Days passed.
And with them, so did the awkwardness of being new.
Rhian slowly got to know his roommates. Or at least… got used to living with them.
To his surprise, both of them were good people in their own way.
Despite their strange first meeting, especially that disaster of Ash pretending to be a girl, nothing else weird like that happened again.
Ash, as Rhian quickly learned, was a complete goof.
Loud and dramatic. Always messing around.
But beneath that joking surface, Rhian noticed something else.
Ash was smart, really smart.
Whenever Rhian had a question about the school, carriers, abilities, or anything else, Ash would answer before even Aras could open his mouth.
And not in a bragging way, either. It was natural. Fast. Like this stuff was already living in his head.
For all his nonsense, Ash was cool to be around. Easy to talk to. Easy to laugh with.
As for Aras…
That was different.
While Rhian wouldn't exactly say they were close friends yet, there was at least a quiet respect between them.
They talked sometimes, but always because Rhian started the conversation. Aras rarely spoke first. Rarely asked anything personal.
From what Ash had told him in passing, Aras came from a very wealthy family. Not just rich, but a family known for producing powerful carriers across generations.
'Still…'
Rhian glanced at the two one night, Ash messing with some school app, Aras calmly drinking tea while reading through notes.
'For people I met without choice… I could've done a lot worse.'
Ash, of course, ended up being the one who dragged Rhian all over the campus.
Rhian didn't even ask, Ash just decided it was his duty as a "responsible upper-roommate," as he called it.
Turned out, Eclipses Academy was basically its own city.
Rhian managed to buy some proper clothes, simple stuff that actually fit him now that his body had changed. The campus had everything. Shops, food stalls, gear stores… even small markets that sold casual stuff for students.
Honestly, they hadn't even explored the whole place yet.
"I'm telling you," Ash said as they walked, "this school's got more stores than an actual mall. Cafes, training shops, gear smiths, hell, there's a ramen place that's always packed."
Rhian nodded along, still getting used to the fact that life here was completely different from the outskirts.
One of the best parts was that he got his phone.
Every student was issued a school phone and laptop, both sleek, high-end, and branded with the school's crest. But of course, Ash being Ash, had something to say about that too.
"Yeahhh… so, friendly advice? Don't use the school phone for private stuff," Ash warned, leaning in like a gossiping old lady. "Everything's monitored. Messages. Calls. Probably even your bathroom thoughts."
It sounded ridiculous.
Conspiracy-level ridiculous.
But looking at Ash's dead-serious face, Rhian chose believed him.
He decided to buy his own separate phone right then and there.
And not just that.
He even managed to buy different gloves, a few variations to replace the old one he always wore over his cursed hand. Some were basic, some for combat, others just for style.
It felt like a small thing… but to Rhian, it was personal.
A little control over the part of him that had once only been a reminder of weakness.
...
.
...
.
...
Rhian was sleeping.
But within that sleep... something pulled him somewhere else.
Freezing cold.
It crawled across his skin, dug into his bones, like it wasn't just temperature, it was absence. It was a coldness that didn't belong to the weather... but to silence, stillness... or death itself.
As Rhian looked around, he realized he was nowhere familiar.
The sky was dark, not black, but a deep, heavy gray that pressed down on the land. The ground beneath his feet was flat, lifeless stone, cracked and dry, stretching far in every direction.
Ice crawled over the rocks, jagged like it had formed naturally but shaped like claws had torn through it long ago.
Far in the distance, enormous chains floated in the sky, impossibly large, anchored to nothing, just swaying in the dead air like forgotten relics.
The wind here didn't howl, it sounded like whispers of people talking
But what made Rhian pause wasn't the place.
It was his hand.
He was walking... and he wasn't wearing his glove.
His cursed hand, pale, veined, slightly rough with faint scales in some areas, was bare.
It somehow felt normal here, like it wasn't abnormal, which felt a bit comforting.
Almost like this place recognized him, Rhian moved forward cautiously, and that's when he saw it.
Rhian wanted to call it a dog, but that word didn't do it justice as a normal dog couldn't compare to what was infront of him.
Its body was layered in thick, wild fur, darker than shadow itself, almost blue-black under the dead sky. Its claws were like blades, its teeth jagged like shattered ice.
It could have easily crushed houses under its paws. But its eyes, deep yellow like burning embers, locked onto Rhian the moment he appeared.
Rhian tensed, frozen between awe and fear, his body stopped moving, and he couldn't even get a word out.
But then… the beast lowered its head.
But slowly, low to the ground like it was bowing.
'No... it's waiting' it stayed in the same position as if expecting some kind of rewards or something.
Waiting for something so simple, it almost felt ridiculous.
Rhian stared cautiously, as his heart-pounded, he slowly stretched out his hand.
Closer… closer…
The moment his fingers brushed against the thick fur of its head, coarse but warm, his body reacted violently.
His eyes snapped wide open, flashing with wild, deep light.
His entire body shook.
Energy, raw, cold, powerful, surged through his veins like his blood had been set on fire... or frozen from the inside out.
The wind around him howled for the first time.
And Rhian could only grit his teeth as everything began to change.
"RAGNAROK!!!"