Chapter 55: Runway

Chapter 55: Runway

[Continuation—]

For a moment, time didn’t just freeze— it shattered. Sound died. Thought vanished. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Valkyrie stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to breathe— stunned into stillness. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs like it wanted to escape, louder than the roaring arena surrounding them.

Two voices had collided in one impossible moment.

Two hands reached out to her.

Two destinies tugged at her from opposite sides.

Sky and Bulb.

"Can you be my partner?" — the question lingered to her like a Thunderball.

She never saw it coming. Sky? Maybe— sure. Sky was predictable, steady, annoyingly confident sometimes, and strategic. But Bulb? Bulb? Asking her that in front of everyone? Had he temporarily lost his gaddamn mind? Did he forget where they stood? Did he forget what separated them? Did he forget the Book of Hope even existed?

He was a Devil— Hell’s blood in human flesh.

She was an Angel— Celestial essence etched into her soul.

Angels and Devils could team up— yes, but they paid for it in suspicion. The realms didn’t need written rules to make a threat clear. Some lines, once crossed, could never be erased.

And this one...?

This one was arved in fear.

So why?...why...was he looking at her like that? Her lips parted but nothing came out.

"Uh...I...I... uhm..."

Her voice betrayed her. Her breath got stuck in her chest. Her mind scrambled through panic and denial.

But Bulb never flinched. He never broke eye contact, not once. He looked at her like he already knew her answer, like he had been waiting for this moment.

And there was something raw in his eyes. Something heavy. Something only she could read. And that terrified her, because she knew what that something was but yet to admit it.

Before she could respond or before Sky could even speak...before anything could make sense— a sharp, mocking voice sliced through the tension like a blade.

"Well, well, well..."

Alerted crowds turned. Heads shifted. A ripple of dread moved across the arena.

"Is that my little brother trying to run away from me?"

A wave of whispers followed as Stephanie pushed through the crowd— not walked, no...She arrived like she owned the ground. Every fool stepped on. Like the arena existed just to witness her entrance.

Red leather jacket. Metal chain earrings. Knee-high boots. Confidence so loud she didn’t need to speak it, she was so shameless, cause isn’t this the same Stephanie that was playing victim not too long ago, crying like a child because she got burned by Valkyrie? Yes that same Stephenie. She didn’t just walk— she hunted.

Valkyrie’s eyes narrowed.

Stephanie.

Chaos with perfect eyeliner. Disaster wrapped in lipstick and attitude. Violence disguised as a smirk. The type of girl who would burn your house down and then gaslight you, make you question your sanity and play with your head, that’s what she does best, using people’s emotions as a comfort zone.

"Oh gad," Valkyrie muttered under her breath. "Not again..."

Stephanie stopped in front of Bulb and fake-pouted dramatically. "Bulby," she said in a sugary-sweet voice that could rot your teeth. "You don’t want to partner with your own sister?"

Bulb’s jaw tightened. He didn’t hide his disgust.

"Stephanie," he said flatly, "please walk away."

She blinked slowly, with mocking confusion. "What was that?" she asked sweetly, then leaned closer with venom behind her smile. "One thing you will NOT do? Is embarass me In public?"

Valkyrie’s eyes flicked toward Stephanie. That signature smirk, that audacity— it was infuriating, yes, but it also drew her attention elsewhere. And then she noticed something: Stephanie’s shoulder was healed completely. The burns she had unintentionally inflicted earlier restored to their natural glory.

Valkyrie’s lips curled in a mocking smirk as she leaned slightly forward, voice soft but sharp. "Nice shoulders Steph..." she said, with her tone teasing,

Stephanie froze, just a fraction, her eyes narrowing. The mocking challenge in Valkyrie’s voice did not go unnoticed. "You think that’s funny?" she spat, voice low and dangerous, but her posture was defensive now, slightly thrown off-balance.

Bulb repeated the question, voice steady but firm, cutting through the tension. "What about your shoulder, Stephanie? How is it?"

Stephanie threw back her head, letting out a short laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Principal Camila healed them," she said finally, with a note of begrudging respect. "So don’t worry about me, Valkyrie." Her gaze snapped back to Valkyrie, sharp as a dagger. "But don’t think this is over. Not even close. I’m coming for more than just you— I’m coming for what you care about, the people you care about. And nothing you do will stop me."

