His mouth opened ever so slightly.
Then he whispered the only thing that fit the occasion:
"...Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkk."
Nyra looked over. "Problem?"
Sam didn't answer.
He just kept watching, expression slowly crumbling into quiet horror.
The Hero — who was clearly trying to look composed while actively bleeding — climbed the stage.
The hall fell quiet.
The tension grew thick.
And Sam?
He buried his face in his hands.
"Of all the extras here…
I had to pick the main character to bully."
The Hero finally reached the Awakening Crystal.
No one expected anything.
Not the commoners whispering half-hearted bets in the back.
Not the bored nobles inspecting their fingernails.
Not even the female professor stationed at the front.
She didn't even raise an eyebrow as the boy — still limping, still bleeding, still looking like he lost a bar fight with gravity — reached out and touched the crystal.
Silence.
A long, dragging, unimpressive silence.
The professor opened her mouth, already prepared to say,
"Next," when—
BOOOM.
The crystal vibrated.
Then it hummed.
Then it exploded in radiant light so bright it singed the eyelids of everyone in the room.
Gasps. Screams. Audible confusion.
The entire hall blinked as a sun seemingly decided to be born in front of them.
The professors stood up.
The princess jolted in her seat.
The emperor himself narrowed his eyes.
And the headmaster?
He dropped his teacup.
In the middle of the blinding light, a single rune formed inside the crystal — a light rune.
One student whispered, too stunned to shout:
"...Legendary element?"
The glow wasn't just brighter than Epic — it shamed Epic.
It mocked it. This was something transcendent. Divine.
Even the Awakening Crystal, which had been grumpy and unimpressed all day, now pulsed like it had fallen in love.
Sam?
Sam just stared, utterly unimpressed, rubbing the space between his eyes like a man processing a hangover and a tax audit at the same time.
Of course.
Of course heawakened the legendary Light Element.
The female professor finally snapped out of her daze and screamed with the dramatic flair of a prophetess on fire:
"We have the Chosen One!"
Her voice cracked. Her arms flailed. She looked ready to faint from excitement.
"AURELIAN VALE HAS AWAKENED THE LEGENDARY LIGHT ELEMENT!!"
And just like that, the hall erupted.
The commoners clapped.
The nobles clapped.
The emperor clapped.
The headmasterclapped.
Even the damn princess leaned forward with a starstruck expression that screamed "Interesting"
Everyone was cheering.
Chanting.
Shouting the Hero's name like a prayer.
Except one person.
One single, still, horrified extra.
Samule Nightshade.
Who slowly turned his head toward Nyra and whispered, deadpan:
"...Welp. I just gave the protagonist his tragic backstory."
Nyra blinked. "You bullied a legendary element user?!"
Up on the stage, the Hero finally calmed.
He stood tall — or at least tried to — his bleeding nose barely clotting, the divine glow still gently pulsing behind him like some righteous halo.
And then, slowly, he turned.
Not to the emperor.
Not to the princess.
Not to the professors.
But to Sam.
To Sam, Nyra, and Lilith.
The three of them went stiff.
Because now? Now all eyes were on him — the Chosen One, the boy of prophecy, the walking Light Element miracle.
And he was staring directly at Sam.
Then... he smiled.
Not a kind smile. Not even a smug one.
It was the kind of smile people wore right before they pressed a self-destruct button out of spite.
Sam didn't like that smile.
Sam hated that smile.
Because he knew what it meant.
The Hero was about to speak. Maybe call him out. Maybe declare a rivalry. Maybe reveal the dramatic backstory of how Sam had bullied him...
Sam didn't give him the chance.
Instead, Sam pointed dramatically and screamed at the top of his lungs:
"ISN'T THAT THE GUY WHO GOT CAUGHT MOLESTING A COMMONER GIRL THIS MORNING?!"
Silence.
Absolute, pin-dropping, spine-snapping silence.
The light around the Hero dimmed slightly....
His face went pale.
The crowd, so recently roaring with applause, went dead quiet.
Then, like a ripple in a cursed pond, whispers began to spread.
"Wait… that's him, right?"
"I saw him this morning…"
"Wasn't he being...."
"...Didn't he have...."
The Hero panicked.
"I–I didn't do anything!" he shouted, voice cracking.
Then, like a child throwing insults with a dictionary's help, he turned to Sam and snapped:
"Y-You… You… Scoundrel!Jerk!Rotten cabbage-eating—"
"Language," Nyra muttered.
The female professor quickly intervened, her headache now fully manifested.
"Okay, okay, calm down. Let's not jump to conclusions," she said with the confidence of someone who knew damn well the damage was irreversible.
"We'll, uh, investigate everything."
The Hero was still muttering,
"I didn't do anything, I swear," to absolutely no one.
The whispers continued.
The glow around him might've been divine, but the vibe was now criminal.
The Headmaster sighed.
This was supposed to be a day of glory.
Of reverence.
Now the so-called Chosen One was moments away from becoming a meme.
He watched the stage in silence — eyes flicking between the Hero, still stammering some desperate denial… and
...Samuel Nightshade, who was laughing with the reckless glee of a man who knew he'd just committed social arson.
Nyra looked like she was about to faint.
Lilith looked like she was about to start praying.
And Sam?
Sam was enjoying himself far too much.
The Headmaster frowned slightly.
That boy… interesting.
...Dangerous.
Then his gaze returned to Aurelian Vale, the Hero, who was now trying to explain himself to a female professor with all the dignity of a wet cat.
The Headmaster sighed again — slower this time.
He hated getting involved.
But if he didn't act now, the Light Element's prodigy would be reduced to a joke by breakfast.
And worse — someone else was clearly running the room.
That would not do.
He stood.
The motion was unhurried. Ancient. As if time itself had to stretch around the act.
He lifted his cane.
Tapped it once.
Clack.
The sound echoed like a divine verdict through the massive hall.
And silence fell.
Absolute. Heavy. Holy.
Students froze mid-whisper.
Professors stopped mid-note.
Even the emperor leaned forward, just slightly.
Sam turned as well, blinking like a man waking up from a good dream into a bad plot twist.
"Oh no."
He cursed inwardly.
"Why the hell is this old bastard getting involved?"
The Headmaster took a step forward, his voice slow and deep — less spoken, more resonant. It carried not just to the ears, but to the spine.
"Do you all… know the meaning of ...Light?"
It wasn't a question.
It was a judgment in disguise.
The room remained still.
No one dared respond.
And Sam?
Sam suddenly realized something very important.
He might've thrown the first punch in this scene…
But the Headmaster?
He was about to rewrite the entire script.