Chapter 15

Dilemmas

ETHAN

Over the following days, Ethan found his thoughts returning—again and again—to the events of the fight. He couldn’t help it. The image of Raphael had imprinted itself so deeply that it felt tattooed beneath his eyelids.
Sometimes, during his morning runs, he would get lost in thought, only to realize he’d taken a completely different route than planned. Other times, he zoned out during team practice, forcing Lucas to snap him back to reality.

It didn’t stop there.

He would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night, breathless, aroused, with fragments of dreams still clinging to his skin like sweat. Raphael’s face. His voice. The way he had looked that day, standing still yet radiating something Ethan couldn’t define. Power. Vulnerability. Purity.
The dreams weren’t always explicit—sometimes they were nothing but a glance, a whisper, a lingering touch—but they stayed with him long after he was awake.

He hated how easily his mind wandered off. Just a second of silence, and there he is again. Sometimes it was just a flicker in his head. Other times… more.
What is it about him? He’s not even my type. And yet… he gets under my skin like no one else ever has.

After the fight, he had barely seen Raphael. Occasionally, the boy would flash by in the corridor or in the cafeteria.
At first, Melody kept going on and on about him—how impressed she was and how she couldn’t believe he had resisted her charm. She even suspected he had received some sort of protection spell from a witch, though she hadn’t seen him hanging around any.
Eventually, after several (or rather a dozen) pointed kicks under the table and loaded glances from Lucas, she finally caught on that it was a sensitive subject.

Lucas had tried to get Ethan to talk, but the truth was, Ethan himself didn’t know what was going on. He had always been in control. He had always known what he wanted. And this… this was new. This was frightening.

He caught himself checking the hallways more often than usual. Hoping, without admitting it to himself, that he might catch a glimpse of Raphael.
Even when he wasn’t there, Ethan would sometimes think he saw him in the corner of his eye, only to turn and realize it was someone else. His stomach would sink in quiet disappointment.

Once, he actually did see him—too close, too suddenly.
They were turning the same corner from opposite directions, and for a brief second, their eyes met.
Shit.
Panic seized him before he could think. He spun on his heel and walked off in the opposite direction at an embarrassingly fast pace, leaving behind nothing but confused silence.

He didn’t even know why he reacted like that. Coward. Fucking coward. What would I have said? “Hi, I’ve been fantasizing about you lately”?!

Then one evening, Lucas had had enough. He showed up at Ethan’s room.

– Dude, what’s going on with you? You know you can always talk to me.
– That’s the thing – Ethan replied. – I don’t even know myself. That new guy somehow got into my head, and now he won’t get out. And it’s not like it’s a spell or anything. But the moment I let my guard down, my thoughts start drifting toward him.
Lately, they’ve taken a… disturbing turn. I catch myself remembering what he looks like, even… imagining more than that. I even had this thought—don’t laugh, okay—of what it would be like to be with him. You get it??? Me! With some random newbie I don’t even know. I must be losing it.
Lucas stared at him, first with growing surprise, then understanding.
– Dude, you’re crushing. Like, full-on teenage-girl mode. But hey, hey—I’m not judging. Just saying, I really don’t get it.
– I wish I did… Tell me, what should I do?
– Seriously? I wouldn’t do anything. Just wait it out. Or maybe look around for some girls—or guys—who are actually decent and worthy of you and your feelings. I just don’t want to see you hurt.

ELARA

Days passed with Elara immersed in her usual prefect duties. She would occasionally check in on Raphael—asking how he was doing, clarifying another aspect of how the Academy worked—and, in the process, observing him discreetly.

But ever since she had asked Kael to help assist Raphael, a certain calm had returned to her. It gave her space to focus on other areas of school life. She found time again for her daily walks, most often into the Whispering Woods.

Lately, though, she had noticed something unsettling.
The forest—usually so consistent despite its vibrant, ever-changing life—had begun to feel… different. Or so it seemed.
There was something nearly imperceptible in the atmosphere, in the aura of this living, breathing organism. But she felt it.
She couldn’t pinpoint it, couldn’t say exactly what had changed. And it wasn’t even that she was certain something bad was happening.

But the change itself was troubling.
Subtle. Delicate. Like a single discordant note woven into the vast symphony of rustling leaves and forest sounds.
And she had the growing sense that each day, more of those notes were appearing—one by one, barely noticeable, but undeniably there.

