Noct tasted dirt as his cheek hit the floor again.
The snickering started before the pain even reached him. It was dull now, familiar. Fists, feet, laughter. The rhythm of another school day.
He didn't lift his head.
"What's the matter, genius? Forgot how to dodge?" someone sneered.
Another kick. Right side. Not hard enough to break ribs, just enough to leave a bruise. That was their pattern—hurt him, but not enough to get caught. Leave no scars. At least, none they could see.
"Noct the Null. No power, no tablet, no chance," one of them laughed.
The classroom wasn't even empty. Their instructor hadn't shown up yet, so the vultures had time to circle. And no one spoke up. They never did. It wasn't worth it.
Only one voice cut through the cruelty.
"That's enough."
Silence. Then a shift—the mood souring into discomfort. Noct felt the tension before he saw the hand extended to him.
Slender fingers. Warm palm. Callused.
"Come on," she said softly.
He looked up into the face of Eira, his childhood friend. Blonde hair tied back, a permanent glint of defiance in her eyes. She always looked like she was fighting something—even if no one else could see it.
"You'll be late for training," she added.
He took her hand.
The classroom door opened. Their instructor strolled in, clad in worn armor, his long coat fluttering slightly as he stopped by the board. Instructor Vern had the eyes of a man who'd seen too many corpses and not enough victory.
"Outside," he said flatly. "We're doing live drills today,and—right. Almost forgot. There's a field trip coming up."
The class stirred. Excited whispers. A few loud cheers.
Vern smiled faintly. "You'll be entering a low-category labyrinth. Don't get too cocky. Even weak Nexuses can kill the unprepared."
Noct's stomach twisted. A labyrinth?
He was the only one in the class without a tablet.
The training field smelled of dust and sweat.
The others paired off quickly—flashes of ability lighting up the clearing. One student summoned fire from their hands. Another danced across the ground with impossible speed. Sparks. Shadows. Echoes of power everywhere.
Except around him.
Noct stood alone, facing Instructor Vael. A wooden training sword in his hands. Too heavy. Too slow.
The first strike came without warning.
He barely blocked. The impact rattled up his arms and into his spine. Vael's attacks were relentless—sharp, precise, like he was carving away excuses. And Noct… was just trying to breathe.
"Again," Vern said. "Wider stance. Loosen your grip."
They went through the drills for nearly an hour. Sweat drenched his shirt. His muscles ached. But he didn't stop. He couldn't.
At the end, Vern crossed his arms and studied him for a long moment.
"You're sharp, Noct. Smarter than any cadet I've trained this year," he said. "But intelligence won't stop a blade. You're weak, and the world won't wait for you to catch up."
Noct said nothing. There wasn't anything to say.
A bottle of water pressed into his hand. He looked up—Eira again.
"You'll get stronger," she said. "Just don't quit. That's the only rule."
She smiled. For a moment, something warm stirred in his chest.
Later that night, the warmth faded.
His mother's hands trembled slightly as she set dinner on the table. The house was small—bare walls, flickering lights. A heater that only worked when it felt like it.
When Noct told her about the trip, her face paled.
"A labyrinth?" she whispered. "Noct… you don't have a tablet. I… I've tried. I looked everywhere. But the prices—"
"It's fine," he lied.
She didn't believe him. But she nodded anyway.
The next morning, the sky was gray.
The transport hummed quietly as it moved toward the labyrinth. Inside, the students talked and laughed—except for Noct.
"He'll be monster food in five minutes," one said.
"Can we leave him behind? Might be safer for us."
Noct stared out the window. Eira sat beside him but didn't speak.
He wasn't sure if that was a comfort anymore.
The labyrinth looked like a ruin, half-buried in time.
Stone gates loomed overhead, marked with glyphs none of them could read. Vael stayed outside—standard protocol. This was a scouting exercise, meant to be safe.
Except it wasn't.
The air inside was too still. The shadows too deep. And the first creature they saw made everything else fade.
It was tall—twice a man's height—with bone-white skin and too many eyes. Its breath alone shattered stone. And when it moved, the air screamed.
The system identified it as a white fiend and gave them the advice on what to which was
"Run"
In a moment of realisation they knew what they stepped in was no low ranking labyrinth but an unknown rank labyrinth.
"No way this is a low-tier labyrinth!" someone shouted.
They ran.
Noct stumbled. Panic scattered the group. In the chaos a smile came from someone who knew what they were doing, he was shoved—over the edge of a broken bridge.
He barely caught the ledge.
His fingers dug into the stone. Below him: nothing but darkness. The sound of the monster grew fainter as the others fled.
"Eira!" he called. "Help me!"
She stood at the edge.
He reached up.
And she looked down at him—not with fear, or grief.
But with disgust.
"Why would I save someone like you?"
Her boot came down—once, hard.
Noct's grip broke.
He fell.
As Noct fell he remembered a few words from his sister
"It's not the stab in the back that hurts, but it's when you turn around and see who's holding the knife"
Noct hit his head on the wall as continued to fall. Everything turned dark.