?????°???°?????

  We kept talking.

  That was when I noticed the courtyard felt… slightly different.

  Some people were sitting on the ground. Others were talking in small groups.

  “Classes are already over,” Burst said, noticing my gaze.

  Before I could say anything, Jane appeared from the side.

  She walked at the same pace as before. Unhurried.

  She stopped in front of us.

  “So?” Burst asked first.

  “It was interference,” she replied simply.

  I blinked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It was [Spatial Manipulation],” Jane said. “On a large scale.”

  Merlin leaned slightly forward.

  “So the network tried to stabilize… and failed?”

  “Yes.”

  Jane crossed her arms.

  “It was as if an absurd amount of spatial energy had been activated all at once. On a scale larger than Valoria’s entire transportation network.”

  She glanced briefly at the sky, as if calculating something invisible.

  “The towers reacted automatically. They tried to stabilize the interference. As a result, all of them teleported people randomly before burning out shortly after.”

  Merlin spoke first.

  “Is that concerning?”

  Jane shrugged.

  “It doesn’t appear to be targeted. No structural damage or anything like that.”

  “So it wasn’t an attack?” Burst asked.

  “No. It seems more like a side effect.”

  She didn’t soften her tone, but she didn’t dramatize it either.

  “They’re investigating. The source will likely be found soon. For now, the towers will remain closed indefinitely.”

  Burst let out a small sigh.

  “Great.”

  Jane activated a device on her right hand, where her black prosthetic was.

  “If they discover the source, I’ll inform you.”

  And that was it.

  We left the academy without much ceremony.

  Aside from the promise made to Merlin, Burst had his own reasons for wanting to visit Viola.

  According to him, she used to spoil him when she was still studying at the Academy. He was twelve at the time.

  Jane stayed silent the whole time. As usual. She walked slightly behind us.

  “You’re coming too?” Merlin asked her.

  Jane simply nodded.

  “I don’t have anything else to do for now.”

  Simple as that.

  We took the train and left the academy. On the way, I learned that there are regulations for beings who can fly, like Merlin.

  Flying within the country is prohibited unless you have a special license. So Merlin had to walk.

  Walking beside Burst, Merlin discreetly glanced back and made a nearly invisible gesture with her hand.

  ‘[Help a little. I’ll stay with Burst. You go with Jane.]’

  She spoke directly into my mind. I made a slight grimace.

  ‘What?’

  ‘[They don’t seem to hate each other, so I want to do something. You met Jane first, so try to get something out of her while I stay with Burst.]’

  I knew Merlin meant well. But getting involved in family matters made me uncomfortable. I'd already gotten into something similar at Cirgo...

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  Still, I wanted to understand more anyway. So I decided to help.

  I sighed and slowed my pace.

  Burst and Merlin naturally moved ahead, talking about Viola.

  I stayed beside Jane.

  For a few seconds, there was only the sound of our footsteps.

  I didn’t know how to begin.

  So I chose the most obvious approach.

  “Your right arm…” I said, trying not to sound invasive. “Since when?”

  She raised it without hesitation.

  The prosthetic began at the elbow, extending down to her hand.

  Dark metal. Subtle lines. Almost too elegant.

  “Since childhood.”

  Nothing more.

  I didn’t push further. She didn’t seem willing to offer more than that.

  “Does it run on your mana?”

  “Yes. But also on electricity.”

  She kept looking ahead as she spoke.

  “Mana can be converted into energy. After it’s used, it returns to nature. The flow is continuous. The towers function that way. The city too, for the most part.”

  She made a small gesture with the fingers of her mechanical hand. A faint glow ran through the inner joints.

  “Some things use batteries. Electricity generated from condensed mana. It’s more stable for domestic use.”

  “So basically, your prosthetic works because you convert your mana into energy?”

  “Exactly.”

  I imagined the scale of that. The absurd amount of energy Valoria must move daily.

  And even so… something greater had interfered with all of it.

  I almost asked about Burst. About what she thought of him.

  But I held back.

  “You said you’re part of the Special Combat Division, right? Do you have a weapon?” I asked instead.

  She finally turned her face toward me. She didn’t seem surprised.

  The prosthetic made a nearly imperceptible sound, like metal sliding. From her hand—as though it were part of the arm itself—a blade emerged.

  The hilt was black. The blade, red. It didn’t glow or pulse. But it seemed alive nonetheless.

  Fused to her hand.

  “Her name is Ignarya. She’s a relic of my family. Passed down to the hero of each generation.”

  Hero.

  The word lingered between us for a moment.

  “And what does she do?”

  “[Unification] and [Separation].”

  She rotated her wrist slightly, and the blade vibrated with a low, almost inaudible hum.

  It seemed too simple to truly be simple.

  She looked at me.

  “I saw yours in Serenáutica. Before you absorbed it.”

  I materialized mine.

