[POV Liselotte]

  The return to the Academy was a blur of disjointed images. I don’t remember descending the steps of the Throne Hall, nor the cold feel of the carriage door handle, nor the journey back through the capital’s streets. My mind had turned into a scratched record, repying the same image over and over again: Ulric, cd in that radiant white armor, walking with the arrogance of someone who knows the world belongs to him. But to me, he was no legendary hero; he was the boy who used to mock my quiet nature in the hallways of a high school on Terra, the leader of a group that made other people’s lives a living hell.

  When my senses finally returned to the present, I found myself sitting on the sofa in our suite in the dormitories. The firepce was lit, yet my bones felt as though they were made of frost. Leah was in front of me, kneeling on the carpet, gripping my hands with desperate strength. Her eyes were red, clouded by a worry that bordered on panic.

  “Lotte, please… say something. You’ve been staring without blinking for an hour. You’re really scaring me,” Leah begged, her voice breaking. “Ever since those men appeared in the hall, you turned pale as a corpse. What did they do to you? Did you feel some kind of magical attack that I didn’t see?”

  I tried to form an answer, but my throat was dry. The reality of seeing the ghosts of my past, transformed into the so-called “saviors” of a corrupt church, was a knot that wouldn’t let me breathe. Chloé, who had been leaning against the wall watching the scene with a seriousness uncharacteristic of her, stepped forward. Her animal instincts had sensed something Leah, blinded by love, couldn’t fully grasp.

  “Leah,” Chloé said in a low voice. “This is important. I need to talk to Lotte about what happened. Alone.”

  Leah tensed, looking at the wolf with surprise and a fsh of pain. “Alone? Why? I’m her friend, I’m the one she protects… if something’s wrong with her, I—”

  “Trust me, princess,” Chloé insisted, pcing a hand on Leah’s shoulder. “It’s not that we don’t want you here. It’s that Lotte needs to process something that only she and I can understand right now. I promise we’ll tell you afterward.”

  Leah looked at me one st time, searching my blue eyes for some sign. I could only nod faintly, an almost imperceptible gesture. She sighed, stood up, and after giving me a quick kiss on the forehead that burned like fire, she left the room toward the balcony. The silence that followed was heavy. Chloé walked to the door and slid the bolt shut, then turned back to me, crossing her arms.

  “Lotte,” Chloé began, her golden gaze fixed on mine. “Tell me the truth. Those guys… those so-called ‘heroes’… they’re from Terra, aren’t they?”

  The name of the forbidden pnet echoed through the room like thunder. I felt the ocean of energy in my chest stir. At st, I lowered my head and nodded.

  “Yes… they’re from there,” I replied in a trembling voice.

  “Did you know them from before?” she asked, sitting down in front of me.

  “They were my cssmates, Chloé,” I said, and speaking the words aloud was like releasing a leaden weight. “In my previous life, when I was Edward, they sat in the same cssroom as me. One day… a day that seemed completely normal, they just disappeared. Like magic. No traces, no expnations. And now I understand why.”

  I ran my hands through my green hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. “Once, I managed to speak with the spirit of my pnet, with Tiara. She told me that Gaia had abducted them. But I… I wanted to believe they were somewhere safe. I remembered reading legends in this world about heroes who saved the kingdom and then vanished. I thought they were already part of the past. Seeing them there, in that armor, being called ‘Heroes of Gaia’… it was a blow I wasn’t prepared for. They were my cssmates, Chloé. And even though back then they treated me terribly… even though Ulric was a bully who made my days hell and the others just watched or ughed… even so, I felt some affection for them. They were part of my home.”

  Chloé stood and pced her hands on my shoulders. Her face was serious, but her eyes burned with a fierce warmth.

  “Listen carefully, Liselotte,” Chloé said, gripping my shoulders so I wouldn’t look away. “I know Edward is suffering because of them. I can smell your sadness from here, and I know that part of you wants to run to them and ask what happened. But you need to understand something fundamental: you are no longer Edward Celium.”

