"You're an idiot," she said bluntly. "Forcing two opposing crystalline matrices is magical suicide. You were seconds away from disintegrating from the inside out."
Alex managed to stand, swaying slightly. He lifted his gaze.
"The result is the same," he replied. "You're safe."
A silver eyebrow arched.
"Barely." She pointed at his hands. "Essence microfractures. Your spiritual flow has been damaged. That doesn't heal with rest."
Alex looked down. The pain wasn't just physical. It felt as if something at his core had cracked.
The woman studied him more carefully.
Too carefully.
"That energy signature…" she murmured. "There's no mistaking it."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Pure crystallization."
The air itself seemed to grow heavier.
"I've seen records in the academy's ancient archives," she continued. "Critical magic treatises." Her gaze locked onto his. "It's one of the Fifty. A legendary magic believed to have been lost for centuries."
Alex understood the problem instantly.
She didn't see Echo of Memory.
She saw the result—and assumed the obvious conclusion.
"And now," she added, "it appears in a young man who quite literally falls out of the sky onto my road."
"My name is Alex," he said cautiously. "And my training was… unconventional."
It wasn't a lie.
Just incomplete.
"Who trained you?" she asked, this time with genuine astonishment. "Critical magic users don't simply appear. Especially not one whose power was considered extinct."
Alex measured every word.
"I'm traveling to Aquaris with a purpose. I'm a messenger from Shadowfall."
The name fell like a stone into still water.
"Shadowfall…" she repeated. "Does Andras-sama know what you are?"
"She entrusted me with this mission."
Silence.
The woman no longer saw a traveler.
She saw a phenomenon.
A strategic asset.
Something capable of tipping balances.
At last, she nodded.
"You saved my life, Alex," she said gravely. "And that is no small debt. I will facilitate your entry into Aquaris. Consider your audience before the Council of Tides… guaranteed."
It wasn't just gratitude.
It was an investment.
---
The journey to the capital was tense.
The woman introduced herself as Elara Naeva, Royal Councilor. She never directly mentioned critical magic again—but her questions were far too precise to be casual: solid matrix control, advanced crystallization theory, limits of spiritual flow.
Alex answered using what he'd learned from Mayuri, carefully filtered.
She listened.
And with every response, her conviction deepened.
Then he saw them.
The Gates of Aquaris.
Two colossal arches of white stone, joined by a veil of perpetually flowing water. Through the liquid curtain, the city shimmered—buildings adorned with coral and crystal, pathways gleaming like wet pearls. The air smelled of salt, magic, and ozone.
"Is this your first time here?" Elara asked.
"Yes," Alex admitted. "It's… beautiful."
She looked at him differently now.
She no longer saw just a messenger.
She saw hands capable of forging diamond from air.
She saw a walking legend.
The guards, clad in iridescent scale armor, stiffened when they recognized the carriage.
"This young man is my personal guest," Elara declared. "He will have free passage and all the privileges of a high-ranking visitor. By my authority… and for what he represents."
The looks directed at Alex changed.
Respect.
Curiosity.
Danger.
As he passed through the watery veil, Alex felt a surge of revitalizing energy course through his body.
Inside, Aquaris was a dream of water and light.
The carriage stopped before a monumental structure shaped like a pearlescent shell.
"The Academy of Aquaris," Elara said. "Where future leaders are forged… and rare magics are studied."
Alex remembered Andras's words.
"Andras-sama mentioned this place."
Elara turned sharply.
"Then you're not just a messenger," she smiled, cold and calculated. "You are the proposal itself."
She leaned closer.
"There are those here who would kill to possess what you are. One mistake… and you'll stop being a guest. You'll become a prize."
She straightened.
"Come with me, Alex. Let's make your audience unforgettable."
Alex took a step forward.