Lirien spent the rest of the day trying to shake off the encounter with Kairos Vale.
She went to her next class, buried herself in notes, grabbed a coffee from the campus café, and even took a longer route back to her dorm to avoid the main paths. But the golden warmth in her chest refused to settle. It pulsed faintly whenever she thought about his intense eyes, his commanding voice, and the way he had looked at her like she was the only person in the entire world who mattered.
By evening, she was back in her dorm room, sitting cross-legged on her bed with her laptop open, trying to finish an assignment on modern reinterpretations of classical myths. The words blurred on the screen. Her mind kept drifting back to the stranger who had called her "my eternal slave" like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Creep," she muttered, closing the laptop with more force than necessary. "Definitely a creep."
A knock sounded on her door.
Lirien froze.
She wasn't expecting anyone.
She got up slowly, walked to the door, and peered through the peephole.
Kairos Vale stood in the hallway, hands in his hoodie pockets, looking completely out of place under the fluorescent lights. He carried himself like he owned the entire building.
Lirien opened the door just a crack, keeping the chain on. "How did you find my dorm?"
Kairos tilted his head, as if the question genuinely confused him. "I asked. People here are strangely willing to give information when one speaks with authority."
Lirien narrowed her eyes. "That's called stalking. You need to leave. Now."
He didn't move. Instead, he looked at her with that same intense, unwavering gaze. "You are in danger. The spark inside you is waking up, and there are forces that will seek to use it — or destroy it. I crossed worlds to protect you. I will not leave you vulnerable."
Lirien's grip tightened on the door. The golden warmth in her chest flared again, almost like it was agreeing with him. She pushed the feeling down hard.
"I don't know you," she said firmly. "I don't remember you. And I definitely don't need some random guy following me around campus claiming I'm his 'eternal slave.' If you don't leave right now, I'm calling campus security."
Kairos studied her for a long moment, something almost like respect flickering in his eyes.
"You are still defiant," he said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "That has not changed. Good. It means the core of you remains intact despite the seal."
He took a small step back, giving her space, but his presence still filled the hallway.
"I will leave for tonight," he said. "But I will not stay away. You are important, Lirien Voss. More important than you know. When the memories return — and they will — you will understand why I am here."
He turned to go, then paused and looked back over his shoulder.
"Be careful with the shadows," he added softly. "They remember you, even if you do not remember them yet."
Then he walked away, his stride still carrying that unmistakable air of command.
Lirien closed the door, locked it, and leaned against it, heart racing.
She didn't know who Kairos Vale was.
She didn't know why he seemed so certain about her.
But the golden spark inside her had reacted to him — strongly.
And a tiny, buried part of her whispered that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't lying.
She shook her head hard, trying to clear the thought.
"No," she said aloud to the empty room. "He's just some weird guy with a fantasy complex. Stay away from him."
But as she tried to go back to her assignment, the golden warmth refused to fade.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, a single word echoed faintly, like a half-remembered dream:
Master.