The air was different when they returned.
Not tense, exactly. But charged—as if the wind itself had listened to the whispers from the ruins and carried them back before the group had crossed the gates.
Valdros Academy stood tall beneath the cloud-draped mountains, its ancient towers casting long shadows across the paved courts.
Karl passed through the entrance without a word.
Students turned to watch him—again.
They didn't whisper this time.
They stared.
By the time they reached the Grand Atrium, a courier was already waiting.
A sealed glyph scroll for Aeris.
She took it quietly, eyes narrowing as she read.
Karl glanced at her.
"What is it?"
Aeris folded the scroll and didn't answer immediately.
Then, softly:
"Headmaster Elaris wants to speak to me. Alone."
Raiven's ears twitched from Karl's side.
"They're beginning to separate you two."
"Or they're trying to understand if she's a shield… or a risk."
Karl nodded once.
"Go. I'll meet you later."
Aeris gave a small nod and turned away.
But she didn't say goodbye.
Just a glance. And something unreadable in her expression.
Upper Tower, Elaris's Chamber
The room was dimmer than before. The windows clouded by weather or spellcraft.
Headmaster Elaris Caelestis stood beside a long table filled with relics—scrolls, artifacts, and a cracked crystal core wrapped in sealing runes.
She didn't turn when Aeris entered.
Only spoke.
"How far has he gone?"
Aeris remained still.
"Three glyphs."
Elaris nodded.
"And the blade?"
"Responding more fluidly. Like it's syncing with his body."
"And his mind?"
Aeris hesitated.
Then: "He's hearing things. Voices in the Veil."
Elaris finally turned.
Her expression wasn't surprised.
It was resigned.
"We lost the last Veilwalker because no one stayed close to him."
"What happened?" Aeris asked.
Elaris's gaze was piercing.
"He fell. Not because of power. But because when the Gate opened, it didn't just show him the past—it devoured it."
She stepped forward.
"If Karl becomes the fourth glyph bearer… the Gate may open again. If that happens, I want someone there who won't run."
Aeris didn't flinch.
"I won't."
Elsewhere – Lower Dormitory Hall
Karl sat alone in the training wing, his blade resting across his knees.
The glyph on his chest pulsed softly.
So did the new one on his back.
And for the first time…
They began to hum.
Not in unison.
Not in harmony.
But like two voices remembering different songs.
Raiven lay beside him, quiet and alert.
"You're beginning to divide."
Karl looked down.
"I feel like I'm being pulled in different directions. Memories that aren't mine. Emotions I never lived. And the blade… it's craving more."
Raiven nodded slowly.
"Because it was made to bond with more than one Soulbind. You were the first to survive the process. But even you are not unbreakable."
That's when the knock came.
Not a glyph.
A knock.
A sound that echoed strangely in the stillness.
Karl stood and opened the door.
A man stood there—tall, robed in travel-worn blue, with a strange insignia over his chest: an interwoven spiral wrapped in a dragon's fang.
He had silver eyes.
Not like Aeris's golden gleam or the red-tinged magic of the instructors.
These eyes felt… ancient.
He smiled gently.
"Hello, Karl. You don't know me yet. But I've known you for a long, long time."
Karl didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Raiven's fur stood on end.
"He's not lying. But he's not fully… alive."
"What do you want?"
The man's voice was soft, but heavy with familiarity.
"To return what was left behind. And to warn you: the fourth glyph is near. But it will cost you something you're not ready to lose."
He handed Karl a small object wrapped in cloth.
Karl unfolded it.
Inside was a fragment of black glass, etched with glowing veins of violet and red.
As Karl touched it—
Visions.
Fire.
A woman crying.
A hand reaching toward him.
And then nothing.
The man stepped back.
"I'll see you again—when the fifth awakens."
And just like that…
He vanished.
Karl stared at the fragment.
The glyphs on his body pulsed.
"That was no illusion," Raiven growled.
"That was a Soulshade. A memory given form. Someone… or something… bound to your fate."
Karl closed his eyes.
And for the first time, a third voice echoed softly inside his mind.
Not Raiven.
Not the dragon.
But someone else.
"Do not forget me, Karl. I waited at the Gate for lifetimes. I will not wait again."
That night, Karl returned to the rooftop.
Aeris was already there, gazing at the stars.
He joined her in silence.
After a long moment, she asked:
"What did it say?"
Karl didn't lie.
"That the fourth glyph is coming. And it will cost me something."
She didn't flinch.
Didn't question.
Only nodded.
"Then I'll stand beside you until it does."