The morning atmosphere of Arcadia Academy carried its usual energy as students moved through the sprawling grounds, their conversations blending together beneath the warm rays of the rising sun. The training fields were already occupied by ambitious students seeking to improve themselves before classes began, while instructors occasionally walked among them, offering corrections and advice.
Among them stood Luca.
Or more accurately—
His body stood there.
His mind was somewhere else entirely.
The twin sabers moved through the air with practiced precision as he executed one technique after another, silver and black arcs slicing through the morning breeze. Every movement was clean. Every transition was flawless. The rhythm of his training remained steady.
Yet his thoughts never once settled upon the sabers.
Aurelia.
Kyle.
No response.
No message.
No explanation.
The questions had been circling through his head since the previous evening.
