After the Storm (Filler Story)

The rain had begun to ease.

Puddles still shimmered across the training ground, reflecting the broken clouds above. Faint mist hovered around Luna as she stepped calmly beside Jimmy, her hooves tapping gently on the wet stone. Water and steam drifted off her like a whisper of the storm she had become.

The class teacher finally lowered his umbrella and exhaled, long and low.

He stepped forward slowly, boots squelching in the mud.

Then, voice hushed but steady, he asked:

"…When did she evolve?"

Jimmy stood still.

The rain droplets clung to his blindfold and coat, but he made no effort to shake them off. He slowly tapped something into his Codex, then turned the screen toward the teacher.

"One week ago."

A pause.

The teacher narrowed his eyes.

"You don't want to tell. Ok, it's fine. What about that spark?"

Jimmy said nothing. His screen dimmed. The answer was half a truth.

The teacher stared at him a moment longer. Then gave a soft chuckle—dry, like he didn't fully believe him but couldn't argue either.

"…Forget it," he said, shaking his head.

Then, more firmly:

"From now on, there's no need for you to practice with Class B. You'll only spar with third-year students or above."

A small hush rippled across the remaining students still watching from the edges of the soaked ground.

Jimmy turned to walk away.

But the teacher called again, more gently this time.

"…When did you open your mind's garden?"

Jimmy said "5 days ago." Again he asked

"Hey—did you choose your second Whisp yet?"

Jimmy paused.

Then gave a silent nod.

The teacher blinked. "Already…? That's fast."

Another question followed. "When are you planning to update your Codex data for it?"

Jimmy typed back:

"Anytime."

The teacher smiled faintly. "Good. Then do it soon. It will create a problem for later."

He folded his umbrella slowly, then added one last bit of advice:

"You can leave. Practice well — but don't burn yourself out trying to keep ahead of everyone. You don't need to come any practice matches from now on."

His voice lowered slightly, with a professional warning tone.

"If you don't find enough strong sparring partners here, apply for the Training Partner form at the Nexus. They'll match you with proper candidates."

Then, quieter:

"…Also, be careful. Police may still be tracking anomalies. Don't attract more than you already have."

Jimmy gave one last nod, raised a hand slightly in farewell, and walked away, water dripping behind his boots as Luna silently followed.

The wind had died down.

But in everyone's minds, a new storm had just begun.

........

The glass doors of the Veyrith Nexus Tower slid open with a low hum as Jimmy stepped inside. 

Jimmy gave a short nod to the guards at the entrance and whispered through his thoughts:

"Let's go."

The lobby was crowded—unusually crowded.

They were whispering—about last night. About the twin beam of red and blue light that had cracked through the clouds like a divine siren. Theories flew like wildfire.

Inside Nexus HQ, the air was electric—not with anticipation, but tension.

Arcana officers, Guild scouts, and even several elite breeders now moved in tight-voiced urgency. Black-badged operatives from the deeper halls of the Nexus floated through check-in points, clearly on high alert. All comm lines were rerouting data. Every step felt like a countdown.

The usual flood of hopeful trainees and rookie breeders trying to register for the Concord Trial now stumbled, caught between the gravity of the present and fear of what might come next.

Even in the reception halls, every screen flickered now and then—not with event notices, but heat-maps, aura readings, and dimmed footage of the spiral beam that had shattered the silence of the skies.

Some said it was a false awakening.Others whispered it was the rise of a Whisp from the "12 Lineages."But those closer to the truth knew better.

Something had awakened.

Somewhere so far off and quiet… it had gone unnoticed—until now.

And that was the problem.

.........

Jimmy didn't care about them.

Until he saw them.

At the far end of the central hall, standing near a sleek digital kiosk, were two figures in Arcana uniform, draped in midnight blue robes with blood-red trim.

Beside them stood two officers in standard Veyrith Security Force uniforms—tight-jawed, observant.

And between them, talking low but intently, was Mr. Asken—the biology teacher from Kirim City who had appeared at Jimmy's door the night before.

But that wasn't all.

Leaning casually against a pillar, wearing a red-trimmed Academy coat, was the same girl from his earlier trial—the one who had marked Luna for loosing when he passed the F-Rank whisp Master exam. Her eyes met his across the crowd.

She narrowed them.

The officers didn't say anything. Neither did the Arcana people.

But all of them saw him and Jimmy felt it.

He tightened his grip on the sleeve of his coat, turned away like a shadow retreating from sunlight, and headed to the registration counter.

The same receptionist from before blinked up at him—surprised, but professional slightly angry.

"You again? Purpose?"

He tapped on the Codex in front of him.

"I want to update my Mind's Garden's data."

Her eyes twitched in thought 'did not he awakened 3 weeks ago. How is it possible?'

"…Certificate?"

