I am the Only Son of Nyx

First destination would be the Aurelian Academy, which was Layra’s academy.

Not only was it the nearest academy to Ixos, but it was also where most students would get off the ship. Layra, Aaran, Namira, and the rest of the students from the previous Team Hyperion would be dropped there.

Along the way, Kai tried to find Layra, but she holed herself up in her room.

She didn’t come out, no matter how many times he knocked.

So, he spent the rest of the way inside his room, attempting to feel and activate his Halo.

He couldn’t.

Or at least, he could feel that it was activating, but it always made a sudden stop when it was about to be activated. Nothing wrong with his Halo, according to Professor Hera, so he should be able to activate it.

Eventually, he gave up after failing for the fifth time.

Kai would try again when it was nighttime, as that’s the most likely case why it’s not working.

Soon, the ship arrived at the Aurelian Academy.

From above, the academy revealed itself as a masterpiece of gold and white marble in what seemed to be the heart of a forest. It rose in elegant tiers along the cliffside like a crown upon the earth.

Sunlight gathered along its spires and arched bridges.

Lustrous maple trees surrounded the academy. Between them, waterfalls cascaded in silvery ribbons down the cliffs, evaporating into mist that caught the sunlight, diffusing it into a hazy brilliance.

One thing that Kai noticed the most was the statues of griffins scattered everywhere.

It must be the trademark for the Aurelian Academy.

Kai was now standing right beside the glass wall with Dorian, watching the students heading to their academy. Aaran and Namira looked back and waved at them before they were called by Professor Ian to pick up their pace.

At the tail of the group was Layra.

She completely ignored Kai when he tried to talk to her while she was preparing to leave.

For a fleeting moment, Kai was hopeful that she would at least glance back at the ship. At him. But as the vessel climbed to a higher altitude and banked into its turn, she never turned. Her back was a wall of silence.

Still sulking that he sided with Matilda instead of her.

"What’s the matter?" Dorian looked at Kai with a cheeky smirk. "No goodbye kiss?"

"You really have to poke your nose, huh?" Kai scratched the back of his head.

But this only further fuels Dorian to keep going.

"You had only dated for a few days, and you’re already in a fight?" Dorian began clicking his tongue as if he were disappointed at Kai’s performance. "I guess having a beautiful big sister doesn’t equate to being good with women."

"Don’t talk to me," Kai rolled his eyes and went to the hull.

As the engine rumbled across the sky, leaving the premises, Layra stopped mid-track.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw the ship disappearing into the horizon.

"Idiot." She cursed in annoyance one last time and continued walking.

Now that the majority of the students were gone, the ship became eerily silent and empty. Just earlier, there were always banters in the background, no matter where on the ship one was. No banters now.

In the entire ship, there are only six people, excluding the pilot and crew.

Kai, Dorian, Matilda, Abigail, and the two professors.

Or at least, there should be six people, but it felt more like five.

Abigail was hiding from Kai and Dorian.

"It feels like we’re some bigshots with the entire ship empty like this, aren’t we?" Dorian said as he sat down on a chair, stretching his legs to two more chairs. "How wonderful it would be if only the academy weren’t like shit."

"Are we going to instantly return to class?" Kai wondered aloud.

"Probably," Dorian shrugged. It’s not the academy style to let them rest. "And I hate it."

"No, we’re going to do the next ceremony. It’s called the Culling of the Nonentity. I heard the professors talking about it earlier," Matilda swallowed harshly, feeling uneasy about the next ceremony. "From the name, I don’t think it’s something good."

"What could it possibly?" Dorian lay down and waved his hand dismissively. "I doubt it would be worse than the Blood Rite. I doubt anything would be worse than the Blood Rite."

Kai wanted to agree with Dorian.

But considering everything that happened, it might be even worse than the Blood Rite.

After dropping Professor Richard off in what looked like a city, who, surprisingly enough, stuck around the ship instead of flying back to his academy on his own, the ship glided at last into the familiar cloud and spires of Eventide Academy.

Home sweet home.

Just like usual, the established Angels were guarding the gates.

And inside, the place looked livelier despite how many new Angels should have fallen during the Blood Rite. Most of the faces were unfamiliar. Had students from other academies been absorbed into ours? No, that couldn’t be it. They moved like they knew these streets. Seniors, then?

Kai didn’t know who they were, but his guess that they were the seniors.

He knew the seniors were on the other side of the academy, inside another building.

It seemed the academy was granting the new Angels time to adjust. And now that the ones who had returned were Blooded Angels, there was no longer any need to keep the seniors separate from them.

