The grand amphitheater vibrated with a living murmur.
Thousands of students crowded around me, forming perfect circles around the central stage. The pale stone floor reflected the blue gleam of mana, and golden arcs occasionally streaked across the sky, as if the entire world were holding its breath. Everything had an air of ceremony—too solemn, too orderly not to be hiding something.
I stood at the center of the crowd, my back straight, hands clasped behind me.
A year.A whole year walking these same pavements, breathing the same mana-soaked dust. A year pretending to understand a world that still exceeded me. And yet, I had changed. The metallic taste in the air had not.
On the circular platform, Princess Ka'ha'Uhala rose.
