The Swords of Xyrus Academy

"Kai?! What are you-" Theo caught himself. "Why were you attacking me?"

"It's simple, isn't it? He's a traitor." Fayden tightened his grip on Kai's arm.

Theo gasped, "Wha-? How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"Let's wait for the other's to come, I'll explain what I've learned then." Fayden activated his ring's distress signal.

Kai narrowed his eyes, "I'm afraid I can't allow that."

Metal strings shot out from each of his fingers, intending to wrap around the two Disciplinary Committee members.

Fayden's hand was like a blur as it moved. Blood splattered across his face and a hand fell to the floor lifeless.

"GAH!"

Grabbing the stump of Kai's arm, he ignored his hiss as he froze the wound, "We can't have you bleed out to death now can we?"

Before he could lash out, earthen chains tore up from the ground and shackled him.

As if on cue, footsteps echoed from all directions. Fayden knew the owners of those footsteps all too well.

As the rest of the DC reached them, Arthur excluded, he could see the sheer shock on their faces as they noticed Kai.

"Fayden, what happened? What's Kai doing chained down like that?" Claire asked first, walking over to where he was.

And so Fayden explained what he knew, from his 'conversation' with the members of the radical group to catching Kai in the act.

"What…?" Curtis whispered, unable to believe Kai would betray them.

"I can't believe you'd be a part of them. No, I can definitely believe someone would, but I didn't expect it to be you." Claire said with disdain clearly in her voice.

Theodore was oozing mana, "YOU DARE TO BETRAY OUR TRUST-"

"Theodore, calm down. Killing him won't do any good, we need to get as much information out of him as we can." Surprisingly, it was Feyrith who spoke. He was uncharacteristically calm for some reason.

Kai chuckled condescendingly, as if he didn't believe they would be able to get anything out of him.

Fayden eyed him like an eagle, "Give me half an hour with him, I'll crack him open like a fucking pistachio."

"Feel free." Claire said, no concern was visible for her former colleague. In fact, she seemed eager for it.

"Don't mind if I do." Fayden grinned maliciously, sending shivers down Kai's spine. Perhaps there was no other way after all.

Fishing out the pill hidden under his tooth, Kai spoke his final words. "Blood alone moves the wheel of fate."

As the others were left confused by his cryptic words, Kai took the chance to bite into the pill. The poison in it is lethal enough to kill an S-Class beast.

"No-!" Fayden was too late, and Kai was already dead.

"Did he just…" Nathan trailed off, realizing what had just happened.

Fayden sighed, there was nothing they could do. "It seems he had secrets he did not wish for us to know."

At that moment, Arthur rushed in, "What happened?"

Noticing Kai's prone and shackled form, he shared a glance with Fayden. That single moment was enough for Arthur to know what had happened. "He blew his cover didn't he?"

"You knew?!" Theodore rounded on Arthur.

"Of course he did, I told him." Fayden almost rolled his eyes.

"And why didn't you tell us anything?" he demanded.

Fayden scoffed, "As if you guys would have believed me when I have no real proof, and you've known Kai longer."

"It would also create unnecessary tension within the group, and it's not like we could do anything about it without confirmation." Arthur backed him up.

"We'll discuss this later, for now we need to inform the Director of this." Claire ended their discussion, it was getting late.

Fayden sighed, "Yeah, you're right." Dissipating the earth chains, he levitated Kai's body up.

Noticing the looks he was getting, he raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Are you really going to walk in the Director's office holding a body like that?" Arthur deadpanned at him.

"Right." Fayden flicked his fingers, covering Kai's body in a layer of wind magic so dense, it prevented anyone from peeking in.

"Well, let's go deliver this corpse."

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Cynthia Goodsky was not in a good mood. They had begun moving years earlier than she anticipated, and she was powerless to do anything.

When someone knocked at the door, her anxiety turned to irritation replaced by a calm facade. "Come in."

Needless to say, she was surprised when the entire Disciplinary Committee walked into her office.

"May I ask what this is about?" She stood up from her desk, meeting the group halfway across the room.

"See for yourself." Fayden said, the body of a certain traitorous boy making itself visible.

"Good heavens! How did something like this happen?" She faked concern for the spy.

Fayden rolled his eyes, "Cut the act Cynthia, they know he was a traitor. Heck, he commited suicide, so that we couldn't pry any information out of him."

Cynthia's expression turned serious instantly. "That is troubling news." She sighed, "What sort of knowledge did he possess to give up his own life to keep it a secret?"

"He said something, before he died." Nathan mentioned. "Something about blood and fate."

"'Blood alone moves the wheel of fate.'" Claire recited. "What could that mean?"

"It's definitely a metaphor, perhaps a reference to someone of royal blood?" Arthur suggested.

Instantly, the DC's gazes were split between Fayden and the Glayder siblings—staring inquisitively as if asking for answers.

He noticed Curtis' eyes quiver, and so did Doradrea. "You know something!"

Fayden narrowed his eyes, the only thing of importance that the royals knew that the common folk didn't were matters related to the deities.

Kathyln glared at her brother for his poor attempt at appearing clueless.

Fayden sighed, "What he knows is related to the artifacts the Lances received."

Curtis' eyes widened in surprise, was he going to reveal their existence?

"And?" Claire trailed off, expecting an explanation.

"And it is completely unrelated to our situation." Fayden almost laughed. "How do you think lance artifacts could possibly tie into this?"

