I froze mid-step, my momentary peace shattered at the sight of Elias' perfectly composed form. Even here, in a café tens of miles from the Academy, I couldn't escape the bizarre orbit of Academy politics. Finn tensed beside me while Gavril's expression shifted from relaxed to guarded in an instant.
Elias sat alone at an elegant corner table partially secluded by what appeared to be a small waterfall of liquified gold, creating a subtle privacy screen of liquid and light. As always, he looked like he belonged exactly where he was, not a hair out of place, uniform exchanged for casual attire that somehow still managed to look aristocratic.
"Elias," I managed, while Finn and Gavril exchanged looks beside me. "What are you doing in Lumina? First-years aren't supposed to…"
"First-years of your rank. Let's just say I am quite highly ranked in comparison to the rest of our cohort," Elias interrupted smoothly, closing his book with a practiced motion. He gestured to the empty chairs around his table. "I remember that you agreed to talk over a cup of tea sometime, so I thought I would secure us a spot. You are welcome to join us, of course, Finn, Gavril."
Finn crossed his arms, suspicion written across his face. "Quite the coincidence, finding you here. Especially given Asher's... unique relationship with coincidences."
Gavril shifted uncomfortably beside me. I could practically see the calculations running behind his eyes, the risks of sitting with Elias versus the potential information we might gain.
I sighed and pulled out a chair. "If it's your treat, then I have no problem."
A smile tugged at Elias's lips. "But of course."
Finn and Gavril hesitated another moment before reluctantly joining us. The server approached almost immediately, as if she'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"The usual for you, Master Aurellian?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you, Selene. The full afternoon tea service for four," he told her. "And perhaps some of your Paradox Pastries that I've heard so much about."
"Right away, sir," she replied with a respectful nod.
As the server departed, an awkward silence descended upon our table. The ambient sounds of the café, gentle music, quiet conversations, the occasional clink of porcelain, suddenly seemed amplified.
"Fancy meeting you here I guess" I finally broke the silence.
Elias smiled. "I knew the Headmistress had granted you permission to visit Lumina today. I also knew that Gavril's brother frequently recommended this particular establishment." He looked at Gavril. "Your family connections are more useful than you give them credit for."
Gavril shifted uncomfortably. "You've been researching us."
"I prefer to call it 'maintaining awareness of interesting developments,'" Elias replied. "You should well know that the Academy thrives on information as much as magic."
Before I could question him further, our server returned with remarkable speed, placing an elaborate three-tiered stand in the center of our table. It contained an assortment of miniature sandwiches on the bottom tier, scones and pastries in the middle, and what appeared to be delicate confections on to, except these sweets hovered slightly above the plate, rotating slowly.
Four individual pots of tea followed, each one a different color and emitting distinct aromas.
"This particular blend is called 'Fortune's Favor,'" Elias explained, noting my curious expression. "I thought it appropriate."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Very funny."
"I wasn't attempting humor," he replied mildly. "The tea actually attunes itself to the drinker's natural magical resonance. For someone with your... unique relationship with probability... I thought it might be illuminating."
I stared at the steaming cup suspiciously. "Is this going to explode when I drink it?"
"The Possibility Parlor has strict policies against serving exploding beverages," he said with the barest hint of a smile. "Though they do offer those on their evening menu if you're interested."
Finn snorted despite himself, then quickly covered it with a cough when I glared at him.
"Fine." I lifted the cup and took a cautious sip. The flavor was unlike anything I'd ever experienced (which appears to be the case with almost all things I am tasting lately), shifting from bitter to sweet to something indescribable between heartbeats. More surprisingly, I felt a momentary clarity, as though the fog of exhaustion from weeks of punishment had briefly lifted. "That's... actually good."
"Of course it is," Elias replied, selecting one of the floating confections with elegant precision. "I wouldn't waste an opportunity for proper conversation by serving inferior refreshments."
Finn had already started on the sandwich tier, his initial reluctance apparently forgotten in the face of excellent food. "So why exactly did you arrange this meeting, Aurellian? I doubt it's just to fulfill a casual promise of tea."
Elias took a delicate sip of his tea before answering Finn's question. "I believe I mentioned when I brought you lunch during your garden rehabilitation that I find your situation... educationally valuable."
"Right," I said dryly. "And those bets you placed on my 'specific catastrophic outcomes' in the tournament."
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "My investments are still quite secure, I assure you."
"How reassuring," I muttered, reluctantly sampling one of the rotating pastries. It dissolved on my tongue like spun sugar infused with what tasted like liquid sunlight.
"How's the training with Liora?" Elias asked, his silver eyes studying me with that analytical gaze I'd come to recognize.
" And why exactly are you so interested in my training with Liora?" I asked after a deep breath.
