Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: The First Sacrifice

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> "To win a war, sometimes you must bury a piece of yourself with the first body."

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🏛️ Scene 1 — The Calm Before the Fire

The day before the Tower Trials, Aegis Academy felt... quiet.

Too quiet.

Even the wind moved slower, like it knew something terrible was waiting just beneath the surface.

Aric sat alone at the academy chapel, a place no one ever really visited—except the ones trying to look holy.

Sunlight streamed in through cracked stained-glass, coloring the stone floor in blood-red and gold.

He stared at the altar.

Not because he believed.

But because it was a memory.

> This is where I prayed for Darin when he got injured.

This is where Lena cried for her brother.

This is where I once trusted people who used that trust to murder me.

Today, Aric came here not to pray…

…but to say goodbye to the last piece of his innocence.

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🧠 Scene 2 — Cassia's Curiosity

Cassia found him there.

She had followed his trail—not like a spy, but like someone seeking… something.

"You always vanish before big events," she said, standing near the back pew.

Aric didn't turn. "That's because I already know how the event will end."

Cassia stepped forward, slowly. "You sound like a man who's seen this all before."

Aric's fingers ran along the edge of the wooden bench.

"I have," he whispered. "In another life."

Cassia tilted her head. "You say strange things."

Aric turned to face her, his expression unreadable. "And you stay silent while everyone else screams. I like that."

She blinked. "That's not a compliment."

"It's a connection."

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🔥 Scene 3 — The Bait

That evening, Aric intentionally left his notebook unlocked on his desk.

He knew Myles was nosy.

He knew Myles couldn't resist.

And Myles… didn't.

The telepath snuck into the dorm after lights-out, tiptoed to Aric's desk, opened the pages—

And found exactly what Aric wanted him to find:

> A fake section labeled "Cassia = Dangerous. Must eliminate by Trial #2."

By morning, it would be common gossip.

By noon, Darin and Myles would try to isolate Cassia.

And by night?

Cassia would feel cornered.

Exactly as planned.

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🌪️ Scene 4 — The Spiral

It began at lunch.

Myles muttered something to Darin while looking at Cassia.

She noticed.

Then someone bumped into her in the hallway and didn't apologize.

Then she found her dorm door scratched with the word: "LIAR."

She wasn't stupid.

She knew the signs.

Someone had turned them against her.

And when she looked across the courtyard—

She saw Aric.

Watching. Quiet. Still.

Cassia marched to him, fury behind her silence.

"You wrote something," she said.

Aric didn't deny it.

"Why?" she demanded. "You told me you liked my silence. That we shared a connection."

"I did," Aric said. "And I do."

He stepped closer.

"And that's why I had to do it."

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😱 Scene 5 — The Break

Cassia shook her head. "You're insane."

Aric nodded slowly. "Maybe."

"But do you know what they would've done if I hadn't framed you first?" he whispered.

"What?"

"They were planning to sacrifice you in the tower tomorrow. You're the weakest physically. Darin said it during training. Myles confirmed it. Lena agreed."

"You're lying—!"

"I'm not," Aric said. "Check the logs. The trial map has four safe zones. Only three names were listed."

He took out a paper. Folded. Handed it to her.

Cassia opened it—and gasped.

Her name was missing.

"I didn't try to destroy you," Aric said, voice raw. "I tried to save you."

Her eyes shimmered.

> She doesn't know if this is truth or manipulation.

But the fear is real.

And fear makes people cling to whoever offers them clarity.

"I needed you to feel alone," Aric continued, stepping back. "Because if you felt that… you'd know what I felt when they killed me."

Cassia froze.

"What did you say?"

Aric blinked. "Forget it."

"No," she whispered. "What did you just say?"

He didn't answer.

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🧠 Scene 6 — Cassia Cracks

Later that night, Cassia sat alone, knees hugged to her chest.

Everything spun.

Darin had ignored her.

Myles had joked behind her back.

Lena? Cold as ice.

But Aric… had spoken the words no one else did.

Pain.

Fear.

Death.

> "They killed me."

It was a slip. But it felt too honest to be fake.

Cassia stared at the ceiling, voice soft.

"I don't know who you are, Aric Vale…

But I believe you."

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📓 Scene 7 — The Notebook Update

Back in his room, Aric sat with his pen again.

Under Cassia Gray, he wrote:

> "Emotionally fractured. Trust now 65%.

Will begin protecting me soon.

Stage 2: Psychological Bond activated."

He stared at her name.

Then drew a single drop of blood beside it.

His first sacrifice had worked.

He didn't need her to love him.

He needed her to need him.

And that… had begun.

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