  “I know, Chloé, but it’s hard—” I tried to interrupt, but she cut me off.

  “No, you don’t fully know. If you did, you wouldn’t be trembling over ghosts. Listen to me: Edward died in that fire, or at least that life ended forever. The boy who sat in that cssroom disappeared just like they did—but you were reborn. Now you are Liselotte, the Supreme Guardian of Whirikal. Look at your hands, Lotte. These are not the hands of a frightened student. They are the hands of a woman who could freeze oceans if she wished.”

  I fell silent, processing her words. She continued, her voice softening but losing none of its firmness.

  “You have to accept that you are someone else now. You are stronger, wiser, and people depend on you. Those guys you saw in the throne room… they haven’t grown like you have. They may have shiny armor, but they’re still the same arrogant bullies—only now they have dangerous toys. Don’t let the memory of who you were stop you from seeing who you are now. Edward couldn’t defend himself, but Liselotte… Liselotte is the nightmare of any army.”

  “Do you really think I’m that different?” I asked, searching for a certainty my clouded mind couldn’t find.

  “You’re worlds apart, Lotte. Edward was a victim of fate; you are the one who shapes it now. You’re the woman who matured through three years of peace to prepare for this moment. Those people down there… they are no longer your cssmates. They are soldiers of a church that wants to destroy what you love. Don’t let nostalgia turn you into a victim again. Edward suffered enough—don’t let Liselotte carry his chains.”

  “You’re right, Chloé,” I said, taking a deep breath as the cold of my magic steadied my nerves. “I am Liselotte. And if they come as enemies, I’ll treat them as such.”

  Chloé smirked and released me. “That’s what I like to hear. But listen… there’s more. You have to tell Leah. She was on the verge of tears a moment ago. She’s terrified because she feels like she’s losing you, like there’s something between you and those ‘heroes’ that she can’t reach. If you don’t tell her, that secret will become a crack between you. And in the war that’s coming, you can’t afford cracks.”

  “I don’t know if she’s ready to hear that I come from another world, Chloé,” I murmured worriedly. “It’s too much.”

  Chloé leaned forward, narrowing her eyes with a mischievous expression. “Besides… she loves you, you idiot.”

  I froze. The air seemed to leave my lungs, and a burning heat rushed up my neck to set my cheeks abze. My blue eyes went wide as I stared at Chloé as if she had just cimed the sky was green.

  “What…? What are you talking about, Chloé? She’s… we’re friends, I’m her guardian…” I stammered, unable to process the idea.

  Chloé ughed mockingly at my reaction. “Please, Lotte, even a blind person could see it. The way she looks at you, how she reacts when others talk to you… don’t be so dense. But don’t take my word for it. It’s better if you ask her yourself and trust her. Leah followed you to the ends of the world without ever asking why; she deserves to know the truth about who you are.”

  I covered my face with my hands, trying to calm my racing heart. The thought that Leah might feel something like that for me—for Liselotte, or for what remained of Edward—filled me with a mix of terror and a strange warmth.

  “Alright,” I finally said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll tell her. Everything.”

  Chloé nodded and moved to the door to slide the bolt open. “Good luck. I’ll go find something to eat and give you space. I have a feeling this is going to be a long conversation.”

  Chloé left the room, and moments ter Leah entered from the balcony. Her shoulders were slumped, but when she saw me standing, her eyes lit up with cautious hope.

  “Lotte? Are you feeling better?” she asked, approaching carefully.

  I took her hands and guided her to sit with me on the edge of the bed.

  “Leah… there’s something I need to tell you,” I began, looking at her with all the sincerity I could muster. “Something about who I really am and why those men from the Church affected me so deeply. It’s a long story… but I need you to trust me once again.”

  Leah squeezed my hands. “I trust you with my life, Lotte. I always have. Tell me anything.”

  I inhaled deeply. “I wasn’t born in this world, Leah. Before I was Liselotte… I was someone called Edward.”

  And so, I began to tell her everything.