Whispers of Worlds Beyond: A Series - Chapter 146

Chapter 146: Orchestral Symphony [11]
“Professor Anwar gave us some useful information—weaknesses from the other contestants.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “And this concerns me how?”

“Because they’re weaknesses you can exploit in your duels, duh.”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed, processing the information. “If this is about me, then why didn’t Professor Anwar just call me in?”

He glanced at Adrian, whose lips were pursed, like he was holding back words. That only made Aiden more suspicious.

“Adrian what’s with you?” he asked.

Adrian let out a slow breath before muttering, “That’s what we asked too.”

Sevan gave Adrian a glance before turning back to Aiden.

“It’s to limit eyes from giving away that Professor Anwar is training you. Teachers aren’t supposed to be involved in preparing students for the Trials.”

“So he told you instead?” Aiden asked.

Sevan nodded. “If we all got called together, it would be too obvious. You’re already under enough scrutiny as it is.”

Aiden glanced toward the crowd, aware of how many students still whispered about him whenever he walked by. He knew Sevan was right. If anyone found out a professor was giving him an edge, it would only make things worse.

Still, something about the way Adrian hadn’t said much bothered him. He was usually the first to complain or tease, but now he just looked… unsettled.

“You’re making that face again,” Aiden muttered, looking at Adrian. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Adrian shook his head, but his expression didn’t change. “Nothing. Just… be careful, alright?”

Sevan shot Adrian a look but didn’t contradict him. Aiden frowned but didn’t push further.

That night, Aiden trained once again in their room.

Sevan groaned again when Aiden picked up his sword, but instead of arguing, he leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees.

“Fine, fine. If you’re gonna keep training, at least let me finish.”

Aiden glanced at him, waiting.

Sevan sighed and crossed his arms. “Shiloh.”

“And?”

Sevan leaned back against the headboard. “Professor Anwar didn’t mention much about him, which is weird. But from our duel, I can tell you this. He’s fast but reckless. He fights with flashy, unpredictable attacks, and he’s good at distractions.”

Sevan continued, his tone growing more serious. “He’s really good at misdirection. You think he’s attacking from one side? He’s actually aiming somewhere else. He throws out moves that look useless just to get you comfortable before landing a real hit. And his magic- those damn illusion cards- if you get caught in them, you’ll be fighting things that aren’t even there.”

Aiden exhaled, processing everything. “So how did you counter him?”

“Simple. I didn’t fall for his tricks.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Right. Because that’s so easy.”

Sevan laughed. “Okay, okay. The real trick is to disrupt his rhythm first. He’s annoying, but he relies on controlling the pace of the fight. If you fight at his speed, you’re done for. Slow things down. Force him into a fight where he can’t play his little games. And if he throws one of those illusion thingy, drown it before it goes off.”

Aiden nodded, storing the information away.

Sevan then rubbed the back of his head. “There’s one more thing. He gets mad easily.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Shiloh?”

“Yeah,” Sevan said. “But if you really mess with him, he’ll lose his focus. He’s the type to show off, but if he realizes he’s actually struggling, he gets angry. And the angrier he is, the sloppier he gets. If you can frustrate him, he’ll start making mistakes.”

Aiden tilted his head. “And how did you make him mad?”

Sevan grinned. “Oh, you know. A few well-placed insults.”

Aiden huffed a laugh. “You really like pissing people off, don’t you?”

Sevan shrugged. “If it works, it works.”

Aiden tapped his sword against his palm, deep in thought. He finally nodded. “Alright. That helps.”

Sevan waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t get too confident. These fights aren’t gonna be easy.”

—————————————-

The past few days, there was a slight shift between Adrian and Sevan.

Aiden had noticed it for a while now.

At first, he thought it was nothing. Maybe they were just staying up too late, messing around like usual. But as the days passed, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Adrian and Sevan looked exhausted.

Dark circles were forming under their eyes, their movements slower than usual. Sevan yawned so often it was like he was trying to inhale the whole room, and Adrian, who was usually sharp and quick-witted, would space out at times, his gaze distant.

It didn’t make sense. The First-Year Duels were only a few days away, but Aiden was the only one competing among them. If anyone should be losing sleep over this, it was him.

Yet, here they were, looking worse each morning.

He watched them carefully during meals, noticing how Sevan would blink slowly, as if trying to keep himself awake, while Adrian would roll his shoulders as though shaking off some invisible weight.

It wasn’t just fatigue. Something was off.

And Aiden hated that they weren’t telling him anything.

Over the next few days, Aiden noticed something even stranger.

Adrian and Sevan weren’t just exhausted, they were always there.

At first, he thought it was just coincidence. Whenever he left the dorm to train, one of them would follow. Whenever he went to grab a meal, they’d suddenly decide they were hungry too. But then it got worse.

The final straw was when Aiden was heading to the restroom and Adrian followed him.

Aiden stopped in his tracks, turning to glare at him.

“You better not be following me in there.”

Adrian, completely unfazed, leaned against the wall.

“What? You want me to wait inside instead?”

Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you here?”

“Just keeping you safe.”

“From what? The toilet?”

Sevan, standing nearby with his arms crossed, nodded seriously. “You never know.”