Valkyrie wanted to respond immediately, to shoot back with fire, but she felt it— the way Stephanie was playing her like a stringed instrument, tugging at her emotions, making her react before she could think. She remembered what Soda had said earlier that week: the best way to beat Stephanie is to master the game. Control your emotions, and let them play themselves out in front of everyone.

And suddenly, it clicked.

Valkyrie’s eyes narrowed. A slow, deliberate smirk formed as a plan sparked in her mind. She wouldn’t just play Stephanie’s game— she would hijack it, twist it, and turn it against her.

Before Stephanie could react further, Valkyrie let the unthinkable happen. She dropped to her knees— and then, with a deliberate, exaggerated motion, collapsed fully onto the ground. She pressed her hands to her face, hiding it just enough for the dramatic effect.

Tears streaked her cheeks, but she wasn’t weak. Oh no...this was a performance. She let her sobs wail loudly, gut-wrenching and heartfelt, her voice carrying across the arena. "If only you knew," she cried, voice cracking under perfectly timed emotion, "if only you knew what’s been happening in my life lately! Do you think... do you think it’s easy? Do you know how hard it’s been? And still...I would never hurt you... never!"

The students around them froze. Whispers began to ripple. Valkyrie didn’t flinch; she could feel the shift in the air, the subtle, invisible currents of empathy and rooting forming in the minds around her. She could feel them questioning, feeling for her, siding with her without even realizing it.

Stephanie’s eyes widened slightly. "Get the fuck up," she hissed, her was voice sharp, but even— she was thrown off by the sheer effectiveness of Valkyrie’s theatrics. "Stop pretending to care."

But it was too late. The crowd had already started murmuring.

"Valkyrie just wanted to be friends,"

"Stephanie is so mean... poor Valkyrie... no one knows what she’s been through..."

"She has done nothing wrong..."

The whispers grew, and then, like a tide breaking through a dam, the chant began.

"VALKYRIE! VALKYRIE! VALKYRIE!"

Stephanie’s jaw tightened. Her smirk faltered. She had planned to make Valkyrie crash out in front of everyone, to humiliate her publicly, to make herself the hero of the spectacle. But the crowd, the students, they were not on her side.

They were rooting for Valkyrie. Her plan had collapsed in spectacular fashion, undone by the girl she thought she could manipulate.

Stephanie’s eyes darted to the cheering, chanting students. Her lips pressed into a tight line. Fury. Pure and unfiltered fury.

Her plan had failed— not because Valkyrie wasn’t vulnerable, but because Valkyrie flipped the script, and turned the crowd into her shield.

Valkyrie, still on the ground, allowed herself a small, secret smile between the dramatic sobs. She had done it. Every twitch of her expression, every tear, every breath— it was all perfect. Stephanie didn’t know how to counter this. She was caught, not by strength, but by emotion and by control of perception.

Just as the chant reached a fever pitch, a hand rose in the air. The crowd fell almost instantly silent, as though the universe itself had pressed pause. It was Principal Camila. Her voice cut through the arena— calm, resonant and commanding.

"Enough drama," she said, a single hand raised, and the crowd quieted further. "Combat is about to begin. Focus everyone."

Valkyrie slowly rose to her feet, wiping the fake tears from her cheeks, letting just enough redness linger to keep her performance believable. Her heart was still racing, a mix of adrenaline and the thrill of the victory she had just won without a single strike.

Sky, who had been standing to the side the entire time, stepped forward. His eyes softened as he looked at Valkyrie, the tension replaced with a knowing smile.

"That was a good act, you filled the system..." He chuckled.

"Thank you...I can’t let her paint me as villain in front of everyone again... someone had to"

"So... partners?" he asked, voice low.

Valkyrie’s lips curled in a small smile. "Yeah... partners," she said, matching his tone, letting the victory linger between them for a heartbeat longer than necessary.

Valkyrie felt a surge of empowerment, the kind that only comes from mastering the unmasterable. The students looked at her differently now. Respect mingled with awe. Sympathy with admiration. It was the last card Stephanie had expected Valkyrie would pull on her. And knowing Stephanie? She will never let this slide....