The world smelled of smoke and rain when I woke.
Light filtered through the broken ceiling above me not the cold shimmer of starlight, but the faint gold of morning.
The battle was over.
The Academy had survived.
And yet everything felt wrong.
My body ached as if I had been burned from the inside.
Every heartbeat echoed with something foreign, something deep and alive beneath my skin.
I sat up slowly. The infirmary was half destroyed walls cracked, crystals flickering weakly. The other beds were empty.
Only Aster remained.
He sat beside me, uniform torn and gloves scorched, watching the sunrise through what used to be a window. His sword what was left of it rested across his knees.
"You're awake," he said without looking at me.
I swallowed. "How long?"
"Two days."
Silence settled between us, heavy but not hostile.
I stared at my hands. Traces of black still veined beneath the skin, pulsing faintly with each breath. "The sun… it's gone, right?"
Aster's jaw tightened. "Not exactly."
My chest went cold. "What do you mean?"
He finally turned to me. His eyes, usually calm and unreadable, looked… tired.
"When you released that power, it didn't vanish. It anchored itself."
"Anchored," I repeated.
He nodded. "Inside you."
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. "So I"
"You carry what's left of it," Aster said softly. "The Black Sun. Its energy. Its consciousness, maybe."
My stomach twisted. "Then why am I still alive?"
"I don't know." His tone was honest, painful. "But the Council won't leave you alone now."
I looked away, gripping the blanket tightly. "Then I should leave."
Aster's hand moved before he could stop himself, catching my wrist. His touch was warm grounding.
"No," he said quietly. "That's what they'll expect. You stay with me. Under Division command, you're protected. For now."
His eyes met mine sharp, but there was something else there too. Something fragile.
"You've changed, Erian. The power inside you… it's not just celestial. It's alive. If you lose control again"
"I'll destroy everything," I finished.
He didn't deny it.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Outside, the sky shifted sunlight breaking through the mist, glinting off the shattered glass.
Finally, Aster stood. "Rest. You'll need your strength. The Council will summon us again soon."
As he turned to leave, I whispered, "Aster."
He stopped.
"I saw something when the light took me," I said slowly. "A figure in the sun. It looked like you."
He didn't move, didn't breathe. Then, barely audible:
"Then it's already begun."
He walked out, leaving the scent of starlight and steel behind.
I stared at the sunlight pooling across the floor gold tinged with silver, flickering like fire and shadow both.
Somewhere deep within me, the Black Sun pulsed once.
Alive.
Waiting.