Aiden stared at them, incredulous. “You two have lost it.”

Adrian shrugged. “Hey, you’re the one who keeps getting into trouble.”

That was true. But still. This was ridiculous.

Even when Aiden went to practice, one of them would be right there. When he tried to find a quiet place to think, Adrian would suddenly appear, making sarcastic comments, or Sevan would drag a chair over and start watching him like a hawk.

At one point, Aiden turned to them in frustration. “You do realize I can handle myself, right?”

Sevan just gave him a lazy smile. “Yeah. And we do realize you have a bad habit of attracting problems.”

Aiden groaned, running a hand down his face. He knew they were hiding something, but no matter how much he pressed, neither of them would tell him.

And that only made him more suspicious.

The night before the suspected First Year Duels, Aiden stretched his arms and stood up from his bed, feigning nonchalance.

“I need to use the loo,” he announced.

Adrian, sitting on his bed, barely looked up. “Alright,” he said, surprisingly calm. “I’ll wait outside.”

Sevan, lounging on the chair, nodded in agreement. “Try not to take too long. Who knows what kind of danger you’ll get into in there.”

Aiden rolled his eyes and walked toward the bathroom. He could feel their eyes on him until he shut the door behind him. His heart pounded, but he took a deep breath.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a karatula stone. The smooth surface of the small, engraved stone felt cool against his fingers. Magi used these stones for all sorts of things, depending on the markings carved into them. The one in his hand had a simple teleportation rune, one he had painstakingly drawn himself in secret.

Please work, he thought.

Bracing himself, Aiden tossed the stone into the air like flipping a coin.

The moment the karatula stone left his fingers, his entire body lurched. It was like being yanked in every direction at once while also feeling nothing at all. The world blurred and twisted, his stomach flipped, and for a split second, there was an overwhelming sense of falling.

Then his feet slammed onto solid ground.

Aiden staggered slightly, gripping the wall beside him. His breath came out in a sharp gasp.

That felt awful.

But he had no time to dwell on the sensation. He quickly straightened and looked around. He had aimed to land just outside the common room.

Instead, he was further down the hallway.

Aiden frowned, but he wasn’t going to complain. It was still far enough. He didn’t care about the slight miscalculation—what mattered was that he was out.

Finally, a moment to himself.

Aiden’s mind felt cluttered in a way that was hard to explain.

The past few days, a heavy fog had settled in his thoughts, as though entire pieces of his memory were missing, drifting just out of reach. It was a strange feeling, one that gnawed at him, leaving him restless. He tried to shake it off, but it lingered, like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

Sighing, Aiden decided that a walk might clear his head. He slipped out of the hallway, moving as quietly as possible, hoping not to disturb anyone. The common room felt stuffy after so much time spent surrounded by people, and the air in the halls was cold and still.

As he walked, he tried to concentrate on the gentle rhythm of his footsteps. The silence of the academy, usually so comforting, now felt oppressive. His thoughts, once loud and clear, were now scattered and distant. It was like trying to piece together a puzzle where the edges kept shifting.

As he continued down the dimly lit corridors, a faint sound reached his ears. At first, it was so distant that he wondered if he’d imagined it- a soft melody, drifting through the halls like the whisper of a forgotten dream.

Aiden stopped, his curiosity piqued. The music was unlike anything he’d heard in the academy before.

His mind raced, briefly flashing back to all the horror stories he’d devoured over the years. In every tale, it was always the curious ones who ventured into the unknown and… met their end. The ones who followed strange sounds and creepy whispers always vanished.

But I can’t just ignore it, he thought, almost against his own better judgment.

The music, faint as it was, pulled at him. And then, Aiden froze.

A laugh.

A low, unmistakable laugh that made his hair stand on end. He recognized it instantly. It was Lopt.

Without thinking, his legs moved of their own accord, the pull of his curiosity stronger than his caution. The music grew louder as he walked, guiding him down a narrow passage that he didn’t even know existed. His footsteps were muffled on the stone floor, and he made sure to keep as quiet as possible, slipping between the shadows.

Eventually, he reached a large door, slightly ajar. He hesitated for only a moment before gently pushing it open.

Inside, the sight before him almost made him stop breathing.

The room was vast, more like a hall than a classroom, filled with shelves and instruments scattered across the floor. There were drums, harps, wind instruments, and strings—everything a musician might need. What made the scene even stranger was that the instruments were… moving.

Each one floated in mid-air, as though alive, playing a soft, yet mesmerizing orchestra. The sound seemed to come from all directions, swelling and ebbing with a strange, fluid harmony. Aiden’s eyes widened as he saw Lopt standing in the center of it all, grinning like a madman.

His fingers wove through the air as if conducting, and the instruments responded, their sounds rising and falling in perfect synchronization. Lopt’s energy was infectious, his expression one of joy as the music seemed to wrap around him, bringing the room to life.

Aiden stood frozen in place, his heart pounding in his chest.

For a moment, Aiden considered turning and leaving. But his feet were glued to the floor. His curiosity, the strange pull that had led him here, made him stay, watching in awe as Lopt continued his strange performance.

Lopt didn’t seem to notice him at first, lost in the music, but then he suddenly turned, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

“Ah,” he said with a sly grin. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”