(Emberheart's Perspective)

  I knew Kai was coming before he knocked.

  His mana signature was distinctive enough that it was easy to recognize, though today it felt more deliberate, like he had stopped hiding it. It didn’t feel strange anymore, just different.

  The knock came. Three measured taps.

  "Come in," I called, setting aside the research notes I'd been reviewing. Ancient texts on magical theory that suddenly felt woefully inadequate.

  Kai entered, and I immediately noticed the tension in his shoulders, the way his eyes darted around the study before settling on me. Nervous, but determined. I'd seen that look before on young mages about to attempt something they weren't sure they could accomplish.

  I said nothing, simply closed the door behind him and moved to my tea set. The familiar ritual of preparation helped me think. Cold tea from the pot, a touch of mana, warming it perfectly as it poured.

  "Hey," Kai said, breaking the silence.

  "Good afternoon," I replied, keeping my tone light as I prepared two cups. "Want some tea?"

  "Sure."

  I watched him try to analyze how I'd heated it, his eyes tracking the liquid, searching for the mechanism. Clever boy. Most students never even noticed.

  "I heard about what the prince has done," I said, settling into my chair and gesturing for him to sit. "Being deemed undesirable must be quite inconvenient."

  "Actually," he said, and I heard genuine consideration in his voice, "I got a new friend because of it."

  That made me pause. "Is that so? Interesting. One would think the status would push people away."

  "Well, he is a weird guy..."

  Erick, then. I knew of the boy. Brilliant mind, absolute disdain for authority, especially for the Prince, perpetually one step away from expulsion. An unusual choice of ally, but perhaps fitting.

  "So do you plan on doing anything to change your situation?" I asked. "I recommend against challenging the prince directly, but there are other ways to earn his favor."

  "Well..." Kai paused, and I recognized the hesitation. Something significant was coming. "I actually bet with him on who would win Saturday's event."

  A bet. With the prince. I felt a smile tugging at my lips despite myself. Kai had probably noticed the potential in Aurora, he was perhaps more perceptive than he looked.

  "A smart choice."

  "Sorry?" He looked genuinely surprised. "You said smart?"

  "Of course. Aurora is a capable student and leader. She's more than capable of winning." I took a sip of tea, watching his reaction over the rim of my cup.

  "I knew it," he said, a slight smile forming. "The prince seemed so sure he would win, it made me doubt for a moment."

  "It's his role to play. Don't hold it against him too harshly. A ruler with no confidence would inspire no following." Though privately, I thought Aurelius took the role a bit too seriously. The boy had never learned the difference between confidence and arrogance.

  "I just think he takes the confidence a few steps too far..." Kai complained, drinking his tea.

  I allowed myself a small chuckle. "Perhaps."

  "But really, I'm glad us winning is not that unlikely."

  "Us?" I set down my cup carefully. "Are you participating?"

  "Y-yeah... I entered on Aurora's team."

  Well. That complicated things considerably. I'd planned for a basic session today on fundamental mana control, perhaps some simple spellwork. But if he was entering the competition...

  "Well, that changes things," I said, mind already racing through adjusted lesson plans. "I had planned for a more basic session, but if you need to be prepared for such an event, we will need to readjust our approach."

  "Before that," Kai cut in, his voice firmer than I'd heard it before. "I have something I want to talk about."

  I looked at him properly then. Really looked. His posture had shifted. Still nervous, but underneath it was something resolute. Something decided.

  "Hm? What is it?"

  "My power. My actual power..." He met my eyes directly. "I want to tell you about it."

  For a moment, I couldn't hide my surprise. He was adamant on creating excuses the previous day, what could even change his mind this quickly?.

  "You wish to tell me?" I kept my voice carefully neutral. "Why so suddenly?"

  “I’m tired of lying to everyone. And the more I try to hide the more people figure it out by themselves.”

  I had a hunch I knew where this was coming from. I had seen his schedule the previous day, he had mana studies with her.

  Even after all these years she had not lost her edge.

  My mind was taken back to when we were younger, she discovered my ability within a day. The one I managed to hide from mages much more experienced for years.

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  "I see. It is hard to hide the true nature of your mana, especially from someone experienced." I chose my words carefully, giving him an opening to explain.

  "Actually..." He paused, and I saw him gather his courage. "I don't even use mana."

  I blinked. "Hm?" Surely I'd misheard. "Are you sure?"

  "I mean, not my mana. I..." He struggled with the words, and I waited patiently. "I alter reality itself. It doesn't really require mana, it just... happens."

  My mind went blank for a moment. Then it raced.

  Alter reality. Without mana. Impossible. Must be... no, wait. The duel. The complete absence of magical signature. The way he…

  I forced myself to focus. "In more exact terms?"

  "I can write rules." Kai's voice was steadier now, the words coming easier. "And reality will adjust to follow them."

  Silence.

  I set down my tea with deliberate care, buying myself time to process. In all my years of study, in all the ancient texts and forbidden research, in every corner of magical theory I'd explored…

  But it did make sense. There was something wrong with his notes yesterday. His scores on every entrance exam were empty, and yet he had been assigned to my class. I had just assumed the director knew something I didn’t, but now it was clear the real cause for his unranked status and the absence of a record.

  He used his power to enter.

  But still… "That... does not seem possible," I admitted, perhaps the first time I'd said those words in decades. "I have never seen anything similar to it. I'm fairly certain nothing like this has ever existed."

