The rain hadn't stopped for three days. It felt…relentless.
It came in waves sometimes soft, like a lullaby, sometimes fierce enough to rattle the dormitory windows. It felt…like the world was trying to wash away the past.
For most of the Academy, it was a nuisance. But for Eryndor, the sound had become something else entirely. It felt…like a constant reminder.
He stood by the glass balcony, fingertips resting light against the cold surface, watching the way droplets trailed down the pane. It felt…like he was watching time pass.
Each streak caught the faint reflection of the world outside grey skies, blurred lights, and the faint hum of the resonance towers still shutting down. It felt…empty.
He exhaled, slow, his breath fogging the glass. For the first time in a long while, the silence didn't feel like an enemy. It felt…almost peaceful.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
"Still watching the weather?" Luca's voice was quieter than usual, as if afraid to disturb the calm that had settled between them. It felt…like he was treading carefully.
Eryndor smiled, faint, without turning around. "The rain doesn't ask questions. It just…falls."
Luca chuckled, soft. "That's one way to avoid talking."
"I wasn't avoiding it."
"You've been avoiding something," Luca said, moving closer until their reflections aligned faint in the glass. "Ever since the resonance chamber collapsed, you've been…distant."
He looked…worried.
Eryndor turned slight, his gaze meeting Luca's reflection instead of his eyes. "I'm just trying to remember what being…ordinary feels like."
"Ordinary?" Luca repeated, amused. "You? I don't think that word ever applied."
Eryndor's lips curved into a small, wistful smile. "Maybe not. But after everything, I think I'd like to try it for a while."
He wasn't sure if he could ever truly be normal again.
They stood there for a long time, the sound of rain filling the space between their unspoken thoughts. It felt…like they were sharing a secret.
Finally, Luca broke the silence. "Do you remember the first time you saw rain from the east tower?"
Eryndor nodded. "You mean the day you nearly fell trying to fix the weather antenna?"
Luca grinned, sheepish. "I was testing its conductivity."
"You were showing off."
"Maybe a little."
Eryndor turned fully this time, crossing his arms loose. "You've always been reckless with the things you…care about."
He couldn't help but be drawn to Luca's energy.
The air shifted slight at those words, the tone between them deepening something quiet but charged. It felt…intimate.
Luca's grin faltered, his eyes flicking to the floor. "Maybe I just didn't know how to handle them…properly."
Eryndor tilted his head. "And now?"
"I'm still figuring it out," Luca said, soft. "But I'm learning to stop running…from it."
He looked…vulnerable.
Their eyes met again no longer through reflections, but directly.
The tension between them wasn't sharp anymore; it had softened into something fragile, real. It felt…like they were finally seeing each other clearly.
In that moment, neither of them needed to say what it was. The space between their breaths said enough.
Eryndor looked away first, exhaling a slow, steady breath. "Dr. Soren mentioned the council will dissolve the Resonance Division entirely."
"Yeah," Luca said, moving to lean against the railing beside him. "Can't say I'm sad about it. Half the tower's a ruin, and the board finally realized you can't quantify what you don't…understand."
Eryndor's gaze darkened slight. "They'll try again. Maybe not here. But somewhere."
Luca nodded. "And you'll stop them…again."
Eryndor didn't answer immediate. "I don't want to be their weapon…anymore."
He was tired of fighting.
Luca looked at him for a long moment, then said, quiet, "You never…were."
He knew Eryndor was more than just a weapon.
That simple sentence hung between them, heavier than thunder. It felt…like a truth.
Eryndor turned his face toward the rain again, and for the first time, he didn't feel the weight of his own reflection staring back. It felt…like he was finally free.
That night, the Academy's corridors were eerie quiet. It felt…like a ghost town.
The storm had stripped the sky bare, and a faint violet glow lingered where the resonance core once pulsed. It felt…like a memory.
Eryndor couldn't sleep. He wandered the east wing barefoot, drawn toward the music room at the end of the hall a place rarely used anymore. It felt…like he was being called.
Inside, moonlight fell across a dust-covered piano. He hesitated, then brushed his fingers across the keys. It felt…like he was touching something ancient.
The sound was soft, brittle but it was sound.
He began to play. Slow, haltingly, as if rediscovering a memory that didn't belong entirely to him. It felt…like he was channeling something.
The melody filled the empty space fragmented, imperfect, but human. It felt…like he was creating something new.
When the final note faded, a voice came from the doorway.
"Didn't know you could play."
Eryndor turned. Luca was there, leaning against the frame, half-smiling. He looked…peaceful.
"I didn't either," Eryndor admitted, quiet. "Maybe it's something the Architect left behind."
Luca stepped into the room. "Or maybe it's just you, remembering how to create instead of…destroy."
He wanted Eryndor to embrace his humanity.
