Chapter 29: Coldness in the Heart

The penultimate week of the second grade began with a tense atmosphere within the group. Ares, once warm and cheerful with Liana, now wore a distant, cold expression. His words were few, his actions mechanical. It was as if part of him had locked itself behind an invisible, unbreakable wall.

Dana tried several times to approach him, but his responses were curt. Liana also noticed the change… and although she wanted to talk to him, something held her back. Maybe guilt. Maybe fear.

Even Agust, who was usually the most arrogant of the group, was surprised by Ares' new demeanor. The boy raised by elves now radiated a powerful presence, as if he carried a storm inside. And the truth was—he did. The rage from what he had seen in the plaza still simmered, and even if he didn't show it… it burned within him like the very blue fire he feared.

During a joint training session, Ares faced three magical golems alone and destroyed them with precise, cold movements. Everyone watched in awe. He was no longer the same.

"You're overdoing it, Ares," Agust said afterward, raising an eyebrow. "You don't even seem like yourself anymore."

Ares glanced at him without emotion.

"That should make you happy, right?"

Agust frowned.

"What's wrong with you? Is this about Dana? Or Liana? Make up your mind already, because you're tearing this team apart with that attitude."

That sentence hit him.

Ares clenched his fists. He didn't answer right away. For the first time in days, his real emotions flickered in his gaze. Confusion. Anger. Pain.

"I… don't know," he whispered.

And walked away.

Behind him, Agust clicked his tongue.

"Idiot."

From afar, Dana watched the scene with a furrowed brow. Liana did too. No one said a word, but they all knew the truth: Ares was changing.

And the blue fire… wasn't the only thing burning inside him.