The hallways of the Golden Tree Academy echoed with hurried footsteps, hushed whispers, and occasionally, the metallic clanking of lutech engineering apprentices' gear. The air carried a peculiar scent, a delicate mix of aged parchment, the oil used to maintain training armor, and the sweet fragrances wafting from the luminous gardens bordering the outer courtyards.
Through the tall stone windows, the light of the Lumen, filtered by multicolored stained glass, painted shifting patterns on the floor, fleeting symbols that seemed to hold a meaning just beyond comprehension.
Gaël and Kaëlan, walking briskly toward the purification chamber, took in their surroundings with keen curiosity.
Since his arrival, Gaël had noticed the distinct nature of each training group.
His own division, the fighters, consisted solely of men, broad-shouldered figures with faces already hardened by the rigor of training. In contrast, among the Blessed of the Lumen, a strong female presence was undeniable. Their faces were often serene, sometimes distant, yet always carrying that unmistakable aura of radiance granted to those touched by the sacred energy. This section was the largest in the academy, numbering over a hundred students. Meanwhile, the lutech engineering apprentices, recognizable by their dark tunics adorned with luminescent circuits, formed a much smaller group, around fifty in total, mostly men, though a few women held their place among them.
Another truth became apparent: only first- and second-year students resided within the academy walls. The third-years had vanished from daily life, sent into the field or assigned to missions shrouded in secrecy.
This silence surrounding their fate did little to reassure the students; instead, it fueled the darkest of rumors. Some whispered that they were being used as cannon fodder against the Infested along the borders, while others speculated that the Order itself tested them in trials where survival was anything but guaranteed.
Gaël shook off these unsettling thoughts and refocused on the harsh reality of his daily routine.
Each day was a trial.
Though his remedial hours had ended, training remained mercilessly grueling. It wasn't the length of the sessions that broke him, it was their intensity. For someone like him, neither gifted with an imposing physique nor benefiting from the Lumen's augmentation, every session became an ordeal. The blows rained down, his muscles screamed under the strain, and every mistake came at a steep cost.
He recalled the previous day: his fingers, raw and trembling, had struggled to unfasten the straps of his training gloves. Sweat had soaked through his tunic, and in the Lumen bath, he had felt his body protest in exhaustion.
But there was no doubt left in his mind, he had to keep moving forward. This path would lead him to the Severance, as long as he held on to that clarity of purpose.
"I've been looking forward to this purification!" Kaëlan admitted with a grin. "A good break is always welcome!"
"For once, I agree," Gaël replied with a nod.
His muscles, still sluggish, protested with every step, and the prospect of the luminics baths felt like an unforeseen reprieve. Though it wasn't his usual turn to require cleansing, he had been granted permission to use the baths designated for the lutech engineering apprentices.
"I heard we'll be sharing a few lessons with the Ardentis," Kaëlan said, a light smile playing on his lips. "After all this practice, a bit of theory wouldn't hurt."
Gaël shot his friend a skeptical look. "Or perhaps a bit more female presence."
Kaëlan feigned offense, placing a hand over his heart. "Me? Are you implying that my interest in the Ardentis isn't purely academic?"
Gaël crossed his arms, amused. "I'm not implying it, I'm stating it."
Kaëlan burst into laughter. "Caught! But I swear, it's purely intellectual curiosity! After all, one must understand the psychology of the Lumen's future elite… and their devotion, of course."
Gaël shook his head, half amused, half exasperated. "I'm sure their 'devotion' interests you far more than their discipline."
Kaëlan raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "Look, if expanding my knowledge also broadens my social circle, who am I to go against fate?"
"Who are you? Probably the most opportunistic student in the Academy," Gaël sighed as they resumed their walk.
The two friends turned down a stone corridor, illuminated by the soft glow of lumic lanterns hanging at regular intervals. The air was thick with a damp freshness, laced with the subtle fragrance of medicinal herbs diffused by the Academy's gardeners to soothe restless minds. Their footsteps echoed faintly, blending into the tranquil evening hush that draped the halls.
