The sun filtered through the window like it had every morning at the Academy.
Warm.
Soft.
But wrong.
Lyle stared at the ceiling of the infirmary ward, his breath slow, steady—his hands resting on a blanket that felt unfamiliar.
He didn't remember coming here.
Didn't remember falling.
Didn't even remember the choice.
Just… Juno's face, right before everything went white.
---
She was there now, sitting beside him in silence.
Reading a training report like she hadn't just fought a god's echo two days ago.
When he stirred, she didn't speak.
Just looked at him.
Relieved.
But guarded.
"You alright?" she finally asked.
"I think so," he said, voice dry. "Did we finish the trial?"
She folded the report slowly.
"…Yeah. You could say that."
---
He sat up.
And the world around him tilted. Not physically—but spiritually.
His mana was... different.
Deeper. Calmer. Like a well that no longer echoed but hummed with something solid at its base.
Something complete.
But he didn't know why.
"Juno," he said slowly, "what happened in the Core?"
She paused.
Then offered a small, sad smile.
"You made a choice."
He frowned. "What did I give?"
She looked down.
And didn't answer.
---
Across the campus, alarms were quietly being reprogrammed.
New cadets awakened with stronger glyphs than ever recorded.
Bloodlines that had been dormant began reacting—some violently.
And in the Administrator Tower, Instructor Veil watched a display of threads reshaping themselves like roots through soil.
"The Seal's been rewritten," she murmured.
One of the shadows behind her asked, "Do we purge him?"
Veil didn't look away.
"No. We watch him. If he breaks the world further… then we decide."
---
That afternoon, Lyle was released from recovery.
Back to drills. Back to lessons.
But everyone looked at him differently.
Not with awe.
With caution.
Like he was a blade—sheathed, but sharp.
And Juno?
She never left his side.
Not because she didn't trust him.
But because she knew others wouldn't.
---
Late that night, Lyle sat in his dorm alone.
The Codex hovered beside him.
Pages sealed. Glyphs calm.
But in his hand—
A small object pulsed.
A ring.
Smooth, dark crimson with swirling shadows inside the band.
He didn't remember where he'd gotten it.
Didn't recall crafting or stealing it.
Just… one day after waking up, it had been in his pocket.
> [Dimensional Ring Detected]
Properties: High-capacity storage, temporal anchor, planar gate access
Next gate window: 6 days, 14 hours
Unknown signature embedded: Q.T.G.
Lyle narrowed his eyes.
Q.T.G…
Who the hell was that?
He slipped the ring onto his finger.
And the shadows in the room responded.
Ever so slightly.