“I know,” Kael replied quietly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

  Bereos nodded. "Good. Then follow me."

  Together, they climbed the stairs that Astra had taken before them. The stone steps echoed softly beneath their feet.

  After a moment, Bereos cast a thoughtful sideways glance at Kael.

  "She's never like this," he murmured. "No matter what happens here, Astra is usually indifferent. Cold.”

  Kael sighed. "I don't really know what happened. I think I insulted something she values deeply.”

  Bereos raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

  “The tunnels,” Kael answered. "I told her I didn't care about them. Using them is repulsive.”

  Bereos’s expression stiffened, and his gaze fixed ahead. "I see," he said quietly.

  “You do?” Kael asked. “Care to explain?”

  "I'm not sure it's my place," Bereos replied after pausing.

  Kael gave a dry laugh. "Another secret?"

  This time, Bereos smiled faintly. "Don't worry. Most of them will be revealed soon.”

  They continued in silence until Kael noticed a familiar figure waiting near the entrance to the meeting room.

  He lifted a hand. "Nice to see you again—"

  "I challenge you to a duel."

  Rael’s voice was cold and absolute. He turned toward Bereos.

  "I want to see his ability. I want proof that he’s truly the one we need.”

  Bereos’s eyes flickered. "You already know that he is. Astra confirmed it.”

  Kael frowned sharply. “Why would Astra know that?” He looked between them. “What are you talking about?”

  Rael rolled his eyes in open irritation, but Bereos stepped in calmly.

  "I know this is confusing. But you will understand when the time is right.”

  Kael clenched his jaw. "Is that so?" He turned back to Rael. "Fine. I accept your duel. At least that decision is mine."

  Rael grinned. "Good. Then let's do it in front of everyone."

  He turned away. "I'll be waiting upstairs."

  When Rael disappeared, Kael exhaled sharply.

  "I understand the duel. But why does he hate me so much? We should be friends. We even have almost the same name.”

  Bereos didn’t smile. "Pain doesn't always need logic," he replied softly. "If you want answers, earn his respect."

  The meeting room was tense when Kael entered.

  Everyone was already seated. Mal gave him a brief nod. Sylas and Marco ignored him, focusing on their weapons. Sera smiled faintly, though her gaze kept drifting toward Astra. Rael leaned back in his chair and watched Kael like a predator. Astra sat silently by the window with distant eyes. Only Varen met Kael’s gaze with calm neutrality.

  Bereos rested a hand on Kael’s shoulder. "Before we begin," he announced, "Rael has requested a duel. This is a test—nothing more.”

  His gaze sharpened. "No serious injuries. Understood?”

  Rael nodded, though his disappointment was obvious.

  He didn't wait for a signal.

  The moment Kael’s fingers closed around his sword, Rael moved.

  Too fast.

  The saber hissed through the air, its curved blade glinting as it arced toward Kael’s throat. Kael barely managed to raise his sword in time. The impact sent a sharp vibration through his arm, numbing his fingers.

  So this is his level, Kael realized grimly.

  Rael pressed forward without hesitation. Each strike flowed into the next; his movements were precise and efficient—nothing was wasted. Kael was forced back step by step, his defense growing thinner with every breath.

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  It was a feint.

  Kael reacted too late.

  The cold kiss of steel brushed his skin.

  Blood welled up.

  Kael stopped.

  He stepped back, lowered his weapon, and tilted his head as if inspecting something disappointing.

  "Is that it?" he asked calmly. "Is that the one Astra trusts?"

  Murmurs stirred around the room.

  Kael’s jaw tightened.

  Something inside him snapped—not anger, but resolve.

  "You don't know anything about me," Kael said quietly.

  He exhaled.

  Kronos.

  The world fractured.

  Sound vanished. Motion froze.

  Kael’s heartbeat thundered in his ears as he focused solely on Rael.

  Half a second, he calculated. That’s all I get.

  He moved.

  When time snapped back into place, he was already inside Rael’s guard.

  Steel met flesh.

  Rael hissed sharply as the blade cut across his thigh. He stumbled back a step, genuine surprise flashing across his face.

  Silence followed.

  Rael looked down at the wound. Then he looked up at Kael.

  Slowly, a smile formed.

  "So that's how you use it," he said. Not mockingly. Curious.

  Kael didn’t answer.

  His gaze flicked past Rael, just for a moment.

  Astra was watching now.

  Rael sheathed his saber.

  "Enough," he said. "I've seen what I needed to see."

  He turned away.

  "I don't like you," he added over his shoulder. "But your power is real."

  For the first time since the duel began, Kael allowed himself to breathe.

  Bereos clasped his hands. “Then we proceed.”

  He looked around the room. "Each of you knows the risks. I could not ask for better companions."

  Then his gaze returned to Kael, heavy and sincere.

