The next morning, the academy was buzzing with news.
Two Gilverc cousins had been found in the east corridor. Alive but unconscious. Covered in frost.
"Wild animal attack," the faculty announced. "The mountains are dangerous. Students should not wander alone at night."
Varyan knew better.
He sat in the dining hall, eating cold porridge, listening to the whispers.
"They said their eyes were frozen open," one student murmured. "Like they had seen sothing terrible."
"The healer said they might never wake up."
"General Theron is demanding a full investigation. He thinks it was an assassination attempt."
Varyan kept his face blank. But inside, his mind was racing.
The creature had attacked the Gilverc cousins. Not him.
Why?
[「ECHO」analysis: Chaos fragnts hunger for Order fragnts. But they also attack anything that gets in their way. The Gilverc cousins were collateral damage. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong ti.]
Varyan felt nothing for them. Those sa cousins had held him under the bathwater two years ago until his lungs burned. They had laughed when he ca up gasping.
*The weak don't get to complain*, they had said.
Now they were the ones who couldn't wake up.
"Roverc."
Lira sat down across from him, her face pale. "Did you hear about the Gilverc cousins?"
"I heard."
"Everyone's scared. They're saying sothing is hunting in the academy." She lowered her voice. "So of the minor house students are talking about leaving."
"Let them."
"Aren't you scared?"
Varyan thought about it. He should be scared. A creature had almost killed him. It might still be hunting him.
But all he felt was a cold, clear focus.
"I'm fine," he said.
Lira studied his face. "You're strange, you know that?"
"I've been told."
After breakfast, Varyan walked to the restricted section of the library. Not the main part—the old section, sealed behind a crumbling Order barrier that most students didn't even know existed.
His mother had ntioned it in her journal. *"The old wards still hold. For now. If you ever need to hide, go there."*
The barrier was a faint shimr in the air, like heat rising off sumr stone. When Varyan touched it, his palm tingled.
[Order barrier detected. Age: approximately 300 years. Stability: 34%.]
Three centuries old. And falling apart.
He slipped through. The barrier didn't stop him. Maybe because he carried an Order fragnt. Maybe because it was too weak to stop anyone.
The restricted section was smaller than he expected. A single circular room with shelves lining the walls and a stone pedestal in the center. On the pedestal, a glass case held a single object:
A key.
Rusted. Ancient. But unmistakably a key.
[Hidden Cache Key detected. This matches your first quest reward.]
Varyan picked it up. It was warm to the touch.
*Where does it open?*
The answer would co later. For now, he tucked the key into his pocket and left the restricted section.
As he stepped back into the main library, 「ECHO」flared.
[Chaos signature: 20 feet. Behind you.]
He spun.
The creature stood in the shadows between two bookshelves.
It had no face. Just a vaguely humanoid shape of darkness, with frost crackling along its edges. Where its eyes should have been, there were two points of deep crimson light.
It tilted its head. Like a dog studying prey.
Then it spoke.
*"Order... fragnt..."*
The voice was wrong. Scraping. Like tal on bone.
*"Give... it..."*
Varyan's hand closed around his dagger.
"No."
The creature lunged.
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