That morning i woke up earlier than i usually do.
The sun was not up yet. The sky was still really dark. I was already sitting on my bed watching lina sleep beside me. Her hand was warm like it always is, and it was lying open beside her face.
It was like nothing had happened the night before.
I almost made myself believe that the whole thing was a dream. That the room had not got cold. That my breath had not frozen. That linas' eyes had not glowed.
My fingertips still felt cold. I could still hear her words in my head.
She had said something about a stone table with my name on it. That it had been there for a time even before we were born.
I let out a sigh. I did not have the heart to wake lina up. She needed to sleep.
So i got up. Went to the cafeteria by myself.
---
the cafeteria was really busy that morning.
It was not because there were fewer students than usual. It was because the big tv on the wall was showing something. Usually it shows the weather or announcements from the academy. This time it was showing buildings that had been destroyed, streets that were cracked and smoke rising into the air.
I stopped in front of the tv. Maya was already standing there staring at the screen. Her eyes were not blinking.
"surabaya", she said. Her voice was really flat. "it happened last night."
the reporter on the screen was talking about an attack, a group and a lot of casualties. I was not listening to her. I was looking at the people in robes standing in the middle of the ruins.
They were the people who had come to my grandfather's house.
The scar on my hand started to hurt.
"them," i said.
Maya nodded. Her hand was shaking, the one with the silver bracelet.
"this is the beginning," she said. "my father would not do this. He does not believe in fighting without a reason… ouroboros is not just led by my father."
"there is another group?" i asked.
"a group that's tired of waiting," maya said. She was staring at the screen. Her face was really pale. "they know you are here. They know we are going to the mariana trench. This is a warning."
"a warning for what?" i asked.
"that they will not wait forever," maya said.
---
i found aldo in room 13.
The door was open. He was standing in front of an empty chair with my name on it. His hand was touching the carving.
"you saw the news," i said.
Aldo did not turn around. "i saw it."
"bayu said we had three months," i said. ". Maya said they will not wait."
aldo took a breath. He stopped touching the carving.
"bayu did not know about the group," he said. "he thought ouroboros was still being led by the emperor… the emperor has not been seen for a long time."
"where is he?" i asked.
Aldo looked at me. His eyes looked older than usual.
"no one knows," he said. "maya does not know either. After he left the bracelet for maya, he disappeared. Some people say he is dead. Some people say he is hiding… what is clear is that without him the other group took over."
"and they are not patient," i said.
Aldo nodded. "they will attack again. Not just cities, this academy. If we do not move faster."
he walked to the door. Stopped.
"bayu will speed up your training," he said. "not three months, but three weeks."
---
i went to look for bayu in the training room.
He was already there waiting for me. He was not wearing a robe, just a thin shirt that showed the scar on his chest. His yellow eyes were glowing brighter than usual.
"you heard," he said.
"three weeks," i said.
"whether it is enough or not, that is what we have," he said. He pointed to the pool behind the building. "from now on we will train all the time. You will sleep when your body cannot take it anymore. You will eat when i say you can."
i looked at him. "and if i'm not ready?"
bayu stepped closer. His yellow eyes were staring at me.
"then you will die in the mariana trench," he said. Lina will die with you. Because they will not let her live. She is the key, like you."
i felt cold. "the key to what?"
"to that door," bayu said. "to what your grandfather opened twenty years ago" he patted my shoulder hard. "three weeks, kael. Use them well."
---
that night i was too tired to think.
My body felt like it had been crushed. Every muscle hurt. Every bone felt broken. Bayu was not joking. We had been training from morning until sunset.
I fell onto my bed. Lina was not asleep yet. She was sitting on the bed beside me watching me.
"kael," she said. "what happened?"
i told her everything. About the attack in surabaya, the group within ouroboros, the three weeks and the mariana trench.
Lina listened without saying anything. Her warm hand was holding my one.
"i am coming," she said.
I looked at her. "lina, this is dangerous."
"i know," she said.
"you could die," i said.
"i know," she said again. She held my hand tighter. ". I will not stay here waiting, not knowing whether you will come back or not. I have waited enough. I have not known enough."
i looked at her eyes. They were dark brown and warm, not glowing. There was something there that i had never seen before.
It was not fear. It was not sadness.
It was resolved.
"i am coming," she said again. "wherever you go."
i did not say anything. I did not let go of her hand.