She wondered what it meant.
She tried communicating with the forest, shifting into various forms, reaching out in ways she knew how.
And yet, for the first time, it felt as though the woods were hiding something from her. That they held a secret they didn’t wish to share.
She didn’t know what to make of it anymore.

She hadn’t spoken to anyone about it yet—the signs were too subtle, too subjective.
Perhaps she was being overly sensitive. Perhaps she was simply tired, stretched thin by the added responsibility of submitting daily reports on Raphael to Professor Igneel.

During one of her visits, something happened that completely threw her off balance.
As an Earth Elemental, Elara had always felt deeply comfortable in the Whispering Woods—so much so that she could almost call it home. She knew the forest intimately, every path, every hidden clearing.

And when she decided to visit one of her favourite clearings… she couldn’t find it.
It was like it was simply gone. As if it had never existed.

Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

She didn’t like these moments—when she couldn’t trust her own thoughts, her own feelings.
It was new. Unsettling in its own way.
And that, too, made her uneasy.

KAEL

Kael often spent time with Raphael.
Not only because he was bound by the promise he had made to Elara—and, indirectly, to the Council—but because he genuinely enjoyed his company.

He liked being around him.
Liked the way Raphael’s presence felt—bright, unpredictable, alive.

Unfortunately, in recent days, that brightness had dimmed.
Raphael had become less playful, less flirtatious.
He looked tired. Irritated. Distant.

Kael suspected it had something to do with the tests Headmaster Alexander was putting him through.
And it wasn’t just the tests themselves—though some of them could certainly be exhausting, even painful.
It seemed more about the lack of answers. He’s searching for something. And he’s not finding it. No matter what he does.

But Kael was also sure that wasn’t the whole story.
There was something else hidden under the surface, something Raphael wasn’t talking about.

And then there was the scent.

It had changed. Or rather—intensified.
Subtle but undeniable.
Kael still couldn’t place it, couldn’t tie it to any race or species he knew. And he had encountered many in his life.

What are you, Raphael?

The questions clawed at him more with each passing day.

And there were the abilities.
New powers, discovered by accident. Powers it would take years for most beings to even begin to control.
Kael wanted to believe that Raphael was just as shocked by them as he appeared.

But a dark, uncomfortable thought gnawed at the edges of his mind.
What if he’s lying?
What if everything about him is a lie?

He hated himself for even thinking it.
Because Raphael didn’t feel like a liar.
He had never caught him in a single falsehood.
His eyes—those clear, startlingly blue eyes—seemed incapable of deceit.

And yet… none of it makes sense.

Because of these doubts, Kael had started to pull back.
Just a little at first. Barely noticeable.
But Raphael noticed.
And he didn’t chase after him. He didn’t try to rebuild the fragile bridge between them.

Kael told himself it was better this way. Safer. Smarter.

But deep down, a quiet ache had started to take root.
A hollow space where laughter and teasing had once been.
And he didn’t know what to do anymore.

Part of him desperately wanted to believe Raphael—wanted it so badly it hurt.
Wanted to trust the boy who had somehow slipped past his defences when no one else could.

And yet the Council’s warning echoed in his mind, cold and sharp: Observe him. Watch him. Do not trust too easily.

Kael had always trusted his instincts.
Now, for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t sure he could.

RAPHAEL

Almost every day, Raphael found himself summoned to Headmaster Alexander for more tests.
At first, they were relatively harmless—basic aura reading, tarot interpretations, and the like.
Unfortunately, he felt like he was visiting some carnival fortune-teller.
The answers were so vague they could mean everything or nothing at all.

And it wasn’t just him who was frustrated.

He could see it.
The way the Headmaster dismissed one assistant after another, unable to hide his disappointment and growing irritation.
Worse, there were moments Raphael could swear that irritation was aimed at him.
As if he were deliberately hiding something.
When the truth was—he probably wanted to know more than anyone else who he was and what he could do.

The “surprises”—like the wings that had appeared when he was focused on something, or someone, else—might have seemed amusing or even fascinating at first.
But what if something happened again?
What if another ability manifested—and it wasn’t so harmless?

What if someone got hurt?

He didn’t think he could live with that.
Even though he had been hurt many times in his life, he had never sought revenge.
On the contrary—knowing what it felt like to be wounded, he had sworn never to inflict that kind of pain on anyone else.

One of the tests had shed some light on that part of him.

