Void Dragon - A God among Gods

Actually, at that moment, it had been about an hour since I left the introductory dinner. However, for me, an hour of sleep was just the beginning of a much larger process. Still, the desperate sound of knocking on the dormitory door quickly pulled me out of that state of semi-consciousness.

Boom... boom... boom.

- "AAGHH... What was that?" I murmured, startled, trying to get my bearings.

Boom... boom... boom.

- "I-is that... at the dormitory door?" I asked myself, struggling to keep my eyes open.

Boom... boom... boom.

- "Sigh... who could be the unfortunate soul knocking at this hour? Could it be Karix? But he has the key to the dormitory... Sigh... why the hell is he knocking then?" I grumbled, reluctantly getting up and heading to open the door.

When I reached the corridor, I heard murmurs coming from outside. I unlocked the door, irritated, and opened it with a firm motion.

- "Sigh... yes? Who's knocking at my dormitory door at this hour?" I asked, with an expression that clearly showed my lack of patience.

But to my surprise, it wasn't just one person. Three were at my door: two boys I had never seen before and Karix, who was bleeding and being carried by the other two.

- "What happened?" I asked, curious about what I was seeing.

- "S-sorry to bother you at this hour... are you Kyrion?" one of the boys asked, with a worried expression.

- "Yes, that's me."

- "We need to talk now."

- "Can we come in? Karix needs a place to lie down."

- "O-of course, come in..." I replied, allowing them in, as I couldn't deny shelter to my roommate in such a situation.

As soon as they entered, the two boys carried Karix to the living room sofa and laid him down carefully. He was clearly injured, bleeding, and with a swollen face. There was a good chance he had broken some ribs, maybe even an arm.

Seeing him in that condition completely shook off my sleep, even if only for a short moment. Just an hour ago, he was fine, and now he was unrecognizable. I turned to the boy who seemed to be leading the group and asked:

- "You, who said we needed to talk, what's your name? And your species?"

- "My name is Cédric, and like him, I'm an Eagle of Pride. That other one over there is Theron; he's also an Eagle of Pride. The three of us have known each other since we were kids and came here together."

- "I see... and what happened to him?"

- "We were at the introductory dinner, talking and eating. As usually happens when males gather, the conversation eventually turned to females. We were talking about which ones we thought were the best. When it was Karix's turn, he mentioned that he liked a girl named Lunira, from the Moon Wolves. It was a surprise, as we never imagined he would be interested in someone from such a different species. Even so, we wanted to support him, so we boosted his ego a bit, saying he was the best and that she would definitely agree to go out with him if he asked."

- "Sigh... I can already see where this is going... continue."

- "He was still hesitant, so we made a bet: if he asked her out, we would do all his assignments for the first semester. We wanted to encourage him to take a step forward. So, he got up, full of determination, and went to her table. We asked him to invite her to talk in private, and he did. Then, they both left the hall."

- "And?"

- "Shortly after, a group of thuggish-looking Moon Wolves followed them. We got worried because, as they are famous, we had already heard about these guys. They think they have the right to do anything because they belong to the Moon Wolves' royalty. We decided to follow them, just in case. When we arrived, we found Karix like this, lying on the ground. And there was no sign of Lunira or them."

- "I see... so they didn't like the fact that Karix asked Lunira to talk, followed them, beat him up, and probably took Lunira with them, is that it?"

- "That's what we believe, even though we didn't witness anything directly. And from what we know, these guys tend to eliminate anyone who bothers them, even minimally, and even those close to the person."

- "So, you're saying they will probably try to attack Karix again until he disappears from the school... or existence... and then come after me, just because I'm his roommate?"

- "Exactly."

- "Sigh..."

- "Y-yes, basically that's it... They have some serious mental issues," said Cédric, lowering his head with a heavy sigh.

- "And no one reported this to the school authorities?" I asked, trying to avoid even more problems.

- "Yes, we reported it, but since they're part of the Moon Wolves' royalty, those bastards are protected... It's like there's a magical barrier around them... Argh! Tsk! And the director still has the audacity to say he hopes we get along because this is a school that tries to end differences between species," he replied, his voice heavy with frustration.

- "Sigh... Why did I already imagine something like this could happen?" I murmured, running a hand through my hair.

At that moment, I knew I would have to deal with this before my peace was completely destroyed. I always knew the universe was full of lunatics like those Moon Wolves, but I tried to keep as far away from them as possible. However, it seemed the universe had a sadistic pleasure in dragging me into chaos.

- "Do you have any plan to deal with this?" I asked, trying to understand the situation before acting.

- "Tsk... Sorry, but we don't have enough influence. We are nowhere near one of the five greatest species. If we pick a fight with them, even if we win, we'll lose in other ways," he replied, shaking his head in a gesture of resignation.

- "Sigh... I see. And the school's regulations? What do they say about this?" I insisted.

- "They're very clear: any act of violence is strictly prohibited, and whoever commits it must be severely punished," he explained.

- "But, as I said, because they're 'special', it seems they have a free pass to do whatever they want," he completed, disheartened.

What he said only confirmed what I already suspected since I arrived here. The school, supposedly a place to promote harmony between species, was as chaotic as any other corner of the universe. Instead of a space for peaceful coexistence, it looked more like an arena where rival kingdoms competed for influence, disguising their hostility with a veneer of civility.

- "Alright... Give me some time to think. Didn't they say anything? You didn't see any signs of them?" I asked.

- "Unfortunately, no," said Cédric, clenching his fists in frustration.

