I left the prayer dome quietly, trying not to attract attention. Seren's suspicious gaze and Echo's warning still lingered in my mind. I kept my eyes on my notes, moving casually toward a side corridor.
I stopped near the wall, pretending to review the prayer lines we had just recited. From here, I could watch students leaving class without drawing notice.
A few moments passed before a beautiful woman with golden hair stepped out of the chamber, her head slightly bowed. Her hands gently held a scroll that glowed faintly, its soft light reflecting on her calm face. The air around her carried a comforting warmth, a leftover aura from a healing spell.
Seeing her brought a strange tightness to my chest. ' Elara Veridia.' Just thinking her name stirred complicated feelings inside me, equal parts longing and pain.
She noticed me watching and offered a quiet smile as she approached.
"You kept up well in class," she said gently. "Most students flinch during Celvayn's questions."
I shook my head slightly, careful to keep my voice neutral. "I memorize quickly. It's the faith I lack."
Her brow rose slightly. She seemed surprised, but not upset.
Instead of preaching or calling attention to my lack of devotion, she asked softly, "Then why come here?"
I hesitated, weighing my words. Finally, I answered. "Because if I understand the cage, I might find the lock."
Her expression shifted slightly, thoughtful rather than judgmental. She watched me closely, and I noticed something new, a faint burn scar along her wrist, barely hidden beneath her sleeve. It looked fresh, likely from overusing magic.
"Did you just cast a healing spell?" I asked.
She nodded gently. "Yes, just a minor one. A student tripped earlier on the stairs. He scraped his arm, so I helped him."
A brief silence passed. Her eyes studied my face again, this time more closely.
"You're Lucian, right?" she asked.
I nodded.
"If you ever need help with the verses, you can usually find me in the east wing gardens."
She gave another small smile before turning away, quickly disappearing down the corridor.
Echo murmured softly as I watched her go, "The burns on her hand aren't from something minor. She overused her healing spell, sacrificing her own comfort and skin, to mend that student's broken bone."
'A broken bone?' I thought to myself. 'She never changed. Always taking on more pain than she should, going out of her way to help others.
Strange, considering someone like her was born into nobility.'
Suddenly, a memory flashed clearly into my mind. In it, I wasn't wearing priestly robes. Instead, I had on a hooded cloak, torn and stained with blood.
I sprinted through the narrow alleys of Lower Solaris, boots slamming against stone.
"There! He went that way!"
"Halt! By decree of the High Ordainers!"
"Cut him off before he reaches the Dawn Gate!"
My side ached, sharp and hot from the gash under my ribs. The stolen tax scroll pressed against my chest, hidden under my tunic.
I'd made it this far. I couldn't stop now.
I turned a corner and ran straight into someone.
BAM!!!
We both stumbled. She gasped, stumbling back a step. I caught a flash of long golden hair, temple robes, and bright emerald eyes staring into mine.
I froze.
She didn't.
"Come with me," she said, voice low but firm.
She grabbed my arm, pulling me into a narrow alley between two shrines. The guards' footsteps thundered past, missing us by seconds.
I leaned against the wall, panting. Blood soaked through my cloak, dark and warm. I clenched my jaw, trying to hide the pain.
"You're bleeding," she said, kneeling beside me. Her hands hovered over the wound. "Don't move."
"Why, why are you helping me?" I managed to ask.
She didn't answer. Her palm pressed gently against my side. "Lux intus, protege animam," she whispered.
Warmth spread through me. The pain dulled.
Then I saw it, her hand trembled, a flicker of light glow over her skin. Her jaw tightened. Faint red marks began to appear on her wrist and fingers.
"You… " I started.
"I'm fine," she said, not looking at me. "You won't make it far like this. Hold still."
The light grew brighter, then softened. The pain faded enough for me to breathe normally. She sat back, hand still resting lightly on her knee.
"You didn't have to do that," I said.
"You looked like you needed it," she replied simply.
The memory faded, leaving a strange ache behind.
"Echo," I asked quietly, "is that how healing works here? Sacrificing your own pain to strengthen the spell?"
Echo answered clearly, without hesitation. "After receiving Luminis's blessing, she can cast healing spells using only her own mana.
But like most gifted healers, she can amplify the effect by offering something of herself in return.
It's a form of sacrifice. The more personally meaningful the offering, the greater the healing result."
I stayed quiet, listening.
"In Elara's case," Echo continued, "she gave up the smooth, unblemished skin of her hand, something normally valued, especially by noble-born women.
That level of sacrifice let her mend a fractured bone cleanly, without leaving any lingering damage.
She's still a student, but the spell performed like something a much more advanced priest could manage."
He paused briefly, then added, "Those who give the most of themselves can achieve near-miracles. But the cost is always real. Pain, scars, weakness, even life whatever they offer, it doesn't return."
I glanced toward the corridor where Elara had disappeared. She was already pushing herself too far for others, just like always. And I knew she would do it again.
"Maybe that's why… In one of past cycle she-"
Echo cut in sharply. "Lucian. Stop."
But it was already rising…
I pressed a hand to my temple as a sharp pain lanced through my head.
Images flashed, a blinding light, screaming, than a hand reaching for mine…
It's her Elara hand, she look older than she was now. She was smiling, as blood seeping trough her skin.
Her lips moved, trying to say something, but I couldn't hear it.
I wasn't looking at her. My eyes were drawn to the sky. It was splitting apart like torn silk.
And from within that came light.
A holy light that will burn everything it deem unworthy.
Then I saw it… Two eyes with long eyelashes, golden pupil marked with a cross filled with authority.
Her form were a blur. I couldn't get my eyes to fixed on it.
One moment She seemed draped in gold, the next, a writhing wings, or burning veils, or faceless radiance shaped like judgment cross.
All around me, the world began to unravel, brick and bone, light and thought.
Then Her gaze fell on me.
I couldn't see it directly, but I felt it. It's like being nailed in place by authority so vast my body forgot how to breathe.
And just before everything turned to ashes..
I heard my own voice, whispering one name. "Lumi-."
"STOP!" Echo's voice cut through my mind. The vision shattered, and everything fell into darkness.