The days blurred together as I continued to navigate this world that wasn't mine. The academy's halls grew more familiar with each passing day, but I was still no closer to understanding how I had ended up here. I had no answers. No explanations. Only the weight of my choices, the strange weapon I wielded, and the uncanny feeling that I was being watched.
Ilya's presence seemed to follow me more closely now, though I was careful to keep my distance. I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if she was deliberately tracking me, but there were moments—small moments—when I could feel her eyes on me, when her attention lingered just a little too long.
I didn't know what she wanted. Maybe she was trying to figure me out. Maybe she had a reason to be suspicious of me. Or maybe, just maybe, she was one of the few people in this academy who wasn't content to follow the script.
There were whispers, too. Whispers I couldn't ignore. The students, when they thought I wasn't listening, talked about strange occurrences around the academy—visions, nightmares, and the sense that something was changing within the very walls of Veylin Academy. Magic that hadn't been seen in centuries seemed to be stirring. Something ancient was waking.
The unease that had settled in my chest only deepened. The academy was not what it seemed. The people here were not who they appeared to be. And I had the distinct feeling that I was being pulled toward something I didn't understand.
One evening, as I walked the darkened halls, I came across a door I hadn't noticed before. It was tucked away in a corner, hidden behind a curtain of ivy that had grown up the stone wall. The door was old, with brass handles that gleamed faintly in the moonlight, but there was no sign on it—no indication of what lay behind.
I couldn't explain it, but something about the door called to me. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the growing sense that I was meant to find something, something important, though I had no idea what that might be.
I reached for the door handle, but before my fingers could touch it, I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around, my heart racing, but no one was there.
The hallway was empty.
It was then that I realized something chilling—my path, my journey, was no longer my own. The world around me was shifting, moving in ways I couldn't control. And the answers I sought were no longer waiting to be written by me.
They were waiting to be discovered.