The infirmary ceiling was cold and gray, lined with cracks that branched like spiderwebs.
Kael stared at it, silent.
His arms ached. His chest felt hollow. Every breath rattled in his lungs like broken glass.
But it wasn't the pain that made him numb.It was the memory of the shadows — the way they moved without him thinking, the way they devoured the light around him.
He flexed his fingers.
Nothing happened.
Good. Or maybe... bad.
The door creaked open.
Kael sat up quickly as Kaede Mizuno entered, flanked by two senior instructors. Their uniforms were sharp, their eyes sharper.
Kaede shut the door behind him and crossed his arms. His expression was unreadable.
"You're lucky your friend survived," Kaede said bluntly. "And luckier still the beast didn't kill more before we intervened."
Kael swallowed hard. Shame burned in his chest.
"I couldn't... I couldn't do anything," he said, voice cracking.
Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't?" He stepped closer. "Boy, you ripped apart a Class-C Fracture Beast with raw, uncontrolled Will. Most cadets your age can barely throw a spark."
Kael blinked. "I-I don't even know what I did."
Kaede nodded slowly. "That's because you aren't wielding a regular Will."
He snapped his fingers, and a thin holographic projection bloomed in the air. It showed old, faded symbols, maps of battlefields, reports from decades ago.
At the center was a single term, glowing faintly:
THE LAST WILL.
"A myth," Kaede said grimly. "Or so we thought. Until today."
Kael's heart thudded painfully in his chest.
"The Last Will isn't like normal Wills. It's not born from an element, or a force of nature," Kaede continued. "It's born from something deeper. Instinct. Survival. Loss."
Kael thought of his brother. Of Tetsu, broken and bleeding.
He gritted his teeth.
"You don't control it yet," Kaede said. "Right now, it controls you. If you lose focus, it'll consume you. And everyone around you."
The room seemed to darken at his words.
Kael looked down at his hands again.
"But..." Kaede's voice softened slightly. "It also means you have the potential to become something more. If you survive the training ahead."
Kael lifted his gaze. "Training?"
Kaede gave a thin smile. "Starting tomorrow, you're leaving regular classes. You'll be under my direct watch, in the Special Division."
Kael stiffened. He'd heard the rumors about Special Division.Whispers of brutal missions, impossible tests. Cadets who went in... and never came back out.
"Rest tonight, Kael Renji," Kaede said, turning to leave. "Tomorrow, your real trial begins."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Kael sat there for a long moment, staring at the cold floor.
Outside, thunder rumbled across the fractured skies.
He wasn't the same boy who had walked onto the training field that morning.He never would be again.
The shadows stirred quietly beneath his bed, unseen but waiting.
And somewhere, far beyond the academy walls, something ancient... had noticed his awakening.