The Empty CourtyardTwo months.
Sixty-one days since the letter was found on the wooden desk.
The Valcrest estate had long since returned to its normal rhythm. The regional
lords had concluded their conference and departed. The heavy iron gates were
closed. The Academy suspension had officially lifted, and students had returned
to the capital to resume their classes.
But three students had not returned.
In the center of the private training grounds, Rei swung his wooden practice
sword.
Crack.
The blade struck the reinforced wooden dummy with enough force to splinter the
outer layer of bark. Rei didn't stop. He reset his stance, his breathing heavy
and ragged, and swung again.
Crack.
He was faster than he had been two months ago. His wind mana flowed seamlessly,
wrapping around his arms and legs with lethal efficiency. But his form was
overly aggressive. He was striking like a vanguard who had forgotten he didn't
have a partner watching his blind spots.
He swung a third time, putting his entire shoulder into the arc.
The wooden sword snapped cleanly in half.
Rei stumbled forward, catching his balance before he hit the dirt. He stood
there for a long moment, staring at the broken hilt in his hand. Slowly, his
shoulders dropped. He let the broken wood fall to the ground, running a hand
over his face.
"You're over-rotating on the follow-through."
Rei turned.
Alice stood at the edge of the courtyard. She had returned to her own family's
estate weeks ago, but she visited often. She didn't wear her training gear
today; she wore a simple, dark coat against the autumn chill.
She walked over, stopping a few feet away from him. She didn't offer pity. She
just looked at him with that quiet, emotionally intelligent gaze that always
seemed to see right through his bravado.
"I know," Rei muttered, looking away. "I'm used to someone being there to catch
the counter."
Alice stepped closer. She didn't say anything to fill the silence. She just
reached out and gently rested her hand on his arm. It was a simple gesture, but
it grounded him. The frantic, angry energy that had been driving his strikes
slowly bled out of his posture.
Up on the second-floor balcony, Liora watched them.
She stood exactly where Cain had stood on the night he left. Her hands were
clasped behind her back, her posture immaculate, but her eyes were tired.
The Duke had told her the truth about what Cain was carrying. He had explained
the terrifying gravity of the anomaly, and the absolute certainty that the gods
would hunt it down. For two months, Liora had utilized every intelligence
network the Valcrest family possessed. She had scoured reports of dungeon
breaks, unauthorized mana surges, and ruined zones.
She had found nothing.
It was as if Cain Arkwright had simply ceased to exist.
Liora closed her eyes, the cool wind brushing against her face. She respected
his discipline. She respected his tactical mind. But for the first time in her
life, she hated his absolute willingness to carry the burden alone.
Down the hall, the door to the infirmary was open.
Aera sat at the small wooden desk, a mortar and pestle resting idly beneath her
hands. The room smelled faintly of dried mint and antiseptic herbs.
She wasn't grinding anything. She was just staring at the empty cot in the
corner of the room.
She remembered the terrifying, hollow void she had felt inside his chest. She
remembered the quiet, exhausted look in his eyes when he told her he had to be
ready. He had known he was leaving. He had let her stabilize his mana one last
time, knowing he was walking into a war zone to keep the fire away from her.
Aera rested her forehead against her hands, squeezing her eyes shut.
Please, she thought, a desperate, silent prayer to a god she no longer trusted.
Just let him be alive.
Suddenly, the air in the estate shifted.
It wasn't a gust of wind. It was a massive, localized drop in atmospheric
pressure.
Down in the courtyard, Rei's head snapped up. Alice instinctively took a step
back, her hands glowing with defensive mana.
Up on the balcony, Liora's eyes snapped open.
In the infirmary, Aera shot out of her chair.
The ambient mana in the center of the training grounds began to warp. The space
twisted, folding inward on itself like a collapsing star. It wasn't the dark,
suffocating gravity of the Black Veil. It was something entirely different. It
felt ancient. Timeless.
A blinding, golden-white light tore through the fabric of the courtyard.
"Rei, get back!" Liora shouted, vaulting over the balcony railing and using a
burst of wind mana to cushion her landing in the dirt.
Rei didn't retreat. He dropped into a defensive stance, placing himself squarely
between the blinding light and Alice.
The estate guards shouted alarms, their armored boots thundering toward the
courtyard.
The light flared to a brilliant, silent crescendo.
And then, it vanished.