Elias selected another floating confection with practiced grace. "Personifications rarely take direct interest in students, much less offer personal instruction. The last recorded instance was over eighty years ago, when Professor Tempus briefly mentored a student who could manipulate temporal perception."
"What happened to them?" Finn asked.
"They aged backward until they became an infant, then disappeared entirely," Gavril answered instead of Elias.
"That's... not reassuring," I muttered.
"The Personifications are not human, Ardent, regardless of how they appear. They operate on different scales of existence. Their concept of 'help' can be... unpredictable." Elias said after another sip of his tea.
I thought about Liora's intense focus during our training sessions, her frustration when I couldn't quite grasp the probability currents she perceived so clearly. "I think she's genuinely trying to help me stabilize."
"For her domain's sake, or yours?" Elias asked pointedly.
Before I could answer, our server returned with a plate of what appeared to be small, glowing spheres.
"The Paradox Pastries you requested, Master Aurellian," she said, setting them down. "I should warn your friends that they taste different each time, and occasionally trigger minor temporal displacements."
"Thank you, Selene," Elias said with a polite nod.
As she left, Finn eyed the glowing desserts suspiciously. "Temporal displacements?"
"Nothing serious," Elias assured him. "You might experience the next few seconds twice, or your taste buds might temporarily experience flavors from your childhood."
"You brought us here on purpose," I realized suddenly. "This café, it's related to probability manipulation, isn't it?"
Elias looked pleased, as if I'd finally noticed something obvious. "The Possibility Parlor is rumored to exist at the intersection of multiple probability streams. Noticed how the architecture seems to blend different styles? How the clock over there shows multiple times simultaneously?"
I glanced at the clock he indicated, and indeed, it had three different hour hands, all moving at different speeds.
"The owner is said to be a distant relative of Lady Fortune herself," Elias continued. "Though such lineages are difficult to verify when dealing with Personifications."
"So you brought us to a probability-warping café while I'm wearing a probability limiter?" I raised my wrist, displaying the silver bracelet. "What exactly are you hoping will happen, Aurellian?"
"Perhaps I'm simply curious whether the Headmistress's limiter is truly effective or merely a psychological placebo," Elias replied, his expression perfectly neutral despite the mischief dancing in his silver eyes.
"You think she'd risk sending me to a major city with a fake limiter?" I asked incredulously.
"Risk is relative when probability itself is in flux," Elias replied. "But that's merely academic curiosity. My real purpose is to offer you information about the upcoming Equinox Tournament."
This caught all of our attention. Gavril leaned forward. "What kind of information?"
"The kind not available to students of your rank," Elias answered. He took another sip of his tea, then continued ", The tournament is designed to test not just skill, but adaptability in the face of chaos."
Finn's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "And what do you want in return?"
Elias smiled, a calculating expression that never quite reached his eyes. "I want to know exactly what happens during your sessions with Lady Fortune."
The table fell silent. Even the ambient conversation in the café seemed to dim.
"That's ... private," I finally said.
"Is it?" Elias raised an elegant eyebrow. "Or is it potentially vital information regarding a magical phenomenon that affects the entire Academy?"
"Why do you care so much about Liora?" Gavril asked, his normally gentle voice taking on an edge of protectiveness.
Elias considered his teacup for a moment before answering. "The Personifications maintain a delicate balance at the Academy. When one takes special interest in a student, it... disrupts things. Other Personifications take notice."
"Like Professor Nihil," I said, remembering his cold, empty eyes.
"The Personification of Entropy himself," Elias nodded. "But there are others. Personifications you haven't met yet. And they're all watching you, Ardent. Watching and waiting to see what happens when a human bonds with Fortune."
"I didn't ask for any of this," I said, frustration building. "I didn't ask to be valuable or dangerous or whatever else everyone keeps saying I am. I just wanted to study magic without blowing things up every five minutes."
"Few of us choose our destinies at the Academy," Elias said, something almost like sympathy flickering across his face. "We simply adapt to them."
"So what exactly are you proposing?" Finn asked. "Asher tells you about his training with Liora, and you what? Just give him tournament tips?"
"I'm proposing an alliance," Elias said simply.
The three of us stared at him.
"An alliance," Gavril repeated slowly.
"Yes," Elias confirmed. "The tournament is designed to test individual strength, but nothing prevents strategic cooperation beforehand. I have information you need. You have information I want. And more importantly—" his gaze fixed on me again "—I believe your connection with Lady Fortune could be beneficial to us both."
"How so?" I asked cautiously.
"The Equinox Tournament isn't just about student rankings," Elias explained. "It's an ancient ritual that temporarily amplifies the Academy's connection to the Personifications and anchors the Academy to the fabric of reality. During those few days, the veil between their realm and ours thins considerably."
"And?" Finn pressed.
