Sword of Fate

Chapter 13: RETURN

When Kael returned to the dormitory, only Eiran was inside. The moment Kael opened the door, Eiran opened his eyes. He hadn’t been asleep.

"How was it?"

"Productive." Kael set his bag down and sat at his desk. After a brief pause, he turned toward him. "Your mother was at our estate."

Nothing changed on Eiran’s face. That, in itself, was an answer. "I know," he said calmly. "She didn’t tell me."

"Coincidence?"

"No."

Eiran looked out the window, remaining silent for a few moments before standing up.

Torven was still at the training grounds. Davan had gone to the library. The dormitory was empty except for the two of them.

"We need to talk."

Kael waited. Eiran walked over and sat across from him. He rested his forearms on the table. It was an unusual posture. Eiran normally looked relaxed, almost lazy. Now, he looked deliberately serious.

"My mother serves on the Imperial Security Committee," he said in a calm, even voice. "She’s assigned to the department responsible for monitoring Dungeon activity."

Kael remained silent.

"Eight months ago, something changed." "There were simultaneous abnormalities in multiple regions."

He paused.

"Nothing like it exists in the historical records." Kael listened without interrupting.

"I wasn’t sent here only as a student." Another brief silence. "I’m also here as an observer."

"To observe what?"

"The Academy’s Dungeon Hunter Program." His eyes never left Kael’s.

"And the students within it."

Silence settled between them. Faint footsteps echoed from somewhere beyond the corridor. Then everything became quiet again. Kael organized the information in his mind.

So Eiran is gathering information for the Empire... and he’s telling me willingly. Which means he doesn’t see me as an obstacle. He sees me as someone worth cooperating with.

"Why are you telling me this?" Kael asked. "Because working with you is more efficient than working against you." Eiran leaned back again. He returned to his usual relaxed posture, but this time it felt intentional rather than casual. "And because my mother evaluated you."

"The result?"

"For now...He doesn’t consider you a threat."

Kael met his gaze. "I evaluated her too."

"I know." A faint smile appeared on Eiran’s face.

"You can tell me." Kael thought for a few seconds. "Only if it’s mutual."

"It is."

"You share what you know."

"I was planning to."

Kael leaned forward slightly. "What exactly does the Empire want?"

"To understand why the Dungeons are changing." Eiran paused. "And to make sure they don’t lose control."

"Aldris knows?"

"He does." Eiran gave a small nod.

"He also knows the Empire wants access to information." "But he wants the Academy to remain independent."

"So..." "It’s a balance."

"And I’m part of that balance." "We both are."

Kael was silent for several moments. "Then let’s make an agreement." Eiran waited. "If either of us discovers something important..." "We tell each other first. Before anyone else."

Eiran considered it carefully. Then he nodded. "Agreed."

"You follow the same rule."

"I will."

Neither of them offered a handshake.

They didn’t need one.

They simply looked at each other.

That was enough.

— ◆ —

That evening, Kael went to Aldris’s office. He reported everything.

Mira Solheit’s visit.

The conversation with his father.

And Eiran’s confession.

Aldris listened without interrupting. When Kael finished, silence lingered in the room for several seconds.

"I suspected Eiran’s true assignment," Aldris finally said. "The day he was accepted into the Academy."

"And you admitted him anyway."

"Yes." Aldris rose from his chair. "Because he’s talented."

He walked toward the large map hanging on the wall. "And sometimes, knowing what the other side is thinking is more valuable than shutting them out."

Kael studied the map.

"The missing guards on the northern border..."

"The memory loss."

"Yes." Aldris nodded. "It occurred within the area affected by the energy wave."

"Is that normal?" "No."

His finger rested on the northern region of the map. "Aether disturbances can interfere with memory." He paused. "But not like this."

"Not this consistently."

"Not with identical symptoms."

"So the wave is getting stronger?" "Yes."

"Slowly."

"But it is growing." Kael folded his arms. "Then what will it take to stop it?"

Aldris didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stared at the map for a long moment. Finally, he spoke. "We have to find the source."

"One of the unrecorded Dungeons."

Kael lifted his head. "And the person who awakened it."

Aldris looked back at him. "Those may not be the same target." Kael nodded once. "Two separate objectives."

"Exactly."

"And neither will be easy."

Silence settled over the office again. Outside, the Academy was quiet. Only the wind brushed softly against the windows. Kael slowly rose from his chair.

"But they’re not impossible."

For the first time that evening, the corner of Aldris’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.

"No."

"They aren’t."

— ◆ —

Kael left Aldris’s office with more questions than answers.

The corridor was empty.

The Academy had grown quiet after sunset, its stone halls illuminated only by the warm glow of mana lamps. His footsteps echoed softly as he walked.

An Imperial observer.

An awakened Dungeon.

An unknown source beyond the northern mountains. One mystery had become several.

Yet, somehow, they all felt connected. He couldn’t prove it. Not yet.

But the pattern was there. People simply hadn’t seen enough pieces to recognize it.

When he returned to the dormitory, the room was dark. Eiran was reading by the window. Torven was already asleep, his heavy breathing filling the silence. Davan hadn’t returned yet. Neither of them spoke. There was no need.

Some conversations didn’t require words after they were over.

Kael placed the small Aether Stone on his desk. Its surface looked ordinary.

Gray.

Rough.

Lifeless.

But when he activated his Aether Sense, faint currents of energy flowed beneath the stone like a quiet heartbeat.

His father’s gift. Simple. Practical.

Exactly the kind of thing Destan Ardenvast would choose. He still doesn’t know how to say what he feels. So he speaks through actions instead. Kael closed his hand around the stone.

One day.

When the time is right...

I’ll learn everything.

About my mother.

About the northern Dungeons.

And about whatever is beginning to awaken.

Outside the Academy walls, beyond the forests and mountains...

Something waited.

Patiently. As if it had been asleep for a very, very long time.

And now—

It was waiting for someone to find it.

— ◆ —

— End of Chapter 13 —

AzulNote///

Are people actually reading it? I don’t get it.