Alea had never felt so observed.
It wasn't a fleeting glance due to her pretty face or peculiar clothing—nor was it a curious look typical of any new student. This was different. The stares seemed to weigh her very soul. When Virelth's gaze connected with hers, a gentle current flowed between them, as if the world around them faded into a soft background.
And it all started with one man.
Virelth Nocturne.
He always sat next to her in every class. Uninvited, without asking. He would simply appear, with a calm stride, pulling out a chair and bowing as if greeting an unaware queen on her throne. He was always polite, never touched her—but his presence was too captivating to ignore. Not a single other student dared to approach him; they could only observe from afar, whispering to one another about the mysterious calm that surrounded Virelth. Some even claimed he was cursed, while others preferred to fantasize about who he really was. Alea could only sense their indifference, as if an invisible line defined the space between them.
Every time Alea stole a glance at him, Virelth would offer a faint smile, as if he understood the doubts and confusion flooding her mind. "Why do you always look at me?" he whispered one day, his raspy voice seeming to be directed solely at her amidst the crowd. "There are many more interesting things here," he added, even though his heart raced as he heard those words escape his lips.
Today, their class was "Anatomy of the Soul and Bloodline Heritage", a mandatory subject whose very name sounded like a dark incantation.
Alea inhaled deeply as she sat in the back of the stone hall, trying to hide from the frightening world outside. However, the moment she noticed the tall figure with silver hair entering, his steady stride and crimson eyes locked onto hers—she realized that her plan to be alone was surely in vain.
Alea took a deep breath as she sat in the back of the stone hall, trying to hide from the world. Among other students focused on the blackboard, she felt her heart racing. However, when she saw the tall figure with silver hair stepping in, moving confidently, with red eyes locking onto hers, she knew her plan to stay in the shadows was in vain.
Some other students turned their heads curiously, observing the interaction between Alea and Virelth. In one corner of the room, a girl with jet-black hair furrowed her brow, while a burly young man smirked knowingly, as if he could already envision what was about to unfold.
"Good morning, Miss Darsha," Virelth said.
"Good... evening," Alea replied, since there was never any morning in Noctis. Her voice trembled, yet it held a hidden strength, like an echo from the depths of her soul.
"May I ask you something?" Alea asked softly, her eyes gleaming with hope.
Virelth nodded gently, aware of the doubt lingering in Alea's tone. "Always."
"Do you—do you really know me before we met?"
For a brief moment, Virelth stared in surprise, recalling a long-lost memory. "Since I was 85 years old. When I underwent my first vision ritual, I saw you... standing in the midst of white light, holding a black rose."
The students around them began to take notice, whispering softly, curious about the mystery surrounding these two souls. "...That's eerie," one voice murmured, adding to the tense atmosphere enveloping them.
"Poetic," Virelth corrected with a smile, a smile that hinted at his deeper understanding beyond mere words. "Like the two of us, caught in a world that doesn't fully comprehend."
Class began. A skeletal teacher named Professor Skullburn roared from the front podium, discussing "the crystallization of ether cores in the blood of the immortal." But Alea couldn't focus. In her mind echoed a voice, Virelth's voice that seemed to transcend the boundaries of space and time.
Virelth wrote with his left hand, elegantly and neatly. Each letter curved beautifully like ancient calligraphy. Watching him, Alea felt as though she were witnessing an artist creating a masterpiece, every stroke expressing her deepest feelings.
"Are you going to take notes too?" one classmate asked, interrupting her reverie with a tone full of curiosity. Alea jolted, but her warm smile made the student step back, realizing they had disturbed the magical moment radiating between the two.
Then, calmly, Virelth slid his notes toward Alea, wordlessly serving as a bridge between two colliding worlds.
The note was not an ordinary one. Amid definitions and theories, Virelth wrote poetry. Within each stanza lay hidden secrets, as if he wanted to express something deeper than mere words. He noticed many of their classmates watching with curiosity; whispers began to emerge. Some students exchanged glances, captivated by the elegance in Virelth's gaze and the gentle smile on Alea's face.
If your blood is light,
Then let me become a shadow around you—
Not touching, but accompanying.
If your breath is a spell,
I am willing to hold my breath forever, as long as you are by my side.
Alea turned slowly, her eyes shining with a deep sense of wonder. Inside her, a doubt whispered that a love like this could never be simple, and the potential for her happiness was ensnared in unspoken sorrow. She knew there was something unique about Virelth—seemingly eternal yet trapped in the moment of their togetherness.
"Is this a note for class?" she whispered, confused by the strangeness of the words written.
"For the most important lesson," Virelth replied, a glimmer of hope crossing his face. "What is that?"
"How to love you without causing pain," he said, his deep voice stirring Alea's curiosity even further, as if awaiting an answer to a riddle that had not yet fully revealed itself.
Alea wanted to laugh, but Virelth's smile was too sincere. There was no irony, no sarcasm—only the earnestness of an immortal being who might have been alone for too long, waiting for a presence that could shake his very existence. A group of students sitting in the corner of the room watched, captivated by the mysterious aura between them, as if that moment were a performance they didn't want to miss.
"I'm just an ordinary human, Virelth," Alea finally spoke, her voice nearly trembling, as if unearthing her own doubts in front of the eternal entity standing beside her.
She stared at him. For a long time, they exchanged unspoken energy between two souls connected by something beyond mere physical presence, an invisible wave reinforcing the feelings in their hearts.
"No ordinary human can step onto the floor of the Noctis Academy and still smile on the third day," Virelth said with conviction.
Alea fell silent, absorbing the feeling of being a special character in a much larger world.
"The blood of Lumen within you is not just a mere inheritance," he continued with a deeper tone, emphasizing the meaning of the phrase he had just spoken. "It is a summoner. And you—you have summoned more than you realize, inviting a greater destiny to approach."
As the lesson ended and the classroom emptied, Alea still hadn't risen. Virelth remained beside her, sharing a silence filled with meaning, as if time slowed between them.
"May I... walk you to the dormitory?" he asked, overcoming the fear that lingered in his soul.
"No need, I can manage on my own," Alea replied, but her heart raced, yearning for Virelth's presence just a little longer.
"May I walk behind you?" he asked, his voice filled with hope echoing in the silence that enveloped them.
Alea chuckled softly, her voice as gentle as a pluck of strings. "Why are you like this?"
In the background, several other students watched them with curiosity, whispers among them revealing a mix of admiration and wonder. Their faces reflected a deep desire to know more about the two figures who seemed to be detached from the world that continued to move around them.
"Because every time I see you," Virelth said slowly, gazing intently into Alea's eyes, "this decaying world... seems to come back to life."
As Virelth spoke those words, a few steps behind them, Ana and Dito exchanged glances. "Do you feel that too?" Ana whispered, while Dito nodded in astonishment, as if witnessing a moment they shouldn't have seen.
That night, Alea opened her bedroom window—breaking the second rule from the train letter. But she needed air, the fresh night aroma, and a calm soul.
Below, in the yard, she saw Virelth standing still. He didn't move. He didn't call out. He simply... kept watch. With each passing second, it became clearer that he was not just waiting; there was something deeper, a commitment silently etched in his demeanor, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.
Alea felt a warmth enveloping her, as if a gentle light illuminated the empty space in her heart. "Is he really going to stay there?" Alea murmured, her inner voice trembling with longing.
And for some reason, for the first time since arriving in this world, she didn't feel alone. A window had opened, not just outward, but also within herself. Virelth—the figure she considered her backbone amidst the chaos—showed that their connection was more than just coincidence.