"And I have questions only a Personification can answer," Elias said, his voice dropping low enough that only we could hear him. "Questions about my family's connection to the Academy. About certain... abilities that have manifested in our bloodline. Abilities that shouldn't be possible for humans."
For the first time since I'd met him, Elias Aurellian looked almost vulnerable.
"What kinds of abilities?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
Elias glanced around, then leaned forward. "Every now and then, I see outcomes before they happen. Multiple potential futures, branching and collapsing based on logical decisions and actions. Hence my utter fascination with someone who always manages to smash my predictions to fine dust."
That explained everything. His mysterious smiles. His weird intrigue. His eagerness to accompany us to the session preceding the incident.
"Like... a seer?" Gavril suggested, halting my thoughts.
"No," Elias shook his head. "Seers receive visions. They don't control what they see or when they see it. This is different. More precise. More... deliberate."
I recalled the casual certainty with which he placed bets on specific outcomes. The way he always seemed to be exactly where he needed to be, with exactly the information he required.
"You think you have some connection to a Personification," I realized. "Like I do with Liora."
"I believe so," Elias said. "But unlike you, my connection manifested gradually, with no catastrophic incidents to draw attention. No one has ever offered to teach me to control it."
For a moment, silence hung over our table as we processed his words. Elias Aurellian, the perfect, composed heir of a prestigious magical family, was confessing uncertainty about his own abilities. It was... humanizing in a way I hadn't expected.
"So this alliance," I finally said. "What exactly would it involve?"
"Exchange of information, primarily," Elias replied, composure returning. "I tell you what I know about the tournament, the challenges, the levels, the hidden criteria they use for evaluation. You tell me what you learn from Lady Fortune about the nature of Personifications and their connections to humans."
"And what about during the tournament itself?" Finn asked.
"We avoid direct conflict until necessary," Elias said. "The early sections contain enough external challenges without us eliminating each other."
I exchanged glances with Finn and Gavril. Having Elias as an ally rather than an opponent would certainly improve our chances, but something about his offer still felt... incomplete.
"There's something else you want," I said, watching his expression carefully. "Something specific about my sessions with Liora."
A flicker of respect crossed Elias's face. "Perceptive. Yes, there is. I want to know if she's ever mentioned The Concordance."
"The what?" All three of us asked simultaneously.
"The Concordance," Elias repeated. "An agreement between the Personifications that governs their interactions with humans and with each other. I believe it's the key to understanding why certain abilities manifest in certain bloodlines. Why some students draw the attention of Personifications while others don't."
"She's never mentioned anything like that," I said truthfully.
"If she does," Elias said, "that information would be... valuable to me."
I considered him for a long moment. "Why should I trust you, Elias?"
"You shouldn't," he replied immediately. "Trust is earned, not given. But I did provide assistance, albeit in my own self-interested way."
"He did bring you food during your punishment," Gavril acknowledged reluctantly.
"And warned me about Valentina," I added.
Elias spread his hands in a gesture of openness. "I won't pretend altruism, Ardent. But our interests align more than they conflict. At least for now."
Before I could respond, a soft chime sounded from the silver bracelet on my wrist. All four of us stared at it.
"Is that..." Finn began.
"A warning," I said, recognizing the sensation from the administrator's explanation. "We have thirty minutes before we're forcibly teleported back to the Academy."
"Just enough time to finish our tea and make a decision," Elias observed calmly, as if the timing were completely coincidental rather than suspiciously perfect.
I looked at Finn and Gavril, silently asking their opinions. Finn gave a slight, reluctant nod, while Gavril shrugged in that way that meant he saw the logic but remained concerned.
"Alright, Elias," I finally said, extending my hand across the table. "We have an alliance. Information for information. But if I find out you're manipulating us—"
"You'll what?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice as he took my hand. "Turn probability against me? That would be fascinating to witness."
As our hands clasped, the strangest sensation rippled through me, like two currents meeting and intertwining before separating again. Judging by the momentary widening of Elias's eyes, he felt it too.
"Well," he said, releasing my hand with careful nonchalance, "that was interesting."
"What was that?" Gavril asked, looking between us.
"I'm not entirely sure," Elias admitted, examining his palm with academic interest. "Though I suspect Lady Fortune might have some thoughts on the matter."
The chime from my bracelet sounded again, more insistent this time.
"Twenty minutes," I noted.
"Then we should make efficient use of our time," Elias said, his composed demeanor fully restored. He leaned forward, silver eyes glinting with determination. "Now, about Level 1 of the tournament..."
As Elias began detailing the tournament challenges in a low, precise voice, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just made a deal that was far more significant than I realized. One glance at the paradox clock, its three hands now momentarily aligned before spinning in different directions again, only reinforced that suspicion.
Whatever game Elias Aurellian was playing, we were now pieces on his board. I could only hope we'd be players rather than pawns.