They Betrayed Me So I Summoned The Leviathan

Snow swallowed every sound.

Just me and the griffin's wings beating overhead, cold tearing at my face, hands numb on the saddle. I tried not to think about falling.

Tried not to think at all.

The flight ended badly. One second flying, the next we were dropping fast.

Griffin's claws slammed into frozen stone, snow blasting up around us.

I almost lost my grip.

I hit the ground like a puppet cut from its strings.

Legs refused to work.

Boots sliding on icy cobbles.

My heart pounded so loud it felt like it'd crack my ribs. I looked up. This wasn't a city.

It was… oh.

This place.

It was the Academy.

Mom used to show me pictures of this.

Towers stabbed the sky. Banners snapped in the wind. Firelight glowed in windows set so deep they looked ready to swallow me whole.

Kairos and Virenth were already off the griffin.

Virenth caught me, steady hands pulling me down. My knees almost gave out, but I forced them straight. Couldn't look weak.

Not here.

We walked toward gates big enough to swallow a house, iron twisted into five symbols I didn't recognize. Each one stared down.

Above, silver flags flapped, snow sticking to them like teeth. A man waited. Gray coat, guards at his side, face carved with exhaustion.

His eyes landed on me.

Held. Then slipped away.

"Kairos Durango. Virenth," he said, voice cold and flat. "This is the boy?"

Kairos gave a single nod. "He's the one."

"Follow."

The doors opened slowly, groaning like old bones. Cold rushed in, then stone.

Ceiling lost somewhere above. The air smelled of burned wood and secrets.

My boots thudded in the silence.

Each step felt too loud. Too heavy. I left pale prints behind me, one after another, like I was writing out every mistake I'd ever made.

I tried to hold my head up, walk like them.

Couldn't. Everything was too big, too old, too cold. The walls felt like they were closing in.

Arches loomed, runes crawling over them like worms in dirt.

A guard stepped forward. Black robes. Dead eyes. Wand in hand, topped with a dull crystal.

He swept it past Kairos, Virenth, then me. It flickered weakly. Like distant thunder.

He frowned, but just grunted and waved us on.

"The crystal might be acting up. Move along, kid."

We passed walls lined with portraits.

Faces staring, frozen with pride and something worse. My reflection flashed between them, small and out of place. I looked away.

Two students came around the corner.

Cloaks swirling, crests on their chests.

One of them smirked when he saw me.

"First snow from the borderlands, huh?" he said, voice dripping. His friend snickered, sharp and brittle.

Like breaking glass.

Virenth shot them with a knife.

They froze, then bolted.

We climbed stairs that felt endless. Each breath stung, air thin and sharp with frost.

The world outside shrank through narrow windows.

Roofs drowned in white. Courtyards swallowed in shadow.

Finally, the man stopped at heavy doors, marked with five rings tied together by a single line.

His voice turned cold.

"This is the holding dorm. Unclaimed students stay here until the Houses pick. Curfew at sundown. No fighting. No magic outside practice. Meals are at dawn and dusk."

Kairos' hand dropped on my shoulder, solid, grounding. "You'll be okay," he said, voice low. Couldn't read his eyes. "Don't start fights. Don't show off. Stay sharp."

Virenth crouched in front of me, eyes locked on mine. "Remember what I told you?"

I nodded, throat tight.

"Never trust the ones who offer help first," he said, flashing a quick grin. "Good."

The man unlocked the door. The click was quiet but final. Inside were stone walls, stone floors.

Long room with rows of beds, torches flickering. Air smelled like old soap, wet wool, and fear.

Eyes turned as I stepped in. Talking died. A blanket landed on my bed with a dull thud. "That's yours," the man said. "Orientation in an hour."

Then he left. Door closing like a cell door.

I stood there. Silence pressing in. Sat down, dropped my bag by my feet. Forced myself not to look lost. Not to breathe like I was drowning.

Kairos paused in the doorway. Voice low, almost a growl. "Keep your head down. This place chews up pride. Teachers don't forget."

He pressed something cold into my hand. A small dagger. Worn handle. Heavy. "For emergencies. Or reminders."

Virenth eased the door wider, eyes flicking down the hall. "Need something? Find us. But don't stand out yet."

I nodded. They slipped out. Door shut. Lock clicked. Silence thicker than before.

I sat, dagger hidden under my pillow, heart hammering. Around me, whispers picked up again.

"…border kid…"

"…Nori, I heard…"

"…parents sold everything…"

I clenched my hands still. Unpacked what little I had. Flint. Dried meat.

The scrap of paper with names. I turned the paper into as my palm glowed for only a second.

I traced them with my thumb.

More students drifted in.

Didn't look at me.

Two boys counted coins, eyes darting like rabbits.

I sighed then closed my eyes.

Let myself get lost in my mind. In my thoughts.

A dangerous place to be.

"..."

Time passed like that for a while.

I let myself fade.

A hand tapped my shoulder.

I blinked then looked up.

She stood over me.

Black cloak draped across her shoulders, hood low with pointed tips like cat ear.

Strands of black and copper hair fell over her sharp, wary eyes, gold like the sun.

Her uniform was immaculate: white Academy shirt hugging her frame, red tie tight at her throat, the Keahi crest glinting over her heart.

For a moment, she just looked at me. No flinch. No sneer. Just a quiet, burning curiosity.

"Hey," she began, "I saw you sitting over here alone, I wanted to introduce myself." she said, certain. "I'm—"

Before she could finish, two girls rushed in behind her. One with pale braids, the other with thin lips and eyes like knives. They grabbed her cloak, yanking her back.

"Sydney!" the braided one hissed "Don't talk to him—he's the weird kid. Don't touch him!"

The second girl's eyes slid over me like I was dirt ground into the stones. "He's not even claimed yet. He probably won't be."

Sydney's mouth twisted, irritation flashing across her face. She shook them off with a force that startled both girls.

She stepped forward again until the hem of her cloak brushed the toes of my boots.

Her eyes met mine, fierce, unashamed.

"See you after House selections," she said, voice low but ringing, like a promise. A vow.

Then she turned on her heel, striding back to her friends. They glared at me as they trailed after her, they whispered to themselves.

I sat frozen, her words bouncing around the walls like bells in my head. My heart thudded.

Hot and confused.

See you after House selections.

I looked down at my hands, fingers curled tight around the scrap of names.

The paper trembled, or maybe it was me.

Somewhere, in the hush settling back over the dorm, I realized I wasn't completely alone here.

Not anymore.