Chapter 221: Old Friends
"Baby, we need to go mining. Wake up!"
"Give me five minutes. I’m really tired right now."
"You always say that. But no matter how hard I tried to wake you, you never woke up."
Namira shook Aaran’s body, then gave up after a few seconds of trying. She knew the routine by now. In an hour, he’d wake. They’d rush to the mines, return late, and drag themselves into tomorrow already exhausted.
It was routine by now.
She wanted to fix their sleeping schedule, but Aaran was too lazy to do it.
"I can’t blame him," Namira exhaled deeply—and looked to the beautiful scenery of the misty cliff and waterfall. She placed her forearm on the steel railing and leaned her cheek against it, taking in the scenery that never became boring. "The training had gotten more intense lately."
Just then, the cold wind blew harder against her skin.
For a good minute, she stayed motionless, letting the night wind brush against her.
Namira inhaled deeply and straightened up, but her body tensed instantly when she saw that someone was already sitting in the chair across the table. He wore a draconic-horned mask; both his eyes were abyssal black behind the mask, and he wore a different uniform.
He’s not from this academy.
Abruptly, Namira stood up and knocked her chair back; the steel legs grazed against the floor.
"Who are you?" She quickly scanned the cafeteria; her eyes darted to the other students. They were all staring now due to her fallen chair. She straightened, voice steadier now that she had confirmed there were people around. "There are too many eyes on us. Don’t try anything."
"It has only been a few months, and you already forgot about me, Namira?" Kai asked.
He leaned back on the chair and crossed his legs.
A frown formed on Namira’s face.
For a second, she stared at Kai’s eyes, trying to figure out who he was.
"Forgetting about your saviour already, I’m hurt."
"K-Kai...?!"
"Yes, it’s me. Now that you know, please sit down. Their gazes are making me nervous."
Namira swallowed at the realization, fixed the chair, and then sat down.
Throughout those motions, her eyes never left Kai as she was in complete shock.
"Kai, you’re still alive...?"
"Are you swearing me to die? That’s harsh."
"No, that’s not what I meant. Just that... you know the academies. And you are a Lesser Angel. I thought that there’s no chance you’d survive."
"And yet, here I am."
Even normal Angels lived a very exhausting life of mining and training, doing everything that would push them closer to serving mankind. No time for fun. No time for anything that does not involve growing stronger.
Namira reckoned a Lesser Angel would have it way worse, so Kai would survive.
But he did.
’He’s... He’s grown stronger since I last saw him. Just the air that he was emanating is choking me.’ Namira clutched her heart, feeling suffocated from even being near Kai. ’One thing I am certain about him is that he’ll get stronger the harder the condition becomes. Not to mention— his mask... Why is he wearing a shaped mask?’
Only seniors had a mask like the one Kai was wearing.
New Angels should have their own mask after becoming Blooded Angels, but it seemed the academy was still hesitant to invest in them as they might die soon. So—even until now, none of the freshmen have a custom mask.
"How have you been doing, Namira? Calling him baby—does that mean you’re his girlfriend now?"
"I’m managing, and yes, we’re in a relationship. But Kai, what are you doing here?"
"Can you wake your boyfriend first for me?"
Namira grabbed a fistful of Aaran’s hair and yanked it hard, snapping Aaran’s eyes open.
"What the heck is that for?!"
"Look who’s here."
"Hmm?"
Aaran fixed his hair that was pulled and followed Namira’s gaze. And the moment he saw a foreign student across the table, he instantly stood up, knocking his chair over. The exact same reaction as Namira did earlier.
"Holy shit, who the fuck are you?"
"It’s me, Aaran."
"Wait a minute... Kai?"
Upon realizing that it was Kai, Aaran’s face instantly turned pale.
It was hidden by the mask.
But the panic could be seen through his eyes, and it didn’t escape Kai’s gaze.
"Not the reaction I was expecting. I thought the two of you would be more... ecstatic? I guess I was wrong." Kai tilted his head, and then his eyes narrowed as he saw through Aaran’s eyes. "Or something happened, and it’s somehow tied to me."
Being afraid to be seen with a Lesser Angel is one thing, and reacting like this is another.
Kai already suspected that whatever happened in the Aurelian Academy was tied to him, and now their reactions confirmed it. "I volunteered to help the seniors in the Second Sky. Since I was passing by, I thought I’d meet with old friends. Guess we’re not friends anymore."
Aaran sat back down and clasped his hands on the table.
His drowsiness disappeared like it was ever there.
"Look, you need to leave right now." He said with a stern voice. "We can’t be seen with you."
Namira stomped Aaran’s foot hard.
