Whispers in the Halls

Some returns feel like going home.

Others feel like stepping into a trap—

One lined with familiar faces…

And unfamiliar intentions.

---

The transport gate shimmered as Lyle and Muka stepped through.

One blink, and they were back at Blackstone Academy.

The air smelled of chalk, ozone, and distant mana burns—familiar scents that somehow felt alien now. What once was routine now felt small, like a world already outgrown.

Lyle tugged his hood a little lower. He could feel the pulse of the merged rings inside his soul—silent, but alive. He didn't dare tap into the new fusion system yet. Not here. Not without knowing who was watching.

Muka adjusted her uniform.

She looked… too comfortable in it.

"You're going to attract attention," Lyle muttered.

"Good," she said without looking at him. "I want a front row seat for when the rumors start."

They hadn't even stepped through the academy's inner gate before the whispers began.

> "Isn't that the guy from Zone Nine?"

"Didn't he vanish for two weeks?"

"Why's a transfer walking next to him like they're equals?"

"Wait… is she a noble?"

Lyle ignored it all.

But he didn't ignore the feeling crawling up his spine—the subtle pressure of surveillance. It wasn't magical. It was trained.

Someone was watching them.

And it wasn't the students.

---

Dean Varick met them in his office.

His hair was a little grayer, his robes sharper than usual. He didn't stand when they entered—just waved a hand to silence the sigil locks and motioned to the two chairs opposite him.

"I don't want an explanation," he said. "I want results."

Lyle met his gaze calmly. "Did Quinn not send word?"

"He did. A single sentence." Varick pulled a scroll from his desk and read aloud. "'He's returned alive. That's more than I expected.'"

He tossed it onto the desk.

"So. Enlighten me."

Lyle gave the condensed version—Hollow Ones, Codex predation, relic sync risks. He left out Quinn's private lessons. The fusion. The Bone Claw. The integration.

For now.

Muka stayed silent.

Varick studied him a long moment. Then, surprisingly, nodded.

"We're placing you back on the primary track," he said. "And enrolling Miss Muka as your partner for upcoming field evaluations."

"Partner?" Lyle blinked.

"I thought you'd be thrilled," Muka said dryly.

Varick ignored the sarcasm. "You'll be tested more rigorously than before. And not just by us. The Council has eyes here now."

Lyle tensed. "Why?"

"Because students are evolving faster than expected. Systems are showing mutations. And you… are a pattern breaker."

He leaned forward.

"Be careful, Mr. Greenbottle. People like you don't stay hidden long. And some of them don't stay alive either."

---

Later that evening, Lyle stood alone on the dorm balcony, watching the sun vanish behind the distant peaks.

His Codex hummed with subtle energy—enough to make his fingertips buzz.

> [System Sync: Vampiric Arcanum – 51%]

[Shadow Thread Passive Enhanced – Detection Immunity Increased]

[Unlocked Feature: Blood Echo Archive – Partial Access Available]

[Next Evolution Threshold: ???]

He sighed.

So much had changed.

And yet… the academy hadn't.

Classes would resume tomorrow. Tests would follow. Missions would creep in. But this time, the battlefield wouldn't be the outside world.

It would be the system itself.

Behind him, the dorm door creaked.

Muka leaned against the frame, holding two sealed mana drink flasks. She tossed him one.

"To surviving the first week back," she said.

He caught it. "You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"The attention."

She smirked. "You're a walking glitch in the system now, Lyle. Might as well enjoy it."

He popped the seal on his flask, but didn't drink.

"Do you ever miss it?" he asked. "Before all this?"

Muka was quiet for a beat. Then, "No. I never had a 'before.' I just had orders."

They stood in silence after that.

But Lyle couldn't shake the feeling that this peace was the eye of something far larger.

And someone—somewhere in the academy—already knew.

---

Elsewhere, beneath the eastern tower of Blackstone, a figure in faculty robes stood before a sealed chamber.

He held a tablet inscribed with old vampire code, eyes glowing faintly red.

"The fusion is real," he whispered. "The anomaly walks among them."

He pressed a glyph.

The door groaned open.

Inside, a long-dead system sparked to life.

And something ancient stirred.