The sepulchral silence of the classroom was torn apart by a scream that didn’t sound human. Hailey stumbled back until she hit the chalkboard, her fingernails scratching against the wood with a jarring, screeching sound. Something in her mind—under the unbearable pressure of the rumors and Ethan’s suffocating presence—finally fractured.

"What are you waiting for!?" she shrieked, her voice breaking into a hysterical pitch. "Do you think I’m just a trophy!? An object you can claim after throwing out the trash!? You’re a beast! I’ve heard what they say about you—you’re a monster that devours everyone and doesn’t even leave the bones!"

Her classmates cowered in their seats, barely daring to breathe. No one ventured to intervene as Hailey spiraled into a psychotic break, her eyes bloodshot and her face twisted in terror.

"I’d rather die!" she howled, pointing a trembling finger at Ethan. "Do you think your power makes you a god? You’re nothing! You’re just a plague!"

Max, his face ashen, took a step forward, trying to appease her. "Hailey, please, calm down... we’re just trying to—"

"Shut up, Max!" she screamed, turning on her own brother with visceral hatred. "What about you? The Governor’s son? You’re nothing but Ethan’s pet! A lapdog wagging its tail while he destroys the world! Do you think you can just do whatever you want with us? Go to hell! All of you, go to hell!"

In a frantic, desperate movement, Hailey reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of metal scissors. There was no doubt in her eyes, only an absolute void. With a cry of agony, she aimed the sharp points directly at her own jugular.

"Hailey, no!" Max screamed.

But Ethan was faster. To him, the girl’s movement was as slow as an insect trapped in amber. In a blur, Ethan appeared before her; his right hand intercepted the scissors with immovable force while his left hand struck the nerve in her neck with precision.

Hailey’s body went limp instantly. Ethan caught her before she hit the floor, effortlessly taking the scissors from her hand.

Max spiraled into a total panic. His mind filled with dark images: Ethan taking her to a cell, making her a prisoner, or discarding her like a broken toy. "Ethan... no, please, don’t take her away like this... don’t hurt her!" Max pleaded, trying to stand in the way, but Ethan simply walked past him. Max felt weightless, unable to provide any resistance against the momentum of the leader of Royal.

However, to Max’s surprise, Ethan didn’t head for the exit where the armored SUV waited. He walked with a steady stride toward the campus infirmary.

When they arrived, the nurse on duty jumped up. "What happened!? Get her on the bed right now!" she said, trying to move in to examine her, but a Royal guard immediately blocked her path, holding her arm with a firmness that allowed no argument.

"Step back," the guard said in a flat voice. "This is a private Royal matter."

"But I’m the medic here! I have to report this!" she protested, managing to break away to run into the hallway.

When the nurse found the university guards and the police officers still in the corridor, they didn’t even look at her. One of them, sweat running down the back of his neck, whispered without looking up: "If you want to stay alive and keep your job, go back to your office, shut your mouth, and don’t get involved. Pretend you saw nothing."

Inside the infirmary, the silence was thick. Ethan watched Hailey, who lay on the white bed, looking small and destroyed. Max remained in the corner, trembling, his voice broken.

"What... what are you going to do with her, Ethan?"

Ethan didn’t respond. He walked to the nurse’s desk, picked up a pen and a notepad. With elegant, cold calligraphy, he began to write a letter, the only sound in the room being the scratch of metal against paper. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The room was silent, save for the rhythmic scratching of the pen. Ethan didn’t look like a conqueror in that moment; he looked like a man trying to capture a fragment of a ghost. In his mind, the words flowed with a weight he hadn’t allowed himself to feel since the war began.

Hailey,

I watched you today and I realized that I’ve become the very thing I used to protect you from. I saw the terror in your eyes, and it hurt more than any blade a Patriarch could swing at me. I want you to know—truly know—that it was never my intention to break you.

That day at the house... I was not myself. I was under the influence of an experimental essence, a strange potion that stripped away my reason and left only a hollow, irrational hunger. But I know that explanations don’t heal scars. To you, I am no longer the student you knew. I am a monster. A beast that devours everything.

I am letting you go. I will never force you to be part of my world, and I will never do anything you do not wish for. My only hope—perhaps a selfish one—is that one day you might find it in your heart to forgive me. I will always be here for you, not as a king or a monster, but as someone who cares. No matter what happens, no matter how much the world changes, I will keep the same number. If you ever need help, or if you just need a voice to talk to in the dark, please... think of me.

Be safe. Be whole again.

—Ethan.

Ethan folded the paper carefully, his fingers lingering on the crease for a second too long. He stood up and handed the letter to Max, who was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and profound relief.

"Give this to her when she wakes up," Ethan said, his voice stripped of its usual iron. "Make sure she’s the only one who reads it."

"Ethan... I..." Max started, but the words failed him.

Ethan didn’t wait for a response. He turned and walked out of the infirmary, his steps echoing down the long, silent corridor. His lead guard followed a pace behind, a silent shadow of lethal competence.

As Ethan stepped out of the building, the bright sunlight hit his face, but it felt cold. He reached the black SUV, where the other guard already held the door open. Ethan slid into the back seat, the heavy door closing with a dull, pressurized thud that cut off the world outside.

"Back to HQ," Ethan commanded, his eyes turning back to the violet coldness of the king. "We have a world to finish building."

The engine purred to life, and the vehicle sped away, leaving the university behind in its wake.