The soft hush of Saturday morning clung to the academy like dew—silent, still, and just shy of golden.
The sky had not yet fully brightened, but its edges were already peeling away from night. Faint strokes of orange and lavender smeared across the eastern clouds, promising a calm day ahead. Most of the dorm buildings remained asleep, their windows dim, their doors undisturbed. The world, for a brief moment, belonged only to those who rose before it.
Ethan stepped out into the cool air, pulling the zipper of his light training jacket a little higher as the breeze brushed past him. His breaths misted faintly in the early chill. But unlike the usual tautness he carried—burdens from class, mentorships, drills, exams—there was something looser in his stride today.
Not lazy. Never that.
Just… released.
