Chapter 138: You Guys Are Weird!

Chapter 138: You Guys Are Weird!

Tessa walked toward the heavy, circular metal door sealing off the darkened chamber where the Niöhöggr had once been imprisoned. Now that the creature was dead, a complex blend of emotions churned within her—relief mingling with a sense of unexpected sadness, as though something ancient and powerful had left a void in its wake. The battle had been a blur, yet the aftermath was hauntingly sharp. She couldn't decide if she felt liberated or weighed down, each feeling contradicting the other, swirling like a storm inside her.

Behind her, Adrian followed closely, his gaze fixed on her in quiet fascination. He looked at her as though she were a mystery, as though any moment she might reveal some strange, hidden power—or perhaps sprout wings and fly away. Every so often, he muttered to himself, glancing at her with concern, his hand twitching as if he wanted to reach out and stop her. But each time he stretched his hand toward her, he quickly pulled it back, wrestling with his hesitations.

He could see the strain in her eyes, the faint tremor in her step. Yet Tessa was so lost in her own thoughts, she barely noticed him at all. Memories of the Niöhöggr's piercing eyes, the weight of its presence, the final mournful cry, the desire to avenge its mother, all these incidences, lingered in her mind.

She replayed the moment it had fallen, the room's eerie silence as the last of its energy faded. In some strange way, the creature had been part of her journey, a monstrous reflection of her fears and doubts. And now, with it gone, a strange hollowness remained.

Adrian finally gathered his resolve, his voice soft but insistent. "Tessa…"

She stopped, blinking as if breaking free from a trance, finally registering his presence. She turned to face him, her expression distant, yet tinged with vulnerability.

"Are you… okay?" Adrian's voice was a mixture of worry and warmth. He wanted to say more, to ask her how she truly felt about what had happened, but he held back, respecting the quiet gravity in her eyes.

Tessa gave him a faint smile, though her mind was still miles away. "I'm… not sure," she replied honestly, her voice almost a whisper. "It's like part of me feels free… and the other part, lost."

They stood in silence for a moment, two figures amidst the vast emptiness of the underground chamber, both bound together by secrets and shadows, yet each lost in their own maze of thoughts.

In that moment, the metal door groaned open, its weighty hinges protesting as if the ancient mechanism had been disturbed from slumber. It felt almost as though the door had recognized Tessa's presence, opening just in time for her to stumble forward.

On the other side stood Principal Hammond, eyes alight with curiosity and concern. He looked as though he hadn't moved from his post by the door since Tessa entered, his fingers twitching in anticipation. The main security guards, who had previously opened the doors, waited for Tessa and Adrian to pass through before closing it shut and giving the trio the privacy to chat as much as they desire.

"What did you find?" Principal Hammond blurted, barely waiting for her to fully cross the threshold. His eagerness was almost palpable, but Tessa's world was spinning. Her steps wavered, and she reached out a hand, steadying herself against the cold metal wall beyond the doorframe. She tried to blink away the dizzy haze clouding her vision, fragments of shimmering colors distorting her sight.

Seeing her struggle, Adrian instinctively reached to support her, but Tessa steeled herself, drawing in a sharp breath. She forced her posture straight, determined to appear composed despite the intense disorientation gnawing at her.

"There was a Niöhöggr-like beast in there," she managed, her voice calm, almost indifferent, as though describing a minor nuisance. "It killed the workers… but we handled it. It's dead now."

Principal Hammond's face went slack, his mouth gaping in shock. His eyes darted over her and Adrian, searching for any sign of injury, trying to reconcile the ease with which she'd spoken with the monstrosity she claimed to have defeated.

"A… Niöhöggr?" he stammered, his voice barely a whisper, as though even saying its name might summon the creature again.

Myths of the Niöhöggr had filled his childhood nightmares—tales of a beast so ancient and powerful it could turn men to dust with a single breath, a terror that lurked in the shadows of legend. Yet here stood two young looking individuals, not only having confronted it but killed it, and now they spoke as if it were a mere inconvenience.Theee guys are really weird.

What Principal Hammond failed to account for was that, even though they looked young, they are 4 times their peers age, this is because the ageing of a Kaelrian operates differently than that of a human, also, time on earth operates faster than on planet Kaelria.

Principal Hammond glanced between the two of them, astonishment and disbelief etched into his features. Are they mad? he wondered, his mind racing. They survived an encounter with that thing and walked out like it was nothing?

Adrian, catching the look on Hammond's face, shrugged with a wry smile. "It wasn't… as easy as she makes it sound."

Principal Hammond's voice returned with an edge of urgency. "Do you realize what you've done? You're lucky to be standing here at all! A Niöhöggr isn't… it isn't something humans are meant to face."

Tessa's gaze steadied, her expression hardening. "Well, we are not humans, we are Kaelrians, asides that, lucky or not, we had no choice," she replied, her voice cool. "It was either kill or watch others die."

The weight of her words hung heavily between them, and for the first time, Hammond truly saw the depth in her eyes—the resilience forged in trials beyond his understanding. He took a step back, overwhelmed by the enormity of what had happened.

Finally, with a sense of reluctant admiration, he muttered, "You two might be the strangest, most insane individuals I've ever encountered."

Adrian chuckled softly, nudging Tessa as they shared a brief, knowing glance. "Guess that makes us top of the class or should I say school, or maybe even the world then."

As they moved away, leaving Principal Hammond behind, his lingering stare followed them, a flicker of awe and trepidation in his gaze. For better or worse, he realized, the boundaries of his world had changed the moment those two had crossed paths with the impossible.