Yegr followed Rolen into one of the library's unused study chambers — a small stone alcove with a single candle burning low. The air was cooler here, as if the walls remembered secrets better than the people did.
Rolen didn't sit. He paced. His boots echoed softly on the flagstones, each step deliberate.
"I started dreaming of battles months ago," Rolen began. "Battles I'd never fought. Faces I'd never met. And then… the siege. The one you call Vardun."
Yegr stiffened. "You saw it?"
"I lived it," Rolen said. "At least, that's how it felt. I knew every corner of the walls, every step of the enemy's advance — and I knew I wouldn't survive it. But then…" He stopped pacing, eyes narrowing. "I woke up. Here. Younger. The Academy full again."
Yegr's pulse quickened. "You remembered more than just flashes?"
"Not enough to know why," Rolen admitted. "But enough to recognize certain… signs. Symbols. Names. And one of those names was spoken in your presence two nights ago."
Yegr's breath caught. "You were there?"
"Not in the room," Rolen said. "But close enough to hear 'Second Awakening.'" His gaze hardened. "That's what you're trying to stop, isn't it?"
Yegr hesitated. Then: "In the old timeline, the Second Awakening was never completed. Jojk was the threat we faced — but if this is starting earlier, then Jojk might just be a piece of something bigger."
Rolen leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "I've been gathering fragments — from my own dreams, from old archives the Council doesn't even know exist. The Second Awakening is a binding ritual. Not to summon something, but to free it."
"Free what?" Yegr asked.
Rolen's eyes darkened. "A god that was never meant to wake again."
The candle flickered, casting deep shadows over Rolen's face.
"And the vessel?" Yegr pressed.
"Human," Rolen said grimly. "Always human. That's what makes it powerful. And from what I've pieced together… once the vessel is chosen, you have only seven days before the binding is complete."
Yegr's stomach knotted. "Do you know who it is?"
Rolen shook his head. "Not yet. But I know the test in three days? That's when they'll choose."
The room felt suddenly smaller.
Yegr realized that meant one thing: the test wasn't just about proving skill — it was about finding a perfect vessel.