"In two weeks, return here," Xeris said, finally rising to his feet.
Ormin watched him stand, the warmth from before still lingering in his eyes.
"Night," he said softly, a final note of emotion breaking through, "I just wanted to thank you – one last time," Ormin said, a single tear escaping once more.
Xeris watched indifferently, his expression concealed beneath the veil of his hood.
Ormin extended his hand again.
Xeris hesitated only briefly before reaching out to clasp it.
"Xeris… Xeris!"
Saela's voice cut through the moment.
Xeris slowly opened his eyes. He sat on the sixth floor of the Institution's library.
Sunlight filled the sky beyond the window, offering a fleeting warmth. Grass and trees stretched outward, unmoving, while jagged mountains rose behind the village, completing the distant view.
Xeris turned away, closing the book in his hands before finally facing Saela.
"There's no time to be sleeping," she said sharply. "Or have you decided to give up?"
Xeris didn't answer. He closed his eyes again.
His thoughts had been circling the same place – his most recent visit to the village, replayed over and over. He was confident he could gather the remaining 500 Crescents within two weeks. That part was certain enough.
What would follow after, however, was not.
So he had begun preparing for the alternative. For the possibility that things ended in failure.
Saela noticed his silence and scoffed, slightly rolling her eyes.
Xeris opened his eyes again and rose to his feet, walking away without a word.
Saela didn't bother to stop him. She wasn't someone who wasted energy worrying about others. If someone chose a path that led to their own failure, that was their concern – not hers. Why waste her breath on it?
Moments later, Xeris returned.
A book rested in his grasp.
He stopped in front of her, close enough that she had no choice but to look up.
Saela set her own book aside and met his gaze. The familiar tension between them surfaced once more.
"I want you to read this," Xeris said, extending the book toward her.
Saela held his gaze a moment longer before finally looking down at it.
"You're wasting my time." She looked back up at him, "Do you think this is some kind of joke? Do you not feel any sense of urgency?! We have a little more than two weeks before we are discarded from this Institution with no idea of the consequences that will follow."
She shook her head before reaching to reopen her book.
"The Primordial Alignment."
Xeris spoke, causing Saela to halt.
"Saela, what drives you forward? What pushes you to study and search for the answer? Is it Reason? Logic? Ego? Fear? Or something more? Something ingrained deep within you? Something that grows with each passing day?"
Saela's eyes widened.
Now that he had said it, she could feel it – an ever-present pressure, constant and unresolved, something she'd never quite been able to put into words.
"I…" She hesitated, searching for an answer that refused to take shape.
Xeris already understood Saela's condition. He had seen it before – more than once – most clearly in Bren.
Over the course of a single day, he had watched Bren's emotions spiral further and further out of control, until the moment his Aris finally awakened.
Her emotion was being expressed in its own unique way, but it was clear that Saela was on the cusp of awakening. All he needed to do now was provide a minor push, subtle but effective, enough to plant a sense of obligation toward him.
They had a formal alliance, but that was nothing more than words; neither was truly bound by anything.
Xeris stepped closer, bending slightly as he spoke.
"This is the final step." He raised the book again. "The key to your success."
He straightened, lowering his voice just enough to lend the words weight.
"As your partner, I wouldn't lead you astray."
Once more, he offered her the book.
This time, Saela accepted it. A faint smile touched her lips, restrained but genuine.
From her perspective, Xeris's behavior over the past weeks had been strange – difficult to place, difficult to trust. She had reconsidered her judgment of him more than once.
Yet with this single gesture, that uncertainty eased.
In her mind, a large part of the image she had once formed of him quietly settled back into place.
…..
"Nola!" Ormin called from the back of the shop.
A soft patter of bare feet crossed the wooden floor as Nola hurried toward his voice.
She appeared before him with a wide smile, her excitement unmistakable. At the sight of it, Ormin couldn't help himself. He lifted her up, pulling her into a gentle embrace.
After a moment, he set her back down and knelt slightly to meet her eyes.
"Nola, do you know why I called you in here?"
She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked up onto her toes, then shook her head.
Ormin smiled warmly.
"It's because I need help from a big, strong girl. Do you think you can help me?"
Nola nodded at once, eager and certain.
"I thought so," Ormin said, straightening as he glanced around the shop. "Alright – come with me."
Talen worked at the front of the shop, moving methodically from shelf to shelf. She inspected each item in turn, jotting brief notes onto a sheet of paper as she went.
