Chapter 3 Bottom of the Food Chain

The hallway to the Class E dorms smelled like mildew and metal. One flickering light buzzed overhead, casting sickly shadows that shifted whenever Kai moved. The stone floor felt colder here, more unfriendly. The Academy had golden towers and shimmering spell walls-but not here. Here, it felt like a prison no one bothered to lock.

Kai stood outside the door for a long time, hand hovering over the handle.

Then, slowly, he pushed it open.

The room inside was barely lit. One cracked window. Two bunk beds. One rusted mirror that had lost half its shine. Graffiti carved into the walls-names, curses, symbols. The kind of marks desperate people left behind just to prove they existed.

A boy on the top bunk didn't even glance at him.

Another by the wall shot him a glare before going back to sewing his ripped boots with twine.

No welcome. No words.

Just silence.

Kai sat on the edge of the empty bed.

The springs groaned like they resented his weight.

He looked down at his hands. They were still trembling. Still marked.

He hadn't eaten since the duel.

He didn't know how much time had passed since then. Hours? A day? Maybe two?

He didn't ask.

He knew the rules already: people like him didn't get to ask questions.

The Academy didn't wait for broken students.

When morning came, Kai followed the crowd to the mess hall-though "hall" was generous. Class E had their own basement dining area. A cracked wooden door, sticky floors, a long metal counter with dented trays.

The food was... something.

He wasn't sure if the soup was moving or just steaming.

He didn't get far.

Someone slammed into him from behind, knocking the tray to the floor.

"Oops."

Kai turned slowly.

The boy grinning at him had sharp features and hollow eyes. Not big. But his presence filled the room like poison.

"What's the matter, Mark Boy?" the kid said. "Too good to eat with us?"

Kai didn't answer.

He bent down to pick up the tray.

The boy kicked it out of his reach.

The hall burst into quiet laughter.

"You think cause you got some glow on your chest, you're untouchable?" he spat. "This is Class E, freak. We're the broken. The unwanted. And you're even lower than us."

Kai stayed crouched.

The boy moved closer.

"Look at you. All silent and scared. You're nothing."

Still, Kai didn't rise.

Didn't swing.

Didn't speak.

Only one person did.

"That's enough."

A girl's voice.

Soft. But firm.

Everyone turned.

A small figure stepped into view.

Lina.

Kai blinked.

She didn't look like someone who belonged here. Not because she was special-but because she still cared. Brown curls tucked behind her ears. Wrinkled robes too big for her. Arms full of books she probably couldn't afford to drop.

She set them down gently and picked up Kai's tray.

"Let him eat," she said.

The boy scoffed. "You sweet on him, mouse?"

Lina didn't flinch. "I'm sweet on people not being jerks."

Someone in the back laughed quietly.

The boy sneered but stepped back, muttering something under his breath before slinking to the back of the hall.

Lina looked at Kai.

"You okay?"

He nodded, slowly.

"Thanks," he muttered.

She didn't smile. Just handed him the tray and said, "Don't sit alone. That's when they circle."

She turned and walked toward the corner table.

He followed.

They ate in silence.

Kai focused on his soup-which wasn't moving, just bubbling weirdly. He noticed her hands were scratched, fingers red. Probably from books. Or scrubbing spells gone wrong.

"You shouldn't have helped me," he said.

She shrugged. "Neither should you have been left bleeding after a duel."

"People think I'm... him."

"I know."

"You're not scared?"

Lina looked at him finally.

Her eyes weren't soft like he expected. They were tired. And smart. And sad.

"Fear's easy," she said. "Kindness costs more."

Kai didn't know how to reply.

She slid a wrapped piece of bread across the table.

"Eat it before someone sees."

"I don't want charity."

"It's not charity. It's an apology."

"For what?"

"For how this place works."

He didn't argue.

He took the bread.

It was stale.

It was perfect.

Later that day, they threw him into an elemental training pit.

No warning. No prep.

Just a name on a list and a shove toward the edge.

The pit was cracked stone and old blood. Fire runes etched into the walls still glowed faintly from past use. The instructor didn't even introduce herself. Just barked, "Survive."

His opponent was a girl with dirt on her face and lightning in her veins. She grinned like pain was a game.

When the match started, Kai barely dodged the first strike.

The second scorched his sleeve.

He didn't win.

He didn't even come close.

But when he raised his hand to block her final hit-when he thought about stopping her-the mark on his chest flared.

And the lightning bent around him.

Twisted.

Then vanished.

The class went silent.

He collapsed to his knees.

The instructor stared at him, eyes narrow.

She didn't say anything.

Just made a mark on her clipboard and walked away.

By evening, his body felt like a bruised fruit. He barely made it back to the dorm.

He sat on the floor. Legs folded. Back against the wall. Trying not to cry.

He wouldn't.

Not here.

Not where they could smell weakness.

The door creaked open.

Lina entered.

She paused when she saw him.

"You look worse."

"Thanks."

She handed him something wrapped in cloth.

He unwrapped it.

Fruit. Real fruit.

A pear, slightly bruised but still whole.

"Where did you-?"

"I... borrowed it."

"You stole?"

"I said borrowed."

Kai stared at her.

She looked away. "I figured you'd share."

He broke the pear in half and handed her a piece.

They ate in silence.

Then, softly, she said, "Why do you think you're here?"

He looked down.

"I don't know. I don't want to be him."

"But what if you are?"

He didn't answer.

After a pause, she added, "You still get to choose what kind of person you become."

Kai almost laughed.

Almost.

Instead, he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"I'm not sure I believe in choices anymore."

Lina didn't push.

She just stayed.

Sitting beside him.

Two broken pieces in the lowest part of the tower.

That night, in the dark, the dream came back.

Only this time, it wasn't fire or blood.

It was a mirror.

He stood before it, dressed in black robes lined with silver. His eyes were cold. Dead.

The reflection smiled.

And said: We're not so different.

Then the glass shattered.

And Kai woke up gasping.

The mark burned.

And something inside whispered:

What if becoming him is the only way to survive?