"Do you know why I created the Star Academy?" Cindralis suddenly asked, her head turning as she faced Asher for the first time in a while, her question straightforward and simple on the surface, yet carrying an inexplicable weight beneath it, as though it concealed layers of meaning that were not immediately visible.
Asher stayed silent for a moment as his thoughts ran through various reasons with cautious precision. Someone on Cindralis' level surely wouldn't open the Star Academy for fun or idle entertainment, and with her age, wisdom, and cunningness, Asher couldn't help but suspect extreme possibilities, like secretly enslaving talented students or binding them through unseen means, so that when they all became world powerhouses, they would inevitably stand beneath her command like an army she had cultivated personally over centuries.