"Alright, that's enough chit chat for now, go get some sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow." Cynthia interrupted, unwilling to burden her students with the knowledge of their existence.

The Disciplinary Committee members didn't argue with the Director, but none of them really slept that night. The events of only a few hours prior kept them awake.

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The next day, Fayden decided it was time to give Nathan a boost.

"Think fast!" He tossed Beelzebub's core to an unsuspecting Nathan.

"Wha-?!" Nathan acted on reflex, somehow managing to grab the orb before it could fall and shatter.

His eyes widened as he realized what he was holding, "Is this a beast core?"

Fayden nodded, "It's still brimming with mana, it should help you get into the high-silver stage at the very least."

"Fayden, I can't take this. What if there's a will inside it?" Nathan tried to return the core, but Fayden refused.

"It's useless to me anyway, I already have a beast will stronger than that."

Nathan raised a confused eyebrow, "You do?"

Fayden grinned, "I managed to beat it, didn't I?"

"Are you sure you want to give this to me and not someone else?" Nathan asked uncertainly.

Fayden shrugged, "The only other choice is Claire, but I believe you'll be able to draw out its full potential."

"Thank you, Fayden." Nathan said sincerely.

Fayden huffed, "Thank me by staying alive."

Nathan chuckled, "Of course."

As their day began, Fayden still only attended less than half the classes.

Team Fighting Mechanics, which had seemed to be interesting before, was bordering boring now. He was too strong to be pitted against anyone, but Nathan and Arthur, and the two usually tired each other out before he could have a go.

He supposed he couldn't blame them, considering the sheer difference between them would've been effortlessly so even with him holding back.

He came across Elijah a couple of times during the day, each acknowledging each other with a terse nod. It wasn't until he decided to go to the training facility that he encountered her.

As the doors opened, an expectant Tessia stood on the other side. Her elated smile quickly fell however when she realized it was not Arthur, but rather her brother.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "I wasn't aware the room was in use?"

Sighing, he turned back. "Nevermind, I'll just use one of the others."

"Brother." Tessia's voice was barely above a whisper, yet Fayden could hear it clearly.

He glanced back with a raised eyebrow, "Yes?"

"I…" Her face scrunched up in what he could only assume was fear.

The monochromatic beings, the way their claws moved swiftly but silently, the screams of agony from the snake-like creature. All that flashed across Tessia's mind, she was unable to utter another word.

Fayden sighed, "I told you not to push yourself Tessia. I'll wait for you for as long as you need. Even if you never recover from your trauma, I won't hold it against you."

"I…" Tessia tried again, but she could only ever voice out a single syllable.

Fayden looked at her one more time and void stepped away.

The suffocating feeling left her as soon as Fayden was gone, and she dropped to her knees. "I," she almost choked on a sob, "I really wish things would go back to how they were."

'Goddamnit, he's my brother; the person closest to me but still…' She clenched her fist in anger, anger at herself for being so afraid of her own brother. 'Why can't I find it in myself to face him?'

Arthur found Tessia like that, crumbled to the ground with tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Combined with the residual nacht he could still sense, it didn't take a genius to connect the dots.

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The days passed quickly for Fayden as he settled in a comfortable routine, but the threat of an enemy god still hung silently in the air.

Fayden sighed, fixing his uniform as he neared the Disciplinary Committee room. Knowing no one else was around, he quickly slipped in noticing how everyone else was already present.

"Now that we're all here, I'd like you all to sit down so we can start the meeting." Claire announced, noticing the elf prince enter.

As she sat down at the end of the table, she spoke, "As you know, Arthur, Curtis, Fayden, Nathan, and I will be off campus for a trip in a few weeks. As such, we'll need to reorganise our patrol routes and partners for the few days we'll be absent. Anyone care to volunteer for more patrol hours?"

Feyrith raised his arm first, "I'm willing to volunteer, I have no friends to hang out with anyways."

"I thought we were friends?" Fayden said with mock hurt. "Your cruel words are like a twisting dagger in my heart."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Ignore him."

Claire sighed, "Anyone else?"

No one raised their arms.

Until, a single pale arm rose, "I volunteer."

"Fayden, you're going with us." Claire deadpanned.

Fayden's face switched to a serious one, "Claire, is it really wise for our strongest members to leave the Academy grounds at the same time? Especially in these circumstances?"

"You make a good point." She mused. "Maybe none of us should go…"

"Nah, it's fine." Fayden waved away her suggestion, "I am here, there is no greater defence than that."

"A tad arrogant, don't you think?" Arthur commented.

Fayden stared at him tiredly, "Ya want me to whoop your ass again?"

Arthur winced, remembering the wounds he had received in the fight, if it could even be called that.

"Thought so."

"Now that that's settled, you're all dismissed." Claire announced, getting up from her seat.

The next few weeks of their lives passed rather peacefully. Fayden spoke with Elijah a few more times, often going through spell ideas each of them thought up of.

Two of them especially stood out: one being the idea of propelling one's body in the air with fire like a rocket and even that of a building, and one which used earth magic to form an isolated domain to which nothing would leave nor enter, unless allowed so.

His relationship with Tessia seemed to have improved a bit, considering she didn't pale in fear every time they met, but coherent conversations were still beyond them.

Even though it wasn't perfect, his new life was definitely better than his old one. This would soon change however, as secrets wreathed in blood came to light and the very course of his life descended in a downward spiral of misery and chaos.

'Fate really is a bitch, isn't it?'