  "I regret that we didn't have time to get to know each other better," he said quietly. "But understand this: You are the keystone of what comes next."

  He turned toward Astra. She said nothing, but her eyes spoke volumes.

  Bereos inhaled. "Before we begin, you deserve to know why."

  He faced Kael fully.

  "Professor Nora has told you the history of this empire, hasn't he?"

  Kael nodded. He tried not to show it, but his heart was pounding violently in his chest.

  At last, answers were within reach.

  “So,” Bereos continued in a low voice, “he must have told you about the one thing that caused the king to lose part of his power, even if only briefly.”

  Kael nodded again.

  "The solving of a Mystery. The destruction of a Word. The..." His voice faltered. "The creation of a new power."

  Bereos’s gaze softened, heavy with emotion.

  "Yes, it was all born from defiance and love. Two people who never betrayed their ideals, even when the cost was everything. You have heard of them before. They solved the Mystery and were brutally erased for it.”

  "I know of them," Kael said slowly, frustration creeping into his voice. "But I don't know their names. Nora never told me. And neither did you."

  Bereos sighed deeply and lowered his gaze to the table. The others around them grew still, their expressions darkening.

  "You have never heard their names," Bereos said quietly, "because they no longer exist."

  Kael’s breath caught.

  "The king erased them," Bereos continued. "Not just their deeds, but their very existence. He stripped away what made them human and erased all memory of them. What remains is only the echo of what they achieved.”

  Kael stared at him, disbelief flooding his face.

  "How is that even possible?" he whispered. “To erase someone completely?”

  “I don’t know,” Bereos admitted. "And that is what makes his power truly terrifying. It must have cost him dearly because he never used it again, not even against people like me who openly defied the system.”

  His voice dropped. "But once was enough. Death does not frighten me. But to vanish without proof that I ever lived...that is something even I fear.”

  Silence settled over the room like a shroud.

  Kael struggled to steady his breathing. The weight of the revelation pressed heavily on his chest. Slowly, he looked back at Bereos.

  "Now I understand what Nora meant," he said quietly. "An end even he would not dare to imagine." But what does this have to do with me? I’m not connected to them, am I?"

  "You are," Bereos replied. "In a way."

  Kael stiffened.

  "After they solved the mystery, they returned to the Empire," Bereos continued. "I never understood why. They knew they would be killed the moment they arrived. But they told me this was their destiny.”

  He raised his eyes and met Kael’s gaze. They told me that one day, someone would appear whose fate was unwritten. A fate even the eons could not foresee.”

  He lifted a hand and pointed at Kael.

  "Someone who would have the power to change everything."

  Kael swallowed hard.

  "So you knew them?" he said. "But how can you remember them if everything about them was erased?"

  Bereos's lips curved into a sad, knowing smile.

  He shook his head, a faint, sorrowful smile touching his lips.

  "Something prophetic like that is...too important," he said quietly. "Important enough that not even the king could erase it completely. And yet, it is the only thing I remember of them.” His gaze lowered. "Everything else is gone."

  "That's all?" Kael asked, suspicion creeping into his voice. "They returned after doing the unthinkable, and all they left behind was a prophecy about me? A prophecy they somehow just had?”

  Before Bereos could answer, a sharp bang echoed through the room.

  Kael flinched.

  Astra had slammed her hand against the table and risen so abruptly that her chair scraped loudly across the floor. She leaned forward, her fingers digging into the wood. Her breath was uneven, raw and barely contained.

  "Don't speak about them as if you have the right to judge them," she hissed.

  Kael froze.

  She pointed at him, her dark eyes burning.

  "They did what was necessary. For all of us.” Her voice trembled, not with fear, but with something far deeper. "You are standing here because of their sacrifice. Because of what they gave up. You should feel honored—"

  She stopped.

  Astra’s hand flew to her mouth as if the words had escaped before she could stop them. Her eyes darted around the room and then met Kael’s.

  Shock flashed across her face.

  She had said too much.

  Without another word, she turned and hurried toward the door. As she passed Kael, she whispered, "I'm sorry.

  "I'm sorry."

  The door closed behind her.

  Kael stood motionless, staring after her.

  I’ve only seen her like this once before, he thought.

  In the labyrinth.

  Could it be...?

  Shaking his head to force the thought away, he turned back to Bereos. Whatever the truth was, he didn’t want to know it anymore.

  Bereos was still staring at the door through which Astra had left, his shoulders slumped and his expression suddenly older, as if the weight of years had caught up with him all at once. He exhaled slowly.

  “Kael, I—”

  Kael raised his hand, stopping him. His voice was calm but resolute.

  "I want to hear it from her," he said. "It's her story, isn't it?"

  Bereos studied him for a moment, then nodded, a small, understanding smile forming.

  "All right," he said quietly. "Then let's return to the plan."