The courtyard at Ebonvale Academy still pulsed with the echoes of Rynn Yogini’s recent victory over Hyper Fang. Though the lingering magic had faded into a low hum over the cracked cobblestones, a different kind of chaos was unfolding beneath the surface—a chaos that would shake the academy to its core.

  Zack Thorncw stood frozen at the edge of the gathering, his heart pounding as he watched the impossible transformation before him. The Bunnykin he had known as Cora—brown fur and golden eyes that had once been his quiet soce—had been warped into something unrecognizable. In the swirling aftermath of a mysterious energy surge, she had reappeared before everyone’s eyes as Pari, and with unnerving crity, she had decred her love for Rynn.

  “Cora, why?!” Zack screamed, his voice raw with betrayal and heartbreak. His cwed hands trembled as he staggered forward, unable to comprehend the new reality.

  Pari did not hesitate. The energy about her shimmered with a golden radiance, and in that moment she shifted again. Her fur transformed from a warm brown to a vibrant strawberry blonde, and then, as if reacting to the intensity of her emotions, her form warped into that of a golden Wolfkin. Her copper eyes burned fiercely against an almost unnerving backdrop of bck sclera. Yet as she gazed at Rynn, her expression softened into one of joyful adoration.

  “Master,” she said brightly, almost cheerfully, “I’m a Shifter Overlord!”

  The decration sent shockwaves through the assembled crowd. Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the students, and a few gasps turned into excmations of outrage. Zack’s anger surged anew, his blood-alchemy gauntlets sparking with red energy as his anguish morphed into fury.

  “I challenge you to a duel, Pari!” he roared, stepping forward, his voice trembling with a mixture of grief and rage. “Fight me if you want to take everything away!”

  Before the tension could escate further, a wiry Ratkin burst into the scene—a member of the Messengers Guild, microphone in hand. His eyes darted over the chaos as he shouted, “Rynn King! The world demands answers. Did you really kill Hyper Fang in cold blood? The World Court Guild has issued a bounty on your head, and the Sheepkin King has announced his daughter’s engagement to you. How do you respond?”

  Even as the reporter’s words hung in the air, Mira’s wide amber eyes clung tightly to Sylvia’s arm. “This is insane,” she whispered. “Rynn has a bounty…and a royal engagement?”

  Sylvia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the unfolding spectacle. “About time someone held him accountable,” she muttered, though her tone held a hint of sardonic amusement.

  Rynn, who had been watching Pari with a mixture of bemusement and detachment, finally turned his attention to the reporter. He exhaled slowly, a hint of a smirk pying on his lips as if the entire situation were nothing more than an inconvenience. “A bounty, a royal engagement—Sheepkin drama, all of it. Well, since everyone’s so interested…” Before any further words could be exchanged, he reached out and grasped Pari by the waist, pulling her close. In a bold, unhesitating move, he kissed her.

  The effect was immediate and bewildering. Pari’s golden Wolfkin form shimmered, her shape twisting back into the familiar visage of a Bunnykin. The transformation pyed out live on camera, and the reporter nearly dropped his equipment, shouting, “Shifter! Shifter!” while frantically fshing an X with his hands—a universal ward against unstable magic.

  Zack’s rage reached a boiling point. “You bastard!” he screamed as he lunged at Rynn, his gauntlets pulsating with dark, red energy. But before his fist could connect, Rynn activated his Hyper Scionic css. In an instant, a warped field of energy compressed the space around Zack, sending him crashing into the stone with a force so brutal that onlookers could only gape as he slumped to the ground, motionless as if drained of life.

  The courtyard fell into stunned silence. Teris Val’Quen rushed to Zack’s side, his hands glowing softly as he channeled healing magic. “Hold on, Zack,” he urged quietly. “You’re not finished yet.”

  At the courtyard’s entrance, Aelor Ven’Dral and Lily the Deerkin watched with calm disapproval. Lily opened the heavy wooden doors to allow the news crew full access, while Aelor murmured, “More reporters... never a quiet day with him.”

  Meanwhile, Mira clutched Sylvia’s arm and whispered, “Oh no… Pari likes Rynn?” Her voice trembled with a mix of shock and resignation. Sylvia, however, simply scoffed. “I don’t know, and frankly, I couldn’t care less. With Aria gone, every advantage counts.”

  Zeta King, standing a little apart from the chaos, shook her head with a bemused smile. “My brother—such a show-off,” she remarked under her breath before adding, “I don’t know how he manages to keep all this endless drama going.”

  As the murmurs subsided, Rynn cleared his throat and announced with a nonchant air, “I’ve got csses to attend.”The announcement drew gasps and excmations from all around. Eva Hold’s eyes widened in disbelief as she muttered, “The president… actually going to css?”Teris, still tending to Zack, added incredulously, “I can’t believe it—after all this chaos, he’s off to study.”Sylvia chuckled softly, shaking her head as if to dismiss the absurdity of it all.

  Rynn strolled toward the academy’s main building, his cape billowing behind him as he left behind a courtyard that buzzed with whispered gossip, stunned expressions, and a news crew frantically trying to capture every moment. Zack groaned weakly under Teris’s careful ministrations, while Pari—radiant and determined—watched him go, her silver eyes filled with a mix of hope and uncertainty. The reporters and onlookers exchanged wary gnces, aware that this was only the beginning of yet another tumultuous chapter in Ebonvale’s storied history.

  And through it all, Zeta’s voice drifted softly over the din: “Drama like this never ends.”