The library was hidden, and it felt like it. Shelves climbed into the dark, packed with books on every subject: math, history, biology, and others no one had bothered to label. Candles flickered along the walls and threw a warm, wavering light over the spines of the reading material.
At the center of the room stood a desk dusted with gray. A lone woman stood behind it, holding a thick, ancient-looking book in both hands. Her thumb traced the gold lettering on the cover.
"The Seven Secret Weapons," she read aloud as she smiled faintly. "Such a great title."
She closed the book, and the dust jumped into the candlelight.
Footsteps echoed down the aisle. Draen emerged from between the shelves, his gaze fixed on her.
"How have you been holding up, Cassie?"
"My condition has improved." She turned around, still smiling. "But the end result will be the same."
Draen's jaw tightened. He ran a hand along the nearest shelf, wiping off a line of dust, and stared at his fingers. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can do? I still feel like I haven't done enough."
"Let me guess," Cassie said lightly as she slid the book into an empty gap on the shelf. "You still haven't found my replacement."
"It's not only that." His voice dropped. "I still have nightmares about that day."
The candles crackled in the quiet.
Cassie crossed the room and rested her palm against his cheek, as if he were a child. "I told you already, Draen. I forgave you a long time ago."
"I know." He wouldn't meet her eyes. "But I need you to know how sorry I am. For everything."
She studied him for a moment. Then she gave his cheek a gentle pat and stepped back. "Come on. Let's talk about something happier."
She clasped her hands behind her back. "Has anyone caught your eye lately? Anyone with an interesting power?"
Draen's shoulders loosened, and the corner of his mouth twitched up for the first time. "Actually, yes. A few students joined recently with the potential to become Guardians."
"Oh?" Cassie tilted her head. "Who?"
"Well, there are two Eldritch stu-"
"Eldritch?"
Cassie's smile vanished. She stepped closer, her eyes wide in the candlelight.
"Did you say Eldritch? Are you serious?"
"Dead serious." Draen nodded. "One of them has short black hair. He's an Aqualith and Voltbrand knight named Ragna Kuronaze. The other has short white hair, and his name is Cinister Brimstone."
Cassie went still.
"Brimstone?" Her voice came out thin. "As in the royal Brimstone family?"
Draen blinked. "Are they famous or something?"
She stared at him. "Are you an idiot? That's basic history."
"Hey, when I became Vice President, everyone told me I could chud around all I want." Draen scratched the back of his neck, a little sheepish. "And studying was never really my thing."
Cassie pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Then she walked back to the desk, drew a finger through the dust, and began to speak.
"The Brimstones were the richest, most talented, and most brilliant family of all the royal houses. And their best climbers were Slax and Zann Brimstone, who reached floor seventy as if it were a stroll."
Her finger stopped.
"Unfortunately..."
The candles seemed to dim a little.
"Many of the other royal families hated Slax. He was careless and playful and never took anything seriously, and they couldn't stand it." She turned to face Draen, and her eyes were hard. "But what mattered most was what happened next. We still don't know whether it was planned. But that poor couple died during the Winter Event of 2027, which people now call the Winter Incident."
The room went quiet.
Draen's hand slowly dropped from the back of his neck. Somewhere deep in the stacks, a single page fluttered and settled.
"You asked if I wanted anything more," Cassie said softly, without turning around. "Then please keep that boy safe. So he never has to feel lonely again."
Draen looked at her for a long moment. Then he chuckled and bowed, one hand pressed to his chest.
"Your wish is my command."
He turned and walked out between the shelves, and his footsteps faded into the dark. Cassie stood alone in the candlelight. She picked another book off the desk, and the dust rose around her fingers.
"Is it just me," Cinister panted, "or does something smell really fishy?"
The two of them were sprinting toward the finish line, vaulting over boulders and ducking under low branches. Their cloaks snapped behind them.
"What do you mean?" Ragna glanced over.
"We're almost at the end of the race, and not a single golem has shown up. Something's wrong. I just can't figure out what."
His foot caught on a flower, and he stumbled.
BOOM!
The ground exploded. A golem burst out of the earth, and its shadow swallowed Cinister whole.
Ragna heard the roar first, then turned and saw it: a giant of rock and moss, one fist raised high, ready to crush Cinister with everything it had.
"[Bubble]!"
A wave of water surged up and slammed into the golem's chest. It staggered, then flew backward and up, tumbling through the sky as the water pounded against its stone body.
"Gotcha!" Cinister grinned. He jumped to his feet, and fire burst from his boots. "[JetBurst]!"
He rocketed upward until he was level with the airborne golem, grabbed its leg with both hands, and shouted, "[Pyroclasm]!"
FWOOSH!
Flames swallowed the golem from the inside out. For a moment, it glowed red-hot, and then it crumbled to ash.
"Well, I guess the answer was right under our feet the whole time," Cinister said, turning the ribbon over in his fingers. His grin faded. "But I don't like it. Something bad is about to happen."
Ragna glanced at the smoking crater where the golem had burst out of the ground, then back at his friend. He didn't argue.
Five minutes later
The trees thinned out, and the finish line appeared ahead: a plain white banner stretched across the path, fluttering in the wind. Cinister and Ragna skidded to a stop, panting and covered in dirt.
A tall man stood beside the banner with his arms folded. His coat was crisp, his posture was perfect, and the medals on his chest caught the light. He looked like a man who had stood in the same spot for years, waiting.
"So you actually figured it out," the commander said, with a faint smirk.
Cinister pointed straight at him, still trying to catch his breath. "Next game, I'm going to beat you!"