The dormitory was too quiet.
As soon as Ariel arrived at her room, she sat down on her bed without even taking off her shoes. Her heart was still pounding, as if the director's voice echoed in the walls of her head.
She took a slow breath, but it didn't help. The feeling of having crossed the barrier still burned on her skin, as if the forest had left an invisible mark.
The door to the bathroom opened carefully.
"Ariel?" Lumi's voice was low, cautious.
Ariel looked up. Lumi stopped in the middle of the room, assessing her too quickly to be casual.
"Are you okay? You disappeared too early... I got up to go to the bathroom and didn't see you."
Ariel let out a short, humorless laugh.
"I... I had to leave."
Lumi approached her.
"What happened?"
Ariel hesitated. Then she gave up pretending.
"I... I crossed the barrier last night."
A heavy silence fell.
Lumi stopped.
"...What?"
"I saw Kael going into the forest. I thought he was going to die or something..." Ariel's voice faltered. "I didn't think. I just went."
Lumi's eyes widened.
"Ariel, are you crazy?!"
"I know."
"NO, you don't." Lumi crossed her arms, pacing back and forth. "That rule isn't aesthetic. It's not to scare freshmen. It's because whoever goes in there... doesn't come back whole."
Ariel looked down.
"I saw a creature. Up close."
Lumi stopped in her tracks.
"You saw what?"
"The one that reacts to sound." Ariel swallowed hard. "If it weren't for Kael..."
Lumi ran her hand over her face, taking a deep breath.
"Do you realize the risk you took? If the Council finds out about this, they won't protect you just because of who you are."
"The director already knows," Ariel murmured.
Lumi's eyes widened again.
"He... knows?"
"I was summoned earlier today."
Lumi suddenly sat down next to her.
"Ariel... why would you do that? You barely know him."
Ariel was silent for a few seconds.
"That's exactly why," she replied softly. "Everyone acts like he's a walking problem. Like he deserves to get screwed. I... couldn't turn my back on him."
Lumi stared at her, more serious now.
"Listen carefully. I like you. A lot. But if you keep throwing yourself into danger for people who have barely entered your life, you won't last here."
Ariel felt her eyes burn.
"I don't know how to pretend I don't care."
Lumi sighed, her anger giving way to fear.
"I know. And that's what scares me."
She pulled Ariel into a tight hug.
"Next time, call me. Scream. Wake up the whole dorm. But don't ever cross that barrier alone again. Promise?"
Ariel took a deep breath, burying her face in her shoulder.
"I promise."
Lumi pulled back slightly, still holding her face in her hands.
"And that boy..." She narrowed her eyes. "He'd better survive. Because if you get hurt because of him, I'll rip his head off myself. Regardless of whether he's a demon."
Ariel let out a weak laugh.
"Noted."
But when Lumi turned to pack her things, Ariel stared out the window.
At the forest in the distance.
And at the place where Kael had disappeared the night before.
With the uncomfortable feeling that this was only the beginning.
Later, in the History of Conflicts between Kingdoms class...
The Great Hall seemed even more severe under the presence of Professor Maelis Thornreach.
Tall, with impeccable posture, her hair tied back in a tight bun, she occupied the center of the rune circle as if she were part of the ancient architecture of the school itself. Her gray eyes scanned the students with surgical precision.
"The history of conflicts between realms," she began, her voice calm and firm, "does not arise from war.
It arises from the need for control.
With an elegant gesture of her fingers, the runic symbols came to life. Ethereal maps appeared in the air: Heavens, Hells, Intermediate Realms... connected by fragile lines of light.
"For centuries, there were entities responsible for maintaining the balance between these territories. Natural mediators. Beings who moved between opposing orders without belonging completely to either of them."
Winged figures appeared—neither light nor dark.
The air seemed to grow denser.
Ariel felt her chest tighten.
Kael did not move.
"In the beginning, they were essential," Maelis continued. "They acted in treaties, ceasefires, territorial disputes. However..."
She paused deliberately.
"Over time, they became inconvenient.
The images began to fragment.
"They questioned the decisions of the Celestial Council. They refused to obey absolute orders. They believed that balance should not serve a single Kingdom."
