I followed him through corridors that I had never seen before, which was something that should have been impossible. I was a Caelvarin. I knew the ins and outs of Aetherion better than anybody: House halls, student wings, duelling terraces, gardens, and most of the places students pretended they did not know existed. Yet this professor is leading me through a narrow passage behind a tapestry, down a short stairwell, across a bridge-like corridor suspended over an indoor shaft of blue light, and finally into a room that felt like the rest of the Academy had forgotten it.
Circular, old, and beautiful.
Those were my first three thoughts as I entered.
The room was grand, but not in the cold, ceremonial way some places in the Academy seemed determined to be. Dark wood climbed the walls in carved panels and towering shelves, broken by shaped pillars and a large arched window that flooded the chamber with a warm afternoon light. Some books filled nearly every available surface, stacked neatly in places, abandoned half-open in others, as if the room had been lived in by someone who actually used it rather than merely displayed it.
A broad circular table occupied the centre of the room, surrounded by cushioned chairs and half-buried beneath papers, open texts, candles, and an elaborate tea set that looked permanently halfway through use. A heavy patterned rug softened the polished floor beneath it. At the same time, deeper armchairs sat near the window beside small lamps and potted plants, turning one side of the chamber into something closer to a private sitting room than an academic office.
The largest wall had been given over to a blackboard framed in ornate wood and gold, its surface crowded with diagrams, equations, circular Aether formations, and notes written over older notes. Shelves ran beneath it, packed with reference books, instruments, and objects I couldn't immediately identify. A globe stood nearby, slightly crooked on its stand.
Despite the scale of the place, it felt strangely comfortable.
Not tidy.
Not perfectly organised.
But warm.
The kind of room where someone could spend an entire afternoon arguing over theory, forget the time, and only realise night had arrived when the candles began to look like melted wax rather than burning sticks.
"Whoa," I said before I could stop myself. "I've never seen a room like this before in the Academy."
Professor Orin crossed toward the enormous window and leaned casually against the sill, as though the room belonged to him in every way that mattered.
"It was previously used for teaching," he said. "You don't need to worry about that. For now, take a seat."
I glanced around at the chairs surrounding the central table before choosing one that looked comfortably worn rather than ceremonially expensive.
Then I sat, which released a small cloud of dust from the cushion.
'How dignifying.'
Professor Orin didn't speak.
He just looked at me.
Face-to-face. Making the situation feel that much worse.
I had faced noble tutors, House officers, my father's advisors, my father himself, and once, a very angry aunt who could make a room feel guilty for simply existing.
Professor Orin's stare right now was worse than all of that.
Ok, maybe not my aunt.
Finally, he spoke.
"So tell me, Taron Caelvarin. What were you doing snooping around Professor Anlor's private office?"
I smiled.
Instinctively.
'Ok, let's do this. Charm first. Explanation later.'
"I was enjoying the architecture."
Professor Orin said nothing.
"It's a very nice corridor."
Silence.
"And I may have gotten lost in the process."
More silence.
"Ok, it was possibly due to voices calling me from beyond the grave."
Professor Orin's mouth curved.
And not in the kind way.
"Funny," he said. "You must take me for a joke."
The air changed.
Or, more accurately, it was crushed.
Professor Orin released his Aether Pulse.
I had felt this kind of pressure before. My family. Or, to be specific, my father. He made me increase my sensitivity to it whether I wanted it or not. I could feel the shifts in force, changes in flow, the intention behind movement before movement arrived.
But its purpose was not the same.
This felt like a ball of lightning the size of the sun was being lowered onto my shoulders.
Orange-yellow Aether filled the room, dense and suffocating. It pressed against my skin, my lungs, my core. My breath caught. My fingers tightened against the seat. The old classroom blurred at the edges.
I couldn't resist it.
I was made to feel all of it.
My chest tightened until the next breath came thin and broken.
Still, somehow, my mouth continued to exist independently of survival instinct.
"If this is how I die," I forced out, the words catching somewhere in my throat beneath the crushing pressure, "please tell my family it was heroic."
Professor Orin simply watched me.
I dragged in a shallow breath that barely felt like one and swallowed against the tightness around my neck.
"That I... saved a princess," I managed, voice strained, "from a foreign land."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the pressure eased.
Air began to return to my lungs with a humiliating urgency. I inhaled hard, pressing one hand to my chest.
I could see from the corner of my eye that Professor Orin was studying me.
