CHAPTER 86: THE SYMBOLS OF EMBODIMENT

Two weeks passed.

The Academy grounds felt calm again. The sky was clearer. The halls quieter. But underneath that stillness... something was different. Like the school itself was waiting.

Most students had gone home after the incident. Class Zero included.

But not all.

The dorm door creaked open slowly.

Reia stepped inside first. Her boots made soft taps against the tile. She looked around the common room, hands stuffed in her coat pockets.

"Still looks the same," she muttered.

Behind her, Silas came in, carrying a pack slung over one shoulder. He dropped it on the nearest couch with a grunt and glanced at the wall.

"The snacks are gone. So no, it doesn’t."

Reia cracked a small smile.

They didn’t go home like the others. Neither of them really had one to go back to. Not one that felt like home anyway. So they stayed. Rested. Trained a bit. Talked less. Thought more.

And now, the others were returning.

They heard the footsteps before they saw her.

Vyn stepped into the room without a word. Black cloak brushing the floor, eyes half-lidded as always. She looked the same—almost too much the same.

Reia watched her carefully.

"...You alright?" she asked.

Vyn nodded, walking toward the window. "Still in one piece."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "Can’t say the same for the gate."

That earned a faint smile from her.

But Reia didn’t laugh. She was still watching her.

Or more specifically—her hand.

"Hey, Vyn," she said slowly. "Your left hand... what’s that?"

Vyn stopped. Looked down at her palm.

There, etched faintly across her skin like ink made of shadowlight, was a symbol. It looked like a Grimoire. A pentagram circled in delicate lines and cryptic runes that shimmered when the light hit it just right.

"...This?" Vyn asked. "It appeared the day after the gate. No idea what it is."

"Can anyone else see it?" Reia asked quickly.

Vyn’s head tilted. "No. You’re the first."

Reia’s eyes narrowed.

Then she raised her own left hand.

A mark pulsed softly there—a glowing, silver sigil shaped like a geometric eye surrounded by swirling scripts. It didn’t look magical in the flashy way. But it felt powerful. Alive. Like it was watching everything.

"I saw mine the next morning too," Reia said. "No one else could see it. Not the healers. Not the professors. Just Silas."

Silas grunted and held up his hand.

His mark was bolder. A thick crest shaped like a triangle wrapped in jagged chains. It pulsed like a heartbeat—brute force condensed into shape.

"Same for me," he said. "Woke up with it. No pain. No change. But it doesn’t go away."

Vyn stared at their hands for a long second.

Then said simply, "Interesting."

Reia’s brow twitched. "That’s all you have to say?"

"Yes."

"You’re not worried?"

"Why should I be?"

Silas leaned forward on the couch, elbows on his knees. "Maybe because none of us asked for this? Maybe because symbols don’t just appear on your skin unless something serious happened?"

Vyn turned to them slowly. Her voice was calm. Dry. "We just fought our way through a sealed SSS-Rank gate, watched half the floor collapse, and walked out with zero system record of us ever going in. A symbol is the least concerning part of that week."

Reia couldn’t argue with that.

"...Still," she muttered, staring at her own mark. "They’re not normal. They feel... tied to us. Like something changed when we passed through that last chamber."

Vyn’s voice softened slightly. "Maybe something did."

They sat in silence for a while.

Outside, the sun was starting to set, painting the dorm windows gold.

Inside, three students sat in the quiet with invisible marks no one else could see. Marks that refused to fade. Marks that, somehow, connected them to something they didn’t understand.

Silas finally spoke again. "You think the others have one too?"

Reia shook her head. "I don’t know. Evelyn would’ve said something if she did. And Lucian—"

She stopped.

Vyn looked up. "What about him?"

Reia frowned. "He hasn’t replied to any of my messages. Not one. Since the gate."

"...Same here," Silas added. "You think something happened to him?"

Vyn said nothing. She looked down at her hand again. The mark glowed softly.

"...Or maybe something’s still happening."

The silence lingered in the room.

Then—

"What are you talking about?"

All three of them turned toward the door.

Evelyn walked in with a calm look, her boots soft against the marble floor. Her blazer was half-buttoned, hair tied up loosely, and she carried a steaming cup of tea in one hand like she’d just woken up from a nap she didn’t want to end.

Reia blinked. "You’re back early."

"Didn’t feel like staying home," Evelyn replied. She took one more step in, her eyes shifting between them. "Now... what exactly is still happening?"

Reia didn’t answer with words. She just raised her left hand and turned it slightly.

The silver symbol shimmered softly—pulsing like a living thought.

"You see it?"

Evelyn tilted her head, frowned, then leaned in.

"No. What am I supposed to be seeing?"

Reia lowered her hand slowly. "Never mind."

"Wait, what was that? What are you guys hiding?" Evelyn’s voice sharpened just a bit.

Before anyone could answer, the door behind her opened again.

Heavy steps.

A shadow crossed the room before the man himself appeared.

Dean Garos.

His coat trailed lightly behind him as he walked in, eyes sweeping across the room with the kind of sharpness that cut without needing words.

Everyone straightened instinctively.

Even Vyn.

Garos stood at the front of the room, hands behind his back, posture tense but unreadable.

His eyes landed on each of them—Reia. Silas. Vyn. Evelyn.

Then his gaze sharpened.

"Where is Lucian?"

The question landed heavy.

Reia opened her mouth, unsure what to say.

But before she could speak—

"I’m here."

Everyone turned at once.

Lucian stood in the far corner, near the tall shelf by the windows.

He wasn’t hiding.

He was just... quiet.

Leaning slightly against the wall, arms folded, eyes tired but focused.

Garos exhaled softly. "Good. Since you’re all here, I’ll get straight to it."

He stepped forward.

Everyone stared.

Garos locked eyes with them.

"Your early graduation has been canceled."

Silas blinked. "What?"