The academy felt unchanged.But Lunivara knew, that it only meant the change had moved elsewhere.
"You're serious?!"
Jude looked at her, one brow raised.
"The docks?"
"Yes."
A short pause.
"Right now?" he added.
"Before the festival preparations escalate."
Jude exhaled.Half a laugh.
"You really don't wait, do you?"
"Delay reduces clarity."
"Fair enough."
A voice from behind, calm.
"Thus, we proceed."
Leontius.
Jude glanced back.
"You're coming too?"
"You already decided to investigate."
Not a question.A statement.
Lunivara didn't object.
"Shall we proceed."she said.
The path to the docks was quieter as usual than the academy.Less structured and less controlled.
The sound of water reached them first.Soft, uneven.
"Doesn't feel like anything happened here," Jude muttered.
"The surface conditions normalize quickly," Lunivara replied.
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
They stepped closer.
The dock stretched ahead—still.Too still.
Lunivara's gaze moved across the surface.Then—lower.
"There."
Jude followed her line of sight.
"What am I looking at?"
"The wood."
A faint mark from the boat they used barely visible, as if something had pressed against it—but not with force.
Jude crouched slightly.
"That wasn't there before?"
"I guess we did not notice it when we left" Lunivara said.
"Yeah" Jude replied"it was in your sleeve when we left,"
"Indeed," Leontius added, while observing the faint mark of the boat. "It is not impact, if it were it wouldn't have shaped a mark."
"Yeah, then what?" Jude asked.
Leontius didn't answer immediately.Silence.
"It doesn't make it clearer," Jude said.
Lunivara traced the edge of the mark—without touching it.
"The direction itself is inconsistent."
"Meaning?" Jude asked.
"It did not come from above."
"But..I didn't really come from above"
"No, I mean there must be someone below us."
"Ohh, I understand now." Jude replied teasingly. Lunivara glare at him. Jude smirked, knowing exactly which button he had pushed.
While he was playfully teasing her, he suddenly changed the topic and became dead serious.
Jude blinked. "So it's under the water, or someone could be under the water."
She glared at him more, her eyes narrowing as a wave of skepticism washed over her face, she was entirely convinced he was just setting her up for another joke.
"Provisionally, We preserve this faint mark, Jude"
"Yes, I'll ask the fisherman who owns it."
"Where woul—!"
The surface of the water shifted slightly.Before she could finish speaking, a massive ripple rolled through the sea.
All three of them froze.
It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't violent. It was just wrong.
From somewhere behind them, a fisherman's loud voice cut through the silence. His tone was stiff and formal.
"Hey,kids. What are you doing out there?"
"This is bad" Jude said.
The fisherman ran toward us, his breath ragged. "You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice tight. "The wind is picking up, that's why the water is getting rough."
"It was calm just a moment ago," Lunivara interrupted, her voice shaking.
The fisherman shook his head. "It's been going on like this for a while now. It must be because of the extin—" He cut himself off sharply, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at us. "Why are you gathering around this boat anyway?"
"We were planning to sail with my friends here," Leontius said, relaxing his tone to match the fisherman's. "Perhaps we will sail next time ,if the wind calms down."
The fisherman was surprised by the gentlemens presence, he was unable to speak, and look at the three of them and then there dressing, and instantly bowed.
"Forgive me, I didn't notice you were nobles"
The three of them were speechless.
"Please raise your head, Sir" Leontius said. The fisherman declined and still bowed.
"Sir, I command you to raise your head" Lunivara said with authority.
"Y-yes" the fisherman slowly raised he's head facing them.
Lunivara then looked at Leontius signaling.
"Thank you for your concern, but no need to walk on eggshells around us—we're just regular folks at the end of the day, please keep it easy like the first time u spoke. We'll take our leave now. Take care."
"Y-yes" The fisherman left there stunned,. ["What a humble young man,"]
The three of them left the area, while walking through the docks, Lunivara looked at Leontius then looked at the waters—observing, on the other hand Jude was silent too, no one spoke.
They walked back toward the academy.But the air had changed.
Lighter above—heavier underneath.
Jude broke the silence first.
"So we've got strange marks, reactive water, and a possibility that's someones under the sea."
A short pause.
"...Anything else?"
Lunivara answered calmly.
"Incomplete information."
Jude let out a breath.
"Of course."
Leontius added, quiet but certain—
"And escalation."
Silence followed.
Because that word-meant this was only the beginning.
End of Chapter 24