Change

"Haaa." Leon was lying in bed. It was Thursday night, and he felt too energetic for the time of day.

It was two days ago when they talked about joining clubs. Leon didn't join any.

He thought that they were too limiting, categorized by Ferrier roles and elements.

'It's only been four days. And I already feel...' He avoided the thought. He had learned much in the Academy, yesterday he was taught that using the Laws wore down the Soul. And that Skills were similar, but due to being controlled by the System, affected the Soul far less.

But he felt like it was slowing down. 'Why am I different?' He thought back to the experiences his friends had in their clubs.

*

"I learned how to float!" Declared Orick, eyes locked on Leon, as if looking for approval. Leon only rolled his eyes.

"For a second, sure." sneered Calla. Still angry that Orick could float a few moments longer than she did.

Joan looked at Leon, hesitating to speak. "I!... I can create fire.."

*

'Leia learned to shine light, and Joan was able to generate enough heat to light a fire.' Leon stayed silent when they were showing off their newly learned abilities.

Leon couldn't help but finish the thought. "I already feel like I'm stagnating." He said aloud, as if the very idea of stagnating repulsed him.

The things his friends were so excitedly showing off were things he did as a baby. Not leaving the house often, he spent much of his time in his room trying to understand what everything around him was.

Another thought kept echoing in his mind: 'Where did I come from?'

And another: 'Who are my real parents?'

And another: 'Will I keep hiding?'

And: '...Should I leave?'

Such thoughts haunted his mind. For the entire night he kept thinking such thoughts. He wanted something to change.

* * *

Mardak began teaching, but not without concerns. 'He's late. It's already 8:30.'

Mardak knew it wasn't that Leon didn't want to keep learning. It was that Leon had nothing to learn that he wouldn't understand on his own, so he wasn't worried for him. The world was his playground.

This worry was held more strongly by a group of four in the front row.

Joan wondered, 'What could have happened? Has he gotten sick?'

'That's ridiculous. If he got sick, the entire school would have to have been hospitalized first.' Leia retorted. Knowing Leon's boundless vitality.

Calla just said, 'Who knows, let's just ask at noon.'

Orick stayed silent, not joining the girls' whispers. He had a lot to think about.

"Dismissed. There will be no further classes today. You may go home early." Said Mardak. The words caused the class to go silent—until that was lost in the wind.

"Alright!" A student started. "I will return and show my family–"

Excited students that wanted to show what they have learned spoke with fervor.

Students were only allowed to go home on the weekends, except for special cases like emergencies. This thought caused a few students to feel unease.

"Professor! Why are we going home early?" Asked Leia, worried that this might be connected to Leon.

"Your families will inform you, but very well. We need the Institute free of students to make renovations." Mardak answered seriously.

"For what reason, sir?" Another student pressed.

Mardak scanned the room, silencing the excited clamor. "To make space for the children of Tipun. They have sent their brightests to connect with the next generation of Fenros."

The words hung in the silent classroom, everyone was stunned by the news. Tipun, the coalition of outsiders that they have only learned about a few days ago were coming? Here? None of them believed it.

As the noise started building up, endless questioning was bound to tie Mardak down. "Enough. You may go home."

* * *

The three girls were making their way to where Leon was. Leia was ahead because she knew Leon the longest. Calla only followed Joan who said, "Shouldn't he be in the boys' dorms?"

"That's ri–" Leia was dumbstruck by the realization.

"Get Orick here!"

*

After getting convinced to get Leon, Orick asked around to find where his room was located.

Knocking on Leon's door, he asked. "Hello? If you're there, your girlfriends are looking for you." He said with slight envy, turning around.

As he was about to leave, the door behind him opened. He turned to see Leon, slightly different. Still an annoyingly attractive guy with an aura of endless curiosity.

This time however, this curiosity was directed not at the world in general, but at something else. "Sorry I didn't attend, I was thinking." He said unapologetically.

He smiled, "And aren't you guys busy?"

* * *

"The children of Tipun will begin learning here." Leia told Leon the reason for them having free time.

"Really?" Leon stared, wondering what it was like coming from the outside world.

"Yup, that's all they told us though. Guess we'll have to go home to learn more." Calla was excited. She learned that the people of Tipun favored battles to settle disputes.

'If the Institute was going far enough to create their homes on The Sentinels, the Academy would conform to some of the Tipun's customs at least.' She surmised.

"I-I think we are gonna learn about their storms now." Joan thought aloud.

Leia quickly calmed them down, "Don't ask about it so insensitively, they might have lost people to their storms." She looked at Orick, who didn't react.

Throughout this, Leon was ecstatic. 'Finally, I'll be able to learn about the outside!' he thought. His eyes turned towards the main Institute. The parts that closed in towards the gate.

People were gathering there to wait for their carriages, but it was more crowded than he expected.

"Let's go there. Something exciting could be happening." Leon spoke, looking at the group with pleading.

Leia quickly said, "Sure." She thought that the delegates of Tipun might have arrived.

As the group wound their way to the commotion, they heard some of the words spoken by a voice they didn't recognize.

"Our folk art grateful for the kindness offer'd by the people of Fenros." The firm voice of a man bellowed across the wide roads.

Leon saw him, the man was thinly built, tall, and his skin was as white as the walls of the Academy. He sighed. "No pointy ears."

The Tipun man continued, "The storms and creatures yond savage the world we come from art absent here."

"Is that how they speak?" Asked Calla, her eyes glinted with curiosity.

Joan was also interested, 'His accent is pretty strong, I wonder if the children also sound like that.'

The tribesman was rooted on a platform, scanning the students—his eyes froze on Leon's.

The man smiled.

"I believe thou art named Leon?" The main came closer and offered his hand.

Leon, in his excitement to learn about their culture, took it without hesitation. Not even questioning why the tribesman knew his name.

The man's smile widened unnaturally as his grip on Leon's hand tightened like a vice.

Leon's brows furrowed, a faint spark of discomfort flashing in his eyes. This would have broken another student's hand.

"What—" Leon began, but his words were cut short as a burst of energy surged through their joined hands. The air crackled with tension, and the faint scent of ozone filled the space between them.

A gasp escaped Joan's lips as a ripple of force blasted outward from the two, sending students stumbling back.

Before anyone could react, the platform beneath the man cracked, splitting apart like dry earth under immense strain. The Tipun tribesman released Leon's hand with a shove, sending him onto the cobblestones. He didn't think Leon could bring him pain.

Chaos erupted as students screamed, and the man disappeared into the shifting shadows of the crowd.

He waved his hands, and then tenebrous creatures that devoured light began flooding the Institute.