thief of fate-Chapter 37: The first spark

The night was not as quiet as it seemed.

From the outside, the academy looked as usual, towering amidst the post-midnight fog, its giant trees waving their branches as if greeting those who returned from the dead. But inside its walls, silence concealed more than it revealed. Its walls never sleep, and its courtyards preserve the traces of all who passed, even those who returned today from the "Cave of Truth" never come back the same.

Valerian was the last to climb to the upper floor, his dimmed gaze still caught in a world between dream and reality. Zenith mumbled something inaudible as he collapsed onto his bed, while Evelyn sat silently near the window, staring at the moon’s reflection on the glass as if searching for something she hadn’t yet found. Everyone was exhausted... exhausted in a way that sleep could not cure.

And Selena? She was the only one who hadn’t gone to bed.

Her feet stepped quietly in the stone corridor, her face pale but her features steady. She knew her destination well. There was no reason to hesitate the summons was not a choice. She could have ignored it, pretended to be sick, or waited until morning. But Selena was not that kind of person. She never ran from confrontation, even if she knew the odds were against her.

The door to the teachers’ room opened with a soft sound.

Inside, Ethan stood near the window, his back to her, while the candlelight from the stone holder cast a mysterious shadow on the wall. The scene was like a dramatic painting, and the scent of burning paper filled the air.

He didn’t speak.

Selena entered quietly, closed the door behind her, and waited.

Seconds passed before he turned his head, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

"I knew you’d come. Despite everything... you still have a sense of duty."

She looked at him without replying. She stood straight, her hands behind her back, like she was in a military court.

He took one step forward, his gaze fixed on her face.

"Do you know why I asked to see you?"

She answered in a calm but firm voice: "Because I brought the others back from the illusion. Because I broke the rule."

Ethan nodded, then tilted his head slightly as if observing a strange bird.

"Good. At least you’re not denying it. But let me be clear, Selena... what you did was betrayal. The Cave of Truth isn’t a game. Each student faces what’s inside alone, and either emerges or fails, without interference. You didn’t just break the rule you tore it apart."

She replied with sharper tone, but still polite: "And you would’ve let them die? You were just going to watch?"

He laughed briefly, as if she’d told a joke at a funeral.

"No one dies in the cave not physically. But it’s a test of the soul. Do you think you saved them? Or just stopped them from seeing their truth to the end?"

She stepped forward, her eyes glowing with defiance. "I saw enough. Leonard was on the verge of collapse. Maria was bleeding inside. Valerian... no one deserves to be left there alone."

He paused, then said with a cryptic tone, "Even Valerian?"

She didn’t answer.

He moved closer, until they were only a breath apart.

"Did you know, Selena, that I went through that test years ago? No one saved me. I didn’t call for help. Everyone accepted into this academy... is required to prove themselves alone."

"I know. But not everyone is like you."

He smiled then.

That gentle smile that shows a hint of teeth, making him seem kind despite being anything but.

Selena hated that smile. It reminded her of teachers who punish with a smile and slap with soft words.

"Do you think your emotion is a strength?" he asked.

"Sometimes, it’s the only thing that keeps us human."

His tone changed here.

"What you did won’t pass without consequences. Saving them means you doubt us. Our method. Me. And if you’re going to live here, you have to learn that decisions cannot be made based on emotion."

She replied calmly, but with determination:

"And why do we fear emotion? Is it because we’re afraid to see weakness in ourselves? To realize that our rules... are sometimes flawed?"

He looked at her for a long moment, then sighed.

"You have a point, unfortunately. Strong enough for me to pardon you this time. But don’t get too excited, Selena."

He moved closer until his hand nearly touched her shoulder, and said in a low voice:

"If you defy me again, there will be no smile. No talk. I’ll break you like a stone crushed at the bottom of the cave."

She stepped back, lifting her chin with resolve.

"Understood, sir."

He smiled again, as if the threat was a compliment.

"Go back to sleep, O savior of souls."

She left the room in silence, closing the door behind her without looking back.

But inside... storms were raging.

Not fear of Ethan, but the fact that she... responded to him.

