"Sunny, I'll be honest—you have to go to the Academy." Dawn's voice was firm, but there was a trace of hesitation beneath it."I don't really think it would be a waste of time. You need to learn how to find food, cook your own meals, and handle basic survival skills."
A sigh escaped his lips. "I joined the outskirts much later, so I already know this stuff. But you were born there—you don't."
Sunny scoffed, frustration creeping into his tone. "But, Dawn, you stupid—" He stopped himself, taking a breath before continuing. "We'd be separated for the first time in years. That means we wouldn't be together for a whole month!" His fists clenched at his sides. "There's still time before the solstice. For you, it's just a matter of waiting. But for me?" He swallowed hard. "For me, it's a matter of whether I survive or not."
Jet watched them bicker with quiet scrutiny before finally speaking, her voice tinged with pity but unwavering."He's right, Sunless. You need to learn those things. Being a month into the Academy wouldn't help him—there's no skill you can master in under a month. But you? You need to make the most of it. Learn everything you can, and survive."
Her gaze shifted to Dawn, her words more measured now. "As for you, Dawn, all I can really advise is to find a way to survive on your own. In the dream realm, you thrive with others around you, but you need to be capable of pulling your own weight too."
She took a breath, as if weighing her next words carefully. "My best recommendation for both of you is to enroll in the Academy. Sunny, stay there for the month before the solstice and study. Dawn, return once the month is over—you'll still be able to access the sleeping pods that way."
Dawn barely registered her words. His hand moved toward his chest, fingers curling over the spot where his heart should be. A creeping sensation wormed its way through his veins, crawling toward his heart like something alive. Then, a rush—not painful, but unsettling—a prickling, tiny needles stabbing, failing to break through but insistent all the same.
Then another rush—soothing, almost caressing his heart only to be followed by a crushing force, squeezing, twisting, lifting, and crumbling again.
Through it all, there was a constant—it was always piercing him, digging into his very being.
Now he understood—this was his flaw in action. Every emotion—joy, sorrow, despair, rage—wasn't just around him. It was inside him.
It pierced him, swallowed him whole, pressed against him as if it were his own.
Now, he truly understood what the spell meant by *empathy*.
Lost in thought, he barely noticed Jet giving them directions toward the Academy. He followed Sunny, though he barely knew where they were going—he just trusted him.
Sunny studied him, concern flickering in his gaze. "What's wrong? You look like you're trying to process something too fast for your brain to comprehend."
Dawn exhaled, voice shaky. "Because, man, that's exactly how I feel." He glanced up toward the road ahead. "But I can't dwell on those things—not right now. The Academy should be a half-hour walk, right? If we run, we can cut that in half. I want to get there as fast as possible and see if we can get at least a nice bed."
Sunny hesitated for a beat before a smirk tugged at his lips. "Get back here, bastard! You're not gonna win this race!"
Dawn was already running.
After a fifteen-minute sprint, they reached the Academy gates. The pristine black marble loomed before them, tall and imposing against the backdrop of the night sky. Sunny slowed his pace, his expression shifting—his usual fire dampened by something resembling melancholy.
They stepped into the reception area, its vast, dark pillars stretching toward the ceiling, at least fifteen meters high. The pitch-black walls were an eerie contrast—**ominous yet oddly comforting to those who had already seen too much.
They scanned the room, looking for the reception desk. A woman sat there, dressed formally, poised like someone trapped in an endless routine. Sunny approached first.
"Excuse us—could you tell us where to sign in for the Academy?"
The woman studied them, her voice calm but laced with something distant. "Oh, dear… this late into the year?" A small flicker of pity appeared in her eyes—something Dawn felt before he saw it. But he ignored it.
She directed them left, toward the end of the hallway. There, they found another woman, buried under stacks of papers, her presence almost swallowed by the sheer weight of bureaucracy.
Before they could speak, she wordlessly handed them two forms. "Sign here, here, and here."
Going with the flow but still reading over the documents to avoid being bamboozled, they signed—with makeshift signatures, neither of them having a real one. Dawn's looked like a weird sun scrawled with his name, while Sunny's was a chaotic mess of letters.
The woman skimmed the documents with a practiced glance. "Good. Now head to the hallway on the right—you'll find your sleeping quarters, lockers, baths, everything you need to live here until the solstice.
Nodding quietly, they followed her instructions, walking toward their designated rooms—two doors standing directly across from each other in a hallway just as pitch-black as the rest of the Academy.
Exhausted, drained of any remaining energy, they collapsed.
Or at least—Sunny thought they did.
But in Dawn's room, his breath hitched.
A sudden wave of emotion crashed into him.
Solitude. Anguish. Rage. Joy.
Each feeling surged through his chest, pressing against his ribs, wrapping around him like unseen hands tightening their grip.
He tried to focus—to tune out the flood, to search for something familiar.
He tried to focus on Sunny.
And for a moment, he found him.
But the emotions he felt weren't what he expected.
He felt worry. Thoughtfulness. Fear.
And lastly—something primal.
Something Dawn could not understand.