Once finished, she returned to the marked items. She lifted the first from the shelf and carried it to the counter where the shop's tools were kept. Drawing the knife free, she began to repolish the blade with practiced care.
Talen took her work seriously. It was not personal pride or hubris leading her; this approach stemmed from her care for others.
She wanted to do everything she could for her family, so she worked hard. She did not want customers receiving products that would not completely satisfy them, so she worked hard. In the end, both sides would benefit, would they not?
A sudden movement caught her attention.
Nola came charging across the floor, pushing a box ahead of her. It narrowly missed several shelves before skidding into the counter with a dull thud.
Ormin followed close behind, arms stacked with boxes, moving far more carefully as he made his way forward.
The focused look on Talen's face softened into a warm smile.
Ormin set the boxes down, adjusting his shirt and glasses as a few beads of sweat traced down his temples.
Nola looked up at Talen.
Talen looked back.
They burst into laughter at the same time.
Ormin turned toward them, then paused as he noticed the knife resting on the counter. He stepped closer, lifting it to inspect the blade.
As the laughter faded, Talen joined him.
"How does it look, Father?" she asked.
Ormin nudged his glasses higher and turned the knife over once more.
"It looks excellent," he said with a soft chuckle. "I don't know what I'd do without your help."
He set the blade down, then removed his glasses and placed them beside it.
"There's something important I've been meaning to tell you."
Talen's smile lingered, but her expression sharpened with attention.
"Yes, Father?" she asked. "What is it?"
Nola darted past them, grabbing something from a nearby shelf before running off again, her arm stretched out as the item swung wildly in her hand.
"For a long time," Ormin said, drawing Talen's attention back, "you've carried a dream deep in your heart." He paused, watching her closely. "I'm finally going to help you achieve it."
Talen's heart began to race. Was this real? Could she truly become a cultivator?
The thought thrilled her – then doubt rushed in just as quickly. Such a thing required an enormous sum of Crescents. Far more than their family could reasonably afford. And even if it were somehow possible… could she accept it, knowing the burden it might place on the rest of them?
No. She couldn't.
"Talen."
Ormin's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.
"I know what you're thinking," he said gently. "But I need you to trust me."
He glanced toward Nola, still running about the shop, carefree and unaware.
"I met someone," Ormin continued. "A cultivator from Halcyon Sect. He's offered his support."
He turned back to Talen, his expression firm with conviction.
"He's the most selfless person I've met – aside from you and the previous head of the Institution. I believe him. Completely."
Ormin extended his hands toward her.
Her cheeks were flushed, tears slipping quietly down each side of her face. She took his hands, her voice unsteady as she spoke.
"Even if it doesn't work out," she said, drawing in a shallow breath, "the only thing I need to be happy is to stay by your side – and Nola's."
Ormin pulled her into an embrace.
A moment later, Nola noticed and came running over, wrapping herself around them both.
…..
Xeris stared darkly downwards.
At his desk, a meager 120 Crescents lay there – the payment from his latest round of textbook lending.
What should have been 235 had been cut nearly in half. Many of his borrowers never showed. Some had awakened. Others had already resigned themselves to their fate.
It left him 115 Crescents short of his projection, and 145 short of the amount he needed to close the gap to 500.
It didn't matter.
Xeris had never placed his expectations in the hands of others.
Over the past week, he had spent his nights in gambling houses, steadily bleeding the regulars dry. He had done it often enough – and well enough – that one house had already barred him from entry.
Hobb's, included.
Through careful, conservative play, Xeris earned 220 Crescents – taking risks only when they were necessary, pushing just far enough to draw others in and extract the most from each round.
The process left him faintly amused, though his expression never changed.
He hadn't intended for the margin to be this thin. He'd hoped to keep more Crescents for himself once the exchange was complete.
Xeris stood and gathered the full 1,800 Crescents.
He paused only briefly, glancing back into the dark of his room. Moonlight spilled through the window, the sole source of illumination.
Then he closed the door and set off for the village.
A little over an hour later, a pair of feet appeared before Xeris's door.
The expression on Saela's face was that of pure excitement, which contrasted with her normally intense focus.
She knocked repeatedly, unable to contain herself, but no reply came. For a brief moment, her excitement wavered; however, it returned again only moments later.
She turned to leave. Looking down at her hands, she watched as a dark black aura permeated from her skin.
Saela had awakened.