The sun hung high over the training arena, casting its light over the vast sand field, where students faced magical beasts under the watchful eyes of the instructors. The air vibrated with the sound of steel clashing against claws, shouts of effort, and the quick rhythm of the fighters' breaths.
At the edge of the field, Kael stood with his arms crossed, his expression impassive, beside Eva.
She watched him with a sharp gaze, her arms crossed as well, as if trying to pierce him with her eyes.
"When I told you to be careful..." Eva began, her voice heavy with exasperation. "It was to not throw yourself in front of a corrupted mana explosion. You're lucky your body adapted to the corruption and purified itself. Otherwise, you'd be dead."
Kael tilted his head slightly, taking his ti to respond. His gaze slid over Eva before settling on the arena.
"Be careful?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Two students tried to attack and ended up turning into uncontrollable berserkers. That wasn't sothing I could predict."
Eva sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose as if holding back a headache.
"I know, I know... sorry," she said, her voice lighter now. "I'm just worried I won't have a husband to marry when you finally reach the right age."
Kael let out a short sigh, shifting his gaze back to the arena. A group of students had surrounded a crystal-fanged beast, their coordinated attacks looking for a gap in the creature's defense.
"It couldn't be helped," he finally responded, turning back to Eva. "At least Sylphie is safe."
He paused, his eyes glowing golden.
"Did you reinforce her security?"
"I put a few people to watch her discreetly," Eva replied, her gaze drifting toward a nearby fight where Irelia and Alia were facing off against a crystal lizard in perfect synchronization.
Kael fell silent for a mont, watching the battle before suddenly speaking.
"Want to tell the truth now?"
Eva didn't react imdiately. Her eyes remained fixed on the fight, but the slight tension in her shoulders revealed that she knew exactly what he was referring to.
"What do you want to know?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.
"You really think I'm going to buy this story about the Elf Kingdom being at war?" Kael replied.
Eva sighed. "When did you figure it out?"
Kael leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees while watching the students in the arena.
"The world's largest academy. The eting point of all races. The most protected place that exists... and still, within that context, soone from the inside attacks the elven princess."
He turned his head slightly to face her. "Convenient, don't you think?"
Eva closed her eyes for a brief mont before letting out a long sigh. "You're really irritating when you decide to pay attention to things."
Kael smiled slyly. "So, are you going to tell what's really going on?"
Eva remained silent for a few seconds before finally responding. "Not here, we'll go out tonight," she invited with a smile.
[Several hours later...]
It was night when the moon began to rise, casting its silver light over the Azalith Academy campus. The arena, once vibrant with movent, was now silent, with the last shadows of the day stretching across the landscape. Kael stood still, his gaze lost on the horizon, still reflecting on what had happened earlier with Eva.
He hadn't imagined that the night would take such an unexpected turn.
"Aren't you going to leave without even a smile?" Eva's voice interrupted him, and Kael turned, surprised. She was there, wearing an elegant dress, simple in cut but giving her a serene and captivating aura. Her hair was loose, and the glow in her eyes reflected the moon.
Gone was her usual rigid posture and strict deanor; this was a completely different Eva that Kael had never seen.
"You... what...?" Kael started, not knowing how to react. He looked at his own outfit, much simpler, without the glamour of Eva's dresses, not even realizing that, despite it being a date, he was still wearing his training clothes.
Eva gave him an enigmatic smile, stepping toward him with calm, deliberate steps.
"I said we were going out, Kael. Now, no excuses. Let's do this right. After all, you'll be my husband in the future, so I think it's ti I start teaching you how to enjoy monts like this."
Kael swallowed hard, his surprised look slowly turning into understanding.
He had seen Eva in many ways — as a strict teacher, as a strong woman, but never like this, so... open.
What had initially seed like a shock was now becoming a field of interesting possibilities. He suppressed a smile, trying to maintain his composure.
"This is... very different," Kael comnted, still trying to understand the sudden shift in her behavior.
Eva smiled, almost amused by his expression. "Different? Maybe. But who said we can't have a mont for ourselves? We're not at the Academy anymore. I'm no longer your teacher, Kael, and you're not just the troubleso student anymore."
Kael raised an eyebrow, a clear sign of his curiosity. "And you think I'm troubleso?"
"Sotis," Eva replied with a mischievous smile, before stepping closer to him. She extended her hand, offering it simply but full of aning. "Now, co on. Let's go out. We have a lot to talk about, and who knows, we might have so fun too."
