[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-solflare-the-painter-s-secret":3,"chapter-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-45":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Solflare: The Painter's Secret",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1322873,1757,"Chapter 45: A Promise of Annihilation","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-45",45,"\u003Cp>\"What are you standing there and waiting for? Won’t you get going?\" Zoe’s voice boomed from the left side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She clicked her tongue and pulled a sheer, white privacy curtain hanging from the ceiling on a track.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, it surrounded the mirror and the table in a gauzy cocoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the translucent fabric, her form became a ghostly silhouette, blurred and indistinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon caught the movement of her raising arms, the towel presumably falling away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face heated again as he swiftly looked back down at the datapad in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen glowed to life, instantly scanning his fingerprint after he thumbed the power button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the bright screen, a list draped in larger text appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>RE-CALIBRATION PROTOCOL: STORM, L.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Skill Grade: E.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Task 1\u002F5: Cardiovascular Baseline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Objective: Complete a 100-meter sprint at minimum 90% of calculated peak velocity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time Allotment: 60 minutes. Commencing 09:00.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saliva snaked down his throat as his eyes flicked to the clock above the bathroom door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tick. Tock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"08:52.\" His face ran cold as a focused smile touched his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where can I even find it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He searched for his hoodie and found it neatly folded on the chair by Zoe’s cosmetics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he neared it, he saw a pair of black training trousers from a sealed academy kit by the foot of his rippling bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With fast movements, he pulled the hood up and shielded himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon left without another word or even entering the bathroom to take a shower or brush the sleep lines off his face with a splash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ghost of Zoe’s silhouette watched him from behind the sheer curtain as he exited and slammed the door shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BAM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entering the hallway again was like entering a river of murmurs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Colourful outfits glowed like a disco light, giving the hallway itself life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The buzz of students heading to their morning drills or first session wrapped around him like clothes he couldn’t detach from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it fractured into distinct whispers as he passed them and stood at the front of the elevator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hum of the mechanical sound from the inside of the closed metal door mixed with that of those behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Did you see him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Who?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...The boy who just moved past us, the Dusthollow boy...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s lips prickled into a soft smile as he filtered the whispers from the hum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Why should I care about a mere stranger?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...He’s not a stranger...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Then who is he?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...That’s him—the guy who collapsed after fighting with the maniac...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s head snapped to the left, but he quickly tilted it forward, letting the whisper take its form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Are you sure? I thought he was dead... or in some endless coma...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Dead?! No, he’s not. Hayes brought him back last night in an MRAP, I saw him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Heard he snapped and killed some nurses at Winji Central Hospital...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Is that so? That’s why the promoted nurses weren’t around after we took the corpses there the last two days...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, the face of the fair nurse shot up in Leon’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dissatisfaction filled for a second, but he brushed it off after brushing his right arm through his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He inhaled softly, then tuned his ears back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Does that mean he has been tested using the assessment orb...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Check the letter inscribed on his chest?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Grade E, I can see it...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Pathetic. He won’t last a day back here...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...He should have remained dead in the hospital...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon kept his head down, but his honed senses picked out every detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From tilting heads, rolling eyes, smiling faces, and laughter that wouldn’t die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some faces remained tensed as they moved past him whenever the elevator door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>New faces entered, while old ones exited, letting Leon become like an ant between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"HHHhew.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sigh burst out, followed by a huge sums of air that exited his mouth the moment he stepped into the elevator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their faces flickered past him as the silver-colored door closed, yet that wasn’t what had dragged his attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at the chests of passing students and smiled after he saw small, luminous pins denoting their official skill Grades: C, D, and E.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, at the exit of the hallway leading toward the large exit point from the elevator, he saw it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, as he turned from the centre of the hallway, he saw a proctor entering the elevator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The polished ’B’ on her lapel gleamed under the elevator’s light as the mechanical door slowly closed behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to pulse with a quiet, superior authority, almost as if letting the light bow to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grade B,\" he whispered and kept nodding as the lizard-lady’s desperate deadline echoed in his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The late morning’s sun stabbed at Leon’s eyes the moment he exited from the outside walkway and entered the main front, where no platform was raised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cream-colored dormitory threw torch-like lights on him as his reflection lingered on it for just a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, the real world contrasted with the sterile light of the WinJi Hospital, the strange building he was taken into, or the amber hell of the illusion he had had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon lowered his hood, letting the cool air hit his face like a blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dry and brittle leaves spun in miniature vortexes around the trunks of the thick trees lining the pathways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird hums filled the air as he tilted his head slightly and stared at the bright blue sky for a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He followed the map in the bright light emitted from the datapad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the point to which the map pointed, he stopped and inhaled deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon pulled his hands from his pockets and rolled his shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After removing the hood from his head and cracking the bones in his knuckles and neck, his face tensed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"LEON!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice boomed across the central quad. It didn’t sound like a call, but a volcanic eruption of recognition and malice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ambient noise faded, followed by a pause in conversation and the loud footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every head in the vicinity swivelled, first toward the source, then toward the boy whose jet-black hair glittered under the sun after removing his hood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The groups of students and trial participants looked at him not as a person, but as a ghost who had just made a terrible, ill-advised return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing at the top of the granite steps leading to the trial hall was Tiger Kang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t smiling nor grinning; his expression was one of pure, unadulterated eagerness, as if a long-awaited meal had just been served on his table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun’s rays glinted off the ring on his finger—the very ring that had stolen the hydrokinetic’s power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the sudden, ringing silence, Tiger’s gaze locked onto Leon’s as he turned and faced the direction his name rang from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon saw a promise of annihilation written in the cold, dark depths of Tiger’s blue eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the 100-meter sprint, the other four tasks to undertake, the proctor’s meeting, and the strange pairing with Zoe all receded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They remained dwarfed by the immediate predatory reality standing fifty yards away.\u003C\u002Fp>",1189,"2026-06-05T19:15:29.303Z",1,"novelbin.me","855ba4c317c9f216a8a15ca8a0a51eba46626aee17e2dd246ea6b132b872f020","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-46","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-44",272,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsolflare-the-painter-s-secret-cover.jpg"]