Liebe didn’t stop running until he reached Training Ground Six.
The field was empty.
Except for one figure.
Aurelion Weiss stood at the center, arms behind his back, as if he had been expecting him.
He turned slightly.
“You’re late.”
Normally, Liebe would’ve tensed.
Would’ve apologized.
But not now.
“There’s something wrong.”
Aurelion studied him.
For a second.
Then—
“Speak.”
The words came out faster than Liebe expected.
The voice.
The vision.
The library.
The book.
The symbol.
Arven’s room.
The whisper.
He said everything.
Didn’t leave anything out.
And for the first time since they’d met—
Aurelion’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
His eyes sharpened.
Cold becoming something heavier.
Recognition.
When Liebe finished, silence settled over the field.
Aurelion looked away. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Toward the dark edge of the Academy walls.
“…I hoped I was wrong.”
Liebe’s chest tightened.
“You know what this is.”
It wasn’t a question.
Aurelion exhaled slowly.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“She’s here.”
The words landed like stone.
Liebe felt his stomach drop.
“Alice?”
Aurelion nodded once.
His jaw tightened.
“She doesn’t attack openly.”
“She watches.”
“She waits.”
“And when someone’s resolve cracks…”
His voice hardened.
“She takes what remains.”
Liebe’s mind flashed back to Arven’s empty stare.
“So he’s—”
“Gone.”
The answer came too quickly.
Too certainly.
Aurelion turned back to him.
“How many people have you told?”
“No one.”
“Good.”
The sharpness in his voice made Liebe straighten instinctively.
“From this moment on, you speak of this to no student.”
“Not Sia.
Not anyone.”
“Why?”
“Because panic is exactly what she wants.”
Silence.
Aurelion stepped closer.
For the first time, there was no distance in his gaze.
Only absolute focus.
“You saw the symbol because she noticed you.”
Liebe’s breath caught.
“What?”
“She’s aware of you now.”
The cold in his chest returned.
Aurelion’s expression darkened.
“That means one thing.”
A pause.
“From this point forward…”
His voice dropped.
“You are under my direct watch.”
Liebe stared.
“This isn’t training anymore.”
Aurelion raised his hand.
Light formed instantly.
Sharper than Liebe had ever seen.
A blade.
Pure.
Radiant.
“If she reaches for you—”
his golden eyes locked onto Liebe’s—
“she’ll have to go through me first.”
And for the first time—
Liebe understood.
Aurelion wasn’t just afraid.
He was preparing for war.