When I opened my eyes, the world was wrapped in silver silence.
Soft light filtered through gauzy curtains. My body felt heavy, my magic drained, but the pain was distant like an echo that no longer belonged to me.
I wasn't in the forest anymore.
The air smelled faintly of cold iron and lilies. I realized I was lying on a bed too soft to belong to the academy's infirmary.
Then a voice cut through the stillness.
"You shouldn't be awake yet."
My heart stilled.
Aster Caelum stood near the window, moonlight tracing the edges of his uniform. He wasn't wearing his usual expressionless mask his brows were faintly furrowed, his gaze unreadable.
"How long…" My throat was dry. "How long have I been out?"
"Three days." He turned toward me. "Most candidates failed within minutes. You, however…"
He paused, as though weighing the words. "You destroyed a Starbeast."
My breath hitched. "I I didn't mean to"
A faint smirk ghosted across his lips. "You don't need to apologize for surviving."
He stepped closer. His presence was overwhelming cold and sharp, yet strangely grounding.
"That power wasn't normal," he said quietly. "Where did you learn to call starlight?"
I hesitated. "I didn't. It… answered me."
Something flickered in his eyes. Recognition? Or fear?
Before he could reply, the door creaked open. A messenger bowed low.
"Lord Aster, the council requests your presence."
He nodded once, then turned back to me. "Rest. The Trials are far from over."
And then he left, his footsteps fading into silence.
For a long time, I stared at the spot where he had stood.
The memory of the silver blade burned behind my eyes the voice, the warmth, the power that wasn't mine.
I clenched my fist. "What are you… turning me into?"
Outside, the moon hung full and bright, and for a moment, I could swear the stars pulsed
as if they were watching.