The next morning, the commander sent a message:
"Unit 9. One new recruit. Keep her alive or send her back."
They were already training when she arrived.
Tall boots. Faded cloak.
A blade strapped to her back that looked older than her — chipped, burned, but humming with something wrong.
Ezrah froze when he saw her eyes.
They weren't normal.
They were the same pale silver as the Hollowborn.
But she wasn't one of them.
She was human. At least… mostly.
Shino stepped forward, hand on her blade. "Name?"
"…Aira. Just Aira."
Kaien tilted his head. "You sure you're on the right side of the wall, Hollow-eyes?"
She didn't answer. Just dropped her bag and stood there like stone.
Unbothered. Unafraid.
Renzo watched her for a long time before finally nodding once. It was the only acceptance she'd get.
That night, Ezrah couldn't sleep.
He found Aira sitting on the edge of the ruined wall, legs dangling, staring up at the sky like it owed her something.
"You're not scared of them," he said, sitting beside her.
"No," she whispered. "Because I hear them before they come."
Ezrah looked at her. "What do you mean 'hear'?"
Aira turned her face slightly, moonlight hitting her pale eyes. "I was born during the Red Eclipse. My village thought I was cursed. Maybe I am."
"…Did they abandon you?"
"No."
A pause.
"They offered me to the Hollowborn. And they took everyone but me."
Ezrah's breath caught.
That's why she didn't flinch.
That's why her blade was older than she was.
She didn't survive the Hollowborn — she walked out of them.
Kaien appeared suddenly, dropping a blanket over Aira's shoulders. "Weird girls still get cold, you know."
She didn't respond. But she didn't shrug it off either.
Renzo, from where he stood on watch, finally spoke:
"Tomorrow's mission will test her."
Shino added, "Let's see if she's cursed… or chosen."
Ezrah couldn't help but wonder —
Was Aira their weapon?
Or their warning