SOULBOUND: THE ABYSS WITHIN

Chapter 79: Mira, Unbound

The following morning, Soul Academy's halls were buzzing with the fallout of the night's near-catastrophe. Students whispered in corners, upperclassmen shared rumors over soul scrolls, and instructors struggled to restore order to a system rocked by two titanic household clashes.

But amidst all of it, Mira Hawthorne walked the corridor like nothing had happened.

Head high.

Smile sharp.

Not a bruise or hair out of place.

"Didn't she almost get vaporized by black lightning?" someone muttered.

"Y-Yeah, but she showed up to morning lecture like she owned the place…"

"She winked at Dean Vale…"

"Did she just blow a kiss at the Soul Board booth?!"

Mira's blue eyes glimmered with a mixture of mischief and defiance. Draped in her midnight-blue academy coat lined with silver, she strutted through the main atrium, sipping on a cup of spirit tea like a bored empress. She even stopped briefly to "adjust" a painting in the hall—one of the Ikemba family—by tilting it ever so slightly to the left.

A few students gasped. She winked.

"Cassandra still hasn't said a word to me," Mira said aloud, seemingly to no one. "But that's alright. The most difficult prey is always the most satisfying."

Someone dropped their textbook in the background.

At lunch, she took her plate and, in full view of the entire central garden, sat not far from where Karen, Jim, Leslie, Marie, and Cassandra were gathered.

She even waved.

Karen stared. "She's… shameless."

"Has she no fear of death?" Jim muttered.

"Or lightning?" Leslie added.

Marie looked like she was ready to scream.

Cassandra, chewing slowly on a slice of spiritfruit, didn't turn to look at her. "Ignore her."

"Ignore her?!" Marie hissed. "She tried to force herself on you!"

"She also just flirted with the cleaning golem," Jim pointed out.

"I'm not sure she sees people the same way we do," Leslie said flatly.

But Cassandra's voice remained cool. "She wants attention. I'm not giving it."

Mira, now lounging under a tree with her legs crossed, shot Cassandra a sultry look. "You looked at me just now. I saw it."

Cassandra looked at the tree behind her and said nothing.

"Not everyone in the Soul Board is insane," Karen muttered.

"No," Cassandra murmured. "But this one is personally defective."

Even Joshua, watching from a balcony above, pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is what I get for turning down that promotion…"

Down below, Mira twirled a blossom between her fingers, then blew it in Cassandra's direction.

The petals wilted midair and fell before reaching her.

Cassandra didn't even blink.

Mira simply smiled wider.

> "You'll acknowledge me eventually," she whispered. "And when you do, I'll make sure you never forget it."

From the distance, once again, Ramses watched—arms folded, golden eyes gleaming with cold amusement.

> "And the spiral tightens."