The girl led him to the roof. The sa roof Varyan had hidden on the first night.
Stars above. Cold wind.
She sat on the edge, legs dangling over the drop. Unafraid.
"You're the Roverc boy. The one everyone bullies."
"You make that sound like an achievent."
She almost smiled. "I'm Seris. Seris Vane. No house. No family. Orphan. Academic scholarship."
Varyan kept his distance, hand near his dagger.
"You have a fragnt. Chaos."
She didn't deny it. "Chaos Fragnt 12. Woke up two years ago. I've been hiding ever since."
"Two years? How are you still alive?"
"Because Chaos fragnts don't have to corrupt you. The old stories lie. A fragnt is a tool. It only corrupts if you let it."
[「ECHO」confirms: Chaos signature – neutral. No hostile intent detected.]
Varyan relaxed. Slightly.
"Why are you here?"
"Sa reason as you. The Harvesters."
He didn't know that word. "What are Harvesters?"
Seris pulled up her sleeve. Her arm was covered in scars—thin, precise cuts, like soone tried to carve sothing out of her.
"People who hunt fragnt-bearers. They extract fragnts from living hosts. It kills the bearer. Then they sell the fragnts."
"They found you once?"
"I escaped. Barely."
"So you ca here to hide?"
"I ca because I heard there was a Harvester *here*. Soone on the faculty. I wanted to find them before they found ." She looked at him. "But now there are two of us. Fragnt-bearers are stronger together. Order and Chaos in sync."
Varyan thought about it. Trust felt foreign. Dangerous.
But being alone felt worse.
"Truce. For now."
Seris extended her hand. "Truce."
They shook.
"The creature hunting . A Chaos stalker. Do you know how to kill it?"
Seris nodded slowly. "Yes. But you're not going to like the answer."
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