The wind outside had quieted, leaving only the faint rattle of a loose windowpane and the smell of sweet bread lingering in the air.
Mila finished the last sip of her tea and sighed. "A normal morning… I should probably frame this memory," she muttered, half-joking to herself.
She stood, straightened her coat, and walked toward the door yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
It was subtle at first. The light in the bakery dimmed just slightly, and the faint reflection on the glass counter flickered.
Her instincts whispered something's watching.
She turned sharply.
Nothing. Only the empty tables, the warm counter, and a lone baker sweeping crumbs.
"...I'm losing it," she whispered, rubbing the back of her neck.
The bell above the door jingled as she stepped out into the cool morning air.
The streets of Berbeign were calm students from the academy chatting over snacks, a few merchants setting up stalls, and somewhere in the distance, the faint hum of airships.
Ordinary life.
But Mila's footsteps slowed.
In the glass of a nearby window she saw it again.
A flicker.
Her reflection, but not quite her.
The eyes in the glass weren't blue.
They were gold, and they stared back with something that wasn't just curiosity… it was hunger.
Mila's breath hitched. She blinked once and the reflection returned to normal.
Her pulse raced.
It's starting again, she thought.
"M-Miss Mila?" a familiar voice called.
She turned. One of her Class F students, a small girl with messy hair and a backpack too big for her waved nervously.
"Oh-hey," Mila said quickly, forcing a smile. "Didn't expect to see you out here."
"I was just buying bread for the dorms," the student said. "You… look pale. Are you okay?"
Mila froze for a moment, then softened. "I'm fine. Just… didn't sleep well."
The student hesitated, glancing around. "Um… there's been talk. Some of the students said they saw red light coming from the woods last night again. It looked like… a dragon's breath."
Mila's blood ran cold.
She looked toward the horizon where the forest stood, dark and quiet under the morning sun.
"…Probably someone testing fireworks," she said quickly. "Don't worry about it. Go back to your dorm, alright?"
The student nodded, still uncertain, and ran off.
Mila exhaled sharply once the girl disappeared into the crowd.
Her hand clenched unconsciously faint sparks of red and black light flickered across her skin before she forced them down.
"You can't keep lying to them forever."
The whisper again her other self.
Mila didn't answer this time. She just started walking, faster, eyes cold.
At the far end of the street, a metallic bird perched on a sign its single lens glowing blue.
It followed Mila's movement silently before sending a faint signal into the air.
Back in the Forgotten fortress, Simni's eyes lit up.
"…I found her," she said softly.