I couldn't tell whether he was impressed by my bravery or baffled by my stupidity.
Maybe both.
"Relax, young Caelvarin," he said. "That was merely a prank of mine. There was no risk of death."
I stared at him.
"With respect, Professor, your pranks are terrible."
"Hm. Perhaps they are."
"No apology?"
"No."
"Fair. I guess"
"HAHAHA, relax, young Caelvarin, I no longer kill members of the Ten Great Houses."
!!
'Huh.'
His expression sharpened.
"Now I will ask again. Will you continue acting like a fool, or will you make the smart choice and explain everything?"
I briefly considered lying again, but considering the bombshell he had just dropped moments ago, I felt that it would be in the best interests of all parties for me not to do so.
Yes, all parties.
I sighed.
"Fine," I said. "I'll tell you what you want to know."
"Wise decision."
I leaned back, then immediately regretted it when dust clung to my uniform.
"I noticed Professor Anlor acting strangely toward a certain student."
Professor Orin's eyes did not move.
A certain student?"
"Yes."
"Does this student have black hair, silver eyes, an unfortunate habit of attracting incidents, and is also called Kael Arin?"
I paused.
Then laughed once.
"Ah. Oh yeah. I forgot."
"You forgot what?"
"That you're the one who made the bet."
Professor Orin looked unimpressed.
"Your intellect is truly inspiring, young Caelvarin."
"Thank you."
"... Continue."
And so I did.
I told him about the class. The impossible first question. Professor Anlor refusing to use Kael's name and tying everyone's workload to his failure. The possible threat of expulsion. The way the questions had escalated, and mainly, the way Professor Anlor had looked when Kael won.
I also mentioned the events leading up to the office.
And the line.
"That damned brat," I repeated. "How dare he get in my way? That bastard doesn't even resemble Lira."
Professor Orin's face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
His usual casual expression didn't break, but something behind it became more focused.
"And you are sure that's what you heard?"
"Yes."
"There was nothing else?"
"No. You interrupted my covert operation."
"I prevented you from being caught committing a punishable offence."
"A covert one, yes."
Professor Orin looked toward the old windows.
For a while, he said nothing.
Then he exhaled.
"I'm not surprised Anlor is doing this," he said. "In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't gone further yet."
That was not comforting.
"He must really want to win this bet," I said. "What could he have possibly put on the line for it to mean this much?"
Professor Orin looked back at me.
"One of the Vestiges of Aurexis."
Silence.
A very long silence.
I laughed.
Not loudly at first, but a small, disbelieving sound.
"Ha. Good one."
Professor Orin didn't smile.
My laugh started to fade.
"You're joking, right?"
Still nothing.
"Professor?"
He remained completely serious, which prompted my laugh to immediately cease as I stood up so quickly that the dust building up on my coat flew away.
"WHAT?! You mean THE Aurexis? As in Aurexis? Mythical S-rank Aethren Aurexis? I heard there are only four Vestiges on the planet!"
"I'm surprised you know about it. Yes, you are correct; it's the same Aurexis."
"Of course I would! I'm a Caelvarin! I have to say, though, that's insane."
"Yes, indeed it is ."
"Like, completely insane."
"Also yes."
"And you're telling me Professor Anlor has one?"
"He does."
"And he put it forward for a bet?"
"He did."
I stared at him.
"You sure it isn't a fake?"
"It isn't."
What about a replica?"
"Impossible."
"An imitation relic?"
"No."
"It could be a—"
Professor Orin's mouth twitched as he cut me off.
"No."
I dropped back into my seat.
"This is crazy. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would be the reason. I guess it makes sense now why he's acting this way. Why he's so desperate."
"It is valuable," Professor Orin said. "Rare. Dangerous. Coveted. And for Anlor, more than enough reason to interfere."
I rubbed both hands over my face.
The Vestiges of Aurexis were the kind of thing that nobles heard about before they knew the concept of money. Relics left from a myth so powerful that people argued whether it had truly come from a beast, a disaster, or some sort of divine occurrence. There were four pieces in total. Four remnants, each said to hold a unique fragment of its power.
People killed for less.
There was an incident between two major noble houses not too long ago, one so severe that it required four of the Ten Great Houses to intervene and help facilitate a mutual decision.
And Professor Anlor had put one up for a bet with Professor Orin.
"What are you going to do with it if you win?" I asked.
"Give it to Kael."