Night settled over the academy without ceremony.
The lamps along the inner paths burned low, their light steady rather than bright, meant to guide rather than announce. Most students had already returned to their quarters to prepare for departure. Footsteps were fewer now. Voices rarer. The academy, having finished its sorting, allowed itself to grow quiet.
Pryan walked without destination.
He had his clearance slip tucked into his coat. His escort would arrive at first light. Until then, there was nothing required of him.
Seris matched his pace a half step behind.
They hadn't planned the walk. Neither had suggested it. When Pryan turned down the path leading past the outer gardens, Seris followed without comment, as if the choice had already been made and simply hadn't been spoken aloud.
They walked in silence for a time.
The stone beneath their boots was smooth from years of passing feet. Pryan noted the familiarity of it without attaching memory. He was still careful with his core, still aware of the faint resistance when mana shifted too close to the surface. He kept his breathing even.
Seris broke the quiet first.
"Pryan," she said, voice low enough that it didn't carry past the lamps. "I've been thinking."
He inclined his head slightly. "That's rarely dangerous."
She glanced at him. "Be serious."
"I am."
She shook her head once, then looked forward again. "I want to be strong," she said. "Strong enough to stand beside you."
Pryan slowed a fraction, just enough that the words could settle before he answered.
"That isn't a simple decision," he said. "If you choose to stand at my side, you choose to stand on humanity's side."
Seris didn't stop walking.
"I know," she replied.
There was no hesitation in it. No need to explain.
"That path won't stay clean," Pryan continued. "And it won't stay quiet. People will expect things from you. They already do."
"I'm aware," she said. "That's not new."
He glanced at her then, briefly. Her expression was composed, but not distant. Focused, the way it had been in the forest when pressure had closed in and she'd adapted without complaint.
She caught the look and sighed softly.
"You don't have to sound like you're twice your age all the time," she said. "Be your age sometimes."
The corner of Pryan's mouth lifted before he could stop it.
"It's inefficient," he said.
She snorted once, the sound quick and unguarded. "You're impossible."
They walked another stretch in silence, the academy walls rising and falling around them in gentle curves. Somewhere beyond the gardens, a night bird called and went unanswered.
They reached the end of the path where the stone gave way to packed earth. Pryan stopped there, not because the path ended, but because the moment did.
"We'll meet again soon," he said.
Seris nodded. "Yes. I'm waiting for it."
Neither lingered.
They turned back in opposite directions without ceremony, the distance between them closing behind them as naturally as it had opened.
Morning came without urgency.
Pryan was already awake when the escort arrived. Commander Halren Voss waited at the academy gate with the same group of soldiers who had brought Pryan to Viserk weeks earlier. Their armor was clean. Their posture unchanged. They looked exactly as they had before the forest, which felt intentional.
Halren inclined his head when Pryan approached. "Ready?"
"Yes."
There were no questions about his condition. No commentary on the board. Halren accepted Pryan's clearance slip, checked it once, and returned it.
They departed at a steady pace.
The road away from the academy sloped gently downward, stone giving way to dirt and grass. Other groups traveled alongside them at first, then gradually peeled away toward different paths. Pryan recognized some faces. Others he did not.
Before the road fully split, they passed the small village that had stood near the academy grounds.
The damage there had already been repaired. Roofs mended. Paths cleared. People moved about with the cautious normalcy of those who had learned how close they'd come to loss.
A few villagers recognized Pryan.
No one bowed.
No one shouted.
A woman nodded once as he passed. An older man lifted a hand in greeting. That was all.
Pryan returned the gestures and continued on.
At the fork where the main road divided, another escort group waited.
Seris stood among them.
They stopped at the same time.
Halren and the other escort captain exchanged a brief glance, then stepped back without instruction. Soldiers shifted position, forming a loose perimeter that left the space between Pryan and Seris open but not exposed.
Seris approached first.
"This is where we separate," she said.
"Yes."
"For now."
"Yes."
She hesitated, then added, "Don't overdo it."
Pryan met her gaze. "You should take your own advice."
She smiled faintly at that, then stepped back.
They didn't shake hands. They didn't promise anything.
They turned and returned to their respective escorts, paths diverging cleanly without overlap.
Pryan watched until Seris disappeared around the bend, then faced forward again.
"Next stop?" Halren asked.
"The mountain pass," Pryan replied.
Halren nodded. "We'll reach it by evening."
They continued on.
The academy fell behind them, its towers slowly disappearing into the distance. Pryan didn't look back.
There was time for that later.
For now, there was only the road, the weight of what had ended, and the quieter understanding of what waited ahead.
And Pryan walked on.