The Extra's Rebellion
Chapter 84: Shocked speechless

Chapter 84: Shocked speechless

After being thrown out of class, Oliver led Zephyr through a side path that twisted into the forest behind the academy. They walked in silence, the tension of the earlier humiliation still lingering in the air. Eventually, they stopped beneath a massive tree, its canopy so wide and layered it resembled a natural treehouse.

"Come on," Oliver said, grinning as he climbed up with practiced ease.

Zephyr followed, and once they reached the top, he had to admit—it was peaceful. Sunlight filtered through thick leaves, casting dappled shadows across the wooden floor of branches they sat on.

They sat in silence for a while, the rustling leaves and distant hum of academy life far removed from where they now perched.

Then, out of nowhere, Oliver asked, "What happened that day? I saw you crying."

Zephyr’s shoulders tensed. "Of course not. Men don’t cry." He gave Oliver a flat look. "Don’t be stupid."

"Oh," Oliver said simply, and Zephyr relaxed slightly, thinking that was the end of it.

But then Oliver leaned back and asked, "So... what were you doing, then?"

Without thinking, Zephyr blurted, "Cocaine."

A beat of stunned silence passed.

Oliver blinked. "...I think you mean Kokaine."

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a bundle wrapped in black-and-white paper, unwrapping it with the precision of someone far too familiar with the process.

"I usually go with a rating of twelve. That’s enough to leave me faded for a few minutes." He said it like he was discussing tea strength. "But my dealer just restocked, so I’ve got a rating of seventeen."

Zephyr hesitated. He knew he shouldn’t. But he’d tried it before—Merin had offered him some during a rough week, and well... don’t judge.

Okay, maybe judge the teacher. Who hands drugs to students?

Still, it wasn’t like he was addicted or anything. He just took some now and then to take the edge off.

He took a cautious inhale.

Instantly, the world shifted. Colors bled together, leaves shimmered with impossible hues, and his shoulders that we were tensed —melted into an easy slouch. A stupid smile crept across his face before he could stop it.

Oliver took a deep sniff of his own, snd then, without warning, he tipped sideways.

There was a loud crack and thud as he crashed onto a lower branch. Zephyr blinked, trying to process what just happened.

’Just one inhale. What the hell is in this stuff?’.

But the thought didn’t last.

"I... need sleep," Zephyr muttered, voice thick and slurred.

He slumped sideways and toppled through the leaves, past the branch where Oliver had landed, and hit the ground with a muffled thump.

He barely registered the pain before darkness swallowed him whole.

And if he was able to stay conscious a few moment Longer he could have seen his hair beginning to glow in a silver- Lavender color, similar to when he activated the eyes.

*******

Zephyr woke up with a groan. His head throbbed as he rubbed the back of it and stared into the dimming sky.

"Where the hell...?"

Then it all came rushing back. The tree. The drugs. The fall. He looked up—the sky was noticeably darker than when they’d arrived.

"Oliver!—Onch..." The shout spiked his headache.

Clumsily, he tried to climb the tree. He fell three times before managing to haul himself up to where Oliver was still sprawled out like a corpse.

"Come on, dude. Wake up." Zephyr gave him a nudge.

Oliver stirred, mumbling groggily, "Huh... Camila, run... my wife is coming..."

Zephyr’s eye twitched. He shoved him without a hint of mercy.

********

By the time they reached the dorms, Oliver was still grumbling about the push.

"You could’ve woken me up gently, you know."

"You fell out of a tree high on whatever that was". Zephyr said flatly. "You’re lucky I didn’t roll you down the hill."

Oliver sulked. "Still. That was a dream worth seeing through..."

Zephyr sighed. "You need help."

Oliver grinned. "I got you, don’t I?"

Zephyr paused, then snorted. "Unfortunately."

Zephyr frowned and turned to look back at Oliver. "What’s wrong, isn’t this the dorm". Oliver had stopped advancing with him and stood a few feets behind him.

"Well yeah it is". Oliver rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "You see, I have been banned from coming to the dorm".

