"We won't be."
"You don't know that."
Levi stopped walking and turned to face her. "Elena, I need you to trust me. Just like you did in the ruins."
Her dark eyes searched his face. "It's not about trust. It's about fear. I'm afraid of losing you."
The words hung between them like a bridge neither was quite ready to cross. Levi felt his heart speed up, and he wondered if she could hear it.
"You won't lose me," he said quietly. "I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I don't."
Before Elena could respond, a voice called out from the Academy gates: "Dr. Voss! What a pleasant surprise!"
A young woman approached them, her silver hair catching the sunlight like spun moonbeams. She was beautiful in an otherworldly way, with violet eyes and features that seemed too perfect to be entirely human.
She wore the deep blue robes of an Academy student, but the way she carried herself suggested noble birth.
"Luna," Elena said, her voice carefully neutral. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Where else would I be? This is my home." Luna's smile was warm but curious as she looked at Levi. "And you must be the transfer student I've heard so much about. John Matthews, isn't it?"
"That's right." Levi offered his hand, and Luna took it with the grace of someone accustomed to formal introductions.
"Luna Starweaver," she said. "I'm the Academy's current top student. I do hope you'll find your studies here... illuminating."
There was something in the way she said that last word that made Levi's enhanced senses tingle.
He studied her more carefully, noting the way shadows seemed to bend around her, the way moonlight seemed to follow her movements even in broad daylight.
[DIVINE SIGHT ACTIVATED]
[SCANNING SUBJECT: LUNA STARWEAVER]
[CLASSIFICATION: DIVINE HYBRID]
[THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN]
[LUNAR ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED]
[COMPATIBILITY RATING: VERY HIGH]
"Something wrong?" Luna asked, tilting her head. "You're staring."
"Sorry. Your eyes are very... distinctive."
"A family trait," Luna said with a laugh that sounded like silver bells. "My mother always said I had her eyes. Come, let me show you around. The Academy can be quite overwhelming for newcomers."
As they walked through the gates, Levi was struck by the sheer scale of the place. The main courtyard was larger than his entire neighborhood, filled with students practicing various forms of magic.
Fire danced in one corner, while ice sculptures formed and melted in another. The air thrummed with power.
"The Academy was founded three hundred years ago," Luna explained as they walked. "It was built on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to one of the old gods. Some say you can still feel their presence in the stones."
"Which god?" Levi asked, though he suspected he already knew.
"Aseraph, the Light God. He was murdered by his fellow deities centuries ago, but his influence lingers. The Academy's founders believed that studying divine magic in a place touched by his power would yield greater results."
Elena shot Levi a meaningful look. "How tragic. Do you know why he was killed?"
"The official histories are vague," Luna said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "But there are rumors. They say he tried to give mortals the power to become gods themselves. The other deities couldn't allow such a disruption to the natural order."
"And what do you think?" Levi asked.
Luna was quiet for a moment. "I think that power should serve love, not the reverse. If that's what Aseraph believed, then perhaps his fellow gods were the ones who forgot their purpose."
[RELATIONSHIP STATUS UPDATE]
[LUNA STARWEAVER: CURIOUS → INTRIGUED]
[ROMANTIC POTENTIAL: CONFIRMED]
[BOND FORMATION POSSIBLE]
They were interrupted by a commotion near the main building. A group of students had gathered around two figures engaged in heated discussion.
One was a tall man with prematurely gray hair and kind eyes, wearing the deep green robes of a Professor. The other was a man in black, his face hidden beneath a hood.
"That's Professor Aldric," Luna said. "He's the Academy's Director, and one of the most brilliant scholars of divine magic alive. I don't recognize the man in the hood, though."
Levi's enhanced hearing caught fragments of their conversation:
"...told you never to come here..."
"...the boy has awakened something that should have stayed buried..."
"...Mera is not yours to claim..."
"...he will come for her, and when he does..."
The hooded man turned slightly, and Levi caught a glimpse of pale skin and silver hair. Vex. The Shadow God's avatar was here, in the Academy itself.
"Elena," he whispered urgently. "We need to—"
"I know," she replied, her hand moving to the concealed weapons beneath her robes. "But not here. Too many witnesses."
"Who is that man?" Luna asked, her violet eyes narrowing. "He feels... wrong."
"Probably just a visiting scholar," Elena said smoothly. "Come, why don't you show us to the library? I'm eager to begin my research."
As they walked away, Levi felt a chill run down his spine. Vex was here, which meant Mera was close. But it also meant they were walking into a trap.
The Academy's library was a marvel of architecture and magic. Shelves stretched up to impossible heights, supported by floating platforms that moved at the reader's will.
Books organized themselves, quills took notes without guidance, and the air itself seemed to whisper with accumulated knowledge.
"The restricted section is on the third floor," Luna said, gesturing to a staircase that seemed to be made of crystallized starlight. "But I'm afraid that's off-limits to students. Even transfer students."
"What about visiting researchers?" Elena asked innocently.
"Well, that would require Professor Aldric's permission. And he's been... distracted lately."
"Distracted how?"
Luna glanced around to make sure they weren't overheard. "He's been spending a lot of time in the old basement levels. The ones that predate the Academy's construction. Some students think he's looking for something."
[QUEST UPDATE: LOCATE MERA]
[OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE BASEMENT LEVELS]
[WARNING: HIGH SECURITY AREA]
[RECOMMENDATION: PROCEED WITH CAUTION]
"The basement levels," Levi said thoughtfully. "Are they connected to the old temple?"
"Some say they are. But those areas have been sealed for decades. Too dangerous, apparently. There are wards down there that even Professor Aldric can't fully understand."
"What kind of wards?"
"The kind that keep things in," Luna said quietly. "Or so the stories go."