He hissed in pain and glanced at her in confusion.
"He meant we can’t be seen in public," Namira corrected. "We should find a better place."
"No need," Kai raised a hand. "Do you think anyone would recognize me with this mask on? I was told by students of this academy that something happened to Layra. I’m here to find out what happened. Tell me that, and I’ll get out of your hair."
"In that case, let us bring you to her." Namira offered. "She’s probably mining right now."
"Can’t you tell me now?"
"I think it’s best for you to learn what happened straight from her."
"Baby, are you insane?" Aaran looked at her in protest. "We’re going to bring her to Layra? If the academy finds out about thi—"
"Then we make sure the academy does not find out," Namira shot a sharp glance at him. "You do remember that without his help, we’d be dead in the Blood Rite. Layra would’ve killed us all had he not come that night."
Aaran looked away.
Of course, he remembered that Kai was their saviour. But this is not the Blood Rite.
Now is an entirely different situation, and he didn’t want to take the risk.
"Meet us at the right flank of the waterfall." Namira stood up and turned, heading out of the cafeteria without waiting for Aaran to decide what to do. She kept walking even when Aaran called for her name.
Having no other choice, he clicked his tongue and went after her.
Kai looked at the scenery.
No sadness or melancholy in his eyes.
Despite how the two reacted to his appearance starkly differing from the reactions he had in mind, he didn’t seem to be influenced at all. His heart had already turned into a hailstone. No shock, no surprise, could move him anymore.
His heart is already a hailstone.
Why does he need to waver by mere coldness from people he thought were friends?
Moments later.
Kai waited ten minutes before he moved to the right flank of the waterfall.
It was easy to find thanks to Sorra and Heli, who didn’t mind taking him there.
"They are probably going to bring you to the Golden Forest. It’s the closest cultivated cloud— for the freshmen, and also the one with a Star Beast."
"So, I need to ride a Griffin to go there?"
"No, actually. You can go there on foot. One of the academy’s Griffins is so strong that it has wind affinity. It was used to create bridges to the nearest cultivated clouds."
Eventually, Kai saw Namira and Aaran in the distance—standing before a translucent bridge that crossed over to another cloud. Right beside them was a massive Griffin that seemed to be asleep.
Kai thanked the duo again and sent them back to rest.
He knew his way now, so there was no need for them to accompany him.
Just as Kai arrived near the bridge, the Griffin woke up.
It felt the disturbance in the air. Something dark, and that darkness stirred it awake. Its eyes found Kai instantly, and its vast wings unfurled with an overbearing weight. A heavy, clicking noise that came from the throat came from its beak as it fixed Kai with an unblinking stare.
No screech, only this heavy clicking noise.
Kai didn’t need to be well-versed in Griffin to know that this was an intimidation display.
It was wary of him.
"Calm down, Oba. Calm down." Namira approached and waved her hands, trying to calm it down—but she couldn’t. Nothing she did could make its eyes leave Kai. "I never saw Oba act like this."
"Beasts often reacted like that to me," Kai walked past the Griffin without a care in the world.
He could tell that it wouldn’t attack, so he didn’t need to be worried.
Kai remembered how the Pegasus reacted to him.
It seemed his connection with the night made him unnerving to beasts.
Past the hiccup, the three crossed over the bridge in silence.
Due to how Aaran reacted earlier, the air between them became awkward, but Kai didn’t care.
Aaran and Namira were still stuck on what happened earlier.
’How strong is he now?’ Namira thought as she stared at Kai’s back that somewhat broader than the last time. ’He must’ve gone through Tartarus to even survive, so his strength must be unbelievable now. He could kill us easily back then. Now, perhaps he can kill us even before we realize.’
A shiver ran down Namira’s spine.
Kai surviving was almost like a miracle.
But to survive in a situation like his would mean that he had become a monster.
The Kai that she was looking at right now was far different from the Kai in the past, and it showed.
Just as Helio said, this translucent bridge made entirely of wind led them to the Golden Forest. As the name suggested, this cultivated cloud was completely covered in trees with bright gold leaves that seemed to shimmer under the moonlight.
Namira led the way through the forest.
She deliberately brought them around, taking the longer route to avoid other students.
"Most of the time, Layra is mining alone. She didn’t like being near anyone, and there’s one spot that was far from the crowd." Namira explained to fill the silence. "I was trying to locate her and stumbled on that spot by luck."
Then, Namira stopped.
Across from her, there was a clearing near the cliff that dropped to darkness.
And near the edge, there was a lone figure that was draped in a cloak.
"That’s her." Namira pointed at the figure. "That’s Layra."