Chapter 129: Rumors Before the Fight
Word of the fight had spread fast through the academy by midday, exactly the way rumors always seemed to travel — swift, exaggerated, and thoroughly detached from anything resembling fact by the time it reached the furthest corners of the grounds.
"they’re saying it’s a proper duel," one student murmured to another, both of them hurrying toward the training hall alongside a growing crowd. "Julian versus Logan. apparently Julian’s making him fight for forgiveness."
"I heard Julian’s not holding back at all," another voice added, weaving through the gathering throng. "no mercy. someone said he looked completely unreadable this morning, like he’d already decided Logan’s going to lose before it even starts."
"what about Mika," a third voice cut in, curious. "wasn’t he bonded to Logan before all this happened?"
"they were never bonded," someone corrected. "just close. though some people are saying that’s exactly why Julian’s making Logan fight so publicly — to make sure everyone understands there’s no going back to Mika, not after everything."
"I heard the opposite, actually," another voice chimed in, weaving closer through the crowd. "that Logan and Mika are still bonded somehow, that this whole fight is just Julian testing whether Logan’s serious enough to actually cut ties properly."
"that’s not what I heard at all—"
The rumors tangled and multiplied with every retelling, each version growing further from whatever thin thread of truth had originally sparked it, the way gossip always seemed to feed on itself in a crowded hallway with nothing but speculation to fill the waiting silence.
The training hall filled fast, Sentinels and Guides packing tight along the walls, murmurs rippling steady and curious through the crowd as they waited for the fight to properly begin. Reid stood near the front, arms crossed, expression carefully neutral despite the obvious tension in his shoulders. Jayden stood beside him, gold light flickering faint and restless around his knuckles, clearly torn between wanting to watch and wanting to look away.
"you’re sure about this," Reid murmured to Jayden, watching the empty floor where Julian and Logan would soon stand.
"he asked for the chance," Jayden said quietly. "the least we can do is let him have it properly, without hovering over the outcome."
"still doesn’t make it easy to watch," Reid admitted.
Julian arrived precisely on time, expression exactly as unreadable as it had been that morning, calm and composed in a way that gave the assembled crowd absolutely nothing to work with. He wore simple training clothes, the fan summoned loose and ready in one hand, and made his way to the center of the cleared floor without acknowledging the murmuring audience at all, his gaze steady and forward.
A hush rippled outward as he passed, whispered speculation dying briefly under the weight of his calm, unbothered presence, only to resume, quieter now, in his wake.
"look at him," someone murmured near the back. "you can’t read a single thing off that face."
"that’s exactly what worries me," another voice replied. "if he actually cared, wouldn’t there be something to see? some sign he’s nervous, or hopeful, or anything at all?"
"maybe that’s the point," a third voice suggested. "maybe caring too much is exactly why he’s not letting any of it show."
Logan arrived moments later, similarly dressed, blade drawn and steady despite the visible nerves tightening his jaw, and the whispering sharpened again at the sight of him, several eyes tracking his approach with obvious, curious interest.
"still can’t believe Mika’s not here to see this," someone murmured near the front, unable to fully suppress the observation despite the hall’s quieting atmosphere. "you’d think, given everything people are saying about him and Logan—"
"there was never anything real there," another voice cut in, quiet but firm. "Mika just liked pretending there was. I heard he’s barely shown his face outside the Elite Academy since the assault. guilt, probably, considering he refused to help."
"still," the first voice pressed, "if Julian and Logan actually reconcile after this — properly, I mean — that’s it for Mika entirely, isn’t it. no more pretending there’s a chance."
"there was never a chance," the second voice repeated, firmer now. "just watch. this isn’t about Mika at all."
Julian, standing calm and composed at the center of the hall, gave no indication he’d heard any of the whispered speculation drifting through the crowd, his attention entirely fixed on Logan, expression still carrying that same, utterly unreadable stillness that had haunted Logan since their walk that morning.
Logan crossed the remaining distance and took his position across from Julian, gripping his blade with careful, deliberate focus, searching Julian’s calm face one final time for any hint of reassurance and finding none at all, exactly the same way he had that morning.
"last chance to back out," Julian said, voice mild, carrying easily across the now-silent hall.
"I’m not backing out," Logan said, steady despite the nerves still visible in the tight set of his jaw. "I told you. I want this chance, whatever it costs me."
Something flickered, brief and impossible to properly read, behind Julian’s calm expression, gone before anyone in the watching crowd could properly catch it.
"then let’s begin," he said.
The hall fell into absolute silence, every whispered rumor finally, fully quieted as both men settled into ready stance, the weight of weeks of grief and guilt and cautious, uncertain hope finally about to collide in the cleared, waiting space between them. Somewhere near the walls, a young Guide leaned toward her neighbor and whispered one final, breathless observation before the silence became absolute.
"whatever happens," she murmured, "I don’t think either of them’s fighting for the reason everyone thinks they are."
Nobody had time to ask what she meant.
Reid’s hand tightened faintly at his side, watching with careful, focused attention. Jayden’s gold light steadied, restless energy finally settling into something closer to quiet anticipation. The entire hall seemed to hold its breath together, hundreds of quiet, curious eyes fixed on the two figures standing at the center of the cleared floor, every rumor and speculation finally giving way to simple, unbroken silence.
And Julian, unreadable as ever, lifted the fan into ready position, waiting, calm and composed, for Logan to make the first move.