They walked through the academy grounds in relative silence, Silvester moving with his casual gait. The twenty-minute journey to the outer gates felt both eternal and instantaneous—Cale's mind was too restless to properly track time.
His anticipation was building with each step. A week-long mission away from the academy's watchful eyes, he could finally test everything he'd learned in combat without worrying about drawing unwanted attention.
With a beauty as a companion at that.
'Hehe, it's like a date!' he thought with barely suppressed excitement.
They reached the massive stone gates that marked the academy's outer boundary. The structure loomed above them, carved with ancient runes that glowed faintly in the fading evening light.
That's when they saw the figure.
Approximately one hundred meters beyond the gates, standing motionless in the center of the road, was Scythe.
She was waiting for them.
