Light slowly filtered in, faint at first, then growing stronger. Ardyn blinked. Shapes moved across his vision—shadows against a pale ceiling lined with soft lights.
The room around him was quiet. Thin tubes ran along the walls, filled with gently flowing wind that gave off a soft glow.
His body felt heavy. There was a deep ache in his chest. His arms were sore, his legs stiff.
"Captain Seris," someone called out. "He's awake."
Ardyn turned his head and saw Captain Seris approaching.
The captain pulled a chair beside the bed and sat down, arms resting on his knees.
"How do you feel, Ardyn?" he asked.
Ardyn gave a faint smile. "Feels like Pops gave me a good beating."
Captain Seris let out a soft chuckle.
"In pain," Ardyn added, "but… glad I'm still alive."
Ardyn swallowed. "How's everyone else?"
"They're okay. Just minor injuries, mostly," Seris said quietly. "We won… but it came at a cost. You and Kael took the worst of it. But don't worry, Vireos has top-tier medics. You'll both recover soon enough."
Ardyn paused, brow furrowing. "Did we win…?"
Captain Seris looked at him for a moment. "You mean… you don't know?"
Ardyn shook his head.
"What's the last thing you remember?" the captain asked.
Ardyn stared at the ceiling. "When I was being strangled, I felt…"
He stopped. The memory flickered behind his eyes—blurry, but vivid.
There was pain. Crushing pressure.
But then—
A rush.
Like breath flooding back into his lungs.
A surge of wind, wild and full of heat, tearing through him.
He held the thought back and simply said, "I remember… I was losing my breath. Then nothing."
Captain Seris exhaled and leaned forward, clasping his hands under his chin. "We won, Ardyn."
"We did?" Ardyn asked, but somewhere deep inside, he already knew.
The captain nodded. "Remember the first time we met? That Aerolith in your bag?"
"When it lit red?" Ardyn asked.
"Yeah. What you did out there—it was like that. But stronger. Much stronger."
Ardyn blinked slowly. "I remember you said back then. It wasn't exactly new, right? That others had done it before?"
"Yeah," the captain said.
"Can you name one?"
Captain Seris leaned back, eyes narrowing in thought. "The first one… I can't remember his name. He doesn't play anymore." He paused. "But there's one who still does."
He looked at Ardyn. "Cindralune's top player. Elari Duskmere."
Then it hit him. He and Mirae had planned to meet Elari after the match.
"How long was I out?"
"About a day," the captain replied.
Ardyn shifted slightly. "Have you seen…"
Captain Seris smiled, already knowing where the question was headed. "Mirae? She's been here since yesterday, when we brought you in. Didn't leave your side all night. This morning, she asked me to stay while she ran off to handle something urgent."
Ardyn looked away. "Oh. Right."
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Ardyn said. "Nothing important."
Captain Seris stood slowly. "Get some rest. The finals are still a long way off."
Ardyn gave a small nod, then let his gaze drift upward toward the ceiling.
His eyes grew heavy again, thoughts already slipping toward whatever came next.
* * *
Mirae stepped toward the library's arched door, her hand just brushing the handle—
"Not there."
The voice came from behind her, low and urgent.
She turned sharply. A figure had just passed behind her and now stood a few steps away, half-shrouded in cloak, eyes scanning the plaza.
"Elari?"
"Follow me," he said without looking back.
Elari turned without a word, and Mirae followed close behind. They crossed the plaza in silence, then slipped into a narrow alley tucked between two towering buildings.
The air was cooler here, the noise of the city fading behind walls of metal and stone. Pipes lined the walls. Stray cables hung like vines.
Elari moved quickly—Mirae stayed close, her boots echoing softly against the floor.
At the third turn, Elari stopped. His eyes flicked upward to a folded steel ladder bolted high along the wall—one of the retractable kinds used for rooftop access.
Without hesitation, he jumped, hands catching the bottom rung, and pulled it down with a sharp clang. Then he started to climb.
Mirae took a breath and followed, hands gripping cold metal as they ascended. The ladder creaked slightly under their weight but held firm.
At the top, they stepped out onto the rooftop of a weathered four-storey building. The wind brushed lightly past them, carrying the distant hum of Vireos' turbines.
Elari scanned the horizon once, then turned to Mirae. No words—just a quiet nod.
"I was actually planning that when I found you in the library, I'd ask if we could talk somewhere else," Mirae said. "But I'm starting to believe what Ardyn told me."
Elari frowned.
"He said you're some kind of a psychic," she added.
A faint tug pulled at Elari's lip. "How is he?" he asked. "He took a serious beating in that last match."
"He was already stable when I left," she said.
Elari's eyes narrowed slightly. "I think the Council is starting to look at him seriously now. The assassination attempt—it might've been them."
"I think it was someone from Windmere's team," Mirae said.
"A spy?"
She nodded.
Then a smile tugged at her lips. "Did you know Ardyn suspected me?"
"So the spy's a she?" Elari said.
"Yes. And for some reason… I think he already knew there was a spy. He was wearing his Galegear when he left their room."
"He's hiding something," she added after a moment.
Elari fell silent, thoughts turning.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"If the Council already resorted to something that extreme," Elari said slowly, "then maybe they've uncovered what you two are planning."
He looked at her. "Or what we're planning."
"We need to be careful," Elari said. "Very careful."
There was a pause.