Jimmy gave a silent nod and walked past her toward the Cognitive Domain Testing Wing. A few murmurs followed him. A few sidelong glances. 

But fifteen minutes later, he returned with the paper—a sealed Level-Green Mind Certification, proof that his Brainwave Complexity Index had surpassed 20, officially qualifying him for taming and evolving Whisps through inner-mind interfaces.

The receptionist stared at the certificate like she couldn't believe it. She looked at Jimmy. Then at the officers who had just stopped talking behind her station.

But the Arcana had already walked away.

Too late.

She swallowed and took the certificate.

"…Everything checks out," she said quickly, voice clipped. "Due to heavy queue load, return at 12:00 noon to complete the sync process. You'll get the full update receipt then."

Jimmy nodded.

Turned.

And walked back out into the sunlight.

But outside, the storm hadn't passed.

As he stepped into the street—and saw them again.

The two Arcana agents had circled the building.

The two Veyrith officers were standing near the side ramp, talking to each other but watching him from the corner of their eyes.

And the red-haired girl? She was walking slowly toward the main plaza. Alone. But not unaware.

Jimmy's eyes narrowed.

.......................

The flow of footsteps and murmurs never stopped in the Nexus halls, but here, in the corridor shaded by frost-glass walls and glowing consoles, time almost seemed to hesitate.

Jimmy walked quietly, hands in pockets, coat trailing faintly behind him.

A voice stopped him.

"Hello," said a familiar tone, aged yet calm. "We met last night. Do you remember me?"

Jimmy turned slightly.

Mr. Asken. The man who came with the teacher to his house after the incident. The man who stared at the scarred earth like he'd seen a ghost of history reborn.

Jimmy gave a simple nod.

[Sign: "Yes."]

Asken smiled faintly and pulled something from his coat pocket.

"Here. Take this," he said, offering a sleek, matte-black card. "My business card. Just in case."

Jimmy didn't reach for it.

[Sign: "No need. I'm fine."]

Asken sighed, not offended, only quietly persistent. "Why did you come here, then?"

[Sign: "No need to know. I'm going. Bye."]

Jimmy turned again.

But a second voice chimed in—too light to be threatening, too smooth to ignore.

"But two days ago," Asken continued casually, "you weren't in Veyrith. What were you doing at that time? I'm just asking. Casually. No need to be afraid."

Jimmy didn't stop walking. He gave a faint smirk instead.

"You're not my guardian. Or the police. I don't need to answer your questions."

Asken chuckled lightly, conceding. "You're right."

But then—

"But I am police."

A firmer, louder voice snapped the moment apart.

An Arcana officer stepped forward from a nearby pillar, half-shadowed but very much watching. He wore black and gold trim, eyes sharp beneath his crest-badge.

Jimmy turned to him, smile unfading.

"So what?" he said smoothly.

"I'm not obliged to answer your questions either. If it's a Q&A session you want, go follow protocol. Request. Approval. Schedule. Then we talk."

The officer narrowed his eyes but didn't step forward.

Before the silence could fall completely, she broke it.

The red-haired girl. Same one from the Trial. Her presence was gentler today, though her eyes still flickered with curiosity and something else—remorse?

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "You didn't come that day… and I—I was just playing around. Can you forgive me?"

Beside her, her Whisp—Seyraflare—lowered its flaming mane in an apologetic nod.

Jimmy looked at them, unreadable as ever.

"Tell me your purpose for coming here," he signed coldly.

This time, the girl stood straighter. Her voice was firmer.

"You're not easy to fool. Okay then… hear me out. Come join our Guild. We can help your growth. Your Whisp—"

Jimmy raised his hand.

"No need. I'm fine with what I have. I'll raise my Whisps myself."

The girl tilted her head, but didn't back down. She smiled again, gently.

"You don't know yet, do you? The whole continent is shaken. They're trying to trace the Twin Light. The mystery. And guess what? The most suspected person is—"

"Me," Jimmy finished for her, without flinching.

She paused, surprised.

Jimmy stared at her. Not with scorn—but something closer to exhaustion.

"Let them come."

"I'll take care of myself."

He turned to walk again, footsteps echoing in the glass-tiled floor.

"Wait—!" she called after him.

He stopped.

She waited, thinking he might finally respond with something real—some opening.

Jimmy glanced back, eyes behind the blindfold, but his words were sharper than flame.

"Remember something."

"Helping people is good. But doing it for your own gain? That just makes them feel like garbage."

"Even a cursed Whisp has more heart than most humans. Because animals have limits."

"We don't. And that's what makes us worse."

She froze.

Not from anger.

But from the weight of the truth.

Jimmy walked away without looking back.

The Arcana agent, Mr. Asken, and the red-haired girl all stood there in silence.

#As you can see I am not updating my whisp data panel for long time. Sorry for that.