The woods east of Vireen Academy were still with an unnatural silence, broken only by the quiet shuffle of footsteps through the underbrush. Kael moved swiftly beneath the trees, the weight of the earlier duel pressing against his ribs like an invisible hand. His breathing had leveled, but his mind churned.
"Learners aren't supposed to defeat Talents," he murmured under his breath.
Not like that.
Not with elegance, grace—and complete control.
But that's what happened.
And now, the consequences were already rumbling through the academy halls like a distant avalanche. The duel against Ardyn—a royal Talent—was not meant to expose him. It was meant to warn. To prove a point.
But Kael had done more than that. He'd shattered the illusion of untouchable supremacy. And everyone had felt it.
He reached the old statue near the garden wall, a moss-covered figure that was once said to represent the First Learner. Here, Kael had once meditated alone. Now, he wasn't alone.
"You're not hiding well for someone who just upset the natural order," said a voice.
Kael didn't turn. "You're not hiding at all, Lia."
From the shadow of the crumbled pillar, Lia emerged. Her cloak was soaked at the hem, her silver hair tucked beneath a hunter's hood. And in her eyes—calm, piercing certainty.
"You're going to make enemies," she said. "Important ones."
"I already have."
She stepped forward, dropping her cloak to reveal the shimmering mark along her collarbone. A sigil of old—a radiant constellation of lines in diamond formation, pulsing with her Myth-bound power.
"You've known from the start," she whispered. "That you weren't like the others."
Kael looked at her finally. There was something human in his eyes—something tired. But beneath that was steel. "And you've known what I am."
"I've guessed. But now I need truth."
Kael didn't speak for a long time. Then he said, "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
Lia's eyes flickered. Her silence was answer enough.
"I was someone else once," he continued. "In a world where strength came from knowledge, not bloodlines. I studied. Learned. Created. And died."
"And now?"
"Now I'm here," Kael said. "And I refuse to let this world tell me who's allowed to rise."
For a moment, there was only the wind. Then Lia spoke.
"I made a decision. When I first saw you—when I watched you stand up to a Talent and not cower—I chose."
Chose what?
She stepped closer. "I chose to believe in the impossible. That a Learner could change everything."
He studied her quietly, and when she raised her hand—he didn't flinch.
She placed her palm over his.
A faint glow. Power not from domination, but harmony. An oath, silent and unseen, formed between them.
"I'll help you," she said. "But we do this on our terms."
Kael nodded.
Then a branch snapped.
They spun—only to find a figure standing by the path.
It was Professor Salen.
And he did not look pleased.