Kael stood where he was, gazing out the window with a faint smile on his face.

  "She always appears and vanishes in my life like a storm," he murmured softly, sounding half amused and half resigned.

  Leaning back against his hiding place, he turned to Ausma, who lay calmly on the windowsill. Kael stepped closer and gently ran his fingers through the falcon’s feathers.

  "I didn't get the chance to ask her why you trust her so much," he said quietly. Then, with a teasing smile, he lightly tickled Ausma’s side.

  "But I know one thing. You showed her my hiding place, didn’t you? That’s how she found the notebook, you little traitor.”

  Ausma merely tilted his head, his golden eyes fixed on Kael. He seemed unimpressed by the accusation.

  Kael shook his head with a quiet laugh and stood up straight. He picked up the suit that had fallen to the floor earlier and carefully placed it in his wardrobe. Seeing Astra again—and knowing that she still regarded him as a friend—had eased something inside his chest. The pressure that had been building over the past few days eased, if only slightly.

  It was time to sleep, but his mind refused to quiet down. Astra’s sudden appearance and their conversation lingered in his thoughts. Instead of lying awake, Kael slipped into his robes and gestured to Ausma.

  "A walk," he whispered.

  The falcon immediately stirred, hopping onto Kael’s arm and settling there with ease. Together, they left the room, the door closing behind them without a sound.

  Outside, Kael was greeted by the night's crisp, motionless air. He inhaled deeply, letting the cold air fill his lungs. Without a destination in mind, he started walking, letting his steps guide him.

  He moved through the academy in silence, accompanied only by the sound of his own breath. Memories clung to every path he took.

  He passed the lecture halls where he had gained the knowledge and insight needed to do what no one else could and to understand why it was dangerous.

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  He passed the cafeteria, where he and his friends had shared meals, laughter, and endless complaints about professors who, as Zaros liked to say, had "a stick up their ass." Kael chuckled quietly at the memory.

  He walked by the training grounds where he had defeated Liam and learned what it truly meant to wield a sword. Not just as a weapon but as a means to harm another person.

  He glanced at the arena, where humiliation, rage, triumph, and compassion had collided within him. Professor Nora had orchestrated all of this to teach him one thing: emotions make you careless, but ignoring them makes you blind.

  He passed the place where he had embraced Cassandra after Nora’s lecture, where he had shown them the Power of Memory, a word capable of making one's own emotions secondary to another's.

  Finally, he reached the courtyard where he had first met Lia and Zaros. The place where their unbreakable bond had begun. Kael approached the familiar tree and placed his palm against its trunk.

  "Thank you," he whispered. "I always felt safe under you."

  His final stop lay just beyond: The towering gates of the labyrinth.

  Kael stared at them for a long moment as memories resurfaced unbidden: Astra’s fear of her past. His bond with her. The visions of dead friends that still haunted him. Questions without answers. Scars without closure.

  "What do you think?" he asked quietly, glancing at Ausma.

  "If a person has no flaws, are they flawless? Or is that the greatest flaw of all?"

  The falcon remained silent, only watching him.

  Kael let out a soft laugh. "I wouldn't know the answer either. Come on. Let's go back."

  They returned through the sleeping academy. The guards and knights barely spared him a glance as he reached his room. Kael gently set Ausma back on his perch.

  Before going to bed, he repeated the exercises Nora had given him. He activated his ability, carefully practicing movements, sword paths, and steps—shaping a style that felt more honest and more his own. When the familiar pressure of an approaching headache set in, he stopped.

  After showering, he stood before the mirror with a towel draped over his waist. His gaze lingered on the scars that marked his torso and shoulder. Each one was a fragment of a story he would never forget.

  He traced them lightly with his fingers.

  "Lia says they don't suit me," he murmured. "But they remind me of what I've done."

  His expression hardened.

  "I will never forget," he said quietly.

  "And I will never let anyone erase my memories."

  Kael turned away, extinguished the light, and lay down.

  At that same moment, far beyond the academy walls, a lone figure moved through the narrow alleys of the outer district.

  Wrapped in a dark cloak, she walked with purpose, her steps soundless against the stone. Astra lifted her gaze toward the night sky, her eyes sharp with resolve.

  "I will follow you soon," she whispered into the darkness.

  And this time, she would not look back.