Chapter 83 A teacher and a student.

Chapter 83: Chapter 83 A teacher and a student.

On the other hand, Oliver stood with his hands buried deep inside his pockets, his gaze fixed on the empty rows of tumbled chairs scattered across the hall. The chaos had happened during the moment Noah unleashed his powers, and now that everything was over, silence had settled over the place. Looking at the abandoned chairs somehow made everything that had happened feel even more real.

"This constant calling... isn’t it going to raise suspicion?" Lamia finally asked, breaking the silence. "My friend is already wondering if you’re in love with me or something because of the way you keep staring at me. It’s honestly getting out of hand."

Oliver gave a quiet nod, understanding finally dawning on him.

"I never meant to make you feel that way," he admitted. "But I have to make sure you’re supervised. It’s my duty to protect you from the eyes of those who would use the knowledge you possess for evil. I still don’t know why you and Ashton are in this school. Both of you should be far away from a place like this because the people who would kill to obtain your knowledge are already lurking around. And we just found out that one of them is among the students. Ashton discovered that."

As Oliver continued speaking, Lamia found himself remembering Maria.

The girl everyone had assumed was a weak and helpless omega.

Only for her to confess that she was the one digging up graves, claiming she intended to bury every alpha in the academy beneath the same ground.

It made him wonder what exactly had happened to her.

What had they done to omegas for someone to become consumed by that much hatred?

Lamia knew better than most how difficult life was for an omega in their world. Being a male omega only made the discrimination worse. The judgment, the mockery, the expectations... he understood all of it.

But Maria’s anger...

That kind of rage wasn’t born from ordinary prejudice.

Someone must have pushed her far beyond her limits.

"I don’t think I need supervision," Lamia replied calmly. "I can handle myself. I only wanted to know if there were more Phoenix Witches. Since you’ve answered my question, I suggest you let me be."

He turned to leave.

Before he could take more than a step, Oliver reached forward and grabbed his wrist.

Their eyes met.

"We’re only a few years apart," Oliver said softly. "I just happened to graduate early, so I became a teacher. Can’t you see? You can talk to me whenever something is bothering you. I’m your friend... and I’m here to make sure you don’t make a terrible decision."

Lamia’s expression remained unreadable.

"Ashton..." Oliver continued. "He’s your destiny. You and one other person are supposed to guide him to the place where he’ll fulfill that destiny. He’s meant to spread happiness throughout the world and put an end to the darkness. That’s how it was always meant to be."

Lamia groaned inwardly.

Every answer Oliver gave somehow created ten more questions.

"It wasn’t only you," Oliver continued. "There were witches just like you who believed they were powerful enough to shoulder everything alone. They made costly mistakes... mistakes that ended their lives."

His voice grew heavier.

"I want you to leave this school with Ashton. Go wherever he goes and protect him. I’m certain you’ll eventually find the other person destined to stand beside both of you."

He paused.

"But that person isn’t in this school."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"And it’s not Rose either. I know what you’ve been thinking, but you’re wrong."

He slowly released Lamia’s wrist.

"This academy will eat you alive if you stay."

Lamia had heard enough.

The only reason he had searched for Oliver in the first place was because of the strange dreams that refused to leave him alone.

Dreams...

Fragments of memories...

Premonitions...

They all showed someone from his own people.

Someone from his tribe.

And every single time, the face belonged to Oliver.

That was why he had come looking for answers.

He wanted to know why Oliver appeared in those visions.

Why he and Ashton were somehow connected.

Why everything happening around him felt like pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together.

Instead...

He was leaving with even more questions than before.

And now Oliver wanted to monitor him every second.

The thought alone made his skin crawl.

"I know it feels like I’m invading your space," Oliver said after noticing the expression on Lamia’s face. "It’s just..."

A small smile appeared on his lips.

"...I’m excited."

Lamia frowned.

"I finally know I’m not the last one."

Oliver looked directly into his eyes.

"For years I mourned, believing I was the only survivor of our bloodline."

His voice trembled ever so slightly.

"But then you appeared."

His smile widened with genuine relief.

"And now... we can change everything."

"We can restore the balance."

"We can stop everything from falling apart."

He took a slow breath.

"That has always been my goal."

"And now that both of us are here..."

His eyes shone with hope.

"...we might actually be able to save humanity."

Lamia instinctively took several steps backward.

Now what exactly was he talking about?

Save humanity?

What did humanity even need saving from?

Hadn’t the Five Heroes already saved the world generations ago?

Wasn’t that why the academy even existed?

If there was another danger...

Then why had nobody mentioned it?

"Don’t panic," Oliver quickly said after noticing his reaction. "It simply isn’t the right time for you to know everything. When the Emperor arrives..."

He smiled again.

"...you’ll learn the truth."

"All of you will."

A chill slowly crawled across Lamia’s skin.

Tomorrow.

Just thinking about tomorrow made him uneasy.

The Emperor’s arrival alone was enough to shake the entire academy.

He had no idea how the dean planned to explain everything.

Or what excuse she intended to give once the Emperor finally stepped through those gates.

"I keep saying this..." Lamia muttered as he turned away from Oliver.

"We’re too young for all of this."

His shoulders slumped.

"We’re only eighteen."

"Some of us are still seventeen."

"This isn’t how our lives are supposed to be."

"Our high school years weren’t meant to look like this."

His voice became quieter.

"Is this really how I’m supposed to spend my youth?"

"Running away from things I don’t even understand?"

Oliver’s chest tightened.

Every instinct screamed at him to close the distance.

To hold Lamia.

To reassure him that everything would somehow be alright.

But he couldn’t.

He was a teacher.

Lamia was his student.

No matter how complicated their relationship truly was, those boundaries had to remain intact.

"Believe me," Oliver said with a faint smile. "Normal is boring."

That only earned him a tired look.

"You have something extraordinary happening around you."

"You shouldn’t see it as a curse."

Unfortunately...

Those words had the exact opposite effect.

Lamia only felt worse.

He was exhausted.

Mentally.

Emotionally.

Physically.

At this point, he had heard enough conversations to last him a lifetime.

"Thanks, teacher," he said flatly.

"And about the knowledge you keep talking about..."

His eyes hardened.

"I’ll use it however I see fit."

"My friends’ safety comes first."

"If you don’t mind..."

He stepped around Oliver.

"I’m going to look for Ashton."

Without waiting for another response, Lamia gently pushed past him and walked away.

Oliver remained standing exactly where he was.

His hands slowly curled into tight fists inside his pockets.

He was terrified.

Nervous.

Afraid.

Yet he continued pretending everything was under control.

Because tomorrow...

Tomorrow would be the beginning of a nightmare for every single one of them.

Especially once that bastard finally arrived.