The medbay's sterile lights buzzed overhead.
Oliver sat shirtless on the examination table, bruises blooming like storm clouds across his ribs and shoulders. An older medic patched him up in silence, her gloved hands efficient and cold.
"How're you feeling?" she asked, voice flat.
"I've been worse," Oliver said.
She didn't smile. "Try not to get worse again." Then she left, curtain swishing shut behind her.
A few seconds passed before it opened again.
Aria stepped in.
Her eyes scanned him—bandages, bruises, bloodstained waistband. She exhaled slowly and sat on the stool beside him.
"That bad?" he asked.
She said nothing at first. Just leaned her elbows on her knees, staring at the floor.
"Why didn't you tell us?" she finally asked.
Oliver stiffened. "Tell you what?"
She looked up. "That you've fought people like that before."
"I haven't."
"You moved like you had. You matched him halfway through that fight, and that wasn't luck. That wasn't training. That was experience."
He looked away. "I don't know how to explain it."
"You better figure it out, Vale," she said, standing. "Because next time, that guy might not let you live."
Before he could respond, she was gone.
Outside the medbay, the hall was quiet. Too quiet. Students walked in pairs or not at all, whispering nervously.
Squad Obsidian hadn't stayed.
They left right after the match—without explanation, without permission. No one could trace their registration. Their existence was a ghost in the system.
And yet they had known Oliver.
Worse… they had expected him.
Later that night, Oliver sat on the rooftop above the dorms, knees pulled to his chest, a thin blanket wrapped over his shoulders. The stars above were distant, cold. Galaxies that had never cared about him.
Core Sync Active.Recalibrating combat data…Emotional stress detected. Offering support?
"No," he whispered. "Just let me sit."
Request acknowledged. Processing in silence.
Silence.
Then footsteps.
He didn't turn. He already knew.
"Can't sleep?" Aria asked.
"Nope."
She sat beside him without asking, hugging her knees. The night wind caught her auburn hair and carried it sideways like flame.
They sat like that for a long while.
Finally, Oliver spoke.
"When I saw him… something inside me moved. Not just recognition. Grief. Like I lost him once before."
"Do you think he's family?"
"I don't know. But he said something… He told me I was waking up. Like there's something inside me that doesn't belong."
Aria didn't respond. But her hand found his on the rooftop tiles.
Not romantic.
Not dramatic.
Just steady.
Real.
"You scare me sometimes," she admitted. "You're not like the rest of us."
"I'm still me."
"For now," she whispered.
The next day.
A meeting was held—unofficially. Held in one of the academy's deepest sublevels, far from cameras and curious ears.
Kaien Deros stood at the center of a circular table. Instructors flanked him. One figure sat in shadow, arms crossed, face unreadable.
"They were not part of the tournament roster," Deros said. "They weren't even on this planet's entry logs. That should terrify all of you."
"They were testing him," the shadowed figure replied. "Same as you were."
Deros slammed his hand down. "I wasn't trying to awaken a time bomb in a room full of civilians!"
"You should be grateful," the voice purred. "Oliver Vale survived. And he adapted. The system inside him is working."
Someone else leaned forward. "So it's true then? He has that Core?"
"Yes," Deros confirmed. "It's not a normal Core. It's alien. Foreign. Possibly… seeded."
A hush fell over the room.
"We keep this secret," Deros said. "If word spreads, he's dead. And Earth becomes a target."
They all nodded.
But not everyone agreed.
Meanwhile, in another sector of the academy...
Lisa kicked open a training room door, tossed her gloves aside, and shouted, "Okay, what the HELL happened yesterday?!"
Lira looked up from her core-reading tablet. "You're two days late to the freak-out party."
"I was on injury lockdown!"
"Garek's still eating through a straw."
From the corner, Garek raised a smoothie cup and slurred, "Worf ith."
They all burst out laughing.
But the humor didn't last long.
Lisa dropped onto the bench, her brow furrowed. "Aria's been acting strange. Real quiet. You don't think she… knows something?"
Lira blinked. "About Oliver?"
Lisa nodded.
Garek mumbled, "If she does, she ain't talkin'. Maybe she's tryin' to protect him."
"Or maybe," Lisa said darkly, "she's planning something else."