They summoned him before the third bell.
Not to the training yard. Not to the Crest Chamber.
To the Hall of Names.
A place few cadets were ever called to. Fewer still returned from changed.
Leon walked in silence, bracers laced tight, mask left behind. The halls whispered with early wind and empty stone. Roth didn't follow.
He didn't need to.
Guards waited at the entrance. Older than him. Sterner. But they stepped aside.
Inside, light bled in from high stained glass. Names carved into every wall. Each line a story, each story a life, finished or not. Some had gold etching. Others were marked in red.
At the center of the chamber, a kneeling platform of dark wood.
Elric stood beside it.
Leon didn't hesitate. He crossed the stone floor and stopped.
Elric spoke, low and even.
"You were chosen not for talent, but for resolve. Not for legacy, but for what you dared to become without one."
Leon said nothing.
