Evelyn and Killian walked in silence afterward until the hallway split into two separate dormitory buildings.

After briefly explaining where his dorm was and handing him a card, Evelyn eventually waved before leaving for the female quarters.

Killian headed toward the washrooms first to finally deal with the blood staining his clothes and skin. The card number had a gold-plate named ’Dorm Dragon’ and that worried him.

"I hope they didn’t keep me in some exclusive room filled with arrogant young masters or something." He looked behind his card and there was definitely his name ’Grim Warden’ behind it.

That nickname seemed to be the start of all his troubles. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"If those arrogant young masters can help you grow some balls, then they are desperately needed."

"You are not one to talk about growing some balls when you can’t accept when you’re wrong. I still haven’t heard that apology for tricking me into releasing the egg and evolving me without my consent."

The Void went silent again, and Killian sighed.

He found the bathroom section that had ’Dorm Dragon’ inscribed on it. He leaned towards the bathroom door and heard no tap or shower head rushing or anyone talking. He exhaled.

"If it were a room filled with wealthy arrogant boys, then they would definitely not want to bathe at the same time as others."

He walked into the empty section, and his eyes landed on the initials pasted on the door. He exhaled again. "Even the doors have our own initials. These arrogant boys will be a pain."

"You are the pain for assuming your roommates are arrogant. You don’t even know them."

"I told you, didn’t I? Instead of nitpicking at anything I say, apologize to me for your mistakes." Killian waited, but the Void had gotten silent again.

He rolled his eyes and walked into his bathroom stall.

The warm water washed down the red instantly, spiraling into the drain beneath him while he scrubbed the remaining dirt and dried blood from his arms slowly.

His body was still aching faintly from overusing Corrupted Fire earlier and the only thing on his mind was finding his room and having a good nap to finally end the day.

When he finally changed into fresh clothes provided by the academy, a plain white tight shirt and loose black trousers, he lifted his head toward the mirror.

His eyes paused, then narrowed slightly at the mirror. "I grew again."

His shoulders looked broader now, his frame less lean than before, and his jawline seemed sharper under the dim lighting.

The changes weren’t unnatural, but obvious enough that he couldn’t ignore them. His inherent pale skin still persisted despite all and Killian didn’t think growing tanner was an option anymore.

He stared at himself for longer than intended before a small smile finally appeared on his face. "Nice." At least consuming the tree did something visible.

It was the least that should happen after being sentenced to eat bark. He adjusted his shirt before stepping away from the sink.

"But Thistle did noticed my voice change, though." He walked out of the bathroom, holding his throat. "Evelyn didn’t say anything about it." And that made him sour for some reason.

The moment he walked out of his bathroom, from his peripheral vision, he noticed another figure near the changing area.

Killian immediately turned his eyes away and hurried toward the exit because the last thing he wanted was to accidentally stare at some naked person.

Then—

A girl’s voice singing behind him and Killian froze mid-step. His brows furrowed immediately. "What?"

He slowly looked back toward the door of the changing section, completely confused because this was very obviously the male bathroom.

So why was there a female opera singer in one of the bathroom stalls? ’Or was Dorm Dragon a mixed room? Evelyn didn’t say...’

Before he could think further, the door suddenly slammed open and Killian instinctively stiffened. Then he saw a boy, around his age, wrapped in a large white towel.

Silence filled the room.

The boy looked equally awkward for a second before clearing his throat deeply and saying in an exaggerated masculine voice, "Hey man."

Killian blinked once, then realization hit him before relief. He burst out laughing despite himself. "You were faking the voice?"

The boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly while smiling. "I was just having fun. Sorry if that was weird."

Killian shook his head with amusement. "No, no, honestly, you’re good at it. I got really worried for a second there."

The boy grinned at the praise before walking closer and offering his hand casually for a handshake. "Reginald."

"Killian."

Their handshake lasted only briefly before Reginald turned slightly to grab his shirt properly, exposing part of his back in the process.

Killian’s smile faded immediately. Scars. Deep ones. He looked away because he didn’t want to invade his privacy but the marks of those gashes around a young boy’s back spoke of only horrors that can only be read in an apocalypse slavery book.

The scars weren’t fresh but severe enough that he could instantly imagine how painful they must have been when they were first inflicted.

Some stretched across his shoulder blades while others dug lower like something had repeatedly torn through his skin.

His expression unconsciously shifted into pity as he stared the other way. Reginald noticed the moment he turned back around and saw Killian looking the other way.

The boy quickly waved one hand nonchalantly as if dismissing the entire thing, while adjusting his towel around his chest. "Old wounds," he said lightly. "They don’t hurt anymore."

Killian immediately hid the pity that threatened to surface in his eyes because the smile on Reginald’s face made it obvious that he absolutely did not want sympathy.

So Killian simply nodded. "Yeah, and they could make good tattoos later if you want."

The atmosphere shifted after that. Reginald’s expression showed he was clearly entertaining the idea. "Tattoos? Yeah, actually. Though I might have to wait till I am eighteen for that but that’s something to look forward to."

The two eventually left the washroom together while the other stalls bustled with chattering from other students. Killian couldn’t believe that there were more young boys down to share a bath with other boys than he thought. Including Reginald here.

"So you are from the Olpha region, right?" Reginald asked, dragging Kilian’s attention back to him.

Killian nodded once. "And you?"

"Central." Reginald smiled. "I have always wanted to travel to other places though. But don’t worry, you’d fit right in here with the three of us."

Killian smiled back stiffly. He continued walking, but slowly now. Central was the place where the academy was located at, and as he had already deduced, where the majority of Light Users here.

’I have a bad feeling Dorm Dragon will have a Light User.’