Accident

The woman crossed her arms, meeting Sky's gaze. Her face was fixed in a deadly serious expression. Raising just her middle finger to point at the screen, she said:

"Your soul core has a crack; it's small, but enough to leak some of its essential aura. I'll be honest with you, normally we don't accept students with such issues or this kind of core. Simply because afterwards, the overuse results in... a trainer's death."

It was a double shock for Sky; her body was still shivering, and she couldn't breathe properly. She felt like her world had just turned upside down. She worked harder than anyone and barely managed to get here; all of this was thrown to the wind the moment she learned she wasn't good enough! Gripping the bed tightly, rage rose in her chest.

"To hell with this! This is just cruel!" she thought in agony. "Damn it!!" Slamming her fist on the bed and cursing loudly, she finally lost it. The woman was calm, as if used to this, and gazed at her with pity.

"I know it is frustrating, but this is for your own good."

Those words felt very bitter and much crueler.

"How so?!" shouted Sky, her eyes full of anger. The woman sighed.

"A leaking soul core means that your essential life force rate will drop faster than anyone's and dry up before you know it. In a real battle, your head will be rolling on the ground in no time, like a burden you won't be able to fight back. I can introduce you to a good doctor specialized in cases like yours."

"Are you telling me there's no other way?" Sky stuttered while asking.

"I'm telling you not to lose hope; this is all I can do for you."

"NO!!! I can't go back this way! I... if I did... Dante!" She cried, bowing to her knees, hopeless and devastated. She thought about the people who trusted her and her promise to come back as a nightwalker. What would she tell her sweet mother? How could she face her father? Her cute brother Dean, who always looked up to her—how would he look at her from now on? Doctor Sam, Miss Lenda... Her mind burst with endless thoughts.

"Dante?" the woman asked. "As in last year's second ranked... Dante??"

Sky lifted her face. She was a total mess—running nose, puffy reddish eyes. She sniffed; all that was written on her face was being mystified.

"What's your relationship with him?" she asked again. Not caring much now, Sky simply answered, "He is my brother, half-brother."

The woman's eyes widened, recalling something that happened last year,slowly A certain flashback of old memory start to ran through her mind :

("What?!! A cracked core?!!" A year ago, in the same room where Sky was, the same woman had been an examiner back then. Dante shouted, shock on his face. The woman nodded. Dante glanced at his friend, who seemed to be sleeping soundly on the lab's bed. In silence, Dante felt the bitterness of despair.

"Is it serious? Wh... what should we do then?" Winter, who was standing there, looked agitated as she asked.

"I'm sorry; the only way to get treated is by entering the trial session in the research sector," the woman replied.

As Dante walked back and forth, brainstorming, it seemed he hadn't lost all hope yet. He suddenly stopped, and a glossy spark cast in his blue eyes as they widened.

"No, there is a way."

The woman sulked at the assumption that her knowledge was being mistaken by this poor student. She frowned, crossing her arms.

"Really? Then what is it, student Dante?" she stated, challenging him.

Dante bit the edge of his lip, quietly thinking, then replied: "A long time ago, my sister got attacked by a bear. Her wound was big and deep; we all thought the worst and that she would definitely die. I ran with her on my back to the doctor of the village. The moment he saw her serious injuries, he kicked me out of the room. Back then, something about him kept bothering me; I just knew he wasn't an ordinary person. I got kicked out, seconds passed, and what a surprise... she was all okay—no wound, no scar, nothing indicated she had been attacked."

"Nice story, and so?" the woman asked, complaining. Dante continued...

"Here's the thing: he said that she would recover completely in seven years or so. I was scared of losing her, so I didn't think much about it until now. Coming to think of it closely, maybe the bear injured her core too; her wound was that bad after all. I mean, usually, a normal wound won't take that long to recover, and no scars left to begin with? So why did Doctor Sam say seven years?"

The woman's eyes opened wide as she recognized the mentioned name; he was none other than the runaway next heir of the Greens family. She gulped nervously but kept silent.

He nodded cheerfully at Winter, who was relieved. Dante then glanced at his friend, who was still sleeping carelessly. He deeply sighed and picked him up on his back, while Winter opened the door. He dashed out, and she followed him, rushing through the academy's hallways.

That year passed quickly, and the woman saw them again at graduation. She saw the boy with the broken core among the graduates on the stage. She focused her sight on his student ID and whispered, "Oba Brian...".).