Noctis Chronicles

Ep. 3 The Boy in Black

Morning arrived quietly.

No sunlight reached Isabel's room.

Only a pale silver glow filtered through the narrow window, soft enough to erase the darkness without truly replacing it.

For a long moment she remained in bed, listening.

The castle was awake.

Footsteps echoed through distant corridors.

Doors opened and closed.

Voices drifted from somewhere below—some cheerful, others barely more than whispers.

She dressed quickly in the academy uniform waiting neatly folded on the chair beside her bed.

A white shirt.

A black jacket embroidered with a silver crescent moon.

A dark skirt.

Everything fit perfectly.

As though it had been made for her long before she had ever arrived.

Outside her room, the corridor was empty.

A small parchment lay on the floor.

**New students must report to the Great Hall for the Division Ceremony.**

An elegant arrow pointed to the right.

Isabel picked it up.

"Simple enough," she murmured.

It wasn't.

Ten minutes later she had already taken three wrong turns.

Every corridor looked identical.

Every staircase seemed determined to lead somewhere else.

She passed portraits whose painted inhabitants watched her with polite curiosity.

She crossed a circular room filled with old clocks, each displaying a different hour.

She climbed a staircase only to find herself back where she had started.

"I'm officially lost," she sighed.

The castle answered with silence.

She chose another corridor.

Then another.

Soon even the sounds of students had disappeared.

Only the soft tapping of her shoes remained.

The walls here were older.

The torches burned with blue flames instead of gold.

Dust floated lazily through shafts of pale light.

She stopped.

"I'm definitely not supposed to be here."

"You aren't."

The voice came from behind her.

She turned so quickly she nearly lost her balance.

A boy stood several steps away.

Tall.

Elegant.

Short black hair framed a pale face that carried no trace of surprise.

His eyes were an unusually clear shade of blue, almost icy, but not cold.

Sad.

Not the sadness of someone who had cried.

The sadness of someone who had simply forgotten what happiness felt like.

He wore the academy uniform differently from everyone else she had seen.

Everything about him was immaculate.

His black coat was perfectly tailored.

Silver buttons reflected the torchlight.

Black gloves covered his hands.

Even standing still, he possessed the quiet grace of someone who never wasted a single movement.

For a few seconds neither of them spoke.

"You look lost," he finally said.

"I was hoping it wasn't that obvious."

"It is."

His answer was completely serious.

For some reason, Isabel laughed.

The boy blinked.

As though laughter itself were something unexpected.

"I'm trying to find the Great Hall."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Everyone walks in the opposite direction first."

She frowned.

"They do?"

"No."

A tiny smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"So that was a joke."

"I believe so."

She couldn't help smiling.

"I'm Isabel."

"I know."

Of course he knew.

Everyone seemed to know her name before she introduced herself.

"And you are?"

"William."

Nothing more.

No family name.

No unnecessary explanation.

He simply turned.

"Come."

Isabel hurried after him.

"You know the way?"

"Yes."

"You don't get lost?"

"I grew up here."

She looked at him with surprise.

"You've always lived in the academy?"

He nodded once.

"My family has served Noctis Academy for generations."

They walked in silence.

It wasn't uncomfortable.

William never hurried.

His steps were slow, measured, almost melancholy.

As though he carried an invisible weight no one else could see.

After several minutes Isabel realized something strange.

He never hesitated.

Not once.

The endless maze of corridors seemed written into his memory.

"You really know every corner of this place."

"I know the places students are allowed to see."

"And the places they aren't?"

For the first time his expression changed.

Only slightly.

"They're better left undiscovered."

She decided not to ask another question.

Instead she observed him.

He spoke little.

When he did, every sentence was calm and precise.

He moved almost silently.

Even his breathing was difficult to notice.

A vampire.

She was certain now.

As though sensing her thoughts, William looked toward her.

"You've figured it out."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't need to."

She lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Another silence settled between them.

Not awkward.

Simply... quiet.

Eventually the corridor widened.

Voices echoed ahead.

Dozens of them.

Then hundreds.

Warm candlelight spilled through towering oak doors.

"The Great Hall," William said.

Before Isabel could thank him, the doors slowly opened.

The room beyond was enormous.

Long banners hung from the vaulted ceiling.

One displayed a silver crescent moon.

The other a crimson wolf beneath a full moon.

Hundreds of students filled the hall.

The eastern side was almost perfectly silent.

Vampires dressed in immaculate black uniforms sat with composed expressions.

Across from them, the western side buzzed with conversation.

Werewolves laughed, argued, waved to friends, and ignored every attempt at maintaining order.

The moment Isabel entered—

The room changed.

Voices lowered.

Then stopped altogether.

Hundreds of eyes turned toward her.

"Is that her?"

"The hybrid?"

"I thought she was only a rumor."

"She looks... human."

"No."

"Look at her eyes."

William continued walking as though none of the whispers existed.

Isabel followed him, suddenly aware of every step she took.

At the far end of the hall stood Headmistress Morvaine.

Beside her rested an ancient stone pedestal.

Upon it lay a crystal sphere that shimmered with pale silver light.

"Miss Isabel Crane."

The Headmistress's voice echoed effortlessly through the hall.

"Step forward."

Isabel obeyed.

The whispers resumed behind her.

Headmistress Morvaine gestured toward the crystal.

"Place both hands upon the Stone of Origins."

Isabel hesitated.

Then she touched it.

The crystal remained still.

For one heartbeat.

Two.

Three.

Suddenly—

Silver light exploded upward.

Gasps filled the hall.

The silver glow split cleanly into two streams.

One rose toward the banner of the crescent moon.

The other surged toward the crimson wolf.

The entire hall fell silent.

Headmistress Morvaine stared at the light without blinking.

"I have never witnessed this before," she said quietly.

The crystal continued to shine.

Brighter.

Brighter still.

Finally the light faded.

The silence remained.

The Headmistress raised her voice.

"Isabel Crane..."

She paused.

"...shall belong to both divisions."

The hall erupted.

"What?"

"That's impossible!"

"No one's ever belonged to two divisions!"

"A hybrid..."

Morvaine lifted one hand.

Instant silence returned.

"Miss Crane will attend lessons within both the Lunar Division and the Wild Division."

She continued,

"Her timetable will alternate between the two, effective immediately."

More astonished murmurs swept across the room.

Some students looked curious.

Others looked offended.

A few looked afraid.

Isabel stood frozen.

"Both?"

Headmistress Morvaine nodded.

"You carry two worlds within you."

Her violet eyes softened.

"So you shall study both."

For the first time since arriving at Noctis Academy, Isabel felt every gaze in the castle resting upon her.

Not because she had done something remarkable.

Simply because she existed.

She glanced toward William.

He was already walking back toward the Lunar students.

Before disappearing into the crowd, he looked at her once more.

His expression hadn't changed.

Still calm.

Still distant.

Yet this time, almost imperceptibly—

He inclined his head.

A silent gesture.

One that seemed to say:

*You're not alone.*

And somehow...

Among hundreds of strangers,

that was exactly what Isabel needed to hear.