Apparently, he had a highly developed form of empathy—not just regular emotional sensitivity, but something deeper, almost tangible.
His life energy reacted to the energies of those around him, resonating with them.
It wasn’t unheard of, but it was rare.
More often, it appeared among shifters—but none of the other tests confirmed Raphael as one of them.

Unfortunately, as the days went by, the focus shifted.

They started testing him for specific species traits.
And that was far less pleasant.

Some tests were merely exhausting.
Others were painful.

One particularly unpleasant test involved prolonged exposure to elemental forces.
Raphael was locked in a chamber where bursts of wind, flame, and electrical energy were unleashed unpredictably, testing his endurance and reflexes.
By the end of the session, he could barely stand, muscles trembling, every nerve raw.
No clear results were obtained—only more frustrated notes from the examiners.

And the atmosphere during these sessions grew increasingly tense.

One afternoon, after another inconclusive test, Alexander’s patience snapped.
When an assistant hesitated in presenting the next series of results, the Headmaster tore the report from his hands with a snarl, throwing it across the room.
– “Incompetence! All of you!”
The assistant stammered an apology, paling visibly.
Raphael sat stiffly, watching the scene unfold, a cold weight settling in his stomach.
He knew—knew—that some part of that fury was meant for him, too.

They confirmed that Raphael had heightened speed, strength, endurance, and resilience—but those traits were common to many species.
So they moved on to more targeted examinations.

For instance, vampires.
In addition to their strengths, they had specific weaknesses—like sunlight sensitivity.
Centuries ago, the problem had been solved by casting automatic, subconscious spells of protection at birth or during transformation.
However, if a vampire was sick or weak, that protective spell could falter, and sunlight could still prove deadly.

To test this, Raphael had been placed in a room where all magic and enchantments were nullified, and then exposed to extremely strong sunlight.
The experience left his skin irritated and his vision impaired for half a day.

And it only got worse from there.

They began testing not only his abilities but his potential vulnerabilities—pushing him to the limits.
By the end of each day, Raphael was left feeling shattered inside.

He had never minded being alone before.
But this was different.
He felt isolated.
Utterly alone.

And he had no one to really talk to about it.

Liam had recently started seeing some guy, and Raphael didn’t want to burden him with his problems.
Elara sometimes met with him to explain new aspects of school life—but she remained distant, professional.
And Kael?
Kael had become… strange.
Raphael felt like he was avoiding him.
He barely dropped by anymore, and even when he did, he would look away, avoiding eye contact.

It only deepened the feeling of alienation.

In the hallways, Raphael was no longer the new sensation.
But he still caught the glances—those quick, nervous looks followed by deliberate avoidance.
And he hadn’t even done anything wrong.

The worst moment was when he almost ran into Ethan.
He had opened his mouth to greet him, but Ethan’s eyes had gone wide—and then he had spun on his heel and walked off at an almost ridiculous pace, as if he had just remembered something urgent.

Maybe I shouldn’t even be here.

The thought crept in more and more often.

The worst part? Even if he wanted to leave—he didn’t know how.

He had asked both Professor Igneel and Headmaster Alexander about returning to Warsaw.
Their answers had been evasive at best:
“Since we don’t know how you arrived, we can’t know how to send you back.”
“We won’t attempt it. It’s too risky.”

And so on. And so on.

By the end of the week, Raphael had had enough.
The tests, for now, had stopped—leaving them right where they had started, with no answers at all.

He decided to go to Crystal Peaks, seeking silence, solace, and peace.

The place welcomed him, as always, with an otherworldly stillness.
Not the kind of silence that weighed on the soul—but the kind that offered true respite, the perfect space for meditation.

Raphael had tried meditating before, but it had never really spoken to him.
This time, though, something felt different.

He sat down on the ground and let himself sink into the quiet.
For a long while, he simply breathed, allowing the calm of the mountains to weave itself into his very being.
Slowly, his inner turmoil eased, his spirit syncing with the stillness surrounding him.

Before leaving, a thought occurred to him.
Maybe he could try touching the Heart Crystal again.
Maybe, here, away from the pressures and the noise, some answer—or at least a clue—might come to him.

He approached the great crystalline formation, feeling its faint pulse beneath his fingertips.

But as he made contact, he saw… nothing.

Not visions. Not memories.
Only mist.
A thick, endless mist, occasionally laced with shades of blue.

That was all.

And once again, instead of finding answers, he was left with even more questions—and doubts.