The day after the duel, Asteria Academy seemed to have returned to its usual rhythm. At least, on the surface. Throughout the corridors, students were still talking about the fight between Kael Veyron and Adrian Rovenhart. Some claimed Kael had dominated from the very beginning, while others insisted Adrian would have won if the professor had allowed the duel to continue. A few had already exaggerated the encounter enough to make it sound like a legendary battle rather than a simple training match. Kael, however, couldn't have cared less. He walked calmly toward the classroom, his bag resting over one shoulder, while Noah walked beside him. "You know they're still talking about you, right?" "Yes." "And it still doesn't bother you?" Kael turned his head slightly toward him. "No." Noah sighed. "I had forgotten how impossible you are." "You've known me for years. You should be used to it by now." "Unfortunately." A voice interrupted them before Noah could answer. "Have you two really decided to spend the rest of your lives together?" Lysandra had just caught up with them. Her long, midnight-blue hair fell over her shoulders as she carried several books against her chest. She gave them an amused look before naturally taking her place beside them. "Apparently," Noah replied. "Apparently we're inseparable." "I never said that." "You don't have to. You follow me everywhere." Kael stared at him for a few seconds. "You're the one following me." Lysandra covered a small laugh. "I'm starting to understand why you've managed to tolerate each other for so long." They entered the classroom together. For a few minutes, everything seemed perfectly normal. Until the professor arrived. It wasn't Edran, but an older woman who specialized in magical history and the foundations of ancient bloodlines. She placed a stack of documents on her desk before turning toward the class. "Today, we're going to study the magical inheritances of Eldoria's great houses." Kael immediately looked up. Noah noticed. So did Lysandra. "Some families possess abilities that have been passed down from generation to generation," the professor continued. "Most of them are perfectly documented. Others, however, are extremely rare and remain poorly understood." Several glowing symbols appeared before the class. The students began taking notes. Kael carefully examined each emblem. None of them matched his father's symbol. Then the professor displayed one final mark. An incomplete circle. Three vertical lines. And a shape vaguely resembling an eye. Kael's gaze froze. Noah stopped writing. Lysandra slowly turned toward him. The symbol remained visible for only a few seconds before disappearing. "This," the professor explained, "is an example of an inheritance whose origin remains uncertain." Kael raised his hand. "Why?" The professor seemed slightly surprised by his interest. "Because the records concerning it are incomplete." "Since when?" Silence passed through the classroom. "Several centuries." Kael remained silent. "And which family did it belong to?" This time, the professor hesitated. It was barely noticeable. But Kael noticed. "We have no certainty," she finally answered. Kael didn't ask anything else. The lesson continued. But he was no longer truly listening. He had seen that symbol in his father's letter. He had seen it in the archives. And now he had seen it in a lesson about ancient bloodlines. It was no longer a coincidence. When the class ended, the students began leaving. Kael remained seated for a few seconds. Lysandra packed her things without leaving. "You're going to talk to her, aren't you?" Kael looked up. "Yes." "Do you want me to come with you?" He thought for a moment. "Not this time." Lysandra didn't seem offended. She simply nodded. "All right." Noah was already waiting near the door. "I assume I'm coming anyway." "Yes." "I knew you liked me." "Don't start." They left the classroom. --- A few minutes later, Kael stood in front of the professor's office. The door was slightly open. He knocked. "Come in." Kael entered alone. The professor looked up from her documents. "Veyron." "Do you know this symbol?" She didn't answer immediately. Her expression had changed. "Why are you asking?" "Because I've seen it before." "Where?" Kael looked at her. He didn't want to tell her about the letter. Not yet. "In an old document belonging to my family." The professor slowly placed her pen down. "House Veyron possesses many ancient records." "This wasn't an official archive." Silence settled between them. The professor eventually stood and retrieved a book from one of the shelves. She placed it on her desk. "That symbol almost never appears in documents accessible to students." "Why?" "Because it is associated with a period of magical history that researchers still don't fully understand." "What period?" The professor hesitated. "The earliest studies into the limits of mana." Kael felt a faint tension in his chest. The same sensation he'd experienced during the entrance examination. He remained perfectly still. "And what does that have to do with the great houses?" The professor looked at him for a long moment. "Some families discovered things they perhaps should never have discovered." Kael said nothing. "I advise you not to search too far, Veyron." "Why?" "Because some records aren't simply difficult to find." She lowered her eyes toward the book. "They were deliberately destroyed." Kael left the office several minutes later. Noah was waiting in the corridor. "Well?" Kael continued walking. "She knew something." "I figured." "And she was afraid to talk about it." Noah frowned. "Of whom?" Kael stopped. He looked toward the end of the corridor. No one was there. Yet he had the strange feeling that someone was watching them. "I don't know yet." They continued walking. At the opposite end of the building, a door quietly closed. Someone had just left. --- That evening, Kael returned to the library. This time, Lysandra was already there. Several books were spread across the table in front of her. "I found something." Kael sat across from her. "What?" She handed him a page. "The symbol." Kael quickly read the text. It was an ancient record concerning the great families that had participated in the earliest research into the structure of mana. Several names were listed. But part of the page had been carefully erased. "That's strange," Lysandra murmured. "Yes." "Why would someone erase only that section?" Kael ran his finger above the empty space. "Because they didn't want anyone to know what was written there." Noah arrived a few seconds later carrying three more books. "I might have bad news." Lysandra looked at him. "What?" Noah placed the books on the table. "I found this symbol in another record." Kael looked at him. "Where?" "Lorn Forest." Silence fell around them. This time, even Lysandra had nothing to say. Kael slowly picked up the record. The reference was old. Very old. And beneath the symbol was a sentence that had almost completely faded away. He deciphered it word by word. "Restricted research zone. All investigation must be authorized by the Imperial Council." Kael raised his eyes. "The Imperial Council?" Noah nodded. "And look at the date." Kael lowered his gaze. The date went back several decades. Long before his parents had been born. Long before their generation. Lysandra spoke quietly. "So that symbol was already connected to Lorn Forest before their deaths." Kael remained silent. For the first time since arriving at Asteria, he felt that his parents' deaths might not simply be a family matter. Someone had been searching for something in Lorn Forest long before they ever went there. And perhaps his parents had discovered what that person was looking for. A sound suddenly came from behind them. A book had fallen from one of the shelves. All three turned around. No one was there. "There was someone here," Noah whispered. Kael looked down. The book was open to a specific page. A page that had nothing to do with mana or the great families. It was about House Veyron. Kael approached. A sentence had been underlined in black ink. "Some inheritances must never be awakened." Kael's eyes widened slightly. His fingers tightened around the edge of the page. For several seconds, he didn't move. Noah noticed immediately. "Kael?" Nothing. Kael read the sentence again. Then a third time. His breathing had become quieter, almost imperceptible, while the calm expression he usually wore had disappeared just enough for the tension in his face to become visible. Lysandra stared at him. She had never seen him react like that. "What is it?" she asked softly. Kael finally looked up. His red eyes were no longer distant. They were focused, sharp, almost unsettled. "I've seen this sentence before." Noah's expression changed. "Where?" Kael's fingers slowly released the page. "My father's study." Before either of them could respond, the lights in the library went out one by one. Noah whispered: "Kael..." Something moved between the shelves. Kael immediately turned toward the sound. His hand instinctively moved toward his weapon. "We're not alone." Then, somewhere deep within Asteria, a bell rang. Once. Then a second time. Before stopping abruptly. As if someone had prevented it from ringing a third.

The Erased Archives