"So… you've found something about the Cirran list?" she asked.
Elari nodded. "I have a strong lead."
He held her gaze. "Neron Dunnivar."
Mirae blinked. "I think I've heard that name before…"
"He was the first one to use the red burst," Elari said.
Her eyes widened.
Elari nodded, almost as if he'd read her thoughts. "If you, Ardyn, and I are Breathers… and he is too…"
Mirae murmured, "The Four Breathers."
"We have a month to dig deeper after the semi-final matches," Elari said.
"The Ascent Month," Mirae echoed.
"Let's use this place for our next meeting."
"Same time. Three days after your match with Vireos," she said.
Elari gave a nod and turned toward the rooftop ladder.
"I'll go first. Wait a minute, then follow."
He swung over the edge and disappeared from view, footsteps fading down the rungs.
Mirae exhaled softly, glancing out at the flickering lights of Vireos, but then Elari's head popped back up, eyes catching hers.
"Oh, one more thing," he said. "At our next meeting… make sure you've convinced Ardyn that you're not the assassin."
Mirae tilted her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. "And if I am?"
He grinned. "Then you'd already be dead."
With that, he dipped out of sight again, the soft clank of metal echoing as he descended.
* * *
Night had settled over the Medic Hall.
Ardyn sat upright in bed, feeling a little stronger now, when the door suddenly creaked open. A sentinel stepped inside.
"Good evening, sir," the sentinel said with a nod.
Ardyn's brow furrowed. "Yes?"
"I was instructed by Captain Seris not to let anyone in except him. Unless you say otherwise." the sentinel explained.
Ardyn blinked. "Okay…"
The sentinel continued, "There's a lady who keeps returning, asking if you're awake, asking to speak with you. Said her name is Mirae. One of your trainers. She's here again. Should I let her in?"
Ardyn thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Let her in."
The sentinel stepped back out, and a few moments later, Mirae slipped through the door.
"I didn't even know the room was being guarded," Ardyn said.
"Nah, it's fine," she shrugged. "Probably for the better."
Then she crossed her arms, raised a brow, and gave him a look.
"You seriously think I'm the assassin?"
Ardyn ran a hand through his hair, scratching. "Yes… I have two suspects. You and Kaenra."
Mirae blew a puff of air upward, eyes rolling to the ceiling. "If stupidity was a wind current, you'd be soaring."
"Let's settle this once and for all," she said, leaning back into the chair. Her gaze shifted to the far wall, pointedly avoiding Ardyn. "Like I told you before, if it were me, you'd be dead. I've had plenty of chances. And on the night of the assassination, Ava confirmed I was with her. For all I know, the assassin might've been after me first."
She turned back to him, eyes narrowing. "Now I know you're hiding something. Just tell me—for the wind's sake—before I kill you myself."
Ardyn raised both hands in surrender, a crooked grin spreading across his face.
"Okay, okay," Ardyn said, hands still half-raised. "When I was attacked, I… I suspected it was you. The way the assassin moved, it reminded me of you. Then, when you and Kaenra showed up after the attack, I started to wonder if it was her instead. But still… you know… I needed to be sure."
Mirae arched a brow. "Then why'd you let me in?"
Ardyn stared at her blankly.
She smirked. "Because deep down, you already knew it wasn't me."
He didn't answer, but something in his expression shifted.
"I forgive you," she said, softer now. "But now… tell me what you've been hiding."
Ardyn exhaled. "The night after we spoke to Elari in the library… I found a Whisperseed attached to my satchel."
"A what?"
"It's a listening device," he said. "Tiny, barely bigger than a fingernail. That's why I wore my Galegears. I wanted to warn you."
He looked down at his hands. "And then came the part where I was dumb enough to suspect you."
He glanced back at her. "So… it's not really you, right?"
Mirae didn't answer. Instead, she swung her fist and punched him on the shoulder—hard enough to make him flinch.
"Ow—hey!" Ardyn winced, gripping his arm. "Did you forget I'm injured?"
"I didn't forget." She grinned. "That was for being an idiot."
Mirae's expression shifted, her grin fading into something more serious.
"So… where is the seed?"
"Whisperseed," Ardyn corrected. "It's still in my satchel. I decided not to remove it—figured if the spy thinks I haven't noticed, they won't be on edge. But… it's just hanging there in our room."
"So it really might be Kaenra," Mirae said, her voice low. "But without solid proof, we can't move recklessly. We need to be careful when she's around."
A brief silence settled between them, heavy with shared thoughts.
"Did you manage to talk to Elari?" Ardyn asked.
"I did," she said with a nod. "We'll meet him again three days after their match with Vireos. He said we'll have more time to dig deeper during the Ascent Month."
"Ascent Month?" Ardyn echoed.
"After the semifinals," Mirae explained, "the winning teams are allowed to return to their home isles, to be recognized, to celebrate, to rest and prepare for the Skytest finals."
"I see," he murmured.
Mirae crossed her arms. "Elari also said the person we're looking for is Neron Dunnivar."
Ardyn glanced up. "And?"
"We're lucky," she said. "He's in the south. And Windmere's already there."
She stood up and stretched slightly. "You want to see Sedge and Ava?"
"They're with you?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "They're in the other room—with Kael."
"If they want to," Ardyn said.
"Alright," she said, heading for the door. "I'll go get them."
But as the door swung open, Mirae froze.
Standing just outside… was Kaenra.