Blade institute: the unseen prophecy

18

The weeks following that intense confrontation with Rian passed in a blur. The unresolved tension between them hung in the air like a heavy fog, making each day feel thick with unspoken words and emotions. They moved through the routines of the Institute—training, missions, debriefings—with a practiced efficiency that spoke more of necessity than ease.

Evangeline and Rian fell into a pattern of avoidance. They shared the same space but kept their interactions to a minimum, exchanging words only when absolutely necessary. Their conversations, once filled with biting sarcasm and heated arguments, were now reduced to brief, clipped exchanges. The camaraderie they had started to build crumbled, leaving behind a void neither seemed willing or able to bridge.

The rest of their group noticed the change but said little about it. Jessica, Ethan, Sam, Roger, and Jack all sensed the distance between the two and chose to navigate around it rather than confront it head-on. They respected the unspoken boundaries that had been drawn, keeping their own interactions with Evangeline and Rian lighthearted and supportive, as if hoping to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

Training sessions became a minefield of carefully controlled emotions. When they were assigned to spar together, the air crackled with tension, but neither of them let it spill over into the fight. Their moves were precise, calculated, and devoid of the raw emotion that had once driven them to push each other to their limits. Rian's strikes were sharp and disciplined, while Evangeline's counters were quick and efficient. It was as if they had agreed to a silent truce, one where the past was pushed aside in favor of professionalism.

Outside of training, they often found themselves in the same social circles, sitting together during group meals or hanging out after missions. But even then, they barely acknowledged each other. Conversations among the group would flow around them, and they would only speak when directly addressed, their interactions terse and devoid of the connection they had once begun to forge.

There were moments when Evangeline caught herself glancing at Rian out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he felt the same unease that had settled in her chest. She would see him laughing with Ethan, or sharing a quiet conversation with Jessica, and for a brief moment, she would feel a pang of something she couldn't quite name—regret, perhaps, or maybe just the remnants of a friendship that never quite was.

Rian, for his part, seemed to have thrown himself even deeper into his work. He was often the first to volunteer for missions, taking on the most dangerous assignments with a determination that bordered on reckless. When he was at the Institute, he was either training alone in the early hours of the morning or secluded in the archives, researching demons and their weaknesses. His interactions with the others were cordial but distant, as if he had walled himself off even more since that night.

And yet, despite their mutual avoidance, there was an unspoken understanding between them. When it came time to work together—whether on a mission or during a group exercise—they slipped back into their roles seamlessly. Their teamwork was efficient, almost mechanical, driven by the knowledge that they could rely on each other's skills even if they couldn't rely on each other personally.

But that didn't mean it was easy.

One evening, they were all called to the training grounds for a night drill, a grueling exercise designed to simulate a sudden demon attack. The group was divided into pairs, and as fate would have it, Evangeline and Rian were assigned together. The others exchanged glances, aware of the tension between them but said nothing, knowing that once the drill started, there would be no time for personal conflicts.

The exercise began, and Evangeline and Rian moved through the simulated battlefield with practiced ease. They communicated in terse, efficient phrases, their movements synchronized as they took down the holographic demons with precision. But the underlying tension between them simmered, making the air feel heavy.