Winter Prince

After the chaos earlier, Kael decided to wind down. He grabbed a towel from the academy's luxury bathhouse closet and headed for the sauna its sleek doors shimmering faintly from the embedded mana circuits keeping it at a perfect temperature. The moment he stepped into the humid chamber, the thick fog and wave of heat enveloped him. He tightened the towel around his waist and exhaled slowly.

"Finally… peace."

Or so he thought.

Just as he reached a bench, a tall shadow loomed from the mist ahead.

Kael's eyes narrowed. The aura was intense, heavy too heavy for a regular student.

"Tch. Another damn senior looking for payback?"

Without hesitation, he pivoted and launched a mana-enhanced roundhouse kick, the towel barely staying in place. The figure blocked it with a single arm, but the impact sent them skidding backward across the slippery tile.

Kael dropped into a stance, one hand holding his towel, the other glowing faintly with mana.

"Are you another demonoid bastard trying to take me out?"

The figure coughed and waved away steam as they stepped forward, revealing familiar features golden skin, spiky yellow hair now damp, and a surprised look on his face.

"Wait, what? Demonoid?"

Kael blinked and squinted.

"Oh. Sorry. Thought you were someone else."

It was Samuel Solaris.

"Damn, you kick like a mana truck, bro. But… I blocked it."

Kael raised a brow.

"Yeah. The old you would've tried to block with your face."

Samuel laughed, loud and full of pride.

"I've been training hard. Next time we fight, I'm not going down like I did in the mock duel. I'll win, I swear."

Kael walked past him, sat down on the wooden bench, leaned back against the hot paneling, and closed his eyes.

"What makes you think I'm gonna fight you again?"

A new voice cut through the mist:

"Yeah. Especially since he's going to fight me first."

Both boys sat up straight. Another figure emerged from the fog, tall, impossibly graceful, with snow-white hair slicked back and sea-blue eyes glowing slightly in the steam.

It was Matthew Glacern.

Kael opened one eye.

"And here I was thinking the sauna would be my safe zone."

Matthew smiled coldly, steam rising around him like a prince of winter.

"You know better than that, Kael. You kicked my face into the dirt during that event. You think I'd forget?"

Samuel raised a brow.

"Damn, both of y'all want to fight him? What is he, the final boss?"

Kael sighed.

"Don't lump me in with your gaming analogies."

Matthew crossed his arms.

"Enjoy the steam. It's the last calm you'll get before I bury you next week."

Kael closed his eyes again, this time with a smirk.

"Looking forward to it."

The three prodigies sat in silence after that rivalry thick in the air, but temporarily suspended by the sacred heat of the sauna.