  "Yeah, it hasn't. I'm the first one."

  The certainty in his voice gave me pause. How could he possibly know that? But before I could ask—

  "But I can show you, if you want."

  "Please do." My academic curiosity overrode every other concern. If what he was saying was true, this would rewrite everything we understood about magic.

  Kai raised his hand with deliberate movements, his index finger drawing symbols in the air. Glowing lines formed, shaping characters I recognized immediately.

  "You didn't have any magical education, and yet you know ancient writing?" The symbols were perfect. Old script, the kind used in the earliest discovered artifacts. Only mages with a superior education knew how to read them, and to write it would require years of specialized training.

  "It just comes to me when I think of the rule..." He showed me his tea cup, moving it in ways that should have sent liquid sloshing everywhere. The tea inside moved naturally, responding to physics as it should—except not a single drop spilled. Not even when he picked up speed, practically shaking the cup.

  I stared.

  No mana transfer. I would have sensed it since I was watching specifically for it. The tea cup wasn't enchanted; I could see its mundane nature clearly. And yet it obeyed a rule that physics shouldn't allow.

  "This..." My voice came out rougher than intended. "You didn't even transfer any mana to it. It's like magic just... manifested into existence around it."

  My mind raced through implications. If he could impose rules on reality without mana as a medium... If the fundamental law of magic requiring mana could be bypassed...

  "Yeah, I only use a very small amount of mana to make the symbols visible."

  I sat back in my chair, feeling my carefully constructed understanding of the world shift beneath me.

  Questions flooded my mind. Dozens of them. Hundreds. How did the rules interact with existing magical effects? Was there a limit to complexity? Could rules contradict each other? What about temporal duration? Spatial range? The energy had to come from somewhere—conservation laws couldn't just—

  "This..." I paused, forcing myself to focus on what mattered most right now. "I have so many questions, but I suspect you wouldn't be able to answer most of them."

  He shook his head, confirming my suspicion.

  I took a breath, recomposing myself through sheer force of will. "I can see why you fear. This is the kind of power that every nation would stop at nothing to obtain." I met his eyes seriously. "Or to eliminate."

  The boy needed to understand the danger he was in. Powers that broke the fundamental rules of magic had historically ended one of two ways: weaponized by those in power, or destroyed by those who feared what they couldn't control.

  My mind drifted to a place it shouldn’t. What if the boy were to use his power for personal gain? He could rewrite himself to be invincible, to be unaffected by magic.

  No… Immortality could be a burden, and finding a way around his words would still be possible for any competent mage.

  Besides, without preparation, the rules were clearly too slow to be applied in a real combat situation. He was right to be worried, the ceiling on his power was limitless, but right now, even a C-rank student could beat him if they had knowledge of the power.

  "I want your help," Kai said quietly, making me return to my senses. "To avoid being discovered. If people notice I don't use mana, they're bound to figure out something is wrong."

  "I see..." I nodded slowly, mind already working through the problem. "Yes, I can help you with normal forms of magic. This way you can avoid using this power unless absolutely necessary. When you do use it, stick to rules that can appear as accidents or fortunate coincidences. If you don't do it too often, it shouldn't raise suspicion."

  "Thank you." The relief in his voice was palpable.

  "As for Saturday..." I continued, thinking through the tactical considerations. "I recommend avoiding the use of your power entirely. But if you are anything like I was at your age, you won't just sit around and risk losing." I allowed myself a slight smile. "So if you must use it, avoid anything that would appear obviously impossible."

  "I'll try," he said, though I could see his mind already working through possibilities.

  I sat back, letting silence fill the room as I processed everything. Kai seemed content to drink his tea (his impossible, unspillable tea) and let me think.

  Fifty years of magical theory, challenged by a seventeen-year-old boy who couldn't even cast a basic spell.

  I found myself thinking back to my own youth, to the moment I'd discovered my affinity for magic ran deeper than anyone had expected. The fear of being different. The isolation of hiding. The desperate hope that someone would understand.

  I'd had family then. Teachers who cared. A support system.

  Kai had no one. Until now.

  "Kai," I said finally, pulling his attention back to me. "I want you to understand something. What you've shared with me today... it's more than just trust. You've placed your life in my hands."

  He nodded, his expression serious.

  "I will not betray that trust," I continued. "But you must also be careful. The more you use this power, the more questions will arise. People like Professor Silvani, who can read mana like others read books, they will notice inconsistencies."

  "I know."

  "Good." I stood, moving to one of my bookshelves. "Then let's begin your actual education. If you're going to pass as a normal mage, you need to understand what normal magic actually looks like."

  I pulled down several texts—basic theory, fundamental spellwork, mana control exercises.

  "We have much work to do before Saturday."

  As he left an hour later, armed with reading assignments and practice exercises, I returned to my chair and my now-cold tea.

  A boy who could rewrite reality itself.

  In all my years, I'd never encountered anything like this. And despite the danger, despite the impossibility of it all, I felt something I hadn't felt in a very long time.

  Wonder.

  The kind of wonder that had drawn me to magic in the first place, before politics and power games had complicated everything.

  I picked up my cup and warmed the tea with a thought.

  Somehow, after seeing what Kai could do, it felt almost quaint.

  I smiled to myself in the empty study.

  This was going to be interesting.