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "By that instructor?".

"Well no". He looked down at his feet. "By my cousins actually".

Zephyr just blankly stared at him. ’is this guy serious’.

"So not by an instructor? But by your cousin?".

"Yes! But don’t worry I used some credit to expend a Booth in the mall and even managed to a bed. But now am knees deep in dept".

"You are coming with me". Zephyr said in a matter of fact tone. He hasn’t met these people before, well not officially but the signals he has been getting from Keal and Oliver were all negative.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea". Oliver sighed then said in a dejected tone.

"Look I have already implicated you in my matters, I don’t want you to get targeted as well, trust me nothing good comes out if being targeted".

Zephyr just stared at him like someone who had grown a second head. Was he being educated on how being targeted feels like when he was the number one hated person in the entire world right now.

"Don’t worry I already knows how it feels and having a few more people actively participate isn’t going to kill me. At least not yet." Zephyr said with a shrug. "Now come".

Zephyr walked forward leaving Oliver behind. He was going to force him, the only reason he was even bothering was because he had been labeled ’irrelevant’, he sensed a kindred spirit so he was going to help. Only if he was ready to be helped.

A grin broke out from his face as he heard silent footsteps behind him. ’hmm my talking technique was effective, see if I don’t surpass Naruto’.

With a stupid grin he pushed open the door of the dorm and the smile froze on his lips, not because someone attacked him. But because of the room itself.

Connected to the door was a smooth stone walkway, perfectly crafted, which led outward to a much larger circular stone platform at the center of the room. But calling it a "room" felt almost insulting now.

At the heart of this surreal space stood a colossal sakura tree.

Its trunk was thick, gnarled, and ancient—its roots curling around the edges of the stone like fingers gripping the world. Delicate pink petals drifted slowly down from high above, carried by unseen currents. Each one danced lazily in the air, catching the soft glow of ethereal lights embedded in the surrounding bark and stone.

The sheer scale of the tree was staggering. Zephyr stared in silence, trying to anchor himself, it was too majestic, too serene, too wrong for a dorm room.

This wasn’t a hall of bunk beds and open roof.

It was a cathedral. A sanctuary carved from nature and magic.

And just when the dreamlike peace began to settle in his chest, something else caught his eye.

To his left, a waterfall flowed down from an impossible height, its source hidden in the branches. The water cascaded smoothly down a curved wall of stone, catching shimmering lights as it fell. It landed in a crescent-shaped basin etched with glowing runes, filling the air with a soft, rhythmic roar. The sound was calming—soothing, even. Like the world had slowed down just for him.

Zephyr blinked. Once. Twice.

’What the hell was in that thing. How is it still messing with me’.

He took a cautious step backwards, petals brushing against his shoulders.

But then—he looked up.

And everything changed again.

The tree’s canopy stretched outward like a living ceiling, completely obscuring the sky. Gigantic boughs wove together in layered arches, their leaves thick enough to filter the golden sunlight into soft beams. That was why the room was shaded, why everything felt cool and hidden and sacred.

But there, high above—in the canopy itself—people moved.

He had to squint at first. Tiny shapes darted across woven bridges, climbed along rope ladders tied to thick branches, and lounged inside hollowed alcoves carved into the living wood. Beds were wedged between trunks and vines, hammocks hung between blossoms, and even metal lockers were strapped to sturdy limbs like bizarre fruit.

He spotted someone reading upside down in a netted swing.

The dorms weren’t around the tree, they were within it.

The branches were filled with walkways, living spaces—all seamlessly integrated into the body of this sacred titan. The more he looked, the more he saw— stairways twisting around roots, soft lights glowing like stars within hollows, voices and laughter echoing gently through the layered heights.

Zephyr was no longer sure if this was a dormitory or a forgotten shrine for tree spirits.

He exhaled softly. "This... is getting ridiculous."

Beside him Oliver asked in a quiet voice. "What’s wrong".

Zephyr didn’t respond.

He just stood there, head tilted back, lost in the soft fall of petals and the quiet hum of life above.