Chapter 225: Heating up

Words : 2217 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

Noah shoved open the dorm room door, his mind still reeling. He half-expected Kelvin to be passed out, but instead, the guy was sitting on his bed, cross-legged, illuminated by the dim glow of his tablet. The moment Noah stepped in, Kelvin barely looked up. "You're late," he muttered, flicking through whatever he was reading. "Yeah, well," Noah exhaled, shutting the door behind him. "You're gonna love this one." Kelvin finally glanced up. "Oh?" His eyes sharpened. "Scale of one to ten, how bad?" Noah ran a hand through his hair. "Twelve." Kelvin grinned. "Oho. Spill." Noah paced the room, organizing his thoughts before blurting, "Lila's part of a secret program that got her into this academy. They sent her to deliver something, she doesn't know what, but something big is about to happen at the arena finals. Her group? Calls themselves The Purge." Kelvin froze mid-motion, his fingers hovering over his tablet. Then, without warning, he screeched—a full-on, nerdy, ecstatic shriek as he scrambled for his desk. "I KNEW IT!" Noah flinched. "Jesus, dude—" Kelvin was already tapping furiously on a secondary console, his face lit up like a kid in a candy store. "No, no, no, you don't understand! This is huge!" He whipped his head toward Noah. "Do you have any idea how many conspiracy theories have been floating around about a human faction interfering with EDF operations? Years of unexplained incidents, classified files—" He yanked open a locked drawer, pulled out a small, modified drive, and plugged it into his console. The screen instantly filled with classified documents. Noah's brow twitched. "Please tell me you didn't hack another EDF server." Kelvin waved a hand. "Semantics." "Kelvin—" "Shut up and look at this." Noah leaned in as Kelvin pulled up a document stamped with a highly classified tag. "The Purge," Kelvin muttered, scrolling through reports. "They aren't some rogue terrorists, Noah. They're coordinated. Systematic. Strategic. Every time they strike, it's covered up. You know all those supposed 'Harbinger ruin incidents' over the years? The ones where entire bases just got wiped?" He gestured wildly. "That wasn't the Harbingers! That was them!" Noah felt his stomach drop. "They infiltrate, dismantle, and erase any force they see as a hindrance to their vision of humanity's future," Kelvin continued, his voice growing grim. "They aren't fighting for survival. They're fighting for control." Noah exhaled sharply. "And now they're here." Kelvin nodded. "And Lila? She's not just some grunt if they trusted her with this mission." Noah rubbed his face. "Yeah, well, she's scared out of her mind. She was blocked from even remembering details." Kelvin's eyes flickered with understanding. "Mental suppression. Shit. That means they've really got their claws in her." Noah sat heavily on his bed. "So what the hell do we do?" Kelvin leaned back, grinning despite the weight of the conversation. "Oh, buddy," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Now we start playing the game." Kelvin leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin as he processed Noah's words. "So she didn't say anything else?" Noah shook his head. "Nope. I asked about her parents, but she just... shut down." He paused. "Weird, right?" Kelvin scoffed, spinning slightly in his chair. "Not weird. Calculated." His fingers tapped against the desk in thought. "Think about it—if she wanted to deny it, she would've. Instead, she dodged the question." He smirked. "No answer is an answer." Noah exhaled, leaning against the wall. "So that means the Rowes are involved." Kelvin grunted. "It suggests it. But I still don't have a damn thing to pin on them. Even Vee couldn't pull anything up. Their files are redacted to hell—I'm talking full-blown, 'somebody paid top dollar to erase them' kind of redacted." He sighed. "But this? This is a step forward." Noah frowned, crossing his arms. "If the Rowes are connected to The Purge, then how deep does this run? And if we figured it out, then—" "The EDF probably already knows something's brewing," Kelvin finished for him, nodding. Noah clicked his fingers, recalling something. "Lucas said security was being ramped up. Extra patrols, stricter access points—he didn't say why or knew why, just that there was 'too much being done' this time around." He shook his head. "And then there's Lila asking me about hypothetical weak points. Now that I think about it, she wasn't just curious, was she? She was confirming known intel." Kelvin sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn it. There are too many variables." He leaned forward, pulling up the Nexus Arena schematics on his screen. The detailed blueprints glowed in the dim room, a massive grid of entry points, security stations, and infrastructure pathways. Noah stepped closer. "Alright. Break it down for me." Kelvin gestured to the massive center of the map. "This is the Core Chamber. It's heavily guarded—ironically, the most secure location in the whole damn building." "The power plant?" Noah raised an eyebrow. "More than that," Kelvin muttered, zooming in. "Hundreds of beast cores, all working together to keep the arena's energy grid running. If you wanted to cause maximum damage, you'd hit this place." Noah ran a hand down his face. "Shit." Kelvin nodded. "Exactly. And now we have to assume The Purge already has a plan to bypass security. Because guess what?" He glanced at Noah. "They have an inside man." Noah stayed quiet for a second, taking it all in. "If they're really serious, this could go south fast," Kelvin continued, his fingers twitching over the keyboard. "We're talking infiltration, sabotage, high-level disruption—things the EDF isn't built to handle. They train for Harbingers, not for human insurgents who know their weaknesses." Noah exhaled slowly. "Then we have no choice. We can't keep this to ourselves." Kelvin raised an eyebrow. "You thinking of reporting it?" Noah nodded, his mind already racing ahead. "We don't have enough intel to stop whatever's coming, but we do have enough to warn someone who can." He straightened. "I have a name in mind." Kelvin smirked. "Lucas?" Noah rolled his shoulders. "Not just yet. But someone above him." Kelvin whistled. "Risky play, but probably the right one." He yawned, stretching. "Still, not much we can do tonight. You're right—we should crash." Noah