[{"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-46":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},1322874,1757,"Chapter 46: Dies Irae, Dies Illa...","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-46",46,"\u003Cp>The quad’s chatter died, leaving only the rustle of leaves and the heavy pulse in Leon’s ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silent laugh whispered on Leon’s lips as he saw Tiger’s predator grin. It was the same grin Leon remembered seeing before he collapsed in the arena months back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon didn’t look away. He held the gaze for three heartbeats, long enough to send a warning message instead of a collapsing message.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With deliberate steps, he turned his back. It wasn’t a retreat. It was a choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First things first,\" his small lips stretched slightly wide as he walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as he moved to a far distance from Tiger’s sight, Leon felt the stare burning into his spine like a brand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another set of whispers boomed at his left side as he passed two ladies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he had no time to tune in to whatever they wanted to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He moved the datapad upward and followed the glowing map, like following his dreams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"90% peak velocity for 60 minutes? Huh!\" his eyes smiled when he re-read the objective again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the pause where the blue light on the map paused, Leon saw himself far from the main academy buildings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He whirled around and scanned the vast expanse of synthetic track, ringed by a high-polished metal fence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light erupted from it when the sun’s rays shone on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s good no one is around.\" He inhaled heavily, then walked toward the heavy gate he’d seen while whirling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a single push of his index finger, it swung open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM. CRUNCH!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud ramble echoed in the fence as the door automatically closed on its own the moment he stepped fully inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was fresh and still. Leaves jolted toward the field like rain as he tilted his gaze from one tree to another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though no one stood on the field, the distant crows were. Their cries echoed like war hymns until they burst upward in a sudden moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon walked until he stopped at the edge of the crimson track, where the green grass seemed to conflict with the 20% land left unshaped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled the datapad out of the pocket on his hoodie and re-read the objective and task all over again.\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>\"Ninety percent of my peak velocity?\" his mouth became dry as he thought of what it could actually mean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden, bitter laugh escaped him and echoed in the quiet field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whatever.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon walked to a lone blue metallic bench sitting at a place for proctors to observe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shrugged off the heavy hoodie. The fabric, damp with a cold sweat he hadn’t noticed, caused his expression to change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, he laid it on the bench he’d placed the datapad on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft click sounded from the hoodie’s left side as it settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is something in it?\" his face tensed as he pulled the hoodie back to his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s fingers searched the thick material and frowned after he found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he tightened his grip on the left shoulder, something touched his bones at the center of his right palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On top of the shoulder, he found a small black zip. It was so small he would never have found it if asked to search for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s heart thudded with a strange curiosity as he pulled the zip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zrrrip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, nestled in black foam that seemed slightly tattered, was a pair of headphones. Not the standardized ones. These were Technics EAH-AZ100s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This?\" his eyes widened while his fingers shook around it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I only see this on TV.\" Joy pulled on his face as he caressed it with care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the...?\" a soft scream exited from him as he lifted them out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Was this placed in as a gist? Or a mistake?\" He tilted his gaze sideways and scanned the empty field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hesitantly, the screen of the datapad flickered as he picked it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Audio Device Paired.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A notification came to life when his fingertip screeched across the wireless headphones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Were they connected before? Or just connected?\" he squinted at both the datapad and the headphone in his right arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chill that had nothing to do with the morning air traced down his spine like a hungry snake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon slowly brought the headphones to his ears and put them on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep, resonant silence filled the cups, then broke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Music flowed in. Not the tinny pop or aggressive rock he sometimes heard leaking from other students’ devices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This carried a haunting folk melody with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman’s voice singing of the sea. My Jolly Sailor Bold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is Zoe’s doing. It had to be her.\" He cursed as the variable item statement flashed in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s thumb stabbed at the touch control on the headphone’s side, skipping the track.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The music shifted and echoed in a darker tone. The gentle sea shanty vanished, replaced by the solemn, mournful strings of Mozart’s Requiem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lacrimosa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon skipped again when a grief sound danced in his ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the song he paused his fingers on erupted into his skull—driving thunderous, a choir and orchestra painting the end of the world with terrifying grandeur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fierce smile touched Leon’s lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is what I’m looking for.\" The smile dimmed slightly as he saw the time on the datapad: 08:59.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need to set this on repeat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The terrifying but beautiful chaos looped, building in his head. He stretched his arms forward, locked his fingers, and cracked his knuckles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun’s rays felt like a spotlight on his skin, causing him to squint his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon walked to the starting line, where two arrows were visible on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His shadow stretched long on the ground as the choir in his ears swelled toward its climax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dies irae, dies illa...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust jolted up from the edge he stood on earlier. The music was a piston in Leon’s brain, driving his legs and syncing with the frantic hammer of his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world blurred, then became a silver streak, while the bench turned into a distant mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon slammed past an imagined finish line and skidded to a halt with a heaving chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d been so locked into the song’s rhythm, he lost all sense of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A frown shimmered on his face as he tapped the headphone, pausing the music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He jogged back to the bench, his breath fogging in the cool air that made the leaves dance in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The datapad screen displayed his time for the first sprint as he tapped on it twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Four minutes?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Panic tried to rise, but he crushed it with the music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon scrolled through the list and stopped when the tip of his right arm’s index finger clicked on the darker one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, Sequence III: Rex Tremendae Majestatis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The music placed him in a wave of awe and dread. He inhaled and exhaled with the rhythm it carried as if it were his second heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sprint cycle became a meditation of pain and sound as he set off running again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a couple of minutes, the mechanical torture of the headphones stole his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It cleared all thoughts, including Tiger’s grin, the lizard-lady, and the before-and-after effect of the assessment orb blast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Leon’s seventh return, as sweat stung his eyes, he saw Vera standing beside the blue bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her weird smile nearly made him stumble and fall, but he didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her head tilted as she watched him, as if observing a peculiar insect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How long had she been there? Thoughts reeled in his mind as he slowed to a walk, his breath sawing in his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon didn’t stop. He walked past her to the bench. He gazed at the datapad to check his last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the side he stood, he could smell her perfume—something sweet and cloying, like a rotting flower.\u003C\u002Fp>",1341,"2026-06-05T19:15:29.303Z",1,"novelbin.me","062c5fa6e41ca06e02745c639cb3fca466d30272c5fe8879930d1cc73f13b14e","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-47","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-45",272,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsolflare-the-painter-s-secret-cover.jpg"]