Chapter 50: Converging Shadows
While Azrael wandered the streets of the city, getting to know its forges and secrets, his sister, Jeanne, was preparing for the upcoming event at the Academy. She returned to the city recently, and the first thing she did, as soon as she crossed the threshold of their temporary home, was to ask her mother, "Mom, did he come?" A brother? Is he here?
The mother just shook her head sadly, and in her eyes was read the same anxiety that tormented Jeanne. "No, child. No one came.
Jeanne clenched her fists. She couldn't feel a kinship with him—his aura was hidden, blocked by something powerful. But her heart, connected to him by a much stronger thread, told her that he was here, in this city. "There are two options: either he's looking for us, although I doubt it very much... or he is preparing to enter the Academy. I think it will be like that."
"Okay, we need to get ready for the Academy," she sighed, trying to banish her obsessive thoughts. — Haa, brother, where are you? Her eyes lit up with a strange light at these words—a mixture of longing, hope and determination.
Come on, come on!
A call on her portable communicator brought her out of her thoughts. "Hmm, a message?" Who could it be? She muttered, picking up the device.
The name on the screen was Rachel. — Oh, this is my Rachel! Jeanne giggled, and a smile returned to her face.
She opened the message. (Rachel: Hi, Jeanne! How are you?)
Jeanne's fingers quickly ran over the keys. (Jeanne: Hi, Rachel! Everything is fine. What about you? Are you already preparing for academic life?)
The answer came almost instantly. (Rachel: It's okay, yes, I'm getting ready. By the way, I heard that the Crimson Clan princess herself is coming to the exams.)
Jeanne raised an eyebrow. The news was interesting. (Jeanne: Really? No, I haven't heard. Something loud.)
(Rachel: Yes. And by the way, are you going to watch the entrance exams?)
Jeanne thought for a second. "Entrance exams... Why not? This is the perfect place to see all the strongest applicants. And... maybe his," she thought. (Jeanne: Yes, I will definitely go.)
---
Nearby, on one of the observation decks of the city, there was another teenager. His black hair fluttered in the wind, and his golden eyes, cold and full of determination, were fixed on the majestic Academy building.
— Haah, the Academy... We'll meet soon, my beloved Queen," Lin whispered, and his hand involuntarily tightened on the hilt of the sword behind his back. "I'll do it right this time." I'll protect you.
With that thought in mind, he walked towards the Academy with a firm step, his shadow lengthening in the setting sun, merging with the shadows of the city.
---
There was a slight commotion at the main gate of the city. The guards lined up and stood at attention. The reason became obvious a moment later.
A girl was walking along the pavement, as if floating above the ground. Her jet-black hair was pulled back into an elaborate hairstyle that accentuated her aristocratic features. The scarlet eyes, cold and confident, stared straight ahead. Her beautiful cherry blossom dress fluttered in the light wind like the petals of an exotic flower.
—Welcome to our city, Your Highness, Princess Queen,— the senior guard respectfully bowed his head.
Quinn barely nodded, not deigning to look at him, and continued on her way, heading straight for the Academy. Her gaze swept over the spires of the educational institution, and there was no curiosity in it, but calculation. She didn't come here just to enroll. She came to conquer.
---
Somewhere high up, on the balcony of an expensive hotel overlooking the academic quarter, another young man was sitting. His short black hair was fluttering in the wind. Brown eyes, empty and bottomless, were fixed on one point — the main entrance to the Academy. A cup of fragrant tea was steaming in his hands, but he didn't seem to notice either its taste or the surrounding beauty. He was just drinking tea on the balcony, watching. Always watching.
— The arch will begin soon. The Arch of the Academy," Azrael said softly, and a faint shadow of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
He drained the tea to the bottom, put the porcelain cup on the table and got up slowly. Picking up his new, night-black sword, he turned around and headed inside the apartment. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving behind the fading noise of the city and the looming expectation of great things.
***
Somewhere in the vast depths of the universe, beyond time and space, in an absolute vacuum where there was neither light nor sound, there was a Being. It was the epitome of emptiness itself, a silhouette of pure darkness, without features or form. His existence was focused on a single object—a giant, pulsating red panel dotted with running lines of unknown code and holographic images of worlds. It was a System. The core of everything, the matrix of reality.
The Creature's gaze, if you can call it that, was fixed on one particular point on the panel — the image of the majestic Aetrium Academy. And next to her, to an enlarged hologram of a teenager with short black hair and cold brown eyes.
— Haah... — there was a sound in the void, similar to the grinding of stones. It was like a sigh. — Well, the Academy arc is about to begin. Quickly... I hate this place so much. The cursed forge of "heroes," the Creature hissed, and the darkness around it thickened, eclipsing the radiance of distant galaxies. His "hatred" was ancient, cold, and all-consuming, like the void itself.
It watched Azrael leave the balcony, feeling his growing strength, his unique Will, alien to this world.
And then, from the depths of the non-form of the Being, a low, guttural, joyless laugh burst out. It rolled through the void, causing the very fabric of the universe to vibrate.
— Huh! Good luck to you, second self!" his voice sounded mocking, full of bitter irony and knowledge of what awaits his creation ahead. — Pha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
His laughter stopped as suddenly as it had begun, swallowed up in silence. The darkness closed in around him again, and only the crimson light of the System continued to flicker, counting down the seconds until the start of the big action. The game was done, the pieces were placed. All that remained was to observe.
Volume 1. The Blade of Destiny Is over.