The Boy Who Walks Beyond The End-Chapter 33: In the Rain, A Broken Dream

Zen walked with heavy steps, heart burdened with a weight words couldn't carry. The sky above was darkening, mirroring the storm inside him. He didn't glance at the grand billboard like the others—he didn't care where he was supposed to go. What did it matter now? His future had shattered before it even began.

His feet dragged forward aimlessly, the academy walls blurring around him. Nobles whispered, their laughter echoing like poison in his ears. "No magic? How pathetic." "A commoner pretending to be one of us." "He should've stayed where he belonged."

Their words were blades, and each step he took felt like he was walking deeper into them.

Lyra had searched the academy grounds frantically, her eyes scanning every corner. Her heart raced, not from the run, but from worry. And then—there he was.

"Zen!" she called, her voice trembling as she ran toward him.

He didn't stop. He didn't even look up.

But when Lyra reached him, she saw his face—and her heart broke. Zen's eyes held a pain she had never seen before. Not the pain of wounds, but the silent scream of a soul torn apart. His gaze was hollow, distant, and heavy with sorrow. A faint quiver in his lips, a dampness on his cheeks that wasn't from the coming rain.

Lyra grabbed his hand and said softly, "Hold on."

She led him to a nearby bench under the open sky. Zen didn't resist. He sat, motionless.

Tears silently slipped from his eyes, tracing down his cheeks like forgotten memories. His shoulders shook faintly, as if holding back something bigger—something that might break him completely if let out.

Lyra sat beside him, looking into his face, and then tears welled in her own eyes. Her chest tightened, and without a word, her tears joined his, falling freely.

"Did someone hurt you?" she asked, voice trembling. "Did they say something to you? Tell me... I'll kill them with my own hands."

The sky opened then, and rain began to fall. Slow at first, like a warning. Then heavier, soaking them as they sat together.

Lyra gently placed her hands on Zen's cheeks, tilting his face up. She then pulled his head toward her and rested it against her chest. Her arms wrapped around him tightly, shielding his fragile heart with her warmth.

"It's okay," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Don't overthink too much. Whatever happened... we'll figure something out. Together."

For the first time, Zen felt warmth in the storm. The world was falling apart around him, but in her arms... there was a thread holding him together. A fragile thread of comfort. Of familiarity.

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His voice finally broke free, cracked and low.

"I don't have any magic, Lyra..." he said through choked sobs. "Nothing. The crystal didn't react. I... I'll never be able to use magic."

Lyra froze. Her breath caught. The words struck her like thunder.

She imagined how it must've felt. Zen, who had traveled so far... suffered so much... holding onto hope that he could one day become something more, something magical—only to be told that he had nothing. That he was nothing.

No one could understand that pain... no one but Zen himself. The dreams he carried had turned to ash in a single moment.

And so she didn't say anything. Not right away. She just held him tighter, letting the rain hide their tears. Letting silence speak what words could not.

Most students had already found their dorms, their laughter distant, almost cruel in contrast to the quiet sorrow on that bench.

After a while, Lyra finally spoke. "Don't give up, Zen. If you get blessed by any of the six gods... maybe then... maybe something can change. There's still a chance."

She pulled back just enough to see his eyes and smiled faintly through her tears.

"So don't overthink it too much, okay? Come on, let's find our dorms."

Zen nodded slowly. The pain was still there, deep and sharp, but Lyra's voice... it dulled the edge just enough to let him breathe.

"I don't want to be apart from you," Lyra said as they walked. "So if you ever have time, meet me here. Promise?"

Zen nodded again. "Promise."

They finally made their way to the billboard. Zen found his name—Lunar Dormitory. Lyra found hers, listed under the Celestia Bloom Hall—a dormitory built with crystalline towers and starlight vines meant for elite female students.

Before parting, Lyra hugged him once more, tightly.

"Don't let them break you," she whispered. "Eat something, rest, and come back here when the rain stops. I'll be waiting."

And with that, they went their separate ways.