The pre-academy program was a world of its own, a self-contained city filled with all the luxuries and distractions one could find outside. Food stalls, entertainment hubs, and cozy cafes dotted the landscape, catering to students who wanted to forget the pressures of competition, if only for a while. Aaron Solarius preferred his solitude, sipping black tea in his room, but today was different. Cindy had insisted they meet, and Aaron, sensing an undercurrent of something unusual, reluctantly agreed.
They settled on a quaint spot, Star Cafe. As they stepped inside, Aaron began to sit, only for Cindy to stop him with a curt instruction. "Wash your hands and face first."
Aaron hesitated. Normally, he'd brush off such a request, but there was a weight to Cindy's voice he couldn't ignore. He glanced at her, sitting with her usual composure, silver hair catching the ambient light as she studied the menu on her watch. Without a word, he left for the restroom.
***
When Aaron returned, the table was set. A steaming cup of black coffee awaited him, alongside a selection of browned butter chocolate chip cookies. Cindy's choice, no doubt. She knew his preferences well, yet her silence lingered like an unspoken question.
Aaron took a sip of coffee, the warmth spreading through him, but the quiet between them was stifling. Cindy wasn't one for small talk, but this, this was different. Her calm demeanor seemed fragile, her usual air of confidence tinged with something darker.
"So," Aaron began, breaking the stalemate. "What's on your mind?"
Cindy's eyes flickered, her calm mask slipping for the briefest moment before she steadied herself.
"What did you do to Thane?"
Aaron froze. He wanted to know that answer himself. He studied her, his expression unreadable.
Was Cindy truly troubled by this? He studied her, his expression unreadable.
"If this is about Thane and not some trouble you're in, then I'll take my leave." He rose, but Cindy's hand shot out, gripping his wrist with surprising force. Her calm facade remained intact, but her eyes burned with an intensity Aaron had never seen before.
"Sit down," she ordered, her voice icy. Aaron complied, more out of curiosity than anything else. What could provoke someone as composed as Cindy into such raw anger?
"Why do you want to know?" he asked, leaning back. "Afraid it might happen to you too? Your aspect…mind control, wasn't it? It failed against me before. Are you worried abou—"
"Shut up!" Cindy's grip tightened, her voice trembling with suppressed fury.
"You did something to him, didn't you? You shouldn't have done it. You shouldn't have!"
Aaron still didn't understand why she was being like this. He was about to ask, but Cindy's voice cut through him like a blade.
"Thane was supposed to be The Hope of humanity, the light that guides others through the dark. he was meant to be the brightest, surpassing even Adrian. But now? He's tainted. Because of you."
Aaron's mind reeled. He'd never seen Cindy this unhinged. He was about to respond, but a strange fog began clouding his thoughts. It was subtle yet undeniable. When he looked at Cindy again, she was smiling, unusual for her.
Aaron thought Cindy couldn't break his mental defense, but for the first time, she had breached his mind. She had tried before during group activities and failed, but now it seemed she might have succeeded.
"Cindy," he started, but the words felt sluggish. Her grip remained ironclad, her eyes blazing as she continued, her voice dropping to a deathly calm.
"I'll make sure he shines again," she vowed. "This stain will be erased, and your humiliation will be twice his, etched for all to see.."
Aaron's vision blurred. He couldn't make sense of what was happening. Cindy's face loomed in his wavering sight, her lips curling into a rare smile, not of warmth, but of triumph. Darkness closed in, consuming him.
***
Outside a dormitory room, a small crowd had gathered. Whispers filled the corridor.
"Who dared do this?"
"Jenna, can you see who it is?" a petite girl demanded, pinching her taller companion.
Jenna squinted through the gap in the door. "I can't see his face. He's turned away, but he's just lying there, sleeping like nothing happened."
"That bastard," the petite girl growled. "How dare he? Cindy went in, right? What's she doing? We should storm in and—"
"Aria, what if he's from a powerful family?" Jenna whispered. "We can't just…"
Aria's eyes narrowed. "So what? That doesn't give him the right to treat anyone like this!" She moved toward the door but stopped as a wave of mana washed over them. Their homeroom teacher, Angelica, arrived, her expression unreadable but her presence commanding.
Angelica entered the room, her gaze sweeping over the scene. A girl lay on the bed, battered and trembling, her body bruised and bloodied. Cindy stood nearby, her usual calm shaken and nowhere to be seen, while a boy lay sprawled on the bed, face obscured.
The teacher's mana flared briefly before she reined it in, her years of experience keeping her emotions in check.
"Miss Angelica, …I'll take Susan to the infirmary," Cindy said, her voice trembling. Angelica nodded but moved toward the boy. She reached down, gripping the boy's dark, messy hair, and yanked his face into view.
The room fell silent.
"Aaron Solarius" The name passed through their minds like a thunderclap. The embarrassment of a legendary family, now at the center of a storm no one could have anticipated.
Angelica stood over him, her emotions a whirlwind of conflict. She wanted to believe that Aaron wouldn't do such a thing, but the image of Susan's battered form was seared into her mind. Her hand rose instinctively, and she slapped Aaron's cheek hard.
When he didn't react, she slapped him again. And again. Still, there was no response, just his barely opened eyes, dull and lifeless.
Frustration boiling over, she grabbed him, lifting his limp form with surprising ease. With a powerful punch to his ribcage, she sent him hurtling backward. Aaron crashed into the bed, which shattered under the force, splinters flying everywhere. Blood oozed from his wounds, staining the broken wood, but Aaron didn't even flinch.
His gaze drifted to the mirror, his reflection blurred and distorted. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he muttered under his breath,
"Ah… I'm bloody messed up."
***
Aaron couldn't make sense of anything. How had he ended up in this unfamiliar room? Why was Angelica, his teacher, so furious? Why did the students, who usually stared with indifference or mild curiosity, now look at him with disgust and anger?
He racked his hazy mind for answers but found only fragments. He didn't know what he had done before this, nor did he know what time it was or even what day. Was it still night? Or had a new day already begun?
Was it his birthday?
Nothing added up. Yet, as the fog in his mind began to clear, certain realizations emerged. He pieced together fragments of memory, enough to understand a few horrifying truths.
he had assaulted Susan, though he didn't know why or how. also, he would have to leave the pre-academy.
And, perhaps most devastating of all, today, the day of his birth, was the day he would lose the name Solarius.