Eryndor's eyes softened. "Maybe."
He slid over slight on the bench. "Sit."
Luca hesitated, then joined him. Their shoulders brushed barely, but enough for both of them to feel it. It felt…electric.
Eryndor began to play again, slower this time, and Luca followed the rhythm with his fingertips against the wood. It felt…like they were creating something together.
Outside, the rain returned gentle, rhythmic, like a heartbeat. It felt…like the world was listening.
And for the first time since the resonance fractured the world, it felt like…music.
They were finally finding harmony, in themselves and in the world around them.
By the fourth day, the storm began to fade. It felt…like a new dawn was breaking.
Sunlight pierced through the lingering clouds, brushing the towers of the Academy in gold. It felt…like the world was being reborn.
The air smelled like wet stone, renewal the kind of scent that carried both endings, beginnings.
Eryndor woke before dawn, unable to sleep. His mind was quieter now, but his body still carried the memory of the resonance that electric hum that had once defined him. It wasn't gone, just…sleeping. It felt…like it was a part of him now.
He sat by the edge of his bed, fingers tracing the faint scar on his wrist. A mark left from the chamber. From that moment. It felt…like a reminder of what he had survived.
The door creaked open.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Luca asked, voice soft, rough with fatigue. He looked…tired.
Eryndor didn't turn immediate. "You should be resting."
"I tried." Luca leaned against the frame. "But the bed felt too big for one…person."
He wanted to be close to Eryndor.
Eryndor glanced over, an amused glint flickering in his eyes. "That's a…creative excuse."
Luca grinned. "I thought so."
He walked in, barefoot, hair still damp from a recent shower. He carried two cups of coffee one black, one slightly sweetened. He set the latter on the nightstand. "For you. I remember how you pretend to like it bitter."
Eryndor accepted it with a faint smile. "Old habits die hard."
They sat in silence for a while, steam curling between them. It felt…like they were sharing a ritual.
Outside, the rain had thinned to a drizzle, droplets racing each other down the windowpane. It felt…like time was passing.
"Do you ever wonder," Luca began, slow, "if all of this the resonance, the mirrors, everything was meant to happen?"
Eryndor sipped his coffee thoughtful. "Meant to? Maybe not. But I think we were meant to…survive it."
He believed that they had found meaning in the chaos.
Luca nodded, his gaze distant. "You almost didn't."
Eryndor turned to him. "Neither did you."
The words hung there unspoken layers beneath them. The things they had risked, the lines they had crossed, the truths they had avoided. It felt…like they were finally acknowledging the weight of their journey.
Eryndor broke the silence first. "When I was inside the mirror realm, I saw fragments of lives that could've been. In one of them, you weren't there."
He couldn't imagine a world without Luca.
Luca swallowed hard. "And?"
Eryndor's voice softened. "It felt like the world didn't make sense…anymore."
He knew that Luca was his anchor, his reason for being.
Luca looked away, jaw tightening. "You really know how to say things that ruin me, you know that?"
Eryndor smirked, faint. "I learned from the best."
He couldn't help but tease him, even in this moment.
They shared a quiet laugh, small but genuine the kind that carried more healing than any spell or serum could. It felt…like they were finally finding peace, in each other's arms.
Later that morning, they walked the east courtyard together. It felt…like they were stepping into a new world.
The storm had left the garden soaked, petals scattered across the stones like fallen stars. It felt…like they were surrounded by beauty.
Students passed by occasional, nodding in respect not out of fear, but gratitude. It felt…like they were being recognized, not as monsters, but as survivors.
Eryndor still wasn't used to it.
The Academy felt…different now. Not colder, emptier just older. As if the building itself had aged with them, shedding its illusions. It felt…like it was finally becoming what it was meant to be.
"Do you think you'll…stay?" Luca asked, kicking at a puddle as they walked.
Eryndor considered it. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe I'll teach. Maybe I'll disappear for a while."
He wasn't sure what the future held, but he was open to possibilities.
Luca glanced sideways at him. "Disappear? You sure that's not just another way of…running?"
Eryndor stopped walking. The wind carried the scent of rain through the open courtyard. It felt…like he was being called to something.
"I've spent too long fighting what I am," he said, quiet. "Maybe disappearing is just another word for starting…over."
Luca nodded, slow. "If you go, I'll come find you. Eventually."
He knew that he would follow Eryndor, wherever he went.
Eryndor's lips curved slight. "You sound…confident."
"I'm serious," Luca said, stepping closer. "Wherever you end up city, desert, another dimension I'll find you."
He wanted Eryndor to know that he would never be alone.
Their eyes met again, that same fragile gravity between them that had always pulled one toward the other. It felt…like they were destined to be together.
Eryndor lowered his gaze, voice almost a whisper. "You already…did