The evening breeze carried the scent of blooming flowers through the abandoned garden. The quiet atmosphere contrasted sharply with the young woman standing before Kael.
Lilith Thorne.
Even after playing Eclipse Hearts countless times, Kael still considered her one of the most dangerous characters in the game.
Not because she was the strongest, but because nobody could predict what she would do next.
One day she could help an orphanage. The next day she might rob a corrupt noble family simply because she found it amusing. She hated routines and expectations the most.
Above all, she loved mysteries. And unfortunately, Kael had become one.
"..."
Neither of them spoke.
Lilith casually folded her hands behind her back as she slowly circled him.
"So..."
"The weakest noble."
She tilted her head.
"Or should I stop calling you that?"
Kael remained calm.
"You can call me Kael."
"Hm."
She smiled.
"Simple. I like it."
She stopped directly in front of him.
"Tell me."
"What happened?"
Kael blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"You changed."
Her crimson eyes seemed capable of seeing through people.
"A week ago you walked with your shoulders lowered. You even avoided eye contact. You looked like someone guilty of something."
She pointed toward the mark Kael had left on the oak tree.
"And now... You train before dawn. You even refuse pointless duels. That’s quite the transformation."
Kael inwardly sighed. She had noticed more than he expected.
Lilith possessed an extraordinary ability to observe human behavior.
Many players underestimated her because of her carefree personality.
That mistake usually ended badly.
"I simply decided to change."
He answered truthfully.
Lilith stared at him for several seconds.
Then...
She burst into laughter. Not mocking laughter but genuine laughter.
"I knew you’d say something boring."
She wiped away an imaginary tear.
"I was hoping for something ridiculous. Like discovering an ancient master, or making a contract with an ancient dragon."
Kael couldn’t help smiling slightly.
"Sorry to disappoint you."
"Oh. You didn’t."
Her smile became even brighter.
"Boring answers are suspicious."
"..."
"This is fun."
Kael silently wondered whether that was supposed to reassure him.
Probably not.
...
Lilith walked toward the old stone monument in the center of the garden. She sat on top of it without caring that dust covered its surface.
"You know..." She casually swung her legs. "The Hero Department students avoid me. The Villain Department students fear me. So conversations become terribly repetitive."
Kael leaned against a nearby tree.
"Then why talk to me?"
She shrugged.
"Because you’re changing. And change is entertaining."
She looked toward the moon beginning to rise above the academy walls.
"My father once told me something. ’The world is filled with books already written. Interesting people are the ones who decide to rewrite them.’"
Her smile slowly faded.
"For some reason... I think you’re trying to rewrite yours."
Kael’s heartbeat skipped.
"...Maybe."
It was the closest thing to a confession he could safely give.
Lilith laughed softly.
"I knew it."
...
Several moments of comfortable silence passed.
Unexpectedly, Lilith spoke again. "Have you ever wondered why heroes and villains attend the same academy?"
Kael already knew the official answer.
Still...
He chose to hear her thoughts.
"What do you think?"
She picked up a pebble before tossing it into the nearby lake.
Ripples spread across the surface.
"They tell us it’s because both sides respect strength. That’s partly true." She picked up another pebble. "But there’s another reason. They want us to understand each other."
Kael quietly listened.
"If heroes never met villains, they’d think we’re all monsters. If villains never met heroes, they’d think they’re all hypocrites."
She smiled bitterly.
"The academy creates relationships, friendships, rivalries, and sometimes even love."
"And then graduation comes..."
"We’re expected to kill each other."
Her words lingered in the air.
Kael remembered.
One of Lilith’s hidden routes revealed exactly this.
She never hated heroes. She hated being forced into predetermined roles. Just like, he now hated being treated as a disposable extra.
"...The world isn’t fair," Kael said quietly.
Lilith looked at him.
"No. It isn’t for anyone."
At that moment, a loud bell echoed across the campus.
"Curfew," Kael muttered.
Students immediately began returning toward their dormitories.
Lilith jumped down from the monument.
"I should go."
She stretched lazily.
"Oh, one more thing."
She reached into her pocket. Then a silver coin spun through the air.
Kael instinctively caught it.
He looked down.
The coin bore an unfamiliar emblem. A black crescent moon surrounded by thorny vines.
"What is this?"
Lilith smiled mysteriously.
"A favor. If someone ever shows you the same coin, they’re a friend of mine. Or at least... They won’t stab you immediately."
Kael stared at the coin. He remembered it.
Shadow Tokens.
Items connected to Lilith’s personal network.
During the middle of the game, players could only obtain one after completing several difficult quests.
Receiving one now... Should have been impossible.
"I can’t accept this."
He tried returning it.
Lilith shook her head.
"I already gave it away. And I hate taking presents back."
She turned around.
"See you later, Kael."
With surprisingly graceful steps, she disappeared into the darkness between the trees.
Kael remained standing alone.
He slowly examined the silver coin once more.
His expression became thoughtful.
"This will change things."
Far more than Seraphina’s conversation. Lilith had effectively acknowledged him. Not romantically or as a friend. Simply as someone worth remembering.
That alone represented a significant deviation from the original story.
He carefully stored the token inside his inner pocket.
Hopefully, he would never need to use it.
...
The next morning...
Professor Magnus entered the first-year classroom carrying several thick folders.
His expression remained stern as always.
"The Wilderness Survival Examination begins in fourteen days."
"From today onward..."
"Every team will attend joint preparation exercises."
Students immediately became excited.
Unlike ordinary classes, preparation exercises required teammates to cooperate.
Professor Magnus began calling names.
"Team One."
"Proceed to Arena A."
"Team Two."
"Arena B."
One after another, groups left the classroom.
Eventually...
"Team Thirty-Seven."
Kael stood alongside Elias, Mira, and Darius.
Magnus looked at the four of them.
"You four follow me."
They walked toward one of the academy’s oldest training fields. Unlike the modern arenas, this one resembled an actual battlefield: Broken walls, artificial rivers, dense clusters of trees, rocky hills.
It simulated the Emerald Forest surprisingly well.
Magnus stopped before the entrance.
"This exercise has only one objective."
"Work together."
He looked directly at Kael.
"Individual strength means little if your team cannot trust you."
Those words seemed ordinary. Yet Kael felt they carried another meaning.
Was the professor testing him? Or simply offering advice?
He couldn’t tell.
The massive gates slowly opened.
Inside, numerous magical beasts created through illusion magic already waited. Although incapable of killing students, they could still inflict considerable pain.
Magnus pointed toward the forested battlefield.
"Survive for three hours. Recover your team’s flag. And return before sunset. No further instructions. The examination has begun."
As Team Thirty-Seven stepped into the artificial wilderness, Kael quietly surveyed the terrain.
His memories from the game stirred.
This training exercise, contained a hidden event that almost every player missed. And if his memory was correct, someone else was already aware of their presence from deep within the forest.