nodded. "One problem at a time." He glanced at the dim glow of the Nexus Arena schematics one last time before turning toward his bed. One thing was certain—his domain had proven useful. It was the one place where Lila's mental block had failed. The only place where she could talk freely. And that meant it wasn't just a tool for him anymore. It was an asset. Kelvin turned back to his console, typing rapidly. "I'll stay up a bit. Try to dig up more on the Rowes." Noah smirked. "Good luck with that." Kelvin grinned. "I make my own luck." As Noah laid down, closing his eyes, his mind was still racing. Tomorrow, the storm would hit. And he'd be ready. Noah stretched, blinking against the early morning light. His muscles were sore, his mind still sluggish from sleep, but as he turned his head, he sighed. Kelvin was slumped over his desk, head resting on his folded arms, screen still glowing with the Nexus Arena schematics and encrypted files. The guy hadn't slept. Noah groaned and swung his legs out of bed, padding over. He nudged Kelvin's shoulder. "Kelv. Hey. Up." Kelvin grunted, barely stirring. Noah rolled his eyes and shook him harder. "Dude, go to bed. You look like shit." Kelvin cracked an eye open, muttering, "I'm fine." "No, you're not. Matches aren't today. We've got a break. Sleep." Kelvin blinked slowly, glanced at the time, and muttered a curse. "Shit, I didn't even realize..." Noah pulled the chair back slightly. "Come on, before you pass out at your desk." With a groggy sigh, Kelvin dragged himself toward his bed. "If you see anything interesting in my notes, wake me up." Noah smirked. "No promises." Kelvin collapsed into bed without another word. Noah stretched his arms and headed to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. He needed to clear his head. Two days. That's how long he had to figure out how to warn the right people without exposing Lila. Whoever The Purge were, they had faith in their methods—not their members. If they went as far as mentally blocking their own operatives, they'd definitely have contingencies for traitors. If they suspected Lila had talked, they wouldn't hesitate to act. That meant Noah had to be careful. He dried his face, stepped back into the room, and settled onto the floor. Time to train. Crossing his legs, he focused inward, following Lila's method. He took deep, steady breaths, slowing his pulse, reaching outward—not with his hands, but with his awareness. The room felt still, but he could sense something just beyond the surface. The faintest ripple of energy, the subtle pull of emotions left behind. The anger, the frustration—the doubts. He reached for it. Slowly, the energy responded. A red-white spiral of light formed in his palms, twisting and writhing like living smoke. He held it, steadying the flow, feeling the weight of it press against his skin. It was easier than before. The more he practiced, the more natural it felt. Minutes turned into hours as he pushed the technique further, testing how much he could control. Then— Knock. Knock. Noah opened his eyes. The energy faded as he stood, shaking the stiffness from his limbs. He headed for the door, cracking it open. And there she was. Sophie. Just who he wanted to see. As soon as Sophie stepped inside, Noah yanked her forward, slamming the door shut behind her. She stumbled slightly, eyes wide. "Noah! What the hell? I—" "We don't have time," he cut her off, lowering his voice. "I need to talk to you, but somewhere the walls don't have ears. Will you follow me?" Sophie hesitated, frowning. "Is this place even safe?" Noah exhaled. "Not exactly, which is why..." Purple energy flared around them, the air humming with raw power. Domain Travel. The world warped. Moments later, they reappeared. Sophie staggered slightly, blinking rapidly as she took in their surroundings. But her focus wasn't on Noah—it was on what she'd seen. "...Noah," she whispered, still dazed. "You have a dragon in there." Noah rubbed his temples. "Not the point." "And Lila..." Sophie finally met his gaze. "You're serious about this?" Without answering, he gestured for them to move, leading her toward an open field within the arena walls. Somewhere isolated but still within safe boundaries. Once they reached the spot, Sophie finally let her thoughts spill. "This could be my mother," she said, voice sharp. "My dad spent years tracking her, but all he ever got was a sniff of her trail. And back then? She was rumored to be a high-ranking officer." Noah ran a hand through his hair. "Shit just got really complicated." If Sophie's mother was involved, that meant more political entanglements, more secrecy, more danger. And worst of all, it meant they couldn't go to Minister Reign without exposing their source. He told her as much. Sophie, however, wasn't having it. "Why are you covering for her?" she snapped, arms crossing. "She's complicit in whatever's about to happen. Do you even realize the scale of this, Noah? We're talking about endangering the entire Eastern Cardinal. Students, staff, soldiers, civilians—everyone. And you want to protect her?" "She came clean to me," Noah countered. "Oh, after she planted the seeds already? After the plans were in motion?" Sophie shot back. "A change of heart doesn't erase the fact that she was ready to put all of us at risk. If anything, Lila should be arrested immediately." Noah narrowed his eyes. "Enough." Sophie scoffed. "Oh, you don't like hearing the truth?" "No, I don't like that you're acting on emotions," he said coolly. "That's exactly why I brought this to you—because I don't want to hide anything from you. But I also don't want to make decisions based on personal bias. And let's not act like you and Lila see eye to eye." Sophie chuckled, but it wasn't amused. "That's cute." She tilted her head. "But if anyone is acting on emotions, it's you." Noah's brow twitched. "You know, I always figured she had a thing for you," Sophie mused, voice lower now. "But now I'm starting to wonder if you don't have something for her too." Noah exhaled sharply and turned away. "I can't with you right now." Sophie's smirk vanished. His voice was firm when he spoke again. "Don't act on this. Don't do anything. Do you understand?" For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then Noah turned and walked off. Sophie remained where she stood, arms still crossed, watching him go.

Chapter 225: Heating up

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