I knew that if I didn't act, I'd end up getting involved in this mess anyway, just by sharing the dormitory with Karix. And even if they didn't come after me, the idea of being repeatedly woken up in the middle of the night with Karix being carried in a deplorable state was unbearable. More so, I detested the prospect of seeing him close himself off, creating an even tenser atmosphere in the dormitory.

I then made a decision I rarely made, but which, whenever I did, proved to be extremely effective:

- "Sigh... DAMN IT!" I shouted, running a hand through my hair, exasperated.

- "I'm going to resolve this now. Be right back."

- "W-what? Resolve? Are you crazy, man? I already told you who they are! And you're still going to try to fight them?" Cédric asked, alarmed.

- "Who said I'm going to fight? I'm just going to make sure they don't bother us anymore," I replied while putting on my shoes and wearing a shirt.

- "B-but how are you going to do that?" he insisted.

- "Sigh... Look, I don't have the patience to explain now, okay? Just tell me where I can find them."

- "They're probably in the main square. Many commented they would go there after dinner before bed," he replied, still hesitant.

- "Okay, that's enough. You stay here and take care of him. If you can, take him to the infirmary. Actually, why did you bring him here instead of doing that directly? Argh, forget it..." I grumbled, walking out the door.

As I walked towards the square, I reflected on the decision I was about to make. Was it the right one? Frankly, I was too tired to care. Between interrupted sleep and the constant mess that seemed to follow me, I saw no other choice.

The sound of conversations grew louder as I approached the square, and my irritation grew proportionally. I was exhausted and enraged. Who did those guys think they were to interfere with my sleep?

I knew I couldn't let myself be carried away by anger as I had in the past. I was well aware of the consequences of crossing certain lines. But I also knew I needed to end this mess once and for all, and quickly. The tension in my chest only increased, and the only thing keeping me walking was the desire to restore my peace.

After a few minutes, there I was, in the square. The square was full of people, from freshmen to veterans. Observing quickly, I noticed some typical situations: couples kissing, groups chatting, others playing cards, and various other activities. Without knowing the appearance or any specific characteristics of the people I was looking for, I decided to ask some of those around if they knew the Moon Wolves or a girl named Lunira.

In the first attempts, no one could give me an answer. Until finally, I got a clue.

- "… Ok, thank you anyway" I responded to the last person I had questioned, trying to hide my frustration.

- "Sigh… Come on? Nobody knows who they are? Then how can they be famous? Aghh…" I murmured, irritated.

I decided to insist one more time.

- "Excuse me, do you know a girl named Lunira? Or any of the Moon Wolves, those of the royalty who were with her?" I asked yet another person.

The response came, finally, as a relief.

- "Hmm… Ah! You mean that girl from the Moon Wolves? Very pretty, right? And that guy named Cassian? A guy with a scowl, who thinks he can do anything?" said the person.

- "Cassian, huh? So that's his name…" I murmured.

- "Did you see them anywhere?" I asked.

- "Yes. Sigh… They were here just a moment ago, causing trouble, but then they went to the area where we're allowed to use our real forms." He pointed in a general direction.

- "So they went there, huh? Okay, thank you very much." I quickly thanked him and started walking towards the indicated area.

On the way, however, another headache emerged.

- "Yawn… Honestly, I'm going to kill Karix for making me come here. If he wanted a female, why did it have to be such a problematic one?" I murmured to myself, sleepy and irritated for not being able to sleep until I resolved this issue.

- "Kyrion? Hey, Kyrion!" a female voice suddenly called my name.

A shiver ran down my spine.

- "… No… Is it Aurëalis? Damn… I have to speed up." I thought, trying to avoid the encounter and quickening my pace.

- "Hey! Where do you think you're going? Didn't you hear me calling you?" she asked, grabbing my shoulder firmly.

I turned to face her, surprised.

- "I-I… How did you get here so fast? You were back there…" I stammered.

- "Haha! I'm a princess, remember? I have several abilities you can't even imagine." She smiled proudly, clearly pleased with my reaction.

- "Right… And where are your friends? Why don't you go talk to them?" I asked, hoping she would give up on following me.

- "Sigh… Honestly, all that theater, all those people… Those males only think about dating, reproduction, or status. I was tired of being there and decided to get some air. Then, I found you." She smiled from ear to ear.

- "I see. Must be tough, huh?" I replied, trying to sound sympathetic while struggling to keep my eyes open.

- "Don't even mention it… But the worst part was you looking at me during dinner and not even coming to greet me!" she said, with a tone of reproach.

- "Agh… Haha…" I laughed awkwardly.

- "You know, I enjoyed talking to you. If you had come over, it would have been more fun. And maybe those idiots would stop bragging all the time. That's tiring, honestly." She sighed.

- "I see… But now I need to handle something important, Miss Aurëalis. Can we talk another time?" I said while gently removing her hand from my shoulder.

- "What? Important things now? Hey, wait—!" she began, but I interrupted her by quickly turning and unexpectedly holding her hand.

- "Miss Aurëalis, please… We'll talk later, I promise. Now, I need to resolve something urgent." I smiled, trying to appear calm but forcing a tone of urgency.

She froze, completely surprised, and her face quickly turned red as a tomato.

- "..UH…UHHH???....O-ok… W-we'll talk later, then…" she replied, embarrassed, with her eyes sparkling as she watched me leave hastily.

- "Sigh… What a time for Aurëalis to show up… I feel like my battery is already in power-saving mode…" I murmured, referencing the human world.

After a few minutes, I reached the indicated area, but there was nothing there. I observed more carefully, trying to catch any sign. It didn't take long to hear voices in the distance. Following the sound, I kept hidden behind a tree. And then, I saw them. Lunira, Cassian, and a few others were gathered, laughing loudly as they commented on how they had "messed up Karix's face."