For a moment, she thought she had made a mistake. Maybe her interference in the illusions had ruined the others’ test. Maybe Valerian would’ve reached the moment of "revelation" if he’d stayed longer.

But then she remembered something.

Valerian’s eyes when he woke up. They were sharp, confused, but... grateful.

That look cannot be forgotten.

Maybe she didn’t save them from the cave, but from drowning in it.

She reached her room, sat on the bed without removing her shoes. She stared at the ceiling, and Ethan’s voice whispered in her mind:

"I’ll break you like a stone crushed at the bottom of the cave."

Selena smiled to herself, a smile that resembled his in no way.

"Let him try..."

The moment the door to the teachers’ room closed behind Selena, silence thickened like smoke. Ethan remained standing in place, his eyes watching the door for a few moments, as if trying to see through walls.

Then he muttered to himself, in a barely audible tone:

"Stubborn... but the spark has begun."

He moved quietly to the window, his fingers tracing the edge of the cold glass, before suddenly feeling that faint tremor in the air.

It wasn’t a sound, but a sensation a subtle vibration of emptiness.

Then, as if the night itself had split, he appeared.

From the farthest corner of the room, a man emerged, cloaked in dark gray, revealing nothing but eyes the color of time’s ash eyes that belonged to no age.

He stood in silence, as if he had stepped out of a breathless wall. Then he spoke in a hollow, rough, emotionless voice:

"Ethan."

The teacher didn’t turn. He wasn’t surprised. He simply replied in a soft voice:

"Late as usual, Nereus."

The cloaked man, Nereus, took a slow step. His footsteps made no sound, despite the hard stone floor. He stopped directly behind Ethan and said:

"The hour is approaching. Are you ready for it?"

Ethan nodded, his eyes still fixed on the moon.

"I’ve always been ready. I composed this melody, remember?"

Nereus was silent for a moment, then spoke in a less rigid tone:

"And Selena? Is she part of this tune?"

Ethan smiled, a smile that carried none of the previous kindness.

"Yes. Her note is still unstable, but it’s there."

Then he finally turned, locking eyes with Nereus, and said with heavy calm:

"She will betray me. Soon. In fact... she already has."

Silence. Then Nereus asked:

"Are you sure?"

Ethan let out a short, warmthless laugh.

"Trust isn’t in my nature, Nereus. I read souls. And Selena... she’s already walking the path I laid for her the moment she stepped into this academy. What she did in the cave was only the first step in her downfall. She thinks she saved the others... but she saved herself from the truth. And that fear, my friend... is the best doorway to betrayal."

Nereus stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper:

"And what will you do when she truly betrays you?"

Ethan answered without hesitation:

"I’ll let her think she’s won. I’ll give her freedom, and watch as she strangles herself with it."

Then he added, returning to the window:

"The plan doesn’t rely on anyone’s loyalty. It works even with betrayal. Sometimes... it needs it."

They stood in silence. Outside the window, a gentle wind blew, and tree branches tapped against the glass with a dull sound.

Nereus finally said:

"Four o’clock, three days from now. We begin at dawn, as agreed."

Ethan nodded.

"I’ll be there."

Then, just as he came, Nereus vanished. He didn’t open a door, didn’t make a sound. He simply wasn’t there anymore.

Ethan remained alone in the room, the light dancing on the walls. Then he spoke, his voice barely audible to the air:

"The next phase... is near."

Then suddenly... he laughed.

A small laugh at first, quiet, hesitant, then it grew. It exploded from his mouth like a strangled scream from the depths of his soul.

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh, you foolish world! You elegant illusion!"

He slammed the table with his hand, books shook and a candle fell to the floor.

"You try to understand? To control? Ha ha ha! You understand nothing! No one does!"

He laughed madly, spinning around himself, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead, his voice echoing in the room like a demon’s cry.

"Rules? Order? Morality? Damn it all! I’ll crush you... one by one... and I’ll clap as I watch you fall like dominoes soaked in blood!"

Then suddenly, he stopped.

He looked at the mirror... and smiled.

"Hah... that was a nice little episode"