The library was never loud.
But tonight, it was quiet in a different way. Not just because most students were asleep, but because the air itself seemed to breathe slower, as if the stone walls of the archive had settled into slumber along with the rest of the Academy.
Kael didn't intend to stay long. He had only come to study an old bestiary scroll — cross-referencing the cave description the System had shown him, trying to anticipate what kind of guardian or test might wait at the entrance of the Cave of the First Ember.
He moved through the upper floors, running fingers across spines of forgotten tomes. The moonlight filtered through the high lattice windows, giving the aisle a silver hue.
And then—
A faint sound.
A book closing.
Kael turned the corner, and there she was.
Seated in the same alcove as before. Hair pale like snow under moonlight, her posture straight, her cloak folded neatly beside her. Sylara Wyncrest.
She glanced up. Their eyes met.
Silence stretched.
Kael gave a small nod, polite.
She didn't return it—but didn't look away either.
"Stalking me now?" she said flatly, voice barely above a whisper.
Kael shrugged. "I was here first last time. You owe me."
She blinked. "How generous."
He moved to the opposite table, pulled out a chair quietly.
For the next several minutes, only parchment turned, ink scratched, and silence breathed.
Finally, Kael asked without looking up, "You always read alone?"
"I prefer it."
He glanced at her. "Because of people or peace?"
"Yes."
He allowed himself the ghost of a smirk. "You're hard to talk to."
"Good."
Another silence.
Then:
"You ask many questions," she said without lifting her gaze.
"You answer most with one word."
"Efficiency."
Kael returned to his scroll, eyes scanning the rune-etched beast sketch.
Sylara closed her book quietly and stood. For a second, he thought she would leave without a word.
But she paused.
"The southern courtyard... moonlight's clear there."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "That supposed to be an invitation?"
"No." A pause. "Information."
She walked off.
He hesitated only a moment before following.
---
The Moonlit Garden
They walked in silence through the empty halls.
Neither spoke as they pushed open the side doors into the southern courtyard, a hidden place most students forgot. It was overgrown, quiet, and bathed in silver.
The moon hung low and massive in the sky—ripe, white, and soft with frostlight. Pale petals drifted from a gnarled moonvine tree in the center. Its twisted roots coiled around broken stone benches.
Sylara sat on one. Kael took the other.
They didn't speak.
Didn't move much.
Just sat there.
Kael leaned forward slightly, forearms resting on his knees. Sylara leaned back, arms crossed, gaze on the sky. The moonlight softened the hard lines of her face, casting silver into her eyes.
The wind stirred the leaves gently. Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang midnight.
Kael let out a quiet breath.
Still silence.
But it wasn't cold.
Not anymore.
---
> [System Notice: "Thread of Moonlight" formed – Fate Weaving in Progress]
Sylara Affinity: +2
Comment: "Sometimes silence is the rarest kind of understanding."
Emotional State: "Neutral. Guarded. Listening."
Progression Path: Undetermined
---
Kael didn't know how long they sat like that.
Minutes. Hours maybe.
But when Sylara stood and left without a word—just a slight turn of her head—Kael didn't feel dismissed.
He felt understood.
For once, nothing needed to be said.
And that was enough.
---