into trouble."
As he was about to approach Bree, his eyes were pulled somewhere else.
Below him, standing near the main entrance of the academy, there was a professor.
Kai locked eyes with Professor Hera and sensed that she had something to say to him.
He looked at Bree and clicked his tongue, deciding to deal with her later.
"Professor," Kai landed before Professor Hera and stood straighter. "Do you have something to tell me?"
"Yes." She nodded, turned, and walked on ahead. "Follow me."
Despite his confusion, he followed her closely.
In the sky, Bree stole a glance at her and bit her lower lip. Emotions built up on her face.
Professor Hera brought Kai through the street, passing other students along the way without a care in the world. Based on the direction they were going, Kai was assuming that they were going to the main building.
And he was right.
He followed her through the main entrance, and then to the second floor.
Instead of going to the class, they followed along the corridor.
Kai thought he was being brought to the professor’s headquarters, but they went past that room, too. He then realized that they were going past the border—entering the seniors’ classes. This would be his first time entering the other side.
"Where are we going again?" He asked nervously.
"Just follow me," Professor Hera replied without looking. "I want to show you something."