Dark creatures began appearing near the capital — beings made of fractured starlight.
The council blamed Aira.
An arrest order was prepared.
But before soldiers could capture her, monsters attacked the academy itself.
Students screamed.
Kael was surrounded.
Aira stepped into the battlefield.
Her full power erupted — crimson wings of light forming behind her.
"I am not your destruction," she declared.
"I am the shield you prayed for."
With a single celestial bloom, she erased the monsters from existence.
The sky cleared.
And beside her, Kael knelt — not in defeat.
But in acknowledgment.
"The kingdom will either fear you…" he said softly.
"Or worship you."
Aira looked at the rising sun.
"For once," she whispered,
"I choose my own destiny."