All of them could handle themselves.

And that could only mean a clash against the seniors might be unavoidable.

Once the ship landed, Professor Hera stopped by the hull’s entrance.

"Come on," She said, gesturing for the four remaining students of her class to follow her.

Outside, Kai kept up with her pace.

"Professor," He started, keeping his gaze straight as they walked through the gate and passed the curious gazes of the seniors. "What is the Culling of the Nonentity? Is it something bad? From the name, I feel like it’s bad. Should I and the others prepare for it?

"It depends on who I’m talking to," Professor Hera replied, and then glanced at him. "And since it’s you, then I would say it’s pretty bad. You have to know one thing, Angel Kai. The academy operates really differently from normal academies and universities."

"Different? How is it any different?" Kai tilted his head in confusion.

Other than the location and who enrolled in this academy, it’s still an academy.

Classes, tests, and ranks, these were all normal academy activities.

Even though things are more extreme, it’s still undeniably an academy.

Professor Hera stopped before the dormitory building and turned to face Kai fully. She stared at him for a long moment, as though debating whether to speak at all. Then, having made her choice, she said quietly, "Normal academies are designed to be hopeful. To prepare you for a better future. This place... It’s designed to be hopeless.

"Now, go." She gestured towards the dormitory. "Wait in your rooms until the ceremony is ready."

It took a couple of hours of waiting until the four of them were called again.

As expected, the dormitory building was almost empty. Some who survived the Blood Rite, like Kai and the others, were there, but there are only a few of them. In fact, Kai had only seen one other student.

Kai met up with the others at the main entrance.

Considering that the academy seemed to always be prepared for everything, Kai found it odd that this Culling of the Nonentity required them to wait further. He thought it would happen as soon as they arrived.

And after what Professor Hera said, Kai could hear his heart pounding.

He didn’t know what to expect, and that makes it worse.

Professor Hera gave them a nod and led the way.

She brought them to a secluded place near a storage building not too far away, and cornered them there. "I’m going to be frank with the four of you," She said, looking at each one of them in the eyes. "This ceremony... is going to try and break you. It will succeed. But what’s important is that the four of you have to get over it. You have to."

"What do you mean by that, professor?" Dorian asked, feeling a chill running down his spine.

For one, he never saw Professor Hera break her usual undisturbed demeanor.

Seeing her looking troubled made him nervous.

"Abigail," Professor Hera ignored Dorian and turned to the meek girl. "You’re the one who’d endure this ceremony better. I hope you’d be willing to help your friends recover. I know your situation, but believe me, making new friends is harder than reconciling."

Kai, Dorian, and Matilda stared at Professor Hera and then Abigail in disbelief.

All three of them survived the Blood Rite with sweat and blood.

Abigail, on the other hand, got lucky.

She’s also extremely timid, so it was a shock when Professor Hera said she was the one who would be able to endure the ceremony.

"Come on," Professor Hera straightened her spine again. "Let it be done."

Kai and the others were led to the backyard of the dormitory building and through an entrance that descended underground. Beneath the dormitory lay a dungeon or perhaps a crypt; either way, the only light came from scattered lanterns flickering along the corridor.

All four of them froze when they heard the sound of muffled weeping.

It echoed across the narrow corridor like a haunting melody.

Professor Hera stopped at a turn in the corridor. She glanced back over her shoulder, enough to reveal the grim set of her expression, and then whispered, "Just think of them as livestock. If you can’t manage that, then convince yourself this is all a dream."

Continuing along the corridor, they stumbled across a person guarding a gate.

He’s wearing the same mask and attire as a student, but there was something off about him.

It was his eyes—they didn’t look human.

"Here they come. Here they come. Here they come!" His eyes glittered—with a mad sort of anticipation, fixed on the approaching group with barely contained delight. "Professor Hera, you really hit the jackpot this time, didn’t you?" His gaze swept over Kai and the others, eyes narrowing in a way that made it clear he was grinning behind the mask. "Care to point out which of these little cuties is the killer?"

"Don’t talk to me lightly," Professor Hera replied coldly. "I’m a professor."

Raising his hands, the student backed away and opened the gate for them.

And the moment it was opened, the sound of weeping became clearer. It came from this room.

Kai entered the chamber right behind Professor Hera, and when he swept his eyes around, he saw dozens of people chained inside steel cages. Some of them are old, and some of them are as young as five years old.

It was only when he saw their frightened faces that Kai realized what was going on.

"You... You can’t be serious."