Ethan was heading to breakfast when she stepped out of the shadows.
"We need to talk," Lydia said.
Her amber eyes held something different this morning. Not curiosity, just certainty.
Students flowed around them in the corridor, heading to the dining hall. Normal Academy morning activities.
"I'm late for…"
"No, you're not." Lydia's voice was quiet but firm. "You're going to come with me. Unless you want me to demonstrate what I discovered right here."
Ice ran through his veins. "I don't know what you mean."
"Don't you?" She stepped closer. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Because I can see it. The temporal magic residue clinging to you like smoke."
Ethan's fragment pulsed against his ribs. Around them, students chattered about assignments and rankings. None of them noticed the conversation that was about to change everything.
"There's a classroom in the north wing," Lydia said. "Empty during morning hours. We're going there. Now."
It wasn't a request.
**********
The classroom smelled of chalk dust and old wood. The windows let in morning light. Lydia closed the door behind them with deliberate care.
"Sit," she said.
Ethan remained standing. "Whatever you think you know…"
"I know you're not from this time." The words came as a surprise hearing it from Lydia "The magical signature is all wrong. Too layered. Too complex for someone your age."
She moved to the front of the room where a chalkboard held yesterday's equations. With one finger, she traced symbols that made the air shimmer.
"Temporal magic leaves traces," she continued. "Most people can't see them. But I'm not most people."
The symbols on the board began to glow. Soft light that revealed something impossible - threads of silver energy coiling around Ethan like invisible chains.
"There," Lydia said with satisfaction. "Temporal displacement. Years of it. Decades, maybe."
Ethan stared at the light surrounding him. "How can you see that?"
"Because I've been studying it for years. Preparing for this moment." She turned from the board. "The question is, what are you going to do about it?"
The silence stretched between them. Outside, Academy life continued. Students attending classes. Professors teaching lessons. All of it normal while Ethan's world crumbled.
"I could expose you," Lydia said quietly. "One word to the right professor and you'd disappear into the Academy's deepest cells. They've been looking for temporal anomalies."
The shadow cult. She knows about them too.
"Or?" Ethan asked.
"Or you tell me the truth. Why you're here. What you're trying to prevent." She sat on the edge of a desk. "And I help you hide those traces before someone else notices them."
Ethan weighed his options. Deny everything and make an enemy of someone who clearly knew too much. Or trust her with secrets that could destroy him.
Maya trusted me when I couldn't explain everything. Kaleb followed me into danger without knowing why. Even Donovan offered help based on faith alone.
Maybe it's time to return that trust.
"You won't believe me," Ethan said finally.
"Try me."
He took a deep breath. "I'm trying to prevent a catastrophic future. One where demons overrun the kingdom and everyone I care about dies."
Lydia's expression didn't change. "Go on."
"The Academy is corrupt. Professors are marked by demon generals. They're targeting noble bloodlines for possession." The words came faster now. "Prince Alexander is almost compromised. In a few years, the kingdom will fall unless someone stops it."
"And you've seen this future?"
"I've lived it." The truth tasted bitter. "I died trying to stop it. Someone or something sent me back to try again."
Lydia was quiet for a long moment. The temporal traces around Ethan pulsed with silver light.
"The Kingmaker Blade," she said finally.
Ethan's blood went cold. "What?"
"That's what sent you back. The Kingmaker Blade fragment you're carrying." She gestured to his chest where the fragment rested. "Divine Weapons can manipulate time under the right circumstances."
She knows about the fragment too.
"How do you…"
"Because I've been preparing for this my entire life." Lydia stood and moved to the window. "My family has been guarding temporal magic secrets for generations. Waiting for someone like you."
"Someone like me?"
"A temporal anomaly with the power to change things." She turned back to him. "My real name is Lydia Hayes-Ashworth. My bloodline carries the knowledge of time magic. We've been waiting for a champion."
The pieces clicked together. Her advanced knowledge. Her mysterious background. Her ability to see temporal traces.
"You're here to help me," Ethan said.
"I'm here to make sure you succeed." Her amber eyes were fierce. "Because if you fail, everyone dies. Which is same as your old life but this time, no third chance."
The weight of that truth settled on Ethan's shoulders like lead.
"What do you need from me?" he asked.
"The truth. All of it. What you've discovered about the Academy. Who you trust. What resources you have." Lydia moved closer. "And in return, I'll teach you how to hide your temporal signature. How to use theoretical magic to mask your abilities."
Ethan thought about Maya and Kaleb. About Master Donovan's quiet support. About the evidence they'd stolen from Thorne's office.
"There are others," he said. "People who are helping me."
"I assumed so. You're too careful to work alone." Lydia smiled. "I'd like to meet them."
"They don't trust easily."
"Neither do I. But trust is a luxury we can't afford." She gestured to the silver traces still visible around him. "These temporal signatures are getting stronger. Soon, even Academy healers will notice them. If the shadow cult realizes what you are..."
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to.
"There's something else," Ethan said. "We discovered evidence. Letters. Lists of targeted students. Demon marks."
Lydia's expression sharpened. "Show me."
**********
An hour later, they stood in the abandoned tower room where Ethan's alliance met. The stolen documents were spread across the table. Lydia studied them with the intensity of a scholar reading a rare texts.
"Worse than I thought," she murmured. "They're not just corrupting individuals. They're building a network."
"We figured that much."
"No, you don't understand." She pointed to the dates on the letters. "This goes back fifty years. Maybe more. They've been positioning themselves since before our parents were born."
The implications hit Ethan like a blow. "The entire kingdom..."
"Compromised. At least partially." Lydia set down the papers. "But not completely. Otherwise, they wouldn't need the Academy. They're building toward something specific."
"Such as?"
"A ritual. Something that requires willing vessels from noble bloodlines." Her eyes met his. "They're not just possessing people. They're creating a permanent gateway."
The fragment against Ethan's ribs pulsed with warmth. The thought of demons pouring through a permanent portal made his stomach turn.
"How do we stop it?"
"Carefully. Methodically. And with a lot more help than you currently have." Lydia moved to the window. "When do I meet your other allies?"
"Tonight. But they'll have questions."
"I'll have answers." She turned back to him. "Real ones. About temporal magic. About the demon marks. About what we're really fighting."
As they prepared to leave, Lydia caught his arm.
"Ethan. The temporal traces around you... they're not just from your displacement. You're changing every day. Aging. The fragment is consuming your life force."
"I know."
"Do you? Because at your current rate of degradation, you have maybe six months before the process kills you."
The words hit like ice water. "Six months?"
"Less, if you keep using the fragment's power." Her voice was gentle but firm. "We need to find another way. Before you burn yourself out trying to save everyone."
As Ethan walked back toward the main Academy, one thought echoed in his mind.
Six months.
It wasn't enough time. But it was what he had.
And now, finally, he had an ally who understood exactly what they were fighting.
The war was coming. But this time, he wouldn't face it alone.