As the uproar of the assassination attempt died down into nervous murmurs and secretive glances, rumors regarding Khalid spread like wildfire through the academy. The instructors, who had previously been hesitant to discuss in public areas, now spoke in hushed tones behind closed doors. The corridors vibrated with conjecture.
Since they walked close to a faculty corridor, Isshin, Rune, and Karin reduced their pace when they overheard snippets of a conversation among professors.
"He should have been exiled years ago—"
After doing what he did during the meeting? Reckless.
"Remember what he used to be. He's not safe."
They leaned in to listen more clearly, but a sharp voice cut through the moment.
"Are you lost kids, or are you conducting stealth maneuvers?"
Startled, they turned around. A middle-aged professor with sharp glasses and tired eyes stood behind them, arms crossed.
Sorry," Isshin replied abruptly.
It's all right," the teacher sighed. "I presume it's no more than I can expect that Khalid's students should be curious. Although oddly enough. the three of you don't appear to know who he actually is.".
Karin moved forward. "Then say it. We've heard rumors—but nothing solid. Who is Khalid?"
The teacher hesitated, then nodded in the direction of a nearby coffee shop. "Alright. This is not something we should be discussing in the hallways."
They sat at a corner table, the only sound between them the clinking of cups until the professor broke the silence.
"Eight years ago, Khalid Ryfar was the finest prodigy the world has ever seen. The one who would become our third immortal."
All three of them froze.
"Wait—immortal?" Rune asked, raising an eyebrow. "As in, actual immortality?"
The instructor nodded. "Yes. Two recorded cultivators from this world have gained immortality. They live among the galaxies, safeguarded by the prehistoric laws of the Galactic Cultivation Alliance. Immortality isn't long lifespan—it's invulnerability. The only method of halting such a person is sealing them… sometimes for thousands or even trillions of years."
And Khalid almost achieved that?" Isshin inquired.
He was nearer than anyone in centuries. But to climb, you have to have the same level of energy of a star—hold it in your body. Khalid's body wasn't built to sustain it. He ran into a wall, a point of constriction that halted his pursuit. He never reached beyond it.
Karin inclined her head. "So he quit?"
"No. He remained behind. But if you're that powerful and outside of the system anymore, you're a danger—particularly to corrupted organizations such as this academy. The principal is afraid of him. That's the truth."
They were silent. Three of them processing what they'd heard. The teacher stood up, drained from the exchange.
You wanted the truth. Well, now you have it. Just be careful what truths you go looking for.
Days passed.
The semester concluded, and the six-month break began. While students were preparing to depart to their families or clans, Isshin, Rune, and Karin remained at the academy.
One morning, Khalid approached them.
"I'm leaving."
"What?" Rune asked, surprised. "Where?"
"I'm going into seclusion," Khalid said plainly. "Deep cultivation. Might be a year. Might be a hundred. Or never. I won't be around to help anymore."
None of them could say anything.
"We'll hold things down," Isshin finally said.
Khalid gave a rare smile. "Good."
And with that, he was gone.
That evening, the three of them sat under the sky in silence.
"So… six months," Karin said. "What now?"
"Everyone else is going back home," Rune replied. "what should we do?."
Isshin looked at the map they'd spread out between them. "What about here?"
He pointed to the south, far beyond the city borders. A mountainous region within the Crimson Kingdom, where rumors told of wandering sects, rogue cultivators, and places of training untouched by academy politics.
"The southern peaks," Karin said. "I've heard stories about true cultivators who truly train to kill and get strong, they are nothing like the students of the academy who think cultivation is just a child's play."
"Better than sitting around." said Rune
They agreed. At dawn, they would leave—taking a carriage southward to seek out new truths in the lands of cultivation, beyond the academy's grasp.