Those words sounded almost like a provocation, but Kael couldn't deny that sothing inside him gave way. He looked at her once more, noticing the softness in her gaze and the warmth radiating from her presence.
He sighed, finally accepting the offer with a slight smile. "Not that I'm going to stop being troubleso, but... fine. Let's go."
They walked together through the Academy, exiting through Azalith's gates, with the stars beginning to reveal themselves in the night sky. The city was quiet, the streets dimly lit. Eva seed to know exactly where to go, leading Kael down an unknown path.
"This isn't how I imagined our date would go," Kael comnted, observing the city in silence as they walked. "I always thought a more... conventional place would be ideal."
"Conventional?" Eva looked at him with an expression that mixed amusent and lightness. "I thought you were soone more original, Kael. Why settle for the basics when we can create sothing unique?"
Kael chuckled softly, his nerves relaxing as the silence between them beca more comfortable.
"You really are full of surprises, Eva," he comnted.
"I know. And you're still learning about all of them," Eva replied with a mysterious look, offering no further details.
As they walked through the quiet streets, Kael began to notice sothing that had until then been overshadowed by his own uncertainties and fears — he felt more at ease than he ever imagined he would with Eva.
"The war between the elves... it's really happening," Eva began, her voice soft but tinged with a kind of lancholy that Kael had never heard from her before. "Initially, we had an alliance with them, a comrcial and friendly relationship. But, as always, the radicals complicate everything." She glanced at the surroundings of the city, her words lost in the quiet of the night. "Everywhere, there are those who disagree with their leaders' principles. And elves are no different."
Kael, listening attentively, rely nodded, knowing that this was just the beginning. The war between the races was a recurring the, but he'd never heard such a personal perspective from Eva before.
"It turns out that..." Eva hesitated, looking up at the starry sky before turning her gaze back to Kael. "A dark elf and a noble elf got married. A love... theoretically forbidden." She let out a sigh, as if trying to process the pain in her words. "Honestly, I'm not sure if it's really about love... or if it's just a facade. They were trying to create sothing deeper, an alliance, but what it really created was a storm of hatred."
Kael listened closely, his eyes fixed on her as she continued. He knew there was more behind Sylphie's story, but he hadn't imagined it would be so complex.
"And then..." Eva said with a bitter smile, her tone now more serious, "Sylphie was conceived in that context. An arranged marriage between the two races, with the pretext of peace. But instead, it beca a symbol of division." She stepped back a little, as if the weight of the story was oppressing her. "They see her as a point of conflict, sothing that threatens the stability they tried to build."
Kael fell silent for a mont, processing the information. "So, an arranged alliance... that ended up causing more problems, right?" he murmured, trying to make sense of it all.
Eva nodded, but the look in her eyes showed that she was still distant, imrsed in her thoughts. "I wouldn't say 'caused problems,' but rather that the situation got out of control due to radicalization. The noble elves consider themselves superior to the dark elves, and that created an irreconcilable clash. It's not just about politics; it's a matter of pride and power."
Kael could feel the burden on Eva growing heavier. He knew the situation was far beyond a simple war. There was sothing bigger at play, sothing greater than he could have imagined.
"It turns out that..." Eva stopped walking and looked directly at Kael, as if she was finally about to reveal the key to the entire puzzle. "Sylphie isn't just a hybrid... She's sothing much rarer, more dangerous. She's the 'Forbidden Fruit,' so to speak."
Kael furrowed his brow, not understanding imdiately. "What...?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, feeling that sothing was about to shift the entire situation.
Eva looked at him seriously, her words hanging in the air like a spell waiting to co to life. "She is the Dryad. The chosen one of the World Tree." Eva paused, allowing the gravity of the revelation to settle over them both.
"The blessing of the World Tree is sothing so rare that almost no one knows of its existence. Those who receive it are considered the true children of the world, loved and blessed by nature. But what Sylphie has is not just a blessing. She has... the right of authority over the Tree. Absolute control over all the forests of this world." Eva took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. "She is developing little by little, but..."
'I have the blessing of the World Tree...' Kael thought, all of that conversation in a way made sense to him.
Eva stopped walking, looking at Kael with a grave expression. Her eyes were no longer the sa as before. Now, it seed as though she was seeing sothing beyond him, as if the future was an invisible shadow hovering over them.
"The authority she carries..." Eva continued, her tone even heavier. "She's not just an Elf with a connection to the World Tree, Kael. She will beco a goddess in a few years."
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