As they rounded an arch leading into one of the many atriums, Gaël suddenly halted.
Something, or someone, had caught his eye.
Nestled in the heart of the courtyard, bathed in the last light of dusk, stood a young girl alone by the central fountain. Her slender yet delicate figure seemed to merge with the peaceful setting. The flowing fabric of her white dress, gently lifted by the evening breeze, clung to her graceful silhouette, radiating an almost ethereal serenity. Her elbows rested lightly against the low stone ledge encircling the water's edge, her slender fingers absentmindedly tracing the polished surface, cool beneath the touch of the descending night.
Her gaze, however, was turned skyward, following the hesitant movements of a woodpecker, its emerald and ochre feathers flickering as it flitted above the fountain. The bird, wary, beat its wings cautiously, its tiny talons grazing the rim as if uncertain whether to drink. The hushed murmur of water, cascading in silver threads, completed this portrait of suspended tranquility, untouched by time.
Gaël felt his heart skip a beat.
At first, it was subtle, like a faint pressure settling deep in his chest. Then, without warning, a surge of inexplicable emotions crashed over him, striking with the force of a blade drawn in a flash. His lungs seemed to tighten, the cool night air suddenly sharper against his skin, still heated from exertion. He didn't understand. Why did this sight, so simple in appearance, unravel something so tumultuous within him?
Perhaps it was her face.
Or more precisely… her eyes.
As if sensing the weight of his gaze, the girl turned her head slightly. That single motion, fluid, almost feline, sent a dark lock of hair sliding behind her ear, revealing a profile of unsettling grace. A delicate nose, lips sculpted with an artist's precision, and high cheekbones that lent a noble elegance to her features.
But it was her eyes that stole his breath.
The one she allowed him to see, half-lidded in a pensive expression, was a deep gold, shimmering with shifting hues, as if liquid gemstone had been set within. It was the light of the Lumen made flesh, pure, vibrant, alive. A shiver coursed down Gaël's spine, a gentle yet insidious warmth spreading through his veins. That iris… No, it wasn't just beauty. It was something older, something vaster. As if he had plunged his gaze into a well of golden eternity.
He could have stood there for hours, lost in that gaze.
Then, she turned fully toward him.
The other eye…
If the first was light, this one was darkness incarnate. A bottomless black, so intense it seemed to devour the surrounding glow. No shimmer, no reflection. Just an unfathomable depth, like the surface of a well without end, or the moon itself. The pupil blended into the void, turning the iris into a chasm that opened onto something primordial… and terrifying.
The contrast was striking.
Two eyes. Two worlds. And yet… everything about her seemed in perfect harmony.
For a fleeting moment, he felt as if the world around them had vanished, leaving only that gaze, drawing him in completely. Warmth and cold, certainty and doubt, gentleness and menace.
His hand, without him realizing, had tightened around the edge of his belt.
The young girl continued to watch him. No arrogance. No challenge. Just that impenetrable calm, as if she could see straight through him.
Then, slowly, she smiled.
Gaël couldn't explain why, but that simple movement stole his breath.
As if, in that instant, she had made a decision about him.
A whisper, barely audible, escaped her lips. A syllable, a breath, perhaps a name… but he didn't have time to hear it.
"Gaël?"
Kaëlan's voice shattered the fragile illusion he had been trapped in. He blinked, realizing he had stopped breathing. His fingers slowly loosened from his belt, as if tearing himself away from a dream too vivid to be unreal.
The young girl lowered her gaze, refocusing on the fountain, as if nothing had happened.
Gaël remained still for a few more seconds, his heart pounding against his ribs.
Then, struggling to regain his composure, he stepped back from the atrium's threshold.
Kaëlan nudged him lightly with his shoulder.
"Hey! Are you going to tell me what just happened, or are you planning to stand there like a statue?"
Gaël shook his head, unable to put into words what he had just felt.
"I… It's nothing. Forget it."
But deep inside, he knew he wouldn't forget.
Not those eyes.
Not that encounter.
Something within him had just changed.