  The sword took form in my hand. Familiar and strange at the same time.

  “I got it in Cirgo. I named her Victoria,” I said. “It was a family relic too.”

  “Was?”

  “The man who gave it to me said it was an empty shell. The family it belonged to had already been exterminated.”

  She studied the blade carefully.

  “There are legends,” she said calmly. “They say these relics were created by someone in immemorial times.”

  “Someone?”

  “An entity. An individual. No one knows.”

  She continued:

  “That person would give these weapons to chosen individuals. Over the centuries, people began calling them destined heroes.”

  “And then?”

  “When the cycle ends… the power returns to its origin.”

  She looked at Ignarya for a second.

  “But they’re only theories.”

  We fell silent.

  “Do you believe that?” I asked.

  She thought for a moment.

  “That someone created these weapons and gave them to random people? Yes. That destiny exists? No.”

  She retracted the weapon. The red blade folded back into the prosthetic, as if it had never existed.

  I did the same. Absorbing mine.

  “If destiny were real, this weapon wouldn’t even function with me,” she finished.

  We walked in silence again.

  Ahead of us, Burst was laughing loudly at something Merlin had said.

  Jane watched the scene for a second.

  “He seems happier,” she commented.

  “Was he not?”

  She took a moment before answering.

  “Yes. A little.”

  That was the most emotion I had ever heard in her voice.

  ━━━━━━━━━?◆?━━━━━━━━━

  Viola’s house was located in a simple but peaceful neighborhood. The street was clean, the buildings aligned, almost all in the same light color. Nothing extravagant.

  Two stories. Modest fa?ade. Wide windows. A small but well-kept garden.

  Burst was the first to knock. The door opened a few seconds later.

  Viola wore simple clothes. Her hair was loosely tied back. Her face still carried traces of sleep.

  She looked… normal.

  Her eyes found Burst first.

  “Oh? Redhead, what a surprise.”

  Burst immediately made a face.

  “I’m already sixteen. Almost seventeen.”

  “And you still make that face when you’re sulking. First time you’ve come to my house.”

  “I had to look up your address in the academy records.”

  She then shifted her gaze to me and Merlin, before finally settling on Jane.

  “Victor. Merlin. Are you alright?”

  “We are. Luckily we made it here without trouble. Where are Don and Logy?” I asked.

  Viola scratched the back of her neck.

  “They went out to look for you. It was kind of obvious you’d end up coming to the capital sooner or later. But don’t worry, they should be back soon.”

  She stepped aside.

  “Come in.”

  The interior was far too tidy for someone supposedly on medical leave. It was the kind of comfortable house I imagined as a distant adult goal.

  “It’s so clean!” Merlin exclaimed, looking around.

  Viola laughed, slightly embarrassed.

  “I can’t go on missions for at least two more weeks. So I decided to wage war against the dust while you weren’t here.”

  I stared at her for a few seconds, narrowing my eyes.

  She noticed.

  “You just thought something rude, didn’t you?”

  “You’re imagining things.”

  ‘I really didn’t picture Viola being good at housework. You really shouldn’t judge someone by appearances.’

  A large table occupied the center of the room.

  Viola carefully settled into an armchair. Burst dropped onto the sofa. Merlin sat beside him without hesitation.

  Jane chose a chair farther away.

  I remained standing.

  The conversation flowed lightly. Small stories. Comments about the city. Subtle teasing.

  Until Viola turned her attention to Jane.

  “And you, Jane? How are things as a hero?”

  Jane answered in her usual calm tone.

  “I’m not officially one yet. At least not publicly. My father still holds that position.”

  “But it’s close, isn’t it? On your next birthday you turn twenty, right?”

  Jane nodded.

  “Yes.”

  The silence lasted only a few seconds.

  Burst looked away. His jaw tightened briefly before relaxing. Merlin noticed. So did I.

  But no one said anything.

  Viola naturally broke the tension.

  “Well, anyway… you two.” She pointed at Merlin and me. “You can stay in the rooms upstairs. For as long as you like.”

  “Good. I’ve always wanted to live in a mansion like this,” Merlin said.

  Viola laughed.

  “Mansion? That’s because you haven’t seen Burst and Jane’s house.”

  “It’s not that big!” he replied a little too quickly.

  “Merlin, you were living in a mansion when I found you.”

  “But it was completely wrecked.”

  I didn’t even notice the hours passing.

  Eventually, the sky darkened.

  Jane was the first to stand.

  “I need to go.”

  Viola nodded.

  “Come back whenever you want.”

  Burst hesitated for a few seconds before leaving as well.

  “I… I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

  “Of course. If you don’t forget,” Viola replied playfully.

  He didn’t deny it.

  When the door closed, the house felt a little bigger.

  And quieter.

  The next morning, the silence started to feel uncomfortable.

  So Merlin and I decided to explore the capital a little.

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