Rebirth - Part 12
Arthea whispered back… and only Eryon heard it.
The Starveil Hall slowly regained its quiet after the mysterious test was over. The small lights that had scattered were now floating steadily, returning to their orbits like little stars obedient to their sky.
But for Eryon, everything still felt shaky.
No… it wasn't the world that was shaking.
It was his soul.
That voice—the one that called his name, that said "return"—still lingered at the edge of his mind like a fine thread pulling relentlessly.
Seraphina and Master Thalion appeared to be speaking with the professors in a corner of the hall. Occasionally, both glanced at Eryon, as if contemplating something much larger than just the test results.
Eryon looked down.
His eyes stared at his palms.
Earlier, when the light appeared…
when the woman's shadow approached…
…he felt something.
Not fear.
Not shock.
But something softer, warmer…
like an unexplainable longing.
"Why do I feel like I know her?" he wondered.
But before he could search for an answer, something happened.
WUUUMMM—
The air around him vibrated.
The ley lines flowing across the floor moved slowly, lighting up brighter than before, as if responding to Eryon's proximity.
No one noticed.
The professors were busy discussing.
Other students passing by assumed it was just a minor change in the energy flow.
But Eryon felt it clearly:
Arthea was watching him.
It was… speaking to him.
"Why… is it only me… who feels it?"
A gentle breeze blew past his hair.
And once again, the voice sounded clearer than during the test.
"…return…"
"…open your eyes… deeper…"
Eryon froze.
"Who are you…?" he whispered unconsciously.
But the voice did not answer.
It only left a subtle vibration, like a leaf touching the water's surface.
Outside the Starveil Hall
Eryon walked slowly down the main corridor of the Arthea Academy. The building felt alive; the ley lines on the walls moved like veins. Light from the ornate glass windows danced with the wind.
But every time Eryon took a step, a tiny whisper followed.
It wasn't like a human voice.
Nor did it come from a spirit or magical creature.
It was more… ancient than that.
More primal.
Arthea itself was whispering.
And only he heard it.
"Am I… connected to this place from long ago?" Eryon murmured.
No one answered, but the faint sound echoed softly:
"…remember…"
"…you have seen this light before…"
Eryon stopped.
Something from the past—a past he never lived in this life—seemed to be trying to emerge.
But every time he tried to remember…
All that appeared was emptiness and the vague silhouette of the long-haired girl from the test.
A silhouette that made his chest feel heavy. A silhouette that made his heart… ache, for some reason.
A Sign from Arthea
Arriving at the outer balcony overlooking the main garden, Eryon leaned against the white stone railing. The evening breeze blew gently, carrying the scent of blooming magical leaves.
But suddenly, a small light appeared above his palm.
A shard of white light, like a fragment of the mini-moon, floated slowly in the air. Then the shard spun, forming a thin line… like a letter… like a symbol…
Eryon frowned.
The symbol looked like…
half a circle alongside a mark resembling an eye.
"What symbol is this…?"
When he was about to touch the small light—
DZZT!
The symbol shattered, turning into a pair of voices:
"…you will understand… when time brings you together…"
Brings me together?
With whom…?
Something gentle yet powerful danced in the air—an energy that was not just magic, but something akin to an emotion.
Arthea was feeling something.
Or waiting for something.
And Eryon felt it clearly:
There was someone who would change his destiny.
The Professors' Discussion
Meanwhile, in a closed room on the upper floor…
The professors gathered around the viewing crystal. The resonance symbol from Eryon's test was still clearly etched.
Professor Nerath rubbed his forehead.
"This is… not a pattern of an ordinary human soul."
Professor Elara added,
"It's not like a spirit, or a ley line entity either. This is something… mixed?"
Archmage Selvanor narrowed his eyes, his voice low.
"No. It is not mixed."
He looked at the crystal as if seeing the future.
"This is… a return."
"Arthea knows the boy."
"And if Arthea knows him…"
He looked up at the illusory starry ceiling in the room.
"…then the future of the Academy has just changed."
Return to Eryon
Eryon was still looking at the evening sky when the last whisper of the day sounded—the softest, warmest.
"…you are not alone…"
"…you will meet… soon…"
Eryon froze.
"You…? Who?"
But the wind only carried a faint shadow, and the ley lines slowly dimmed.
After that, there was no more sound.
Only the gentle silence belonging to the Arthea Academy.
But the feeling remained:
There was someone in this place…
whose soul had once intersected with his.
And he would meet that person soon.
He didn't know that in just a matter of days…
his life would be changed by the gaze of a pair of silver eyes.
Arc 1 - Rebirth [Completed]