Chapter 30 – Silent Lessons
The Academy had been rebuilt after the war.
New stones gleamed where towers had fallen, and blue barriers stretched skyward like silent guards. Yet no spell could mend the emptiness within. Students had returned — but nothing felt the same.
Seryn walked through the courtyard, inhaling the cold morning air.
The gray mist still lingered.
Today was Magic Theory, not taught by Seraphine, but by the senior instructor Calden Mire.
Calden was old — gray-bearded, red-robed, and sharp as a blade.
When he entered the class, everyone stood.
"Today," he said, laying scrolls on the desk, "we will not memorize. We will understand."
Sparks danced at his fingertips, mana filling the air.
"Magic is the balance between will and precision," he said.
Seryn raised his hand. His tone calm.
"What happens when balance is lost?"
Calden met his eyes.
"Then either magic burns you… or you burn it. Most prefer the second."
A soft laugh rippled through the room.
Seryn lowered his gaze, returning to his notes.
For the first time, a teacher had looked at him not with fear — but with respect.
---
That afternoon came Strategy Class.
Stone boards, miniature soldiers, and maps covered the tables.
The instructor, Eiren Vos, was a retired war analyst.
"Strategy," he said, "is not written by the clever, but by the patient."
Seryn studied the map, then moved a single figure.
"What if we redirect the enemy instead of crushing them?"
Eiren smiled. "Interesting. Most students think of victory; you think of survival."
Next to him, a brown-haired, green-eyed student whispered,
"Nice move. I'm Kai."
Seryn gave a brief nod. "Seryn."
Kai shrugged. "I've heard of you — after that Temple test, everyone talks."
Seryn's lips curved faintly. "And yet, you're still talking to me."
Kai grinned. "I hate boredom. And gossip usually circles the most interesting people."
For the first time, Seryn actually smiled.
When class ended, they walked out together.
Kai was from the mage division but dabbled in light weapons — expressive, quick-thinking, alive.
Beside him, Seryn felt something he hadn't in months — ease.
---
Night fell, and the Academy quieted.
Library lights dimmed, guards took their posts.
Seryn sat alone in his room, a candle flickering beside an open notebook.
He stared at the page.
A face… a voice…
A woman's laughter.
Then darkness.
His memories were still fogged — as if sealed behind a cracked mirror.
"Who were you?" he whispered.
No answer came.
He closed his eyes.
The gray light within his veins pulsed softly, resonating with the faint hum of ritual energy.
He couldn't reach his past, but it was still there — waiting.
And when it returned, it would demand to be remembered.
---
💬 Author's Note:
The war is over, but silence brings its own trials.
Seryn is no longer alone — Kai's friendship rekindles the part of him that still feels human.
Yet the fog of his past is thickening… and what sleeps beneath it will not rest forever. ⚔️