Some students exchanged curious glances.
"They weren't rebels," Maelis corrected, almost indulgently. "Just... too independent."
Ariel clenched her fingers against the stone bench.
"In times of extreme tension, independence is seen as a threat," she continued. "Thus, this lineage was removed from their positions. Many migrated to distant lands. Others were expelled from the central spheres."
The winged figures began to disappear, dissolving into silver dust.
"As the ages passed, they ceased to be mentioned in official records. Not because they were forgotten... but because they were historically irrelevant."
The word sounded clean.
Organized.
False.
Kael felt the mark on his body pulsing, held back only by the strength of his own will.
"There is no documented evidence of direct violence," Maelis concluded, closing her grimoire with precision. "Only difficult decisions, made to preserve order."
She looked up, her gaze steady.
"Peace, students, is rarely built without silent sacrifices."
Absolute silence.
No names were mentioned.
No blame was assigned.
No truth was revealed.
Ariel didn't need to look at Kael to know:
They were the only ones there who knew what had really happened.
It wasn't exile.
It wasn't migration.
It was extermination.
"Read chapter nine," Maelis Thornreach concluded.
"And remember: history belongs to those who survived to tell it."
In the hallway, the sound of the students gradually resumed, as if nothing had been shaken.
"Professor Thornreach loves this part of the subject," commented Lumi, walking beside Ariel. "The part where everything seems very civilized."
Ariel remained silent.
Lumi tilted her head, watching her out of the corner of her eye.
"You looked different when she talked about the mediators," she said casually. "Not curious... but like someone who recognizes a well-trained lie."
Ariel stopped walking.
"Lumi..."
"Relax," she smiled slightly. "I'm not going to ask what was erased from history."
She moved closer and whispered:
"I just found it curious how certain things 'disappear'...
and how some people feel when they hear that."
She took a step back, shrugging.
"Anyway, if one day that truth decides to resurface..." she winked, "I'd rather be on the right side."
Ariel stood in the hallway, feeling the weight of what could not be said.
And in the distance, Kael moved on—carrying on his shoulders a story that the world had decided to forget.
The rest of the day passed like a heavy fog.
Ariel tried to concentrate on the following classes, but Maelis Thornreach's words insisted on echoing in her mind. Too independent. Historical irrelevance. Each phrase seemed carefully crafted to hide something much more cruel.
When the final bell rang, announcing the end of activities, the hallways filled with voices and laughter. Ariel walked beside Lumi, but her eyes searched only for one specific point ahead.
Kael.
He walked a few meters ahead, his posture too rigid, as if each step required effort.
The shadow that accompanied him seemed denser than normal, almost glued to his heels.
"He's been acting strange since History class," Lumi murmured, breaking the silence. "Not in a 'bad mood' kind of way. More like... dangerous."
Ariel swallowed hard.
"Yeah..." she replied, in a low voice.
Lumi sighed.
"Selective history is the specialty of the Heavens." She grimaced. "But today was different. The teacher knew there was someone there who understood the subtext."
As if to confirm her words, Ariel felt a chill run down her spine.
In the distance, Maelis Thornreach watched the students leave the upper corridor. Her gaze lingered a second longer on Ariel—not accusatory, not hostile... analytical. Like someone evaluating an ancient artifact whose importance has not yet been fully understood.
Ariel looked away.
"Are you going to talk to him?" Lumi asked.
Ariel nodded.
Kael stopped near one of the tall windows, where the late afternoon light streamed through the stained glass and tinged the floor with red and gold. When Ariel approached, he didn't turn around right away.
"They lied," he said finally, his voice low, too controlled. "Again."
Ariel stood beside him.
"I know."
The silence that followed was not empty. It was dense. Full of unspoken things, erased names, blood turned into footnotes.
"One day," Kael murmured, "this story will be told the right way."
Ariel clenched her fists, feeling the weight of the promise.
"And when that day comes..." she replied, "they won't be able to pretend about what really happened."
In the distance, the school's barrier pulsed softly, ignorant—or complicit—of truths buried just below its foundations.
And, without them realizing it, something ancient was beginning to move again.