The halls of the academy had always whispered to Ricardo.
Not in voices, not in words. In rhythm.
Footsteps of generations folded into the creaking floorboards. Magic that never fully settled. He knew the tune of this place better than most, because he'd heard it before, centuries ago, when it was still just stones and promise.
Now, he leaned against the balcony overlooking the southern courtyard, arms crossed lazily, one leg propped up on the rail. From this angle, the Nexus Tower looked half asleep, its scars hidden in shadow. But he could still feel it. The pulse under the stone. The shift.
"It's back," he murmured.
"Talking to yourself again?" Alex's voice chimed in behind him, too light to be casual.
Ricardo smiled without looking. "Only when the conversation's worth having."
Alex strolled up beside him, tousled hair wind-stirred, and threw him a sideways glance. "You've been weird lately. And that's saying something coming from me."
"I'm always weird. That's my charm."
"No, your charm is tricking teachers into thinking you study."
"That too."
They stood in silence for a moment. The moonlight pooled silver over the distant tower. Far below, the repair wards glowed faintly where Yue's ritual had cracked the ley foundation.
"Alex," Ricardo said after a beat, his tone uncharacteristically even, "what would you do if you found out the world didn't work the way everyone believed it did?"
Alex gave him a sidelong glance. "That's basically Tuesday for us at this point."
"No, I mean… if the entire world was based on a lie. A necessary one. And undoing it meant freeing something no one could control."
Alex hesitated. "…I'd lie back."
Ricardo chuckled. "Good answer."
"You okay?"
"I'm never okay," Ricardo said simply. "But I'm consistent."
Alex studied him more carefully now. "You're different tonight. Like you're remembering something you don't want to, trust me, I know the feeling."
Ricardo didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small carved token, flat, circular, worn by time. On it: a crest not used in any modern heraldry. Twin dragons devouring their own tails.
He rolled it between his fingers thoughtfully.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked.
Alex leaned in. "No. But I get the feeling I'm not supposed to."
"It's the seal of one of the first noble houses to swear loyalty to the founding emperor," Ricardo said, his voice far away. "A house that doesn't exist anymore. Or rather, one that changed its name so often no one noticed it never died out."
Alex stared at him. "Wait, how do you even have that?"
Ricardo met his gaze, just briefly, and for the first time in all their years together, Alex felt… old depth. Like looking into a canyon cut by time.
"I inherited it," Ricardo said. "A long time ago."
Before Alex could press further, Niko's voice rang out behind them.
"Hey, weirdos! You're both missing curfew again!"
Ricardo pocketed the token, smile snapping back into place. "Bless the punctual one."
Niko jogged up, breathless. "You two have been gone for hours. Everyone's on edge after what happened in the nexus chamber."
"Edge is healthy," Ricardo said. "Keeps the mind sharp."
"Sharp won't help when the walls start crumbling again."
Alex glanced back toward the tower. "You think it will happen again?"
Ricardo's smile faded. "Oh, it never stopped."
Niko frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Ricardo didn't reply. Instead, he turned toward the gardens, where ancient stones lay sunken beneath moss and vine, forgotten markers from before the academy's founding. He stepped down into the shadows and knelt before one.
From his pocket, he pulled a folded parchment, aged, brittle, and held it next to the stone. The sigils on the page lined up with the carvings, though the language had been dead for centuries.
He tapped the stone with two fingers. Once. Twice.
It answered.
A low hum vibrated beneath the earth. Not magic. Not quite. A resonance.
Alex and Niko froze as the moss shivered off the old slab, revealing the same sigil Yue had drawn in her ritual unknowingly; only this one had always been here.
"What is this?" Niko whispered.
Ricardo stood, brushing dirt from his knees. "A mistake," he said. "And a promise. Both carved in stone."
He turned back toward them, the smile gone.
"Someone's been meddling with things they don't understand. But the irony is... I do."
Alex took a step forward. "Ricardo… Who are you, really?"
Ricardo only grinned.
"Just someone who's lived through all of this before."
And in the distance, thunder echoed, not from the sky, but from beneath the ground.
As if something had stirred.
As if something remembered.
The hum beneath the earth faded, but the tension it left behind clung like mist.
Alex stared at Ricardo as if seeing him for the first time. "You're not just guessing, are you?"
"I'm not your enemy, that's all I can say for now. " Ricardo looked both Alex and Niko in the eyes. "Alex, I believe you already know it's not over, and while Yue is powerful, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be no match if what I'm thinking comes to pass."
shocked and in a low voice, Alex asked, "How do you know about her? Don't tell me you're a part of that organisation."
"Alex, I understand your anger, but I can't say more. Even if I want to, please trust me," Ricardo paused before continuing. "Now I'm telling you both this because you are my friends and I trust that you will keep my secret. Haku may need our help."
Silence hangs in between the three. "I don't really understand what's going on, but you both are my friends, how can I help?" Niko shrugged, bringing the silence to an end.
"Ricardo, don't make me regret this." Alex put his hand between Niko and Ricardo
"I promise that when the time comes, I will tell you everything. " Ricardo put his hand on top of the one Alex put out.
"So what are we calling this team up of ours? I'm thinking something cool like The Three Spears of Red... like the Red tower, any takers?" Niko jokingly said as he also put his hand on top of the other two.
This name, The Three Spears of Red, would one day shake all the world and realms connected to it, but that story is still far off.